---

"The only people that can back up your story are that bald gym leader and his pupils. I hardly consider that a credible source." At this statement some of his fans quiet down as they seemed to disagree with Hammer's words. They obviously weren't going to say anything about it. Hammer on the other hand thought he'd struck gold when Sophia seemed to lean on the wall for support. Clearly this response confirmed his assertions. He closed some of the distance between him and the exhausted brown haired girl.

Before he could get in her face, he was stopped. "Oh, come on. Do you really think that I can't just walk right past you kid?"




Quickly picking up that Sophia had just done something with her psychic ability, he stepped between her and Hammer causing the latter to stop for a moment.

"Hey, she's telling the truth. You've got your story, so just go." Rheese said calmly.

"Kid, I suggest you step out of my way. Your friend there is hiding something and I aim to get my answers."

"I don't think you get it. Nobody is hiding anything, you've been told everything there is to tell on the subject, and you need to leave us the fuck alone before I go through the effort of getting a restraining order against you you insane pompous asshat!" Rheese said, uncharacteristically confrontational. If this were to get physical, Rheese didn't stand much of a chance...even if his ribs weren't damaged he certainly didn't have a fighter's build. Hammer's face reddened with every word Rheese said.

"Alright, I get it. You think you're big." Hammer said, backing off for a brief second. "I'd like to see how big you think you are after I-" Hammer said throwing a punch directly at Rheese's face.

For a moment, Rheese felt weightless. Like his body was somewhere completely separated from his mind. In truth, he knew that provoking Hammer would have consequences like this. It was part of the plan really. He hoped the display of violence on live Television would hurt his reputation, or at the very least give Rheese a good opportunity to sue. He was bracing himself for the impact, but it simply didn't come. Instead, Rheese found himself a few feet away and unscathed as Hammer stumbled back to his feet.

Standing where Rheese had been only seconds ago was Ray, looking like an entirely different person without his lawnchair under him. The perpetually tired looking eyes were still there, yes, but the rest of him seemed to be brimming with energy. Rheese on the other hand, was pale and almost sick from the sudden sensation of teleporting.



"Y'know, I feel like we've had this conversation before, Hammy. Battles are between Pokemon, not people." Ray said, annoyed that he had to interfere at all. Teleporting Rheese was probably unnecessary as he could have simply stopped Hammer, but Ray had decided that his course of action would be the most entertaining. All of Hammer's fans backed away from their star as the psychic took a step closer. "Now, either way you want to fight, I'll be your opponent."

"Oh, so the scary psychic wants to fight?" Hammer said, his voice wavering as he feigned confidence. "Fine, I'll just show you how scary I can be!" He said charging at Ray only to be casually flicked aside by Ray's telekinesis.

"Paper beats Rock Hammy, and psychic beats fists." Ray said yawning as his posture slackened a bit. "Now, are you going to battle with Pokemon or do I have to throw you around some more?"

Solanna Delacloude

Outside Mesalon Pokecentre

@fer1323

"Huh?" Solanna blinked, finding herself staring into an empty lawnchair. Instead of saying anything in response, Ray had simply teleported away for some reason. No explanation, nothing. The coordinator looked over at Oscar in confusion.

"I wonder what that was about?"

---

Sophia Danvers

Mesalon Pokecentre

@Heckno12

Her back pressed against the wall, Sophia worried for a few seconds that either she was too drained from yesterday's events to have gotten through to Ray, or the lazy guy simply couldn't be bothered to help.

Just as Hammer swung his fist at Rheese, though, the laidback psychic made his appearance. Instantly, Rheese vanished, reappearing a few feet away, dazed but unharmed. Sophia couldn't help but gasp. Standing up, Ray appeared completely different. Intimidating, even. His aura crackled like static electricity as he used his telekinesis to effortlessly fling Hammer to the side.

Sophia stared in awe before bringing herself to speak. "You show him!" She'd known how incredibly powerful Ray was from the energy he gave off, but now she was seeing it for herself.

@OtomostheCrazy

Alexis watched the battle proceed. To be completely honest, it somewhat intimidated her. Her opponent was a tricky one, though she guessed that it was to be expected. He was a gym leader, and what he showed the day before made this all look like child's play. She did snicker a bit watching Sophia start losing from the beginning, but then the gym leader gave out advice towards. Advice that was completely and utterly obvious for everyone. Advice that required people to do the same as Alexis was doing, and observe in order to get an idea of what to do. She wasn't quite a big fan of stuff like that. Even if Lan was a gym leader, saying something like that was, in her eyes, too arrogant of him. A stepping stone has no right telling someone how to simply walk.

It took the humor of Sophia's defeat right out of the battle, and Alexis was trying to enjoy the day too. Now she had to deal with an idiot like Lan. Her confidence was a bit shaken, but she still held fast to the belief that she would at least do better than Sophia. Losing has become so common now that Alexis was beginning to accept that there will be bumps along the road. Doesn't mean that she has to like it.

Before Alexis took a step forward to challenge the gym leader next, Yuki stopped her, and hopped up to her shoulder. The Pokémon whispered something in her ear, and hopped down to her side. Alexis glanced at her Pokémon, but proceeded forward anyway.

"I guess I have to show everyone how it's done", said Alexis with a sigh. It seemed a bit hollow, though. As if she didn't really mean it.

With a slight bow of his head, Lan faced the new challenger.

"Again, you move first," he said. "But remember, too much confidence is as harmful as too little. Especially if you have to force it." Like Sophia, Alexis struck him as someone who had something to prove.

The screen behind the two lit up with Alexis' trainer card picture above Lan's, the referee announcing the challenge. "Are you ready?" Lan calmly asked his opponent.

Alexis said nothing again, as she reached for her Eevee's pokeball. She let Gabby out, but before the snickering pokemon moved to the battlefield, Snorunt went up to her, and whispered in her ear as well. The Eevee nodded, and snickered as she hopped over to the field, apparently ready for battle.

