Regan smiled at the reunion, though she couldn't help but wonder if it wouldn't just happen again. The Umbreon seemed genuinely sorry, so perhaps it learned a lesson out of all this. "Just doin' my job, kid. If there's nothing else you need, I better go. I've got to report in to the local Ranger team." If nothing else, I'll just head over to HQ. Gotta take a ferry to Evoru, huh? I should have asked for a map...

Rapier landed on the edge of a nearby building, overlooking his trainer and this other speaking. He fluttered his wings as he settled onto his perch, scanning the nearby crowds as well. There were a few trainers looking at him, but he wasn't exactly a common sight, either. Of course they'd look.

Sarah was startled when someone yelled out 'Umbreon!' as she was admiring the flying type pokemon. "That must be the Umbreons trainer." Sarah said as she felt a pang of disappointment. It seemed this little search was over already. Sarah looked at the purple haired woman. "Umbreon usually have yellow bands and this one has blue bands." she explained as she felt she hadn't done it properly yet as she spotted the Staraptor.
Sarah looked at the ranger briefly before looking at the trainer lying on the ground with his Umbreon. Sarah raised her pokedex and aimed it at the Umbreon briefly. At least she asumed it was a trainer who had lost his umbreon, just as she had asumed the woman was. She had mentioned to have a pokedex it was just at home. She turned to the woman. "I hope I didn't interupt any plans you had. If you need help let me know, I'm born and raised on this island so I know my way around here." Sarah felt that was the least she could do, offer her assistance, as the other woman tagged along with her just like that.

Lorie observed, disappointed, as a trainer cried out and reunited with his Umbreon. Glancing at the woman by her side, Lorie nodded at her comment. So, this was indeed an unusual Umbreon. Sighing, Lorie abandoned the idea of trying to catch a rare pokemon like that - if it already had an owner, it wouldn't probably work.
"That dude should take better care of his pokemon," Lorie deadpanned with a frown, looking at her feet as Sneasel rushed back to them. She wasn't trying to be exactly quiet, so the boy could've even heard her. She didn't care.
"Snee," it sighed, scratching its head with its clawed hand.
The woman next to Lorie apologised for the inconvinience and offered to help Lorie with anything concerning the island. Looking at the woman from under her purple fringe, Lorie nodded, mute. A native could be pretty useful right now. Lorie knew next to nothing about this place, so striking up a friendly conversation with this woman could prove to be fruitful.
"I never got your name," Lorie answered. Not that she cared or anything, but having a name to call this woman would be somewhat useful. Besides, that was a friendly starter, right? Being social was so... odd. "What's there to... you know, actually to do in this place?" the purple haired trainer continued as Sneasel scratched behind its long ear and groomed itself like a cat.

On the yard of a local hotel close to the marina of Mesperit City was a green haired boy with three pokemon before him.
"Okay guys, we're here to train a new contest number, yeah?" the boy spoke with a hopeful smile on his face. The Dunsparce before him was drowzing off peacefully in the sunlight while the two other pokemon - Skiploom and Mantine - were doing their things also. The Skiploom was floating in the air, distracted but happy. The Mantine, who happened to be Toshi's team's newest member, made a show of not paying attention to what Toshi was saying, simply swimming along in the hotel fountain.
Toshi sighed, refusing to give up. He had a clear plan, and he really wanted this number to work.
"Toto, Skip, just like we practiced, remember? Let's show Mantine how to do this," the boy nudged encouragingly, trying to get everyone pumped up. The Skiploom turned its attention to Toshi, happily floating to its trainer.
"Skiiiip," it sung, seeming motivated. Dunsparce only gave a lazy but acknowledging "spaarce" in response.
"First up! Toto, use Mud Slap on the ground!" Toshi commanded with a determined grin on his face, excited to get this to work. The pink yellow earth snake hopped around, splattering soft mud all over the yard. "Awesome! Next up, Skip: sprinkle the ground with Bulled Seed, then use Sunny Day!"
As soon as Skip used Sunny Day, the seeds it had planted into the soft mud began growing, a beautiful fresh green raising from the ground. Toshi grinned even wider, excited. This was going so well!
"And last, but not the least... Mantine dear, use Water Pulse to help them grow even faster!" Toshi exclaimed, turning to face the Mantine, eyes sparkling with hope. The young trainer had certainly gotten the note that Mantine wasn't very fond of him or his team yet, but Toshi thought a group exercise like this would definitely help Mantine feel more united. Maybe it would even see the beauty pokemon moves together could cause.

