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

[siiadams]

Shawn Williams - Raikou Dorm
Outside

As Shawn was walking towards the forest, he saw someone he recognized, one of the girls from his class was walking out of it. There was definitely something...off...with her. He felt uneasy around her, though he felt he had no reason to be. He instinctively gripped on the pokeball in his hand, only to realize that the POKEBALL WAS GONE!!! Shawn decided to move towards a more private area off the beaten path and check his bag and pockets. As the search was turning fruitless, a thought struck him which was quickly followed by a swifter palm to the forehead. "Of course," he thought, "I already have six pokemon. Tyrunt had to have been put in the Pokemon Center PC!" He quickly gathered his things back into his bag and took off as fast as his legs could take him straight into Oak Town and its Pokemon Center.

Fortunately, things were kinda quiet for now as Shawn walked in. It took him no time at all to find the PC to transfer pokemon and he headed there. Quickly following the prompts, he was welcomed by the sight of a series of boxes on screen. Each box was depressingly empty save the first one, which contained a picture of a small Tyrunt. He selected that box and the screen told him to choose a pokemon to swap out with Tyrunt. It was here that Shawn hesitated, looking down at the six pokeballs hanging on his belt. Bringing in Tyrunt meant one of his others had to sit in the box in storage. The question was: Which one?

He pondered the choices. Pyra seemed to be stronger than the others, though that meant she wouldn't evolve. Cactuar was still having issues with confidence; he couldn't stop training with him just yet. Zapper was strong, but he relied on her as his "eyes in the sky". Shiva definitely needed more training, as Shawn was still intent on evolving her when the time was right. Rocky was newer and tough, but still rough around the edges (no pun intended). It left only one choice, though he didn't like the thought of it. After all, Sting was his very first pokemon and a very versatile partner. Then again, he did rely on him a little too much. Maybe it was time for his Drapion to step out of the limelight for a while and let the new blood get their turns.

He slowly unclipped Sting's pokeball and placed it under the computer in a small tray designed for it. His hand slightly shaky, he reached up and hit the button marked "Transfer". The computer showed a bar filling up across the screen as lights flashed and shown around the pokeball. Within seconds, the computer announced that the transfer was complete. Shawn slowly took the pokeball from the tray as he saw on-screen the box from before. It now had a picture of a Drapion and a small icon under it. He tapped it, calling up its information, and it showed that Sting was still holding the Nugget he found in the cave. Shawn smiled, knowing that Sting was safe and sound and logged off the computer. Tyrunt's pokeball clipped to his belt, he walked out and headed again to the forest.

After minutes of walking, he finally came across the scattered timber and logs of his training ground. Looking around, he noticed telltale signs of someone else being here. He remembered the girl he saw walking out of the forest earlier. Did she find the area and decided to use it herself? He started to get upset, but reminded himself that he built it for it to be used for training. If he wasn't using it, it wouldn't be fair to withhold it from anyone else. He walked to the center of the grounds and released his five older teammates. As each one came out and stretched, Shawn called them together and motioned for them to quiet down. When they did, he cleared his throat and pulled off Tyrunt's pokeball from his belt.

"Guys and gals," he began, "there has been a changing of the guard, so to speak. We have ourselves a new teammate and I want them to become better acquainted with us. However, in order to do so, I had decided to let Sting have a rest so that you all can get together." When he said that, the others started to talk amongst themzelves, each having a slightly saddened look. For Zapper and Cactuar, their faces were longer since they both knew Sting longer than the others. "Its ok," he continued, "He's still around. He's just taking a vacation, of sorts." He clicked the pokeball in his hand, allowing it to grow large. "I want all of you to make this new arrival feel comfortable and at home, ok?" The five pokemon nodded as they grew more and more curious about this new development. "Ok, then. Come on out!" he said proudly, throwing the ball into the air.

The Tyrunt quickly coalesced in front of the others and it stood there staring at the other pokemon. It looked a little nervous as it slowly backed up to where Shawn was. Feeling bad for the little pokemon, Shawn knelt beside it and smiled. "No need to be afraid," he said quietly, "These are my other partners." He pointed out to each pokemon as he said their names and, as he did, the one pointed to would make a motion to acknowledge the Tyrunt. When he was finished, the small dinosaur slowly walked up and inspected each one closely. Shawn smiled as everyone now was staring to get warmed up to the idea of a new partner.

The thought finally came up, though, of what to name it. Shawn turned to Tyrunt and stated, "We need to give you a good name. Something strong and catchy. Are you a boy?" The Tyrunt nodded. "Ok then. How about Crash?" Tyrunt thought and it seemed to smile, nodding to Shawn. It seemed to like the name. "Very well, Crash," he said with a little enthusiasm, "Its time to show us what you can do!"

 

[HannahW]

Big, the Academy was very big. Though she had been for campus tours and had spent countless hours looking at photos of the grounds, buildings and facilities in brochures for some strange reason the Academy felt bigger now that Helena knew she would be living and studying there.

Every day. 24 hours a day.

Had she not grounded herself with a year of travelling prior to her decision to enrol, the wave of home-sick nausea that washed over her at this thought may well have been enough to send her home, gripping on to Rufflet for dear life.

"Come on, Helena, you're 15 now. Get a grip," she chastised herself quietly, fiddling with the silver Moltres on her bracelet, a semi nervous tick that she had developed. She would swear blind that it was a 'good luck' ritual that had been born from sports games and had worked for her on a convincing ratio. But it was, predominantly, still a nervous tick.
She walked forward slowly, head turning from side to side with practically each step, drinking in her surroundings gradually. Was she scared? Not really. Helena was able to take most things in her stride, being the laid-back character that she was had its advantages – she wasn't particularly over-awed by the incredibly different environment that she found herself in. She looked at other students with no particular enthusiasm or fear. Helena felt no need to barrel in and introduce herself to all and sundry, friendships would develop over time she was sure.

