“Glad to hear it,” Aedre said, grinning. A kindred soul who loved Pokemon as much as she did was always appreciated, although she hadn’t planned on finding one. “I’ve heard about Rockruff but never had the pleasure of making one’s acquaintance,” she said, leaning down to the puppy Pokemon. “Hello there, Kyra. Nice to meet you. You have lovely eyes — adorable and sharp.”

At Deneb’s remark, Aedre laughed. “Well, that’s my job, my passion. It’d be odd if I didn’t know much about Pokemon, wouldn’t it?” she asked. Watching curiously as the grass-type handed her maracas to her trainer, Aedre’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ of surprise. “Your Maractus seems really loyal,” she said. “I don’t believe that I can convince my Togepi to hand over anything that she’s gotten her hands on. She’s a little… peculiar about her things.”

Her brows furrowed at the boy’s question about ghosts. “Yamask is a ghost-type, but ghost-types come in all different shapes, sizes, and forms. Spirits dwell where they wish, be it just in spirit form like a Duskull or Ghastly, or in an object like Yamask or my Honedge,” she explained.

A round of sharp, surprised exclamations pulled Aedre’s attention away from the boy, directing it towards a crowd of people nearby. Amidst the crowd she saw the familiar figure of Sophia, a black-and-white Pokemon at her side. Gothita, a psychic-type, Aedre recognized, following Amber over to the crowd. “Are you alright?” she called when she was close enough, giving Amber some space since the two girls appeared to know each other better than Aedre did. They both travel with Rheese, so I guess that’s not a surprise.

The arrival of a few more trainers — none of whom Aedre recognized, yet they all seemed to know Sophia — surprised Aedre, as did Sophia’s subsequent flight into the night. Following the girl’s steps with Amber in the lead, Aedre held a hand out to steady the Fletchling hanging onto her shoulder. “Hang on, Alitis. We have to catch up to Sophia,” she told him as she kept pace with Amber. A warning chirp in her ear instructed her to glance up, and she caught the red glints in the trees.

“Little, Growl,” Aedre instructed, figuring that her position was already exposed and the other trainers could do with the warning growl. The Fletchling rasped a loud noise from its throat, the sound almost deafening from her shoulder. “Follow with a Quick Attack,” Aedre said. Her Fletchling quickly delivered, knocking back the first Hoothoot that flew towards him and his trainer.

“We’re holding them off, but I think they’re just looping back to attack again,” Aedre called to Amber. “We need to get out of here!”

---

@luckyblackcat @OtomostheCrazy

Amber Pine

Outskirts of Mesalon

@OtomostheCrazy @Dusksong @Heckno12 @fer1323 @Noxx

Amber nodded. "As good an opportunity as this is to study Hoothoot's moves and behaviour..." She ignored the look of utter disbelief from Sophia. "There are too many of them."

She moved aside as one of the owls swooped at her, its claws only narrowly missing. By her side, Kyra growled. The little puppy sprang into the air, slamming the Hoothoot with Tackle.

Instead of retreating, though, Amber rushed forward as she noticed something. A small, spherical owl of a different species, on the ground, covered in scratches. "Row..." it hooted, struggling to stand up, spreading its leafy wings to steady itself, only to topple onto its back. Amber instantly recognised this Pokemon from what she'd read, despite never having seen it in the wild. This species was usually bred in captivity, but could occasionally be found in forests at night.

Now it made sense, why the Hoothoots were on edge like this. The Rowlet must have unwittingly entered their territory.

"Come on, in here," she said, reaching for a Pokeball. Once the injured bird was safely inside, Amber pulled away as two shapes closed in on her. Sophia stepped in, but no sooner had she used her psychic power to deflect them than she slumped. Letting the brunette lean against her, Amber rejoined the others, her attention still on the many red glares.

---

Solanna Delacloude

Outskirts of Mesalon

@fer1323 @Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy @Noxx @Dusksong

A silhouette, much larger than the others, swept silently through the forest. Before Solanna could react, a volley of energy blades hit Whimsicott, sending the Grass-type stumbling back with a squeal.

"Whimsicott, come back!" Instantly returning the weakened Pokemon, she sent out another member of her team. "Ok, Summerstorm, no holding back! Sunny Day and Weather Ball!" This Noctowl had to be high level to know Air Slash, but so was her Castform.

Flying high into the air as the Noctowl lunged at her, the cloud-like Pokemon twirled around, sparks of light shooting from her tiny body. The sparks rose up, spinning around each other, until they exploded like fireworks, creating a brilliant light in the sky. The Noctowl and several of the Hoothoots fell back, blinking, momentarily blinded.

Summerstorm, a cluster of orange spheres appearing around her head, shot forward a red energy ball. With a screech, the Noctowl plummeted to the ground, no longer able to fight.

