[PKMN OPEN] The Pokémon Trainer Academy (T) [Best Veteran 4Q '11]

[Dawn]

Valorie Ryder - Mountains

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Valorie seemed to jump slightly when Kale placed a hand on her shoulder, having not quite expected such a gesture. She looked up at him, momentarily distracted from her woes. It only took her a moment to process what was being suggested. Her eyes widened slightly and the short girl seemed to gain a renewed energy. "You'd do that for me..?" she asked rhetorically. Her eyes said she appreciated this gesture a great deal. For a moment she didn't seem to know what to say, but it came to her. "Thank you..." she offered rather softly, recognizing that the cold made this an unideal time to stand around and chit chat. Sure she had a telepathic pokemon that could've translated for herself, but Shu wasn't trained for battle like Haxorus was. She couldn't have done this alone. Aria's jaws were a key factor all on their own.

Valorie nodded in confirmation to Kale and moved over to secure Haxorus with Aria. Taking one look at the large bipedal monster Valorie knew she was hilariously far from being able to hold her down Frankly, she really did not want to physically restrain her own pokemon. She was pretty sure her Mom had said something about not poking sleeping giants or something like that. She did however feel obligated to do what Kale said however, and decidedly simply sat on Haxorus figuring that it was about as good as she with her utterly sad upper body strength even by human standards was going to get.

...The honedge, having no appendages to speak of, simply shifted in Valorie's grasp to press her flat edge against Haxorus. Shu's arms seemed to extend and grow, grasping at Haxorus legs and pushing them down. From her seat atop the fallen dragon Valorie nodded for Kale to continue.

...

After Aria assumedly got her grip and the max revive was administered Haxorus immediately attempted to lift her head, only to find herself in a very compromising position within Aria's jaws. She twisted a bit, but after finding that she could not simply slide away she seemed to simply give up; perhaps she recognized bad odds when she felt them drooling on her. The pokemon emitted a low, mildly irritable growl. She was perhaps questioning what was being done to her.

Valorie watched Kale, curious. Assuming Kale pursued answers as he'd offered, he would find that Haxorus did not seem to recognize Valorie. In fact, she denied ever being stolen! According to Haxorus she had always belonged to Team Rocket ever since she was caught here on the island, specifically a trainer called Jacob.

"...That's messed up. How do you just forget who trained you?" Shu asked, rather disturbed. Valorie's brows lowered in mild frustration as she tried to grasp the conversation without being able to understand Haxorus.

Haxorus attempted to shift her head in Shu's direction with poor success. She remarked with confusion that Shu did not belong to Valorie either, questioning why he was here instead of with their trainer.

"I'm here because your 'Jacob' wasn't thorough enough when he decided to kidnap, rob and enslave this girl--Your trainer." Shu replied, becoming rather venomous and accusing in his tone. "How much of you is -gone-? Do you even remember being trained? You sure fought like you did. Would your trainer have ever asked you to do this, hunt down a terrified child?! Did he even give you or a reason, or do you just not care who you hunt?!" Shu continued rather aggressively. Haxorus was silent as Shu stopped to let her answer. She seemed speechless for the moment being and Valorie did not help, merely looking around anxiously.

After a long moment's thought, Haxorus turned her eyes up at Kale and asked him to let her get up. She explained that while her mind didn't seem to remember Valorie her body did, and expressed a desire to get a better look at Val.

 

[Dualik]

Kale David Reynard --- Mountains​

Kale said nothing in response to the gratitude that was being expressed to him by Valorie, with a face devoid of emotion he allowed Aria to force her jaws downwards onto the Haxorus' neck in a grip that nothing short of a legendary pokémon could break. Kale himself positioned himself in front of Haxorus' head and placed his hand gently on the large dragons snout. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, his eyes filled with sadness and nostalgia, as if he were about to remember something that he would have rather forgotten.

With a strange sort of finesse Kale gently opened Haxorus' mouth and placed the max revive perfectly center on her tongue. Within a few moments the large pokémon began to awaken.

"Hax... Haxor..." The beast released an audible grumble as it awoke from its slumber and tried and failed to struggle free, Kale replied to it by talking, much to Aria's surprise. She had heard Kale agree to this task but a large part of her had still believed that he wouldn't go through with such a thing... not ever, speaking to a pokémon that didn't belong to him, it wasn't something she thought him capable of on a personal level. After all, doing so showed his ability, the ability to communicate with the hearts of pokémon. An ability that he had kept shy from the World for the longest time after seeing what had happened to the only other user of said ability that he and Aria had ever known.

"You are being held down to prevent your destructive and obviously aggressive tendencies from causing us any more trouble." Kale responded calmly.

"Hax! Haxorus!" The beast roared irritably back at Kale who still sat calmly, mere inches from the dragons maw, hand still placed firmly on Haxorus' snout. "We woke you up so that we may question your incredibly dubious activities towards your trainer." Kale gestured to Valorie. "Why would you turn on someone who has done so much for you?"

"Haxor?! Hax! Haxorus, Hax... Haxor!" The dragon spoke in an angry and confused tone. It almost seemed like a question. Kale responded in kind. "You've... always been raised by team rocket? You're asking what I'm talking about?... Jacob?" Kale hesitated for a moment. Had Valorie been lying to him? No, that made no sense, Kale recognised that the sadness, worry and angst that Valorie felt while fretting over this Haxorus were genuine and even if they weren't she wouldn't have been stupid enough to actually attempt to wake it up if she didn't genuinely believe it to be hers. Had this Haxorus been brainwashed perhaps?

Without any warning, Kale remembered and spoke the words of an old ally.

"The hearts of pokémon are wonderful and free things... it is the folly of humans that corrupts them... it is only us who give them the classification of "monsters"." Aria seemed deeply worried all of a sudden and looked up to Kale as he spoke while still gripping Haxorus tightly in her jaws. It should be noted however that the words he had spoken had been so quiet and the situation they were in so dire, that his speech was quickly overpowered by Shu's telepathic presence.

"...That's messed up. How do you just forget who trained you?" The small ghost asked.

Haxorus suddenly stopped shifting in the snow, gently she lifted her head as best as she could to try and see Shu above her. "Hax... Haxorus? Hax?"

Kale's eyebrow rose. "You say... Shu is not Valorie's either? You say he belongs to this Jacob... and you question why Shu is not alongside him..." Kale was certain then, Haxorus had been changed, corrupted by some unknown source. Her mind had been fed false memories... but it wasn't too late, Kale was certain. It just took the right words, words that Shu was happy to supply as a starting point.

"I'm here because your 'Jacob' wasn't thorough enough when he decided to kidnap, rob and enslave this girl--Your trainer." The Yamask was visibly aggressive and up until this point Kale had never heard Shu speak with such anger.

"How much of you is -gone-? Do you even remember being trained? You sure fought like you did. Would your trainer have ever asked you to do this, hunt down a terrified child?! Did he even give you or a reason, or do you just not care who you hunt?!"

The Haxorus fell silent for a moment, though Kale still felt the need to interject more.

"So then... what of this new trainer of yours? He sends you out into the wilderness to defeat us and then what?" Kale's tone was dark and unforgiving, it was as if his words were designed to be spirit crushing just from the way they sounded.

"You lost completely and utterly to us here and we were the one's who decided to help you despite being your targets, so tell me where's "Jacob" now? When we were contemplating just leaving you in the snow to die... he didn't seem willing to show his face. When you look at it from my perspective, you realise that the moment you were sent after Valorie, nobody, Jacob especially, gave a single damn wether or not you ever came back."

