@Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy

A pink, floral-scented mist swept through the area, easing Amber's fraught nerves. Around the group, frantic voices quieted. From her crouched position, Amber looked up to see the source of the cloud - a Lilligant, accompanied by a young, pink-haired shrine maiden.

"So that's Sweet Scent in action," she said, the awe evident in her voice. Just as it could pacify Pokemon in battle, it had done its job of preventing mass panic. As the girl took out two berries, Amber propped Rheese into a sitting position so he'd swallow them more easily. Chesto berries were known for their anti-fatigue properties, and she could only hope it would work fast. She'd eaten a fair amount before while studying, and they usually did, even if they could only so much for humans. The other berry, rounded and purple, was one she was sure she'd seen in guides - probably a rare one. Some rare berries lessened the effects of certain move types, so judging by Sophia's comment about the strange effect, this was likely a counter for psychic techniques.

As the shrine maiden fed Rheese the berries, Aeshna set about picking up the scattered Pokeballs between her front legs, and reattaching them to his belt. The breeze from the Yanma's wings wafted the fragrant haze around. Amber breathed deeply, patting Aeshna on the head and nodding up at the girl - Saki. The gym leader Rachel had mentioned. "Thanks, both of you," she addressed Saki and the Lilligant. "I'm Amber, and this is Rheese." Placing Rheese's arm around her shoulder, she struggled to her feet. "Ugh..." While she was no slouch physically, supporting an unconscious six foot tall guy wasn't easy. Her eyes settled on Alexis, who'd been panicking as if she didn't know what to do. "Alexis, would you be able to help out? This should be doable with the two of us."

Slowly moving in Saki's direction, she glanced over her shoulder at the others. Sophia didn't look in any fit state to travel much further. "Uh..." Amber turned back to Saki. "Miss Matsusuki? You wouldn't happen to have any Leppa berries, would you?" Again, they'd have less effect on a human than on a Pokemon, but could help with exhaustion to some extent.

---

@Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy

"...Oh. You're those trainers from the other town."

Sophia huffed at the green-haired boy and his neutral tone, devoid of any concern. "Yeah, and in case you hadn't noticed, we're dealing with a bit of a crisis right now." Yet another one, in just a span of days.

Someone, thankfully, knew how to calm a crisis. The pink haze wafting over the group took effect right away, with its soothing scent. Shoulders relaxing, Sophia breathed a sigh of relief as a miko approached, her Lilligant in tow. The girl wasted no time in feeding Rheese a combination of berries, reassuring the group that he'd be ok, and introducing herself as Vareena's gym leader.

Well, Sophia hadn't expected someone so young to be a gym leader, but this girl seemed to know what she was doing. Hopefully, anyway. As Saki turned for the group to follow, Sophia tried to stand, needing Clarus' support once more. Which was, of course, Amber's cue to start fussing. "Sheesh, give it a rest already!" Sophia rolled her eyes. "I'm fine." In truth, she wouldn't refuse a berry, but the group had other, more pressing concerns. "It's Rheese we've gotta focus on anyway."

She staggered after the gym leader. "As for what happened... Ugh, where to start. You see, this wasn't our first run-in."

Ty Westgrove

Vareena Town

The trainers' and gym leader's actions in the aftermath of the battle gave Ty enough time to catch up just as they were leaving to go to the gym. It looked like something went down, but it seemed to be all over, at least for the moment.

"I'm here?" Ty announced, sounding more confused than heroic. "Uh... jeez, what happened? Is he okay? Are we okay? Who is this?"

The punk trainer approached the unconscious stranger and sent out his Igglybuff, who immediately got the picture. Medic didn't have the power to even detect that something was wrong with Rheese's mind, much less heal it. She saw Rheese's burn as she checked him over, though, and started using Heal Pulse to do what she could for that.

"Should we call somebody?" Ty continued his flurry of questions to anyone who may answer, already pulling his C-Gear out. "Also hi," he offhandedly addressed the pink-haired stranger.

@LuckyBlackCat@Typical@Zanavy@Heckno12@fer1323

Deneb noticed the hectic energy that emanated from the trainers. They cared about each other in some way or another, which was made especially evident when they went to save their friend. It did, however, seem to be taking a bit of a toll on them. Especially on the blonde girl in the frilly dress. She had apparently been so exhausted that she practically went on autopilot and silently helped the others that she was with.

The boy had thought about simply leaving them be and preparing for the gym challenge with the first impression the gym leader had given, but then decided that perhaps a mental health break would be necessary in order to avoid overtaxing himself. Though he had not been through the same amount of stress these people have, he would prefer not to experience that amount at all. At the same time, since it was also evident that they were going across the region in a similar manner, Deneb found that he may as well get to know his fellow trainers.

They made their way over to the town's gym, which would afford the unconscious member of their group a chance to rest and recover. Alomng the way, they proceeded try moving onto some version of "next step", with two having different ideas as to what that is. One girl asked for a Leppa Berry while the other proceeded to talk about the situation in more detail (after telling the first girl that the berry could wait). With inconvenient timing, another trainer arrived in a confused state, which was understandable. The newcomer had only just now arrived, after all. The only problem is that he would require more additional information regarding the recent event.

Such a strange group.

Deneb did not truly want to say anything, but it seemed as if they were about to overload both the gym leader and themselves with an abundance of comlicated actions and information.

"Perhaps...", started Deneb. "Perhaps everyone should wait until we're all settled at the gym. You all seem much too stressed to deal with more than one thing at a time. You will still have the time to explain and inquire after your friend is given a place to recover.

In truth, Deneb knew it was not his place to suggest anything, but the chaos of the recent event must be allowed to pass, and the group seemed to be intent on dragging it with them at the expense of themselves. It was a bad deal that Deneb would prefer not to let them take.

"Certainly." Saki said politely as she produced a leppa berry from her robe. "And please, call me Saki. Don't worry about your friend, he isn't the first to be afflicted by this...Well, I suppose he's the first to have been physically accompanied by members of Team Noble." She entered the door of the gym, now surrounded by even more flowers than outside she seemed to loosen up even more.

"Though I will warn you that he isn't likely to have any answers. In the cases I've seen, this light coma is often followed by short term amnesia...outside of the cases that couldn't even remember their own names, though those were quite some time ago. I believe team Noble has refined whatever method they use to cover their tracks. In any case, the psychic power that anesthetized him should wear off rather soon." Saki waved one of her trainers to fetch some tea as she sat down in front of the others and motioned for them to lay Rheese on a nearby couch. "In the meantime, please." Saki motioned for Sophia to continue her explanation as a steaming teapot and a few cups were laid out in front of them.



Muffled voices, that's all Rheese could hear. A weird combination of tastes invaded his mouth, he assumed it was medicine or something...but why couldn't he bring himself to wake up? Suddenly a brief flash of memories assaulted his vision. Focusing on the memories was painful, but they returned every few seconds.

It took him what felt like hours, but he could now recognize the face of a pokemon he didn't think he had ever seen before. The yellow face and grey body were fuzzy compared to the red gem in the center of its face...and the eyes, for some reason he couldn't even comprehend the eyes. A strange feeling of something missing became unbearable every time he even tried to recall those eyes. As his mental image of the pokemon was mostly completed he heard a faint voice.

"Help....don't blame....sorry...can't stop...trying...please...help us...remember..." Was all he could make out...did he even hear anything?

The face he saw....even through those unintelligible eyes...Was it crying? He felt his fist clench. Whatever this face was did this to him...but-

"WOOP" That wasn't the same voice...wait that was- The face he was seeing suddenly stopped crying and morphed into wooper's angry expression before something impacted with his face.

"FUCK!" Rheese shot up as Wooper headbutted him. Before he could respond or reprimand Wooper he felt his face...had he been crying in his sleep? Wait, whatever he had been dreaming about must have had him crying. Why couldn't he remember it now? It felt so urgent just seconds ago.

Wooper hopped into his lap and drove its face into Rheese's chest in worry. Forgetting his anger he subconsciously patted the blue pokemon. He looked around to see a few of the people he had been traveling with along with a few new faces. A young girl was pouring tea, seemingly unphased by his sudden awakening.

@Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy @Zanavy

Reluctantly, Sophia accepted the berry. "Ehh, thanks I guess, but I swear I'm fine." She popped it into her mouth, shuddering. Not from the taste - the blend of flavours was undeniably delicious, like cinnamon-spiced apple. Rather, it was what she'd been taught, that relying on outside sources like Leppa berries was cheating her way through training. It showed lack of stamina, and wouldn't help her develop it. Still, she could possibly consider this situation an exception, if only to avoid being a burden on the team. They already had enough to deal with.

