Oscar could see that Sophia was not fine even expressing that she is. Sensing Sophia's negative emotions, Daisho hides behind Oscar and gives Oscar a feeling of discomfort. Oscar take note of this. He addresses Sophia "Sophia, I know that you are not fine. I am feeling Daisho's discomfort and telling from the time I spent with him, I assume he is responding to your emotions. So please calm down and tell me what is wrong. If not for your sake, then do it for Daisho." Oscar gestures to Daisho. "Look, I know we are not on the best of terms and I am probably the last on your list of people that you want to see but it looks like you need help and I am offering it to you so that we might overcome our differances. Out of the people present so far, I am your best bet."
Current team:
Roadrunner Torchic male lvl:10 ,Skoll Growlithe male lvl:8, Nomia Eevee female lvl:8, Daisho Ralts lvl:9 male
"I take -huff- offense to that-huff-statement". Rheese declared between breaths as he ran up. In truth, he didn't actually take any offense to what Oscar had said, but it felt better to say that than to run up to the group wheezing. He had sprinted after them once Aedre decided to chase after Sophia. Normally physical activity wasn't all too difficult, but going from sitting to sprinting in only a moment wasn't exactly great for him...and the lack of cardio over the past week didn't help.
Truthfully he was a bit concerned for Sophia after what had just happened, but he thought she probably needed to be alone for a moment. That plan had failed the second the newest addition to their group had decided to go after her. In hindsight, it probably wouldn't be a good thing to separate with Hammer likely combing the town for them.
Finally getting his breathing under control he looked at Sophia with what he could only assume was an encouraging smile. "For what it's worth, I doubt any of us would have fared much better at this point...and returning your Purrloin at the end of the battle took a lot of courage. I think the bald gym leader guy thought so too." Rheese said. He meant every word of it too. What he didn't say, was that he was glad Sophia had gone first as ashamed as he was to admit it. He now knew for certain that he wasn't ready for this gym yet, not by a wide margin.
Sophia glared. Great, just great. Not only had she just run into that arrogant jerk again, he now had a Ralts of all Pokemon. A Ralts who seemed to be telling him her exact emotional state. All her doubts, all her insecurities, were laid bare for her rival to know about.
"Nothing... It's nothing," Sophia responded with a scowl. "I don't need another one of your lectures." With a glance at Oscar's new Pokemon, she thought over the techniques she knew to guard her mind against other psychics, but right now she could barely concentrate. Knowing she was upsetting Daisho brought a surge of guilt, which was only likely to distress him further. Taking a deep breath, she tried thinking about the Chimecho's soothing song, but that just made her feel like a child who needed comforting.
She took a step away from the Ralts. Why was she being so hopeless right now? She wasn't supposed to be like this.
She'd been about to make her excuses and get away when Rheese caught up. At his words, Sophia froze in place, eyes darting around as if she were looking for some space to crawl into and hide. His attempt to comfort her had just revealed to Oscar exactly what had happened. Not only had she lost the battle, she'd given up. How was she going to save face now?
"It-It was just bad luck!" she blurted, barely able to look Oscar in the eye. "I'll have you know I was doing pretty well at first!" She knew all too well, though, that he'd see right through the front she put up, especially with the new addition to his team.
As another young adult, similarly injured, arrived on the scene, Solanna couldn't help but feel awful about getting away from the hospital earlier instead of trying to help. Remembering the Ralts, she tried to suppress the feeling. These people would be ok... wouldn't they? She knew, though, that some of the most painful wounds were emotional ones.
"Whimsicott," she said to the fluffy sheep beside her. "Go over and cheer her up." As Whimsicott approached the girl, Solanna watched her lean down and gently pet the Pokemon on the head, the icy front starting to thaw.
It was obvious Sophia's spiky attitude hid all manner of self-doubts. What had happened, though, to make her that way?
Nyxx yawned and leaned against the wall perking up a little when Amber mentioned training, lifting herself up to what looked like a standing position she nodded with a smile. Leaving the pokemart Nyxx looked around, it didn’t take long for her to find a group of trainers loitering around being that this was a gym in town meant, that wouldn’t take much searching but the ones in the town itself might not want to battle. Slipping her hands into her pockets, she shuffled off to the side trying to make her way to the outskirts, she could have sworn that she saw a meadow on the drive here.