The Haxorus seemed to attempt an aggressive response but stopped short as if in contemplation. It seemed that perhaps what Kale and Shu had been saying may have been getting through to the large pokémon. "Your mind may not remember the truth Haxorus, but your heart never forgets. Focus yourself, is there no part of you that remember Valorie?"

The Haxorus took a long moment to think and an anxious aura filled the air. After what seemed like an eternity the large dragon spoke again.

"...Haxorus. Hax... Haxor..." Kale nodded solemnly. "Don't dare try anything or I swear I'll knock you down twice as hard as before." Aria affirmed this by tightening her jaws menacingly before releasing them completely from Haxorus' neck and returning to Kale's side as he allowed the dragon pokémon to gaze up at Valorie.

The Haxorus had seemed earnest enough in its desire... the body remembers what the mind cannot and so to does the hearts memory remember all. Kale had been led to believe this over the course of his life, but he didn't like taking chances and so Aria was standing by, fully prepared to deliver a brutal "play rough" to the larger pokémon if necessary.

 

[CrumbledCandyWrapper]

Lusca A. Maloii - Suicune Dormitories​

Lusca sat quietly on his Suicune Dorm bedding, posters of various Pokemon found across his home region perched in awkward angle across from him. The dry wall had begun to turn into an awkward shade eggshell white, which Lusca reminded himself to complain about later if the problem escalated any further.

Besides his first day at the academy, nothing really amazing has happened. Classes are okay, the teachers seem to know exactly what they're doing, and Lusca couldn't quite honestly say he doesn't favor going to one or another during the week. He'd made a few allies, and one forgettable enemy on his first days experience, and they've seen each other on and off sometimes during the semester in classes and whatnot. Communication with the three hasn't been hard, seeing as they'd gotten each others numbers during that meeting, although nothing really noteworthy has occurred during their passing. They helped Lusca adjust to things, as they said they would, but it didn't take long for Lusca to grow accustomed with everything to some extent or another.

They're numbers were still saved and pathetically they were the only three numbers he'd gotten besides "Mom" and "Dad". Danielle, Mark and ... Lucia? Was that right? Lusca would surely have to check that out for fact sooner or later.

Although all that sounded nice, admittedly, Lusca was so bored it became miserable. Studying can only hold you for so long until the inevitable headache and ensuing boredom with life, and going to classes only had they're perks when it was something that actually interested Lusca- he honestly couldn't even remember a time in class that he actually didn't want to be there...which even then, was sad. It felt as though he'd just been on hiatus...Not really gone but... not really there either.

Nope, not today... Lusca thought with an angered flip of his PokeGear. I've got to find something to do! I can't just sit inside all day!

He looked over to his calendar, adjusted on the wall in a way that'd make someone with OCD proud, but his facade drooped to sorrow when he'd remembered that day that was circled.

For crying out loud! he rang. I can't actually be this bored on CHRISTMAS DAY, can I?!?

 

[Dawn]

Valorie Ryder - Mountains

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Haxorus seemed to decline to respond to Kale's threat, perhaps for the best. The relatively large dragon pokemon pushed herself to her feet and shook some of the snow clinging to her belly off of her once she was free of those holding her down, turning and lowering her head to inspect Valorie's scent. Valorie awkwardly raised a hand and pat Haxorus' head in response, not quite sure what to make of the current situation. For a brief moment things remained unclear and then... Haxorus shuddered, emitting a rather loud grunt as she stood back up.

"...I guess there are a hundred ways to remember, and only one way to truly forget." Shu thought out loud in his ghostly voice, moving to Valorie's side. A smile slowly graced her face as it became clear to her that Haxorus was no longer hostile. She allowed herself to give the pokemon a hug, taking a bit of care to keep a healthy distance from those axes. It was extremely difficult to tell, but it almost seemed as if she were whispering something.

The moment passed and she turned to Kale, a big grin flashing briefly on her face before vanishing into something a bit more subtle. She then quickly closed the distance between the two of them and hugged him. To say she was thrilled would've been an understatement. This moment too would pass however and she would rather quickly back off, a mildly embarassed smile being the only immediate acknowledgement of what had just happened from her end.

"You saved Haxorus... We could ride her out of here!" she offered instead, though a quick look at Haxorus' heavily armored hide suggested it wouldn't exactly be first class. Haxorus in turn had something entirely different on her mind. She would explain that Jacob had retreated to the Rocket base, and remark that there had been a lot of Rockets there when she'd left. They had all been just arriving, carrying personal belongings as if they planned on staying for a while.

"It was almost completely empty when -we- escaped..." Shu remarked in a thoughtful tone, prompting Valorie to give him an ever so slightly confused glance. She of course had no idea what he was talking about.

 

[Dualik]

Kale David Reynard --- Mountains​

Kale felt himself smile gently as he saw trainer reunited with pokémon once again. Somehow, someway, Haxorus had remembered Valorie despite her hypnotised heart. He thought back again to an old friend... a friend who had once sought to part humans and pokémon forever, a goal driven by their ability to hear the words of both sides as Kale himself could. He had followed that friend once in the past, believing the truth and ideals that they had sought to be the most just. However Kale had eventually realised that the only truth he wished to believe, the only ideals he had wished to follow, were his own. Nobody would force him to follow another, Haxorus' triumph over team rockets control affirmed that belief within him. Though his face darkened slightly as he thought of his old friend... he could only hope that they too had found their own path in life after the hardships they had surely faced...

After they both abandoned that team of despicable methods.

Kale's train of thought was broken by Valorie approaching him quickly, a smile on her face. His smile immediately vanished and he seemed just as cold as before. As if no emotion had ever been there to begin with. He sighed lightly as she walked in his direction. "Right then. Now that you've sorted out your situation perhaps we can-" Kale was cut off by something he had not in any way expected. "W..Wait..." He stammered.

Valorie seemed to be wrapping her arms around him for some reason and squeezing him tightly. He had never truly had the experience of anyone doing this to him... at least not since around the time of his ninth birthday. He had to wonder... had it really been that long since another human being hugged him? His body instantly began to panic, a sense of social anxiety washed over him as he wasn't sure wether to hug her back or repulse her, it was almost a show of his true social innocence as his arms wavered uncertainly at his sides. Thankfully for him however, Valorie had released her grip before he had had to give any sort of major reaction. She was still smiling, but that smile was now filled with some mild embarassment. Kale was absolutely stunned for a moment by what seemed like a small and insignificant gesture.

He felt his face warm slightly in the cold weather, which surprised him, and he quickly realised the cause as he heard the barely controlled laughter of Aria who now stood at his feet. He was blushing. Feigning a loud cough and looking quickly to the side in order to cover his face for a moment, once Kale looked back to Valorie any hint that he may have ever been embarassed (or that he may have ever shown any emotion for that matter) was now gone.

"You saved Haxorus... We could ride her out of here!"

Valorie seemed to be quite proud of her suggestion and Kale had to admit... it wasn't a bad one. It was obvious to him that riding upon such a hard spined and rigid pokémon would be far from the most comfortable of processes... but that was highly irrelevant. Better than freezing to death, at any rate. That said however, a quick interjection from Haxorus made Kale's eyebrow rise.

"Hax... Haxor. Haxorus, Haxor... Hax. Haxorus."

The dragon spoke and Kale listened. Apparently the false trainer Jacob had retreated to the rocket base and that aswell as him, there were a large number of team rocket members present arriving when Haxorus had left to hunt Valorie down. Shu, obviously also being able to understand Haxorus by being a pokémon himself, was the first to respond.

"It was almost completely empty when -we- escaped..." The ghost pokémon remarked in a thoughtful tone. Mere moments after this Kale recognised that Valorie seemed confused and so he began to translate what her Haxorus had said. First mentioning Jacob and then explaining the large apparently arriving group of team rocket members at the base where Valorie had been held captive.