As soon as she stepped into the indoor garden that was the gym, Clarus, still supporting her, moved towards the nearest chair. "Ugh, all right," she grumbled, too drained to protest. The berry's effect would take time to kick in. She slumped into the chair, Clarus floating to her side as Lacey climbed onto her lap. Fantoccino, meanwhile, made a disgusted face at the decor and took refuge in the shade of a potted tree.

Sophia, resting her chin on her hands, frowned at Saki's words. They were meant to be reassuring, yet they raised even more questions. People unable to remember their own names? She shivered. Just what was this effect, and how much damage had it done? "So he's going to be ok?" she asked, her tone as fearful as it was hopeful. "As for what happened the first time, we were on our way to Mesalon, and..."

A sudden yell cut in as Rheese sat bolt upright. Sophia gave a breathless, relieved laugh. "Rheese! Geez you gave us a scare." She set Lacey down and stood up, too fast, but the resulting headache didn't deter her from rushing over. "Are you ok? I mean, you remember who you are, right? And who we are?" There were some people here Rheese had never met, but she gestured towards Alexis and Amber. "How much do you remember?"



@Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy @Zanavy

As the gym trainers offloaded Rheese's unconscious form from her and Alexis, Amber rolled her aching shoulder. "As long as he's alright..." she said, casting a worried look his way before sitting down. She slowly breathed in the myriad of garden scents, trying to calm down and make sense of the situation. Tacita, in contrast, seemed pretty happy, in her element as she flitted around the greenery.

"Thanks," Amber said as a trainer laid out a tea set. "I think we all need this. Hey, is it ok if we feed our Pokemon here? To say it's been quite a journey would be an understatement." Of course, she'd have to feed a certain one of her Pokemon outside. She couldn't risk letting Almandine wreck the place, especially not after Saki had been so kind.

At Rheese's cry, Amber jumped up, nearly knocking her tea over. "Oh thank goodness." She headed to his side, shrugging off her backpack and taking out a packet of tissues. "Here, take these." His own tears seemed to surprise him, she noticed. "You ok now? How are you feeling? There's tea thanks to Saki and her friends here, that'll help." Bustling back through the room like a nurse, she fetched a cup of freshly poured tea for him. "I'm going to guess you have just as many questions as we have."

With the aid of Skoll's speed, Oscar was able to get to the contest hall for registration quite quickly. Before going inside, Oscar hops off of Skoll and puts him inside his pokeball. He heads inside to look for the registration deck. Oscar takes a moment to admire the modest but flower and leaf motifs on the walls. There are nice potted plants, sparsely placed on tables and in strategic places. Oscar gives a weak smile before looking for the registration desk
.
After asking one or two other people, Oscar finds the registration desk and asks the lady behind the desk to enter the contest in a few days. Oscar was handed some forms and a pen. Oscar takes them and goes to a free table and starts to fill out the forms with the details and equipment.

Meanwhile, Liam also enters the contest hall. He had been looking forward to this for a while. They didn’t have Contest Halls back home in Galar. Liam was disappointed about that, because they looked like so much fun from what he had seen of them on the telly. Getting to groom your Pokémon, and showing off how fabulous they are in front of a live studio audience? What was there not to love? However, now that he traveled to the Kosei region, Liam would finally get his chance to take part in one.

After approaching the registration desk, he was handed some papers to fill out and a pen. Ugh, paperwork. How boring… But it had to be done. He sits at a free table next to another boy who was also filling out paperwork. Liam’s face lit up. Well, at least the paperwork wouldn’t be so boring after all. Not when there was a cute boy to talk to! He approached the other boy who was filling out his papers. “Hey, mate!” He said with a smile and a wave. “Are you entering the Contest too? Oh wait, silly question. Of course you are! You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t. I’m Liam by the way. It looks like we’re going to be rivals! This will be so much fun. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never done a contest before. They look fabulous!”

Oscar looks up from his form and gives a smile as he gets a break from the tedious paperwork. ”Nice to meet you, Liam. My name is Oscar. Have you just arrived in town? Also, You are correct that I am partaking in the contest. I have my pokemon chosen, basic routine outline and outfit being tailored. This is my first official one but my parents were semiprofesional coordinators back in Hoenn so I know what to do and expect.” Oscar looks down at the paperwork and thinks back to all the spectacular performances in Hoenn.

“So do you have an idea what you are going to do? I can show you my chosen pokemon but only outside as he is a big boi. ” Oscar smirks as The boy across from him is going to be surprised at Skoll’s size and fluff and regal appearance. Oscar hopes that the audience will have a similar positive reaction thou Skoll has to be trained properly for the routine but they have a few days for that at least.

Liam was glad that Oscar replied in a friendly manner. Half the time when he tried to chat up a stranger, they responded with disdain. “Yes, I did just get here! It’s also my first contest, ever. We don’t have contest halls back home in Galar. It’s sad… But from what I’ve seen, they look like so much fun! And I’m dying to give it a go.”

Liam bit his lip when Oscar asked if he knew what he was going to do. The truth was he didn’t. He was a complete novice when he came to contests. He wasn’t going to let that bother him. “Well, I have an outfit picked out but… I don’t really know what I’m going to do. I’ve never been in a Contest before. I’ll just wing it I suppose… What’s the worst that could happen? I’d love to see your Pokémon. I can show you mine too. I have no idea which one I’m going to enter. All three of them are cuties!”

Oscar nods and finishes up his paperwork before waiting for Liam. ”Maybe I can give some pointers on what to choose when I See them outside. I am waiting for you to finish up then we can go outside.” Oscar doesn't mind giving free advice if the boy across from him accepts it unlike other people he has encountered. ”I was planning maybe going over to the gym and get a battle or two in before retiring for the day. Maybe even battle the gym leader too.”

Liam quickly finished up the paperwork. It was all basic information anyway. “Oh right, this town has a gym too. I want to try that also.” He stopped after the paper asked the Pokémon he was going to use. “Hmm… They’re asking the name and species of Pokémon I’m going to enter… Um… I might need those pointers…” He took out his three Pokeballs, and released the Pokémon inside. A Mimikyu, a Galarian Ponyta, and a Brionne. “I’m not sure which of them to enter. My favorite Pokémon are Fairy types. I want to be a Fairy type Master, and have my own Gym one day.” He pointed to his Brionne. “Primadonna here is the obvious choice. She was born to put on a show, but that might be a little too obvious.”

The Brionne looked offended by the fact that she wasn’t the immediate choice to compete in a contest, and crossed her fins, and turned her nose up in disgust.

Liam then pointed to his Ponyta. “Rarity deserves a chance to shine too.”

Rarity kicked her legs up, and whinnied in agreement, which also offended Primadonna.

Meanwhile, Boo the Mimikyu hid behind Liam’s leg and quivered in fear.

Liam giggled, and patted the Mimikyu on the head. “And that’s Boo. He’s my first Pokémon. As much as I would like to, I don’t think I’ll be entering him. He’s kind of shy. He’ll fall apart in front of a big audience. Who do you think I should enter?”
Oscar studies the three unfamiliar pokemon and thinks about improv routine ideas on the spot for them. ”Well, They can both shine together if you can use both in one routine but if you are choosing one, I would choose Rarity on the grounds that you can make a routine thing like juggling, archery or the like more impressive while riding on Rarity. ” The Broinne might not like his choice but Oscar is giving him the best chance of getting the audience's attention as easily as possible with what Liam has atm.

Oscar takes a breath and takes out one pokeball and releases an arcanine. The big fluffy doggo stretches lightly before sitting, barking and panting happily while looking at Oscar expectantly. The arcanine towers over most people and other pokemon at 1.8 meters or 6’03” feet. ”This is Skoll. He has recently evolved and needs to be trained before he is ready for the planned routine but I am planning to stun the crowd by defying gravity in a way with his speed. ”

“You make a good point.” Liam replied. “Besides, a lot of people here have probably never seen a Ponyta from Galar before!” He then patted his Brionne. “Sorry Prima. You’ll get a chance to shine next time.”

Primadonna pouted and turned her nose up in disgust.

Oscar then showed off his giant Arcanine, and Liam’s eyes went wide. “Wow! He’s bigger than me! Of course, that isn’t saying much. Everything is bigger than me!” Liam laughed at his own expense. “He’s so fluffy too!” You’re going to do great!” He gave Oscar a thumbs up gesture.