Lan stood with a steely gaze, reaching for a Pokeball.

"Munchlax," he said, letting out the Pokemon in a brilliant white burst of light. The dark green, scruffy Pokemon waddled towards the snickering Eevee, waiting for it to move first. From the whispering, Lan wondered if this team had more of a plan than Sophia's had. Then again, this was clearly another overconfident trainer he was about to battle.

Only time would tell how this would go.

At this point in time, Alexis would have made a big show of this fight. She would have picked up her decorative microphone, and started acting as if she was in a contest rather than a gym battle. However...Alexis was just standing there, hand on her hip, while the other hung down. She didn't say anything.

Suddenly, Gabby charged right at Munchlax. She stopped a small distance away, and kicked sand in the opposing pokemon's face.

A furrow in Lan's brow deepened as the Eevee acted of its own accord, kicking up sand at Munchlax.

"Defend using Stockpile," he commanded. A purple glow appeared around the Pokemon. This way, Munchlax would be better protected against future attacks - especially if the Eevee acted in such a way again.

Raising his head, Lan turned his attention from the two Pokemon to Alexis, who stood there frozen up. "There is no need to be so worried," he explained. "If you are not ready yet, you can challenge me again when you are. But I must wait for you to give the command to your Pokemon before I make another move."

It was obvious that, for Alexis, this was a matter of pride. But that need to impress others was doing to her what desire for approval had done to Sophia. Worse, in fact.

Alexis raised a brow at Lan, but remained silent. His words were supposed to sound wise, but at the moment, Alexis really didn't care. Now was not the time to focus on him. The attack seemed a bit strange. The Munchlax didn't seem all that strong in comparison to yesterday, but it knew a move that she honestly hadn't expected. She was beginning to understand a bit more. Still...

Gabby acted again, this time, coming up close and using Tail Whip.

As Munchlax stepped forward, Lan motioned and called for him to wait before looking at Alexis again.

"A badge is proof of a trainer's work with their Pokemon," he said, "so it has to be you who commands them. I will let you move again, but if this keeps happening, I'm afraid I will have to postpone the match until you and your Pokemon are truly ready."

A Pokemon acting on their own... Was this going to be like some of the other incidents he'd seen? If it was, he would have no choice but to put a stop to the match before things got out of hand.

Yuki looked up to her trainer with an expression that brought a message across. Alexis closed her eyes and sighed before speaking again.

"Tackle."

Gabby complied and jumped back, before rushing forward again and slamming herself into Munchlax. When the attack finished, however, the Eevee felt a little dazed. It was as if she just slammed herself into a very thick wall.

"Okay."

Lan still watched out for any signs of trouble, but now that Alexis could bring herself to speak, and the battle was seemingly under control, the next move was his. He gave the command to Munchlax.

"Chip Away."

Noticing the opening the Eevee's attack had left, Munchlax stomped forward and struck repeatedly at the opposing Pokemon.

Yuki and Alexis narrowed their eyes at the sound of the gym leader's command. Immediately the attack looked to put down the hurt on Gabby, and the Eevee was unconscious. Rather than return the pokemon, however, Alexis simply pulled out another pokeball and sent out Hoppip while Yuki carried Gabby out of the field.

"Tackle, Puffpuff."

The Hoppip complied as well, and slammed himself into the Munchlax. It noticeably did less damage, but seemed to have bounced off and right into the air.

Lan ignored the challenger's glare, his expression composed. "Munchlax, Zen Headbutt."

A blue glow surrounded Munchlax, brightest at the top of his head. The Pokemon charged at Hoppip, only to miss.

"Remember what I told Sophia about strategy," Lan said as if talking to one of his students. "The earlier Sand Attack would have been a good starting move, if you had commanded it, and told your Eevee to use it more than once." Maybe, if she swallowed her pride, Alexis would use his advice in future battles.

"Geez, you just can't wait for after the battle, can you?"

Both Alexis and Yuki were getting annoyed by the fact that this guy was trying to lecture them. He was so busy talking, he didn't notice anything strange. This guy just doesn't want himself to be liked, does he?

"Tackle again."

Hoppip repeated the move, slamming himself into the Munchlax again, and bouncing off once more.

Lan gave a sigh at Alexis's taunt. He wasn't looking forward to how this trainer would react if she lost the battle, but hopefully she'd learn from it.

"It's up to you to decide whether to take away any lessons from this," he said softly. "But we'll see if you can turn this battle to your favour. Now, Munchlax, use another Zen Headbutt."

Munchlax launched himself at the Hoppip again, but the sand in his eyes made it difficult to see. For the second time, he charged right past.

"Tackle, again."

Puffpuff, realizing that his opponent wasn't even all that fazed by his tackle hesitated, but eventually complied. He floated close once more, and slammed into Munchlax.

It looked like this was Alexis' only strategy, and the confidence she'd tried to display earlier had faded completely. Lan knew it was best not to draw this battle out, for her sake. It was time to use a more accurate move.

"Chip Away."

Taking a step forward, Munchlax struck at the Hoppip who still floated nearby.

Just like before, instead of returning Hoppip to his pokeball, Alexis simply allowed Yuki to move Puffpuff out of the way. Yuki took to the field, nodding at Alexis. She stood where she was, and waited for the first command.

"Alright, Yuki. Double Team."

Yuki moved fast, creating afterimages, and continuing to move in order to keep it up.

Lan gave a slight frown at the Snorunt's actions. From the start, she'd been acting oddly. Before the battle continued, he'd have to ask more about this.

"I must ask why you aren't returning your Pokemon?" he said to Alexis.

Yuki was still on the battlefield, so she couldn't even give a hint as to what Alexis should say. It was all on Alexis to say something.

