"Then everything is settled. We are going to have a day of relaxation and maybe doing some light training while avoiding that damn detective. So where should we head?" Oscar is glad that things seem to turn around for them but Oscar can not shake the feeling that it is not going to last. The question is how long will the peace last? Oscar knows that everyone has to take one step at a time.
"Let's head over to the gym." Sophia stood up, checking that her Pokemon had finished eating. "We could get some training in once we're there." Her voice had a note of reluctance - not about training, but about hiding behind a gym leader, especially one like Lan. In truth, she was afraid of Hammer, but wasn't about to admit it, even though she knew Rheese wouldn't judge her.
Maybe a training session would take her mind off yesterday's incident with the detective - and ensure she was truly ready for the gym rematch.
"You're a gym leader?" Amber commented. "Yeah, good type to go with. Rock Pokemon are great for strength and defense - and, most importantly, loyalty."
She studied the Armaldo as Kyra yapped for the fossil Pokemon's attention. "Hmmm, I wonder if Pokemon revived from fossils were Rock types in the past, and that's how they left such clear traces, or if they gain the type when they're restored? There's a theory that Anorith and Armaldo may have once had Water as primary types."
Her excitement cooled down as Rachel mentioned the detective again. "Well, to be honest, I didn't see if he did," she replied. "I walked in here to find Hammer picking himself up off the floor, and then a Pokemon battle started. Your brother seemed ok though, if understandably annoyed."
A worried older sibling - Amber could relate to Rachel all too well.
Rheese noticed that Sophia didn't really respond to his previous statement, so he dropped the topic. "Sounds good, I guess I should battle the gym leader at some point."
He returned his Pokemon and stood up. Maybe he wouldn't stand a chance, but he would have to try. Maybe the bald guy would give him some kind of advice like that psychic dickhead did. Even if he didn't like what Ray had said, he needed to hear it.
lv:11 lv:10 lv:13
Rachel
"Good, otherwise the detective and I would have needed to chat." Rachel said her expression softening. "I should've figured that oaf couldn't hurt Ray. He'd probably be more annoyed if Hammer had won...I mean he might actually have to give him a badge. Perish the thought."
Rachel chuckled a bit at Amber's Rockruff's antics. "I've read the theory, given the moves Armaldo can learn it seems likely. Speaking of, I have a feeling you might be interested in helping me with something I've been trying to figure out." She pulled out a Pokeball.
"I have a little friend here that needs a trainer, and since you've shown such an interest..." From the Pokeball emerged an Anorith. Rachel leaned in towards Amber she said with a fake whisper "She'll be a great help against Lan."
The previous day had been...hectic towards the end, but overall, it was a good day to settle into a town from this region. Now he needed to try one of the methods he thought up. Some Pokémon battles provided prize money to the victor, which was something that would help him in his goal. Even if it wasn't much to use, there were other possibilities that would help him. Surely enacting them all wouldn't cause much harm. The only problem was that he didn't know where the gym was.
That's where three others came along. He recognized them from the night before, but never got a chance to ask for their names. Then again, he simply helped out, so he had no real reason to ask for them in the first place.
Speaking of which, he felt no reason to introduce himself either, and settled to simply walk along with them.
"Come on, everyone." Leaning down to her team, Sophia cradled Lacey like a child before setting off. As soon as she strode from the building, she glanced all around her, checking for any sign of the detective. Despite Rheese's warning, she sensed for presences behind her, tensing and looking over her shoulder at passers-by.
It was probably obvious to the other two what she was doing, and she hoped they wouldn't say anything - most likely, she'd get enough lectures from Lan at the gym, and she wasn't in the mood to put up with anyone else telling her what to do.
She cringed as the building came into view in the distance. The last place she wanted to go to was the site of her humiliation, but this was the safest hiding place.
An energy signal, drawing closer, snapped her from her thoughts. She whirled around to find herself face to face with someone she vaguely remembered from the Pokemon centre... someone dressed entirely in desert robes. She hadn't spoken to this person yesterday, but it was difficult to forget someone like that.
As Amber crouched down, the grey-green Pokemon scuttled a little closer, the projections on its sides undulating. "Hey, little one!" the researcher said, smile widening, eyes shining with adoration. She hadn't seen an Anorith this close up before. "You're ok coming along with me?"
