Legend's Guardians [RP Thread]

[Tangeh]

- Legend's Guardians -​

*sign up thread*

RPer list:
1. Monster Guy - Cadenza "Cadence" Mia Amoré - Compassion & Gardevoir (Psychic / Fairy)
2. Sketchie - Joshua Hoffman - Perseverance & Togekiss (Fairy / Flying)
3. Hydrangea - Aella Doukas - Courage & Dragonair (Dragon)
4. Schade - Rory Denver - Reliability & Houndoom (Dark / Fire)
5. TheCharredDragon - Sundance "Sunny" Araw - Friendship & Escavalier (Bug / Steel)
6. Janice Quatlane - Nova Annalise Rice - Patience & Porygon (Normal)
7. Dragalge - Olivia Lee Parker - Perception & Whimsicott (Grass / Fairy)
8. Tangeh - Alvin Kohlberg - Innovation & Pichu (Electric)


RP THREAD RULES

1. No god-modding / no Mary Sues (no perfect/ invincible characters. You cannot dodge every hit or win every battle!)

2. No powerplaying (“bunnying”) without permission, unless minor in order to progress the RP. THIS MEANS NO AUTO-HITTING (do NOT harm another player’s character in your own post. It is up to the RPer themselves to decide 1. IF they are hit by an attack and 2. To what DEGREE the attack affected them)! If you have permission to bunny another player's character, be sure to play them with the characteristics outlined in their sign-up (you can click them up above for a quick link).

Remember that Sonja and Keldeo are NPCs and may be controlled by anybody, so the above rules don't apply to them. Still, you may not kill Sonja/ Keldeo, seriously injure them, cause them to be kidnapped, or any other major event without permission.

3. Remember that the discussion thread (which doesn't actually exist yet - hang tight!) should be used for the majority of OOC discussion pertaining to the RP, but if you have to put a brief out of character snippet before or after your main post, label it either with ((double brackets)) and/or OOC: / IC: before posting to avoid confusion.

4. Remember to follow all RPG forum rules! In particular remember that there is a 200-word minimum on all posts in this section.

5. Put your character's name, guardian trait, bond pokemon (nickname is optional), and current location at the top of every post in bold (see below for an example). You can colour this if you'd like, but keep the rest of your post the default text colour to avoid making it unreadable to somebody with a different forum skin than you. (I'm not making it a requirement to put which characters you're affecting in your post, but you can do so if it helps you.) This is an example template, but as long as you include the aforementioned things you're fine doing it however you'd like:

Spoiler: Example

Alvin Kohlberg
Innovation ;172;
Nimbasa City

6. If you need any clarifications on the above rules, feel free to ask! Make a post in the discussion thread once it's up or VM me if you have questions. Have fun!

Current Events

I'd like to discuss the details of the Trials themselves in greater detail on a discussion thread. Until I can get approval to create one, we may as well get introductions and such out of the way for now. Have your character make their way to Pledge Grove and introduce themselves to the other Guardians.

Feel free to ask any questions via VM or use the OOC template in rule #3 above.

Here we go!

Sonja Overbay
Future Monarch :647:
Pledge Grove

Everything was quiet now. Sonja stood against a large stone with three large cuts in it, each intersecting each other to form six points. Keldeo had spent a long time staring at it, but now he stood next to Sonja, also solemnly facing the entrance. "It won't be long," he assured Sonja telepathically. "The Guardians will be arriving soon."

Sonja nodded once and frowned at the grassy floor. Her mother and father had walked over here with them, but Keldeo insisted that they leave before the Guardians arrived. It had been a tearful goodbye. Sonja supposed her parents shouldn't know about this at all, but they would worry if she just disappeared with no reason! She was glad that Keldeo allowed her to tell them what was going on, but now she felt more alone than ever. Already she felt a strong connection with Keldeo, which she knew was natural even after only two days, but everything was so overwhelming. When would she ever see her parents again? Her friends? Even when the initial trials were completed, she would need to train in Sinnoh for several years...

...and that was assuming she would even survive the Journey of Trials...

She wanted to voice her fears, but didn't want to sound like a child when she was tasked with such an enormous responsibility. So instead she focused on her posture - monarchs were always known for their good posture. Back straight, head up. That was what she imagined Queen Cecelia would say. Her mother had braided her hair one last time before she left, adding several purple clematis flowers from the garden for the special occasion. Sonja hoped her parents weren't too worried about her...

Alvin Kohlberg
Innovation ;172;
Pledge Grove

Day two and Alvin was already exhausted.

"Come on come on come on come on come on!" A tiny pichu ran ahead and then back over and over, even spinning in circles a few times in his impatience.

Of course, Sparky the pichu was not tired. Not in the slightest. Not that he ever was. They'd already finished one long day of traveling. First they headed to Castelia City, which predictably was a nightmare to navigate through, then to the ferry to ship them over to Virbank. They spent the night there - during which Sparky never shut up about them needing to head immediately to Pledge Grove - and then traveled across Route 20 into Floccesy Town.

Now they were finally reaching the back of Pledge Grove. Alvin tried to fix his unruly hair hastily before his first meeting with the future princess. He was wearing a dark blue sweater with blue jeans and black walking sneakers. He was also carrying a large grey backpack that he swore weighed at least half of his own weight. He'd packed provisions, camping gear, a first-aid kit, a small toolbox - really, anything they could possibly need. He regretted being so prepared.

As Sparky giggled in excitement and hurried way ahead, Alvin paused. "Sparky! Come here!" His pichu ignored him and bounded ahead. "Sparky!" he scolded in a much harsher tone. Sparky's ears twitched and he glanced back at Alvin with a confused expression, then he smiled again and ran to his trainer and climbed up to his shoulder.

"This is gonna be so fun!" Sparky exclaimed. Alvin felt several tiny sparks nick his cheek from Sparky's excitement. His pichu wasn't great at controlling his electricity storage, so being accidentally shocked was something Alvin had gotten used to over the years.

"Just calm down, alright?" Alvin sighed. "We're almost there..."

As they entered the back of the small forest, he spotted the legendary pokemon Keldeo and stopped in his tracks. Even Sparky seemed to be frozen in awe. There was a little girl beside Keldeo, and she nervously moved closer to him after spotting Alvin. The pair approached nervously, and Alvin offered a respectful bow once he had reached them. "I'm honoured to help in any way I can, Princess!" he said hastily, not knowing exactly what to do.

The girl looked a little taken aback. "Um - "

"Sonja has not earned that title yet," Keldeo interrupted telepathically, causing Alvin to jump at the sudden voice in his head. "Welcome Alvin Kohlberg, Guardian of Innovation."

"Guardian of Innovation...?" That was a fancy title. "I, um, s-sorry about that, but, uh, I hope I can be of help."

"Yeah!" Sparky leapt off of Alvin's shoulder and bowed to both Keldeo and Sonja. "Alvin and Sparky, at your service!"

"Sparky says he's ready to help in any way he can, too," Alvin translated roughly for Sonja.

Sonja smiled and knelt down to the pichu's level. "Aw, he's so little and cute." Sparky nuzzled against her hand and Sonja gently rubbed his ears. Alvin groaned internally but somehow managed to maintain a smile to hide his exasperation.

 

[Monster Guy]

Cadenza "Cadence" Mia Amoré
Compassion ;282;
Pledge Grove


Cadence and Lucia had an easy time arriving the grove. Her mother arranged for a yacht to take her from Undella, all the way to Virbank. Then she took a limo ride from there all the way to Flocessy Town. Now they were only a few steps away from Pledge Grove. It wasn't the fastest trip in the world, but it sure was comfortable.

Cadence had already wanted to go on this trip, but her mother heavily encouraged it once she told her about. Being associated with the future queen of Unova was the opportunity of a lifetime.Of course, Cadence herself didn't care much for the whole schmoozing aspect of it. She wanted an adventure, and maybe meet a cute boy along the way. She only wished Valentino were still alive so she could tell him about all of this. The young woman frowned, thinking of her deceased lover.

The Gardevoir by her side, seemed to sense this, and place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I know he's been gone for a while now Lucia, but I still miss him. He would have loved to hear about the adventure I'm about to go on."

"I understand... I miss Angelo too." Lucia responded calmly. She missed Valentino's Gallade, who also died with him in the accident. "But neither of them would want us to be lingering on their deaths like this..."

"I know, but it's still sad..." Cadence let out a sigh, and then pressed onwards.

As they entered the back of the small forest, she spotted the legendary pokemon Keldeo. Lucia was in awe of the legendary Pokemon. and did a little curtsey. Cadence however, saw a cute blue pony, and couldn't help giggling. There was a little girl beside Keldeo, as well as a boy with a Pichu present that Cadence thought was cute in a nerdy sort of way.

"Ciao!" Cadence greeted the group, then approached the girl first. "You must be the future princess! I'm Cadence. I bet you're really excited about this! I always wanted to be a princess when I was your age. Wearing beautiful gowns, going to the ball, dancing with a prince, it all sounds so wonderful!" She said with a wistful sigh. "You even have your own little pony already!" She gave Keldeo a light pat on his head.