“Come, let’s check out this way out we might find a lot of battles and loot” she called out, but before she could actually look back to see if Amber was following her vision was blocked by a boy in a backwards cap holding his Pokeball at her in a dynamic pose “Love it when I’m right” a smirk crept on her face as she lazily walked towards the young trainer pulling out one of her poke balls.
The trainer released a Machop a fighting type Pokémon just like she figured throwing out her Swablu Lupin starting the battle off with its iconic feather dance to lower its striking power. Seeing as how the trainer didn’t return his Pokémon lead Nyxx to the conclusion that this was all he had unless he had rock throw or something other than a fighting move that stuck to the ground he wasn’t about to have a swell time. Nyxx commanded Swablu to layer one more feather dance on the Machap before proceeding to begin pecking at its head. The fighting type landed a few attacks off the bat, however, it wasn’t long before it went down dealing little to no damage to Lupin.
Rheese looks pretty bad."You should take it easy. You should not exert yourself so much so soon" Rheese speaks about Sophia and her battle , Oscar assumes' with the gym leader. Although Sophia is a capable and confident trainer, Oscar knows that even losses, even to a gym leader, is what defines a strong trainer as much as the victories. They are how one is to learn and improve as a trainer. For some reason, Sophia does not think the same way and Oscar wonders if she is trying to prove herself to everyone. Daisho relays Sophia's efforts to comfort herself but ending up feeling like a child. "Sophia, what are you trying to prove exactly and to who? I am going to continue to pry til I know."
Current team:
Roadrunner Torchic male lvl:10 ,Skoll Growlithe male lvl:8, Nomia Eevee female lvl:8, Daisho Ralts lvl:9 male
Solanna gave a warm smile. "If this is the gym challenge you're talking about, few people win the first time round," she reassured Sophia. "It's not called a challenge for nothing! It took me three tries to get the Mesalon gym badge. So try not to let it get you down too much, ok?"
Even so, she understood if Sophia didn't want to talk about it. Just about twenty minutes ago, in the Pokemon centre, she'd been the one pretending to be alright.
Sophia's glare sharpened. It was bad enough that the redhead had turned out to be one of those annoyingly perky people, but Oscar was being by far the more irritating one.
"Wow. You just don't give up, do you?" she huffed at him. "Ugh... Fine. If you're going to keep being so nosy, I'll tell you later. At least that way you'll understand." There was no way she was opening up about it right now, not in front of all these people. Besides, in her current state, she'd probably just break down. Not only would that be just plain embarrassing, it would severely distress Oscar's new Pokemon.
The Whimsicott at her feet squeaked. "I'll be fine," Sophia insisted, although she couldn't resist leaning down again to pat the fluffy Pokemon. "I'm gonna have to get to the Pokemon centre."
While he felt bad for Sophia, he didn't feel that she didn't deserve the loss. She rushed into the battle, and he could hear a twinge of arrogance and defensiveness in her voice when she spoke.
"It doesn't matter if you won or lost. I don't want to sound like a stereotype, but you gained knowledge and experience from the battle, even if you did lose. So don't pretend and don't try and find a scapegoat. Take the loss like you did and own it," He finished, slightly guilty as he felt he was being harsh. He truly didn't feel bad for saying it, as it was true, but he was afraid that Sophia would take it as an insult. "Anyways, I'm going down just outside the city to see if I can find myself some Pokemon for Beldum to train againts, and maybe one to catch. See you all later, unless you want to tag along."
Aedre didn’t believe Sophia for a second when the brunette claimed that she was “fine,” but she stepped back to give the girl some space, understanding that sometimes problems required silence and self contemplation. When a black-haired boy with a Ralts stepped up, offering Sophia help, Aedre realized that she was being too forward. She’d just met Sophia today, and was already acting like they had been friends for some time.
I’m probably being too forward, Aedre thought, staying silent as Rheese ran over as well, panting as he challenged the other boy’s statement. Aedre was about to chime in when Sophia burst out that her loss had just been bad luck. Pausing, Aedre watched blankly as the black-haired boy and Alex, now that he’d caught up as well, tried to comfort Sophia again. While she sided with Alex in that losses ought to be taken, accepted, and improved upon, Aedre also knew that Sophia needed space — and was too proud to say it outright.
