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

LinearAxel · Oct 15, 2017

You've Got to be Carefully Taught

Sebastian Allender

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Route 10

?You?re going the wrong way!? A voice calls to Sebastian as he makes his way down the route.

?I...am?? Sebastian blinks slowly as he turns towards the sound of the voice-- a bird keeper. He points towards the tombstones that are clearly visible from his chosen path. ?Is the entrance to the graveyard not down this way??

?O-oh, you?re...going to the graveyard?? The birdkeeper slowly inches away. ?I thought...you look like a trainer, so I just figured you were coming to see the great migration.?

?Migration?? Sebastian asked, interested.

?Yeah! Around this time of year, a bunch of bird Pokemon come through this route on their way South. There?s hundreds of ?em! It?s a sight to see!? The bird keeper grins enthusiastically.

?I see. What do you two think?? Sebastian smiles down at Fay?lene.

The exploration-craving Rockruff barks excitedly, bouncing from side to side at the idea. Her tail waves excitedly as Sebastian turns, backtracking towards the bird keeper. ?Might we tag along??

?Sure can!? The bird keeper?s enthusiasm seems only to grow at the chance to make a bird watcher out of the trainer. He practically marches through the route, a pride and an eagerness Sebastian could had not seen in some time. To see that there were people in Kalos who had not yet had their worlds destroyed by Cinder...it?s reassuring to see.

---

The trees were filled with birds of multiple shapes and sizes, as far down the path as Sebastian could see were bird keepers, some feeding the flying types, others taking pictures of them, some scribbling against notepads, either drawing sketches or taking some kind of notes, it?s a unique sight to behold. Sebastian watches as his bird keeper friend jogs down the path to join in the feeding of a flock of Pidoves, and slowly begins to follow.

?Those orange ones are Fletchinder, they?re a fire type, like Selkie.? Sebastian speaks to Fay?lene as he observes the multitude of birds that flit and flutter around him. An unpleasant thought suddenly flashes across his mind: Dylan...he hadn?t heard from the other boy since their last contest. Had he met the same fate as Newt??

The rough brush of Fay?lene?s neck rubbing against his leg brought him back. There?s no point in wondering and fretting, he?ll call Dylan once they get to a quieter place...and if he doesn?t answer...that?s a frightening thought for another time. Sebastian quickly looks for something to take his mind off the death toll that seems to be rising around him, and notices a large owl Pokemon fly over him. ?And that?s Noctowl. It?s rare to see them out in the daylight.?

The Noctowl in question releases an angry cry as it dives down towards a collection of Hoothoot, all of whom scatter-- except for one, who is quickly swatted at with a massive wing. As it?s sent tumbling through the grass towards Sebastian, the trainer is quick to see...this isn?t a Hoothoot...it?s a Rowlet.

The tiny owl pushes himself back to his feet and adjusts his bowtie, then begins to waddle his way back towards the flock of Hoothoot. As he gets closer, the group all begin to make cries of anger, similar to their leader. This does not seem to phase the Rowlet, who continues marching forward. Getting closer still, a few of the Hoothoots take to the air, descending upon the grass type and delivering sharp pecks to his head, before flying farther down the path, the remainder of the group soon to follow. After adjusting his feathers back into place, the beaten Rowlet also takes to the air, and begins to fly after the Hoohoot flock.

?Rowlet!? Sebastian cries, but the bird pays him no mind, he merely flies on. Why is he? why are they??

?Little guy thinks he?s a Hoothoot.? A voice speaks from behind Sebastian-- a female bird keeper with short, spiky brown hair. ?No matter how many times they tell him he isn?t.?

?Why would he want to be something that seems so cruel?? Sebastian asks, the girl shrugs.

?I guess it thinks it?s better to be with a group and hated, rather than be totally alone.?

Her words strike a chord with Sebastian, this little bird must have been terribly lonely before it found those owls, so lonely and miserable that it doesn?t matter that they torment him, that they abuse him for something that he can?t control. He?s slightly different, does that make him such an enemy? Sebastian grips the handle of his bag. ?I see...thank you.? He murmurs as he steps away from the girl, and makes his way once more down the path.

?I?d like to have a word with that Noctowl.? He speaks, earning a howl of support from Fay?lene. Looking down to match her gaze, she looks as determined to right this wrong as he does.

---

As Sebastian catches up to the flock, he sees Rowlet once more shoving himself off the ground and meekly waddling back towards his ?friends.? The Noctowl scowls, seemingly having enough of Rowlet?s desire to belong. As it takes to the sky it begins to glow-- charging a Sky Attack.

?NO.? Sebastian snaps, and before he can declare an attack, Fay?lene is bounding towards the owl. She summons a collection of stones and hurls them towards the glowing bird, sending him crashing to the ground.

As their leader hits the ground, the Hoothoots take to the sky, wanting as much distance between themselves and the attacking rock type as possible. Meanwhile, Rowlet remains, a look of confusion in his eyes as he turns his head to see Sebastian and Fay?lene. ?Hooo??? He cries weakly.

?Why are you so determined to harm this creature? What has it done to you?? Sebastian inquires, only earning himself a hard stare from the no-longer-glowing Noctowl. ?He?s not exactly like your kind, I see, but why is that a crime punishable by such treatment??

Another stare, the evolved Owl?s feathers ruffling in an irritated fashion. When Sebastian opens his mouth to speak again, the flying type lunges forward, this time aiming its Take Down towards the human that dare question it, only this time-- it?s attack was cut short by a dark aura that smashed into its beak, a Sucker Punch, performed by Rowlet himself.

Rowlet hovers between Sebastian and Noctowl, its wings flapping desperately to keep itself up. It makes a pleading sound, seemingly asking Noctowl to leave the human be. The Noctowl is having none of it, and once more aims an attack.

?Fay?lene, Rock Slide!? Sebastian calls out. The wolf pup once more calls forth her summoned stones and sends them flying towards the Noctowl, this time accompanied by Rowlet, whose beak begins to glow as he plucks it into Noctowl?s back, right before the stones collide with the imposing bird.

Upon colliding with the ground for a second time, the Noctowl makes a displeased hissing sound. It stares at the trio with such animosity it?s unnerving, though it seems to deem this entire ordeal a waste of time, and turns its back on them, taking to the skies to find its flock.

?You?re better off without them.? Sebastian glares at the large bird as it shrinks into the distance.

?Row?? Rowlet responds with a disheartened cry. It was happy to be defended, no one had ever done such a thing for it, though...now it?s alone again.

?Sometimes people...and Pokemon, I see...they want things a certain way...they...demand things...a certain way, even if they know...it?s impossible. You can?t change who you are...any more than I can.? The words make his stomach tighten. He began this journey so determined to change himself, and with every trial and challenge it became all the more clear...he can?t. Not in the way Alice wanted.

?Hoo?? Rowlet flits towards the suddenly saddened human and perches on his shoulder, draping his wing over red hair.

?...You?ve got an amazing spirit, you know. I wouldn?t want to see you change, even if you could.? Sebastian smiles, his attention pulled from Rowlet only when Fay?lene begins tugging on his pant leg.

Upon catching her trainer?s gaze she makes a pointed gesture towards his belt loop. Sebastian bought more Pokeballs right before they left the city, and he needs to use one now. This bird would make an excellent addition to their pack!

?I see. You want Rowlet to come along with us.? Sebastian nods, turning once more to face Rowlet. ?Would you??

The owl?s eyes shine with a delight as he flaps his wings excitedly, so much so that he takes to the air without trying. Sebastian chuckles as he reaches into his bag, taking out a freshly purchased Pokeball, which Rowlet happily pecks in order to open. The ball shakes within Sebastian?s grasp several times, before the pleasant clicking sound fills the air.

?...Welcome home, Takumi.?

You Caught Rowlet!

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

Takumi ?
Ability: Long Reach
Leaf Blade
Feather Dance
Sucker Punch
Synthesis
Pluck
Astonish

End

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Oddball_ · Oct 16, 2017

-- Profile --

Name: Chris Rodriguez

Pok?mon :

Location: Menhir Trail

Inventory:

Spoiler:

~
Ruin Maniac Leonard is trying to uncover the mysteries surrounding the tall, stone structures that are found all along the route. While many people just admire them of their presence, Leonard knows that there has to be something else to them. Just how did they get there in the first place? For what purpose were they constructed? Join this Ruin Maniac in his pursuit of the truth!

Reward:
Rocky Helmet

?Gigigi? The deep resonating voice of Chris? Cofagirgirus echoed against the erect stone monuments pushing through the ground.

?Come on Ya- er Cofagrigus.? Chris called out as he poked his head around one of the nearby stones.

(?Dios Mio that rascal is always up to no good no matter what form it takes.?) The young archeologist mused to himself as he kicked away some roots and studied the stone.

?AIIIIEEEEEE? A loud scream echoed from somewhere nearby.

?Right on time.? Chris sighed as he began stampeding towards the shriek.

It wasn?t long before Chris stumbled acrost the graying man cowering behind one of the stone like columns as a floating coffin hovered above him while wearing what appeared to be a mining helmet on its top.

?Stay away boy! The ghosts of the stones have come back to haunt us!? The elderly man cried as he cowered.

?Uh? Cofagigrus return.? Chris called as he pressed the recall feature on the Pok?ball. The coffin?s giggling form was encased in red light before being sucked into the red and white sphere.

?It was? your Pok?mon?? The old man asked as he pushed the thick rimmed glasses back onto his nose. ?Well then. I made quite the fuss for nothing I suppose. Yet again, being around these mysterious stones makes people nervous.?

?I mean, the history of these stones certainly doesn?t make you feel all jolly for sure.? Chris nodded.

?You know the history of these stones?!? The old man gasped. ?I?ve been searching for the secrets of these stones for thirty years!?

Chris stared at the old man for several long moments. Hadn?t the purpose of the stones become common knowledge not two years before? Was this old man that out of the loop?

?What?? The old man asked while looking at Chris.

?The stones were used in the war 3,000 years ago. They were? a morbid power supply for the Ultimate Weapon. They drained the life energy from Pok?mon around them. It killed hundreds if not thousands of Pok?mon. Some say it harnessed the power of the legendary bird of destruction Yveltel to do so. Others say it gave Xerneas all the life energy it stole, allowing it near eternal life... Those are just stories though. More than likely it was just the machinations of a crazy man who wanted to end the war.? Chris explained, his mouth spewing the information that he had read about from several different sources.

?Fascinating! So these stones are all part of the same ancient machine? Where did the ancient people get this knowledge from? Do you think? do you think it was aliens?? The old man asked inquisitively giving Chris a weird eye.

Chris now, being thoroughly disturbed, began to walk away.

Chris' Museum:

LinearAxel · Oct 17, 2017

Geonsenge Town

Date at Stage Start: July 2nd | Time at Stage Start: 4 PM

"Quiet Stones Speak Volumes."

An overbearing sense of dread and trepidation will no doubt fill our heroes as they step foot into the famed Geosenge Town. The town seems calm, granted the horrific event happened over two years ago, but those who are arriving for only the first or second time will no doubt remember the nightmarish scene caused by the now infamous ultimate weapon.

As the name Team Cinder continues to circulate, many can empathise with evacuees, who fled the town as the organisation began to gain some traction. Those who have stayed, undoubtedly have their own fears, and any trust of strangers amongst the townfolk is rare. This isnt helped by the fact the newly instated crater contest, held in the towns center. Plenty of the locals are infuriated by the capitalising on such a tragic event, but regardless the spectacle continues.

Pokémon Available (Level 38-40):

Geosenge Town:

Pokémon available to those using a Great Ball(Level 40-42):

Pokémon available to those using on Mission 5(Level 36-38):

Pokémon available to those using on Mission 10(Level 36-38):

OPEN ★ Mission 1:

Spoiler:

Reward: Rose Incense

OPEN
Mission 1:
Move Tutor Joey is finally ready to start the next chapter in his life. The problem? He's not really attracting much business as of yet. Perhaps his reputation as a troublemaker preceeds him or maybe he's just having trouble actually teaching pokémon moves. Regardless, maybe a helping hand will help push Joey in the right direction.

Reward: Fire Punch, Ice Punch, or Thunder Punch can be learned if you have a pokémon capable of learning it.

Mission 2:
The trees around Geosenge all but died off when their energies were drained by the ultimate weapon. Recently, however, several trees have suddenly burst back into full bloom. Rumor has it that Xerneas has returned to give life back to the destroyed town, and many trainers are forming a search party to catch a glimpse of the legendary creature.

Reward: TM Dazzling Gleam

Mission 3:
A young man staying at the Pokemon Center is making everyone he meets rather uncomfortable. Apparently he's been babbling on about becoming the world's greatest trainer by forcing legendary Pokemon to his side. Big talk isn't exactly threatening, but it is suspicious that all of this trainer's Pokemon seem to line up with Pokemon recently reported as stolen. One in particular, a Lapras, whose trainer was murdered when it was taken. Find out if there's a connection, and stop this man before he goes too far!

Reward: Lapras

Mission 4:
It sounds a little silly, but one of the older citizens of the town swears up and down she's been seeing aliens floating around the standing stones at night, and they seem to want to abduct the stones for themselves, yet they're struggling under its massive weight. Sounds crazy, but in a world full of so many mysteries, can you really toss her words aside without a little investigation? Find out what these floating green men are, and what they want with Geosenge's standing stones.

Reward: 1000 P + two berries of your choice

Mission 5:
Wild Joltiks have begun sneaking into the Pokemon Center to feast on their electricity, which is causing the power to short circuit. Many sick Pokemon depend on this power to keep them alive while they heal, so the Joltiks need to be relocated. That being said, the locals probably won't take too kindly to you battling the poor, hungry bugs. You'll have to find another way.

Reward: Magnet

Mission 6:
With so many stones surrounding the town, it's no surprise that there are an abundance of evolutionary stones hiding around the town, if one knows where to look-- or, so they usually are. The distrust of the locals has caused a group of young citizens to collect and hide the stones in the local hotel, the entrance to which they are carefully guarding. Sneak by, or maybe even convince them that there's nothing to fear, and you may be rewarded.

Reward: Evolutionary stone of your choice

Mission 7
Speaking of the distrusting locals, it seems one in particular has gone a bit too far, sicking his Steelix on the team that attempted to create a contest arena in the center of town. The Steelix remains in the crater, throwing giant rocks at anyone who gets too close, and who might consider cashing in on the town's misfortune. Someone should probably deal with the enraged snake before it hurts someone else.

Reward: Metal Coat

Mission 8:

Reports of Team Cinder sneaking around Team Flare's old base is doing nothing to calm the animosity the townsfolk feel towards new faces. While the gang has done nothing harmful within the town, rumors of orange clad men and women sneaking about the town did appear around the same time the debris was mysteriously cleared from the old base, allowing access to it for the first time in more than two years. Someone should go find out what's in the old base that has captured this new evil's interest.

Reward: Gyaradosite

Mission 9:

In an attempt to calm the anger and fear of her town, Nurse Joy recruited the help of a Jigglypuff to soothe them with its song. The Jigglypuff had other plans, however, and after escaping the Pokemon center, has been creating innocent pranks on the people of Geosenge. It means no ill will, but this is certainly not what the people need right now. Maybe you can convince Jigglypuff to do what's right.

Reward: Moonstone + 1000 P

Mission 10:

It seems the people of Geosenge aren't the only ones feeling territorial. Close to the exit of town, a young girl has been bitten by an Arbok, who built its nest close by. Someone should probably get the poor girl to the hospital before the toxins spread.

Reward: Air Balloon + Great Ball

Stinging Bea · Oct 19, 2017

Chapter 15-1 | Complicated Feelings

Avril Morris | Menhir Trail

The Team

Badges

Inventory

Spoiler:

It had been a rather restless night for Avril. While the girl had managed to get some sleep, she found that she had difficulties actually managing to drift off to that slumber. The previous day had proved to be rather eventful for the trainer, what with the incident at the beach, the battle with Grant, reuniting with her sister, and then celebrating her birthday with Victoria. With such a busy schedule, one would have thought that Avril would have had quite the easy time drifting off to sleep for a solid eight hours at the very least. However, it was that very last detail that proved to be quite the issue that kept her mind running in overdrive.

Now, it should be well known that Avril did indeed enjoy spending time with Victoria. It was an odd relationship between the two to say the least. Avril had first met her shortly after leaving Lumiose City, and the two had a rather... rough introduction to each other. Of course, most of that had been Avril's fault. Just like now, the girl had a lot weighing on her mind and she was not exactly in a good place. Thankfully, the blonde had managed to overcome such hardships and had in fact come to see Victoria as a friend. She enjoyed being around the girl and some of her more enjoyable moments along her journey had been spent with in her company, such as her shopping spree and makeover back in Ambrette Town and even her birthday lunch from the previous day. In Avril's mind, that should have been more than enough to qualify Victoria as quite a good friend. Maybe the two weren't exactly the best of friends, yet... After all, she and Emma had known each other for over three years at this point and had shared many moments and interests with each other. At the same time though, Avril found herself feeling funny around Victoria.

It wasn't the same way she felt around her best friend, or even others she had come to know (at least in her mind) somewhat well such as Sebastian or Drew. Whenever she was around Victoria, Avril began to feel like she had butterflies in her stomach. She could always feel her heart race whenever the girl was nearby and... as time progressed, Avril found herself wanting to desperately see the girl again only a few hours after they had parted. She had never had feelings like this before and they were definitely more than just a bit troublesome, if only because she didn't know how to properly deal with them.

One thing was for certain. Things didn't get any easier for Avril when her mind drifted towards that kiss. It was the biggest detail from yesterday that still managed to hold in Avril's mind. It was unexpected, yet enjoyable. It was something that Avril found herself desperately wanting to experience again, yet at the same time made her feel confused and possibly even a bit scared.

"Hey, Marble...?" Avril suddenly called out, glancing down at the Flaaffy who was currently trotting happily by her side. The sheep pokémon glanced up curiously at her trainer, her tail swaying back and forth as she walked. "Let's say you... know someone, right? Like, they're a friend obviously... Not your best friend, but... you like... don't feel the same way about them like your other friends. Not that you actually hate them or anything! Far from it, even! It's more like..."

Avril paused, a sigh escaping her lips as she noticed the rather confused look gracing Marble's face. It was quite clear that the Flaaffy hadn't the slightest understanding in what her trainer was actually talking about. Not that that really surprised, Avril. She sometimes found herself forgetting that despite evolving, Marble really wasn't all that mature, at least not as mature in regards to the likes of Shino or Radar. The blonde began to wonder if maybe talking to either one of them would have been a better idea. Then again, maybe talking to an actual human would have been the best idea. The problem was, Avril really didn't know who to turn to.

She had flipped through her contacts on the holocaster late last night when these thoughts were rolling around in her head. Drew was young... Chances are the boy had never had any experience with feelings like these, so it was probably best not to bother him with them. She really didn't know Odette all that well yet. She knew Jackson wasn't a good choice in the matter, but he had difficulty talking about his own sister. Sebastian looked like he had trouble just talking about the weather at times. Laurent tended to be a bit dramatic in his way of speaking and handling things, which really wasn't what she was looking for at the moment either. That left Robin and Emma. Avril really wasn't sure on how comfortable she was on talking about such matters with her sister. She really wouldn't have put it past the brunette, despite the fact that she claimed she wanted to start things fresh, to give her a hard time and tease her about it all. Meanwhile, she was sure Emma wouldn't react in such a way... Instead, she was certain the detective would probably go on and on about how cute it all was.

Avril really began to feel like nothing on this journey was ever going to be truly easy. "You know what...? Never mind..."

Marble gave her trainer a confused look as Avril closed down her holocaster and returned it to her bag. The Flaaffy really didn't understand just what was going through her trainer's mind, but she could at the very least make out something was indeed bothering her. The sheep pokémon slowly reached out, patting Avril gently on the leg as she let out a somewhat concerned sounding mewl. Avril glanced down at Marble, offering the pokémon a small smile. The blonde trainer opened her mouth to say something, when a sight up ahead quickly managed to catch her attention. It wasn't so much as a thing, however. Rather, it was the sight of a person who managed to completely steal her focus.

It was a woman, one with bright red hair that seemed to just scream for people to notice it. However, it wasn't the hair that caught Avril's attention as much as it was the woman's clothing. She was clad in what one would most likely consider a business suit of sorts. A pair of sunglasses graced the woman's face, managing to completely obscure vision of her eyes. While normally Avril wouldn't have thought much about such an outfit, despite the fact that hiking along the various routes of Kalos in a business suit was probably not highly recommended, the colors of the woman's clothing was more than enough to cause a bit of alarm within in the trainer. For starters, the suit was an incredibly vibrant shade of red. It almost reminded Avril of the type color one would see a firetruck painted. The woman's sunglasses also seemed to bare a similar color. The other details which managed to catch the attention of the trainer in particular was that of the woman's belt and her necktie, both of which seemed to bare the ensignia of what looked to be a fire-like symbol. It was the color of the clothing and these symbols that suddenly sent off alarms in Avril's head.

"Wait... Is that a Team Cinder member...?" Avril questioned, watching the woman with mild curiosity. The woman seemed to be doing her best to try and sneak around without anyone noticing her. Every so often, she would glance over her shoulder, before briskly making her way down the route and past the many stones that were more or less used to mark the graves. "What in the world would one of those be doing in a place like this? I mean, I know that they just kinda show up wherever they want... But this isn't a place for those guys to be trying their usual gimmicks!"

Avril's eyes narrowed as she watched the woman sneak further down the route, eventually starting to head off the main trail entirely. Immediately, Avril began to head in the direction the woman was going, Marble following as closely behind her trainer as she could. The blonde girl didn't get too far however, before sudden thoughts began to pop-up in her head. Was going after this woman really the best idea? Her encounters with Team Cinder were proving to be more and more difficult with each passing one, and there was also that little detail that Sebastian had revealed about the organization wanting her and some of the others dead. Also judging from the woman's suit, it was clear that she was not just the average, run-of-the-mill Cinder grunt. Avril really didn't know how the rankings worked within in Team Cinder, but she was at least fairly certain that the color of one's suit had something to do with their placements in the organization.

"Maybe... Maybe I should call Emma or one of the others..." Avril debated aloud. "I mean... she's a detective, so maybe she's already gotten word that Cinder's over here...?"

Avril thought on it for a moment, but soon found herself resuming her pursuit of the mysterious woman. The blonde quickly realized that she couldn't simply rely on Emma to save the day on this one. Right now, she needed to make sure not to lose track of the woman. If things did begin to look shady, she could call the detective and the police for assistance. For now, seeing what the woman was up to was the top priority. Taking hold of Marble's pokéball, Avril quietly recalled the Flaaffy before resuming her chase. While she knew that the sheep pokémon would most likely make for a handy bodyguard, she also realized that stealth was the most needed tool for the time being. With the ball replaced on her bracelet, Avril resumed her tailing of the stranger...

----------

Keeping track of the woman while not exposing herself had proven to be somewhat difficult for Avril. She had never really had much experience with this sort of thing before. The last time she tried to follow someone like this was that night back in Lumiose City, which admittedly stirred up bad memories upon her recollection of the night's events. Thankfully, there were several factors that were different during that night. For starters, the trainer had been smart enough to keep all of her pokémon inside their balls. Number two, it was the middle of the day. Lastly, there wasn't anything tricky like trashcans or boxes hidden within the shadows to trip her up. The only thing the blonde had to make sure she did was stay out of sight as best she could. Avril did this by making sure to stay as close to any foliage and trees she could find along the path she traveled, always making sure to only make any sudden movements when it looked like the woman she was following wasn't paying attention.