”If you are impressed with him now, wait til you see him in action. Anyways, I am going to the gym. Want a lift on Skoll? We will get there quickly after handing in our paperwork.” ” Oscar goes and hands in his forms before heading to the door and wait for Liam to see if Liam wants to come with him on Skoll.

“Sure! Just need to finish the papers…” Liam finishes his paperwork, and hands it in. Then walks to the door and waits for help getting on the giant Arcanine.

Oscar helps Liam onto Skoll before getting on too. Oscar makes sure that Liam is holding onto Oscar’s torso so he doesn’t fly off before telling Skoll to head toward the gym. They arrive there in no time and as such, Oscar gets off and helps Liam off too before heading inside with Skoll still out of his ball.

@Heckno12@OtomostheCrazy@Zanavy@LuckyBlackCat

Tim and Rocky arrived in town. “Ok we’re here… I guess. It was his mother’s idea to send him here. Exploring a new region might be fun she said. He might make new friends here she said. Problem was, Tim had no idea what he was doing. Usually, people challenged the Gym Leaders when they traveled, but Tim wasn’t so sure about that… Tim’s preferences lied in raising and caring for Pokémon more than battling them.

Rocky the Rockruff however was happy to be here. He panted, sniffed the air, barked, then ran ahead.

This resulted in Tim running after his Pokémon. “Rocky! Where are you going?!”

They soon came across a crowd of people, including a large Arcanine, which Rocky barked at.

Tim buried his face in his hands. “Um… Rocky, please don’t bark at strangers…” Tim would be fascinated by the Arcanine if he weren’t so embarrassed…

Rocky did in fact stop barking, then ran over to nuzzle the leg of one of the humans in the crowd. Tim’s face turned bright red, and he picked up his Rockruff. “Oh… um… I-I-I’m very very sorry… Um…” He stood there shuffling his feet wondering if he should give his name at this point, and wondering why did his Pokémon put him in this situation…

@fer1323@LuckyBlackCat@Heckno12@OtomostheCrazy@Zanavy

Saki moved to stop the two girls from questioning Rheese, but it was too late. She had expected to at least have a few minutes to caution the group and explain what to expect when he awoke. The crying was new, sure...so maybe this was different.



Rheese looked at Sophia and Amber as they rushed over. He had no idea where he was...He didn't remember seeing any buildings like this in Mesalon. "Are you ok? I mean, you remember who you are, right? And who we are?"
"Y-yeah. Of course, I mean it's only been a few hours." He said, confused by the questions. Something was definitely going on here, and given everything that had happened since he'd gotten to Kosei...well he didn't feel like he had any terrible new injuries.

"You ok now? How are you feeling?

"I guess I'm fine. Last thing I remember I was training just outside of town...then...then-" Rheese suddenly doubled over in pain. Wooper jumped out of his lap but looked on in concern as Rheese clutched his head.

Rheese's head felt like it just got tossed into a wood chipper...tiny glimpses of memories that didn't even feel whole, distorted voices that he couldn't even understand, and the rest felt like he was trying to remember an incredibly overexposed photograph. The whole process was so painful that Rheese had to hold his mouth as he wretched. He didn't even notice the newcomers that had entered through the pain and confusion. His ears rang heavily and everything and everyone seemed to blend into a mess of color as he tried to pull himself away from his shredded memories and back into the here and now.

"Liligant, use Armotherapy." A quiet voice seemed to cut through the chaos as a pleasant smell overrode everything else. Rheese was suddenly aware that he had been clutching his hair and covering his mouth for what had felt like forever. He took a deep breath and slowly lowered his hands back. He caught a glimpse of one of his hands as it returned to his side to see it shaking violently. "W-what was-" He began to ask as the pink haired girl with the Liligant put her finger to his lips.

"Do not think about it. I know that isn't the most concerting thing to hear right now, but it's the only way to keep your mind in one piece right now." Saki said as she eased Rheese back into a proper sitting position. "I am Saki, you are in Vareena now. The details are unimportant, you are physically uninjured and your friends are here and safe."

Saki covered Rheese's ears gently and addressed his friends."What you just saw...Well, perhaps I shouldn't have tried to tell you all that he was fine. Whatever they're doing to people...if he tries to remember whatever memories they took from him...Well, to put it bluntly, that was a mild reaction." Saki brightened up slightly and took her hands off of Rheese's ears. "You have options though. I hear in Qualeen they've helped some people using technology...Or, another afflicted claimed a psychic set them straight. Otherwise you could simply leave Kosei and avoid thinking about your time here."

"But who even did this to me?" Rheese asked, now a bit scared to try and think back himself. He couldn't help it a bit though as the intense pain began to-

Saki suddenly swatted him in the head and snapped him out of it before he could get too far. "If they took even that information, reminding you could really do some damage. Quit testing it if you want to keep your mind intact." Wooper hopped back into Rheese's lap and nodded resolutely. He had seen Saki snap Rheese out of it a few ways now, so he felt like a blast of cold water would probably do the same if he had another episode.

Saki's attendants were now quite distracted by a rather large Arcanine that had entered the gym. A few of them naturally lumped praise onto the huge dog while some others were a bit nervous about the fire type's proximity to the rather fragile flora of the gym's entrance.

Without a sound a Ludicolo danced and shimmied its way around, seemingly prepared to extinguish any accidental flames that could break out.

Ty Westgrove

Vareena Gym

Ty spent the past few minutes sitting stiffly in awkward silence, feeling like a third wheel left out of the loop. Or... was he, like, a seventh wheel or something? Whatever the case, it seemed all these people knew each other and what sort of crisis was going on. Ty didn't even have time to blurt out some exclamation like 'That Team Noble, for real?!' before the conversation took two more turns, as if these people talk about their typical day interacting with a mysterious dangerous shadow group over a spot of tea on a regular basis.

The punk trainer didn't seem remotely interested in his own tea. Medic was a little curious, though. The Igglybuff blew on the hot tea, splattering several drops as she did not accurately gauge her own lung strength. Then she tried to carefully tilt the cup that was nearly half the size of her body. She got too nervous about spilling the hot liquid all over herself, though, and had to settle for gingerly dipping her stubby hands in and lapping it up.

While all the people that knew this Rheese guy rushed to him, Ty decided not to crowd around and zoned out a little. One hour, he was celebrating a gym battle with some nice, if probably brief, companions. The next, it seems, he found himself inserted into the middle of some action crime movie. Action movies are great, for like, action heroes. But maybe not so much for people like... him.

A sudden bump on Ty's shin brought him back to the present, and he startled for a moment. Then he smiled and chuckled in relief at the sight of a small yet sturdy canine Pokemon.

"Hi, little guy," Ty addressed the Rockruff, petting the Pokemon's tough head for a second before its trainer picked it up. Then he listened to the embarrassed boy.

"Ah, it's fine. He was very polite. I'm just glad he didn't jump up on me."

At that moment, a cry of pain erupted from the area of the couch and didn't stop. Ty watched helplessly for a few seconds as the injured man shuddered in agony. At some point in the paralysis of Ty's own shock, he remembered some random kid just walked in and was bound to be even more horrified.

"So, what's your Rockruff's name?" Ty asked with a forced smile, quickly walking over to try and lead the boy to a different room, any different room. "How long have you had him?"

@Crimson Flame @fer1323 @LuckyBlackCat @Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy

"Eria, you don't understand. The place was absolutely bustling with ghost types-And before you start reminding me that places like that always house ghost types...This place had spectral torches everywhere, but no spirit gate! This wasn't just any ruin, and honestly, Lan's insistence just confirmed that." Rachel exclaimed. She hadn't even started on the topic of the sealed door that barred her access before.

"Well, it certainly sounds interesting. I could consult my research notes on the area, but as I already told you the only recorded ruin there was explored decades ago. If you're absolutely sure that this isn't the same ruin, I might have to give it a visit myself...perhaps without our colleague's knowledge. I can't really make this a priority right now though, I've just found a lead involving Kraterdesh's origins." Eria replied. Rachel grinned, she knew bringing this up with Eria was the right call. Truth be told though, she had fully expected Eria to have the place fully documented or at least have some notes.

"Well if you're considering going in person...I should probably mention a few points of interest." She said before proudly producing her notebook and showing Eria her sketches. The pokemon drawing from the marker in the cave caused Eria's brows to raise considerably, something that only grew more intense with every sketch Rachel showed her. The lock mechanism from the door was the final straw.