Enrolment had been an easy enough process. Her parents had accompanied her to meet the support worker who had managed her application from start to finish, continuity that put them all at ease. They had sat around a small table on comfy, cushioned stools whilst the support worker talked, Helena's parents asked questions and chatted easily about anything and everything pokemon or sport related, and Helena herself nursed a cookie and a glass of orange juice. She looked over the various forms and bits of paperwork that needed to be signed off during the meeting with interest. It all seemed to be grown-up gobbledy♥♥♥♥ to her, but the map of the school and its' grounds continued to draw her eye. She couldn't believe the variety of environments contained on one island. The grounds were surrounded by beaches, and she wondered if the school ran any kind of beach volleyball league. It would surely be a complete waste if they didn't.

"Now, Helena, if you could just sign your name here I'll ask your parents to counter-sign and then we'll set you up with a dorm, an identity card and a class schedule," explained the support worker in that easy-going way that surely meant she was well-suited to dealing with children and teenagers. Helena had scribbled uncertainly. She'd never actually been asked to sign anything beyond her trainer card before, and her squiggle looked childish and illegible compared to her parents' following neat patterns.

She'd found herself in Raikou dorm. Her room was just fine – nothing fancy, but then she didn't expect luxury at school. After unpacking her belongings – clothes, various pokemon-related items and her collection of sports clothing and equipment – her parents had bid their farewell and left Helena to get settled in. The first thing she did was change into a pair of dark grey yoga pants, sneakers and her 'Team Phoenix' netball tank with the Moltres in flight across the back and right-hand side. This was her favourite tank, and she believed it would bring her luck on her first day, as it was the uniform she had worn when her netball team, Team Phoenix, was promoted to a regional netball league. Her eyes flitted across to the basket, soccer and net balls nestled next to her shoes on the floor of her wardrobe. She didn't recall reading anything about a sports program in the brochures, but surely any school would have school sports. Surely.

Exploration time was limited as her schedule revealed that she had a 'life skills' class with a teacher named Flannery. Life Skills. Perhaps how to put up a tent by yourself the easiest way? Or how to start a fire with just one twig? Helena wasn't exactly cynical about the need for such a class, but having travelled around Unova with only Scraggy, Joltik and Rufflet for company she felt like she had already mastered the basics of life skills. But she'd go, of course. Why not.

Helena plucked a pokeball from her waist and released Scraggy, who looked around with interest at their surroundings before turning his attention to Helena questioningly.

"Scraggy?"

"It's the Academy, Scraggy, remember we came here a while ago and I told you we'd be coming to live here for a while? Well, we're here!" she announced, opening her arms wide. Scraggy's expression turned pensive as he watched her. She snorted and shrugged, moving to sit on the ground cross-legged as she did so. "I know, it seems a bit different and weird, but you'll get used to it." She reached into her backpack and pulled out her poffin case, frowning slightly when she saw there were only two left. "Hmm, weird, I could have sworn that I'd stocked up before coming here. Anyway, Scrag, have a poffin," Scraggy eagerly took the green poffin from the case and began munching. Helena sighed and smiled slightly, taking the pink poffin for herself, chewing it thoughtfully as she pulled the campus map out of her backpack. Her tongue rolled the sweet poffin around her mouth as she wondered where would be best to venture for a pre-class training session. The dead forest…that sounded plain scary, and Helena wondered why in Arceus's name the Academy would have an area known as the 'dead forest'. Mentally scratching the whole area off the map, Helena rubbed her chin. Plains. Open fields sounded like a good, safe, non-threatening place to begin.

"Come on Scrag, we're going to get a bit of training in before class!"

"Scraggy, Scrag?" asked Scraggy, as Helena stood up and slung her backpack straps across her shoulders. She gave a couple of small jumps before grinning mischievously at Scraggy.

"I'll race you. Last one there is a rotten Exeggcute!"

And she set off tearing through the streets of the Academy, Scraggy letting out a startled yelp and racing after her, holding up the loose skin around his legs, making his movements somewhat clumsy. Helena laughed and looked behind her, slowing down somewhat so that Scraggy didn't lose sight of her as he bumbled along after her.

"Well I think we're here!" she announced a little breathlessly after a short run. She could see the mountains not too far in the distance, and a strangely shimmering area to the right of the mountains, she could only assume that they were the icy plains. Helena released Joltik and Rufflet from their pokeballs as Scraggy finally reached her, leaning against her calf as he panted to catch his breath back. Helena smiled at all her pokemon together.

"Ok guys, we're going to get a bit of training done here. Rufflet, why don't you work on those impressive aerial skills for me? See how fast you can fly and maybe practice some rolls, some dives, that kind of thing?" Rufflet chirped the affirmative and took off into the sky. Helena watched as he flew almost out of sight before sharply turning and plummeting into a vertical dive. His wings were tucked back, feathers pressed flat against his body. Before he reached the point of no return, Rufflet drew his wings out and abruptly steadied himself, flying back up into the sky with a few twists and loops thrown in.

Helena grinned and turned her attention to Scraggy and Joltik.

"Alright you two, let's go and find some wild pokemon to play with shall we?" Both pokemon nodded eagerly. Diving into the first patch of tall grass that they found it wasn't long before the three happened upon a Rattata – standard – and a Spearow. Helena grinned and pointed forwards.

"Go, Scraggy use Brick Break on Rattata! Joltik, Electroweb than Spearow!"

Scraggy rushed forwards and slammed the top of Rattata's head with his outstretched hand. The Rattata stumbled and fell to its' stomach, before pushing itself back to its' feet and hitting back with a Hyper Fang that left Scraggy looking somewhat dazed.

Joltik, meanwhile, knocked out the Spearow on the first attempt with her Electroweb, the sizzling lightning attack wrapping around the bird and shocking it until it fainted. Helena gave Joltik a thumbs up.