Eventually, the woman's traveling came to a stop when she arrived at a rather steep hill. There were no signs of civilization anywhere close by, and the vast amounts of stones that lined the route had since disappeared from sight. Only one marker was to be found at the top of the hill, what appeared to be a small, wooden, and rather hastily put together cross of sorts. There was no sign of any other people to be found in the area, nor pokémon for that matter. Avril knelt down, hiding herself behind a nearby stump as she watched the red-clad woman. Watching quietly, Avril saw the woman in red take out a single pokéball from her belt, releasing a Fletchinder out by her side. Both the bird pokémon and the woman stood in silence, their eyes never leaving the sight of the wooden cross.

"Just what in the world is actually going on here...?" Avril questioned.

The girl rose slightly, trying to get a better view, when she felt a sudden tickling deep within her nose. Avril's eyes widened, the girl desperate to suddenly fight off the encroaching sneeze... but there was no hope in stopping it. With a mighty blast, the oncoming sneeze exited the blonde trainer's nose, causing her to fall back on her rump in surprise. Apparently, she wasn't the only one surprised, however. Both the woman in red and Fltechinder were quick to catch the noise. A look of absolute anger graced the woman's face.

"You... You're still haunting me, aren't you?!" the woman snapped, quickly taking a step towards Avril. "You've taken everything from me and you still torment me!"

"W-What...? What are you talking about?" Avril questioned, a look of absolute confusion was on her face.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" the woman shouted in anger. "Fletchinder, take her down! Get her away from me!"

The Fletchinder let out a loud, angry squawk as it took off flying towards Avril. The blonde trainer panicked, and without wasting a single moment she quickly grabbed one of the pokéballs off of her bracelet and tossed it into the air. In a flash of light, the shape of Avril's Shuppet took shape. The ghost pokémon let out a mischevious giggle as she emerged from her pokéball, but that was all she had time to as the Fletchinder quickly flew right past her. Lulu spun around on the spot, her eyes narrowing as she took sight of the Fletchinder herself. Without a moment of delay, the Shuppet quickly flew forward. She managed to catch up to the bird pokémon and quickly flew down into its shadow. With a loud screech, Lulu quickly rose up out of the ground and attacked Fletchinder with a quick swipe of shadowy claws. This caused the Fletchinder to flail in surprise, quickly stopping its incoming assault of Avril.

The blonde trainer sighed in relief as Lulu emerged from the shadow in front of her. "Lulu... good job..."

The Shuppet seemed to be absolutley beside herself with the praise she received from her trainer. Lulu turned her attention to the woman's Fletchinder, blowing the bird pokémon a teasing raspberry in an attempt to taunt it even futher. It seemed to work rather well, going as far as to antagonize the woman as well.

"Fletchinder, Aerial Ace now!" the woman shouted.

The bird screeched in response and began a dive bomb straight towards Lulu. Avril stared at the bird and woman in a mixture of shock and horror. The way the woman battled, it was like she was on a personal vendetta against her. But the blonde had never seen the woman anywhere before in her life. She quickly decided this needed to end, and fast.

"Lulu, blast it with Shadow Ball!" Avril ordered.

Lulu's eyes began to glow a massive ball of ghostly energy began to form in front of her. With a haunting wail, the ghost pokémon launched the massive orb of shadow straight in the direction of the Fletchinder. The Fletchinder let out a pain filled screech as it ended up flying right into the center of Lulu's attack, feathers flying all over the place as it seeming expanded and then exploded. With a massive thud, the bird pokémon crashed on the ground, fainting right on the spot.

"No... No, no no no..." the woman began to mutter, falling to her knees. "Why do you keep haunting me... Why do you remind me everyday...?"

Avril blinked slowly in response. "Remind you...? What in the world are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." the woman cried. "I failed Team Flare... I failed you, James..."

"Team... Flare...?" Avril questioned. "That group from three years ago? I thought they had all disbanded... or got arrested... or some combination of the two..."

"We were supposed to be together... in the new paradise that Lysandre was going to create for us! But no... No... You had those other... MONSTERS had to get in the way... Everything was lost... I never... I never got the chance to say..." the Flare grunt rambled.

Avril watched in a mixture of shock and horror as her body began to twitch and shake with every sob and mumble. Slowly, the blonde began to make her way towards the woman in red. The woman jumped as the sound of Avril's boot snapping a stray twig caught her attention. Her eyes widened in fear, quickly jumping up and away from the trainer.

"No! S-Stay back! Don't you dare take anything else away from me, you monster!" the Flare grunt snapped. Without warning she quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a TM. The woman took aim, tossing it as if it was a frisbee straight at Avril's head. Lulu was quick to float down and catch the TM with her teeth, her eyes glowing as she stared at the Team Flare woman intently. Without a further word, the woman took off running away from the scene... leaving a completely baffled Avril behind.

Shak · Oct 21, 2017

-Drew Tucker

Laurent Hessel

​

To Build a Flower Bed

Drew burst from a patch of flowers, as yet another leaf plopped on his face from the violently shaking trees above him.

"Will you guys knock it off! You've been at it for at least an hour now." In the trees: Brycen and Caesar. The two pokemon had been training together. Drew's threw himself back on the ground in a huff, as his words fell on deaf ears. When the two got like this, there was no stopping them.

Zephyr grumbled in a similar manner to his trainer. He, again like his trainer, was trying to get some rest. Drew's sudden movement had sent him tumbling off of the boy's chest and into a pile of rocks. As he examined the rocks however, he found it was yet another pyramid, with the culprit sitting right atop of it. At least this time they werent aggressive rocks. Drew didnt seem too worried about it, so maybe the strange steel type pokemon was just going through a phase. Zephyr wasnt quite sure.

"Quill?" Brycen hopped down from the tree, sending Caesar flying as he missed his hi jump kick attack. The grass type glanced at Drew, and the small collection of crummy flowers at the boys side. "Quilladin?" He asked with a raised brow, doing his best to imitate the emerald ball gown dress he remembered seeing Paige wear at the ball.

"That's a pretty good impression." Drew chuckled, a hint of spite in his tone. "But no, definitely not for Paige." He sighed.

The Quilladin followed up by using his vines to create a pair of pig tails on either side of his head.

"Will you stop." The boy shook his head, shooing his starter away.

Before the shenanigans could carry on, the party's attention was drawn to an encroaching song. Slow and methodical, but distinctly welcoming as well, Drew could tell at it was a woodwind instrument of some kind right away. A glance in the direction the music was coming from revealed an Arcanine with an especially luxurious mane strolling towads them in a relaxed tempo that matched the song. Once the Arcanine drew close enough a tall young man could be seen lounging lazily on it, using the back of its mane like a pillow and playing a flute with a pokéball ornament near its front end. He was also wearing a distinct white jacket with green racing stripes and monochromatic checker-pattern trim to complete the variety of oddities in the strange sight.

Drew lurched forward as he noticed the familiar figure. Laurent Hessel. Undoubtably as noticable as ever. Even walking down the road was a music video to that guy. The boy tilted his head, a hinge of disappointment washing over him as he remembered his own incompetence in every area the older trainer seemed to excel. The dead pile of flowers sitting on the ground next to him seemed so inadequate at this point.

Laurent continued through the town, but what caught Drew's attention was what seemed to be the man's encounter with a girl. The conversation seemlessly led to the duo exchanging contact details, much to the amazement of the fourteen year old.

"How the heck..." The boy squinted. He needed that. Whatever that was. If he could pull that off...maybe that encounter on the beach would have went differently.

Without a second thought, Drew jumped to his feet, and went to chase Laurent. Once Laurent had gotten good distance away from the girl he was flirting with, Drew managed to catch up to him. "Hey...ummm...Laurent, what just happened back there?" He asked, his eyes wide in awe and intrigue.

Laurent, who was now walking on his own two feet turned at Drew's approach and regarded him with that trademark half-lidded smile. Drew, an intelligent young man who seemed a tad lazy in the past but was easily the youngest of Laurent's classmates from Aquacorde, which said a lot. "Ah, hello, Drew! So glad you haven't forgotten me. Whatever do you mean? I was simply having a pleasant conversation with a young lady, it seems she intend we have more of them in the future."

"But you got her number right...what did you say?" Drew insisted, sticking to the point. Laurent's attempt at formalities distracted him little. He knew what he wanted out of this.

"Well, if you must know..." Laurent began, reaching a hand into his backpack and spinning with a flourish to hold up his pokéflute. "She heard me playing this from atop Apollo's back and requested that I 'keep that racket down.' It was the first time I've heard anyone react negatively to the pokéflute and when I asked what about it bothered her she said the last thing this 'half-dead town' needed was some dour, dreary tones such as mine. Supposing this had to do with the town's reserved and xenophobic atmosphere the past two years I asked if she'd prefer something with a bit more pep and began something a bit more energetic before she could answer."

Laurent paused to rub his head as if embarrassed, though Drew wasn't sure what it took to make that man embarrassed, if it was possible at all. "She began to laugh at me ambiguously enough to give me pause, before that tiny smile that I am ever in search of forced its way onto her face. Her smile strengthened my own and I draped an arm approvingly over Apollo's back while he stood beside me. "There's that curve to those perfect lips I was hoping to see, nothing brings more joy to my dear friend Apollo's face than seeing a beautiful girl smile~" Laurent pat Apollo's head for emphasis. "She smiled wider when she saw Apollo's eyes staring right into her own and no sooner did she began to stretch out an arm than had Apollo pushed his fuzzy forehead into her palm, growling happily all the while."

In a similar act to Laurent's story, the Arcanine lowered his muzzle to tap Drew on the head with his nose, holding the position for a moment before tilting higher to let the boy feel Apollo's thick fur, which was warm as if a soft campfire burned within it. "With my wingmon's assistance, she was absolutely taken with the overgrown pooch and said we should speak more later about how to liven up this dreary place, perhaps together. If there's one thing anyone knows of me, it's that I'm not one to say no to a lovely lady~"

Drew tilted his head, taking a moment to consider what Laurent had just said. "So you're saying I need an Arcanine?"

"Of course not." Laurent said, shaking his head. "It merely means you should always be ready to level the field. Geosenge has suffered much in the past few years, the citizens who remain have become cold and uncomfortable with outsiders, in such a situation you're already starting with a distinct disadvantage. I don't approve of having cheap tricks to try and woo women but there's nothing wrong with making advantages of your own, as long as they're honest. The instant you lie to someone because of something you want, especially a girl you're interested in, you've not only made a mistake, you've likely proven yourself unworthy of their approval. In short, don't simply show a girl what you think she'll like, show her the genuine parts of yourself that you believe she'd like the best. Staying true to yourself is paramount...cute and fluffy friends never hurt either."

"It's not like honesty is working." Drew sighed, scratching his chin. "Besides, she's not from..." He began, before biting his lip. Letting Laurent know there was a specific girl, probably wasnt the best idea if he wanted to keep his...crush, a secret. It was a crush at this point. There was no use denying it. The fact that Laurent definitely knew her, certainly didnt make the situation any easier.

"Oh? Does my young friend have someone particular in mind?" Laurent questioned, leaning closer to Drew with a knowing smile on his face.

Instinctively, the younger boy backed up to give himself some space, his face flushing red as he did so. "Y-you wouldnt know her." He sighed, hoping that would be the end of it. "So where exactly do I start? You make it look so easy."

Laurent raised an eyebrow but decided not to pursue the topic for the moment, however obvious Drew's falsehood may be. "I'm not really sure what you want me to tell you. I spent a lot of time practicing being charming, there isn't exactly some special method, not for me at least. As for myself...I just try to be eternally friendly and positive. I always have a kind word prepared, I never let my smile die, I pay attention to anything the people around me do that might reveal something about their personality as well as sharing details of myself to let them feel like they know me while teasing just enough to keep them guessing."

"Smile...kind words..." Drew mused, completely overlooking Laurent's initial response. Tease bits of info about myself, huh? Thats it! Thats what I did wrong! You said dont lie, right? But if I tease info that is one hundred percent true, then I'm not lying. It's genius! Thanks Laurent there's no way A...melia can overlook me now." He smiled, rather nervous that he actually almost let the name slip. Before Laurent could give him another drip of advice, or correct his misguided interpretation, Drew had dusted off to pick up his things. An uncharacteristically enthusiastic spring found its way into each step as he disappeared into the outskirts of Geosenge.

Little did Drew know, his romantic mentor seemed unsatisfied with the turn of events and took advantage of his fitness and longer strides to rapidly overtake him, placing a stern hand on the boy's shoulder. "Just a moment Drew, there's one more thing, a very important one. My last bit of advice to you applies more to romance than friendship, but it's a worthwhile lesson to remember all the same. Always beware a wandering heart... Try never to let yourself fall too deeply into desire - romantic or otherwise - for someone you can never have. It is... a pain most people go through at one point or another and can be a valuable learning experience, but one best cut off quickly. I can't recall - ahem, think of many, if any pains worse than a hopeless unrequited love."

The boy's eyes furrowed for a moment. Laurent's words seemed to have a personal touch. It was obvious what he was saying rung true for whatever the enigmatic charmer man had been through, but Drew wasnt entirely sure what relevance it had to him. Of course he wasnt falling for someone he couldnt have. He offered his new advisor an assured smile, smirk even. Laurent had just given him what he needed to catch her eye. He could definitely handle the rest.

"Good luck, my young friend." Laurent offered his support before turning and making his way towards the pokémon center.

Spoiler:

Geosenge Town​

Sephear · Oct 24, 2017

Flashback: Race Rendezvous.

The constant sound of waves and the salty smell of the sea were considered by many to be the greatest charm of Cyllage City. Some people would get sick of having that same kind of ambiance there year round, rain or shine but Laurent never found anything but joy in it. He couldn't believe he'd come into possession of a Mega Stone already...Now he was looking forward even more to Shalor City and meeting Korrina! First, however, he had to take advantage of finally being back home and find some way to enjoy his short time there before he was wrapped up in his journey once again. As if summoned by that thought, a poster up on a nearby wall caught Laurent's eye.

Cyllage City Evening Pokérace!

Who says Cyllage City is all about bicycles? Of course, the people of this town love being fit, but it's not just important to exercise your body or even your mind! You have to exercise your pokémon, too!
Come down this evening with your fastest rideable pokémon and test yourself against others in a race on the very same track where the annual bike race was held earlier today if you're game!
Prizes include:
1st Place: 5000 Poké + 1 TM Extreme Speed + 1 Pro Racers White Jacket
2nd Place: 4500 Poké + 1 TM Sucker Punch
3rd Place: 3500 Poké
4th Place and below: Some good exercise and the determination to try again and do better next time!

Laurent looked down at the Inferno Ball on his belt and smiled. Looks like it's finally time.

Odette held back her hair to keep it from getting into her eyes. The sea breeze felt good, but it felt stronger than the night before... maybe it was because the wind was forced through the Cyllage city streets rather than the open space at the beach? But it had something familiar as well. Odette's home, Canalave, was similarly situated on the coast, although its much more industrial nature made the air distinctly less crisp, as opposed to this tourist destination. In fact, the city seemed to be particularly bustling today. Odette had heard people in her hotel talking about a cycling race going on today, but she had no particular interest in the sport... rather, she wanted to meet with Grant, the local Gym Leader, and put her newfound friendship with the Rhyhorn to the test.

Thinking about that made her a little nervous, though. She thought they had made good progress thanks to Avril, but she worried if it wasn't too soon to thrust the Pokémon into battle again, and possibly summon its rage. She shuddered to think what might happen, and not least of all how she might embarrass herself in front of another Gym Leader, too. Perhaps there would be another way to ensure a positive interaction with her Rhyhorn beforehand? As she considered her course of action, Odette was lost in thought - and nearly bumped in to someone who stopped walking in front of her.

''Ah, excuse me,'' she automatically apologized and tried to pass them by, but just managed to catch their gaze... one she actually recognized.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all I don't mi - Odette?" Laurent recognized her right away. How could he not? She easily stood out amongst most people in not just her appearance, but her bearing, her stride, everything. "It's so nice to see you again after all this time! It's such a shame our last meeting was broken up so abruptly."

''Oh, Laurent!'' The girl was surprised to run into him here, but she tried to shrug off her perplexed expression. ''It's been too long... I'm still sorry about leaving you behind like that in Lumiose, that was incredibly rude of me. But I'm glad to see you're doing well, at least. Are you here to take the gym challenge, too?''

Laurent nodded happily. "Indeed I am, I have to make sure Grant knows which of us has grown more over the years. I can't just let him keep treating me like that young boy who followed him around. And don't trouble yourself over Lumiose, it couldn't be helped. The life of a high-class lady is a busy one, one never knows when an important bit of business may arrive and throw all plans into disarray." He smiled that half-lidded smile he seemed so fond of and continued. "I must say you look even more lovely than before. I believe the seabreeze suits you, it brushes your hair just right and seems to light up your face just a tad more than normal. Are you fond of the sea?"

Odette chuckled a little. ''It's good to see despite your hardships, you haven't changed a bit, Laurent. I'm not sure I agree with your comment on the breeze, however... as much as I enjoy the scent, the strong wind to me only seems to blow my hair in wayward directions. But I am fond of the sea. I suppose it comes with a form of nostalgia, having grown up in a port town myself, but as you might expect I'm not much for swimming or sunbathing, unfortunately.'' She paused to give an apologetic smile. ''That must be different for you. I'd nearly forgotten you told me you were originally from Cyllage, to be honest. Isn't it a strange experience to be back at home in the midst of your journey?''

"It's both stranger and...clearer than I expected, at the same time if that makes any sense." Laurent offered, holding up his bandaged arm. "My little sister was so angry about me letting myself get hurt. Told me I'm 'back to my old ways, making trouble and going at every problem headfirst, fists swinging.' It really put it into perspective just what a problem-child I was...I can't believe it took me this long to stop being a burden on my family...and even then I'm still making them worry so much." He looked down for just a moment even through his smile but he shook it off quickly enough. "Regardless, it's so nice to see so many familiar faces. I was able to have the pleasure of seeing you again as well, so I think this has been a wonderful homecoming, all things considered. Enough about me, I hope seeing you here means that whole commotion that canceled our date was dealt with? I was worried about you."

''My, your arm! I suppose our roles have been reversed, as I recall my arm was bandaged upon our first meeting, too... but what happened to you? I hadn't thought you the type to resolve problems with violence, not in the past, either. Sounds like something I'll have to pry out of you when next we have some more time,'' Odette responded, finishing with a slight playfulness in her voice. She intentionally glossed over the comment regarding the 'commotion' before, hoping her being here would be enough to reassure him without needing to go into detail. ''Er, in fact, I'm sorry to have kept you, even... oh, but if you're headed to the gym, we could go there together?''

"I was foolish enough to take on a knife-wielding member of team Cinder with only my bare hands...I'm afraid I wasn't in my right mind at the time." Laurent replied on the topic of his arm, as eager to move on as Odette was. The offer to walk to head to the gym together was very tempting, but he had something else in mind. "Actually, I just found out there's another race going on today and I was thinking of attending, perhaps even participating. Would you like to join me? I'd hate to hold you back from getting to your own battle with Grant, but I'd love the company."

''A... race? You mean the cycling race?'' she questioned, but instantly received an answer when Laurent gestured towards the poster. ''A Pokémon race...'' Odette considered it for a moment as she examined the placard. It might be just what she'd been looking for, an opportunity for light-hearted, cooperative activity to share with her Rhyhorn. ''Mm, that seems perfect, actually. Though the cycling race sounded like quite a big deal, with some famous athletes participating. Will this one be more accessible to, well... first-timers, do you think?'' The girl tried to get excited, but outdoorsy activities were still far from her forte, after all. If the participants were going to have that level of competitiveness, she might be better off finding Rhyhorn a different rider.

Laurent shook his head and offered his reassurances. "I'm sure it's nothing too professional, it certainly wasn't a regular competition when I grew up. If it was I could only assume everyone would have heard of it sooner, it wouldn't feel this 'out of nowhere' as they say." He kept up that signature smile of his as he continued. "I'm glad to know it interests you, why don't we go together? I'd welcome some friendly competition, at the very least we can be novices together, aye?" He finished, eyes widening slightly when he caught himself slipping into speech patterns from his youth momentarily.

Her worried expression gradually softened, and amusement tugged at the edges of her lips. ''Then, 'aye', we should,'' she responded coyly, and followed Laurent to where the races were to be held. It was a short walk, the beginning of the track near the edge of town could easily be seen from fairly far away where buildings were not immediately blocking one's view. It appeared that despite its existence being fairly new, the race was decently anticipated, many trainers and their rideable pokémon were already lined up and ready to go, stretching, chatting with their neighbors or otherwise preparing for the race. A man with a nice suit and a microphone could be seen alongside the track, speaking to some of his fellow staff and admiring the way one of the paved stone streets of the city broke apart into a dirt road, disappearing around a hill to where the bulk of the race surely awaited its competitors.

"An impressive sight." Laurent posited as he admired it all. "The same track as always, yet an entirely different race. Much more exciting in my opinion...but also likely much more expensive and tiring to clean up after."

Odette rested her finger on her cheek contemplatively. ''But this event is much less popular than the bike race, no? Why would they go through with it if it's more trouble than it's worth? Though I suppose if two races are held on the same day, they only have to clean up once. How... economical.'' Her eyes widened a moment when she realised she'd been rambling. ''Ah, excuse me. We should be looking to register,'' she added, before hastily walking away.

Inquiring with some of the other entrants made short work of registering. Both trainers had to list their names and the Pokémon with which they would be entering, which made for some interesting revelations. ''So your Growlithe evolved already? Apollo, was it?'' Odette asked curiously.

"About that..." Laurent responded, a smirk forming on his face. "Would you like to see something wonderful?" Without awaiting a reply he pulled the inferno ball off of his belt and tossed it into the air, releasing Apollo to bark once excitedly and sniff the air. The Growlithe picked up Odette's scent immediately and wasted no time running up to her and snuffling happily at her feet and legs while Laurent dug into his pack. Odette jumped a bit when it ran to her, afraid the dog might start jumping or scratching at her legs, but when it settled to sniffing, she relaxed a little and carefully bent down to pat its head. ''You remember me, do you? I'm impressed, even though our meeting was so brief...'' Slowly moving her hand as to not provoke it, she scratched under its chin a little too.

After a brief period of feeling around in one of his bag's side pockets Laurent pulled out a firestone, causing Apollo to immediately cease his puppy-ish ways and stare straight at the object. "You've grown up so much since I found you, Apollo. All the way from troublesome destructive mutt to full-fledged search and rescue hero...There's no doubting you're an adult by now, and a charming one at that if I may say so. What say you we have that reflect on the outside as strongly as it shines on the inside?" As he finished he knelt down and held the stone in front of him with an outstretched arm. Apollo took a step closer to his trainer and stretched towards his hand slowly, even now hesitant at making such a big decision final, regardless of how much he wanted it. Quickly, Apollo's eyes narrowed in determination and he touched his muzzle to the stone.

