Well as cosy as the lab seemed to be, everyone had left it in a hurry after the events there. Vaahn and Twix was walking side by side for a while until the Sylveon started to get into its bouncy mood again and started to skip around while singing instead. At that point Vaahn simply chuckled again as he let out a soft sigh in relief. The female he now accompanied seemed a bit angry about the event, and the male was still seemingly going onward like a Train. Vaahn had to step up his usual pace to keep up with these two, even if he weren't in a hurry of really felt compelled to keep following them... yet he had somewhat promised his Syleveon that he would get a chance to at least meet the other Eevee evolutions.
While following the two he wondered if he should say something or just let their steam blow off before then, eventually he decided on the former and just silently followed instead.

It was official. The first thing they would be doing was going to the pokecenter in the next town! Or at least in Sonya's mind that was the plan. Of course they also had to go there first, find the pokecenter, and then everything would be good! Of course that was also easier said than done considering it took time to get from one point to another, not to mention the fact that Sonya was still a bit bitter about the whole incident at the lab. Once you got her started on something it never ended. "Ugh! I can't stand it! I wanted was a simple question answered! Not a 'Oh, just go ask someone at a pokecenter' or some stupid ghost pokemon who had the most pathetic Psychic attack I've ever seen, and to top it all off, I'm getting hungry!" They had been walking in silence for a little while now, and it had finally been the last little nudge to send Sonya over the edge.

Alfred had been following in silence his pokemon quite literally the thing that set him apart for the other two. He looked like a inexperienced amateur who didn't even care for his pokemon to as to warrent putting them in their pokeballs. There was no falsier a statement. They were outside of there pokeballs to experience and truely fruit as themselves. Either way Sapphire was starting to grow a little famished from using heal pulse earlier. Klefki on the other hand was just as stone faced pissed as always. He was the sentry he would guard his trainer with his keys and his life. Mark his words dragons Mark his solemn jingly words. "Well if your getting hungry we could try and whip something up and by we I mean me Sapphire and Carolina. or just you know hurry on to go to a cafe." Alfred said trying to be helpful to the situation. Carolina meanwhile was starting to poke Twix with a passion. It fur was just SO soft after all. Carolina just wanted to sleep on Twix.

Vaahn pondered mostly to himself about his next goal and how he should go about achieving it, however his thoughts were broken off by Sonya's sudden burst out. It then hit him that she wanted to know about the contests right?... he shook his head and pulled out a Pokégear to check the information about them. "Oh... Sonya... you wanted to ask about the contest?... Right?... this Pokégear should have all the info you probably need" he said as he suddenly came closer to reach the device out to her, he knew of course that Alfred had gotten one recently but he might as well use his own to show her that info. After all he had a web connection and everything he could need on his quite upgraded one.

[color=Brown]Twix on the other hand reacted to the pokémon poking him with a lot of sudden interest himself. He smiled widely to the pokémon and quickly wrapped one of his feelers around it as he didn't mind the closeness at all... in fact he loved the attention with passion, so much that he leaned in to give the Amura a friendly kiss right on the cheek. He then laughed softly while tilting his head to the attention he got. <Hi~>" he chimed softly as he bounced a happy circle around Carolina.

Blinking a few times after what Vaahn said finally creeped past her raging side, Sonya finally looked at the pokegear quite excited, nearly ripping the thing out of Vaahn's hands to look at the information it had on the contests. That's when she stopped dead in her tracks with her head slumped for a moment. After that short moment Sonya then proceeded to turn with a frown on her face and chucked the pokegear at Vaahn. "So not fair! Now, on top of everything else, the information I need isn't available yet! Why does this region hate me!?" Once more Sonya had started a rand leaning her head back and starting to walk again. This just wasn't her day.

Vaahn sweat dropped slightly as the rather female that had seemed so cute a while ago now seemed like a pissed off Ursaring mother. "Sorry... " he muttered as he caught his pokégear before it was smashed to pieces. He then looked towards Alfreds direction "Want... help with the cooking?" he asked as he figured he might try his luck there instead while Sonya calmed down.

Alfred looked at Vaahn whom had just catched the pokegear that had been lobbed his way by the rather ranting Sonya. Honestly Alfred had no clue why he got himself into this mess, but at the very least it was a bit entertaining. Besides he could try out these contest things too. That would be kinda fun But still what could you do. "Yes I guess you could help... Just as long as you listen exactly to what Sapphire tells you, she gets rather picky with how to make foods after all." while Alfred and by extension sapphire was talking to Vaahn. Carolina was still recoiling from what just happened.

A small pink pokemon had grabbed her and kissed her. What the hell was today. Was it monday sunday? Carolina didn't care she was obviously quite dizzy. Soft pokemon did what. The eccentric little. A quick blush and carolina was back to her slightly more composed self. The pink pokemon was literally circling her. "<H-Hi h-how are you doing, T-Twix is it? I am Carolina, Hello! The blue pokemon said to the Slyveon quite shyly.

"Hmph, fine let's just stop here then to eat. I'm going to go do some stuff while you guys make the food." Clearly Sonya was still upset about many things as she veered a bit off the path to go into the trees to find somewhere to go grabbing on of her pokeballs out of her back pack as she went off. Her anger wa finally turning into sadness so she just needed some time to think while the others cooked, which was probably the only good thing today, or at least that's how it felt to Sonya.

Vaahn nodded to Alfred, he wondered kinda what he meant by following the istructions of Sapphire... yet he figured it was perhaps for the best at least for now. "Right... no problem" he said getting closer and started unpacking some of his supplies for the road. "So... where do I start Sapphire?" he asked looking to Alfred's pokémon general direction.

Twix that was still bouncing around Carolina stopped for but a moment as the big pokémon spoke to him. <That's right I'm Twillelix~or Twix... and I'm doooing Grreeeat~~ How about you?> he asked as he came to an halt. Vaahn didn't really pay much attention to Twix at the moment but was glad he seemed to have found a friend.

Sapphire was standing by Alfreds side like always acknoledging she was needed and smiling to herself at that fact. speaking up with her telepathy her voice could be heard in clear in Alfreds head but with the same distinct almost static like sound in Vaahns. "What do we actually have to use" She said with a short delay in alfreds mind between words but a much longer delay in Vaahns mind.

Carolina meanwhile was still busy acting embrassed and unkempt at the small pink pokemon before her. "<Me-e I am doing good, Finally got to go out and travel. But anyway how are you, and your team of brothers and sisters from different mothers?." Carolina asked with a slight bit of joy in her voice as she shifted from left to right rhymatically.

Meanwhile Sonya had released Natalie and the two had found a ledge to sit on. While they had been walking for quite sometime now, Sonya hadn't realized just how much they'd gone into the hills. She was sitting on a nice smooth rock overlooking a nice portion of the forest below her. It was quite beautiful really, and so Sonya sat holding, and hugging Natalie. A few tears had been running down her face by now. "Oh Natalie. We're finally here in the Viore region, but I just don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know when the first contest will be, and even if I did...I still don't know what I'm going to do yet..." It was true. A lot of her temper lately came from the fact that she was nervous for the first time since she started doing contests.

After leaving two of her contest pokemon with her sisters' Sonya hadn't been the same. For the longest time she thought she'd be perfectly fine, after all she'd won contests with all three of her current pokemon too, but it just seemed so different now, and she couldn't figure out why. Luckily however she had made some friends, and still had some of her od ones too, and it was probably best to go back soon, but for now Sonya just wanted to sit and look out upon the trees with Natalie.

Vaahn looked in the direction Sonya had left after a while, he wondered if she was going to be okay on her own especially if she was new to the region, however his thoughts were broken off by the intrusion in his head. It sounded like a phone with bad connection and laggy words somehow... yet that a pokémon could speek to him was certainly very interesting. Not only was it shiny and super rare to boot... it could also talk... what was the odds of that really?... he couldn't even phantom those odds. But he knew that if he were the type that would go steal peoples pokémon this information was quite worthwile. He could possibly even sell it... it was an interesting thought at least... somewhat. "Well... I do believe I just have one or two berry of each kind there is here... but yeah, I suppose we need to cook for at least three people and a few more if we're hungry... And lets see... One two... Eight pokémon... make that ten... " he said as he counted their pokémons that he at least knew about, but he figured the others had shown just about all their pokémons they had.

The Sylveon who had a slightly blast playing around with Carolina slightly came to an halt as he realized that the woman with all the Eeveelutions were now missing. <Brothers and sisters?... hmm?... Oh my Brothers and sisters are waay back home you know~ waaay back, like over the hills and far away... over the wide blue deep blue... but... tag!... your it!> he said suddenly poking at Carolina with his paw before bouncing off playfully and laughing.

Alfred tapped his head thinking of what they could do with such few food. Sapphire on the other hand was already on the ball. "Alfred didn't you shove a few cans of things into your bag?" Sapphire remembered as she continued with the slightly laggy speech inside peoples heads. Alfred pulled a few cans of beans out of his bag. "Well i have a few cans of standard field trip baked beans, was planning to restock at the next down but I guess this is it thats all i have for me and my pokemon" Alfred said as Sapphire nodded in response. "what about Sonya does she have anything?" Sapphire said with the delay between each word of course. Sapphire looked around with her large red eyes.

Carolina continued to stare at the pretty pink pokemon. As it awnsered her question in a way she both did and didn't expect before it did a terrible thing. IT challenged her to her favorite game. Big mistake. Carolina started Charging after the small slyveon with a small on her face

Vaahn thought for a while about what to make for so many people, they had rushed ahead without planning ahead of course, but he figured they could allways salvage a bit for supplies if nothing else. "Well... if were low on supplies... I belive I can go look if there ain't more around here... don't worry I be back soon."he said putting his traveling bag down and walking towards the forest where he knew there would be all kinds of stuff to cook in a jiffy. When Vaanh reached the forest however he brought up his pokegear and dialed hq, somewhat glancign around before plugging in the usb stick and sending them the data. He didn't quite care much if it was encrypted or not, it was something up to the lab boys and not something a field agent like himself were concerned about.

Twix was eager when Carolina charged after her causing him to gently skip to the side as he avoided her and laughed. He then bounced off in a hurry towards Sonya's direction, he wanted to know how she was doing as she had seemed a lot sad to him... and even in the middle of a game he didn't forget about her. It didn't take too long for him to catch up to Sonya however, she had stopped and he was eagerly outpacing Carolina. When he reached Sonya he saw her sitting and Crying?... it tore a rift in his heart to see her so sad... he immediently forgot about the chase game and bounced up to her chiming his name as he wrapped his feelers around her arm like a nice little hug.

Sonya was surprised when she felt something touch her arm, and when she looked up she was even more surprised to see Twix. Natalie suspiciously eyed Twix, but seeing Sonya not bothered at all by it, she continued to lay in her lap as Sonya began to pet Twix on the head gently. "Hey there Twix. What brings you to our little neck of the woods?" Sonya giggled somewhat at her own little joke. Though she was curious as to why Twix had come over. Vaahn wasn't here, at least she didn't think so, so how come Twix was? Now that she thought about it she had to wonder how the food was going as well. Twix wasn't tugging at her so the food probably wasn't ready yet, so that meant she could stay here a bit longer, so she did. Holding Natalie in her lap, while petting Twix with the other as she looked off into the distance enjoying the natural beauty of the land. Things could just be looking up for her sooner than she thought.

---

The Sylveon would purr as his head was patted, using his feelers he could use his soothing aura on the two of them so that they wouldn't feel so sad. He glanced up at Natalie and sniffed her shortly before smiling to her even if he gave the two a worried look. In response to Sonya's questions he chimed his name a few times in a worried tone as he tried to tell her that he were just worried about them.