"Now Scraggy, finish it off with a Headbutt!"

For a moment Helena thought the Rattata would flee before Scraggy were able to attack, however with a loud thud Scraggy's head collided with the now unconscious Rattata, sending it flying through the air and back into a patch of taller grass.

Helena whooped and grinned from ear to ear, bending down and scratching both Scraggy and Joltik on their heads.

"Great job guys! That was fab! We're going to kick some butt at this Academy. Here, Rufflet, come back!"

Rufflet returned from her solo training, coming to land by Helena's feet.

"Now, we're not done. You all did great, but speed is so important, we really need to work on that and get faster! So, I want you all to race over to that tree", she explained, pointing to a large tree around 150m away from where they were stood, "and then jog back lightly. I want you all to do that 10 times over. It's what we call interval training, it's very good for helping with your speed and stamina. Off you go!"

She watched as all three pokemon raced as hard as they could to the tree, Scraggy practically tripping over his own feet the whole way, Rufflet's wings pounding furiously as he flew as fast as he could. Joltik reached the tree first, and began sprinting her way back.

"No, Joltik, take this jog back easily. Go slower, like this," she shouted, before demonstrating a slow paced jog to her. Joltik paused, watched, and then continued. Helena nodded encouragingly, supervising as her Pokemon trained. Scraggy was struggling with the sprints, holding on to the flap of skin around his legs was hindering his speed. Helena called him over and paused thoughtfully before taking a chiffon scarf from her bag. She wrapped it around the flap of skin, drew the scarf into a sturdy bow, and sent Scraggy off again. The makeshift belt kept the flap of skin up around his waist, enabling him to use his arms to sprint.

"That was so good!" she gushed, cuddling all three sweaty pokemon close to her. "We're going to do that every other day. You'll find it will really help in battles, and just generally in making you all fitter," she checked out the time on her Xtransceiver and grunted. "We'd better be heading back, or we'll be late to class." She bent down to untie the scarf from Scraggy's waist, surprised when Scraggy leapt back, shaking his head.

"Scraggy, Scraggy!"

"You like that scarf-belt huh? Ok. You can keep it on, that's fine Scrag. I can even buy you a PROPER belt at some point now we've thought this one through! Like a Machoke? That would be cool."

"Scrag!"

 

[Megaman765]

After discovering his new Fossil Pokemon, Mark decided to walk around the academy rather aimlessly, planning strategies up in his head for his team. He was awfully dedicated to win this tournament so he had to make sure nothing would get in the way. Len had a Lum berry for his strategy so he was set in stone. Commadore was extremely powerful as is but perhaps there was an item he could equip onto the Porygon to make it more effective... Perhaps a Silk Scarf? That'd make sense considering it was a Normal Type. Mark made a mental note to head into town later and purchase one.

Able would work perfectly with Commodore if she could pull off a Baton Pass over to him. Once Commodore gets that kind of speed, it'd be practically unstoppable. Commodore could easily sweep away unsuspecting competition. But he didn't want to under estimate the competition. He was going to represent the Raikou dorm and win it all!

 

[AranMalkovich]

Xander Blaze​

Xander stepped off the ferry and onto the island, taking in a deep whiff of fresh, sea-salty air. Ahh. So this is what a real getaway feels like, he thought to himself. He pulled the PTA brochure he'd been given on the ride in out of his backpack, and looked at the included map. "Okay. If I'm just south of...Oak Town..." he mumbled to himself with a glance to the north, while pointing at the map, "...then the Academy is...!" He turned to face the south, and saw a group of buildings about a mile away. Xander looked down at his shadow with a small smile. "Let's go check it out, shall we?" His shadow cackled in response. "GENGAAAAR!"

Xander had barely gotten 5 minutes into the walk to the Academy when one of the Pokéballs on his belt began to shake slightly. "Hmm?" He started to check his belt, but then stopped and sighed with a self-directed chuckle. He pulled two Pokéballs from his belt and sent out the Pokémon inside. Gengar moved from his place under Xander's feet to join Xander's other companions. "Harvey! Loki! Sorry about that, guys! I'd forgotten to let you out in my excitement." Xander addressed his team with a quick nod towards the south. "You can hang around a bit here, but make sure you catch up to me soon. I've got to look into this Academy business." He continued walking.

Harvey's two faces sniffed the air in unison. "Ahh!~ A fresh sea breeze!" Loki gave a small shrug in response. "It's just the ocean. Nothing special about it." Gengar cackled loudly and slapped Loki on the back. "C'mooooon Zoro-dork! Lighten up for once! The beaches here are so much better than in that old-timey Toro Region!" Harvey's large jaws opened wide with excitement and hunger. "AND I BET THEY HAVE BETTER SEAFOOD, TOO!" The thought of island-made seafood got Loki's salivary glands up and running, and it tried its best to hide it. "...Sure. Seafood. I guess that sounds good." Harvey giggled and pointed off in the distance. "Mr. Blaze must be really excited, look how far he got so quickly!" Gengar and Loki turned to look. "Waaah!? Let's go guys! We'll be in some trouble if we keep him waiting!"

Xander finally reached the Academy main, walking past the dorms towards the class buildings. As he turned back to see where his Pokémon had gotten to, he saw them standing right there, as if they'd been there the whole time. He laughed out loud. "You three look out of breath, lose track of time?" He pulled Harvey's and Loki's Pokéballs from his belt, recalling the guilty-looking pair as Gengar slipped back into Xander's shadow.

Xander checked the info packet he'd received some time ago; according to the instructions, he was to meet with Principal Oak. Heading into the largest of the building and following the posted signs, he eventually reached the office. He walked up to the assistant's desk, and said in a clear and calm tone, "Good day, my name is Xander Blaze. I'm here to see Principal Oak. I assume I'm in the right place?"