The beeping tune from Solanna's bag resumed. It seemed whoever it was wouldn't stop calling until they got through.

---

Sophia Danvers

Outskirts of Mesalon

@fer1323 @Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy @Noxx @Dusksong

Leaning against Amber's shoulder, Sophia gaped as Solanna brought out her Castform, putting on a display that seemed more worthy of a contest than a battle at first, before rendering the Noctowl unconscious in one hit.

"Not much of a fighter, you say?" she commented. Was Solanna just modest, or had she been hiding her skill out of fear of being targeted by Team Noble? She had seemed pretty uncomfortable during the conversation earlier... This woman would surely be more than capable of putting up a fight, though, if anything happened.

Ugh, this was yet something else that highlighted how unskilled she was. All these high-level trainers... Some day, she'd rise above all of them. She'd have to.

@Heckno12@LuckyBlackCat@Noxx@fer1323@Dusksong

Alexis was so confused right now. So much was happening all at once, and her mind was still in no shape to process it all. Her team had already positioned themselves for battle, but their trainer had frozen up. Soon enough some of those hoothoot had begun to head straight for her. Alexis didn't notice until it was too late, and though her team had attempted to shield her, they wouldn't be enough to keep her from harm.

"Maractus!"

Suddenly, a cactus pokemon appeared between Alexis and the hoothoots. The birds slammed into the pokemon, but jerked back in pain, with visible needles sticking in them. Once they got away, the Maractus began to move from side to side, shaking her arms, and making a rattling sound while singing. Nearby, Deneb walked forward with a helioptile by his side. The boy had followed the two women, once they ran off in a sort of worried state. Whatever was happening seemed interesting to him.

"Charge and thundershock."

The Helioptile made a small sound of approval, before beginning to charge up electricity. It took a moment, but as soon as it felt as if it was going to burst, it released that energy in the form of a jolt of electricity that shocked some of the hoot hoot out of the air.

Meanwhile, Alexis was shocked as well. Shocked to see just what was happening. So many people and their pokemon showed up. So many of them arrived and attacked the bird pokemon. Perhaps they were there to save her? Perhaps they were there for a different reason? Regardless of who was there, or why, there was one thing clear:

Alexis was being upstaged.

She and her team had gone out to train. THEY left to improve themselves first. THEY were the ones that the Hoothoot found and attacked first. THEY were the ones who were supposed to handle the battle, and yet...and yet...No. Not this time. She and her team were the ones destined to become stars. Alexis wasn't going to let everyone else steal the stage from them!

"Gabby! Distract the Hoothoot! Puffpuff, float as high as you can!"

The Eevee snickered in reply, and jumped into an open space. Once she made eye contact with the birds, she showed off her newest move, Baby-Doll Eyes. Yeah, it wasn't really all that charming, but it served its purpose, and made an opening for the Hoppip to float up.

"Alright, Yuki. Get ready..."

"Sno?"

Alexis lifted the Snorunt up, and threw her with all her might, much to the pokemon's surprise and terror. Of course, the throw wasn't quite all that impressive, so Gabby took the moment to jump tackle her higher. This was met with a very angry-sounding "Snorunt!" from Yuki. Puffpuff floated under the ice-type, and forced her to bounce even higher. The height kind of looked...well, scary.

"Yuki! Spin and use Powder snow!"

Hearing the order, and hesitating a bit, Yuki complied, and forced herself to spin and release the snowy attack. Whether highly damaging the Hoothoot, or forcing them to faint, the end result was still breathtaking. It looked as if it was snowing.

Solanna Delacloude

Outskirts of Mesalon

@fer1323 @Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy @Noxx @Dusksong

"Hey, good move there!" Solanna commented, watching the blonde girl's Snorunt unleash a flurry of snow that knocked out several Hoothoots and sent the remaining ones scattering. "Are you planning on going into contests?"

The ringtone blared again. "Ehh, I'd better get that." Picking up the phone, no sooner had she said hello than she had to hold it away from her ear.

"Solanna! Oh, THANK ARCEUS!! Don't DO that to me again!!" The words came out in a rush. "The attack, it was in the news! Yeesh! Please tell me you're not hurt!"

Realising how badly she'd worried her sister, Solanna cringed. She'd mentioned the previous day that she'd be staying in Mesalon, and now this had happened... "Lorraine, I'm fine. Sorry I took so long to pick up. There were some wild Pokemon causing trouble just now. Nothing too bad! It's all dealt with. And about the attack, I only found out about it this morning."

She heard Lorraine give a sigh of relief. "To think nobody's dealt with those bastards yet!"