Or... maybe not.
"Aaagh! I said Water Pulse, not Icy Wind!" Toshi shrieked as a chilling blast of icy wind hit them, freezing the ground and effectively killing all the little saplings that had begun to grow.
Shivering and gathering Skiploom in his arms to shield it from the super effective ice move, Toshi looked around in hopes that no one had seen this spectacular failure.

Sarah agreed with the other woman wholeheartedly what she said about inrespondsible dude.

Sarah wasn't sure if she preffered the other woman to accept or decline the offer, either one would feel good and bad. She had to admit she was curious to what she would have seen about the world before coming here and why chosing this small league over the others.
Sarah was quiet for a bit when she got asked her name. It was true they hadn't gotten acquainted propely yet and if they were going places it would be easier to know ones name. "I don't think I have introduced myself yet. I'm Sarah, Sarah Whitecliff." she said with a small polite smile.
The next question wasn't too hard to answer after all there wasn't so much to do. "Well here in Mespirit City we have the ground gym and the ground Contest Hall. Also a decent stocked PokeMart. In Lilan Town, that is about a 20 minutes drive from here there is the Pokemon Centre, another pokemart and the Lab. Just outside of Lilan Town is the Academy where I study." Sarah paused and looked at the purple-haired woman again a bit pensive. "If you were planning to register as a trainer and participate in the League I suggest visitng the proffesor first. Who knows, maybe she has a pokedex for you available too. I got mine from a pokemon proffesor too." Sarah shot a questioning glance at the Sneasels trainer. "And how can I call you?" Sarah asked when she realised she had been answering the question without asking a name back.

@Cio

@CitrusArms

Lucian looked up to the trainer, asking her something. "Hey, I have one last favor. Do you know any real estate agencies on this island? I'm kinda looking for a house." He scratches the back of his head. Money was not a problem for him, he has been saving up for a while. That and he was a child born into the Tucker family.

Gardevoir finally caught up to her partner. She smiled, keeping a short distance away.

"No way, kid, you're asking the wrong ranger. I'm new around here. Maybe ask, ah..." Hmm. Now that she thought about it, her life as a trainer made real estate a non-issue. She'd never thought about it before. "Real estate, huh?" Well, anyone that owned a home might know. Or a business. "Ask at a business, or look in a business district for an office. That's the best I've got for ya, kid. What're you looking to buy, anyway?"

@Salenea

Lorie's attention was sparked the moment the woman - Sarah, as she'd introduced herself as - mentioned registering as a trainer and getting a pokedex. Maybe her eyes brightened for a moment, but then she got gloomy once more. You didn't get to be optimistic in this world. It never got you anywhere.
"I told you, I have a pokedex, I just forgot it home," Lorie almost snapped back defensively, although she seemed to deflate after that, looking at her feet with a stern expression. Was it really that obvious? Did she look like a bum? After a few steadying breaths, Lorie moved her pained gaze to stare at anywhere but Sarah's eyes. "Even if they had a pokedex... I doubt they'd just let an off-islander have one. Let alone register as a trainer," she mumbled with a grave voice. Ever the pessimist.
Sneasel retreated from clinging to Lorie's leg - it knew that comforting its human companion in public wouldn't be seen as appropriate by the purple haired girl. Showing vulnerablity was one of the things Lorie had learned not to show. Still, Sneasel looked a its trainer with a disheartened expression on its face.
"I'm Lorie. I didn't come here for the League - just... passing by, I guess. Unless winning that league gets you rich, then I might be interested," Lorie mused.

@CitrusArms

"I'm looking for something on the plains, far away from any major city." He smiled. "Gardevoir has always loved staying away from people besides me. And Umbreon can see the moon clearly from the plains."

Was this kid serious? He was just gonna pick up and probably build a house in the middle of nowhere? For his Pokemon, basically. Well, wanting to give them a comfortable life was admirable, at least. "I see... Well, yeah, like I said. Probably check out the business district in in the city. Maybe you'll find something that isn't in any city limits, who knows? But, ah, good luck, anyway. Keep track of your Pokemon."

It was then that she spotted that red roof of a Pokemon Center. "Ah, if you'll excuse me. I need to get back to it." She gave the kid a nod and then left on her way, heading toward the Center. A thought struck her, and she stopped at a nearby bench, taking off her backpack. She rummaged through it, finding the folder she'd been given before being sent here. Ah, they gave her a map, after all.

It was then she heard a trainer lamenting something about his Pokemon's move choice. She twisted her body around to peer over her shoulder, spotting the boy with his Pokemon in the hotel yard. Rapier would enjoy a high perch on top of that building. She gave a light hearted laugh, turning partway on the bench to better face the lad, "is that a new Pokemon? A little bit ornery, is he?"