Eria made a few swift motions on her Pokenav and grabbed a nearby rucksack filled with supplies. Rachel perked up before Eria gave her a glare. "You're not coming." She said sternly.

"W-Why the heck not? I found the place and brought it to your attention, if any-" Rachel's indignant complaint was stopped by Eria's glare.

"Two gym leaders going would attract the attention of a few less than savory individuals. If that pokemon sketch is what I think it is, and this place is what I'm theorizing...Team Noble, whether they're a serious threat or not, can not learn of its existence. You need to tell those trainers that you explored with to keep their mouths shut." Eria said completely serious as she headed for the door.

"And you'll tell me about it later?" Rachel asked, sounding more like a wounded puppy after her friend's tone. She understood the potential severity of the situation...at least she thought she did.

"Every single detail." Eria replied, her tone and face softening into a light smile as she walked out the door.

Rachel sighed and collected her things. Before she left and got back to trailing her brother she sent Amber a message through her Pokenav relaying the potential significance of the cave they had explored and how it was imperative that none of them spoke a word of it.

---

"Team Noble just set up three more tournaments around the region, Vareena and Mesalon have seen several more amnesiacs, let alone the appearance of that rampaging Aerodactyl that Lan dealt with the other day! Team Noble is getting bolder and our other gym leaders, yourself included, insist on just waiting for them to make their move before we take action. Ganjon berated Ray as the latter stayed unmoving in his lawnchair.

"I don't insist on doing anything Jon." Ray said unamused. "What are you saying we should do, raid these tournaments? Savken did that months ago and despite being the 'Venerated Dragon Master' all he accomplished was making the public even more afraid of him. Other than that, these guys bury their tracks better than the good guys in old spy movies."

"Y-yeah, but we clearly can't just sit back and do nothing! You're psychic, maybe you can-"

"Gonna stop you right there. It doesn't work like that, I'm not a clairvoyant or a medium so I'm not about to start getting premonitions of the future from ghosts or anything like that. I tried to dig into the minds of the tournament organizers Sav 'apprehended' but those guys somehow blanked themselves harder than a lobotomite." As nonchalant as Ray was acting, he had to admit he was a bit worried about those fledgling trainers from Mesalon. He'd worry about his sister...but truth be told he couldn't really imagine a situation in which she'd be in much danger. He made a note to check in on Sophia via telepathy in a few days to see if she'd made any progress.

Ray sighed before teleporting away from his current conversation. Like always with the fittingly hard headed steel type gym leader, the discussion was going nowhere.

@Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy @Zanavy @fer1323 @Crimson Flame

At Rheese's reaction, Sophia's relief soured to horror. "What...? Rheese, what's happening?" If he heard her, he didn't show it, one hand clamped to his head and the other to his mouth. It was only the fragrance billowing through the room that eased the effect.

Listening to Saki's explanation, Sophia clenched her hands into fists. When the gym leader had warned of amnesia, she hadn't expected anything like this. At the mention of a psychic having helped one of the afflicted, however, her eyes widened. "I have a good guess who that is." She grimaced, shifting her attention back to Rheese. "I know Ray's one of the last people you want to deal with, but however insufferable that guy is, we've gotta admit he's been some help."

Which still left the issue that, for all she knew, he could be at the other end of the region. And aside from her bond with a select few people, her telepathic range was frustratingly limited. If he was close by enough to contact, she'd probably have picked up on that considerable presence. She closed her eyes, trying to get through to him anyway, but to no avail. Even with the Leppa berry starting to ease the wooziness, she groaned and gripped the side of the sofa, prompting Lacey to squeak in alarm.

As chatter and coos over a Pokemon grew louder, Sophia turned and gasped. "Oscar! You're alright!" With her guard down, the words burst out before she could bite them back. She couldn't disguise her awestruck stare at Skoll's new evolved form either. Oscar had gone and evolved another Pokemon, outdoing her once again, but right now that didn't matter.

"Dammit, don't you worry us like that again!" Sure, Oscar had at least had the sense to travel with someone else, but still! There was a very, very good reason to travel in groups. "And about what happened... Don't ask. Seriously, don't ask Rheese anything, he won't respond well. Instead, he could probably use some Skoll therapy right now." She wasn't going to admit it outright, but the sight of the huge, irresistibly fluffy dog was pretty comforting - aside from the fact that said dog was a fire type in a room full of flowers, of course. At least the dancing Ludicolo could deal with any mishaps.

Aware that she'd stared in adoration at Skoll a little too long - enough for Oscar to notice - she turned back to Rheese. "If you want... I can try." While there was no way she could match Ray's level of skill, she'd help in any way possible.



@Heckno12 @OtomostheCrazy @Zanavy @fer1323 @Crimson Flame

This time, startled at Rheese's episode, Amber did spill tea on the floor. "Rheese! Listen, listen to our voices, and try to breathe." She kept her tone calm and even as she used the tissues to mop up the spillage. Looking up as Saki let on the details she'd missed out, Amber tightened her lips, but resisted frowning. Horrific as this was, Rheese needed positivity from his friends. She had to trust Saki that there were ways to fix this, but to what extent?

Masking any doubts, she nodded. "There has to be some way." She put on a shaky smile. "Hey, once you're up for it, how about we all take a look around this place, as a distraction? As long as we stick together, that is... Probably best that we all get each other's contact details."

She took out her Pokenav, noticing a new message. Her first thought being Coral or her parents with more questions, her heart lurched, but the text was from Rachel. A quick check revealed even more cause for concern - the ghost cave, as she'd suspected, wasn't something the public was meant to know about. Exciting as a major discovery was, it was equally worrying to think such knowledge could fall into the wrong hands. Especially with Team Noble's activity on the rise, as the group, Rheese in particular, was all too aware.

Well, most of the group anyway. Amber looked up from her Pokenav as a bewildered-looking newcomer stammered an apology, his Rockruff nuzzling Ty's leg. Meanwhile, Oscar had thankfully returned, with a new friend and a fully grown Skoll in tow. "Hey! Wow, Arcanines really are even more impressive in the flesh." The pictures she'd seen couldn't convey this Pokemon's majesty. Amber's smile widened as she sent out Kyra, who sniffed at Rocky and Skoll, and gave a few friendly yaps. "The more dogs, the better." She faced Oscar, her expression turning serious. "But yes, I'll admit we were a little worried. All things considered, it's best to keep together, or at least be able to contact each other. As for all this, I'll explain later... The main thing is, Rheese isn't hurt, at least not physically."

Until some sense had been made of the chaos, and everyone could be sure Rheese would be ok, replying to Rachel's message would have to wait. Even so, a thought occurred to Amber - Rachel was the intellectual type, and considering her travels, likely knew Qualeen pretty well. Did she know of any technology that could help? Or, did she know where Ray was?

"If you want... I can try."

Rheese still didn't understand what was going on, and usually he'd be one of the first people insisting that Sophia shouldn't strain herself but...What other option really was there? Seek out Ray? Who knows how long that would take. Qualeen was quite a distance as well. Rheese begrudgingly sighed and gave Sophia a singular defeated nod. He felt guilty that he was once again being a burden on the psychic.

An attendant approached Saki and whispered something urgent into her ear. The gym leader stood and thanked the woman before turning back to the group.

"I have to get back to my duties as a gym leader, I wish you luck with this...And if this method doesn't work, you should at least take this Bounsweet. She should be able to snap you out of another episode if needed." Saki said as she placed a pokeball in Rheese's lap.

Rheese for his part was trying to clear his mind or whatever might help Sophia do whatever she had to. The pokeball on his lap didn't even phase him.



A small hedgehog-like pokemon warily looked at the town from the the trees. Sure, it had been there many times before and...yeah, they had given it alot of good food. Something felt different today though and the lingering smell of smoke from a recent battle just added to the unease.

"There it is!" A voice rang out and a few team Noble grunts came sprinting from nearby. "Get back here Shaymin, we'd rather not have to hurt you to take you in!"

Shaymin panicked and ran into town, forcing the grunts to cease their chase and radio their superior. They couldn't afford to cause another commotion this soon, and of course they couldn't risk being caught by the gym leader Saki...the commander would have their heads on a platter if they compromised the base's location.

Standing up, Sophia took a few deep breaths to calm her thoughts. She could only hope the Leppa berry had replenished her abilities enough to do this. "Ok, here goes..." She placed her fingertips on Rheese's forehead and closed her eyes, scanning with her power just as she had before Saki's arrival.