"...I caught those two yesterday. I figured that they'd feel more comfortable resting like they would in the wild."

Yuki made a mental note to help Alexis make up better excuses in the future.

Even as Alexis made her excuse, Lan could tell there was more going on than what she was saying.

"If something's wrong," he said, "or your Snorunt's worried, we can stop the battle and you can challenge me again another time." His voice was calm, yet had a note of concern. After what Alexis had said earlier about showing people how it was done, he hadn't expected her to act so subdued. "What do you want to do?"

"Sorry, but we've gone this far. Might as well keep going until the end! Yuki! Double Team! Again!"

The Snorunt nodded, and sped up once more, creating more afterimages. Yuki was glad that Alexis had decided to take the loss this time. If she didn't, then Yuki wouldn't have gotten a chance to see just what they were up against. These gym leaders not only were strong, but their Pokémon had learned the kind of moves that were just as powerful. Yuki knew they'd lose the match after seeing what happened to Sophia.

This time, Lan called for Munchlax to attack. It would be best for both Alexis and Yuki if the battle ended soon.

"Munchlax, use Chip Away."

Even with the afterimages, the Munchlax's barrage of strikes hit their target. The gym leader's face was solemn. Just like Sophia, Alexis had come in underprepared, but he was sure that the two of them would return, having learned the battle skills they'd need for their journey.

When Yuki was hit, she let out a scream of agony that was much more dramatic than it should have been. She landed on the floor, and didn't move. A moment passed in silence. Alexis had lost, adding to her already poor win/loss ratio. Alexis looked down, the lighting casting a shadow over her face. If one were to listen closely, they'd here her making a quiet sound...and then they'd here similar sounds joining her.

It initially sounded as if it was quiet sobbing, but as they got louder, Alexis raised her head to show that she was laughing! And she wasn't alone. Yuki and Gabby got up as well, laughing along with her. The only one that didn't laugh was Puffpuff, but he woke up with a bit of a groan.

As the Snorunt screamed and fell, motionless, to the ground, Lan stepped forward. For a moment, he worried that Yuki had been hit a little too hard, but his Munchlax had never severely injured a Pokemon before...

A few seconds later, Alexis started laughing, her Pokemon waking up and joining in. Lan sighed. He should have known the girl had been planning on mocking him right from the start, but he wasn't the type to truly get annoyed.

"Young lady," he said. "As well as coming back better prepared, I also recommend taking gym battles more seriously." At least she hadn't reacted as badly as he'd thought she would. She was able to deal with knockbacks, even though this wasn't the way to go about it.

"Oh, trust me, I wanted to, but Yuki's little plan was just too good to pass up!"

Alexis' pokemon returned to her side as she prepared to leave. Some more easily than a certain floaty pokemon.

"If we went all out on you, then there'd be no question that I'd win. You'll see how, next time. For now, we need to go and practice. If you're going to lose, then I'll at least let you lose in spectacular fashion!"

Alexis and her pokemon laughed as they left the field and exited the door.

@LuckyBlackCat

Nyxx put her hands behind her head and rested on a nearby bench after having won her own battle she settled down and watched her partner partake in her own training. Her blood was boiling for another battle, but her Pokémon were a little too weak at the moment and tired from the past battles so she decided to cheer Amber on in her own. The fight began with an Alolan Grimer, the first form of the Pokemon looked as if it was a rare shiny if it weren’t for the yellow jaw line; Amber sent out her newly acquired Rockruff, the little pup seemed to have energy to spare unlike her Jolteon. A poison type at heart it was only a matter of time before the rock wolf was afflicted, but still Amber managed to pull out a win. Next came the Elekid an electric Pokemon, Rockruff would have the advantage provided it knew some form of rock move if nothing else ‘baby’ Pokemon like Elekid, Pichu, and Magby weren’t the best at battling even against other preforms. It took some time, but Amber pulled out yet another victory with an injured Pokemon proving that little puppy had spirit.

Finally, everything was over and Nyxx stood up, stretching out and began to walk to the Pokecenter with her partner Amber.
“You know I don’t think of strategies,” Nyxx said, laughing at the question a little. “Eventually we’ll have to cover our bases better, maybe a psychic type or something versatile” she started to explain as the duo made it to the center and prepared to walk in.

Amber Pine

Outside Mesalon Pokecentre -> Inside

@Noxx @Heckno12

"Hm? But that Feather Dance, that was a useful technique," Amber said as she walked up to the doors, her pace slightly hurried as she thought how quickly the poison had been sapping Kyra's health. "And yeah, I'll have to get a Pokemon that isn't Rock type. I won't be surprised if the gym leader's Pokemon have Fighting or Ground moves. He used a Diggersby yesterday, so if he has a Bunnelby..."

As soon as she entered, she stopped in place. A solidly-built man picked himself up off the floor, features red and contorted with fury. Another man stood in front of him, slouching. He wasn't anywhere near as big and tough, but there was something about the way he looked at the other guy that suggested he could somehow win a fight with minimal effort. Near him were two people Amber recognised - Sophia, leaning against the wall, and the boy who had been unconscious yesterday, looking rather pale and dizzy.

Amber frowned as she took in the scene. "What in the name of the Winged Mirages is going on?"

---

Before anyone really knew what was going on, Hammer's Conkeldurr was out of its Pokeball and rushing at Ray. In a flash a Mega Evolved Slowbro stopped the fighting type in its tracks. "Honestly, is that how you start battles now? I mean, I know you were completely shut down last time we battled but really?" Ray asked with a sigh. "And in case you've forgotten, I already know how this battle ends. Look, I'll even do you a favor." Ray said as he gestured towards the camera that was recording the action. It was suddenly taken from the cameraman's grasp and pulled to the ground.

