Divine (PG-13)

[OkikuMew]

Alana Bryant
Pinwheel Forest


Man, Pinwheel seems to go on forever... And that we've been walking forever, too. Maybe we're going around in circles? I don't think so, I made sure to make marks here and there a-la Hansel and Gretel so we don't go around the same spot... and be able to get out of there after we're done here. At least we didn't run into anything bad on the way, again... and yet... It's getting boring. A lil' less walkin' and a lil' more action please?

"Stri!" Speedzy abruptly freezes for a second, then dashes off in front of me!

"Wha-w-wait! Where are you going!?" I blurted out in surprise.

Heh, careful what you wish for, I guess. I run after him, although I'm pretty sure I can't catch up... He slaloms between trees and bushes, jumps over fallen trunks, slides under low branches... Luckily he's going at a reasonable pace, enough that I can follow him well despite all those obstacles. He sure look like he's having fun in this! I have to admit I am too, it's been so long I have gotten into an intense "race" like this... Uh oh, I kinda lost sight of Speedzy. I last saw him going though that really thick woods there... better check it out. I go though it and sure enough, he was standing there, looking around at the scenery... a dark but beautiful field. Very few sun rays shines through the tree branches, just enough to be able to see. A light breeze gently blowing into a dance the grass, the small white flowers and the few strands of hair free from my ponytail band. A sweet aroma of honey floats in the air.

"Wow, I don't know what was the hurry to come here," I said as put down my backpack then lie down on my back on the lush grass, "but you sure know where to take your breaks!"

Speedzy just stood there though, staring into nothingness towards the center of the field... He always hops around and answering me back to whatever I say like a 2-year-old on a sugar rush. But now, he just stand there, without letting out a single neigh, motionless, like a statue. Something's not right... I quickly launch my body forward and throw myself back on my feet, and looked straight in the same direction as my Zebstrika. Nothing there but grass, flowers, bushes, and trees.

"Er, whatcha lookin' at?" I wispered. "There's nothin' th-"

All suddenly right in front of us, one tree after another start shaking. No, not strong wind blowing through them - *really* shaking! A Whirlipede busts out of the woods. It looks badly injured, with tons of bruises and cuts like he's been fighting all day, poor thing... It tries to roll back into the forest, but a swift, green flash from the trees' shadows slashes towards it. It makes a sharp turn to the left behind a tree, barely dodging the mysterious attack by only scraping its hard shell... cleanly cut the tree he hid behind in half... and now it's falling towards us! Before I had time to gasp at the power behind the thing that cut the tree in the first place, I let out a quick shout and jumped out of the way as fast as I could. The tree hits the ground... and I'm not hit, for the exception of a few branches, scratching me here and there. That was close. I slowly get myself up. I hear that bug still fighting whatever it was against. ...Wait, where's Speedzy?

"Speedzy!?"

"Zeeeeeebstrika!" I overhear from the other side of the trunk.

Whew! He seems to be fine. His tone sounds somewhat happy, so I guess he's just as fine as me; shaken but not stirred. I turn my head towards the slashing and whelping sounds... And I see it. Ready to continue fighting, a four-legged, light green pokémon with what looks like boots as hooves, wing-like leaves on the sides of its body, two pink leaves sticking out of its neck, curvy horizontal horns and deep, sharp, dark pink eyes, runs mercilessly after the wild pokémon. Virizion. Even in such a tense battle (actually, more of a extreme game of tag where Virizon's always it), it looks just like those fairy tales I was read to in kindergarden. I never thought or even dreamed I would meet it. Wait, dream? That dream I had this morning, it was about a Whirlpede... could it be? Before I could continue my thoughts, a loud squeal pops the bubble I was in. In the direction of the screech, there's that bug pokémon, completely knocked out... or I should say barely alive, close from being shishkabob-ed.

"Stri... Stri... Stri..." I heard behind me, following by the sound of something rubbing on the ground after every pant.

I turned around and see Speedzy pulling my bag towards me. Wow, never thought he have the strength to pull this thing!

"Hey, thanks buddy", I gently scratch his neck.

"Zebstrrrrika", he smiles.

A melodious, powerful cry echoes through the field. I look straight in front of me, and about 10-15 feet away, Virizion proudly stands, her leaves waving in the wind, and glaring deeply through my eyes and into my soul. A chill goes down through my spine, yet I get this somewhat serene, focused feeling. It's hard to explain, really. I stare back to her, trying to show I'm not afraid of her. Her horns starts to glow in a silver color, then she swings her head forward, letting out a blade-shaped beam going what seems to be in my direction! I jump to the right, but I realize the beam would have went right beside me to my left anyways. Wow, sucky aim for a legendary.

"STRIIIIIIIIIIII!"

Oh God, NO! She wasn't aiming at me, she was aiming for Speedzy, of all people! I saw him by the corner of my eye getting hit right on the side of his body, so hard he lost grip of my backpack and flew into a tree, leaving a smashed mark on the bark, and landed abruptly on the ground. And not to mention, a horrible, horrible cut on my Zebstrika's coat!

"SPEEDZY!" I screamed in tears.

On the way towards him I quickly grab a bottle of cold water and the first aid metallic box (I always let it in a easy access pocket of my bag). but Virizion gracefully jumps between us, letting out a growl and giving a menacing look to me.

The fate of Speedzy's mother flashes into my mind. The fatal wounds, the Purrloins, the egg, the chaos. My hands lets loose of the bottle and box by just from seeing the horror, again.

I won't let this happen again. No one stands in the way between me and those who needs help. NO ONE.

"Get out of my way, you... HEARTLESS BULLY! You're not getting away with this!"

I run towards Virizion as fast as I could and backed up my fist, ready to punch her the hardest that I could.

She needs to pay... She will pay...

 

[Ysavvryl]

Nuvema Town

Bianca considered the request, but the other conversation distracted her some too. “Huh, Black City’s going to be crowded,” she said. “I’d rather stay here. But anyhow, I suppose you can see the maps we have. They’re in the other room. Come on in.” She held the door open and let Cynthia inside.

The assistant led her back to a small lab area, in particular a large monitor to the side. Bianca brought up a map of the area on the screen, and after shifting through several migratory patterns of various species, brought up the Pidove one. Through different colors and labels, there seemed to be three general routes. Two hit Nuvema or nearby, while the third stuck to the eastern Unova. Of the other two, one went through Pinwheel to Anville, and the other went through Entralink to Opulucid and further north.

“Actually, those two have some anomalies, which shows that the individuals can have quirks,” Bianca said. “They’re usually with the central group, but the black and white ones, and a few others, nest near Iccirrus outside of winter. And while many of them stay in the northern area in summer, these two have been spotted regularly around here. So they have some personal reason to be here, as other Pokémon have been noticed to do.” She paused again, putting her hand to her chin.

In that pause, they could hear two people coming from another room. “It doesn’t surprise me that Tao would be able do that,” an older woman said. “I don’t think he’s had a formal education, as his early reports lacked proper form, but his observations are insightful and he seems to be a natural at interacting with Pokémon.”

“I would agree if it were one or two,” a young man said, “but this is bigger than that.” He stopped as the two of them came into the entryway, where they could see Bianca and Cynthia.

“Oh, hello there,” Bianca said. “This is Cynthia and Nekao; they wanted to know about the black and white Pidoves and I was showing them the map. This is Professor Juniper, and, um… sorry.”

The red-haired young man shrugged. “Kestrel,” he said in introduction. He seemed like a traveler, with a large shoulder bag and a straw hat at his side. More curiously, he wore a chain around his neck that had two dog tags and a yin-yang pendant.

Professor Juniper soon came forward and shook hands with the new visitor. “Oh, good to meet a curious person. Have you seen them? It’s unusual to have that kind of color difference show up in a population, but due to current laws, we can’t do much more than observe.” She glanced at the map. “The main routes are generalities here; the flocks usually keep a core few members and take in a few outsiders on occasion. Was there anything in particular you wanted to know?”

 

[TheSequelReturns]

~ Alice Rockwell ~
- Chargestone Cave -

"Just how big is this place!" Alice shouted to the darkness.

A few Joltik scurried away, but otherwise she didn't get an answer. Just how long had she been in this cave? It felt like weeks, but in all likelihood it probably hadn't even been a day. It was so hard to tell without the sky.

She let out a yawn. Well, that was one way of finding out. It must really be getting late.

"What do you say we take a break." Alice took a seat on a nearby rock, and Rune hoped up beside her like always. His head drooped a bit, but he caught himself. "Oh, you look tired too. I'm sorry, I really should have purchased a map or something."

She dung through her now dusty bag. "Well, at least we still have this." She pulled out an energy bar. It was chocolate and Kelpsey berry, a sweet and salty mix. As soon as the wrapper came off, the sweet scent of the snack filled the otherwise scentless cave air.

Rune looked at the bar for a moment before looking longingly at the bag. "We're all out of juice I'm afraid. You drank the last one during our last break."

Rune looked dejected. He did love his juice after all. He rarely even ate solid food anymore. Alice looked down at him, a frown tugging at her lips. "Come now, it'll be alright. As soon as- AH!"

A small pain sprang up from her hand as a yellow blur landed on her lap. A Joltik, energy bar secured in its mandibles, stared back up at her before jumping off. Or attempting to at any rate. As soon as it tried to jump, Alice jumped to her feet. The result was that the Joltik flung himself into a nearby rock, headfirst. What was left of the energy bar crumbled as it hit, and the Joltik itself was left wriggling on its back.

Rune jumped to his feet as Alice took a look at her hand. A small line of blood dripped from her palm, where the Joltik had cut it with its sharp mandibles as if snatched the bar from her hand. Her eyes turned back to the Joltik. The little bug was obviously in pain, but...

It hurt you.

Oh no. Not now. Alice put a hand to her head as The Voice started again.

It caused you pain. It stole your food.

Her head hurt. The Voice always did that.

Finish it. Teach it what happens when it crosses those stronger than it.

"No." Alice called. "Just stop. Please."

Why do you hesitate? It is weak. Inferior. It has no right to take what is yours.

"Stop it. Stop it now! I won't hurt it!"

Kill it. Kill it now.

"NO!" Alice screamed. She grabbed the Joltik in her arms, ignoring its protests, and ran. She didn't know where she was going, she wasn't even looking. She had to get away. She had to get away from that voice. If she just ran, if she just stopped thinking, she could shut it out. She could-

Her foot caught on a rock, and she was sent tumbling to the ground. She held the Joltik safely in her arms, shielding it from the fall. "I won't hurt it." she said to herself. "I won't. I'll protect it if I have to."

The Joltik stopped squirming. Eventually, Alice got up. She wiped the drying tears from her eyes and looked down at where the Joltik rested on the ground. It was staring back up at her with a look of curiosity, as if it had no idea what to make of her. She didn't blame it.

"Are... are you okay." Alice asked it, still drying her eyes.

The Joltik tilted its head and continued staring.