"Cadence..." Lucia began to say.

But the blonde girl cut her off before the Gardevoir could finish. "Yes Lucia, I know there's actual responsibility involved. I'm trying to gve the girl something to look foward too."

She then turned her attention to the boy with the Pichu. "Oh aren't you two adorable!" First she petted the Pichu on his head, then went on to play with the boy's messy hair. "You must be one of the guardians too, I take it?"

 

[TheCharredDragon]

Sundance "Sunny" Araw
Guardian of Friendship; Partner: Rei the Escavalier

Pledge Grove

To say the least, he didn't expect any of this to be happening, but having unexpected misadventures sort of ran in the family. Especially on his mother's side. That was how she met his father and got together. But that's a story for another time. Right now, he was having his own. And one thing was for sure, he was excited for it for more reasons than one.

Firstly was that Unova would finally have its own monarch after fifteen years. Well, true, if this is successful, but that's besides the point. As much as he was interested in Sinnoh culture (and he knew a thing or two about it) thanks to his father coming from there, he didn't like how they were encroaching on Unova. It was almost like they were colonizing Unova. Second was, well, they were going to go around the land, something he wouldn't really have done on his own accord but would've loved.

And lastly, and his most strongest reason, was that he wanted to protect the future monarch, not only for Unova's future, but also because he just didn't want the monarch to die. He couldn't stand the thought of the monarch dying, especially if the reports from the last attempt were true. Besides, it was going to be his job once he passes school. You know, to serve and protect. This was a pretty good way for some practice.

Anyways, after he told his parents of his plans, his father just shook his head in exasperation while his mother and sister encouraged him greatly. And, in the case of his mother, maybe said a few swear words here and there in joy. Then his mother took him and Rei on her Hydreigon, Panzer, and dropped them off at Flocessy Town. The advantages of having a strong flying Pokémon. By then, it was night, so he rested in the town. By the next day, he left for Pledge Grove.

Only one tiny problem, he actually didn't know where it was.

So he and Rei spent quite some time before they even found the entrance. Thankfully, it was easier to navigate once they found it. It was hard to get lost in what was mostly a defined trail. And now, here he was, at the far back of the Pledge Grove with a smile on his face as per usual. The first thing he noticed was that there were several people already there. The second was the Keldeo. He stared at it for a good five seconds before he shook his head out of his stupor.

He neared the group and better saw those there. There was man wearing a blue jacket and a rather big backpack with a Pichu. There was a also a pretty woman wearing purple clothes and a Gardevoir by her side. Finally, beside the Keldeo was a young girl, probably ten or nine years old. He stops near them, his smile much more warmer now.

"Well, hey there. I hope I'm not late or anything," he said. Then he looked the girl with Keldeo. "The name's Sundance Araw." The gave a small bow of his head. "But everybody just calls me Sunny." He then gestured to his Escavalier at his right. "This here's Rei."

The Pokémon bowed her head at the mention of her name.

"Yes. And we shall do our best to help."

"She says we'll do our best."

After a few moments, he said, rather warmly, "So how're you holding up kid? You all right?" Then, with a more cheery aura, he glanced at the two other people, but it was clear his attention was more on the woman. "And what might your names be? Sorry if you said it many times already."

Meanwhile, Rei also was interacting. Though it was after Sunny lightly tapped her back with his foot.

"Hello. As my partner has said, I am Rei. I hope we will get along in our journey."

 

[Janice Quatlane]

Nova Rice
Patience ;137;
Pledge grove

Living in Castelia City meant that Nova knew (mostly) how to get around quite quickly. Studying a map while on the ferry across to Virbank city, she realised that she'd have to make her way through Virbank, to route 20, to Floccesy town - and then finally across to pledge grove where she was supposed to meet with the future monarch of her region - it was an honour, to say the least. And a total surprise of course. Nova turned to the Porygon falling asleep on the seat next to her. "Not long now, darling." She murmured, as she herself leaned back in her seat and allowed her eyelids to droop.

It was late when the ferry got in, but an old colleague of hers lived in Virbank, and was glad to let Nova stay the night. Although Nova was grateful at his generosity, for some reason she felt as if she could not tell him the true reason for her visit - instead lying and telling him that she was visiting family. Keldeo had not said anything along the lines of "Don't tell anyone please" so she assumed that it must be okay, but still, it felt wrong. After the rumours of what happened to the last monarch-to-be... It seemed like it would be best to be cautious.

In the morning, Nova quickly went on her way, making sure to look her very best. After all, she was about to meet a Princess. And of course - she herself was a Guardian. "You doing okay, Java?" She asked the Porygon curiously.
"I am fine. You however look to be quite anxious." Java answered in matter-of-factly manner. Nova gave a nervous laugh at didn't respond.
The pair had booked a taxi, believing it to be the quickest way there. After all, it was impolite to keep her waiting, and not everyone was blessed with her seemingly never ending patience.

Soon, Java and Nova had arrived at Floccesy town. She consulted her map for directions to pledge grove. Finally figuring out the location, she and Java went on their way, full of excitement and anxiety. Heading up the path the pledge grove, she could see people in the distance. A tall figure with well combed blond hair, a young woman with the loveliest hair that she'd ever seen, and another figure with a gigantic bag. Nova smiled at this, as she hoisted her own large black handbag up onto her shoulder. Java floated along next to her, and Nova held out her arm for it to perch on.

"Ahoy there!" She shouted out to the group as she grew closer. "Lovely to meet you all!" Nova had a huge toothy smile plastered across her face, white teeth framed with dark red lipstick, and wispy ash blonde hairs falling across her eyes. She looked around at the group, and spotted a small girl with beautiful long brown hair hiding behind a Keldeo.
"Ah!" Nova said, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "So you must be the new-" She began, as Keldeo interrupted her. "Her name is Sonja. She is not the monarch as of yet, but with your support, Guardian of patience, that can become a reality."

Nova gave a nervous smile. "In that case, it's lovely to meet you, Sonja." She said, giving a brisk curtsey. She straightened up and looked around at the group. "My name is Nova Rice and it's a pleasure to be here with you all." Nova said politely, with a kind smile. She looked across to Cadence, smiling warmly, and blushing slightly. "I love your hair. It's gorgeous." She gushed.

Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh! Prin- I mean, Sonja, I have a gift for you!" Reaching into her bag, Nova retrieved a small brown parcel. "Ta-da! For you, sweetheart." She handed in to Sonja, who nervously held it before gingerly unwrapping it. "Don't worry, I PROMISE it's not anything bad." Nova said, winking.
Sonja unwrapped the parcel and produced a hairclip with streams of ribbon in the colours of Keldeo's mane. "My friend makes these hairclips, aren't they lovely?". Nova frowned slightly, before smiling brightly and patting her balding head. "Unfortunately, I don't have much use for it." She laughed awkwardly.

Sonja smiled and looked to Nova. "Thank you very much!" She exclaimed brightly. Meanwhile, Java was floating around the heads of the other guardians. "Java!" She called out to him. "Come say hello properly!" Nova shouted, beckoning the Porygon towards her. "This is boring, when does it get exciting? Can I play on your laptop?" The Porygon stated, perching on Nova's head. She gave a nervous laugh. "Java says it's really really lovely to meet you all."

 

[Hydrangea]

Aella Doukas
Courage
Leucothea the Dragonair
Pledge Grove

Aella had the worst sense of direction.

Leuco had always playfully teased her that she could probably get lost in her own neighborhood if she wasn't helping guide her reckless trainer but Aella always brushed it off with a simple laugh and shoved Leuco playfully. She lived in Undella, which although wasn't a huge place she often found herself getting lost. But now that her and Leuco were in the huge Castelia City, she found herself even more baffled by the overall geography of the huge city.

She had never seen Castelia before, well other than in pictures and a couple post cards. But she had never gotten the chance to actually be here. Shame she couldn't be here longer, she would love to explore and go swimming in the waters by the docks. She smirked to herself, thinking about swimming next to all the boats as they pulled into the harbor.

"Aella please tell me you haven't forgotten about our mission. We need to get to the Pledge Grove to meet the other guardians." Leuco said, calmly and flatly; looking her trainer in the face with a furrowed expression. Aella knew she had butted in because she could tell Aella was thinking about jumping in the docks but she had no idea how this dragon knew her so well.

She pat her serpent partner on the snout, smiling at the creature's face. "I know, Leuco. I'm not that much of a ditz." Aella said with a coy smirk. Leuco rolled her eyes and gestured towards the entrance to Virbank City. Aella nodded and walked towards it, leaving the wonders of Castelia behind as she entered the slightly smaller Virbank City. They didn't linger long here, knowing they needed to get to Floccesy Town as soon as they could.

As they walked through the small town, Leuco piped up again with some trivia to keep Aella's mind from wandering. "You know, sometimes they refer to the Pledge Grove as the Oath Forest; or at least that's what the legends say. Apparently an Oath was made to a Pokemon there long ago.." Leuco trailed off, watching her trainer search for the entrance to the grove.