"Conkeldurr, while he's distracted use Pursuit!" Hammer shouted. He was secretly grateful that the camera wasn't on him at this moment, it's hard to save face when fighting someone that can read your mind. Besides, Hammer had added a few dark type moves to his arsenal just for this moment.

The attack certainly had an effect, but it was much less than one would expect of a super effective move. Clearly Slowbro's physical defense was a bit too much for Conkeldurr.

"Slack off." Ray said, more for everyone else's benefit than his or Slowbro's. The two could just as easily use telepathy, but Ray had enough of a handicap facing Hammer anyway. The minor amount of damage done immediately disappeared.

Sadly enough, Hammer continuously commanded his Pokemon to use the same move until eventually Ray had Slowbro end it with Scald. The rest of the battle was just a downhill spiral for Hammer. His Klefki was easily dealt with, as was his Conkeldurr. Pokemon after Pokemon defeated by Ray's psychic types. To the angry man's credit, he did manage to fell three of Ray's Pokemon, even that was only achieved because of his Stoutland. It was clear that Hammer was still a skilled trainer, though Ray was obviously superior.

As the least of Hammer's Pokemon fell, the fans that had been accompanying him had all dispersed. Thankfully the cameras had been off, else it would have seriously hurt his ratings. Without any of his fangirls or the camera to cheer him forward, Hammer stopped shouting and seemed entirely defeated. His seething rage was still clear, but with Ray around there wasn't anything he could do.

"Now, leave."Ray said sternly. Without another word, Hammer and his crew packed up and left.




Rheese was flabbergasted. This was what high leveled battling looked like...And he was nowhere near it. In fact, he wouldn't be able to beat even one of their Pokemon.

He was close to leaving half way through the fight. He desperately needed to get stronger, he couldn't protect himself, his Pokemon, or his friends...He didn't even realize that it was important to him. It would explain why he jumped in front of Hammer like that, or maybe even when Wooper attacked that Aerodactyl. He was always told that Pokemon react on the emotions of their trainers.

As things were he was pretty helpless...he just...he needed to clear his head and maybe get some training. Clearly frustrated, he turned and walked towards the exit.

"Good, you know you're weak." Ray said not even looking at Rheese. "Go ahead and train yourself, otherwise you'll be a hindrance on the people you travel with. If team Noble or some whack job like Hammer comes after you again, you won't have Lan or I to keep you out of danger...You'll probably die." Ray said coldly.

"I..." Was all Rheese could muster as he walked out the door.

Solanna Delacloude

Outside Mesalon Pokecentre -> Inside

@fer1323

Solanna raised her head at crashing noises coming from the Pokecentre. It sounded like there was a battle going on in there... With a shudder of worry for Rheese and Sophia, she took another look at Oscar, then rushed into the building.

And froze.

Her blood suddenly felt like ice water running through her veins as she saw someone she'd hoped she'd never come face to face with again. Her attempt to avoid Detective Jack Hammer earlier had been for nothing.

Right now, he was distracted by a losing battle against Ray, but that did nothing to stop the flashback that hit her full-force. That rage on his face, it was just like when she'd explained to him that her name wasn't Savannah, and told him over and over again that she knew nothing of what had happened after the tournament...

She wanted to check on Rheese and Sophia, but all she could bring herself to do was run down the hallway. She didn't even make it halfway to her room before sinking to the floor, her breath speeding up to the point that her ribs hurt, her surroundings spinning.

Pull yourself together, she mentally scolded herself. The incident had been a year and a half ago. She should be over this by now... But every time she thought she finally was, it all came back seemingly out of nowhere, like a monster sneaking after her, waiting for a chance to strike.

Whimsicott's distressed squeaks sounded oddly distant.

"I'm ok, I'm ok, I'm ok..." Solanna choked out, even though she was clearly anything but. Staggering to her feet as her breathing became easier, she picked up Whimsicott and hugged her. "I'm ok..."

---

Amber Pine

Mesalon Pokecentre

@Noxx @Heckno12

Leaving her Pokeballs at the desk, Amber ran towards Rheese and Sophia, neither of whom looked too well. "Are you alright?" she asked. "What is this?"

She glanced over, eyes widening as a camera flew to the ground with a flick of the slouching man's hand. A psychic, just like Sophia... No, much higher level than Sophia, by the look of it. That explained his confidence in the face of the big guy. She watched the battle unfold, tensing at first as the Slowbro took the Dark-type move, but it quickly became clear the laidback guy was the better trainer. In another situation, she'd have loved to see how a psychic battled with their Pokemon, as well as study Mega Evolutions. Right now, though, her concern was making sure Rheese and Sophia were ok. Noticing the redhead from earlier do the sensible thing of running from the lobby, the researcher kept her distance from any possible stray attacks.

Once the angry guy stormed off, Amber furrowed her brow at the other man's blunt advice as she went to retrieve her Pokeballs. "Who were those two?" she asked, approaching Rheese. "And if you want, you can come along with me and Nyxx. We were going to do some more training."

---

Sophia Danvers

Mesalon Pokecentre -> Outside

@Heckno12


Sophia, taking the opportunity to get her Pokemon healed, found herself unable to answer Amber's question.

"I... That's... O-oh geez..." she stammered, fixated on the battle. She should have been thankful that Ray had bothered to step in. Instead, envy bubbled and seethed through her. This guy was everything she should be, and everything she could never hope to be, both as a psychic and a trainer. The sting of her earlier loss intensified.

Reattaching the three Pokeballs to her belt as the fight ended, Sophia winced at Ray's words. As irritating as she found the lazy jerk, he was right. How would low-level trainers be able to get themelves out of these situations?

She should be so much more capable than this...

Following Rheese out of the building, she managed to say something coherent. "I'm just going to check on my Pokemon," she said, heading away, looking for a quiet space. Despite her aching legs, her pace sped to a run. Watching Ray had been the last straw.