 

[ShaymieTheShaymin]

Kayla Makihatayama and Holly Amarosa

Kayla frowned at Maylene and looked over at Holly, noticing that her cousin was scratching at her arms and wrists. She's getting more and more nervous... Kayla thought. Holly glared at her and frowned.

"Stop staring at me," she said angrily. Kayla frowned and tried to stop looking at Holly's arms, and instead looked at the ground.

"Are we going to fight or what?" Holly asked softly. She stopped scratching her arms and glared at Kayla.

"We're not fighting," Kayla said, looking up at Holly. She frowned at how red her arms were and sighed. "You're so stubborn..."

"You're the one who wanted me to come to class," Holly said. "Are you really not going to do what the teacher says? I thought that you weren't supposed to get in trouble here."

"I'm not going to fight you just because we were arguing," Kayla said, turning to Maylene. "Isn't this class called self-defense? It's your job to teach us how to defend ourselves, not make us fight just because we're arguing."

"I don't believe you," Holly said, frowning. "You practically drag me to class, and then when you're told to do something that involves me, you don't want to do it?"

"I don't want to hurt you," Kayla said softly. She winced at the glare Holly gave her.

"Too late," Holly said, marching towards the door. She glared at Kayla one last time before leaving the classroom.

"Holly!" Kayla said, hoping that she would come back. She waited a few minutes before sighing. "Great... Just great..." She started grabbing her things and looked over at Maylene.

"I'm sorry for leaving, but I really need to talk to her. I don't care if you give me detention or whatever, but just don't get mad at Holly. She's going through a tough time right now," Kayla said, tugging on her shoe. She sighed sadly before leaving the room and following after Holly.

 

[WooliestSteam]

Liam Crawford - The Docks
Freedom at Last​

Liam continued to stare at the ground until his concentration was broken by yet more arguing. He looked up and seen something which had become a normal sight for him at this stage. Holly and Kayla were at it again, however this time the argument had elevated a bit further. The argument had elevated to the point where both girls stormed out of the room, one after the other. Liam let out a sigh, closed his eyes and attempted to collect his thoughts amidst the frustration and slight tinge of anger that he was feeling right now. He opened his eyes and bit his lip a few times before finally coming to a conclusion. A conclusion that he should have arrived at several minutes ago. He took a deep breath and stood up from the floor. Facing towards Maylene he inhaled deeply and began to speak his mind.

"Maylene listen. I'm sure you're a great person and everything but this class just isn't working for me. I'm just not a self-defense kinda guy … okay? I'm gonna just take my stuff and leave. Sorry" spoke Liam with a somewhat nervous and hesitant tone, mostly afraid of what Maylene might do if he angers her with his actions.

Liam picked up his bag and walked over to the area where Maylene was keeping everyone's personal belongings. He slipped on both his shoes, grabbed both his poke balls and threw on his jacket. He was careful to keep his eyesight away from the rest of those in the classroom, especially Maylene. He just wanted to get out of this class as soon as possible, the less awkward eye contact the better. He bowed his head down and was about to start walking across the floor until Kirlia came darting out from behind some equipment. She ran over and quickly grabbed Liam by the hand. She let out a small cry before her and Liam's bodies began to slowly dissipate. "Uhh … Kirlia what are you doing?" said Liam with haste in his voice. Liam didn't manage to get anything else in as he and Kirlia vanished from the room completely.

In the blink of an eye Liam and Kirlia had reappeared in a totally new location. Liam quickly looked around and could see that he was now at the dock where the new students arrive in. He reached down and touched the grass, he touched his arms and patted himself down. It felt real alright. This was no dream. Liam had always know that Ralts or Kirlia as she's now known as knew teleport, however … he didn't know that she could use it on other people as well. He twigged on that by grabbing his hand in the classroom, Kirlia was able to teleport herself as well as another individual thanks to the link that the hands created. Amazing thought Liam. He shook his head and looked down at the ground where Kirlia stood looking straight up at him. He kneeled down to bring himself down to her level.

"Kirlia that was amazing. Good job you came along when you did because I was not feeling that class at all! What you were doing out of your poke ball though … I'm not sure … but we'll gloss over that for now" said Liam as he smiled. He raised himself back onto his feet before taking in a deep breath and looking around to take in the beautiful sights. "Besides … I'd much rather be out here. Out here in the great outdoors. C'mon let's go explore around guys" said Liam in a much louder tone as he smiled while taking in the sights around him. He reached down to his belt and got Poliwag's poke ball. He tossed it on the ground and out popped the little tadpole pokémon. He was happy to see both his trainer and Kirlia. Without hesitation Liam soon was shouting again "Onwards guys! Let's find out what this island has in store for us today!"

It was very strange indeed to see Liam in such a good mood. Sure he's friendly when he's chatting to someone but it's very rare to catch Liam in a mood quite like this. There was several contributing factors to Liam's elevated enthusiasm. The fact that Poliwag was in good shape and he now seen what Poliwag can evolve into thanks to Mark. He has FINALLY overcome the battling problem with Ralts and even managed to evolve her into a Kirlia all thanks to Sammy. The bond between Liam and Kirlia was a lot stronger now. The fact that the sun was shining bright in the sky and he was in the one place that made him happiest of all … outdoors. All these things combined made Liam happier than he's ever been. Definitely better than sulking in your room, that's for sure.

Hmm … now where to go first? thought Liam as he pulled out a map from his bag. He scanned over the map of the island until something caught his eye. Power Plant? Now that sounds interesting. Seems to be located sort of behind Oak Town.

"Alright. Onwards to the Power Plant!" said Liam with a clear tone of enthusiasm in his voice. Both pokémon looked up at him with a look of uncertainty on their face but decided to just go along with it for now. It was finally time to see what adventures the island had in store.​

 

[Nillemi]

Ellie Ward - Outside the school

Still waiting restlessly in line, Ellie's attention constantly shifted between The two girls and her bag on the table. "This is seriously getting bad..." She kept repeating to herself as she watched the two girls start to bicker at each other again, Not really paying attention to the argument he desperately planned her escape route from the class room. "Once they start fighting for real I can..." She started to think to herself a she noticed one of them was leaving the room.

