Celes' Party: Ranulf the Dragonite, Mist the Dratini
Devon's Party: Nasir the Zoroark, Ace the Starly

[Vertigo City- Pokémon Center]

@Shiny Keldeo@Light Lord
The Zoroark's eyes lit up at the mention of a contest. Turning to face his Trainer, he beamed, "Truly? Are you certain? I remember you becoming violently ill the last time..."

Now outside, Celes chased after the group, finally skidding to a stop near the tree. Immediately, the girl blurted out, "I'm Celes! Nice to meet you! That's Ranulf!" She'd point to the Dragonite just now exiting the building, carrying Celes' food. Plopping down where she stood, she looked over to her companion, who finally managed to catch up. Placing the food down, Ranulf made his way towards an empty space, sitting down as well. The small girl immediately, and voraciously, attacked her food.

With a bow, the Dark-type introduced himself, "I'm Nasir. It's a pleasure."

Silvally: Grass Memory

[Vertigo City - Pokémon Center]

@Shiny Keldeo
Gladion took a seat on a nearby bench, pulling out his mobile device and beginning to swipe at the screen.

Meanwhile, Silvally continued its conversation. Listening to Flake's teammates, the chimera averted its gaze, letting out a soft sigh. <I see... that's unfortunate. I cannot say I understand what that is like, given my life has been unlike any other's. I'm sure if I lost Gladion, I would feel the same way, however.> Looking to its Trainer with furrowed brows, he'd think for a moment before padding over towards Flake.

Finally closing the distance, the psuedo Grass-type would lower its voice, <Flake... I understand how you must feel. In fact, I've done worse...> Averting his gaze, he'd remain quiet for a moment before continuing, <What happened was not your fault. But what if it were? I...> Silvally took a hard swallow before continuing, <I lashed out at my Trainer, and badly injured him when we first met...> Closing its eyes, the Synthetic Pokémon let out a sigh, <It's something I'm always going to have to live with. I... do not forgive myself for it. However, Gladion does not blame me. I'm positive Hound does not blame you, and if you have it in you to forgive yourself... you should.>

Devon Lyton

Shock the Ampharos, Cyan the Azumarill, Quill the Monferno, Missy the Mismagius, Nasir the Zoroark, Ace the Starly
[Vertigo City - Pokémon Center]

@Ninian@Shiny Keldeo
A confident smirk grew across the crowd shy Trainer's face as the idea made his Dark-type's face practically glow. "Well, that's what your 'crowd training' you've been giving me has been for right? Of course I'll give it another shot for you Fuzzy. Just say the word."

After grabbing his own small plate of various food and fruit, Devon followed the rest of the group outside, and also caught sight of the lonely looking girl. A curious smile coming across his lips as he went over to the table with everyone and looked the girl over. She sort of looks like a younger Clair....I wonder if she's from around here?

Everyone else began to introduce themselves, with Devon raising a hand to do a short wave and intro himself as well. "I'm Devon, and this Starly is Ace. What were you thinking about Alicia?"

@Ninian @Light Lord
Brent's Party: Cyndaquil
Lily's Party: Chikorita
Alicia's Party: Aurora the Dragonair, ???
[Vertigo City - Pokemon Center]

The once lone girl was suddenly surrounded by the group. Moments ago she had been lost in her own thoughts, now she was surrounded by friendly faces. She caught sight of the Dragonite, who the girl named Celes had called Ranulf. She sat there for a moment, looking down at her feet. For a second one might have seen tears welling up if they were looking closely enough, but a second later she perked back up. "Oh, it wasn't anything important. Just... daydreaming is all. It's nice to meet you all. I've got someone you can meet too. Oh, Aurora..." She called out.

A moment later a slim blue form emerged from a nearby pond, eventually situating itself right up next to Alicia. <You called? Oh... we have company. I'm Aurora, it's a pleasure.> The Dragonair replied, slightly bowing before returning her focus to her trainer. "This is Aurora, my... partner..." She said, trailing off near the end. "Wow, a Dragonair!" Lily said, holding up her Pokedex. "Dragonair, the Dragon Pokemon, and the Pre-Evolved Form of Dragonite. It is a mystical Pokémon that exudes a gentle aura. It is said to have the ability to change the weather, and has even been seen flying on occasion, despite the lack of wings." The Device replied.