She slumped onto a bench, the corners of her eyes stinging, her vision starting to blur. No! She wasn't going to cry. What was she, some snivelling baby? She could imagine her parents berating her for how weak she was being now, and how weak she'd been over the past few days.

Taking a deep breath to stave off the tears, she began softly singing to herself, just as she'd sung to the Pokemon she'd grown up around, who had soothed her with their own lullabies. Once she'd calmed down a little, she let out all her Pokemon.

Purrloin immediately faced away from her. "Purr..." she mumbled. Gothita and Staryu both approached the sulking cat, gently touching her shoulders, only to back away as Purrloin turned and hissed.

Her Pokemon's reaction brought that feeling of shame surging back, like a stab of pain from a wound she'd been trying to ignore. The words spilled out of the trainer.

"I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! All of you, I'm sorry!"

@LuckyBlackCat@Heckno12

Now there was a guy who needed to take a few more losses before he could become even remotely a decent person. Nyxx buried her hands in her pockets and shuffled up to the counter, leaving her pokeballs, now that the piece was slowly returning to the pokecenter Nyxx followed Amber to check on the wounded party. Rheese and Sophia seemed to be in a fairly depressed mood, but then again that was literally every time she saw them so she shrugged her shoulders and walked over to make sure they were at least alright. The battle itself wasn’t really a battle more than it was just a pug stomp, like a child being put back in their place after acting up, but something told her a man with that much fictitious pride would be back once his licked his wounds.

“Well, we could continue to train and catch Pokemon, that would be preferred but if you want to lay down for a bit I won’t argue, I wouldn’t mind some sleep myself,” she said with a faint smile, giving her a thumbs up for laziness

“No, no we can’t have you slacking off at the drop of a hat young lady,” a soft voice said, causing Nyxx to look up to see her mother had entered the pokecenter probably drawn to the sounds of a battle most likely.

Mistress Hollow walked in looking around from one side to the other with an unfamiliar cold look in her eyes as if she was looking for something out of the ordinary, eventually, she lowered her guard and returned to her usual soft air headed self. “It’s good to know everyone’s alright, I thought I heard a battle happening in here, silly me,” she laughed walking up to Nyxx patting her head. A nurse corrected her rather quickly and explained that there was, in fact, a battle in the middle of the center involving a cop of some sort and another man whom they didn’t get a decent look at.

“How unsightly” M.Hollow replied the icy look in her eyes returned running a chill up Nyxx’s spin, what was the filling she was getting from her mother?

Before either of the trainers could respond, a daring Spearow shot through the air, beak aimed at Aedre. In a flash, Aedre’s Fletchling was upon the bird, knocking the wild flying-type away with a Quick Attack. “Thanks Little,” Aedre said, frowning and looking around at the flock. There are so many, she thought, hands flicking down to the belt on her hip. Her Togepi appeared at her side in a flash of light, looking around in alarm as she pieced things together.

“Pasithea, Alitis, I’m going to need you two to solo this one,” Aedre told her Pokemon. “I’m going to be focusing on the Honedge.” The two normal-types exchanged a look before giving their trainer a firm nod and launching themselves into battle. The Fletchling led with a Growl before striking the nearest Spearow with another Quick Attack whereas the Togepi started with a Metronome, calling forth a Tackle.

Taking this chance, Aedre called out her Honedge. “Honedge, I need your help,” Aedre told the ghost-type. “Please help me.”

A stray Spearow sailed through the steel-ghost dual’s body, its normal-type move phasing through entirely. Turning his jeweled eye up to his trainer, the Honedge blinked before spinning in the air and glowing. Swords Dance! Aedre recognized with a grin. “All right! Let’s follow that up with a series of Tackles!”

As the battle progressed, Pasithea found herself falling into the role of the professional Growler and Charmer, keeping the enemy weak and confused as her teammates did the heavy-lifting — or, in this case, Tackling. Soon enough the battle was over and Aedre and Alex were dredging back to town. “We should get our Pokemon to the Pokemon Center first,” she said, frowning. Her Pokemon had managed to find a balance together, working with each other to bring down the flock of Spearow until the group of wild Pokemon were stunned into fear, fleeing with what was left of their conscious numbers. Through it all, her Honedge had showed an admirable amount of bravery, proving to be both capable in look and action.

“Decus,” Aedre whispered,wrapping a hand around the Honedge’s Pokeball at her hip. “I’ll call you Decus.”

The ball warmed in her hands, causing Aedre to smile as she walked into the Pokemon center. Spotting Rheese with two unfamiliar faces, Aedre figured she’d get her Pokemon healed up first. After the nurse had handed her Pokeballs back, she walked over to where Rheese was.

“Hey, here to take you up on that offer of sticking with your group,” she said, offering the girl beside Rheese a smile. “I’m Aedre — Aedre Charbonnet. I met Rheese earlier today when he was in the hospital.” Hearing the girl bring up training, Aedre gave it some thought before shrugging. “I just came back from an impromptu training session, but it went well enough that I think it’d be wise to train some more. But tagging along is just fine too — lets me get to know the town and whatnot, you know?”

---

@abysmaldemon@LuckyBlackCat@Heckno12

---

Ray didn't feel great about what he had said. It was callous, perhaps even cruel, but Rheese needed to hear it. Otherwise, he'd have probably found a way to ignore his weakness. This way he'd have to confront it...as for Sophia, it'd probably require him to be slightly less heavy handed approach. With a slight movement a small pile of money appeared on the counter in front of the Nurse that had remained silent until now.

"For the damage." He said, despite the lack of any noticeable destruction. A few seconds later, he popped back to his lawn chair from before and laid down to consider his options. He'd have to act relatively fast, he had a few hours tops before his sister would probably making her trek up here...




