[PKMN FULL] Z: A Kalos Journey [M] [IC]

Stinging Bea · Sep 4, 2017

Chapter 11-1 | Bonds Reforged

Avril Morris And Emma Kuzunoha | Abrette Town

[PokeCommunity.com] Z: A Kalos Journey [M] [IC]

Avril's Team

Emma's Team

Badges

Inventory

Spoiler:

The duo soon made their way back to the beach, with Damian still seemingly unconscious. Once they arrived, the young entrepreneurs gathered together, greeting the detective and the young trainer. "Emma! Avril!" Corona greeted, upon their arrival. The boat docked to the beach's edge as Emma went off board. Corona then noticed the strange tanned-skin man who was delivered with them. "...Who is that?"

"That, is your sea monster," Emma explained. "His name is Damian, a crook who was part of the smuggle ring I'm after. He goes around, terrorizing rich folks like yourself along with his Gyarados. But fortunately, he won't be doing anything for a while."

"Really...?" Hunter asked, as the group exchanged glances. They all then nodded. "Ms. Kuzunoha! We... we can't thank you enough!" Ignis meanwhile got out spherical objects, along with what it seemed a few bits of money. "Here; please accept this award! Two Dive Balls, and some spare change we had around--but there's no worth that's equal to our lives."

Emma shook her head. "I can't accept it," she explained, glancing back to Avril. "Give it to Avril here; her pokemon did the job. And... she saved my life and all."

Hunter and the group turned to each other, nodding once more. Hunter then turned to approach Avril. "Miss Avril! Thank you. Will you accept our reward, then?"

"Well... I mean..." Avril hesitated. She really didn't have much use for the Dive Balls, not with Shino on her team. The money could always come in handy, though. Sometimes cash did run tight, even if you were making a career as a trainer. Still... Tthe girl glanced over her shoulder towards Emma, as if asking if it was really okay for her to accept the reward. Seeing the detective give her a reassuring nod was enough for Avril as the blonde turned her attention back towards Hunter with a grin. "Sure, thank you very much!"

"Still..." Corona could only then start to wonder. "The Emerald Dragons, you say? I heard stories about them from the news... they deal with black market affairs, holding billions of dollars. Each member is so powerful, not even the police can touch them... to think we would of encounter one here of all places..."

"Yes. They're definitely starting to be more active," Emma added. "I never knew my father was pursuing such a dangerous group... I could only wonder, who stands at the top of the rankings..."

"Hehehehe..." soon came a laughter. Before anyone could react - the pirate started moving. He quickly grabbed Corona, taking out a silver knife from his coat pocket, firmly holding to Corona's throat. "Yar, harharharrrr! And what a curious lass this is! Mmm... is that coconut body spray, me' smell?"

"Miss Corona!" Emma called out to her, sharply staring at Damian. "Release her at once!"

"No can do, lassie!" Damian responded with another cheeky laugh. "Take one step, and she be' walkin' to the gates of Hades, walkin' the plank over lava, harharharrr!" Emma and the group stood still, as she gritted her teeth. They were really stuck in a tough spot. Corona could only brace herself, unknowing what this derange pirate has in store for her. "Thaaaat's a fair lass. Mmm, think I'll be takin' home a constellation prize, eh? Yar har har!"

Avril glared at the pirate, growing more and more annoyed by his antics with every passing moment. She quickly reached for Shino's pokéball on her bracelet, but the sight of the knife at the woman's throat quickly made her relent. There was no way she could send her Frogadier out to put an end to Damian, not while he held Corona in such a manner. It really looked as though despite Emma and Avril's best attempts, the villain was sure to win this day in the end... Or at least, so it appeared.

The group of onlookers felt a sudden burst of wind rush by them all. In the blink of an eye, a Bisharp suddenly appeared! His blade-like arms were glowing with a dark, ominous glow as it cut through Damian's arm, causing a blood-curdling scream to echo through the beach. Avril stared in shock and surprise as the pirate's grip on Corona loosened just enough for the woman to slip away, though not before giving Damian a rather fierce kick in the leg.

"Arrrrgh!" Damian scream, unable to stay on his feet, heading to the sandy ground. He looked back to view the sudden Bisharp that appeared. "Who the devil...?" he tried rising back up from the pain from the attack - only to receive another one, knocking him down once more, unconscious. Corona managed to reach back to the group, with Emma looking on. She then looked on to the Bisharp, who attacked the foe.

"...A Bisharp? Here?" wondered Emma. "But wild Bisharp don't appear here... who... couldv'e...?" she then shook her head. "Never mind... I should hurry up and detain this man at once..."

"...You just leave that to me, kitten." Emma and the group heard a voice from a little nearby. There, they saw a group of men. Most of them were wearing police uniforms, but one in particular, had a coat over a green and beige vest, with brown dress pants and shoes. Most distinguishing, he had white hair, and... what it seemed like a metallic mask. He was also holding a mug, with coffee. He took a quick drink from it, while approaching the group. "Ha! Looks like you've bagged a real beast. Tamed it outright, too."

Emma blinked, and stared at him. "Who... are you?" she asked, before realizing, he also had a police badge. "Are you... a detective?"

The white-haired man took another sip of coffee. "Indeed," he responded. "A pleasure, Detective Kuzunoha. I'm Tyrone... of the international police."

"The... international police?" Emma repeated. "What's a member of the Interpol doing here? And also..." she couldn't help but wonder the mask he was wearing. It was metallic, while it seemingly flickered on and off. "...What is with that mask you're wearing? Why are you even wearing one?"

"Ha!" Tyrone chuckled, taking another sip of his coffee. "...We all wear masks. On our faces... or in our hearts. But never mind that now." He signaled for the policemen to gather Damian's unconscious corpse, hauling him to the police van. He gave Emma a nod as he turned to the group of entrepreneurs. "Come with us for a while. We'll need you for witnesses. Don't worry, we'll give you donuts and coffee with sugar in it. I take mine black, personally..."

"R-Right," Corona agreed, as she, Hunter and the other two followed the policemen inside the cars. Once in, Tyrone gave Emma a two-fingered salute.

"Nice doing business with ya, Kitten," said Tyrone, cooly, as he started walking away. "...Let's have another date sometime, shall we?"

"W-Wait!" Emma called out after him, but Tyrone didn't stop. He simply went inside his own car, as the police and himself started to drive away after a while, leaving Emma and Avril behind. "Detective Tyrone... huh? Is he after the Emerald Dragons as well...?" she could only wonder. But now, there was another pressing matter. She turned to the Bisharp. "...What is this thing doing here anyway?"

"Looks like to me it was saving the day," a voice boomed, stopping Avril herself from getting the chance to respond.

Both girls glanced at each other curiously, before turning to look for the source of the voice. Avril's eyes widened as she spotted one man in particular, who was casually standing with his arms crossed. A feeling of absolute dread set in as she watched the man slowly make his way over. That black jacket... the cigar hanging limply from his mouth... the confident smirk gracing his lips... the messy brown hair... It was the one sight that she had been trying so hard to avoid since entering the academy in the first place... And now, here he was in the flesh. The girl was a complete loss for words as she staggered back slightly.

Emma turned back to Avril, who seemed in sudden shock. "Avril...?" she said. She then glanced back to the man. She hadn't seen him before, but... he seemed to have an effect on Avril. "...Who are you?"

Spoiler:

The man paused, taking a long drag off of the cigar in his mouth. "How rude of me to not introduce myself. I'm just a wandering man, who makes his living as a trainer... From Unova born and raised, my name is Clifford... But, you may call me Cliff." He paused, glancing over in Avril's direction, the look on his face turning much more serious. "Though, I suppose... You could say I'm better known as Cliff Morris, Avril's father."

Emma's eyes widened. "You're Avril's father?" Emma asked in complete shock. It was definitely a surprise, seeing one of Avril's family members here of all places. Avril never really talked about her family too often, so this was a shot in the dark for Emma. She turned to Avril. "...Is that true?"

Avril's gaze slowly lowered to the ground, the girl offering a weak nod in response to Emma's question. "Y-Yeah... That's my old man..."

Cliff's eyes narrowed towards Avril as he took another step forward, coming to be right in front of the girl in question. "Come now, you act like you aren't excited by our little reunion. After all, it's been two years since you pulled that little stunt of yours and ran away from home without even so much as a word. Your mother's been an absolute wreck, you know. Do you have any idea what you've been putting her through?"

Avril raised her eyes up to meet her father's. Her eyes darkened as she clenched her fists tightly. "No, of course not! Why should I care? Isn't Robin's fantastic achievements enough for her?!"

Without so much as a word, Cliff quickly brought his hand up and roughly slapped Avril across the face with enough force that the girl quickly fell onto her backside. "We've been over this before... Countless times. Every member of our family has a role to fill. And you pretending to be a pokémon trainer is not yours! Don't you understand?! You don't have the talent for something like this! You're not strong and you certainly don't have the drive or the smarts to live a life constantly on the road. It's time to come home and stop playing pretend." He paused, roughly and tightly gripping Avril's wrist and forcing her back up to her feet. "Do you understand? This game is over..."

Emma quickly clenched her hands on Avril's and Cliff's arm, splitting them apart. She then stood in front of Avril, with both her arms out. "...Leave her alone!" Emma demanded. "I... don't know what has happened between you two, but she's doing well, isn't she? What about Avril's feelings?!"

"Listen here, girl..." Cliff replied, shifting his focus towards Emma. "Her feelings have nothing to do with what her parents know is best. I can only assume you must be a friend of her's, yes?" He didn't wait for Emma to respond, the man clearly already knowing the answer. "Clearly you've noticed it yourself. How many times as she gotten herself into trouble because she just doesn't seem to understand the situation that's going on around her? How many times have you or maybe some other person you consider a friend had to go out of their way to help or save her? There was no sign of any talent in any regard to her being a trainer... and I'm sure you know it."

Emma relaxed her arms. She slowly closed her eyes. "....I know well enough, that you're the one who doesn't understand," Emma said quietly. She then quickly flew open her eyes, staring right at Cliff. "...Since coming on this journey, a lot of things happened... to the both of us. We've seen murder, corruption, greed... we even almost got killed ourselves. And Avril had to experience something that... she was right in when she said: I wasn't able to understand how she felt back then. Even so, despite her pain, she continued on!"

Emma then turned to look at the sea. "I may be a Detective, but... I wish I was strong as her. She helped me and a few others rescue Eevee, but more than that she taught me an important lesson: that everything has a right to a life. She even risked her life stopping a mad man calling themselves part of Team Cinder, and... even saved my life just some time ago."

She then turned back to Cliff. "...You call yourself her father, but you have no idea who Avril is! But I'll tell you who she is: She's the best trainer I've ever met, my best friend. And she's also... one I would gladly call a sister."

"Emma..." Avril whispered, staring at the girl in shock. After everything she had said and how hard she had tried to push the detective away, she was still trying to defend her in a situation like this. The girl slowly managed to pull herself up to her feet and walked forward towards her father. "I... I'm not going home! I... I know that I made the right choice and... And I can prove it..."

"Is that so...?" Cliff questioned as he took another drag off the cigar in his mouth. "Then I look forward to seeing you prove yourself like this... Very well... There's a tower, in a town a little ways from here called Shalour City... If your serious about this and you think you actually have something to show me, then I'll be waiting there and you can battle me... But be warned, I'm not going to hold anything back, and if you lose, you'll just be proving me right on everything I said."

Without so much as a second glance, Cliff turned and began to walk away from the beach. His Bisharp began to follow close behind, though not before casting a rather menacing glance at the two girls before departing. Avril didn't take her eyes off the duo as they left the entire time, only stopping to fall to her knees shakily after they left sight.

Emma glanced back, looking glumas Avril fell to her knees. She stopped down to her, placing her hand on her back. "Are... are you alright?" Emma could only ask. "...So that was your father... I didn't know..."

Avril nodded weakly. "Yeah... The whole reason... I did any of this... It was because of him."

Emma looked down at the sand. All this time, she never completely understood Avril, despite calling her, her dearest friend. When it came to the thick of it... Emma's reason on starting this journey was because of her father as well. Emma fully sat down on the sand, right in front of Avril. "I see..." she said. "All this time, you've wanted to prove him wrong... when you've told me at Lumiose about your family, I didn't think much of it at the time but... now I understand."

She then looked down, giving a guilty look. "...Avril, I was a jerk."

"No... I... I was the one that screwed up," Avril quickly replied. She slowly looked up at Emma, locking eyes with her. "After... After Shino got shot trying to help me and then Benjamin rejecting me as his trainer... and then losing Anise... I just kept taking it out on you... I started thinking that... that maybe he was right and I am just... weak and pathetic, you know...?"

Emma shook her head slowly. "...Maybe you were right before," Emma started. "Today made me realize: I really can't do everything by myself. And I always questioned my own sense of justice... if I'd even call it that. And maybe... maybe I was pretty overprotective of you." she gave Avril a solemn look. "It wasn't because I didn't... believe in your own strength or anything. To tell the truth... my father is dead. Murdered, even. And my mother, she developed heart failure from her grief. So right now, other than my grandfather, you're the only one that's family to me left. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you..."

Emma then gave a soft sigh. "But if one worries about their friend too much... that might be a sign that they don't trust them enough. And I should of known better - you're probably the person who I could fully trust the most. I have to show that I believe in you. Because I do believe... in your strength. And... I need you. More than ever."

Avril smiled weakly. "Whoever decided that being a trainer was supposed to be this hard needs their ass kicked..."

Emma giggled. "Indeed," she said while doing so. "I'd sooner smite them using Moon Prism Power."

Avril's eyes widened at the mention of that phrase. A small blush rushed to her cheeks as she reached into her trainer's bag quickly. "Um... That reminds me... After our last... you know... I um... I found this..." Reaching out of the bag, Avril pulled out a very familiar-looking doll. "I was planning to give it back, but... um... things kept happening and... well... Here."

"T-that's...!" Emma gazed upon the doll. She knew it all to well. It was the sailor Gardevoir plushie she threw back at the party. She accepted it from Avril, and held it. All those memories started flooding back to her... all too quickly. This plushie... she thought she was ready to leave it all behind. She thought that Avril had changed too much, and that she had lost her friend forever. But... she couldn't let it go. She couldn't forget, not for a instant. She couldn't forget the first time she met Avril, and the first time they've became friends.

She couldn't hold it in anymore. She held the plushie to her chest, as her eyes started welling up. Tears started to flow from her eyes, straight down her cheek. She gave Avril a wide, sincere smile. "Oh Avril.... Avie!" She wrapped her arms around her.

Avril smiled returning the hug as well. Things were still looking a bit complicated, but at the very least she had Emma back.

gimmepie · Sep 5, 2017

Kade Andrews

Cutting Clouds

Kade, having visited the Pokemon Centre, had received a tip-off from an Ambrette Town nurse that as a Flying type enthusiast he should visit the nearby cliff face whilst in town. Kade had decided to go there immediately after his team was all healed up and so was just arriving at the specified location when he saw a small crowd of people - several of them clearly sky trainers - assembled at the edge of a cliff. Floating out over the edge of the cliff was a purple hot air balloon below which a Pidgeot and a Trumbeak flew around each other. As he got closer, Kade realised that the Trumbeak was carrying a brightly coloured ring its mouth.

"Oh!" Kade exclaimed, it dawning on him what he was watching "A pokeringer competition." ahead of the crowd, on the edge of the cliff, the trainers of the two birds stood shouting instructions. From what he could tell, the Pidgeot's trainer was the taller of the two, a tanned young woman wearing black shorts, tights and shirt and a short yellow and white hoody with the sleeves rolled up. The Trumbeak's trainer looked to be an elderly gentleman, stooped over a walking stick. As he took in the sight, the Pidgeot let loose with a powerful Hurricane, blasting the Trumbeak away and causing it to drop the ring. The Pidgeot snagged the ring and flew back towards the trainers, dropping it onto a spike embedded in the ground between them.

"Well done, Sora!" the female trainer congratulated her Pidgeot as it landed beside her, scratching the back of its head. Her opponent returned his Trumbeak and gave his own congratulations before slowly hobbling off to rejoin the crowd. That was when the realisation hit Kade, that he knew a trainer with a Pidgeot named Sora. Coincidentally, at that moment, Sky turned towards the crowd and noticed Kade standing there. "Kade! What a pleasant surprise! I hear you did well at the Parfum Contest." she exclaimed waving him closer.

"Hello." Kade greeted in response, joining Sky ahead of everyone. "I suppose I did considering I hadn't prepared at all. It's not really my thing though." Sky nodded her head sage-like at that before her standard mischievous grin appeared on her face. "I bet pokeringer is more your thing. Want to give it a try?"

"I'd like to, yeah." Kade said, surprised when the assembled crowd suddenly started cheering about the challenge behind him. He wasn't expecting any response at all, especially not a deafening roar. Sky laughed, apparently catching on to his surprise.

"The pokeringer matches are done here quite frequently and the crowd that gathers get really into them. I've just won ten in a row too, so they're hyped to see if you can break my win streak. You know how this works?"

"Grab the ring from the balloon and drop it on the spike." Kade said, unperturbed by Sky's enormous win record. "I've always wanted to try this." That was a true statement, Kade was always excited about different types of events utilising Flying types. Pokeringer events were quite rare though, so he was pleased to find the unofficial competition being held in Ambrette.

Soon the battlefield was reset with the colourful ring once again hanging from the big purple balloon. Kade stood to the right of the spike while Sky kept her position on the left. She grinned at him again.

"Since she's done so many, I'm going to give Sora a break for this one. It's Saber's turn. Sky tossed a Flight Ball, releasing another large bird with a metallic body and red wings. Kade looked the Skarmory over, not surprised to see that it looked exceptionally strong and healthy.

"Saber looks really powerful." he commented.

"He is. He's been with me ever since I travelled across Johto the first time. So, who are you going to battle with?" Sky replied "Stratus or Nox again?" Kade shook his head. If he was going into a race with a Steel type, he had the perfect Pokemon. He selected his pokeball and released Contrail, the fletchinder emerging from a flash of light before Kade. Contrail let out a jubilant cry and stretched his wings wide, basking in the enthusiasm of the audience. The centre of attention was his favourite place to be.

"I'll be using Contrail for this one." Kade said as Sky chuckled at Contrails antics, sizing the bird up.

"Oh dear. I hope you don't think this is going to be easy because of a type advantage. You know me better than that, I think." One of the present sky trainers stepped up to take on the role of referee as Saber and Contrail pressed their legs into the ground ready to take off.

"Ready?" Sky and Kade both gave the okay. "Go!" At the referee's shout, Contrail and Saber sprang into the air over the cliff and began flying for the balloon. Contrail took an early lead, being faster than the Skarmory. Sky was prepared for such an eventuality however.

"Automize!" Sky called to her Pokemon. Her Skarmory shone silvery as several metallic feathers released around it. Suddenly, the Steel bird rocketed forward and was able to match Contrail's pace. The two fliers were now neck and neck as they approached the balloon.

"Barrel roll over the top of it and use Ember!" Kade instructed Contrail. The Fletchinder spun to the side, rolling across the air over the top of Saber. As he did so, he released several tiny fireballs that rained down upon the metallic bird. Each ember struck Saber for super-effective damage and pushed him downwards, impeding his flight. The Skarmory cried out.

"Nicely done." Sky praised as Contrail flew forwards, taking the lead again and snagging the ring from where it hung below the balloon "You're going to have to do better though. Block its path and use Steel Wing!" As Contrail turned to fly back to the target, it suddenly found its path blocked by Saber. The Skarmory's wings glowed with a silvery light as it thrust one forward and down like a blade.

"Defend with Steel Wing!" Kade yelled out. Contrail's own wings shone the same as Saber's as he inverted himself and spun to the side, battering the Skarmory's attack out of the way and then following through with the other wing, hitting the side of its head. "Aerial Ace, knock it out of balance!" Contrail fell back for a split second before launching into Saber's metal neck, knocking him onto his back and allowing Contrail to soar over the top towards the spike.

Kade noticed however, that rather than looking concerned, Sky now looked more confident than ever. Saber easily righted himself, wearing a matching expression on his steely features. Contrail was closing the distance fast, but Kade could tell he hadn't claimed victory yet.

"You're in for it now." Sky said "Swords Dance and then Aerial Ace!" Saber flew upwards, making sharp movements and glowing with a red energy as its attack power grew, then it suddenly launched after Contrail. Miraculously, the Skarmory was significantly faster now as well as powered up by its boosting moves. It gained on Contrail, snapping its wings closed as it dived for the Fletchinder. The next instant, Saber collided with Contrail, knocking him flying and causing him to lose his grip on the ring. Contrail hit the ground, skidding past the spike and Kade to the grounds astonishment as Saber caught the ring and lazily dropped it onto the spike. The crowd applauded.

"Saber has the Weak Armour ability." Sky explained as she returned her Pokemon "So when you hit him with those Steel Wings and then an Aerial Ace, you lowered his defense but increased his Speed to the point that he could catch up at that distance. Good battle though, just keep even rare abilities in mind if you know about them." Kade nodded, returning Contrail. "You've improved since our first battle. You made much better tactical choices this time."

"Thank you." Kade said "for the advice too. I knew Skarmory could have the Weak Armour ability but it's really rare on them so I didn't really consider it. I learn a lot battling you."

Spoiler: Kade's Inventory

Shak · Sep 6, 2017

-Drew Tucker

Skipping Stepping Stones

The breath-taking collision of ocean and sky crept into Drew's line of sight as the young trainer finally arrived in Ambrette town. "Woah…" He gasped. This was on a completely different stratosphere to rivers and lakes he'd spent admiring over the last couple of years. Kalos' horizon was so much prettier than Kanto's. "Are you seeing this?" He gasped, rushing the frustrated Quilladin who waddled behind him. "Screw Nebula, this is what you miss out on when you betray the team." He sighed.

As Brycen arrived alongside his trainer, he clasped his knees, panting in exhaustion. This new body of his certainly wasn't going to be an easy adjustment. Everything seemed infinitely more difficult. Most of all, tolerating the bull**** Drew was spewing. Sure he was mad, but it was obvious that for some reason, the boy still cared for the dumb fox. The dopey faux smile on his face wasn't fooling anyone. On top of that…**** this view. This was the third stupid city they'd been to with no gym. What exactly were they travelling for? With that sentiment, the grass type deflated to the ground, glad to finally get a break. Maybe being in his pokeball wasn't such a bad thing. He instantly returned to his feet as his trainer mentioned something along the lines of 'letting Caesar enjoy the view'. Absolutely not! Brycen knew full well that with that annoying yellow lizard came another meaningless fight that he would surely win again. He was already two to zero against him.

Unfortunately for Brycen, his protests didn't come quick enough. The Scraggy burst forth from his ball, immediately noticing the presence of said grass type.

"Scraa!" The fighting type growled, staring venomously at the Quilladin that he'd fought not so long ago. Before he could though, he was intercepted by his new trainer.

"Woah, woah, Caesar, you're teammates now. That means, we work together." Drew stated in a matter of fact tone. "Trust me, you guys have got a big fight comin up soon." He chuckled. Speaking of big fights…he still had to meet Paige here, and no doubt she wouldn't be happy about him sending her home like that, but alas, he was still going to go see how she held up. She hadn't called, so that was definitely cause for concern. With his heart in his mouth, he headed for the fossil building. He'd surely find her there.

***

"Sold to the gentleman in the hiking suit!" The auctioneer announced. Drew watched from the back as the winning bidder jumped up triumphantly and near sprinted to the stage to collect his Jaw Fossil. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't envious, but he was due a fossil anyway, so it didn't really matter what some overweight hiker collected.

With an entitled smirk, he walked past the main hall and into the back rooms, where he discovered the fossil labs. For the most part, the place had been cleared out, save a few still functional machines and other oddities the boy didn't really recognise. What interested him most was a single cranked door, that didn't seem to be locked. Sure, he wasn't going to find Paige back here, but maybe he could find something a little more incriminating than the word of a drunk girl to incriminate Mr.Manning. He needed to know for sure.

When he snuck in the door, he didn't find an empty room or piles of paperwork to sift through. What he found, was a rather defeated looking middle aged man, shredding documents. He paused for a moment, noticing Drew's pathetic attempt at stealth.

"I take it you got lost looking for the bathroom." The man's voice husked. His eyelids hung like Slakoths, and his cheeks were pale as a froslass. His gaze pierced through the large spectacles on his face. Even his sarcasm bared more weight than the boy had prepared for.

Drew recoiled. The figure before him was a far cry from the devious and manipulative Mr.Manning he had imagined. "Mr.Manning?" He gasped, trepidation heavy in his tone.

"Are you asking? Surely you…oh?" Mr.Manning stifled his sentence as he looked up to notice who it was that had actually stumbled upon his office. "Drew Tucker…I would say I've been waiting for you, but that would imply I've been anticipating your arrival. Expect is probably a better word." He grumbled disdainfully.

"I'm guessing Paige told you."

"How could she? She doesn't remember a thing. She found out this morning."

"This morning?" Drew hesitated to say much more. Whatever Mr.Manning was talking about couldn't have been the same thing he was talking about…could it?

"The sale of the company. I take it she ran to you in an attempt to stop your parents from buying the company. You'll be happy to know, she did it. Your parents aren't buying the company! It's still going though, so whatever relationship the two of you had is pointless now." The man shrugged, letting himself hang like a lifeless ragdoll. He even managed to chuckle at the thought.

"What?" Drew grumbled, masking the resentment he bared to the final sentence. "Look…I'm here to ask…who are the second bidders for your company? Is it Team Cinder?"

"How do you know that?" Mr.Manning snapped back. Drew's words seemed to give him a fresh burst of energy.

"I…uh…" Drew hesitated, realising he'd said too much. "I intercepted the package you sent to my parents. Or someone sent on your behalf." He sighed. It seemed pointless trying to hide it now.

"Promise me something Drew." Mr.Manning began to whisper. "Lying to you here only complicates the situation more than it needs to be complicated, and I know that we both have similar points of concern here."

"If we both cared about the same thing, you wouldn't be doing this!" Drew snapped, cutting him off before he could say anything as stupid as what he'd just said. "I could...I could tell the cops right now. Then what? Can you say you really cared about Paige then?" He gritted his teeth as he spoke. Every ounce of anger that he had was being held back at that moment. "When she grows up without a mother and a father because you were stupid enough to get sent to prison, who'll be the one saying that they care about her then, huh?"

"I won't be going to prison." The older of the duo sat back in his chair, completely unintimidated by the angry Chihuahua growling in front of him. "For the very reason you just explained. I'm doing this to provide for Paige. If I'm able to complete this research, the Manning name goes down in history. Paige can carry that legacy however she so wishes. Besides…you'd be the one that took her father away from her. Then what? Where does she go? That's on you." After waiting for Drew to rebuttal for a few seconds, Mr.Manning returned to his shredding. "If you really care for her…you'd talk some sense into her. She's intent on stopping Team Cinder in reflection cave."

"What? And you're just letting it happen?" Drew hissed, still ensuring he kept his voice down.

"She won't go through with it. Even if she does, they won't hurt her. I'm too valuable to them for that." Mr.Manning added, a hint of nerves in his tone.

"Well I'm going to make sure she doesn't. If you won't take action, I will." Drew had had enough. He stood up and stomped to the door.

"You'd be stupid to cross them. I can garuntee her safety, but not yours." Mr.Manning spoke up, his voice as unstable as it had been since Drew planted doubts into his mind.

"I'll risk it."