Immediately a bright flash of light issued forth from the pyro-pooch, irritating the two trainers' eyes and thereafter obscuring Apollo from their view. The immaterial pure white form stretched and contorted, losing and regaining its shape numerous times before it stabilized and grew. Every single part of Apollo's body grew in size, even his tail, and a long noble mane to match the fluffy glory of said tail formed, cresting his forehead like a fur crown and stretching halfway down his back. Just like that, the light burst, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared to leave an Arcanine standing proudly before Laurent and Odette, the canid pokémon so statuesque, regal and majestic it had earned the title 'Legendary Pokémon' within the pokédex.

Odette clasped her hands together in front of her, in awe of the evolution taking place. She had never seen it happen in person before, so to have Apollo go through such a rigorous change right before her eyes made a large impression on her. ''How amazing,'' she mused, very carefully raising her hand to stroke through his mane, eliciting a happy growl. An immense change, and yet she could tell even now, he was still Apollo. A slight smile spread upon her face when he returned her gaze for a moment. ''Stunning, indeed. I suppose I should introduce you.''

Turning her back to Laurent and Apollo, she quickly took the Heavy Ball containing her own Pokémon from her bag and opened it in front of her. The massive Rhyhorn was called forth, and looked around in bewilderment. He was surrounded by humans, threats that had hurt him before... but when the Arcanine, one of the very fire dogs that set fire to his forest caught his eye, he truly bellowed with rage threateningly and assumed a battle stance.
''Ah, Rhyhorn, wait! We're not fighting! Everything's okay!'' Odette quickly opened her hands towards the Pokémon to try and soothe him, but he simply eyeballed her suspiciously, and strongly blew out air from his nostrils.

Apollo's eyes widened in alarm and took a step back. After a moment of hesitation, instead of snarling or barking as he would have only a short while ago, Apollo closed his eyes and lowered his head apologetically. Laurent looked back and forth between the two pokémon, desperately hoping not to ruin the race with a giant rampaging Rhyhorn. He could already hear his little sister yelling at him for how reckless his idea was but that didn't stop him from reaching into his backpack. Before the Rhyhorn could grow any more agitated its attention was pulled away from Apollo by a lilting, rhythmic melody. Its massive head swiveled to eye Laurent slowly approaching it, one hand holding the pokéflute to his mouth to play the music it was hearing while the other stretched out gingerly towards its snout to pat it.

Odette had been facing her Pokémon trying to calm it down still, but looked up in surprise when she heard a melody rise up from behind her. She slowly looked over her shoulder, but her surprise only grew when Laurent was the one to step forward. Rhyhorn grunted, wary of another strange human approaching, but the mesmerizing tune managed to lower his guard, and with another expulsion of air the threatening beast slowly lowered its head to meet Laurent's touch. Odette simultaneously placed her hand on the other side of Rhyhorn's forehead, to avoid alarming it when she stood by its side. She continued to reassuringly pet its head, before facing Laurent with a gentle sigh, followed by a relieved smile. ''That was quite the risk you took, mr. Hessel... but honestly, is there anything you can't do?''

"I discover more and more every day," Laurent replied with a tiny hint of regret buried beneath his tone, but his smile remained as he pat Rhyhorn one last time for good measure, immensely relieved to see it calmed down. "You've truly found yourself an amazing companion and surely a true contender in the race. I can't wait to see how the two of you perform. Shall we?"

As the announcer's voice rang over the speakers around the track, all competitors were called to gather at the start line. The pair and their Pokémon followed suit, and once there, carefully climbed atop their rides' backs. Odette particularly looked uncomfortable - there were enough rocky appendages on the Rhyhorn's body to hold on to, but maybe she should have thought of a way to secure herself on top of it... Due to her Pokémon's size, she was seated much higher off the ground than most riders around her, so falling off would be that much more painful, likely. Not to mention she wasn't exactly suited to rodeo, with her disposition.

Laurent had an easy enough time climbing onto Apollo apart from one or two stumbles thanks to the Arcanine leaning down and trying to accommodate him. He had been worried Apollo would find all this demeaning, but saw only noble determination in his eyes, eager to show off his new strength. "So, what exactly have you...?" Laurent muttered, quickly scanning Apollo with his pokédex and looking at the results. "Oooh~"

''Ready, Set... GO!''

The bang of the announcer's starting pistol boomed throughout the area, and the race took off immediately. Odette looked around her in bewilderment as the Pokémon around her started running without delay, worried that the sudden burst of activity might set off another rage in her Rhyhorn, but somehow the beast stayed utterly focused. Not until the way in front of them was mostly cleared did the Rock-type start moving, slowly at first but quickly picking up in speed as it gave chase to the main pack of riders.

Without a moment's delay Apollo shot out of the starting line amongst the frontrunners of the race, making as much use of his new legs as possible and revelling in every moment of it. They didn't stay near the front for long before Laurent gently tugged on Apollo's mane and had him slow down, pulling back a bit. Laurent hadn't forgotten about the racers being allowed to use attacks and various other tricks to get ahead as long as they weren't directly attacking trainers and sure enough, the forethought paid off. All the competitors at the front of the race realized around then that there was no winner based purely on speed and began to try to unbalance each other, slow each other down and create obstacles for each other. "Yes, that's right, clear the way for the rest of us." He muttered.

Odette and her Rhyhorn were lagging behind the main pack of riders, the trainer still struggling to find the best way to hold on. She tried to see how the Rhyhorn was feeling too - she'd heard before that cavalry could sense fear in their jockey and grow agitated because of it - but the Rock-type gave no semblance of its mood. It grunted quietly with every gallop and seemed to absent-mindedly follow behind the other competitors. Odette was a bit worried, but when she saw the Pokémon in front start to attack each other to get ahead, she couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved that she wasn't closing the gap just yet.

The battle-racing at the forefront heated up quickly enough then, before long, it fizzled up just like that. Several racers slowed down from either fatigue or damage and were passed up by the middle-placers, with the only original frontrunner staying in his place was a sailor riding on a Swampert. Not the fastest pokémon to be sure, but strong and durable enough to have overpowered those that tried to pass it and maintain its lead. Apollo surged forward, growling when several other racers sped up alongside him, apparently having had the same idea Laurent had. They caught up to the Swampert quickly enough and as if it had eyes in the back of its head it casually slammed an Ice Punch into the ground in an attempt to trip up its tailgaters. Apollo jumped over the ice easily enough, only for the Swampert to whip around and shoot a jet of water at him. At a word from his trainer the Arcanine blasted a Flamethrower on the ground briefly to propel himself above the attack and began to spin in the air with flames still flowing from his mouth, pushing past the Swampert in a pyro-acrobatical spiral.

The sailor and the other racers quickly catching up with him forgot about knocking each other out of the race for a moment in indignance at Laurent's maneuver and made a mad dash for Apollo. The pair slowed down as if the attack had tired the Arcanine out a bit. Laurent looked back at the encroaching pokémon in what looked to be fear, then said something quietly to Apollo and covered his ears with his hands, lowering his chest against his pokémon's back to make up for the lost leverage. A Dodrio skirted Apollo on one side, preparing a Tri-Attack, the Swampert flanked the other side with an Aqua Jet and a Rapidash was charging towards Apollo's back with a Horn Attack. Suddenly the Arcanine sped up then jumped again, doing half a somersault to face the racers on his coattails in the air and let out a massive Roar, the pure force of his voice keeping him steady in the air just long enough to complete the rotation and land smoothly to keep running.

The ferocity of the roar caused the Rapidash to stumble while the Swampert and Dodrio both lost control over their attacks and all three crashed into each other, many different elements bursting out at once as the trio tangled together and rolled in a bruised lump back towards the oncoming racers.

The turmoil caused by the Pokémon ahead caused the pack to thin a bit as well. Particularly the ice hazard placed by the Swampert ahead proved an unexpected hurdle, with many inattentive competitors stumbling over the sudden slippery ground... however, for the Rhyhorn and its trainer at the back, this posed no problem. The immense Rock-type simply Stomped over the glaze as if it was nothing, even breaking the layer where its feet hit the ground. Its trainer had finally found the best way to ride too, almost lying down on her chest atop the Pokémon to minimize wind resistance. But even now Rhyhorn seemed to just be trudging along if anything. Odette slowly made to climb forward enough to reach its head.

''Come on, Rhyhorn... it's a race! We're supposed to get ahead of everyone else, and I know you can go faster than this. Let's step up our game already!'' Odette spoke, hoping to motivate her Pokémon, but even now the Rhyhorn barely flinched. It let out an unimpressed roar and picked up the pace a little to break into the main group. The other remaining contestants hastily made way for the Bulldozing colossus racing up behind them, but the intruder was equally swiftly met by attacks from Pokémon around. The trainer on his back took cover as the Pokémon was attacked from all sides with flame and flurry, but the Rhyhorn itself shrugged them all off, continuing over the track with haste, passing by more and more Pokémon in its pursuit of the leader. Slowly it began to dawn on Odette that it wasn't apathy that caused the Rhyhorn's lack of interest. Rather, it was arrogance.

Up ahead Laurent and Apollo had slowed to a more even pace, continuing to move fast and try to keep their lead as long as possible but without expending too much energy. Despite the loud rumbling of Odette's Rhyhorn, they seemed to be racing unthreatened for the moment, that is, until a crackling, chirp-like sound grated at Laurent's ears. The trainer tried to look behind him but was only able to a spy a sparking mass before Apollo reacted on his own, jumping to the side just in time to not be struck by the electric blur that hurtled past them. Shortly after missing them the cloak of electricity dissipated to reveal a Manectric with a young boy on its back. "What amazing control not to electrify the trainer..." Laurent muttered to himself.

"Ahh, I thought we had that, Mannie, your ace Volt Tackle totally woulda gotten rid of that mutt." The boy said in disappointment.

"Make sure you don't hit the boy." Laurent said plainly to Apollo, who growled an affirmative and spewed a gout of flame from his mouth to crash at the Manectric's feet and force it to jump into the air. Apollo sped up and took advantage of the Manectric's loss of momentum from the jump to pass it, only for Thunderbolts to rain down around him. He dodged the flurry of attacks, but by the time he had, the Manectric had caught up. The pair continued the elemental struggle, continually slowing each other down as the thundering march of a certain gargantuan beast drew ever closer.

Odette gingerly raised her head to look over the Rhyhorn's head, and to her surprise saw an open space before her, with only the two canines running in front. Seeing an opportunity, she sat up slightly, about to give her Pokémon a command, but just then it suddenly jumped up and startled her, causing Odette to return to using all her might just to hang on. Rhyhorn had seen it too, apparently, and struck down hard with its front legs. A loud rumbling could be heard from underground, growing in volume threateningly as it seemed to rush forward, until suddenly a number of large, sharp rocks spiked up from the ground underneath the canines. Shock could be heard from the crowd on the side, as the Rhyhorn did not only release a merciless Stone Edge, but it even managed to turn the last part of the track into extremely hazardous territory.

Apollo and 'Mannie' were both forced to stop attacking each other to focus on avoiding the sharp stones assaulting them and attempt to keep their footing well enough to continue racing. Apollo was a much bigger target than the Manectric and had his progress almost halted as he was forced to leap around, twisting and contorting in the air. The Manectric had a much easier time pushing forward, taking the lead and doing its best to keep the gap between it and the bulldozer of a Rhyhorn charging towards it. It seemed as if the Manectric was a lock to pull away and solidify its lead until its rider got impatient. The young boy urged the Manectric on faster and faster and one rushed jump landed in the wrong place, leading to one of the sharp stones rising from the ground to fling the pair off the track. Between the Rhyhorn's impressive strength and the type advantage, it was a one-hit KO.

Laurent and Apollo continued to avoid the Stone Edge assault successfully at the cost of progress. Laurent could do little for the moment other than look on in frustration as the stone beast steadily caught up, effortlessly trudging through the rocky terrain. Odette hung on tight but managed to glance ahead and upon seeing Laurent's expression she couldn't help but grin slightly. The battle wasn't yet won, but this was the final stretch... No more room for error from either side. The girl hesitated, but then spoke to the Rhyhorn under her breath, upon which its eyes went wide. Another immense roar escaped its maw, and its pace quickened further as each of its gallops hit the ground so hard it left indentations even in the rock. The Pokémon came at its opponent with a Bulldoze attack - shaking and even leveling the ground beneath it in an effort to lower Arcanine's speed.

Dodging the last shards of Stone Edge placed Apollo directly in Rhyhorn's path, fighting to keep his balance as the ground rumbled and continued to deform even further around him. The living tank's one-mon stampede approached much faster than one would expect from such a lumbering beast and Apollo was only just barely able to jump out of Rhyhorn's way before he was flattened. Apollo began to follow after Odette and her rampaging mount, but the deformed terrain's uneven footing and lack of traction slowed him down and assured he couldn't jump far enough to simple escape it. Laurent's eyes steeled and he laid closer against Apollo's back and wrapped his arms around the Arcanine's neck, he'd need the extra grip in a moment. "It's all or nothing now, my friend. Can you hold it to the finish line?" The statuesque canine nodded grimly and Laurent took in a deep breath. "Have at it then, Apollo! Extremespeed!"

A shudder ran through Apollo's body, his new, still slightly unfamiliar muscles rippling strongly through his body. The Arcanine made a short hop up onto the largest of the shards from Rhyhorn's Stone Edge and launched off of it with a bright streak of white light tracing his path through the air. Laurent and Apollo's fresh momentum continued when they landed, the pair blazing magnificently down the final stretch of the course towards Odette and her Rhyhorn, closing the gap rapidly. The end of the race course narrowed back into Cyllage city until it was back between buildings, bordered closely on either side by their walls. Apollo's limbs were screaming at him for holding the Extremespeed for so long but he carried on. Laurent held on for dear life, feeling his legs begin to lift off of his Arcanine as Apollo jumped one last time and ping-ponged himself between the walls hemming in the racers in a zigzag pattern, negating the speed hindrance of Rhyhorn's Bulldoze to rocket mere inches past it and through the tape of the finish line.

The last-ditch effort left absolutely no room for grace, both pokémon and trainer tumbled in a heap over the stone road and crashed together into a building just past the finish line, dazed and barely even aware of their surroundings. Rhyhorn let out an angry cry as it too ground to halt just past the finish line, and Odette hastily jumped off its back to inspect the site of the crash, shocked by the sudden speed and consequent force of the impact. At that point they were suddenly surrounded by the clamoring of the crowd to the amazing finish they were presented, and the announcer too was still excitedly narrating how this race had played out.

Laurent and Apollo continued to lay where they crashed, looking around as if confused before shaking their heads simultaneously and standing up with a slight stumble. When his eyes fully focused Laurent immediately clasped one of Odette's hands between both of his and shook it up and down excitedly twice like a hastened prayer. He let go just as quickly and smiled wide. "That was amazing, Odette! You seemed so nervous with your Rhyhorn before we started, but you raced so beautifully and it fought so hard for you!"

Odette's eyes went wide with surprise when he took her hand and she quickly averted her eyes in embarrassment, only to jump even more when her Rhyhorn behind her let out a bellow of agreement. Once the shock had worn off, however, she placed her hand to her Pokémon's forehead as she spoke. ''You're right... This race has been a better exercise of teamwork and competition than I could have hoped, which you had no small part in either. So, I'm glad to see you're unscathed, most of all... but also, thank you, Laurent.'' A slight smile grew upon her face. ''And you too, Apollo. He'd best treat you today after that stellar performance.''

"You can wager I most certainly will!" Laurent agreed, vigorously scratching the bases of Apollo's ears while the Arcanine growled happily and tilted his head. "I don't know that I had much to do with your increased coordination with Rhyhorn, but friendly competition is always healthy, I'm glad I was able to at least offer that much! Where do you intend to go next?" He queried. "All I have left to do before I leave is visit the g-"

"Surprise surprise, look who's here." A cool but friendly voice interjected. Both trainer's heads turned to see Grant walking towards them, slowly clapping as he approached. "That was a wonderful race, good job, both of you! I'm impressed, Little-Laurel." He finished, smirking noticeably at Laurent.

Laurent's jubilant expression relaxed back to his normal demeanor as he faced Grant. "Ah, yes, Grant. I hope you'll cease with that nickname when I take your badge. What brings you here?"

Grant smiled and clapped a hand on Laurent's shoulder. "I decided not to join in this race since I was already in the bike race earlier today but I at least thought I'd watch. You guys did great, and while I was watching you some of the staff found me and asked me to give out the prizes." With that he turned his full attention to Odette and smiled warmly at her, extending his hand. "Hello there, young lady. It's always a pleasure to meet another trainer, especially a friend of Little-Laurel. May I ask your name?"

The girl returned with a smile of her own. ''Of course, my name is Odette.'' She made her habitual small curtsy, before sensing the Rhyhorn moving up to Grant as well. ''Oh, and this is my Rhy-- Rhyhorn, stop that!'' she exclaimed when the imposing Pokémon glared into Grant's eye for a moment. Once the Gym Leader met its gaze, however, it somehow seemed to relax, as if recognizing the other's strength. Perhaps this was the power of Rock-type specialists? However, there was something that piqued her interest even more. ''I wasn't aware you were quite this close to the Gym Leader, Laurent,'' she spoke, unable to hide her amusement at his nickname.

Unlike earlier in front of Emma, this time Laurent kept his expression cool and smoothly turned to Odette beside Grant. "Our dear gym leader here has always been a bit of a hero to the youngsters of this town, especially the aspiring athletes and pokémon trainers. As a child, I was both and followed Grant around like a little glory parasite. He wasn't nearly so personable back then as he is now and did his best to avoid being crowded by Cyllage's youth. I was the only one of the town's children that managed to keep up with him back then through sheer determination and stubbornness. I can tell you for certain that the younger me lacked in both sophistication and charm. When I followed Grant on one of his treks up a nearby mountain, making it clear I wouldn't turn back until I fell and cracked my head open from overdoing it, he likened me to a Mountain Laurel. After that I seemed to grow on the young man, and we remained friends from then on."

"Yup, that's how it went," Grant admitted with a nod. "Now I'm waiting till I get to test Little-Laurel here in a proper battle. Enough with the pleasantries for now, though." Without further ado, Grant hefted a pair of drawstring bags and handed one each to Odette and Laurent. Odette's held inside it 4500 poké and a TM. Laurent's held 5000 poké, another TM and a jacket. He pulled the jacket out to admire and smiled. It was white, with a green vertical stripe bordered by yellow going down from the middle of each shoulder to the white-and-red-checkered trim lining the bottom.

"Wonderful!" Laurent exclaimed. "Stylish and sleek, with complimentary colors but not too showy~ Yes, this will do nicely." Odette too, gladly accepted her prize and thanked Grant accordingly.

"Glad you like them," Grant said approvingly. As for those TMs, miss Odette has received Sucker Punch for winning second place, Li-- Laurent has been given the TM for Extremespeed. Both are very tactical moves intended to hit your opponent before they hit you, all-the-while being much more powerful than most other hit-priority moves like Quick Attack, they have a myriad of uses and I hope they'll really improve your arsenals."

''Perfect,'' Odette mused, before placing her prizes in her bag. ''I trust you will be prepared for us to use them against your Pokémon, Mr. Grant,'' she finished with a slight grin.

"Prepared?" Grant said. "I welcome it, please throw everything you've got at me. Nothing makes a Gym Leader happier than a good challenge." He smiled at Odette, then turned to Laurent. The two stared at each other intensely enough to convince one that they were already battling in their minds. Grant's smile tilted to an eager smirk and he turned away, heading back towards his gym. "See you both soon, don't keep me waiting!"

"Don't rush too quickly towards your defeat!" Laurent called after him before facing Odette and returning to his usual demeanor. "I suppose that's that, then. It's getting late, I really hadn't intended to let this much of the day pass me by before my gym battle...As much as I enjoy gazing at you in the moonlight, Odette, I should be off. 'Til we meet again?"

''Ah, yes, of course. Thank you for letting me join you once again.'' She made the slightest bow to show her appreciation and returned her Rhyhorn to his Pokéball before turning away. ''Well then... Safe travels, Little Laurel.''

LinearAxel · Oct 24, 2017

Clouds on the Horizon

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Sebastian Allender & Emma Kuzunoha

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Geosenge Town

Sebastian sat in the waiting area of the Pokemon Center, awaiting his Pokemon's fully recovered-return, as he looked down at a notebook splayed out in front of him. His battle for the stolen Pokemon at the Pokedex cafe had, surprisingly, given him a new lead in the search for the blind Probopass, only...it didn't add up with what he thought he knew about the bandit. Mr. Amos had said the person that caused the explosion and took off with Probopass was a male, while Brandon said it was a female that had a 'confused' looking Probopass. Amos is blind, so it is possible that the woman had a deep enough voice to throw him off, though, he somehow doubts Brandon wouldn't have mentioned if the girl that stole from him had such an uncharacteristically deep voice. Is it possible that they're accomplices, swapping their stolen Pokemon between them? Sebastian looks down at the two columns on his sheet of paper.

Young male, Pokemon that knows explosion, possible Magnet Pull ability - > Magnezone?

Young Woman, aviator jacket, Krookodile, headed for Shalour Gym.

He saw "Tiana" shortly before entering Cyllage City, and she wore no aviator jacket, nor did she seem like the kind to have a Krookodile...or want a Probopass. Absol, Glameow, Meowstic, Pyroar-- she had a very precise theme to her Pokemon, though that didn't mean she wasn't working with these two...could there be more than two? It seems awful likely now… Sebastian sighs quietly as he draws a third column, jotting down what he knew of Tiana's as well.

"Mr. Allender? Your Pokemon are ready to go." Calls the welcoming tone of Nurse Joy. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Offering a soft smile as he stands from his table, he quickly glances around the center. There's no one else in the waiting area-- which is a bit odd in and of itself.

"...It's been like this for weeks." The nurse remarks, taking note of Sebastian's perplexed expression as he surveys the empty room. "Since Team Cinder started causing so much trouble, the people of this town barely leave their homes...and they certainly don't welcome anyone in."

"I've...noticed." Sebastian rubs the back of his neck nervously. The few people he had seen on his way to the center all seemed very unimpressed with his...existence.

"I'm sure you want to be on your way as quickly as possible." She says, somewhat disheartened. "Be careful out there, alright? A few days ago, another trainer arrived...I think he's getting a real thrill out of frightening everyone. He's been antagonizing the few trainers that have come to this center. He's...a strange one."

"I...see." Sebastian nods slowly.

Nurse Joy's voice lowers. "...When I examined his Pokemon, I couldn't help but realize...they're the same species of Pokemon that have been reported missing from Shalour...Last week a woman...they think she was murdered for her Lapras...Lapras are so rare…" She didn't want to say it, but it was clear enough what she wanted to imply.

"...Lapras is such a rare Pokemon that such lowlifes would even kill to get their hands on," said a nearby, familiar voice. It was Detective Emma, who just recently came in. She had a stern, and serious look on her face, as she approached. "Pardon my intrusion, I couldn't help but overhear."

The nurse' expression fell. She really shouldn't be spreading such rumors, especially such serious ones. "It's...possible it's all a coincidence." She clasps her hands together nervously. She shouldn't be gossiping...but she can't ]/i] let these trainers march off without information that could save their lives. "When he was staying here, he said some...frightening things."