Rheese turned to Aedre a bit surprised to see her. "Oh, hey Aedre. I'm going to have to pass on that this time. You guys go ahead." Rheese said his voice low despite the forced smile on his face. "I need to go train on my own for a bit. I'll just meet you back here."

With that he walked out of the Pokemon center. As soon as he was out of eyesight, he broke into a sprint. Most would probably think his reaction to be sadness or depression, but no...it was frustration...anger...He had been useless. As Ray said, if he didn't improve he'd probably die or get someone killed. He had to get stronger and to do so, he couldn't let anyone else distract him. At least that's what he told himself. Really it was because he was liable to blow up at any moment.

He wasn't an angry person by any stretch, but the stress of the past few days coupled with his natural tendency to suppress his outward emotion was starting to affect his mental state. He needed to vent, to breathe, and most importantly...he needed to train.

Amber Pine

Mesalon Pokecentre

@Noxx @Heckno12 @Dusksong

Amber looked in confusion at Mistress Hollow. She hadn't been acting like that earlier... The next moment, somebody else caught her attention. A blonde girl, approaching the group and introducing herself as Aedre Charbonnet.

"Hey," the researcher said, smiling back. "I'm Amber. And yes, our plan was to train, but exploring the town wouldn't be a bad idea... Preferably we could do both. And get something to eat along the way." Now she thought about it, instead of trying to get everything done at once, maybe it would be sensible to take a short break. Especially after the chaos just now.

Watching Rheese and Sophia leave the group, Amber wondered whether to go after either of them to make sure they were alright, before deciding against it. They most likely needed space for now, particularly Sophia, given her defensiveness yesterday.

Sophia's attitude reminded her of someone. Someone who, thankfully, was doing much better now. Amber hoped things would turn around for this girl too - she'd be willing to help in any way she could, but as she knew all too well, it was only possible to do so if the other person accepted that help.

@LuckyBlackCat@Heckno12@Dusksong

Nyxx sighed and slumped down on the couch a little nearly achieving some form of Zen with it as she sunk into the cushions watching Rheese and Sophia leave the center all moody and whatnot, not that she couldn’t understand why. Unfortunately, she missed another actual battle and the thought agitated her a little bit but being that her mom showed up and now it seemed they have another traveling partner the girl’s mood was defused rather quickly. Mistress hollow herself went back to being all smiles and a big ball of positivity, so everyone was starting to get back to normal now the issue was that Amber involuntarily volunteered both to go exploring around town with her use of pronouns thus explaining her slump right now as she sunk deeper into the couch.

“I’ve been exploring this town all day, I could show you some places,” Mistress Hollow said clapping her hands together after pulling her daughter up from her seating position making her stand.

“And I’m sure you’re all just starving” she followed up grabbing her little one by the arm and pulling her out the center, in truth she wanted to stay within close proximity to the children in case someone showed up to chastise them again.

“Oh would you look at that, I left my purse inside, I’ll just be a moment little ones,” she said running back into the poke center only to move off to the side sitting across from the man who battled Hammer. Her snowy eyes turned cold as she stared at him from across the table.

“As I understand it you saved these children from something troublesome, you have my thanks but I would like to know who he was and why he was bothering them” She questioned crossing her legs “One of them is my baby, and I don’t appreciate anyone trying to make a show out of her or any of her friends”

@LuckyBlackCat@Heckno12

As soon as Alexis and her Pokémon walked out of the gym, they all heaved a sigh. Alexis was unsure how long she would have been able to keep up the act, Gabby was still a little bruised from the attacks, Puffpuff was still aching from actually fighting, and Yuki...Well, she did have a bit of damage, but she was just glad. After witnessing Sophia's match, Yuki had no doubt that she and the others were going to lose. She needed to see just how strong their opponent's Pokémon were. And they were strong. Though not in the normal way. They weren't really stronger than her and the others, but they knew things that she honestly didn't think they would have known. They were specially trained, and she was worried that they wouldn't be able to beat them, even if they trained more.

Alexis, on the other hand...She took things a bit better. She had the same doubts as Yuki, but she was determined to get better. She had to be determined. Otherwise there was no point...They needed to train! For Pokémon battles! For the Contests! They just needed to go out into the wild, and go hunting!...Okay, maybe not hunting, but they need to find Pokémon to train against, regardless!

First things first, though. She and her team need to rest after all that. Especially Puffpuff, since he took on the gym leader without known the plan. He was legitimately knocked out. It wasn't as long of a walk as one would normally think, but when they got there, she had found the strangest sights she had never expected to see. Rheese walking with a sullen expression, alone, not even bothering to notice her, and immediately dashing off to who knows where. As well as Sophia with her pokemon out, maybe some crying, and several apologies from the psychic.

Needless to say, Alexis and her pokemon had absolutely no idea what just happened. Was it the fight with the gym leader? Did they already have some sort of falling out? What in the world was going on?!

With Rheese running off somewhere, Alexis didn't have any other choice but to either ask the Nurse, or Sophia herself, and Alexis didn't really think the Nurse would give her the kind of info she wanted. So, with a groan of annoyance, and a feeling that she might regret this, Alexis approached Sophia. She looked at the psychic girl crying, and watched for a moment before sighing and saying,

"Do I even NEED to ask what you're doing?"



@Noxx@Dusksong@LuckyBlackCat@Heckno12

The strangely clothed child walked onward with his Pokémon on his back. Well, one of them anyway. Edea's spines weren't quite as damaging as one would think they would be to clothes. Which was good, since he rather liked his clothes. Still, having a Maractus on his back did cause mild discomfort. He could have just sent the Pokémon back into her pokeball, he hadn't thought of that. In fact the idea wasn't even dawning on him at the moment, and it most likely will not come up until he makes it to the pokecenter

Why does the boy have his Maractus on his back while walking in his way to a Pokémon Center? Just ask the gang of wild Rattata. The quartet ambushed the boy and his team while they were wandering about, and had a little skirmish. In the end, Edea and Helioptile were exhausted, but the rattata gang were out cold with a lesson learnt. Now all he had to do was get them healed.