The two headed up the small entrance into the grove, seeing a small group of people gathered there already. She looked towards all of them, one was a girl who was rather pretty with a Gardevoir by her side, another was a girl wearing a lovely shade of lipstick near a Porygon, and then two boys stood somewhat close to one another; one with a Pichu and the other with an Armored bug type that Aella was convinced she had never seen in her life. In the center of it all was a young girl, no more than ten near a Keldeo.

"Hi, you must be-!" Aella began to say before being cut off by Keldeo's sharp words. 'This is Sonja she is not yet the monarch but hopefully she can become one with your help, Guardian of Courage' Aella was a little taken back hearing the words. Leuco smirked to herself.

"Guardian of Courage? Guardian of Recklessness sounds more correct in your case, Aella." Leuco replied with a chuckle. Aella rolled her eyes and patted Leuco on the head. Aella looked towards Sonja and the others, she supposed she should introduce herself.

"Uh... hi all! I'm Aella, and this pretty little snake here is my partner, Leucothea; but you can call her Leuco." She said with a smile.

"Charmed, really." Said Leuco with a small bow.

 

[Schade]

=-------------------~♚~-------------------=
Rory Denver & Hades
Reliability
Pledge Grove

The trip to the place called the Pledge Grove wasn't an overly difficult one. Rory lived in Castelia city, and was well adapted into the busy everyday life there, which sometimes consisted of knowing where and when people would arrive to the city, or where and when they would leave. He didn't have an amazing sense of direction, but he knew how to handle a map fairly well. It was very exciting that a future monarch had surfaced, after the 15 years long drought that was the time since the last one died. Rory had vague memories of King Winston from television, and his death had deeply shocked the entire region.

After the rumors about the girl and the Keldeo surfaced, Hades had started ranting on about how Rory was chosen to protect her and guide her through her journey towards the throne. It was a fun joke, but after having heard it just a few times too many, he started to think there might actually be something in it. Hades was excited to help out, and Rory tagged along, confused as a Spinda on a roller coaster. It was all a big, weird mess, and it didn't help that his parents didn't really know how to react either. His dad didn't seem to care too much, and his mother was also skeptical, although she did raise a valid point. "If this summon is real, you'd be mad to ignore it.", she had said, as Rory sighed in displeasure.

And because of that event, he had now spent the majority of the day, traveling from Castelia City by boat to Virbank City, where he had taken a taxi over to Floccesy Town. He was kind of hoping that this Pledge Grove would be a marked tourism place or something, and was visibly displeased after learning that it was, in fact, located in the middle of the forest in a desolate place north of the town.

"Isn't this exciting? We get to meet the future queen!", Hades said cheerfully as he tripped along the vague overgrown path ahead of them. Rory was slowly walking behind him, trying not to get his suit dirty. He only muttered a few unfriendly words in return. He really disliked missing out on his work and school, but if this was as big a deal as it was hyped up to be, it couldn't be helped, not that he understood what he could possibly teach a future queen about more or less anything.

As the dynamic duo proceeded through the forest, the path widened, and they could see people further ahead. The Cut Rock also started to come into view behind the group. He then saw Keldeo, standing next to a young girl, a lot younger than he was, by the looks of it. That was likely her. Keldeo looked majestic next to her. "Well I'll be damned.." Rory said as he came to the conclusion that this was the real deal. Hades also seemed to be in awe by Keldeos presence. The duo walked over to the group, completely ignoring them as they adressed the girl and Keldeo. "My name is Rory. This is Hades." He then bowed gracefully to the girl, while Hades bowed to Keldeo. "Are we safe to assume that you are to be the new-" he began, before Keldeo interrupted him. "Her name is Sonja. She is not the monarch yet, but with your guidance, Guardian of Reliability, she will learn.". It sounded rehearsed, and Rory figured Keldeo had probably explained this quite a few times already. The girl, Sonja, seemed slightly uncomfortable next to Keldeo, probably confused as he was himself. This must be quite the burden to bear.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, young lady." Rory said. He looked around at the other people there. Guardian of Reliability? Keldeo had called him that for some reason. Then these people must be guardians of.. something as well. He sighed. He wasn't really in the social mode right now, considering the whole ordeal, but seeing as they were in the same boat as he was, it couldn't be helped. They all had Pokemon, like him, and some of them looked confused, although the majority seemed excited to be there.

 

[Dragalge]

Olivia Lee Parker
Perception

Pledge Grove

The winds in Virbank City blew calmly in the morning. Outside of Olivia's house were just the city folk getting ready for work as usual. While her father went to work as normally, the time where Olivia's mother's went to work was delayed due to a few Muk surrounding the facility she worked at. Because of this, Olivia's mother was able to share some advice with Olivia before her departure of her new adventure.

"I know it is always difficult when you are by yourself but know this my dear Olivia. As long as you and Fluffer are together, you will never be alone! Stay sharp and follow only the winds that you and Fluffer trust."

"You're right, mother. But what if there is a time where me and Fluffer are separated for a long period of time?" Olivia said in a concerned manner.

Olivia's mother then reminded her that as long as both Olivia and Fluffer are thinking of each other, the chain that links them both will never be shattered.

Before Olivia proceeded outside, her mother gave Olivia a bag of nuts for the trip and some cash too. Both Olivia and her mother hugged each other and Olivia went outside.

"There you are, Fluffer! Waiting for me as usual!" said Olivia as she smiled at Fluffer. Fluffer then jumped down slowly to the ground and stood next to Olivia.

"I wonder who we will meet at the Pledge Grove. I heard that Virizion was one of the three Pokémon that used Sacred Sword to carve a mark on the large rock standing at the end of the path!" Fluffer said explaining to Olivia.

Olivia then got excited after hearing about what Fluffer told her. Both ran to the path that lead outside of Virbank City.

Since the path between Floccesy Town and Virbank City was short, Olivia and Fluffer arrived at Floccesy Town while snacking on the nuts her mother gave her. Because the Pledge Grove was hidden secretly, Olivia and Fluffer had trouble finding the path. That confusion ended when a strong gust of wind picked up Fluffer into the air. Olivia asked if Fluffer was okay to which she nodded with a smile.

"I see something up to the north. It looks like a giant structure made of rock!" Fluffer gleefully said.

Olivia then asked Fluffer to walk over to the mysterious structure with her where Fluffer agreed.

Walking through the path, Fluffer heard a voice that came from at the end of the trail.

"Come forth, both you and the Guardian of Perception." Fluffer explained the words that was said and Olivia replied saying "This must be it! I can't wait to see who is at the end of the road!".

At the end of the trail stood a rocky structure with three carved marks in them. Standing in front of it was a group of people and their bond Pokémon. A small group of people and their Pokémon stood and looked at Olivia and Fluffer with a smile. Olivia loved what she saw at first glance as she spotted Pokemon such as Pichu, Gardevoir, Escavalier, Porygon, Dragonair, Houndoom, and the legendary Keldeo all by their sides. The young girl and the Keldeo walked up to her slowly.

Olivia was about to say hello to the young girl when Keldeo paused her words and said "This is Sonja. She isn't the monarch as of yet but lending us your assistance will be vital for this success to be guaranteed, Guardian of Perception.".

After Keldeo's words, Olivia agreed to help out in any way she and Fluffer could do. Followed by Olivia's agreement, a beautiful woman with her Gardevoir walked up and introduced herself and put her hand to Olivia. As both Cadence and Olivia shook hands, Cadence touched a small buzz zapper and slightly shocked Cadence.

Fluffer was already thrilled by the new people and Pokémon she saw. She happily came up to each guardian's Pokémon and smiled as a way to greet them.

 

[Tangeh]

Alvin Kohlberg
Innovation ;172;
Pledge Grove

More guardians arrived in quick succession. First a beautiful young woman waltzed in with a gardevoir and quickly took to chatting up Sonja and even referred to Keldeo as a "little pony". Sonja smiled and giggled a little at her comments before shyly covering her mouth. Keldeo rolled his eyes and snorted. "Welcome Cadenza Mia Amoré, Guardian of Compassion." Alvin could have sworn he saw Keldeo lift his head higher and straighten his stance.

The young woman turned her attention to Alvin and Sparky next, gushing briefly over Sparky before messing up Alvin's hair too. Alvin blushed and tried to smooth his hair out. It really wasn't much use at this point. She asked if he was a guardian as well. "U-uh, yes! Although, I have to admit I'm not totally sure what we're in for now..." He laughed awkwardly. "Oh, right - My name's Alvin, and this is Sparky."

"Hiya!" Sparky piped up, waving his tiny arms around in greeting. No need to translate that one. "You're really pretty! Alvin never talks to girls as pretty as you are." He smiled sweetly and scampered up to Alvin's shoulder as Alvin stared at his pokemon, dumbfounded. "Can you translate that for her, please?" Alvin shot him a look to shut him up and didn't oblige.