While Kale explained, Aria quickly climbed up onto Haxorus' shoulder in order to gain a sort of level ground with Shu as he levitated in the air. "Maw... Mawile Maw? Mawile Mawile maw? Mawile Maw, wile?"

The words of pokémon are hard to transcribe in the English language, however if one were to preform a rough transcription, Aria had said the following to Shu. "You two were locked up in that base right? How many roughly were in the area before you escaped?... Actually... as a matter of interest, how did you escape?"

 

[Zavytar]

Alice Crenshaw
Mountains (Deep inside a cave)​

It looked like Alice and her tag partner were fighting a losing battle. One out of the girl's two Pokémon was out of commission, and the boy's Pokémon were getting exhausted. To add up, the wild Dugtrio was getting even madder, and its ability was preventing the two from escaping. There was no choice; they had to defeat it before both humans would appear in "Missing" signs all over milk cartons and posters in Oak Town. Alice ordered Grace to use Double Team once more, but the Ralts had already created the maximum number of illusory copies possible. The male trainer told Aron to use Iron Defense and Frogadier to use Water Pulse again, however, Dugtrio was a lot faster and charged madly at the frog with a Slash. It landed a critical hit, and the frog was no longer able to keep on battling. Luck was not on the humans' side.

"Gah!" the guy said, "It's no good! We're gonna lose!"

"Hold on!" Alice said, "We might still have a chance! We have to keep on trying!"

Anyone could wonder what had gotten into the red haired girl. When she arrived at the Academy, she was unsure of how to battle. She wasn't very fond of them, but many events had told her that she had to make her Pokémon stronger. In spite of this, she still disliked battling, and was still hesitant during training sessions and battles. But at that moment, she was something else, something completely different. Did her abduction have something to do with it? Did battling against that creepy criminal turn her determination and confidence switches on? Or was it some other reason? Whatever bug had bitten Alice, it was numbing everything that held her back.

"Grace, Flash!"

"Aron, Iron Head!"

A blinding flash of light made the wild Dugtrio miss his next Slash attack, giving Aron the space and time to hit it with a powerful Iron Head. The mad Pokémon was dizzy, and couldn't attack, giving an opportunity for Grace and Aron to strike it with Confusion and Iron Head, respectively. However, after the attacks it shook his head and glared at its opponents, looking even more furious than before. All seemed lost for both trainers, until the Aron suddenly started glowing! The male trainer smirked, while Alice watched astonished. Wow... Is it... evolving?

 

[Dawn]

Valorie Ryder - Mountains

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As Kale explained what was being said to a relatively upbeat Valorie Shu acknowledged Aria by turning to her as she spoke.

"Well, it was practically empty when we left! We only saw one rocket in the entire place. That must've been Jacob..." Shu replied casually after Aria had finished, wracking his brain for the memory. He was awfully carefree by default for a pokemon that carried around a mask depicting the face of a man at his moment of utmost despair. "There were a lot of cells, like it was a prison of some sort. I'm not really good at this 'fighting' thing, so I hide inside Val's shadow where it's nice and safe. So they throw her in one of those cells, right? Finally I can't detect any rockets around, so I come out. They were all barren and new looking, like the place had just been built recently." Shu began to ramble, describing the eerily clean and uniform prison like structure. He did not hesitate to continue.

"I helped Valorie bust down the door. It was a way too strong for a human, but I guess they weren't expecting a pokemon to get past their radar. Then we wandered around--There was... a lab, and things got a little complicated after that because Jacob showed up with Val's dragonite..." Shu continued, never quite stopping as he performed this... stream of thought style explanation. [/I]"I took control of Val at that point and her dragonite chased us through the base for a bit. I guess Dragonite was too big to maneuver properly in those corridors, because it worked."[/I] he seemed to finish, hinting for the first time at his ability to possess people.

"Basically we ran until we found a ventilation shaft and hid in there until we got a chance to escape." Shu finally finished, taking a seemingly arbitrary deep breath as he did so.

Valorie finally nodded in understanding as she grasped the full scope of what had been being said. Her brows furrowed slightly and she seemed to consider the situation before speaking. "...I think we should find our way back to the academy. Maybe we can find someone to help--Or, um... I can find someone." she said, pursing her lips as she suddenly recalled that he was just a student like her. Perhaps her hero for the day yes, but it wouldn't be unfair to ask him on take on Team Rocket, right?

No student deserved to be forced into that.

Valorie moved to close the remaining distance between herself and Haxorus, struggling to climb onto the pokemon's grasp given her being short, rather weak and still having one hand occupied by a sentient blade. She managed however, trying to find a comfortable spot behind Haxorus' neck for a moment before turning back and offering her free hand to Kale to help him up. She for one was ready to go, ready to leave this place far behind her--At least until she had the means to save her remaining pokemon.

 

[Dualik]

Kale David Reynard --- Mountains​

Kale gripped Valorie's hand tightly and easily hoisted himself up onto Haxorus' neck, to sit directly behind her. Much to his dismay he realised that there really wasn't all that much room for the two of them and to functionally stay on the dragon without the risk of falling off and injuring himself, Kale had to sit uncomfortably close to Valorie, in reality he was barely close enough to be making physical contact but due to his lack of human interaction, that was closer than he had ever intended to get to anybody, let alone Valorie.

Then again, she had just hugged him mere moments ago... and he hadn't really complained.

Aria, whom had been nodding silently while listening to Shu's explanation, was glad to see that the group would finally be moving on. So with a cheerful smile she climbed up onto Kale's shoulder and hung onto her trainer tightly. Neither of them said a word while they waited for Haxorus to take them back to civilization. As soon as they presumably started moving however, something began to play on Kale's mind.

"...I think we should find our way back to the academy. Maybe we can find someone to help--Or, um... I can find someone."

Valorie had spoken, acting as if Kale would be leaving any business regarding the rockets to her. *As it should be... it's none of my business. It is of no concern to me anymore.* He had thought originally. *Once we're at the academy, I will have no further reason to speak to Valorie, therefore I shall not. Those rockets haven't done anything to me personally, why should I care?* That had been his train of thought yes, but then... why was he now doubting those words? Why was he doubting his own "default" decision?

Was it because... that decision was wrong? Even according to his own logic?

Team Rocket. They threatened the island that would now serve as his home for the coming future, they had almost harmed himself and Aria in their attempts to hunt down Valorie. They had done him wrong, even though they technically had no idea that they had done so. Those that did wrong by him... did wrong by his pokémon... they were his enemies and he would strike them down. Destroying the team rocket presence on the island... was in his best interest, so that was exactly what he was going to do and though he hated to admit it, he knew he could not do it alone. As such, through some backwards and reversed logic, Kale had made it clear in his mind that helping Valorie had gone from nothing but an annoying and distracting task of no value, to his current and most prominent goal.

"Valorie." He spoke calmly, but there was something in his voice, what seemed to be the remnant of a powerful and overwhelming emotion. Regret. It was then that Kale said something that surprised even himself, so much so that his eyes widened slightly as he said it.

"I apologize... for attempting to leave you behind." He paused as if to collect himself, but instead his voice continued speaking without his consent. "But while I'm sure you do not have the highest opinion of me... I will not let you seek help alone. I have become a part of this by my own hand... Team Rocket has done terrible things to you and they have put myself and Aria in danger. I cannot let that go." His shocked eyes eased then, as he finally allowed himself to speak his mind.

"If you would allow it, I believe it would be wise for us to combine ours and any others efforts to fight Team Rocket... however regardless of how you feel about working with me I will tell you this." Kales voice flared with a strange sort of determination.