Smirking Sonya stopped petting Twix and suddenly poked his nose lightly. "Don't worry so much Twix. Everyone has their low points you know." Sonya couldn't stand being pittied usually. Sometimes it was good to be sad, it reminded her that the world wasn't so black and white, and besides, what's life without a little struggle here and there?

Twix wiggled his nose as it was poked by Sonya, yet he seemed to smile again when she told him not to worry, his worries apperently floating away in an instant when she did... well it seemed little got this pokémon down. He thought about snuggling into her lap himself, but Natalia were in his way and he continued to sniff her slightly. <Hello~ Your trainer sure is good at patting~ so what's your name?... my name is Twillelix... but my friends get to call me Twix for short.... you can be my friend if you want~> he said to Natalie while nuzzling into Sonya's hand.

Sonya gently began to pet Twix on the head again while gazing out still. As for Natalie, well she wasn't exactly the most social pokemon in the world. All she did to even aknowledge Twix was make a 'pft' noise and adjusted herself in Sonya's lap, which caused Sonya took look down and giggle softly. Since she could remeber the only person Natalie had warmed up to was Sonya, and a couple of people she'd met in Sinnoh and Hoeen, along with Sonya's pokemon. As for others, well she just never cared about them really. Some people complained about it, but Sonya and Natalie had a bond, and screw anyone who said anything bad about Natalie.

After a while of a 'meet and petting' Vaahn would come out of the woods nearby where they Sonya was sitting with her and one of his pokémon. Glancing to the trio he would chuckle slightly as he rolled his eyes "So there you are... I was starting to wonder where you had run off too... " he said as he carried a bag had filled with some of the forests edible stuff, like mushrooms, berries, random apples and more. He turned his attention to Sonya with a soft smile. "Seems Twix have decided to invite himself over to you... guess I can't blame him... he was quite excited during the battle. I suppose more so when he saw your Eeveelutions" he said as he calmly walked closer to them all. "So how are you feeling now Sonya?" he asked.
During this all his Sylvion didn't break away from Sonya's side... after all.. why move from such a cozy place?

Sonya had looked over her shoulder at Vaahn. Unfortunately it seemed as if her peaceful moment was coming to a close, but that was okay. "Yeah, Twix came over a bit ago. He seems to really like the way I pet him, but after taking care of my Espeon and Glaceon for so long it's not a surprise I know what they like I suppose. For the longest time I only wanted two of the evolutions. Espeon was one of them, but honestly I wasn't aiming for getting Glaceon. We were training at night because I was trying to evolve my Eevee into an Umbreon, but we were in an artic area of Sinnoh training, and we didn't even realize where we were. When my Eevee started to evolve I was more excited than anything, then Glaceon appeared instead of Umbreon. At first I was really heart broken. Hours, days, weeks, all for not. At least that's how I used to view it. Now not only do I love my Glaceon more than anything in the world, I want to get one of every Eevee evolution." Sonya's voice was a lot more serene than it had been earlier when she was pissed off at everything. She had returned to staring off into the distance. "It's funny just how much things change just because one thing doesn't go as planned. Anyway, hows the food coming along?" Sonya looked back over her shoulder at Vaahn. smiling softly.

Hearing Sonya's wish, Vaahn couldn't help but to let out a soft chuckle as he found it slightly amusing, yet he also found it respectful and serious. "I can see you sure have experience, your Espeon and Glaceon looked top notch and that not only in their style, everything from the fibres of their fur to their claws... " he said as he trecalled them inside his head. "Getting one of each is not a bad dream to have at all... he he... You could say that I'lm quite the expert when it comes to Eeveelutions... I was born and raised at a farm near soley dedicated to the study of Eevee. I Was around four years old when I Got to start caring for Twix here... and he's been around ever since. " he said as he thought back to the past. "So yeah I believe I know just about all there is about them ha ha" he said and then sighed.
"Well... I were getting a few extra supplies from the woods as we seemed to be a bit low... the others wondered what supplies you had to add to the mixture, but you ran off before anyone had a chance to ask....." he said and looked to his Sylveon who didn't seem like he was moving anytime soon.

Sonya raised an eyebrow. "You all didn't pack enough food? Well I supose it's to be expected from a couple of rookies who clearly haven't traveled enough." She teased with a smirk on her face while she took her hand off Natalie who just sat in her lap regaurdless as she reached into her backpack and produced a box of some noodles and cheese. "Is this enough to fill in the rest, or should I pull out some more stuff? Oh and did either of you at least bring things to cook with?" It was always a good thing to have an experienced traveler in the group, though this time Sonya was the one who was prepared, and it definitely felt good. Meanwhile she'd moved on to stroking around Twix's ears.

Vaahn facepalmed at Sonya's comment, certainly she was one to turn on details fast especially when it was half her fault. "Well, I believe I have all the cooking supplies we could need left with the others... and heh... I don't think you should count out our experience just yet... that would be a very foolish mistake dear... However, I had stacked up more if you two haden't been running out of town first chance you got... "he said and raised a brow as Twix purred more loudly for a minute... yet suddenly stopped and gave Sonya an determined look. "Oh dear... here we go again" he said as the Sylveon suddenly bounced back and Shot Sonya a look full of determination and eagerness. "...Wild Twix want to battle..." he said and chuckled slightly as he looked to Sonya. "Sorry Sonya... I don't think you will get out of this one... seems Twix want to have a battle with you now after what you said"he said and shrugged.

Giggling Sonya picked up Natalie as she stood up and walked a little bit away from the edge. "Well if that's the case, then I suppose we'll have to settle this. Though it will be a shame to see such a cute Sylveon get all bruised up. Natalie are you ready?" Sonya looked down at Natalie who looked up at Sonya and nodded confidently and jumped down in front of Sonya. "You sure you want to do this Vaahn?" Sonya was only going to give Vaahn one chance to not go through with this, after all, Natalie and Sonya had been together most of their lives as well. This wouldn't be simple in the slightest.

Vaahn stepped up laxly behind his Sylveon and gave a slight shrug as he looked around before looking to Twix who still looked eager, perhaps even more so when it was against Natalie. "Sure I want... If Twix want to battle to defend my honor then I shall of course stand beside him... but don't worry about Twix... after all its good with a bit of exorcise"he said and starred a bit at the fire type for a moment. "Well, you can begin whenever you want Sonya, we gents like it when the ladies get the first move... aint that right Twix?" he said earning a Solid nod from the Sylveon.

Before the two could square off, a loud, menacing roar echoed throughout the forest. After that, a massive explosion sent a flock of nearby Pidgey scattering, as well as sending a massive smoke cloud up into the air. After a few seconds, a slight breeze blew through the area, a result of the explosion. A short ways away, the sounds of battle could clearly be heard still.

Smirking Sonya was about to start them off, but the explosion interrupted everything causing Sonya and Natalie to both turn their heads in surprise and curiousity. It appeared something was happening nearby, and it was pretty intense from what Sonya could tell so far. "Perhaps we should put this on hold for now?" Sonya offered to Vaahn as Natalie jumped up and hung onto Sonya's shoulder ready to go.

Vaahn's head shot in the direction of the loud noise and his Sylveon nearly jumped out of its skin as it certainly hadn't expected that to happen. "What in the..." he muttered as he wondered what was going on. His hand sank down as he rubbed one of his pokéballs for a moment but decided against calling him out here. "....Yes... I reckon this call for some investigating" he said and called Twix over who shot over like a lightning bolt. He patted his Sylveon on the head gently before running off towards the sound, and didn't stop before he reached the battlefield.

As the still remaining smoke cleared, both a Fraxure and Dragalge lay knocked out, much to the dismay of their trainers. "This... this guy is on a whole other level! We've got no chance, pull back!" The two called back their Pokemon and took off into the forest, disappearing from sight. The other trainer walked over to his Feraligatr, which seemed to be very different than a normal Feraligatr, patting him on the back as he was enveloped in a bright light. Moments later, everything seemed normal, the Feraligatr looked like a normal Feraligatr. "Well, that's taken care of now... oh great..." Said the trainer as two more trainers rushed forward. "Just what I need right now, more trainers..."

Vaahn reached the destination about as the other Trainers ran off and looked to the remaining one, he wondered for a moment what was going on here and Twix was by his side ready for nearly anything. "What's going on here?" he asked as he didn't have a clue yet, but he was certain that he had seen a mega evolution to say the least... and that meant that this situation probably could become tricky.

Reaching the location at the same time as Vaahn, Sonya wasn't sure what to make of the situation. People normally didn't run off after a battle, so what the heck was going on? Luckily Vaahn asked the question for her and Sonya just had to stand there and listen and pay attention making her life pretty simple at the moment.

Alfred had stayed behind when Vaahn had gone to get supplies, he was finding some dry sticks to burn. The sticks would act as tinder for a cooking fire. Which Alfred was beginning to prepare, he had everything to cook with but not anything to cook, so to speak. either way he set up a cooking pot and poured in his few cans of baked beans and began stirring them. Sapphire had found some luckily edible berries and was mixing them with water to produce some berry juice. Either way it wasn't a feast by any means but it was a meal. Alfred had to be careful what he thought in his head sometimes. Sapphire could waltz in his head at any moment and hear all of his thoughts as clear as he could hear hers.Either way Sapphire was the most important asset to his entire team. He could not help but feel something happy was inside his head and Alfred looked over to see a smiling Sapphire. Well as long as his team stayed happy he was happy.

Sapphire continued smiling as she continued to crush the berries should had found in the process of making home made berrie juice. Though she wanted to start a discussion both due to the fact she liked talking and the fact that the more she talked through telepathy the better she got at it. "Nearly done with the berrie juice." Sapphire said her voice still having its Delay, though it seemed to get a tiny less delayed with each usage. Alfred nodded in response deciding to try and counter in his own head. "Alright I am also nearly done with these beans." He thought and knew that Sapphire was listening. It was a slow discussion but a worthwhile one. A few moments later and they were setting out bowls and cups for everyone.

Carolina soon wondered back to Alfred after the slyveon had kinda left her in the dust. and noticed the set out food and grinned with pleasure at being able to eat on the road. She waltzed over to her bowl and began eating. Then a explosion went off in the distance.

Lock had been watching the Vaahn guy.Like a sniper with a target lined in its sights it had been stalking the trainer. he watched the guy pull out the usb form earlier and do something with it. Lock didn't care, all this meant was that the Vaahn guy was going to be a worthwhile foe. It grinned like a excited child. The sentry would soon be able to prove its worth. It continued to follow the guy watching from the shadows. And even when the explosion went off Lock continued to watch the guy with missy Sonya.

The trainer called back his Feraligatr, sticking the Pokeball back on his belt. "What happened is none of your concern, trust me, stay out of this for your own good." Neither of the trainers budged, he knew that both of these were experienced trainers now. "I can see this won't be easy to forget, will it? Alright... have either of you heard of a group called Team Royal Skies?" He walked forward a bit, sitting down on a downed tree, setting his travel pack down next to him.

Vaahn looked to the trainer and sighed somewhat in relief as the trainer called his pokémon back causing both him and his Sylveon to stand down slightly. He found it curious that the trainer asked if he knew about team royal skies... of course he knew about them, probably more so than anyone else not included within their ranks. "Well perhaps not... but Yes, I do know of the group you speak off... I've lived in this region for the past three years or so. I do believe I'm quite up to date about them... what about it?... " he said as he starred at the Mysterious trainer.

Sonya couldn't help but blink heavily in confusion now. She had no idea who they were talking about in the slightest, granted she'd also just arrived yesterday so how could she know anything. "Um, so I'm glad everyone here seems to know what we're talking about, but uh...I have no idea who they are...Why are they important or something?" Normally Sonya wasn't one to interupt, but it would help if she knew at least some details other than a name.

