Ask to Join Hoenn, a region under tyranny.

[Sapere]

OOC
I know it might be difficult to comb through all the posts to catch up to where the storyline is at; please check out the Pokemon Role Play Discussion forum post (Under the same title name) for a TL;DR version of events.

Wormhole Rules (In other words, how to join)

The gateway to Hoenn will deposit incoming heroes (you, the player) in random locations far away from other human settlements. Typically deep in a forest, a mountain or a desert. In other words, invent your own character and use the portal to travel to Hoenn.
IMPORTANT: THE LOCATION DOES NOT NEED TO BE WHERE OTHER MEMBERS ARE. YOU MAY DROP YOURSELF ANYWHERE YOU WANT SO LONG AS NO ONE SEES YOU.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT USE THE PORTAL AS A TRAVELING DEVICE, ONE TIME USE ONLY.

Rules
Rule 1. Choose two 'starter' pokemon. They must start at their base evolutionary stage if they have one. No items are carried over, only your knowledge of pokemon. They may retain evolutionary moves and traits, as long as it makes sense.
Rule 2. You must capture your last pokemon during your travels in Hoenn (party of three pokemon maximum). At your convenience, of course.

Optional Choices
For your nickname, please try to keep them as simple and short as possible for ease of use in combat. Mono/di-syllabic nicknames are perfect.

Introduction

In a different world, following a different timeline, Hoenn was subjugated by an organization who named itself Team Elite. They have, over the course of several generations, gained an absolute control over the distribution of pokemon as well as any knowledge relating to the mysterious critters.

By keeping all the rare pokemons for themselves and spreading it among their veteran members, they have kept the world around them on a leash. Citizens are warned that wild pokemon are savage and cruel, and any contact between humans and pokemon are to be avoided. The general populace remain ignorant to the concept of coexistence, and any rebellion of thought on this subject is quickly and brutally dealt with by the local Team Elite Gym leader.

The Pokemon Rangers, a police force that should be keeping the region in harmony and stability, have long been infiltrated and taken over by Team Elite. All scientific progress concerning pokemon such as the manufacturing of pokeballs, potions and the like, are kept under stringent security in the Devon Corporation located in Rustboro City. Mauville City has been stripped of its glamorous shell and reduced to the largest manufacturing plant in the region, under heavy guard by Team Elite's finest.

Very little is known of Team Elite's internal structure at the highest levels, although speculation and rumour seem to indicate there are ten highly trained specialized squadrons of trios whose sole duty is to enforce Team Elite's rule over Hoenn.

Prologue

It flitted through the Petalburg trees so rapidly, a phantom flicker of refracted luminescence, that even had there been someone watching they would have seen nothing except a glimmer of light in the dark forest. A deep sense of urgency drove it onward toward its destination; a single-minded devotion to fulfill the wish it had been asked of.

As dawn's first rays touched the rustling crown of the eldest oak tree in Petalburg Forest, it broke through the treelines to reach the decrepit and ruined remains of what had once been a town. A half shattered wooden sign, buried underneath several wooden beams read "Li-tle---t To-n". The pokemon whizzed around the centre of the ruins and paused, confused by what it was supposed to do. Closing its twin eyes, the pokemon drew from the deep well that lay behind its mortal frame and summoned a spark of the divine.

The air rippled, so faintly at first it was almost imperceptible, then stronger. A sphere of distorted matter began to eat away at the space around it, and several pulses of light?power burst from the epicentre of the localized dimensional gate.

"Heroes of another world, heed my call." The message echoed into the void of where time and space ceased to operate. It opened its two eyes and gazed at the wormhole, now the size of a medium sized Swampert and nodded decisively. It had fulfilled the wish, and now it was time to move on. In the blink of an eye, it vanished.

-Insert Line Break-

He felt something wet and slimy licking his face. Groaning, Ayce opened his eyes blearily to identify the source so he could put an end to it and go back to his blissful and serene sleep, when all of a sudden, a realization struck him. He was not in his room anymore. Suddenly wide awake, Ayce jerked upright and took in his new, unfamiliar surroundings. The sterile broken remains of an abandoned town greeted him coldly, and the massive distortion hanging in the middle of it sent a chilling shiver down his spine. 'That should not be there, it was wrongwrongwrong-.' Ayce cut that train of thought abruptly, through sheer force of will, and dragged his gaze away from the impossibility before him and onto the Eevee that had licked his face. For a second, he almost didn't recognize her. It had been so long since she had last been an Eevee, almost four years now, and the last time he had seen her so young was-.

"Ava?" Ayce muttered in bewilderment. "Is that you?" He half stated, half asked.

Ava raised an eyebrow at him, shooting him a familiar look of exasperation and confusion which said "You're being stupid again." Only it didn't look right on an Eevee's face, not when she had been an Espeon just a few hours ago.

But before he could say anything more, a sudden pain lanced through his skull and knowledge, sparse as it was, slammed into his mind. Hoenn. Team Elite. A sense of urgency and wrongness flooded his stomach and Ayce had to grit his teeth to stifle the sudden wave of nausea and vertigo that threatened to overwhelm him. Beside him, Ava growled in worry, jumping lithely onto his half prostrated form and butted Ayce in the head.

"Ouch!" He proclaimed, the pain distracting him from his nausea. "Why you little..." Ayce frowned. He did feel a little better. Ava smirked smugly, her glowing eyes faded back to normal black. Psychic types were rather good at soothing migraines.

A sudden hiss alerted him to the presence of another pokemon. Ken, his fierce and loyal Scizor, now somehow de-evolutionized into a Scyther, had unsheathed his blades. He had been standing a little ways away from Ava and his trainer, and had strategically placed himself between the tear in space-time and them in order to form a preliminary defence line. His sharp gaze was focused intently before him and Ayce realized, with a sudden flicker of dread, that something was coming through the wormhole. Ava gave a little growl and jumped down in front of him, a faint pink glow surrounding her as she readied herself. It was just the three of them against whoever or whatever was coming through the portal, and Ayce was not sure he liked these odds. Fighting the urge to panic, he steadied himself as best he could.

'Ready or not...' He thought.

 

[ChungHa]

It was a rough ride, indeed. The worm whole only grew slightly larger, before an almost devastating warping audio reached Ayce and his pokemons' ears. Through the gaping spherical gate, out came jumping through - a slightly small silhouetted human physique, with an oddly shaped hovering creature next to it.

Once the silhouette had successfully cleared the gate, it landed on its two feet in front of Ayce - this time it was an obvious young ladies body. The girl took a relieving sigh and stood. Dressed in all black, she had a hood thrown up over her head, leaving only two locks of pure white hair visible framing her face, in which she adorned large black shades. The girl looked as if she were disguising her identity, and carried a dark strapped gym bag, the strings tightly gripped on her shoulders.

Placing her hands on her hips, she chuckled mischievously and called out cheerfully.

"Amazing job, Burma!" The girl referred to the pink wooled, bouncing Wormadam hovering beside her. "We nailed it for surrrr-...."

She cut herself off as the teen looked around. Not only was she in a completely unfamiliar surrounding, but she saw a person before her with two Pokemon with him. She slowly came to the awful realization she had feared. She and her Wormadam leaped backwards, looking around comically fast.

"T-This isn't....WHO are you!?" The seemingly spy girl asked, pointing her finger out at the boy before her. "And how have I ended up here!?"

As she would wait for a response, her Wormadam would intently glare at the two pokemon before them, who both seemed fairly intimidating.

 

[Sapere]

Admittedly, Ayce mused to himself, this was definitely not what he had been expecting. Thoroughly taken aback, he realized after an awkward moment of silence that the petite white haired girl was still pointing at him accusingly, evidently waiting upon his reply.

Her eyes and features were hidden beneath her hood and sunglasses, and Ayce could not tell if she was angry or not. However, judging from her fluid and synchronized movement with her pokemon, one which he had never seen before, she was definitely no stranger to combat, and he had no wish to come to blows over a misunderstanding.

The intense staring contest between her pink fluffball pokemon and his scyther made him realize he needed to diffuse the situation, and fast, before it got out of hand. The black haired youth quickly raised both of his hands up into the air in a non-threatening gesture.

"Ah," Ayce began sheepishly, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I think there's been a misunderstanding here. My name is Ayce Sapere and I found myself here in much the same circumstances as you. I too would like to know how we got here."

His scyther Ken, recognizing in his trainer's voice a lack of aggression, lowered his bladed arms. He did not, however, move away from his position in between the two trainers. Ava on the other hand, cautiously stepped around her steadfast companion and approached the newcomer with the languid grace common to the Eevee line. Tilting her head to the side in curiosity, she stared up at the stranger with cute, disarming eyes and purred softly. "Eeveee?"

In Fallarbor Town.

"Sir, you need to come see this." A woman in her early thirties shifted nervously on her feet as she addressed her superior. "We've detected a large burst of energy near Littleroot Town. Our machines have begun to behave oddly, right around the time when the energy pulse passed by them. We're not sure what is causing them to malfunction, but initial data suggests..." She swallowed hard, unsure how to say what she was about to say without sounding completely mad. "It suggests a localized time dilation. Sir." She finished anxiously.

He narrowed his eyes in thought. "Interesting." What in Hoenn could be happening there? "Send the closest ranger team to investigate. I want eyes on the anomaly as quickly as possible."

"Yes sir." The blue haired woman nodded quickly. She hated being under her bosses' scrutiny. There was something about the way he looked at her that made her skin crawl. The blank and cold stare of someone who simply didn't care about you, she fought back a shiver.

"You may leave." He dismissed her without another thought and she breathed a sigh of relief, not having realized that she had been holding her breath until she exited his office. On her way to her desk, she pulled out a device and plugged in the coordinates for the general area where the energy pulse had come from. 'Send nearest team, visual update ASAP.' She clicked send. Ten seconds later, a beep sounded and she cast a quick glance at her pager. 'Received. Ranger team 35 en route. ETA 15 minutes.' Satisfied, she went back to her work, pushing the event to a corner of her mind. Odds were this was just another glitch from the machines, there was no way there could actually be a time warp occurring there. Right?

 

[ChungHa]

The girl suspiciously raised an eyebrow as the boy threw his hands up, and spoke as if he wasnt a threat. The combat Pokemon beside him had lowered his blades, seemingly showing no intentions to resort to violence. However the platinum blonde girl couldn't seem to shake off this strained feeling in the air that had made its way to her senses.

But the dark haired boy, who looked around her own age, gave his name. Why? That's something she had no idea of. Usually given out information such as that would be ludicrous in a situation like this - unless it was offered as a peace treaty of sorts.

"Ayce.....?" She replied. He could just be a mere grunt of Team Elite, and be lying to her about his indentity.

She began to doubt that theory, though, as an Eevee came around and looked up to at her and called out, almost looking as to communicate. Neither Ayce or his Pokemon seemed to know where they were, either.

Looking towards Wormadam for reassurance, the girl sighed, and dropped her accusing body language. Relaxing a bit she slowly removed her large sunglasses, revealing large, deep blue eyes. However her hood remained up. Showing too much identifying features to a stranger could be dangerous at this time.

"...The name's Serene...I come from-"

As she began to explain herself in order to situate out this whole mishap, a very small and thin black solid band on her wrist began causing a racing beeping sound, and a circular encarving on the wristband flashed red.

"Oh-Oh crap! This isn't good....they found us." Serene panicked, looking around in all directions.

Examining the room, she turned around, seeing the warp gate still opened and going strong.

"Dangit! This gave us away. Come on! We need to go...now."