"Frightening?" Sebastian asks, his eyes darting between Emma and the nurse.

"He told me he was going to...enslave a legendary Pokemon. Not catch it, not befriend it, enslave it…" She frowns.

"Enslave? What?" Emma could only try to grasp. "But... how is that possible?"

"I...didn't want to ask." Joy sighs. Honestly, that boy had such a frightening look in his eyes, she didn't want to give him any reason to keep talking to her. She had merely nodded the entire time he spoke.

"May I ask…" Sebastian questions, uncertainly. "Does this man have a Probopass?"

Once more, the nurse seems surprised. "Yes, do...you know him?"

"No…" Sebastian shakes his head. "It was a hunch…" His gaze turns once more to Emma. "I've been looking for a Probopass...taken from an old man in a very violent robbery."

"I see. Then, do you suspect that the man causing this disturbance is the one who stolen the same Probopass?" Emma asked. "So he's after a string of rare pokemon..."

Sebastian begins to think out loud. "Two people whose Pokemon were stolen while they're left for dead, on in Shalour, one in Cyllage. In the center of these two locations we have a...seemingly deranged man who just so happens to have these two very same Pokemon. I...think I've found my culprit."

Emma stood in thought. "I believe... there might be more to this than meets the eye," she claimed. "A string of pokemon thefts... a conquest for a legendary pokemon... that sounds just like..." she then brazenly brushed the bangs of her hair aside from her face. "Maybe I can assist you?"

Sebastian stifled a smile; theft, murder, clearly this was nothing to smile about, it's just that...with such an accomplished detective volunteering to aide him, certainly they could bring this man to justice. "I-it...would be an honor." He stammers. Good job, Sebastian, top notch.

"Please, be careful…" Nurse Joy warns. "Just...in case."

"Looks like I'll be your Wattson today! Or maybe in this case... Maya Fey?" Emma giggled. "We'll need a plan, trying to find this perp."

Sebastian chuckles at the nickname given. While thinking of the best way to track down their perp, he adjusts his hair tie to create a small bun. "Perhaps we can lure him out with our Pokemon?" Emma has an Eevee, and he's seen first hand how desperate people are to get their hands on the little foxes.

"Ah, Linde... my Eevee can assist," Emma replied. "She a smart pokemon, so I won't be worried."

"Perfect." Either Emma's a mind reader, or she truly is that brilliant-- it's most likely the latter. "Shall we be on our way?"

"Yes..." Emma agreed quietly. ...But if it is as I suspect, we might be in for more danger than we can imagine...

Sebastian flashes a reassuring smile as he walks towards the center's door. The idea of danger hovers over his mind like a black cloud, and yet...this won't be the first time he and Emma stared down killers together.

---

After an uncomfortable walk through the town, complete with cold, unwelcoming glares (and an obscene gesture involving a broom), the group made their way to the outskirts of the town, with Emma's Eevee walking alongside them in clear view, and Sebastian's newly captured Rowlet perched on his shoulder. With neither Pokemon commonplace in Kalos, they were certain to attract any sticky fingers that might be passing by.

Sebastian's eyes dart from left to right as he surveys the area. "The center of town would have too many witnesses." He whispers. "This looks to be a more...appealing place, for our friend."

"Indeed, this is a good place to finish this..." Emma agreed. She then looked down to her Eevee, who let out a cry, viewing the surroundings. All these scenery... the grass, the trees, the air... it was all too familiar. "Linde? What's wrong?" Emma asked her. But then, knowing where she was right now, she eventually realized. "Oh I see... this was your old home..."

"...This place is no stranger to crime, I see." Sebastian lets out a weary sigh. This is where the Eevee were hunted to extinction, for reasons he...would rather not think about. Linde was in the same situation as Nebula, wasn't she? Though she seemed to be significantly less scarred by the ordeal…

"...The...people who orchestrated that ordeal." Sebastian murmurs quietly. "They attempted to escape police custody. Their escape was...intercepted. I promise you that they got what they deserve."

"...I'm afraid the fight might be far from over," Emma feared. "But that doesn't matter. As long as I'm still salive, I'll make sure crime never wins. Ever."

"Your spirit is beyond admirable." With an affectionate smile, Sebastian steps further into the wooded area. "Now, let's start looking for those-- stones." That was their cover story, right? They weren't here to lure out a criminal, no, no, just two innocent trainers, who happened to be carrying rare Pokemon, out for a walk to find evolutionary stones.

"Of course," Emma obliged. "I have to say, you can be quite... cunning."

Sebastian struggles not to appear as if that was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him (though it most definitely was). Instead he masks it with a playful smirk. "Why thank you, Miss Phoenix."

"Yo Nick, let's hit up that burger joint, after!" Emma then giggled. "Alright, its time for us to begin. Linde, are you ready?" Linde nodded confidently. She used her back foot to scratch behind her left ear, then licked her front paw, rubbing it on her face to groom herself. She wanted to look the part.

"That sounds quite good." If any of the eateries in the quiet town would willingly serve them, it would be nice to take Emma out to a victory lunch, once they put an end to this crime spree.

"We'll look over here." He speaks, projecting his voice slightly louder as he turns his back to the Eevee and her trainer. Little Eevee, all by herself...ripe for the taking."

The group found themselves near the mysterious stones that surrounded the town. Linde the Eevee hopped forward to view the scenery. As homesick it might of been, this place still held strong memories for her. That day, she was forced to flee from many poachers, and capturers. One by one, her friends were all captured, until she was eventually caught as well. After that, it was all hell from there. She was forced to fight each day in that damnable arena - for food, and for the right to live. She even remembered, the lives that were taken. Most of her friends were killed in battle, and even Linde became feral after the lives she had to take by fighting as well.

Emma watched by as her Eevee watched the horizon. When Emma first met with Linde, Linde was as vicious and feral as she imagined. Spending time with Linde - with grooming, proper food, and showing it the love she never had.. those were the only things Emma could do for her. Eventually, Linde started to warm up to Emma, and had let go of her feral instincts to become a strong and smart member of her team. Emma knew, fighting against poachers and criminals like the one Sebastian was hunting for was going to turn into a personal matter for Linde. And Emma was going to make sure she stands right by her Eevee's side.

"I won't let that happen to you ever again Linde..." Emma said to her. "You're my ally.. and my friend." Linde didn't turn back to respond to Emma. Instead... she kept watching the distance, with a grim expression. But soon... it was time.

"...You kids shouldn't be here alone," declared a gruffly, sullen voice. Emma and Linde turned, seeing it seemed like a suspicious individual... a man, seemingly only a few years older than Sebastian and Emma. He had red, curly hair that was covered by what he was wearing - a black fedora. He also wore a white dress shirt that was underneath a black suit and black dress pants with a black tie. He also wore a slightly larger beige and black coat that he wore hanging from his shoulders without actually putting it on.

He he gave the two trainers a smuggish smile, as he then looked down to Linde. "Niiice, you've got an Eevee? Thought they were all almost extinct..." He observed. "A little small, but it will have to do..."

Emma turned to this man. "So it's you..." she said. "You're the one who's harming innocent trainers for their Pokémon."

Sebastian kept his distance from the detective and her Pokemon partner, uncertain if their thief would reveal himself if he saw them together. This man took a Probopass from a blind man, and, from what Nurse Joy had said, a woman out on the beach by herself. He could think twice before attempting to take Linde from Emma if he sees the two of them, no matter how rare and desired the little foxes are.

When the dissimilar voice speaks out, Sebastian presses his back to a nearby stone, awaiting the best time to make his presence known. Not yet, let him confess first...

"Heh, I guess so," the man remarked. "...So what?"

"You've killed many people for their Pokémon..." Emma angrily explained. "Why? For what purpose?! You've recently killed someone for their Lapras! You had no right..."

"Come now kid. Let's not get all naive now," he replied. "I mean, you know how much a Lapras costs? Would you like to know? An easy, easy 1.5 Mil. Pocket change really, but, not too bad, right?"

"Damn you..." Emma cursed. "Just who do you think you are?!"

"Well, well! A pretty lady is asking for my name..." He cheekily replied. "It's a lucky day for me indeed! Alright then... name's Akashi Izumi. You know how much I'm worth? Would you like to know? Priceless. And uh, the pretty lady...?"

"Emma," Emma replied. "Emma Kuzunoha. Private Detective."

"Wait... you're THAT Emma?" Akashi replied in suprise. "My luck just gets better! You know, for someone so young, you sure like to make a mess outta my group..."

"...I knew it," Emma quickly realized. "Your so called motives... you must be with the Emerald Dragons, right?"

"Niiiice! You really are an ace detective!" Akashi applauded. "Gotta thank you for taking out those other two scrubs - Elraine and Damian. Never liked them, never cared for them. But you know something? The bounty on your head in the black market has gone up. Would you like to know by how much? 2.3 Mil. I can get myself something nice for the weekend with that kinda coin. But y'know... its a shame to kill such a beautiful catch...I kinda want you all to myself as a play thing."

"Disgusting pig," Emma hissed. "Just what are you and the Emerald Dragons after?! Why do you all continue to terrorize our region?!"

"Bah, I never cared about all that," Akashi remarked. "Look, I would love to chat with a pretty woman all day — but I'm a busy man. Just hand over the Eevee quietly, or..." He then brought out what it seemed to be like s hand gun, pointing it right at Emma. "...Things are going to be loud."

As the gun is brandished, something glistened in the sunlight as it sailed from Sebastian's stone, colliding with Akashi's wrist-- a shuriken, the sharpened edges lodged into the killer's hand.

"Next time I'll be aiming for your neck." Sebastian's voice spoke out as he stepped out of the shadows of the large stone. His voice was eerily calm, as was his expression, with the exception of his eyes, which held a cold, detached, yet furious gaze to them.

Akashi's expression turned as he rubbed his wrist from the impact of Sebastian's suprise attack. "You..." he steamed. "...Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Sebastian-- Akiyami, of Fuchsia City." Sebastian responded coldly. After his battle with Grant, he paid a visit to the old woman he and Avril met within the cave. She agreed to do some training with him, if he 'stopped hiding.' The Akiyami clan was well known in Fuchsia city, it was a name that went back for centuries and was renowned for their skill and prestige. Being born so sickly, it was never a name he thought he could live up to, prompting him to take his mother's maiden name when he joined the academy. That feeling of failure, of being such a disappointment, of being a mistake , she described it as a poison that was going to destroy him from the inside, until he let go of it.

Sebastian holds out his hand, a vine quickly shooting from his sleeve and wrapping itself around the gun, and jerking it away from its master and retracting, placing the gun in Sebastian's hand. Lucky for him, Fiore is small enough to allow him to play some mind games with their opponent.

"...You know what? I don't actually give a damn who you are," Akashi explained. "You're nothing more than a ant to crush. Don't get in my way, boy. That Eevee and that cash cow is mine. Got that?"

"Do you honestly think you're in any position to make threats?" Sebastian asks, slowly lifting the hand gun towards the sniveling criminal.

Akashi scowled. "You're making a mistake," he warned. "Heheh... You don't know how scary... The Emerald Dragons can be."

"Enough!" Emma warned. "Release everything you stole! Don't be a fool!"

"Blow me kid," Akashi replied, spitting to the side. "Why do you think I'm gathering up all those Pokémon? It's not just for mere money... I have my sights on a bigger prize." He then stood up with a deranged snear on his face. "I do it, for more power. Strength. After all... the Tournament is gonna have even more ruthless competition this year..."

"...Tournament?" Emma tried to grasp. "What tournament?"

"That's funny... you call yourself a Detective and you don't know about the Dark-Shalor Tournament? Hahaha! What a riot!" Akashi mocked. "Let's just say... Kalos won't be the same again."

"What in the world are you talking about?" Emma asked once more. "...So you've stolen all those Pokémon, killed innocent people... just to win a tournament?!"

"It's not just a tournament, you know..." Akashi snickered. "Once a year in Shalor City... criminals, gangs, and all sorts of folk from underground participate in a tournament, hosted and created by business scum who lead the black markets. In the tournament, anything goes... death, cheats... all for a prize. This time... rumours say that the prize is a legendary Pokémon."

"A legendary Pokémon..." Emma grasped unbelievably. "But how... that's not possible.."

"And those who would control that Pokémon, will control all of Kalos..." Akashi explained, followed up with a laughter that only grew. "Hah... Hahaha! Imagine the power...! NOTHING will stand in my way! In fact, to hell with the Emerald Dragons. When I win and obtain that Pokémon... I will become this region's KING! Ahahaha!"

This man is absolutely mad. Sebastian cringes at his ramblings, noting that with what little mind Akashi is paying him, he could likely get close enough to stun him...though he's giving out so much information, he's hesitant to stop him until Emma gives some kind of signal. Slowly lowering the gun, he locks eyes with Emma. He makes a motion of pinching his neck between his fingers, and letting his head fall to the side. Hopefully she'll understand...

"Too bad that you won't be able to see me become a ruler..." Akashi compassionately sighed. "Because you both will die." Soon there came the sound of a strange whistling. As soon as they knew it, a metallic, levitating Pokémon whirled its way to the group, emitting electrostatic electricity. It quickly released what it seemed like a strong Thunderbolt attack towards Emma and Sebastian. Linde the Eevee was quick to react, managing to block the duo from the electric blast... with her body. She crashed to the ground, as electricity coursed through her body.

"Linde... Linde!" Emma called after it, trying to wake her up. "Linde! Say something... please...!"

"Aw, I'm sorry. Magnezone wanted to say hi," Akashi mocked. "Hmm, I think I can still pawn off your Eevee... even after it's dead. Might cost me a few Mil though..."

"How dare you...!" Emma shouted, shaking in anger. "Linde is not your property! She's my friend!"

As he looked at the collapsed form of the sweet Eevee, Sebastian's hand tightened around the handgun. His arm trembled as he considered raising it, shooting the man and ending this point blank-- but...no. He will not stoop to this man's level...He'll buy Emma time to get Linde to the Pokemon Center.

"Selkie, Heat Wave!" He calls as he steps closer to Emma, and tosses a Pokeball towards the Magnezone. The young fox bursts from her Pokeball and clutches onto her branch, aiming a powerful blast of flames towards the metalic monster.

"Flash Cannon!" Akashi responded. The Magnezone lit up, releasing a silver-coloured energy blast. It came in direct contact with the flames, resulting in a loud sound due to the exploding clash. Smoke developed around the area, soon to clear up, with Akashi's Magnezone still in tact. "Tell me boy... the chick is a detective. I can get why she'd go after me. But what's your beef with me? Didn't you learn not to stick your nose in adult matters, kid?"

Sebastian's eyes narrow to a cold, hateful stare as he takes another step between Emma and the homicidal man. "I promised a kind old man I would get his Probopass back." He explained in a quiet tone. Despite a Pokemon using Explosion against him, and being left on the mountain to die, the blind man managed to hang on until help arrived.

"...A kind old man? Probopass?" Akashi repeated. He fiddled with his fedora, perhaps as a old habit to try and help him... think. "Oh yeah, I did get a Probopass, didn't I... but meh, why would I even remember a old man? I mean, old men are just useless, y'know?" Akashi then gave a menacing face... as he licked his lips in cold delight. "...They're nothing more than chump change on the road to collect."

"I should have expected such a backwards philosophy, from one so deranged." Sebastian murmurs, half wishing the old woman from the cave could hear this man run his mouth-- he wouldn't be standing for long. "Selkie, Sunny Day."

Waving her branch like a wand, the Braixen fires a blast of light into the sky above, artificial light soon brightening the area around them, and filling the Fire type with a boost of energy.

Emma turned away from her fallen Eevee for a moment, shielding her eyes from the sudden brightness of the sky. "A Suunny Day technique..." she said to herself quiety. "I see... so Sebastian must be trying to..." it was then that Emma heard a soft cry from Linde, as she started to slowly recover. "Oh Linde... You're okay!" a more relived Emma said. Linde struggled to get up.

It was hard... to go on, she thought. That was until, she noticed how bright the sun was. She of course couldn't look at it directly, but she remembers it, from her days living in her home. She loved the warm sun, and how bright it was. Her friends loved it, because it meant they could play under it all day. That was until... she was taken from it, to live her days in a criminal sideshow event. Emma saved her, allowing her to live under the same sun once more. But now... someone else threatened to take her away again.

"Hah! Powering up your Fire-type moves, eh?" Akashi meeked confidently. "Looks like you're getting serious! Well, guess I show start being serious too." His Magnezone lowered to the ground, as electricty flowed from its body, to the ground of the area. It all gathered up, until the ground turned golden, electrified. "So, what do you think, kid? Its our Electric Terrain. Now our electric moves are on a whole 'nother level of scary. Think you can entertain us now?"

Sebastian's gaze darted between the recovering Linde and his opponent. Thank goodness, she's alright…that poor Eevee had been through enough; being ripped from her home, tortured in an arena, forced to watch her friends die. She was one of the lucky ones, finding a home with Emma, somewhere she could feeafe, and loved once more...and he refuses to let her be ripped away from that feeling of love again.

"I'm certain we can." Sebastian speaks with the slightest hint of a smirk. "Magnezone's a special attacker. Selkie, Light Screen!"

Waving her wand like branch once more, the young fox summons a glimmering veil that surrounds both her and Linde, she refuses to let her fellow fox get hurt again.

Linde continued to bask in the light of the Sunny day technique, still reminicing of her past days. Emma looked on to her with concern. "Linde...?" she called out to her. No response however. It was like... Linde was in a trance. "Linde... what's the matter?"

"Discharge," Akashi confidently ordered in the meanwhile. Magnezone started charging and surging up even more electrical power. "Game over. Not even the thickest barriers can't protect against an attack from everywhere at once! Hahaha...!" His Magnezone finished its charge. Once able, it started releasing the power in a devistating blue spark that stricken everywhere, like a lightning storm. Linde watched in terror as all the flowers, the stones, the trees nearby... started to become incinerated. Her home... was getting destroyed.

Overtime, she finally had enough. Emma watched in suspense, as Linde's body, seemingly sparkled with the sun. Eevee's fur sparkled, and sparkled, until she became developed in a light pink glow. Next, light grew brighter to her. She started growing larger, and taller. Her tail stretched thinner and longer, splitting into two bits at the end of it. Her ears grew, and her eyes widened. On her forehead, a red gemstone was placed. Finally, the light dispersed. Emma could only watch in awe as something now stood where Linde the Eevee once stood.

"You've became an Espeon!" Emma said in amazement. Linde, now a bright Espeon, trotted throughout the striken area. She saw... a tiny Pidgey's nest, that fell after the tree's supporting branched got struck. The baby Pidgeys chirped, calling for their mother Pidgeotto who fell, injured and barely moving. Linde calmy and quitely went up to the Pigeotto, briefly nuzzling her with Linde's forehead. Pidgeotto started to glow a bright pink. After the aura quelled, the Pidgeotto managed to rise back up. It seemed as though... Linde now had the power to share her psychic energy to others... to amit a new lifeforce. "Amazing..." Emma awed.

Linde then quickly turned viscously to her foe. Akashi, who stood dumfounded. "Damn you..." he cursed. "You think... I'm scared? Don't you look at me like that, you... piece of ****...!"

"You should be, you're outnumbered and outclassed." Sebastian spoke as the newly evolved Linde set her sights on the man that was so desperate to destroy her home. Selkie, only slightly singed from the Discharge, rushed towards her fellow fox's side. Akashi was correct, her barrier could not protect her from the Discharge; however, that was never the point. Light Screen lessens the impact of attacks. While Protect and detect can fully guard a Pokemon from an attack, they can only protect one Pokemon, unless the protector stands directly in front of their teammate. Light Screen can lessen the damage done to two Pokemon, no matter where they are on the field. His smirk grew as he locked eyes with the now incredibly nervous thief, and then turned his gaze once more to Emma. "Ready to finish this?"

Selkie, clutching her branch tightly, turned towards the newly evolved fox and gave a nod, as if asking the very same thing.

"We're both ready," Emma reassured. Linde returned a nod to Selkie, giving her reassurance too. She then closed her eyes. She started enveloping a rainbow-coloured aura, transferring it to Selkie, as the aura started to wrap around her now. "That's Linde's Helping hand," Emma explained, followed up with a cute wink. "We'll help you finish this, Sebastian. I'm your Maya Fey at this moment, after all."

"I couldn't ask for a better one." Sebastian responds with a wink of his own. Truly, it feels as if this should be Linde's battle to finish, though with her Helping Hand, and the power of the shining sun, Selkie's Heat Wave will be so incredibly powerful (and super effective), that it would be foolish not to go for it. "Selkie, Heat Wave!"

The Braixen began to glow with the same glorious light that surrounded Linde as the fire sparking from her branch erupted into a much larger flame. The bipedal fox smiled as she twirled the branch between her fingers, then thrusted it towards the Magnezone. A burst of fire so strong it took on a blue color, much like a supernova, spiraled towards their opponent.

"It doesn't matter how much trash you throw at me, it's still TRASH!" Akashi shouted. " THUNDERBOLT!!" Magnezone once again charged up, releasing an electrical blast. However, it soon proved fruitless as the blast was easily countered by the powered up Heat Wave. The extrodinary move collided with Magnezone and Akashi, sending them both hurling towards a nearby stone, causing it to tumble. With the loud thud, Akashi and Magnezone were flat on the ground, with Magnezone unable to continue battling.

"It's over..." Emma observed. Linde approached closer to her side, watching the fallen Akashi carefully, as he himself struggled to get up due to his injuries. "It all over for you, Akashi."

"I don't under...stand?" he muttered. "I aquired the strongest and rarest pokemon around... how did I... lose? This makes no... sense..."

"Simply put: You'll never develop a bond with a Pokemon you ripped away from another trainer." Sebastian explains as he steps closer to the injured man. "The bond Emma has with her Eevee is what allowed her to evolve. How can you develop a bond, a friendship with a Pokemon that obeys you merely out of fear?"

"Friendship and bonds... eh?" Akashi replied weakily. "Heheh... I already threw ideals like that... a long time ago. Hey kid... lemme give ya some... advice. Forget your bonds. . Even if you had an incling of a bond... it will only be ripped from ya, eventually. Trust me. And then that pain of having that bond broken from you... will torment you... all the way to... hell. Damn bonds... why did you have to make me suffer when it came to... my first..." He then closed his eyes, and stopped speaking, seemingly unconscious.

Selkie's eyes widen as she reaches for Sebastian's pant leg, which she gives several pleading tugs, as if begging her trainer not to believe the thief's biting words. A gentle hand pressed against her head, and an affectionate smile reassure her. The bond between trainer and Pokemon, it's different than the bond between humans. Akashi is right; Alice's biting words, his father's disappointed stare, those broken bonds continued to torment him, he continued to be wary of forging a true friendship with his classmates, his Pokemon; however…

Sebastian gives the unconscious body a forlorn expression, if this man had not ended the lives of others, he could see himself taking pity on him. "...May we have his Pokeballs, Selkie?" He asks quietly, shoving those feelings of sorrow to the back of his mind.

Selkie's body glows with a Psychic energy as she levitates several Pokeballs away from the unconscious body, and places them on the ground between Sebastian and Emma.