Next a young man with an escavalier came in. "Well, hey there. I hope I'm not late or anything," he said. Then he looked the girl with Keldeo. "The name's Sundance Araw." He gave a small bow of his head. "But everybody just calls me Sunny." He then gestured to his Escavalier at his right. "This here's Rei."

The Pokémon bowed her head at the mention of her name. "Escavalier, esca."

"She says we'll do our best."

"Welcome Sundance Araw, Guardian of Friendship." Keldeo replied.

"So how're you holding up kid? You all right?" Sunny addressed Sonja next.

The little girl nodded meekly. "Y-yes, I'm fine. I am honored, of course..." She glanced away. Alvin wasn't sure he could totally believe she was fine, but that was understandable.

He approached Alvin and Cadence next. Alvin had to crane his neck to make eye contact. The guy was incredibly tall. Sunny seemed more interested in Cadence than Alvin, not that Alvin could blame him. "My name's Alvin, and this is Sparky." Sparky, still perched on Alvin's shoulder, offered an enthusiastic wave.

Next, another young woman came in. She had an extremely short haircut, but carried herself with a lot of confidence. Alvin thought she was pretty, even without hair. He smiled as he watched her interact with Sonja - the little girl seemed to like her. He wondered if he should have brought a present for her as well. What would he even bring...? The girl introduced herself as Nova, and her Porygon began circling around the other guardian's heads. Sparky, intrigued as he always was by a new pokemon, reached curiously out as if to touch the porygon, but lost his balance on Alvin's shoulder and tumbled off. "Protect!" Alvin said hastily, and Sparky obediently shot a blue shield toward the ground, which neatly absorbed the impact. Sparky stood up, twitched his ears, and began to follow the porygon around. "Sorry!" Alvin hastily apologized. "That happens a lot; he's fine."

A young woman with long, red hair who introduced herself as Aella joined the party next, accompanied by a dragonair. "Hi Aella! My name's Alvin, and this is..." He glanced around, not immediately seeing Sparky. "Uh, well, the pichu's name is Sparky." He wasn't too worried as he knew Sparky was around somewhere; the little bugger was hard to spot sometimes. At least he wasn't around to point out that this girl was pretty cute too.

A boy with a houndoom came next. He was dressed in a suit, and Alvin immediately felt underdressed next to him. He introduced himself politely to Sonja and Keldeo, but seemed a bit disoriented by the whole ordeal. Alvin decided to leave him alone to settle in. A blur of yellow raced under everyone's feet and Sparky hid behind Alvin, peering at the houndoom with wide, frightened eyes. "He could eat me."

"Sparky," Alvin said in a low tone, "that's rude; he isn't going to eat you."

Next, a girl with a whimsicott entered the grove. She seemed a bit younger than the rest of the guardians, but greeted Keldeo and Sonja politely all the same. Alvin quirked a brow as he watched her prank Cadence with one of those handshake buzzers. He'd never seen one outside of cartoons before. He supposed he should humour her if she wanted to try it on him as well - it's not like he wasn't used to being shocked every day anyways. Alvin glanced down at Sparky, who, appropriate to his name, was involuntarily releasing nervous sparks as he watched the houndoom. Alvin knelt down and gently patted him. Sparky may not be an infant anymore, but he did need to comforted like one sometimes. Fortunately, the girl's whimsicott came over to greet Sparky, who perked up quickly at the distraction. "Hi! My name's Sparky!" he chattered, smiling widely back.

 

[Janice Quatlane]

Nova Rice
Patience ;137;
Pledge grove

Nova looked around at the group, hands on hips, with a friendly smile plastered across her face. "So, we all here then?" She questioned, as she glanced at all of the other guardians, her gaze resting on Keldeo. "We are still awaiting the arrival of the Guardian of Perseverance." Keldeo stated bluntly, bowing it's head in a respectful manner.

Sonja looked a little flustered, as she glanced across to Keldeo. "I'm... I'm awfully sorry for the wait!" She murmured, bowing her head also, granting her a slightly shocked look from Keldeo. "No no! It's totally fine!" Nova exclaimed, not wanting the little girl to be upset, feeling responsible for her, as a mother would for her child. "I'm plenty good at being patient." She grinned, earning a groan from someone in the group, a quiet snicker, and an eye roll from Java who was perched on Nova's shoulder.

"MUST you do that?" Java asked Nova, flabbergasted at her ridiculousness so soon, as only an hour ago she was panicking over meeting a Princess. Although deep down, it was glad that she was feeling a little bit more comfortable. Nova gave a shrill laugh as she combed her wisps of hair back with her hand. She then straightened up and looked around at the group once more.

"Right, please forgive me, but I'm absolutely terrible with names. I'll do my best." She pointed slightly at Keldeo and Sonja. "Right, I ought to know both of you. That's Keldeo, aaaand Sonja?" Nova asked quizzically, earning her a nod of confirmation from the two of them. She smiled widely in response, then turning to the messy haired individual with a Pichu perched on his shoulder.

"Okay, it's an A name? Adam? Anthony?" Alvin shook his head with a sympathetic smile. "I'm right with the A though, yeah? What about... Alvin?" She asked, with a great deal of uncertainty. Her answer was confirmed enthusiastically by Alvin, and she was formally introduced to his Pichu, Sparky. Nova found Sparky incredibly cute, and Java was incredibly wary of its electrical power, staying well out of its way.

Nova then focused her attention on the lady with the gorgeous hair. "Okay, Goldilocks, you're Cadence? And this is... I'm gonna say Lucia...?" Nova guessed, sighing slightly. "Gosh, I feel so rude. I'm not doing this on purpose, I swear." She said with an awkward laugh.

"Okay, next up is..." She looked up to the taller man, with an armoured Pokemon by hid side. "That's.. an Escavalier, right? My neighbour had a Karrablast, but that was years and years ago..." Nova said, trailing off slightly, thinking of better times, and better people. Java nudged Nova's neck slightly, to bring her back to reality. These are the better times, right now.

"Sorry Java!" Nova exclaimed, giving Java a gentle pat on the head. "The Escavalier is Rei, right? And that means you're Sundance? Or Sunny?" Nova's guesses were confirmed by a small smirk, and a gentle nod. She thought that he must be quite a quiet individual indeed.

Nova was familiar with the other members of the group, as she was there when they had initially introduced themselves. There was Aella, the Guardian of courage, and her Dragonair, whom Java found quite interesting indeed. "Nova, look! Dragonairs have a height of 13 feet. That's more than double your height!" Nova glared at the Porygon. "Don't be rude, you're 2 feet. I'M more than double your height." She said, with a slight smirk. She looked to Aella, who had a confused expression across her face. "Oh, God! Sorry! I was talking to Java..." She trailed off, exhaling heavily.

There was also Rory, and his Houndoom, given the esteemed title of "Guardian of Reliability." This 'Rory' didn't seem to be in the mood to socialise, however Nova saw him glance around at the group. She directed a friendly smile towards him, which went unreturned. Nova looked to Alvin, arguably the person seeming the most friendly out of the group, who wore a confused expression on his face. Nova soon noticed why, as she saw a blur of yellow dashing across to him. She put a sympathetic smile across her face just in case he caught her looking.

The last to arrive, but not the last Guardian, was a girl who introduced herself as Olivia, and her large fluffy Whimsicott as "Fluffer". A fitting name, if she'd ever heard one. And once again, Olivia had long gorgeous hair. Nova let out a defeated sigh at this. Although she tried not to be jealous, as she knew it was her own fault, she raised her hand to her head and felt the short scratchy hairs, the bald patches, and the anxiety. Just one little pull couldn't hurt...

Java sensed Nova's discomfort, and quickly floated over to her. "Calm down, it's fine." Java stated in a rather blunt manner, which seemed to help for some reason. Nova was often glad that only she could understand Java, and this was definitely one of those times.

 

[Monster Guy]

Cadenza "Cadence" Mia Amoré
Compassion ;282;
Pledge Grove


Sonja seemed to appreciate it by the way she giggled, but Keldeo rolled his eyes and snorted at Cadence calling him a pony. "Welcome Cadenza Mia Amoré, Guardian of Compassion." She could have sworn she saw Keldeo lift his head higher and straighten his stance.

"I don't think he likes that..." Lucia said.

"But he's adorable!" Cadence exclaimed. She figured the legendary Pokemon was a little bit uptight. She was sure he would loosen up over time. He did have a young girl as a partner after all. "You all can just call me Cadence. My full name is just a little bit too pretentious."

"U-uh, yes!" The boy said in response to Cadence's question. "Although, I have to admit I'm not totally sure what we're in for now..." He laughed awkwardly. "Oh, right - My name's Alvin, and this is Sparky."

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine. I'm actually looking foward to this myself."

Sparky piped up, waving his tiny arms around, He smiled sweetly and scampered up to Alvin's shoulder, and said something to Alvin. Cadence didn't know what was going on, but Lucia seemed to find it funny, since she was giggling. Alvin looked upset about his Pokemon's behavior, and decided not to question what his Pokemon had said.