All of Serene's senses tensed up as she lunged forwards, grasping Ayce's arms and leaped out through the warp gate - her Wormadam following behind in a fast manner.

If they caught them, they were both screwed beyond comprehension.

 

[Sapere]

"W-wait," Ayce stammered, realizing too late her intentions as she grabbed his arm. They entered the portal, Ayce flailing as he fell, off-balanced.

An eerie silence followed suit as most of Ayce's senses stopped working. He felt vaguely sluggish, as though he were traveling through thick sludge. Was this what it felt like to be an insect frozen in amber? An eternity of moments passed in the time it took to think that thought, and then the black haired youth felt an intense pressure crushing him from all sides, as though his entire body was being squeezed through a narrow tube too small to fit him, and ohmygodhecouldntbreatheandhewaschoking-.

Air. Blessed, sweet oxygen flooded his lungs. For what felt like a minute, Ayce just lay there in the middle of the grassy knoll surrounded by vast oak trees, breathing, trying to regain his balance.

"I... I'm never doing that again." He said, propping on his elbows. Beside him, Ava bristled in agreement, her fur standing up in agitation. It made her look like a demented porcupine, albeit a fluffy one.

Ken hissed angrily as he glared at the girl, Serene. He did not appreciate the manhandling of his trainer, and took it upon himself to rectify his earlier failure in protecting his charge. His entire body tensed and coiled into itself as he prepared to attack, wings and blades fully extended.

"Ken, NO!" Ayce barked, realizing what his pokemon was about to do. He lurched to his feet unsteadily, and braced himself against a nearby tree, whose trunk was three times his width. The impressive part was that it was not even the largest in the clearing.

"Okay Serene. You have some explaining to do." Ayce looked at the blue eyed girl coldly. "You can start with that device on your wrist, and who you meant by 'they'." Ava had moved closer to him as he spoke and her eyes were glowing softly, ready to cast Protect on the two of them.

Meanwhile back in Littleroot Town

"Ranger team thirty-five reporting on site," A blonde woman spoke in clipped tones into her walkie talkie. "This is leader Clarissa speaking. Initial observations indicate nothing unusual." Pausing, she cast another glance over the ruins. "Over."

Her two companions, decked in the same viridian uniform stepped into her line of sight. A shake of head indicated they had found nothing.

"After a careful search, we have concluded nothing out of ordinary. Over." Clarissa's sharp eyes caught uneven grass even as she spoke. Something had lain there, and judging from the indentation in the grass, it had been no bigger than two ratatas. A stray pokemon, perhaps. Only, there were no marks leading to or away from the point. It was odd.

"This is central. Bzzt. Report received, Ranger three-three-oh. Anything else of interest? Bzzt. Top brass seems to think something big was happening there. Over."

For a second, Clarissa almost contemplated reporting what she had just discovered, but quickly shook her head. Perhaps she was wrong and a stray piece of debris had been carried away by the wind. At any rate, it wasn't important enough to warrant further investigation.

"Nothing to report, CC." Clarissa used the abbreviated acronym for Command Central in order to save some time. "Over and out."

"Okay then, you can resume your regular patrol, ranger unit thirty-five. Over and out."

Clarissa nodded to her teammates as she slid her communication device back onto her multipurpose belt, clipping it into place with a black Velcro strap. "Back to Petalburg Woods lads."

 

[OmegaCarvineplays]

Omega cursed as he was flung into the void. His breath was tagged as he hung onto loose strands of oxygen flowing through the tube like area. His eyes squinted as he was fling forwards into the ground. He swore and shakily stood up. His earphones were still intact and he didn't lose his hat. Thankfully he had his pokeballs in his pocket. He smiled as the sunlight danced arias his face and illuminated the world around him. He saw 2 figures and yelped as strange memories flooded his head." Who the hell is Team Elite?" He found himself whispering and gazed towards the duo. They seemed to have Pokemon with them. He might as well ask for help.

" Hey! Why am I in hoenn all of a sudden?" He cursed and bit his lip too hard. The sensation of blood dripped in his mouth and he spat. He released the Pokemon and frowned as a shiny Mudkip and a cyndaquil emerged." Scorch? Swampy? What happened how did you devolve?" He looked at the Scyther that was going on a rampage and laughed." Guys code 16." He ordered and the Pokemon nodded. Swampy jumped high in the air and uses mud bomb to create a minature wall around the Pokemon and Scorch let loose a flame wheel. He span across the wall creating a ring of fire." Are you guys ok?" He yelled and ran towards the boy.

 

[Rex]

"You know, I'm not sure where we are anymore."

They had been in a cave full of running water. Ryan had originally assumed that it was Reversal Mountain, but the terrain was entirely wrong, much too lush to be the badlands of Lentimas or the beaches of Undella. Likewise, there was a city some distance away, much too large even from this distance to be either mentioned town. Perhaps if he hadn't lost his Town Map somewhere along the way through this strange mountain, he'd be able to figure out where exactly he was now.

Several things troubled the trainer at the moment, all having something to do with the strangeness of his current situation. Chief among his concerns: he was missing two-thirds of his team. All that remained were a Pokeball and a Great Ball clipped to his belt. Secondly, the Pokemon presently following him had been a Dewott when Ryan entered the cave, now it was an Oshawott. It was undoubtedly his Dodger, Ryan knew his Pokemon. The little Pokemon walked with the same confidence it always had, yet Ryan could tell that underneath that, Dodger felt small and confused.

The Pokemon inhabiting the Great Ball had also been restored to the form Ryan had captured him in. Ryan thought it best to allow that one to rest, however. If something happened, he wanted at least one of his Pokemon to be fully energized. He felt safer that way. Still, he couldn't deny that this was shaping up to be quite an adventure, and adventures were something the Trainer enjoyed greatly.

Ryan had gone on a few adventures already. He was a young man, of above average height. While not exactly muscular, he was quite fit, though this was somewhat hard to tell underneath his clothing. He wore a pair of black pants, and a similarly colored t-shirt and shoes. Over top the shirt, he wore a blue long sleeved jacket, usually closed, but open at the moment, as it was much warmer here than in Unova. He had blond hair, and one blue eye. His left one, to be exact, the right eye had been lost some time ago. He wore a gray eyepatch over it, which was large enough to mostly cover the three claw marks that extended from above his eyebrow down to his right cheek.

Ryan clambered down from the opening of the cave he had exited, Dodger following along behind him, until the two reached a well traveled path that lead from the grassy field down to the city. From there, they walked in silence, both taking in their surroundings as best they could. It was Dodger who spotted the sign first, in the giant blind side that had once been Ryan's right peripheral. The Oshawott dutifully caught his Trainer's attention with a cry, to which Ryan responded with a smile.

"Oh, thank you Dodger! What would I do without you." The Trainer strode over to the sign, crouching down and cocking his head slightly down and right to get a good look at it with his good eye. "Let's see... Route 115, north to Meteor Falls, south to Rustboro City." He stood up again, and, mostly thinking out loud now, said, "Rustboro... That must mean we're in Hoenn."

The Trainer turned to look at the not-so-distant city. He had heard of it, of course. Home to Devon, developer of the PokeNav and numerous Pokeball variants, and seat of Roxanne's Gym. "Think we can manage a Gym Challenge while we're here?" Ryan joked, glancing at Dodger, who didn't share Ryan's sense of humor at the moment. "Aw, fine. Well we should at least go and see what we can learn."

 

[Titmcdubs]

He felt the air pull from his lungs, as though he'd been holding his breath for an extensive time underwater. A pull for air, sharp and painful. He could feel himself being launched forward at a speed that should not be possible, in a place he shouldn't be, with a destination he didn't know. There was a light ahead. He could see it. The images all around him flashing too fast to catch the many stories it tried to tell. All he could focus on, was the image of the bright light ahead of him.

He was only what had to be meters away. He could almost feel the fresh air, a breath free of this collapsing pressure. So close-

WHAM

Something slammed into him from the side. It felt as though his bones were being fractured into millions of pieces. His head began to ache immediately. His thoughts became a jumbled mess. His senses crossing. He was no longer launching forward. He could feel his stomach take on a qweezy feeling. As though suddenly being dropped in mid air. The light, it shot above him. No, he was falling. Something knocked him out of his path, as if something entered back into the portal as it wasn't suppose to.

His thoughts were becoming more and more lost within his mind. He couldn't make out the most simple of thought. All he could think about was the pain, the feeling of falling and gasping breaths that gave no relief.

A blinding light filled his senses, air flooded into his lungs and a giant gasp that made them feel as if they would over inflate and explode. His downward falling motion became a sideways force as he launched out of the portal slamming the ground into a skid ontop his skull. The only thing to stop him, one of the many trees that seem to skatter among the woods. Excruciating pain filled every part of him, he wanted to cry out in pain, but couldn't make out the thought of how before thoughts began to flood his already jumbled brain. Incoherent thoughts. Something about Team Elites and Rangers. It became just as confusing as the information became lost among his sporadic thoughts.

The headache and body pain caused his stomach to curl. He reached down to hug his insides as most of them ended up as his feet in a violent upchuck.
"Wh- what the heck is going on?" He would barely make out crippled over on his knees. He reached to his belt. He can't remember why, but he had put his best friends in there pokeballs. Wait... His best friends, he remembered them!

He quickly grabbed the pokeballs at his side, a lose grip caused by the throbbing pain, had them slip out his hand, dropping to the floor and releasing their contents.

A flash of light would reveal to small figures. One a small mouse like creature with big arrow like ears and a small zigzagged tail. A pichu. The second was slightly larger. A green Pokemon, with a horn upon its head, black marks under its eyes, a larg mouth and an orange stomach. A larvitar.

The boy looked over at his friends. Even more confusion filling his mind. "Wh- wha- " he tried to reach to the two next to him. "Rak? Leon? What happen to you guys?" He quickly retracted his hand, gripping his stomach once more. The next round of hurling coming. His friends Barakiel and Leonidus quickly ran to his side, Barakiel jumping onto his back as he leaned over and Leonidus grasping his shirt as his side.

The boy was average height, and average size. A very forgettable figure. His has a plain face, except for two details that seem to stick out. Blue eyes that seemed to pierce your soul as you looked into them, and blonde hair that seem to capture the very sun's rays.

Neither one of them knew where they were, or why. They just knew they were stuck in some woods, and this wasn't there world...

 

[ChungHa]

Serene had landed in a soft and delicate manner as the dark haired boy and herself exited the warp gate. It was a fast but blurred travel in her point of view. A tint of faint purple surrounded her body as she came to a slowed landing to her feet on the multiplied Petalburg leaves, and then faded away. Her Wormadam hovered behind her with its eyes glowing the same shade of color as the aura that had formerly emitted from Serene's physique.

"Thanks, Burma! It worked this time." Serene commented, praising her Pokemon like earlier before.

A slight rustling within the small round sack Serene had with her began to become noticeable from her back, but then went still a short moment after. The girl released a slight breathe of relief, and put the moment behind her, hoping no one had noticed. However, after soon remembering she had brought a guest with her, she turned her direction towards Ayce, who obviously had a much harder time with the travel. She examined the boy who was on the ground, with just a little bit of dirt accessorizing his clothing.

"Oops! It totally slipped my mind that that was most likely your first time. My Wormadam here had used a psychic-type move that we figured would physically and mentally lessen the effects of travel within that....thing. Probably should've thought about you back there...my bad." She innocently admitted.

She began stepping towards Ayce whilst tapping the top of her bracelet, which was still quickly flashing red. The beeping stopped as her finger subtly touched the bracelet. As she moved closer to the boy, she stopped in her tracks as the Scyther that had stuck by his side poised for a fighting position.