"Hey, Celes? Didn't you say you can speak to and understand Dragonite and it's evolution line?" Brent asked the girl as she ravaged the food on her plate. "Speak to... and understand... Dragonite?" Alicia asked, wondering what Brent was talking about. As far as she knew, it was nearly impossible for humans and Pokemon to communicate perfectly without use of Abilities such as Telepathy, which is why she wasn't at all surprised when Devon's Zoroark began to speak.

<So what he's implying is that... you can understand what I say? Perfectly?> Aurora asked, cocking her head sideways questioningly. <Yeah, it's true! I've never seen anything like it!> Cyndaquil replied, Chikorita shaking her head. <You've barely seen anything, you know... but he's right, I don't know what it is, but it's real.> Chikorita replied.

Luna's Party: Torrent the Popplio, Flake the Vulpix, Hound the Rockruff, Sola the Bounsweet
Bryce's Party: Moss the Swampert, Striker the Manectric, Maya the Flareon*
[Vertigo City - Pokemon Center]

Moments later, the red glowing sign above the room dimmed, and Nurse Joy emerged. Luna nearly leapt to her feet to meet her. "Nurse Joy, how's Hound?" She asked nervously. Giving a Smile, the Pink Dressed Nurse gave her reply. "Luckily there weren't any broken bones. It seems it's just sprained. You'll have to keep him off of his feet for a while so it can heal, and I've also given him some medicine to help with any pain." She said, Luna smiling in relief.

"That's a relief... but Hound's not gonna like being sidelined one bit. Thanks, Nurse Joy!" She said, Joy nodding and allowing Luna to take the Drowsy Rockruff with her before departing. "I'm glad to hear it's not serious. I'm sure the rest of your team will feel the same way." Bryce said, Luna gasping. "That's right! I completely forgot I left them outside! It was just the heat of the moment..."

"Then let's go. I'm sure they're getting anxious." Bryce said, letting Luna past him as they headed out of the Medical Wing.

Back outside, Sola and Torrent watched and listened as the chimera talked with Flake. She remained where she was, sitting with her back turned to the Silvally, head held low and eyes closed. As he began to choke up as his story progressed, she opened her eyes, slightly turning her head towards him. As the chimera closed its eyes and finished its piece, a paw would lay upon its, as Flake had turned to him.

Closing her eyes and shaking her head, she would finally reply. <You don't understand, not entirely. I would never hurt any of my family, not willingly. I know it must have been tough for you to accept, but it's harder for me...> She said, sighing. <... At least you still have the trainer you spent the best part of your life with...> She looked up at the Chimera. <... but thanks. I understand what you mean.> She finished.

"Seriously though! The way your Bellossom and Quilava worked together in the preliminary round of the grand festival, it was incredible! It was simple, but there was something majestic about it!" Sonya laughed, slightly embarrassed at the fact that this lady in front of her had been ranting about her victory in the Hoenn Grand Festival. Luckily not that many people seemed to be around or this probably would have been far too much for Sonya. "Thank you, though I barely made it through the preliminary round, I'd hardly call it majestic-" Sonya had started to reply, trying to be polite, but the girl continued again. "You're being overly modest!" The girl started again. "Even if you weren't the fact is you still swept away everyone in the next round! Not to mention the contest battles that followed!" Sonya began laughing a little sheepishly while scratching her head finally getting a little more embarrassed than she would have liked. The girl was not wrong really, but Sonya still felt new to the scene compared to the majority of coordinators in the world. While it was no fluke that she won the competition, she still occasionally tried to pass it off as that. Though Sonya was basically being slapped in her face with her own talent everytime she ran into someone who recognized her.

"I suppose it was a little unique, but really I was just enjoying the fact that I had the opportunity to be there. In any event I'm hoping to see some of the sites before the competition, so is there anything else I need to do for registering?" Sonya finally got the girl to realize that she was there for a job, not to socialize forever. "Oh! That's right how silly of me! Nope! You're all ready to go." She said with a smile. "I can't wait to see what you do this year!" With a small bow Sonya smiled and headed turned to go. She really had no need to go visit any of the sites. Sonya had actually been in Vertigo City for about a week, but she found it was a great excuse to get out of conversations with anyone that recognized her. The problem was what should she do now?