"Wait... What just happened?" She thought to herself, Most of the room looked a bout as confused as she imagined herself looking, Especially Maylene.

"I'm sorry for leaving, but I really need to talk to her. I don't care if you give me detention or whatever, but just don't get mad at Holly. She's going through a tough time right now," The other girl said before leaving the room herself.

Without even thinking Ellie dashed somewhat clumsily for the front desk While Maylene's attention was taken. Grabbed her bag and bolted out the door almost tripping over herself in the process, Breaking into a full sprint once she reached outside the hall. After turning several corners in the school building she ended up outside, Laying down in the grass completely exhausted.

"What was with that class anyway?" She started openly asking herself. "She called herself a gym leader but all she did was make us fight each other and beat up two of the students. Justy Never did anything like that in his gym, he actually taught us about pokemon." Sitting up, she started to look through her bag, especially making sure a certain pokeball was still hidden between the Lining. "Good, Doesn't look like anything is missing."

"What was with that first kid though, The one with the knife." She wondered to herself. "They did mention team rocket has infiltrated the school as students before, could he be one of them?"
​

 

[siiadams]

Shawn Williams - Raikou Dorm
Forest Clearing/Training Area

Shawn motioned for both Crash and Rocker to stand in front of each other. He had to learn what his new pokemon was capable of and it seemed that Rocker was the toughest defensively. "Rocker," he warned, "You do NOT fight back unless I tell you to, understand? This is just to see how much potential Crash has in a battle." The Geodude nodded and stood at the ready, waiting for the Tyrunt to make his move. Shawn looked to Crash and nodded to him, "Ok, Crash...Whenever you're ready." Crash nodded and rushed forward, slamming into Rocker's rough exterior. It hurt the rock-type, but didn't do much damage. Crash seemed to be ok as well, not taking any damage. "Ok, he can do Tackle," Shawn thought as he witnessed the Tyrunt rush forward again. This time, however, it almost seemed to jump in the air and bring its feet down on Rocker as hard as it could. The Stomp attack did little damage to Rocker, though. The next move was a curveball (at least to Shawn's mind) as a group of large rocks surrounded Rocker and seemed to swarm around him. Shawn was expecting something else to happen but nothing did. Shawn didn't know what to think of this new development as Crash gave a sickeningly sweet gaze at Rocker, who was still confused about the previous attack. Now he had another thing to worry about as Rocker was apparently thrown off by the gaze.

Shawn was curious about something. "Rocker, go ahead and attack with Rock Throw," he called to his pokemon. Rocker nodded and picked up a large rock about the same size as itself and launched it hard at Crash, who took the hit. The rock used shattered upon contact, but the move did very little. Not only was Crash's type giving it resistance, but the gaze did something to the Geodude itself. "Charm attack," Shawn thought, "Of course!" Now Crash had shown 4 moves, but the surprises wasn't over as suddenly Rocker started to glow in a blinding white light, causing everyone to shield their eyes. The light appeared to get larger, but quickly died away. When Shawn looked again, there was a new pokemon standing before Crash. It was larger than the Geodude was with many more jutting pieces of rock adorning his skin. The biggest change, though, was that he had a pair of stubby legs and an extra set of arms close to his body. Rocker had finally evolved into a Graveler! It was the first time seeing one of his own pokemon grow like that and he felt a tear roll down his cheek, his eyes moist from the happiness of seeing this new development. He quickly dried his eyes and smiled broadly as Rocker looked himself over and apparently loved the feeling of being at his next stage. "Rocker, you did it!" Shawn cried out happily as the other pokemon watching showed their excitement for the new pokemon. Rocker, smiling as wide as Shawn was, turned and nodded to his trainer, waving all his arms in an effort of showing off.

Crush, though, was still focusing on the task at hand as he once again rushed forward and clamped its jaws hard against Rocker's right arm, causing the Graveler to finally react to an attack from the Tyrunt. It seemed that the Bite attack was stronger than the one he saw Sting perform during their battles together. That was curious enough but was unsure why that was. "Something to keep in mind for later research," Shawn mentally noted as he watched more events unfold. Rocker threw Crash off his arm as hard as he could and grabbed another large rock with one arm and threw it, despite Shawn's earlier warning to only attack when ordered to. The move seemed to be similar to the Rock Throw he previously used, though it appeared to be stronger. Crash took the hit once again and closed its eyes as it was summoning the energy for his final move. Suddenly, he tilted his head back and gave a loud Roar as he stared at his sparring partner. Rocker, however, succumbed to a sort of sudden fear and ran away, hiding behind the others. Shawn didn't know what to think at first, but was quickly able to see the potential of this attack. It caused Shawn to switch pokemon during a battle. How interesting!

Shawn quickly looked over the others and motioned for Shiva to take Rocker's spot. As the Shellder came forward onto the field, the swarm of rocks from before intercepted her and seemed to hurt her a little as she faced Crash. The Tyrunt, though it didn't seem tired, looked to his new trainer and shrugged. He seemed to be unsure of what else to do at this point. Shawn nodded, pleased at the assortment of moves at Crashes disposal, and called a stop to this training session. "Well done, Crash," he began, "Very impressive series of moves. I feel we would work very well together in battles." He turned to Rocker, who came out from behind the spectating pokemon, "I'm very proud of what you did here today, especially seeing you evolve like this. Its incredible!" Rocker smiled and nodded, standing much more proud than it was before. Shawn then turned to the others, "It appears that you all are getting along very well. This may very well be the team to beat at the Academy. The rest of you will get more chances to train later on. For now, lets get you all to the pokemon center and heal up." He returned all his pokemon to their pokeballs and started on his trek to the Pokemon Center again.