The Anorith gave a nod of her flat head - then drew back slightly as Kyra bounded forward, sniffing and letting out an excited bark. "It's alright! She just wants to play," Amber reassured the fossil Pokemon. "She'll be one of your new teammates. I'll let out a calmer one, if you like."
She pressed a button on a Pokeball, and her Kabuto appeared, slowly crawling towards the other ancient Pokemon and letting out a curious "Kabu?" The Anorith studied him for a few seconds before drawing closer.
"This is Chalcedony," Amber explained. "Chal, say hello to Larimar."
As the little group of Rock types chatted in Pokespeak and played, Amber looked up at Rachel. "Oh, thank you! I'm sure they'll train well together." Once other things were done, of course. Her smile faltered, the email still in the back of her mind.
Focusing on the current topics, she took on a more serious expression. "I'm guessing it's pretty important to get stronger, what with people like Hammer around? I mean, Ray put it in no uncertain terms yesterday." She paused, thinking back to the psychic's blunt warning. "And it's completely understandable to worry, even if you knew deep down he'd be ok. It's an older sibling thing."
Oscar walks with the group towards their destination. Oscar is a little happy that he has an opportunity to gauge how powerful the gym leader is, compared to where he stands at the moment. Oscar continues walking without paying attention to the new arrival to the group. Oscar is too focused on either processing the information on the regional teams, worrying about Sophia or the many other things that is going on.
After everything with the Hoothoots and Sophia running away had been settled, Aedre stopped by the Pokemon Center to get her Fletchling healed up, tagging along with Amber in the process. The other science-interested girl had befriended a Rowlet, a fascinating specimen of avian flora. Other than Tropius and Skiploom, there were hardly any grass-flying duals, so when the viridian-decorated owl was discovered, the scientific community was fascinated with the niche it had evolved to fit into. That, and the fact that it had been labelled a good “starter” Pokemon, boosted the little owl into fame, making it a rather well-known flying-type.
After getting her Pokemon healed, Amber called a work break, taking her laptop out to start on notes. Aedre did the same, retrieving her laptop and reciting in word form her encounter with the territorial Spearows earlier that day. Her Honedge had, in a surprising display of intelligence and compassion, aided Aedre in driving the Spearow off, both traits that went into her notes in concise, bulleted observations. On the side, she also noted how her Fletchling and Togepi were familiar enough to work together without her instruction, meaning that they’d need less instruction as opposed to training in the future.
Aedre had been too engrossed in her notes to notice when Amber stood up to greet the unknown girl who had entered the Pokemon Center. In the middle of describing the fluency with which her Honedge had executed his Swords Dance — flawlessly smooth as if he’d been born to play the part — the light-haired scientist-in-training wasn’t about to notice anything anytime soon.
The pop of a Pokeball being opened interrupted Aedre’s train of thought, prompting her to look up from her screen. Spotting Amber conversing with a trainer who’d evidently just released a flat, bug-like Pokemon — was that an Armaldo next to them? — Aedre sank back into her note-taking with redoubled effort, intent on finishing her work before joining the conversation. When she finally did — with a sentence summarizing her guesswork on why the Honedge had chosen to trust her, a frail, human girl — Aedre closed her laptop and rose from her seat, walking over to where the two trainers and their now four Pokemon were gathered.
“Hi, I’m Aedre — Amber’s friend?” she said uncertainly, not sure if she was interrupting. The conversation seemed to have taken on a more serious tone, as Amber’s usual smile was gone. Having caught the last bit about an older sibling, Aedre looked the unknown fossil-tamer over for any similarities to the new people she’d met in Kosei. Seeing none, Aedre ducked her head awkwardly. “Er, mind me asking whose sibling you are? Sorry, was sitting over there earlier, completely engrossed in my notes.”
Team:
Pasithea “Thea” ♀ — Togepi (11)
Attacks:Growl, Charm, Metronome, Sweet Kiss
Ability:Serene Grace
Alitis “Little” ♂ — Fletchling (9 +2 = 11)
Attacks:Tackle, Growl, Quick Attack
Ability:Gale Wings
Decus “Dee” ♂ — Honedge (6)
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)
Rheese followed Sophia and the others. He figured she would use her psychic power to search for Hammer despite, or perhaps because of, everyone else's concern. Obviously he wasn't too thrilled about it, but that girl could be stubborn. He hoped that everything would turn out fine at the gym. After all, the entire group had worked hard to get stronger. Surely Lan's students were pushovers in comparison.