Sensing that bizarre energy once again, she flinched, but maintained her focus despite the ever-growing strain. She still had no idea what this was, which didn't help any, yet it was worth trying. Even as her hand started trembling, she imagined the fog clearing from Rheese's mind.

The effect stayed put.

She huffed and redoubled her efforts. Still no result, except a worsening headache, and...

Rheese felt an overwhelming dizziness as something in his head seemed to react to the intrusion. Words that seemed distant and yet familiar came back to him.

"Help....don't blame....sorry...can't stop...trying...please...help us...remember..." It was slightly clearer than when he had dreamed it...yet not quite clear enough to decypher anything important. That face from his dream returned as well, pleading with those unfathomable eyes. A few flashes of memories of a sterile room and a rather official looking woman, yet her face and the insignia on her coat were strangely obscured. Parts of Rheese's conversation with the woman appeared in his head, mentions of mew, shadow Pokemon, and the lake trio...but with no real context.

Sophia gasped as faint words echoed in her head. Some trace of a psychic message? A disjointed but desperate one, accompanied by flashes of images. A white room. A woman, features blurred, but the insignia on her coat clear. A face, grey and yellow, unreadable closed eyes, a red gem...

Before Sophia could make sense of the cry for help, the voice and images faded as the migraine spiked to unbearable levels. Her fingers slipped from Rheese's head, and her knees struck the floor. "Help... don't blame... sorry..." The words slid out as she panted. She opened her eyes, jolting back to the present as if waking from a dream, and clamped her hand to her mouth. What if Rheese had another episode from what she'd said? Or from anything traumatic she might have brought to the surface? "Crap, I'm sorry!" This time, the sentiment expressed was her own. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

A tiny form pressed against her side, hugging her with stubby arms. Sophia stopped babbling apologies and patted Lacey's head. "I-I'm ok, but..." She looked up at Rheese. "Are you?"

Rheese sat still for a few more moments, his eyes still fogged and entranced almost like he was still sleeping. He suddenly shook himself free to see Sophia apologizing...but he wasn't exactly sure why. Had she already tried to help him? He only remembered closing his eyes for a moment. "I think I'm fine...Did you find anything? Or, wait sorry...I guess if it isn't fixed I probably shouldn't ask, huh?" Rheese scratched his head, confused and a bit aggrivated by the situation. "Well, I don't think I'm any worse off. I'm sorry for asking you to push yourself like that, it was...it was a bit selfish."

The pokeball on his lap opened up and released a rather complacent bounsweet that just kind of hung out on his lap for a moment. Rheese flinched when he realized this was his new pokemon...and it wasn't attacking him? That was pretty backwards, but definitely welcome. "Anyways, I guess we'll just ask Ray the next time we run into him. Failing that I guess there's the tech solution. I could probably go on and head towards Qualeen on my own so you guys don't have to derail anything." Rheese said trying to sound upbeat for Sophia's sake.

Sophia gave a sigh of relief. Even if her attempt had failed - not that she'd had high hopes of success anyway - at least it hadn't triggered that reaction again. "Look, don't you be so harsh on yourself." Hugging Lacey, she gave Rheese a strained smile. "Heh, I'm the one who offered." She kept quiet about what she'd seen and heard. That face... She was sure it fit a description she knew, but where from? Before she had time to think about it, the inevitable fussing from a certain overbearing researcher began.

"Oh good, you're alright!" Amber rummaged through her bag again, her wide eyes on Rheese. "You are, aren't you? You zoned out for a moment there. Sophia, how about you? Here, both of you, help yourselves to these." She practically thrust several snack bars at Rheese and Sophia. "They say sugar's bad and all, but a little can be good for shock and stress. Everything in moderation, huh?"

This wasn't exactly moderation, Sophia thought as she accepted the copious amount of snacks, but the gesture was kind if overwhelming. The sort of kindness she'd done nothing to deserve. "Thanks, but geez I meant it earlier, I'm all good," she insisted.

Somebody else seemed willing to lift the mood - a cute little Bounsweet, popping out of her Pokeball and calmly sitting on Rheese's lap. And not attacking him. That was a first for any Pokemon on his team. Breathing in the soothing scent the grass type gave off, Sophia listened to Rheese's surprisingly upbeat words. "Ehh I've gotta say, Amber has a point about sticking together," she replied. "If it comes to that, we'll go with you."

Vareena was nice enough. A quaint little village at the edge of the forest, like something out of a fairytale. Every inch of it was covered in green - climbing vines blanketing buildings, overflowing pots of flowers on windowsills, little tufts of grass growing between the worn cobblestone paths.

Remi leaned back in her chair outside of a small café, closing her eyes as she lifted her face up towards the afternoon sun. Her bag was mostly forgotten at her feet. Her pink bomber jacket, too warm for the day, was tied around her waist, leaving her in a loose black top and leggings. The air was clean and laced with the smells of earth - flowers and young sprouts and stray herbs growing wherever they pleased. She listened to the sound of the coffee grinder from inside the building through the propped open door, only slightly hidden by the acoustic song on the radio.

Remi breathed in slowly. Out again. Yeah... this town was nice enough.

The familiar mewl of a Leafeon jolted Remi upright. She looked around with wide eyes, expecting to see her sister Kara charging at her, full of rage and retribution -

A young man cooed over his Leafeon, playing with its long green ears and saying how different it looked after evolving. Remi let out a breath. Irritation zipped through her.

Stupid grass town.

Tack, her oldest (and only, up until recently) companion sat on the iron table in front of her. He watched her with his head quirked, ears twitching this way and that. Remi scratched under the Pikachu's cheek. He immediately leaned into the touch, moving his head to get a better angle as his foot started to thump against the table. Remi's eyes softened, and she gave a tiny smile. It soon turned mischievous. She brought her other hand up to the other side of Tack's face and started squishing at his cheeks, smooshing them up and down.

The Pikachu gave her a fake glare, making a show of trying to escape. Remi felt the air start to charge. She held back a laugh, contorting his face more and more. The little orb of living lightning, worn on a collar around Tack's neck. Finally, bright sparks of electricity crackled out of Tack's cheeks, tiny and sharp into her palms. Remi pulled back her hands with a hiss as Tack charged across the table to nuzzle his head into her neck.

"Brat," she said with a laugh. "Shoulda named you Cheeky."

Something small and flying chirped over her shoulder. Remi turned to look at the newest member of their little group: Kara's Dreepy. Well, Remi's Dreepy. She'd named him, she'd registered him, she'd even paid for him, so he was hers now. Officially. Legally.

He blinked his big, round eyes at her.

Remi lifted her knuckles to the little dragon, waiting for him to approach. He'd been hers for a couple of days now, and they'd spent time training in the forest outside of town, but he was still getting accustomed to having a trainer. She was pretty sure her sister hadn't even let him out of his ball after purchasing him from the breeder. He tilted his head, translucent body waving in the air. He blinked again though, head shooting up to look at something behind Remi.

A small creature, moving too fast for her to see clearly, darted down the path. The Dreepy took off after it.

"Trouble!" she called after them. Tack chirped excitedly as he looked between his trainer and Trouble's quickly retreating figure. Remi jumped out of her chair, grabbing her bag as she chased after them. She held out Trouble's luxury ball, clicking the center button to call him back. A flash of light shot through the air towards Trouble... only to fade away, unable to reach him. He'd gotten out of range. Remi grit her teeth and sped up, sprinting like she was back on the football pitch - the one place she and Kara had actually worked well together.

"Tack, follow!" she ordered. Quick as a blink, he darted forward and started closing the distance between himself and Trouble. Remi dodged around people, Pokemon, even jumped over a small fence at one point, Trouble's luxury ball still gripped tightly in her hand. The train of running Pokemon made a sharp turn down an alley, and Remi skidded to follow, her fingertips bracing against cobblestone.

The mystery Pokemon burst out of the other side of the alley, Trouble and Tack close on its tail. Finally in range (hopefully) Remi held out the ball again and clicked the button.

Trouble was gone in a flash. Tack still ran after the Pokemon, caught up in the chase.

A building was coming up quickly - small, white, and covered in flowers. The mystery Pokemon stopped suddenly, meeting the wall. It spun to face Tack. Remi slid to a stop behind her Pikachu, finally seeing the other Pokemon clearly.

It was tiny - smaller than Tack, at least. A grass type, maybe part fairy. It looked like a little shrub with a bright pink flower and a white body underneath.