He planned to challenge the gym in this town, in the hopes that the victory or defeat would somehow help him with his own motives. He couldn't rightly do that when his pokemon were in their current shape, now could he?

Along the way, he saw a bunch of other trainers, but they were strangers, so he cared less. Same thing with the damaged parts that indicated some sort of pokemon battle. Still, when he did enter the Pokemon Center, he was probably an intriguing sight himself. What with the desert robes, and the Maractus on his back, and the fact that his skin was so fair that his gender would be unknown to those who didn't know him personally. He went up to the Nurse and asked for her to heal his pokemon, like a normal trainer would, but his voice was still as monotone as ever.

@Noxx

---

"Wow, here I was thinking that celebrities all knew each other. That, ma'am, was one of the biggest jokes I've had the misfortune of dealing with as a gym leader." Ray said with a sigh. "As for why he was antagonizing those kids, they had a run in with the people that he claims to be 'hunting.' So, as normal people do, he decided it was a good idea to pester them and threaten them for information that he already has. Obviously that wouldn't do, so I stepped in and dealt with it as is my duty as a gym leader." He continued, the topic tiring him slightly.

"Now, it was nice to meet you Mrs. Hollow...but I've got someone I need to talk to and a nap that needs to be taken." Ray said, finishing the statement with telepathy to prevent his yawn from interrupting him. With that he teleported off, chair and all.



Now that he was outside of town, Rheese stopped to catch his breath. His hand rested on his cracked rib, it was good that the damage had been pretty minor...else he'd still be stuck in the hospital. The run had definitely helped with the feeling of despair that Ray's words had left him with.

If he was going to be traveling with the others he'd have to get off of his ass and work towards his training. For now, his focus would have to be on getting a third Pokemon. Something that could give him an edge against the normal types the gym used, maybe a steel or ghost type? Would either of those even be available here?

As he wandered down the path, he noticed a small glint in the sky, and it seemed to be closing fast. It looked like some kind of rock or a meteor about the size of a kickball. Even as Rheese attempted to move to either side, the object homed in on his current location. This wasn't exactly something he expected, but given the way it was behaving, could it be a Pokemon?

Sophia Danvers

Outside Mesalon Pokecentre

@OtomostheCrazy @Heckno12

With a deep, shaking breath, Sophia raised her head to see Alexis of all people. On top of everything else, she really didn't need whatever the wannabe idol would surely have to say.

"None of your business," she mumbled, her tone much flatter than she'd intended. "Why are you even here, anyway? Come to gloat?" If Alexis had won the gym battle, Sophia knew she'd never hear the end of it.

Purrloin glared at Alexis, then went back to sulking. "Hey! Purrloin, it's ok!" Sophia said, only to earn a scathing look from the cat herself. She'd thought returning Purrloin had been the right thing to do, but had the Dark-type taken it as an insult? "Look, it wasn't that I don't think you're a good fighter. It's just that Furfrou was really strong. I wasn't even expecting those moves." The cat grumbled, keeping her back turned towards her trainer.

Gothita and Staryu, after a few more unsuccessful attempts to cheer up Purrloin, turned their attention towards Sophia instead. The trainer glanced from one to the other in surprise as they jumped up onto the bench, Gothita hugging her. "What...?" Why were they comforting her? Weren't they the ones who needed comforting, after that? Shouldn't they have been mad at her for letting them down?

Why were they giving her affection when she hadn't done anything to earn it?

The next moment, she drew back in the seat from a sudden familiar presence. Oh geez. Not that guy again. Looking up, she faced Ray.

To Alexis, it would seem as if she were wordlessly scowling at him, but the truth was she had something to say to the other psychic.

"Don't tell her what happened just now." She didn't even know if she'd had to send the thought - he was probably reading her mind anyway - but she wanted to make sure Ray would know not to say anything about her most recent humiliation in front of Alexis.

Huffing, she leaned back, her shoulders drooping. Ugh, using her powers while in this state wasn't a good idea. She needed to go and rest. How could she, though, when she had to train her Pokemon - when she had to work towards becoming the person she was supposed to be?

@LuckyBlackCat@Heckno12

Not even a moment passed, and Alexis could feel the negativity in Sophia's words. It didn't help that her pokemon contributed to the 'we're not in the mood for you' aura that they surrounded them. Alexis knew that she calls Sophia a poser, but there was no need to get all hostile on her.

"What, so I can't just be worried?"

The way that she herself had said that made Alexis jump a bit. That wasn't what she wanted to say! She meant to say 'curious' not 'worried.' Regardless, she couldn't try to recover now. All she needed to do was redirect it a little, so Alexis crossed her arms and pouted.

"I lost too, you know. Different pokemon, but he still ended up taking my team down. I was on my way to get my team healed, and we found you crying out here."

It was a bit too late. Sophia looked to be ignoring what Alexis was trying to say, but it wash';t entirely her fault. Her pokemon surrounded her, and she started glaring at this other person who had totally walked in on their conversation. Alexis could feel Yuki glaring at the man as well, which only meant that he was bothersome in more ways than one. Alexis looked at the newcomer, and spoke in her usual annoyed tone of voice.

"Do you mind? We were having a conversation."

@OtomostheCrazy@LuckyBlackCat

---

"To be fair, I haven't said anything. If anything you two are interrupting your own conversation." Ray said nonchalantly. "And besides, I have business with Sophia here as soon as you're done."