“I’ll head out with Alex then,” she said, choosing to avoid the subject of the battle entirely. “Maybe you can join us after visiting the Pokemon Center, and we can squeeze in some practice matches.”
Team:
Pasithea “Thea” ♀ — Togepi (10)
Attacks: Growl, Charm, Metronome, Sweet Kiss
Ability: Serene Grace
Alitis “Little” ♂ — Fletchling (8)
Attacks: Tackle, Growl, Quick Attack
Ability: Gale Wings
Unnamed ♂ — Honedge (5)
Attacks: Tackle, Swords Dance, Fury Cutter
Ability: No Guard
Bag Items:
Pokedex (with Kosei Region Map)
Smart Phone
Credit Card linked to a private account that houses a decent amount of money
Poke Radar
Collapsable Bike with two gears (third for bike ramps, fourth for muddy slopes)
"You know, your friend's right!" Solanna said, backing Alex up. She wouldn't have worded it so harshly - that was more her sister's way of talking - but it was true that losses were something to learn from. "Look on the bright side!" Her friendly smile widened. "At least you'll know what to do for next time!"
After waving goodbye to the two trainers who left in search of Pokemon, she accompanied the small group on the way to the Pokecentre. Deep down, part of her felt bad about being so encouraging. People overcame knockbacks on the road to success... but what if that road led to somewhere completely unexpected, in a bad way? Still, it was all she could do.
As she walked, she kept her distance from the Ralts.
"Yes it does..." Sophia muttered to Alex through clenched teeth. "Yes it does matter." He didn't understand. Neither did Miss Sunshine-And-Roses here who acted as if a smile and a few words of encouragement would magically make everything better. Neither of them knew it was different for her. There were certain standards she had to live up to, and just now, she hadn't even come close to meeting those standards.
She nodded as Aedre spoke. "That way you'll see how I can really fight," she said, although her tone held none of her earlier confidence. As Aedre and Alex left, Sophia turned and headed towards the Pokecentre along with the others.
“Well then. Should we be on our way as well?” Aedre asked, pulling out her Pokedex to check the map function. As the city was situated on top of a fairly decently-sized mesa, the less densely populated areas tended to be on the fringes of the mesa as well as below at ground level. “Did you have an idea about where you wanted to go?”
The two started out for the mesa’s fringes. Aedre took a moment to release her Fletchling, allowing the robin Pokemon to stretch his wings and get some fresh air. “Heya, Little. How’s it going?” she asked, watching the Flying-type perform another few acrobatic flips in the air before settling down onto Aedre’s shoulder and starting to preen itself.
“So, you have a Beldum?” Aedre asked, figuring that it was a good enough conversation starter. “How'd you meet him -- or is it a her?” Gesturing to her Feltchling, Aedre continued. “Little was a gift from my aunt since my Togepi, Thea, isn't the most battle-inclined Pokemon out there. Little keeps most enemies at bay anyway -- he's tough, despite how small he is.”
Team:
Pasithea “Thea” ♀ — Togepi (10)
Attacks: Growl, Charm, Metronome, Sweet Kiss
Ability: Serene Grace
Alitis “Little” ♂ — Fletchling (8)
Attacks: Tackle, Growl, Quick Attack
Ability: Gale Wings
Unnamed ♂ — Honedge (5)
Attacks: Tackle, Swords Dance, Fury Cutter
Ability: No Guard
Bag Items:
Pokedex (with Kosei Region Map)
Smart Phone
Credit Card linked to a private account that houses a decent amount of money
Poke Radar
Collapsable Bike with two gears (third for bike ramps, fourth for muddy slopes)
On a whim, Ray teleported out of Vareena. The pollen from the plants was starting to irritate him...as well as the possibility of his sister showing up. He had only been there for a few hours, but she was probably hot on his trail. Mesalon was his destination, and within a second he was there in the middle of town. He always liked the quaint place as nobody seemed to disturb his lazing about, and sometimes Lan would meditate outside. While Ray wouldn't really say he liked the guy, he certainly had a peaceful aura about him.