"Let's see here..." Emma ponders, reaching for one pokeball, picking it up. She releases it, as the energy materialized to a ratheer large pokemon - a Lapras. "You must be the Lapras he stolen..." Emma observed. The Lapras carefully yet shyly observed the young detective carefully. After that ordeal with Akashi, murdering her former trainer, she felt... nervous towards humans. This was especially apparent when Emma reached over to pet it, only for the Lapras to swerve her head away from her. "Understandably quite nervous around me... poor thing..."

Linde went over to the Lapras, giving her a friendly vive. After all, she could understand the Lapras's feelings. Hunted by poachers, being stripped of your loved ones... it can leave a heavy heart. "...What am I going to do?" Emma wondered. "It has no where to go..." Linde then cried out to Emma, staring at her with emotion felt eyes. Emma then knew. Since Lapras's situation was like Linde's... there was only one thing to do.

"Lapras... I'll take care of you." Lapras looked suprised, as she gazed a little bit more heavily toward Emma. Lapras, Linde and I lost our family too. But now, things are different. Linde and I, and the rest of my pokemon friends... we're family. So... we want you to became a part of our family too. That is, if you want to. Akashi might be right about the fragility of bonds, but... mine will never break. Not as long as I remain alive." Lapras gave Emma small cry. Though reluctant at first, she slowly approach her, tilting her head towards her. Emma smiled and nodded, as she gave Lapras a gentle hug.

Sebastian smiled fondly at the touching scene before him. After everything Lapras had been through, it was so quick to trust Emma. Truly, the detective is...amazing. It's then that a rummaging from inside his bag causes the redhead to look away from the wonderful trainer and her new Pokemon. Upon unzipping the bag, it's none other than Kira that sticks his head out.

"Kira…" Sebastian looks down to the Mareanie. He can't bring himself to scold the Pokemon, he is only an infant, he doesn't know any better. The baby Pokemon looks up to his fellow water type and greets it warmly, then begins to...Sebastian can only assume, tell a story.

The little Pokemon goes on and on about how Emma saved him and took care of him while he was a defenseless egg, how she always tried to protect people and Pokemon alike, that she was a good trainer, a good person, and Lapras would be safe traveling with her. Safe, and happy. Upon ending its little speech, Kira leaps from Sebastian's bag and hops over to the Lapras, bouncing in delight upon reaching the beautiful Pokemon, and his favorite detective.

"I...think he's singing your praises." Sebastian speaks after a thoughtful pause.

"Honestly, you're pretty amazing yourself," Emma praised. "To track a dangerous villain as this for so long; I think you'd be a greater detective in your own right."

He can feel the blood rushing to his face again, taking the form of a very subtle blush. "That means a lot, coming from you." Truly...he wanted to do this again. Criminals were infesting this region, if he could do something to stop even a few of them. "Any time you need a Watson, I'm just a phone call away." Which reminded him… "Have you ever heard of this… 'Dark Tournament' before?"

Emma's expression turned grim. "I have not..." she replied. "Akashi said... the prize was a legendary pokemon. But this tournament will apparently be held in the criminal underworld..."

She then looked straight at Sebastian. "I need to look into this. If what Akashi says is true then, this might be just the beginning of our trouble..."

A tournament held by crime lords...why did that sound so familiar? That's right...his father used to tell him stories about such an event. At the time he was certain it was something the man thought up as a bedtime story, although… "I believe I do as well." He murmurs as he picks up his infant Mareanie. "...It seems we might be storming a castle when we reach Shalour."

Emma gravely nodded, turning to the horizon. A tournament influenced by violence, strength, money... and death. Emma could already tell, a dark cloud looms over Shalor. But what she might not know, is how much more tragedy awaits her there.

End
*image removed**bulbagarden.net image removed**bulbagarden.net image removed*
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Sephear · Oct 25, 2017

The Second Precipice: Cyllage City

Current Party:

The guard in front of the Cyllage City gym smirked at Laurent when he approached the doors. "That time already, aye?"

"Aye." Laurent confirmed with a nod, matching him smirk for smirk.

"Arright, you gonna be putting on a show too?"

"No, I suppose there's no reason you should keep anyone out on the off chance that anyone actually wishes to spectate, but I don't expect it."

Old friends stood atop the raised platforms, staring each other down with confident but friendly smiles. "So, here we are." Grant proclaimed. "You ready for this, Little-Laurel? Will you keep up or are you going to get left at the base of the mountain?"

"I've been ready since the moment I returned." Laurent responded. "I've got a climb more daunting than Mt. Silver ahead of me, I have to keep growing stronger and learning, there's no other choice."

"Well said! Then show me you're still as determined as when you were an uppity brat!" Grant shouted, tossing a pair of pokéballs down into the craggy maze, releasing Tyrantrum and Aurorus. The pair stood at attention, grimly awaiting their opponents.

"So be it. Old friend, it's time you meet my oldest partner and my newest!" Laurent responded heartily tossing out his own pokéballs with a flourish reminiscent of the one he used at contests. The beams of light quickly found their destined shapes and revealed Bernard and Laurent's new Dewpider. The Ivysaur took on a battle stance and crooned happily before feeling a creeping sensation on his back and looking up to smile at the Dewpider atop his head. "I introduce to you, Bernard and Charlotte!"

Grant smirked down approvingly at the pokémon his opponent had released while shaking his head. "You and your names...Alright, show me what you've got!"

"Charlotte, Bubble Beam!" Laurent shouted, wasting no time getting started. Charlotte hopped off of Bernard's head and the water bubble around her head began to rapidly fire off a stream of smaller bubbles that seemed to be flying twice as fast as one would expect.

Grant's smirk remained. "Yeah, that's how they usually start. "Aurorus, Light Screen!" Aurorus shook its head majestically and caused a large wall of transparent light to appear between Grant's team and Laurent's. The bubbles slowed down as they passed through the Light Screen, not even staggering Tyrantrum and only appearing to harm Aurorus slightly. Grant was surprised for a moment, until he remembered Dewpider's ability. "Looks like Light Screen cancels out your Water Bubble. Tyrantrum, Dragon Tail!"

"Bernard, Charlotte, synchronized retreat!" Laurent commanded. Charlotte jumped back onto Bernard's head and the Ivysaur raced away with his partner in tow. Tyrantrum chased after them with its tail aglow and quickly began to gain on them despite its size. "Bernard, Sunny Day!" As he ran, Bernard's bulb began to twitch before spitting out a small sphere of pure light. The sphere shot up above the arena and covered most of it in a perfect facsimile of the sun's radiance, always shifting its position just enough to keep Bernard in its glow while he ran.

Laurent's pokémon managed to dart around the corner of one of the stone walls just ahead of Grant's Tyrantrum. The saurian terror snorted in frustration but would not be deterred and slammed his Dragon Tail into the corner Bernard had just passed, breaking it into pieces and sending a blast of large rocks towards its opponents. One or two of the rocks struck Bernard and sent him sprawling, giving Tyrantrum time to close most of the gap before he hopped upright. "Charlotte, Aurora Beam!" The Dewpider blasted chilly prismatic energy at her hulking opponent. The Aurora Beam flew true but after having to pass through the Light Screen it did little to deter Tyrantrum.

Tyrantrum's tail slammed down mercilessly, missing Bernard by mere inches as he rolled aside. The Ivysaur darted away in an attempt to run Tyrantrum around more, but didn't make it far before glowing rocks and boulders rained down on him. Aurorus had managed to loop around and cut them off; even with a speed advantage Laurent would find it no easy task to outmaneuver Grant in his own arena. Bernard was sent sprawling back towards Tyrantrum just in time to be scooped up into its mouth, bathed in flames. "A good move, Grant. But this isn't even check yet! Charlotte, stealth time! Bernard, Poison Powder!" Before Grant could give his pokémon any further orders Bernard shot Tyrantrum right in the face with a burst of purple powder, causing the angry dinosaur to spit its prey out and stomp around in frustration, coughing and snorting. Bernard landed bruised and unsteady, but began to glow bright green under his faux-sun's light.

"We'll see about that, Laurent!" Grant countered. "Aurorus, more Ancient Power before that Dewpider can pull some sort of sneak attack!" Aurorus roared an affirmative and sent more glowing rocks flying towards Bernard. Laurent simply smirked and watched as Bernard moved in a blur, deftly avoiding every single rock without so much as a scratch. "Alright, try dodging this! Aurorus, Hail!" The imperius Tundra pokémon raised its head and shook its neck majestically, clouds spreading over the battlefield and beginning to rain down pearls of ice upon all the combatants. The fake sun from Bernard's Sunny Day, however, remained.

"Synthesis!" Laurent shouted. Bernard soaked up the light from his Sunny Day even while the Hail battered him, quickly healing not only from the Hail but from the earlier attacks he'd suffered. Tyrantrum had regained its senses and was about to clamp its jaws down on Bernard again when a blur shot off of a nearby wall and onto its forehead. "Charlotte, Infestation!" The brave Dewpider raised her abdomen and released a small cloud of miniscule organisms to scatter around Tyrantrum's head and even into its mouth. Tyrantrum reared back in fury, roaring and shaking its head in an attempt to dislodge Charlotte or disperse her attack. She refused to relent and continued to crawl about Tyrantrum's body as it flailed, spreading the Infestation continuously despite how abysmal its damage was.

Grant grit his teeth but wouldn't let Laurent see his frustration. "Aurorus, Hyper Beam!" Aurorus stomped the ground resolutely and took a deep breath, an amber sphere of pure chaotic energy forming in front of its mouth before frosty mist coiled around the orb and it became an icy blue. Aurorus fired off the now-ice-type Hyper Beam straight at Bernard.

The Ivysaur stared straight at the attack and didn't move. "Solar Beam!" Laurent yelled. Bernard angled his bulb towards the oncoming attack and spent a few moments gathering light from the Sunny Day then fired it straight into the oncoming Hyper Beam. The attacks struggled against each other only a few seconds before the Hyper Beam began to push through thanks to its higher power and type advantage. "Charlotte, Aurora beam!" Charlotte leaped dramatically off of Tyrantrum's head and left it to deal with the Infestation while she fired her Aurora Beam into Aurorus' Hyper Beam, stagnating its advance. "An excellent gambit, Grant!" Laurent congratulated his opponent. "But..." The now-evenly-matched attacks sputtered out anticlimactically, leaving all three pokémon breathing heavily. The fake sun continued to shine brilliantly down on Bernard even through the hail and he recovered far faster than the other combatants. "Bernard's ready for more already. Solar Beam!"

Bernard fired off another Solar Beam straight into his opponent, doing massive damage even through the Light Screen thanks to its type advantage. "Charlotte, Extremespeed and Leech Life!" The Solar Beam left Aurorus staggered just long enough for Charlotte to dash in a blur and cling to its neck, then bite into it, fangs glowing as both energy and blood were siphoned away from it. Tyrantrum finally shook off its Infestation and charged straight at Bernard in a blind rage, making the ground shake with its strength.

"Fire Fang!" Grant's commanding voice kept Tyrantrum's fury in check and it sprinted after Bernard with much better precision, mouth aflame all the while. Bernard bolted and easily outpaced it thanks to Chlorophyll. Aurorus physical defense was significantly weaker than its special defense and after taking a direct hit from Solar Beam it could only struggle against Charlotte's Leech Life for so long. Its movements grew weaker and weaker while Bernard lead Tyrantrum around until finally, it collapsed, the Light Screen shattering simultaneously.

"Check." Laurent smirked and pointed down into the arena despite the obvious fact that nobody could see it. "Bernard, Leech Seed!" Bernard continued to stay just out of Tyrantrum's reach and popped a seed up into the air, leaving Tyrantrum to run straight through it, finally gaining on the Ivysaur while the seed on its chest sprouted and spread parasitic tendrils around it. There was little left for Grant to do even after he saw Bernard's Sunny Day dissipate. Tyrantrum wasn't fast enough to catch either of its targets without Dragon Dance but it couldn't take the time to use it without getting hit by brutal attacks now that Aurorus wasn't supporting it. Tyrantrum continued to chase Bernard and Charlotte around impotently while the poison and Leech Seed sucked away at its strength, leading to it not even quite understanding what it had run into when it turned a corner and found Bernard and Charlotte both finally standing its ground. Particles of light were being sucked into Bernard's bulb but Tyrantrum thought only of how it had finally caught its prey and ran straight for them with its mouth open.

"SolAurora Beam!" Laurents order rang out across the battlefield as clearly as church bells tolling in Grant's ears. Bernard and Charlotte arched their bulb and abdomen towards Tyrantrum and a pair of beams fired straight into its gaping maw, forcing it backwards. Tyrantrum staggered back, mouth closed and fought to keep its balance until its stomach seemed to fill up explosively before deflating just as quickly. The massive beast fell to the ground in a deafening crash and belched out a puff of smoke, defeated.

The walk back to the entrance was surprisingly solemn for the two old friends. Laurent had only spent a few moments congratulating his pokémon on a job well done before returning them, and neither he nor Grant had spoken much along the way. When they reached the Gym's doors both Leader and Challenger turned to face one another. Grant raised up his hand, palm vertically flat and smirked at Laurent. "Good work!" Laurent high-fived Grant heartily with his right hand and spun around with his left hand poised palm-up underneath his right elbow. Grant met the low-five happily, but confused Laurent by lingering. After a brief delay, Grant closed his hand over Laurent's for a moment then pulled it away to reveal a Cliff Badge sitting proudly in the trainer's palm. "I really hoped I'd take out at least one of your pokémon...but I suppose a home-field advantage and experience isn't quite enough to beat hours of planning ahead and knowledge of your opponent."

"I haven't lacked for training in my short time as a trainer..." Laurent explained wistfully. "I've even had to fight for my life several times already."

"I heard..." Silence followed for a while after, neither friend exactly sure of what to say next as they both contemplated the journey that lay ahead of Laurent. Finally Grant smiled wide again and clapped Laurent on the shoulder. "Alright, get back out there and dazzle the world, Little-Laurel! Tkae care of yourself and more importantly, take care of those friends of yours. Especially those cute girls...Emma and Odette?"

Laurent cleared his throat and turned towards the doors. "Right, I should be off. Keep growing stronger Grant, we'll have a rematch when I return. Keep a close eye on the city too. Don't let Team Cinder do anything else to hurt Cyllage, aye?"

"Aye."

Oddball_ · Oct 27, 2017

-- Profile --

Name: Chris Rodriguez

Pok?mon :

Location: Geosenge Town

Inventory:

Spoiler:

~

Chris stepped over a crushed chunk of twisted metal and stone as his flashlight traced down the dimly lit halls he found himself creeping through. He had only imagined what this place might look like until now. It was oddly satisfying seeing the decimated halls. It was almost pure ecstasy to know that somewhere beneath his feet at this very moment was the Ultimate Weapon that had been used twice in the last 3,000 years.

As he crept forward, an electronic whirring sound began to echo through the cavern. Chris eyes darted downwards as his light began to pulsate before going out with a loud popping noise as the noise grew closer.

?Que?? He muttered to himself as he began to feel around to try and find a wall.

?Magneton!? Several voices echoed from somewhere nearby. As they finished speaking Chris? light began to flicker back to life once more.

?Interesting? it would seem Team Flare?s equipment still attracts Steel and Electric type Pok?mon.? Violet mused from beside Chris.

?Santo Mierda!? Chris swore, jumping away to shine the light into the eyes of the mysterious psychic girl.

?Sorry.? The girl mused before rubbing her temple and grimacing. ?This? place is full of negative energy?? She stopped and looked up with a halfcocked smile. ?How are you Christopher. It?s been awhile since I?ve seen you. You should read the progress I made on the novel.?

Chris rolled his eyes as he tapped the torch a few times to ensure that it wasn?t going to go out again.

?Ignoring me are we? Got something you want to get off your chest Christopher? I know there?s something you?re just dying to talk to someone about.? The purple hair girl mocked from beside him.

?I?m really not sure what you?re trying to get at.? Chris grumbled as he began to push forward into the ruined base.

?Mag-ne-ton!? The electronic whirl of the experimental Pok?mon called from down the hall just a ways.

?Okay. Play that game if you like. Allow me to shed some light on the situation.? Violet giggled as she drew a Pok?ball from her belt. As she did, a ghostly blue light began to fill the hall.

?Litwick!? The small candle Pok?mon called.

?Sorry I couldn?t resist.? The girl giggled.

Chris rolled his eyes again. This girl seemed off. Not just in the obvious, she?s crazy and you should stay away type? but? every time she bumped into him, she seemed like she had a completely different personality.

?I know you liked it.? She giggled once again. ?Perhaps we should move before that Magneton decides to attack.?

?What?? Chris asked looking up to see three eyes staring straight at him.

?MAG-NE-TON.? The Pok?mon shouted, launching a bolt of electricity towards the duo.

?Move!? Chris hissed, shoving Violet aside as he began to rush down the hall past the magnet Pok?mon. ?Hey big guy. This way!? Chris hissed as the tentacle Pok?mon on his should spat a globule of mud towards the creature, knocking it into the wall and seeming to disorient it.

?MAG-NE-TON!? A second voice echoed from behind Chris.

An electrical pulse tingled through his fingers as he felt his entire body convulse as he hit the ground twitching.

?Litwick! Flame Burst!? Violet called, a blast of red hot flame smacking into the first Magneton and seeming to sauder the steel magnets together even more.

?Tch.? Chris hissed as he crawled to his knees.

?Oma Oma!? The tentacled creature whispered into his ear.

?Mag-ne-TON.? The secondary second stage called as a beam of electricity smacked into Christopher.

?Son of a bitch!? Chris screamed, however the Omanyte on his shoulder turned with an extremely annoyed look.

?Omanyte!? The Pok?mon growled, spitting a ball of mud against the second Magneton. The Magnetic balls were once against pulled down towards the ground.

The first Magneton rose, still very hot from the Litwicks flame burst attack.

?Christopher we need to move NOW!? Violet shouted. ?The floor beneath us is growing unstable!? She continued as she tried to move herself and her Litwick closer towards Christopher.

(?Dios Mio! Son of a bitch!?) Chris swore as he scrambled to his feet and staggered next to Violet. ?Do you have a plan?? He asked, a small gash starting to soak the front of his black jacket.

?Mag-ne-ton!? The two magnet Pok?mon called as they began to rise. As they spoke an invisible force seemed to spread around the room as the magnets began to rotate and whir. Small chunks of paneling and several small bolts began to hover in the air around them.

?Grab my hand.? Violet whispered reaching out for Christopher. ?Litwick, stay close.?

Without hesitation, Chris fingers interlocked with the strange purple haired girl as the Magnet Pok?mon began to hum with a supercharged electrical power. (?Please have a plan.?) Chris prayed silently as he felt Omanyte crawl deeper into the hood of his jacket.

Electricity tingled through the air. Chris could feel his all the hair on his neck begin to twinge with the excitement. A loud tearing sound filled his ears as he saw a varied array of colours flash infront of his eyes. Yellow-Red-Orange-Green-Blue.

His eyes hadn?t caught up by the time he realized that he was falling. He couldn?t hear anything. He blinked as he watched the dim light from the ghost Pok?mon that surrounded him highlight the walls of the chamber he was falling into. Row after row of balconies seemed to fall by.

He felt something squeeze his hand. He turned and saw Violet staring at him, her eyes illuminated by a strange pink light that seemed to surround her. He felt her pull him close as they neared the bottom of the chamber.

THUD!!!

They hit the ground with considerable force and Chris felt the air escape his lungs and something possibly crack... but it certainly didn?t hurt nearly as much as he felt it should have. He blinked, dazed and confused. Somewhat splattered across the floor was a flicker of a flame in the middle of a pile of wax that was once Violet?s Litwick.

?Oh my-.? Chris attempted to say, but stopped suddenly. Why couldn?t he talk? Suddenly he felt the warm drizzle of blood dripping from his shoulder. A shard of something jagged and rough like stone had cut into him as he fell. He held his hand there to try and stop the bloodflow. ?Violet!? Chris tried to call, but heard no sound escape his lungs.

A tug at his pant leg caused Chris to turn around and see the girl lying next to whatever they had landed on. Her nose was bent at an odd angle and blood was streaking down her face, but she looked alive. Her mouth moved but no sound came out.

Wait.

Chris stopped in his tracks. Why was everything quiet. He looked around and saw nothing. Violet was crawling to her feet. The glow was gone from her eyes as she looked at him with a worried gaze. Her mouth moved, but no sound escaped.

?Violet? I can?t? I can?t hear anything.? Chris tried to say. Anger and fear filling him with equal parts.

The girl?s face turned to one of panic. She?d heard him. He could still speak. She placed a finger on her temple and tried to concentrate, but doubled over in pain half a moment later.

?Whatever you?re doing don?t. You?re too exhausted.? He said.

She glared at him.

?Yell at me all you like.? Chris muttered, only to have her kick him. His eyes started to look around the room for a way out. After a few moments of searching he returned and sat next to Violet in defeat. She was staring at the dim flame in the wax with a pained look on her face.

Her Pok?mon. Suddenly Chris felt himself instinctually reaching into his hood where he felt the curved shell of Omanyte. His finger traced it and touched a soft squishy bit which seemed to push into his finger. As his finger retracted, he felt a jagged edge. A chunk of the shell had likely been cracked or busted. Everyone was hurt.

He placed a hand on Violet?s shirt and together they watched as the candle flame danced in the darkness. Without warning, Chris? pants began to vibrate. In amazement, he pulled his holocaster from the pocket. A large crack ran down the side of the device, however it appeared as if it was still getting service as a message saying that an earthquake had been felt in the vicinity of Geosenge town. Dialing the emergency number, Chris held it up to speak into it, before realizing that he wouldn?t be able to hear the response. Looking at Violet, she nodded and took it from him.

Chris gritted his teeth as he watched her talk to the holographic figure displayed before her. However, something else caught his eye. A gentle sparkle in the darkness, a flickering in the rubble they had created. Chris limped over to it and began shifting through the rubble to find that they hadn?t landed in metal or stone, but some sort of? shell. A cocoon of sorts. As he shifted through it, he uncovered a familiar site to his eyes. A small stone of yellow red and blue sat buried on the inside of the cocoon like material. Almost as if it had been placed within as some sort of reminder.

A hand sat on his shoulder as Chris slipped the stone into his pocket. Violet gave him a thumbs up. Help was on the way.

Chris' Museum:

LinearAxel · Oct 27, 2017

Route 11

Date at Stage Start: July 3rd| Time at Stage Start: 9 AM

A sense of relief cannot be helped as our heroes leave the animosity and fear of Geosenge town behind them. Heading East, they find themselves on the tiny, peaceful route 11, which is built on a mountainside. Along the path, many clear crystals sprout from the ground, similar to the ones found inside the Reflection Cave, which is just a short walk away. The cave itself is as mysterious as it is beautiful, with a near ethereal feel to it. Many trainers, spiritualists, and scientists alike venture to the cave in hopes of discovering the mysteries it holds.

Pok?mon Available (Level 38-40):

Route 11:

Pok?mon available to those using a Great Ball(Level 40-42):

Pok?mon Available (Level 38-40):

Reflection Cave:

Pok?mon available to those using a Great Ball(Level 40-42):

OPEN ? Mission 1:

Legend tells of a mirror hidden within Reflection Cave. Not just any mirror, however, this mirror serves as the gateway to another realm. If someone looks into the mirror for long enough, they will be able to see into a realm that is flipped from our own: They will see a person that looks as they do, but has a completely opposite personality. Gaze with caution, trainers, for rumor has it, if you gaze into the mirror long enough, your double will suck you into their world.