Spoiler:

Ambrette Town - Fossil Labs​

LinearAxel · Sep 7, 2017

Shifting Tides pt 1

Sebastian Allender

*image removed**image removed**image removed**bulbagarden.net image removed**image removed**image removed*

Ambrette Beach

"Will you make us some pillars with your Frost Breath, Ukyou?"

"Laaa~" The ghostly maiden hums as she floats above the sands, opening her mouth to release a frozen blast that smashed into the grounds below, then crept upward, forming a pillar of ice, then another.

"Ready, Hakkai?" Sebastian looks down to the Mienfoo at his feet.

"Foo!" The aggressive fighting type took an attacking stance. He hadn't had many chances to punch things since that Steelix back in Lumiose. He waited for Sebastian's signal, and when it was given, the Mienfoo lunged forward, smashing into one of the pillars of ice with its fist. Chunks of ice gave way, glistening against the light of the sun as they fell against the ocean's waves. Hakkai grinned as he leaped for another pillar, this time driving into the frozen spire feet first.

"Your Mienfoo's really strong." A voice speaks from beside Sebastian as Hakkai dives for the fifth and final pillar. The trainer breaks his focus from his fighting type to see a pink haired girl smiling vibrantly at him. How...long had she been there?

"Th-thank you." Sebastian stammers, only slightly embarrassed he hadn't noticed her before. She...walked right up to him, he really should have seen...if nothing else, her vibrantly pink hair.

"Do you...I mean, would it...be okay if we tried?" The pink haired girl blushes. Is that too much to ask?

We? Sebastian glances down to the girl's feet, where another Mienfoo is standing. This one looks...different; it isn't shiny, shiny Mienfoo are a blue/purple color, this on the...pinker side of a typical Mienfoo's red coloring. Sebastian's sensing a theme here.

"Foo!" Hakkai tugs on Sebastian's pant leg, upon getting his trainer's attention, the fighting type nods, and Sebastian notes a tiny shade of blush collecting under his Pokemon's eyes. Oh, ooh.

"We wouldn't mind at all." Sebastian agrees. "Will you make us another round, Ukyou?" He turns his attention to his own shadow, where the ghostly ice type seeps from.

"Fra-laaa~" She hums, floating in a slow circle around the pink haired girl before fluttering into the air; Survey says: No ghost types.

"She's so cute!" The girl smiles, only now realizing that in her awkward encroaching on this trainer's practicing, she never even gave her name. Oops… "I'm Renia, and this is Asuna." She gestures to the female Mienfoo, who is now half concealing herself behind her trainer, while peeking her head out to smile shyly at Hakkai.

"Renia." Sebastian repeats, that's...very pretty. "I'm Sebastian. This is Hakkai, and Ukyou."

"Fros!" Ukyou bids farewell as she dives back into Sebastian's shadow. She no longer seems as fond of the heat as she did when she was a Snorunt, and the sun is far too hot and far too bright for her liking.

"Thank you for letting us join you, Sebastian...Hakkai...Ukyou." Renia nods to Sebastian's shadow as she finishes her sentence. "Ready to try, Asuna?"

The female Mienfoo gives a small nod as she looks the frozen tower up and down. Nodding to herself, she takes off towards it, planting a powerful punch towards the bottom. The spire shakes, and part of it cracks beneath Asuna's fist, but the ice does not crumble. Hakkai quickly rushes forward, taking the female's hand in his own and tugging her a few inches away from the icy pillar. With his other hand he gestures towards the center and begins speaking a long strand of 'Mien' and 'foos,' seemingly explaining to the female that it's better to aim for the center. He returns to Sebastian via a rather dramatic backflip, and if it wasn't obvious this one was showing off for his new friend before, it certainly is now.

"Mie!" Asuna steps back several feet, then takes a running start back to the pillar, then leaps, placing a powerful force palm into the center, cleaving the ice tower in half.

"That's the way!" Renia cheers.

"Um-- Ex-excuse me." The cheers are short lived, interrupted by a bedraggled young woman with auburn hair making her way towards the two trainers. "You two are...trainers, aren't you?"

"Yes…?" Renia asks uncertainly.

"On your way into the town...did...you see this man?" She holds up a photo of an older man standing beside a Probopass.

"No...sorry." Renia shakes her head.

"Neither did I." Sebastian frowns, the exhausted woman's shoulders slump.

"I see. If...you do see him, could you please...contact me? I...have my number written down somewhere…" The woman pats where pockets would be-- in pants that had pockets (hers did not).

"Um...ma'am, are you okay?" Renia asks hesitantly.

The auburn haired woman lets out a sigh filled with exhaustion. "That man...he's my father...he's been missing since yesterday…" Her eyes fill with tears. "He's blind and I…"

Blind. The word sticks in Sebastian's mind like a hot knife. His own father lost his sight the year before Sebastian was accepted to the academy. He was the strongest man Sebastian had ever known, and yet the loss of his eyes obliterated him. If he were to get lost...it's no wonder this woman is sick with worry. "Ma'am." He speaks up. "May I help you look for your father?"

The woman's tear filled eyes widen. Words escape her throat as she holds back a sob, giving only a nod in response.

"Me too." Renia nods. Unlike Sebastian, she's not asking. She doubts this poor woman is going to deny any help she can get. "Here." She takes the woman's hand and removes a black marker from her bag, which she uses to write her Holocaster number on the woman's hand. "Message me your number. If we find him, we'll call."

"Th-thank you so much…" The woman sniffles, flashing a tear stained, exhausted yet truly grateful, smile. "I...I think he went...looking for his Probopass...Probo...went missing a few days ago…near connecting cave."

Sebastian can feel his stomach churning. This does not sound like a coincidence… "We'll search route 8. If we find anything at all, we'll call."

"Let's go." Renia turns, then pauses in mid-stride, turning to look back at the sniffling woman. "It's going to be okay, okay?"

[/color]

gimmepie · Sep 7, 2017

Kade Andrews

The Solution

"So, you've got Staravia, Fletchinder and Hoothoot. Have you caught anything else yet?" Sky asked from where she sat across from Kade on the beach. "Let's see? I'll feed them up whilst we have lunch." Kade grinned at that, pleased to have the company of someone else who appreciated Flying types as much as he did. He reached for his pokeballs and released the entirety of his team, his squadron of birds emerging with a collective cry. "So you've got a Spearow, Oricorio and Honchkrow as well."

"I actually had Arcus, the Spearow, already when we battled before but I caught Nimbus here outside Parfum Palace and Cumulus on Rivierre Walk." Kade said, gesturing to the Honchkrow, then the Oricorio. As he did so, he noticed both Cumulus and Nox made a point of moving as far from Nimbus as they could, Cumulus proceeding to groom the younger bird. Noticing Sky raising her eyebrow, Kade offered an explanation. "Their first experiences with Nimbus were uh… painful. He's fine now but they'll take some getting used to each other I guess. Can I see your team?" Sky laughed at that.

"Well that's only natural. Sometimes these things happen." she said, placing large bowls of food out for the assembled Pokemon to share. "As for me, I've got a lot more than the Pokemon currently on me, but sure."

Six flight balls opened, releasing a large cloud-like flash. The three Pokemon Kade was familiar with, Sora, Saber and Buzz the Yanma, appeared along with three others he was yet to see. The trio were a small white and black rodent, an egg-shaped Pokemon with a long neck and a large orange dragon. Sky's team hastily joined Kade's in devouring the meal prepared for them.

"Emolga, Togetic and Dragonite, huh?" Kade said, marvelling at the three fliers. He'd always been fascinated by the Flying types great diversity given their unique domain of the sky. It was one of only two types to have been paired with every other after all.

"Yup!" Sky said proudly "These are Nibbles, Sprinkles and Artemis. I don't follow a naming convention like you clearly. Nibbles and Sprinkles are quite new, but Artermis has been with me for a few years now. You'll have to meet all the Pokemon I have living at the sanctuary back home some time since you're such a feather fanatic. Although I assume these guys are all to your liking."

"Of course." Kade replied "I love Flying types in general. What's this about a sanctuary though?"

"My parents run a bird sanctuary not far from Shalour City, although it's a little off the beaten path to find it. When I'm not travelling I stay there too. Any Pokemon that aren't currently with me stay there. Mum and dad make an exception to the "bird" part for me since as you can see not all of my Pokemon are birds. Actually, some of them aren't even Flying types although they're still Sky Battle eligible."

"Wow." exclaimed Kade, awestruck at the thought of the bird sanctuary. "No wonder you know so much about Flying types, you've been surrounded by them your whole life."

"Pretty much. That's why I ended up becoming a Sky Trainer." Kade thought for a moment, it seemed that their shared love for Flying types had both started with family members.

"I got interested in raising Flying types because of my grandfather. He used to bird watch for a hobby." Kade said, not realising that his expression shifted dramatically when he mentioned his grandparent. Suddenly his thoughts were transported back to Geosenge and by extension not only the town's destruction but his own brush with death. He felt himself start to shake and slip down the rabbit hole.

"Are you okay there?" Sky asked, her face clouded by concern. Kade barely heard her. He was surprised that he was having at attack, albeit a minor one. He'd mentioned his grandparents before without any major trouble. Perhaps it was because he was getting closer to Geosenge? "Kade?!" He was shook out of his thoughts when he heard his name, breathing a deep sigh.

"Yeah, sorry. I got a bit lost in thought." he said sheepishly, hastily changing the topic. "Actually, since you know so much, maybe you can help me with something. Sometimes Nimbus doesn't listen to me or gets a bit excessive in battle and I'm not sure why."

"Oh… alright." Sky said, not fooled for a second but happy to play along "That happens sometimes if a powerful Pokemon doesn't think their trainer is strong enough. Nimbus looks pretty tough, so it could be that." Kade shook his head at that.

"I thought so too at first, but he came with me willingly. He lost to me and Avril in front of his Murkrow and I offered him a place to get away from all that." Sky looked thoughtful for a moment, taking in the Honchkrow. He definitely had a grumpy expression on his face when Kade had sent him out, he'd relaxed somewhat more since then and was even allowing Cumulus to groom his feathers.

"You used him in battles after that? I see." Sky said, smiling "He probably feels like you're going back on your word a bit. You said you were going to give him a break from the battles and the expectations and then immediately started using him in battles yourself." Kade felt his draw drop at that one. The answer was completely obvious and Sky had seen it so easily. It made perfect sense for the grumpy Honchkrow to be reluctant to battle for Kade. That explained quite nicely why he usually entered battle with a sigh too and why he finished them so quickly and brutally.

"My bad, Nimbus." Kade said, surprising the bird when he started stroking its head "I didn't realise you wanted a proper break. I won't use you for a while." As Kade spoke to the bird, Sky suddenly leaped to her feet, spontaneously perked up.

"Why not send him to my parent's bird sanctuary?" she offered "I'll set it up so you can send any Pokemon you're not using there like I do."

Spoiler: Kade's Inventory

Oddball_ · Sep 7, 2017

-- Profile --

Name: Chris Rodriguez

Pokémon :

Location: Ambrette Town

Inventory:

Spoiler:

~

"10,000 for a fossil?" Chris almost choked as he saw the number. Even with his drunken shenanigans at the party, his pockets were only filled with around 2000 coins.

"It's not every day you'll see a legitimate Helix fossil kid." The auctioneer winked.

"Surely you recognize then, how it belongs in a museum. Why wasn't it donated to Lumiose?" Chris remarked with a frown.

"Nobody makes money that way. Now unless you're here to place a bid." The auctioneer sighed, waving him away.

Chris turned to walk away, but was overcome with a sense of… urgency. What was he doing? He needed that fossil. With a frown Chris dug through his pockets. He pulled out the comet shard and began turning it over.

"Excuse me young sir." A man in a hiker suit asked in a slurred voice. "Would you be looking to sell that Comet Shard?"

Looking up, Chris was surprised to find that almost instantaneously someone had descended upon him looking to purchase it. It was almost as if there was an invisible force manipulating things in his favour!

"I'm a collector you see, I travel far and wide to obtain the rarest of artifacts. I've yet to acquire a Comet Shard yet however. I'd be willing to give you… 25,000 for it. A large sum for one as young as yourself. Far more than you'd get from an ordinary shop as well I expect." He continued.

"…Sure. Uh. Yes." Chris said, baffled that the events transpiring before him were occurring.

"Ah yes, here you are. Luckily we met after I purchased my Jaw Fossil. Had plenty of left over cash. Step over to this table here… and that's 25,000! Thank you for your business mister… uh…" The hiker stopped, realizing they'd never even introduced themselves.

"Christopher Rodriguez."

"Harvey Ritch."

"Well Harvey, thank you for your business." Chris responded.

"Oh yes! Now go buy yourself a lovely fossil." Harvey chuckled as he admired the blue stone in his hands.

Clutching the Helix Fossil in his hands, Chris eyes remain fixed upon the intricate spiraling pattern along it. He could almost hear the thing calling out to him. He wanted to raise it to the skies and let it bask in the sun…

"Hey kid." A man in a lab coat behind the counter said with a friendly tone. "We've been working on fossil restoration technology. Are you interested in restoring that fossil into a Pokémon?"
"Yes actually." Chris responded with a smile. "My name is Chris Rodriguez, I wrote a paper on your facility a few years ago for class. I was actually hoping to get an inside look on the restoration process. If I remember correctly, the science was first established in the Kanto region, on Cinnabar island before its eruption. Then the Devon Corporation then funded further research into the matter at their offices in Rustburo city. A year or two later, the practice was common and found itself all over the world, in places such as the Oreburgh and Nacrene city museums. Correct?"

"Absolutely marvelous! You're truly a master on the subject!" The scientist responded clapping his hands together. "We here at the Ambrette Fossil labs are looking for ways to speed up and improve the process. Several theories are running around our facility, Perhaps we could restore fully evolved Pokémon liked Armaldo or Tyrantrum! Or alter the process to restore petrified objects to their original form! Our anonymous benefactors have been very generous as of late!" The scientist said with a smile, motioning over to a shelf filled with several fossilized stones as well as what looked like an assortment of meteorites.

"That's truly marvelous. I'd love to see your work!" Chris responded.

"Unfortunately it isn't up to me. I'd have to put a request in with the boss, and they're off in Glittering Cave at the moment. I can still restore your Helix fossil for you though, and if you give me your number I can arrange for a tour at a later time."

"Well… that's unfortunate. I'll hold onto this for now then perhaps. Heres my number… if you get that tour approved, call me right away then okay?" Chris requested before turning and heading out of the fossil laboratory.

Chris' Museum:

gimmepie · Sep 8, 2017

Kade Andrews

A Somewhat Shady Transaction

Sky hung up her holocaster and gave Kade and the nurse a thumbs up. They were in the Ambrette pokecentre making arrangements for Nimbus to be sent across to the bird sanctuary and it seemed as though all had gone well.

"They're absolutely fine with it." Sky said cheerily "There aren't any Honchkrow there so it might be exciting for any visitors to see Nimbus flying about." Kade scratched the Honchkrow's neck, the Pokemon looked the most happy and relaxed Kade had seen it so far. Apparently, Sky had hit the nail on the head with her summation of his behaviour.

"I'll try not to call you back too soon. I'll need your help eventually though." Kade said, the bird surprisingly nodding his head in agreement. He withdrew Nimbus into his flight ball and handed it to the nurse.

"I'll send him over right away. He's in good hands." she said, exiting the lobby through a door behind the counter. Kade turned to leave when suddenly he felt an an arm gripping him tightly.

"Right!" Sky said as they left the building, pulling him in the direction she wanted to go "It's a shame that you had to send off Nimbus so soon after finally getting a complete team. Let's go to the fossil auction!" Kade was taken aback by this new turn of events and left unsure how to react.

"Uh… why? Okay? I think."

A few minutes later, Kade found himself standing in the Ambrette fossil lab with Sky who had just wrapped her arm around a lab technician in a similar manner as she had with Kade. The technician had a strange, nervous expression on his face that Kade wasn't completely sure of.

"I believe you were holding something for me?" Sky said with a wicked grin whilst the man shifted his gaze down in an effort to avoid hers. "I've got the money, so let's get on with the show."

"I really shouldn't do this…" the technician replied "I'm going to lose my job." Kade looked from the uncomfortable man to Sky, helpless to do anything but wonder what exactly was going on in front of him.

"Uh… what-" he began, by Sky was already talking again.

"You already took half the cash and your boss' company is going under so there's a good chance you're losing your job anyway. So let's stop pretending you're not going to do it and get on with it." she said, her friendly, albeit mischievous, expression not matching at all with the words leaving her mouth.
"Aren't we meant to be going to an auction?" Kade managed to interject, to which Sky looked at him and smiled brightly.

"We're at the auction now. I uh… placed my bid in advance we'll say. This man here decided to become an independent broker in case he lost his job when the company that owns the lab changed hands. So I'm buying a fossil directly from him. He's just about to go get it now! Excited?"

"I'm not sure yet." Kade said honestly as the besieged aide gave a resigned sigh and headed further back into the lab. The response prompted Sky to laugh and slap Kade hard on the back although he wasn't even remotely sure why this was the case. Eventually, the man returned with what seemed to be a slab of rock in his hands. He tilted it forward so that Sky and Kade could see. Turned towards them, Kade could see the obvious and defined outline of a large feather in the rock. He couldn't keep from gasping out loud with joy.

"Know what that is?" Sky asked amused, although the answer to the question was obvious from Kade's reaction. He spent all his free time before travelling reading up about Flying Pokemon. He knew exactly what it was.

"It's a plume fossil. If there's enough DNA present it can be revived into an Archen." Kade said, his voice dripping with awe "Archen and Archeops are believed to be the ancestor line of most, if not all, bird Pokemon that currently exist. This is amazing I never thought I'd see one."

"You haven't seen anything yet." Sky replied, nodding to the anonymous lab technician. He placed the fossil into a large machine and began to adjust the setting before he pulled a switch. The fossil was encased in a vibrant yellow light as it began to work its magic.

"You're going to raise an Archen?!" Kade more exclaimed than questioned "That's amazing. You're so lucky."

"Nope!" Sky giggled "I was going to but I changed my mind."

"Then why-"

"What are you going to name it? Got any clouds left?" In a simultaneous series of events, Kade's jaw hit the ground as he stood there stunned as the machine finished its work. The light vanished and amongst a pile of rubble a small yellow-feathered Pokemon stood - avian but also vaguely reptilian.

"Archen!" the First Bird Pokemon jumped up and down excitedly, flapping its ineffective wings.

Spoiler: Kade's Inventory

Oddball_ · Sep 8, 2017

-- Profile --

Name: Chris Rodriguez

Pok?mon :

Location: Ambrette Town

Inventory:

Spoiler:

~

"Hi ummm...Chris was it? We met today, I was the guy in the lab coat. Yeah, so it turns out my boss was here, and now apparently he wants to talk to you. If you could come back to the fossil lab, he'll speak to you there." Chris' holocaster beeped as the video holo-message dissipated into a flash of pixels.

Qu?? Well that was strange. He certainly wasn't expecting a reply so soon. Turning around Chris began heading back towards the fossil lab.

"Chris! Right this way! I'll take you right to the big man." The lab coat donned man waved as Chris arrived at the door. "Mr.Manning is waiting for you." The duo made their way through to the back of the dusty fossil labs until they found themselves in front of a locked door. The scientist leaned in and knocked on the window, which was blocked, by a sheet of card. "Mr.Manning, Chris is here to see you. He's the one that won the bidding for the Helix fossil."

Following that, there was a click. The door crept open, allowing Chris into the room.

As he stepped in, he saw another man in a lab coat. The one seemed far more hardy than the one that had escorted him there, yet so frail at the same time.

"Hello? Mr.Manning?" Chris called. Maybe now he could finally get some answers about this whole team Cinder business. Had he left the parcel in his coat? Possibly. Regardless the man called him here, likely for a reason. "My name is Christopher Rodriguez. How can I help you."

"Christopher, correct? You certainly made yourself stand out at that auction." Mr.Manning paused, glancing up at his employee, who quickly made himself scarce in response to the deadpan look he received. "You probably need that fossil restored, hmmm? Come, let's get that done." He smiled weakly as he stood up and led Chris to a machine at the other end of his office. "They belong in a museum." The former chief scientific officer mused, sticking out his hand to take the fossil from Chris. "Most of those we see come to these places just like collecting pretty rocks or want powerful pokemon, like the moron you found yourself arguing with. It's rare to see someone with a genuine passion for the appreciation of fossils like you showed back there."

"Archeology has always been a passion of mine. You can learn a lot from the past... then of course you know all about that. I mean look at this lovely piece of machinery." Chris mused placing the fossil in the man's hand. "It almost hurts to restore it to be honest. Then again' a living fossil is just as interesting l. Not to mention i'm very curious as to how the machine works." Stopping to breathe for a second while the man started working the machine Chris then continued. "Omanyte, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Lileep, Anorith, Shieldon, Cranidoa, Tirtouga, Archen, Amaura and Tyrunt... without this machine these species of Pok?mon wouldn't exist anymore... pieces of history restored."

"Indeed." Mr.Manning responded, not even turning to Chris as he watched the process begin. With the fossil now placed into the machine, it slowly began to crack, each crevice glowing with an oceanic blue sheen. "There's more to it than that. As a historian, it truly feels like you're bringing history into the present. It's an addicting feeling. It's like giving life." He continued, still staring into the incubator as a blue tentacle burst from the rock.

Chris remained silent as he watched the essential birth of the fossil Pok?mon.

As the rest of the pokemon emerged, Mr.Manning let himself for just a brief moment, opening the incubator. He took the newly restored Omanyte and presented it to the younger fossil enthusiast. "Chris. Restoring pokemon of the past is an amazing concept, but it's something I feel like I've done a thousand times now. I want to know...what if we can move the past, into the future. Can these pokemon...go beyond?" He held the Omanyte up as a spectacle while he spoke. "I'm talking about Mega evolution of course. Although, I do wonder if they can surpass even that. Do you have any interest in such things?"

"..." Chris silently pulled the case he'd made from his pocket and displayed the three Mega Stones he had currently in his possession.

"Mega Evolution... D energy... My journey is about uncovering lost history behind such things. Everything is connected Mr.Manning. Have you never wondered why stones are so intricately involved with Pok?mon? Evolution stones, Mega stones, stones that boost the effects of moves... These things fascinate me. So yes, I suppose I do have some small interest in matters." Chris said, in the almost maniacal laugh of someone that is speaking of their true passion.

Mr.Manning grinned as he saw the passion set ablaze once again in Chris' eyes. "You probably know more on the topic than me." He leaned forward to inspect the case of mega stones. "Christopher...I think I have something that may interest both of us." He walked back over to his desk, pulling out a similar looking stone from his top drawer. "I'm sure you already know what this is. I wont patronise you by telling you, but what I will say, is that it's for the ancient fossil pokemon Aerodactyl. My assistants spent so long seeking this out, and I think you're the right person to give it to."

Fascinating! Aerodactyl was one of the first fossil Pok?mon to be restored. It was also currently the only one capable of mega evolution. Which posed an interesting question, considering that Mega Evolution had been mostly traced back to the ultimate weapons original firing back during the war 3000 years prior. However, Aerodactyl would have likely been extinct for many years prior to that. How could such a stone exist then? Unless there was key information missing.

"Muchas gracias senor..." Chris gasped, staring at the beautiful stone before him. "Are you certain? Such a thing that you spent so much time and so many resources into procuring... and you're just going to give it to me?"

"Well...of course I dont do it without wanting something in return. Only a small favour considering the gift." Mr.Manning glanced over at a picture on his desk: him, a woman, and a young girl of around seven years old. He stared down at it for a moment, before laying the frame down on his desk. "I assume you dont have an Aerodactyl at you disposal, but I know where you can get one."

A catch. There always was a catch wasn't there. "Oh?" Chris asked. "Pray tell."

"My daughter...she's caught wind of Team Cinder activity in glittering cave. I'm not concerned with up heaving Cinder or anything, but she has an Aerodactyl. If you can stop her, I can give you that Aerodactyl, whether she likes it or not." He almost snarled as he spoke his last sentence. "Once you do, I'd like to ask you to log the sensations that come with the mega evolution of an Aerodactyl. That of course requires you to take it on your journey." He stuck his hand out for Chris to shake.

Chris mind seemingly shattered. This man was nonchalant about the fact that his daughter had gotten mixed up with a bunch of crazy people. Granted, he did sell his company to them.

"Mr.Manning... I accept your proposal." Chris said, shaking the mans hand. "Any idea what Cinder are doing? Stupid question I suppose, why would you... I'd best hurry then. Your daughter is in more danger than you realize I promise you that." Chris half muttered as he began thinking about what he was going to do.

"I'll bring her back safely." Chris finally said.

"Thank you Christopher."

Chris' Museum:

Stinging Bea · Sep 8, 2017

Chapter 11-2 | Makeover

Avril Morris | Abrette Town

The Team

Badges

Inventory

Spoiler:

What a pretty sunset, too bad it symbolizes that her day lounging at the beach was about to end. Victoria sighs as she tugs off her sunglasses and surveys the area around her: A lot of people have cleared out, heading home to have dinner with their significant other and their two-point-five kids behind their white picket fences. Okay, to be fair, she hadn't seen one picket fence since arriving in the little town, but it still reeked of being incredibly dull. "We should probably start packing up." She speaks aloud as she rises from her lounge chair, stretching out her arms.

"Meow." Comes the completely disinterested tone of Star, her Glameow, who shows no sign of rising out of her chair.

"Do you know what happens to beaches at night? Naked people. Ugly. Naked. People." The blonde rolls her eyes in disgust as she stands. "You don't need to see any of that." She makes her way to a rather large sandcastle, which Marie is guarding-- or would be, if she wasn't curled up in a ball, completely asleep. Turns out that big tail is really good for patting down wet sand, a talent the local kids got a real kick out of, and practically begged to add Marie to their sand carpentry guild. This...might be the first time she had actually seen her Skitty worn out. Victoria smiled to herself as she returned the kitten into its loveball, then turned back to her lounge chair to collect her bag-- only to see a familiar sight on the horizon.

"...Maybe the fun's not over just yet." Her smile eased into a playful smirk.

Avril finally got to get around to enjoying some of that beach time that she promised her pok?mon earlier that day. After that whole thing with the pirate, the rest of the day seemed to go exceedingly well. She and Emma were finally back on proper speaking terms, Marble and Lulu got to have a blast playing in the water and sand with each other, Avril and Shino both got some time to relax and unwind... She had even managed to get a pretty amazing tan, the one thing that seemed to come rather naturally to her compared to her sister. Of course, she still had that lingering thought about finally running into her father again... But Avril was trying her best to not let that little detail get her too down.

Slowly sat up on the beach towel she had been laying on and sighs as she glanced over in Shino's direction. "Well... I think we managed to salvage this day pretty well, don't you Shino?" The Frogadier gave a small nod in response to Avril, opening his eyes to catch sight of the sunset that was painting the sky a lovely mix of orange and red. She glanced over in the direction of Marble and Lulu, smirking at the sight of the Flaaffy and Shuppet both dozing side by side in the sand. "Look, even those two managed to wear each other out."

?Can I borrow your tail?? Victoria asked as she rummaged through her bag. She retrieves a small compact mirror, which she opens and places in Glameow?s posable tail, then retrieves a hairbrush. As nice as the beach is, sea salt and sand aren?t exactly kind to her hair. Star holds out her little mirror as Victoria drags the brush over her hair, smoothing out the frizz. ?Better??