"I will hunt down the scum that have wronged so many... with or without your help. So if you're thinking of sparing me of any further trouble? I'm afraid it's much too late for that." His voice immediately returning to its usual calm state as he finished with his declaration, Kale spoke again.

"So then... which path do you desire? One with or without me as your ally?" The question was incredibly blunt, but Kale was in no mood to sugarcoat things. He honestly felt very uncomfortable about the whole situation he had now landed himself in.

But for some reason he felt that, deep down, he was saying exactly what he needed to say.

 

[Nillemi]

Ellie Ward - Docks --> Entei Dorm​

"AGH!" Yelled a familiar sounding voice, the sky filling her vision as she Falls back into the cold Ice. Luggage and bags flying every different direction as she collides with the ground. "Owww..." She whines to herself, Staring up at the sky as snow starts to melt on her face Upon contact.

"Ugh! Why was I running like that? Of course I was gonna Fa... Ow..." he says as she sits up, Clutching her new, Soon to be bruise. "I hope I didnt break anything" she says to herself, Looking over into one of the blue bags she managed to kick in her fall. Inside is several soaked Articles of clothing, a Dented Case, And quite a few bottles of broken glass. "Dang it! There goes most of my Parent's Christmas gift! For no other reason than I was stupid" She yells out to herself, Thankfully nobody was nearby to hear her outburst as she Punches herself in the leg.

Before her fall, Ellie Just Disembarked from the Boat that took her from Gateon Port to the Academy. After a very long trip, several stops being taken at other ports being made between her Boarding and destination, she was quite excited to finally be able to get off the boat and check out her new room. This excitement however was very quickly lost after her friendly meeting with the ground.

"Great, now I actually have a reason to hurry, If I don't these clothes might freeze, Provided they're not already ruined" She Says still mentally kicking herself as she gathers all of her Belongings. Stacking the bags on top of her luggage and under the arms as she continues walking swiftly to her dorm.


After a fairly short walk she is finally greeted by the glass doors of her dorm building. Fumbling with the Doors, She manages to get one of them open, Squeezing inside of the warm building as the door tries to close into her. "Finally, Heat" She thinks to herself as she approaches the nearby counter and rings a bell.

A Brunette Lady in a Red Blazer Emerged from the back door a moment later and walks up to the counter. Hello, How may I help you?" She asks, Greeting Ellie with a smile. "Um, I'm here about my room?" Ellie replied to the woman with a Very unsure tone.

"Oh, You must be Eliana, I was told some new students were arriving today. Let me get you your key." She says as she ducks under the counter, Missing Ellie's scowl when she refereed to her as Eliana. "Here you go Miss" She says as she Hands Ellie a small red key with the number 117 on the top of it. "Your room is down the left hallway on the right. The number is imprinted on the key, Any questions?"

"Um, Yes one. Is there anyway I can get my name changed to Ellie? I really don't like being called Eliana." She asks the woman. "Sorry no can do" The woman replies with an Apologetic look on her face. "We require your actual name here for your records and there isn't any room for a nickname, Sorry." Ellie looks up at her disappointed "Oh, Alright, Thanks anyway..." She says, in a very Disheartened tone as she heads down the hall to her new room.

 

[Megaman765]

Mark Wilson- Oak's Office

Mark looked around the office for a little while and was about to give up. Oak had to be out on his own or something... Mark pressed on the button on the little microphone again. "Well, I guess I'll come back later then if you aren't here. Or figure out whats up with Team Rocket myself." Mark said. Hopefully he'd get the message whenever he came back. Suddenly... there was a reply.

"Come on up." The voice said. The doors unlocked, and he quickly had access the the elevators. The Pokemon inside didn't attack him either as long as he stayed on path. The sat there keeping on eye out though... but they weren't too worried. He was a student. But then again, he was a student trained under the academy. He had the potential to be dangerous! Not that Mark had such intentions. He just wanted to talk.

Mark went into the elevator and waited. He was headed up to the top floor it seemed. Would make sense that Oak would be on top of the whole academy. He ran it after all. Was he up there the whole time though or just messing with his head? He might have just arrived at his office just now via Flying Pokemon or something along those lines and Mark just didn't notice. He wouldn't question it. What's important is that he was here and that Oak had alot of explaining to do.

The elevator eventually stopped. The offices were mostly empty. There were a couple of people at work still since they still had an academy to run. Mark noticed an Umbreon stop at his feet and look up to him. The Umbreon stopped and motioned toward Mark to follow him. They walked through a couple of halls and eventually reached the door of Oak's office which was wide open. Once Mark headed inside, there he was. Sitting against his desk and ready to get right into buisness. He was dressed pretty casually. Black jacket, tan jeans, Mark had seen Gary in pictures but he might have just been dressed for the occasion.

"Alright you! I got some questio-" Gary held up his hand.

"Slow down. I already know what your here for Mark. You want to know why they're still out there. You want to know why us big and powerful top trainers haven't stopped them with our efforts? Is that right?" Gary said. Dang he was good.

"You know my name?" Mark asked.

"Of course. I keep watch throughout the whole school. My Umbreon often keeps watch, or I just focus on cameras. Of course, I could have staff do it but if you want something done right, you do it yourself. Kind of like what your thinking of doing right now right? You think that we're slacking off and aren't doing our jobs and your just going to storm out of this room and hunt down Team Rocket all by yourself." Gary said to Mark. Mark stood silently. He was REALLY good.

"Look kid, if we had the ability to kick Team Rocket off of this island right now, you'd be sure the elite four and their mothers would be storming the island and scaring them off one by one. But its really not that simple I'm afraid." Gary explained. Mark finally spoke up though.

"Not that simple? Students are being kidnapped! I almost had my Pokemon stolen! Just what is Team Rocket doing if they're doing the exact same thing as before?" Mark said. He was unaware of the situation completely... Gary stared at him silently. There was more to all of this.

"Either your hiding something..." Mark stepped forward. "Or you just can't handle a crummy group like Team Rocket! Your all afraid! Is that it?!" Mark said.

Oh no he didn't. Nobody called Gary weak and got away with it. He simply snickered. "And you think your that much stronger? Tell you what." Gray said as he pulled out a Pokeball. "You and me. Right here. We'll battle. If your all that strong, I won't stop you doing whatever the heck it is you plan to do against Team Rocket." He simply said. Woah. Not what Mark expected. Battling the head of the academy? He was actually a little bit intimidated...

"...F-Fine! I'll take you on! I've trained up enough to handle myself in big battles like this!" Mark said confidently. Snype jumped off of Mark's shoulder. He had his claws up and the Sableye was ready for a fight! Gary simply smirked and held onto his necklace. Mark supposed it was a lucky charm of his. Gary walked past Mark and led him over to another elevtor. It was a special one that would take them to a stadium built right underneath of the building with plenty of room for battle. He still had to train his Pokemon so he may as well do it in private!

One both trainers went to their sides of the arena, Gary pulled out a Pokeball and quickly threw it in front of him, revealing his Blastoise. Crud... if he heard correctly, this was his first Pokemon.

"Alright! Sype lets do this!" Mark said. Snype stood his ground and held his claws up toward the Blastoise.

"Heh. He's supposed to be your leading force? Heh. Well alright. Blastoise! Hydro Pump!" Gary said. The Blastoise aimed its cannon right at the Sableye.

"Snype! Detect!" Mark shouted. Snype enhanced his senses and saw the shot coming from a Mile Away. He swiftly avoided the Hydro Pump and moved in closer to strike the Blastoise. "Good Job Snype! Now Shadow Sneak!" Mark called out. As soon as Snype got close enough, he extended his shadow behind the Blastoise and used it to strike from behind! It wasn't very phased though. A weak attack like Shadow Sneak hurting Gary's first Pokemon? As if!