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to grab you like that. I panicked... I guess." she said. "But its okay. I'm okay now. So... are you okay too? Are you hungry?"

The Joltik stared a little longer, before nodding once.

Alice smiled, but her expression fell and she suddenly looked depressed again. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any more food. All that's left in my bag is..." Alice stopped, suddenly realizing that she had left her bag behind. And something else.

She turned around. "Rune! Rune! Where are you?"

A warm pleasant feeling came into her mind and Rune came around the corner, pulling her bag along behind him.

She ran up to the little Elgyem and took him up into her arms, swinging around. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to run off like that and leave you."

Rune sent her another sunny feeling and and Alice sat him back on the ground, finally smiling again. She lifted her bag and turned around to see the Joltik standing close by, staring at Rune.

Rune walked up to it and flashed the lights on his hand. The Joltik lit up in sparks and made some clicking noises. Rune nodded and spun around on one foot. The Joltik nodded and chattered some more. Rune patted the Joltik on the head and did a little dance. The Joltik jumped happily and gave off some more sparks before following Rune over to Alice.

Alice smiled at the exchange, realizing that she had just witnessed a conversation in the two Pokemon's native language. She wished that she could have understood what they were saying, but she thought she had an idea as to how it went. "Rune... is the Joltik... is it wanting to come with us?"

Rune nodded and flashed his lights again. The Joltik nodded as well.

Alice's face lit up. A new partner! She had just made a new partner! She knelt down beside the Joltik. "Do you want to be my friend?"

The Joltik nodded.

Alice held out her hand, showing the special ring to the Joltik. Gently, she touched the ring to the Joltik, and the ring lit up with light for a moment registering it as a part of her team.

The Joltik seemed a bit confused by the ordeal, but Rune told it something else and the Joltik nodded, apparently understanding Rune's explanation. Alice once again felt left out, as though she was being excluded on some kind of secret.

"I think I'll call you... Cecil. Yes. Your name shall be Cecil. Is that okay?"

The Joltik nodded, and thus became known by a name.

"Okay Cecil. I hope you don't mind, but I have to do this." She picked up Cecil in her arms and swung around with him, laughing a little, before setting him down. Cecil hopped up and down happily, and Alice felt like her heart would burst from sheer happiness.

Cecil chattered something to Rune and Rune said something back before turning to Alice, sending her an excited feeling.

Cecil began to scurry off into the cave, before looking back and motioning to the others. rune began to follow and motioned as well. "Are you going to lead us out of here?" Alice asked. Cecil nodded. Alice actually hopped up and down. "Oh Cecil, thank you. When we get out of here, I'm going to buy you a huge snack. The biggest snack ever!"

Alice followed after Cecil and Rune, headed for the exit for the cave.

-----------------------------------

- Route 6 -

Alice ran out of the exit to the cave with a huge smile on her face. She twirled around, the white frills of her skirt spinning along gracefully and she giggled with joy.

But it was already late. Stars dotted the sky and the moon shone brightly down.

Alice yawned again, as soon as she stopped giggling.

"I think... that snack... will have... to wait... until morn... morning."

She said, as her exhaustion finally hit her. She picked a good spot off to the side of the cave and fell back, laying her head on her bag as she looked up at the stars. "Rune, Cecil, find a nice spot out of sight... to rest... just in case..." she said.

And with that, she fell asleep. Maybe tomorrow, she would finally make some progress on her journey...

 

[mattman324]

Sequel, I'm relocating you slightly away from the cave into the trees.

---------------------------------------


Matthew Greyson
Route 6 (there are plusle here. just saying.)

Matt had been wandering for most of the day, and a bit of the night, but had somehow reached Chargestone Cave without any interference. He was decidedly thankful for this, but was fairly certain that it was for two reasons. One was that he had Ema Skye on his side, and her high powered Acrobatics, Electro Balls, and Pursuits had stopped anything from messing with Matt or Meloetta. And if someone messed with HER, she had Double Team to avoid the attacks.

The other, oddly enough, was Meloetta. He realised that her loss of voice early on had given her multiple problems, both mentally and physically. But, being a psychic type, her sorrow was automatically felt to some extent by everything around her. Ema Skye was cheerful enough not to have any ill effects. Matt was already effected enough by sorrow and bitterness throughout his life so as to know how to get over it. But wild pokemon would not want to attack if they feel SAD for the being they are attacking.

Matthew realised he had been looking at Meloetta while brooding, and quickly looked away. His eyes followed Ema Skye, now in the air flying this way and that like a deranged hummingbird.

He smiled. "Ema, get down here now! We're at the cave." Ema quickly looked down, and attempted to hug Matt again, at which point Matt held out his arm. And she flew over it.

WHUMPH!

-30 seconds later-

"...ok, that still hurts." Ema Skye, who was perched on his head yet again, was grinning madly at Matt. "You should stop this, Ema. These constant head smashes are going to hurt one of us one of these days. Likely me."

Suddenly, Meloetta looked over into the woods. Matt, realising this, looked over as well, but not being a psychic deity, could not see into the woods. "What's wrong?" Meloetta only pointed. Matt shrugged, and walked in.

And caught sight of another human.

Diving behing a tree, Ema still perched onto his head, Matt decided to take another look. He looked between the convieniently located bushes, and saw a girl, with her bag as a pillow, sleeping at the side of a cave. A decent distance away, inside the woods more, but still close enough to make one notice, was an Elgyem and a Joltik, sitting there. The Joltik was obviously asleep, but the Elgyem... well, Matt didn't even know if those things slept.

"Well, looks like she got out of the cave... Ok, Ema Skye, Meloetta. I'm not going to aproach a girl in the night while she is sleeping. EXPECIALLY a girl who has twice the amount of pokemon as I do. So, we wait here. Ok?" Meloetta, who probably thought of the same thing, nodded. Ema, however, wouldn't take that, oh no.

With a large jump, and a scream of "EMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" that most likely woke up all Route 6 AND Chargestone Cave, rushed at the girl, the chosen of Kyurem...

 

[Aura Wolfe]

Cynthia Lawson, Nuvema Town

Bianca had clearly been listeningn to the conversation the others had been having, for she said, “Huh, Black City’s going to be crowded. I’d rather stay here. But anyhow, I suppose you can see the maps we have. They’re in the other room. Come on in.”

Cynthia and Nekao followed Bianca inside, and the blonde hair assistant walked up to a large computer screen, sifting through the various maps for different species. Cynthia caught a glance ofo the one for the Pokemon Zoura. According to the map, they mainly appeared around Lostlorn forest. She glanced at Nekao, wondering why he'd been where she'd met him then. After a moment, they reached the one with Pidoves. From what she could see, there were three main pathways. One of them was along the eastern side of Unova, but two of them came close to Nuvema, one heading towards the Entralink and Opeluid, the other went through Pinwheel Forest all the way to Anville Town.

“Actually, those two have some anomalies, which shows that the individuals can have quirks,” Bianca said. “They’re usually with the central group, but the black and white ones, and a few others, nest near Iccirrus outside of winter. And while many of them stay in the northern area in summer, these two have been spotted regularly around here. So they have some personal reason to be here, as other Pokémon have been noticed to do.” She put her hand to her chin, appearing to be deep in thought. Cynthia pulled out a notebook, and drew a quick map of Unova, marking down the Pidove's migration paths on it.

In the silence, Cynthia heard two voices talking, slowly getting louder as they got closer. “It doesn’t surprise me that Tao would be able do that,” an older, but female voice said. “I don’t think he’s had a formal education, as his early reports lacked proper form, but his observations are insightful and he seems to be a natural at interacting with Pokémon.”

“I would agree if it were one or two,” a deep voice said, “but this is bigger than that.” A young man, slightly taller than Cynthia with bright red hair stopped speaking. He looked like he travelled a lot, with his large shoulder bag and a straw hat. Around his neck was a pair of dog tags and a yin yang pendant. The other was an older woman wearing a lab coat and green clothes. She wore her light brown hair up, but Cynthia wondered if it was dyed or not.

“Oh, hello there,” Bianca said. “This is Cynthia and Nekao; they wanted to know about the black and white Pidoves and I was showing them the map. This is Professor Juniper, and, um… sorry.”

The young man shrugged, introducing himself as Kestrel. Professor Juniper seemed to be happy to have a visitor, for she walked up to Cynthia and shook her hand. “Oh, good to meet a curious person. Have you seen them? It’s unusual to have that kind of color difference show up in a population, but due to current laws, we can’t do much more than observe.” She glanced at the map. “The main routes are generalities here; the flocks usually keep a core few members and take in a few outsiders on occasion. Was there anything in particular you wanted to know?”

Cynthia couldn't help but smile. She seemed like a bit of a motherly figure to her, and she wouldn't have minded to tell her everything about Tao and Zekrom and N, but caution told her not to, depsite the fact that she and Kesterl were talking about Tao just moments ago.

"Yes, I just glimsped them once at the Marvelous Bridge and I'd really like to see them again. They seem so different, so..." She shrugged. "It's just curiousity really, I don't want to get in trouble for it or anything like that. "And no, I think Bianca's shown me all the information I need right now. I really just want to be able to track them down, and observe them for myself." Cynthia paused for a moment, glancing at Nekao. He looked bored, but he would have to deal. "Just another quick question, is there any quirks you've noticed about the two Pidoves?"

 

[Ysavvryl]

Kestrel
Nuvema Town, Juniper Pokemon Lab

Juniper nodded. “Sure, I understand. As for quirks, they don’t fight as much as other Pokémon, only if specifically provoked. And if you want to find one, try the graveyard east of town. I think one of them is around still.” She looked to her other guest. “You were going to head there yourself, weren’t you Kestrel?”

He nodded. “If that’s all you want to ask me. Thanks for your information.”

She patted his shoulder. “No, thank you; you’ve answered some questions I’ve been wondering about. Good luck with your work.”

After saying goodbye to the Professor, Kestrel asked if Cynthia wanted to go to the graveyard with him. If anything, another pair of eyes would be useful in spotting any grunts from Plasma. But he was working on his own research there.

On leaving the building, Kestrel put his hat back on, then headed southeast to the graveyard entrance. It seemed to be an old feature of the town, surrounded by a black metal fence with a weathered stone archway at the entrance. It wasn’t a large cemetery; there was a charnel house in the northeast corner and the gravestones had a mix of old and new. From the records, it seemed that it was mostly people important to the community who were buried here.

Kestrel thought over the directions he’d been given, then went towards the center. It should be the fifth row… sixth one across. The grounds were taken care of, although the grass was currently reaching over his shoes. Not enough for Pokémon to be drawn to. Besides, most graveyard Pokémon tended to be the kind that came out at night.

Then he found it: an orange-brown granite gravestone, a simple arch with a Pokeball decoration carved onto the top. Normally, that was a marker design reserved for a Master Trainer, one who had won a major competition or had become a regional Champion. The inscription was regrettably defaced, reading, ‘Here lies #####/One who awoke a Legend/May her kind heart never be forgotten’. The time of death was marked as the summer of ten years ago, but without a specific date.