The hovering pink fluff rushed up to her trainer's side as well, her ribbon like arms flailing in a violent manner until corrected by Serene.

"It's alright, Burma." She spoke tenderly.

The blue eyed petite flashed a small smile at Ayce as he demanded information - although she was taken aback at the fact that he seemed to be more confused than he naturally should have been. She rose her left wrist as the boy questioned it.

"Oh, this? It's just a little something to ensure my safety. Whenever their own gadgets and contraptions gain a sighting point of my location, it alerts me - so I can stay clear of them." She explained, referring to someone she obviously was too disgusted by to say the name.

Yet to her displeasure, Ayce intended to find out who 'they' were. Serene frowned.

"Team Elite...of course." She whispered. "You know how they are, right? All they've done? So many people here think they are Hoenn's saving grace, and are protecting us from 'vicious rabid pokemon', but I see right through them, and what their true intentions are. I've been tracking their actions and WILL find out their headquarters and end them. I just need the right resources..."

The girl began to wonder if this boy was one of the citizens who was completely clueless to Team Elite, because according to his actions and tone, he surely wasn't affiliated with them.

As she explained more about her own life's mission, out of the warp gate came a completely random stranger who she hadn't even noticed - albeit until he directly ordered an attack on one of Ayce's Pokemon.

Shocked and confused, Serene was stunned, and was almost completely sure this stranger was a member of Team Elite. She called out to her Wormadam, who instantly knew what actions to take.

Before the attacking stranger could speak, he was surrounded in a dark blue tint, being hoisted high in the air - Psychic. Wormadam's eyes glowed as it utiziled the move it had just recently mastered.

 

[Dandelion]

It was dark in the woods, far away from any known trails or trainers, yet a small flicker of light could be seen from a small clearing. A young Pokémon Ranger sat at a small campfire, eating a hot meal. She was slightly shorter than average height, with dark brown hair cut in a choppy bob and hazel eyes. Beside her lay an Arcanine, who appeared to be snoozing.

The young Ranger paused, her brow furrowing in slight concern as Prince, her Arcanine rose up from his slumbering condition and growled menacingly off into the dark woods.

"What is it, Prince? A rogue Pokémon?" Setting down her tin plate of food, she peered over the campfire into the darkness. Prince's fur bristled as he uttered a deep rumbling growl. "You don't know?" Her frown deepened. "I understand. Raincloud! I need you." Tossing a pokeball, a Pelipper appeared and flew into the nearest tree to look inquisitively at her trainer. "Rain, I need you to fly that way and seek out anything odd. Once you find it, come back immediately. I'm breaking camp." She motioned in the direction Prince was facing. Rain made a small squawk in recognition and flew off amongst the trees.

Quickly finishing off the food (with Prince's help), she re-packed her bag with the efficiency and ease of someone who had done it a million times. Another squawk alerted her to Rain's return and with the Pelipper's help, put out the campfire, plunging them all into darkness.

"Prince, follow Rain. We'll find.... whatever it is." Leaping onto the large Pokémon's back, she gripped his mane tightly and flattened herself against his fur. Dashing off into the forest at breakneck speed, the young Ranger just closed her eyes and waited. Feeling him begin to slow down, she opened her eyes again and sat up carefully as they entered a small clearing.

She could feel every fiber of Prince's fur was tense and soon she saw why... a strange glowing thing stood in the middle of the clearing. It wasn't a Pokemon... neither did it seem alive. "Rain... return." She called back her companion as she slipped off the edge of Prince's back. "You know what we have to do, Prince." She murmured, her hand gripping his fur for comfort.

Slowly and deliberately, they walked together towards the light... only to vanish completely, leaving the clearing empty and dark.

Pain... that's what she was feeling. Pain in her head, pain in her arms, pain in her butt... Opening her eyes, she found herself upside-down in a tree, sprawled out in a most inelegant way. Prince was with her... but smaller? With a groan she strained her neck to see what had happened to him. "Prince...?" She questioned as the small Growlithe tangled in the branches next to her woofed a response. Barely with enough time to comprehend this strange phenomenon, a small ruckus burst out from somewhere below her. It sounded like kids getting into a Pokemon battle. Kids were always noisy when they got excited. With another groan, she attempted to turn herself upright... only to fall out of the tree.

 

[Juggalette97]

In the shadows of a cave, a girl tiptoed towards a Diglett, follwed closely by a Braixen who was using her stick to light the way. Right before she could issue an attack, the air changed, warping around itself and creating a large hole. The Diglett turns in surprise before quickly burrowing away.

"Dang it! We totally could have caught it, Flare!" The Braixen looked sympathetic, but returned her attention to the swirling vortex ahead. Clinging tighter to her bag, the girl inched closer- only to find the hole was moving towards her! Before she could move, she was swallowed in darkness and unable to breathe. She struggled for what felt like an eternity before the void carelessly threw her into a large bush.

Carefully, the young girl untangled herself and took in her surroundings. She appeared to be in a forest, and could hear distant voices towards her left. She heard a yip and looked around to see yellow ears hopping towards her in the tall grass. She braced herself as the figure popped out, which appeared to be...

"Flare...?" The Fennekin yipped happily and bounced around her feet, oblivious to the change in her appearance. Wondering what had happened to her Pokemon, she took a Pokeball out of her bag and opened it to see... a Ralts?! "Angel, what happened to you?" the girl said, shocked. The Ralts, who was a Gardevoir a moment ago, just tilted its head in confusion at her trainer.

The girl sighed and returned Angel to her ball. Maybe the people she heard would know what's going on...? "Come on, Flare. We're going this way." Flare excitedly jumped into the girls arms as they headed towards where the voices were coming from.

 

[AgrarianAtlas]

The weather-worn boxcar shambled along the tracks, lurching occasionally despite keeping for the most part a constant speed. Cerzi had bid her crew goodnight. Well, more realistically, she waved halfheartedly once to the crowd of performers, earning her nothing but side-eyed glowers from some, while others had attempted to just ignore her. One person did wave back though. It was Brutus, the strongman, just as he usually did. Another day of circus acts down for the count, Cerzi slid the rigged traincar door shut.

Brutus had been kind to her during her lifetime with the circus, kinder than all the others without a doubt. It seemed everyone aboard the team had some sort of sob story, and Brutus was no exception. He was kicked by a Rapidash as a kid, so naturally he was a little slow. His inability to understand certain things was probably why the circus head decided to pump him full of steroids until his immune system turned to mush. It was all for the sake of entertainment, of course, hence why he was with the circus to begin with. That's what the circus master might say. That's what Brutus himself might say, if he knew the half of his situation.

It was sad to think about. She was watching him slowly die day after day while he himself didn't even realize it. Still, depressive thoughts or not, she needed rest if she wanted to stay with the circus. She called out Roma, letting the Pyroar stretch out and roll around in the piles of straw, with Marlow, her little circus-weasel Buizel out to do the same. Cerzi was the youngest of the circus crew, and one of the only girls. When she had come of age to think for herself, they had granted her a boxcar all to herself. Well, not quite to herself. All of the performance Pokemon stayed in the boxcar with her, including an overweight and dehydrated Dewgong, a tick-ridden Zebstrika, and a Donphan with a stunted leg. It was crowded, but she was still grateful. Besides, they were more of a family than the rest of the performers.

Cerzi had her few possessions set over in the corner, next to her makeshift bed of cushy straw and Liepard-print blanketing. There was a tophat that she was supposed to wear during her Pyroar taming acts, but for the most part, it just served as a bed for Marlow, and he curled up inside without complaint. She and Roma would've been quick to join him, but Cerzi felt... unsettled. It wasn't the thought of Brutus dying, sad as it was, that left her heartbeat in the pit of her stomach like this. She felt unnerved, anxious, yet compelled.

There was a fire escape ladder lining the wall near the corner where she slept, and she took the gritty, rusted rung in her hands, climbing up and pushing past the boxcar's roof hatch as she let the wind whip wildly against her face. Marlow, the sneaky thing, had snaked his way up her shoulder as she stepped out onto the roof of the car, and Roma looked up at her trainer from just below the hatch Cerzi stared ahead, eyes focused on a mass of shifting, glittering nothingness before her, just one car over. Was that patch of open sky truly changing? She moved towards it, though it felt more as if it were moving towards her, until...

Radio static, there was definitely radio static. She felt as if she were falling, yet standing still at the same time. Like the world was changing all around her, but her feet were off the ground. Ground... she felt ground beneath her. She was laying on her stomach, warm, rocky earth pressed up against her. Radio static again—no, her ears were popping. Had she been asleep? She should be tired, but she felt genuinely well rested, like she had just woken up from an eighteen hour nap, but no, she hadn't been asleep at all. Instinctively, her hands grazed her pockets, finding her two Pokeballs still in tow as she called out Marlow and Roma. Roma? What happened to Roma? She seemed just as confused as Cerzi had been, looking at her paws and turning herself over. Roma was a Pyroar, this was a Litleo, but this was still Roma. She looked at her partner in awe, taking in the sights of the igneous caves around her. Silently, she gestured for them to join her, one on each side, as the trio shambled on silently, too shocked and dazed to speak or think, but rather just move.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Please keep purely OOC posts to a discussion thread or private messages. They kind of clog up the main RP threads and don't belong there.

 

[Sapere]

In hindsight, Ayce mused, as Ava blasted away the fiery earthen prison trapping Ken with a rippling wave of psychic energy, things would have gone a lot better if he hadn't let his emotions get the better of him. Before Ken could leap into the fray and join the battle royale that was a mudkip, cyndaquil and a pink fluffball who he still didn't recognize, Ayce took matters into his own hands.

"STOP!" He yelled, feeling his voice almost crack on the syllables. Not entirely sure his outburst had lead to the desired outcome, Ayce quickly continued on in as loud a voice as he could in order to get his message out before someone got hurt.

"I know we're all a little confused and disorientated. But there's one thing I'm sure of, and that's the fact we all came through that portal and found ourselves here." Ayce looked around and tried to keep his expression as calm and collected as he could, even though his heart was drumming the staccato beat of a machine gun spray inside his chest. "Everyone here is an ally, not an enemy," I hope, he added to himself in his mind. "We need to work together if we're going to take down this so called Team Elite, and we aren't going to do that if we spend our time fighting each other."

Pausing, he let the silence hang for a second before lowering his voice. "So please. Let's have a truce." As proof of his intention, Ayce with drew his pokeballs from his belt and recalled Ava and Ken. From the glare the latter shot him, he was going to pay in spades for this decision later. And since Ken was a scyther now, not a scizor, he was gonna have more scratches to patch up than bruises. Wincing, the black haired youth prayed there would be a later.

In Petalburg City

"P-please, don't take B-bubbles away from m-me!" The boy stammered as sobs wracked his trembling body.

A little ways from him three men stood, wearing the sleek form-fitting black uniform of Team Elite. Near them, a squirtle was pinned down on the ground by a dark furry paw belonging to a menacing looking Mightyena. The tiny water pokemon was bruised badly and seemed on the verge of fainting.

"You know the rules, kid." The deep voice came from the stocky man in the middle of the trio, rugged and physically well-built, the man had a badge pinned onto the lapels of his uniform. It read, 'Petalburg Gym: Officer Stuart' Grey eyes narrowed into a slit. "We can't be having people keeping unregistered pokemon. Don't you know how dangerous it is taking in wild pokemon, this squirtle could have killed you and your family." He folded his arms and stared down at the child who could not have been older than twelve.