"Tsk. That's it? He dosn't exactly look like the biggest muscle around you know. He's a scrawny little ghost." Gary said bluntly. Snype took that taunt to heart and gritted his teeth. "Alright. Foresight!" Gary called out. Blastoise kept his eye focused on the Sableye... figuring out how to get through his immunity to his certain moves. Not good for Snype at all.

"Crap... Snype! U-uh... Will-o-wisp!" Mark called out. The blastoise might have had a fighting move! Yeah! That was the strategy! Snype followed Mark's command and surrounded Blastoise with several blue flames that would end up burning him. Gary simply grinned. He didn't expect this battle to last much longer. Mark had the right ideas, but he was still inexperienced in comparison to Gary. Besides, he had an ace up his sleeve.

"Show some aggression Snype! Keep the heat on him!" Mark called out. Snype used Low Sweep this time on Blastoise to throw him off of his feet. The move gave him enough power to flip the Blastoise on its back but still, it didn't look like it did much damage. Blastoise easily shrugged it off though. As soon as he was flipped over he spun around on his back and hit Snype hard with the force of the spinning shell.

"Comon is that it?" Gary taunted. Mark clenched his fist... things were looking bad for Snype. Maybe he should have relied on his other Pokemon for this one first. He wasn't going to win every battle with just Snype...

"Snype! Return!" Mark shouted. Snype went right back to his Pokeball so he could rest a little bit and he quickly called out another Pokemon. "Commodore! Go!" Mark shouted out as his Porygon Z arrived out of its Pokeball. This was the first time he had used his evolved form in a battle... hopefully this would work.

"Ah! Finally bringing someone else out huh? Alright then... lets get this battle started then!" Gary said confidently. Mark would have to really pull his weight.

 

[Dawn]

Valorie Ryder - Mountains

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Valorie peered behind her to give Kale her attention as he spoke, looking over her shoulder. She didn't seem to mind the proximity; perhaps all this time focusing on simply surviving had changed her, or perhaps it was only temporary. At first she seemed to be in wonder, but as he finished a satisfied smile appeared on her exhausted face. "...Thanks." she replied in a soft tone with a touch of gratitude to it. "I--um... I guess I can't stay mad about that now." she quickly proceeded to relent, hesitating a long moment as if considering her options. "...Consider us partners, then." she finally answered in an enthusiastic tone, but she wasn't done yet--No. They had somewhere to be! "Hold on tight! Haxorus, find us a way back!" she called out, grasping Haxorus' neck in anticipation.

Haxorus wasted little time, quickly crossing what would've taken them hours on foot in mere minutes. The icy wind and bumps weren't pleasant, but it was valuable progress. Within an hour of solid, hard work on Haxorus' part they'd find they could now see the academy in the distance through the snow obscuring their vision. Without breaking pace Valorie urged Haxorus to close the final distance, attracting the attention of a handful of winter clad students as she sped past. Pulling directly up in front of the doors Valorie slid off Haxorus and just sort of stumbled inside without hesitation, holdin up a finger in Kale's general direction as if asking him to weight as she continued to stumble right on over to the wall and collapse. She seemed to be exhausted, trying to catch her breath or perhaps calm herself down. Either way it was but a moment before the doors of the academy would burst open again. This time it wasn't a student, but if one went by their impressive sense of fashion they might find it hard to tell.

It was Candice, a teacher specializing in ice type pokemon whom had been out enjoying the white Christmas. She had a concerned look on her face and immediately took a head count, lingering on Valorie. "I thought I recognized you. You've been missing for ages! Are you alright?!" she asked in a mildly frantic tone, puzzling over Kale's presence briefly.

"Y-Yeah... I think I need to take a trip to the Pokemon Center." Valorie shakily admitted, hugging her knees to her chest. Candice once again looked to Kale.

"You both look positively chilled... We better get you to there right away, maybe with a cup of cocoa." Candice thought out loud. "Are you alright to walk..?" she asked Kale.

 

[Dualik]

Kale David Reynard --- Outside of the Academy​

Kale patted Haxorus on the neck gently as they arrived, conveying his gratitude to the dragon for, effectively, saving their lives. Valorie seemed all too eager to move on however as she slipped off of Haxorus' back and quickly made a break for the academy doors. His eyes widened slightly as he saw the sluggishness to her steps. She was quite obviously unfit to do anything at that point in time, Kale should have thought that that had been made obvious ages ago... so he found himself in a confused state, somewhere between worry and disappointment as Valorie collapsed against the wall while instructing him to wait for her.

*Honestly... I have to wonder if this girl is actually this stupid, or if she literally has more determination than she can handle...* He thought to himself before jumping gracefully from Haxorus back and rushing over to where Valorie had fallen. He then found himself in a difficult position, one where he was deciding wether or not he should help her up or avoid touching her altogether... thankfully someone else just so happened to show up to help defuse the situation at that exact moment. A young woman who even Kale had to admit had outstanding fashion sense. He had heard of this woman in the past, once stationed as a Sinnoh gym leader, she now taught others the true strength of ice type pokémon at the academy.

"Miss Candice of Snowpoint... Defined as target danger level 1 due to distance from operations..." He muttered silently as the young woman noticed them, low enough that Candice herself couldn't hear him, though he couldn't say that he was making a major effort to hide it from anyone else.

"I thought I recognized you. You've been missing for ages! Are you alright?!" The Ice type specialists tone wasn't as "cold" as one might expect from her position and type choice... she already seemed kinder than a certain Unova ice type leader anyway.

"Y-Yeah... I think I need to take a trip to the Pokemon Center." Valorie replied. Probably the most sensible thing she'd decided upon all day, aside from siding with Kale against Team Rocket that is... actually the more he thought about it, that might not have been the most sensible choice for the girl after all, especially when Kale had his own side agendas to deal with... Then again it's not like Valorie knew anything about that, nor would she if Kale had any say in the matter.

Candice spoke again before Kale had a chance to enter the conversation. At the very least she seemed to be actually noticing him now, apart from just giving him a few confused looks.

"You both look positively chilled... We better get you to there right away, maybe with a cup of cocoa." Kale could easily tell why Candice would think that about Valorie... but before she had mentioned it, Kale hadn't really been paying too much attention to himself. He was covered in ice and snow, his silver hair blending in perfectly with the frozen flakes and making him look like some sort of spirit of Winter. He brushed a bit of the snow off his body while Aria climbed up onto his shoulder and used her jaws to ruffle it out of his hair. "Much better." Kale said to nobody in particular. He stretched himself out momentarily before turning to Candice who was speaking again.

"Are you alright to walk..?" Kale didn't give any sort of verbal reply, he simply pulled his collar slightly and nodded, before looking at Valorie. "If it wasn't obvious, she probably can't." He then gestured to Haxorus. "If necessary Haxorus should carry her there... that seems like it would be best, don't you agree?"

Once finished speaking, Kale crouched beside Valorie and extended his arm to help her up, his face was completely devoid of all emotion. "You're unwell, rushing off to action like this is foolish and potentially harmful to both of us as I doubt I'm in sterling perfect health after today either." He frowned ever so slightly. "You mentioned we'd be "partners" correct? Well then perhaps you should remember that we're no good to each other broken, even less so dead so stop being reckless and stupid."

He eyed Haxorus as if to ask her to lower her herself closer to the ground before turning to Candice expectantly. "Help me support her."