Three things happened in rapid succession: the greenery atop its body began to glow iridescent purple and green and orange, and every color between them - the familiar shine of magical leaf. Then, seeing the attack charging up, Tack let loose one of his own. He was quicker than the little shrub. Before the leaves could fly, a thunder wave crackled through the air and enveloped the Pokemon. The last key moment in this chain of events was Remi shooting her arm out, Tack's premier ball in hand. The flash of light joined with the energy from the thunder wave and magical leaf, and then Tack disappeared.

The Pokemon was paralyzed, but not quickly enough. Shining leaves cut through the air, towards the space Tack had been. The leaves were charged with the Pokemon's energy, though. They found a new target.

Remi gasped. She brought her arms up to block her chest and face. The leaves cut deep - small, razor sharp, and powered by more energy than she'd expected. They sliced at her shoulders and forearms, even managing to cut through the fabric of her shirt. Remi's eyes shot open. Tears pricked in the corners. Her mouth opened in a stunned expression but she was unable to force her voice out.

Kara's Leafeon never hit like that.

Remi was frozen for a moment, like she'd forgotten how to move. The air stung at her fresh cuts as it moved over the severed nerves in her skin. Blood burned tracks down her arms.

Eventually she raised her head slightly. An eye cracked open.

The little Pokemon was laying on the ground, awake but unmoving. Its muscles twitched. A dark eye was focused on her as faint sparks crackled over its fur. Remi's arms relaxed a bit - pain immediately arced through them like lightning. She hissed in a breath and saw the Pokemon flinch.

"Hey, no no, it's ok," she murmured, trying to keep her voice soft and steady. As slowly as she could, Remi lowered herself into a crouch. "You're ok."

Remi couldn't place this Pokemon off the top of her head. But something about it... itched a memory she could name in the back of her mind. Her eyebrows pulled together. She pulled her bag forward only to see the Pokemon flinch again, muscles tensing as it tried to move.

"Shhhhh, it's ok," she said again. Taking care to move more slowly (while trying to move in a way that didn't set her arms on fire... or smear blood on her belongings) she deposited Tack and Trouble’s pokeballs and retrieved a small bag full of berries. Remi's jaw was tight, hands trembling against the pain. Eventually she had a bright red cheri berry in her hand. She'd learned to keep a good amount handy for when Tack and Trouble played together.

Remi held the berry out to the Pokemon. Sure enough, its little black nose twitched. She plucked off the stem and rolled it lightly towards the Pokemon. It slowed just in front of its face. She didn't know how long they both sat there, unmoving. Watching each other. Long enough for the blood on her arms to turn tacky and dark, staining long crimson lines on her arms. Remi figured she looked like a horror film victim by now - but she didn't dare move.

Finally, finally, the Pokemon sniffed at the berry and ate it. Remi felt tension leave her body. She couldn't help the small, stunned smile that found its way onto her face. It finished eating the berry. Remi remembered where she recognized it from - her world religions class, last year. Her eyes widened.

Shaymin

The paralysis melted away. The Shaymin darted up. Remi stood on reflex. It ran along the length of the wall until it turned sharply, diving into a dense, unkempt mess of shrubbery. Remi watched as the leaves rattled, tracing the path of the Shaymin. Eventually, it stilled.

Remi let out a slow breath. Her arms stung in the open air.

What… just happened?

It was a few more heartbeats before she moved, the spell of the odd encounter slowly undoing itself. She winced as she reached down to grab her bag off the cobblestones. She paused though when she looked down. Small leaves, some broken, most bloody, littered the ground around her (along with splatters of her own drying blood, making for a gruesome scene). She held a leaf between her fingers, turning it.

Remi slid it into the pocket of her leggings. Then she grabbed her bag and walked back the way she came.

Remi eventually found herself walking down the cobblestone paths of Vareena towards the gym. The sun was lower in the sky - it’d taken time (and a whole lot of water, soap, freshly bought bandages, burning pain, a concerning amount of blood in the sink, and a very horrified reaction from an employee in a convenience store bathroom) for Remi to clean herself up after her little encounter with the Shaymin. There were still blood spatters on her black top, invisible but for the stiff circles dried and hardened in place. Sliding her bomber jacket on had been a slow, painful process, each movement sending angry shocks through her arms. But eventually, she’d managed to hide the bandages under the pink fabric.

She hid her hands in her pockets as she walked, careful to keep her arms still. She watched the cobblestones pass under her feet.

Were they… multiplying?

Remi squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, she forced her vision back into focus. It wasn’t easy, what with her steadily growing headache. Remi tightened her jaw. She breathed in. Out again. Counted her steps as she walked.

She had to get out of this damn town.

Looking up, Remi squinted against the sun. The gym grew bigger at the end of the path. She wasn’t leaving until she had the grass badge in hand. Her mind flashed back to the first time she and Tack had battled against Kara’s new Leafeon - her sister hadn’t even told her that she’d evolved her Eevee. She’d wanted it to be a surprise. Remi saw her smug expression the first time Tack’s electric attacks all but bounced off of the grass type.

The gym grew closer. If her breathing grew more and more unsteady, Remi told herself that it was just the anticipation.

There was a group gathered in front of the building. They seemed… agitated. Remi didn’t bother listening to their conversation, but whatever it was about, they could’ve done it somewhere other than in front of the door. Her eyebrow quirked in irritation as she maneuvered around the crowd. Remi had never been a fan of large groups of people - she’d learned not to trust them after all the times her sister had convinced her friends of some new way to torment her.

Pain shot through her arm. Remi hissed between her teeth, immediately flinching away from the person she’d accidentally bumped. She threw a half hearted glare over her shoulder at whoever it was, before hurrying along and through the doors of the gym.

She paused. Just for a moment. Felt the warm, humid air, smelled the wafting scents of flowers and fresh dirt, listened to the chirps of grass Pokemon. Echos of fire reverberated through her arms. Her eyebrows furrowed as she forced her vision into focus again.

Then she marched to the back, ignoring the gym trainers to find the leader. She found a young girl - younger than Remi at least - in what looked to be priestess robes. Remi’s hands tightened into fists in her pockets.

Another breath.

“I’m here for the gym challenge. Available for a match?”

Saki finished taking care of the flowers she had been attending to before turning around to meet Remi’s glare. She handed one of her attendants the watering can and bowed lightly in respect to the approaching trainer. “Of course, but may I ask who I’m speaking to first?”

Remi lifted her chin slightly. “Remi Kubo. From Galar.” Her right hand was clutched tight around the two pokeballs in her pocket, warming the smooth material with her heat. Her thumb dug into the ridges of Trouble’s luxury ball. She felt her own pulse thrumming through it.

”It is nice to meet you Remi, I am Saki Matsutsuki. Now if you wouldn’t mind following me to the gym’s arena. Battling here could cause stress to these flowers or risk harming them, so I must insist.” Saki said as she began walking towards a more official looking arena with chalked lines indicating the positions that the trainers would take. A referee showed up to stand alongside the arena and officiate. Saki took note of the fact that Remi only brought two pokeballs before selecting three of her own pokemon.

After the referee explained the rules and stipulations of the match, Saki gripped her bulbasaur’s pokeball in her hand. “Are you ready, Remi Kubo?”

Fighting to keep the pain off her face, Remi slowly pulled her hand out of her pocket - holding a stark white premier ball. She clicked the center button and it enlarged to fill her hand with a bright metallic ting.

She nodded.

Saki nodded as well before sending Bulbasaur to the field. From the pokeball emerged a litany of blooming flowers before the grass type showed itself. “Good luck to you Remi, let us have a good match!”

Remi raised her arm (don’t shake don’t shake don’t shake) and her Pikachu emerged in a flash of light. Tack shook out his fur, taking in his new surroundings. His ears twitched as he sniffed the air - then his head turned sharply to look back at Remi. He sniffed again, nervous electricity dancing from his cheeks. The light ball hanging from his collar glowed. Remi clenched her jaw. She knew what he was smelling on her, even if she’d spent the better part of an hour trying to scrub it off in a public restroom.

He took a step towards her and Remi shook her head - sending pain shooting through her skull. Remi squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, she nodded in the direction of the Bulbasaur behind him. Tack hesitated… then obeyed. Getting down on all fours, he waited for the referee’s whistle.

It cut through the air, high and sharp.

“Double team!” Tack disappeared.

“Poison powder.” Purple spores erupted out of the bulb on the grass type’s back, aimed haphazardly at the places where Tack flashed in and out of existence around the field. The doubling effect of Tack’s speed didn’t help Remi as she struggled to keep her vision in focus.