@JrVader@Cio

Lucian nodded and went his way, with Umbreon next to him and Gardevoir close behind. Once he reached the city, he got many weird glances. Lucian presumed that it was because of him not storing his pokemon in pokeballs. He always hated the fact of putting pokemon in "cages", so he sets them free to walk with him.

Once reaching the business end of the city, Lucian went on his hunt. He went to building after building, but to no avail. All the houses were in the city. "Over here Lucian" He heard his Umbreon yell. The young trainer went towards the voice and saw what Umbreon was looking at. Lucian smiled wide as he saw the perfect house. One that was for sale by the owner and on the plains. He went in, telling his Pokemon to say outside.

"Hello, and welcome to Mesperit Housing, where all your housing needs are attended to! What can I do for you?" one of the associates said. Lucian smiled and said "Hello, I was interested in the house on the Plains?" The associate smiled and said "Why, aren't you a little young for the housing industry?" Lucian was young, he was only 17, but thinking that parents let their children go out for adventures when they are much younger, he decided to look past it. "Nah," Lucian responded. "I am just a simple man looking for a simple home." The associate smiled once again and said "Okay! Just to let you know, we here at Mesperit Housing do not judge based on color, sexual orientation, or age!"

After a few hours of paperwork, Lucian finally bought the house. The associate said that he was allowed to let his Pokemon in, so he did just that. Umbreon stayed close to Lucian while Gardevoir stayed in the waiting lobby. Once he exited, he decided to go visit his first house. "Oh, I am so excited! Aren't you Gardevoir?!" "Of course I am, but aren't you scared that your family might find us?" "Nah," Lucian responded. "They could care less!"

Sarahs eyes widend briefly before they narrowed when Lorie reminded her of the pokedex. That sounded like being snapped at. Again. She didn't know what this trainers problem was but Sarah did not appreciate a reply like that. Sarah counted to ten in her mind while Lorie aired her pessimistic assumption. Now Sarah wondered why Lorie was so negative. Why see the world if on could only see the worst of it?
"I'm sure the professor will have a pokedex you can use while you are here. They encourage all new trainers to use it to help them learn more about the pokemon." Sarah said as patiently as she could but couldn't prevent entirly that it was a bit sharp-toned.

Bulbasaur looked from Lorie to Sarah and back. He could feel the tension between them and he could see that the Sneasel wanted to comfort his trainer but didn't. "You ok?" he asked.

Sarah sighed. "You don't have to of course, you can travel the islands without competing. I'm sure there is a price for winning the League but I never looked into it as that is not my destination. I registered as a trainer to get some battle experience and grow together with my pokemon while I keep working on my field projects." Sarah paused, not entirely sure if it was the best idea to ask Lorie to come along but Sarah had to admit to herself that it was a welcome change to see someone not with 'oh look at me, I am going to be a pokemon master and I have these gyms beaten in a heartbeat' attitude. And there was something Sarah couldn't quite put her finger on. She felt like she had a lot of clues about something but couldn't tie it together. "Look I need to head back to the lab anyway. If you don't know what you want to do on the islands yet you are free to tag along. Gives you time to think about it" Sarah said. She realised that might have sounded a bit direct, maybe even blunt. "It is safer to travel in groups though. The Spinarak and Ariados can be a problem.

the Bulbasaur looked surprised at his trainer. He knew that Sarah preffered travelling alone, even with the spinarak, because she wanted to keep her own pace and enjoyed the silence.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gabe Whitecliff was hanging around in Mespirit City. Not sure what to do and he walked around aimlessly. A Machop and a Mareep were walking alongside him. Gabe kicked a pebble ahead. "I don't know what to do. I don't want to travel alone and I don't want to just sit around here. Mom and dad gave me a hard time for not having found something I want to do with my life." He sighed as his pokemon tried to comfort their trainer. They didn't like to see their normally so happy trainer down like this. When the passed Mespirit Housing he saw a boy around his age walking out looking very excited. There was only one thing to be bought or rented in there so he wondered if that boy had done what he was thinking he might have done.
Gabe decided to follow the boy curious and couldn't help but overhearing. Not looking here he went Gabe tripped over Mareep who had been walking in front of him and fell on the ground with a loud "WHOA!"