@Ciphra
Fennekin, Deerling
[Vertigo City - Contest Hall]

Taking her Pokedex back as she finished up her registration, Sierra gave a courteous nod to the registration official before turning to leave. She looked at what she had received now. A Ribbon Case to hold any Contest Ribbons she had won, along with six Ball Capsules with a set of starter Capsule Stickers. They were all the rage in Sinnoh Contests, so they gave Coordinators in Viore the option to use them as well.

"Alright, there's no turning back now..." She said to the Pokemon at her side, nervously looking around her. Although she'd seen them on TV, being there in person was nerveracking, seeing so many people already signing up. Some had sets of six Pokeballs already on their person, while she only had two still. She knew she had to stay calm, if she freaked out now there was no way she could compete.

Then she saw the ground heading towards her. The items in her hands went tumbling, and she pushed her hands forward as she hit the ground. In her thoughts she had managed to trip over something. She sat there for a moment, regaining her senses, and started to collect her fallen items. "To think today started so well..." She said softly as she looked around for her Pokedex.

@Shiny Keldeo


Sonya was thinking of making a call to Amelia or maybe grabbing lunch when she saw a young girl stumble over. Of course someone that young it could just be from being really nervous if she was going to be competing, in any event the young girls things had scatterred about so Sonya slowly walked over and picked up the girl's pokedex since it had slid a little further than everything else and knelt down in front of the girl with her hand held out with the girl's pokedex. "You probably don't want to lose this." Sonya spoke gently and kindly to the girl with a friendly smile on her face. Ever since Sonya had arrived in Viore she had just been wearing dark jeans and a white tank top with a contest ribbon design on the front, while carrying the rest of her things in her black backpack with it's orange highlights that matched her hair. Sonya did not like to show off all the time, it just was not in her nature.

@Ciphra
Fennekin, Deerling
[Vertigo City - Contest Hall]

As she gathered her various items, her gaze met a pair of shoes that had come up next to her. Looking up she saw an unfamiliar but friendly face, with her Pokedex outstretched in her hands. "T-thank you. I don't know what I'd do without it." She said, taking the device and returning it to her pocket. After placing her remaining items in her satchel bag, she rose from her knees, nervously dusting herself off. "Really though, thanks... uhm... I'm sorry, I don't even know your name, but I feel like I've seen you before..." She said, looking over the stranger, trying to put a name to the face.

"No problem, and my name is Sonya." She said with an almost refreshed smile. It was a little comforting every she wasn't immediately recognized and more or less idolized. After handing the girl the pokedex and letting her put it away Sonya stood up and reached down with a hand offering to help the girl up. "So what's your name, and are you going to compete in the contest?" Sonya was curious, and was mildly trying to avoid the comment about possibly being seen before. The girl looked pretty young so Sonya couldn't help but feel a small urge to help the girl out and maybe even try and give her some guidance. Everyone had to start somewhere, but not everyone had to learn everything on their own after all.

@Ciphra
Fennekin, Deerling
[Vertigo City - Contest Hall]

Hearing the name, it didn't ring a bell in the young girl's mind. "Nice to meet you then, Sonya..." She said. Upon being asked her name, her face went red. "O-oh, sorry, how rude of me... I'm Sierra. And... yes, I'm entering the contest. It'll be my first one..." She replied, placing her hands together and looking downward sheepishly.

"B-but, to be honest, I don't know if I'm ready for this..." She said, taking another glance around. "I've always seen them on TV, how coordinators made the audience cheer and smile, and I wanted to be like them. But being here now, in the middle of it all... it's nerve racking, to say the least..." She admitted.

A small giggle escaped the lips of Sonya. She could not seem to help herself given she had gone through the same thing what seemed like not too long ago. Of course it had been over a year now, but that did not seem all that far away when she thought back on it. Besides this girl was fairly brave if she was as young as she looked. Sonya never would have gone on stage at her age. "Well Sierra I can't blame you for being nervous. My first contest went rather badly for me, but in the end I enjoyed it. You learn quick that your pokemon come through for you. Besides it's all about them in the end. As for the nerves, well those never go away. However they do change. You go from nervous to excited. Have you thought about what you and your pokemon are going to do?" Sonya asked with a smile almost to herself as she thought back to her own experiences in the beginning.