Upon arrival, he immediately sensed a certain detective. Thankfully, the idiot wouldn't dare disturb him again after their last conversation. Mind reading was a beautiful tool for shutting up blowhards like him. To Ray's surprise, he could also faintly sense another psychic presence in town. It wasn't the most incredible thing, as psychic type trainers wandered around Kosei like any others, but this time it wasn't just their Pokemon. His interest ever so slightly piqued, he decided to just stay near the Pokemon center.
Hammer
Mesalon Pokemon Center
Hammer was storming around Mesalong with his camera crew and fans behind him. Those kids weren't where the nurse said they were going and so far, neither him nor any of his fans could find them. This wasn't good, he couldn't risk running into that gym leader while he was here. Lan to most would seem like some regular monk to anyone else, but Hammer had never been able to get out of a confrontation with him without embarrassing himself. What was worse, even his fans took the side of the old man as they couldn't believe that the bald bastard would have started it.
In his time in Kosei, Hammer noticed most of the gym leaders had that effect. The people in each town seemed to be fairly loyal to these bastards. The only one he had truly gotten along with was back in Windshire, and apparently he was an exception to that rule. What Hammer saw as a legitimate need to keep the gym as imposing and attention grabbing as possible, the people seemed to see as a waste of their town's money.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye Hammer saw a man on a lawn chair blink into existence not too far away. It only took a few seconds to recognize the guy as Kosei's local lazy Psychic type gym leader, Ray. In order to avoid the laidback Psychic, Hammer ducked into the Pokemon center.
"That was close" The detective said with a sigh. It was impossible to know whether Ray had noticed him or not given the guy's apparently incredible psychic potential, but even if he did it was unlikely for him to follow Hammer. The bastard probably wouldn't deem it worth exerting the effort.
Rheese rubbed his eyes a bit as he followed Sophia. Had that guy on the lawnchair been out here a few seconds ago? Even if he had, it was a bit odd for anyone to just walk into the middle of town and set up a lawnchair wasn't it?
"Hey Sophia, Oscar, I know I may be a bit concussed, but am I the only one seeing this guy?" Rheese asked curiously, the possibility that this guy had teleported there didn't even enter his mind. The fact that nobody else in town seemed to care, and that some of them even waved at the stranger, made him even more suspicious.
Sophia instantly reeled back. "Oh wow..." she blurted before she'd had a chance to think better of it, staring at the guy in the lawn chair who had just appeared in front of her. Teleporting was a common enough ability for Pokemon, but for human psychics, it usually meant a high level of potential - and that wasn't the only indicator of his strength. She didn't even have to make a conscious effort to sense the massive, slightly overwhelming presence emanating from him.
His sudden appearance had done nothing to help her feeling of inadequacy, a weight that grew heavier and heavier with the day's events, threatening to crush her. What made it worse was the others had seen him... How much longer would she be able to keep them impressed?
"Oh! Hi," Solanna called at the sight of the familiar face. "It's been a while!" She recalled her battle against Ray. Despite being known for his laid-back attitude, the Psychic-type gym leader wasn't to be underestimated.
Things had changed, though, since the last time they'd met. Solanna kept her cheery tone and bright smile, but knew that someone like Ray would see right through that. If he remembered her, he'd be able to tell she was no longer the driven young trainer who had challenged him.
After two of the group left to train, Oscar follows the rest to the poke-center and staying quiet. Before setting off, Oscar had recalled Nomia and Skoll but kept Daisho and Roadrunner out. Oscar picked Daisho up and put him on his head. He used to do this with Roadrunner but Roadrunner likes the ground more than the heights. Once the group focuses on the guy sitting in a lawn chair, Oscar crosses his arms. Back at Hoenn, Oscar has heard of trainers using pokemon for transport such as flying, swimming and rarely teleporting but this man has no pokemon present to suggest that. Oscar gets the feeling that he is a powerful psychic. Oscar pats Daisho on his head. Oscar answers Rheese's question. "I have heard about the practical uses of teleporting but I never used or seen it in person. That is what I assume that this is the case." Oscar turns to the man "Telling from what Daisho is telling me though his rudimentary abilities and how you just appeared, can I assume you train psychics and might be one too?"