How could they? Kestrel felt an inner fury on seeing this. He traced the hacked out name; the original letters could be recognized that way. “It is unforgivable that they would do this,” he muttered. “So here’s where you ended up, Hilda.” Even with the unfortunate defacing, he pulled his camera out of his bag to get pictures for his records.

Over on the south edge of the graveyard, a single Pidove emerged from the trees and landed on the metal fence. She had feathers as white as snow and eyes the color of a midday sky. She seemed to be looking over the graveyard, to check out what was going on.

 

[TheSequelReturns]

~ Alice Rockwell ~
- Route 6 -

"EMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" something screamed.

Alice sat up, rather sleepily, still not fully awake, and by some small miracle caught the Emolga right in her hands. Her hands grasped the small furry creature and she stared sleepily at it. It stared back. And Alice's eyes snapped open as she realized what it was she was holding.

"Eaaahh!" she shirked and tossed the Emolga into the air in her surprise as she fell back onto her back, tripping over herself as she tried to get up. Alice sat back up, rather embarrassed now, and brushed some stray leaves out of her hair. Rune came over quickly, clearly on the defensive, and Alice got a feeling of determination from the little Elgyem. Cecil muddled over calmly, looking more bemused than anything.

It was then that Alice caught sight of the boy standing there. He looked like a nice enough guy, and his expression seemed to be one of worry. He was with a pokemon that Alice had never seen before though, and though she was curious about the elegant looking pokemon, she was more concerned with its owner at the moment.

She took a brief moment to straighten out her hair, and smooth the wrinkles from her dress, keeping an eye on the boy, before turning towards him and standing up even as she still rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Wh- Who are you?" she asked.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me, let me start over."

"My name is Alice, this here is Rune," she pointed to the Elgyem, "and Cecil." she pointed to the Joltik. "May I ask your name?"

 

[OkikuMew]

Alana Bryant
Rumination Field, Pinwheel Forest


I swing my fist right at Virizion, with everything I got. She easily moves beside it, simply leaping to the left. From here on now, I feel my adrenaline running through my veins. Virizion seems to try to attack Speedzy again, summoning a green blade with the edge to his direction.

"Oh no you DON'T!" I yell.

I quickly tackle her, making her lose her balance just enough to lose her focus on her attack and the magical blade hit a nearby rock with a loud, metallic clang. She's still on her four legs though. This time, her sight are towards me. She menacingly brushes the ground with one of her hooves.

"Finally learned to pick someone on your own size?" I gaze right back at her. "Come at me then!"

Virizion starts jumping high and stomping on the ground in place, like she's doing some kind of weird dance or something. Multiple translucid swords appears around her, spins, then quickly disappears. I take this chance of Virizion not attacking to use my slight kick-boxing skills, thanks to my job: I run up to her and readying a punch again, but this time I won't use my whole strength so I can react more quickly to her and deliver a second surprise punch. And all goes kind of just as planned: my first punch misses as she runs to the right, but she is hit by my second one, in her neck. Her startled look and her small yelp was priceless. She halts her movement and shakes her head slightly.

Perfect time.

I quickly rotate my torso around towards her, giving to my next punch more power. But before I could deliver it, Virizion becomes a complete blur and hits one of her thorns right into my stomach. I scream into agony, and my body collapses in the grass. I don't seem to bleed, but agh, the pain... I never was hurt that much before, even from falling from a tree. I... I can't get up because of it. It's like the pain goes all through me, paralyzing me. ...I still have to get up. I have to for Speedzy. I have to for this bloody corrupted world, afraid to stand up against those who wants to separate them from their loved ones...Tightly holding my stomach with one arm and grunting loudly at every movement I do, I slowly stand back up. I pierce Virizion's eyes again.

"I'm surprised you haven't finished me," I breathe heavily. "Go on, I'm not done yet."

She dashes right next to me, her thorns glowing silver. She throws several beams to me. I move out of the way as much as I can in my state, but quite a few slashes goes through my hoodie and kaki shorts and into the skin of my arms and legs. I am bleeding now. How much? I don't know but I don't care, I'm not giving up. That I die trying, I don't care. I just keep staring her, in the white of her eyes, and keep standing.

Virizion suddenly stops attacking, and the glow of her horns dims down back to the usual green. She finally looks up to me again. A long silence hangs, only hearing the tree branches and leaves shushing with the wind.

"You've fought for your friend against the odds, and never had a glimpse of a thought to stop," a deep, feminine voice echoes into my brain.

"W-wha!?" I blabber as I hold my head. H-how can I hear this without actually hearing it? Am I going crazy, or... Virizion is talking to me? Somehow? She nods, as like if she read my mind and confirms my second answer. This is freaky...

"You have done well, chosen one. You are worthy of my power. Accept it."

Virizion closes her eyes, and in front of her nose, a greenish glow ball forms. Then it lets out a beam of light of the same color shooting towards my left wrist: to be precise, into my pendant given from that Tao guy.

And right at that moment, some kind of strong energy starts flowing progressively in my body, starting from my left hand and arm. The... the energy, it fills me with strength, almost like if I never fought Virizion in the first place. But I still feel myself bleeding, and that energy is getting stronger and stronger... I... It... it HURTS! I scream the loudest and longest my lungs could take. My body's going crazy! My body collapses on the ground like if my muscles have exploded. I feel my blood and that power pumping through my veins, some escaping and dripping from my arms and legs... I try to stay awake, stay strong... but I only stayed conscious long enough to faintly hear Speedzy neigh in fright.

Speedzy... stay... strong... too...

I have no idea if I said it aloud; I can't tell. Everything fades to black, and my body and soul falls into nothingness.



((OoC: Now now, she's not dead, only unconscious. I won't make my character die at that point, of all moments <.< ))

 

[Niihyl]

By the way, do we still have a Victini chosen? I could really use that right around now… And finally, I posted… Are there regular animals in this world? Because eating Pokémon would be horrible. They’re sentient and stuff…

Garnet Avaritia
Route 15

Tired, weak, and injured. Well this is an excellent place to be.

I lie on the grass, surrounded by my Pokémon, my Pokémon, that glee really doesn’t fade… Eeks is sitting inside of one of the Plasma Grunts’ radios, trying to find a channel without propaganda. Which was harder than it sounded, as even regular music and sports channels would cut in some Plasma propaganda for advertisements. But something caught my ear, something that gave me hope.

“Our great leader Ghetsis will make an appearance at Black City, for the Ten-Year Anniversary of his rule. Join us in celebrating ten years of peace and harmony!”

Ghetsis. He’s appearing! For the first time in what, ten years? He’ll be out in the open… we have to take this chance.

I pull out my PokeDex, and compose an e-mail. Every single one of the legendary chosen…

Everyone,

Ghetsis is appearing in Black City. For the first time in ten years, he’s leaving his well-protected castle, which is impossible to break into, and coming out into the open. In several days, he’ll come. This is our only chance to get him before he hides again.

I’m at Route 15, just west of Black City. Anyone who can, come, and come quickly. This may be our only chance to take down Ghetsis.

Garnet

I hit send, and dropped the PokeDex back into my pocket. I glanced around, looking for more Oran Berries.

Berries? Meat. Blood engenders strength.

Is that… my thoughts? Or Genesect’s? Outside of battle… I can think more clearly. I… think it’s me… It doesn’t feel like… doesn’t feel like someone else’s thoughts. I-I… I think I’m losing it… But it’s true. Meat… I guess I could do that. Hunting…

“Anyone want to help me catch some meat?” I say aloud. “Y’know, hunting?” I make a clawing gesture in the air.

Capo grunts his consent. Shura waves her wings about, and the little orange radio plays ‘Eat It’. Apparently everyone’s tired of berries… and omnivorous. But… what do we eat…? Eating Pokémon… it’s a bit… y’know. I never liked it, since they’re so… sentient. But that’s the way the world works. The strong eat the weak. Those weak enough to be killed deserve to die.

 

[Aura Wolfe]

Cynthia Lawson, Nuvema Town

Cynthia nodded in appreciation as Prof. Junpier talked, then her eyes widened and she smiled when she got told them (possible) location of the White Pidove - a graveyard. She blinked. Why would a Pidove be in a graveyard exactly? Kestrel seemed to be heading there himself now, and he asked if she wanted to come along. Cynthia paused, before shrugging and following him out of the lab.

They walked in silence for a moment, before Cynthia broke it. “Why are you heading to the graveyard exactly Kestrel?” She asked him, curious.

The red haired man remained silent for a moment, before turning his gaze upon Cynthia. His face seemed slightly like that of a Braviary, or a predatory bird, which was slightly intimidating, but that wasn’t his fault. She didn’t want to judge him just on his appearance.

“Have you heard of Hilda?” He asked, seemingly calm. “She was born here in Nuvema Town.”

Hilda… Team Plasma rarely spoke of her, but when they did, she was called a fool to have opposed N. She was almost completely certain that she was the girl who’d the drunk had spoken about, who was in hospital with N, before disappearing. But the only reason she actually knew her name was because Chermona had mentioned her a few times before. She nodded, and Kestrel continued.

“She, and two other trainers named Bianca and Cheren, left Nuvema 11 years ago, back when Pokemon wasn’t outlawed to start on their Pokemon Journey. But, the summer after they left, Hilda disappeared. Days afterwards, Team Plasma took over Unova, with Ghetsis as their head instead of N. A week after that, Hilda returned to Nuvema…”

He stopped talking, as they’d clearly arrived at what could only be the graveyard. It was small compared to the one in Black City, with a mixture of old and new graves. Cynthia shifted, feeling slightly uneasy about being here. She followed Kestrel through the rows of graves, until they arrived at a gravestone, made of a warm brown and orange stone. It was unfortunately defaced over the name of the person who laid there, and it didn’t look natural either.

Cynthia crouched by the grave, reading the words it had on it aloud. “Here lies … someone… One who awoke a Legend… May her kind heart never be forgotten.”

Kestrel put his hand on the defacing, seeming to read into it. His hand clenched into a fist, and she heard him mutter to himself. “It is unforgivable that they would do this. So here’s where you ended up, Hilda.”

She took a sharp breath. “Kestrel… Hilda arrived at Nuvema dead didn’t she?” She said, her voice little more than a whisper.

He nodded, his hair blowing about in the wind. “I’ve answered your questions. Now, answer mine. Why are you searching for the Pidoves? I’ve been honest with you, return the favour please.”

Cynthia jerked her head back, looking shocked. Be honest to a complete stranger? “Why should I tell you anything about me?” Wait, why did she say that? Why didn’t she just lie? Oh well, too late now.

“Because,” he hooked his hands around the yin yang pendant around his neck, “I get the feeling you’re in the same boat as me, right?” He held out the pendant, so it was visible to her. It was your typical yin yang symbol, but the white parts of the classic symbol seemed to shine, while the black was rather dull. Her eyes widen as she recognized it, and she pulled her own yin yang pendant off her jacket, holding it so he could see it, and how the black shone while the white was dull.