After the explosion Alfred had started cautiously heading in its direction. Slowly while scouting around himself for anything that could be a threat. Sapphire was doing the same nearby and they both walked togather until eventually catching up with everyone else. "where the hell have you been!" Alfred said showing more concern for Sonya who had left before Vaahn then Vaahn himself. Sapphire was staring at the guy opposite unfazed and unblinking. Carolina had been left alone to protect the food that had been prepped as best she could. And Lock? well Lock was doing what lock does best and thats giving the death stare to a gentleman called Vaahn whom still had no idea.

The trainer looked up at the other trainer who had just arrived. He had a good number of Pokemon, it seemed, but was relatively inexperienced to him. "A friend of yours I presume... whatever. Team Royal Skies is an organization working in Viore. They've attacked countless civillians, including two kids just now. I stepped in the way this time, though." He stopped to catch his breath for a second. "I have no clue what they want, but if they're causing trouble around here, I'll be sure to put an end to it. You all had better watch your backs as well, I've heard rumors that they've even threatened the Pokemon League here in Viore..." He stopped there, to see the reactions from the trainers. It would be a good judge of character in his eyes, to see if they'd be ready for something like this in Viore.

Vaahn mostly focused on this Mystery trainer and then glanced to Lock's direction wondering what the pokémon really wanted with him as it apperently had been following him through the woods and everything.... it was odd indeed. However as the trainer explained the situation he figured he understood what he meant. Some of the Grunts and less 'gentle' persons around Team Royal Skies caused a lot of trouble around here which he didn't really mind that much as it was a good distraction. "Well... It was good that you showed up then... having bad people around could certainly be troublesome... But why do you ask us to forget what we saw?... you got something to hide or something?..." he asked as he glanced to the trainer... it was certainly easy for someone to make others seem like a crook after a battle that caused someone to run away... after all victors wrote history in the end.

The trainer looked around, it seemed neither of the other two had anything to ask for the moment. "I can see how you can come to that quick assumption, why you don't even know my own name yet, it's Brooks by the way." He grabbed a candy bar out of his pack and starting munching on it a little. "There's one last detail I left out, the two goons who ran off were chasing a Shaymin, they're a rare Pokemon in Viore, although they didn't used to be..." He took another bite and continued. "There used to be a colony of Shaymin living in this forest, but humans kept coming, trying to develop their land. Most of them left, possibly from the region entirely. As far as I know, that one Shaymin they were after is the last Shaymin in Viore. Speaking of which, I wonder how those kids are doing... I told them to get that Shaymin to the Pokemon Center down the road a ways."

People attacking trainers, threatening the pokemon league, and chasing after an almost extinct pokemon. Well that was quite the list for a group she'd never heard of before and Sonya was quite shocked by all of this. There were just some lines you didn't cross and this group was crossing a lot of them, and that was wrong on so many different levels. The nerve they had was agrivating to just hear about it! Though this Brooks guy seemed alright so far, and he wanted to go to the pokecenter which would do perfectly for Sonya since she wanted to know exactly when the contest would be. "It's nice to meet you Brooks, I'm Sonya and this is Natalie." Sonya tilted her head towards Natalie who was still honging on her shoulder before continuing. "We could head to the pokecenter now if you like, we were on our way there anyways. We were just going to eat first. It was probably in her voice that she was upset even though she was trying to be friendly. She hated groups like the one Brooks had been describing, they were sickening.

Vaahn let out a sigh as everything was set and done, looking to his Sylveon who finally stood down after being a bit spooked. "I'm Vaahn... this Sylveon here is called Twix... " he said and looked off in the distance before turning back to face Brooks. "And Yeah, I agree with Sonya... Food and Pokémon center sounds good to me... I believe Twix here is quite hungry... might be hard for anyone else to tell... but, when you live together for this long you start to know" he said and chuckled slightly before glancing to Sonya. "Lets head back everybody... I don't really like the idea of standing this close to this forest if theres crooks in it..."he said as he turned around to walk off, he figured they could continue their conversation over a meal... Once he came back to camp he settled down and added the stuff he had gathered to the mixture and noticed several of his berries had been used in the cooking which he didn¨t mind of course. Instead he put a bowl of food down for Twix and then sat down to chew on a apple.

Alfred said literally nothing except a few words of hellos and goodbyes to the man who named himself brookes. Turns out the reason for this wasn't for rudeness but more or less the fact that he had left Carolina alone thinking this was a dire emergency with the explosion. Quite literally Alfred disliked leaving his pokemon out of his sight except lock whom Alfred personally trusted to always come back unharmed due to Locks speed. Either way Alfred returned back to Carolina with Sapphire walking by his side as always. He sat down with his pokemon sitting away from twix and Vaahn. as they all got their own portions and dug in togather engaging in some light hearted conversation with eachother It seemed Carolina had a story to tell about the caterpie that tried to grab the food in everyones absence. Alfred was at home with his pokemon more then anyone else.

So Vaahn and the other trainer (whom he didn't quite catch his name) headed back to their campsite it seemed. Sonya was still there, and he could tell from the look in her eyes and the slight tone of her voice earlier that she despised Team Royal Skies after what he said about it. "You've got a good heart, you know, I can tell. The tone of your voice, the look in your eyes, you've got a lot of determination in you. That's a good thing to have, and I can say that, from lots of experience." He picked up his travel pack and started walking towards the Pokemon Center a ways away. "I'm heading on over there, I guess I'll see you all there later." With that, Brooks disappeared over a bend in the forest and over a small hill.

Sonya stood there watching Brooks walk off into the distance. He was completely right about how she felt. For now though it was time for her to go get food, she could deal with Team Royal Skies if she ever ran into them. Sonya definitely wanted to get to the pokecenter after they ate though so that she could hopefully meet up with Brooks and see the Shaymin he mentioned, it wasn't everyday you ran into such a rare pokemon after all.Plus this was Sonya's chance to finally find out about the contests!

After reaching the Pokemon Center, the Shaymin had been quickly taken into the medical ward for examination. While Nurse Joy was looking over Shaymin, Brent and Lily had another thing on their mind: The strange mark that had appeared on Lily's hand earlier. It had not shown itself since, and Brent was getting skeptical. "It must have been a trick of the light or something, but that just doesn't happen!" Lily, however, seemed to be in a world of her own. "Hey, Lily, are you listening?" Brent said, waving his hand in front of her. She snapped back into reality. "I still have no clue what happened, but it felt... I can't describe it." Lily looked over to the medical room door. "I hope Shaymin will be alright..." That was something Brent could agree with. Whatever happened, what he knew was that Shaymin was in bad shape when they got there. But he trusted Nurse Joy to get the job done.

Soon Nurse Joy emerged from the back room, a somewhat happy expression on her face. "You'll both be happy to know that the Shaymin you brought in will be just fine. I treated its wounds, and now all it needs to do is rest." Lily wiped a drop of sweat off her forehead at the news. Then she stood up and looked at Nurse Joy. "Would it be okay If I could see Shaymin?" Nurse Joy was about to answer when the door opened behind them. "Well, well, It's been a long time since I've seen you around here Brooks." Lily and Brent turned to face the trainer who had saved them from those goons. "It has been a while, hasn't it? How's the Shaymin?" Nurse Joy popped a larger smile on her face. "She'll be fine, she just needs to rest for now. If you'll excuse me, I have a few other Pokemon to tend to." Nurse Joy left the room, leaving the three alone in the lobby.

"So, Brooks is it? Thanks for saving us back there." Brent said to the man who now had a name as Brooks. "I was just doing what was right. You two know who Team Royal Skies is right?" Lily looked confusingly at Brooks while Brent clenched his hand into a fist. "Of course I know who those guys are. They do whatever they want, abusing their own Pokemon if they have to. And they call themselves trainers..." Brooks was surprised, this kid had a lot of anger against Royal Skies. Lily, on the other hand, seemed to have her mind on other things. "Exactly, those two that I took down were just Grunts, Pawns some call them. I've been trying to stop them every chance I get. But, the King has yet to reveal himself."

Lily had no idea what was going on, but she had a feeling he might know something about the mark on her hand. "I have a question you might be able to answer, do you know anything about strange marks appearing on someone's hand?" Brent looked back at Lily with that skeptical look in his eyes, but Brooks was intensely interested now. "I may... why do you ask?" Lily explained what had happened after running off with Shaymin. Brooks was shocked. "Then... then something is very wrong... there is a legend in the Viore Region, merely a child's fable, but with a great hidden truth behind it."

"Long ago, the Viore Region lived in peace, experiencing an era of prosperity. Then, an evil warlord conquered the region in a single day, using the great Legendary Dragon Pokemon as his slave. The citizens lived in fear of this man, who could wreak such havoc. For years, none could stand against him. But then, one day, a group of humans, who had formed bonds with other Legendary Pokemon, freed the Dragon Pokemon from his control, and banished the warlord from their land. Soon after, this group, known as the Legendary Guardians, also disappeared from the face of history."

Brooks finally took a breath, and continued. "It was said that if the world fell into a state of chaos like that once more, a new generation of Legendary Guardians would be chosen, and imbued with the sign of their Legendary Partner. That is possibly what happened to you..." Lily listened in awe, while Brent almost completely scoffed at the mere idea. "That's just an old Fairy Tale though, I doubt that's what happened." Brooks looked over at Brent. "Kid, when you're on your journey as long as I have been, you learn to only doubt that something is impossible. Anything can, and generally will, happen." Brent couldn't argue with that, he had been on his journey for not even a day, Brooks has been on his for who knows how long.

"If it is true that you have been chosen... dark times are coming upon Viore... I'd bet that Team Royal Skies has something to do with it..." Brooks stretched out a bit and turned towards the Guest Rooms. "I'd get some rest If I were you. Destiny or not, you all are still trainers. Don't worry about anything for now." He continued on into the guest room hallway, soon followed by Brent. Lily, though, headed over to one of the recovery rooms where Shaymin was. Nurse Joy was there, and she just made a quick "Shh" motion as Lily went into Shaymin's room. This Shaymin seemed quite special. For one thing, It was still in its Sky Forme after all that had happened, plus that the sun had just about set. Lily sat down in one of the chairs in the room, trying to put everything together herself. "Ancient Legends... Legendary Guardians... Legendary Partners... World Crisis... Why would I be chosen out of everyone in the world? I'm just a kid... does the universe expect a Kid or two to save the world?" Lily let out a quiet yawn. Brooks had been right about one thing: she was tired. She decided to stay in the room with Shaymin that night, falling asleep in the chair.

---

It is a massive room filled with computers. The only lights come from the monitors, illuminating many figures hard at work on each station. Near the very back of the room stand three people, one slim woman, one balanced out man, and one man who seemed to tower above the others with his height. One of the people working called up to them. "Sir, we received the Data from Elite Rook. There's not much, but it's enough to proceed with Phase 1." The tall man nodded, staying in the shadows with the other two. "Good, Contact Galahad at once." Within moments, the main monitor in the room was filled with the face of a very large but muscular man, wearing a modified version of the armor the two behind him wore.

"My liege, what is thy bidding?" The larger man waved, letting one of the people know to transmit the Data. "Phase 1 is go, this is the intel Agent Rook gathered. Capture the target and we will send in a transport to pick it up." The figure called Galahad nodded, but had more to say. "These two Grunts say they encountered an extremely powerful trainer earlier while trying to capture our earlier target. Also, one of our informants in New Amber reports that the Ranger Union has dispatched two Top Rangers to Viore." The tall man put his hand up to his chin and thought for a moment. "I understand, I'm going to cut any unnecessary operations for the time being, let the situation quiet down a bit. I'll also have our available agents get any intel on the Rangers and this Trainer." Galahad bows, and the image cuts out. The three figures in the room turn and walk out the door behind them, and it closes as they exit.

