Biorhythm

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

OOC: Alrighty then, peoples. I never believed I'd end up doing this considering recent events in my life, but my RPing urges were stronger than I was. So here we go.

So here's how it's going to be. This is an RP set in the Sinnoh region for no good reason other than flashy DS-style graphics and the upcoming release of Platinum. So essentially this is PokéMon Iridium - Not quite Platinum yet but getting there.
We (and by 'We', so far, I mean me and Dwayna. XD) don't really have anything set in stone right now - we're just going to let this develop. While we would appreciate more people in this - please. Only join this thread if you have the time, dedication and skills to deal with it. Get yourself approved via PM before posting, and we won't have to remove your head from your neck with a Rabid Shiny Toxicroak. Mmk?

Edit: Biorhythm is officially member locked. Do NOT make any requests to join. They will not be authorized.

BIC:

Rowan PokéMon Research Facility, Sandgem City, Sinnoh Region.
WAY Too Early In The Morning To Be Healthy.

"I'm telling you again, I have no clue -what- is going on, Jim. It's like the entire system is flipping us off."

"And I'm telling you again, Steve, that we fixed it! I just got back from running over the primary circuitry with a whole bloody -array- of scanners and we found NOTHING. The system should be as clean as a whistle. So I'm asking you, what are you going on about the system 'flipping us off'?"

Both Jim and Steve - technicians of the Research Lab's internal computer system - have been on this case since midnight of the night before, and they were both exhausted and cranky. And furthermore they had no clue what was going on, which was more than a cause for worry.

For, you see, Professor Rowan's lab - a massive, wind-turbine powered facility on the outskirts of Sandgem Town, a blend of old and new architecture that resembled a cross of an ancient castle and a futuristic robotic fortress - was almost fully automated from the inside. Intricate microcircuitry was embedded in the very walls and floors, endlessly transmitting electricity and digital data throughout the facility like a system of veins. The system had a hand in anything - from monitoring the grounds and the creatures living within, to processing important research data, to supporting PokéDex servers, to controlling the automatic doors. When something went wrong in the system, it could have lead to disastrous results.

Something was VERY wrong. And they couldn't tell just what the hell it was. It drove them crazy.

"How is that possible? we had the system singing the regional anthem of Johto backwards right before you walked in, and just as you did it mysteriously stopped!"
"Really mysterious. Are you sure you're not imagining things?"

Suddenly the lights flickered on and off, and through their headsets, the two technicians could hear the voice of a third, with some oddly musical disruptions in the background.

"Uh, Guys? *static* This is Al in sector *static* reporting. The *static* servers just started sampling PokéMon cries into a really *static* up riff. I'll keep you posted."

A pause.

"See? It's almost like this glitch is alive and taunting us!"
"Oh, so now we have gremlins. I ought to have you fired, Steve..."

He paused in the middle of his statement. From the nearby corridor, he could hear the sound of boots. A slow, purposeful stride, one that could only belong to one man. The heated argument between the two technicians abruptly came to a screeching halt, as suddenly both pretended to be very busy. The door opened - slowly, as it had to be manually forced open - and in stepped the tall and rather menacing figure of Professor Rowan.

The professor was a tall man who appeared to be in his fifties or in his sixties and was nearly always dressed in a blue suit and a long brown trenchcoat. He had a rather intimidating figure and the sort of stern personality that tended to make people slightly nervous even when he was in the same room with them.

"I take it that the system is still under repairs?" he approached one of the technicians.
"Yes, sir. We're not sure what's causing it, but I suspect some kind of PokéMon interference. Maybe someone is trying to hack their way into the system with a Porygon or something, sir. We'll see to it that the system is repaired as soon as possible, sir." replied the technician.
"Very well." replied the Professor "But please, I'd appreciate it if you sped things up a bit. We have new trainers supposed to come in today. I'd rather make sure the beginning of their journey is as smooth as possible.
"Yes sir." said both technicians in unison, Jim started barking orders into his headset, while Steve proceeded to scan the circuitry further using an array of intricate probes. Somehow they'd have to find out what it was.

Hopefully before the trainers arrive...

~*~

He started out late.
Most people started their journey when they were ten. He wasn't in a particular hurry to get out there and travel the world. He always appreciated PokéMon - he grew up among quite a few of them over the years - but his true passion was music. Even now, as he was walking along the path that would lead him to the beginning of his new quest as a PokéMon Trainer - six years later than most kids did - he was carrying his electric guitar on his back.