"B-bubbles would't hurt anyone!" The kid burst out, struggling against the man who was holding him down.

"Cut that out." The thin reedy man gritted his teeth and clamped down harder on the kid he was holding down, eliciting a small outburst of pain from the teen who could not have been older than thirteen. "Hey-," He was abruptly cut off as a wave of bubbles slammed into him, knocking him away from the child.

Now free, the child ran full tilt at the Mightyena who was holding down the now fainted squirtle. The dark type pokemon growled, low and rumbling, coiling into itself as it perceived the threat running at it.

"Damn," The officer's companion swore as he raised an arm to command the Mightyena. "Nob, no!" But it was too late. The slightly plump man and his fellow officer could only watch in horror as his wolf pokemon leapt forward, jaws open to crunch down on the small form of the kid, tearing into flesh-.

"Kurt, sucker punch." A calm voice spoke out from behind the two team Elite agents. A blur of movement, so fast it seemed to precede the command, and something massive slammed into the Mightyena, intercepting him mid-leap. In the same instant, a fat pink pokemon appeared in a rush of red static and hugged the struggling child against its fluffy body.

"Well done Kurt, June." A middle-aged man with short hair smoothed back in windswept style atop a plain but stern face stepped in front of the three men. "What is going on here." It was a command, not a question.

"Norman, we were just confiscating a squirtle from a local," The officer spoke, still rattled by what was happening. The other man nodded vigorously in agreement.

"It was that turtle's fault. He knocked Gills off his feet and-." His thin high voice was cut off as Norman interrupted.

"I've heard and seen enough. Leave. I'll take care of things here." Officer Stuart hesitated for all of a second. Kurt swivelled his head and rumbled menacingly. The officer quickly withdrew his fainted pokemon and the three men rushed to obey. Norman watched them go, his expression as impassive as stone. Blissey was still comforting the child, and Norman's Kangaskhan lumbered over to his trainer, carrying the battered form of the fainted squirtle.

After looking the squirtle over, Norman turned to the child. "Bubbles will be okay. He just needs to see Nurse Joy." The child visibly relaxed at that, slumping in June's arms. Norman nodded to Kurt and took out a pokeball and captured the fainted turtle pokemon. "Take this to the pokemon center." Kurt grunted and lumbered away, moving deceptively quickly for something that weighed so much.

"I can't let you keep him." Norman avoided eye contact with the child, who was now too exhausted to fight any longer. "Take him home, June." As the blissey lead the forlorn child away, Norman gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry." He whispered softly, his words fading in the wind.

 

[AgrarianAtlas]

Cerzi and her team meandered on through the cave. Pools of molten magma burbled noisily nearby, and the stink of sulfur was fresh in the air. She stared in awe at the charred, obsidian rock that made up the walls all around her. Was she... in a volcano? She'd never heard of such a thing in Kalos, but then again, this wasn't Kalos, was it? Sweat poured down her forehead, and she raised a hand to wipe her brow, only to realize that she still had her performance costume on. It was awfully muggy inside her tailcoat, but she would put up with it for the time being. Marlow snaked his way back up to her shoulder, shooting a blast of water into the air to let it rain down on his trainer and Pyroar-Litleo companion, and Cerzi thanked him with a scratch behind the ears.

She stopped in her tracks, letting the echo of her footsteps fade as she heard something nearby. Human voices, or so it seemed, chattered in humorless tones just around the corner. Admittedly, she felt a bit silly, approaching her fellow people in a circus costume, and sweating like a Grumpig no less. Regardless, it was too late now. She came up from behind, and they stopped dead before she could even reach them, the three of them whipping their heads to face her with some of the most incriminating stares she'd ever seen on humans.

She fumbled with her words, following the accusatory glares. "I—uh, do you kn—"

"What are you doing here?! Mt. Chimney should be completely closed off to the public. How did you—" The middlemost man, presumably a superior of the other two, landed his gaze on Marlow, who hissed right back at him, and Roma, preparing a defensive stance at her trainer's side. "Where did you get those Pokemon?" He posed the question as if it were a threat, commanding his two associates, Branson and Mitch or so he called them, to get their Pokemon out. The former had a pudgy, freckled face, with fiery red hair and a rude expression, and the latter was bald, minus a simple brown goatee on the bottom of his round face.

Fed up with the assumptions of the opposing trio, Cerzi replied back in exasperation. "Um, I don't know, from my job. What's it to you even—hey!" Mitch had grabbed her by the arm, his Manectric growling up from below, and she smacked him, hard across the face. The Manectric went beserk, lunging straight for the throat as Cerzi struggled with the man, and if it weren't for Roma, springing up to intercept the ravenous canine, she would've been dead. Branson stormed forward, with the Litleo wrestling her attacker on the ground, and made a grab for Marlow. He plucked him from her shoulder, but the enraged Buizel squirmed out of his grip with ease, provoking a startled cry from Branson as he bit down on his arm til he drew blood. Cerzi smacked him again and again, but he wouldn't relent his bruising grasp around her arm, and now, her neck. Marlow leapt from one man to the other, slamming hard into Mitch's exposed face with an aqua jet. A sickening crack filled the air, as rivulets of crimson streamed out of his nose. A Vigoroth screeched from the ground, ready to take revenge for Branson's bleeding arm.

"What kind of pathetic show is this?" To her surprise, the leader snapped at the two others. "Get your hands off of her. I told you to be on guard, not to strangle her. That's not how we do these things." Slowly, the two relented, backing away as they called off their Pokemon. Roma was bleeding badly, with scratches all over her back, as she walked to her trainer with a noticable limp.

"Now, your options are simple," he said calmly, "give us those Pokemon, or my friends here and I are going to take them by force." As if on cue, the man sent out one of his supposed "friends." It looked to be made of lava itself, with a dense, rocky shell covering its back, and glowing yellow eyes. She'd heard of such a Pokemon, but never in Kalos. Mag-something, Magnarvo, no... Magcargo! The snail awaited commands, while its trainer awaited her answer.

Well what kind of options were those? Roma rubbed against her side anxiously, her beaten body trembling. Marlow, once again, was up on her shoulder, watching their opposers with a glower. Cerzi had one chance to get this right, and even if it did work, who knows what would happen from there?

With speed like a Jolteon, she pulled her circus whip from where it'd been coiled at her thigh, bringing the thrashing leather down hard on the middleman's face with a satisfying crack. He stumbled backwards, clutching his face, while Cerzi hoisted Roma up into her arms.

"Tugo!" Branson and Mitch both shouted in unison, as they came to their boss's side. She took one last backwards glance, seeing a welt already forming right below his left eye. A fireball, pluming with smoke, hit the ground behind her, but the Magcargo was too slow to catch up. Cerzi was sure that they would sic the Manectric and the Vigoroth on her again once they came to their senses, so right now, she needed to bolt. Merciful sunlight shone in from the cave exit, though it nearly blinded her when she dashed outside without thought. There was only one way to go now: down the mountain. Jagged spikes surrounded slabs of flat rock on the ledges beneath her, some of which bore tall, hardy grass patches. If she were careful enough, she could make her way down without getting skewered, and hide in a bush somewhere. Except, she didn't have the time to plan this all out in her head, so she leaped from the mountain, her feet landing on a solid ledge, but betraying her as they slipped on the gravel. She tumbled down, the jagged rocks for which the path was named dangerously close nearby, and with loose sediment slicing into her bare face. But then, she skidded to a stop, landing hard on her back as grass covered her from all sides. Roma was still with her, clutched with a loving death grip to ensure that she didn't slip from her grasp. Marlow? Where was Marlow?

He poked his head out from the front of her long coat, thoroughly shaken, and having burrowed into her suit before she fell. She ruffled them both on their heads, inclined to give a single triumphant laugh before thinking better of it. Hiding was still a priority, so she smoothed everyone out so that they were hidden by the grass, lying on her stomach with her Pokemon on either side.

However, it seemed in vain as a menacing growl broke the silence behind her.

 

[Juggalette97]

Making her way towards the voices she had heard, Sarah was amazing at how dense the forest seemed to be. Flare had bounded ahead after fluffing up her fur at a Wurmple that had crawled by. Returning with a stick to chew on, the fox pokemon seemed content to trot at her trainer's pace, and Sarah decided to let Angel out of her pokeball for a while. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a Shroomish scurry past the trio. A Shroomish would make a good addition to her team...

After going around yet another copse of trees, the young trainer saw what had caused such a ruckus- three trainers were glaring at each other, with one returning a Scyther and an Eevee. After debating whether or not to involve herself, Sarah hesitantly walks up to the group.

"Is everything all right here?" Sarah quietly asks. Flare suddenly growls, fluffs up her furr, and starts yipping at a floating pink pokemon that seemed to belong to the white-haired girl. She would have paid the other pokemon more attention, but she was more concerned with her Fennekin, since she has never seen it act like that. Then, before she could address her agitated pokemon, Sarah heard a bark from above and looked up in time to move back as something- no, someone- fell out of a tree.

 

[Dandelion]

Muttering some un-ladylike phrases as she hit the ground, Piper distinctly felt something crunch the wrong way and a flare of sharp pain went through her shoulder. "Son of a Grimer!" She hissed between her teeth as her vision spun slightly. Realizing she was on her back, facing the leaves of the trees above her, it seemed there was something in her sight right next to her, if it would only hold still...

She blinked, her vision clearing. It was a trainer, a girl a bit younger than she was, standing with a Ralts and a small fire-type Pokémon that resembled a Flareon or maybe a Vulpix.

Judging by their expressions, Piper hadn't made a very dignified appearance. "I beg your pardon, excuse me." She started to roll over in order to get up when Prince, eager to get out of the tree and assist his trainer, leapt out of the branches and landed on her back, knocking her face back into the ground.

"You great oaf!" Piper groaned as the Growlithe stepped off of her and nosed gently around her face to see if she was alright. "I'm fine, I'm fine." She couldn't help but smile at her friend's concern as she sat up and viewed the trainer next to her properly.

"Ranger Piper, at your service." She inclined her head in a polite nod. "They say that when two trainers lock eyes, they're supposed to battle, but forgive me if I surrender early. I always thought that was a silly rule, and to be honest I'm not sure where I am... Actually there's a lot I don't know right now. What kind of Pokémon is that?" She motioned to the Fennekin. "I've never seen one before... I would guess fire-type by the fur color."

Scanning the woods around her as she spoke, she noticed the other trainers semi-nearby and guessed they were the ones who had caused the racket she had first heard. Noting their positions and visible Pokémon, she returned her attention to the trainer in front of her.

 

[Juggalette97]

Flare had never seen someone fall out of a tree before, and after the girl hit the ground, Flare went nuts. She was bouncing all around the person until she noticed another figure leap out of the same tree. At that moment, Flare decided her trainer's arms were the safest place, and climbed up into Sarah's arms.

Once Sarah stopped laughing, and calmed her spooked Pokemon, she turned her attention to Piper. "That rule has made some people a bit... rash. I'm Sarah, glad to meet ya! And regarding Flare,well, you're right- she is a Fennekin, a fire type fox Pokemon. My dad is a breeder in Kalos, and he gave her to me on my birthday last year. Is that a Growlithe! He's so cute!"

The excited trainer, by this point, was practically bouncing with excitement- she loves fire types, and she doesn't see many Growlithes where she comes from. Sarah, coming back to reality, remembered the situation. "Are you all right... Piper, was it? I don't think falling out of trees is a normal hobby. Especially in an unfamiliar place."