"Oh. It's, uh...you?" Rheese said to the new arrival after trying to remember his name to no avail. In all reality he wasn't ever told, but after all that had been going on he couldn't be sure.
"Of course getting stronger is important, but my little brother tends to look at things through a...let's say bleak lens. If you train your Pokemon only to get more powerful, you'll lose sight of your reason for starting your adventure. A powerful trainer with no other ambition but to get stronger is just sad." Rachel said, deflating only slightly before immediately returning to her cheery self. "I guess you probably know my burden all too well. We big sisters have to stick together."
When another trainer walked up and asked about her sibling. "Oh, hi there! Nice to meet you Aedre, my name is Rachel. As for my little brother, he was the psychic that came through town yesterday, Ray. Mind if I ask what you were writing about?"
Alex was blinded as endless dust and dirt were swept up into the sky as Pidgey used gust on his poor little Wimpo. "Alright Wimpod, use the dust as cover to try and get close to the Pidgey!" He shouted as the bug type crawled across the ground towards the bird shaped shadow above him. "Alright, now. Use Leech Life!"
Wimpod shot out a pin directly at the Pidgey flying above, hitting it square in the chest, knocking it to the floor. As the dust cleared, Alex and Wimpod crossed over to the frightened Pidgey as it got up and flew away. "Nice job buddy," Alex said to the small bug as he kneeled RL down to pay its back, "That's your third win in a row!"
"Wim! Wimpod!" The Pokémon said, congratulating itself on its victory. Maybe this little guy won't be such a bad Pokémon after all, Alex thought to himself as he returned Wimpod to his pokeball, and started heading back for town to get back to the Pokémon center.
After Alex was handed back his Pokémon he took notice of the others in the Center. It was everyone he had met in the hospital... and more. He noticed Rheese and Aedre. He felt bad after splitting up with Aedre, leaving her to go on her own when he was out training, but like he figured - she did all right on her own. Alex didn't know if he should butt in on the conversation in front of him, but he thought of it as rude to not at least say hi to Aedre after splitting up with her at the Mesalon outskirts.
He walked up to the group and lightly tapped on Aedre's shoulder, to have her aware of his presence. "Hi, Aedre! Nice to see you again," He looked to everyone else in the group, "I'm Aedre's friend, Alex. We met at the Mesalon hospital."
"Oh, don't worry," Amber replied with a slight, forced laugh. "My main goal is to learn about Pokemon and bond with them, but I know all too well a trainer's path isn't the safest one. Being prepared is important."
For a second, she became pensive, her mind turning back to not just the incident two days ago and how she was going to tell her sister, but to the people she'd met and their goals. Nyxx, Oscar, Sophia, Rheese, all determined to get stronger... Would they lose sight of their reasons for setting out?
She brightened up, at least on the surface, as Aedre joined her and Rachel, followed by a brown-haired boy she hadn't seen before. "Oh, hi, both of you! Alex, I'm Amber, and this is Rachel."
Kyra bounced up to the newcomer, letting out a yip and wagging her tail, while Chalcedony and Larimar silently studied the growing crowd, then moved closer. "Rockruffs, friendly little Pokemon, aren't they? Her name's Kyra," she said before gesturing to each of her fossil Pokemon, "and these two are Chalcedony and Larimar."
“Oh, I was finishing up a field report on my Honedge. He’s pretty much the reason I came to Kosei,” Aedre explained, indicating the Pokeball on her belt. “I’m a research assistant, and I’m currently doing some informal field work on Honedge.”
Noticing a familiar boy walking over, Aedre grinned and waved. “Alex! Hey, nice to see that you’re still in one piece,” she joked. When Amber pointed out her Pokemon, Aedre bent down, giving the Pokemon a gentle smile. “Hey there, you’re all very cute. Three rock-types — how are you all getting along?”
Straightening up, Aedre turned to the other trainers. “Fossil Pokemon, huh? Always a fascinating group, although their genetic mysteries have mostly been unlocked now.”