"Well I kind of wanted to stay around the outskirts of Mesalon to see if I could find another Pokemon to add to my team!" Alex continued to walk along the sidewalk until they came to the gate that led them out of the city. "Those trees over there look like a good place to start. And actually funny enough it's neither a him or a her, Beldum is a Genderless Pokemon." As they entered some of the foliage outside of the city, Alex heard a soft rustle. He stopped moving to make sure it wasn't him in the grass and fallen leaves. He stopped, and the rustling continued to the left of him. He saw a shaking bush and carefully stepped over to it, as he peered closer into the bush a Wimpod rolled out, entangled in vines. Alex bent down and undid the vines from the nervous, shaking wimpod, before motioning for it scurry out of his way.
"Oh that's nice of here, especially since you al-" Alex felt something bump againts his leg. It was the poor frightened wimpod from earlier. That gave Alex an idea. "Say little guy, would you like to join me on my journey?" Alex asked softly. The wimpod just nodded, and Alex clicked the Pokéball againts the bug, a bright red light enveloping it before it went into the Pokéball. "Whoo! I caught a wimpod!" Alex said to Aedre excitedly.
"Oh, Solanna." Ray said with a yawn. He talked as though he had just woken up despite sleeping for most of the day. "Your aura's changed a bit, did something- On second thought, it's not my business." He said, opting not to pry. There was something different about the girl's mind from the last time they had met, there was no doubt in his mind that something bad had happened. While he could easily read her mind and figure it out without her knowledge, his own principles kept him from it.
"I train psychic type Pokemon, yes...Or no...I guess they do a lot of the training while I hang out and watch." Ray shrugged and shifted in his chair. "I'm a psychic too, clearly. As is Sophia over there." He gestured towards the brown haired girl. "Though, given that energy she's giving off...you and I need to talk." He said, unusually serious. An emotionally unstable psychic wasn't something to ignore.
Rheese was put off slightly by the fact that this guy didn't even get up or introduce himself. Rheese was a bit lazy, but this guy took the cake. There was almost no doubt that without the ability to teleport he'd probably never leave his home.
"Oh, thanks for reminding me Rheese." Ray said. "Just because I know all of your names doesn't mean you know mine. I'm Ray."
Rheese was completely speechless, this guy was just casually reading their minds. Didn't he have any decency?
"I do, but I believe the surface of the mind is free game. Ray replied. Rheese was admittedly annoyed by the lazy psychic's antics
Once she'd recovered from her shock, Sophia scowled and crossed her arms, still keeping her distance from Ray and that immense psychic aura he gave off. How on earth had such a slacker developed his abilities to that level? With a pang of envy, she realised he probably hadn't. Going by his complete lack of effort, he most likely was just that powerful. And where were his manners? What gave him the idea that it was ok to casually pry into people's thoughts?
She cringed, knowing he'd probably just heard her think all that. Once again, she tried to guard her mind, but her annoyance didn't help the toll this morning had taken on her.
"It's nothing. Really," she insisted. The last thing she needed was for this stranger to know all about her failures, her insecurities, everything she tried to hide. "I'll be ok. I've just, uh... gotta go for a moment."
With that, she rushed into the Pokemon centre to get her team healed... and, before she could get to the counter, stopped in her tracks. She stared up in horror at the furious face of a certain detective she'd thought she'd gotten away from.
Solanna inwardly winced as Ray pointed out the change in her thoughts, but at least he hadn't dug any further into them. "Well, uh... There was a slight training accident earlier," she explained, although Ray was more than likely to know that wasn't the whole story. "But nobody got hurt. It's all ok now."
She looked over at Sophia in surprise as Ray mentioned the girl was a psychic. That could explain things... Was that the reason she held herself to such high standards? Before Solanna could say anything to her, though, she'd disappeared into the Pokecentre. It was already obvious there were things Sophia didn't want to talk about, and Solanna knew all too well what that was like.
“Right. Forgot about that,” Aedre said when Alex mentioned that Beldum were genderless Pokemon. “A lot of interesting Pokemon in that egg group, right?” she said, thinking back to the Pokemon egg groups she’d studied during her early undergraduate years. That almost all Pokemon could be paired with Ditto always fascinated Aedre. The single gelatinous purple Pokemon held much prestige in the scientific world despite being rather commonplace in some regions.