 

[ShaymieTheShaymin]

Kayla Makihatayama

Kayla rolled her eyes and grabbed Shawn's hand. "If anything, Amy's bound to be worse," she muttered under her breath. She followed Shawn slowly, kicking the snow sadly. "They used to get along... But that all changed after... After Holly tried to kill herself. Maybe if I had been there, they wouldn't have drifted apart." Kayla sighed and shook her head. "Sorry... I really shouldn't be thinking so negatively on Christmas. I just can't help it..."

Amy Amarosa

Amy looked down at Zapper and picked her up. "So cute~!" she sang. She wiped her tears away and giggled. "Are you lost or something? Can I catch you?" Amy sighed and looked away. "You remind me of Holly... You're both tiny and cute. What's wrong with her, anyway? Everything was perfect until she met her stupid boyfriend." Amy frowned and set Zapper down. "You should go be with your family, or whoever you're with. It's Christmas, after all."

 

[siiadams]

Shawn Williams - Raikou Dorm - Outside

Zapper looked back up at Amy with a big smile, glad to have made her feel a little better. She felt that she had to stay behind for her a little more, but she had to let Shawn know where they were. She got a running start and caught some lucky gusts of air and glided up higher and higher over their position and soon let out a few flashes of electricity like a morse code directed at where she came from.

Shawn walked along with Kayla as she held his hand worrying about both Holly and Amy, explaining that all this frustration stemmed from when Holly tried to take her own life. Shawn silently took all this in, but still smiled. "Maybe there's something we can do to unite them," he mused as they walked, "Don't those two have anything in common? An activity or something?" As he thought, he kept his eyes open when he suddenly he saw a faint flashing in the distant skies. "Looks like Zapper found her," he said, pointing in the direction of the flashing.

Zapper softly landed on Amy's shoulder, her job now well-done. She gently nuzzled her cheek and smiled, pointing out in the distance to a pair of figures heading their way. "Ga!" she cheered happily, hoping that Amy would still feel happier than before.

 

[Dawn]

Valorie Ryder - Pokemon Center Infirmary

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Haxorus passively wandered in behind the group, appearing unsure of herself. Valorie had made a very deliberate point to sit down and teach her pokemon to be cautious around humans and already a group of curious students had taken notice of the scene. Some pointed and others whispered. As Kale lectured Valorie her expression wavered erratically between a frown and a smile. "I--I wasn't going to." she replied, slightly defensive in tone as if she thought she were being made fun of. She reached out and took Kale's hand, pulling herself up. Her extremely low weight made it relatively easy on him. Her gaze shifted to Haxorus and she called her over. "I just... I need rest, in a bed." she added

Candice observed Kale for a brief moment. "Let me take care of this." she offered in a confidently friendly tone. She then proceeded to quickly end over and scoop Valorie off her feet, quickly shifting the half-frozen student onto Haxorus. Valorie immediately bit her lip subtly, forcing herself not to comment on the brief indignity of being made to look helpless. The only thing stopping her from complaining was the fact that she knew her legs had no interest in doing it themselves.

Candice seemed to hesitate a moment. "...Maybe something to eat too." she added thoughtfully, commenting on Valorie's very low weight. "One thing at a time, though. Let's get you both to Nurse Joy!" she exclaimed as she moved to begin leading Haxorus.

...

"Your parents must've been worried sick. We were beginning to think you weren't coming back. Can you tell me what happened?" Candice asked Valorie, whom now sat on the edge of one of the beds in the academy's pokemon center holding a cup of hot cocoa in her hands. Kale would've been offered one as well as a blanket, courtesy of a very concerned Joy.

"...I was kidnaped by Team Rocket; they stole all of my Pokemon." Valorie lamented. Candice seemed to become momentarily tense as if taken by surprise, during which she appeared to be at a loss for words. How did one even console someone who lost their Pokemon like that?

"...Are you alright?" Candice finally asked. This time she wasn't referring about the cold.

"I want my Pokemon back." Valorie replied rather bluntly. One could hear the dissatisfaction in her tone; she wouldn't wait and rest forever.

Candice frowned. "Well you can't go back out and search for them, especially not like this..." she replied in a soft tone. At this time Nurse Joy walked into the room and informed them all that she'd contacted Valorie's parents to let them know she was fine and that Valorie's father was on his way to the academy to see her.

Valorie wasn't surprised. Her father was a very busy man, but she never doubted for a moment that he cared deeply She did however decline to comment. "...What are you going to do?" she asked Candice, ever so slightly testy in tone as if she were implying that Candice did not actually care enough to help her.

The teacher seemed to be taken off guard, judging by her expression.

 

[Dualik]

Kale David Reynard --- Pokemon Center Infirmary​

Kale stood with his back turned to the other two, gazing distantly out of a window to watch the falling snpw. He really didn't care much for Valorie's personal and or familial affairs and he was just happy to be out of the freezing cold. When the nurse offered him the blanket and cocoa, he just waved her away impatiently muttering how he'd warm up himself and how he didn't enjoy sweet things. He gazed gently back as Valorie's parents were mentioned. Her father was on his way, though she didn't seem to be all too eager about it, showing no real reaction that he could easily pick up on. After the announcement about Valorie's father, Joy hesitantly spoke to Kale. As if afraid he'd get angry with her.

"I ehm... I did some research. You're our new student... you aced both exams correct? Well done... Kale isn't it?... ehm... sorry, Kale... I can't seem to recall your sur-"

Kale frowned, not in any mood to deal with the obviously hesitant woman, he quickly spoke to interrupt her. "David Reynard... Kale David Reynard. Now then, is that all?" Joy frowned slightly at his abruptness but continued. "No... we attempted to contact your parents aswell, we understand today must have been quite the experience for you considering you only arrived a few hours ago... but well..." Kale tapped his foot impatiently and interrupted again.

"You won't be able to contact my parents. Now, if that is all Nurse Joy I don't believe we require your assistance any longer." Obviously offended, Joy left the room almost immediately and Kale moved to sit on the bed parallel to Valorie's.

"...What are you going to do?"

Kale frowned for a moment, until he realised that the question had been directed at Candice and not him.

It was a question however that Candice was obviously not prepared for. She seemed stunned and put on the spot, she was clearly not prepared to do anything immediately but it was obvious she couldn't just tell Valorie that outright. Kale really didn't have anything to add to the conversation either, he didn't care enough about Valorie's pokémon to consider them of great concern to him.

Well... that wasn't true, a small part of him did sympathize with Valorie, perhaps a more apropriate way to phrase Kale's perception of the situation was that defeating team rocket was now top priority and, while Kale wanted to help Valorie, he would be mostly against making any sort of major effort to save Valorie's team if it interfered with what was now the main goal in his mind. Perhaps to most it would seem surprising that Kale would be so ready to stab Valorie in the back after the day they had been through together, but, what one must understand is that sacrificing Valorie's friends was not something he WANTED to do but more something he would be WILLING to do if he deemed it necessary.

Though Kale would never openly explain this reasoning to Valorie... after all he already knew she would never be able to understand him. No human ever would... well except maybe for one.

Snapping to attention and noting that even after his thinking process had ended that an awkward silence hung in the room. Kale decided to break it for the sake of everyone else present.

"Perhaps we shouldn't get too ahead of ourselves. Rushing forward without time to plan a course of action always leads to failure, I learned that the hard way back home in Unova. In other words even if we gave an answer to our problem right now, without any prior thought, that answer would almost certainly be wrong." Kale shot Candice a strict and knowing glare, as if to demand some sort of gratitude for saving her from her obviously desperate situation.

"Isn't that right, Miss Candice? Perhaps you should fetch or simply inform another teacher of the current situation, I'm still quite fit and with the help of Nurse Joy if necessary I'm sure I could watch over Valorie in your absence."