Sitting slightly to himself for the moment, Vaahn ate slowly as he thought about the recent events, he thought about this Brook's fella and as his pokégear buzzed in his pocket he picked it up to look at the message on it for a moment. He then sighed before looking to Sonya "I leave Twix here with you for a moment ok?... I need to go feed another of my pokémon and its better if I do it alone... he don't like anyone else really..." he said as he stood and looked to his Sylveon for a moment. "Twix... Stay with Sonya ok?... protect her with your life if you have too... I assign you this mission K?" he said smiling slightly. [color=brown]Twix tilted his head as he looked to Vaahn, he then nodded and chimed his name loudly in acknowledge as he scooted to Sonya's side.

Vaahn then turned around and left again for the brush yet stopped to pick up about four bowls worth of food before he did so, walking away from the camp far enough to not be seen nor heard by anyone. He wondered if the klefki would follow him this time too, yet he didn't care that much if the pokémon followed him this time. He picked up the pokéball he had rubbed before and held it in his hand for a while, he then sighed before throwing it in the air. "Kaiser... its dinner time..."he said as the Tyranitar came out of its ball. Kaiser looked around before frowning and snorting as he stretched out, twisted his head a few times and the let out a heavy breath. Vaahn looked up at the large pokémon and then gave him the food, "Its just us for the moment Kaiser... but we are travelling with a group of others... I don't know if there will be trouble ahead... but for now these people are our allies... please... don't kill them if I need to let you out ok?... Yes, you have every reason not to trust them, but please... for now... just for now. If things go bad... I just tell you to unleash your fury, and then you can let loose ok?... deal?.... good its a deal" he said as he discussed with Kaiser and Kaiser replied in his own way. Vaahn backed off to let Kaiser eat and sat down to look at the sky himself.

@Ninian

"Only certain Ghost Pokemon, if i am remembering correctly. Some choose not to communicate with humans because they'd rather scare them." She chuckled. "Its nice to meet you as well, Pent and your Partner Shinon as well." And then she stopped, her eyes widening as a strange sensation filled her mind. It was warm and friendly, and seemed to be radiating from Shinon. She'd never communicated with a Lucario before, but it was similar to a psychic type. She'd not been expecting it to reach out to her, as she'd been told Lucario were very selective on who they chose to communicate with.

"Mega Stones? Well.. that would be interesting.." She brushed her hand against her mega earring absently. "I.. don't really know much about them. I've seen one before.. a Mega Gengar." she shuddered, thinking of the nightmarish third eye on its face. "I.. i'm pretty sure none of my pokemon can Mega Evolve." Then she stared at Pent. "Are you an Archaeologist?"

Spud toddled along after his trainer as she started to roll off after the two other trainers. His face was still set into a smile and he was humming cheerily.

And then what sounded like some kind of explosion rattling from the distance. Nana's ears flicked as she narrowed her eyes in that direction. her ears flicked again and she closed her eyes. The air smelled clean and pure.. and she couldn't hear screaming or shouting. Likely it had been just two trainers battling. But still... the noise had made her a bit uneasy.

Sirina turned her wheelchair around at the faint crack of something in the distance. She watched as Nana burst out before her, scenting the air and standing alert. "What.. what do you suppose that was?" Sirina asked nervously.

Shock looked to Spud, an uncomfortable smirk on his face as the Quagsire finished explaining what a Daycare was. <Uh...Yeah. I knew you meant Pokémon. I just thought Daycares were like breeding centers. That they were only for newborns and stuff....> Embarrassment took the Ampharos' features as he looked away. Face reddening.

Devon looked over at Sirina and waved. "Nice to meet ya Sirina." He then turned to his right to address Pent, nodding before putting his arms behind his back and smiling. "Don't know about Ghosts, but Zoroark can defiantly talk Pent. My Zoroark, Nasir, can speak perfect English with his illusions." The brown haired teen tilted his head upwards, frowning a bit. "If you're wondering why he's not with me....He's back in Johto with my Mom right now. He....Has some stuff he needs to take care of before he's ready to travel with me full time."

Sirina then started to talk about her own experiences with Mega Evolution, and Devon looked over to the girl with a grin. Holding up his left arm one would spot a small white bracelet on his wrist. The multicolored stone sitting inside of it glimmered in the light. "Me and Pent both know a bit. Professor Rowan, the lead Pokémon professor in Sinnoh gave me this Keystone and he gave Shock this cool neck brace with his own Mega Stone. Ampharosite he called it. Mega Evolution makes gives some Pokémon insane power buffs apparently. Me and Shock just haven't had a chance to try it out yet." As Devon spoke about the mysterious stones, Shock stood next to his Trainer's left leg. Proudly pointing to the shiny yellow, red, and white stone nestled inside of a metal ring on the front of his stretchy silver neck brace. The Light Pokémon had his chin raised, and a grin as wide as Devon's. <Ain't it cool? You need a Trainer with a Keystone to activate the Pokémon's Mega Stone though. If Devon decided to tap his bracelet before a battle....> Shock winked to Sirina and her team. <Then you'd REALLY see some sparks fly!>

Then the explosion went off. Devon looked far to his left in the direction of the disturbing noise, and blinked before looking over at Sirina and Pent. The teen tried to hide his confusion and caution with a smile. "It's probably just some people having an intense battle. No sweat Sirina. I'm guessing you want to travel with us? You're welcome to. Vertigo City shouldn't be that far. What are you up to in Viore?"

@Draconequis @Ninian

[Route 701]

@Draconequis@Light Lord
A soft chuckle escaped Pent's lips. "Oh yes, well that could account for many Pokémon with the ability to speak. For example, Lucario are fairly selective with whom they choose to communicate with. Which is partially due to the prerequisite that they need to grow accustomed to the other's aura."

The man's brown eyes followed the woman's hand as it reached to her ear. "...What do you mean when you say you don't know much about them?" Looking over the girls group, he shook his head. "As far as known Mega Evolutions go, no. If this is your entire team, there's no such records of any of them being able to achieve it, however that's not to say it isn't *possible*. There's still much we do not know." Scratching the back of his head he smiled a bit sheepishly. "N-No, I'm not an archaeologist. In fact, I'm merely a professor who teaches Pokémon Mythology at Lumiose University."

A curious brow looked over Devon for a moment before Pent finally responded, "You have a Zoroark? Truly? And it can speak?" A tinge of disappointment washed over his features when the teen mentioned it wasn't with him. "O-Oh, I was... hoping I could take a look. Ah well, that's a shame. Perhaps another time, then."

The explosion did not seem too much out of the ordinary, but everyone's concern caused Pent to turn in that direction. "Hmmm..." The man could feel a tug on his arm, and he finally looked down at his partner.

That girl... the one from the airplane. She's nearby.

Pent's eyes widened, "S-She's here!?

Shinon the Lucario nodded.

@BytheSpleen
"Please! Find her! I... cannot run after her, so... please..."

The Lucario let out an affirmative grunt. Be careful. Have Lady Aenir protect you, I'll be back. With that said, Shinon rushed off down Route 701.

Reaching down to the Pokéballs attached to his belt, he drew one, releasing a Froslass from the capsule. It stretched, looking around with a soft yawn escaping its maw. <Oh, hello Pent. It seems you made a few new friends. Are we finally in Viore?>

Shinon continued at a brisk pace before feeling Liza's aura growing stronger. When the young girl was finally in his sights, he slowed down a bit, though he called out to her. <Liza! Wait!>

@Ninian @Light Lord



The explosion had roused Tamaki from his nap. He sleepily opened his eyes, glancing at the other pokemon and yawning.

Spud smirked as the Ampharos turned red, a dopey laugh echoing from his chest. <It is a common misconception. Mainly because occasionally an egg or two will be found at the daycare.>

"Its a pleasure to meet you all." Sirina smiled at the two of them, before turning her head slightly so they could get a look at the tiny keystone set in her cartilage. "I have a keystone as well.. just no Megastone." she explained. "When it was given to me, my parents told me i would understand how to use it when it was time. Really not sure what they met about that." She chuckled. "I guess they wanted me to figure that out myself."

Nana smiled at the Ampharos' cheerful statement, amusement passing behind her eyes. She'd seen mega evolution before.. some more drastic than others. And Shock seemed to be really excited about it. Ah.. to be that young and careless again. She chuckled fondly as she turned her attention back to Sirina.

"Oh. Me? I'm going to challenge the gym leader circuit for a shot at the Pokemon League." She chuckled. "I don't actually want to be the champion or anything.. i just need to get in the tournament to prove to the Viore officials i can handle pokemon so i can open up my own daycare."

Sirina watched as Pent's Lucario sprinted off. "Uhm.. Where is Shinon going?" She asked, having overheard him saying something about finding someone. And then she recoiled slightly as he sent out the Froslass in a stream of light. She felt chills running up her spine, sending goosebumps down her arms as the creature cooled the air off around it. Blinking slowly, Sirina wheeled herself slightly closer to get a better look. "Is.. that a Froslass?" she asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "There was a Froslass who lived near my village, I used to sneak out and leave her little gifts of Aspear berries. Never could get close enough to get a better look though, she always just up and vanished on me."

Nana surveyed the new pokemon cooly, before delivering a huff. Froslass was easily taken care of with a simple burst of fire. There was no threat here.

Spud toddled over to the newcomer, gazing at the Frosslass with a smile. <Hello!> He greeted her cheerily. <My name is Spud, and that's Nana and Tamaki.> he gestured to each of them in kind.

Fully awake now, Tamaki slithered off of Sirina's lap, sliding across the ground gently over to where the other pokemon were located. He moved his body upwards slowly to get a better look at the pokemon around them. First.. the rather impressive Ampharos, towering over him like some kind of god. Honestly.. rather intimidating to the little dragon type. Then the Monferno.. still intimidating and tall... he came to a stop next to Cyan, the Marill. She was not nearly as big as the others.. and she was blue! <Are you a dragon? I've never met another dragon before!> he breathed, making the assumption that the Marill might be a similar type because they were a similar color.

[Route 701]

Devon looked up at the disappointed professor once heard realized Nasir wasn't in Devon's party at the moment, and shook his head. "Don't sweat it Pent. If we drop by a Pokémon Center later down the line, hopefully the computers there will have video chat. I could just call up Mom to set it up and you can meet Nasir that way.

The teen raised a brow at Sirina's explanation of her goal in Viore, and gave her an odd look as he fiddled with the zipper on his dark red hoodie. "You need to go throw down with the League to be able to open a Daycare? Damn. That's....Asking alot from anyone." Looking away for a quick moment, more questions went through the boy's mind. Wait.....You need to challenge the League to open a Daycare....Is it like that in EVERY region? Or just Viore? If it's the former, that nice old couple that runs the Daycare in Johto must be way more badass then they look.... Shaking off the odd thoughts, Devon came back to grin at Sirina. "Well, it's not like it's impossible. You and your Pokémon seem pretty capable Sirina. I'm sure with enough training, you'll be knocking on the Leagues door in no time! Good luck with it man!"

Shinon ran off when Pent spoke up, and Devon's eyes tracked the speedy Lucario as he ran down the path with a bit of alarm. Turning to Pent he look worried, seeing as Shinon had sensed danger before and warned Missy of it. "Dude, what's wrong? Why did Shinon run off like that?"