Shawn thought about what he had seen: Crush's moveset and potential, Rocker's evolution, all his pokemon getting along very well. He hadn't felt this proud since he captured his first pokemon by himself! A new look, new attitude...so far, things were going very well for him. He wondered what else was waiting for his future as he continued towards Oak Town.

 

[Gemini8910]

Amber Frost​

As Amber drew closer to the Pokemon center, she recalled Swindle, knowing how much he hated crowds. Or other people and Pokemon in general, really. After a moments pause, she recalled Twitch as well. She really didn't want the excitable Pokemon causing a scene with her lack of consideration for personal space. Spirit seemed to be behaving for once, which made Amber a little nervous, but she let the horse Pokemon stay out. He probably needed all the fresh air he could get. Valor of course, was still sulking. And to make matters worse, as they walked into the center, he saw the one person he definitely didn't want to see was standing at the counter.

Amber froze suddenly as she spotted Sammy getting her Pokemon healed. At the sudden stop, he clicked around the room and noticed Sammy there. With an angry huff, he pulled himself back into his wings. Amber awkwardly stood behind her in line, wishing the nurse would hurry up. Valor, meanwhile, was acting quite strangely. He'd drawn himself out of his wings and was baring his fangs at Sammy behind her back, and his wings were out as well. Amber was startled by his aggressive body language, especially since Valor was usually so calm and collected.

Valor's thoughts were racing in anger, and for a frightening moment, they didn't even feel like his thoughts. So many strong emotions...

Great, it's that girl, Sammy. We'll never get anything done with her around! All Amber cares about is that stupid trainer girl. She doesn't care about us, only her pathetic human friends. Pathetic trainers, stupid trainers... no mercy for the traitors... We're mere tools to be discarded when we break... save us... is anyone out there?

Valor visibly reeled from his thoughts, fighting back the strong, churning emotions. He was angry at Amber for wasting time on this girl she barely knew, but he never thought he'd be that angry. Something was very wrong. He could hear whispers; tiny, angry whispers. He was being flooded with unpleasant emotions; anger, hopelessness, despair, and bitterness. The whispers grew louder, clouding his thoughts with their own. Why was he so special? Why did he get to have a trainer, to have a reason to exist?!

Valor covered his ears with his wings, trying to block out the growing murmur of thoughts. "Silence! Begone!" he screeched, but the whispers only grew louder, forming a dull roar against his mind. Spirit whinnied nervously, glancing between Valor and Amber, who was watching in complete confusion. Valor started shaking, clamping his wings tighter and tighter around his head and looked like he was going to fall off Amber's shoulder. Spirit finally realized that Amber was frozen and unhelpful at the moment, so he took matters into his own hooves. He reared up and pushed Valor off of Amber into his hooves and gently guided him to the ground. Valor's shaking only got worse, to the point where he was injuring himself. Spirit pinned him to the ground with one hoof and tried to calm him.

"Hey, c'mon man, calm down! You're hurting yourself!" he cried out. If Valor heard him, he didn't show any signs of it. When Valor started screeching again, his voice sounded strange, as if it had an echo attached to it. "Unhand us! How dare you touch us with pampered hooves while we suffer and wait for a savior that will never come?!" he screeched out loudly. As far as Spirit was concerned, Valor was spouting complete nonsense. "Valor. Calm down," he said, his voice firm and commanding, which seemed out of place for the playful Ponyta. For a moment, it seemed to work. Valor's voice went back to normal for one moment, but it reverted to the strange one in the next. "What's happening to me? What's happening to my honor as a Pokemon? Living in servitude to a girl who abandons you for some hot piece of ass merely to expand your lifespan! Pathetic!" he cried out, his voice starting out panicked before going to hysterical anger.

Spirit sighed in defeat. He put slightly more pressure on Valor, immobilizing him. "Okay, it's time for you to take a little nap. 1... 2... 3... 4... 5..." he murmured, counting slowly and soothingly as small psychic waves were emitted from his horn and eyes, going into Valor. Valor's struggles slowly lessened as he fell asleep, chanting and muttering the whole time. "Pathetic trainers... stupid trainers... no mercy for the traitors..." he muttered, punctuated by yawns. He repeated it until he fell asleep, occasionally changing the word "for" to "from" and then back again. Amber finally seemed to jolt out of her paralysis and quickly recalled the sleeping Valor back into his ball, then recalled Spirit.

To her embarrassment and anger, they had caused quite a scene, resulting in quite a few stares and odd looks. "What're you lookin' at?!" she snarled at some of the onlookers. The faster she could get her Pokemon healed and get out of there, the better.

 

[Synthet]

Samantha Felicity Cooper

​

Sammy was just clipping her Pokeballs back onto her belt when she heard the commotion just behind her. Turning around she saw a Ponyta pinning down a Zubat, and then a girl calling both Pokémon back to their Pokeballs. It was the girl from class, the one who Mark had been chatting up. She seemed flustered by what had happened and Sammy could hardly blame her, going so far as to challenge the room for staring. Sammy had been about to say something but now wasn't sure if she should. Ah, screw it, she couldn't help herself.


"Don't mind the gawkers, they're just too boring to have anything actually happen to them. Here, I'll get out of your way, I'm about done anyway."


Sammy stepped to one side so Amber could get to the front desk, clipping the last of her Pokeballs to her belt. Normally she'd leave the girl to her business and go about her day but she needed to have a chat with her about Mark and his lack of availability.


"Did I see your Ponyta use Hypnosis there? That's pretty cool, mine doesn't know any moves like that."


There. A nice icebreaker to ease the tension. It was better than jumping right into the subject of love affairs, especially when she was obviously upset about the behaviour of her Pokémon.​

 

[Gemini8910]

Amber Frost​

Amber took a deep breath and faced forward again, and noticed Sammy looking at her before letting her get to the counter. She gave a slight smile and muttered "T-thanks," her face slightly pink, before unclipping her four Pokeballs and handing them over to the nurse. She turned again as Sammy spoke, and tried to act casual.