 

[Greiger]

Lucia Francisco Bernavard - Hiding in the City!​

Lucia couldn't help but sigh as she sat there on the chair. She looked down at the new pokeball and couldn't help but let out another sigh. She rubbed the ball slowly and looked up at where Roberto was walking back and forth in front of Tyro who was doing a set of push-ups. The Combusken was sweating up a storm and Roberto made sure to bark out some more orders at the fire type that only made him go a bit faster. Truth be told, she wasn't sure how to feel at the moment. She was saddened at what she had learned, but at the same time she felt like she had known the entire time. Of course her family defended those accused of wrong doing, but she had always thought that at the very least that most of them had been only of random people caught up on the wrong side of the law.

She had been wrong. Oh she felt like a fool, a fool that was also an idiot. She rubbed the back of her head and rose up from her chair to pace around the room. Roberto cast a glance at her, but quickly turned back to supervising Tyro. The Scizor knew that she wanted to be alone, and he would let her have the luxury for now. They were safe enough as it was, and unlike those in the academy they would have more security thanks to guards at the front desks and the like.

Lucia knew the same thing as well. Still, she wanted to go back to the academy… she wanted to at least help a bit with what she heard was going on over there. She rustled her hair and wised that her brother was still here. Unfortunately he had to head back home, hopefully to distract father a bit and let her stay here in the meantime. She stopped pacing and looked over to see that Tyro and Roberto were now sparring. The Combusken was huffing at this point while Roberto held up his pincer like hands to block the incoming punches.

Lucia smiled at the sight and looked down at the pokeball again. Although she had only been at home for a while she still felt guilty for getting a gift from her parents. A new pokemon was nice enough… but at the same time that guilt from what she knew of them hit her. Should she even bother accepting such a gift? She wasn't sure at this point… and she was pretty sure that she would never figure it out. They were still family yes… but it was hurting her head too much. She put the ball on her belt and walked on over to her dueling pokemon.

"Roberto, we're heading out. Good work Tyro." She said. She recalled the fire type and sighed, "Roberto, I just need to be outside, I need to think. I need to do something." The Scizor silently nodded and followed after his charge out of the gym area and out of the lobby. Lucia walked along the sidewalk, glancing about at the lights from the buildings. "Roberto… I want a yes or no. Should I head back to the academy? Knowing what is going on over there?"

The Scizor remained silent behind her and thought on her query. The Scizor glanced at her and after a while gave a shrug. Although he was in charge of her safety, he did know that Lucia was more than capable of simply recalling him and going anyways. If she did that then he would be unable to help her in case she did get in trouble. He couldn't let that happen, and in truth this was not his decision to make. It was Lucia's.

Lucia sighed and nodded, "I think I'll head back then. I can't just stay back and watch from a distance you know. But we'll need some serious training. I think we'll go until the night. We'll stay from the dorms and just go training in the wilderness. I want to make you all strong, especially you Roberto."

The Scizor once more nodded silently and followed his charge as she crossed the street. "I need cooperation more than anything Roberto. Stuff may happen and I know you want to protect me always, but still. Can you try and be reasonable when I ask." Yet again the Scizor said nothing and she sighed, "Well, it was worth a shot to try and ask I suppose."

 

[Dawn]

Valorie Ryder - Pokemon Center Infirmary

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Candice nodded in approval at Kale's innitial suggestion, but when he suggested he could take care of Valorie her eyes widened slightly in subtle surprise. She gave Kale a curious look which then morphing into a knowing smile that would likely put Kale's foot straight into his own mouth if he knew what thought lay behind such an expression. "...Yeah, that's right." she added after Kale. "We'll think of something, Valorie. Don't focus too much on that. Instead, focus on getting better!" she continued on, quite cheery in tone now. It didn't last long however as an elephant in the room needed to be addressed, or rather ...a sword.

"So, if all your pokemon were stolen, whose pokemon is that..?" Candice finally asked with mild concern, gesturing to the honedge occupying one of Valorie's hands. It hadn't really been doing anything noteworthy since the battle with Haxorus other than continuing to refuse to let go of her. Valorie attempted to flex her fingers but they did not respond to her efforts. It felt as if she were numb, an unpleasant sensation of not being able to tell she even had a hand without looking at it.

"Oh--I think this Pokemon is wild. She won't let go of me." Valorie explained, less than thrilled with the situation. "...Shu said she's trying to eat my life energy." she then added, without a hint of alarm. Meanwhile a certain ghost pokemon manifested from Valorie's shadow at the call of his name. Candice's brows shot up and her expression became tainted with worry. Needless to say, she'd found it just a little bit creepy. "-Oh-... Maybe we should be focusing on getting that off of you, then." she remarked, probably debating exactly how much danger Valorie was in for herself. "I'll give you both some alone time while I get this to the staff." she finished, getting up and moving to leave but stopping just short of such.

"Sometimes when you focus too much on one thing you get tunnel vision! Your relationship with your Pokemon may be on hold, but don't forget that you can draw strength from other sources too!" she said, offering a pleasant smile in the two's direction before finally leaving. Valorie's brow creased in frustration as she tried to grasp at what Candice was saying to her. This was absurd! Candice didn't look nearly old enough to be giving cryptic life lessons! Had she neglected her friends..? Valorie took a moment to absorb just how long she had been gone and how it must've felt never seeing her. A troubling notion, but not something she could deal with right now. Maybe she could request to see Selene, ...or Mark? Valorie's head swam with the thoughts, but now wasn't the time to be silent and broody.

She had a guest.

"I had a Dragonite..." Valorie began in a thoughtful tone. "I adopted her from a traveling trainer one night in Icirrus City as an egg when I was just beginning to train Pokemon. I remember using my hat to keep her egg warm while I waited to see what was inside. Another trainer once told me that she thought of me as her Mom." she reminisced. The good memories didn't last long however. "...Do you think she's okay?" Valorie asked, unable to draw her mind away from her lost pokemon.

 

[Dualik]

Kale David Reynard --- Pokemon Center Infirmary​

Any implications Candice might have been making in terms of he and Valorie specifically, aswell as her supposed "knowing gaze" shot right over Kale's head. He didn't fully understand nor care what she meant... in all honesty she already annoyed him tremendously and he was more than pleased to see her go. Now he could speak to Valorie about important matters without the need for the ice trainers interruptions or doubts.

At least that was what he planned to do, however it would have seemed he waited too long to piece an appropriate sentence together as before he could speak Valorie started the conversation for him.

"I had a Dragonite..."

Kales eyes widened. A Haxorus... and a Dragonite? Perhaps Valorie was a more experienced trainer than first impressions had led Kale to believe. Still, he had nothing to say to that alone and as such he awaited for Valorie to get to the point she was presumably about to make.

"I adopted her from a traveling trainer one night in Icirrus City as an egg when I was just beginning to train Pokemon. I remember using my hat to keep her egg warm while I waited to see what was inside. Another trainer once told me that she thought of me as her Mom."

Why... was she telling him this? Did she trust him for some reason... maybe because they were partners? No. Preposterous, such partnerships could not develop friendships, he could not develop friendship... not with other humans anyway. Surely she was telling him this for another reason. She probably just needed to vent her feelings and he had been the only currently available outlet whom wasn't a peppy ice trainer who was more annoying, redundant and stupid than the majority of Patrats that walked the shorter routes of his homeland. Regardless, if she trusted him more it would benefit him surely, trust built battling capability between two living beings and if at least one of them had it then the upcoming battles that were sure to occur against team rocket would end with a hopefully more favourable result.