Reward: Ability Capsule

OPEN
Mission 1:
Mission 1:
A path leading to Reflection Cave has been blocked off as two warring groups of Pokemon do battle. These Sawk and Throh are determined not to let anyone get by until one team defeats the other. Someone needs to convince them to break it up, or at least move it along, or we're going to be stuck here for a long time.

Reward: Blackbelt

Mission 2:
A group of Sky Trainers have chosen route 11 to hold their yearly tournament, and they're welcoming anyone with a flying type to take part. See how your flying expertise lines up with those who have dedicated their lives to the art of flight.

Reward: Sky Plate & Flying Saddle

Mission 3:

The combination of Brain and Brawn is hard to overcome. Blackbelt Frank and Psychic Sly are on a real winning streak, and they're eager to find more opponents. Can you take down this combination of Mr. Mime and Machamp?

Reward: TM Brickbreak or TM Trick Room

Mission 4:

Reflection Cave is a mysterious place, a place that many researchers yearn to explore. One such researcher, a former trainer by the name of Bianca, is one such researcher. She wants to explore the cave, but rumors of Team Cinder sneaking around have made her reluctant to go alone. Escort Bianca as she does her research, and she might give you something special.

Reward: Pansear or Pansage or Panpour

Mission 5:

Tourist Haruto lies on the ground, severely wounded. Apparently a rather viscious girl sicked her Krookodile on the poor Tourist and demanded to know the location of the Reveal Glass. Haruto doesn't know what that is, much less where to find it, but it sure sounds important! Stop the thief before she hurts more people in the name of this glass.

Reward: Black Glasses / Wise Glasses

Mission 6:
Roller Skater Paige is determined to best her mentor turned rival, Korrina. In a Pokemon battle, you ask? Of course not! We're talking about a Roller Derby battle, friends! Desperate for a few more practice runs before she gets to Shalour, Paige is asking anyone and everyone she sees to take her on in a roller-race.

Reward: Pair of skates autographed by Korrina, or Shiny Stone.

Mission 7
Guess who's back? That's right, it's Larry! It seems Larry decided the best way to win over the hearts of women was to buy their affection with prescious gems. The problem? He stole them from a pack of Sableye, and now they're holding him hostage. If you take pity on him, he'll probably give you his findings.

Reward: Three gems of your choice (Fire gem, dragon gem, etc)

Mission 8:

Something is making the Noibat in the cave go absolutely bonkers. These typically laid back bats have begun dive bombing trainers in hordes, screeching for hours on end at seemingly nothing, and flying into the cave walls. What could possibly make them act in such a way?!

Reward: Metronome

Mission 9:
Meditating in a quiet corner of the path is a feeble looking old woman. She offers 'an experience' to the brave souls who are willing to venture through a spirit journey. You're not sure what any of it means, but it sounds pretty cool, and she insists it will be worth your while.

Reward: Alakazite

Shak · Oct 29, 2017

-Drew Tucker

Scars for Fresh Wounds

With what he?d learned from Laurent?s tutelage, Drew was feeling fairly confident that his new and overly rehearsed routine would be enough to impress his crush. Of course he?d have to find her first. Not to mention work up the courage to actually bring up the topic to her. That wouldn?t be easy. They had basically already had a first date, right? He sighed, turning the pages in his head, trying to figure out just where the tale left off. It seemed like it came out of nowhere, but the boy had found himself struggling to concentrate on anything but her as of late.

The sound of his phone ringing was enough to jerk him out of his self-destructive state. Was that?? No, it couldn?t be. Could it? He scrambled over to check the caller ID, a sense of hopeful optimism taking over as he grabbed the phone to see?Faye. His heart sank. He stared blankly for a moment at the device before answering.

?Faye, is something wrong?? Drew groaned, finding himself somewhere in between disappointment and concern as he asked.

?Umm?I?ve got good news, and I?ve got bad news. Are you with Avril?? Faye?s voice crackled through the phone. Her last sentence prompted another deep sigh from the boy on the other end of the phone. ?Well either way, we managed to get a few eggs out of Nebula and Salad, which is the good news of course. The bad news is that we?re having a little bit of trouble separating the mother from said eggs.? As she finished her explanation, she seemed to get further from the phone, before the sound of hissing fizzed through the line.

?Why is that a bad thing? It?s not like Neb is going anywhere.?

?Well that?s the thing. She?s been getting a little?homesick.? Again as the pokemon breeder spoke, a disgruntled cry buzzed through the phone. ?She doesn?t seem to be so keen on Salad anymore, and whatever enthusiasm she showed before is looking like it was just a broody phase. Long story short, I couldn?t bring myself to keep these two at it any longer than they wanted to.? There was a brief moment of silence before Faye continued. ?I wasn?t able to get a hold of Avril, so I sent both Nebula and Salad to you. I also sent an egg, make sure Nebula sees it. Good luck. It?ll take a lot longer, but I can get the job done with the egg I kept.? Before Drew could even respond, Faye cut the call.

Just like that, Drew was left to process all of that information. The most prominent piece of information, was that he finally had an excuse to call her. It didn?t have to be so direct, and Laurent advised for it not to be over the phone, but at least this way he didn?t have to ?coincidently stroll across? Avril?s path. It was a conflicting situation. On one hand, this was his opportunity. Giving her back her pokemon was sure to put a smile on her face.

He kicked back, trying to contain all this unfiltered excitement. On the other hand, this was a lot of pressure so soon after he had nailed his approach. What if he wasn?t ready? Maybe keeping hold of Salad was a smarter option until he could get his head around things.

Then there was Neb. Turbulent was a nice way to describe his relationship with the Eevee. His team had come so far since her departure, and he had almost forgotten about picking her up. Then again, simply seeing Faye?s name in his phone brought about feelings of remorse for the manner in which they departed. This?was certainly something to think about.

***

Soft bastard. Drew cursed himself internally as he stared gloomily down at Nebula and Salad?s pokeballs. This was the reunion he never thought he?d have to make, and never intended to once he realised he might. Both balls held a resounding weight considering everything that came with them.

The thing that really held weight, was the pokemon egg sitting next to him. The heck was he supposed to do with this thing? He had no experience in this field, and if the ever learned it in class, he was almost certain he slept through it. Maybe he could give it to Avril. Though, he couldn?t be certain how she?d react with him shoving a baby on her like that. Maybe it could be like their first experience rai?he shuddered at the thought. That was thinking way too far ahead, even for him. Not that he didn?t want kids, just with parents like his, he wouldn?t even know where to begin with the raising process. Again he shuddered, returning his attention to Nebula?s pokeball.

Having left the Pok?mon Centre where he?d retrieved all his new problems, he was now in a good position to see just how much his old ?friend? had changed, without having to pry her off the leg of an innocent bystander.

After a reluctant toss of the pokeball, the little brown fox materialised before Drew, her tail swishing gleefully behind her. She glanced up at her old trainer, the two sharing a moment of silence. Even Brycen waited on standby with his own sense of nostalgia at seeing the Eevee again.

This moment was short lived. Without so much as a moment?s notice, Nebula sprang into action, clamping her jaws in a familiar fashion around Drew?s arm. In the same familiar fashion, the trainer cried out in pain?but something was different. Drew didn?t feel the familiar gnawing at his arm that usually made the exchange all the more painful than it already was. Instead, he rested his arm to see the pokemon staring into his eyes, her own eyes full of sorrow and heartache. Nebula?s bulging pupils were more than enough to soften her trainer?s demeanour. He lowered her to the ground and placed her gently on the ground, easing her jaw off of his arm.

?Guess I?d better get a new cast, huh?? Drew simpered, examining the fresh wound.
Pokemon and trainer were given little time to bask in the moment, as yet another distraction was sprung upon them. A large shadow swallowed the graveyard Drew and Nebula found themselves in. The Eevee was the first to retaliate, barking and hissing the intimidating figure that towered over the Menhirs. Even Drew could barely reach halfway up the stones, and this red clad man draped in a mess of hanging white hair and scarf was at least a foot taller than them. With his Eevee unperturbed, Drew put on a brave face and stepped forward to giant.

?You?have an Eevee?? The colossal man asked, ignoring the defensive stance the pokemon was taking against him. As he spoke, the depth of his voice carried a forceful gravity that seemed to edge both smaller beings back. ?Someone your age with a pokemon so rare. Sycamore perhaps??

Drew glanced up, the sheer size of the man completely blocking the sun from his view. ?Uhhh?yeah.? He grumbled tentatively, stepping in front of Nebula.

?Please, allow me to test you.? The man spoke much softer, almost whispering this time, though his extraordinary presence made it difficult to miss a word he said. With a giant swish of his hand, a Golurk burst forth from the pokeball he tossed.

Almost on instinct, Drew reached for Brycen?s ball, before realising the grass type still didn?t have one. He looked back, but his starter already read the situation and jumped to the battlefield.

?A Quilladin? Then we shalln?t waste time. The only one of that trio that wasn?t used by the two Sycamore deployed back then.? The man?s eye peered out from under his hat and rags. ?Mega Punch.? He bellowed, the intensity of the command stunning all that were present. All except Golurk.

The Golem charged forward, and sent Brycen flying back with a single punch.

The Quilladin found his feet, but was quickly pressed again by the sheer intensity of the of the massive ground type. He managed do duck under and slip to the left in order to avoid taking another Mega Punch. Vine Whip. Shot like a cowboys lasso, Brycen?s vine managed to latch on to the leg of the Golurk. Unfortunately, that was to his own detriment. The giant?s pokemon launched himself back like a rocket, taking Brycen along with him. The momentum was enough to carry the grass type, giving him absolutely no time to stop; allowing the golem to slam the tumbling porcupine with another Mega Punch, this one sending him flying much further back than the first.

?Brycen!? Drew growled in frustration. Watching his friend get slammed around like a pinball wasn?t exactly what he foresaw when accepting this battle. Despite that disparity, losing still wasn?t an option. He still had no explanation as to why he was challenged so suddenly, just that Sycamore had chosen him. Had the others had to battle this guy too? Did they beat him? He shook his head and refocused on the battle before him. ?Brycen, Seed Bomb!? Drew called, adamant that his pokemon?s most powerful attack could shake the battle. Direct hit! Yet?the Golurk seemed shaken, but stood right back up after being knocked down by the green orbs. Drew could only scoff in disbelief. Surely the attack would have at least staggered his recovery, but it barely took a second. Likewise, with only one more Heavy Slam, it only took a second for Brycen to be out of the battle.

?Damn?? Was all Drew could muster. Another loss.

?You?ve impressed me. I believe you could even surpass them.?

?Did the others win?? Drew grumbled, unable to lift his head to meet the giants gaze.

?Others? Sycamore has been busy this time. I?ve battled none of your friends. If they are on the same path as you, I don?t doubt Sycamore has chosen wisely. I assume you?re already familiar with Team Cinder. Or more appropriately, The Ultimate Weapon.?

Just the mention of Team Cinder made Drew feel sick. ?The former yeah. The ultimate weapon less so. It?s the thing that caused all this right?? Drew almost heaved, his mind still lingering on Cinder.

?Yes, but it is capable of so much more. I?and your professor have reason to believe Team Cinder are acting to use the weapon to the fullest of its potential, just as its creator did once before.? The giant?s voice croaked as he mentioned the weapon?s creator. ?Many people will be swayed towards using its power, but I need you to stop those around you, in the same way Sycamore?s chosen ones did back then.? The giant stared down at Drew, with more intensity than he?d shown since they?d encountered each other.

The boy still stared down at the ground. His mind instantly rushed to the likes of Paige and her father. He had just stood aside, knowing they were contributing to Cinder and done nothing about it. On the other hand, his mind then rushed to the likes of Newt. He wasn?t a hero. He watched his best friend die, and could do nothing about it. He wasn?t a hero. Avril wasn?t here to stop him from walking away this time. Then?what would Avril think if she saw him walking away from something like this. How would he win her over if he didn?t jump at a situation like this? Maybe that was the type of guy she liked. No. She wasn?t here now.

?Sorry Mr. Giant Man. You?ll have to get someone else. I?m no hero.? A deep sigh punctuated his sentence, and he turned and walked away without another word.

A single giant tear drop fell behind him, but Drew refused to turn back.

Spoiler:

Menhir Trail - Graveyard​

Oddball_ · Nov 7, 2017

-- Profile --

Name: Chris Rodriguez

Pok?mon :

Location: Reflection Cave

Inventory:

Spoiler:

~

?There isn?t anything physically wrong with you.? The Doctor had written. ?Sometimes after immense trauma, our bodies just do strange things.?

Chris sighed and stopped fidgeting with the device in his ear as he stepped over the fallen rocks that covered the path leading up to Reflection Cave. After Violet and he had been rescued from beneath Geosenge, she written for him to come here, and to find an old woman camped outside. Helga the spiritualist, or so Violet had explained.

It wasn?t much farther up the trail that he did catch sight of the woman. Sitting by a lit flame with a brass mug in her hand, pouring from an ancient looking kettle a steaming green liquid. Her eyes were closed and she did not seem to notice as Chris approached. He let out a small cough as he neared his destination.

The woman seemed to open her eyes and nod at his approach. She began to speak, but Chris blank stare quickly caused her to look at him with a mild curiosity. Digging through his pockets, he pulled out the crumpled piece of paper that Violet had given him. Taking a moment to read through it, the woman smiled at Chris and offered him the brass mug that she had been holding. He politely took it, and as it came closer he began to realize how strong the aroma that it was putting off really was.

The woman motioned for him to drink. He looked at her with an untrusting face, but the smile on her lips reminded him of that of his grandmother and he quickly took a swig of the noxious liquid.

His mouth felt numb the instant it hit his lips. His sight began to blur before he?d even removed the cup from his mouth.

?Wha-? Was all he?d managed to blurt out before the darkness overtook him.

Seconds passed.

Minutes.

Hours?

Chris felt as if he were floating in a black void? He felt the air around him shift as through the darkness forms began to fade in. The black faded to a dark blue as the stone wall before him began to form against his body.

That wasn?t a wall.

He snapped his eyes open and shut a few times to try and shake off the delirium that was overcoming him. He crawled to his feet and fell down a few times before being able to stand on his own. There were a million questions running through Chris head at once. Where was he? How did he get there? Why was the floor so incredibly blue? What was with the big creepy mirror wall that just didn?t feel right? Where could he find some churros? Holy hell did he have a sudden craving for churros. Not just any churros, but Abuela?s churros. Homemade, with enough cinnamon to keep a spice shop in business for the next year.

?Mmm?? He giggled to himself as he shakily walked towards the floating churro that lay next to the mirror.

?God you?re pathetic.? Chris sighed.

Chris stopped as reality came crashing down on him. There were several things that were VERY wrong at the moment. First things first, there shouldn?t be any churros in a cave. That was a very dangerous sign. Secondly, He hadn?t said that. It was certainly his voice and all, but it made no sense. Third, he?d actually heard something! What the he-

?Me est?s tomando el pelo? Dar la vuelta est?pido.? (?Are you kidding me? turn around stupid.?) The voice echoed acrost the cavern.

Chris slowly turned around with a bewildered face as he came to face a tawny skinned young man with a pair of aviators over the messy bedhead like raven hair. A black overcoat framed the boy, with orange highlights outcropping here and there. A smirk on his lips, this doppelganger of Christopher Rodriguez began to speak once more.

"Whats wrong Christopher. Didn?t expect to have to look at yourself after what you've done? Heh. I can?t blame you. If I was a pathetic coward like you that is. Honestly? nearly getting yourself killed in that fall must have brought up some bad memories ey? Caused enough psychological trauma to make you go deaf? Oh come on you big beb?, you think I beat myself up over what happened to Newt? No, the kid was an idiot who got in my, our way. Just like Dylan, Kayla, Coul, and all the other ones. At least with them a bullet was a lot swifter than a rockslide. Things have been so much easier since we joined Team Cinder."

Chris stared at this copy of himself as he spoke. What was he talking about? How could he be standing there? why was he saying he?d killed so many people? Why on earth was he saying he?d- no, they?d joined Team Cinder?

?Look at you. It?s a disgrace to know you?re my other.? The other Christopher spat. ?I should just kill you here and now. It goes against orders, but I mean? you don?t even know abuela is in the hospital with the final stages of lung cancer do you. Whoops, spoilers. There goes the law of dimensional alteration. Guess I have to kill you now.?

The alternate Chris moved with lightning quick reflexes, from the interior of his jacket a black Pok?ball with an orange flame logo was tossed in the original Chris? direction. In a burst of light, a singular five 5?6? tall blade formed.

?Susurro! Sacred Sword!? Reverse Chris called as the giant blade began to swipe forward towards Chris who threw himself to the ground, scraping arm acrost a rock and tearing open the wounds that the doctors had patched up in Geosenge.

?H-hold on!? Chris cried out in pain as he crashed into the ground.

?Oh look Susurro. It speaks.? Reverse Chris mocked as he crossed his arms.

?H-how a-are you even h-here! T-this can?t be r-real!? Chris stuttered as he crawled back to his feet and reached into his coat. ?Is this all in my head?!?

?Oh Christopher? Just because it?s all in your head doesn?t mean it?s not real.? Reverse Chris chuckled as he toyed with the string of sparkling stones around his neck. ?I?m very real. I?m you Christopher.? He explained, waving his hand towards the mirror. ?See? No reflection.?

Chris turned and much to his shock, there truly was no reflection of any of them in the mirror.

?How?? Reverse Chris mockingly asked. ?It?s a bit complicated really, but this mirror is a window into an alternate reality. It resonates with your psyche and tunes into an alternate variant. Of course, you drank the tea. Never drink the tea Chris, never ever drink the tea.?

Chris didn?t understand what was going on. He grits his teeth and tossed forward Whisper?s Pokeball.

?Oh how cute! Sussaro look, this version of you hasn?t evolved yet.? Reverse Chris laughed hysterically. ?Oh Chris, how long have you had that Dusk stone for??

Ting! ting! ting! Sussaro the Aegislash seemed to laugh along with the Reverse Chris.

?Don?t. Insult. Whisper.? Chris hissed. ?I won?t pretend for a moment that I know what?s going on, but if you?re really me you?ve lost your god damned mind. I would never join Team Cinder. I?ve at least got dignity? and yeah, maybe I do regret that Newt died. Kid was an idiot, but he was innocent. In the end Drew and Paige lived. That?s what matters.?

??? Reverse Chris closed his eyes and began to smile as Chris spoke. ?You know? I didn?t realize how much of a soft sap I was. I?ll have fun killing that part of me all over again.? He laughed as he reached into his coat and pulled out a small black handgun and pointing it at Chris. ?I was going to let Sussaro do it, but let?s be real. It?s clich? to have our Pok?mon fight. Not everything in this world should be about Pok?mon battles after all.?

Chris stood speechless as he faced what would likely be the source of many nightmares for him in the future as an alternative version of himself pointed a gun directly at his head.

?Sussaro, return. I?ll let you decapitate some yungoos? when we get back home.? Reverse Chris snapped.

The floating duplicate of Whisper rang with annoyance before returning to its Pok?ball.

?Now Christopher of this dimension? Any last words?? Reverse Chris asked as he cocked the gun.

Chris closed his eyes. He was really going to die here wasn?t he? To an alternate version of himself no less?!

?I?? Chris started.

?Wait. No!? Reverse Chris shouted angrily as a black tendril like hand ripped the necklace from the boy?s neck. The small stones began to clatter across the ground. As the boy looked around to see what was going on, he was amazed to see the newly evolved Cofagigirus angrily grappling the gun out of Reverse Chris? hands.

?What are you doing?!? Chris shouted as the gun was knocked loose and began to skid across the floor towards him.

?Cof!? The Pok?mon responded as a screech echoed from above. Aero began to dive down as Reverse Chris smashed his hand over the Cinder logo covered Pok?balls in his coat, releasing his own Pok?mon. It was quickly a battle of Aerodactly versus Aerodactly, Doublade versus Aegislash, Omanyte versus Omastar, Trubbish versus Garbador, and Cofagigrus versus Cofagigrus as the two Chris both leapt for the gun.

?Your Pok?mon are inferior! They?ll get ripped apart in minutes.? Reverse-Chris hissed as Chris pulled the gun from his grasp and shakily pointed it at him.

?My Pokemon are stronger than you thought. They?re stronger than even I thought.? Chris responded as he pointed the gun at the duplicate of himself. ?They could sense that I was in trouble and they prepared to help me of their own free will. So maybe I haven?t trained them to the best of my ability, but the bonds we?ve forged are stronger than you?ll ever understand. They?re my friends. And I don?t need an organization like Team Cinder to be strong. You know why? Because my friends are my power! Guess what that means Christopher??

Reverse Chris snarled as he wiped the spit from his face. ?I?ll be back you disgustingly clich? pendaj-?

With the sound of shattering glass, the reverse Chris and all of his Pok?mon faded into the same black abyss that Chris himself had come from. Almost as soon as they disappeared, Chris began to feel nauseous. The cave began to sway beneath him as any sign of light in the room had vanished before him. Suddenly he was falling through the endless blackness again.

Chris opened his eyes. The smiling face of the old woman hovered over him as he felt her check his pulse. He groaned before passing into unconsciousness once more.

Chris' Museum:

Stinging Bea · Nov 7, 2017

Chapter 16-1 | Getting Jiggly With It

Avril Morris | Geosenge Town

The Team

Badges

Inventory

Spoiler:

"So, let me see if I understand this correctly," the Pok?mon Ranger replied, looking up from his notebook with a rather calm expression gracing his features. "You encountered a woman while walking towards town. Out of curiosity over the fact that you believed her to be a member of Team Cinder, you followed her at a distance to see where she was going and if she happened to be up to no good. Eventually, you followed her to a lone hill with a wooden cross, where she apparently had a meltdown, challenged you to a battle, assaulted you with a TM, and then fled from the scene?"

Avril nodded slowly in response. She believed that she may have picked up on a slight hint of skepticism in the ranger's tone as he recounted the events, not that the blonde could blame him. It was only now that she was listening to the recollection of the day's events did the trainer realize just how awkward and down right unbelievable the story sounded.

"Look, I know it sounds weird, but... I swear it did happen," Avril began to reason. "I battled her with my Shuppet and... the weirdest part, I haven't even told you. Turns out that she wasn't from Team Cinder after all. She kept going on and on about Team Flare, but I was fairly certain that that whole organization collapsed about three years ago."

"Team Flare, huh...?" the ranger questioned back. A knowing, yet sad smile suddenly took over his features. A small sigh escaped his lips as the ranger closed his notepad and replaced it and the pen he had been using to jot down notes on Avril's encounter away. "That settles it... It was definitely Lauren..."

"Lauren...?" Avril questioned. "I don't think you understand the situation, sir. Team Flare is running around still, all the while Cinder is on the loose as well. Doesn't this qualify as a pretty big emergency?"

"I really wouldn't sweat it kid. Team Flare isn't coming back, this much I can assure you," the ranger began to explain. "The woman you encountered, her name is Lauren. As you said, she did have an affiliation with Team Flare. The truth of the matter is that she was one of the sole survivors of the incident that occurred in this very town... well, of those who were affiliated with Team Flare, anyways. The truth of the matter is that one of the group's main hideouts was in fact located here. Two trainers... probably just a year or two younger than yourself, took them on and... well, essentially brought Team Flare's existence to an end. A lot of lives were lost in that explosion. The woman you met almost lost her own, but..."