Pent reached for one of the Pokéball's on his belt, and Devon leaned slightly to see what the man was up to. The teen's eyes went wide once he seen a brilliant white Froslass form from the balls light. "Whoa. I was wondering what you had in those other Pokéballs. A Froslass....Cool. Uh! No pun intended." Awkwardly shifting for a second, he crouched down to her level and smiled at the icy Ghost. "Hi Froslass. Does she have name Pent?"

Shock and Cyan looked over at the new face, and they each waved in greeting. Shock spoke up first. <Another spook. Neato. Hiya, I'm Shock. And yeah, this is Viore.> Cyan had a mystified expression on her face, her mouth hanging open slightly as she greeted Froslass. <I've never seen a Froslass before.....Hello! I'm Cyan!> Quill spun around on one foot to face Froslass, and inspected her with his sharp gray eyes for a few moments before smiling slightly and nodding. <Hey. I'm Quill. Nice to meet you.>

Cyan giggled once Tamaki approached her, and shook her head a bit. <No, I'm not a Dragon. I'm actually a Water-Fairy type.> Bouncing the blue rubbery ball on the end of her tail a bit on the dirt, she looked at the tiny Dratini with a curious smile of her own. <I may not be as resilient as a Dragon, but I can swim really fast! My fur is so slick, water doesn't slow me down! Dratini are suppose to be great swimmers too! Do you like swimming Tamaki?>

@Draconequis@Ninian

[Route 701]

@Draconequis@Light Lord
Pent smiled cheerfully when Devon offered to have his Zoroark video-chat with him. "I would like that quite a bit, actually!"

Addressing Sirina, Pent spoke, "Ah, I was wondering if you knew what your earring was. Well... If on our journey we happen upon a Mega Stone you can utilize, you are certainly welcome to it." Holding his thumb and forefinger out in a playful-anime-like manner he continued, "That is of course as long as you allow me to examine and document your evolved Pokémon."

Laughing off his previous comment, he regained his composure. His brown eyes looked over Sirina, worry slightly furrowing his brow. "Truly, it's required that you enter the Pokémon League in order to run a daycare...? That seems a bit... strict, but I suppose it does make sense..."

Waving off Shinon, Pent addressed the teens' concerns, "He's found someone I met earlier... I owe her much, and I never had the chance to properly thank her."

Aenir the Froslass turned to face the girl who rolled near her. Everything was still a bit of a sleep haze, and she stared at her with icy blue eyes. <Oh... you were friends with one of my kind?>

Looking to Devon, and then Sirina, Pent smiled, gesturing towards the Froslass. "This is Aenir, and yes she is a Froslass. I'm sure the one that lived near you appreciated your gifts. They can be..." Flashing a smile to Aenir he continued, "A bit difficult to warm up to. Isn't that right, Aenir?"

The Froslass yawned, <You act as if I'm an Ice Queen.>

Pent chuckled, getting the basic gist of what the Snow Land Pokémon might be saying to him. "To answer your question, Devon, my final partner is a Skarmory named Jill. I would send her out, but... she prefers to sleep. Quite a bit, actually."

The female Pokémon's eyes fell to the Quagsire who approached her. <Greetings... I am Aenir. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.> Holding her ribbon-like arms to her chest, she gave a small bow. Her icy eyes looked over the rest of the group's Pokémon. At Cyan's remark, her gaze finally fell on Quill. <I do not recognize some of your species, either...>

Turning to face Shock, Froslass gave him a somewhat confused stare. <You referred to me as a spook... are you implying there is another Ghost-type around here?> Tapping her cheek she considered everything. <I'm surprised Pent was able to actually make it to Viore. I was worried, but Shinon did assure me everything would be fine.>

---

"Must go faster!"

The Jeep's engine roared as it tore through the animal trail. Damian shifted his eyes to the side mirrors of the vehicle and his eyes went wide when he saw that the jaws of his aggressor were much closer than they appeared. He slammed his foot into the clutch and shifted into gear five, speeding up and away from the predator. He swerved under a suspended fallen tree to avoid damaging the vehicle, while his pursuer simply smashed through it.

He was preparing to shift into gear six, when the monster behind him began to slow down. It's jaws fell open and the roar that followed was powerful enough to make the windows of his car vibrate.

If this was any other situation, a person would've kept speeding up. A person probably would've gone as far and fast as they could away from the area. But Damian was not in any of those situations. Damian pressed down on the breaks, and shifted back down to gear one. He lowered his driver side window and leaned out of the car to see the Despot pokemon breathing heavily behind him. He shifted the car into reverse and drove backwards, spinning out and shifting into first gear in front of the Tyrannosaur to cover the last few yards, and coming to a stop at the Tyrantrum's feet.

He stepped out of the car, being careful to land on both feet because the vehicle had been raised to provide better offroading capablities. He walked towards the massive pokemon, who leaned down into the man, placing it's massive snout in the man's arms affectionately. The man rubbed the rough scaled, and turned to look back at the still running car. He whistled, sharp and short, and the car behind him immediately turned off. A small ghost pokemon floated out of the engine compartment, a silly grin on it's face. The jeep had long since run out of gas, and Damian was a cheap ass.

The Tyrantrum's attention was taken away from it's trainer as the ghost floated up to his face. The dinosaur snapped it's jaws at the ghost, which darted sideways to safety. The Rotom blew it's tongue in a taunt, and the Tyrantrum huffed angrily.

Two blue frog pokemon fell from the trees, just now catching up to the others. One landed on top of the jeep, while the other landed in the dirt near them. The one on the car looked relaxed, somewhat frustrated that it hadn't been able to keep up as well, but otherwise okay. The other simply stared, it's expression completely and totally blank.

"Man Jerry, dont look so excited to be here."

The Greninja copy turned it's face to look at Damian, and stared blankly at him. Damian shivered, because one always shuddered to imagine what dreams of cruelty were going on in the mind of Jerry.

"God just... Stop. Creeping the hell out of me man." Damian said, walking over to the car and opening the passenger side door and grabbing his travel bag. He unclipped one of the minimized pokeballs on it, and hit the center button, returning it to normal size. He turned it around to be sure, and on the back, in black sharpie the name "Jerry" had been scribbled. Perfect.

He turned around and pointed the ball at Jerry once again, hitting the center button and recalling the pokemon wordlessly. He minimized the ball again and clipped it back to his travel pack, and switched his attention to the computer that was open in the vehicle.

He stepped into the car, and began moving through the system. It was currently in navigation mode. He had been in this area once or twice in the past few weeks, mainly to check on the water quality of a few lakes in the area.

"Volt, would you do the honors?" Damian called, causing the ghost pokemon to stop messing with the Tyrantrum and dart into the car once again. Damian waited another moment for the ghost to get situated before turning the ignition and pressing down on the clutch. The car sputtered once or twice before the engine, finally caught on through the Rotom's possession. He shifted into first gear and applied the E-brake, before sliding out of the vehicle once again and walking around the back and opening the trunk doors. Inside there was mainly junk food but there was also a few magazines and games (like rubix cubes and other brain teasers). He reached up and tapped the roof of the car, which tipped Carl off that it was time to get in. The Greninja vaulted off the roof of the car and swung into the trunk- almost immediately taking a relaxed position. Damian rolled his eyes and shut the trunk, and walked around the back to face his largest team member.

The Tyrantrum was distracted, looking up at a tree. Some small forest Pokemon had probably caught his attention. But when he heard the trunk shut his attention shifted to Damian. The Despot pokemon tilted it's massive head and Damian scratched his chin.

"Alright, Big Man, follow along. Might need your help."

Damian stepped back into the car and taking the E-brake off, driving off through the forest and making his way to his destination- some medium sized lake in the middle of the woods.

As he pulled the car over, turned it off, and stepped out, he made sure to grab the water quality kits and a clio board in the back of his car. The Greninja exited the trunk and jumped into the lake, while the Tyrantrum stalked along the water's edge, looking for any prey items that could be hiding from them.

Damian walked up the water and knelt down to do some tests. First was water salinity, which he recorded in the plots on his clip board. It was definitely lower than last time. Oxygen content was high. Turbidity was low. But most interestingly was that there was no E-coli traces in the water. This meant no fecal contamination. The water could even be considered drinkable.

Damian looked up to call the Tyrantrum, only to see the carnivore was halfway in the water now, relieving himself. Damian furrowed his brow and made a mental not to himself. There WAS no fecal contamination in measurable levels.

He whistled to gain the Despot Pokemon's attention, who finished his business and returned to the land to trot over to his trainer. When the Tyrannosaur reached Damian, the man directed the Tyrantrum's snout down to the water.

"Big Man, do me a favor and smell this water."

The Tyrant gave him a somewhat confused look, but did as instructed. It definitely smelt different than most water.

Tyrantrum and Tyrunts had some of the best senses of smells among all Pokemon. Their sense of smell had been described as "A hundred Arcanine duck-tapped together". This was because a very large portion of their brain was dedicated to smell. It was one of the reasons for why many people debated on whether they were hunters or scavengers before the technology to resurrect them was developed. It was only then that they learned that Tyrantrum was both.

Damian smiled to himself. He might just be on to something here. G-Man would be happy with him if he was right.

@Ninian @Light Lord



A gentle smile danced across Sirina's face. Then she turned a faint shade of pink as Devon said her and her Pokemon could be knocking on the league's door in no time. "Th.. thank you." She stated and was quiet for a while as she imagined herself fighting against the league. The idea seemed so ridiculous and silly.

"Of course. you are a researcher. If i didn't let you document a new Mega Evolution, that would just be rude." Sirina chuckled, smiling at the Froslass as it retreated to the other pokemon. "It's kind of nice to see a Froslass this close. The one i know never let us get close to her before fading. What a beautiful pokemon."

Tamaki wiggled his body excitedly as Cyan spoke to him about swimming. <Yeah yeah, i love swimming, this one time i swum so far that i went like.. ten thousand miles!! and this other time, I swam so fast that i almost broke the sound barrier.> then his eyes sparkled. <Let's go for a race! And i can show you!>

Spud toddled over to the two, a dopey grin spreading across his face. <You two going for a race in water, count me in.>

Tamaki giggled. <You'd think he'd be really fast because he's an evolved Pokemon, but he's actually a lot slower than i am.>

<I'm definitely not built for speed. But if we were talking defenses.. Tamaki.. i would blow you out of the water.> he laughed at his own joke.

<It's true its true! Spud can take like a thousand billion million trillion gajillion hits and still be standing because he's super duper duper tough!> Tamaki piped.

Nana turned from her trainer at the Froslass' comment, her ears flicking. <What do you mean you are surprised he actually made it to Viore? What could you possibly have been worried about?> Maybe the airplanes, though that would be silly considering they'd started putting a powerful psychic pokemon up front with the pilot just in case something went wrong and they had to make an emergency landing. So.. something else then? Maybe he was secretly being chased by someone.. or had done something bad and had some kind of criminal background which made travel difficult. She flicked her gaze to Pent suspiciously before turning back to face the Froslass.

---

<Liza, wait!>

At the command, Liza stopped dead in her tracks, and turned her head left and right. Fear and suspicion diffused into mere curiosity as she found no one around, up until she looked behind her. A blue Pokemon, fast-approaching, was making its way from whence she had just made her way from.

Slowly, she shifted her leg back, as though she were in a fighting stance...minus the facts that she had held her hands tightly onto her satchel. Not a common behavior for most trainers, but Liza was born and raised under unfavorable circumstances; kids mugging kids before they even got into the League was an all-too common issue, even for just Officer Jenny to manage.

In Shinon's mind, Liza had unconsciously projected a million re-iterations of the same questions, peppered by others.