So he listened, expecting more, though what followed was a question that unfortunately caught him off guard.

"...Do you think she's okay?"

Kale had his head bowed for a moment, as if trying to think of an answer he could give. But the more he thought of some sort of fake reassurance to give Valorie, the worse he felt as a result. Sure, he could lie, tell her everything was going to be Ok and that of course her pokémon would be fine... some sort of reassurance like that would surely benefit him in the long run.

But... short term... it made him feel terrible. Maybe because he knew what she was feeling all too well...? Perhaps then there was another way to reassure Valorie, one that would put a stop to the rare feeling of hurt he now suddenly felt.

Empathy.

"I don't know. But she's most likely hypnotized... most likely suffering." He was blunt as a hammers head with his remark. He told Valorie the truth she probably already knew deep within herself... but he wasn't finished.

"A long time ago... I only saw suffering in pokémon." The room fell silent as he cut off his talking at that point. As if to let his words sink in. "I hated it. It was wrong... what I saw. Pokémon everywhere I looked were unhappy and it made me sick." He paused. "So I did the logical thing... and I turned my anger... my disgust, to resolve. Using that resolve I found others who wanted that suffering to end and together we fought to stop the suffering we saw." Kale's expression darkened briefly and he chuckled through a wry and dark smile. "We were unfortunately misled in that effort... but that's besides the point." Kale quickly returned to an emotionless expression and leaned forward off of the edge of the bed, locking eyes with and drawing ever so slightly closer to Valorie in an attempt to level with her.

"You aren't stupid right? So you can probably see what I'm getting at here." His gaze remained empty yet it still somehow had an incredible amount of emotional impact behind it as his eyes met those of Valorie.

"No. Your Dragonite and all your other pokémon are not ok. They're confused, their minds controlled and they're probably being treated horribly as we speak." Kale closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again they seemed to be filled with a slight anger and perhaps even determination. "If that makes you as angry as it should... then rather than reminiscing you should be taking that frustration and longing and turning it into fuel for the battles we have ahead. If you want your pokémon to be ok. Then you MAKE them ok, do you understand?"

Feeling his emotions getting the better of him, Kale pulled away from Valorie and stood up from the bed he was sitting on. He coughed gently into his arm to clear his throat while silently contemplated why on Earth Valorie was developing a habit of making him more open than he would have liked to be.

His tone returning to one of zero emotion, Kale spoke again. "Now then... that's all I have to say for now on the matter. On to more pressing concerns... for example..." Kale knelt down by the bed Valorie was sitting on in order to better examine the blade that so desperately gripped her arm. He attempted to lift her arm gently with his hands, he would have normally felt awkward or embarassed doing this but as it was for medical reasons he didn't feel as bad about it. He spoke calmly and quickly, not wanting to say more than necessary.

"She holds onto you because she wants something, but it's draining you away to nothing." He released Valories arm and sat down again opposite her. "What if we took a new approach to this problem... have you considered perhaps giving the honedge a new host? Something... or someone else to hold onto her while you recover your strength, if only temporarily?"

 

[Greiger]

Lucia Francisco Bernavard – Training in the forest​

Lucia walked about in the thick trees, looking down every so often at her GPS in order to figure out where to go. She didn't want to stray too far into the darkness, so she stayed near the border, where the academy grounds were closest. She had to write some sweat from her brow and even her shoes were becoming covered with dirt and grime. "Sheesh, this is tougher than it looks." Lucia huffed out. She had to stop there, managing her breathing while Roberto stayed alert, his pincers ready to move out and strike if need be.

As she got ready to move again something hard hit her on the top of her head and Lucia cried out, quickly covering her skull and groaning, "Ow! What the-?" She looked down and saw a red shape at her feet, "An apple? And… it's been biten into?" She couldn't help but shudder at the realization that saliva could be in her hair and she grabbed a handkerchief out of her pocket to rub at her hair. "Ew! What uncivilized pokemon would do such a thing?"

Roberto's pincers moved in a flash as he grabbed his charge and quickly pulled her out of the way as yet another apple fell. Lucia glanced up and saw a brown mon up in a tree chewing into an apple. "Hey you!" She shouted up there. "Next time watch where you're throwing those apples! There are people down here too you know!"

The Mankey's response was to throw an apple that almost hit Lucia's face, had it not been for Roberto quickly placing a pincer in front of her to protect her. Lucia huffed and narrowed her eyes, "Fine, you want to get aggressive? Then so be it! Roberto, you know what to do!" She shouted out.

The Scizor's right claw began to glow as he leapt up and attempted to hit the Mankey with a Metal Claw. The Mankey tensed up his legs and jumped over the Scizor, making it to another tree and quickly hopping away. Lucia just sighed and watched it go, "Well, at least it isn't bothering us anymore." She wiped back her hair and dropped her no doubt soiled handkerchief. "Well let's get moving Roberto. We're bound to find some good fights somewhere at least."

The two moved on yet again, though as they moved Lucia expected to hear the sounds of the forest at least! Something such as calls in the darkness, yet nothing of that sort happened. When the trees began to move around them Lucia stopped and glanced up, "Are the branches moving?" She asked Roberto. Suddenly the same Mankey from before appeared and hung from the branch.

Lucia sighed and was about to speak when more brown bodies appeared from other branches. A few Mankeys were all around them. No doubt these Mankeys were a part of the Makey's gang… though how did a pokemon form a gang anyway? Each one had apples in their hands and quickly began to pelt the two with Roberto quickly putting himself in front of Lucia as the apples harmlessly bounced off of his steel carapace.

This just got the Mankeys even more enraged and one finally jumped down to attack the Scizor. Roberto's chest ended up being scratched by its claws and countered with a Metal Claw. The Mankey staggered back and let out a threatening Leer right at Roberto. The red glowing eyes caused Roberto to only stagger just a bit, but then he flew forward and slammed his pincer once more into the Mankey's face.

The fighter type fell and let out a soft groan. That was the signal for the other fighters to leap at them and Lucia pulled out her new pokeball. "Lirum put them in their places!" She cried out. The ball opened and a muscular Golduck appeared with a smirk on his bill, "Well well well! Quite a crowd we have!" The Golduck cooed. He held out a hand as his eyes glowed a deep blue. One of the unfortunate Mankeys was soon caught in his Confusion and hurled away into the forest. Another two dropped, one giving the Golduck a menacing Leer while the other hit him with a Karate Chop.

Lirum staggered back and once more used Confusion to hurl another Mankey away, "Hey Roberto! Need help over here!" The Golduck cried out to him just as another Mankey appeared behind him and delivered a Karate Chop to his back.

"Dully noted." The Scizor replied as he rushed over and his wings spread out. His steel wing slammed into a Mankey and Lirum focused on the other Mankey close to him and hurled it back with confusion as well. Even though only five Mankey had been taken down the rest quickly fled, especially due to the presence of a psychic pokemon. Lirum smirked and pointed after them, "Yeah you better run!" He called after them. "Man that was exhilarating! Been too long since I've been in a battle!"

Roberto nodded, "You held up well." He said.

Lirum smirked at the Scizor, "So… what say you and I have a little-"

"No." Roberto said simply. Before Lirum could speak anymore he was recalled into his pokeball and Lucia sighed in relief. "Thanks Roberto. Hm… well if it's this dangerous already then can we risk going in further?" The Scizor shook his head and helped Lucia off, dusting her off and pointing to the academy. Lucia let out a huff, "Fine. Just a bit of practice and I get this. How about one last look for a battle? Just a little one, promise." Roberto was silent for a bit and then nodded his head warily. "Awesome!" She made her way along the forest and Roberto had to sigh as he followed after her.