"But...?" Avril inquired.

"She was saved by another Team Flare grunt. The grave she was visiting? It belonged to her lover... or at least, future lover." the ranger sighed, slowly rising up from the table as he spoke. "We get a lot of reports about her shuffling around out there. She's more or less gone mentally. All that's left is an emotional shell that's on the verge of self destruct. From rumors I heard the two were very close to each other, but neither one had the courage to actually confess their feelings. It's a pity, really. Perhaps if they had had that moment, things could have turned out different for them... Well, if you'll excuse me."

Avril remained silent as she watched the ranger leave the Pok?mon Center. Suddenly, her whole encounter with the Team Flare grunt seemed to take on a completely different light. Despite the fact that the woman had been under the employment of the organization which caused Kalos to be plunged into chaos, Avril found the entire revelation to be downright depressing. Before she had too much longer to dwell on the matter, the gentle clearing of a throat managed to grab her attention.

"Excuse me, Miss Morris?" a woman called out. Avril turned to see the nurse of the Pok?mon Center smiling softly in her direction. "We've finished treating your team and they're ready to go."

Avril made her way to the counter with a small smile of her own. "Thank you for working so quickly. We should be able to get back on the road pretty quickly now." Avril collected her Pok?mon team and began to place their Pok? Balls back in their respective places on her bracelet. As she did this, the blonde could feel the eyes of the Pok?mon Center nurse watching her intently. Slowly, Avril shifted her focus from her bracelet and back to the woman behind the counter. "Um... Is there something I can help you with?"

The nurse gasped at the sudden question from the trainer, as if she had been caught day dreaming and was just now snapping back to reality. A small blush was quick to grace her cheeks as a weak giggle escaped her lips. "O-Oh, it's nothing really... It's just... Um..."

Avril noticed the hesitation coming from the Pok?mon Center nurse. "Go on...?"

The nurse sighed, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Well, it's just... we're having a bit of a Pok?mon issue here... I know it's not your problem, and you're probably eager to get back to your journey, but... If it's not too much trouble, I was wondering if you might be capable of lending us a hand?"

Avril raised a curious eyebrow in the direction of the nurse. "Well... I guess I'd need to know what was the actual problem before I could agree or decline."

The nurse nodded and motioned for Avril to join her behind the counter. The older woman led the blonde trainer into a door which led further back into the Pok?mon Center. It had been a while since Avril had ventured deeper into a Pok?mon Center. The last time she had been permitted behind a counter at one of the establishments was back at Lumiose City, shortly after Shino had been wounded by Gabriel Artece. Having that experience be revived in the corners of her memory was not really a pleasant experience, but at the very least Avril did take solace in the fact that Shino was not laying in a bed and fighting for his life.

"You see, even though this town has been mostly reduced to just a... passby town, with more or less nothing to offer but a Pok?mon Center, things have been a little... hectic here. Truth be told, we've actually been a bit short-handed here," the nurse explained. As she spoke, Avril watched an Audino waddle by with another nurse, a cute little hat and apron gracing the Pok?mon's features. "While we have nurses and doctors, we usually receive help from various Pok?mon as well. We usually use those such as Audino and Chansey, Pok?mon who specialize in helping those and healing with their unique abilities and moves."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," Avril answered quickly. "My mother works at the Pok?mon Center in Laverre City. I've gotten a few sneak peeks of what goes on behind the scenes at these places."

The nurse smiled. "Well, I guess that makes this easier to explain then. As you know, none of these Pok?mon are actually caught. Rather they're more or less... recruited to assist. That's where our current problem comes in. We recently recruited a new aid... and well..."

Avril watched as the nurse opened a door at the end of a hallway. It looked to be some sort of office, most likely one where various medical records were kept. Several filing cabinets were situated about the room, many with drawers sitting open. Many folders and papers were scattered about the room, sitting on a desk or in chairs or even on the floor. Clearly, someone was supposed to be in charge of helping out with the filing of information, but whoever it was was not doing too great of a job. Avril did not have to wonder about just who this employee was for too much longer, however. A small, rather bored sounding sigh was soon heard in the room and managed to catch her attention rather quickly. The Pok?mon trainer turned to see a rather bored looking Jigglypuff standing on a stool in the room, her emerald green eyes staring up and out of a nearby window.

"I guess it's kinda pointless to ask, but... Is this that new aid you guys recruited?" Avril asked.

"That's right," the nurse replied. "We brought her in about a week or so ago. At first she seemed to be quite enthusiastic about being here, but... Something changed. I really don't know what or how, but I think she's... bored. Maybe she thought she was being taken on some grand adventure or something of the sort, but that's just... not in the cards, at least, not with us here."

"So how am I supposed to help?" Avril questioned.

"Well... You seem to be a fairly adept Pok?mon trainer. At least, that was the impression I got while treating your team," the nurse explained. "I also happened to notice that you still had an empty spot on your team..."

"So, long story short... you want me to take her with me?"

"That's right."

Avril turned her attention away from the nurse and placed her focus back onto the Jigglypuff. In all honesty, it really didn't seem like too bad of an idea. Jigglypuff could prove to be a rather versatile pok?mon and they did tend to be quite resilient. She remembered that much from her battle against the Wigglytuff back at the Battle Chateau. Plus, it's unique typing would help balance out her team even more.

"Alright then," Avril concluded with a nod. "I'll take her with me."

The nurse sighed in relief before offering Avril a small smile. "Thank you very much, I'm sure you won't regret this."

Mint the Jigglypuff
Female/Adamant/Likes To Fight
Sing/Disarming Voice/Body Slam/Gyro Ball/Rest/Wake-Up Slap

LinearAxel · Nov 8, 2017

A Cloaked Schemer

Sebastian Allender

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

Glittering Cave

?I?m glad Mr. Amos and Probo are together again, but...that girl Brandon told us about is still at large, right?? Renia?s voice came through the holocaster.

?As far as I know.? Sebastian nods.

?I?m almost at Shalour. I?ll hang around the gym, in case she shows up.?

?...Renia.? Sebastian murmurs as he flashes back to the Probo-thief, a man mad enough to pull a gun on Emma. These two are partners...could she be as equally deranged? ?She could be armed??

Renia visibly stiffens at the word, but keeps her smile. ?I won?t engage, I?ll just tell the police when she gets there.?

?You seem rather certain she?s the only trainer in Kalos with an aviator jacket and a Krookodile.? Sebastian manages a weakened smile.

?Who just so happens to be on her way to the Shalour gym at this exact moment? Preeetty sure.? Renia beams.

?I see...promise me that if you see her, you?ll contact the police, and walk away.? Renia?s a capable trainer, far more capable than he...that does not make her bullet proof.

?Promise. Call me when you get out of the cave, kay? Talk soon!? With that, the call deactivates, leading Sebastian to heave a rather heavy sigh. Does she understand the seriousness of this situation she?s skipping into? She holds no fear in those eyes of hers?

Sebastian clutches the strap of his bag, noting once again how much lighter it felt without Kira sneakily letting himself from his Pokeball to hide inside. Uncertain how long he would be wandering through this cave, and rather certain a newborn water Pokemon needs to be exposed to water at regular intervals, Sebastian sent Kira to his home in Fuchsia, where he could be safe, and close to the ocean...until this Dark Tournament ordeal is over.

?I?m trusting you to make sure we don?t get hopelessly lost.? Sebastian glances down to Fay?lene as she trots eagerly by his side. The entrance to the cave is in view, and the rock type seems rather excited to explore. She responds to his statement with an excited bark, and begins to pick up speed-- only to suddenly freeze. Standing right outside the entrance to the cave...is a Krookodile.

Could it be hers? Before leaving Geosenge, Sebastian checked the cave for its native Pokemon, no member of the Krookodile family could be found close to here. This Pokemon...belonged to someone. Is this a trap? It seems almost too obvious to be a trap, though her associate wasn?t exactly subtle, either? and they?ll learn nothing by standing here, staring at a sleeping crocodile. ?Fay?lene, use Howl.?

The little wolf tilted her head to the sky and released a sing-song cry from her mouth, which caused the Krookodile?s eyes to shoot open. It sprang to its feet-- rather quickly for something so large, glanced at Sebastian and his Pokemon for a split second, then darted into the cave-- once more with far more speed than Sebastian would have believed something so large and bulky could muster.

Entering the cave, Sebastian manages to spot the large creature?s tail vanish around a corner, and cautiously follows. If this Pokemon is leading them into some kind of trap, tearing off after it at full speed might be just what its trainer wants-- though leaving it alone, so it can lure others into said trap, is simply out of the question. If he can shut this thief down before she reaches Shalour, Renia can go home, and he won?t have to worry about her getting caught up in the darkness that?s seeping its way into the city.

The redheaded trainer turns the corner, expecting to see the Krookodile either waiting for him, or taking cover behind a stone, instead he sees-- a giant grey cloud flying hurriedly towards him-- a swarm of very terrified woobats show no sign of stopping, or slowing. Sebastian hurls his body to the ground, tucking Fay?lene under him; just in case one of these bats sees the rock type as a threat that stands between it and the escape, and attempts to attack. The cloud of bats swarm over the trainer and his Pokemon, most flying several feet above them-- though Sebastian is quick to take note of one Woobat that flies incredibly close to the ground. Could it be injured? Did Krookodile attack this Woobat, causing the others to flee?

As the terrified squeaks and frantic flap grow fainter, Sebastian lifts his head and once more looks about this section of the cave-- which is...a dead end? He hadn?t noticed before, since the Woobats swarm blocked a great deal of the cave?

So where is Krookodile? The large creature is nowhere to be seen, and yet...Sebastian was hunkered down in front of the only exit. He would have seen those giant feet bounding towards him to leap over him; his eyes were open the entire time he was hunkered down.

?Seems we?re being watched.? Sebastian murmurs to his rock type companion. Krookodile?s trainer must have been standing behind him, she must have returned her Pokemon to its Pokeball while Sebastian was watching the Woobats. Was she planning to hold him at gunpoint while he was on the ground? Perhaps she changed her mind because Fay?lene was still so close. ?Be on your guard, little one.?

With a nod from Fay?lene, the two proceeded back down their previous path with caution. While the walk itself posed no more difficulties, Sebastian could never shake the feeling that they were being watched, followed. Several times he would stop abruptly, hoping to hear an extra footstep, or a fumble, in order to catch their stalker off guard, yet each time he stopped, silence fell around them. In a less subtle attempt, he simply glanced over his shoulder as they walked down a straight pathway, believing there would be nowhere for their follower to hide, and yet still...nothing.

Cautiously, quietly, Sebastian made his way to a fork in the cave?s pathways: One seemed shorter, though darker, while the other had significantly more of the mirror like stones that the cave was named for. Though it seemed a detour, Sebastian was certain this was the more traveled path, as it seemed, if nothing else, more welcoming. ?This way.? He murmurs to his wolf pup, and she eagerly trots by his side. Fay?lene?s ears have been cautiously perked back for some time, and her stiff tail was proof enough to Sebastian that she too felt uneasy.

Trainer and Pokemon walk down the path side by side, taking a few seconds to observe the glittering crystals and shimmering mirrors. They?re almost halfway down the path when Sebastian?s stride begins to slow. Realizing her trainer is trailing behind, Fay?lene turns her head to check on him, to see him...laughing?

Indeed, Sebastian stopped walking and started looking into a mirror, and...now he?s laughing. The small wolf lets out a yap of concern.

?Now I see.? Sebastian chuckles as he turns around and kneels down beside...a rock. Yes, that is a rock. Fay?lene?s concern grows.

?It was you all along, wasn?t it?? Sebastian speaks to...the rock. ?You were the Krookodile, and the low flying Woobat, and the little ghost that?s been following us.?

Suddenly the rock...leaps into the air! Fay?lene leaps back and snarls as the small stone takes shape into something else-- a...Pokemon? A little black, fox looking Pokemon.

?Ua?? The Pokemon looks up to Sebastian with confusion.

Smiling, Sebastian gestures towards the mirror. ?I saw you in the mirror. Your illusion is a trick of the eye and the brain. Since a mirror has neither.?

The Zorua stares at its reflection in awe. After a moment, the black fox does a small flip, taking on the shape of Fay?lene-- only to gasp in surprise as it sees itself in the mirror...still a Zorua. The Pokemon puffs out its cheeks in irritation before turning to Sebastian with a questioning gaze. ?Zor?? It glances back to the mirror, kicking a small amount of dirt at it.

?You...want to know how to trick...the mirror?? Sebastian questions, earning himself an eager nod.

?I?m afraid you can?t. Your ability is astounding, but it simply...doesn?t work that way.? The small fox looks rather distraught by the realization, its fluffy tail falling to the ground in defeat.

?Now, now. Don?t be so down...it wasn?t just your ability that let you trick us for so long.? Sebastian explains, causing Zorua to tilt its head in yet another questioning manner.

?If you hadn?t been so observant, if I had heard you, or seen you move while you were a stone, I would have figured you out long ago. You managed to be silent, and observant -- and stealthy.?

Zorua...would make a perfect partner for a ninja.

?...If you come with me, I think I could help you get even better.?

This makes the Pokemon?s large eyes widen. Even better? Then...maybe he will be able to trick the mirror! And...this cave has gotten really scary lately...and...playing with this human has been a lot of fun...if they go together, they?ll get to play again. And?

Suddenly, Zorua leaps onto Sebastian?s shoulder, scuttling around until he is mostly hidden behind Sebastian?s hair-- all except his own little tuft of red hair, and a paw, that points to the mirror.

?Hm?? Sebastian questions as he looks at the mirror, which immediately makes him smile.

?...I see. We?re a matching set.?

You Caught Zorua!

?
Ability: Illusion
Punishment
Foul Play
Agility
Torment
Extrasensory
Fake Tears

End

*image removed**bulbagarden.net image removed*

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Shak · Nov 9, 2017

Shalour City

Date at Stage Start: July 4th | Time at Stage Start: 1 PM

A City of Awakening~

The sun blisters through the skyline at the peak of its cycle, only cumbered by the breathtaking structure of the Tower of Mastery.

As the journey continues, we arrive at Shalour City. With the shore and the bridge to the tower the only thing in view at the caves entrance, travelers will find residency built into the very cliffside above the cave structure. Multiple pathways and roads make for easy transport as opposed to the rocky inclines some more agile travelers call shortcuts. The central bridge cuts straight through the mess of buildings and acts as a central hub to give the city a more metropolitan look.

Between the city itself, and arguably its it's most iconic monument, is the beach. Unlike the seaside resort that seperates Cyllage and Ambrette, Shalour's beach doesnt attract many swimmers or sunbathers. Many who do visit, come for the Tower itself, but are often detracted by the rise of the tide that cuts access to the tower to those without boats or surfing pokemon. The break of dawn and dark of dusk are the peak times to which the Tower of Mastery becomes most accessible.

Pok?mon Available (Level 42-44):

Shalour City:

Pok?mon available to those using a Great Ball(Level 44-46):

Pok?mon available to those using a Good Rod(Level 42-44):

Pok?mon available to those using a Super Rod(Level 48-50):

Korrina said:
Leader Pokemon:

LUCARIO

Aura Sphere

Bone Rush

Mind Reader

Double Team

Blaze Kick

Bullet Punch

Ability:Justified

LUCARIO

Aura Sphere

Quick Guard

Mind Reader

Double Team

Heal Pulse

Follow Me

Ability: Inner Focus

HAWLUCHA

Flying Press

Swords Dance

Ariel Ace

Agility

Baton Pass

Encore

Ability: Limber

Gym Gimmick:
The Shalour City gym is located in the tower of mastery. The gym leader has made no flashy changes or great adaptations to the tower's secret room however. Instead, Korrina has adapted her own battle style to suit the cramped, close quarters arena. The small room is akin to a cage fight and leaves little time for stalling or wavering once the battle begins. Expect a fast paced battle where you'll truly have to think on your feet.

Leader's Tactics:
Korrina leaves little time or room for error. While already restricting her opponent's time to think and rest, she pressures them even more with her high action, swashbuckling battle style.

Opting for all of her battles to be double battles, each battle against Korrina feels completely overwhelming. Her Yin & Yang approach means that one of her Lucario acts as an aggressor, while the other plays support. The first Lucario's Aura Sphere is the equivalent of a boxing jab, allowing it to control the pace and distance of the battle, while attacks like Bone Rush, Blaze Kick and Bullet Punch make use of that dominant position.

Even for when teamed up on or overwhelmed, Korrina's attacking Lucario is always backed up by her defensive partner. The defensive Lucario not only maintains communication with his attacking partner with their simultaneous use of Mind Reader on each other, but a healer with Heal Pulse and a distraction with Double Team and Follow Me. The interference of the secondary Lucario can really make the primary Lucario seem like an untouchable force.

This isnt the full extent of her strategy however. Korrina can also lead with her Hawlucha before and set up, before baton passing out to her attacking Lucario. Not to mention her potential mega evolution, which she reserves the right to utalise against exceptional opponents.

OPEN ? Mission 1:
It almost feels too soon for another gym battle after the long wait between Santalune and Cyllage, but the third gym battle is here. Korrina undoubtably brings a different challenge to Grant or Viola. This is where the real test begins.

Reward:

The Rumble Bagde + TM Power-Up Punch

? Mission 2:
Gurkinn, the mega evolution guru, is considering retirement. For the longest time he has been in search for the perfect candidate to be his successor. He feels time is catching up to him, and but passing on all the knowledge he has wont be so easy. The best way is to show someone exactly what he learned, but first that person must prove to have an aptitude for mega evolution themselves.

Reward: Mega Ring

Mission 1:
The bridge to the Tower of Matery has been blocked off as two warring groups of Pokemon do battle. These Sawk and Throh trainers are determined not to let anyone get by until one team defeats the other. Someone needs to convince them to break it up, or at least move it along, or we're going to be stuck here for a long time.

Reward: Blackbelt + Power Bracer, Band, Anklet and Belt

OPEN Mission 2:
For those that do manage to get to the Tower of Mastery, an even greater challenge than Korrina awaits upstairs. Simon the Aura Guardian now waits at the peak of the tower and is ready to share the secrets of mega evolution. He is well aware that Gurkinn is looking for a successor, but the old man is stingy with his information. He has watched many of the Aquacorde graduates progress on their journey, and thinks that they are finally ready to take the next step.

Reward: Mega Ring + Chosen Mega Stone

Mission 3:
Traversing Reflection Cave can be very taxing on the mind of anyone. The hospitals have been doing their best to maintain the patients that have been rushed into their care, but resources are quickly depleting. If only someone were able to defeat the vicious crabrawlers that are guarding the rare amana flowers that grow to the most western side of the city.

Reward: 5 Full Heals + Lucky Egg

OPEN Mission 4:
Being a gym leader cant be easy. The constant challenges, and the gruelling hours cant be good for a girl of Korrina's age. The young gym leader has watched on longingly, knowing that she's missed skating event after skating event and not been able to take part. She's taken things into her own hands. Korrina is looking to organise her own race that takes full advantage of the the hilly landscape of Shalour's residential areas. Of course, the winner isnt walking out empty handed.

Reward: 4000 Poke + Bright Powder + Power-Up Punch

OPEN Mission 5:
A charity fair is being held to help with the terror Team Cinder has brought to cities around Kalos. Many have travelled from around the region to enjoy the festivities held on Shalour pier. There are bands playing, exotic foods to taste, bumper cars and fair ground rides to enjoy. Maybe this is the perfect time to just relax.

Reward: Fair prizes (Be Creative)

Mission 6:
The contestantss of the Crater Contest are rather annoyed that they had to cancel their contest in Geosenge, especially since they all worked so hard on their new performances. They?ve decided to hold an impromptu beach contest in an attempt showcase their performances, and are inviting anyone who wants to show off to take part.

Reward: Official Kalos Contest Commitee Ribbon + TM Acrobatics

Mission 7
For generations the Rouge family has been held at high prestige due to their ability to charm and tame rare and powerful pokemon. Amelia Rouge is different. She's far more interested in her own romance. She has no interest in taming her Dratini, and the pokemon already hates her. Maybe if she can find someone to help relieve her of her responsibility, she can truly pursue her own goals rather than her restrictive tradition.

Reward: Dratini with 2 egg moves

Mission 8:
A rather sophisticated man in a wheelchair has found himself among a seriously shady bunch of characters. He seems to have gotten on their bad side somehow. A man impeded in the way that he is, doesnt stand a chance against these individuals, maybe he could do with some help.

Reward: TM Rain Dance + TM Sunny Day + TM Hail + TM Sandstorm

Mission 9:
Colress' search has led him to Shalour City. He was recently exploring the remnants of the ultimate weapon, but now has a fascination with the Tower of Mastery. His research has led to a truly revolutionary discovery, but testing his hypotheses wont be so easy. He'll need someone with a very powerful pokemon.

Reward: Custom Mega Stone

gimmepie · Nov 12, 2017

Kade Andrews

Growth

Kade wasn?t sure what he?d been expecting, but it hadn?t been to find Geosenge almost devoid of any sign of the event that occurred two years prior. The rocky depression in the town?s centre was now the only real reminder of Team Flare?s attack with the Ultimate Weapon. A permanent scar on a now rebuilt landscape. Perhaps if Geosenge had been a large city, they would still be working to remedy the carnage left by the assault. Geosenge had always been small though, so they had quickly rebuilt, the few remaining natives of the locale stubbornly refusing to leave the town behind. Stubbornness or not though, this was not the same town that Kade had spent much of his time in. Like Kade himself, Geosenge had changed after the Ultimate Weapon.

This meant that Kade found himself wandering the small place aimlessly, unsure of where to look. There was not a vestige of the place he once knew. A new set of houses filled the spots where his grandparents and their neighbours had lived. The damaged PokeCentre had been rebuilt and revamped, new boutique had opened and new townspeople filled the void left by those who had lost their lives. A slightly ominous air hung over the town with news of Team Cinder reaching the ears of its denizens regularly. They were resilient though and those that stayed wouldn?t leave for anything short of another Ultimate Weapon.

Just recently, this might have been unnerving or insulting to Kade - people invading sacred lands and building over everything that was lost. He was different now though, he?d faced his past and laid much of his trepidation at rest with his grandparents. His journey had made him stronger. Now to Kade, the rebuilt Geosenge was a sign of strength and longevity - a tribute to the people who had once lived there and not an attempt to forget.

?Right then.? Kade said to himself, feeling far more positive than he had expected he would upon arriving at the town. ?I?ve spent enough time wandering around doing nothing. I?m going to stop at the PokeMart and then it?s onwards.?

Spoiler: Kade's Inventory

Spoiler: Pokemon at Santuary

gimmepie · Nov 12, 2017

Kade Andrews

Without So Much as an Introduction

Reflection Cave was a sight to behold, from ceiling to floor many of the walls were covered entirely in reflective crystal, giving the cave system the feeling of walking through a mirror maze. Kade had come to a stop within, having released Cumulus so she could watch herself dancing in the mirrored surface. He?d remembered that dancers often practiced in front of long mirrors and figured his artistically-inclined Oricorio would enjoy a similar experience.