Looking around, she began to feel a little uneasy. How did she get here, and where WAS here...? Maybe the other trainers would know, but they seemed a bit occupied at the moment. Looking back to Piper, she immediately began looking for any bruises or cuts, but only saw a few leaves in her hair, which she sheepishly pointed out.

 

[Sapere]

There was a slight surreal quality in witnessing a person fall from a tree, Ayce mused, feeling himself relax as the tension bled out of him at the friendly greeting exchanged between the two newcomers.

"Sarah and Piper, right? I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." He walked over to them, surreptitiously keeping an eye on Serene and the boy who had attacked him.

"My name's Ayce and the girl behind me is called Serene. I'm not too sure about the kid on the ground. Any of you know him perchance?" He smiled disarmingly. "In case you're wondering whether or not we came through the portal, it's yes." It wasn't hard to identify Piper as a ranger from her uniform, but he couldn't tell what Sarah's profession was from sight alone.

"So far, all I know is we've been summoned to another world, rather rudely at that. But by whom and why, I cannot say for sure. Serene here thinks it has something to do with Team Elite, although I've never heard of them before I came through the portal." Ayce winced at the phantom flash of pain through his head at the mention of Team Elite. Apparently his brain did not appreciate being force fed information, who would have guessed? "Do you guys know who they are?"

Near Mt. Chimney
(DISCLAIMER: Incoming Violence)

"Explain yourselves. Now." One look at the expression on his superior's face and Tugo knew he had screwed up big time. Well, his wounds would have told him that already, the scar across his face caused by that woman's whip throbbing in pain in concert with his beating heart.

"Ah, we ... we were caught off guard sir. She had a buizel and another pokemon I've never seen. It looked like a poochyena with a red streak..." He stopped talking abruptly as a flash of white light appeared and an absol appeared before him, his black horn lowering at a command from his trainer.

"You mean to tell me some idiot who managed to find two baby pokemon took out an entire ranger squad by herself?" The rage in his voice was palpable. "You incompetent morons. I -."

Gulping, Branson spoke out. "Sir, she knew how to fight. Her pokemon were vicious..." Tugo closed his eyes, knowing that his underling had just sealed his fate by interrupting his boss.

"Absol, Night Slash." A ripple of air passed between Tugo and Mitch, and something pitch black whizzed past them and sliced off Branson's arm. He screamed, and Tugo twitched, aborting his movement to help his injured comrade.

"You will find her. You will bring her to me, along with her pokemon. Alive." Tugo felt a surge of bitter hatred well in him as his boss purposely paused, allowing Branson's scream to fill the air. He shot Mitch a look and the man froze. Don't move, dammit. He's just waiting for another chance to hurt us. "Go." The amused undertone in the voice made Tugo want to stab him. But one look at the Absol who stood impassively between them and he could only grit his teeth in frustration instead.

"Yes sir." He quickly grabbed a strip of cloth and tied it to Branson's upper arm, cutting off the bloodflow and eliciting a shriek of pain. Luckily, Branson passed out shortly thereafter and with Mitch's help, Tugo carried his injured companion to the door en route to the hospital.

"Oh and uh, Tugo." Tugo felt a shiver travel down his spine at the chilling threat in his superior's voice. "If you fail again, I'll hold you personally accountable. You can go now." Fear and hatred swirled inside his stomach, making him want to puke.

(OOC - An idea just came to me, all Team Elite members will not name their pokemon. To them, pokemon are just tools, so they use their species' name rather than giving them a personal name. And uh... @AgrarianAtlas ... good luck! Hehe.)

 

[Titmcdubs]

The boy, who had currently been coupled over in pain, hurling what was left of his last meal, finally gained a slight amount of composure. Still with a pain coursing through every limb and sporadic thoughts flooding his mind with random information, he couldn't completely grasp the reality of the moment. He couldn't figure out which thoughts were his, and which were intrusions that seem to be placed there as he flew through that odd dimensional rift.

Dee slowly started to stand from his kneeling position. Barakiel quickly moved from his back to his friends shoulder, placing the red circle centered on his cheek against Dee's.

"Piii..." He would concerningly whisper to him in his high pitched voice. From the ground at his feet Leonidus would give the greatest moral support to his friend that he could grasping the leg of his pants as if to steady him.

"Heh, thanks guys..." He would whisper back to them, the pain becoming excrusiating as he talked. Fractured rib. It had to be. It must have happened when something ran into him in the portal. The force of the impact must have jocled his thoughts and memories as well. For now, he was in an all knew world, and couldn't remember the old one.

He quickly pressed his body against the tree. Something off in the distance grasped his attention. Some sort of movement or commotion. Dejamaru tried to stifle the pain the best he could, focusing on the direction and source of the noises. The big ears of the Pichu on his shoulders were twitching back and forth, obviously revealing more to him then the human ears of Dee could.
"Piii, piiii..." Barakiel would murmur to him. Pointing his tiny tail towards the source. The larvitar at his said began sniffing the air, taking a much firmer grasp upon the pant leg.
"Laaaar" he would call up to Dee in a
Concerned tone.

"I know guy, but we have to at least check it out. We have no idea where we are, or why." He would decide. He sat for a few seconds, let out a large breath in the form of a sigh, then softly shoved himself off of the tree he leaned against using just his shoulder. He winced as the fractured rib shot pain through his body.

His stealthy hobble took him about seven minutes to get to a close enough tree he could
Hide behind, but watch as all this commotion unfolded. The altercations, interactions, situations all unfolding I front of him. What were these people doing. Even more confusing were the Pokemon. He'd never seen Pokemon of this type. An otter looking Pokemon. A floating puffball looking thing, a fire fox and even a blue frog looking thing. There were a few he did recognize. The scyther, growlith and cyndiquil, although, he had no idea why he recognized them.

He noticed, that while one or two of them seemed to be threatening, a couple of them didn't seem to have any intentions on fighting. Maybe he could get some help figuring out what was going on...

Dee started to take a step, Leonidus immediately pulled back on the boys pant leg, a gesture for him not go, calling with the first syllable of his name and shaking his head.
"I know Leo, but we need help and I can't do it on my own in this condition..." He explained grabbing his ribs. The larvitar reluctantly loosened his grip, following along ready for anything.

Dejamaru approached the group in a very slow, cautious manner as to not startle anyone, hand upward he slowly walked towards them.
"E- excuse me... Does anyone think they could help me out?"

 

[AgrarianAtlas]

(Disclaimer: We've got a particularly brutal moment near the end of this post, I'm not sure how far I can specify without spoiling anything, but if violence upsets you more than it's already kinda supposed to, definitely be warned about this one)

A chill struck Cerzi's spine, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Slowly, impossibly slowly, she raised her hands non-threateningly, turning around to find the Manectric from before, teeth borne in a snarl. Of course, the Manectric must've tracked her scent! Her eyes scanned the surroundings. No sign of Branson or Mitch or whichever one he belonged to, but she couldn't look too carefully off in the distance before the electric type snapped its teeth at her, demanding full attention.

Well, her options here were just as hopeless as before. Roma was in no shape to fight, and Marlow definitely wouldn't last long with this matchup. Maybe he could sucker punch the canine with an aqua jet, and then they could just run? No, there was no way she was outrunning a Manectric. Her adrenaline was trying to mask it, but the feelings of exhaustion were catching up to her quick. She had the whip, but at such close-quarters, it'd be ineffective. So now what? Was she supposed to just sock the Pokemon in the snout? That wasn't happening, unless she wanted to get fried. In a pure, last-ditch attempt at saving herself, she tried out her one final option.

"Hey buddy, who's a good boy?"

What was she even doing? Pyroar taming was all smoke and mirrors, appeasing a savage Manectric would take a godsend. Yet somehow... the aggravated canine ceased its snarls, tilting its head in confusion, as if genuinely pondering as to who this "good boy" might be. Reaching one hand out, tentative and slow, she tried to pat the Manectric on the head. Good thing she was ready to pull her hand away before she even reached out, because it snapped at her the second she got too close. Marlow and Roma were on edge beside her, and she tried her best to reassure them both with some quick strokes behind the ears.

"Well you're definitely not- not after that anyways -you're a bad dog!" She answered her own question, trying to speak quietly, for fear of her pursuers nearby, yet still sound solid and commanding with her words, but the Manectric was still none-to fond of her antics. The growls continued, less enthusiastically-savage this time, and his tail dipped down between his legs. Shakily, she took her whip, holding it backwards, and sticking the prolonged handle out in front of her as she put another foot of space between the two. With her left arm behind her back, she fished through a small leather pouch she had strapped to her belt, and as she pointed the makeshift pole to the ground beside the Manectric, she put on her most assertive possible tone given the scenario.

"Sit."

He remained in his pre-pounce stance, though he had stopped growling, and Cerzi rapped him hard across the nose with the handle.

"I said sit!"

The Manectric complied, and only when his rear sat on the ground did she realize he was trembling about as much as she was. From her leather pouch, she pulled a single cube of meat, designed to entice Pokemon into performing tricks, and held it out flat in the palm of her hand under his snout. His teeth snapped down, to her relief, on the treat instead of her. He (or she?) snacked noisily, almost cutely, and with a sudden surge of confidence, she ran her hand across his back in especial comfort.

"That's a good dog, you're a good-"

A flashlight shone in her eyes, effectively blinding her in the evening shade as Mitch and the Vigoroth stumbled down the ledge towards her. The beast let forth a horrifying screech, forcing her to cover her ears for fear of going deaf, as it leaped into the air, claws headed straight for Cerzi as it got closer and closer. It cried out another splitting shriek, but this time, it was for a different reason, as the Manectric had plucked it right out of the air, static-charged fangs clamped down hard on the Vigoroth's arm. It retaliated quickly, slashing the traitorous canine hard across the eye, and raking a bloody trail into his face. He whined, tail between his legs, before snarling again as he loosed a bout of electric right into his fellow Pokemon.

Maybe it had been enough to knock out the Vigoroth, maybe it hadn't been. With Roma and Marlow in her arms again, Cerzi had long since started running. The last thing she saw before rounding another corner however, was her Manectric friend, held roughly in the hands of Mitch. Too ashamed to fight back, his eyes refused to meet with the ranger's, and Cerzi's heart sank as she watched the man snap the poor dog's neck with a simple flick of the wrist. The audible crack of his neck, and the simplicity he put behind the motion made her want to vomit. Guilt swam through her for leaving the Manectric behind.

This couldn't be her life. Everything that was happening just made no sense. Vigoroths and Magcargos didn't belong in Kalos, that was for sure. The fatigue of running was really getting to her now, but with no indication of where to go, the only place she could go was forwards, but then again, where even was forwards anymore? She came to a fork in her path, and with as far as she knew, moments to spare, she chose left, jumping off of even more ledges as her feet came to a grinding halt. Her path was stopped by a set of boulders before her. Tugo and Mitch were just now turning the corner off of the jagged pass, and they hadn't seen her yet. Building some last-second momentum, aided by what few reserves of adrenaline she had left, she hoisted herself atop one boulder, shambling to the other side, before realizing that both to her relief and her horror that her only path now was through the cover of a raging sandstorm.

 

[ChungHa]

Serene nodded, loitering behind Ayce as he caught up some strangers that had came through the portal as well - which seemed to be spewing people by the second. Her Wormadam hovered nearby, mentally seeming to make a count of everyone there, something Serene failed to do at the overwhelming confusion she started to gain.

The girl was so sure that this involved Team Elite, somehow. She wasn't sure how, or why, but she had that gut feeling. The question that had her doubting, though, was what would Elite be gaining from creating a portal to the Petalburg Forest do? Was there a tracker in this location? Cameras?