She nodded with understanding. “Those Pidoves are the only lead I can find on where N or Zekrom could be, and even then it’s not much, but it’s all I really have to go on at the moment, words from a drunken Team Plasma member who claimed to have been there when N and Hilda were in hospital. He said that two Pidoves, one white as snow, the other blacker than the darkest night, were there with them in the hospital, and I decided to see if their behaviour or something like that could give me any kind of lead to where N and Zekrom are. It’s not much to go on, I know but… It’s all I’ve got at the moment…”

Nekao growled at something behind her back, making Cynthia turn. Her heart nearly stopped as she saw it. Whiter than the purest snow, with brilliant blue eyes, the White Pidove sat on the black steel fence that surrounded the graveyard, eyeing them curiously. She froze, and watched the strange Pokemon in silence, seeming to fear that the first movement she made would make it disappear, as if it was nothing more than one of Nekao’s illusions.

 

[Ysavvryl]

Kestrel
Graveyard, Nuvema

She nodded with understanding. “Those Pidoves are the only lead I can find on where N or Zekrom could be, and even then it’s not much, but it’s all I really have to go on at the moment, words from a drunken Team Plasma member who claimed to have been there when N and Hilda were in hospital. He said that two Pidoves, one white as snow, the other blacker than the darkest night, were there with them in the hospital, and I decided to see if their behaviour or something like that could give me any kind of lead to where N and Zekrom are. It’s not much to go on, I know but… It’s all I’ve got at the moment…”

Knowing that she was the chosen of Zekrom, Kestrel felt that he could trust Cynthia enough to speak openly with her. “Well he was right about them being in the hospital. I haven’t had much luck trying that myself.” Then the little boy with her growled in a very un-humanlike manner.

That made Kestrel a little worried. The boy hadn’t said anything, and now that he looked over him closer, Nekao was a little uncanny. Not enough to be noticed in passing, but up close, it was a different story. He looked over to see what the two of them were looking for and saw a spot of white on the black fence. It was one of the two Pidoves they had been talking about.

In roaming around the Unova region, he had seen those two Pidoves before. He had known they had a connection to N. And since N could understand Pokémon speech, it was a viable theory that these two were friends with him, or at least acquainted. If so, then they would presumably go visit him from time to time if he was still alive. But as he said, that hadn’t panned out so far.

The white Pidove then flew off the fence. In a completely unexpected move, she summoned a ring of fire around her body, then rocketed across the graveyard, leaving behind a trail of red flames. She passed right between them; Kestrel could feel the heat from the attack wash over his skin harmlessly. And she landed right on top of Hilda’s tombstone.

Kestrel’s jaw dropped for a moment. As far as he knew, Pidoves could not learn Flame Charge. But having seen Zebstrikas using that move, it was fairly obvious to him that that was what he had just seen. “That was impressive,” he said, looking at her.

Tilting her head and blinking, the Pidove looked back. Then she telepathically said, in a message that all three of them heard, Not really, but thanks.

And as far as he knew, they didn’t know telepathy either. Some Pokémon could look like others, though. “Who are you, really?” Kestrel asked.

I am Reshiram, she replied, then straightened her head and ruffled her wings. Just not as I’m supposed to be, like the Zorua here. Although I’m not like this by choice.

A Zorua? Well that would explain the odd little boy. But that left the more interesting puzzle of why a legendary Pokémon would be in the form of a lesser Pokémon against its will. It was a mystery and Kestrel never could resist that. “How did you get turned into a Pidove?”

Ghetsis did it, she replied. Don’t ask me how, as we still haven’t figured it out. There is a lot for us to talk about, but it needs to be just the two of us. Is there anything you need to know to find N and my brother, miss? She looked over at Cynthia for the question.

Before Reshiram showed up, Kestrel had been thinking of something that could help her. He checked his tablet, which was done downloading the picture of the tombstone. Using his stylus, he went to his photo albums. “I can help you some with that too,” he said, offering his journal to her. “I’ve been looking for N myself, tracking down any evidence. I have several photos copied here, but this one is probably most relevant. It’s from before he left the hospital, but I haven’t been able to find anything more recent.”

In the photo, N was in a wheelchair, apparently by himself in the hospital hallway. He seemed to be ignoring whoever had the camera, looking down at the floor in some thought. his green hair was very short. While some scars could be seen at the edges of his hospital clothes, they were light even in this old photo. But the most telling thing was that he was missing both of his legs, cut off at the knees.

“The nurse told me they offered to get him artificial limbs, but he refused,” Kestrel said. “Even knowing that, he’s not easy to find.”

 

[greywolf123]

Route 15- Heading towards Black City


Roderick sighed hard as he looked around the rather empty path. He had been travelling for a day or two and he had still failed to do get almost any contact with a Pokémon. Heck, he hadn’t even seen the legendary that he was supposed to meet yet. It was absolutely annoying, he had to say, that he had been out this long with almost no success. He had thought, or at least hoped, it would be easier than that. It seemed simple enough, but he was having absolutely no luck, and his pack was only seeming to grow heavier, not lighter.

It didn’t seem like it should be all that hard. It was just bonding with a Pokémon, and he had heard of trainers managing to bond with wild Pokémon before catching them before. Yet he had failed miserably so far. Shoulders slumping slightly, Roderick walked for a little while longer, before slumping down onto a treestump, pack falling to the side, and sighing. “Figures it would be harder than it sounded.” His hand drifted up to the pendant around his neck, underneath his shirt, and he pulled it out, eying the orangish metal, and the ruby in the center, and the events right after its arrival.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Receiving a letter was a surprising thing for Roderick, but that was nothing next to what it had said. He was chosen to bond with a legendary? He was chosen to face down Ghetis? The idea seemed laughable. How did this Tao guy even know him anyway? Yet there it was in front of him, a pendant, supposedly with some special power. Roderick didn’t rightly know if he believed it or not, yet part of him was far too curious to just let it pass him by. And another part of him wanted to be a hero, even if he knew this was likely nonsense.
So, placing the stone on the ground, he wondered how he was going to go about getting a drop of his blood. Pricking his finger didn’t seem exactly appealing, and he didn’t have anything to do it with that really would work. So, finding the sharpest knife he could, he winced slightly, and pressed his finger against it lightly, before bringing his hand back and hissing. Thankfully it was just a little cut, and soon enough he had a drop of blood on the pendant, saying as he did so “Victini, come and aid me so that we can drive out Ghetis!”

This did not have the desired effect, as the blood droplet remained on the stone, and no glowing happened. He frowned slightly, looking at it, and saying again “Victini, come and aid me so we can get rid of Ghetis!” This once again, failed to materialize anything. Huffing slightly, he almost decided to throw it out. But a sudden thought stopped him. It seeks glory for others, not for itself. Giving it one last shot, Roderick said “Victini, please, I need your help so that others can live free of Ghetis. Together we can help drive him out.”

This time, to his surprise, the drop of blood fade into the stone, the pendant glowing slightly as it did so. Roderick waited for a moment, wondering if anything else was going to happen, but after a few moments, nothing did, so he figured that there was no light shows, or anything else. Still, it had seemed to work, and Roderick figured that meant he was in. Placing it on his neck now, he eyed it for a moment before shaking his head. He had to get some camping gear now if he was going to go on a journey. He hadn’t expected to do that ever. He was kind of excited!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Roderick was not excited now however, as he once again hid it under his shirt. He hadn’t seen his legendary, he hadn’t seen a Pokémon he could bond with, and camping was not nearly as fun alone as he remembered it being with friends. He was halfway tempted to see if he couldn’t just give it back, and go back home. It was lonely really, and he hated being by himself.

Still, he knew it wasn’t going to be easy when he signed up for this. It wasn’t like Ghetis was just going to disappear after all. He was going to have to drive him out, and that meant fighting, and camping, and being lonely, even if the idea seemed about as appealing as cutting his own arm off. It would all be worth it in the end right?

Nodding to himself, as he once again psyched himself up to continue, Roderick picked up his pack again, resettling itself on his shoulder before a strange noise stopped him. It was a rather loud rustling of a bush, as if something was stuck in it, or trying to move through it. His eyes darted around, to where he thought he heard it coming from, and indeed saw a bush shaking as if something was in it.

Roderick grinned slightly at this, wondering if perhaps this was the time, if perhaps now he was going to finally see some pokemon he could befriend. He certainly hoped that was the case! It wouldn’t be long now with how the bush was shaking, before something would emerge, he was sure.

What did emerge, however, was not what Roderick expected. It was no pokemon he ever remembered hearing about. It was practically half ears, pale body making the orange stand out all the more. Not to mention bright blue eyes, which stood out partly due to their size and partly due to how blue they were.

“Well, it’s a pokemon all right.” Roderick said, looking at it for a moment. “Not one I’ve seen before though.

“Well I should hope not!” A voice in his mind said, to which Roderick jumped slightly, looking around. “I mean I am one of a kind after all!”

Roderick looked around a bit, wondering if somewhere someone was trying to prank him, before turning back to the small Pokemon, and squinting slightly at it. “Wait. Did you say that?

“Yep! I’m going to be watching you for a little while, though. I just wanted to say hello!” She said this nodding at that, while Roderick just frowned.

“Wait, you won’t stick around with me? He said, blinking slightly at her.

“Nope! Not for now anyway, I haveta know if your trustworthy!” She then added a few moments later “But I’ll be watching, so don’t worry!” With that, she seemed to melt back into the forest, a few rustles, and then nothing.

“Well. That was interesting.” Roderick said blinking slightly in surprise. It figured that his legendary would say that. Still, it heartened him to know that at least she was watching him. He just had to prove trustworthy first. Which made him wonder how the hay he would go on to prove trustworthy to her. Still, staying put wouldn’t do him any good, so nodding, and definitely feeling invigorated now, he started to move himself again, heading towards


((OOC: And entering thethread with an incredibly mediocre and probably canon violating post, is the long overdue Greywolf! Sorry about this guys. It should be getting easier for me to post from here on out. Hopefully you don't all hate me haha.))

 

[GoldenHouou]

OOC: Phew, finally all caught up and ready to roll. I had a really good time typing this post. It was fun to write about her after so long.

---

Stin Nieves
Chosen of Thundurus
Nimbasa City

Wind snatched the cap of a brown haired girl, attempting to whisk it away in the direction of the amusement park. But before it could get far, a lazily extended hand stole it back and with a simple motion, placed it back where it belonged. Stin pulled the visor downward to ensure her cap would stay put this time as she munched the remains of her bread.

She had gotten through the desert about a day or so ago. The route had been easy; after all, she had travelled all around the world more than once. She knew more shortcuts than she knew people, and it never hurt to have a flying Pokémon companion show you the way in case you got side tracked. Ever since arriving, she had checked out if the city had changed since her last visit. Unfortunately, it hadn’t. She liked the city, but that didn’t keep her from getting horribly bored in no time if everything kept being the same.