Aedre fell silent as she and Alex neared the foliage. A strange silver arthropod creature accentuated with purple spines emerged from the leaves, tangled in the vines and rather shaken. Aedre watched quietly as Alex helped the Pokemon out of the vines and on its way, ready to offer help should any be needed. Instead, Alex managed to catch the Pokemon, prompting Aedre to take out her Pokedex and scan the strange Pokemon.
Wimpod — This Pokémon is a coward. As it desperately dashes off, the flailing of its many legs leaves a sparkling clean path in its wake, Aedre read, rather surprised at the Pokemon’s immediate listed characteristic. Wonder if this one will have a different personality?
Before she could congratulate Alex on his new catch, a red-winged bird Pokemon hopped out of the bushes, followed by another, then another. Spearow, Aedre recognized with a grimace. Territorial Flying-types. As long as we’re not in its territory, it should be—
“Peaaaa!” the first Spearow cried, glaring at the two humans. Its cry was echoed by the ones nearest to it, then by the ones nearest to those until the small forest was a cacophony of high-pitched cries of protest.
“Alright, Alex. Fight or flight?” Aedre asked, shooting the boy a glance as she laid a hand on her other Pokeballs. Although the chances of victory seemed unlikely, she and Alex had five Pokemon between the two of them, and Aedre was also eager to see her newest Pokemon in action — if she could earn its respect.
Team:
Pasithea “Thea” ♀ — Togepi (10)
Attacks:Growl, Charm, Metronome, Sweet Kiss
Ability:Serene Grace
Alitis “Little” ♂ — Fletchling (8)
Attacks:Tackle, Growl, Quick Attack
Ability:Gale Wings
Unnamed ♂ — Honedge (5)
Attacks:Tackle, Swords Dance, Fury Cutter
Ability:No Guard
Bag Items:
Pokedex (with Kosei Region Map)
Smart Phone
Credit Card linked to a private account that houses a decent amount of money
Poke Radar
Collapsable Bike with two gears (third for bike ramps, fourth for muddy slopes)
Randall, a young and ambitious trainer, watched the battle between Nyxx and his fellow youngster and immediately decided to challenge one of the other newcomers. Clearly these strangers were tough, so it would stand to reason that beating them might bring him closer to being able to stand a chance against the gym leader.
"Hey you! Battle me!" He shouted at the blondish haired girl nearby. Gripping his Grimer's pokeball, he stared directly at her with determination.
"Good strategy there!" Amber commented to Nyxx. As the trainer the other girl had just defeated left for the Pokecentre, Amber was so busy looking up the battle techniques of Flying types on her Pokedex that she didn't notice the boy approach until he called out.
Facing him, she let out Kyra. "Alright, Kyra, do you want to start this?" she asked. The little dog jumped up with an enthusiastic "Ruff!"
"Alright Grimer, let's do this!" The youngster shouted. Instead of the standard purple grimer that most would have expected, a dark green variant emerged. Randall wasn't from Kosei. In his home region of Alola, this was the standard coloration and typing for the poison type...or in this case, poison/dark.
The young man stared down his opponent as his Pokemon did the same.
Amber's eyes widened at the unconventional Grimer - well, unconventional to her, anyway. "Ohh! An Alolan Grimer!" She instantly knew what it was. During her time assisting Professor Oak back in Kanto, he'd told her about a cousin who was studying Alolan variants of Pokemon.
Even so, she pointed her Pokedex at it.
"A Grimer, which had been brought in to solve a problem with garbage, developed over time into this form," the device informed her.
"Such striking colours!" Amber said in fascination. "And it's Dark type as well as Poison? That's a good combination. Only one weakness. It'll be interesting to see how its fighting style differs from pure Poison-type Grimers!"
Noticing the other trainer start to grow impatient, Amber stopped babbling and turned her attention to Kyra. "Ok, Kyra, begin with Sand Attack."
The Rockruff bounded forward, kicking up sand at the Grimer.
"Poison gas!" Randall shouted. Grimer belched a cloud of poison in response to the command.The sand that had been thrown into Grimer's face threw the aim off more than enough to cause the attack to miss. The thick gas dispersed quickly and harmlessly.
The youngster was already losing ground. With reduced accuracy, poisoning Amber's Rockruff would be much more of a challange.