Next a really tall young man with short blonde hair, and an escavalier came in. "Well, hey there. I hope I'm not late or anything," he said. Then he looked the girl with Keldeo. "The name's Sundance Araw." He gave a small bow of his head. "But everybody just calls me Sunny." He then gestured to his Escavalier at his right. "This here's Rei."

The Pokémon bowed her head at the mention of her name. "Escavalier, esca."

"She says we'll do our best."

He approached Sonja next, and asked if she was ok. She said she was, but Cadence wasn't so sure judging by her tone of voice when she answered. She couldn't blame her for being nervous. Suddenly discovering you're supposed to rule the region was a big deal.

He approached Alvin and Cadence next, but Cadence could tell he was more focused on her. She couldn't help giggling. "My name is Cadence. And that's my partner Lucia." She pointed out her Gardevoir, as she gave him a polite wave. Piacere di conoscerti." Cadence then blew him a kiss, and winked.

Next, another young woman came in. She had an extremely short haircut, but carried herself with a lot of confidence. The girl introduced herself as Nova, and her Porygon began circling around everyone elses heads. She looked across to Cadence, smiling warmly, and blushing slightly, which made Cadence raise an eyebrow, but she didn't think too much about it. "I love your hair. It's gorgeous." She gushed.

"Oh, thank you! Yours too. It takes a lot of confidence to pull off a hairstyle like that!"

A young woman with long, red hair, and who seemed to like cute hair decorations as much as Cadence did, introduced herself as Aella and joined the party next.

Another good-looking boy, this one with a houndoom came next. "Santo cielo! Are all the male guardians going to be handsome!" Cadence blurted out suddenly, He was dressed in a suit. He introduced himself politely to Sonja and Keldeo, but didn't speak to the others. Cadence made a point to talk to him first.

Finally, a younger girl with a Whimsicott entered the grove, and introduced herself to Sonja and Keldeo. Then she offered Cadence a hand. Once she took it though, she immediately felt a shock. It didn't hurt, but it did make her jump up and yelp. She could tell her hair was standing on end. The other girl had one of those joy buzzers in her hand. "Haha, alright. You got me." Cadence laughed, then immediately pulled out a compact mirror and comb from her purse, and started combing her blonde and lavender hair down.

After she got her hair in order, she went over to talk to Rory. "So, what are you doing here all by yourself? I'm Cadence by the way."

Meanwhile, Lucia nervously eyed his Houndoom. "Um... Cadence... Be careful... He has a Houndoom."

Cadence looked at her Gardevoir and scoffed. "Pfft! Lucia, you're a Fairy type. You don't have to be scared of a doggie!"

"Well, I'm still unnerved by it..."

"You'll have to excuse her..." Cadence said, turning her attention back to Rory. "She's scared of your Houndoom..."

 

[Schade]

=-------------------~♚~-------------------=
Rory Denver & Hades
Reliability
Pledge Grove

After his own arrival, another girl with long, blonde hair ahowed up. This one accompanied by a Whimsicott. She seemed to be somewhat of a childish type, using a buzzer to prank the purple-clad girl. Rory and Hades rolled their eyes in unison. Hades was also somewhat occupied staring at a boy's Pichu. the little thing looked absolutely terrified, and Rory could hear that its partner, a nerdy-looking guy, was saying reassuring things to it about not having to be afraid of Hades. "Are they talking about me?" Hades asked, tilting his head, giving the Pichu a confused, yet intimidating gaze. Houndooms were intimidating Pokemon, he couldn't really help it, and Rory didn't really understand why people were afraid of him. In his eyes, Hades was adorable. An adorable fluffy, soft doggie. Although he'd never say such things out loud in front of others. In order to seal the deal with the Pichu, Hades released a tiny puff of smoke with his Smog Attack. The Pichu jumped, and looked like it was about to faint. "Leave the poor thing alone." Rory said in a stern tone to Hades, while hiding a slight smirk.

"So, what are you doing here all by yourself? I'm Cadence by the way.", the purple clad girl said as she walked over to him, trying to start a conversation. She was decently attractive, but the childish look eminating from her outfit and dyed hair made her look more unappealing than she could have been. She looked like the kind of girl that have never experienced hard work of any kind in her life, being spoiled from a young age. Still, he decided he would be polite, if nothing else. He knew better than to judge people on assumptions. "I am here because I am summoned here." he simply said, as if stating the obvious, which he kinda was. Didn't she get he memo about why the group was there?
Her own partner Pokemon, a Gardevoir was giving Hades some wary looks. Hades, who had picked up on Rory's change in attitude, was sitting down next to him, chest out, chin up and with an equally stern look on his face. Rory had to concentrate in order to not go ballistic over how adorable he was.

"Pfft! Lucia, you're a Fairy type. You don't have to be scared of a doggie!", Cadence said to relax her partner. "Doggie, eh? That ain't nice of'ya!" Hades snarled back at the pokemon while releasing another small puff of smoke. This is not really helping on the intimidating first impression that he wanted to avoid for the both of them. Rory sighed. "You'll have to excuse her... She's scared of your Houndoom...", Cadence said in an apologetic tone.

"That is wise of her. His bite is worse than his bark.", Rory replied. He looked down at Hades. "Calm Down." he told him. Hades obliged right away, scoffed and went back into eeriely eyeing the Pichu. He would try to salvage the first impression as much as he could. This often happened. Hades adapted to Rory's way of behaving in public. It wasn't tat bad per se, but it did kind of soil the first impression, and those were very important. "I can only assume you are here because you were summoned as well? I can't think of any other reason to wander out in the middle of the woods wearing heels". He finished his sentence while taking a glance at her footwear.

 

[Sketchie]

---;468;---
Joshua Hoffman and Isaac
Perseverance
Pledge Grove
---~---​

Joshua held to Isaac as they soared across the channel. Flying was his preferred method of transportation, he felt it was faster and safer than putting his life in someone else's hands, and he liked the cool sea air in his face. He swooped down into Flocessy Town, looking around nervously. Was he in the right place? Was he even the correct person? You can't just text Keldeo 5 times to make sure you have the right time, right place, and the invitation was sent to the right person.

"I don't know, Isaac," Joshua said nervously, pulling his hands close to his face, "Maybe we shouldn't go, I mean, the new princess can survive with seve--"

Isaac nudged Joshua in the back, pushing him closer to the pathway to the grove. "C'mon, Joshie," he chirped, "It'll be fun!" Joshua cast a worried look back at his pokemon, who returned his gaze with softness. "And I'll be right beside you the whole time. Aaron was so excited, and... and you know Caleb's proud too, wherever he is."

Joshua lowered his head, rubbing his thumb over the necklace under his shirt. "Ja, I guess you're right..." He shook his head, taking a deep breath before setting on the path and making his way to the gro--

ohmygoodness there are so many people and he's the last one there and oh no is he going to be the center of attention now? N-no. They weren't watching, they all seemed to be informally grouped, as nothing had happened yet. He still could feel people's gazes burning into him, and when you're six-feet-eight-inches, it is very difficult to hide. He leaned down to Isaac, whispering, "Do I have to introduce myself?"

There was a wild look in Isaac's eye, one that only made Joshua's anxiety worse. "Isaac, I don't know what you're thinking but-- hey, wait, cut that out!" Isaac pushed Joshua towards Keldeo and a small, dark-haired girl. His eyes met the girl's, and he knelt down to meet her. "Hallo. My naam is Joshua. What's yours?"

"Guardian of Perseverance, this is Sonja. She's in training to be the new monarch, but she isn't royalty yet." Keldeo answered for her.

Joshua smiled, his hands still shaking a little. "It's nice to meet you, Sonja. I hope Isaac and I can be of service." He got up and bowed a little at the waist, before getting out of the way. He scanned the area, taking in everyone here with their pokemon. Yep, he was the tallest here. A golden-haired girl with her Gardevoir, a tiny red-head girl with a pretty dragonaire, a porygon girl who was also quite short, an-- oh hey, he's actually pretty tall! He'd still be shorter, though. He drew into himself, looking away. I'm late, I can't talk to anyone here...

Isaac rolled his eyes. "Baby." He cheerfully hopped over to the Gardevoir and the Houndoom, chirping a cheerful "Hello!"

 

[Monster Guy]

♥ Cadenza "Cadence" Mia Amoré
Compassion ;282;
Pledge Grove ♥
​

"I am here because I am summoned here." he simply said, as if stating the obvious. Cadence rolled her eyes. "Well, duh! I know that, ragazzo sciocco!"

The Houndoom said something, and let out a puff of smoke in Lucia's direction. The Gardevoir's hand started to glow pink as she was just about to fire a Moonblast at him, but Cadence calmed her down before that happened.

"That is wise of her. His bite is worse than his bark.", Rory replied as he calmed his Pokemon. "I can only assume you are here because you were summoned as well? I can't think of any other reason to wander out in the middle of the woods wearing heels".

Cadence giggled. "Says the one wandering out in the middle of the woods wearing a suit! Besides, if they get in the way, I can go to a store and buy some nice flats. I'm sure the future monarch would love a shopping trip! Listen, what I meant was, why are you sitting here all by yourself instead of talking to people. It seems like we're going to be working together, so we may as well get to know each other, right?"