“Thunder wave!” From everywhere at once, electricity crackled through the field. The Bulbasaur was caught in a net of golden light, muscles contracting as it cried out.

“Coat the field, Bulbasaur.” Face tense in concentration, two thick vines shot out from its back. Their movements were sudden and jolting, but still they swept through the air - through the poisonous spores still wafting. Soon enough, the entire field was covered in an even blanket, and Tack had nowhere to hide. In the half-moments Tack was visible, Remi saw him wincing and coughing, the poison taking effect. Her arm shot up to cover her mouth as the spores got perilously close to where she stood at the edge of the field - only to immediately gasp as pain shot through her arm, her fresh wounds pulling under her jacket.

“Electro ball,” Remi called through grit teeth. But Tack was still reeling, blinking the poison out of his eyes. An orb of crackling light burst forth from nothing, fired at the Bulbasaur. It was slightly off-center, though. The Bulbasaur was still struggling to move, but it managed to jump to the side enough to narrowly avoid the electro ball’s impact. It crashed into the ground where the Bulbasaur had been.

“Reflect,” the gym leader ordered. Strategies and past battles ran through Remi’s foggy mind as a shining rectangle flashed into existence in front of the Bulbasaur. She and Tack had never battled a Bulbasaur before, but she could guess at its strengths - it had nothing on Tack’s mobility. Reflect made sense - hunker down, soften whatever blows it had to take, probably use a health stealing move. If Tack’s strategy was to hit hard and hit fast, then the Bulbasaur’s strategy would be to outlast.

Everything hurt. Her arms felt like fire. She had to fight to focus on the battle, to keep her mind and vision clear. Reflect… reflect was for special moves, wasn’t it? It was hard to remember past the pounding in her head. It would make sense though - electricity had a harder time impacting grass types, but Tack’s most powerful attacks would be electric. Take away the opponent’s offense, in the same way Tack had taken the Bulbasaur’s mobility.

“Quick attack!” Tack darted forward, finally visible just as he collided with his opponent. The blow was softened though - slowed, as he’d had to push through the shining barrier.

Shit!

There wasn’t time to wallow in her mistake though.

“Giga drain!” Green vines wrapped around Tack’s form, catching him just as he tried to dart away. His sharp cry cut through the air and the vines glowed, stealing his health.

“Electro ball! Break loose!” Tack growled as electricity filled the air. The ball of lightning collided directly into the Bulbasaur, unavoidable at point-blank range. The two little Pokemon went flying apart, Tack landing in front of Remi. He was panting. His ears were still twitching, but they drooped slightly, like he was struggling to stay alert. Between the poison and the giga drain, he didn’t have much fight left in him.

She felt like his mirror - pushing through pain, fighting to stay upright, raging against a losing battle. It was a familiar sensation. Here, in this beautiful gym surrounded by flowers and greenery, Remi looked across at her opponent. She wasn’t Kara. She didn’t know if that disappointed her or not.

Remi pressed her lips together.

Go down swinging.

“Electro ball again!” Tack heard the force in Remi’s voice, the renewed vigor. He answered it with his own. Tack growled as he drew electricity, ozone crackling through the air. The light orb at his collar turned frenetic, lightning dancing wildly with a near blinding intensity.

“Giga drain!” Saki repeated, hoping to stop the attack in its tracks. But of course, it was too slow.

Tack’s electro ball shot through the air, quick as lightning and heavy as thunder. The Bulbasaur didn’t try to dodge - either because it was unable to, or it had simply resigned itself to taking the hit.

When the dust and static cleared, the Bulbasaur was charred and ashy, wincing as electricity thrummed through its body. It looked hurt, to be sure - but its vines had still found their way to Tack, wrapped and glowing around the Pikachu’s limp body.

Remi ignored the pain that lanced through her arm as her hand shot up to recall Tack to his premier ball while simultaneously sending out her Dreepy. Trouble’s serpentine body came spiraling out in a flash of light.

“Infestation,” she ordered before Trouble had even finished materializing. He didn’t need any more than that. Trouble darted through the air like an arrow, straight at the injured Bulbasaur. Just as they’d practiced in the forest outside of town, the eager little dragon swarmed around his opponent, nibbling and using his ghostly body to dart around and through and out of reach. Disoriented and overwhelmed, the Bulbasaur cried out and swatted wildly in the air with its vines, but it couldn’t seem to land a blow.

Her trembling hand back in her pocket, Remi’s thumb rubbed small, soothing circle’s over the surface of Tack’s premier ball.

Sorry. You did good.

“It can’t dodge a poison powder!” Saki reminded her Pokemon. The Bulbasaur seemed to hone in on her voice, stilling its movements. Then familiar purple spores shot out from its bulb again, filling the air around it.

Trouble darted away, floating in the air above the field. He coughed, shaking his little head, trying to blink the spores away.

“Push through it!” Remi called. Trouble’s battling experience was limited - he’d never been poisoned before. “Trouble, confuse it!”

Trouble looked down at the Bulbasaur, angry at the spores it was still trying to get rid of. He reeled back his head before darting forward again, an eerie ray of ghostly energy filling the air in front of the Bulbasaur’s eyes. It seemed mesmerized, suddenly unsteady on its still paralyzed limbs.

“Focus, Bulbasaur! Find your opponent. Giga drain!” But Remi could tell from the Bulbasaur’s wandering eyes that it was no use. Its vines shot out again - only to curve back and collide with its own face. It collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Trouble spun through the air, giving a victorious chirp. Saki recalled her Bulbasaur, holding the ball up to her face.

“Well done,” she murmured. Putting it away, Saki held up her second pokeball. “Lombre, your turn!” Quite possibly the ugliest Pokemon Remi had ever seen appeared on the field. They had Lombre in Galar, of course… she’d just worked very hard to never be this close to one. It blinked with its dull, sleepy eyes, smacking its lips like it’d just woken up from a nap.

“Infestation again!” Still wincing through the poison, Trouble obeyed and flew down to swarm the Lombre.

“Water gun!” It took time to aim, as Trouble darted around it head, but eventually the Lombre managed to land a clean shot. Trouble was pushed back. He steadied himself in the air, dripping with water and giving an angry chirp. He flew back at the Lombre to continue his infestation - slower, this time. The poison was still seeping through his spectral body.

“Astonish,” Remi called. Still half-phazed in the Lombre’s body, Trouble’s little arrow-point head appeared directly under the Lombre’s face. The Lombre gave a squawk, stumbling backwards and tripping over a bit of rubble that had been kicked up from Tack’s electro ball. Trouble flew up in the air, pulling himself from the Lombre’s body as he hissed with laughter.

“Water gun.” A jet of water shot up at Trouble, hitting him square in the face - and knocking him out of the sky. It was only Remi’s quick (though muddied, at the moment) reflexes that kept Trouble from falling to the ground.

Her hand was shaking as she held the luxury ball. The battle was over. She’d lost. But there was no time - no energy to feel sorry for herself.

As the adrenaline drained from her, Remi’s body seemed to remember itself - her breath was uneven and shallow. Fire seemed to burn through her arms. There was a light sheen of sweat on her face, and the world seemed to be tilting on its axis. Like hell she was passing out in a grass gym.

Stay upright, stay calm, don’t shake, don’t fall, don’t wince, move, move move -

Remi hid her hand back in her jacket pocket and turned on her heel.

“Good match,” she said out of habit. Was her voice steady? Were her words clear? Had she been loud enough?

All of her attention was on placing one foot in front of the other, finding a bathroom, or a corner, or a bed, somewhere she could hide and no one would be able to see her collapse, and her time was running out. She looked over her shoulder at the blurred figure that was Saki - only to see a small patch of red blooming on her jacket’s pink sleeve.

Shit.

“Expect me back.”

“Wait!” Saki shouted as she noticed the trainer’s state. “We keep bandages and ointments on hand, you’re free to them and a private room to rest if you need.” It would be irresponsible of her to simply allow an injured trainer to walk out without offering aid.

“I can clean myself up,” Remi managed - stubborn, but not harsh. Maybe not even audible.

Whatever the response was, Remi could no longer hear it. She couldn’t hear anything past the ringing in her ears. Her face scrunched in pain and concentration as she forced herself forward, through the gym, past the trainers, almost there, almost there -

Finally, finally she made it out of the gym and back into the open air.

And then Remi collapsed.