"Oh, yeah, he did. He knew it when I caught him," she answered, somehow managing not to stutter or blush for one whole sentence. Despite her talk with Mark being evidence to the contrary, Amber was actually really horrible at making conversation, as she usually preferred being alone. She turned back to the nurse and took her Pokeballs back, clipping the first three to her belt before releasing Valor back onto her shoulder. She glared at the nervous glances at Valor from various onlookers before murmuring to him in concern, "You okay?" Once he hesitantly nodded back, she stepped out of the way of the counter and turned back to Sammy. The whispers seemed to be gone for now, but Valor knew he'd have to be careful until he figured out what was wrong.

"So, you've got a Ponyta too?" she asked. As soon as she said it, she realized what a stupid question it was. Sammy had just mentioned her own Ponyta in the last sentence! Mentally facepalming, she casually looked around and waited for an answer to one of the stupidest things she'd ever said.

 

[Synthet]

Samantha Felicity Cooper​

Sammy waited as Amber got her Pokémon seen to. She came across as fairly uncertain and awkward, but that was probably just down to the fluster over her Zubat. It was a little surprising that she brought her Zubat back out so quickly but he seemed a lot more docile now. She figured it was best not to stick her nose in where it didn't belong... you know, aside from warning the girl off Mark. That was probably going to be enough of a train wreck by itself.​

"Uh, yeah," she answered, brushing a strand of hair out of her face with her free hand, "She's a real pistol. Took me a while to get a handle on training her but she's turning into a powerhouse. We should compare notes sometime, I still don't know all that much about Ponyta. Uh, but hey, weren't you in my class earlier? I thought I saw you talking to my pal Mark."​

Well, there it was. No avoiding this incredibly awkward conversation now. She was just going to have to see it all the way through.​

 

[Gemini8910]

Amber Frost​

Amber nodded, trying to stay focused. "Uh, yeah! That'd be great. Still tryin' to learn about him myself though," she managed to respond. Just as she was starting to feel more confident, warning lights went off in her head at where Sammy was leading the conversation. Still, it shouldn't be too hard to play it off, right?

"Oh yeah, you're the one with the egg, right?" she asked. Damn it. What the hell, mouth? she thought in complete frustration at her brain-to-mouth failure. "You must be Sammy, right? Mark mentioned you. A-All good things, I swear!" she said, her words not at all getting better the more she tried to fix them. This whole "conversation" thing was a lot more difficult than expected. She usually preferred her fists talking than her mouth.

Valor huffed and buried himself in his wings, trying not to get worked up again as Amber completely failed at being a normal human being.

 

[Synthet]

Samantha Felicity Cooper



​

"Uh, yup, that's me," she half smiled, holding up the case containing the egg for emphasis, "Sammy Cooper. And Mark had better be saying good things about me, he knows badmouthing me will earn him some missing teeth. But... well, he's a nice guy really. Even if he is a bit of a dork sometimes, his heart is usually in the right place. Total doofus when it comes to anything other than Pokémon though, and his taste in girls makes me think he's soft in the head, y'know? He's sorta seeing some rich chick at the minute, all extended pinkies and salad forks. But he really likes her, so good luck to him," Sammy shrugged. That was about as subtle as she was capable of so she seriously hoped this girl picked up on the hint.


"You entering the tournament later?" She asked after a semi-awkward silence. "I've never seen a Zubat battle before, that'd be kinda cool. I've always thought they were a great Pokémon." She tilted her head, studying the reclusive Valor. "Must be kinda challenging though, I mean, all of my Pokémon have got eyes."​

 

[Gemini8910]

Amber Frost​

Amber nodded at Sammy's description of Mark. Sammy had thrown out quite a bit of information, and Amber noted that a bit of it felt incredibly deliberate. Slight voice changes, facial expressions... they tell much more than the words alone. For one thing, Sammy had just made a point to confirm that Mark was seeing someone else; Amber had a bad feeling she'd had the same wrong impression as Mark had. She'd also definitively pointed out that her and Mark were just friends. The conversation had started to feel much more mission-oriented, which seemed to help Amber's brain a bit. Find information, hide intentions, clear up misconceptions...

With a small laugh, Amber kept up the conversation, trying to make it clear she wasn't interested in Mark at all. "Heh, yeah. He was sure to tell me how unavailable he was," she remarked, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, I didn't realize girls can't talk to guys without everyone getting the wrong idea about them," she said with a huff, trying to sound as exasperated as possible.

She bit her lip thoughtfully as Sammy changed the subject. "I dunno yet. I'm pretty new here, so..." she let the thought trail off as she realized she didn't really have a good excuse for not going. Feeling like she was definitely going to regret it later, with some difficulty she mustered up her usual arrogance and bravado and said, "Y'know, didn't want to beat everyone too badly, it's not usually a good way to make friends," her usual smirk forcibly plastered to her face.

Valor perked up at the mention of the tournament, having believed there was no chance in participating. He hadn't particularly thought about it, but it would be an interesting test of skill, and a good chance to train. He'd have to try his best and make his feelings on the matter known. However, both Amber and himself were a bit perturbed at Sammy's phrasing on his's lack of eyes. Amber tried her best to sound nonchalant about the whole thing.

"Nah, it's just the same as any other Pokemon. I swear he sees better than I do sometimes. Just takes a bit to get used to the constant clicking is all," she said with a shrug. As if to demonstrate, Valor, somewhat smug about his superior navigational abilities, clicked at Sammy and got a clear picture of the enemy.

 

[Synthet]

Samantha Felicity Cooper



​

Sammy seemed visibly relieved that Amber was so clearly not interested in Mark. She nodded in agreement to Ambers statements. When the conversation came back to the tournament and Amber made her fairly bold piece of braggadocio that she didn't want to beat everyone too badly a broad grin spread across her face, displaying a lot of teeth. It was a strangely predatory expression, but devoid of aggression, and her eyes lit up.