At this point, the last guardian, which happened to be another cute guy arrived. This boy was very tall, moreso than Sunny, blonde, and was accompanied by an equally Togekiss. He vaguely reminded her of her brother. After introducing himself to Sonja, he turned away from everybody else. He also didn't talk to the other guardians, but his Pokemon sure did. The Togekiss greeted Lucia and Lucia cheerfully responded, "Well, aren't you adorable! I'm Lucia." She was glad to be away from that Houndoom.

"Speaking of getting to know one another..." Cadence went over to the new arrival, and gave him a friendly pat on the head. "Well, hello there, sweetie! Trying to make a grand entrance are we?" She said with a giggle. "My name is Cadence. Who might you be?"

 

[Tangeh]

Alvin Kohlberg
Innovation ;172;
Pledge Grove

Alvin noticed that Cadence's gardevoir seemed a bit unnerved by the Houndoom as well, as she was trying to comfort her much like he'd been trying to do with Sparky. Sparky was thankfully distracted by Fluffer for a little bit, until he noticed that the Houndoom was eying him like he was a snack. He quickly went back to hiding behind Alvin. He caught Nova giving him a sympathetic smile in response to Sparky's behaviour, and Alvin sheepishly shrugged a response and smiled back.

Fhoof. Alvin just barely caught sight of a small puff of smoke -

"CHUUUUUUUUU!"

Alvin quickly shielded Sparky in his arms, taking the full brunt of the thunderbolt himself rather than risk anybody else getting shocked. The attack was short-lived, and both he and Sparky blinked rapidly to clear the stars out of their eyes. Alvin's first instinct of smoothing his hair out after being shocked made it clear that he wasn't injured. It was such a regular occurrence that he didn't think much of it anymore. Sparky flattened his ears and bowed his little body forward as Alvin set him back on the ground. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..." There was no use scolding Sparky; he had no control over his discharges. They were linked purely to emotion, and the only real solution was evolution.

"That houndoom is just like any other pokemon, Spark. Don't let him scare you." He smiled and knelt down to rub Sparky's head. "Why don't you go introduce yourself?"

Sparky stared nervously at the houndoom. "Um... maybe later?" Alvin decided not to push the issue; the houndoom admittedly didn't look very friendly. Another insanely tall guy entered on a togekiss. He made the guy with the houndoom look short, and that was saying something. Cadence quickly introduced herself so Alvin hung back, not wanting to force Sparky any closer to the houndoom.

Sonja Overbay
Future Monarch :647:
Pledge Grove

Finally, all of the Guardians had gathered. Sonja smiled as she surveyed all of them, then looked shyly at the ground. They did look pretty strong. Maybe she really could do this...

Keldeo stepped forward, his gaze set seriously on the eight Guardians. "Now that you have all gathered, you will be officially sanctioned in as the eight Guardians of Sonja Overbay, Future Monarch of Unova." He reared onto his two hind legs, then brought his forelegs down hard into the rocky ground. A small crack appeared, glowing bright white. The white glow traveled to each of the eight Guardians, embracing them gently. "Take a good look around," Keldeo said clearly through telepathy. The cavern had gone eerily quiet save for his voice in their heads. "The journey you will embark on will contain many hardships. I emplore you to be courageous and take heart that you are privileged to be a part of this momentous occasion." At the word "courageous", the light around Aella grew brighter, and then dimmed. "May you have the patience to see this journey to completion, and the perseverance to not give up when times become difficult." Likewise, the light around Nova and Joshua grew brighter and then dimmed. "Allow us to rely on you when you are needed, and your comrades shall do the same for you. It is this compassion for understanding and helping each other that will allow you to succeed" Rory was highlighted at these words, and then Cadence. "May you have the ability to perceive when a problem occurs, and be able to innovate when the solution isn't obvious." The light glowed brighter around Olivia first, and then Alvin. "Finally, may these deeds bring out friendship and comradery between us, and to those who help us along the way." Sunny glowed for a few moments, and then also faded.

Keldeo was silent for a few moments. "These eight traits are what will eventually govern our nation of Unova." Keldeo surveyed the Guardians with a hard gaze. "You were selected due to your exceptional connection to your individual trait, and I know you will do your best to pass your wisdom onto Sonja." He bowed to the eight Guardians, tucking one foreleg under his body and lowering his neck respectively. He then repeated the gesture to Sonja, who nervously stepped forward.

Sonja clasped her hands together and knelt on the ground in the traditional Sinnoh prayer position with her eyes still closed. "May Cresselia watch over us and grant us a safe journey. Should I be accepted as a Monarch, let me exhibit all eight of the Guardian traits to guide Unova toward a better future." Sonja straightened and looked upwards. "May Unova's past Monarchs accept and guide us as well." Sonja shifted her gaze between the eight Guardians. "...Thank you... thank you for helping me..."

The eerie silence lifted, and Keldeo sided next to Sonja. "That last line isn't a part of the traditional Journey of Trials prayer."

"But I wanted to say thank you..." Sonja explained softly. She too straightened up.

"If the Legends heard us," Keldeo said, "We should receive guidance to the first Trial location shortly."

Alvin Kohlberg
Innovation ;172;
Pledge Grove

Sparky, who had been unusually still during the ceremonial prayers, suddenly perked up, a look of awe coming across his face. "Something's happening," he said vaguely.

Alvin quirked a brow. "What is it?" He didn't have time to question Sparky further, as the pichu's eyes glazed over and then glowed eerily white. "Sparky?!" Alvin called, alarmed. He reached out to touch Sparky, and his own eyes glowed bright white as well -

He could see Route 20 rushing by, then the city of Virbank he'd stayed in just yesterday. A large passenger ship ferried his vision across to Castelia City, where people rushed past at a blinding pace as he moved to the very edge of the city, past what he knew was the entrance to Skyarrow bridge - then darkness, dampness..."

Pledge Grove abruptly came back into his line of sight and Alvin sat up, not remembering falling to the ground. He looked first at Sparky, who still appeared to be in a trance.

Keldeo quickly hounded him. "What did you see? Share your vision with us." Sonja stood next to Keldeo, curiously awaiting his answer.

"I..." Alvin thought back. Sparky suddenly shook his little body and scampered into Alvin's bag. "It went from here out to Route 20, to Virbank, the boat across to Castelia, and then..." Alvin paused, trying hard to think. What had that been?" Sparky reappeared with a map of the region, and Alvin spread it on the ground. "Somewhere within Castelia, past the entrance to Skyarrow Bridge. It was dark and wet." He traced the path from Pledge Grove to the edge of Castelia. "I believe it must be somewhere within the Castelia Sewers, if I'm reading this map correctly. There's an entrance just past Skyarrow Bridge, right here..."

Keldeo nodded. "Very good. Which direction is it in?"

Alvin and Sparky hesitated for a moment, then simultaneously pointed not at the cavern's only exit, but strangely east into the stone wall. They both knew what direction it was in, somehow, but only had the brief vision as a roadmap to get there.

Keldeo paced to the cavern's exit. "The past legends have granted us passage to the first trial. We leave at once." Sonja hurried to catch up to him, but he turned invisible, prompting her to hesitate and look uncertainly around. "Do not worry about me, Sonja. I am here with you, but it is dangerous for you to be seen with a legendary pokemon. It could make you a target. Trust in the Guardians; they will guide us."

Sparky sprinted forward. "Come on come on come on!!"

Alvin began following. "I guess we'll need to head to Virbank first. Uh, Route 20 isn't too bad; we should make it there by nightfall."

...​

The journey to Virbank was tiring (to Alvin, at least), but otherwise uneventful. Sonja stuck close to Nova and Sunny through most of the trek through Route 20, and he assumed Keldeo was nearby as well, though nobody could see him. Sonja seemed to have a good idea of where he was, sometimes reaching out to touch him for reassurance. The wild pokemon weren't much of a problem. Perhaps they could sense Keldeo's presence? Sparky was a bit enthusiastic in his role as a Guardian, and gleefully sent out thunderbolts whenever he felt a wild pokemon was getting too close. Alvin halfheartedly tried to reason that a patrat was really nothing to be concerned about.

They slept in the Virbank pokemon centre for the night, under the guise of training together for the gym challenge. The guys took one room, and the girls took another. Keldeo didn't join them, which Sonja was anxious about at first, but was eventually coaxed into sleeping at the pokemon centre with the others. Keldeo reappeared in the morning, announcing his presence only with a telepathic "good morning" as he was still invisible. The gang boarded the earliest ferry to Castelia (some members in the group were still half asleep), and they finally got a short break as they waited to arrive at Castelia.

Alvin and Sparky sat on the top deck. Alvin was worried over what would happen when they finally arrived. He had no idea what they were getting into. What exactly did a trial consist of? He remembered learning about the basic process in grade school history class, but it had been many years since then. Sparky was much less concerned, and ran laps eagerly around the deck in anticipation. "Hey," Alvin scolded, "you should save your energy."