?Glam.? Star nods in approval.

?Good.? The blonde dives into her bag for a final time, this time pulling out a sundress to pull over her bikini. Even she?s not catty enough to make a scene when she?s...barely clothed. ?Let?s go.?

Realizing something interesting was abound, the normal type no longer seemed determined to hold her ground. She was, however, not big on the idea of getting sand between her toe beans. She looks at Victoria, then to the sand below, and lets out a quiet, displeased moan.

?Big diva.? The blonde laughs as she scoops the cat into her shoulder bag, so she can be escorted, and get a look at the action. All set, she approaches her fellow blonde.

?Look who?s in one piece again.? She speaks once she gets close enough to the younger trainer. ?After you blew up all over that palace, I figured all the king?s men couldn?t put you back.?

Avril glanced up in the direction of the voice, a small smile gracing her lips at the sight of Victoria. "Y-Yeah, well... I guess I'm just lucky they didn't call the bomb squad on me, you know...?"

She mentally kicked herself, quickly realizing just how lame that response was. Shino seemed to somewhat agree. A rather weak and unimpressed croak managed to escape the Frogadier's mouth. Avril quickly shot the water pok?mon a quick, yet dirty look before returning her attention to Victoria.

"This is a nice surprise, you know? Running into you so soon again," Avril mused. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were following me or something..."

?Honestly, I probably should be. At least until you buy my forgiveness for storming out on me like that~? Victoria smirks, placing her hands on her hips. There?s no malice in her tone, only a flirtatious, sing-song voice, and what could be a suppressed chuckle. If she plays her cards right, she can get an ice cream out of this, or something simple. Usually she aims a little higher, but...she kind of likes the idea of keeping Avril around, unlike the drag-bags Victoria usually associates herself with, Avril is fun...and she doesn?t seem to have a stick up her ass the size of South Unova.

Avril looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know what... You're right. You did invite me along to go to that party in the first place... And I did bail on you super hard..."

The more the girl thought about it, the more she began to realize just how lucky she was. If anything, Victoria should probably be biting her head off for that whole incident. In fact, she should be downright pissed, considering the fact Avril never got back in contact with her after the whole blow up happened. Of course, Avril didn't exactly have the other blonde's contact information, so reaching her with the holocaster would prove to be very difficult. There was no need to bring up that little detail, however.

"Alright, I guess you got a deal. Anything in particular you'd like...?" Avril inquired, giving Victoria a rather bright looking smile.

Star looks up to Victoria with expectant eyes. As her faithful companion, she should get a chunk of whatever Victoria gets, so hopefully her trainer will choose a good gift. Obviously this girl isn?t well to do enough to get them anything shiny, but a delicious treat shouldn?t be out of the ballpark.

Feeling the prying eyes on her, Victoria glances towards her bag and chuckles, rubbing her Glameow behind the ears. ?How about you buy me some ice cream, and we call it even?? Of all the things people had done to Victoria, and the things Victoria had done to other people, getting ditched at a party was pretty low on the scale. And, to be fair, if she had caused that kind of scene...she wouldn?t have wanted to hang around either.

Star purrs loudly at her trainer?s choice, both to show her contentment, and to draw attention to herself once more. Victoria better share.

Avril glanced down at Victoria's bag, taking note of the Glameow. "It looks like you're not the only one wanting a treat... Alright then, let's head in and we'll go grab a scoop." The girl grabbed her towel and folded it up before placing it in her bag. Glancing over at the napping duo of Marble and Lulu, she gave a quick smile to the duo before calling out to wake them up. "Oh, you don't mind if I stop by the pok?mon center first, do you? I don't think going out on the town in my swimsuit is such a good idea."

?As interesting as that could be, I?ll vote yay on the pitstop.? Victoria smirks. While she wouldn?t mind spending some extra time with Avril?s swimsuit, she?s not too keen on the idea of other prying eyes trying to get a peek. Some people can?t keep their hands to themselves as it is, and she would hate to ruin her day of relaxation by snapping a wrist.

?Mow?? Star looks up to Victoria for clarification. She?s getting a treat too, right? Victoria?s not going to leave her at the Pokemon center and go off to eat all the ice cream herself, right, right?

?Relax, you?ll get some too, if you can be patient.? Victoria chuckles as she rubs the intense looking cat.

The duo was quick to make their way back to the pok?mon center. Since her team was still in good condition, Avril had no need to drop them off for any healing. Rather, she made straight for her room so she could change into something a bit more acceptable for an evening out on the town. Luckily, this only took her a few moments and before long she was back downstairs in the lobby and dressed in her usual attire with Marble right by her side.

"There, how do I look?" Avril asked, flashing Victoria a quick grin.

Was that a rhetorical question? Hopefully not, because Victoria was not going to take it as such. She looked the younger blonde up and down before stepping forward, taking the scarf that wrapped so tightly around Avril?s neck and adjusting it; tugging it so that it hung down a bit looser, and more evenly on each side. ?You look like you?re off to fight the Red Baron when you wear it like that.?

Next, she gently ran her hands through Avril?s hair, attempting to spruce it outward so it didn?t lay so flat against her neck. It looks...a little better, sea salt air is hair?s worst nightmare. ?Be-? Hold on. She lifts Avril?s hat just enough to adjust her bangs, which are a little lopsided. Theeere we go. ?Now you?re good to go.?

"O-Oh, thanks," Avril replied quickly, letting a nervous giggle escape her lips. "I guess I just wear this stuff so much I kinda just... got used to wearing it like that." The Flaaffy by her side gave her trainer a curious look before smiling brightly at her. "By the way, who's the Red Baron...? Is that some kind of famous trainer...?"

Victoria chuckled, more so to hide a resentful grimace than anything else. Kids who grew up without a deadbeat dad probably didn?t need to rely on the comic panels of a cheap newspaper to keep themselves entertained. ?No, he?s a character from an old comic panel. This Smeargle would sit on top of his little house and pretend it was an old airship, and he would fight the Red Baron. He would put on little aviator goggles and a red scarf like that.? How pathetic does it sound that she can describe such a thing in so much detail? ?I bet if we find a store that sells retro-tees, we?ll find the Smeargle.?

"Oh... Well, it sounds neat! You should tell me more about it," Avril replied with sincerity in her voice, giving Victoria a broad grin. Without warning, the younger of the two blondes quickly grabbed hold of her hand and began to lead her out the door with eagerness. "We should get moving. Just thinking about that ice cream is totally killing me at this point! I've totally got a hankering for some blueberry!"

Marble let out a friendly mewl in response to Avril's eagerness. The Flaaffy quickly bounced her way behind the trainer, growing more and more interested in this ice cream that the two trainers kept mentioning. Marble had never had the chance to try such a treat, but if Avril was so excited about it then that meant it had to be something she definitely did not want to miss out on.

Seems this is what makes Avril different from...everyone else: She was so incredibly genuine, she wore a smile that wasn?t fake and a voice that flowed with honest to Arceus interest and eagerness. So many people (admittedly, her included) wore masks with painted smiles, putting them on when they needed to impress someone, or get something from them, and voices that cooed out whatever the other person wanted to hear. Avril?s...different, in the best possible way.

?Blueberry, huh?? Again she hides a bitter memory back by putting on a smirk, twisting her hand so she was properly holding Avril?s own, instead of being tugged around at the wrist. ?Always been more of a banana girl myself, but I?ll let you slide~? She teases.

"Well... it takes all kinds, I guess," Avril replied. "Truth of the matter is, I never really liked bananas all that much. It's probably pretty weird, but the texture of them in my mouth always just felt kinda... yucky to me. I guess the taste never thrilled me to much either."

?I never liked applesauce for that reason. Regular apple, great, but don?t give me that moosh.? This conversation took a weird turn, but it was a pleasant one. Victoria didn?t really have people she just engaged in small talk with. ?Back home, tropical fruit was kinda hard to come by. It didn?t survive long, so if they were in stock, they were pretty expensive.? Is this a boring conversation? She can?t really tell, Avril thought her thing about Snoopy was interesting.

"Really...? Where are you from?" Avril asked, giving Victoria a quite curious look. "I'm from Unova myself, so we never had that problem much when it came to fruits and veggies. In fact, before we moved here my mom used to make regular trips down to Castelia City because the stuff there offered at one of those farmer's market-type places were so fresh..."

Marble watched curiously herself as Avril talked on and on with Victoria. She had never really seen her trainer interact with so long with anyone else that wasn't Emma. That must have meant that this girl was interesting! Picking up her pace, Marble began to trot over towards Victoria and quietly glance at the girl's bag. She quickly noticed the Glameow sitting inside, and quickly offered a friendly wave to the cat pok?mon. Maybe she could be an interesting friend for her to have!

?I?m from Sinnoh. Snowpoint City, to be exact.? Victoria glanced away from Avril just long enough to see the little Flaaffy jogging up to her. Is that the same Mareep that Lucian chomped on when they first met? Good to know the sheep isn?t holding anything against her for that. She turns her attention back to Avril and waves her free hand in front of her in a dramatic fashion. ?Snowpoint City: Snow, we have it.? That?s basically their slogan. They prettied it up when they plastered it on the sign with something about glitter, but really, they just have a crap ton of snow.

Star?s ears flicker as little feet pad their way closer. She turns to see the pink sheep waltzing into her space and offering a little wave. Aww, isn?t that cute. As she turns to study the creature she becomes fascinated with the fluffy parts of its body, why is she only fluffy some places? Did someone trim her? That wool would make such a nice place to sleep. The mischievous cat wriggles her tail at her fluffy friend in greeting.

"Ooooh, Sinnoh? That's the place where um... Cynthia? Yeah, I think that's what Jackson said her name was, Cynthia's from right?" Avril inquired. "To be honest, I get cold super easy... but I'd still like to go there and see it just once, you know?"

?Cynthia?s our beloved champion.? Victoria nods. To be honest, she didn?t know a lot about the woman, only that she was a badass...and sexy, and really, what else does she need to know? ?You should come during the Diamond Dust festival-- around the new year this snow falls, but it doesn?t look like snow when it?s falling, it?s...glittery. It?s kind of pretty.? That?s an understatement, it?s truly beautiful, though the appeal faded away for Victoria years ago. ?We?ll arrange something after you become champion. They get vacations, right?? She winks.

Avril felt her cheeks heat up a bit from Victoria's statement. Her eyes quickly glancing downward towards the ground as they walked. "I... I dunno about that. I'm not really all that strong of a trainer, you know? There are a lot of others much better suited for the whole champion thing..."

Immediately, thoughts of her sister and even her father began to flash through her mind. Running into the old man really seemed to put the girl's emotions on edge and she began to feel quite nervous just at the thought of battling him in Shalour City. Unknowingly, Avril began to tighten her grip on Victoria's hand as she began to fuddle through her mind to get away from the thoughts.

"Still though, that does sound really pretty. Now I only wanna go to Sinnoh even more," she eventually added, returning to the conversation at hand.

?Remember how we tied in our battle? If I couldn?t beat you, and you don?t think you?re very strong, what does that say about me?? Victoria smirks, her eyes narrowing in a flirtatious, playful manner. She knew Avril was trying to get back to the conversation about pretty snow, but dang it, she was going to make Avril have faith in herself, even if she had to drag her into the realization that she was kind of amazing. That Shuppet, and this little lamb, who had grown up a heck of a lot since the last time Victoria saw her. She was just a baby then, and one day she?ll be capable of mega evolution-- so will that Shuppet, actually. Avril?s going to kick so much ass.

"Oh, no! Don't get me wrong! I... I didn't mean you were weak or anything like that all!" Avril quickly sputtered out, her face growing more flushed with every word she managed to pit out. The girl paused, quickly adjusting her scarf for a moment. "I just... I... um... I'm pretty sure I was just lucky, that's all."

Adorable save, not that Avril was ever in any danger of making Victoria mad, still though, watching her fumble over her words was cute, and that was enough. ?You?ve got, what? One badge?? She graduated from Aquacorde, went through Lumiose, where the gym was shut down, so...if her mental map is right, that bug gym?s the only one she could have gotten to. ?Plenty of time to realize what a badass you are.?

It?s then that the duo walks in front of a small clothing store. Victoria?s eyes light up when she sees one of the mannequins in the window wearing the t-shirt she described earlier: A Smeargle standing atop a dog house, wearing a red scarf, a pair of aviator goggles and a cap, and holding his hands as if he?s holding a steering wheel. The mannequin is wearing a scarf in the same fashion, and a hat that somewhat resembles an aviator?s cap. ?Well, what?d?y know??

Avril paused, taking a look at the mannequin in the window. While the design on the t-shirt was rather adorable, Avril couldn't help but feel a bit... off about what she saw. The scarf in particular caught her eye. It looked almost identical to the way she wore her own... And in the same style, just as Victoria said. The girl's smile faltered just a bit as she looked at the mannequin and then back down at herself. Marble seemed to be fully aware of her trainer's distress. The Flaaffy who had been in an intense and rather adorable conversation with the Glameow riding in Victoria's bag, made her way over to her trainer and looked up at her with concern in her eyes.

"...Victoria...? I know we haven't known each other long, but..." Avril began. "Do you... Do you think my style is... I dunno, a bit... well, dorky...?"

?Dorky? No.? Victoria shakes her head. Okay, yes, since adjusting her scarf, Victoria couldn?t help but notice that Avril wasn?t the most stylish person she had ever met, yet she didn?t fall into dork territory. It was more? ?Your outfit?s cute, but it is a little...plain.? Plain?s a good word, there?s nothing wrong with dressing plain, especially not when you?re on a journey, although...if Avril wants to spice it up a bit? ?Buuuut if you?re looking for a makeover, I could totally be your consultant.? Again, her eyes begin to shimmer at the idea.

Avril glanced back over at the window with the mannequin in it, taking a look at a mirror inside the display. "Maybe... Maybe it is time for one. I mean... It's not like fashion is a huge priority for me, but a lot's happened since this journey started and... Well, I just don't feel like this look represents the person I am anymore..." Clenching her hand into a fist, Avril turned back to Victoria and nodded. "I think... I think I would like that."

?Great! Let?s go!? Victoria gives Avril?s hand a gentle tug as she shoves her other hand against the door, swinging it opened with enthusiasm.

Star looks around the room her trainer just practically shoved them into, and squints. This place does not smell like ice cream at all. She looks up to the blonde girl with the most judgmental of faces. ?Eow.?

?Mama?s got a project to do first.? Victoria?s expression almost resembles a kid in a candy shop.

The Glameow?s tail sways as she makes a grumpy expression.

?What if we get you a nice collar for your new stone?? Victoria bargains, and suddenly the black cat is no longer so grumpy. She bumps her head into Victoria?s side and purrs loudly.

?Excuse her, she?s a diva.? Though Victoria?s still grinning. ?You know what this look needs? Layers. Let?s get you a jacket.?

Avril was in awe as she watched Victoria go to work on this idea of hers to get a new look. Her fellow blonde was practically dragging her across the store, her eyes shining with excitement as the duo began looking through the various jackets that were being sold within. Marble had to move her little sheep legs quickly if she didn't want to get left behind. Thankfully, the duo seemed to stop fairly often, giving the Flaaffy enough time to catch up to them.

Occasionally, Marble would try to help by tugging on Avril's free hand and pointing towards one of the jackets on display. More often than not however, the pok?mon's picks were met with disapproval from Victoria. Avril made sure to still give the electric type a small nod and a word of thanks for her efforts.

Eventually, Victoria did seem to settle on a rather fashionable leather jacket. Length-wise, it was a little short. The jacket didn't come down much further past her chest, which Avril thought seemed a bit odd for a jacket.

"Is it supposed to only go down to there...?" she questioned, glancing from the jacket and back towards Victoria. "I thought jackets were supposed to be longer to help you stay warm."

While Victoria appreciated the helpful sheep?s input, the jackets she seemed drawn to were (much like the Flaaffy herself) very cute, which seemed to be what Avril wanted to get away from. She wanted a tougher outer appearance to represent how she had gotten tougher since her journey began-- at least, that?s what Victoria thought she was going for.

?It?s a Spring-Fall jacket, for days when it?s kind of chilly but not full-on jacket. Kinda like capri pants.? Actually, it was more likely that someone said ?we need to find a way to make the layered look accessible all year long, cut that coat in half!? But her version sounded a lot more reasonable. ?Fall?s just around the corner, so?Try it on??

Avril took the jacket from Victoria and tried it on. It was a little snug, but at the same time it was pretty comfortable. Avril gave Victoria a nervous smile, as if mentally asking for her opinion on the matter.

Victoria answers the nervous smile with a smirk. ?I love it. What do you think, judges?? She asks Star and Marble. Star looks at Avril with a quizzical gaze, and then gives a small nod of approval. Marble mewled in approval, clapping her little sheep-like hands as well.

Avril smiled at the approval of the jacket from Victoria and the two pok?mon. Taking the jacket off, she carefully placed it around her arm so that she could purchase it later. "Well, if you all think it looks good, then who am I to argue? Any other points of advice?"

?Are you opposed to jewelry? Not like hoop earrings or big stones but...like this.? Victoria gestures to the blue choker around her neck, it?s nothing flashy nor distracting, though she always felt it gave her neck a look of elegance that she couldn?t pull off without it.

"Well, no..." Avril replied. She glanced away from Victoria, a slightly embarrassed look on her face as she continued. "It's just... I've been wearing scarves for so long that it never dawned on me to really... wear a necklace or anything like that."

?Are we ditching the scarf all together, or getting you a new one?? Maybe an infinity scarf, those fancy ones that come pre-looped, would look nice, and Avril couldn?t adjust that one to look like an aviator?s scarf.

Star looks up to Avril and shakes her head. The girl doesn?t need a scarf, she needs something shiny. It?s clear that Victoria is going to keep spending time with this girl, and that?s acceptable, she has a cute fuzzy sheep, but she needs to look good if she?s going to be seen with them.

"Well... maybe something like this would do...?" Avril questioned. The girl pointed to a necklace that was on display. It was rather simple in design. A single, silver chain with what looked to be something like a locket attached. The locket had space for something to be inserted, whether it was a picture or a stone or something else of the sort was up to the wearer. Without waiting to be told, Avril removed her scarf and put the necklace on so she could model it for Victoria. "How's this?"

?I?ll be honest, that looks a lot better.? Victoria nods. Maybe it?s because she?s seen her fair share of kids in uniforms wearing scarves, or maybe it was just personal preference, either way, Avril looked a lot older and more mature the second she took off the scarf. That?s what she?s going for, right? Mature, not a kid anymore, ready to take on the world? Star, too, nods her approval, quietly purring as she looks up to Avril.

"Well, that's that then!" Avril decided, taking the necklace to add to her purchase. She glanced down at herself, looking at her leggings and the purple, over-sized tank top she was wearing. "Um... What do you think about these? Should they go too?"

?Not so much a fashion thing as it is a friend thing, but I dunno how much longer you?ll be comfortable in tank tops.? The seasons are changing, and Avril will be going further North, where the sunny beaches will be nothing but a memory. ?And...normally I don?t support the whole ?leggings as pants? thing, but you manage to pull it off. Miiight wanna get some real pants, though, for Snowbelle. It?s kinda like my home town.? Victoria had spent a lot of time studying the Kalos map recently, hoping to pick out a destination that would be half as glamorous as Lumiose.

Avril glanced over at a nearby rack of pants and the like, the girl mulling over in her mind which pairs would look the best. Still wanting to do her part to help, Marble assisted in trying to find that perfect pair for her trainer to wear. The Flaaffy's eyes lit up with excitement as she quickly grabbed hold of a pair of denim shorts and trotted back over towards the two trainers, holding them up with glee.

?Not what I had in mind, but you could totally pull those off.? Well, Snowbelle city wasn?t for awhile, so as long as she could kick Avril of her ?leggings as pants? habit, she wasn?t too concerned with the length of the pants themselves. ?How do you feel about shorts, Avi??

"A-Avi...?" Avril replied back, questioning the sudden use in nickname. A small blushed graced her cheeks as she turned her attention back to the clothing. "I... I guess they're okay, yeah? To be honest, I haven't worn any since I was like... 14 or so."

?It?s your call. If they?re not your thing, I think Marble can find something else.? Although the pink sheep does seem to really want Avril to give these a shot, and there?s no rule that says they can only get one of each item-- if Avril has the money. She?s not exactly strutting a rich-girl persona, or a dirt poor one. This shouldn?t break her.

"Know what...? I'll give it a shot," Avril determined, accepting the shorts from her Flaaffy. Marble beamed with pride, clearly delighted that she managed to help her trainer out with a decision. "You only live once, right?"

?I dunno. Pretty sure I used to be a Glameow.? Victoria smirks down to Star, who returns the smirk with one of her own, along with an affectionate purr. Glancing back to Avril, Victoria nods sharply. ?Now let?s get you a shirt that fits.? Although shirts that doubled as dresses her kind of a thing now too, aren?t they? Shirt-dresses and legging-pants...these styles need to go, yesterday. ?Come on, Marble. Let?s pick out a pretty shirt for Avi~?

What followed was romp through several more racks of various garments, all led by Victoria and occasionally Marble picking up various tops and having Avril go and try them on with the shorts that were picked out a bit ago. Eventually, the one that stood out the most they went with was a dark red, thin-strapped tank top, along with a few long sleeved shirts for Avril to start wearing once it got cooler out. Avril even managed to find a new stocking cap that would match her change of colors and outfit better than the one she was currently wearing.

"Wow, you really know your stuff huh?" Avril questioned, giving Victoria a small giggle. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you were thinking about me needed a fashion change for a while."

?Only since you asked. Guess I wasn?t looking at your clothes before that~? Victoria winks. Avril?s got a cute face...she also has a pair of killer legs, now that she?s not hiding behind a giant tank top. Maybe this outfit will be the confidence boost her friend desperately needs.

"You think I should go bold and change up my hairstyle too?" Avril questioned. She paused, running her hands through her rather long hair. "I mean, we're changing up everything else, so..."

It was not Victoria?s intention to change every aspect of a person she adored, though...when she ran her hands through Avril?s hair back at the Pokemon center, she did notice a dozen or so split ends. Avril?s hair just isn?t thick enough to be so long and not go limp. ?I think you would look great with layers.?

"Layers...? Hmm..." Avril replied, closing her eyes trying to picture what Victoria meant. Unfortunately, she really wasn't up on all the latest trends and styles of hair so the only thing the younger blonde could draw up was a blank. "What's... What do ya mean...?"

?Like?? She?s struggling to think of someone Avril might know of that she can use as an example. ?Have you ever seen someone whose hair has a bunch of different levels? Some strands are longer than others?? Hairstyles are so hard to explain without pictures. Would it be easier to just show her a magazine at the salon?

"Well..." Avril began closing her eyes as she thought it over. "It sounds... kinda similar to how my sister wears her hair."

?The salon will have pictures. Let?s keep being spontaneous~? Victoria?s words earn her a sharp stare from her Glameow. Is Victoria postponing her ice cream again? Her scowl was quickly silenced when the slightly taller blonde waved a sequined white collar in front of the cat Pokemon?s eyes. Okay, these two have bought themselves some time.

The two girls and their pok?mon made their way quickly to a nearby salon. Luckily, it just happened to be more or less a block away from the clothing store that they had just visited. The salon, which so happened to be called Sophie's, was a quaint little location that seemed to be able to take a client or two, despite the fact that it was so late in the afternoon. The salon seemed to have a rather good reputation as well. While it may not have been as large scale as the salons back in Lumiose City, Avril did discover that word on the holocaster gave it a remarkably positive review.

"Welcome ladies," a voice sang out, gaining the attention of both girls rather quickly. The duo found themselves face to face with a somewhat effeminate man. He sported a rather sun-kissed skin complexion, with long, bright pink hair that he kept tied back into a rather sporty ponytail, all with bangs neatly lining the side of his face. He was dressed in a pair of black slacks with a silk, purple dress shirt covering his torso, though the shirt's sleeves were rolled up for obvious reasons. "My name's Matthew! Is there anything I can help you girls with today?"

?I told my friend here that she?d look badass with some layers...then I fumbled explaining what layers are.? Victoria throws her arm around Avril?s shoulders as she speaks. ?You can explain better, I?m sure.?

Star peers out of her travel bag to look at the surrounding area, the pink haired guy standing before them, and Victoria?s arm around Avril. Don?t humans do that to tell other humans this human is theirs? Is Victoria declaring Avril her human? Does it work that way?

"Layers, hmm?" Matthew replied. The man took a step back, examining Avril carefully as if she was some piece of art at a museum that needed interpreting. "Oh, yes! I can definitely see where you're coming from. Layers would look absolutely amazing on her! Gimme just a second, sweetie."

Matthew quickly walked over to the counter and grabbed hold of a magazine, one most likely used by clients to help pick out new hairstyles. He flipped open the magazine, humming to himself quietly as he turned the pages until he found just the one he was looking for. He showed the image to the girls, revealing a woman with black hair sporting a hairdo that went down to just past her shoulders. Sure enough, Avril was able to make out just why the look was called the layered look by looking at it... and despite being sort of similar to her sister's hairstyle of choice, the blonde found herself taking quite a liking to it.

"You know, I think I wanna give it a try," Avril decided, flashing both Matthew and Victoria a quick grin. "I mean, the style anyways. I think I wanna stay blonde, if that's not a problem."

"Oh, don't you worry about thing... I wouldn't dare touch that color of yours, it's so lovely!" Matthew replied. He motioned for the duo to follow him as he began to head into the salon proper. "Come on back here, and we'll get started right away!"

?I like him. He?s got good taste~? Victoria smirks in approval. He can see what a genetic goldmine it is to have natural blonde hair, that canned garbage just does not capture the same shine. Swaying along behind Matthew and Avril, she smiles down to her rather curious cat. ?Let?s watch some magic happen.?

Matthew led Avril to his chair, allowing Victoria to take a seat in the unoccupied one to the right. The girl took off her hat, handing it over to Victoria to hold while she had her hair worked on. As Matthew helped his new client get settled in, he began to make the usual small talk that stylists usually do when working on hair.

"So... tell me, how long have you two been together," he began, taking a pair of scissors in his hand.

The soft sound of snipping began to reach Avril's ears as she blinked slowly. "Together...? Well, I mean... I ran into her on the beach earlier this afternoon..."

Victoria happily took the hat, waiting a good ten seconds before putting it on her own head. Typically she?s more of a baseball cap kind of girl, but Avril makes the stocking hats look so cute that it?s worth a try. Star slips out of the bag and into her trainer?s lap so Victoria could begin to look for her compact mirror, and that?s when it registered what Matthew was implying. ?Well, we had our first kiss about a week ago.? She winks at the mirror.

Avril's face turned a dark shade of red, though Matthew seemed to miss it all together. "Oh my, so you're a new couple? That is just so cute... Well, I gotta say that you picked yourself a good one just by looks alone!"

Avril shot Victoria a look, her eyes wide as she was trying to figure out what the girl was trying to do. Marble glanced between the two trainers, finding herself curious as well. Why did Avril seemed to be so flustered all of a sudden? Did Victoria do something that made her nervous or something? The Flaaffy thought they were getting along great so far. Should she be ready in case Avril had to battle?

Victoria chuckles to herself as she reaches for her tiny shopping bag, taking out Star?s new collar so she can put it on the sassy black cat. She seems about as oblivious as Matthew does to Avril?s blush and her hard stare. Maybe she should have told him they weren?t official, but she knows how that goes: Then the guy starts falling all over himself apologizing, and then he gets jittery, and then he whacks off the wrong piece of Avril?s hair. Sometimes it?s best just to play along.