Sure, there was the amusement park, the city was bustling and there was a lot to see… but what good did any of that do, if she had already seen everything thrice?

She sighed, shifting her legs as she sat at the edge of one of the buildings. With a bored expression on her face and the last bits of bread disappearing inside her mouth, she let out a loud yawn. She was reading the e-mails the other chosen had sent while she was journeying, but as she had feared, they were all dull.

She had just read through an e-mail from some chick caught in a cave. Her message had been way too long so Stin had just skimmed through it; it wasn’t like the girl would’ve had anything interesting to say anyway. She had seemed overly polite. Polite people were always boring. Now, she was getting through mail from someone following the other girl’s example, sending an introduction mail to everyone, bla bla, she sounded boring too.

“Geez,” Stin muttered to herself, leaning her cheek against her fist. How could people write that much without saying anything of importance? If she were to write something, it would be short, sweet and to the point. Something like ‘Hey y’all, tell me whenever you find any leads to the bad guys. ‘Cause I’m gonna beat the crap outta that whatever guy by myself. Bans on travel? Not on my watch! Feel free to help if you feel like you'd be useful.’

But there was no point to sending mail in the first place, so she just left that little message disappeared back into the back of her mind and continued flicking through the messages. Her eyes were only half-way opened, the boredom crushing her mind and then…

Her eyes lit up.

She clasped the Pokédex with both hands, bringing it so close to her face she almost hit her nose against the screen. The what-what now? Carefully, her heartbeat fastening from excitement, she read the message out loud.

Everyone,

Ghetsis is appearing in Black City. For the first time in ten years, he’s leaving his well-protected castle, which is impossible to break into, and coming out into the open. In several days, he’ll come. This is our only chance to get him before he hides again.

I’m at Route 15, just west of Black City. Anyone who can, come, and come quickly. This may be our only chance to take down Ghetsis.

Garnet

Grin so wide it threatened to reach one of her ears appeared on Stin’s face and she immediately stood up, stretching. Now this, this is what an email should be like – useful and full of juicy information. Thought it could have been a little less heavy on the ‘our only choice, oh my god!’ stuff.

Stin brushed her bangs out of her face and turned to face the direction of Black City. The Big Bad, coming out of hiding to get his behind handed to him? Perfect! Though… it wouldn’t need to come to that. She didn’t particularly care what his evil plans for this region were – all she wanted was to travel again. And if it weren’t for Team Plasma, she could still be locked up in her room in some boring, remote town.

So first, she’d try to strike a deal. She’ll help him out and whatever, and she gets to travel. A lot. As much as she wants. And keep her Pokémon, because she wasn’t going to abandon Sigi, no matter how annoyingly the bird reminded him of a grumpy old man.

If the deal thing didn’t work out, then she’d kick his ass. Doublefold, for making her try to talk things out for nothing and wasting her time.

“In a couple o’ days…” She repeated to herself, throwing her Pokédex in the air and catching it as it came down. She was in deep thought. Black City was to the east, and that Garnet guy – or gal, it didn’t really matter – would be waiting on the way there. Stin had no idea if he’d be at all interesting, but hey. If he was a bother, she’d just ditch him. And if it came down to fighting the Big Boss, help would be… helpful. He could be a human shield or something. But…

Stin caught the Pokédex once more and turned to look in the opposite direction, face in a scowl. Thundurus was the other way. And she was so looking forward to meeting it… Looking forward to the powers it could give her! And with them, one old man wouldn’t pose a threat. Not. At. All. But only few days… could she make it to Thundurus and then to Black City in that time? She couldn’t miss the party. Just couldn’t.

“Drat,” She mumbled, gnawing the edge of the device in her hand. So much to do, so little time! And what about that Garnet guy? He most likely wouldn’t be where he’s now when she returned. Maybe she could pick him up on the way and then… But what if he was no good and she wasted time on him for nothing?

“Aww, geez! This sucks!” She shouted out loud, sticking the Pokédex back in one of the huge pockets of her camouflage shorts. She’d flip a coin, her head started to hurt from too much thinking.

Fishing a coin from her pocket, Stin held it to her face. “Tails, Black City, Heads, Thundurus. Here goe-,” She was just about to release the golden object from her hand, when she caught a glimpse of two Plasma grunts strolling the streets just below her. They were looking around, and though she couldn’t see their expressions from where she stood, she guessed they weren’t sightseeing. Looking for someone? Just patrolling? She didn’t particularly care. Either way…

Stin threw the coin in the air, but snatched it and stuffed it back in her pocket without bothering to see which side it would’ve been. She had just figured out a more interesting way to decide. Turning around on the heels of her hiking boots, she looked around the rooftop. And, surely enough, resting in the shadows not far from her was her partner, Sigi the Tranquill.

Without wasting another second, Stin marched to where the bird slept, grabbed its leg and jumped on the edge of the roof, taking in a breath and shouting as loud as her lungs let her, which pretty much meant ‘really freaking loud’.

“HEY, you two! Getting nowhere with your career?! Would you like to succeed for once?! Well!” She help up the still confused and somewhat panicking Sigi and grinned slyly. “Would you like to try your luck at arresting me for keeping a Pokémon?! ‘Cause I’m all for a little chase to lighten up a boring day! What say you?!”

The grunts immediately looked at each other, and while one of them stayed to call backup, the other quickly disappeared inside the building Stin stood on top of. Smirk still in place, she released her friend and let out a victorious laugh.

“Let’s see which way they chase me! That’ll decide where I’ll go,” She spoke her plan out loud, partly to try and calm Sigi who was now flying circles around her, his demeanor clearly revealing he must’ve thought she lost her mind. Silly Sigi, he should know her by now.

“Alright, alright,” Stin said dismissingly and waved a lazy hand at Sigi. His nagging had gotten old before it even began. “We’ve got some running away to do. Get to it, there’s nothing we can do about this anymore.”

With that, she pulled her cap a bit further down again, kicked open the door that led to the roof and jumped down into the staircase, speeding down and passing the grunt that came after her on the way. Laughing at the man’s dumbfound expression before he managed to catch himself and give chase, Stin breathed in the air of the city. She started to like this place again.

 

[mattman324]

Matthew stared at the end result of the problems caused by Ema Skye. He now had a girl not 2 feet from his face, accompanied by a Joltik (They infest Chargestone Cave, so that's not odd) and - more interestingly - a Elgyem, who clearly was not pleased. Meanwhile, Ema Skye was flying around in circles above the two, laughing her head off at the chaos she caused.

"Just... call me Matt. This is the legendary I was partnered with, Meloetta. And THAT... is Ema Skye. You should know her tendacy to hug people - you're lucky that she didn'-" The only sound he heard was a slight flutter in the wind.

FWAP!

*5 seconds later*

"Just because I said the word "hug" does not give you permission to attack my face." Matt sighed, and said "As I was saying, you're lucky THAT didn't happen." Matt looked at the two pokemon, and saw that the Elgyem was slightly less combative - probably because of a mixture of Ema's antics and Meloetta's melencholy. However, upon looking at the Joltik, he saw something more important.

That being Ema Sky dive-bombing it.

"EMA. STOP THAT NOW." The Emolga barely spared a second glance, instead swooping down again. The Joltik, realizing it's attacker was above it, shot an Electro Web into the air. It was no where near the Emolga, but Ema Skye broke off to rush towards the web, and soon got entangled in it.

Matt was about to say something - an apology to the girl, who's name he knew was Alice - when Meloetta pointed up at Ema. Instead of frowning, she smiled, and BOWED to the group, before seemingly dissipating the web. She then went back to flying, but much... FASTER than before.

"How in the... that's just like Motor Drive, but Emolga shouldn't have that as an ability. Maybe someone will know about thi- huh?" At this moment, his Pokedex started beeping. He looked at the screen, and saw this message:

Everyone,

Ghetsis is appearing in Black City. For the first time in ten years, he’s leaving his well-protected castle, which is impossible to break into, and coming out into the open. In several days, he’ll come. This is our only chance to get him before he hides again.

I’m at Route 15, just west of Black City. Anyone who can, come, and come quickly. This may be our only chance to take down Ghetsis.

Garnet

"Oh boy... I have to get over there." Matt looked at the girl, still looking at him oddly. "There's a group of other chosen ones going to try and take down Ghetsis. Much as I hate the guy, we don't stand a chance... his Hydreigon could easily knock out us all instantly, much less his other five. I have to stop them. We need more time!"


-------------------------------------------------

OK, I found time to post. As for my stance, when we get to Black City, I imagine most of you will fight. I will NOT. Matt is, however, going to cover your escape, because there's a long way to go to Black City and he realizes on the run there how he has a decent chance of slowing down his opponents (Think of it this way - Motor Drive + backpack that can hold everything + musician = extremely fast pokemon)

 

[niedude]

Ken Truesdale
Celestial Tower

The sun’s careful caress heats my curved back and I appreciate the warmth it brings. It helps me endure the strong, unpleasant wind that blows at the top of this tower.

My eyes are closed, my head bowed down in respect. I am on one knee, remembering the days past. In my face there is not a smile, nor a tear. However, the sadness and nostalgia is not lost on me.

I open my eyes too fast and gasp at the brightness. I must have had them closed for longer than I thought. I try to look around to make my vision adapt, but the white marble this tower was built with is way too reflective; it only hurts my eyes even more.

I remember my sunglasses. Feeling like an idiot, I grab them from my maroon jacket’s inner pocket and put them on. Much better. Now I can see the top floor clearly. Not that there is much to see, but such is the beauty of this place.

Celestial Tower: a place to pay respects for our companions long past. It is a sober structure built with white tiles of marble. Its architecture was peculiar and not exaggerated, just like such a place should be. Its main attraction is right in front of me; a giant bell that when rung would pacify the spirits of the dead. Or so the legend went.

I also came here to pay homage to the dead. It seemed fitting, even. About to embark on a journey to shape the future, I say a final goodbye to my past. A poetic beginning if there ever was one.

I take two steps back to take in the beauty of this bell. Aesthetically, it was nothing much. Symbolically, however, it was beautiful. Even before it chimed it already seemed to instill an unquestionable sense of peace and complacency.

This is the only time I ever allow such feelings to take root.

I decide to leave; I’ve been here long enough. It pains me, but I don’t ring the bell. My position is best kept secret even if it means disrespecting the dead. But they would understand.

I make my way to the south side of the open top floor and, before climbing down the stairs, I stare at the horizon. This tower is so tall I can see for miles! Towns, forests, mountains, the sea…

It all can be seen. And it all awaits rescue.

I grab the pendant I keep in my pocket by its chain, hold it right in front of me, between the scenery and myself, and contemplate it. It dangles on its chain, trying to hypnotize me. To taunt me.

Its beauty is undeniable, especially like this, as the silver surfaces bounce back the sunlight and shimmer, and the sapphire in the middle glows a beautiful bright blue.