@Ciphra
Fennekin, Deerling
[Vertigo City - Contest Hall]

As the experienced coordinator recounted her own experience, Sierra started to relax a bit. "Yeah, but I know I've gotta be there for them too." She said, looking at the Deerling and Fennekin that were now next to her. "Actually... yeah, we've been working on a routine for the Performance Round. I'm not sure if I'll make it past that, so I don't know what I'm going to do later on..." She started, but as more and more trainers began to flood in to register, she began to barely hear herself think.

"Do you... wanna go somewhere else and talk? It's... a little crowded now..." She said, looking towards the door. "I know I passed a little park not too far from here." She finished, looking back to Sonya.

Sonya raised her head up a bit and looked around. She hadn't really noticed the crowd that had begun to swarm in. She turned back to Sierra and nodded. "That sounds like a good idea to me." With that she gestured towards the door with a smile and began walking with the girl to their new, and hopefully quieter, location.

@Ciphra
Fennekin, Deerling
[Vertigo City - Luminous Park]

After a short walk from the Contest Hall, the two trainers found themselves in a small park located on what most residents referred to as the Outer Rim of the city. Once out of the crowded hall and out into the open in a relatively low traffic area, Sierra visually relaxed as she took a seat at one of a few tables situated throughout the park. "Ah, I can finally hear myself think now..." She said, stretching slightly as she looked around.

"So, I never really asked you, where are you from?" She asked, looking over to Sonya. "I'm from here in Viore, a city on the coast called Lilac City." She explained.

Luna's Party: Torrent the Popplio, Flake the Vulpix, Hound the Rockruff, Sola the Bounsweet
Bryce's Party: Moss the Swampert, Striker the Manectric, Maya the Flareon*
[Vertigo City - Pokemon Center]

Luna's Pokemon quickly caught sight of their trainer as she emerged from the inards of the center with Hound in her arms, quickly rushing to their trainer's feet. <If you'll excuse me...> Flake said to Silvally, who had remained silent since she had finished her words. As her team assembled at her feet, Sola was about to ask the question on everyone's mind when Luna smiled. "Don't worry, everyone. Hound's fine, he's just gotta take it easy for a while." She said.

Torrent rolled her eyes at the last comment. <Yeah, like that'll be possible. The guy never stops moving.> She remarked, Sola looking over to Flake. <At least he's okay, that's what matters. We can force him to take it easy... I think...> She said, not helping much to ease Flake's nerves.

"So, this is your team?" Bryce asked, Luna turning to him. "Yeah, they came with me all the way from Alola. I wouldn't go anywhere without them." She replied. Bryce looked down at Maya and Striker. "I know what you mean." He replied.

As Luna looked around the battlefield, she spotted Gladion on the far side. She waved over to him, but it seemed he didn't see her as he was focused on the device in his hands. "Well... what should I do now..." She pondered, pulling out Hound's Pokeball and returning the small Rock Type.

Maya and Striker, who had remained relatively quiet for the duration of the encounter, looked at each other. <Bryce sure is meeting a lot of nice trainers today. I haven't seen him this happy in ages.> Maya said, Striker nodding. <Maybe he'll finally find what he's been searching for here after all.> Striker replied. "A look around the city might not be too bad of an idea. I'm guessing you don't have too many large cities like this in Alola." Bryce suggested, Luna looking over to him. "Not like... this. I'd probably get lost before I made it down the street..." She admitted.

"Well, if you want, I could show you around a little. This is my first time in Vertigo myself, but I'm used to large cities." He offered, his Pokemon looking at each other for a moment. <Did he just...> <I think he did...> They conversed. "Really? Thank you... well guys, what do you say to a trip around the city?" She asked. <Sure, sounds like fun!> Torrent replied. <I'm fine with it. What about you, Flake?> Sola asked, Flake still in a somewhat depressed mood. She shook herself out of it when she realized she'd been asked something. <Oh, yeah, sure, let's go.> She finally replied.

With her Pokemon all in agreement, the two trainers and their teams headed out into the streets of Vertigo.