He?d been right in this assumption and was now reclining against a stalagmite watching as the bird twirled and flourished about in front of a mirrored wall, refining her movements carefully. It was an enjoyable and peaceful experience, watching Cumulus in her most natural state. He heard footsteps elsewhere, echoing through the caverns occasionally, but he?d moved off the beaten path slightly so as not to get in anyone?s way and wasn?t concerned. He was surprised then, when a set of footsteps suddenly started moving rapidly in his direction.

?Hey!? a voice yelled, causing Cumulus to freeze and Kade to jolt upright. A young man of a similar height was striding rapidly towards the pair. ?That?s mine!? he added, soon enough reaching where Kade was seated. Kade looked him over. He was slender with angular features and had carefully groomed and styled brown hair worn under a brown hat. For his attire he had donned brown three quarter length pants and a green hooded jumper. Around his neck hung a pendant. His clothing looked to be from more expensive makers, unlike Kade?s own. Kade was unsure what he could have in his possession that the new arrival could possibly have mistaken as his own.

?Sorry?? Kade said, looking at the man in green quizzically as he climbed to his feet. ?I?m not sure what you mean, but I really don?t think I have anything that belongs to you.?

?But you do!? he exclaimed, this time gesturing at Cumulus ?Right there.? Now Kade was very confused, he?d caught Cumulus with his Luxury Ball. It wasn?t possible that the Pokemon already belonged to someone else.

?That?s not possible. I caught Cumulus. If she was yours, that wouldn?t have been pos-? Kade stopped talking, Cumulus was glaring at the apparent trainer. Kade had never seen the rather docile Pokemon ever look at another living thing with such distaste. It seemed that she did indeed recognise him somehow.

?I don?t mean the bird. That?s my Spell Tag.? he explained, pointing more carefully at the tag hanging around her neck. ?She took it when I released her.? The gears in Kade?s head quickly fell into place then. He?d found Cumulus with a Spell Tag because she?d obtained it from a past trainer. That was also likely part of why she didn?t fit in well with the flock, it wasn?t really her flock.

?I see? but why would you release her?? Kade said, his Oricorio still glaring at her past owner.

?Don?t get me wrong.? he said ?I only did it because that was best for both of us. She was useless in battle and didn?t like to train, freaked out if the tiniest bit of dirt got on her and would even stop mid-battle to clean. I hated battling with her because of it and she hated battling, period. I let her go because it was in both our best interests and went to catch an Oricorio that was more useful.?

Kade wasn?t the type to easily dislike another person, but that comment made him wince. You couldn?t just throw away a Pokemon you?d caught like that. You had to at least try to find something that worked for you both first.

?You can keep the bird.? he continued ?I just want my Spell Tag back.? Kade was completely taken aback by this trainer, and for several minutes he wasn?t able to make himself respond. Then suddenly, the words just fell out of his mouth.

?I?ll battle you for it.? he found himself saying before he even realised ?Cumulus likes it, and you gave it to her to begin with, so let?s battle for it.? The other trainer was now the one to be taken by surprise, look incensed by the suggestion that he should have to win the tag he gave to Cumulus back.

?Alright fine, a one on one battle then.? he sighed, sounding quite put out ?Your Oricorio against mine. Winner keeps the Spell Tag.?

So it was then, that Kade found himself squaring off against the other trainer. Cumulus standing before him, looking unusually determined to battle and win. The other trainer reached for his Pokeball and tossed it forward, releasing his own Oricorio in a flash of light. This Oricorio looked different to Cumulus. It had black feathers with red stripes, a larger and wider tail and growths that looked like hooped earrings.

?Oh wow.? Kade said, stunned. This wasn?t an ordinary Oricorio he knew, it was what was called a ?Shiny? member of the species. An Oricorio with a rare colouration. His opponent sneered slightly.

?Like I said. Now let?s get into it, Flamenca, Aerial Ace!? The Baille Oricorio flew for Cumulus suddenly, Kade?s opponent launching into an aggressive assault.

?Dodge!? Kade instructed, Cumulus twirling to the side and letting the other bird soar past. The other trainer then called for a follow-up Steel Wing. Flamenca?s black wings glowed silvery as the whirled back and lashed out at Cumulus. The Sensu Oricorio hopped back, avoiding the second attack. ?Air Cutter, Cumulus!?

Cumulus gave a spin and flourished her wings, releasing a gust of cutting air towards her opponent. Flamenca simply broke through the attack with her still glowing wings though.

?See, when you don?t battle hard enough and train, you end up weak. This is on you, Cumulus - or whatever it is you?re called now. Swords Dance and then Steel Wing!? Flamenca began making sharp movements as a blue glow moved over her body. Suddenly however, Cumulus began making the same sort of movements as she radiated the same kind of light.

?Oricorio all have the same ability that copies moves like Swords Dance.? Kade said, surprised that anyone using an Oricorio could have forgotten that bit of information. He didn?t get much time to think on it though, as Flamenca was launching towards Cumulus again, swinging her shining wings wildly. Cumulus flipped over the top of the other birds head, avoiding damage. Kade took that as his chance.

?Air Cutter again!? Again Cumulus attacked with the slicing wing, this time hitting her opponent in the back. Flamenca was hurt, but the Baile Oricorio seemed stronger than Kades and was able to power through the attack.

?Swords Dance again!? its trainer yelled. Yet again, both bird were encased in glowing blue as their attack power grew. Then the onslaught began again as Cumulus found herself twirling and hopping around, avoiding attack after attack that would likely have finished her off then and there. Both Flamenca and her trainer were becoming visibly annoyed. Sure, Kade and Cumulus weren?t able to take their hits or dish out attacks with the same power - but they wouldn?t lose if Cumulus never took a hit.

Over and over, Flamenca lunged aggressively after Cumulus only for Kade?s Oricorio to nimbly dance just out of reach. It was true that Cumulus wasn?t a strong battler, but Kade was learning that her evasive skills were unparalleled and if her original trainer had stuck with her long enough, he?d likely have been able to put them to great use.

?Alright enough!? the other trainer suddenly yelled. ?I quit.?

?What?? Kade asked flatly, surprised by the sudden outburst.

?I hate battles like this. It?s just so freaking boring. You just dodge and dodge and nothing happens and I?ve had it. Keep the damn Spell Tag and learn how to battle for real.?

Kade watched in amazement as the other trainer returned his Oricorio, who looked equally shocked, turned and walked back through the cave leaving Kade and Cumulus feeling confused but victorious.

Spoiler: Kade's Inventory

Spoiler: Pokemon at Santuary

gimmepie · Nov 15, 2017

I'll fix this later. Accidentally copied over the old post.

Shak · Nov 24, 2017

-Drew Tucker

Red or the Blue Pill

Drew glanced back at the passage through which he left Reflection Cave. Just the thought of ever going back through that place made him shudder. He wouldn't soon forget the things the mirrors showed him. Alternate Drew…the big hero. He was effortlessly competent and everyone around him knew, though none more so than himself. He'd already charmed and Avril and even had Paige jealously crushing on him. Even his parents. Alternate Drew not only lived with his parents, his own success in defeating the pokemon league had allowed them to retire early. All at the age of fourteen. Meanwhile Drew was practically repudiated by his own parents. In fact, unlike Alternate Drew, he didn't have the attention of many if anyone at all. He especially didn't have the attention of those he wanted it from. He had to change that.

The hot sand jumped from beneath Drew as the boy flopped, face first into the beach. He glanced over at his starter, who was making a dissatisfied assessment on the current state of his body. Brycen had been like that since he evolved. It was relieving that he and the Quilladin could share that. They were both dissatisfied, and they both wanted to change things. He could tell from looking at his own stomach that things were definitely change albeit slowly. Even slow progress was progress. If anything could be credited for teaching him that, everything he had to put up with training Nebula would be the first thing that sprung to mind. The Eevee had taken him through hell and backwards as recently as Lumiose City, now here she was running along the beach beside him and Brycen. They'd come a long way together, even if they had to separate to realise how much they truly needed one another. She'd been so quick to protect him in Reflection Cave where they were confronted by that Druddigon. Even if she wasn't able to win without the help of Levi.

The rest of Drew's team certainly had their own part to play in the journey so far. Zephyr's constant positivity was a major factor in picking Drew back after the events of Glittering Cave. The resolute and ever calm Levi was sturdy enough to keep Drew in check should he ever try to give up, though he already had Brycen for that. His Horsea…well, he hadn't quite worked out what he was for. He'd settled on the nickname Sniper, but beyond that, the water type really didn't really gel so well with the group. Sniper had taken part in the run, skidding yards ahead of the rest of them across the water, but he seemed to enjoy the run more than he did participating in a team activity. It was something he'd have to work on.

What was next though? The Gym. Having beaten both Grant and Viola so easily Drew had grown a chip on his shoulder, and intended to cash that chip in by collecting yet another gym badge as soon as he entered Shalour City. As he arrived at Shalour bridge, he found himself interrupting what looked like some sort of altercation.

"It's always best to let the situation present itself before taking action, moron! How will you ever be able to defeat me if I can see everything you're about to do?" The triumphant man in the blue Gi bellowed to his opponent across the considerably intimate battlefield.

Usually, Drew wouldn't have bothered himself with such a trivial looking scenario, but this somehow struck a chord with him. Walking past the smaller man in the white Gi without doing anything made him feel uneasy. He was no hero, but he could do something here.

"Hey, what's this about?" Drew asked as he stepped between the two men. His defence of the grounded man didn't last long. He felt himself shoved out of the way as the white Gi shrugged past him and jumped to kick his opponent.

The man in the blue Gi smirked. He stepped aside, grabbing the kick and slamming his opponent into the ground. The slam was quickly countered by a quick with the man's other leg, forcing him to stagger back, almost off of the bridge.

"You don't understand. I never look back! You're always undefeated if you dismiss the pains of the past! You and your Throh aren't a challenge to a powerful pokemon like Sawk! Just like you aren't a real challenge to me!" The white Gi wearing competitor growled, following his monologue up with yet another attempt at a jump kick.m

"Wait, what? How can you learn from your losses if you just ignore them?" Drew grimaced at the strange perception the man took on wins and losses. Both men seemed content with their ideologies, but it still didn't explain why they were fighting. Why not just go their separate ways?

The fight stopped. Both men glanced back at the unsettled boy with matching confused expressions.

"Well that's simple." A familiar yet unfamiliar voice spoke up from behind Drew. The unfamiliarity of the voice was lost about as soon as Drew was able to match it with the face it came from. A very sophisticated man in a wheelchair rolled up beside Drew, looking both martial artists up and down.

"Mr.Marsden, right?" A perplexed Drew asked. "We met at Parfum Palace." He smiled, feeling slightly more at ease.

"That's correct. I'm surprised you remember me Mr.Tucker. I don't often make such an impression that I'm even so memorable." Victor mused, an uncharacteristic smile growing across his face. "I see you're heading to the Tower of Mastery. You're planning to learn more about Mega Evolution?" There was a moment of silence before Victor read Drew's befuddled expression. "You have the potential for such a thing."

A brief moment of silence took the bridge as the concept brushed through the mind of the boy. Honestly, it wasn't something Drew had really imagined. Him, with a mega pokemon? The thought was stifled by the scoffing of the man in the white gi.

"Ha! That's a joke, right? What does a cripple know about such a source of power? Besides, it aint like this boy even has the strength to fasten his belt, let own mega evolve a pokemon!" He chuckled, with the man in the blue gi doing the same.

"Mega evolution comes from inner strength. It's about strength of character, and isn't something to be compensated for with pure physical strength or constitution." Victor sighed. It couldn't be helped that these two men had long since became lost causes. They certainly weren't going to learn anything. Drew on the other hand. The wheelchair bound man turned his attention back to the boy. "Drew…I want to use your weakest pokemon here. Be creative."

Drew raised a brow. He wasn't really interested in a battle here, he wanted a gym battle. Maybe this was a chance to use Nebula though. They hadn't battled together since Lumiose; seeing how much she had grown would be useful. Then again, a battle against two fighting type trainers wasn't the smartest place to give the normal type a run out. The same went for Levi. The Aron had a lot of serious weaknesses, but fighting type was definitely one of the worst. If he was supposed to use his weakest, that wasn't going to be Brycen or Caesar so they were out of the question. Zephyr still wasn't ready for this level of opponent. His new Horsea? He didn't even have a name for it yet…It's nose looks kinda like a gun right? Sniper? Bazooka? No. He had it.

"Rotom!" Victor called forth his pokemon. In the time that Drew had been lost in thought, both fighter had called their own pokemon out. The white gi with a Sawk and the blue gi with a throh.

"Alright, Mustang, time for your debut!" Drew called out, taking great pride in his horse and gun inspired name. "Take the lead with Bubblebeam!"

"Throh." The red fighting type jumped forward, taking the attack for his companion.

"Rotom, cover fire." On Victor's word, the Rotom shot a beam of electricity toward the fighting duo, leaving them defenceless to the onslaught of bubbles from the now glowing blue seahorse.

In a single wash of battle, the two opponents were now expired on the ground, and Drew stood behind his victorious Seadra. He looked over to his teammate, but the man was gone, wheelchair and all.

Spoiler:

Shalour City - Bridge of Master​

gimmepie · Dec 7, 2017

Kade Andrews

Facing the Master - Part One

The next day, Kade found himself returning to the Tower of Mastery rested and prepared for what he expected was going to be an intense battle. Fresh off of a loss and Korrina's words still crystal clear in his mind, perhaps Kade should have been more apprehensive about undergoing the challenge. Instead though, he found he was growing more excited with every step. He was eager to see what kind of battle the bubbly gym leader provided. As such, it wasn't long before he was standing opposite her in the tucked away Sharlour Gym within the tower.

Now, standing in the gym, Kade realised he was actually at quite the disadvantage. He knew better than to assume a type advantage would make for an easy win, especially after he battled Viola. This was more problematic than he'd been expecting though. Although the battlefield itself was quite standard, not featuring any of the fancy alterations typical of gym leaders, it was much smaller and quite cramped. It was a field that greatly limited movement and favoured aggressive, close-quarters battle. Kade wondered if it had been constructed specifically to counteract Flying types.

"You have a problem there?" Korinna said, beaming at Kade from across the battlefield. Apparently she'd noticed him examining the arena.

"I'd be lying if I said that the size of your field wasn't going to be problematic for me." Kade replied "I'll make do though. That's the point, right?"

"Well said!" the gym leader responded "I like it when my opponents have some spunk." Kade looked quizzically at Korrina. Spunk was not a word often used to describe Kade. "The surprised keep coming then! This will be a double battle. We each get the use of three Pokemon, with two being on the field at the same time. Now let's stop talking and start battling!"

The referee standing between them scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, apparently not used to Korrina's tendency to do her job for her yet. She took a deep breath and signalled for the battle to commence. Korrina moved like lightning, tossing a pair of Pokeballs onto the field as soon as her referee stopped speaking. There was a flash, and then before her stood a Hawlucha and Lucario. Kade didn't take long to choose his own Pokemon in response. He released Stratus and Contrail from their balls, contrail crying out his challenge and flaring his wings.

"Well he's spirited!" Korrina chirped enthusiastically. Kade had to grin at that.

"You have no idea."

"I guess it's time to find out then!" Korrina said, suddenly seeming much more serious. "Hawlucha, Swords Dance!" Instantly, with a sharp, flourishing movement, a red energy emanated from the Hawlucha. "Lucario, Aura Sphere!"

Kade snapped to attention, he'd been too focused on the Hawlucha. Korrina's Lucario leapt up, a glowing blue sphere forming between its hands. It let loose with the attack. Kade's birds, scattered, the attack hitting the ground between them and sending up a cloud of dust.

"Both of you, Quick Attack on the Hawlucha!" Kade instructed, hoping to outspeed and overwhelm the more fragile of Korrina's two Pokemon. Stratus and Contrail, rocketed towards the Hawlucha from opposite sides of the arena, but Korrina was having none of that.

"Quick Guard!" The Lucario moved between the birds and raised its arms, a wall of green light instantly appearing. Kade's Pokemon tried to pull up but they were moving too quick, colliding with the wall. "Hawlucha, Aerial Ace on the Fletchinder!"

The Hawlucha, leapt up and back, pressing its feet into the wall behind it. Then, it shot forwards, springboarding of the wall to launch an Aerial Ace. It hit Contrail hard, knocking the already stunned bird through the air. This left the Hawlucha open though.

"Stratus, Wing Attack!" Stratus' wings glowed with white light as she flew after the Hawlucha.

"Lucario!" Korrina yelled, the blue and black Pokemon responding instantly. It launched an Aura Sphere in the direction of the Hawlucha.

"Spin!" Kade instructed as Stratus was just about to reach the Hawlucha. The Staravia barrel-rolled with her glowing wings wide, catching the Aura Sphere from underneath and taking it with her momentum, slamming it down onto the Hawlucha.

"Baton Bass!" Korinna cried out, the Hawlucha disappearing in a sphere of light just before it hit the ground. Then, in a second flash, a second Lucario appeared on the floor, its power increased by the Hawlucha's earlier Swords Dance. "Try this out for size." Korinna laughed.

"Alright." Kade said, sizing up his situation. "Contrail, Ember!" Contrail flew back up high and flapped his wings hard, shooting a flurry of glowing embers forth and scattering it towards the enemy Lucario.

"You think you're the first to try Fire here?" Korinna said defiantly "Defend against it with Bone Rush!" she instructed. The newer Lucario rushed to the forefront a glowing bone staff forming in its hands. It spun the weapon rapidly, using it to deflect the incoming flames. Kade grinned.

"Stratus, Aerial Ace!" Immediately Stratus came in from the side, taking advantage of the Ember distraction. She shot straight past the first Lucario, insteading striking the second one and sending it flying into the wall of the battlefield.

"Bullet Punch!" Korinna yelled out in response, the second Lucario's staff disappearing as it whirled on the spot and delivered a punch so fast Kade could barely see it to Stratus' back. Stratus was launched towards the Lucario she'd just temporarily downed by the attack, drawing Kade's focus.

"Double-Edge!" he instinctively called. A bright orange light erupted into being around the Staravia as she used the momentum provided by the impact from behind to power her forward like a bullet from a pistol. She smashed into the first Lucario, the Aura Pokemon having just climbed back to its feet now getting slammed even harder back into the wall by the powerful attack. Despite being resistant to the attack, the Lucario was shaking as it tried to fight back to its feet. Stratus was also injured from the attacks she'd taken as well as the recoil inflicted by her own attack. She flapped back weakly, trying to regain her strength.

"Aura Spheres!" Korinna instructed, Kade noting the plural. Both Lucario took aim and shot the brightly glowing blue orbs towards Stratus. The attacks struck her a second later with a loud bang and a resounding flash. She dropped to the ground, not fainted yet but now seriously struggling. Just as the pair of Lucario made to attack again, a loud cry echoed through the room. Contrail shot forward, a torrent of flame forming around his body as he launched towards the Baton Passed Lucario, he demanded to be recognised a threat and he was going to make sure that demand was met. The Lucario whirled, just in time to take a surprise Flame Charge to the face. It took the hit hard, flying back over the top of Stratus and colliding with its partner. Both Lucario very slowly stood up, but the first to battle was the worst off - barely hanging on.

"Heal Pulse!" Korinna gave the order, the more injured of the two released a pale ray of green light over the second Lucario, it slowly gaining more health. Kade took his chance. He doubted it could guard and use Heal Pulse at once.

"Both of you, Quick Attack on the Support Lucario!" Both of Kade's birds were suddenly blurs as they flew like spears towards the Heal pulse Lucario. In a split second, they both hit their target and the Lucario dropped like a dead weight. The other one had recovered a lot of health though and with powerful Blaze Kick knocked both Stratus and Contrail back several feet. Kade surveyed the battlefield as Korinna recalled the downed Lucario and sent her Hawlucha back out to battle. Contrail had taken fewer hits than Stratus, and none that were super-effective, but he was still hurting. Stratus though, she was barely hanging on. That meant he could now properly unleash her Endeavour, but she couldn't afford to be taking hits. He had to deal with the Hawlucha fast.

"Stratus, Double Team. Contrail, Roost!" Kade called, springing into action. Contrail landed and began to glow with a healing white light as the cramped battlefield was suddenly full of illusory clones of Stratus.

"That won't work against Lucario!" Korinna said cockily, he can sense the real one's Aura. Find that Staravia!" The Lucario closed his eyes and darted into the fray, simply rushing through the fake Staravia. "Hawlucha, use Flying Press on his Fletchinder while it doesn't have its Flying type." The Hawlucha leapt high into the air, spreading its wings wide as a pale red light shone around it and it soared towards the resting Contrail."

"Got you." Kade said, triumphantly. "Contrail, Flame Charge left! Stratus, Endeavour!" Korinna's Lucario was just forming an Aura Sphere, having located and focused in on Stratus. It never got to fire it though, as Contrail blitzed towards it, enshrouded by crackling flames. The Lucario saw the attack coming but was too slow, turning just in time to once again be struck by the blazing bird and catapulted into the wall for a second time. As this happened, while her Hawlucha tried to right itself, Stratus shot towards it, shining with a radiant pink light and struck it hard with a devastating Endeavour. The Hawlucha dropped to the ground, suddenly weakened to the same extent as Stratus. "Aerial Ace!" Kade gave the order for the finishing shot. Stratus streaked towards the struggling Hawlucha and hit it, knocking it out instantly, although barely keeping aloft herself. Korinna recalled it with a word of thanks, now down to her final Pokemon.

"Well that was impressive!" Korinna said, her bright smile not faultering despite her being down two against a full team. "I've made up my mind. You're in for it now. Lucario!" Suddenly, her Lucario was awash with brilliant prismatic light. It was now that Kade saw the jewel this one wore and realised he was about to take one hell of a beating. Before his eyes, the Lucario's form changed. It grew slightly bigger, its sensory organs grow and billowed and red fur grew in places and its spikes sharpened. With a sudden pulse of light, the transformation was over and the first Mega Evolved Pokemon he'd ever seen was before him. "Aura Sphere!"

The Mega Lucario formed a pair of large Aura Spheres with ease and shot them towards Kade's stunned avians. There was an explosion of blue light as dirt and shrapnel from the battlefield were blasted across the arena. In that one sudden attack, both Stratus and Contrail had been completely floored.

"Well done, guys!" Kade said, "You did an amazing job, now just leave the rest to your teammate." He returned both birds as Korinna kept grinning.

"We're both down to our last Pokemon now." she said "But, I think I have the edge. Let's see what you've got. I want to know how long you can last."

"I guess you're about to find out then." Kade reached for his flight ball.

Spoiler: Kade's Inventory

Spoiler: Pokemon at Santuary

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

That Dream...Make it Come True!

Route 10

End

Magical Senpai and god of the closet.

That Dream...Make it Come True!

Believe in the you that believes in cheese

Flashback: Race Rendezvous.

That Dream...Make it Come True!

Geosenge Town

End

Believe in the you that believes in cheese

The Second Precipice: Cyllage City

Magical Senpai and god of the closet.

That Dream...Make it Come True!

Magical Senpai and god of the closet.

That Dream...Make it Come True!

Glittering Cave

End

Growth

Without So Much as an Introduction

Facing the Master - Part One