Team:
Pasithea “Thea” ♀ — Togepi (11)
Attacks:Growl, Charm, Metronome, Sweet Kiss
Ability:Serene Grace
Alitis “Little” ♂ — Fletchling (11)
Attacks:Tackle, Growl, Quick Attack
Ability:Gale Wings
Decus “Dee” ♂ — Honedge (6)
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)
"Oh, nice to meet you Alex. As Amber said, I'm Rachel the wandering Rock type enthusiast slash gym leader." "A Honedge hmm? I'm not an expert on steel or ghost types, I'm a bit...Rock-centric? Regardless, any research is admirable Aedre, and field work is without a doubt the best kind of research there is! Though I should say that any researcher that claims a field is mostly understood isn't looking at a broad enough picture. It's entirely likely that we'll discover completely unknown fossil Pokemon that change the way we view them altogether. It certainly wouldn't be the first time."
With a deep breath, Rachel turned back to Amber. "Larimar huh? She seems to like the name." Rachel said grinning. Naming could solidify a bond between trainer and Pokemon, though said bond could certainly be made otherwise. A name could be something personal that the Pokemon saw as a gift from the person raising them.
After the events of the last few days, Alexis and her team felt that they had earned the right to sleep in a little today. Yesterday was just a whirlwind of emotions and stress, but today, and Alexis swears this, they were going to be well-rested before they go off to fulfill their destinies.
So they did just that. They slept in a while, and then got up out of bed when they were good and ready. Alexis washed up, and picked out fresh clothes, and strapped her mic to her hip.
"Alright....Time to train."
Her team wasn't going to magically get stronger, and she wasn't going to become an idol of the people by doing absolutely nothing. They were going to get better today...somehow. She hadn't really though of how they would get stronger, aside from battling, that is. She needed to think of a way to get an edge against her opponents.
Deneb simply looked up at the two who had acknowledged his presence. He didn't say a word, and his face showed no particular emotion towards them. He did not know these people, and had only seen them a few times. Still, they at least should know why he followed them to the place. If they hadn't figured that out already.
Sophia looked down at the oddly-dressed boy. "Fair warning, it's not gonna be easy," she said. "I-I mean, not that the gym's going to be any problem for me!" There was no way she'd let on what had happened last time round, and she hoped Lan wouldn't say anything about it during their rematch.
The rematch. She had to be able to do this. She had to. She'd get some training in first, and then she'd show that old bald know-it-all.
Putting on her confident act, she strode, her head high - only to jump as she sensed some people behind her. She whirled round. Just some passers-by, minding their own business. She really had to pull herself together - she'd embarrassed herself enough.
"Exactly. There's still a lot about fossil Pokemon that we don't know, most likely including other species. I mean, Anorith was only fairly recently discovered," Amber replied, leaning down and gently petting Larimar's rocky shell.
"A sea-coloured gemstone... I thought the name fit a Pokemon who once lived in ancient oceans."
Kyra started whimpering, her wide, sad eyes on her trainer. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you," Amber said, scratching the puppy behind her ears. Perking up, Kyra gave a happy yip.
Amber looked up from the little dog. "And I definitely agree about field work."
And so they were at the gym once more. This time hopefully somebody would be leaving with a badge. Rheese looked at Minior's Pokeball with some hesitation. Type-wise the pokemon would be incredibly useful, stat-wise as well. It was just...Minior and any notion of 'control' had been a tough mix so far.
Of course Sophia had already said something about the gym battle being easy, which wasn't out of the ordinary. Honestly, Rheese wasn't sure if he should envy that confidence or be worried about it. He sighed, slightly annoyed with himself for doubting his chances. They needed to train anyway, it wasn't as though he would be battling Lan straight off.
"So, Sophia. Do you have a strategy?" He asked purposefully avoiding any mention of the earlier match.
"I'm glad to hear that you feel that way Amber!" Rachel said with a grin. "I actually only took my job as a gym leader so I could have full access to the entire region. Speaking of gym leaders, I should probably ask if any of you are taking the regional challenge?"
"If so, I promise not to hold anything back if we battle one day!"
"Well, I happen to have gotten this new TM yesterday," Sophia explained with a smirk. "Surely it'll make things much easie- uhh, make things easy for me." Ignoring the tightening knot of anxiety, she strode forward into the building. "Just watch."
With that, she marched up to one of the students who had witnessed yesterday's battle. "Hey! Remember me?" Setting Lacey down and placing her hand on her hip, she did her usual trick of making her Pokeballs spin around her. The Gothita gave an exasperated mutter, putting up a wall of light. The Pokeballs bounced off, scattering and rolling on the floor.
"Uhh, never mind that!" Sophia hurriedly made the Pokeballs reattach themselves to her belt. "Let's just say I've learned a thing or two. Want to see for yourself?"