Hoping nobody would overhear, Solanna hung back from the others as they started heading back to the Pokecentre. "At least this is getting looked into. Hopefully it'll just be a matter of time until it all gets shut down. And thankfully, everyone involved survived." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I was talking to some of them just now."

Nothing was going to calm Lorraine. "Oh, Solanna! Are you sure you're ready for that?"

Solanna's hesitation was an answer in itself.

"Look, come on back," Lorraine urged. "I'll let Hailey know you're ok. Geez, we were worried sick."

"Yeah... I'll be right over," Solanna answered. "Tell her I say she's still gotta put up with me. Well, see you soon!" Once they'd said goodbye, Solanna headed over to the rest of the group.

"I won't be able to stick around much longer," she explained. "Once Whimsicott's healed, I'll have to head off back to Vareena. But..." She turned towards Oscar and Amber. "Here's a challenge. If you're still planning on visiting the contest hall there, when we next see each other, show me the most impressive Pokemon moves you've got!" She flicked her gaze over the rest of the group. "Same goes for anyone else interested in contests. There might just be something in it for you that'll help you put on a show!"

Returning to Vareena was all she could do to try to put her sisters' minds at ease, but she couldn't help feeling like she was turning her back on these people.

---

Sophia Danvers

Outskirts of Mesalon

@fer1323 @Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy @Noxx @Dusksong

Making her way back with small, slow steps, still leaning on Amber for support, Sophia shuddered. She'd gone and collapsed, in front of everyone, bringing them rushing to fuss over her. Yes, she was meant to be the centre of attention, but for her strength, not for her weakness.

She could barely look at anyone - except for one person. The person she'd thought she'd least want to face. That feeling, though, that feeling that she wasn't alone, had been what she'd needed.

Looking up at Oscar, she spoke in a whisper. "You meant that?"

As soon as Solanna returned to the group, announcing her challenge, Sophia blurted her answer. "Heh! No problem for me! I'm in on this!" Impressing people was what she was best at... right? Or at least, what she should be best at. And if everyone saw her as weak, this would be her chance to prove them wrong.

The walk back wasn't a long one, Mesalon being a fairly small town, but Sophia stayed as alert as possible, watching out, trying to sense any approaching humans or Pokemon in the darkness. The signals were difficult to pick up on, her burned-out abilities blurring them into an indistinct haze, but she could be sure of one thing.

There was something odd in the group.

Sophia tensed. She could be interpreting this wrong in her exhausted state. Or one of the trainers could have a Ghost type that liked to sneak around while invisible and pull pranks. Or... something had followed them from the forest.

"This may seem like a weird question," she said, thinking how to word it without alarming people too much, "but does anyone happen to have a Ghost type?"

---

Amber Pine

Outskirts of Mesalon

@OtomostheCrazy @Dusksong @Heckno12 @fer1323 @Noxx

"Contests are certainly something I'll give a try," Amber replied to Solanna. "They'll be another way to study Pokemon moves, and learn to combine them."

As much as she wanted to speed up her pace for the sake of the Rowlet, she wasn't going to hurry Sophia along. "You know, if that was Reflect your Gothita used, that would be a good contender," she suggested.

At Sophia's question, she gave her a puzzled look. "Well, Aedre here has a Honedge," she answered, "but why do you ask? ... Ohh." She remembered something Mistress Hollow had done earlier. "Nyxx, is that Gengar still following you around?"

The fact that the group needed powerful Pokemon to watch over them this early on was disconcerting, to say the least. These events over the past few days weren't what any trainers should be facing, let alone beginners.

@Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy @Noxx @Dusksong@LuckyBlackCat

After the whole ordeal with the Hoothoots is over, Oscar turns to and walks towards Amber and Sophia. Sophia is not in a good state and her stubbornness and recklessness is not helping her in the slightest. When Sophia asks if he meant it, Oscar nods in agreement. As Solanna poes the challenge, Sophia instantly takes it up. "You should take it easy for a while. If you keep going the way that you are, you might not survive to see though the month." Oscar might be exaggerating a bit, however the intent is all the same.

On the way back to Mesalon, Oscar has Daisho keep an eye on Sophia's emotional state. After a while, Oscar picks up a feeling of stress and soon after, Sophia asking about ghost type pokemon. Oscar asks Daisho to relay to Sophia a feeling of being sheltered and safe.

@fer1323@LuckyBlackCat@Heckno12@OtomostheCrazy

Nyxx recalled her Pokémon after being sure the cleanup dealing with the bird Pokémon was finished, that was when everyone felt the need to talk and catch up, despite the fact they had just seen each other not two hours ago. Then the conversation about contests kicked up and they sent her mood crashing down, but outwardly she kept up her usual dismissive attitude, although that didn’t stop her from dragging a chair from a nearby store and sitting down in the circle while the group talked about it. Hearing them talk about contests was nowhere near as cavity inducing as hearing her mother speak about it, almost entertaining. Solanna expressed interest in going to Vareena for the contest event her mother was hosting which by proxy auto invited the rest of her group and at the end of that chain was her, looks like she just could not be free of her mother’s shadow no matter what. Lifting herself up from the chair Nyxx stretched out her arms and took a few deep breaths.