"Ohh I think you might find you've got your hands full with me. I'm winning that tournament, hell or high water. But you don't need to worry, I'll be friends with you afterward."


Whether or not she actually believed what she was saying was open to debate, but anyone with a passing skill at reading people would see it wasn't the concept of victory over Amber, or even victory in general, that had her so clearly excited. It was the challenge, the anticipation of a coming fight that was giving her such a clear aura of confidence, surety of self. It was like seeing a coiled spring or a bird of prey freefalling before quickly pulling up to catch an air current.


"I bet your Zubat is strong then, it takes a smart Pokémon and Trainer to learn to work together when they "see" things differently. Smarts tend to equals strength when it comes to Pokémon battles. That's something I've had to learn here, the hard way," she admitted, struggling with the humility. But it was the truth. She'd seen the proof of it from Mark, and more strongly from Cynthia.


She looked forward to seeing Amber in action, possibly even battling her herself. There was something about the girl she couldn't quite put her finger on, about the way she carried herself that Sammy found interesting. She didn't normally get on with other girls, finding them vain and shallow... even if she displayed signs of those traits herself today. But Amber seemed different somehow, at least so far.​

 

[Gemini8910]

Amber Frost​

Amber tried to stay focused on the conversation while processing all the things she was noticing. She tried her best not to read anything deeper at Sammy's relief; she was just worried about her friend Mark, right? She raised her eyebrows slightly at Sammy's equally arrogant comment, and an equally predatory expression grew on Amber's face, her smirk becoming more of a sneer as a few teeth were visible.

"Y'think so? I wouldn't be so confident, if I were you. We'll be seeing who beats who when the tournament rolls around."

Amber could practically see sparks flying off of Sammy as her competitive spirit ignited. Amber wished she was feeling as confident as Sammy was about the whole thing. There was no way she could back out of the tournament now. She tried to ignore the tiny flip in her stomach at being friends; Valor made a sound that seemed suspiciously like he scoffed at Sammy and her offer of "friendship".

Amber shrugged at her comment on smarts. "Trainers just need some common sense is all. You'd be surprised at how smart Pokemon can be if you let em'," she replied. Many people found her battling style to be "lazy", but it worked well for her team.

 

[Synthet]

Samantha Felicity Cooper



​

Sammy pursed her lips at Ambers comment about how smart Pokémon could be. It was true, a lot of people underestimated how capable Pokémon could be... but there was no way Ponyta could have decided to use a Heat Rock, learn Sunny Day and combine it with Morning Sun. That was what being a Trainer was all about, helping your Pokémon discover their strengths. But then again, she'd learned that from Mark and Cynthia, maybe there was something she could learn from Amber too. She had been going to go and get her fossil re-animated, but maybe that could wait a bit longer...


"So I never caught your name, or your dorm or anythin'? I've not seen you around before." She tilted her head, looking at Zubat. "I don't wanna bore your Zubat, I guess just listenin' to us is probably kinda dull to him. Should I send out one of my Pokémon for him to chat with?"


She always hated leaving a Pokémon just waiting there while the Trainers talked, especially when the Pokémon seemed as reticent as Zubat did. But she could hardly blame him, some Pokémon were anxious around new people, especially after what she thought was possibly a panic attack.​

 

[siiadams]

Shawn Williams - Raikou Dorm
Oak Town

Shawn smiled as he slowly walked the road towards the Pokemon Center. The day seemed too nice to not enjoy being outside. He almost wanted to slack off and relax under a tree somewhere, but the thought of the tournament looming before him later that day renewed his drive to train further. He had to at least compete in this. There'd probably be too many more-powerful trainers for him to actually WIN, but at least he would strive to make an impression on the others. After all, when all was said and done, who knows what will happen? Miracles did happen on the island, after all.

Shawn walked in through the doors to the Center and immediately headed up to the counter. As he approached, he noticed that there were two others talking nearby. One was Sammy (how was it that he was running into her more and more?) and the other he recognized as the girl from their mining class. As much as he was tempted to overhear their conversation, Shawn refrained and placed his pokeballs on the tray in front of him. The nurse took the tray and smiled to him as she turned around and insert the tray in the machine. The machine made the now-familiar tone of healing his team and within a few seconds, she returned the tray to the counter in front of him. He smiled at the nurse as he clipped the pokeballs back to his belt and nodded to her in thanks. As he turned to walk out, he smiled and gave a small wave to the ladies and turned back to his walking before he would bump into anything or anybody.

Walking back out into the open air, Shawn walked from Oak Town back to the Academy and headed straight for the woods. He pretty much claimed that open area in the forest as his own and wondered how much more work it'd take to make his training ground look less crude and more functional. As he made it to the training area, Shawn started looking at the entire field and decided to put some more work into it. He was prepared to make the entire training area look better than ever. He pulled off a pokeball from his belt and brought out Rocker. The large Graveler stood strong as Shawn called him over. "I need your help, Rocker," he said to the rock-type as he sauntered over, "We need to make this place look better than before. We need to make this more functional than it is now. Will you help me?" Rocker nodded his agreement and looked towards the center of the field. "Alright, then," Shawn declared, "Let's get to work!"

 

[Gemini8910]

Amber Frost​

Amber judged from Sammy's pursed lips that they'd had a difference of opinion on something. Still, the conversation seemed to be going okay so far.

"Oh right, I'm Amber. Just moved in to Raikou Dorm this mornin'," she explained. She shrugged at Sammy's offer. "He's just being a workaholic. I think nothing but training is on his mind 24/7. But I guess he'd appreciate some company," she said noncommittally. Valor seemed vaguely interested in meeting some new Pokemon, enough to look over at Sammy and rid himself of his irritated posture, at least.