< ̗̞̞̣͊̃̀̾ͭ̋ ̴̪̖̝̄̓ ̺͚͔̯͕͚ͭͅ ͇̰̩̜̩͚́̓ ̺͇̻̄ ̠̥̱ͣ̿̆́ ̯̝̻̽͒̿͑̊̒ͬ ̐͒ ̜̬̗̦̘̯̇̏̽̈́̇̑̒ ͙̭͚̙͈͑ ̛̻̦̝͊͗͒̋͂̏̄ ̟̦̖͍ ̇ͪ͏̮̜̱ ͈͙͓͕̑ͫͨ͐ͦ̆ ͚̥̺̖͒͡ͅ ͎̥̋̉̊̋͋̈ ̚ ̱͕ͧͅ ̧̗̫̤̘͂ͭ͋ͧ̀̆̏ ͓͖͎͍̲ͤͤ̇̊̈́Ẉ̜̤͈̥̯̝͠h̷͓̫͓̳̥͑̈o̰̅̃ͤ ̺͎̝̖ͭͩa̧̙̥̓̈́͑̊r͉̃͘e͓̤̼̭͐͂̉ͣ͡ͅ ̬̥̊ͦ̅͝y͉̗͛͡o̦̭͂ͯͮͯ̊̂u̷?̩̪̘̠̩̹͕̽
̛̬̠̬̠W̰̲̲͚̫̬͖̐ͤ͛͛̋̕h̬ͣͮ̃̆̏̕a̍͗ͣ͛̉ͥ̚ṯ̵̝̖̮̦̓̿ͤ ̏͆̌̍ͤ̿d͈̤̠̟͚̃̃ͮo͈͑̿ͭ͂̇̈ ̶͊̋̑̈yͫͭ̿͒̒ͬ̋ö̞̪͖̟̻̝͚́̃ͮ̍̃u̩̻ͩ́͒ͫ́ ͚͘w̤̬̗̺̙̣̅̓a̟̲̗̦͈̟̔͋ͅn͖̠͎ͣ́̔ͯ̑̓͒t̼̖̼͓͋ͦͯ?ͬͦͭ͗̅͌̾͏̼͙̬̝̬͇
̞̘̃ͯ̄̈
҉ ͔̬̍̑ͧ̈̽ͅ ̟͙ͩ̐ͨͥ ͓͖̝͕͐ ͎̥͇̒̔͊ͥ͊ͦ ̦̮̟ͦ́ͣ͟ ̩̹̦͘ ̧ͬ̽ͨ͐ ̘̦̏̐̋̏ͣ̀ ̧ͩ ̘ͬ͢ ̧̹̹̜͚͓͂̇̽̌̈́ͮ̏ ̨̦̣̠̞̝̞̽͑̂ͧ̒ ̛̖̠̙̦͖̼̻͋̈ͤͧ̒̉ ́ͬ͘ ̘͖̠ͥ̔̾͋ ͕̰̙̫̬ ͑ ̴̪̣̔ͪͧ͂ͭͧ͐ ̪̰͠ͅA̶̼̱ͥ̐r͕̜͙͖ͬȩ̙̦̠̱̻̓̚ ͚̦̬͠y͖̰̣̒̿̄͒͒̐͋͠ọ̧ͦͪͪͤ̓ͫ͊u̵̝̤͙̠ ͥ͊̌̎ġ̭̭̟͙̳̲̙̈ͫo͏i̸͙̲͋ͣ̔ͧ̅n̶̙̮͙̙̣̖̯̚g̥̏̌̀̈ ̟̭̈̒ͥ͑t̷̘͖̞͍̖̜ͮ̍̔ͨ̽͋o̮̹̖̟͔̭͌̆̍̀̉̈́͊ͅ ̮̟̮̤̇̍ͪͪͦ̆͑h͎̲͂ͨ̏͢u̞͓̣̣̤͛͌̏͊r̞̘̯̮̘̼̺̃͒̀ͥť̯͔̗̋ͤ͊̍ ̩̠̲͈͖̻̄͌̿m̻̄ͪ̽̈ͥ̆̀e̛̤̪ͅ?̝͠
̪̯̺͂
̤̪̬͇͎͐͗̆ͨ̒͛W̱͕͛h̩̊̅̓ͣͭ̄ỏ̉̽̓͞'͏͕ṣ̢̦̺͓͓͇̖ ͍̩̩͚̝͇̪͝y̹̣̳̪͉̟̟͗͊̏̈́o̒̄ͨ̽u͇̇ͦ͛̇͒͂ṟ̰̙̄̾̓̊̚̕ ̢̉̽͂ͧ̃ͦͧo͚̹̰ͯ͆̀ͬ̈̕ẉ̛̰̝̙ͯ̉ͯ̐̏n̙̳͙̣̈͡e͌҉̥̰ȓ͈̩̥̟̗̤͇ͯ̚?̷͒̿̑ͧ
̓͘
̸̟̦ͯ̾͌ͣ́̚ ̧͓̬͑̉ͦ̆̌ͧ̈ ̴̜͉ͣ̎̃ͮ͂̾ ̱̼̺ͦ͊ͫ̔́̆ ̔̋ͫ͏̰̣̫͖͖ ̽̆ͅ ̜̙̱̞̽̿ͩ́̒ͦͦ ̠ͯ̌ͣ̐͛̚ ҉̙̤̠͙̻ ̬͕̉ ̖͉̰͇͇ͬͪ͗̆ͧ̈ ̛̣̲̭̗̫̤̮̐ͬ̅ͩ ̥͋ͨͤ͜ ̖̙̖̩͎̈́̊ͣ̒̇ ͓͙̣̹͇̙̀̔̂ͅ ͈̘̝̄ͅ ͓̟͗̓ͥͨ̋̃͂ ̠̔̈́̒ͦ͂̏ ̸̮̦͔̓ ͧ͒̈̓ͯ҉̺͚̠͔͕̠ ̱̼ͤͦ̈́S̶͙̥̉̃̾h̢̪͔̪̺͙̻̅o̸̜̞̬̲͗ͬͅū͕̩̠̥͌l̾̍̇̇ͮ̎͏̘̠̠͎d̝̣͎͕ͪ̃͛̽͒ͬͅ ͇͒I͆ͤ̈̽͏͉̱̙͇ͅͅ ̢̣̖̗̝͗̈́̽̀͆̓͒f̬̦͇̜̆͆̐ͮ̈́ͦì̸̤̒̇̉gͫ̈́̆ͣ͟hͦ̑̅̉̚͏̣͓t̴͚̫?̻̦̓ͬ͋̄̊͆͞
̙̝̄̑̇̒
̻̖̘̙͔͎͔̈́̎͌̒͜I̷͙͒͗̌̚s̝̙̖͇̮̯͂ͥ̓͑͜ ̻̭͇ͣ̇ț̳͚̬͕͖̒̓ͮͧͮ̈̽̕h̏ͭ́̆̏͊̚e̯̤ͫ̐̅͂ͪ̓̾͟r̋͏̖̟e̝̯̼̔̈ͤ ̩ͪ͋̈́̄̌s͔̱̻̼̊̿̓o̦̱͎̞̦̓͂͛ͪ́̈̚m̥͈̺̦͚̺ḛ̢̓ͭ͂ͧt̨͓̜̦̯̣̉̄ͨ̚ḣ͔̭͂͑ͧͬi̠̩̯̦̼͕̞̐̍̂ͦ̕n̨͈̝̺͚̲̓͂̿͛̈́ͩg͔̠̩͓̲͍̱ͦ̈̔ ̝̘̫ͨ͂w̦͂̍̏͡r̭̲̈ͨō̡̪͓͈͕ͭn͍̭̫̺ǵ͇̺̺͎̳̳̳ͦ͑ͮ?͕̭̱̜͇ͮͩ͋̅͑͐ͣ>

When Liza stopped, Shinon quickly stopped once he approached her as well. The Lucario's red eyes darted around the girl's form, and finally to her hand, which was certainly a curious reaction. He noticed she had no active Pokémon out of their balls, either, which greatly concerned the Lucario.

The girl's unconscious projections greatly effected her aura, causing Shinon's ears to fold back as he was bombarded by intense emotion. His aura sensing appendages began to float, as he was about to attempt communication with the greatly frightened girl. He had doubts it would be successful, but he was certainly not going to let Pent down. Not when this girl had helped him.

Using his aura, he tried his best to convey precise words. Whether or not Liza would actually feel them, or understand them was an entirely different matter.



"I do," she stated plainly, before deciding in her mind that the Lucario wasn't going to attack. Her stance and expression relaxed, and she stood straighter.

"Pent? What does he want with me? I'm on my League journey right now, so I don't really have the time for any side jobs..."

Making his way over to the girl, who seemed to be more relaxed in his presence, he lightly tugged at her sleeve. Turning in the direction he came from, he pointed with one of his pads.



Liza took Shinon's wrist into her right hand, and gently stroked the Lucario's blue fur with her thumb as she examined its humanoid shape. It wasn't like she didn't see the occasional Machoke before, but this Pokemon wasn't like the ones in Kanto in the least. The black band across its eyes, Liza realized, wasn't purely aesthetic; it also served the purpose of the eye-black many athletes wore to "enhance performance and visibility".

Nevertheless, the ears and the floppy hair made it surprisingly cuter than anticipated. Given the canine facial structure and the shape of its ears, it was probably distantly related to Pokemon like Arcanine, which meant...

...Liza released her grip and stroked the Lucario behind the ears gently.

Shinon tried to tug Liza along with him to get back to Pent sooner, when the girl began to pet him behind the ears. It was surprising to him—the girl went from being afraid of him, to being skeptical to... enjoying his presence? He could feel that his appearance intrigued her, though it was still not something he could have anticipated. A soft, low grunt of reluctant enjoyment escaped the Aura Pokémon's maw as the girl continued to stroke behind his ears.

Though his eyes were rolled back into his head, and his mouth agape, he tried his best to regain his composure. He was able to focus his red irises upon the girl's form, finally reaching out to her with his paw. Gently tugging at her sleeve, he attempted to lead her back the way he had came.

Liza follows, but doesn't take her hand off of his head as she indulges in capitalizing on his soft spot. It was fascinating how exploitable Pokemon were, if one pushed the right buttons. From the look of it, the one she had in question wasn't used to any sort of pampering, which gave justification for her to advance a little further...

---

...so by the time Shinon and Liza would return, Shinon would be lost in the stupor of physical pleasure, namely that of the soft, delicate hand squeezing his nape as though it were dough.

"We meet again, Mr. Pent! Why'd you call me here?"

A soft groan would escape Shinon's maw as they finally arrived to Pent. The Lucario extended his aura to his Trainer, H-Help... she... knows what she's doing.

Looking down at the Lucario, Pent's brown eyes widened. "O-Oh! It seems you found her, and were able to bring her back! Excellent, I'm glad!" Gesturing to his bag he smiled to Aenir, his Froslass. "Would you mind searching through my bag and pulling out my Amulet Coin?" The Froslass would nod, using Psychic to remove the item from his pack. Holding it up with the mysterious energy, she floated it over towards Liza. "I know you ah... don't believe you need to be repaid, but... I do truly appreciate it."

Wordlessly, Liza practically ripped the coin out of the man's hand, and pocketed it.

"...you know how much a Champion would make using this, right?"

@BytheSpleen@Draconequis@Ninian

((OOC: Just heads up, anything I write in Italics is the thoughts of a character. Meaning that other characters are unable to hear/respond to whats being written.))