“Well, looks like Vareena is the next destination, lets at least try to battle along the way team, ” she said, stressing the word ‘battle’ being that Amber was more interested in studying that anything else.

It wasn’t until Sophia said something that she perked up though not exactly when Sophia said something it was Amber’s reply that put Nyxx on the spot.

“What ghost Pokémon?” she asked genially confused, then she remembered her mom had several ghosts one in particular, was a decently annoying Gengar.

Nyxx’s shadow lifted up from the ground in the form of some mouthless snake-like creature, it curled around Nyxx’s legs and crept up her body. And from everyone’s perspective except Nyxx herself, it looked like the shadow stabbed itself through the female’s chest and proceeded to run through her body. There was no blood or gore, but it was quite apparent that her chest had been impaled, currently bursting open, the spike itself constricted around her neck.

“Stop” A voice commanded that came from nowhere but everything just vanished and Nyxx had been just fine.
There was no sign of what just happened in front of the other kids ever happened at all but a black mass had gathered behind Sophia, hands reached out to grab the girl.

“Cheshire stop” Nyxx commanded, causing the black mass to disappear and the actual prankster in question just appeared in the middle of the group snickering “Why are you even here?!” Nyxx pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

Gengar himself stopped laughing and zipped in front Sophie stopping just before their faces collided with one another “Gen” it said, smiling from ear to ear in normal Gengar fashion waiting to hear what the girl wanted.

Sophia Danvers

To the Pokecentre

@fer1323 @Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy @Noxx @Dusksong

As Oscar nodded, Sophia's expression softened into a smile - then turned to a scowl when he started doing his usual thing of lecturing her.

"Oh, cut out the preaching! I'm fine! I just need some food and some sleep, that's all," she huffed. In a way, though, he was right. If she ran into a thug like Hammer, or a member of Team Noble, or even a particularly dangerous wild Pokemon while in this state, things wouldn't turn out well for her. "And I've got to get stronger. If I don't..." Her gaze shifted away for a moment, although she knew that even if Oscar didn't see the vulnerability in her eyes, Daisho would probably relay it to him. "I really won't survive."

She jumped and yelped, nearly tripping over, having to be steadied by Amber as the Gengar made his appearance. Nyxx, despite being the victim of his little prank, kept her composure, calmly but firmly ordering him to stop.

Pulling back, Sophia glared at the grinning ghost. "Whew... So it was just you I was sensing," she said. "But that wasn't funny!" As reassuring as it was to know a ghost hadn't followed the group from the woods, this was the last thing she'd needed while already in a jittery state.

---

Amber Pine

To the Pokecentre

@OtomostheCrazy @Dusksong @Heckno12 @fer1323 @Noxx

"Well, I think the plan is to stay in Mesalon a while longer," Amber replied to Nyxx. "But we'll most likely head to Vareena some time soon, if you're ok with that."

She drew back with a gasp as, without warning, a shadow pierced through Nyxx's chest and engulfed her entire body. Once the girl's stern command made it clear she was alright, Amber's shock turned to fascination.

"So that's what it looks like, when they sneak up on people from their shadows," she commented, only realising when she saw the look on Sophia's face that she'd weirded her out even more. Taking out her Pokedex, she pointed it at the Gengar.

"Should you feel yourself attacked by a sudden chill, it is evidence of an approaching Gengar. There is no escaping it. Give up."

"Ehh... I won't get on your bad side, then," she said to the Gengar with a slight nervous laugh. She wasn't too afraid, though. Mistress Hollow did trust this ghost to keep an eye on her daughter, after all. It was anyone who tried to harm Nyxx who would have something to fear. "I saw your mother let him out, I figured he was watching over you," she explained to Nyxx.

Nearing the building, she cradled the Pokeball containing the injured owl. "I'd better go get this Rowlet healed," she said, heading into the lobby alongside Sophia and Solanna. "I hope it's going to be ok."

---

Solanna Delacloude

Mesalon Pokecentre -> Heading Home

@fer1323 @Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy @Noxx @Dusksong

"And I thought Whimsicott was a prankster," Solanna chuckled at the Gengar's antics. Before heading into the Pokecentre with Amber and Sophia, she turned to the others. Three of the group seemed in no fit state to do any travelling. "There's no rush!" she told them. "You'll want time to practice, after all."