@CitrusArms

Toshi looked at the source of the comment, mortified. Letting the shivering Skip go - no damage had been done, fortunately - Toshi turned around and gave a sad laugh.
"Uh... you saw that? Wow, that's embarrassing," Toshi admitted, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. "But yes, she does like disobeying my commands..." Toshi continued, shaking his head and looking back at the Mantine who was flapping in the fountain. Toshi sighed, picking the Dunsparce, Toto, up from the ground and walking over to the ranger.
"I've thought of using reverse psychology on her to get her to use the right moves, but I'm afraid she's too smart to fall for something like that," Toshi explained with a laughter. "I'm Toshi. I'm on a vacation here to train for contests. This fella here is Toto - Who might you be?" Toshi introduced himself and the already sleeping shiny Dunsparce on his shoulder. Giving the snake pokemon a gentle pet on the head, Toshi turned to face the trainer who had happened to see his spectacular failure.

---

@Salenea
Lorie, who was looking anywhere except at Sarah, involuntarily glanced back as soon as the woman reassured her about the pokedex issue. Staying quiet and nodding, Lorie didn't know what to say. Would thank you be acceptable? She didn't really do thank you's.
"Cool," the girl mustered in return, tone awkward but sincere.
Lorie really didn't need a travelling companion, though. She had Sneasel and Scolipede - the trio had managed quite fine on their own for years on end. They were close, they were familiar and safe. No reason tagging along with a stranger.
Sneasel seemed to sense what Lorie was thinking, as it nuzzled its head against Lorie's leg forcefully, catching her attention. The Sneasel's red, cat-like eyes were narrow with judgement. It knew what was going through Lorie's mind, and it was calling foul with just one sharp glance.
Lorie exhaled, feeling like a deflated drifbloom. Sneasel was right, they really only barely managed by themselves. That's why Lorie and Sneasel had to steal and thief around to keep fed. And in addition this woman knew where the lab was, so really, she was Lorie's best bet at getting one step closer to feeling like a real human being.
After this intense silence, Lorie only nodded, as if that would be enough of an answer. She'd tag along, sure.
"Sneasel Sneee," the Sneasel confirmed turning to Sarah and the Bulbasaur. It was odd seeing the ice/dark type pokemon so social, usually they stayed away from people and trusted no one. It seemed like Sneasel was either plotting something, or it genuinely saw something in this trainer and her pokemon.

@Salenea

Lucian jumped once he heard said "Woah!" Instantly, Gardevoir and Umbreon went into a defensive formation, guarding Lucian. Once Lucian saw that it was a total stranger, he calmed down. "Umbreon, Gardevoir, its fine. Thank you though." He stepped forward and offered his hand to the short blonde that has fallen. "Hey, are you alright? I would say to look where you Pokemon are walking, but I did almost lose my Umbreon a while ago..."

Regan have a soft giggle, "I didn't see, I just heard you lamenting." She looked over at the mantine for a moment, thinking about this trainer's problem. "It won't listen, huh...? Well, pleasure to meet you, Toshi. Toto. I'm Regan, and I'm new around the islands. That guy up there is Rapier." She looked up at that Staraptor perched on top of the hotel, watching them.

"You're here for contests, huh? I remember encountering a few of those, way back when, but I never bothered trying to get involved. You... What, make a spectacle?" It wasn't anything she ever really understood deeply. She got the general idea, but beyond that, she was clueless about the contests.

Bulbasaur grinned happily as he noticed the Sneasel had convinced his trainer to come along. He felt it would do his trainer good.

Sarah nodded in return, surprisingly she didn't feel disappointed that Lorie took the offer but she felt content. It would certainly help her get that one teacher off of her back with his constant 'But you can't be a hermit Sarah. You will have to deal with people too Sarah' and 'People don't bite, try and socialise a bit sometimes'. If they saw her travelling with someone they could see she could socialse and talk to people.
Sarah turned toward the busstop for a moment before looking back to Lorie. "Lilan Town is about a 20 minute drive or a four to six hour walk depending on how fast one walks." She paused, hesitated for a bit as Lorie had been a bit senstive about the pokedex matter, but she had to let the woman know. "Public transporation is free on these islands for trainers but unfortunately you must show a pokedex." Sarah informed Lorie. It didn't matter to Sarah, it wouldn't be the first time to walk the distance. Maybe she could even try and catch a pokemon on the way. She hadn't caught one on the islands yet and she wanted to expand her team.

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Gabe took the hand to get up and grinned sheepishly as he went through his hair with his other hand. "Yeah, sorry to startle you like that. I wasn't looking where I was going." his gaze shifted from the boy to the Umbreon. "Hi there, I'm Gabe and these are two of my friends Mareep and Machop. The third, Tepig, is being a grouch today." He looked curious at the boy. "I saw you coming out of the estate agency and I got curious I have to admit. Especially since I never saw you around before. I would definitly know if someone lived on these islands if they have cool pokemon like you do." Gabe said friendly.