[Route 701]

When Aenir gave a confused stare in Quill's direction, the Monferno met her gave as he put an open hand on his chest. <You mean me? I'm a Monferno. The first evolution of the Fire-type starter given out by Professor Rowan in Sinnoh. I wouldn't really expect alot of people to know what I am, given how starters are rare to see in non-native regions.>

Shock nodded at Aenir once she called him out for his 'spook' comment. The Ampharos pointed up at Devon's left hoodie pocket. <Yup. Our team's Mismagius, Missy, is in her ball right now. You'll probably see her later. Devon's just keeping her in there cause she got really scared of Professor Maple's Rhyperior that was stomping around outside the lab earlier.>

Cyan laughed along with the other Pokémon, looked at Tamaki and smiled wide. <I wouldn't doubt it Tamaki! You look pretty speedy!> Looking up at Spud, the tiny Marill bounced her tail on the dirt behind her. <Oh yeah I know! I'm friends with a Quagsire in Sinnoh's Great Marsh where I used to live! He's always acting all tough, protecting all of the kids that live there. I seen him take six hits from a swarm of Carvanha like it was nothing!> Gazing around at the dense trees surrounding the dirt path, Cyan's wide smile dipped a bit as she looked over Spud and Tamaki. <Aw. Looks like that race will need to wait guys. There's no water around here....I'm sure there will be a pond in a park or something in Vertigo City!>

Cyan took the curtsy to answer Nana's question for Aenir when Shinon and Liza came back, seeing as how the Froslass was busy helping Pent. <Oh! Shinon told me that Pent doesn't like airplanes, and the ride made him sick! Poor guy....>

Devon looked over at Shinon melting into the red heads hands, the entire scene making the teen snicker and smile. It really is all Pokémon....He's totally loving it just like Nasir does when I pet the top of his mane....

Devon waved at the new face, and glanced to Pent for a moment before his eyes settled back on the girl still petting the man's Lucario. "Is this that girl you were looking for at the airport Pent? Hi by the way. I'm Devon. What's your name?"

Shinon the Lucario, Aenir the Froslass, Jill the Skarmory
[Route 701]

@Draconequis@Light Lord@ByTheSpleen
When Sirina essentially gave him permission to document her Pokémon in the future, a wide, pleased smile spread across his lips. "Thank you, thank you! I do hope new Mega Stones exist in Viore..."

Given that Sirina was more than happy to give the Froslass attention, Aenir took her leave from the other Pokémon, now hovering close to the older girl. <Truly? You make look upon me as long as you'd like just...>

The Dual Ghost-type's gaze moved back to Quill with a small smile crossing her features. <A Monferno? One of the Sinnoh starters... That would explain it. I've never actually seen the evolutionary stages of most of the other region's starters... Well, it's a pleasure, regardless.>

Cyan somewhat answered the Arcanine's question, but Aenir shook her head. <That's... not entirely it. You may not have noticed, but it's difficult for Pent to walk on his own. Even with help, he... falls... occasionally he's hit by moving vehicles...> Letting out a slightly annoyed sigh he continued, <Had I not been his first partner, I would have been convinced he touched a Ninetales' tail. I have never seen anyone with worse luck...>

Pent's happy expression fell into one of contemplation when the girl, Liza, spoke up about the Amulet Coin. "...I suppose a Champion would make quite a bit with that. When I was on my own League journey, once upon a time, that's actually how I ah... well, was able to pay for everything I suppose. I do not fight much anymore, and I make enough to cover my expenses as a researcher and professor." Scratching the back of his head he continued with a smile, "Regardless, you'll make much better use of that than I ever would now."

Turning back to Devon he smiled, "Oh yes, this is the girl. I owe her much."

His expression grew a bit more serious as he turned back to the girl who was now clutching the Amulet Coin. "Do you plan to become the Champion, then?"

@BytheSpleen @Light Lord @Ninian (ah. Its very hard to see the difference between italics and regular words for me for some reason. my bad, i will try not to make that mistake again. i went back and edited Sirina's response.)



Spud just bobbed his head <He sounds strong. I would love to see which one of us could take more hits.>

Tamaki slumped slightly. <I don't wanna wait.> he whined. <That seems boooorrriiinngg.>

Spud reached out his hand and pat Tamaki on the head. <You can ride on my head if you want until we get there.>

<NO. We can have a foot race instead.> he piped.

Spud gave a dopey laugh, nodding his head slowly. <Count me out. I'm kind of clumsy on land. Probably would trip and splat right on my face. Nana might want to race you though.>

Tamaki flinched. <NOOOO!> He cried dramatically. <She always wins because she's super duper extra fast! I even used Extremespeed and she WON ANYWAYS.> he slumped dramatically onto the ground.

Spud laughed again, but was distracted at the sound of the newcomer. <I'm guessing you or your trainer know her from something?> he asked, turning back to Cyan.

Nana was only half listening to Cyan at first, her eyes and body focused on the newcomer. Her ears flicked and she turned her head for just a moment. <I will have to remember that.> she commented. Then she recoiled slightly as she watched the new girl rubbing behind Shinon's ears and the pokemon just melting into her hands. Sirina's hands could be gentle and kind, and felt good, but she had never had this much of an overreaction. Even when Sirina managed to reach her itchiest spots. Nana took a mental note of this fact with a flick of her tail. Nana focused her eyes on the new girl again, practically glaring daggers into her, letting out a low growl as she stepped one step too close to Sirina for her liking.

Sirina adjusted her wheelchair, twirling around to face the newcomer who Nana had been staring at intensely for a couple of minutes. To her surprise, the person Shinon had retrieved was an orange haired girl. The way Shinon was leaning into her hands, you would have thought that she had fingers made of gold. A sweet and gentle smile danced across Sirina's face. "Hi. I'm Sirina. Sorry about Nana.. the Arcanine, she's really protective. I told Pent and Devon this earlier, but she will warm up to you in time." She felt a strange jolt in the pit of her stomach as she watched the exchange between Pent and the girl. How the girl tore the amulet coin from him rudely without even saying thank you. This was remarkably harsh for a girl who was clearly younger than herself. What exactly had happened to her to make her this way? "Nana. Relax." The order came and Nana sat on her haunches, still watching the newcomer suspiciously.

And before she knew it, Aenir was before her. The creature hovered beside her a broad smile stretching across her tiny face. Its body was glistening white like snow, shimmering like diamonds as the sun glinted off the surface. A deep red band tied around its waist with the most delicate, tiny fingers stretching from graceful arms. She smiled as she aimed her gaze at Aenir. "Would.. would you mind if i touched you? I.. i've never met a ghost type so friendly before. And i am not sure if i ever will. I have always wondered what a ghost would feel like."

Arcanine's ears flicked as Cyan spoke about Pent. She tore her eyes from the newcomer girl, and back to Cyan. <Getting hit by vehicles? How old was he when you became his partner? Perhaps he was cursed by a Ninetails before you ever met him?> she gazed in his direction, tail flicking now. <He should really have a service pokemon as well, to help him in case of emergency. A service pokemon such as myself is trained to keep a.. less mobile human out of harms way. Keeping them from getting hit by cars.. is a number one priority.> She sighed. <His bad luck had better not rub off on Sirina.> a teasing glint appeared in her eyes, a spark of character beneath her rough outer exterior.

Liza

---

@Light Lord@Ninian@Draconequis
"Liza," she said tersely, though softly, at the man's question. That's all she needed to provide for now; no need to go give out her "charming surname" (as coined by a passing Socialite when she was doing community service) just yet. She was already coming off as a little harsh, but smoothness sometimes helped the process go along faster. It couldn't hurt to try.

"Do you plan to become the Champion, then?"

"...that's the only plan, really. Battling pays better and kills time faster than a job...not that I won't get a job later. Just not now."

She glanced at Nana as she was being growled and barked at by an Arcanine, of all things, before darting her eyes towards the trainer.

"Hi. I'm Sirina. Sorry about Nana.. the Arcanine, she's really protective. I told Pent and Devon this earlier, but she will warm up to you in time. Nana, relax."

And that's when she saw those eyes - the same eyes her disapproving teacher gave her, the same eyes the parents of her much wealthier, much more fortunate friends gave, those eyes of blatant disapproval.

And like those eyes, Sirina's eyes might've had a hint of pity, or at least, that's how Liza perceived it. She hated making people and Pokemon ache like that when she went all business-like, and the last thing she needed was suspicion, especially that of a Pokemon. So she released her hands from Shinon, and patted him on the back before gently pushing him back to Pent. Slowly, she knelt down, and held out her closed fist to the Arcanine slowly. She would, on most other occasions, offer an open palm to offer complete surrender, but Nana was angry. Liza wasn't planning on gambling with her fingers, so the fist would have to stay. A sniff would do...but to really seal the deal...

"...your Arcanine's beautiful," Liza pointed out, while maintaining eye contact with the massive Pokemon. Slowly, her indigo eyes sank to the floor as her head slightly tilted forwards, as though bowing to the Arcanine. She wasn't going to force Nana to like her, and she sure as hell didn't want to pose as a threat to the guardian of a disabled girl. This nanny of a dog would probably more protective than the average, as care goes for the disabled. Very slowly, her eyes drooped until she could see no longer; the only thing she wanted to focus on were the inevitable words of Sirina and her own heartbeat.

"...my grandma used to own an Arcanine, once. Even when I came around, she was already old...so this is my first, really, to see an Arcanine in its prime."

Xavier

ROUTE 701

Xavier took a few steps and stopped clutching his chest...To silence his stomach that was rumbling fiercely, sounding to him like it was coming straight out of the pits of hell. He had decided on skipping breakfast this morning to start his long hike to Vertigo City, finding New Amber Town incredibly dull and boring from the very first day he got there. Flown into the Viore International Airport from his village.

No surprise why his grandparents decided to live there for their retirement. He certainly didn't want to stay there with his mother. Though he had planned on going to see Professor Maple as he was genuinely curious but he was apparently quite busy at that time and Xavier didn't want to wait around, but he did receive a mega charm when he got there. Supposedly the Professor wanted him to have it. So going there wasn't a complete loss. He figured he could always come back later if he had to, but he was quite eager to leave going right to bed as soon as they arrived at their grandparent's home.

So he left first thing in the morning. Which for him was actually in the afternoon since he slept in so late. Causing him just to leave on what he slept in and doing nothing but hand brushing his hair down and grabbing his bag and saying goodbye and I love you to his mom before hurrying out the door. Wishing he had just fallen asleep on the plane, but he had to stay up for some reason. But it was clear to him that he couldn't waste anymore time, he had to go to Vertigo City. It wouldn't be too bad if he just waited to eat as soon as he got there right?

That's what he thought, which at that moment he regretted his decision. Xavier put down his bright orange bag which had all his stuff, that set up last night. So he wouldn't forget anything when he went walking making sure he had his pokedex and his wallet and his cellphone and all the rest. Yet he somehow didn't pack a single bit of food. Sighing, Xavier looked up at Greed, his Gengar, who never really liked pokeballs. Usually staying beside him, floating slightly above Xavier's head. Greed just started to grin.

"I told you, didn't I? You'd get hungry if you didn't eat anything..." Greed exclaimed using telepathy, which he would often use to communicate with him as Xavier could hear the words being said in his head.

"I was right wasn't I?" Greed continues to tease him. As Xavier groaned some while rubbing his stomach some.

"Greed, I'm not in the mood. I'm starving and I'm already half an hour into walking there, it would be a waste to go back home now." Xavier complained.

"I know everyone else is probably hungry since they also haven't eaten, can't we just fly there?" Greed asked as Xavier thought about it for a moment as he smiled a bit and reached into his pocket and grabbed his pokeball and sent out Skyline, his Dragonite. As soon as he appeared, spreading his wings out wide and opened his jaw wide as well letting out a big yawn. Xavier smiled at him.