Once her Pokemon were healed, she gave the group her usual bright smile. "Well, it's time I made a move. But good luck for your journey!"

She gathered her belongings from her room, handed in the key, then left. Making her way through the lamp-lit streets, she brought out Charizard as soon as she reached the edge of the mesa. "Ready to go home?" She petted the Charizard's scaly head and climbed onto his back. The world below grew distant as the winged lizard ascended higher and higher into the sky.

The great thing about flying was leaving everything behind, even just for a while. Even if she did have to land eventually.

Now that everything seemed to be wrapping up for the day, Rheese returned to the pokemon center and had his Pokemon healed. Afterwards he rented a room and retired for the night. It had been an eventful day...and it looked like there would be plenty like it. With a sigh, he collapsed on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He didn't expect a Pokemon adventure to be so...adventurous.

"I can't believe they let ten year olds do this." He said to nobody.

---

As usual, the townspeople said she arrived too late. Her brother had already left, and not without causing a stir. That bit wasn't typical, normally people told her about him napping in the middle of town and disappearing just before she arrived. This time, it seemed, Detective Hammer had a bit of a showdown with him at the Pokemon Center.

Showdown was a bit of an overstatement from what she was told as one of the townspeople so bluntly told her Ray 'ragdolled' Hammer across the room. That was uncharacteristic and had to have been provoked. Otherwise, he'd never do such a thing. Of course, she would have to investigate, perhaps find Hammer? Regardless, it was getting late and she'd be better off just sleeping in the Pokemon Center for a change.

Sophia Danvers

Mesalon Pokecentre

Once she'd had her team healed, Sophia grabbed a quick dinner from the cafeteria before heading back to her room. Watching her Pokemon play helped her relax somewhat, but that feeling she'd let them down still nagged at her.

She'd do better tomorrow, she thought as she eased herself into bed, shifting around to find a comfortable position. She'd have to do better.

...

As the first few streams of morning sunlight pulled her from her sleep, it took Sophia a few moments to recall the reasons for her lingering feelings of shame and unease. Both incidents with Hammer. That utter disaster of a gym battle. Witnessing Ray and his immense psychic ability. Nearly passing out in front of everyone. The weight of those emotions doubled.

She half-wanted to stay curled up in bed, hidden away, but... no. She had things to do. Things to prove.

She stood up slowly and carefully, relieved that her head didn't start pulsing with pain, and the room didn't spin. There was still some remaining fatigue, but a solid night's sleep had eased the worst of it. She'd be able to fake being even more recovered than she was, and get some proper training in.

"Let's go get some breakfast," she said to her Pokemon once she'd showered and dressed. "Then let's head out." As she spoke, though, she remembered something. Hammer was probably still around. Sophia strongly doubted the detective would give up that easily.

"It might still be best to spend a while at the gym first..." she added as she made her way to the cafeteria.

---

Amber Pine

Mesalon Pokecentre

As usual, Amber was up bright and early. Her first thought was of the new addition to her team... if the Rowlet even wanted to be part of her team. Now she was healed, would she want to travel with a trainer, or return to the forest?

After quickly getting ready, Amber headed out into Mesalon's fresh air, the newly-occupied Pokeball in her hand. Pressing the button, she gave a small smile as the Rowlet appeared. "Well, what do you want to do?" she asked. "Stay, or go back?"

Stretching out her leafy wings, the Rowlet took to the air, hooting her goodbye before flying in the direction of the woods. "Goodbye, Rowlet," Amber called, her smile still on her face as she watched the bird become a little dot silhouetted against the pink-streaked sky. When the owl was gone, she turned round, making her way back along the street.

She didn't notice a shape silently gliding along after her.

"Row!" At the sudden cry, she jumped. The Rowlet landed beside her, letting out a series of hoots that sounded like a giggle.

"Oh, you little prankster, you," Amber said with a soft chuckle, leaning down and tickling the top of the owl's head. "Well then, if you'll be coming along, I'd better give you a name. How about Tacita? It means silent. Fitting for the way you like sneaking around."

Responding with a hoot of approval, Tacita fluttered back up, tapping the Pokeball with her beak and vanishing inside. "Just please try to behave yourself," she said, attaching the capsule to her belt and re-entering the lobby of the Pokemon centre.

She now officially had a new team member. If she was going to study Pokemon up close, she'd need to catch several. It would be a lot of responsibility, but that was something she was willing to take on.