The man bowed, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Very well. It's essential for a new trainer to learn from their mistakes."
Sophia cringed at the hint of sarcasm in his tone. Great, another know-it-all... Well, she'd show him. "Lacey, start this!"
As Lacey stepped forward, the student sent out his own Pokemon. "Rattata. Begin with Bite."
Watching her Gothita take the sharp-toothed attack, Sophia gasped. "What's with that Rattata?" She'd never seen a black one with mustache-like whiskers before. "Ok, Lacey, Reflect!" The wall of light reappeared.
"He's not from around here," the student explained. "All Rattatas in the Alola region look like this." He turned back to his Pokemon. "Now, offset that Reflect with a Tail Whip." The rat wagged his tail, lowering Lacey's guard.
"Heh. Cute." Sophia sneered. "Take it out with Confusion!" She stared in shock as Lacey's psychic blast did absolutely nothing. "What...?"
"Alolan Rattatas have Dark as well as Normal typing," the man told her. "Maybe, before attempting a gym challenge, you should read up on Pokemon of that gym's type. Now, Bite again." Even through the force field, the damage Lacey took from the gnashing incisors was too much for her to withstand. She collapsed.
"Ah! Lacey!" Withdrawing the fainted Gothita, Sophia commanded another Pokemon to step in. "Grimalkin! Use Scratch!"
Her smirk reappeared as, even with the Tackles and Quick attacks from the opposing Pokemon, the Purrloin's scratches wore the Rattata down until it slumped. In a flash of light, a Whismur took its place, easily shaking off the cat's attack. At the student's command - Echoed Voice - it opened its mouth and let out an ear-splitting screech, sending Grimalkin flipping back. She landed on her feet, snarling and hissing.
Sophia winced from both the sound and the way the battle was starting to go. "Keep at it, Grimalkin! Scratch!" The Whismur simply retaliated with another Echoed Voice, louder and harsher than the last.
Her entire body tense as Grimalkin fainted, Sophia called to her last Pokemon. "Arcturus, you can do this! Use Water Gun!" A third Echoed Voice attack, though, was all it took to send the Staryu toppling over, its core blinking.
Uncovering her ears, Sophia was speechless as she returned Arcturus. She'd just lost to a student. Losing to a gym leader was one thing, but a STUDENT?! She could barely look at anyone around her.
Amber nodded. "That's my plan, it's one way to study Pokemon. I've never heard of a travelling gym leader before, the gym leaders in Kanto stay in one place - must be exciting, going from town to town. And yeah, once I'm more experienced, I'd be more than happy to battle."
She wondered what she'd discover during her own travels... and what challenges she and the others would run into. Remembering the man in the strange, round outfit and his threat, she acknowledged with a shudder that things were only likely to become tougher. Not that it would stop her. She wasn't going to set out into the world only to withdraw from it.
"You wouldn't mind telling us," she asked, "what the rest of Kosei is like? I've done some reading up, but seeing as you must know the region pretty well..."
“Completely agree on your thoughts about taking on an unknown field,” Aedre said to Rachel, grinning. “The mysteries around Honedge are exactly what got me so interested in it. How exactly did the spirit come to reside within the sword? Was there a specific process that bound the creature to the sword, or was it just that the spirit felt that they still had something to do? Also, what kind of spirit is it — human or Pokemon? Does it still remember its former life?” Aedre asked rapidly, citing questions as they came to her.
The flow of endless questions that cropped up around Honedge and its latter evolutions was precisely why she’d been drawn to the ghost-type. In a way, the sword was almost like a fossil; its life was in the past, its body long decayed, yet it had reawakened somehow, living on past its time. Its form clearly suggested that Honedge came into existence after humans had, so was the spirit inside every Honedge a human, mind suppressed as it continued its life as a ghostly weapon?
And, rambling again, Aedre thought, figuring not to cite her thoughts out loud this time. There was no need for Amber, or Rachel, to hear that line of thought.
“It’s a beautiful name,” Aedre told Amber, a smile on her lips as she watched the other scientist placate her Rockruff. Much like her parents, Amber seemed to have an innate love for Pokemon of all kinds, as well as a knack for working with them. Aedre aspired to that level of confidence and security in her own skills, with both Pokemon and people.