“Don’t worry, I won’t fail.”
I promise out loud, remembering my oath.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took me a while, but I finally reach the exit of Celestial Tower. I took the time to enjoy the inner chambers, allowing a last moment of quietness and peace before I throw myself into war one more time.

As I leave I plan on meeting up with Sentinel, my Watchog, who already was fully committed to me even before I touched it with the pendant. I often wondered if it was the pure result of indoctrination and brainwashing, or true friendship born from the time we spent together, yet I never found an answer.

In its devotedness to me, the Pokémon kept his simplicity. And in this simplicity born of feelings unknown to me, it gains complexity. What does he think of me, of all this? Is he against Team Plasma and wish to live alongside humans? Does he do this under extreme protest, unable to refuse due to whatever Team Plasma did to him before handing him to me? Or is his obedience the result of sheer disinterest and Sentinel is neutral to all this we do?

“Sentinel!” I call, grasping the pendant in my pocket, and I wait.

I sense something is wrong when he doesn’t answer my call.

I clutch the pendant and try it one more time: “Sentinel!” I shout, once again making my presence known. A foolish move in most circumstances, but I was not about to lose the only soldier I yet own.

To my right I hear some movement. Shrubs start to rustle and I can make out chirps and other noises closing in on me.

It is then that, as obediently as it is expected of him, my Watchog bursts from the vegetation and makes its way to my side. It takes a moment to look up at my eyes, for what reason I do not know, before resuming his combat stance and looking at the creature that had followed it.

It was an odd one, to be sure. It looked like a living doll, a robot of sorts. It was like a round blue boulder with chubby yet threatening arms, rocks for feet and a humanoid head. There was a spiral insignia strapped to his front, and it glowed. Likewise, so did his eyes and his sides.

I whip out my brand new Pokedex, confidant in this tool’s usefulness. I scan the new arrival.

“Golett, the Automaton Pokémon. Ghost Type/Ground Type. Further information unavailable at this time.”

“What?” I utter, eyebrow raised, caught off guard by the lack of usability this new tool presented. I store it back, now slightly aggravated.

The little monster, the Golett, had its arms stretched forward and seemed to be daring my Watchog for a battle. It apparently had chased him all the way here.

Right now, a battle would do us good. It was training, and if we won we could test the veracity of this pendant’s powers on wild Pokémon.

“Sentinel,” I command, decided on this course of action. “We’re going to confront it. You’ve been battling it so far, correct? If you’ve already determined its combat strategy, feel free to do this battle on your own. If not, assume distraction and evasive maneuvers until we can deduct its combat style.”

Well, that was a mouthful. But being able to command these complex actions was really a thrill. Too bad I didn’t have this enjoyment for battles back when I was a Pokémon Trainer; I could really have enjoyed those days better.

Sentinel seemed to have already made a safe deduction of his opponent’s battle style and strength prior to my arrival. He stood right in front of me standing up on his two legs, arms crossed, fully confident of his own powers.

The Golett didn’t enjoy this. It dashed right at him, right arm raised and ready to bash the uptight squirrel to the ground.

Sentinel predicted this course of attack and had already formulated a counter-attack. Right before the punch could even make contact, Sentinel let out the loudest screech he possibly could, while simultaneously making his eyes and his colorful stripes glow harshly in a flash of light.

I foresee this and look away. Even with these sunglasses the attack would still be quite bothersome.

It did the trick though. The Golett was stumbling back, blind and confused. It spun and ran in all directions, beginning to punch the air and the earth around it randomly.

It is probably young, I think. The cries it’s making… It’s afraid. Scared and unaware of what is happening right now.

Too bad I can’t do anything right now. I can’t approach it and comfort it, or use the pendant, one punch from that thing and it would break my bones, as evidenced from the holes it has been punching into trees and the ground ever since the flash.

Likewise, Sentinel lacks any long range offensive attacks. Even worse, Golett is part Ghost type. Bite is the only attack that would be effective, and it requires Sentinel to get dangerously closed and risk a knock out in one or two punches.

But we can’t just stand idle while our enemy recuperates. The same attack wouldn’t be as effective twice, and the anger and fear contained in that Golett’s next attack might make it the last.


I need to think, and think fast. This is but the very first milestone in this new journey, and I won’t admit to myself a defeat this early on!

 

[katiekitten]

OOC: Howdy! :3 Finally got my post together <3 It is a bit of a mammoth, though. :x GOLDEN YOU ARE SO CLOSE YET SO FAR- My guy would've set off before your chase scene. D:


Zander Hawthorne - The former Nimbasa City Pokemon Center

You are a coward.

The toneless voice was all that he could remember from his dreams, sifting through the reams of darkness that swamped his thoughts. A frown crumpling his features, he shifted deeper into the shadows of the bunk he'd been given by the former Nimbasa Pokemon Center, inciting a tired chirp from the bird wrapped around his feet as he shuffled against his bristled side.

Darkness and silence returned to the room as his movements subsided, reclaiming their places with sullen satisfaction.

a coward and a fool.

---

The sun was high when Zander Hawthorne emerged into the windswept desert that lapped at the outskirts of Nimbasa, eyebrows raised and expression sour as he considered the leagues of sand. Swiping his hand across forehead and grimacing as he felt the movement simply grind in the dirt already gathered there, he brushed his face clean as far as he could and scowled at the orange path before him.

Of all things, and despite all of the warnings the hyperactive geeks at Unova University’s Geographical Society had given him, he had gone and forgotten his sunglasses. It wouldn’t have been too much of a problem, really, especially as he hadn’t intended to do a lot of walking- except that his borrow motorcycle had choked at the first breath of sand and was currently stewing, cosy and cool, in a mechanics in town.

Life had a funny way of coming around like that. He supposed it was karma.

Heaving a sigh, he grazed his hand across the nearest head of the Doduo beside him, the bird peering out with both necks outstretched at the wasteland laid out before them with obvious curiosity, their clawed feet already buried by the sand. Chirping comfortingly as he ran his fingers along his neck and buried them in the bristled feathers of their back, Polly nuzzled his arm as he stood there blinking in the sunlight, squinting at the distant heat haze that he presumed hid his destination.

He had zoned out, afterall, midway through the geeks summation of the regions geographical history. The pointed yawn as they’d rounded it all off with a rant on the ‘amazing’ survival skills fostered by the species of Pokemon that called this place home hadn’t helped either.

Smiling wryly at the memory, he hitched his backpack higher up his shoulders and, with a small whistle to Cracker and Polly (unneeded, he might add, but it felt necessary), began his long traipse through the desert, sand instantly winding its way into every inch of his clothing to chaff at his nether-regions.

Damn it, this had better be worth it.

--

The thing was, he knew it was.

Zander had always known he had a soft heart.

He supposed it came from his father, a huge, hulk of a man who’d nevertheless fulfilled the cliché of the friendly giant. For decades, the man had hefted boxes as the owner and one employee of a moving van business, all with the kindness and leniency of a man running himself into bankruptcy through all the ‘favours’ he gave to friends and strangers alike. Then again, his mother, while guiding her husband with the firm hand that kept their business afloat, was not immune to such folly either. She’d refused to let him kill even a money spider in the years he spent in the house as the official ‘bug catcher’, strictly ensuring that he transported each and every one carefully and safely into their back garden.

No, Zander knew exactly where his ‘morality’ came from: a good, thoroughly gracious upbringing that had groomed him to respect every single living creature as if they were Arceus’ original creations themselves.

It was, if he professed it himself, a nightmare.

The real world just didn’t work ‘right’ and if anything, the current government-cough-dictatorship-cough only served to hone in that fact. With every moment, and with Ghetsis’ every subversion of the utopic ideal he’d used to achieve power, the valiant efforts of the people who’d actually fought for 'equality and fraternity' were further besmirched, thrown into the rubbish-bin of history to be further tainted and forgotten.

Unsurprisingly, Zander’s parents had been amongst them.

Now, there was a lot that Zander could avoid. He could look away from the party-approved ‘invigilator’ overshadowing his lectures on social divisions, he could ignore the wearying repeat of the ‘Plasma Promise’ to all who decided to enter their research facilities after their degrees; he could even swallow his fury whenever his mail arrived weeks late, tattered and obviously read, the envelope sloppily taped back together by uncaring hands. He could not, however, throw away the package that had arrived, somehow unadulterated, on the front porch of his one-bedroom rented flat little over a week ago. Detailing a chance to wrestle back his country from its ‘overlords’, it provided the means to save the faltering ideals his parents had once almost beggared themselves for.

His heart was just one of those things he could never rid himself of.

Despite many, many efforts.

--

He had just about made it half-way (according to the slipshod map he may have, ah, filched from the geeks – yet another thing the gods must be punishing him for) when his bag vibrated, the low buzzing sound catching the attention of his confused Doduo. Frowning, he slowed to a halt and swung his bag from his back – only to jump as his bag vibrated again in his hands, the sound lowering into a plastic shudder as whatever is was presumably ran into the waterbottle he’d also shoved in there. Letting out a laugh at his reaction, he dropped heavily into the sand and dragged his bag open, shoving his hand in to feel around for his Pokedeck which was apparently having a seizure. He’d nigh-on forgotten he had one – given as he’d never bothered to leave on a ‘Pokemon Journey’ he’d never needed to have one, and therefore he found them… slightly perplexing. Locating it with slight difficulty, he frowned at it as he flipped open the cover, a flicker of relief nevertheless coursing through him as its shuddering finally stopped.

That relief was replaced all too quickly by more confusion, however, as a message blinked into view on his screen from a certain Garnet. He’d received messages from the other… ‘chosen’, he guessed, in the last week - he hadn’t responded because there was no point, they were all too far away, and anyway, he still felt… weird about this whole thing - but this was the first message that seemed to move on from this to discuss other matters. In fact, he didn’t think he’d even seen the name of the sender before, signed simply as it was after the short, and rather succinct message.

He read it quickly, turning so the shadow of his body shielded the display from the suns glare.

-

Everyone,

Ghetsis is appearing in Black City. For the first time in ten years, he’s leaving his well-protected castle, which is impossible to break into, and coming out into the open. In several days, he’ll come. This is our only chance to get him before he hides again.

I’m at Route 15, just west of Black City. Anyone who can, come, and come quickly. This may be our only chance to take down Ghetsis.

Garnet

--

Whatever he had expected, it was not that.

It took a full five seconds before he could truly comprehend the message.

Ghetsis was finally coming out of hiding.

He stared down at the device in his grip, eyes slipping out of focus to gaze through it, not noticing as his hands began to tremble. Polly looked up at his trainer worriedly as the Pokedeck slipped from his grasp, thumping softly into the sands.

There was a chance he could redeem his family’s honour.