@c3p-0h @Zanavy @Heckno12 @fer1323 @Crimson Flame @OtomostheCrazy

Amber turned her head. A girl staggered past, pale-faced and sweaty, in even worse shape than Rheese or Sophia by the look of it.

"Hey, everything ok there?" Amber called, rising to her feet. The girl paid no attention, if she even heard. Instead, she stumbled just as far as the exit before promptly collapsing.

Right away, Amber rushed to her side. "Hey... Hey can you hear me?" No reply. Wincing at the patch of red spreading across the girl's sleeve, Amber dug her medical kit from her backpack. Gently, she rolled up the sleeve, revealing bloodied bandages.

"Oh dear Arceus..." She donned a pair of gloves, removed the girl's jacket and unwrapped the dressings, grimacing at the small but deep lacerations etched into the her arms. Ok, first thing to do was get that bleeding under control. Applying pressure pads to the wounds, Amber secured them with fresh bandages. "Ty! We're going to need your Igglybuff's help." She didn't want a baby Pokemon involved, but considering the healing move the Igglybuff had demonstrated earlier, it was the best option. Already, several assistants headed over, as did Sophia who tottered as if close to passing out herself. The gym seemed to have become something of a clinic.

Turning back to the unconscious newcomer, Amber checked her breathing and pulse. Had this been some wild Pokemon attack? Or something to do with the Team Noble incident?

Ty Westgrove

Vareena Gym

Ty spent the next few minutes chatting with the new kid who showed up with a Rockruff. Honestly, he didn't feel like he could do much help with the whole Rheese situation right now, as any extra information he could ask about it would apparently be like a jackhammer to Rheese's brain. Some brief glances showed Amber providing some snacks, Sophia checking for a fever - he was in good enough hands. Meanwhile, this Rockruff could use some comfort and attention. And the kid, too, of course.

"Ty! We're going to need your Igglybuff's help."

Ty stopped mid-sentence at the urgent sound of his name. There were only two things one might need Medic for, and Amber's tone didn't make it sound like an insomnia emergency. Ty quickly walked to the coffee table and picked up Medic, already alert and ready for duty. The punk trainer headed toward Amber's voice and grimaced at the multitude of bleeding cuts on an unconscious trainer's arms.

Medic's round eyes scanned the trainer from her vantage point in Ty's arms. At her cue, Ty set her down next to Remi. Medic checked for breathing and looked at the girl's head and neck for several seconds. Then she glanced at Ty and let out a couple soft squeaks, making a rolling motion with her stubby arms.

"Med says put her in recovery position," Ty explained. With some help from the gym staff, and one correction from Medic, Ty rolled Remi over onto her side with her arms and legs alternately flexed and straightened. Then the Igglybuff approached the arm on the ground and pressed her hand over one of the seeping bandages. A soft glow appeared as Heal Pulse began to slowly seal up Remi's wound.

"Medic can stop wounds from bleeding any more," Ty commented, his voice and face very serious. "But she can't replace whatever blood has already been lost. If this girl doesn't wake up in a few minutes, she should go to the hospital."

Medic released her hand from the one cut and quickly moved to work on another. The first cut wasn't even fully sealed yet, but she chose to stay at one wound just long enough to make it 'better than the next worst one.' Her breathing sped up a little but her face remained still and serious.

Recent had been a little...emotionally taxing on Alexis. When she had set out to gain the fame and adoration she believed she deserved, she expected the journey towards that goal to be a little different. Suddenly, she was acquaintances and rivals with a handful of other somewhat new trainers, and one of them even got kidnapped. After attempting to help here and there with events, everything that had happened sort of just hit her all at once in a single move. The weird part? This wasn't the first time she'd been overwhelmed by the events. The wannabe idol girl didn't know what she was doing after helping bring her unconscious acquaintance to a safe area. She wordlessly wandered off, and only now found herself at the edge of town, close to where wild pokemon roam. After taking a moment to collect herself, she let out a sigh.

"What a mess..."

"Hm."

Alexis jumped when she heard the reply. Apparently she had been so out of it that she hadn't noticed that creepy quiet kid follow her.

"W-What are, crazy? Why would you sneak up on someone like that?!"

"Coincidence. We went in the same direction. I am here to prepare for the pokemon gym and the contest."

"Wha- You're trying for a contest?"

Aside from the fact that Alexis was completely unaware that this town even held contests to begin with, she had already assumed by the way the boy looked that he would be more into the battling part of the Trainer career. He certainly didn't have the personality that would get him far in the field, though maybe he was planning to heavily rely on that maractus that was currently dancing around him? It certainly had enough personality for the both of them.

"If you are challenging me to a battle, please tell me. Staring at me will not be enough on its own."

Alexis snapped out of that moment of analysis.

"My bad...Wait! I meant to say- I mean-"

Frustrated, Alexis alet out a growl unbefitting her look and attire. Deneb, for all his lack of emotion, was still able to pick up when someone was obviously overburdened. He didn't know Alexis that well. Indeed, he didn't know anyone from that group that well. But regardless of that, he was not going to let this scene be without commenting on it. The green-haired child pointed back at the town, and spoke once again.

"You should go back."

"Huh?"

"All of you are tired. You and your friends."

"T-they're not my-"

"Frustration is not productive, and therefore it is not profitable. In your current state, you will gain nothing.I suggest you go back for now."

Having said what he wanted, Deneb continued into the wild. He said his piece, and that was all he wanted. Now he moves on to focus on training. Alexis, however, was frozen to the spot. She couldn't talk back, even though it was a kid...She really was tired. Exhausted, even. Her emotions were thrown all over the place, and now she had no choice but to calm them down...It frustrated her to know that kid was basically telling her to rely on others, but what's worse is that she may very well have no other choice but to follow that advice. So she walked back. She didn't know who she'd talk to, but she needed someone to talk to. The topic...she didn't care. It could be anything. She just needed to talk...

As Oscar enters the gym with Skoll, lots of attendants and a ludicolo flock to Skoll and admire the big majestic canine. Skoll smiles widely as he flops down and just enjoys the praise. As a response to the more nervous ones, Oscar says with a smile. ”Don't worry. Skoll won't burn anything. And he isn't my only fire type”

Oscar takes out and releases all his pokemon: Roadrunner and Aurora start to bond as The combusken carefully picks one flower to give to the riolu, Nomia the small leafeon nuzzles up to Skoll, the towering arcanine, joined by Kushala the jangmo-o and finally Diasho, the young ralts.

When Sophia gives him an earful, Oscar gives a stern face to Sophia ”You know, You and Rheese look worse for wear. Well, I am safe and sound as you can see so .”

Oscar crosses his arms and continues with words that cut deep. ”And who is on one gym badge so far and is ready for his second? If I get this badge right here and right now, would you listen to me for once? If I lose, I will let you lecture me all you want. Either way, it seems you can't look after yourself without help so I have to travel with you to help. Deal?”

@OtomostheCrazy@Zanavy@LuckyBlackCat@Heckno12

Tim petted his Rockruff’s head. The guy who’s leg Rocky nuzzled was nice enough about it. At least he didn’t go off on a tirade about how he needed to keep better control of his Pokémon or whatever. Tim bit his lip. “Um… h-h-his name is Rocky… Um… Uh…” Tim began to say. He shuffled his feet and avoided making eye contact. Meeting new people was hard. But then so many things happened all at once. Tim became overwhelmed, and the guy ran off to check on an unconscious person that exited the Gym.

Meanwhile, Rocky lept out of Tim’s arms, and sniffed the other Rockruff that came out, and happily yapped back.

Meanwhile, Liam had no idea what he had just walked into. “Hey… everyone… I hope I didn’t come at a bad time… I’m Liam, Prince of Fairies! Self titled naturally.” He said with a wink and a grin. “I’m here to challenge the Gym, and participate in the contest coming up. Check these cuties out!” Again, Liam sent out all his Pokémon. Boo hid behind Liam’s leg, Primadonna blew some bubbles and jugglee them, excited to have a large audience, and Rarity whinnied and struck a pose. “They may be adorable, but they’re stronger than they appear. Just like me!”

Tim felt like he had faded into the background amongst all the people and Pokémon. Even Rocky was busy playing with the other Rockruff. Tim sighed, but he was used to this kind of thing at this point. Following Liam’s example, he also sent out his Pokémon. Though he didn’t draw attention to it. Bubbles the Wimpod also nervously hid behind his trainers leg. While Flora the Bayleef, sensing her trainer’s discomfort released a pleasant scent into the air, and nuzzled him. Tim appreciated it very much.