@LuckyBlackCat

After getting back to and checking in at the Pokecentre, Oscar goes to his assigned room and lets out his pokemon. "Don't go and trash the place now. I do not want to get in trouble." Skoll and Nomia hopped onto chair and spent some time talking. Roadrunner hopped onto the end of the bed while Daisho looks lost and confused. Oscar can see this. "Daisho, why don't you sleep on the bed with RR and me?" Daisho hesitantly nods his head. Oscar picks Daisho up and puts him on the bed. Oscar goes to the bathroom to get ready for bed. By the time Oscar had finished, all of his pokemon has fallen asleep. Oscar climbs into bed and drifts off to sleep.

The next morning, Oscar gets ready for the day and recall all of his pokemon except for Roadrunner as usual. He heads for the cafetaria and on the way, he see Sophia. Remembering the stat she was in yesterday, Oscar thought it would be wise to keep an eye on her, regardless of her protests. Oscar goes up to her and makes his presence known "You arw looking a bit better today. Do you have any plans for today?"

Sophia Danvers

Mesalon Pokecentre

@fer1323


At the sound of footsteps, Sophia turned around. The guy who'd fussed over her yesterday was probably also going to do so today. Just great. "Hmph... You don't have to worry so much, you know," she said. "I'm fine."

Deep down, though, as annoying as she found the attitude, she couldn't help being somewhat grateful for the concern. She hoped Daisho wouldn't tell him that. If he did, Oscar would most likely think she needed it - and really, there was no reason for him to worry about her. She WAS fine. Or at least, she would be, once she'd done everything she planned to do.

"Anyway," she continued, heading into the cafeteria alongside him, a confident smirk spreading across her face - hopefully a convincing one. "Today's the day I show the gym leader what kind of battle I'm really capable of."

---

Amber Pine

Mesalon Pokecentre

Sitting down in the lobby, Amber took out her laptop and started to compile the notes she'd made over the past few days. As fascinating as her observations on Pokemon had been, some of them hadn't quite been what she'd expected - like the incident with the Rufflets.

Surely other researchers would have an idea what could be going on with these Pokemon. She opened up her emails, instantly noticing she had a new one. As she opened it and read through, her heart sank.

Such a positive, cheery-sounding message... such a seemingly impossible one to answer. Biting her lip, she read over the email again.

Hey Amber!

Yeah, it's still early days, but just wanted to know, how's everything going? Mom and Dad have been worrying, you know how they can be, but I'm sure you're doing fine! You're so lucky! Tell me all about it!

Just a few years now until I'm a trainer too, can't wait!!

Miss you (as much of a pain as you can be)

Coral

Amber stared at the screen, the previous few days' disastrous events replaying through her mind. How on earth was she going to respond truthfully to that?

@LuckyBlackCat

Oscar rises a brow at Sophia's confident demeanour towards the battle against the gym leader. " If you think that you are ready, by all means go ahead. Win or lose, I will be there to support you." As much as Oscar thinks that Sophia is a bit over zealous but Oscar is going to try a different approach towards Sophia. Oscar still thinks that something in her past is driving Sophia to act the way that she does. Oscar puts hands in pockets and talks in serious tone. "You do not have to act tough all the time. I don't think it is the real you and I hope I can meet the real you someday."

@fer1323@LuckyBlackCat

The sounds of distorted carnival music accompanied by the sight of moving pictures, flying chairs and rustling papers as they were thrown about the room randomly filled Nyxx’s room that night. Nothing she was wasn’t used to at her age being that she grew up with Cheshire but now she was getting the added bonus of her Swablu releasing itself and flying around in a panic. Needless to say, the night was an annoying one, to say the least; Nyxx finally managed to go to sleep despite everything happening and woke up late as usual only in a less than pleasing mood. Grumbling the entire way through her morning activities she almost walked out the room stark naked from her inattentiveness. After dawning her clothes and recalling her Swablu and just assuming Gengar hid in her shadow she journeys out into the lobby to meet Sophia and the rest of the young trainer brigade.

“Looks like I woke up late, ” she said, yawning plopping herself on the couch looking around figuring Amber already walked probably to go research something. Sighing heavily, she hung her head as her mind kept telling her to go train, but the body was still lazy.
Sensing this inner turmoil Gengar caused the sofa to float up and dump the girl on the ground before going back to its original location “Frigging A, fine, ” she complained jumping up to her feet and heading out the door

She walked down the street with her eyes in their usual position walking all the way to the outskirts of town where everyone seemed to be training hard to beat the gym so she figured she might as well challenge it today. But first she would get into some actual training today, challenging the first trainer, she saw who just so happened to use a mix of fighting and flying type Pokemon, something she could completely counter. The next trainer used mostly rock types now this was something couldn’t actual fight effectively having a flying and electric type, but thankfully Nellz was able to overcome it, but that did raise and an interesting problem she had two Pokemon who buckled under rock types.