Rousing himself and bending down to retrieve the device, he jammed it once more into his pack and swung the both onto his back, clicking his tongue for Polly and Cracker to follow before setting off once more, his strides lengthening in his urgency. Cheeping disgruntedly at the sudden change of pace, his bird staggered after him, finding its feet within moments nevertheless and drawing up beside him, peering at him with curious eyes. He attempted a distracted smile at them, unable to tear his eyes from the horizon and the castle he could just see poking out of the heat haze. The noontime sun burned the umber stones a somber red.

There were only a few days left until the big event.

He had a lot to do before then.

 

[OkikuMew]

Alana Bryant
Rumination Field, Pinwheel Forest

Beep beep beep! ... Beep beep beep! ... Beep beep beep! ...

An alarm is echoing into my ears. It's getting annoying, a lot. I can feel the sound pounding on my head, ugh... Can it just stop please, so I can sleep in peace?

W-wait a minute! This is no time to sleep! W-where is Speedzy? Is he ok? ...Am *I* ok? And where's that bloody Virizion? I can't believe I'm the chosen of this thing...

I slowly open my eyes. All I see is the sky sprinkled with fluffy clouds, and treetops surrounding my sight. Things are still a little blurry, but at least I can see, I'm conscious, and alive. At least, I hope I'm alive... I try to lightly move my body, one part at a time. Fingers, hands, toes and feet... all good. Arms and legs... Agh, ow! I get multiple stings from them. Oh right: darn cuts. At least my muscles seems to be in working condition... kind of. Yargh but man, my stomach hurts... not sure if it's because of the fight or because I'm hungry though; or both.

And my head, with that stupid sound... Oh wait, isn't that the Pokédex? Oh no, it's in one of my pockets of my shorts! I better get up and check it out if it took some damage! Plus, not worth just lying here... I roll my body to the side, and slowly push myself up to a sitting position. I take the opportunity to look at my wounds: Wow, I'm not in a pretty shape, with all those cuts... At least they had the time to cicatrice. Hope they won't stay there... The sleeves of my poor hoodie are all torn, and a bit of my shorts too. Oh well. I take out the Pokédex out of my pockets and I check it out. Well it's still working that's for sure, being so noisy... and thankfully it only have light scratches. I open it up. I see right away the familiar pop-up:

"You have [1] new message(s)!"

Huh, I got mail. I also notice the time and date displaying on the corner of the screen: 9h28 a.m., the day after I arrive here. So I guess I "slept" here. I open up that message, making the stupid bleeping finally stop:

Everyone,

Ghetsis is appearing in Black City. For the first time in ten years, he’s leaving his well-protected castle, which is impossible to break into, and coming out into the open. In several days, he’ll come. This is our only chance to get him before he hides again.

I’m at Route 15, just west of Black City. Anyone who can, come, and come quickly. This may be our only chance to take down Ghetsis.

Garnet

...What!? Ghetsis, appearing after so many years? This is perfect! With the other chosens around, we can kick his butt in no time! Black City is a bit far from here though... But if I can make a run for it, I'll probably get to there in time! ...But more importantly though, where *is* my legendary? And Speedzy, for that matter!

I look around the field, and no sight of Virizion... I dunno if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But right next to a tree, my Zebstrika is there! He's lied down in the grass, with pain written all over his body language... but he's breathing. His wound seems to have healed quite a bit also. Whew. I better let him rest for now. I scoot over to lean on that rock Virizion hit yesterday, and I write up on my pokédex a message to everyone:

Hey y'all,

Just met up and got the "blessings" of Virizion, my legendary. Don't know what seems to be the powers she gave me yet, but I'll see that later. Strangely Virizion's out of my sight right now... I don't mind though, she completely knocked me out good and almost cut me and my Zebstrika into pieces last night, I'm sure happy we're both still alive. I know she didn't have the intention of killing us, only wanting to test my loyalty towards my friend and my courage, but still... be careful when meeting up with your legendary guys, you never know what they'll throw at you. Not for nothing they're in clefairytales.

Anyways, I'll do my best to join you guys at Black City.

I start to think for a moment. I'm not the kind to think ahead of things, but since we're kind of a team and all, and this may be our only chance to turn things around, we better play safe. I guess I better start the conversation about that now. I continue writing:

I don't know about you guys, but it'll be a good idea to start up knowing each other more (our skills and pokémon) and get more information about the appearance, then make up a plan based on all that.

As you know I have a Zebstrika, Speedzy, which he bears his name quite well. And he got fighting moves all related to that.
Well I guess Virizion is tagging along too, and as you might have guessed with our misadventure, she's uber-powerful (and likes shiny swords). But I can't tell how much she'll give actual help. Only time will tell.
As for myself, I have a good general knowledge on pokemon thanks to some time at the school in Striaton back before Team Plasma took control. I guess you could say I'm also athletic: I can somewhat defend myself and lift heavy things, but I'm best at running fast, no matter the obstacles standing in my way.

I don't have a specific plan in mind yet, other than crash his little celebration the moment he sticks his ugly head out. And that me and my buddy better heal up and rest for now. Keep me up to date with more news and ideas for plans though!

Meet you all at the party (crashing)!

Alana

I press the "send" button. Ugh, man, now I better do something with my old wounds... and my head, and my hunger. I tear off the sleeves of my hoodie that are pretty all in shreds already. What a shame... but it looks like a sleeveless hoodie now, so not so bad. I crawl up towards the medical kit I dropped yesterday, and I start putting some disinfectant on my cuts (as much as it stings...), band-aid 'them up, and took some pain killer pills. I would like to do something to Speedzy too, but I rather let him sleep. Poor thing, I can only imagine what he saw and what he felt... I crawl some more towards my backpack, start unloading the stuff I use for cooking, and start to whip up an easy-to-cook-n-eat meal. When all done I ate it all up, calming down the roaring beast called my stomach. As soon as I finish eating, a hear a big yawn. I turn around, and I see my Zebstrika waking up with his mouth wide open. I start to smile very widely.

"Speedzy, you're awake!" I exclaimed.

His eyes and ears suddenly perk up, slightly confused, turns his head around, then his eyes widen up real big.

"ZEBTRRRRRRRRRRRIKA!"

He gets up and runs towards me, but his muscles suddenly weakens and he collapses into the dirt.

"Whoa, are you ok? I know you're happy to see me well, but you better calm down and take it slow for a change." as I scoot over to him as fast as I could, grabbing a chocolate caramel oran berry bar (his favorite) and the med kit on the way.

"Strrrrrri." he sighs, tired and a bit hurt.

I give him the snack, which he happily gobbles it up in no time, and I proceed to giving him first aid. What I can in his current state, anyway. I'm kinda surprised how quickly he healed in a single night. No matter, I'm not complaining, and Speedzy most likely doesn't even give a second thought about it. We better stay here and rest at least 'till noon, then slowly start moving up to Black City. We better not rush things... at least, for today. As soon as we feel better, we're gonna make a mad dash to there! No time to lose!

 

[Aura Wolfe]

Cynthia Lawson, Nuvema Town

Cynthia watched the Pidove fly effortlessly off the fence, seeming to be a graceful flier. But then, fire burst into the air around the Pidove, and Cynthia let out a small scream of fear, stumbling backwards as it rocketed between her and Kestrel. She could feel the heat pouring off the flames, she could feel it how it burned her skin. She touched her hands to her face, patting it as if trying to put out the flames. For one moment, for one terrible moment, she was young again, and the trees were on fire, the grass was on fire… She was on fire.

She sat down on the ground, gasping pathetically and trying to calm her breathing. She didn’t want to seem like a fool. Something touched her arm, and Cynthia smiled weakly at Nekao, who looked quite concerned about her outburst. Kestrel seemed too focused and shocked by the Pidove using a fire type move to really focus on her, which was… well, it made Cynthia feel better that he didn’t seem to mind.

“That was impressive.” Kestrel said, looking at the White Pidove who’d landed on Hilda’s tombstone.

The Pidove tilted her head just as a female voice echoed in Cynthia’s head. Not really, but thanks. Cynthia gasped. Was that the… the Pidove? This was most certainly no ordinary Pidove.

Kestrel seemed to be thinking along the same lines too, for he asked her, “Who are you, really?”

I am Reshiram, Cynthia’s eyes could have popped out of her skull. Just not as I’m supposed to be, like the Zorua here. Although I’m not like this by choice.

“How did you get turned into a Pidove?” He asked. Cynthia didn’t feel like asking questions to Reshiram; after all, Kestrel was her chosen, not her. But she was most certainly listening.

Ghetsis did it. Don’t ask me how, as we still haven’t figured it out. There is a lot for us to talk about, but it needs to be just the two of us. Is there anything you need to know to find N and my brother, miss?

Well now she seemed to have to speak. Taking a deep breath, Cynthia smiled. “Where is Zekrom exactly Miss Reshiram? I would like to be able to find him quickly, because Ghetsis is making an appearance in Black City in three days I believe, and that could be a chance to take him down.”

Reshiram nodded. He’s at the Entralink, last time I checked. You’ll probably want to get there quickly though, in case he moves on.

“I can help you some with that too,” Kestrel handed her his tablet. “I’ve been looking for N myself, tracking down any evidence. I have several photos copied here, but this one is probably most relevant. It’s from before he left the hospital, but I haven’t been able to find anything more recent.”

Curious, and slightly excited, Cynthia studied the photo. She was shocked to find that N, whom she remembered as being tall, and powerful looking and heroic was sitting in a wheelchair, not looking the camera. His long green hair was cut short, and light scars covered his body. But most shockingly of all was that both of his legs was missing.

“The nurse told me they offered to get him artificial limbs, but he refused,” Kestrel told her. “Even knowing that, he’s not easy to find.”

Cynthia nodded, studying N with sadness filling her at the pitiful state he appeared to be in. But then it hardened; this guy had separated her from Glen. “Okay, I’ll look for him, thanks Kestrel. I’d best be going really quickly to the Entralink, as I’m sure you two need to discuss many things. Bye.”

Nekeo gave Reshiram a shy little wave, then the two of them walked back to the subway. Cynthia glanced at the Zoura, and saw his questioning eyes.

“Sorry about.” She sighed. “I have a rather intense phobia of fire from when I was a little girl, as I got caught in a fire started by an Emboar. I really can’t handle the presence of fire that much… Although I think I’ll feel safer with a water type Pokemon as a friend, but I don’t really know.” She paused, then crouched down and hugged Nekao, making the illusion twist. “But you make me feel safer and happier too- thanks for coming along with me.”

Nekao gave a smile, slightly creepy on his face, and hugged her back (or as well as he could, seeing as he didn’t have any arms), and the two of them went to get tickets to the Entralink.

***

The town in the direct centre of Unova was a rather strange place, generally only inhabited by eccentrics and strange people. It appeared to be slightly in ruins, and a lot less loved and cared for, compared to Black City. That’s what Cynthia thought anyway. However, it appeared to be a bit spread out, and there were a few people around too. She didn’t see any Black Pidoves however.

“Let’s walk around, see if we can see anything.” She said to Nekao, and they started searching.