Star, having no idea what the humans are discussing (and not caring) turns towards the wide-eyed Avril and her fluffy friend, puffing out her chest to show off her new shiny treasure.

Marble curiously glanced over at Star's collar, the Flaaffy mewling in awe as she took a few steps closer to get a better look at the cat's new accessory. Meanwhile, Matthew continued to work on Avril's hair, all the while gushing over how cute the "couple" looked together.

"You know, you two kind of remind me of myself and Steve," Matthew mused as he began to take a comb through Avril's hair. "I liked him for the longest time and I kept on trying to send him all these little hints and messages, you know? Well, Steve took so long to get them through his head... He's smart, but exactly the most common sense kinda guy, you know what I mean? Anyways, I was starting to worry about whether or not he'd ever actually realize what I was telling him. So I ended up just saying to myself, 'Matthew, it's time for you to step up and just be upfront about it!' Turns out, that Steve had also been feeling the same way about me, and he just hadn't been able to work up the nerve to tell me himself! Low and behold, four years later here we are!"

The man paused, taking note of the Glameow and Flaaffy chatting amongst themselves. "Ooooh, so I take it you two are trainers? That's so cute, having someone you care about so much on the road with you!"

More rummaging through her bag, occasionally smiling and ?aww?ing at Matthew?s adorable love story. Four years? Geez, she hoped it wouldn?t take Avril four years to get the hint, even if her naivety was about as cute as a box of Espurrs. ?Do you have any pictures of you and Steve?? She asks as she retrieves what she was looking for: A small eviolite, carved into a star shaped pattern. It?s kind of amazing what the people around this town can do with a rock. Victoria hooks it onto Star?s new collar and runs her hand down the purring Pokemon?s back. After seeing what she would become upon evolving, Star became horrified...and Victoria could not blame her. Luckily they were able to find a fashionable solution.

"Sure I do! it's right over there," Matthew gestured towards a small frame on the corner of his workstation. In the small, wooden frame was a picture of two men. One being Matthew and the other being Steve. Steve was a bit taller than Matthew. His hair was not quite as full as Matthew's, as it was beginning to show signs of receding. He was dressed in a green polo shirt and khaki pants, with a pair of thin, black-framed glasses over his eys. "We had that taken on our first date. It seems like such a long time ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday."

Avril glanced upwards towards Matthew as he seemed to be thinking back to the day shown in the picture. A small smile graced her lips as she looked back down at the picture. It must have been nice to be able share such a tender moment and have it captured forever. A part of Avril wondered if she'd ever really have a chance for something like that.

?That?s adorable.? Victoria expresses as she looks at the picture. She had never spent a lot of time with someone in a loving relationship, and she sure as hell had never been in one herself. If he?s any indicator, it?s a nice place to be...loved by someone. Reaching back into her small shopping bag she takes out a tiny button-- a button with a picture of Snoopy in his aviator costume, which she discretely slipped into Avril?s bag.

The three continued to make small talk until finally Matthew had finished his work on Avril's hair. The girl was stunned when she looked into the mirror. She could hardly recognize the person staring back at her. Slowly, a broad smile came to her lips as she fully took in her new style. Marble stared up in awe at her trainer, letting out a soft mewl as she beamed in approval.

"I take it by the look on your face that you're a fan of your new hairdo?" Matthew asked with a smirk. "Well, I'm glad I could help out a nice girl like you. It looks absolutely stunning!"

?Lookin? good~? Victoria smirks as she rises from her chair with Star in her arms. The Glameow takes a look at the blonde in the mirror and mimics her trainer?s speech with a pleased mew. It?s hard to believe this was the same girl they picked up on the beach just a few hours ago.

"T-Thanks..." Avril replied, the girl finding herself blushing all the while from Victoria's approval. The trainers followed Matthew to the front of the store, where Avril paid him for his work on her hair. Now with new clothes and a new hairdo, Avril was truly beginning to feel pretty good about herself. Giving a proud smile to Victoria, Avril began to lead the way down the street. "Now, let's get some ice cream."

Spoiler:

LinearAxel · Sep 9, 2017

Shifting Tides pt 1.5

Sebastian Allender

*image removed**image removed**image removed**bulbagarden.net image removed**image removed**image removed*

Route 8

As the duo made their trek over the imposing structure that was the cliff-sides of route 8, two thoughts continued to shove themselves to the forefront of Sebastian?s mind: He was going to write Mr Honto a strongly worded thank you note for making this path obsolete in order to get to Ambrette, and?

?...How could Mr. Amos make it up here without falling?? Renia broke the silence. It?s not that she didn?t believe the elderly blind man had made his way up the jagged pass, he...pretty much had to. They had spent hours searching the lower half of route 8, Ambrette Town and its beach, this was the only path that connected to the little town that they hadn?t gone through yet, though...it still begged the question.

?I suppose...when you?ve lived somewhere for over sixty years...you memorize the paths around it.? Sebastian reaches for his inhaler, the upward haul, along with the mix of dirt and debris they stirred up with each step, being quite difficult on his lungs.

?Are you sure you don?t want to take a break? Renia frowns.

?We can?t.? Sebastian shakes his head. They had wasted so much time scouring the city and the beach, the sun had started to set, and their chances of finding the old man would dwindle significantly once it became dark.

Renia returns her attention to the unsteady path ahead. She could point out that having to drag his unconscious body back down the path would be a much more significant time-waster than taking a minute to catch their breath, but...so would arguing over it. Hopefully Sebastian knows his limits better than he appears to.

?Rai?? Comes the displeased sound of Renia?s Alolan Raichu (who, to Sebastian?s surprise is not pink). It?s a shame the human doesn?t have a nice little tail to sit on so he can float. The least he can do is offer to push Renia?s new friend up the mountain.

Ahead of the group, a sharp, urgent bark calls out. Chance comes trotting back to his trainer and points ahead with his paw, a low growl escaping his throat from behind clenched teeth.

?Renia, be careful?? Sebastian warns as he rubs Chance behind his ear.

?Careful of-- oh.? As the pink haired girl gets closer to the top of the cliffside, she can see what has Sebastian?s Pokemon so on edge: The top of the cliff is absolutely covered in small craters and ravine...one wrong step and you?re in a hole.

?What is it??

?It looks like every Geodude in a five mile radius came up here to use Explosion??

Cautiously, Sebastian steps forward, Chance all but pressing himself into Sebastian?s leg. As trainer and Pokemon observe the area, they quickly lose sight of their pink haired companion, who has navigated her way to the other side of the overlook, peeking into each crater as she walks.

?Ren--!? Sebastian calls out, only to be interrupted by the pink haired girl?s significantly louder scream.

?SEBASTIAN! HE?S DOWN THERE!?

At the bottom of the largest crater laid the somewhat twisted, unnervingly still form of an old man. His body appeared burned in several places, with large chunks of his clothing appearing to have burned away. Renia might not have been so far off with her Explosion-and-or-Self Destruct theory. ?H-how do we??

?We don?t. We need to call someone who knows how to move him.?

Renia frantically called the poor man?s daughter, who quickly got in touch with the small town?s hospital. A helicopter was sent to the top of the cliffs, where a team of first responders managed to strap Mr. Amos onto a flat surface and out of the large crater without snapping his neck...which already seemed to be hanging by a thread. Fearing that whatever caused so many explosions might still be lurking, Sebastian and Renia are all but dragged into the helicopter before it descends back to Ambrette Town.

?Still no sign of Probo?? Renia frowns as she looks out the helicopter?s window. How could something so big be so hard to find?

?Probo? You two are looking for a Probopass too?? One of the responders asks, causing Renia and Sebastian to glance at one another in confusion.

?...Too??? Renia asks.

?My husband?s in the Ranger corps. Yesterday he told me there were reports from trainers about some hooded men dragging a very disoriented Probopass through Spike Path. They?re pretty sure the poor thing was stolen. Sure hope they find the poor dear soon??

?Are you thinking what I?m thinking?? Renia asks.

?Next stop, Spike Path?? If the report came in yesterday, the thieves would have had enough time to get through the area; however, if they?re dragging a Probopass, they should be easy enough to track, no matter where they?ve gotten to.

[/color]

Shak · Sep 9, 2017

Stage 12 - Ambrette Town, Spike Passage & Glittering Cave

Time at Stage Start: 10 PM

With the adventures in Ambrette Town set to finally come to a close, our heroes are met with a rather disturbing development. Under the noses of all involved, the power supply set in the Cyllage City Lighthouse was stolen in the middle of the night and the resulting tragedy was catastrophic. A massive cruise liner has crashed ashore on Route 8L late last night and the aftermath is currently still being cleared to the best of the local Rangers ability. While the tragedy is being cleared as best as possible, trainers are asked to abstain and assist with various rescue relief efforts in the town itself, while also assisting in what is being called a high priority threat to the safety of citizens left ashore, the recovery of the lighthouse's power supply and the names of those responsible for this senseless loss of life and nature. A hefty reward has been offered to any whom can bring the criminals to justice.

In the meantime, the authorities suspect that the criminals may be hiding out in the cramped and dangerous glittering cave, filled to the brim with crystaline structures and ancient fossils, the light reflects through these ancient halls in prismatic beams that create a colourful haze throughout the narrow passageways bored out by pok?mon of old. To get here here however, is no simple task, the spires of stone and spikes that line the appropriately named Route 9 jut out from the floor below making passage by foot dangerous and incredibly slow going. It is reccommended that you take a pok?mon suited to mountainous terrain as your mount and cross the rugged path upon their back. For those lacking a pok?mon suited to this sort of task, the open sky has no stones to speak of.

Regardless of your interest in the crimes that have occured, Ambrette town offers the same services as before and there'll be plenty to do for all trainers in this mountainous roadblock.

Pok?mon Available (Level 30-32):

Spike Passage:

Pok?mon available to those using a Great Ball (Level 34):

Pok?mon available to those using on Mission 5 (Level 30-32):

Pok?mon Available (Level 30-32):
Glittering Cave:

Pok?mon available to those using a Great Ball (Level 34):

As a carry over from the previous Ambrette Town stage, all missions marked as OPEN will remain available to players in Stage 12, ? Missions not included. All pok?mon from the previous stage located in and around Ambrette Town will also remain available.

Now then, onto the new missions:

? Mission 1:
Team Cinder grunts have been seen milling around the old caves at the end of Route 9, their plans are unknown and they've been doing their best to remain inconspicuous... but talking to locals you've gathered that they seem to be building something at the heart of Glittering Cave. The situation is dangerous and volatile to say the least and the population of Ambrette has been too frightened to investigate further. However, a savior came recently claiming to be the one to put a stop to things. The Aura Guardian, Simon, has gotten directly involved... and has been staying at a small center set up at the centrance to the cave itself. It's obvious that Cinder has the power source for the Cyllage Lighthouse, together, perhaps you and Simon could find the fiends and put a stop to this.

Reward: Cyllage Lighthouse Power Supply (Can be brought to Cyllage for a great reward, currently unknown.)

Mission 1:
An angered Durant nest is enough to strike fear into any pokemon. While everyone that stumbles upon the terrifying armies of pokemon flees straight away, one straggler seems to be thriving in such an environment: A Heatmor. A pokemon feeding on its natural prey usually wouldnt be a problem, but every time the Heatmor discovers the entrance to their nest, they're forced to build a new one. If things keep going the way they are, the Durant could end up becoming pests to Ambrette!

Reward:
Metal Coat + 1 Heat Rock

Mission 2:
Kane the photographer has come all the way from Viola's gym in Santalune to get a shot of a the fearsome Skarmory that can be found on this route. Problem is, is a but type trainer, so there's no way he can handle this thing on his own. If he's to climb onto the mountainsides where the the Skarmory roost, he's going to need a lot more than his own pokemon for protection.

Reward:
x3 Great Balls

Mission 3:
Sky battles are super popular on spike passage, but one kill joy, seems to be intent on ruining everyones fun. A petty trainer, who doesnt have any flying types, is sabotaging the contests by sending random Thunder attacks with his Heliolisk. If someone doesnt step in and get rid of this guy, the sky battlers may give him more than he bargained for.

Reward:
Flight Saddle

[OPEN]Mission 4:
The mazy tunnels of spike passage can be dangerous. Just the thing to draw in the thrill seekers. High stakes rhyhorn racing takes place regularly on the spiky and rough terrain. It's not the smartest of endeavours, but should you win, it can certainly be rewarding.

Reward:
6000 Poke

Mission 5:
Team Cinder have a strong presence in glittering cave. It's unclear what they're looking for, but they need to be stopped. It would be far too dangerous to attack any of them head on, but perhaps a stealthy trainer could use the darkness and the tunnels Cinder has dug to their advantage.

Reward:
Green and Black Dust

Mission 6:
Since the meteorites fell near Ambrette Beach, strange Sun and Moon shaped pokemon have been making their way to glittering cave. The pokemon are inseperable, yet cant stand being near each other. Some of the scientists studying the fall sites have reported that when they two come together, they produce the most beautiful of astral visuals.

Reward:
Sun Stone + Moon Stone

Mission 7:
A Kangaskhan is staring in despair at a boulder. Upon closer inspection, the large rock seems to be obstructing some sort of passageway. She seems to want whatever's on the other side very badly. To make matters worse...her pouch is empty!

Reward:
Cubone + 1 Egg Move + Thick Club

[OPEN] Mission 8:
The recent boat crash has left many families seperated at a refugee camp set up at the gate leading to Route 8 from Ambrette Town. Many people have been critically injured or need help in locating their family members. Spouses searching for significant others, parents looking for children, little ones searching desperately for their Mommy. It's an incredibly sad scene amidst a sea of injuries and pain. If you or your pok?mon can assist the rangers in healing the various people and pok?mon, or in reuniting seperated families, then you will be rewarded for your time.

Reward:
2 Full Restores + 1 First Aid Kit

Mission 9
The recent crash on the coast has left many wild pok?mon habitats dirupted both near the coast and further beyond. The newly established underwater safari park has been suddenly bombarded by strange floating jelly like pok?mon that have been attacking those diving from above the sanctioned water. One or two people have already been injured and the owner of the business is beside herself. She's promised anyone who can remove the pok?mon a reward, she cares not for how you accomplish this so long as they're no longer a threat.

Reward:
2 Unbound Safari Balls (Equivalent of Great Balls), 3 Pok?mon Trakcers (Attach to a pok?mon to track their location with the pok?dex across the region.)

Mission 10:
A local Shuckle upon Route 9 that the locals call "The Wall" has been dislodged from his usually completely unmoving position upon a nearby ridge, he's crushes a patch of spikes and is now blocking a significant portion of the path leading to Glittering Cave. He refuses to leave his shell and nobody can convince him to crawl back to his original position, some blame the pok?mons age, some claim he should be defeated to teach him a lesson... but his shell is rumored to be completely unbreakable, can he really even be damaged? What's that? Why is a single little Shuckle a problem anyway? I suppose I should have mentioned this first...

This Shuckle is the size of a Snorlax.

Reward:
TM Infestation + 1 Assault Vest

[OPEN] Mission 11:
Rockslide! As you're heading down Route 9 a wave of boulder sbegins to tumble down towards you and your pok?mon, threatening to crush everything in their path... you and other travellers included! Dodge as best you can, but watch out... it seems a young boy and his mother have tumbled off the cliff face and are lying injured down the side of the sheer drop on the Southern Side of the pathway! Someone has to do something... or this could be it for them.

Reward:
Shell Bell + TM Return + 1 Hard Rock

Mission 12:
A powerful Medicham resides deep in glittering cave alongside her master. Many have tried to defeat the hardened old lady, but they say her masterful use of weapons makes her practically unbeatable in a pokemon battle. With Cinder all over the place, the lady has her hands full with challengers thinking they can get rid of her, but as the grunts keep flooding in, she may be in need of some help.

Reward:
Shield Fossil or Razor Claw

Kana · Sep 9, 2017

ODETTE RADIUJU

Grace? ?
Modest / Synchronize
- Moveset

Rhyhorn ?
Lonely / Reckless
- Moveset

Magnemite
Quirky / Analytic
- Moveset

REUNION I?//?Lumiose City

''Yes, father.''

The office around her was dark and quiet. Thick, velvet curtains prevented any sunlight from coming in, so instead the room was enveloped in the yellowish glow of the ceiling chandelier. The girl was sat in a small armchair, directly facing the imposing wooden desk on which her father had placed his elbows. His hands were folded together, and pressed to his lips as his stern gaze was trained upon her for a few moments longer. He then released his grip, and leaned back in his chair.

''Very well. I shall order a car to take you to Ambrette Town.''

''Father, I'm perfectly capable--''

''I think not. Do you have any idea how long the road is from Lumiose to Ambrette? The only piece of civilisation in between is that... provincial settlement of Camphrier. And I will not have you come close to that Perfume Palace. The place is riddled with tourists, even more so with the contest going on, and who knows what scum could be hiding among that crowd.''

His daughter tensed up and gripped the edge of her skirt, but tried her hardest not to let her frustration show. Was he even going to let her go on this journey to begin with? It'd only been a few days and he'd already conveniently flown in to Lumiose. For a business meeting, as he explained. But of course he would not pass up the opportunity to invite his daughter to his local office, to 'catch up'... despite the two rarely talking at all before she left home.

Her gaze slid down toward the desk. ''Yes... Thank you.''

''As long as you understand. I'm only trying to look out for you.'' His words were kind, but his voice not in the least - rather, it sounded as though the man was about done dealing with her, and wished to wrap up their meeting sooner rather than later. He picked up the phone on the desk, and began making the aforementioned arrangements. Meanwhile the girl's mind started to wander. She looked at the tightly closed curtains, from under which only a faint glow was left of the bright sun's rays. How thoughtful of him, to keep her protected, wasn't it? That notion somehow made her stomach curl. If he was so caring, why was she always so uncomfortable in his presence? Why was it so hard for her to speak to him at all? As the theories piled up in her mind, she didn't even realise he finished calling. He stood up, habitually straightened his tie, and walked past her towards the door.

''Come, Odette.''

Her father's words roused her from her thoughts, and Odette quickly rose to follow him outside.

- - -

Soon after, she was seated in a familiar black car with tinted windows. Grace had been called out to keep her company, and she sat in her trainer's lap, the latter's arms wrapped around her. Odette quietly reflected on the day's events. Her father's sudden invitation when she had intended to leave Lumiose first thing in the morning... but she couldn't exactly refuse to meet him, either. Of course he went on to make her wait all day, only to join him for dinner and be sent away soon after. Self-centered as ever, but Odette was accustomed to his 'scheduling difficulties'.

Only when Grace let out a cry did Odette realise she'd been squeezing her a little too hard. She released her arms, and Grace flailed out for a moment... but then turned around to face her, and stretched out her arm towards Odette. The girl took her Pok?mon's little hand, and her eyes went wide as the Ralts's shone bright blue. Smiling weakly as she felt Grace's attempt to share her sorrow through Pain Split, she quickly broke the connection and hugged her tightly instead. If no one else, at least her saving Grace she could rely on.

When the pair finally reached Ambrette Town, the sun had long set. Ralts was returned to her Pok?ball, and as she placed it back in her bag, Odette pensively glanced over the other two occupied balls she carried... but then quickly zipped it shut. For now, she needed to get going. Get back on track, and escape the watchful eye of her father hanging above her head.

GanguEevee · Sep 10, 2017

-DISCLAIMER: This takes place around Stage 11. Also, the symbols indicating thoughts have been changed, cause PC doesn?t like the previous ones now.-

~A (Mostly) Simple Day in Ambrette~
_______________________________
In the Ambrette Pok?mon Center...
_______________________________

?...And that?s why we?re going to be working even harder than usual! The next time we enter the contest, we?re going to crush...Wait, no...We?re going to pummel the competition! No matter how much time we waste!? Caroline was giving a??motivational? speech to her current team of Pok?mon in the center, including the newest member of her party: Chalk, a female Skorupi who was quite the quiet type.

?This is going to be our main objective as a member of the newly made Team Oblivion! No matter what, we?re going to get three ribbons and enter the Grand Festival!...Oh, and also get all 7 gym badges too. So, everybody raise your arms up and say ?yeah?!? Candle raises both of his stubby hands up in the air. ?Litwick!? Shiny scowled and raised one hand up in the air in annoyance. ?Min?? Nathan dozed off during Caroline?s speech. Pudoru just shook her head in sarcastic embarrassment, shrugged and just raised one paw in the air while secretly snickering. Zuruggu was just tapping his foot, ignoring the whole speech, while Chalk was just shaking her head in actual embarrassment.

Dahlia and Fondre, who was still recovering from her hangover (She still passes out at random intervals), just heard the speech and sighed. ?...Team Oblivion? Really, dude? I?m not saying that it?s bad, it?s just that...? ?What, is the name too simple? Couldn?t really think of anything else, to be honest. At the very least, the name has a chance of striking fear to our opponents?? ?Yeah, unless they?re like Caroline, who doesn?t even know the definition of the word ?oblivion?.?

Oblivion:

The state of forgetting completely, of being oblivious, unconscious, unaware, as when sleeping, drunk, or dead.
The state of being completely forgotten, of being reduced to a state of non-existence, extinction, or nothingness, incl. through war and destruction. (Figuratively) for an area like hell, a wasteland.

After withdrawing all of her Pok?mon (Except for Candle, who she just picked up and held in her hands), Caroline happily skipped over to the two. ?So, what did you think of my speech?? Dahlia raised a thumbs up with a nervous grin on his face, while Fondue blew a raspberry. Caroline made a pouty face, while Candle blew a raspberry back. ?Whatever! I?m a part of your posse now and there?s nothing you can do about it!? ?Well, I hope you can prove it as these days go by...Maybe you might actually mature for once?? ?You sound tired, Fondue...Are you okay?? Fondre put her hand up to her head and started to groan. Dahlia sighed. ?Even if I might not be a heavy drinker, at least my hangovers usually end quite quickly.? ?...Shut up, Dahlia...The only thing I?m hoping for is that these darn pills can actually make this hangover finally stop?? She immediately faints on Dahlia?s lap as soon as she says this sentence.

?I hope that you might recover soon, too?? He patted her on the head. He got up from his position and looked at Caroline. ?So, would you like to go to the aquarium? I think we deserve a nice small break from all that...contest drama...from before.? ?Can we do it later? I want to go to the beach and catch something!? ?Litwick!? ?Really?? Well, okay then. But first?? He took out Dolores? Pok? Ball and Haku?s Heal Ball and opened them up. Haku immediately hid inside Dahlia?s bag, while Dolores flew around Dahlia in a circle. She stopped and looked at him. ?Vivi?? ?Don?t worry, I?m fine?Let?s just relax for today, alright?? Haku peered his head out of the bag at the sound of that and sighed in relief. Dolores just sat on top of Dahlia?s head.

?Alright, now we can go.?

_______________________________
At the beach~
_______________________________

?Oh, what a nice looking piece of coral! It?s so big, too. Maybe we should give it to Dahlia as a nice present!? ?Litwick?? ?...Oh, you don?t agree? How about Lillie, then?? Candle nodded happily. Caroline just smiled and picked up the big piece of pink coral. Then it moved. ?Corsola?? ?Huh??? She turned the piece of coral around to see a face on it. ?Oh, it?s a Pok?mon! I honestly thought you were a piece of coral. I?m sorry for picking you up.? ?Litwick.? The Corsola smiled in response, accepting the apology. Caroline put the Corsola back down on the sand. ?You?re actually very cute for a piece of coral. Hey, do you wanna be friends? You?re gonna have to battle sometimes, though.? Corsola flinched a bit at the sound of that, but thought about that for a bit. ?Oh, if you don?t wanna come with us, that?s fine! My brother told me that I have enough Pok?mon to worry about already.? ?Cor?! Corsola, Corsola!? ?Litwick??

The Corsola decided to tell Candle about his small life story. Shortened to the point, he has been considered by his rowdy pack of Corsola to be very weak, so he has decided to go on a long journey to become stronger. He apparently swam all the way from Hoenn to Kalos, which sounded too ridiculous to be true. Perhaps being with a trainer might make this journey a bit less tedious. Candle warned him that if he dares to join them, he must participate in a contest if Caroline tells him to. He also warned him that many of their teammates are...not really very friendly or sociable (Pudoru may as well be the only one that might fit both of those categories, but considering her usual mischievous self?). Considering that his pack were a bunch of jerks, Corsola felt that this would probably not be as bad as them.

?Corsola!? Candle nodded his head twice and smiled. ?Litwick!? Caroline got one of her Pok? Balls in response to this. ?Is that a yes, Candle?? Candle nodded. ?Okay then! Welcome to the team, Mirror!? She threw the ball at the Corsola now named Mirror. One shake, two shakes...three. Ding.

_______________________________
Meanwhile...
_______________________________

?Eevee?!? ?You?ve heard me correctly. In order for you to fully bloom into a beautiful rose, you must fight. Don?t worry, these won?t be as terrible as those horrid cage matches from a while back. Besides, if you can?t properly battle, how are you going to defend yourself from certain situations like that?? Haku flinched, before sadly sighing. ?Exactly. Now then?Dolores, why don?t you scout for a possibly easy match for Haku?? Dolores did as she was told and flew off to find an easy target. When she came back, she was actually pulling over a dopey looking pink Pok?mon by its tail with her wings. It didn?t seem to mind at all.

Dahlia just blinked, while Haku tilted his head. Dahlia pointed his Pok?dex at the Pok?mon. ?Slowpoke, the Dopey Pok?mon. No one can tell what a Slowpoke is thinking, if it ever does think. If something bites its tail, it won't even notice for a whole day.? ?...Okay, I wasn?t actually expecting this. But I suppose this is good enough. Since you have pulled it all the way here, I guess I?ll go ahead and try to catch it...? Dahlia snapped his fingers, with Haku flinching a bit at the sound of the snap. ?Haku, it?s time to battle with grace~!? Haku gets into a battle position. ?E-Eve?!? ?Let us blind them with Sand Attack!? Haku turned around and started to kick dirt at the Slowpoke with his hind legs.

The Slowpoke tilted its head at all the sand on it?s body. ?...Slow??? ?...Hmm. It appears we are facing an interesting opponent. No matter. Even if they don?t truly feel it, we still did something that might affect what they?re going to do next. Haku, use Tackle!? Haku hesitated for a bit, before charging forward to tackle the Slowpoke, leading it to tumble on the sand. The Slowpoke slowly got up and just shook its body around, mostly unfazed by the attack. It yawned, with a purple aura forming around it for a few seconds, before disappearing. ?It?s going to do something...Haku, try to use Tackle again, but be careful.? Haku goes with the command and tries to tackle the Slowpoke...but he couldn?t. In fact, he couldn?t move his entire body. ?Hmm? What?s wrong, Haku?? ?E-Eevee???

+Something?s stopping him from making a move...What could it be?+ Dahlia looked at the Slowpoke and noticed that its eyes were shining a light blue for a few seconds. Haku?s entire body was outlined in the same color. ?Disable?!? The Slowpoke wasted no time and charged towards Haku, its forehead glowing blue. Haku is launched into the air with great force. Dolores, who was watching the battle quietly until now, immediately flew to grab Haku before he hit the ground. After placing him back on the ground, Dolores just looked at Dahlia, who then sighed. ?It appears that this battle is going to be harder than I thought. Haku, come back to my side. Dolores will take care of--?