Sparky ran back to his trainer and grinned widely. "It's called warming up! Wanna try it with me?"

"I think I'll stay here, thanks..."

 

[Dragalge]

Olivia Lee Parker
Perception

Pledge Grove

With everyone gathered at the Pledge Grove, Keldeo said a message regarding how Olivia should perceive whenever a problem occurs along with messages to the other guardians. Olivia surprisingly responded happily to the light appearing under her feet saying “Oh wow pretty lights! I never knew Keldeo had such powers wouldn’t you agree, Fluffer?”.

“Indeed, Olivia. Keldeo is after all a powerful Pokemon. With him and everyone else around, we will always be safe!” Fluffer said with a smile.
The first trial's location was discovered by Sparky in which it was located in the Castelia Sewers in Castelia City. Since Olivia lived in a city where Grimer and Muk were around, Olivia thought to herself that the potential stench would not bother her much. Keldeo then became invisible due to telling Sonja that its appearance might make it a threat towards not only her but to everyone else. This left Olivia curious as to how Keldeo was able to perform wondrous abilities. Olivia then followed the others back to Virbank City where the night sky was present.

As the guardians made their way to the Pokemon Center at night in Virbank City after venturing throughout Route 20, Olivia thought to herself if she would ever see her home city ever again. Fluffer then reminded her that her parents and friends would always think of her and that Olivia should do the same. She then overhead a voice saying that the Muk infestation that prevented her mother from going to work during normal hours was completely gone. This made Olivia smile a bit seeing as her mother could go to work again safely.

It was late so Olivia and Fluffer joined the rest of the girls to sleep for the night. During the sunrise, Keldeo’s said good morning to the group while invisible. However, Olivia was still asleep and thus Keldeo told Fluffer to wake her up. Fluffer let out a small dose of her Stun Spore attack which made Olivia sneeze very loud across the room and thus woke her up. Olivia thanked Fluffer for preventing her from oversleeping again and both headed toward the dock and boarded the ferry to Castelia City.

At the top deck, Olivia noticed Sparky running around in circles eagerly to where Alvin told Sparky to keep his energy conserved. Olivia overheard what Alvin said about not partaking in Sparky’s warmup to which Olivia walked over and said “Aw but we should try to keep our spirits up! After all, if you worry too much, you may lose some confidence in yourself.”.

 

[Hydrangea]

★

★
Aella Doukas & Leucothea
Courage
Pledge Grove
★ ★ ★​

The grove was filled with all sorts of interesting people, each one accompanied by a Pokemon that was equally as interesting. Aella didn't actually know a whole lot about Pokemon, her experience was mostly with that of Leuco. But each of these people around her had some beautiful Pokemon, each seemingly suited towards their individual personalities. She smiled at the thought, she wondered if they thought the same of her and her beautiful serpent friend, Leuco. She herself couldn't see it, as she viewed Leuco as a polar opposite to herself, stark in contrast but able to pull each other together as a full entity and help each other where and when they needed it.

She was roused from her thoughts rather quickly, Keldeo had begun to speal; including each and every person within his speech. Aella stayed silent through most of it, somewhat spaced out until one line perked her interest.

"I emplore you to be courageous and take heart that you are privileged to be a part of this momentous occasion." Keldeo said proudly, his words resonating within Aella's very core. As he spoke this, a brilliant light shone under Aella's feet; making her feel powerful, yet, meek in a way. She was afraid she wouldn't live up to what Keldeo and the monarch expected of her, but she kept her head tall and formed a grin upon her face. After Keldeo said his speech, Alvin felt where the group must go and they traveled to the Virbank City Pokemon Center to spend the night. The girls took one room, the boys took another. However, Aella felt restless.

She tossed and turned until Leuco came up beside her, she could sense her master's fear and anxiety and cuddled up beside her. Sleeping with her head upon Aella's chest, the two fell asleep in a sudden peacefulness after this before being reawoken in the morning by Keldeo once again. Well, it wasn't exactly physically Keldeo, just a telepathic good morning to warn them he was there.

The group boarded a ferry to Castelia City, large and beautiful as it was. Aella walked like a zombie, coming to place herself on the top deck near Alvin and Olivia; coffee in one hand, brush in the other. Leuco picked up the brush in her hand and began brushing her trainers long, beautiful and very very messy hair.

"So... tired..." Groaned Aella, watching as Sparky ran in circles. She wished she had that much energy in the morning. The only energy she could feel right now was the static electricity flowing through her hair as Leuco attempted to smooth it with a brush.

 

[Monster Guy]

♥ Cadenza "Cadence" Mia Amoré
Compassion ;282;
Pledge Grove ♥
​

After everyone had arrived, Keldeo made a speech, indicating each one of the guardians in his speech. Each one of them were highlighted by a bright light during different parts of his speech. Cadence shone brightly during the line that said, It is this compassion for understanding and helping each other that will allow you to succeed" The girl giggled excitedly. This was an inspiring speech for sure, even if Keldeo's voice didn't match the cute little pony image he had going on.

After Keldeo said his speech, Alvin felt where the group must go, and they headed off to Virbank City to spend the night before they made their way to Castleia City. The trip was relatively uneventful. Sonja stayed with Nova and Sunny and she could only assume Keldeo was there. He had turned invisible claiming that being seen with him might make Sonja a target. It made sense, but then the girl was travelling with an entourage of 8. Who would be so bold as to actually threaten them? Cadence stayed close to the boys, and Lucia avoided Hades the Houndoom. Cadence talked about how Pokestar Studios was in Virbank, and that it was unfortunate they couldn't stay longer to see a movie being filmed.

After they arrived in Virbank City, they went to the Pokemon Center to spend the night. The girls took one room, the boys took another. Once they got to their room, Cadence left to do some food shopping. She was an aspiring, and she was sure her friends would appreciate a freshly cooked breakfast. She wouldn't have enough to make something fancy, but their was enough time to make some breakfast pastries.

That night, she went to bed early, and got up early to get herself together, and prepare the pastries. She was grateful to have a Psychic type Pokemon to help her put ingredients together faster than she could on her own. By the time Keldeo had greeted them with a telepathic good morning, the pastries were in the oven baking. Everyone woke up to the smell of freshly baked bread and fruit.

After the pastries were done baking, she packed them up in a picnic basket, and cheerfully went off to the docks with everyone else."Buongiorno!" She greeted happily. "I made breakfast for everyone!" She gestured to Lucia, who telekinetically levitated the pastries out of the basket, and handed one to each person and the Pokemon. "There wasn't enough time for anything fancy, but I am studying to be a chef, so I'm sure it'll be good!"

 

[Schade]

=-------------------~♚~-------------------=
Rory Denver & Hades
Reliability
Pledge Grove

"Says the one wandering out in the middle of the woods wearing a suit! Besides, if they get in the way, I can go to a store and buy some nice flats. I'm sure the future monarch would love a shopping trip! Listen, what I meant was, why are you sitting here all by yourself instead of talking to people. It seems like we're going to be working together, so we may as well get to know each other, right?", the girl Cadence said to Rory. She seemed friendly enough, not really a lot like the spoiled way he had anticipated her to be, although she did have some tendencies for it. Regardless, she seemed nice, and what she said was true. It was apparent that Rory now needed to be social with the others in the group, although he wasn't overly fond of it. Hades also loosened up on his attitude, as if he had read Rory's mind.

Cadence went ahead to greet another arrival, this time a very uncomfortable looking tall guy. Taller than he was himself, he was blonde, and accompanied by a Togekiss. "Another Fairy-Type, eh?", Hades said, looking at the happy go-lucky Pokemon as it danced around all happy. The togekiss also danced over to where the two was standing, chirping. "Hello to you too", Hades said, looking very uncomfortable. Rory decided this was the time to try for a good, social first impression. "Hello.", he said, trying (but failing) to act friendly, while giving one of those failed smiles that works the opposite effect when trying to act friendly. Well, at least he tried. It would likely go better over time.

After this new guys arrival, Keldeo started speaking again. It was quite the show, even including lightshow. "Allow us to rely on you when you are needed, and your comrades shall do the same for you.", Keldeo said, and Rory and Hades glowed in a warm light momentarily. That was his role in all of this? Just hanging around in case people needed him? Eh, no matter. If he could help the future monarch in any way, that would be enough for him. That was it then. The official job was babysitting/Tutoring for the future monarch. The reality of it all became clearer, and Rory managed to relax a bit better at this. The girl then proceeded with some words of gratitude.

After finally getting out of the forest, the group headed to Virbank city just nearby, to spend the night before traveling by ferry the following day. He didn't feel like being social with anyone, and rather spent the short travel to look through his schedule. Looked like he'd miss out on quite a lot. His boss had agreed to hold on to his position if he ever came back there, but even that patience would likely run out at some point. He sighed.
At the Virbank Pokemon Center, the group was divided into rooms by their gender. The evening was young, so Rory spent the most of it by cleaning his suit. Even though the trip was short, it had taken its toll on it, especially the shoes. He'd have to obtain a less formal suit once they reached Castelia City. One more suited for traveling by foot.