"Watch out!" Amber called as the poison gas drifted towards Kyra. The purple cloud dispersed, proving the Sand Attack strategy had worked. Still, the researcher couldn't just rely on luck.
"Now, use Fire Fang!" At her trainer's command, Kyra opened her mouth, a ball of flame forming inside. The fireball changed shape, becoming a set of pointed teeth, before shooting towards the Grimer.
"Grimer!" Randall shouted as the green Pokemon took the hit directly. Grimer wasn't quite done yet though, as it quickly prepared for Randall's next command. "Pursuit!" The trainer shouted. Grimer rushed the rockruff and attempted to hit it with the dark type attack only to miss again. Clearly the odds were not in Randall's favor.
"You're doing well, Kyra!" Amber encouraged the Rockruff. "Again, Fire Fang!"
Kyra scampered forward, spitting out another fireball shaped like a set of fangs, but in her eagerness, she missed. The fireball flew past the Grimer, burning out in the air.
Randall smiled widely, for the first time in this battle Amber's Pokemon missed. "Poison gas again!" He shouted, this time Grimer's attack enveloped the Rockruff prompting Randall to celebrate a bit. Up until this point luck had been totally against him in this battle, now it may have been time to turn things around.
Spluttering from the gas, Kyra whimpered.
"Ah!" Amber stared at the battle that was starting to turn around. Had she just made Kyra overconfident? She'd have to make a mental note of mistakes to avoid repeating, whether she won or lost. "Hold on! Use Fire Fang again!"
Kyra repeated her attack, and this time, the flame teeth champed down on the Grimer.
Grimer recoiled back as the fiery teeth hit him. It was clear that the battle so far had already done a number on him He had one attack left in him, and his trainer knew.
"Grimer, use pursuit!" Randall shouted as his Pokemon charged forth again smacking the Rockruff with the dark type attack with all it had left.
Kyra, still full of energy, jumped back up.
"Another Fire Fang!" Amber commanded. "That'll do it!"
The flame jaws closed on Grimer once more, knocking him out. Kyra stood ready to face her next opponent, but her legs began to shake. The poison was starting to wear her down.
Grimer collapsed into a pile of sludge as he fainted. Randall quickly returned the Pokemon and readied his next. Despite the lack of a real advantage, he decided Elekid would be a good choice. The hope being that in Rockruff's current state, Elekid would be able to win without taking a significant hit.
"Elekid! Show her what you've got!"
Amber watched warily as the Elekid appeared. If Kyra didn't hold out, this Pokemon would have an advantage against her other two.
"Kyra, use Bite!" she said. The Rockruff still had a decent level of strength, enough to launch herself forward and clamp her jaws down on the opposing Pokemon.
"Elekid, retaliate with a thundershock!" Randall shouted, but was instantly shut down by Elekid flinching. Given the force of the Rockruff's bite, it was pretty clear just how the rest of this battle was going to go. All he could do was watch as his Pokemon would inevitably be beaten. In most situations, he would have swapped to Pikipek. Though, given the rock typing of the opponent, it wouldn't help.
"Take Elekid down with another Bite!" Amber called. Kyra sprang at the Elekid, biting down again. The opposing Pokemon staggered and fell.
That was two of the other trainer's Pokemon down, but victory wasn't guaranteed yet. Amber knew she'd still have to be cautious, especially with Kyra in her current state. The Rockruff whimpered, trembling even more visibly from the poison.
"Elekid!" Randall shouted as his Pokemon collapsed. With a grunt, he sent out his last Pokemon. Pikipek sprung out of the Pokeball with a cry. Randall knew better than to doubt his Pokemon, but it was doubtful that the flying type would be able to deal with the Rockruff, let alone two other Pokemon.
"Use growl!" Randall yelled as Pikipek let out a surprisingly intimidating growl for its size.
"Kyra, rest up now," Amber said, switching out her Pokemon for another. "Chalcedony, you can take over from here."
The Kabuto took his place in front of the Pikipek just as its trainer commanded it to use Growl. Level-headed as he usually was, Chal couldn't help scuttling back slightly.
"Harden!" Amber shouted, watching her Kabuto's shell take on a brilliant shine.