?Eevee?!? Haku was now growling at the Slowpoke, with a few tears in his eyes. That attack made him a little bit peeved. It was quite clear that the Slowpoke, while mostly oblivious to the many things happening around it, is a bit smarter than they thought. ?Oh, do you still want to battle, Haku?? Alright then.? Dahlia snapped his fingers and Dolores flew back to his side. ?I truly had enough of wasting so much time upon this battle...I promised Caroline that we would go to the aquarium soon, too. Let?s speed this up then, shall we? Haku, use Detect!? Haku?s eyes were now glowing a bright red. ?Go on ahead and attack us, you pink dope! This move even blocks the effects of Disable. Think carefully, now?? Slowpoke was now in a tight spot. Seemingly admitting defeat, it once again used Zen Headbutt.

Before it could connect, Haku immediately jumped high in the air, dodging the attack. Haku lands back down on the ground and, without hesitation, charged forward and tackled the Slowpoke. The force of the tackle was strong enough to make Slowpoke tip over backwards, falling flat on it?s front. ?Gotcha.? Dahlia threw his only Great Ball at the Slowpoke. One shake, two shakes...three. Ding. ?A name, a name...A name that would smell just as sweet as a rose...it is usually unaware of what is happening for a few seconds or minutes. Ignaro is Italian for unaware...Yes, I?ll just go ahead and call you that.?

Haku was now breathing a bit haphazardly. ?Oh dear...Haku, you don?t look alright.? Dolores flew over to pick up Haku. ?Vivi.? ?Yes, I believe it?s high time we go and rendezvous with Caroline at the Pok?mon Center. And then, we?ll have our visit to the aquarium.? Dolores put Haku in Dahlia?s hands and was immediately withdrawn back into her ball. Dahlia sighed and looked at Haku. ?You did great today, my sweet little rose bud. Keep this up and you?ll bloom in no time.? Haku just looked up at Dahlia and smiled. Dahlia withdrawn him back into his ball after that.

_______________________________
At the Aquarium~
_______________________________

Dahlia and Caroline?s trip to the aquarium was the usual fair when it comes to trips to the aquarium. Well, except for the fact that they were suddenly confronted by an odd scientist at some point during it. ?Hello there. You wouldn?t happened to be Pok?mon Trainers, yes?? Dahlia and Caroline stared at each other for a bit before they stared back at the scientist. ?Uh?? ?Is that a trick question?? The scientist nervously laughed. ?Sorry for the obvious question. I was just trying to make sure you were the people that young trainer was talking about.? ?Young trainer??? ?Yes, yes. He had blond hair and was wearing a long black coat. Do you know someone like that?? +Fondre must have gave Vex a black coat at some point...She did tell me before that she had many spares. There must be a reason why he was wearing it, though...+ ?Indeed we do. His name is Vex. He?d told you about us?? The scientist nodded. ?Yes, yes. You see, there is this egg that has suddenly appeared in one of the tanks...?

Caroline?s eyes were immediately filled with glee at the sound of that. ?An egg?! Is it cute?? The scientist rummaged through his bag and pulled out an egg. It was a blue egg with four pink ovals and a red gem on it?s center. Caroline squee. ?It?s so cute~!? Dahlia looked at the egg in curiosity. ?So, let me guess...you want us to take care of it? Why?? ?Well...I just told you. This egg just suddenly appeared inside one of the tanks within this aquarium. We tried to pinpoint who the parents of this egg was, but to no avail. It?s been a few weeks since it has been with us and it still hasn?t hatched yet. We asked that friend of yours if he could keep the egg with him and all he did was tell us to wait for a feminine man and young girl with pink hair.? ?I suppose he believes that we might be able to take care of the egg better than him...Alright. Why not? We?ll take it off your hands.? Caroline looked at her brother in surprised glee. ?Really?! Yay!? The scientist just nodded. ?Yes, yes. Thank you for cooperating with us. We hope you treat this egg very well.?

And now they have an egg.

_______________________________
At the Ambrette Pok?mon Center...
_______________________________

Fondre was still passed out when they got back to the center before leaving for the aquarium. She woke up at some point, though. Caroline was hugging the egg very tightly, but not to the point where it just might break. Meanwhile, Dahlia was using his Holo Caster to text to Vex.

Demetrio: ?Why were you wearing the coat??
Even: ?It?s an easy way to conceal my identity from certain people.?
Even: ?So, did you obtained the egg??
Demetrio: ?Yes, I have. Caroline even named it Deriva.?
Even: ?Good. Let your sister keep it for now.?
Demetrio: ?Is there a reason??
Even: ?Yes, actually...Come to Glittering Cave. We?ll talk more about it there.?
Demetrio: ?Is this related to Cinder in some way??
Even: ?Make sure you?re wearing your black coat. Don?t be seen by anyone except for acquaintances. Sorry to possibly break your sister?s heart, but...she can?t come. Leave her with Fondue and the egg.?

+Damn bastard dodged the question...But I suppose it should be obvious.+ Fondre looked at Dahlia curiously. ?So? What did he say?? Dahlia showed her the relevant parts of their conversation. ?...No, I?m not playing babysitter with your sis again!? Caroline?s eyes widened when she heard that. ?What?!? Dahlia sighed and looked at Caroline. ?...You might have to stay here for a while with Fondue again. Now, before you get mad, remember: We have an egg now. It is our responsibility to keep it safe. This is possibly related to Cinder. You don?t want the egg to be fried now, would you?? Caroline froze at the thought of that. She sighed, but still put on a pouty face. ?Okay?? Dahlia nodded and then looked at Fondre. ?You still need to rest. Even if your Pok?mon are able to fight, you?d probably not be able to issue commands to them that well. In other words, you have to stay here.?

Fondre sneered before turning her head away from Dahlia. ?...Always hated it when you're actually right about something sometimes.? Dahlia chuckled a bit at this. He put on his black coat and pulled the hood up, covering his face and hair. ?Well, I must be going now...goodbye for now.? Caroline gave Dahlia a hug before he left. ?Be careful, okay?? Dahlia smiled, even though Caroline couldn?t see it. ?I will.? And with that, he was off.

TWIN INVENTORY/POK?MON: Due to one of the siblings now having more than 6 Pokes, the team summery is gonna have to change. Aka later dood.

Kana · Sep 10, 2017

ODETTE RADIUJU

Drew Tucker

Spike passage, despite matching the description it's name describes, wasn't quite what Drew was expecting. He stared out across the harsh terrain. If he was going to save Paige, he'd have to get across somehow. There had to be a quicker way than the crazily long path around. He took in a deep sigh as he glanced down at the rocky ground. "Guess I gotta." With another breath of hesitation, he stepped awkwardly on a spike, barely managing to avoid rolling his ankle as he pulled away. "No, no, no, I..." He grumbled in frustration as he prepared to step across again. "Maybe I can use Brycen's vines." He mused, quickly cycling through ideas in his head.

Beside him, while he was mulling over a quick solution, a boy had hopped onto her tauros and began tracking across the passage. "Hey, wait up! Maybe you can help me!" He cried out, prompting the boy to glance back in confusion.

"Sorry friend, have to go save the Gligar! You have to take the path!" He waved, turning around and rushing off into the distance.

"I need to save my friend..." Drew began to shout, but his sentence trailed off midway through as he realised it was futile.

Odette watched from a distance, similarly blocked in her path by the spiky rocks. She sat crouched by the edge, but certainly with her shoes, there was no getting across here. The path, while passable, didn't look particularly hospitable to her either. If only she had a Pok?mon to carry her... but the only obvious option she quickly expelled from her mind. The Rhyhorn would probably fling her off the rocky cliff before it even considered letting her climb on its back.

She sighed before rising again, and looked around the area. Perhaps she could ask one of the local trainers for a lift across. Why weren't there any rental Tauros like that around anyway? In Alola they were supposedly a huge hit. Seemed like a prime business opportunity...

"Hey, you! Just the person I need!" A voice called from behind Odette. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldnt quite make it out. Though, she didnt have to. If she didnt recognise the voice, she surely recognised the face of the same kid she'd bought the heavy ball from all the way back in Santalune. "I'm gonna need that heavy ball back from you." The boy said, without even a hint of doubt or hesitation.

The girl was surprised, but an amused grin appeared on her face as soon as she realised who was standing in front of her. ''Oh my... Fancy meeting you here.'' She crossed her arms before continuing. ''Unfortunately I've long since put that Heavy Ball to good use. For which, thank you again,'' she added sweetly.

"Well you're gonna need to release whatever you caught with it, because I need it. There's a giant Shuckle on this road and I'm going to catch it." The boy spat back in response, holding out his hand.

Odette stifled a laugh. ''I'm afraid I can't do that. Our transaction was complete - I paid for that Ball fair and square. Surely with that money you could've bought one of your own? Or... have you still not won any badges?''

The boys eyes widened, before his faces scrunched into a scowl. "Tim Newton is no failure." He grumbled. "You lady...do not know who you're messing with." He scowled. "If you dont give me the ball..." He began, reaching for his pokeball. "Wait...if you've got the badges, then you can buy the ball for me, right?" He relaxed as he came to his realisation.

''I could...'' She paused, placing a finger to her cheek contempatively, but then ran the hand through her hair. ''But what's in it for me? I have to say, boy, I doubt your average Pok?mon Center will sell Heavy Balls. A Great Ball you could manage perhaps, but I think for specialised versions, your best bet was Lumiose.''

Tim crossed his arms in a huff, contemplating his next move. "Well...suppose I could throw in the super rare pokemon I got from the guy near parfum palace, but then I'd feel like I was being cheated again." He scratched his chin pensively. "It's called Sunkern." He smirked, tossing the ball to the ground, revealing a sunflower seed. "So whaddaya say? I give you the super rare seed, and you go get me my ball?" As he stared off over the spiky passage, he noticed a boy climbing off of his Tauros and attempting to climb the side of the cliff.

The older trainer raised an eyebrow when the Sunkern was released, but she wasn't fooled that easily. Pulling out her Pok?dex to make sure, she retorted: ''Sunkern, to evolve into Sunflora, yes? I'm not aware how 'rare' this Pok?mon is in Kalos, but I'm afraid to me it is hardly worth the trouble.'' When he didn't respond immediately, she turned around to follow his gaze. ''Ah, yes... I'm searching for a way to cross this passage too. Perhaps you have anything to help with that?''

Tim grimaced as the girl dismissed his prized Sunkern. Not that it mattered. His ears perked up as she mentioned getting across. That he could do. "So, I help you get across, you get me a heavy ball? Deal?" He spat on his hand, sticking out for the older girl to shake.

Odette nearly stepped back onto the spiky road, but kept her balance and instead swiftly folded her arms once more to keep his spat-on hand from having anything to grab. ''While that is a... charming way to seal a contract, let me lay out its terms more clearly first, child. You find me a way to move about this passage freely, and I will buy you a Great Ball, because I don't expect them to sell Heavies in this hamlet of Ambrette. Deal? ... And I'll take your word, not your hand.''

"Cant catch a giant Shuckle with a great ball." Tim grumbled under his breath. Maybe it was time to get drastic. This old bag was really starting to test his patience, and he wasnt about to waste any more time with her. He needed that shuckle. Maybe it was time to show her what she was missing out on. He tossed a pokeball to his side, and out popped a Nidoqueen. "Rey, we're crossing these spikes, forget this hag, we'll get a heavy ball somewhere else."

''Excuse me? What did you just call me?'' She gritted her teeth upon a Nidoqueen being called out. Where did all these kids get these powerful Pok?mon from? ''Ahem. You can catch any Pok?mon with any ball, if you're skilled enough. But I suppose for someone without badges, I understand that's too much to ask... I pity you, really.'' Hopefully that would set him off into accepting, because she was about done waiting around here.

"Oh, if you're so skilled then remind me why it was that you spent so much money buying my heavy ball. I wont even mention the fact you're begging for my help to get across the rocks. So, don't get all mouthy with me upstart." As he prepared to mount Rey once again, a cloud of dust rose in the distance in front of him.

"Excuse me! Please help me!" A boy on a Tauros came rushing in. "Sorry to interrupt. Me name's Fredrick, I'm a pokemon ranger...of sorts. I came here trying to save the Gligar from that cave up there, but a hostile Skarmory has taken over the nest!" The boy cried with a terrified expression.

Newt's ears perked up at the mention on Skarmory. Sure he already had Agro, but a steel type like that would make a fine edition to his team. Maybe he didnt need that Shuckle after all. "Helping pokemon, you say? Me and my friend here would love to help." He smiled.

Odette threw Newt an irritated look, but knew she couldn't waste this opportunity. Putting on a concerned voice, she quickly agreed. ''Oh no, are the Gligar okay? I'll ride there with you, you can follow with your Nidoqueen, right Tim?'' she smirked at him momentarily before moving to climb on the Tauros's back as well.

Newt huffed as the girl approached the tauros. Annoying as she was, he couldnt deny she was hot, and certainly wouldnt have minded riding with her. He wasnt particularly impressed with how quickly she jumped on board either. Sure he was faking his concern too, but at least he had the decency to optimise the work efficiency.

As the trio made their way toward the cave, Tim heard an unmistakably familiar voice calling his name.

"Newt! Mind givin' me a hand!" The sheepish voice of Drew called from the smooth rock.

"The more the merrier! Go ask him to help please!" Fredrick nodded, reigning his Tauros in to turn around. "Trust me, if you follow the direction I'm going in, you cant miss it!" His Tauros crushed some of the rocks beneath his hooves in order to make room to build up some speed. "Make sure to hold on tight." He glanced back to Odette, before kicking the bull for it to take off into the distance.

gimmepie · Sep 11, 2017

Kade Andrews

A Daring Double Battle

?It?s not far from here now!? Sky yelled over the sound of wind rushing past. Kade sat behind her on Artemis, her Dragonite?s back. Sky had mentioned that Spike Path was a popular location for sky trainers to gather and battle because of constant updrafts in the area. Weirdly though, the first place they had landed had been devoid of trainers all together. They were heading to a second spot further in now. Sure enough, after a while a single pair of trainers donning brightly coloured flight suits and their Pokemon (a Pidgeotto and a Tranquill) came into view, battling across a wide indent in the cliff face.

?Hey!? Sky called out to the pair, returning Artemis once Kade had climbed off its back. ?Where is everyone??

?I heard that Spike Path is meant to be really popular for sky trainers but you two are the only ones we?ve seen.? Kade added. The pair of trainers returned to the ground by Kade and Sky, their Pokemon settling by them. They were both short and dark skinned young men with closely cropped hair. Kade guessed that they were probably twins. They certainly looked it.

?You two mustn't be local.? one of the two said, this one?s flight suit red ?This guy with a Heliolisk has been dropping Thunders on anyone he sees in a sky battle. He hasn?t been seen this far down the path so we figured here is alright but most people haven?t been brave enough to try.?

?What?!? Sky exclaimed, her whole body suddenly seeming to shake with fury. The very notion of preventing people from battling was a sin in and of itself to her, but putting lives at risk in the process? That was a whole new level. Kade got where she was coming from. He was also confused though.

?Why would anyone even want to do that?? he asked. The thought of intentionally hurting people, Kade just couldn?t understand it. A bright bolt of lightning suddenly striking in front of you in the blink of an eye? Kade could understand why sky trainers had been too scared to battle.

?Well he?s not from around here either,? the second brother, this one wearing a green suit began ?from what I hear though he?s got some grudge against sky battles. Maybe he?s had troubles with Flying types or something.?

?I just don?t get it.? Kade shook his head whilst Sky muttered a string of unpleasant things she?d like to do to the attacker.

?Nobody does, man.? the green brother replied ?I?m Kennedy by the way, my brother?s Phillip. You two sky trainers then??

?That we are!? Sky said, her mood suddenly bright and chirpy again ?This is Kade, he?s kind of new to this but he?s pretty good. I?m Sky - yes really.? The two brothers looked at each other and grinned.

?Well since you?re both here, how about a double battle??

?Sounds fine to me.? Kade said, Sky agreeing enthusiastically beside him.

?Nibbles, you?re up!? Sky said, throwing a flight ball into the air. Her emolga appeared in a cloudy flash of light, gliding in a circle over the space between the opposing sides - the space being a void over an indent in the cliff face. The dual Electric and Flying type landed in front of Sky ready to go, facing off against the Pidgeotto and Tranquill.

?Cumulus, you too.? Kade said, releasing his Oricorio from its luxury ball. Cumulus landed in front of Kade with a twirl, spell tag whizzing along with her, before crossing her wings in front of her. She looked at Kade nervously, not wanting to get her feathers too dirty. ?Relax, you won?t get too grimy if they never hit you. So don?t let them.?

?Never seen an Oricorio in person before? Kennedy said, his brother shrugging that he hadn?t either.

?Doesn?t matter, we?ll win either way. Tranquill, use Quick Attack on it!? Phillip commanded. The grey bird shot towards Cumulus like a javelin only to pass straight through the Ghost type. Kennedy face-palmed besides his more hot-headed twin.

?This is why reading is a good thing.?

?Cumulus, Feather Dance!? the Oriciorio took to the sky and began making elegant twirling motions as shimmering feather spiralled down over the Tranquill.

?Wing Attack, Phillip needs saving again!? Kennedy instructed, his brother wincing at the comment. The Pidgeotto?s wings glowed brightly as is soared for Cumulus. Just before the attack hit however, she elegantly spun to the side leaving it right in the path of Sky?s Emolga.

?Nibbles, use Nuzzle!? the Emolga lept up, latching onto the Pidgeotto and rubbing its electrified cheek against it. The bird cried out at the shock, sparks crackling over it. ?You should pay equal attention to both opponents in a double battle. Now look at the silly mess you?re in. He?s paralysed.?

?Pound!? Kade called for good measure, Cumulus whipping round and slamming the slowed Pidgeotto with her wing and sending him tumbling through the air.

?Who needs saving now?? Phillip sniggered, only to be cut off by Sky

?Still you! Nibbles, Thunderbolt!? Electricity surged around the Emolga before a single powerful bolt jetted forth and collided with Phillip?s Tranquill. The Tranquill hit the ground hard not far from Kade, no longer able to continue.

?That?s not good.? Kennedy sighed as Sky opened her mouth to give another command but before she could an enormous electrical shock struck the space between their Pokemon, narrowly avoiding hitting any of them in the powerful blast.

Spoiler: Kade's Inventory

Spoiler: Pokemon at Santuary

Stinging Bea · Sep 12, 2017

Chapter 12-1 | Moonlight Spelunking

Avril Morris & Sebastian Allender
Glittering Cave

Avril's Team

Sebastian's Team

Badges

Inventory

Spoiler:

In retrospect, deciding to spend an extra day lounging around at the beach of Ambrette Town would have been a much better decision. Route 9, otherwise known as Spike Passage, was definitely a road that earned its name. The main route was completely covered in jagged stones and debris, making it almost impossible for humans to cross on foot, let alone most pok?mon. For Avril, this meant that she had to take the long way around the path, which more or less involved walking a steep and narrow pathway along the imposing mountain side. This unfortunate turn of events made the girl's expedition to Glittering Cave take even longer to get underway... then again, she figured that this was what being a trainer was all about in the long run.

"It wouldn't have taken half as long to get here if I had a pok?mon durable enough to take the main road," Avril sighed, glancing towards the jagged and rough road to her side. "It kinda makes me wish Benjamin was still here... Then again, it's not like he'd willingly help me across anyways."

It had been a rather busy day, considering how laid back it initially was planned to be. Avril had managed to help Emma with a case and rekindle her friendship with the detective, she got some quality rest and relaxation time at the beach, she met up with Victoria and got a makeover... One would think that after all of that Avril would be ready to catch a good night's sleep. Yet despite all that, the girl found herself restless. She had several things weighing heavily on her mind, most of which revolved around two people she had seen that day, her father and Victoria Levigne.

In the case of the former, it was obvious. Avril had not seen the man in two years. She hadn't so much as even thought about contacting him since the night she essentially ran away to enroll in the pok?mon academy at Aquacorde. She was honestly starting to think that maybe the man had forgotten about her. Hell, it was very possible she was starting to hope he had forgotten about her. Yet despite her best wishes, there he was. Back in her life with a vengeance. To make matters worse, for the first time in her life, she managed the nerve to stand up to him... and what did it earn her? A showdown with him at Shalour City, a town that wasn't all that far away from where she was. Truth be told, the thought of engaging her father in a battle frightened Avril to no end.

It wasn't that she thought her team was weak. Far from it, in fact. Shino, Marble, and Lulu had all been making great strides when it came to battling, each one growing stronger and faster with each passing day. Rather, Avril found herself wondering if she herself was strong enough to best him in battle. Clifford Morris... he was a ruthless trainer. While he never became the champion, he made quite a name for himself back in Unova, acquiring all eight badges and taking on the Elite 4 on numerous occasions. In fact, there had been rumors that Adler had been thinking at one point of selecting her father to be his successor when he retired as Unova's champion. Of course for obvious reasons, that didn't happen. The man retired from being a professional trainer when Avril was only five or so, uprooting the entire family and moving to Kalos to get a fresh start. Avril herself always found it quite a curious decision for one as well respected as her father to make. But she had also learned from an early age to not question his judgement either. Did she really have what it takes to defeat one with years of experience under his belt, while she herself only had a month or so at best...?

Then there was the other person on her mind... Victoria Levigne. It was weird to think that up until a few days ago, Avril didn't even know that this girl existed. Not to mention there was also the fact that they started off horribly on the wrong foot. Their chance encounter all happened when Victoria's Luxio had decided to have a snack courtesy of Marble's electricity that was stored up in her wool, and it was that very act that caused Avril to have her first battle with the girl. At first, she was angry, but... as the battle began to progress, Avril found herself actually having fun with her. Since then, Avril had bumped into her a few times along the way, once in Camphrier Town, where Victoria invited her to go to that party, and then again at the beach back in Ambrette. That time, it was Avril who invited Victoria to go along with her for some fun... and it was during that fun that Avril began to feel a bit... different than normal. Being with Victoria made her really happy. Even when she told that hair stylist that they were dating, Avril really couldn't bring herself to be mad or upset. In fact, all it did was surprise her... mostly on account that she truly wasn't expecting such a bold statement from her friend.

"Ugggh... I'm gonna need a therapist by the time this journey is over," Avril sighed, gazing up at the night sky. Her gaze lowered, just in time to see a pair of red, glowing eyes staring right back into her own. Avril let out a surprised yelp, quickly falling onto her backside with an annoyed groan, and for good reason as well. The spiritual form of one particular little Shuppet formed in front of her, with lighthearted giggling filling the air as the trainer shot the pok?mon a rather annoyed look. "Yeah, yeah... Laugh it up... It was almost as funny as the first time you did that."

Lulu merely shrugged off her trainer's annoyance, blowing a raspberry as she started floating in circles around the girl. Sighing again, Avril quickly picked herself back off the ground and proceeded to step head into the entrance of the cave with Lulu right behind her. While she could have made the trip to Glittering Cave alone, Avril wanted some company. Shino and Marble both would have most likely had some trouble crossing the more narrow parts of the path, so her Shuppet was the only viable option she had for companionship along the way.

"Well, let's see if this place is all it's cracked up to be," Avril said, glancing over her shoulder at Lulu.

To say that Avril was impressed by the sight that awaited her was an understatement. No sooner had the girl and her Shuppet stepped through then entrance to Glittering Cave, did they quickly learn just why the cave got its name in the first place. The duo were greeted by the sights of crystalline structures, softly reflecting the light of the moon which managed to shine through the cave. It gave the area around them warm, prismatic glow, something that Avril would have sworn could only have been seen in the stuff of fantasy works.

"Woah... This place is incredible..." Avril whispered, taking in the sight of all that was around her. "Lulu, isn't this amazing?"

Avril turned to see the reaction to her Shuppet. She just knew the ghost pok?mon was going to have the same feelings of amazement as she did. However, when the girl turned around she quickly discovered that Lulu wasn't there. Avril raised an eyebrow curiously, wondering where in the world the little Shuppet could have gotten off to.

"Lulu...? Lulu, where'd you go?" Avril called out, taking a step back. The girl's eyes narrowed as she carefully looked along the shadows and the walls of the prismatic cave. Lulu was proving herself to be quite the nuisance tonight, and Avril's patience was quickly wearing thin. After a few moments, Avril indeed managed to spot a pair of glowing eyes in a dark, shadowy corner of the room. Rubbing her forehead in frustration, the blonde trainer began to walk forward. "Lulu, enough of this crap already! I'm getting a little tired of your silly little..."

The pair of eyes quickly took shape upon being spotted, but the creature that surfaced was not a Shuppet, but a Froslass; Ukyou the Froslass, to be exact. ?La-la!? The creature greeted with excitement upon seeing Avril. She remembered her fondly from that fighting-diner; she had an electric sheep that evolved into a bigger electric sheep, and a ghost type. Oooh, it must be her ghost type that Ukyou sensed while exploring the caves with Sebastian.

?Fra la.? She holds out her ghostly hands in a ?wait here? motion and vanishes once more through the cave walls.

Avril stared silently, her eyes wide in fear at the sight of the ghost pok?mon that was most certainly not Lulu. If the blonde didn't know any better, she would have sworn that she was in the middle of having a heart attack from the sight of the Froslass. It was only after the ghost type suddenly began to interact in a much more friendly and relaxed manner did Avril manage to catch her breath and not die. She curiously watched as the Froslass phased back through the cave walls, wondering where in the world she was off to.

?See anything?? Sebastian asks. After what he and Renia had just seen, there was no doubt in his mind but that Team Cinder was lurking within the cave. Not wanting yet another young girl caught up in their affairs, he pleaded with the pink haired trainer to go back outside the cave and make sure there were no more large stones blocking any more pathways, while he searched inside for Cinder. To make sure he wasn?t walking into any traps...or guns, he sent Ukyou to peer through walls and mark out their path.

?Fros!? The Ghost hums happily. Did...she find a friend? Is someone else in here? He needs to warn them.

?Let?s go.? Sebastian rushes towards the split in the caves wall that would allow him to cross, Ukyou floating right behind him. As they appear on the other side, now about twenty feet in front of Avril, the Ghost type once more cheers out to her.

Turning to the sound of the cheering, Avril narrowed her eyes to get a better view at the ghost coming towards her. A small smile quickly graced her lips as she spotted a familiar sight following along with the ghost that came in the form of Sebastian. Raising a hand over head, Avril gave the boy a friendly wave as he made his way towards her.

"Sebastian! I wasn't expecting to see you here," Avril greeted, relieved that the Froslass that gave her quite the scare a moment ago wasn't some wild pok?mon with the intent of claiming her soul. "What are you doing way out here?"

Avril. Sebastian's eyes widened with fear as the memory flashed before his eyes: Standing in front of Lillie while staring down the barrel of a gun, the man in his Cinder colored garb saying he would let Lillie live if Sebastian told him everything he knew about Avril. Team Cinder is here, and they're gunning for the girl in front of him.

Whatever pigment of color that once decorated his pale skin faded away as he hurried towards Avril. There was no time to explain his own presence here, no time to comment on her new look. "A-Avril." He stuttered in a harsh whisper once he was close enough for her to hear him. "Team Cinder is here." He spoke without hesitation. "They're...they're after you."

"Team Cinder...?" Avril questioned. What would they be doing wait out here in a place like this? More importantly, the girl found herself curious about the latter part of Sebastian's statement. "What do you mean they're after me...? The last time I ran into any of them was back in Lumiose, and that was a while ago..."