Ray then shot a lazy yet still slightly intimidating glare towards Sophia. Are you asking me or telling me? Because really, I don't have any reason to mention that right now unless you bring it up. I should probably go ahead and warn you that I'll only be sticking around for a few more minutes, and with Hammer still around the area...wrap up whatever you're doing here and meet me back in the Pokemon center in a few minutes if you're still thinking about getting stronger. Who knows, I might even be able to help. He projected his words into Sophia's mind so she wouldn't have to exert any of her concentration to understand them. With this he looked back to the other girl.

"On second thought, you two just get on with whatever you're talking about. I'm sure it's important or whatever." He said vanishing into thin air.



"Why? Why does every Pokemon I try to catch want to kill me!?" Rheese shouted at the orb as it flew by him once more. It rotated in place once it missed and immediately accelerated at him again. In response he jumped to the side, narrowly evading the projectile. This time he manages to pull out his Pokedex to scan the thing.

"Minior, the Meteor Pokemon. Originally making its home in the ozone layer, Minior hurtles to the ground when the shell enclosing its body grows too heavy."

"That wasn't very helpful." Rheese groaned, hoping that the Pokedex would have given some way to pacify the hostile ball. Rheese finally let Wooper out to assist him. With a few water guns, the shell seemed to crumble off of the rock type pokemon and it drastically sped up. Rheese readied a pokeball to catch the clearly weakened Pokemon, but it rushed directly at him, too fast for him to dodge, so he blocked the rush...with the pokeball. The resulting flash of light had Minior in the now wiggling sphere for a few moments before the rocking stopped.

Sophia Danvers

Outside Mesalon Pokecentre -> Inside

@Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy

As Ray disappeared, Sophia turned back towards Alexis. The wannabe idol's words had taken her by surprise. "Oh for the love of the Tao trio! I wasn't crying!" She folded her arms. "There's nothing to be worried about."

The conversation with the lazy guy had aggravated her mood, but Sophia instantly felt bad about the way she'd spoken to Alexis, given what had happened the previous day. Her expression softened a little. "Your Pokemon... How are they, after that?" she mumbled.

"I guess we'd better get to the Pokemon centre." She stood up with a groan, her bruises twinging. As she made her way back towards the building, Purrloin reluctantly skulked behind her and the other Pokemon.

Sophia wasn't looking forward to talking with Ray again. He'd seemed more annoyed that he'd had to help the group than actually concerned about them. Still, she had to get stronger, even if it meant putting up with that jerk.

---

Amber Pine

Mesalon Pokecentre

@Noxx @Dusksong @OtomostheCrazy

Amber glanced in Mistress Hollow's direction. Now that the celebrity coordinator was out of the sight of her daughter, she'd started acting unlike her usual self again. The researcher couldn't help overhearing parts of the conversation.

"Uh, yeah. There was someone causing trouble just now," she explained to Aedre once the Psychic-type gym leader had vanished. "But that's all dealt with." Despite her outwardly relaxed demeanour, her earlier worries started to return. Between yesterday's chaos and the incident a few moments ago, this wasn't what she'd imagined a trainer's journey to be like.

A welcome distraction caught her eye. A green, spiky Pokemon on the back of someone draped in desert robes. "Ohh! A Maractus?" she said, approaching the trainer whose gender she couldn't tell. "I've never seen one in the flesh! Well, in the spikes and seeds. But anyway, interesting Pokemon there. Is it true they fight mostly with dances?" She'd read about desert-dwelling Pokemon, but the best way to learn about them was to see them for herself.

Aedre watched as Rheese left, a little surprised at how lone wolf-like the boy seemed this meeting. Did something happen? she wondered before turning to the older looking girl. “Nice to meet you, Amber,” Aedre said with a smile. “Training sounds fine too. Don’t let me interrupt whatever plans you had; I’m just tagging along.”

An important-looking lady entered the Pokemon Center then, walking towards a nearby man with cold fire in her eyes. Hearing Amber’s brief explanation after the man seemingly teleported off — with the help of a psychic-type, most likely — Aedre nodded slowly. “Would that have anything to do with why Rheese seemed rather agitated?” she asked.

The Pokemon Center doors opened again, this time welcoming an oddly dressed visitor in a black robe rimmed with gold. Beside him stood a cactus-esque Pokemon that Amber immediately identified as a Maractus before she walked over. Aedre followed the older woman’s steps, figuring Amber as a knowledgeable person on Pokemon when the woman shared her thoughts on the grass-type. “Nice to meet you. My name is Aedre, and this is Amber,” Aedre said, introducing Amber while she was at it. “Are you new in town?”

---

@LuckyBlackCat@OtomostheCrazy@Noxx

@LuckyBlackCat@Heckno12@Dusksong

Mistress Hollow leaned back in her chair as Ray explained exactly who she was asking about, it wasn’t like she hadn’t heard of detective Hammer but his ugly mug wasn’t exactly the thing she wanted to see most on her television screen. What caught her attention was the off-handed mentioned the reason why he was pestering the children, which could have been the very same people who gave her such an irritation getting to this region in the first place. Crossing her legs, she continued to hear him out even thanking him again for dealing with what she couldn’t at the time because she wasn’t there at the time. Laughing a bit when she was referred to as a miss being so used to people putting the word mistress in front of her name, that and the fact she hasn’t seen Nyxx’s father in years.

“Thank you for your time, ” she replied projecting her thoughts back into Ray ‘Hes like a mix of Volkner and her daughter,” she thought to herself releasing a Gengar from its Pokeball.

“Boo I need you to hide in Nyxx’s shadow while I go looking for this Hammer” she commanded prompting the ghost type to chuckle disappearing to do his task. Walking out of the Pokecenter she patted her little girl on the head “Sorry sweety, I have to make a few phone calls about the contest, festival” she explained with a gleeful attitude, smiling from one ear to the next and bouncing away in the same happy go lucky manner everyone was accustomed to.

Once she got around the corner her personality shifted again and the woman began her search for Hammer to question him about those thugs herself “Now if I were a hack where would I be”