He didn't sleep too well that night, and neither did Hades. Not because some of the other guys were snoring, but not for any particular other reason either. He did manage to sneak in a few hours before his alarm went off. His routine always consisted of going to bed late and waking up early. He wasn't really one of those "sleeping in"-kind of guys, and didn't really need too much sleep. He decided he would take a jog just before sunrise, and exited the room to the smell of freshly baked goodies. It appeared Cadence was preparing a breakfast of some sort. He didn't bother to say hi, and walked past the kitchen area and towards the exit.

Strolling through Virbank City, he saw a numerous amount of stores and shops opening, fishermen leaving with their ships, and the occasional jogger or cyclist doing a morning stroll just like himself. He wasn't wearing his suit now, as it was drying after he washed it the day before. Instead, he used a simple pair of black sweatpants, and a simple white tank top. Hades was happily skipping along. Like Rory, Hades didn't really sleep very much. Although this was due to his Early Bird ability, Rory couldn't help but think how ironic it was for both of them to be such early birds.
Looking at the time, it was time for him to get back to the Pokemon Center. He swiftly changed into his suit, and followed as the others ventured down to the docks to wait for the ferry to take them further.

"There wasn't enough time for anything fancy, but I am studying to be a chef, so I'm sure it'll be good!", Cadence said. Rory was now aware that there was a floating piece of pastry floating in front of him. It smelled delicious, and looked rather pleasant too. She's studying to be a chef? That's surprising. He grabbed it out of the air and took a bite. It was still warm, and crispy on the outside. It tasted delicious, and made him all warm and fizzy inside. Hades too, seemed to share this feeling as he chomped down his own piece.

"This was delicious!" Rory said, giving Cadence a warm smile. "Right Hades?". Hades released a puff of smoke as he grinned towards Cadence and Lucia.

 

[Janice Quatlane]

Nova Rice
Patience ;137;
Pledge grove ----> Castelia city

"...May you have the patience to see this journey to completion..." - As the words were spoken by Keldeo, Nova felt a sense of fulfillment and achievement; which was further amplified by the bright light that shone around her - giving her a somewhat ethereal glow. She knew that Java felt that wonderful feeling too, as evidenced by it's shifting on her shoulder.

It was a somewhat similar feeling to meeting Java, and bonding with it. That sense of being drawn to something - in this case, feeling compelled to the duty of protecting this little girl - her "little pony" in Cadence's words, and this wonderful group of people and pokemon, whom were as similar and familiar to her as they were strange and alien.

Upon seeing Keldeo bow, and Sonja kneel in a respectful fashion, Nova also dipped into a deep curtsey - earning her a few nervous glances from the others, whom didn't know whether they should bow or curtsey also. Upon realising that no one else was accompanying her in the deed, she quickly straightened herself up sheepishly, earning her a groan from Java, whom was struggling to keep his perch on Nova's shoulder.
"Shut up, you.." She whispered angrily towards it.

After discovering the location of the first trial - that of Innovation - was in Castelia City, Nova felt a pang of emotion in her chest. Already she was going back to the place that she called "Home", and although she couldn't say she'd explored the sewers, she felt both happiness and returning to familiarity, and disappointment at returning so soon.

The group of them headed through route 20 towards Virbank city - 7 young adults, 1 teenager, a little girl, and 8 pokemon along with one invisible legendary. Although Nova had no brothers or sisters, she still felt a need to look after Sonja and stay close to her. She looked down at Sonja, holding out her hand. Sonja took it, and Nova squeezed it lightly. "You okay, darling?" She murmured softly, receiving an uncertain nod in reply.

Nova did her best to converse with the rest of the group, making polite small talk about their work, and their families. She was especially impressed with Olivia - a vet in training at only 14! Nova thought back to her own days as a 14 year old. They weren't such good times. Mostly spent locked away in her room cursing her parents, and cursing herself. Java, a Porygon, with no sense of gender, didn't really understand why there was such a big fuss - but still, it was a comfort to her.

Soon the group arrived in Virbank city, and hastily made their way to the Pokemon centre. The girls and the boys split into different rooms - and although Nova couldn't say for sure what happened in the boys room, she could've sworn that she'd heard a lot of squealing - although that might've been the girl scouts down the hall who were very excited about the pokemon team building exercise they were to take part in. As they walked past them in the lobby, Nova saw Sonja giving them a nervous glance, although she was quickly comforted by the others who quickly ushered her on towards the rooms.

As for the girls' room, it was quite a relaxed atmosphere. Nova took off her makeup, and put on her black cotton cap which she wore to sleep to deviate herself from pulling. She looked quite comical, with no makeup on apart from very dark eyebrows. She saw Aella glancing towards her, and waggled them as best she could. Aella didn't really notice her efforts, and Nova was only very slightly offended. Nova and Java snacked on bits of popcorn that she'd found in the bottom of her handbag - (They'd dusted them off, don't worry!) and Java dug around in her bag for other treats. Although it didn't find any, it did find a surprising amount of Lillipup shaped paperclips. Producing one from the depths of the bag, Java was quickly met with a finger across Nova's lips, and a mischievous grin. She loved odd little things like that.

Not really noticing what the rest of them were doing, Nova got out her laptop and carried on with some programming projects. She didn't actually remember going to sleep, all she remembered was waking up in the morning with drool on her keyboard, and Keldeo's commanding voice booming "GOOD MORNING." In her ear. Good bloody morning indeed. Tying a red silk scarf around her head, Nova applied her makeup as quickly as she could (It was an art in itself.) And rushed off to meet the others.

"Nova, you forgot your laptop." Java said as she was going out the door. "Oh Shhiii..." She exclaimed, suddenly noticing Sonja in the corridor staring at her with wide eyes. "...Shroomish." She looked the young girl right in her eyes. "Swearing is bad, Sonja." She nodded eagerly in response.

Although Cadence had made pastries for them all, and they were ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS, Nova managed to soon eject hers by being terribly seasick and hurling over the side of the ferry. She spent the rest of the trip, locked in a toilet cubicle, with some friendly strangers hovering outside the door asking things like "Sweetheart, are you okay?" and "Do you want some water?" and "Can you hurry up in there? I just drank three cups of coffee and I'm about to wet myself."

All of the friendly strangers cleared off after that comment.

Java asking her repeatedly if it could have a snack didn't help much at all either - although it didn't need to eat, it sure did have an appetite. Java found its response in Nova dry heaving into the toilet at the mention of the word 'snack'. She didn't really want to think about food. The Porygon mostly left her alone for the rest of the journey, choosing to hang out with Alvin and Sparky and Aella and all of the other people who weren't puking into the toilet.

Nova spent the rest of the journey bent over a toilet, and hoped that there wouldn't be too many more boat journeys over the course of this adventure.

 

[Tangeh]

Alvin Kohlberg
Innovation ;172;
Ferry to Castelia

Alvin noticed Olivia and Fluffer walking over to him. “Aw but we should try to keep our spirits up!" Olivia said. "After all, if you worry too much, you may lose some confidence in yourself.”

Sparky continued to race around the ship, a look of determination on his small face. Alvin smiled at Olivia. Keldeo had said she was the Guardian of Perception. He supposed it was natural for her to take notice of his brooding over the upcoming trial. "I guess I'm just nervous because I don't know what's about to happen," Alvin explained, quickly downplaying his concerns. "It's reassuring to be in a big group like this. At least we aren't doing this alone." That was true at least, but would they really be successful eight times over? It was a lot to ask. He glanced across to the other side of the ferry, where Sonja looked as if she were standing alone, staring into the endless waves. He knew Keldeo was right next to her, though they couldn't see him. He knew she must be nervous too. Should he be consulting with her and Keldeo? He supposed Keldeo didn't want to have any attention drawn to him, but still, he felt ill prepared for whatever task lay ahead for them.

Aella approached their group, looking like she was still half asleep. Her dragonaire was trying to smooth out her hair as she fought just to stay awake. Alvin offered a sympathetic smile. He could relate to bedhead. "Good morning." He noticed her staring at Sparky. "Uh, don't mind him. I probably shouldn't have let him eat the entire pastry that Cadence gave him..." The last thing the bugger needed was sugar. Well, maybe after caffeine, which he bet Aella could use some more of.

"That was good!" Sparky argued, finally approaching the group and cheerfully waving. "Hi Fluffer, hi Olivia, hi Leuco, hi Aella!" He blinked as another pokemon came over. "Hi Java!"

Alvin quirked a brow. "You're good with names this morning." He noticed Java floating over from the women's bathroom, and then noticed Nova's absence. "Um, is Nova alright...?"

"You didn't see her puke over the railing?" Sparky asked, grinning. "It was awesome! Kinda gross, but still awesome!"

"Oh. I see. Nevermind." He hoped she would recover once the boat stopped moving. This was off to a bad start already... He frowned and fell back into a quiet brood, his mind quickly cycling through every other possible thing that could go wrong before they even reached the sewers.