His heart crawled into his throat as he scanned the surrounding area: There were no Cinder Grunts to be seen, and he was fairly certain they didn't aware of his, or Avril's, presence just yet. His body trembles for a brief second before he forces it to stop. Now is not the time.

"Before the party at Parfum Palace, I...I was helping a friend find a Pokemon. We were...held at gunpoint by someone from Team Cinder." Another repressed shudder. "He was sent to kill her...because she had been involved in the Lumiose incident." Sebastian cringed at the memory that replayed over and over again. "I got between them...I told him I would give him something in return for her life." As much as it pained him, he locked eyes with Avril. She needs to understand.

"He asked me where he could find you. I told him I didn't know...and he pulled the trigger. I'm...only alive because Koroku was with me. He used Protect to deflect the bullet...and his gun jammed." He didn't want to say any more, but Avril deserved answers. "Someone was watching...someone knew he failed...and they triggered something inside him...and he died."

Avril took a slow step back from the boy as he recounted the situation. There was one member of Team Cinder in particular that stood out in her mind, especially when Sebastian mentioned that he was held at gunpoint by the man. The girl almost would have sworn it was Gabriel Artece, had it not been for the latter part of the story when Sebastian mentioned the man was killed after he failed. Gabriel did not strike Avril as the kind of guy that would just be offed for failing an assignment, but then again she didn't exactly know just how high on the ladder he really stood.

Avril remained silent for a moment, taking in the boy's story fully. If she was a target of Team Cinder, then what about the others up to this point? She knew that Emma, Jackson, and Drew had all had some hand in foiling a Team Cinder plot or two at this point. Were they safe? Did they know they were being hunted down now too? Suddenly, there were a lot of questions running through the blonde's mind and her earlier concerns about her father and Victoria seemed quite trivial.

"Look, I appreciate the warning, but..." Avril paused, looking a bit hesitant to continue. She was about to sound just like Emma, back when she was so mad at the detective she couldn't even see straight. Extremely hypocritical? Probably, but even so... If she was in that much danger, she couldn't risk letting Sebastian get roped into whatever mess she and those others were in now. At least, she could not on account of her own actions. "If what you say is going on is... going on, then... You probably should stay clear of me for a while. I mean... Well, you've dealt with them before. Team Cinder is a dangerous group... trust me, I've seen some pretty messed up shit that they've done..."

She paused, memories of the Magmortar's rampage in the Lumiose alleyway and Gabriel shooting Shino both flashed through her mind. "If... If they're after me, then I don't want them to start chasing you just 'cause you were seen in the same place as me or something like that..."

Another pause, a sudden realization in the back of her mind popping up. A nervous giggle escaped her lips as she rubbed the back of her head. After all that drama that was just brought up, this last realization seemed kind of silly.

"Besides, even if I wanted to leave... I kinda can't at the moment. I um... kinda lost track of my Shuppet..." Avril sighed.

Honestly, he didn?t expect her to leave. In order for her to be on Cinder?s hit list, she must have foiled their plans once or twice, and he doubted she would stop now. He wanted to warn her, make sure she knew what she was walking into, and...he had to stay with her. He would not leave her to be in the same situation that he and Lillie found themselves in after Jackson slipped away. The grip on his bag tightens desperately.

?We?ll help you find it. Ukyou?s got a real talent for finding other ghosts.? He manages a tiny, though nervous and...somewhat broken, smile. For now...they?re in this together.

At first, Avril debated about telling Sebastian to leave anyways. But this whole scene was playing out so similar to how it did with herself, Jackson, and Emma back in Lumiose. It didn't work when they tried to do the same for her, so chances were it wouldn't work now.

"Alright, I appreciate the help then," Avril replied, trying her best to give Sebastian a comforting smile. She could tell the boy was more than just a bit uneasy, so the last thing she needed was for him to have a meltdown or something from the fear. "So, your ghost can track other ghosts? Then let's see what she can do."

?You?ll find Shuppet, won?t you?? Sebastian asks, and immediately Ukyou goes to work. Despite the fear that?s resonating from her trainer, the ghostly maiden seems perfectly at ease; a little smile on her face as she scans the area around them. She was certain there was a ghostly presence here before, yet now it seems to have traveled deeper into the cave.

?Laa~? She hums, touching Sebastian?s shoulder before she begins floating down the pathway.

?I...guess we?re going this way.? Sebastian nods to Avril before turning to follow his ghost-radar. Inside of his backpack, which is now facing his blonde companion, is a small, sleeping Cubone, clutching onto what appears to be a Marowak?s club.

Avril nodded, following behind Sebastian closely. While she really wouldn't go as far to say that she was scared, but she was a bit uneasy now. If Team Cinder was after her like he said, it would be a lot safer if her whole team was back together. Of course, now there were only three members of the team... Suddenly, she started missing Salad and Anise a lot more than ever.

Wanting to take the edge off the situation as best she could, Avril spotted the Cubone riding in Sebastian's backpack and decided to strike up a small conversation as they searched. "So... is that a new pok?mon? I don't remember that one from when we were hanging out earlier."

?He...is for now.? Sebastian was a bit hesitant to claim this one as his own, it?s a baby Pokemon, and he can?t help but think it would be better to give it to someone else. Maybe Peri, she had a female Marowak that could act as the mother figure this one just lost...though that Kangaskhan entrusted the little one to him, would it be wrong to break her trust by giving him to someone else?

His knuckles turn white as he grips his bag all the harder. ?I found him...sitting next to his mother?s body, down another pathway...I don?t think he?s very old at all.? He knew Avril was trying to lighten the mood with an easy going conversation about new partners, unfortunately... all he could give her was a grim reminder of who they were marching towards. Team Cinder killed that Marowak, while he did not see the act, he saw two people in the all too familiar garb walking away from the scene. Who else would be so...disturbed, as to kill a Pokemon...a mother Pokemon.

"O-Oh... Um... I see..." was all Avril could manage to fumble out of her mouth after hearing that story. She already knew Team Cinder had no qualms about killing pok?mon. Gabriel trying to take down Shino was evidence of that in itself. The girl suddenly found herself feeling more anxious about finding her Shuppet. What if Team Cinder tried to kill Lulu...? Could a ghost pok?mon even die? "They didn't hurt... it did they?"

?I...didn?t see any wounds on him when I found him. I think she hid him away before...it happened.? He can only hope the little one didn?t have to watch. It would be a flimsy, tiny consolation, but a consolation all the same.

Ukyou turns around from her forward glide and hovers back to her trainer, quickly glancing at him, and then Avril, and then the baby in her trainer?s bag. She extends a ghostly hand and delicately pats the little skull on Cubone?s head before drifting once more towards her destination.

Again, Sebastian tries to force a smile. ?Ukyou?s become a bit...maternal since she evolved.?

"I can see that," Avril said, smiling sadly at the sight herself. "I used to have a pok?mon that was like that. She was a mother herself to begin with... I guess it sort of just transferred over when she joined the team."

Used to? Please don?t say she was killed by Team Cinder too. ?What...happened to her??

Sebastian stops his stride when Ukyou stops floating; she?s peering over a break in the cave?s wall, her eyes narrowed and uncertain. ?Froslass.? She points towards the direction of a sound, no, a combination of sounds...

Avril wasted no time in running in the direction that Ukyou pointed. The blonde quickly turned the corner, bracing herself for the sight of Team Cinder grunts attacking her Shuppet. What she saw however, was nothing of the sort. She did encounter Lulu, but the Shuppet was instead being attacked by what looked to be a small, purple-colored bat creature. To paint the scene more vividly, Lulu was constantly making weird and obnoxious faces at the pok?mon, which seemed to quickly irritate it and caused the bat-like creature to try and attack back in response.

"Lulu..." Avril groaned in frustration.

Here, she thought Lulu might have been in danger. Instead it turned out the ghost pok?mon was just being her usual, annoying little self. She watched as the Shuppet quickly recognized that her trainer was calling her name. Her amused face quickly morphed into one of panic and dread, as she zipped over towards Avril and attempted to act as if she was the victim in all of this. The Noibat seemed to grow even more irritated as it quickly flapped its way towards Avril, glaring at both the trainer and her pok?mon in annoyance.

Sebastian sighed deeply in relief as the scene registered in his mind: It wasn?t Team Cinder trying to murder a ghost, it wasn?t an imposing man pointing a gun at them as they rounded a corner, it was a Noibat-- a nervy little Noibat. ?You gave us quite the scare, young lady.? Sebastian smiled a relieved smile at the little puppet, who was trying so hard to get some sympathy from her trainer.

Ukyou quickly floated between the Shuppet and the Noibat, nodding her head in greeting to her fellow ghost, while also trying to dissuade their new cave dwelling friend from causing any more of a fuss...they?re supposed to be quiet.

The Noibat was not going to have any of it, however. The bat-like pok?mon let out an angry hiss at the Froslass before it resumed chasing Lulu around in circles. The Shuppet kept sending pleading looks towards Avril, begging the trainer to get her out of this situation. Avril frowned, placing her hands on her hips with a sigh.

"Don't you give me that look, you're the one who got yourself into this mess," Avril huffed back at the ghost pok?mon.

Well, that didn?t work, and the ice ghost didn?t want attack the bat, since it hadn?t really done anything wrong...what should she do? Ukyou floats towards Sebastian and tilts her head uncomfortably to the side. Sebastian looked at the two and frowned, in any other circumstance this would be cute, endearing, really, if only there wasn?t a very good possibility that every second in this cave could be their last. ?Keep a look out.? Sebastian whispers. Ukyou nods and phases through the nearest wall, just to make sure no Cinders are creeping closer.

Lulu took one last look at Avril as she floated forward towards the Noibat. She kept hoping that Avril would change her mind, but the blonde girl remained firm in her decision. Putting on a tough face, the Shuppet took her place in front of the Noibat. It looked like this would have to be taken care of with a bit of force.

Without warning, the Noibat swooped towards Lulu, its wing glowing bright as it tried to take a swing at the ghost pok?mon with glee. Thankfully, Lulu managed to just narrowly dodge the attack.

"Good job, Lulu! Now, attack it with Nightshade!" Avril shouted.

The Shuppet's eyes began to glow with an eerie energy as she launched her attack, sending a wave of darkness towards the Noibat. The wild pok?mon let out a pain-filled screech as it took the attack, but there seemed to still be some more fight left in it. The Noibat flapped high into the air and began to flap its little wings quickly, sending out a blast of razor-sharp air towards its opponet. Unfortunately, Lulu couldn't dodge the attack in time. The little ghost whined and winced in pain as the blades of air cut into her. The Noibat's attack didn't end there, though. It bared its tiny, yet durable fangs as it dove down straight towards the ghost pok?mon.

"Lulu, use Shadow Sneak!" Avril commanded.

Lulu barely managed to regain her composure enough to counter the incoming Bite attack. Quickly, the little ghost took to the shadows, zipping up behind Noibat to strike it from behind. Noibat hissed in pain, the quickly losing altitude from the surprise attack. Still, Avril was not about to give it the chance to recover. She ordered her Shuppet to finish off the wild pok?mon with another Nightshade attack. Lulu was all too happy to oblige as she emerged from Noibat's shadow and launched the desired attack once more.

The wave of dark energy crashed into the bat pok?mon, sending it spiraling down to the cave floor. It was at this point that Avril made her move. The girl quickly took hold of a pok?ball from her bag and lobbed it right at the wild Noibat. The ball smacked up against the pok?mon and pulled it inside in a beam of light. The trainer and her Shuppet stared intently at the ball as it wobbled once... twice... and finally once more... before coming to a rest. The Noibat had been caught!

"Got it!" Avril shouted, smirking proudly at her new capture. The trainer walked forward, scooping the pok?ball off the ground with glee before turning to face Sebastian. "Ha! How about that?"

A wave of nausea smashed into Sebastian when Avril turned to face him-- this was exactly what Lillie had been doing when the gunman appeared: She had caught her Chingling and had bounded over to show it to him, so proud of herself, so happy. He shoved the pained feeling down forcefully; this was different, they were alert, they were on guard, he would not be placed in that helpless position again?

Putting on his best stage-smile, Sebastian raises his hand and solutes the newly filled Pokeball. ?Welcome to Team Avril, Noibat.? As he spoke, Ukyou reappeared by his side and happily clapped her ghostly hands together. Everyone is making new friends today, it?s very nice.

Lulu put on a proud smile as she floated in front of the team, as if bragging that all the work had really been done by her. Avril narrowed her eyes at the Shuppet, clearly not amused by her antics still. She carefully placed the Noibat's ball onto her bracelet, along side of Shino and Marble's, before returning her attention to Sebastian.

"Well, now that that's been taken care of, what next?" she inquired.

?We get through this cave alive.? Sebastian thinks aloud. Together, he and Avril made quite a team, and if they were to cross paths with any Cinder grunts, their might be something to the safety in numbers theory. Hopefully Avril would allow him to travel with her through this hellscape...hopefully Avril wouldn?t think he was pathetic and seeking protection...hopefully Avril wouldn?t think he didn?t find her capable of defending herself?

Froslass lets out a calming hum when she senses those nerves of Sebastian?s running wild again. She floats between the two trainers and begins moving her hands together, then pulling one arm away from the other. She was trying to communicate a smaller path that broke away from the main, bigger path...it would probably attract less people.

Avril gave the Froslass a curious look. "Um... If you know which way we should go, then lead on."

She gave a small glance towards Sebastian. Avril could really only guess just what the Froslass was trying to tell them, but she figured as her trainer, the boy would have more of an idea about what point she was trying to get across. Regardless, she figured that sticking with Sebastian would be in her best interest for the time being. Strength in numbers and all that sort of thing. She was pretty sure that was how the saying went.

?Las!? Ukyou cheers in response. Avril didn?t understand her completely, that was hard for humans, but she understood enough. The ghost gestures with her hand for the two trainers to follow.

Sebastian caught Avril?s questioning glance, and matched it with a thoughtful look. ?I think?? She put her arms together, pulled them apart, then back together in a more narrow fashion. Something about big and small? ?There?s a big path and a little path up ahead??

Froslass floats down the cave until she comes to a fork. While one side of the split is large and spacious, the other is significantly smaller and compact. She points towards the large path and shakes her head, then gestures enthusiastically towards the narrow path. Sebastian cringes slightly, just looking at the narrow pathway makes him feel a bit claustrophobic...but he trusts Ukyou, and he must admit, if they were to find someone inside this narrow path, it?s more likely to be someone hiding from Cinder, rather than Cinder itself...

Noibat was caught!
Male/Serious/Quick Tempered
Bite/Wing Attack/Agility/Roost/Air Cutter/Razor Wind

LinearAxel · Sep 13, 2017

Ghosts of the Past

Sebastian Allender

*image removed**image removed**image removed**bulbagarden.net image removed**image removed**image removed*

Glittering Cave

Determined not to let the Probo-thieves get any further ahead, Sebastian and Renia took off for Spike Path once the helicopter returned them to Ambrette Town. The darkness of night had swallowed the trail by the time they arrived, though it did nothing to dampen the duo?s spirits. What did give Sebastian pause was Spike Path?s, well, spikes.

?This...could be a setback.? He speaks as he looks down to the jagged rocks below.

?Nope!? Renia smiles cheerfully as she reaches for one of her Pokeballs. ?Come on out, Helios.?

A burst of light shoots forward, taking the form of a rather elegant, fiery unicorn. ?You?ll give us a ride, won?t you??

The Rapidash leans forward, affectionately tickling the top of his trainer?s head with his muzzle. Sebastian, on the other hand, remains uncertain. ?He won?t get hurt??

?A Rapidash?s hooves are harder than diamonds. Spiky rocks are nothing.? As she speaks, she takes a leather harness from her bag, which she slides around Helios? muzzle, and over his ears, then slides a pair of reins over his back, that touch his shoulders. ?We?ll be fine.?

It was clear Renia wasn?t taking no for an answer, as she hoisted herself onto the Pokemon?s back before Sebastian had any time to argue. Once she is situated, she pats the fiery Pokemon?s back. ?Come on.?

Sebastian, with a look of uncertainty, takes Renia?s outstretched hand with one of his own, draping the other over the horse?s back, and hoists himself upward. It?s...an uncomfortable feeling, having to wrap his arms around Renia?s waist, though neither she, nor Helios seem to mind.

?Onward and upward.? Renia taps her ankle against Helios? side, and the Pokemon begins an easygoing pace through the rocky maze.

---

The journey through the spikes was as effortless as Renia had promised, and soon enough two trainers find themselves at the entrance of Glittering Cave.

?Do you think we should sp-?

Smash. Smash. Thud.

The loud, desperate crashing sound quickly tore both trainer?s eyes away from the cave entrance. A loud, mournful cry of a Kangaskhan rings through the mountainside.

?She sounds upset?? Renia frowns.

?If she keeps smashing against the cave like that, she?s going to cause rock slide?? Sebastian dismounts from the regal Rapidash and jogs towards the imposing force. ?Kangaskhan!?

The Pokemon turns towards the trainer with a look of rage, her empty pouch now completely visible.

?...Where?s your baby?? Sebastian asks, his body tensed from the maternal Pokemon?s rage, and yet his face and tone remain calm. This seems to resonate with the normal type, whose rage fades to a terrible sadness as she looks back to the large boulder she was attacking.

Renia slowly slides off of Helios? back as she surveys the area. ?I think...there?s already been a rock slide?? They had been so focused on arriving at their destination that they hadn?t realized how many fallen rocks scattered the area. Her eyes fill with realization and horror as she realizes where the baby Kangaskhan is. Frantically she grabs her Raichu?s Pokeball, and calls the surfing electric mouse to her side. ?Sparky, use Psychic to lift that boulder!?

The floating mouse began to glow with an intense psychic energy as it moves forward, its tiny arms hoisting upward. The rock trembles, but does not move. It seems tightly wedged into the side of the mountain.

The mother Kangaskhan motions outward before stepping back, her eyes now intently locked with Renia.

?O--okay...step back, Sebastian.? Renia stammers, those intense, unblinking eyes waiting for her to make a remark were a little...terrifying. ?L-let?s...pull it this way.? She points, her hand trembling just slightly. One wrong move and this maternal Pokemon might snap her like a twig...not that she can blame her...her baby could really be hurt?

The floating Raichu glows once more, this time floating backwards as he wraps his psychic energy around the huge stone and pulling it with him. The stone once more shudders and trembles, small bits of debris tumbling over it before it finally floated away from its snug position, leaving behind what appeared to be a passageway? an empty passageway.

Fear enveloped the eyes of the mother Pokemon as she charged inside the newly revealed passageway, crying out loudly for her child.

?Do...you think someone took it?? Renia asks.

?For their sake, I hope not.? Sebastian shakes his head. Getting between a mother Kangaskhan and her child is asking for death. Growing up in Fuchsia, he saw more than one person carried out of the Safari Zone on a stretcher for trying to catch a baby Kangaskhan that had wandered away from its mother. The image of a thrashing Kangaskhan causing a cave in was enough to make him shudder. ?We need to help her, before she hurts someone.?

?Right!? Renia nods, and the duo hurriedly rush for the newly exposed cave entrance. The thrashing and screaming of the maternal Pokemon are enough to strike fear into any trainer?s soul, and yet, what truly shakes Sebastian is when the stomping and mournful cries come to a sudden stop, filling the cave with an instant stillness that stops both trainers in their tracks.

?Ka-? Renia opens her mouth, only to quickly shut it when Sebastian motions for her silence. He takes a step forward and beckons her forward with his hand, slowly, silently?they make it to a sharp turn within the cave. There stands Kangaskhan, standing over...something. Sebastian takes an uncertain step closer for a better look, now able to see the form of a Marowak.

?

A very...still Marowak?

A Marowak that isn?t breathing?

...The body of a Marowak.

Sebastian is frozen in place, only moving when he feels Renia tightly grasp his arm.

?Wha??

Sebastian steps back, in turn pushing the younger trainer back as well.

The stunned, sickening silence was once again broken by a weak, frightened mewl that came from a group of stalagmites, a mewl that broke Kangaskhan from her stillness. As she charged towards the sound, Sebastian reached for Renia?s wrist and began to follow. ?Don?t look?? He whispered.

The two rejoined Kangaskhan as she reached her mighty hand between two of the crystallized spires, retrieving her tiny child. When she attempted to place the infant in her pouch, the little Kang let out a terrified squeal, flailing her hands back for her crystal hiding place. Peering over the spiked crystals, it quickly became apparent what the baby Kang wanted:

Curled in a ball and quivering was a small Cubone...the child of the deceased Marowak.

It must be newly hatched? Sebastian thought to himself. It doesn?t have a club of its own yet? SIckness churned in his stomach as he shoved his slender frame between two of the spikes, causing the little Khan to let out another sharp cry, only to be silenced by her mother.

?Are you hurt??? Sebastian asks as he kneels beside the infant Cubone. The baby?s eyes open and gaze helplessly towards the human, when it lets out a pitiful whimper.

?Can I see??? He asks uncertainly, lifting the tiny ball into his arms. To his surprise, rather than squealing and struggling, the tiny Cubone uncurls its arms and reaches for Sebastian?s shirt, nestling against his chest when he is brought closer. Tears visibly glisten down the creature?s outer skull before crashing into the floor...

Sebastian holds the Cubone to his chest as he slides away from the naturally made enclosure, and looks up to the mother Kangaskhan, and her now calmed baby Khan. ?Will you look after this one?? He asks.

The maternal Pokemon seems thoughtful for a moment before reaching her hand towards Sebastian?s chest. She presses her palm against the baby Cubone and gives the most delicate of pushes, her eyes, no longer infuriated, but filled with a saddened understanding, lock with Sebastian?s.

Sebastian looks down to the infant in his arms, and after a moment, gives a hesitant nod. ?I?ll...I?ll make sure he?s taken care of.?

As Kangaskhan backs away, the infant Cubone reaches for...something. While Sebastian doesn?t understand, the maternal Pokemon nods. She reaches down and picks up the Marowak?s club, which she hands to Cubone. The whimpering child clutches onto the Thick Club desperately as another stream of tears fall from his face.

I won?t let them get away with this? Sebastian cringes as he hugs the baby Cubone tightly. This is Team Cinder?s doing...while Renia didn?t seem to see them, he managed to make out two bullet wounds in the back of the Pokemon?s body. Only one collection of people would be so disturbed...a collection of people...who needed to be stopped...

You Found a Baby Cubone.

[/color]

Shak · Sep 14, 2017

-Drew Tucker

Odette Radiuju

Finding Home

"So who's the girl?" Drew smirked. He and Newt were now clinging on the back of a Nidoqueen, catching up as the pokemon traversed the rough terrain.

"None of your business Tucker. The better question is, what's someone like you doing in the rougher parts of the region? You sure you can handle it out here?" Newt smirked back. The two both breaking into a smile. It had felt like so long since the two had seen each other. Their encounter in the forest was mere hours since they'd last seen each other, so it hardly felt special. They had each truly been through so much since then, it felt like a year.

"Well..." Drew began more solemnly considering the moment they just shared. "I have to save a friend. She's about to make a-"

"Wait wait wait...she? You have a girlfriend?" Newt seemed completely blown away by the concept. "Dont bull**** me Drew, you know I dont fall for that sort of stuff." He scoffed.

Drew easily shook off Newt's dismissal. He didnt need to prove anything, and he knew that if he did try to, they'd be here all day on the topic.

"Great! You made it!" Fredrick smiled as Rey pulled up with the two boys on her back. "Now that these two are here, I can run you through what I need you to do." He began, smiling to Odette. "Do any of you know how to rock climb?"

Odette gave the boy a friendly smile back at first, but that slowly faded into a worried expression as she looked up the steep cliffside. ''Unless you mean the Pok?mon move... not exactly, I'm afraid.''

"The move would suffice if you have it." Fred smiled again. "Learning to climb is painfully simple. I can assure you, it will come in very helpful when you come to face Grant aswell."

"Painfully you say?" Drew winced at the man's choice of words.

"Please, dont take me too literally." The boy chuckled in response. "I will be going with you, so I can show you as we go along." As he spoke, he tossed the cord an impressive height as it hooked onto a rock above small crevice above the cave. "If you'd all kindly put on your harness, I can guide you up." He smiled.

The girl wasn't at all pleased at the prospect, but when he mentioned this would be necessary for a gym battle... Odette balled her fists to psych herself up, and picked up the harness. Still, she'd never seen anything like it; how did she even know what side went up? There were clearly two holes for the legs, but she wasn't sure which way to step inside, either. Throwing a glance at the other boys, she figured she'd wait to see how they did it, before risking embarrassing herself.

Newt glanced between the other three before looking up to where the cave was. No way in hell was he going up there. He couldnt show that he was scared though. No. Everyone here looked up to him, and needed an example to follow. "Oh...oh, you wanted us to...y'see this is unfortunate. I would gladly do this climb, but I dont...I dont want to aggravate the ankle injury I've been nursing over the past few weeks. Any other day, I'd have been up there already, y'know." Newt chuckled, forcing through a blush on his face.

Drew on the other hand, seemed far more reserved in his response. "Sorry, I...didnt realise this was happening. I'm only here because I need to save my friend. She's apparently gone to glittering cave to stop..." He cut himself off, realising he'd already said as much as he needed to.

"You and this fake girlfriend of yours, honestly it's sad." Newt sighed, still rubbing his perfectly healthy ankle.

''Oh no... but what about the Gligar, and the Skarmory?'' Odette feigned her worry this time, but she was genuinely surprised that both of the boys suddenly bailed out. As daunting as it seemed to climb up, she needed to learn... and probably stay on Fredrick's good side if she wanted to cross the passage any further.

"I'm sure you guys have that situation under control, but I really need to help Paige. If she does this alone..." Drew sighed, staring off to the entrance to Spike passage in the distance.

"Please, I promise, once we stop the Skarmory, I can help you find your friend." Fred protested.

Drew glanced back at the man with deep remorse. He wanted to help Paige, but these Gligar certainly didnt deserve to be neglected. Newt seemed a hell of a lot stronger since they battled in Santalune, so maybe he could take the Skarmory, but what if the others werent enough? "Fine, I guess I can afford to spare some time. I guess I should figure out how to put this harness thing on, huh?" He sighed, scratching the tips of his fingers with his thumb.

"Tim?" Fredrick asked pleadingly.

"**** it, if Drew and the old bag are doing it then I suppose I can sacrifice my ankle."

Within a few minutes, Fredrick had them all strapped up in their harnesses and helmets. "So...what's the order? I should go last for your safety, but who's going first?"

"As sprightly young boys, surely you two can go up ahead? This 'old bag' wouldn't want to slow you down." Odette smiled, but was visibly insulted. Still, there was no way she'd let these two go behind her to try and look up her skirt anyway, it was bad enough that Fredrick was below. "So, go on then."

"What-whatever happened to ladies first?" Tim stuttered as the rope hung in front of him.

"I'll go first." Drew stepped forward, dropping the weight of his own caution. He hooked himself onto the rope, and began upwards, not even waiting for the others to follow him.

A wave of annoyance and envy washed over Newt's face as he watched Drew climb up without a care in the world. "I guess thats the power of having a girlfriend, huh?" He sighed. Even Fredrick couldnt resist chuckling at the comment. With a deep breath, Tim began scaling the wall.

"Just you now Odette. I promise I'll keep my eyes to myself." He nodded, glancing down at her skirt.

"R-Right." Odette quickly turned her back to Fredrick, turning red with embarrassment when he put her fear into words. Making a mental note never to wear a skirt while travelling again, she too started on the climb, albeit slowly. Watching carefully where the boys found their footing, she tried to mimic their steps and follow them up as quickly as her shoes let her.