"Hey Skyline. Think you could fly us to the next city? I'll buy you some those spicy berries you like and all of us some breakfest." Xavier said in a super polite and slightly pleading manner. Skyline simply smiled and nodded his head. Xavier smiled back and climbed on Skyline's back, and held onto him as Gengar sat on Xavier's shoulder. Skyline turned around and started get ready to take off, flapping his wings as he lifted off going upwards, flying in the air as he started to head straight for Vertigo City. Xavier looked down as he saw a couple people, most likely trainers as he smiled.

"Sucks being them right now. Maybe I'll come back after I get some food in my stomach, so I can battle some trainers." Xavier thought to himself, as he felt a little bad for waking Skyline to make him fly without any food. But at the same time, it was a lot better than having to walk any more being as hungry as he was. As Skyline continued to fly he began to think maybe he should of ate some of the peanuts they gave him on the plane after all, despite the fact he hated eating nuts. Greed started to speak to Skyline.

<Didn't wake you up, did we? Have any nice dreams?> Greed asked speaking in a sarcastic tone.

<Well, I wanted to get out and spread my wings anyway. I certainly don't mind. And as a matter a fact I did.> Skyline replied. Greed just rolled his eyes as he just spoke telepathically to Xavier again.

"Skyline's complaining that he has to fly." Greed states as Skyline didn't hear what he said but just from the smirk on his face, he could fill in the blanks. Skyline glared at Greed. As Xavier just stroked the back of Skyline's head.

"I know you didn't say anything." Xavier assured warmly to Skyline. As Skyline quietly exhales and tries to ignore Greed focusing back on flying to their destination as he was getting hungry too. Xavier bonks Greed on the head as a nonverbal way to tell him to knock it off. Xavier was getting a little excited having never really been to a city before. Ready for some adventure and excitement, looking down as he saw a couple of trainers battling and another riding a bike and smiling figuring at the rate Skyline was flying, they'd be in Vertigo City in no time at least he and his stomach hoped...

...Was this a dream? She looked around her, she seemed to be floating in some kind of space. This... this had to be a dream, but... it seemed so real... she saw something in the distance flying towards her. It was Shaymin! It came up to her and seemed to investigate her, looking her over, until finally perching on her shoulder. "Shaymin... so, is it true? Are we... partners?" Shaymin looked very unsure about the situation itself, it seemed they both were searching for an answer.

"It is indeed truth, you have been chosen as a a Guardian." The voice echoed and boomed around them. It was near impossible to tell where it was coming from. Soon, another form materialized in front of her, a massive Pokemon, a bright white color with a seemingly golden ring around it's midsection. "Are you..." Lily began, but the creature before her answered for her. "Yes, I am Arceus, the very creator of this world. You, Lily Meadows, and you, Shaymin, have been chosen to protect this world. Your compassion, your feelings, you hearts, they are what chose you to become Guardians." Lily looked up in awe, this was the very Pokemon that created, well, everything! "Why choose a kid to do something that you could do without even a thought?" She asked the deity.

"Well, I may have created this world, but I also created everything that exists on it. I will not upset the balance by taking matters into my own hands. That is why the Legendary Pokemon exist, why people such as yourself are chosen for these tasks. I can merely give it a push in the right direction, so to speak." Lily still couldn't understand, but she was starting to. It felt exciting, something only she, and probably a few others, could do! A chance to save the world! "I kind of get it, but so there will be more of these... Guardians?"

"Originally there were ten guardians chosen to defend this world, and as such, ten will be chosen again. You are the first of this group, but yes, there will be more to come. But keep this in mind, even I cannot predict the course this world will take. Destiny is a fickle thing, you know. Trust in yourself, and in your Pokemon, and you will always prevail..." Arceus proceeded to disappear in a flash, leaving Lily and Shaymin in their dream together.

---

"You're a really down to earth kid, and I can understand where you come from. Viore is practically built on ancient legends, ruins, and the sorts, you can't deny that something like that isn't plausible." Brent had been talking with Brooks about the so-called "Legend of the Guardians", he still didn't know what to believe, if anything about it. "There has to be more proof, though. I just can't see it happening without solid undeniable..." Brooks interrupted him mid-sentence. "What about the mark that appeared on Lily's hand? You saw it, how is that undeniable? I know by the time you were there the sun was down, so it couldn't have been a trick of the light."

Brooks had a point about that... He'd tried to pass it off as if it were a sudden gleam from the setting sun, but the sun was below the treeline when it happened. Plus, what kind of sunlight gives off a green glow? "Okay, so let's say the legend is true..." "Which it is..." "What does it mean? Some kind of, I don't know, Apocalypse is coming, and she's one of the only ones who can stop it?" Brooks stopped for a moment, looking Brent in the eyes. "It most likely could be that severe... and if you're wondering why Lily may have been chosen..." "Actually I was wondering that..." "Her heart, mind, and spirit. Those are basically the qualifications to be one. Experience doesn't matter, heck the Viore Region Champion is probably one of the most experienced trainers you could find, but he only has a chance to become a Guardian."

Brent thought on this for a bit, heart, mind, spirit, that's what decided who would be a Legendary Guardian... If the legend was true... could it be, he saw the mark with his own eyes... but it hadn't returned since it first showed itself... were there only certain situations it would appear... this was making Brent's head spin, too much information that he was trying to process. "You know, you make a compelling case. I'll agree that it's plausible, but I'm still not one hundred percent certain yet." Brooks chuckled a bit, getting up from the cafeteria table the two were seated at in the kind of commons area of the Pokemon Center. "At least it's a start, you'll learn what I have through my travels soon enough. I gotta go check on my Pokemon, they're probably hungry." Brooks stood up and headed out into the backyard of the Pokemon Center, grabbing some Pokemon food and food bowls from his bag.

---

The helicopter dropped down onto the open area just outside of Riviera Town. The two Top Rangers jumped out, with their Partner Pokemon right behind them. After that the chopper took off back into the skies, headed back towards New Amber Town's airport. "Quiet place, isn't it?" Said Aiden as they made their way into the city center. "Peaceful, for now... who knows when those Royal Skies guys might make an unwanted visit." Replied Lola, as they continued past the center fountain to the local Police Station, where they were greeted by Riviera Town's Officer Jenny and escorted inside.

Officer Jenny quickly brought the two rangers up to speed on the situation in the Viore Triangle. "Team Royal Skies has been attacking trainers and people in Dorado, Riviera, and Lilac, but have never had a confrontation in the cities themselves. We just can't seem to figure out their motives." Aiden sat and thought for a bit, looking at the map of the area. There was no common factor linking the three towns for common attacks like that... wait, he had it! "Would that lake there have anything to do with it?" Jenny looked over to the map. "Lake Northwind? There's nothing too special about that, except... there haven't been any attacks there... strange... you know, there is a Legend about the Legendary Pokemon Suicune connected to that lake."

"Suicune? How so?" Asked Lola. "It's said that Suicune lives at Lake Northwind, and is the guardian of the area. It's never been fully proven, though." The two rangers looked at each other for a moment, and nodded their heads to each other. "Officer, we're going to check out the lake ourselves. In our line of work, Legends tend to be more than just, well, legends. Come on Storm." Said Aiden, as he stood up and headed towards the door with the Sandslash next to him right behind him now. "Good idea, let's go Ark. We'll be back as soon as we can, Officer." Said Lola, following Aiden's lead, with her Arcanine following hers.

---

Galahad stepped out of their All Terrain Transport and inspected the area around them. This seemed isolated enough for a base camp for the mission at hand. "All right, start setting up the tracking gear, we've got a hunt to begin!" He ordered in a loud, booming voice. Immediately a group of grunts began setting up lots of complicated equipment along the water's edge. Soon everything was in place, whatever it was. "Sir, equipment is up and running, fully operational." Galahad turned to the grunt for a moment, then turned back to the lake. "Good, begin sweeping the lakeside, see if you can find any sign of the target." The grunt saluted, and rushed off to tell the other grunts. In moments there were Royal Skies grunts scanning the lakeside for any trace of their "Target".

@BytheSpleen@Draconequis@Ninian


[Route 701]

Cyan looked upon the over dramatic Dratini, and attempted to wave off the child's disappointment. <Don't worry Tamaki. I'm sure it doesn't take that long to get to Vertigo City. We can race then ok?> When Spud asked the Marill about whether she recognized the red headed new comer she shook her head at the large Quagsire. <No. Me and Devon have never met this girl before. But apparently she helped Pent before and he was trying to find her to pay her back. So I guess she's nice!>

Devon nodded at the confirmation of a name from the intense girl. "Liza huh? Nice name." Looking down near his feet, he pointed out the members of his team for Liza with a smile. "That's my Ampharos, Shock, my Marill, Cyan, my Monferno, Quill, and my Mismagius, Missy, is in her ball right now." The three Pokémon that were present near the friendly teen waved as their names were called.

This quiet new teen seemed to share a sort of common interest with Devon, one that he used to try to break the ice a bit more. The brown haired boy pointed to his chest, his other hand gripping one of the shoulder straps of his white backpack. "I'm in the same boat. My Dad wants me to get a job someday, but I'm gonna try to hold off on that for a bit. With a grin, he finished. "Being a Trainer is way more fun then manual labor. I'd take a Battle over pounding nails anyday."

Noticing that the two girls were mostly focused on the groups many different Pokémon, Devon tapped his foot slowly as they each gawked at both Nana and Aenir. He bit his lip and waited another few moments before finally speaking up. "Uh...Not trying to be rude or anal or anything but, shouldn't we get going? Vertigo isn't supposed to be that far away, we can talk while were moving right?"

Shinon the Lucario, Aenir the Froslass, Jill the Skarmory
[Route 701]

@BytheSpleen@Light Lord@Draconequis
Aenir looked over Sirina with a somewhat questioning expression as she asked to touch her. Putting a hand to her chin she thought it over. <Hmmm... well, as long as you're gentle, it shouldn't activate my Ability. I'm also unsure if that even works on humans... You should also know that I am quite... frigid.>

Looking up at Pent, Shinon translated the Froslass' words. Tell Sirina that she can touch Aenir.

A warm smile crossed Pent's lips as he understood his Lucario's emanations. Looking to Sirina he spoke, "You may of course touch Aenir, however I will warn you of two things. The first being her Ability is Cursed Body, so please do be gentle. Secondly, she is rather cold, so I advise against touching her for too long."

When Arcanine spoke about Pent, Aenir looked over, with a contemplative expression. <No, no, that's certainly impossible. I found him in Frost Cavern when he was very young. It was during a Diamond Dust storm... Regardless of circumstances I do suppose he was around eight.>

Shinon looked over to Nana as she spoke about how Pent should have a Service Pokémon. <That should not be necessary, I'm also fairly certain he would not qualify regardless. His vehicular incident was... well, it is the cause of his severe injuries. I do everything that I am able to keep Pent out of harm's way. Unfortunately, he is accident-prone, and I do not believe there's anything any one of us can do about it...> Letting out a soft sigh, his gaze fell to Sirina. <I do not believe that quality is something that can be transferred...> It was difficult to tell whether or not Shinon understood the statement was a joke.

Pent's gaze fell to Liza as she spoke about wanting to become Champion. A warm smile crossed the Lumiose Professor's lips. "Oh I see! Well then, that Amulet Coin will certainly serve you better. I do agree, however. Pokémon battles can be quite lucrative if you're successful it's just..." Scratching the back of his head he chuckled, "I've always wanted to research Pokémon instead. Battling takes up much time." Pent's brown eyes fell to each of the Trainers present. "I do hope you all enjoy yourselves, though! A journey with one's Pokémon partners is an experience of a lifetime."

Finally, the man looked over to Devon letting out an uneasy chuckle. "You're right, perhaps we should press onward."