Now that she thought about it the only Pokemon she legitimately caught was Lupin the Swablu, while Sloth the Jolteon formally Eevee was given to her and evolved by complete accident. If anything couldn’t flip her switch before this sudden realization most defiantly did, the fire burned in her eyes much like her mother from so long ago. Nyxx gritted her teeth and ran out into the actual wilds to catch and train a water or grass type that she caught on her own.

@fer1323@LuckyBlackCat

Rheese woke up with a groan. Despite sleeping in, he was still more than tired enough to just lay there. Instead, he rolled over and sat up to shake it off. He inwardly wondered how he would almost die today as it seemed to be a trend. After a few minutes he took a shower, got dressed, and entered the lobby. The rumbling of his stomach quickly led him to the cafeteria to grab himself some food.

Seeing Sophia and Oscar talking at a table made him a bit hesitant to sit down, for all he knew it had to do with yesterday. He really didn't want to talk about all of that first thing in the morning. After a small internal debate, he sat down beside them.


"So, who wants to scout around for Hammer before we all head out?" He asked, partly joking. He certainly didn't want to run into that asshole again, especially without the psychic asshole to bail them out.

---

Rachel shot up from the bed full of energy. Of course, after sleeping in a tent most of the time, the bed had been incredibly comfortable. She quickly got ready and headed into the lobby to investigate the previous day's happenings. Normally she would have left to track her brother down, but hearing that he stood up for some younger trainers...well it earned him some time.

For now though, Rachel was curious. Curious about what Hammer wanted, curious about how much damage her brother had paid for, and most of all curious about the trainers he had spoken to. They were most likely still around Mesalon, as was Hammer, so she figured she would check around the Pokemon Center first. Spotting a young girl on a laptop, she figured she would start her search.

"Hiya! My name's Rachel, nice to meet you!" She said, her cheerful attitude practically radiating from her greeting.

Sophia Danvers

Mesalon Pokecentre

@fer1323 @Heckno12

Giving her Pokemon their own snacks and sitting down, Sophia glared up from her breakfast. What was with this guy and his constant prying? "What, are you saying I'm some kind of weakling?" she asked. "Am I just going to have to prove you wrong?"

Looking away, she took a mouthful of scrambled eggs and toast. She was supposed to make a better impression on people than this. She'd show him! She'd train! Then she'd have no problem getting that gym badge... would she?

It wasn't long until Rheese joined them, and of course, the first thing he mentioned was yesterday's event. Sophia stifled a groan, but couldn't exactly blame him. "When we head to the gym," she said, "I'll be able to keep a look out better than anyone else."

She immediately regretted her words. Yes, she could sense nearby people who were out of sight - testing her ability, she picked up on surrounding energy signals more sharply than she'd done yesterday evening - but it wasn't as if she could tell exactly who those people were. Now, if Rheese and Oscar thought they could rely on her, she could end up letting them down.

---

Amber Pine

Mesalon Pokecentre

@Heckno12

Amber sat there, hands held over the keyboard, then leaned back with a sigh. She gave the screen a blank stare. What was she supposed to write?

If she told the truth, her family would be worried sick, and what would it do to Coral's future as a trainer? If she didn't, though... She didn't want to lie. Coral had a right to know. And what if her family found out about the attack in Kosei anyway?

She'd have to think this over, possibly after asking someone for advice. Nyxx, though, seemed busy right now, the Gengar's antics prompting her to rush from the building with a grumble. Amber glanced around the room to see if there was anyone else she could talk to.

That was when a woman approached, making her cheery introduction that reminded Amber of the red-haired coordinator from yesterday. Despite it being first thing in the morning, Rachel's entire demeanour brimmed with energy and positivity.

"Hey," the researcher replied, closing the laptop and putting on a smile. "My name's Amber." The Rockruff, somehow aware of a newcomer, burst from her Pokeball and bounced over with a yap, earning a slight laugh from Amber. "And this is Kyra. She's pretty friendly, as you can see."

@fer1323@LuckyBlackCat

"Don't." Rheese said seriously. "I know you can probably find him like that, but it'd be a waste to drain yourself now."

Rheese looked around while he ate. The cafeteria had a few random trainers and townsfolk, but no sign of Hammer or his crew.

"We'll do it the old fashioned way, he's hard to miss." He said with a sigh. He then perked up a bit and smiled. "Maybe he left after that thrashing yesterday." He was admittedly worried for Sophia after seeing her exhausted the day before, even if he wouldn't say it outright.

---

Rachel smiled down at the rock type Pokemon."Well, hi there little guy!" she said patting the little Pokemon. "That's a good partner you have there, Rockruff are very reliable."

She let her Armaldo out to play with Amber's Rockruff. The fossil pokemon was a bit shorter than Rachel, but it still dwarfed the other rock type. "I've got my own pal right here. By the way, you didn't see what happened here yesterday did you? I hear my brother was involved, so naturally I'm a little curious."