With the group now fully on board, Fredrick gave himself a pat on the back, before clipping his own harness to the rope. As they made their climb, he keenly observed Drew's choice of footing. If the leader fell, it would be his job to protect everyone from a life threatening fall.

Drew on the other hand, left caution on the ground. He was a good few feet ahead of the others, and hadn't really looked back, despite Newt's constant complaining. If he was going to get to glittering cave in time, he had to get this done first. He didnt have time to watch his step...much to his detriment. A rock scraped beneath his foot. Drew followed through, slipping backward. He lost his grip on the rope.

Newt shielded his face as a speck of dust and rubble flew down into his face. Before he knew it, he could feel the weight of his old friend pushing him down. He tried his best to hold on, but Drew was far from easy to carry. "Tubby, try losing some weight!" He groaned as he struggled to hold on.

Third on the lifeline, Odette held her breath in mild panic when she saw Drew slip and slide down. She looked around trying to catch Fredrick's gaze, but didn't dare to turn around fully. Instead, she dug her hand into her bag. It took but a moment, not including her hesitation to call him out... but when her Magnemite was released, she quickly instructed him.

''Magnemite... you can float, so... please help!''

Her awkward command was accompanied by her pointing her arm towards the boys who lost their footing. The Magnemite looked from her to them for a second, but then floated up curiously to see what the problem was. He buzzed around examining the two up close, so too their harnesses and the rope they were suspended by. Odette watched in suspense, but to clarify to all, she shouted: ''Grab on!''

Drew scrambled onto the small magnet pokemon, relieving Newt of the majority of his weight. "Thank you." Drew's voice squeaked as he peered down to Odette. Looking past the girl, he noticed just how high they were off the ground, and clutching even tighter onto the small electric type. Magnemite looked disoriented at its sudden job as a handlebar, but tried its hardest to pull the boy upright once it got its bearings.

"Drew, what happened up there? You should still be atta...your harness?" Fredrick gasped as he noticed Drew's harness had somehow become unfastened. "Do you think you can refasten your harness, Drew?"

"Only if I grow an extra pair of arms." The boy shouted back in complete distress.

"What the hell happened to super brave hero Drew, huh?" Newt scoffed as he backed up a little.

"I cant save her if I'm dead!" Drew hissed.

"Tim, I'm going to need you to refasten Drew's harness! We need to save those Gligar remember!" Fredrick pleaded, even the experienced mountain ranger beginning to show signs of panic. Odette too grew more fearful by the second, but tried to think logically. ''If Magnemite supports your back, can you refasten it?!''

Magnemite perked up at the mention of his name, but its turning around in the direction of their voices was not the best for Drew's balance.

Drew gulped, as the Magnemite transitions to supporting his back. "I guess we're doin this." He sighed to himself as he quickly grasped at the harness and did his best to tighten it. As he did so, loud screeches began to emanate from the cave above. All four climbers glanced up as their worries began to build and they expected the worst. Surprisingly, two small gligar came fluttering out of the cave with the most joyus of expressions.

"These are your endangered gligar?" Newt snarked with a disgruntled sniffle. He looked back down to Fredrick, who seemed completely speechless at the sight of the pokemon he had been so concerned for.

"What exactly is up there anyway?" Drew sighed, starting forward again as he finally managed to re-fasten his harness. As he reached the entrance, he was met by the fierce screech of a huge Skarmory. The armour bird clutched at the cave entrance, staring down at the intruders, as Drew reeled down the wall, just far enough to be out of range. He felt his momentum cut short as one of the gligar hid behind him.

"We need to get into that cave!" Fredrick shouted desperately.

Drew glared down at the ranger. With yet another annoyingly difficult request, came the end of Drew's patience. He grabbed one of the pokeballs that he he had hooked onto the belt loops on his jeans, and tossed it past the Skarmory. Caesar the Scraggy emerged from the ball, a confident grin on his face as he opposed the Skarmory. "Casar, I need you to distract the Skarmory for me!" He tightened his grip on the rope, and glanced down at the others. "We're gonna need to be quick about this!" Without another word, he raced to the cave, diving in, not risking allowing himself to hesitate.

Newt stayed close behind, managing to hoist himself into the cave with Drew's assistance. The former's adrenaline rush carrying him through the exercise seamlessly.

Watching this exchange go down, Odette's eye was certainly caught by the Pok?mon circling around the entrance. Now that the boys were in safely, she saw her chance. ''Magnemite!''

Her electric-type floated down a little to meet her, and happily buzzed in greeting. Odette gave him a nervous grin in return, but then mustered up her courage. ''Alright... up we go.'' She climbed further, following Drew's example, and leaning on her Pok?mon occasionally - being a floating ball of metal, Magnemite could carry quite a bit more weight than Odette anticipated - she too managed to reach the entrance of the cave. She sighed in relief, before turning around to see how Fredrick would fare.

"Great climbing guys!" Fredrick called out, trying to retain some sort of positive morale as he watched the steel bird prey on him and the others. He too scaled the rope, briskly clambering into the cave. As he arrived, he instantly noticed the large nest at the deepest part of the deepest part of the cavern. It wasnt the small dotted purple eggs that he expected. Instead, what he saw were big silver eggs with a metallic sheen. "Wait...this isnt..." He began, before the angered skarmory came smashing angrily back into the cavern.

All four trainers were sent flying by the forceful crash, but each managed to get back to their feet. Drew glanced behind him to notice that the baby gligar was still clinging to his shoulder, now with a much more hateful expression as it stared down the skarmory. The second Gligar was blown away slightly too, but Odette caught it hiding behind a rock when she pushed herself upright. Newt stepped forward first, tossing out his pokeball. Out popped his Aron, the same Aron that defeated Drew's Chespin in Santalune forest.

"Agro, use rock slide!" Newt ordered.

"Newt wait!" Fredrick tried to intervene, but the younger boy heard none of it. He was still concerned for the Gligar, but they both seemed protected by Drew and Odette. He had to do something about this Skarmory egg before the mother wiped them all out. He didnt want to make an enemy of an innocent pokemon.

Odette gasped when she saw the Rock Slide called by the Aron come crashing down the slope. She instinctively grabbed the small Gligar sitting in front of her, and tried to take cover behind the same large rock. ''Oh no... Magnemite!'' she yelled out when she realised her Pok?mon could still be floating out there - but thankfully Magnemite wasn't too far out, as she heard its whirring just below.

The rocks slammed down into the metal bird. Despite the force of the rocks, they only seemed to smash into rubble once the Skarmory spread his wings. The metallic sheen sliced through each rock as it they crumbled harmlessly to the ground. From the resulting dust, the pokemon shot forward, those same wings crashing into the unsuspecting Aron.

"****in Steel Wing." Newt cursed under his breath as his pokemon was sent flying into the cave wall.

"Caesar, Brick Break!" Drew responded quickly while the Skarmory was distracted.

"Dammit Drew, dont anger her!" Fredrick cried out desperately. "She's a mother protecting her eggs, thats all!"

The Scraggy followed his order, glancing back first to make sure his trainer was watching. He launched himself into the Skarmory, chopping her body. Again infuriated by receiving yet another unsolicited attack, the Skarmory's tail began to shimmer with the same gleam as her tail had previously, before slamming it into the Scraggy and sending him flying aswell.

"Odette, we need to find a way to calm the Skarmory. If these two keep this up..." He gulped, glancing at the eggs again. "I'll try to buy you some time!" With that, Fredrick left the girl to her own devices. He ran over to the nest, which instantly drew the large pokemon's attention away from the boys. "Please Skarmory! We mean you no harm!"

''Fredrick, wait, be careful!'' The girl grit her teeth when she watched him run up to the Skarmory that had only just flung both smaller Pok?mon away like they were nothing. She still held onto the Gligar, which seemed to be putting on a brave face, but looked up at her fearfully. Odette considered her options, but then gave her Magnemite a determined look. She may have felt she lacked the confidence and cooperation skills to command them... but darn if she hadn't studied her Pok?mon's abilities to a T. ''Magnemite, this is up to you. Pull Skarmory away!''

The small magnet Pok?mon buzzed in agreement, before it flew along the cavern wall to get behind the Skarmory. As the large bird Pok?mon looked threateningly at Fredrick, Magnemite floated up behind it, pushed both of its arms forward. Magnet Pull managed to keep the Pok?mon from charging forward, but despite Magnemite's straining to pull back, its power wasn't strong enough to resist the full force of the flying steel-type. The latter noticed the nuisance keeping it in place behind it though, and turned around, its wings again glowing with a bright metallic sheen. Magnemite panicked for a moment, but Odette was prepared for this. ''Supersonic!''

Magnemite immediately released an incredibly high-pitched sequence of sound waves in the direction of the Skarmory. Inaudible to humans, but the wild Pok?mon was clearly affected: thrown off its balance, its eyes seemed to go in all directions - Confusion had taken over its senses. But Odette was unrelenting: ''We'll need to incapacitate her thoroughly. Magnemite, Thunder Wave!''

Filled with confidence, Magnemite approached the Skarmory, wary of its desperate flailing and disoriented attacks. Once it was close enough, a spark flew off its left appendage as it was charged up with electricity, and sent out another wave of charged energy at the wild Pok?mon. Its metal, conductive body, combined with its Flying typing made Skarmory extremely susceptible to the Thunder Wave... and caused the Pok?mon to fall to the ground. Once the dust of the impact cleared, Odette sighed in relief, and Magnemite proudly returned to her side.

As the steel type collapsed onto her side, a smirk grew onto Newt's face. This was his chance. He unhooked a pokeball from his belt and tossed it at the skarmory, sucking it in. The ball wobbled once, before snapping open and sending the bird into another raging frenzy. He glanced over at Drew, who stared knowingly.

By this point Drew what to expect when it came to Newt, so there was no use in getting angry or scolding his friend.Instead, with the Skarmory now paralysed, he turned his attention to Fredrick. "So what's the big idea anyway? I thought we were here to stop the Skarmory."

"You were, but that was a miscalculation on my part." Said Fredrick as he shook his head. "I was certain this place was a Gligar cavern. As I monitored safety on Spike Passage, I noticed Gliscor flying to and from this place all spring. Until yesterday I noticed two Skarmory show up. Of course, a wild Skarmory is always going to pose a threat to wild Gligar, but somehow, these two are still here." He finished with an inquisitive glance at the two Gligar.

"Maybe they came here looking for their parents." Drew interjected. "I'm guessing this was their home before the Skarmory, and they keep coming back expecting them to be there." He sighed. The two Pokemon seemed to respond positively to Drew's analysis, the Gligar with him even going so far as to wrap his wings around the young trainer. Odette looked down at the other Gligar by her side, which too nodded, tears seemingly brimming in its eyes. Feeling a pang of emotion, even she knelt down and patted the Gligar's head.

''Why don't we... take them with us?'' she eventually spoke, without looking up at the others. Gligar was still frightened by the paralyzed Skarmory close by, but as the trainer continued to pat its head gently, it seemed to slowly calm down. Looking from her to his brother, the Pok?mon didn't seem to want to make this decision by itself.

The other Gligar glanced between Drew and his brother. Drew seemed nice, and had protected him when the mean Skarmory chased him out of their home. As long as the metal bird stayed there, they no longer had a home. He looked over to Drew expectantly.

"I think it's best they stay together. You can take them." Drew responded coldly. "It wouldnt be fair to take his last loved one away from him." Growing up with no parents is hard enough."

Odette picked up the now soothed Gligar in front of her, examining it as she responded, in an almost flippant tone. ''Except we are Pok?mon Trainers. Weren't all of our Pok?mon ripped from their surroundings, essentially? But if you care for them that much, I'm sure he'll be happy with you just fine. Besides,'' she turned toward him, and turned her Gligar the same way. ''We're all going the same direction, no? ...In fact, just register my Holo Caster and they can be reunited whenever, even.'' She finally turned Gligar back to her and paused as their eyes met. ''What do you say?''

Tears welled up in Gligar's eyes again, and Odette sighed gently as she set it down carefully. The Pok?mon tilted his head and stared at her for a few more seconds, before once again turning to look at his brother.

"Gligar!" The bat launched itself in glee in response to Odette's words. He joyously bounced around the room, hugging everyone except the Skarmory. He lingered in front of his brother, a tear lingering in his own eye as the two embraced in on last hug.

"You're right, I just.." He glanced at the Gligar again, still uncertain. Finally, he stuffed his hand in his pocket, and pulled out his holocaster.

"Guys, I hate to break this up but.." Fredrick at this point, was already nearing the cave exit. With the Skarmrys paralysis beginning to wear off, he had no intention of stopping sticking around.

Drew nodded to Odette as he stashed away his holocaster. "If Zephyr ever gets homesick, I'll be sure to give you a call." Drew smiled proudly at his new Pokemon as he stashed away his holocaster after saving Odette's details. The pokemon gave Drew yet another overjoyed hug in response to the new name. "I still gotta get to glittering cave, but I think I can make my own way there now, thanks Fredrick."

Odette smiled gently at Drew, but couldn't help grinning widely when she watched Magnemite float all around her new Gligar curiously, the latter wary of another Steel-type Pok?mon to invade its personal space. ''Alright then,'' she spoke, returning Magnemite to its Pok?ball and picking up Gligar once more after. ''You're coming with me.'' She touched an empty Pok?ball to the Gligar's forehead, and it was sucked in after throwing a final glance at his brother and Drew. With another gentle sigh, she returned both Pok?balls to her bag and closed it.

''I'll see you two around, I suppose,'' she smiled once more towards Drew and Newt, but walked up to Fredrick. ''Don't suppose you could give me a ride to the end of the passage too?''

"No problem ma'am, as long as Tauros is still kickin, I can do that much at least." Fredrick chuckled. He helped Odette to fasten her harness and waved the boys off before scaling his way back down the mountain alongside the older girl.

Drew glanced at Newt as it was now just the two of them left in the cavern.

Spoiler:

Spike Passage - Wind Cavern​

Shak · Sep 14, 2017

-Drew Tucker

Christopher Rodriguez

Resolute

Chris couldn't help but let out a gasp as he saw the large rocky pterodactyl like creature fly overhead. It began to nosedive downwards not far ahead of him, right at the entrance to the spiky path that was ever so popular with Rhyhorn racers.

"So that's your supposed girlfriend?" Tim shaded his eyes as he peered out, attempting to see the girl that dismounted the awesome flying dinosaur. If he could get one of those, maybe he didnt need the shuckle...or the Skarmory. If that really was Drew's girlfriend, it wasnt too far fetched to expect some sort of big reward for saving her.

"I didnt say she was my girlfriend. You said that." Drew grumbled, squatting as he too peered off the cliff-side. "We need to stop her. I dont know if you've had the displeasure of bumping into them, but they dont seem like the kind of people you wanna mess with. Forest fires, cloning, buying out fossil com-" He stopped as he realised he was saying too much. Luckily, as he glanced up at Newt, he noticed his friend wasnt even listening. Probably for the best. "Let's go." He sighed, grabbing his rock climbing gear, and propelling himself down the cliff.

Walking forward, troupe of Pokemon following him in full force, Chris began walking towards the Aerodactyl.

"Hello? My name is Christopher Rodriguez." He called out, the small tentacled creature on his shoulder making odd bubbling noises as it began pointing in the direction of the larger fossil Pok?mon.

"Can I help you?" The girl asked, while not really waiting for an answer. She returned her fossil pokemon to it's ball and began into the cave.

"Paige Manning? You're father is worried about you." Chris called out stepping forward. "I don't know why you're hellbent on going after Team Cinder but I can't let you put yourself in danger like that chica."

CLANG! CLANG! The doublade behind him began ringing in agreement.

"Tru! Bish!" The Poison type called out and slopped forward.

The Omanyte and Yamask beside Chris remained quiet, but they watched the girl carefully awaiting her response.

"If you're saying you want to come with me then you're more than welcome. My father's goons have never stopped me in the past and they wont start now." Paige responded plain, not losing any stride as she continued into the cave.

A stalagmite of Ice quickly formed in front of the girl as the small tentacled fossil Pok?mon released a rainbow beam that quickly froze the ground in front of her.

"Listen here. I don't care what kind of daddy issues you have. I'm not letting a kid go up against Team Cinder. Period. Go home. Leave this to the grown ups." Chris said as he walked past her. "I can't stop you from following me I suppose if you're deadest though. If you're going to be an idiot though, at least stick close." He continued after a moment, seeing the girl not leaving.

Paige scowled in response to his comments, but took a moment to consider his terms. "I suppose I can live with that." She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

It was at that moment a voice came echoing through the cave. "Hey, Drew's girlfriend, where you at?!" The voice called with a snide tone that even managed to carry through the echo.

"Drew's girlfriend... certainly not..." Chris cocked his head and looked at the girl. The ages certainly matched up, but surely she had better taste than that? Although didn't the boy mention the fossil company. "Dios Mio... "

The girl glanced back at the minor annoyance, before shaking her head and continuing.

"She's not my girlfriend." Drew hissed, nudging Newt as his face reddened.

"Not yet, huh?" Newt cackled to himself.

"Well I mean..." Drew sighed in defeat, scratching the tips of his fingers with his thumb. "It's not like she would respond to that anyway."

The duo continued forward, wondering deeper into glittering cave, with the girl they were searching for just out of their line of sight. It wasnt too dark, with the glittering rock that decorated the walls and floors, but it was still difficult to see. Newt even summoned his Sunkern to use a miniature sunny day, but the light seemed to be subdued somehow.

Chris and Paige continued forward without a word. The latter staring intently into every turn in, as though she expected a Cinder Grunt around ever corner. She noticed a few interesting pokemon on her way, but she wasnt about to stop. She wasnt a trainer, so she had no desire to catch anything. As she finally focused in on something interesting, another voice echoed from the shadows.

"GLIGAR!"

Paige stopped, glancing at Chris. "There are no Gligar in glittering cave. It's a pretty well known fact they hate the shine of the gems, so they dont sleep in here." She stated flatly, trying to guage the reaction of her new companion. After a few seconds on no real response, she stared intently at the shadows, waiting for the source of the noise to reveal itself.

"Dammit Zephyr, if you're gonna join the team, the least you could do is stay in the ball until I call on you." Drew groaned as his newly acquired pokemon gleefully flew circles around his head. As they continued forward, the girl they were pursuing finally came into view.

"Holy ****, so she is real?" Newt gasped in amusement, catching a dirty look from Drew in the process.

"What are you two doing? Look, I know this ones mental capacity is that of a Pikachu, but really? Kill the sunny day." Chris commanded with a whisper. "As i'm sure you're aware Team Cinder is around and the last thing you want is to make yourselves blatantly obvious to them."

Chris had heard the kids before they entered the cave, so he wasn't surprised that they were popped in on them. However, he wasn't pleased that he now had not one but three kids tromping about in a cave where a criminal organization was doing its shady business. Why was he suddenly playing baby sitter? Dios Mio, something clearly hated him. Gods forbid he let anything happen to any of these kids though. Especially not Paige. Her dad would kill him. And more importantly not pay him!

"Please, Cinder are practically harmless. Sure they cloned some stuff and started a fire, but it's gonna take more than some nerds with a trigger happy Fletchling to scare me off." Newt scoffed. His ignorant comments even prompted a stern glare from Drew. Although, the more he thought about it, Newt kind of had a point. Cinder hadnt done much more than burn down a forest and buy a company. Sure, none of that was justified, but they werent some big threat like they were being treated.

"Drew, what are you doing here?" Paige asked, completely ignoring Newt's comment.

"Maybe I should be asking you the same thing." The boy retored without a moment of hesitation.

"Damn...she does act like she's your girlfriend. Are you-" Newt began.

"Shut...up!" Paige interrupted, staring sternly into Newt's eyes.

"Wow Drew, girlfriend's kind of a *****." Newt smirked knowingly.

Paige took a deep breath and glanced at Chris. "My appreciation for you being here has grown immensely in just a few seconds. She returned her attention to Drew. "You, need to leave. Oh, and please take your idiot friend with you."

"Not without you. You're not about to take on team Cinder on your own." Drew's voice croaked, but he managed to keep his composure.

"Hello." Chris said to Newt. "I'm inclined to ask you nicely to listen to the lady and leave this place, and take your idiot friend with you." Knowing Drew well enough to be aware that he wasn't going to leave however, Chris continued. "But as i'm aware you kids are all stubborn, I think we're going to have to refrain from bickering. Whether we choose to believe it or not, Team Cinder is dangerous. I've very recently seen what kind of monstrosities they have at their disposal, and i'm not about to let a bunch of children get eaten by another giant red Gyarados that can summon storms and cause the ground to explode. Or whatever else they might have in this cavern."

The Omanyte on his shoulder began to wiggle its tentacles around as if trying to garner attention.

"Children?" Newt grumbled, before feeling Drew tug at his arm.

"He's right. If you're going to stop Cinder we're going with you." He said to Paige practically ignoring the other two.

"Who's going to stop Cinder now?" A voice came from the shadows. It was followed by a man in an orange and black suit, and a snarky grin etched across his face. He was accompanied by a woman in an orange dress, who wore a similar snarky grin as her accomplice.

"Surely not this group of rugrats." The woman responded in baby talk.

"I didnt come here for lackeys. Where's your leader?" Paige snapped back, unphased by the sudden opposition.

Chris wasted no time, Rubbish plopped forward hurling a glob of violet goop towards the Team Cinder members. Whisper began sending its shadow forward in an attempt to Shadow Sneak them as Yamask brought up a shield of protection to keep itself and the kids safe. The Omanyte on Chris shoulder seemed only to withdraw into its shell as hell broke loose. "Sorry but this group of rugrats is under my protection you fashionless pendajo." Chris growled as he began to position himself infront of the kids. "Now why don't you pick on somebody your own size, or does Team Cinder only go after children."

Chris hated what he was doing. He didn't know what kind of Pok?mon these Team Cinder bastards had. He didn't know how many of them were in this cave, or where they were. Hell, there could be seven more coming right behind these two. He was putting himself in a fight against an unknown amount of opponents whom had an unknown amount of Pok?mon at an unknown power level. It was completely out of Chris' comfort zone. Was an Aerodactly and a mega stone really worth it?

...Okay damn right it was but still.

Both the glob of sludge and the shadowy assault were both deflected as the cinder grunts were covered in their own protective shield. Once the shield died down, the grunts stood there unharmed. In front of them, a female Pyroar and a Magcargo.

"And what are you supposed to be? A tour guide?" The female grunt spat back at Chris with a chuckle.

"What, so you're not going to answer my question?" Paige grunted, through further irritation. She reached for her pokeball, but Newt was quicker to the draw.

"Agro, Rey you two are up!" He called, summoning forth his Aron and Nidoqueen.

Drew smirked as he noticed the shocked on Paige's face. It was understandable that she would assume Newt was some push over, "Brycen, Caesar!" He tossed the respective pokeballs, before glancing back at Zephyr. "You're gonna sit this one out, alright."

"We're doing this straight away?" The male grunt sighed, tossing another pokeball. This time a Male Pyroar emerged from the ball.

"You take the idiot boys, and I'll take the other two." The female grunt yawned, staring down the Paige and Chris.

For the first time since meeting the boy, Chris had to agree with Newt. These guys honestly didn't quite live up to the expectations.

Chris himself was even suprised to find the laughter escaping him. Several things really. Firstly The seemingly dumb kid had some nice Pok?mon. They presumably belonged to his family or something.
Secondly Drew sent out... whatever the hell that Pok?mon was. Just looking at the thing made Chris want to crack up. Fitting for Drew though in the things defense.
Finally there was the whole situation. It was laughable.

Strictly judging type analysis, they certainly had the advantage.

"Dios. Hit that flaming escargot with a mud shot!" Chris ordered. "Yamask, Toxic Spikes now! Rubbish, Poison Gas on that Lioness!"

It was at least five against two, assuming Paige called out her Aerodactyl. Odds weren't exactly fair, nor was anybody playing by the rules, but this wasn't an official battle was it. Team Cinder were bad dudes. Morally at least. Chris wasn't too worried about these two unleashing any rampaging red Gyarados in the close confines they were currently located in. Although... something was off about the cavern. It wasn't just the glittering all around them, it was something about the cavern itself. He'd been in Reversal Mountain plenty of times as a kid, sure that was a volcano and not a cave system, but surely not all caverns were supposed to echo this much?

The annoyed ringing of his Doublade rang Chris out of his trance. "I didn't forget about you. Swords dance!" Chris commanded.

"Best not to send out Mimi here." Paige sighed, dismissing the pokeball belonging to her Mimikyu. "Slade, hit that Pyroar with Ariel Ace!" The dinosaur pokemon came out fiercely, following up the Omanyte's attack with one of his own.

Just before being clattered by the large fossil pokemon, the Pyroar managed to back her ally Magcargo up by landing a noble roar attack on the smaller fossil to weaken its offense. The snail still took the attack, but thanks to the emergence of the female grunt's Ninetails, he was able to dismiss that battle and support his trainer.

Drew and Newt glanced at each other as they were now faced with the challenge of two fully evolved pokemon. Neither trainer had been given the chance to heal their pokemon after the battle with the Skarmory. Caesar and Agro were both weakened, but Brycen was at a significant disadvantage here. "Bry, hit that Pyroar with rollout!" Drew ordered, a hint of doubt sprinkled in his decision. It quickly became obvious why.

"Pyroar, Flamethrower!" The grunt scoffed. The flame blasted into the Quilladin, whose momentum came to a grinding halt, as he skidding out of the blaze severely weakened from the single attack.

Drew grumbled in disappointment. If ever he needed an idea to work, that was it. He glanced down at Caesar. This was all on the Scraggy.

"Rey, double kick that stupid looking snail!" Newt stepped in. The Nidoqueen launched herself at the Magcargo, but like Brycen, her lack of speed came to her detriment, as she too was hit by a devastating flamethrower. While not doing nearly as much damage as the attack did to the Quilladin, the drill pokemon was still knocked out of her stride.

"Magcargo, Earth Power!" The Nidoqueen was given no respite, as another attack came her way, this time a powerful ground type attack that easily took her to the ground.

In just three attacks, Drew and Newt were forced into a backs against the wall situation. Both Brycen and Rey were one hit away from going down, and Caesar and Agro were still wearing their scars from a previous battle. Sure Drew had Zephyr and Newt had Deadwood, but neither pokemon had been given enough battle experience to make any sort of difference here. Deadwood especially with its grass typing.

"What's wrong kids? Having a hard time?" The grunt cackled, amusing himself more and more with each nervous glance the two boys exchanged.

...There went advantage by numbers. It wasn't suprising that Drew's grass type Pok?mon wouldn't last very long, the Nidoqueen being taken down a sign ificant peg by a si ngle hit was unfortunate however. Wait...

Chris paused as a spot on the ground caught his eye. The eruption of pressure from the earth power had cracked the floor, a gash about a foot wide. However it certainly looked a lot deeper that that. Could the echoing be coming from a chamber below? He'd have to try something...

"Dios! Mud shot on ninetails!" Chris called, the small restored helix fossil wiggling its tentacles in affirmation. The sandy gunk shot forward and began to race towards the fox Pok?mon.

"Yamask, Disable its flamethrower! Rubbish start pelting them with Sludge bombs!" Chris commanded. The swords Pok?mon however began to take the situation into its own... hands as it stabbed itself into the ground causing the shadowy black tendrils to reach for the Magcargo.