Looking over at Rachel’s question, Aedre frowned. “I’m, well, actually not sure if I’m staying for that long,” she admitted hesitantly before brightening up. “But, if I do get an extension to my time in Kosei, you can bet on it.”
Team:
Pasithea “Thea” ♀ — Togepi (11)
Attacks:Growl, Charm, Metronome, Sweet Kiss
Ability:Serene Grace
Alitis “Little” ♂ — Fletchling (11)
Attacks:Tackle, Growl, Quick Attack
Ability:Gale Wings
Decus “Dee” ♂ — Honedge (6)
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)
Rheese's first battle in the gym had gone decently. Of course, he owed that to Minior. Normal types usually countered rock types with common fighting moves, a method that wasn't so readily available against a rock/flying type. Wooper and Cottonee hadn't pulled much weight, despite Rheese's best efforts to encourage them. Obviously his opponent had more skill, but the lack of an availiable counter had decided the entire battle. The student had attempted to chide him for winning on type advantage alone, but those words fell on deaf ears as Rheese watched the conclusion of Sophia's battle.
He didn't say a word, if he had it probably would have done more harm. Instead he pretended he didn't see her loss. After healing his Pokemon he came back and struggled to figure out something he could say or do, but he wasn't exactly great at that kind of thing.
So, Sophia. Do you have a strategy? his question to Sophia from earlier replayed in his head. Any reference to it now would sound mocking, so clearly he'd have to avoid the topic.
"Those are all good questions, Aedre. In fact, plenty of Pokemon share a similar mystery of origin. Another question that bugs me though...How can a Honedge hatch from an egg? I mean certainly there are stranger occurrences in this world of ours, but the breeding of ghost pokemon as a whole is an oddity with little to no explanation." Rachel said curiously. "I certainly hope that your stay is extended though, it's always so nice to meet trainers with an affinity for Pokemon research."
"Of course I can!" Rachel said as she pulled out her map. "Anything you want to know about specifically?"
Before Oscar knew it, the group was at the gym. He watched them challenge a gym student. Rheese's one went quite well, despite suffering heavy losses but Sophia's oppenent ,on the other hand, was not so forgiving. Clearly, she is not so prepared for this gym. From her general body langauge, Oscar can see disappointment and shame. He goes up to get. "Sophia, do you want to train with me later today?"
Sophia turned away from the others, cringing as she hurried from the room in search of the healing machine. Rheese had seen that, he hadn't said anything but he'd surely seen... and so had this newcomer in desert robes... and so had Oscar.
Sure enough, the one she could least bring herself to face was the one who spoke to her. She turned around, forcing herself to meet his gaze as she folded her arms.
"Heh. I'll... I'll show you what I'm really capable of then!" Despite her efforts to sound confident, her voice shook, betraying the cracks in her facade. "You've already seen it for yourself once! Th-That, just now... That meant nothing! How was I supposed to know that Rattata was a Dark type? Hmph!"
She placed the three Pokeballs in the machine, shoulders hunched and trembling as she stood over it, waiting for her Pokemon to be healed. She'd gone and let them down again.
"Well," Amber replied to Aedre's comment, "there are a few theories about Honedge. One is that they're the souls of warriors who died in battle and still had things they wanted to accomplish, possessing either their own swords to keep fighting, or the swords of their enemies to get revenge by drinking their life force. Another is that they're spirits who were summoned by soldiers to aid them, and slowly drained their wielders as a price. But nobody knows for sure. And yes, how exactly ghost Pokemon can breed is still a mystery."
She thought for a moment. "Something that confuses me is how certain Pokemon can become Ghost types as they evolve. Froslass, for example. It's said they're born from the souls of women lost in the mountains possessing shards of ice, but they evolve from Snorunt, a pure Ice type with an alternate evolutionary path. Maybe it's just a legend, or maybe there are two kinds of Froslass, some who were once Snorunts and some who were once human? I mean, as fascinating as the thought of rebirth as a Ghost type sounds..." At that point, several people moved away from her. "That story is a little baffling."
The reactions of those around her indicated it was time to stop babbling. Besides, the mysteries surrounding death were something she'd rather discover much later in life, not any time soon. Memories of that close call with the Aerodactyl brought a shudder.
"Uh, anyway." She looked over at Rachel. "I just wanted to know, what are the nearby towns like? And what are the best places for research? I hear Qualeen has quite a reputation for that, is it true there's a fossil revival lab there?"
lv:11 
lv:10
lv:13