@CitrusArms

"Wow! You look quite majestic, sir Rapier," Toshi greeted the large Staraptor that was looking at them from above.
Toshi looked at Regan with an open smile as she listened to her be confused about pokemon coordinators. His friendly grin only widening as Regan tried to guess what it was about only got bigger from amusement.
"Sort of, yes. But it's more than that. Being a pokemon coordinator is hard - you have to be in complete sync with your partners, body, mind, and soul alike. So it's like pokemon battling, but without anyone getting hurt. Plus it is really beautiful, seeing the bond between pokemon and their trainers, and the amount of fine practice it takes to coordinate a spectacle," Toshi explained while stroking Toto's back.
"If I can't get Mantine to co-operate with me, I have no hope of ever becoming a pokemon coordinator, though..." the leaf haired boy sighed, glancing back at the Mantine that was currently flailing around in the fountain.

---

@Salenea
Lorie's mood instantly darkened when Sarah mentioned that public transportation required a pokedex for it to be free. It felt like Sarah was rubbing the fact to her face, although a part of Lorie knew that this wasn't the woman's intention. Being social was hard, and picking up on social cues was even harder. And the travel distance being long enough to take the better part of a day really didn't help. Then again... Did she really have much better things to do?
"I'm fine walking," Lorie stated as they began making their way. After all, if she ever got tired she had her Scolipede to ride on. She was actually how Lorie made most her travels across routes. The female bug/poison pokemon was large, sturdy and above all, very fast. The perfect travel companion for Lorie and Sneasel.
The newly introduced - and quite frankly unlikely - pair made their way to the direction of their destination on foot. Sneasel followed loosely behind, sometimes straying off to explore bushes or things that could have something valuable in them. The silence between the women was growing kind of strained, as neither of them seemed to be the overtly chatty type. After a brief walk the city scenery changed to wilderness, although there was still a clear road to follow.

@Salenea

"Heh, well, I am not from around here..." He said, nervously shuffling his feat. "I-I'm Lucian, and these are my Pokemon, Umbreon and Gardevoir. I was just going to my new house, would you like to come with me?" He asked. "Do you think it is wise to trust them? We just met them." Gardevoir said. "Oh calm down Gardevoir." Lucain said, looking at his Pokemon. "They are friendly." He looks back at Gabe and Smiles

@Cio

Sarah walked on in silence next to Lorie, she had been a bit worried Lorie might snap at her again but the short'I'm fine walking' was all the confirmation she needed that walking was a good option. At least the woman didn't slow her down. She didn't really know what to say as she didn't know Lorie good enough yet. It was quite a walk, often sarah would just ride her strong, fast Girafarig but she didn't know if Lorie had any pokemon that could carry her.

Saur, Sarah's Bulbasaur was walking behind Sneasel. "Be careful to not disturb Spinarak, they can get viscious." Saur warned the Sneasel. "I got poison stinged once by a Weedle when I was looking for a berry in a bush" he said chuckling.

The nature on Rhando was beautiful as ever. The distant sounds of pokemon could often be heard. Sarah glanced at Lorie. "Where are you from?" Sarah finally asked curiously to break the silence and get to know her travel companion a little bit better. She had read about the different regions but never saw more then a bit of Kanto and the lab in Unova. This was a good opportunity to hear about other regions and travels. Not that she expected Lorie to change into a chatterbox with this question but she did hope it was enough to spark some sort of conversation.

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Gabe grinned. "Pleasure to meet you Lucian." Gabe looked at Lucian again. He couldn't be much older then he was. "Really? You got a new house here? How cool is that! Yeah I want to come along" Gabe smiled. "Welcome on the Island I would say. If you don't know the way I can surely guide you. I was born and raised on here." He paused as he realised Lucian seemed to have answered his pokemon in a more understanding way than he usually did.
He was glad Lucian could see he was friendly because Gabe definitely was friendly. "Where is this house of yours?" he asked. Mareep and Machop walked closer to Lucians pokemon "Gabe wouldn't hurt a fly, don't worry." Mareep said to Gardevoir. Machop nodded. "And he won't tell anything to strangers if he is asked to keep something secret." Machop added. "Welcome!" said Mareep happily.

@Salenea

Lucian smiled happily. His Gardevoir seemed to have cooled down a little. She smiled while addressing the Mareep and Machop. "Well I must certainly welcome your hello's. I am Gardevoir. And over here is Umbreon." Gardevoir gestured to the small, shiny Umbreon that was hiding in between Lucians legs. "Oh come on Umbreon, they are friendly." He picks up Umbreon and carries him while walking towards his house. "My house is in the plains. A nice humble place. So what can you tell me about yourself, Gabe?" Lucian asksk