If the Cinders wanted them pinned against a wall... maybe that wasn't a bad idea. If they all held onto the wall he could bring the floor (with the Cinders) down into the deeper chambers. How to let the kids know without alerting the Cinders though?

"Focus on our battle, you little ****!" The female cinder grunt hissed. Her Ninetails was being barraged with all sorts of attacks, and it was pissing her off. "Pyroar, use your Wild Charge on that stupid tentacle monster!" She growled. Her Pyroar charged in, trying to defend its partner fox. Before she could get there however, her path was blocked by...a small rag. The electric attack instead hit the small obstacle, whose head simply tilted to the side in response. Before the Pyroar could even respond to the strange occurrence, she was blasted back by the fossilised rocks of the fearsome Aerodactyl.

"Sorry Mimi." Paige sighed as she returned the Mimikyu. While she was proud of her quick thinking to send out the pokemon on account of its useful ability, she could help but feel bad about using him as a sacrifice. Her and Chris had set a good foundation for this battle. She glanced over to Drew and Newt's match, where things were about to get even more dire.

Caesar was left as the only pokemon mobile enough to put up any sort of a fight. Brycen, Rey and Agro all watched on helplessly as Caesar dodged flame burst after flame burst, glancing back proudly at his trainer after each one. As he dodged the last one, the Magcargo was grabbed by the shadowy tendrils of the Doublade. That was his chance. Without a word from Drew, Caesar charged forward. He needed to be strong, and if he was to ever prove himself stronger than Brycen, it would have to be now.

"Qilll!" Brycen warned noticing the the Pyroar was still readily available. It was too late. As Caesar got close enough to strike with Brick Break, the Pyroar readied a fire fang, clamping down on the Scraggy and tossing him aside, as his body fell in a heap.

Drew's heart sank as he watched his pokemon finally dispatched of after a valiant effort. He grabbed his pokeball, but Brycen was quick to stop him despite the weight of his body in that moment. The Scraggy still had some energy left. Even if he couldnt fight anymore, Brycen understood full well the desire to stick around until the fight was won...if the fight was won.

"We'll hold them off Drew, this is your last chance to get out of here safely." Paige butted in, much to the annoyance of Drew and Brycen. The Quilladin was quick to make it known. He stepped forward glaring at the two fire types.

"We got this." Drew snapped back. "Bry, lead up with pin missile." The Quilladin fired the attacks, landing one on the Pyroar. "Now, rollout!" He ordered, again the pokemon followed through perfectly. While the lion stumbled back from the lead up attack, Brycen's Rollout clattered into him. The Pyroar found himself in the same condition as the grass type. Just before the Magcargo could respond and support his partner, he was blasted by a double kick by Rey, who had finally recovered.

"Take out the big ****ing kids pokemon already." The male grunt barked at his associate.

The Female grunt was happy to oblige. "Ninetails Faint attack that Yamask!" She smirked. "Pyroar, wild charge again, this time take down that stupid Aerodactyl!" She hissed, both her pokemon promptly following their orders.

"Tch, Que lindo." Chris snorted as the Yamask brought up a Protect shield. "Drew, you made it sound like these guys were actually something to worry about." Chris mocked as he took a step forward. With a grin, Chris pointed at the female Pyroar. "You let the poison sit for quite a while Seniorita. Bad decision. Rubbish! Venoshock to finish it off." Finishing off one loose end let Chris divert his attention over to the Ninetails. Drew and Newt could surely hold themselves out for a minute or two. "Whisper, Aerial Ace! Dios! Brine!"

"Magcargo, fire blast on Ninetails!" The Male grunt smirked. He was very conscious of the threat his own team was now under, but if he could just take out that Doublade. The flame shot toward the fox, setting her ablaze upon contact.

"Agro, finish off that damn slug! Mud Slap!" Newt butted in. The attack was enough to finish off the already injured snail, but not before it fired its own attack.

"Slade!" Paige called out as her Aerodactyl was knocked back from the wild charge, the pokemon not struggling to manage any sort of flight. "Counter with ancient power again!" Like Newt, Paige was able to land the final blow on the Pyroar, crushing the lioness with a parade of rocks.

The Sword Pok?mon cut across the fur of the nine tailed fox Pok?mon as it began to burst into flames from the Slug Pok?mon's attack. The fires licking across the metal of the blade, searing the cloth as it pulled away. The damage was done however, the Pok?mon was visibly worn down by the battle, the repeated water type attacks from Dios dealing significant damage.

Setting their own Pok?mon ablaze? That could only mean... Flash Fire! "No." Chris grunted as he felt his hand reach for the Dusk Stone in his bag. It wasn't time. Whisper could hold off one or two super effective hits fine. "Repeat!" Chris called, the Omanyte and the Swords charging up their attacks once more. This had to work!

As the fox bared its fangs, the swords slashed across its face only for the torrent of water to drench the both of them. The half second that they remained suspended in the stream seemed like an eternity as the light in the Ninetails eyes began to dim and the swords clattered to the ground. Seconds passed. Whisper and the Ninetails remained motionless.

"****." Chris growled as he recalled his main Pok?mon. Was this the first time Whisper had lost a fight? He couldn't remember. Regardless, that's what the others were for! They were a team!

"Rubbish! Sludge Bomb! Hit that Lion with everything you've got!"

The little trashbag belched forth a disgusting glob of purplish ooze that sailed across the cavern and splattered against the lion with enough force to send him skidding back into a wall.

"Give up. You're finished." Chris mocked.

Newt glanced across the room at what was essentially a massacre. Six pokemon KO'd and for what? What exactly was it that these Cinder guys wanted out of all this. He returned his pokemon to their pokeballs. Both Rey and Agro had done a lot today. He glanced up again as the sound of applause came from the shadows.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a rather tall man, wearing a similar suit to the other grunt strolled confidently toward the group. "I'm honestly impressed." He began, a condescending smirk growing across his face. "It only took four children to defeat two members of Team Cinder. That's special." As he stepped forward, it became clear this man wasnt like the other two. Just from the way he carried himself alone, it was obvious he was held in higher regard than the other two.

"Are you the leader?" Paige scowled, looking the man up and down. He seemed to pause for a moment as the girl addressed him, but quickly turned his attention to Chris.

"Personally I think you're a little ugly to classify as a child, but ugly breeds these days." He sighed. The two that had been there before seemed to cower as he strolled, without a care in the world.

Paige began to visibly shudder as she was ignored once again. She glared between the trio, saving the most hateful glare for the new arrival.

It was only then that the man noticed her. "You certainly are an angry one arent you. With a face like yours, you really should smile more." He walked up to the girl, completely dismissive of everyone else in the vicinity.

"From what I've heard I expected more." Chris chuckled, interrupting and ignoring the man's snarky remarks. "I mean, then again, judging by the crap you tried to pass off as a genetically enhanced Gyarados clone I can't say i'm surprised." Chris stared at the man dead in the eyes. "You idiots can't even do better than Team Rocket." He added. One step forward was all Chris needed.

The man's smirk curled into a smile. "Team Rocket you say? If you're that ignorant maybe calling you one of these children was an insult to them. I could tell you something big, but it doesnt benefit me. Besides, I'm sure Miss Manning here already knows." He leaned in to stroke Paige's cheek, but the girl delivered a forceful to his face. Another menacing grin grew on his face, this time, he reached for a knife from his belt. "Now...I dare you to do that again." He smirked, running the tip of the blade gently across her neck.

"Hey get the hell away from her!" Drew piped up, stepping closer to the scene. He could feel himself scratching his fingers, but he had to ignore it now.

"What the hell is your problem?" Paige glared, causing Drew to be taken aback.

"What...I, was trying protect you." Drew mumbled sheepishly.

"And for the last time, I dont need you to protect me. You trying to protect me is the reason we're here in the first place! I told you to leave Drew!"

"Oh? Are you two an item?" The Alpha grunt inquired, another hint of amusement danced through his tone as he asked.

"I swear to god Newt, if you say...anything..." Paige practically growled in anger as she noticed the smirk on the boys face. How stupid could he be? "No, we're not an item. We've never been an item." She glanced over at Drew, who almost seemed shocked as if he'd come to some sort of realisation. That same dumb look he always had. "Get it into your head Drew. I...used...you. I needed your parents not to buy my dads company. That's the only reason we even know each other. I dont know what you thought we had but it isnt there. My dad's company is gone now, so I definitely dont need you."

Drew stared at the ground. He...cold. He felt...he couldnt.

Damn. Chris almost felt sorry for Drew. Still, Go Paige!

The alpha grunt pulled away his knife, almost sorry he'd allowed the to happen. "I honestly feel like the good guy after that. You're dark Miss Manning." He joked, twirling the knife in the girl's hair. "See, we're not killing you. You're free to go. Before you do though...would you like to watch what happens to these two?"

"I'm not going anywhere until I talk to your leader." Paige responded flatly.

"Stay and watch it is then." He continued on, walking now to Chris. "And what of you, ugly child lover of Team Rocket?" He asked, pointing the knife.

"I mean, i'm only being payed to make sure that one doesn't get into too much trouble." Chris said with a shrug. His eyes scanned the cavern as he spoke. The explosive battle had taken its toll to be sure. The crack they had made before was now a gash that grew with every wrong step. Not to mention the supercharged attacks of moderately high powered Pok?mon.

It was a real shame Violet wasn't around. Chris desperately wanted to knock the floor out from under these grunts, sending them and their Pok?mon downwards. Unfortunately he hadn't the means to alert the others to his plans. Psychic telepathy be damned, never around when he needed it. Wait... Drew and Newt were already backed against the wall. Paige had an Aerodactyl.

A glint of metal sparkled off to the side. Hiding the smile that wanted to creep acrost his face, Chris continued. "So if you really want, have at them. He said, taking a step to the side and sweeping his hands out towards Newt and Drew.

("Come on then you prick.") He thought to himself.

"Don't mind if I do." The alpha grunt twirled his knife as he approached Newt. He lowered himself to the boys level with a grin. "It's funny. My boss doesn't even advocate this kind of stuff. I just see Admin Artece do it so often, I wonder just how fun it is. Admin Marsden can be a real bummer." He chuckled to himself, cutting a lock of Newt's hair.

"Gotcha." Chris hissed as Whisper flew forth into his open hands, the cloth wrapping around his arm as he thrust one of the blades into the ground and the force was enough to send cracks throughout the entire chamber they had found themselves in. With a swift movement the sword was wrenched free and Chris felt as he began to go down with the floor before being held aloft by the spiritual blades hovering in place. "Adi?s amigos!" He called as he watched the two original grunts frantically try and claw at the walls.

Drew barely managed to scurry to toward the edge in time as the central part of the cavern caved in. As he turned around, he noticed a few others hadnt been so lucky. The two original grunts had fallen. Had Chris just killed them? HE ACTUALLY KILLED THEM! He glanced up at Chris and Paige, who were safely on stable ground. Where was...NEWT?! Drew could feel his heart pumping through his chest. His best friend couldn't be dead. It was then, that he noticed a weight tugging on his leg. "NEWT!?" He called in a panic.

"Right...right here bud." Newt said through short breaths. "We got a bigger problem though..."

It was then that Drew felt the weight on his leg triple. The limb near snapped off there and then. Now, he was scrambling to keep himself up.

"ARRGH!" Newt screamed in pain.

"Newt, what the hecks goin on down there?" Drew was hanging by his fingers at this point. He thought of sending Brycen out to help, but could he even hold himself with one arm long enough.

"Drew! Catch!" A pokeball came flying past Drew's head and landed on the platform before him. As it landed, the weight on his leg completely disappeared, as though it had never been there in the first place. Drew felt another pokeball hit his back, but that one didnt quite make it to the platform. Drew dared to glance down. He saw his friend fade into the darkness. His memories of Newt flashed before his eyes. Their first battle when they joined the academy. The time they sabotaged the class presentation upon Newt's suggestion. The time they went on a detour during fishing lessons. Their battle in the forest...all of it.

"Drew! Grab my hand!" Paige called, reaching out. Drew felt his stomach turn as he noticed who was helping him. His face probably scrunched too, though he wouldnt have noticed. "If you want to be mad about what I said, thats fine, but dont lose your life over it." Once he grabbed her hand, Paige was able to help Drew out of the newly made hold on the ground.

"He's...Gaahhh" Drew began, before clutching his stomach in pain. He could feel his throat swelling at the thought. Everything that had happened here. Mr Manning was right all along.

Chris felt his feet hit solid ground. He turned and saw Paige and her Aerodactyl hovering near Drew. He'd heard the shouting and after rubbing the rope burn prepared to risk it again. "Get him out of here Paige. Go find your dad... i'm going to take a look." Chris called, his Doublade clinging to him once again as his Omanyte wrapped itself tighter around his neck once more. He glanced towards the edge of the cavern where the terrified looking Trubbish and Yamask were huddling on a cliff edge. Good. "Return you two." He called as he pulled their pokeballs from his belt.

"You need help getting back?" Paige asked, her tone buried in remorse after what she realised had just happened.

"There's a path. I'll walk." Drew sniffled, leaving his sharp and cold response to linger.

("Geronimo") Chris thought to himself as he stepped onto the crossed blades and began to descend downwards, not quite knowing what to expect the carnage below to look like.

"Dios Mio." Chris coughed. It wasn't a pleasant sight by far. A tuft of orange and black suit poked out from beneath the rock which he landed on. "Urgh..." His eyes caught something lying on top of the rocks that wasn't one of the Team Cinder grunts. In some form of ironic justice Newt's body seemed to have fared far better than the others, though it had still very obviously fallen a long way. "...for what its worth, I'm sorry it had to be you." Chris sighed trying not to gag. Had the boy gone to the academy with him? Chris couldn't recall anyone else. Apparently Drew had, so maybe this boy had too. Did that mean his family was around? Or were they off in some distant region. ****, that was a thought... Chris shook his head. It didn't matter. Plenty of kids never come home after a journey. What did parents expect when sending children running off with super powered animals...

He began to step across the rubble and away from the corpses but stopped when he felt something grainy beneath his shoes. It wasn't like the rocks, and he'd taken precaution from walking into any...

Looking down he noticed a layer of fine sand like dust. Rubbing it with his fingers, he pondered what it was doing down here. He scooped some up for later. Add that to the list of things he would have to analyze when he got a chance. He began to hear voices coming from down the tunnel. ("More Team Cinder grunts?") Chris pondered. Looking back at Newt and the three fallen grunts, Chris couldn't help but realize that despite the circumstances he'd actually lucked out. It would look as if Newt died fighting the grunts. Meaning Team Cinder still didn't know whom he was. The slight pang of guilt was quickly washed away when he realized that somehow, he had earned divine favour with what he did.

The Omanyte that had been restored from the Helix fossil gurgled inside his hood.

Spoiler:

Glittering Cave​

Stinging Bea · Sep 14, 2017

Chapter 12-2 | Ninja Granny

Avril Morris And Sebastian Allender
Glittering Cave

Avril's Team

Sebastian's Team

Badges

Inventory

Spoiler:

The two trainers had been making their way through the claustrophobic path for a good five minutes, Sebastian having to crouch just slightly, when a soft rumbling made its way through the cave. Brushing it off as a Drilbur carving a path out below, they paid the shaking no mind...at first; however, as they hiked onward, the rumbling grew louder, the shakes more violent. Sebastian finally came to a stop.

?Ukyou, go see what?s on the other side.? He requested, and the Pokemon happily phased her way through the cave?s wall. Hardly a minute had ticked by when the ghostly ice type returned. She floated to one side of the cave and scrunched her face, hunching like an old woman, then floated to the other side and held her tiny hands outward, one finger on each hand pointed outward like little pistols.

?Lalala.? She cried, her arms shaking with each ?la? to symbolize the shooting of a gun. ?Lalala!?

Avril watched the Froslass carefully, a feeling of dread quickly entering the pit of the blonde girl's stomach. She knew all too well what the ghost pok?mon was trying to get across, and all at once the picture of one person in particular came to mind.

"Gabriel...? Is he here...?" Avril questioned inwardly, gripping the strap of her bag tightly.

The girl knew full well that there were of course other members of Team Cinder. Also, thanks to Sebastian's story, she knew full well that there were other members of the organization that most likely carried guns. After all, Cinder didn't exactly strike her as the types who would just walk away after a pok?mon battle was lost. They had to have some sort of fallback plan if pok?mon couldn't get the job done. Plus, there was the other small detail that Ukyou shared with the duo...

"Sebastian... I... I have to go see what's going on," Avril determined, trying her best to put on a brave face for the boy. Truth be told, it was a bit of a lie. Just thinking about the chance of encountering that man again made Avril's stomach start tying up in knots, but she knew it was a risk she had to take if she ever wanted to get her revenge for that night. "Plus, if I understood what she's trying to say, your Froslass said someone might be in trouble. I can't ignore an elderly person that can't defend themselves from these thugs."

Without hesitation, Sebastian reached for Avril?s arm, hoping to keep her from taking off. ?We?re getting out of this cave alive, together.? He stated, his voice determined, yet somehow calm. ?You?re not storming the enemy camp without me.?

?Fra-la!? Ukyou shouts, nodding along with her trainer?s words. Since that night, back when she was a little Snorunt, tucked away in Sebastian?s bag like Cubone is now...something had broken inside her trainer. Maybe facing these horrible people again will help him fix whatever was broken?

Sebastian offers a frail, encouraging smile as he drops Avril?s hand. ?Let?s go.?

Froslass nods, quickly flittering deeper down the path. Another two or so minutes of walking would reveal an opening slightly higher up than likely anticipated: About eight feet from ground level, allowing for a decent view of the scene Ukyou tried so hard to describe.

And quite the sight it was. Standing before the two trainers were in fact two members of Team Cinder. The one that had been holding the gun was in fact not Gabriel, but rather some regular member of the organization who looked as though he had just had the everloving hell beat out of him. The man was battered and bruised, struggling to try and climb back up to his feet. By his side, was a female grunt who was accompanied by a Liepard. However, it was the opponent the two grunts were facing that caught Avril's attention the most.

As Ukyou described, it was in fact an elderly person, a woman to be exact. She was short, barely managing to come up to Avril's waist in height.Her hair, long and reaching down to the middle of her back, was faded pink in hue. Her clothing was quite exotic. Avril had never really seen anyone on the street wearing clothing of this style. If she had to put her finger on it, Avril would have guessed that it was something ripped straight out of ancient Johto. The old woman was slightly hunched over as well, but that handicap seemed to little to deter her fighting spirit. By her side, stood a calm and obviously battle-hardened Medicham.The old woman was staring down both grunts with the kind of confidence that reminded Avril so much of someone like Volkner after he had managed to single handedly take down her team.

"T'ch... how the hell are we losin' to some senile old woman?" the male grunt scoffed, finally managing to pull himself up to his feet. "The old bitch can barely stand up straight!"

"Quit your whinin'!" the female grunt snapped back. "If you don't have anything worthwhile to contribute, then just get out of here already!" The female grunt turned her attention back to the scene at hand, her Liepard looking quite beaten and barely able to stand up on its own feet. "Liepard, attack with Fury Swipes now!"

?Pathetic.? Barked the voice of the elderly woman, significantly stronger and harsher than Sebastian ever could have imagined. She hardly moves when the Liepard lunges for her partner Pokemon, merely cutting her eyes towards the hollowed out section of cave up above. Looks like this damn fight was drawing in a crowd. ?Focus Blast.?

The Meditation Pokemon collected a large ball of energy, and when the Liepard was mere inches from reaches it with its massive claws, Medicham thrust its hands forward, the massive amount of energy colliding with the Liepard and sending her skyward-- the cave?s ceiling catching her, and filling the room with a loud crack . As the leopard Pokemon collapses to the ground (leaving quite the crack in the ceiling, the stiff old woman takes a step forward.

?You two are in over your heads. Now, accept that you?re beaten and go home. There?s no place for you here.? Not in her cave, and not in Team Cinder. These two weren?t smart enough to survive in such a violent syndicate.

The male grunt didn't waste a single moment in quickly scampering away, cursing under his breath as he did so. The female grunt recalled her Liepard, giving the old woman a rather dirty glare before she too began retreat from the scene.

"Don't think you've heard the last from us, you old hag! Team Cinder will be back!" the female called out as she took off down the winding tunnels of the cave.

Avril stared at the old woman in shock. She had somehow managed to take on both grunts by herself, with only one Medicham by her side. This woman... she was clearly in a different league all together than either Avril or Sebastian were in. That much was certain for sure.

"Holy crap..." Avril whispered. "This granny's amazing!"

Team Cinder will be back, of course, they?re like Weedle in Viridian Forest. Those two in particular, though, if they come back, they?re bigger dumbasses than she thought.

Sebastian withheld a chuckle, suddenly feeling the weight of the situation melt away. Was it politically correct to call this woman a Granny? Hopefully she didn?t take offense...or hear them. Avril was whispering, but this woman was clearly on another level in more ways than one. If she decided to make enemies out of himself and Avril they truly wouldn?t make it out of this cave alive. ?Agreed.? He smiled.

?Cham cham.? The Medicham effortlessly glides to her trainer and tosses her head to their little audience.

?You can come down now.? The elderly woman commented without turning her head. ?But be quick about it. They?re not the only two piles of crap in this cave.?

Avril, Sebastian, and Ukyou quickly came out from their hiding spot. The blonde felt a little embarrassed over the fact that they had been more or less just watching the old woman deal with the Cinder grunts, even if she did seem to have the situation under control for the most part. At the very least, there seemed to be no need to warn the woman about more members of the team being in the cave.

"Wait... so does that mean you've been dealing with more than just those two?" Avril questioned. Her eyes widened as she looked the old woman and her Medicham up and down, clearly more impressed than she had been initially. "You gotta be pretty tough if you've been dealing with a lot of those guys, granny!"

?They?re like weeds. Each time we blow one back, two more pop up in its place.? The old woman didn?t so much as blink at the nickname given; she didn?t give her name, and she had no intention to. She needed to get these kids out of this place before they got caught up in the frantically spreading disease that was Team Cinder. ?We?ll lead you to the quickest exit.? She motions to her Medicham, who turns her back on the young trainers and begins to float towards another twist in the cave.

Sebastian furrows his brows in confusion when he notices the leather strap slung over Medicham?s shoulder. ?Is that...a sword??

?That?s a sword.? The old woman shrugs. ?Keeps her sharp.?

"How in the world does she use it?" Avril questioned. "I thought that pok?mon weren't capable of using human-made items and stuff."

?It?s not that they can?t, it?s that they don?t immediately know how.? She can take some time to give some wisdom to these kids, they seemed smart...er than the usual flock that came crashing through here. ?A Pokemon?s attacks are built into their brain, into their very being. They have instincts, something humans don?t. Give a Pokemon a sword for the first time, they?re just as lost as we are. Doesn?t mean they can?t learn. Teaching her to fight with a sword meant asking her to work harder, think harder, and we?re both better for it.?

Sebastian can?t help but stare, he?s completely in awe over this woman?s strength. Despite how feeble she looks, just standing close to her is...intimidating.

Avril, on the other hand, felt a wave of excitement rushing through her. The more she listened to the woman talk, the more she began to admire her. She sounded like some wise and powerful sensei from a comic book. The blonde couldn't remember the exact name of it. Emma had shown it to her once before, back before they graduated from the academy, but the way this woman spoke and carried herself, reminded Avril of that character in particular.

"Hey, granny! Hold up a second," Avril called out, making her way to the old woman's side. "Forget about showing us the way outta here for a bit. You gotta be able to teach me how to teach my pok?mon how to do stuff like that. If Shino could use weapons and stuff like that, he'd be unstoppable!"

So much for thinking this girl was smart. Just because she could fight off Cinder didn?t mean she could play babysitter/bodyguard while the plague that infecting Kalos continued to swarm through her cave (actually, she could, she just didn?t want to). Damn that determination in the girl?s eyes, though; this girl has spirited, and that?s every bit as important as having brains. Maybe it?s time she pass down something more than wisdom-- if this girl can prove she can handle it.

?What kind of Pokemon is Shino??

Avril's eyes beamed. "He's a Frogadier... Does that matter?"

?If he was a Voltorb, you?d be out of luck. A Frogadier I can work with.? Another rumbling from the deeper part of the cave causes her to sigh. Those dumbass kids must have gotten back to their little clubhouse and asked some of their fellow dumbasses to come avenge them. They?ll be here in a few minutes. ?What kind of weapon were you planning on using??

"What kind of weapon...?" Avril repeated, crossing her arms over her chest as she began to think the question over. This whole inspiration just sort of happened on the spot, so the blonde really had no idea what sort of weapon her Frogadier would use. The only weapon she had seen a pok?mon carry was that sword on the Medicham's back. "A... sword. I think that's a good fit for him, you know?"

?Frogadier?s a bit small for a sword.? The old woman explains. Points to the young blonde trainer for wanting to better herself and her team...points deducted for being so rash, not that she?s ever met a beginning trainer that wasn?t gung-ho to jump into situations without thought. Give a kid a fire breathing lizard and they think it makes them immortal.

?Perhaps a throwing knife...or a shuriken?? Sebastian thinks aloud.

More rumbling. The woman cuts her gaze to her Medicham, who takes on an attacking stance. ?A shuriken would be a good start.?

Avril glanced between Sebastian and the old woman. Sebastian seemed to have a much better understanding of weaponry than she herself did. Maybe the boy had some sort of ninja blood running through his veins. She decided to make a mental note to ask him about it a little bit later. Turning her attention back to the woman, Avril smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yeah, a shuriken sounds like it'd be a good fit," Avril agrees, quick to relent on her previous thoughts of Shino swinging a sword around. Even if it was a cool sounding idea, Avril knew she needed to remain practical. Once more, rumbling could be heard coming from deeper within the cavern. "What in the world is that noise...?"

?More spoiled brats acting out.? The old woman snarls. ?They?ve been snooping around this cave for hours.?

?Team Cinder?? Sebastian asks for clarification, and earns himself a curt nod. ?What do they want??

?Hell if I know, but damned if I?m letting them get it.?

Hours? She?s been fighting them off for hours? She must be exhausted...though Sebastian doesn?t dare point that out, for fear she might tear his head from his shoulders. Between her cold stare and the intensity that comes from just being around her...he?s certain she could.

"Maybe it's your Medicham...?" Avril muses aloud. "I mean, the fact that she uses a weapon to fight as well as other abilities makes her kinda rare, granny..."

Avril gave a small glance over towards Sebastian. It seemed like they both caught a hold of the same detail, that the old woman's been fighting off the Team Cinder goons for hours. Both of them were probably... well, definitely not feeling the fatigue that someone her age might have been feeling at this point, even if she didn't want to admit it.

Avril suddenly stepped forward, taking one of the pok?balls off of her bracelet. "Why don't you sit back and take a breather for a bit? I'm sure my friend and I can handle these guys for a little bit."

Not a bad idea, actually. If she?s going to donate some of whatever time she has left training this girl and her Frogadier, she needs to prove she?s worthy of that time, and what better way than showing what she?s capable of in a battle? So far they?ve only sent in their most dimwitted of grunts. If they send in someone halfway competent, and it seems these kids are struggling, she?ll step in. ?Sit this one out, Medicham.?

The Medicham eases out of her attack stance and floats towards her trainer, folding her legs and assuming a meditative stance.

?Ready?? Sebastian asks Avril, reaching for a Pokeball of his own.

"Always," Avril replied.

[PKMN FULL] Z: A Kalos Journey [M] [IC]

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