"Crap," Serene spoke up. "Ayce....guys...I think we should get moving. I know you must all be confused, I am as well - but I have an awful feeling."

She began to regret so mindlessly rushing into the portal. Her alert bracelet wasn't going off just yet as it had before, but she figured with all of these people, and with so many pokemon released, it would only be a matter of time.

 

[Sapere]

OOC - Omega has decided to leave us, so please disregard his earlier post. I will update the discussion forum to reflect this as well.

Ayce's stomach rumbled, reminding him of his hunger. The ration packs in his side pouch would probably tide him over for the next hour or so, but it wasn't going to last long. The sooner they got out of here, the better it would be. Besides, he needed to have a nurse take a look at his pokemon. He had never heard of de-evolution and he needed to make sure Ken and Ava were okay.

"I think Serene is right. Unless someone here knows what is going on, we should probably find shelter in a nearby city. I doubt we have enough resources on hand to sustain us for more than half a day." Ayce looked around worriedly, trying to recognize where they were. "Anyone have an idea on which direction we should take?"

Looking around the clearing, he caught sight of everyone's blank stares. An idea struck him. "Piper, seeing how you have the only flying type pokemon amongst us, would you be okay with sending your wingull to take a look at where we are? Maybe he can find out the closest city to us from up high."

"Oh," Ayce added, almost as an afterthought. "I think I've figured something out. I'm sure some of you have already realized, but we're no longer in the same world anymore."

In Petalburg Forest

Ranger team thirty five had resumed their normal patrol route when Clarissa noted a flock of pidgeys taking flight a little ways out to the north. "CC, Ranger three-three-oh detecting a slight disturbance in Petalburg Forest somewhere north of us. Requesting permission to deviate from normal patrol route to investigate. Over."

"Acknowledged. Bzzt. Ranger team thirty-five, you have permission. Over and out. Bzzt."

Clarissa turned to her companions. "It's probably a wild pokemon spooking a flock of pidgeys, but just in case, I want everyone to be on guard. Norman reported to have cleared out any hostile pokemon in the region, but he may have missed something. I don't want any surprises." She reached into her pocket and grabbed a pokeball. A bright arc of red lightning and her sableye appeared in front of her. She smiled affectionately at her pokemon and nodded to her teammates to do the same.

Beside her, two flashes of white light preceded the appearance of a nincada and an oddish.

"Move out."

"Yes m'aam."

 

[Dandelion]

Rotating her shoulder to test it, she nodded to Sarah. "I'm alright. Just a bruise, I'm sure..." Piper trailed off as two of the trainers in the clearing came up to them, the boy speaking of some strange sounding things. A flicker of a headache as he mentioned a 'Team Elite' caused her to blink profusely until it had subsided.

"I, for one, am not sure. I examined an anomaly in the woods and found myself in a tree, if you take my meaning. I don't know a Team Elite... last Team I heard of was Rocket, over in Kanto." She shook her head, standing up and brushing the leaves off of her; as she did so, Prince made a small quiet sound of alert causing her to turn around just as another male trainer came limping up and pleading for help.

"Oh, Ratata dung..." She murmured, hardly glancing at the white-haired girl who seemed anxious to leave. "Hold your Ponytas there, g uys. This one's hurt." Focusing her attention to the newest in the group, she walked towards him cautiously. "Where exactly are you hurting?" Even as she spoke, her mind turned towards her backpack and the first-aid kit inside. She had been wearing it when she stepped through... a quick glance at the tree where she had appeared confirmed her suspicions. It was still up the tree. Hopefully, this isn't urgent. She thought to herself.

"Raincloud, fetch my backpack then fly above the canopy and report back any landmarks or people, understand?" She spoke to the Wingull who had... somehow gotten out of her Pokeball again. Oh well, this wasn't the time to question faulty equipment!

With something between a purr and a squawk, Rain flew into the tree, unceremoniously dumping the backpack onto the ground before taking off into the air. Up she circled, above the trees... Petalburg was to the southeast, that much was clear. The towers of Rustboro loomed in the distance to the north...and below? There seemed to be a group of people moving at a fast pace towards her trainer and companions. Quickly she dived back into the trees, using a different way of returning in order to not reveal their position too soon.

 

[AgrarianAtlas]

Sandstorm or not, Cerzi needed to get out of there. Stuffing Roma and Marlow up inside her vest for protection, she tried her best to shield her eyes with her arm, but to no avail. The vicious, wind-whipped sand flew right into her open eyes, and she stumbled back, scrabbling at her eyelids to clear them again. With her hands cupped over her face, she blinked rapidly, letting the coarse grains fall back into the desert. Still, this was the only way forwards. Clamping one hand over both eyes, she shambled onward, using her other arm to support her two Pokemon before they could slip. God, she hoped not to walk into a cactus like this...

Every few steps she took, she kicked one foot forwards, checking for this supposed cactus. Eventually, when her foot did hit something besides open air, she'd gotten a little too routinely forceful with her kicks, and she sent her foot right into a rock wall. Forgetting the situation, she cursed aloud at her stubbed set of toes.

"Did you hear that?!" Someone asked, and Cerzi froze. These were people, she should be happy to find them. They could help her, and she could tell about the lunatics who attacked her and her Pokemon. Yet the state of panic stayed with her, was even intensified by the presence of her fellow humans nearby. What if they were friends, or allies even, and she was letting them pass her by?

Friends...

The concept lingered in her mind, and a splitting headache struck her hard. She almost cried out, bringing one hand to her head to soothe the pain, while Roma and Marlow almost tumbled out of her vest. She hugged the rock wall close, and her Pokemon closer, squatting down to hide.

"No, you dolt, we're not stopping for any more Sandshrews! The boss'll have one of our heads if we don't secure the area of Sandiles, and if it keeps up like this, I'm gonna make sure that it's yours." A demanding, feminine voice sounded in the distance, before the first speaker retaliated.

"Hmph. Well I don't see you getting much done either little-miss-boss-of-me Cheyenne."

Friends..?

Like a jolt of thunder, a brief wave of pain struck her head, but faded quickly. Cerzi scooted forwards, shuffling her feet through the sand while still so close to the ground. She felt... compelled, just like before, and the voices nearby seemed to get slowly farther away.

"I bet I could get a whole helluva lot more done with your head on a—"

She broke through the sandstorm, letting smooth air fill her lungs as she took in the sight of the world around her, except what was "around her" couldn't really compare to the mechanical city before her.

 

[Titmcdubs]

The boy watched carefully as the girl approached him. She seemed to be older than most in this group, that could have some sort of indication as to her knowledge with Pokemon, or her training, or it could just be a moot point. He would have to keep the thought in the back of his currently. fragmented mind.

She came up to him, noticing him after he spoke, the first to interact with him. He took a few more hobbling steps forward. Leonidus taking a slightly noticeable defensive stance at Dee's foot. Better safe than sorry. Barakiel crouched down on his shoulder, grabbing onto the boys jacket ready to pounce had anything decided to transpire from this unfolding event.

"Well, it's my rib. I think it might be fractured." He would start, he was getting ready to explain what happened, getting sucked into a portal, something slamming into him knocking him off course, dropping into a new world, but he decided against it.

"I had a bit of a fall. And I think it caused some sort of amnesia, because I'm having trouble remembering things..." He trailed off at the end, not knowing just how much information he should give. This girl didn't seem too threatening, and the others have of the same unthreatening vibe. If anything they all seemed just as weary with eachother as he was.

"Oh! Sorry, my name Dejamaru, or just Dee for short." He would say through a pained face.

"And these two are my best friends, Barakiel," he would say pointing a thumb with his free hand towards the pichu, "and Leonidus..." He finished dropping the same hand to point at the very weary larvitar. The larvitar took a step behind Dee covering half his body as he grasped his pant leg.

A rustle in the trees behind him, which later would be known to be the bird type Pokemon he'd never seen before, caused the small pichu on his shoulder to jump. The startled mouse, unintentially let out sparks from his red cheeks, a normal occurrence with pichus. The electrical discharge shot through Dee, entering through his cheek and shoulder and coursing through his body. Luckily, it was a small discharge and only felt like he touched the tip of a stun gun, but the added pain didn't feel too good on his already injured physique. The tiny mouse let out an apologetic "piii" knowing he had injured his friend.

 

[Dandelion]

Piper motioned for Prince to bring her backpack over, her brows knitted with concern. "Does it hurt to breathe? Have you coughed up blood at all? A fractured rib is no joke - if it's punctured any internal organs we'll have to get you to a hospital immediately. At the moment all I can do for you is give you an ice pack and a mild pain killer... and then we'll have to move. It sounds like you're one of us, and we ought to all stick together. My name's Piper, over there is Sarah, Ayce, and um.... Serenity, I think. You said your name was Deja vu?"

Prince, gallantly dragging the backpack along the ground until he reached his trainer, dropped it at her feet with a woof. "Thanks, Prince." She smiled gratefully at him before rummaging around in her backpack.

It seemed a lot of her equipment was missing, extra pokeballs, potions, antidotes and the like. Luckily, the majority of her survival gear was still there, although jumbled. Pulling out her small first-aid kit, she found her bandage wrap and a small sealed bag of water.

"I need Rain for this..." Piper murmured, looking anxiously at the canopy. Almost as if in response, the Wingull hastily landed on a nearby branch and began squawking her report. Piper listened as best she could before nodding her understanding. "Good work. Now please use Ice Beam on this." She held up the sealed bag of water. Raincloud ruffled her feathers before sending a small icy blue beam of light out of her beak at the bag, frosting the outside instantly and turning the inside to a frozen slush.

"Deja vu, Come here and let me wrap this to your side. Everyone? Raincloud says there's a group of people approaching our location with some amount of speed. Ayce, Serene, you two seem to know the most out of all of us. Do we move or hold our ground?"

 

[Sapere]

Ayce furrowed his eyebrows in consternation as he watched their group grow by one more. A quick glance at Dejamaru told him all he needed to know. There was no way Dee could keep pace if they tried to run, and although Ayce felt a little apprehensive in meeting the locals, there wasn't any reason for them to be hostile. Right?

"There's no way we can run now if they are as close as your pokemon says." Ayce addressed Piper and nodded to the rest of the group. "Better we meet them head on here in the open space, besides, they might be able to tell us what is going on." Somehow, Ayce doubted it.

As he moved forward and pulled out his pokeballs, he turned and added. "Just in case things get ugly, is anyone here trained in pokemon combat? I think we should have those with the most experience in front."

Twin flashes of light heralded the appearance of his pokemon, Ava the eevee and Ken the scyther. Ava's reprimand for his earlier decision was a headbutt in the stomach, which staggered him but otherwise did not do much. Ken, however, hissed at him and smacked his shin, causing him to hop on one foot as the other throbbed painfully in agony. That was going to bruise. "Yeah, um. That's Ava," Ayce said holding up his eevee. "And the scyther's called Ken." Wisely, Ayce pointed while staying out of contact range. Ken seemed liable to smack him on the other shin too, and Ayce appreciated the ability to walk too much to risk that happening.

 

[Titmcdubs]

Dee felt relief as the girl seemed eager enough to help. He rubbed the cheek he just got shocked in with his free hand first, then used that same hand to comfort the startled pichu. The questions came fast, first from the girl.

"Uh, well, breathing hurts a little..." He would start, listening to her commands as she beckoned him over. "Talking and moving seem to be the source of the pain though..." He would squeeze out shuffling over to the girl with the makeshift ice pack. "I don't think there has been any blood. I haven't noticed any."