 

[Ejunknown]

The introduction of Leo Fletchley

Leo Fletchley, Introductions

Fingers caressing a smooth metal casing, the stark colours of red and white contrasting darkly in the half-light, Leo considered the package that had been presented to him that evening, his strong features blanked by startled, bitter-sweet surprise. Well. This was a throw back to the past. A Pokedex.

With careful hands, the newly arrived machine was placed with care onto short coarse grass, alongside the other gifts that he had handled similarly. A dark hand rested finally on a sheet of crumpled paper, caressing the flowing script in silence.

This was unexpected, to say the least.

His eyes scanned the message, fingers clenching and unclenching slowly at his side, before releasing a soft sigh, that was closely followed by a crest of soft fur butting the paper, a bright eye blinking around it. Concerned, it wanted to say, glittering with unshed tears that made him just want to reach over and hug squeeze the fur of the beast it belonged to, and he let the paper fall between his fingers with a small smile. "Damn it, Janet." He settled his palm heavily across the curious nose, sending the dragon Pokemon back with a huff that quickly turned into a coughing fit, widening the smile that split his features. Eyes glittering, his light tone was teasing at the expression of disdain that wrinkled across her snout. “Beaten again, dragon? Your weaknesses are so easily exploited…”

Violet eyes gleamed at the challenge, two sets of claws unsheathing with a quiet snick, the white bone glistening where they met the earth. After a quiet consideration, the more opinionated of the two heads removed its attention with disinterest, the other two following at its small huff.

With a rush of displaced air, the great mass of the beast took flight, admonished eyes glittering as they landed with subtle grace across the camp from him, peering indignantly from behind the narrow tent pole of his camp. The canvas was lying on the ground several feet away, torn from it’s hooking by hasty claws, and dark eyes glanced back to the main head – the middle head, as he had learned remembered the time before evolution - and ignoring the murderous glances from the other two, he blew an apologetic kiss in their direction.

“Shusssh, Pura.”

A smile playing on his lips, the young man turned his attention back to package before him.

Alright.

Working through the daze of information this package suggested, his mind sorted through the details categorically, splitting the items neatly as he did so; as the letter, the gear, and the… totem. Fingers lingering around the small, thin wire cage, his gaze fell on the flicker of the stone inside, the pretty little jewel, which his unknown benefactor requested he pledge to.

Without a second’s hesitation, he raised his thumb to his mouth.

A small hiss whispered across the short space across from him, as three heads leveled intently, vivid eyes narrowing on the gleam of crimson as his blunt teeth punctured the skin. The scrabble of wings and claws rustled angrily, the stuffy air reverberating with the hydra’s increasing growl of alarm – but it was too late, dark eyes bright with intent fascination, as his blood slipped to the smooth surface of the stone. Glancing up finally to meet the dark, flashing eyes of his sole partner, he offered Pura a small, supplicating smile, before his lips formed the whisper, embracing the flickering burn of curiosity that quickened inside his chest.

He didn't say what this would mean, what this would do, but he couldn't see a reason why not.

“You have my allegiance.”

------

ooc: I've a little bit more to read, but this post serves as an introduction for your new companion/corroborator, Leo Fletchley. He'll given a location and placed inside the game with the next post; his first stop is to his legendary, which is close to Black City, so you should see him soon at the Ghetsis battle. x'D

 

[GoldenHouou]

Stin Nieves
Chosen of Thundurus
Nimbasa City

Stin pushed aside anyone unfortunate enough to happen upon her path as she sped through the streets, turning behind corners whenever possible and using every single shortcut she could remember. She left behind confused faces of passersby, and the angry shouts of people she had bumped into more or less on purpose accompanied her vibrant laughter as she glanced behind her back.

A mocking grin decorating her face, she waved at her fuming pursuers as if it all were just a game of tag. The grunts didn't seem to like her attitude much, as they instantly picked up their pace and let fly even more curses.

Good!

Satisfied, Stin turned to face the direction she was speeding in again, not quite sure which direction it was as far as compass points went, but she didn't really care. No matter where she ran, she'd get out of the city eventually. And the whole point of this little chase scene was to help her decide.

She took in another deep breath, the smell of what she'd describe as an 'adventure' filling both her nostrils and her mind. Oh, how she loved to be chased like this! The wind, she loved the wind on her face, sometimes blowing through her hair gently, sometimes whipping her face and forcing tears from her eyes. Right now, it was more the former. Too bad, really. Strong wind always meant speed.

She wanted to see a storm.

Lightning, burning houses, screams... Wonderful, wonderful chaos.

Wait...

Just, what?

She didn't have time to dwell on those pieces of thoughts for long, because as fate would have it, she suddenly heard something that snapped her back to reality and made her glance behind her shoulder, dumbfounded. It was the angry bark of a Herdier. Or barks. Of two Herdier. It took Stin a while before she realized what that indicated; the grunts had finally decided to bring out their Pokémon. It was about damn time. Chuckling slightly if still a bit shakily, the strange images started to fade completely as her mind got occupied with other thoughts.

And then, in a split second decision when she realized she was on a collision course with a middle aged man, she grabbed his shoulder and pulled herself to jump over him, leaving the poor fellow falling on the path of her pursuers. As she landed again, she shook her head once more to shake away the last pieces of confusion dawdling inside her mind and smiled.

There, all better. Back to action!

Yet again she heard an angry growl from behind, most likely belonging to one of the two startled canines upon getting the man to block their path. It sounded so delightful! A surprised, frustrated growl when they couldn't catch her. At least, not yet.

But in the end, they were Pokémon and no matter how fast she was, they would outrun her eventually, unless she figured out a way to distract them and fast.

And as she ran, another realization roared its head inside her, one that frustrated her enough to prompt her to bite down on her lip; With Sigi flying off somewhere to distract any possible reinforcements these guys called, she had no Pokémon on her side. How was she planning to kick Ghetsis's behind if she had nothing but her own ability and Sigi to fight with? That wouldn't do. She'd have to find more, build a small army of interesting, non-boring Pokémon. So any and all ground types were out. The sheer thought of her training a Golem sent unpleasant shivers down her spine. Anything slower than her was just a waste of time.

The angry growls behind her once again tore her from her thoughts, and she let out a sigh. This whole chasing thing started to become stale, too. She'd shake those things off from her heels and head towards the closest exit. Now, a distraction, a dist-

Oh? Perfect!

Just up ahead was a group of students, gathered around to hear how their teacher explained the previous functions of the battle institute. It was closed now, of course, and as the teacher spoke, Stin could see fear in her eyes. How stupid, she was afraid of Team Plasma, too.

Well, who cared, they'd be useful!

So, crouching slightly, Stin squeezed herself inside the group, quickly making her way past them and diving to a nearby alley. She rolled on the ground to hide behind a bunch of… trashcans? Ugh, it stank. And what were those barrels for?

Ack, who cared!

She heard the angry shouts of the grunts and from the sounds of it, the Herdier duo wasn't far behind either. She'd better not linger. So, down on all fours to keep herself better hidden, she was just about to start heading deeper into the alley, when, upon turning her sights to the front, she realized that she was staring right into something's… eyes?

Just two black dots, staring back at her stupidly. Could those even be called eyes?

"Daru?" The small, red creature uttered, and Stin blinked. She picked herself up from the ground and dusted off her shorts, all the while examining the little Pokémon with disdain. A Darumaka, huh? Her face fell into a scowl. That thing had stumpy little legs, it was awfully small and… she had a sudden urge to tip it over and see if it'd roll like a ball, because being used as a football seemed like the only thing it was good for. She had hoped to find another Pokémon but… no, just, no.

And then the growling came back, this time closer than ever.

Stin turned quickly to see the two canine beats, both crouching, both snarling, and both exposing their sharp teeth to her, as if to show her what she was about to get around her throat very soon.

"So you caught up?" Stin asked slyly, hands crossed across her chest and feet planted firmly on the ground. She chuckled, this wasn't all that serious yet. They were still some feet away from her, and her feet still worked; she just needed an opportunity to use them and run. So, she might as well seem cool while waiting for the chance. "What took you so long?" She taunted, and the dogs let out an angry bark, as if to tell her to shut it.

Stin took a careful step backwards ready to flee, grin never faltering when suddenly, flame burst past her, scorching the piles of trash and the few barrels standing on one side of the alley. She didn't have time to turn and look at the most likely frightened fire Pokémon trying to defend itself, when she was already sent flying backwards by an… explosion?

She hit her back against the ground and slid forward a few inches, the rocks digging into her flesh and forcing a yelp out of her. Confused and eyes wide, she blinked to try and see past the blinding light.

What the… hell just-?

She coughed to try and replace the oxygen that had been forcibly smashed out of her lungs, all the while attempting to comprehend what in the world had exploded like that. The entire entryway to the alley was covered in flames now, high, scorching flames that Stin quickly crawled further away from. Their light hurt her eyes, and the stench from burning rubbish was horrible. Unbearable. She slammed a hand to cover her nose and mouth lest she threw up and gathered all the strength she had to stand, stumbling to get away from the mess.

Once she deemed herself to be far enough, she straightened, brushed some lost strands of hair from her face and, simply put, laughed.

"Woah! That was freaking awesome! I mean it smells like shit on a stick but damn, that was one fine blast! Wonder what…" Her excited monologue came to a premature halt when she suddenly realized that the fire had spread peculiarly wide, burning the ground even though it wasn't anything but sand. She followed the trail of fire and let out an understanding 'Oh'.

The barrels.

Oil.

So cool! Fire Pokémon were awesome. Maybe it wasn't so bad that the Darumaka was small and stumpy. It sure had power she could use! Nodding in approval, Stin started to look around for the small fire type, only to find the poor thing covering behind her leg, shaking so much she felt her knee was about to buckle. She sighed, the content expression she had worn just seconds ago faltering a little.

"C'mon, leggo. Don't be a wimp, that was amazing. In fact…" She lift her leg high enough to be able to pick the Darumaka in her arms. She looked it in the eye, displaying not the reassuring look the creature would've probably wished for, but a somewhat devious smirk as she voiced her suggestion.

"How'd you like to join me?"

For a non-humanoid Pokémon, Darumaka was surprisingly expressive, and its look clearly stated a short and sweet 'no way', before it pushed itself out of Stin's grasp and started to jump away in quite a rush.

"Hey!" Stin growled after it, turning on her heels, confused by the sudden refusal. But, well, fine. The thing could have it its way. This time, it was her turn to be 'it' in this little game of tag. The grunts and their Herdier duo had been caught on the side of the fire anyway; it'd be unlikely for them to find her in a while. She'd have plenty of time to show that Darumaka a piece of her mind.

Without wasting another second she chased after the Pokémon, frustration clearly visible on her features. How dare it run away when she was making an offer like that! How often did a boring little blob get the chance to go on an adventure with a professional? And it hadn't even listened long enough to hear about Thundurus!

She turned corners and surely enough, she got the thing's red back in sight. She sneered, cocking her head. It wouldn't get away now.