And just like that, Randall lost his best chance to at least beat one of Amber's Pokemon. "Use growl again!" He shouted, at the very least he could draw this out a bit longer. Between the Kabuto's enhanced defense and lowered offence, neither side's attacks were likely to have much effect.
At this point it'd be much easier to surrender, but Randall just wasn't the type. Pikipek likely wouldn't forgive him either if he didn't give her the chance to battle a stronger opponent.
"Use Scratch!" Amber called. Chalcedony, who had pulled back again, rushed forward, refusing to let the little bird intimidate him. Standing on his back legs, he lashed with his front ones.
Randall, watching the battle with a grimace, called for his Pokemon to retaliate with Peck, but the attack barely left a mark on the Kabuto's tough shell.
"Keep going!" Amber shouted to Chal. "Another Scratch!" Even without his full attacking strength, Chalcedony was clearly wearing the Pikipek down, more so than the Flying type could do to him. Despite its efforts to retaliate at its trainer's command, the bird's movements grew slower and more laboured with each attack it took, until finally it dropped to the ground.
"Aargh!" Gritting his teeth, the boy returned his last Pokemon and left with a grumble.
Amber smiled down at her Kabuto. "That was good work there, Chal. Well, now we know a little more about trainer battles. But..." She picked up Kyra's Pokeball. "Before I take any notes, I'll have to get you healed up."
Returning Chal, the researcher turned to Nyxx. The redhead, laid-back as she was most of the time, seemed to know a fair amount about Pokemon and battle strategies. "Anything you think I could have done better there?" she asked as she began walking alongside her in the direction of the Pokecentre.
"Roll the cameras!" Hammer shouted at his crew that hastily started recording once more. Glaring back down at the startled girl that had embarrassed him earlier. "So, before we start...Any other tricks up your sleeves? Going to hit me with a Sitrus Berry next?" He started in on Sophia, his rage from before returning.
For a brief second, he glanced out the Center's window at Ray. Thankfully the psychic seemed to be distracted at the moment. It also looked like the girl in front of him was alone this time.
"Now, from what I saw on the camera you used some sort of psychic power to throw that Oran berry at me. So, since you're a psychic, I'd be willing to bet you know that lazy bastard outside. What, were you conspiring against me earlier? Buying time so Ray could bail you and your pals out? That makes you suspicious, it makes me think you may have some kind of link to Team Noble. Why else would you avoid questioning so desperately? Is Ray involved too? I should have known that good for nothing had to have something sinister going on, nobody is that laidback." Hammer bombarded Sophia with questions, not giving her time to answer. Each question seemingly incriminating her to those watching the program.
Rheese ducked into the Pokemon center in an effort to get away from Ray. Someone prying into his thoughts was far from comforting. He didn't exactly have anything to hide, but the lack of privacy in his own thoughts was just disturbing. Once he saw the towering figure glaring down at Sophia though, he'd have preferred the unwanted psychic intrusion. Had it just been him alone, he'd have walked right back out of the center, but it looked like Hammer had already started interrogating Sophia.
"If I had anything to throw, you can bet I'd have done it by now." Rheese said feigning courage as he approached Hammer. Sophia and Alex had supported him when they were in the hopsital, so he at least owed her this.
As much as Sophia wanted to appear brave, she couldn't help backing away from the detective who yelled question after furious question in her face.
"I-In case you'd forgotten, Team Noble were the ones attacking us! And as for Ray, I've only just met him!" she responded, but from the shouts of the fans behind Hammer, it was clear whose side they were on. She cringed as Rheese ran in. Knowing Hammer, there was no way he'd leave either of them alone this time.
Unless... Seeing a hint of worry on the detective's face as he glanced outside at Ray, she had an idea. Both hands clenched by her sides, she tried her best to concentrate, to think of the lazy psychic. If it had just been her faced with Hammer, her pride would have won out against her need for help, but now Rheese was involved, she had to try something.
"Ray, get off your butt and do something!" she thought as clearly as she could, focusing on getting the message across. She hoped it had worked, doing this was easiest with another psychic, he'd surely pick up on it...
As she leaned against the wall, feeling the drain in her already exhausted state, she realised with a jolt of panic that she could have just made things worse. If Ray helped, and Hammer figured out what she'd just done, that really would make both of them look suspicious.
lv:10 
lv:9