"Uh, it's Dejamaru, but just Dee is fine..." He trailed reaching the girl finally. Leonidus closed the gap between Dee and Piper, standing tall like he was there to defend his friend.

"Move Leo, she's trying to help..." Dee would call pushing the larvitar with his foot, a grimace appearing on the boys face. From there, he would let her do whatever it was she needed to help, Leonidus and Barakiel taking the hint that they should let her as well, although Leonidus stayed on guard. Just in case.

Dee watched as the group became worried about an approaching group of people. The other boy stepped up talking about standing there ground and fighting. Fighting... Why did that seem so familiar to Dee? He tried to remember, his brain working hard to piece together his tattered memories. For some reason he had an instinctual feeling he knew how to battle... But how would that work in such a large group? And with some Pokemon he's never seen before, let alone know there abilities. So far, the only Pokemon he seemed to recognize were the growlith, eevee and scyther. Any of the Pokemon from kanto or johto region. He called to the boy, the trainer of Ava and Ken, "uh, I think I can support with the combat, I myself can't do much, but my friends here can help..."

 

[Sapere]

For Ryan ( @Rex )

Sam knew he wasn't supposed to do this; his teacher had told the twelve year old over and over again about how dangerous wild pokemon were. But the ratata in front of him was injured and the piteous look it gave him tugged at his heartstrings. Blood was flowing freely from a large gash at its side and one its legs was bent the wrong way.

I have to help it. Sam decided as the ratata mewed pathetically in pain. Quickly, he opened his backpack and pulled out his first aid kit and unwrapped a cloth bandage roll.

"Hey buddy," Sam said softly and crouched, making his body profile smaller in order to reduce the ratata's stress levels. "This is gonna hurt, but I gotta do it to stop the bleeding." The ratata stared at him intensely with black eyes and Sam wondered how much it understood. With a quick and smooth motion, he pressed the bandage firmly against the wounded area and winced as a red flower immediately blossomed across the white fabric in a fractal pattern. The ratata shrieked in pain, but otherwise did nothing.

"You're doing great buddy. Just a little bit more." Sam carefully slid a hand underneath the prone body of the ratata, feeling its rapid heartbeat pulsing in his hands, and lifted it ever so gently to loop the bandage roll around it. He wrapped the bandage around twice and taped it together with two narrow strips of sticky tape.

"Okay, that's out of the way for now. Let's take a look at that leg of yours." He cautiously rubbed the ratata's head and grinned when it nuzzled him weakly. "You're going to be just fine. I know it."

The leg wasn't as bad as he had thought, it seemed to be dislocated rather than outright broken. "This is going to hurt." Sam said as he gently placed one hand over the injured leg and with his other, stroked the ratata's soft purple fur.

"In three, I'm going to reset your leg." The ratata looked at him blankly.

"One." Sam squeezed down and felt the joint pop back in with a small crack. The ratata wailed and lunged at him, biting down on the arm sleeve of his shirt. A ripping sound alerted Sam to his now torn shirt and he chuckled weakly. "Sorry buddy, but that had to be done." He tried to reach over to pet the ratata on the head, but had to abort as it hissed at him angrily.

The ratata stood shakily, glaring, then curled and began to lick at the now reset leg. Sam grinned and stood, making to leave. As he walked away, he heard the soft pitter patter of footsteps and turned to see the ratata obediently trotting along behind him. Surprise flickered across his face and he felt a warm glow spread across his chest. "Hey buddy, I'm sorry but you can't follow me. They won't let me keep you."

Ratata stared back impassively. Sam took another step. Ratata took another step. Sam groaned. "Okay. I'll take care of you, but only until you recover, then you're on your own again. Okay?" He picked up the ratata and began walking home. "What should I name you... how about ... Feisty?" Ratata ignored him and began to groom himself.

A week later

Sam and Feisty were in the clearing where they had first met, just outside the outskirts of Rustboro City. The twelve year old boy looked absolutely heartbroken. "Go on then. Go!" He felt tears prickle his eyes as Feisty shuffled closer, confused.

"You're healed now," Sam chucked a stone at the ratata. "Go scram."

Feisty nimbly dodged the rock and stared at Sam in a deadpan. Sam blushed, but didn't relent. "I can't keep you Feisty. I'm not allowed to. And if mom found out... I'll be in big trouble."

Sighing, Sam sat and brushed his hand over his ratata's silky soft fur and sniffled. "I don't know what to do. Why aren't you a monster like everyone keeps telling me? This is so confusing." Feisty alternated between licking his hand and his stomach, but otherwise ignored him.

"What do I do?"

Suddenly, Feisty's ears pricked up and he leapt off Sam with a quick hop and faced a nearby tree. He lowered himself, fur bristling, and growled menacingly at the tree and Sam felt a shiver go down his spine as he suddenly understood why everyone kept saying pokemon were dangerous.

Before he could say anything, an older boy with a strange, miniature bear-like pokemon stumbled into the clearing. It had to be a ranger. Nobody else but rangers were allowed to keep pokemon.

Sam felt the onset of panic strike him like a coiling ekans. The stranger was going to take Feisty away from him! In that instant, Sam made up his mind. He wasn't going to let anyone take Feisty away from him.

"I'm not going to let you take him away from me!" Sam yelled in fear and fury, pointing a trembling finger at the newcomer. Fiesty responded with a hiss and leapt forward to attack, lighting quick.

 

[Rex]

It was true what they said, that losing a sense strengthened the others. Ryan might still have the use of one eye, but his hearing had certainly improved over the years. Someone was talking, across the road, beyond the tree line. About what, the Trainer wasn't exactly sure, but they sounded agitated. He turned towards the source of the noise, seeing nothing but the trees confirmed his original assessment.

"Sounds like someone's strayed from the path," Ryan remarked, "I was thinking of going straight into town, but now I'm curious." He glanced at Dodger, who's expression didn't exactly suggest agreement. "What? They might know something about how we got here, we won't know unless we try!" He strode across the road, towards the trees, deciding the issue before the Oshawott had a chance to actually vocalize any disagreement.

The voice had gotten clearer as he walked, and as he entered the treeline Ryan finally made out what was certainly a child asking for guidance, confused as to why something still unseen by Ryan wasn't a 'monster.' It was unlikely that a child would know why exactly Ryan was in Hoenn, but now the Trainer was curious for an entirely different reason. What was a child doing in the middle of the woods, questioning 'monsters?'

By the time he broke the clearing, the child had gone silent. He could see them as the trees thinned. They were a boy, not yet a teenager, with a little purple Pokemon Ryan recognized as a Rattata. Though not originally native to Unova, the rodents had arrived en masse a long time ago, and nowadays were well established in Castelia City's sewer system. As soon as Ryan broke into the clearing, Dodger following shortly behind, the boy screamed, and the Rattata lunged.

Ryan stepped back, Dodger stepped forward, and took the attack likely meant for his Trainer. Years of battling experience flashed before Ryan's eyes, if this kid wanted a fight, he'd certainly get it! Now, the best thing to do when Dodger had just been injured, while his opponent was still close by was...

"Revenge," the Trainer ordered. Responding in kind to the Rattata's quickness, the Oshawott grabbed the scalchop from his stomach and slashed upwards at the offending rodent. This was the attack at its most powerful, while Dodger was incensed by being struck. The Pokemon's pride was on the line, and he would see the Rattata learn from the mistake it just made.

 

[AgrarianAtlas]

The churning, smog-ridden city of Mauville stood in full shameless glory before Cerzi. It reeked of monopolies and corrupt industry, or at least, that's what the instinctual force that kept instilling panic in her around every corner seemed to imply. Her head throbbed incessantly with a horrid ache, but at the very least, it did serve as a distraction from her current state, and helped spur her on to continue. This glass-palace city wasn't safe, nothing in this nightmare world was, so it seemed, but most definitely not this place.

What if... no, there was no way. This city was huge! Sneaking around it would take forever, and someone was bound to find her. There was a treeline surrounding the city, though the massive tree trunks grew so close to one another that she couldn't go any farther than a foot deep into the makeshift forest before getting stuck. But maybe, just maybe, she didn't need to go any deeper than that to get by.

Sidling behind the start of the treeline, she snaked her way from one tree to the next, trying to go quickly and consistently, but still be convincingly hidden in case someone were to come outside. Unfortunately, with her bright red, broad-shouldered attire, she wasn't too sure that'd be possible.

It felt like she'd been at this for hours, and Cerzi was convinced that she'd go insane at this rate it she didn't have something to take her mind off. Well... if she weren't insane already, given the circumstances. Letting curiosity take control of her gaze, she spotted a Zangoose tethered to a pole and on guard outside one of the entrances. Cerzi grew still, watching the Pokemon, but in truth, it didn't seem to be on guard at all. Its thick fur matted and tangled, it lay with a head in its paws, staring depressingly forwards with a glazed expression. Her red tailcoat no doubt giving her away, she caught the Zangoose's stare right back, yet to her relief, it didn't go berserk. The creature's fluffy white tail raised straight up in acknowledgement, swishing back and forth somberly. Footsteps sounded from just inside the city's tunneled entrance, and both it and Cerzi stopped immediately. She squeezed herself down to the smallest she could be, and fortunately, the person, seemingly the Zangoose's owner, didn't notice her.

He untied the Zangoose from his tether, and from her peripheral vision, she could see it walking hesitantly in her direction. A sharp tug on his leash stopped him, followed by some unintelligible words of scolding, and it meandered back to the trainer's side. Cerzi, not waiting for a second opportunity to be caught, rushed all the way onward the moment the two were gone. She had made it past Mauville, her team and her still fairly intact.

 

[Chrocey]

Just as she was waking up, Delilah could already feel herself engulfed in the morning dew. From where she was laying, trees towered over her and filled up much of her peripherals. As if to make sure everything was still functioning correctly, her finger involuntarily twitched. She then began to voluntarily open and close her hand to relax the stiffness that seemed to have set in.

“Huh…” Delilah groaned. She stretched her arms in front of her, then began stretching her whole body and let out an elongated yawn. To the best of her knowledge she’d fallen asleep while venturing out in the forest to find bug type pokemon, which wouldn’t have been the first time. Nevertheless, she knew that she’d have to find her way back to town as soon as possible if she wanted to arrive in time to grab some breakfast.

The green-eyed trainer sat up and got reacquainted with her surroundings. Though she’d been exploring forests in Hoenn since she was a kid, this one seemed very unfamiliar to her. As a matter of fact, it didn’t look like any forest she’d been in at all. No landmarks, no flags to indicate where she needed to go to get back to civilization. This whole area seemed…

“Uncharted?” Delilah murmured to herself with a hint of horror in her voice. Having been savvy with Hoenn forest layouts, she had never gotten lost in a forest before. Nor had she ever not known where she needed to go next to get to a town. The thought of this was perhaps a nightmare come true. “Did...did I really fall asleep in uncharted territory?!”

Taking a deep breath, the trainer calmed herself before she could work herself up into a panic attack. “Okay,” she said breathily, “everything’s going to be okay.”

Delilah patted her hands against herself. “I’m perfectly healthy. I’m not terribly thirsty or hungry, so it looks like I’ve already got a leg up on surviving this. Plus, even if I do get hurt, it’s not like I don’t have…”

The trainer’s expression sunk into complete worry as she noticed just how empty her bag felt. After reaching back to the pocket where her healing potions would be, she immediately realized they were all gone. “What?! Was I robbed too?!”

Delilah turned her backpack upside down and emptied its contents. All that was inside was one Pokeball and her Pokedex. Not even her notebook or pencils seemed to be in her possession anymore. Going off of her own assumptions, she was definitely robbed.