Sophia Danvers

Mesalon Pokecentre

@fer1323 @Heckno12

Sophia felt her muscles tighten, making her bruises flare up. Well, at least Rheese's expectations weren't too high, but this was going too far in the other direction.

"So..." Her pointed glare shifted from one trainer to the other. "So you both think I'm weak? Seriously? You think that's all it's going to take to drain me?" Huffing, she scowled at both of them. This wasn't how Rheese had viewed her before. That was the problem, though. She could earn a few wows and gasps at first, but people were bound to learn about her limits sooner or later.

The more she thought about it, the less hungry she felt - and the constant, nagging worry that Hammer could still be around didn't help. She picked at her food, forcing herself to eat the last few mouthfuls. She had to be good for more than just party tricks. And she had to be able to help this group. She couldn't deny that, in a way, she was growing closer to them.

"In any case," she continued, trying with limited success to keep her tone calmer than before. Already, she was less than proud that she'd snapped at Rheese. She and Oscar bickered all the time, but Rheese was someone she got along with reasonably well. "Let's just make sure we don't waste any time getting there."

---

Amber Pine

Mesalon Pokecentre

@Heckno12

Amber's eyes widened at the sight of the plate-covered Pokemon. "That's an Armaldo, isn't it?" she asked. "I've seen a few Anoriths in my mom's lab, but this is the first time I've seen an Armaldo!"

Kyra sniffed at the much larger Pokemon, before yapping and wagging her tail. She bounced around, her way of saying she wanted to play.

As Rachel mentioned yesterday's event, Amber's face grew solemn again. She put away her laptop. The email still weighed on her mind, but it was time to put her own issues aside for now. "Well, there was a battle here yesterday," she answered. "Right here in the lobby, between a psychic and this brutish detective guy. I didn't see what happened before the fight broke out, but it seemed the detective had been causing trouble. Threatening people."

She remembered with a shudder what Ray had said to Rheese afterwards. About how, in a situation like that with nobody around to intervene, he could die.

@LuckyBlackCat@Heckno12

Another trainer joins in. Oscar waits patiently as Rheese and Sophia talk about today's plans, the damn detective and sophia's physical state. Sophia continues to put on a tough facade. "We are not saying that you are weak but even the greatest heros need to rest from time to time. All I ask from you is to take it slow for a while. Plus I was hoping you could help me with raising and training Daisho or maybe take a day off and do some sightseeing. Maybe we could let our pokemon out somewhere and let them have a bonding time together."

Sophia Danvers

Mesalon Pokecentre

@fer1323 @Heckno12

At the mention of training and bonding, Lacey looked up from her breakfast.

"Hmph... well..." Sophia glanced down at Lacey, then faced Oscar again, arms folded. "Seems like Lacey wants to. And we did say we'd help each other, so I guess we'd better. Besides, I know a fair amount about Psychic-type Pokemon." She only had one at the moment, but she'd known others for as long as she could remember - taking comfort in their company and affection even when she'd done nothing to earn it.

"As for sightseeing, maybe we'd better wait till we're sure Hammer's out of town," she continued. "Uhh, not that I'm scared of him! It's just, it'd be nice to have the occasional peaceful day."

Some hope there was of that, though, going by recent events.

@LuckyBlackCat@fer1323
"Fuck it, I'm scared to run into him and you should be too." Rheese said propping his head up with one arm. "He has several fully evolved Pokemon that are very clearly out of our league right now. Be scared of the megalomaniac douche with strong Pokemon, at least until we get somewhere in this journey." Rheese wasn't going to sugarcoat it, Detective Asshat was a threat. Hopefully though, he wouldn't be hanging around the town too much longer after his multiple humiliations.

"I agree we all need to stick together though, maybe spar or something? I know you guys have been training a bit more than I have, but there's no better way to improve."

---

Rachel laughed a bit. "Armaldo's been with me for a good while. He's a core member of my gym team!" She said giving her Pokemon a hug that it pretended to shy slightly away from before nuzzling her back. "In fact, back when he was an Anorith he inspired me to stick with rock types!" A few of the non-locals put a bit of distance between themselves and the well of genuine enthusiasm that was Rachel.

"I think I understand." Rachel said nodding. "So, Hammer was bothering people and my brother stepped in." She seemed to be deep in thought for a few seconds before smiling widely. "I knew he had it in him! I always said he'd know when to quit being lazy and do something, I just never expected Hammer to be the one bringing out that side of him!"

Her expression darkened slightly. "Now this question's very important Amber...Did Hammer lay a finger on my little brother?" She asked inching closer. "Because if he did, I'll have some choice words...very choice words."