Nevertheless, seeing her pokeball gave her an idea. Perhaps Beedrill would be able to fly above the trees and spot the nearest town for her, or maybe even find the jerks who stole from her. She confidently grasped the pokeball and reeled her hand back, ready to unleash her pokemon.

“Hah! How silly of me to forget! I bet those crooks didn’t account that I had a plan bee!” With a swift motion she threw the pokeball in a sideways arch and unleashed her beloved pokemon. “Beedrill, go!”

As the flash of light settled onto a form, a Weedle showed to have emerged from the pokeball instead of her Beedrill. There was a moment between Delilah and Weedle as she dumbfoundedly tried to get a bearing on the situation.

After a few minutes of just staring at each other, Delilah grabbed her hair and shouted at the top of her lungs. “Are you kidding me?!”

 

[Astralkitsune]

A hole opened up in the sky over a small forest clearing, and a 16 year old girl fell out of it. She landed firmly on her back, and it would seem painfully too as the wooden bokken she kept strapped back their would do nothing to cushion the fall. The roots and rocks along the ground certainly didn't help.

Kyra blinked and shook her head for a moment slightly stunned from the impact. However not one to be taken down long she immediately placed her hands behind her head and thrust kipping-up and landing lightly on her feet. Her long tightly braided dark red hair slung around wildly.

She tilted her head and fracked her neck before reaching back to rub her newly sore back. She surveyed the forest clearing trying to get her bearings and alert for danger. She began rubbing the back of her head, "Where in the hell am I." Her philosophical query was answered with only silence and the occasional wild Pokemon call.

The last thing she had remembered was traveling recently taking the volcano badge after a great fight. She was traveling along the road to Fuchsia town prepared to take the soul badge for her own after testing her might again the ninjas there. She smiled as thought back to Chikara's fist landing against the gym leaders Magmar and sending him into the rock hard enough to make an imprint. Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a sidling black test in the sky just above her head.

Before even she could react her feet left the ground and she was sucked into the vortex. Kyra shook her head again banishing the memory and bringing her back to her current circumstance. She took a fighting stance and waited for the unknown attacker who brought her here to make his challenge known. When nothing happened after several moments she dropped her stance. Just then the silence was broken by a female cry in the distance of "Are you kidding me." Kyra went to pick up her pack and noticed that all her potions and pokeballs were gone. "Oh someone is going to pay for this." She set off after the voice resolving to see if they new anything about her predicament.

 

[Chrocey]

"What...what happened?!"

Weedle, now being held by Delilah at arms length, looked at her with a very worried expression. It was clear that even he didn't know what happened to himself. Her panicking wasn't helping him remain calm either.

"This doesn't make any sense. How could a Beedrill go back to being a Weedle? Did I take poor care of you?"

Weedle shook his head, denying his trainer's latter suspicion. He knew for a fact that she was more overprotective than underprotective of him. Despite that, Delilah hugged him as tight as she could, squeezing the breath out of him as his eyes widened.

"Oooh! I'm so sorry! I'm the worst trainer ever for letting this happen to you! I promise I'll make it up to you. You'll be a Beedrill again in no time, trust me!"

Weedle squirmed his way out of the hug and made his way up onto her shoulder. He bumped her head with his to snap her out of her delusion. The sudden thwack brought Delilah back to the reality of the situation.

“Right...you’re right, Weedle. Now’s not the time to mope. We have to find out what exactly is going on around here!” She smiled at him sincerely, “we will find our own way! Blaze our own trail! Let’s set out for adventure, little guy!” She pat him on the head softly before walking blindly into the forest. Despite having no real direction, Delilah was confident she’d chosen the right way to travel. Weedle, less so.

 

[Astralkitsune]

Kyra had a decent amount of survival skill and wilderness ability despite originally being from a large city. She used to go train in the mountains with her father all the time when she was little. It did not take her to long to track down the source of the noise as her quarry was not attempting to be very stealthy in the slightest.

She stood behind some trees and watched the girl for a little bit before making any moves. Then as she began to move Kyra moved silently ahead and placed herself in the path. As Delilah came around a corner Kyra withdrew her bokken and pointed it in her direction. "I don't know who you are or why you are here, but I want some answers."

She took an offensive stance as if to say they weren't getting past until they started talking. The bokken was a rich Mahogany color finely crafted and had an engraving of the Saffron city fighting dojo on each side of the hilt. Kyra was wearing a gi with the same logo on the back and there was a belt with two pokeballs on her hip. She had a pouch slung over one shoulder, although the way it hung limply suggested that it was barren.

"Who are you, where the hell are we, and did you take my stuff?" She rolled the questions off in quick succession.

 

[Chrocey]

As Delilah ventured through the unknown forest, she tried to remember what had brought her out here in the first place. For whatever reason, everything that happened before she woke up was a complete haze. The last thing she could recall was falling asleep in an Inn at Petalburg City. She couldn’t fathom what posessed her to travel this far out into the forest.

“Weed, weedle…”

Delilah’s train of thought was interrupted as her Weedle began acting strangely. He looked perturbed by their surroundings, and began crawling back and forth between his trainer’s shoulders. It was very unlike him, which made the trainer worry.

“Is something wrong, Weedle?” She gasped, “please don’t tell me you’re sick! I don’t have any potions on me and-”

Weedle silenced his babbling trainer by placing his tail over her mouth. A certain chill was running through him at the moment. It was as though the two of them were being watched. If he wanted to find out exactly who it may be that was watching them, he would need utter silence.

After remaining quiet and walking a little longer, Delilah shrugged. “I don’t understand what’s wro-Ack!”

The bee-enthused trainer doubled back as she turned a corner and found another human being standing and preparing to attack.

“What in the world?!”

“I don’t know who you are or why you are here, but I want some answers.”
“Who are you, where the hell are we, and did you take my stuff?”

Delilah was still dumbfounded by what she saw. Of all things to find in a forest, she never in a million years thought she would find a young girl wearing a gi preparing to attack her with a bokken. She was at a loss for words for a little while before finally deciding to respond.

“Who am I?” Delilah responded. She snapped into a cocky posture, “I’ll have you know…”

Weedle did everything but roll his eyes. He wished that he could remain in his pokeball whenever his trainer went off like this, but nevertheless, there was no stopping her. Regardless of his preference, she was going to introduce herself in her own signature way.

Loudly, Delilah proclaimed, “I am the great Bumble Bee! Bug-pokemon trainer extraordinaire! If you haven’t heard of me yet, then prepare to be amazed. Your defeat will sting worse than the Beedrill at my side!”

The obnoxious girl thought about that last line for a few seconds, then immediately dropped to an expression of despair. “I mean...he would, if I hadn’t mistreated him and made him devolve…”

Weedle frantically tried to cheer her up. This was no time to be distracted, especially when she was facing a possible threat.

Her sad state was instantaneously replaced with curiosity as the stranger’s words finally registered. “Wait a minute...your stuff got stolen too?”

She scratched her chin in thought. “As a matter of fact, I don’t really know where we are either.”

 

[Astralkitsune]

Kyra stood there still for several moments with her sword held firm outstretched like some long forgotten martial arts statue deep in the forest of a long forgotten civilization. Then her sword point fell downward and she almost fell over as she started laughing at the girls ridiculous introduction. She tried to compose herself but when ever she tried to look up the expression on the Weedle's face sent her back into further laughter. After a couple of minutes of laughter her brain finally kicked in telling her that if this girl was some sort of hidden threat she had just completely let her guard down, and opened herself to attack and even a weedle could be quite dangerous.

Kyra finally composed herself and regained a defensive stance although, she couldn't seem to view the girl as a dangerous threat no matter how hard she tried. She held a hand over her mouth quickly stifling another giggle, before coughing and finally composing herself. "That's quite an introduction." The girls words and her state convinced Kyra that she was with a fellow victim and not a criminal mastermind.

Kyra sheathed her Bokken back on her back, and relaxed her stance. "You have no idea what is going on do you?" Although worried as a question it came across and sounded more like a statement of fact. She shook her head again causing her long dark red hair to whip about, and then she held out a hand. "My name is Kyra Onishi. I am sorry about the whole threatening you thing. I take it you have been attacked and robbed too by an unknown someone."

The girls words further registered with her and she frowned. "What do you mean you DE-evolvved your pokemon because you mistreated it. She blinked, "I am pretty sure that's not possible." She shrugged, "but then again I am no scientist or Pokemon researcher. So you used to have a Beedrill huh, guess you like the bug types." She cracked her knuckles together loudly, "I use fighting types myself."

 

[Chrocey]

Delilah simply stared and blinked during Kyra’s entire laughing fit. She didn’t quite understand what was so funny. Even more so, she questioned why most trainers seemed to laugh like this whenever she introduced herself using her signature introduction.

The bumble bee trainer placed her hands on her hips once Kyra’s laughter had died down. “I’ll take that as a compliment. You must be laughing with excitement over meeting a trainer as infamous as myself!”

Although a bit reluctant at first, Delilah joined her hand with Kyra’s in a friendly handshake. Weedle let out a sigh of relief over seeing that this stranger was actually friendly. Not only did Delilah’s introduction leave them vulnerable most of the time, but her demeanor wasn’t always met with kindness. “It’s nice to meet you Kyra Onishi. And yes, I’m afraid even the great Bumble Bee isn’t an exception to robbery.”

Delilah relaxed more and let her arms hang a little looser. She eyed her Weedle with a grimace. “Yeah. My poor Weedle. I’m no scientist either, but how else could you explain the fact that my Beedrill is a Weedle again? I love him unconditionally, but it kind of ruins my whole theme, you know?”

She looked to Kyra again and cocked her head. “Fighting type? I’ve known some fighting type Pokemon that are tolerable.” Delilah grinned and waved her hand dismissively, “though they aren’t really my thing, Heracross would be a pokemon that I wouldn’t mind catching some day. Just keep fire types away from me and my sweet Bee-” she fumbled with her words, “-Weedle. I hate fire, and I can’t stand fire-type pokemon.”

 

[Astralkitsune]

Kyra cocked her head, at the girls oblivious audaciousness. She just shook her head and smiled. "Yea I am very exited to meet such an infamous trainer." She decided she liked the spunky young woman, as she was funny and certainly had a lot of energy and drive. Those were two things she could personally respect. She looked at the Weedle, "I don't use any fire types myself although their are a couple of fire fighting types out there and I wouldn't mind owning one some day. Personally though I am always wary of fighting fire types myself, "As Chikara is not a fan." She tapped one of her pokeballs on her belt, as she said this. She shrugged, as for Heracross I have fought one before but never seen one wild.

She tapped her chest, "I am very much a fighting type trainer but unlike my father I am not against using dual types. I realize if our dojo is ever going to take back it's rightful place in Saffron City we have to be adaptive. She seemed lost in thought for a moment before looking back at Deliliah and her weedle. "So that used to be a Beedrill huh, does he even still know the moves he had before or were those forgotten as well." She looked around the forest, "here would be as good a place as any to test that out. I don't sense anyone else around."

Speaking of which, "I still want to know where in the hell we are." She starred at Delilah for a moment studying her, "so where are you from anyway or at least where were you before this happened." She sat down on a large rock, "personally i was on my way to Fuchsia town in order to pick up my fifth badge." She sighed, "I was looking forward to crossing blades and fist with the ninjas there too, it would have been fun. Chikara and Kuren would have loved the work out too." She gave a predatory grin, "I will just have to settle for whoever brought us here instead. They will learn to regret it."