He had light brown and somewhat spiky hair, with a single, thin braid that fell along the left side of his face and was tipped with two intricately carved and colored wooden beads, grey-blue eyes and a mild olive tone to his complexion - a hint to his father's origin from the Orange Archipelago. He was dressed casually - blue jeans, dark-colored hiking boots and a sleeveless, dusty-brown leather vest over a black t-shirt which sported a white Giratina outline with somewhat of a metallic texture to it.

As he found himself approaching the gates of the Research Facility Grounds, he noticed that something looked... off. The amount of activity on the other side did not look perfectly normal - something was going on.

The would-be-trainer stepped through the gate and proceeded on the path to the main lab. Strange noises came from inside - vaguely musical, but sounding almost as if they were various animal noises that were badly sampled and mixed by some kind of deranged electronic composer. He approached the door and knocked on it.

The door opened silently, and a research assistant walked out.

"Yes, how may we help you? the assistant said.
"My name is Glenn Hendrix. I'm here for my starter PokéMon." the boy replied, nodding "I was told to come here today."
"Oh, of course. New trainer day. I'm sorry, but could you please wait a while? We're kind of in the middle of a crisis here - there's some kind of a malfunction in the system, it's making everything around here go crazy. If you could follow me..."

~*~

Glenn followed the assistant to a side-room with several red leather couches - which was apparently set up as a sitting corner and/or waiting room. It had a fresh, clean, bright feeling - several well-groomed potted plants decorated several corners of the room. Light shined in from large windows - and good thing it did too, as all throughout the lab, the lights were flashing on and off to some kind of vaguely recognizable rhythm. The floors - which were made of either tinted glass or some extremely polished material, almost seemed to be on fire from within as faint circuitry patterns within them suddenly burst into light, blue sparks jumping from point to point within them.

"The Professor will be with you as soon as we can get this crisis under control." the assistant nodded apologetically "I apologize for the bother."
"No worries." Glenn replied with a smile, and nodded at the assistant, who exited hurriedly.

Left to his own devices, Glenn proceeded to set his guitar case on the floor and sit down on one of the couches. He opened the case and produced the guitar from it. It seemed like a perfectly normal electric guitar, fading from black along the edges to deep electric blue along the center. An intricate lightning pattern ran along its side. It also posessed some kind of internal amplification, similar to an acoustic guitar - not really powerful, but good enough for what it was needed for.

He had time to kill.
Might as well kill it with music.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

With her mom it was always wait just one more year. Frankly, she had had enough of waiting.

She was slightly older than most new trainers because of this. She had a love for PokéMon since she saw her first one as a little kid. From that point forward she had always wanted one of her own, to call her friend. But of course, her mother was a worrywart, and didn't let her start until now, 5 years after she was supposed to.

Among most people, she would stick out like a sore thumb. Coincidentally, it seemed her favourite colour was red - in fact, you could say this was blatantly obvious. Her pale white skin made her hair stand out more, as it was was dyed the crimson color of blood. Her eyes were a very light brown, enough to say that they looked to be amber in colour. She wore a bright-red sleeveless top that had a black stripe going diagonally down the front, from her top right to the bottom left corners. Her pants were black to match the stripe, and she wore black boots to finish off the look. She saw it as casual, though others might disagree.

As she found herself approaching the lab, she heard strange noises coming from the inside, people bustling about more than she would've suspected... She could almost sense the tension in the air as she drew closer to her goal. Something was going on, and she had a feeling it wasn't entirely pleasant, what with what sounded like some warped version of the Glameow mix. She came to the door and it silently opened, one of the research assistants greeting her.

"Hello there. Are you one of the new trainers?"
"Yes, that's correct. My name is Aria Terra."
"Welcome. We seem to be having some technical difficulties with the system right now. It's gone bonkers and we don't know why. If you could follow me, there's a place where you can wait..."

***

The assistant lead Aria to what seemed to be a side room with leather couches themed her favourite colour. This was obviously supposed to be some sort of waiting room, as it seemed warm and inviting. The lights flickered on and off as if they were synchronized to some sort of musical beat, and some of the circuitry in the floor sparked slightly with blue patterns. She could also hear the faint strumming of an electric guitar, coming from what looked to be another would-be trainer, once this mess was fixed.

"Professor Rowan will see you after this is all sorted out." said the assistant "Again, we're sorry for the inconvenience."
"It's all right. I don't mind waiting a little longer for my PokéMon." Aria flashed a grin that didn't look to be too honest. The assistant seemed to notice as they rushed back off in the opposite direction they came.

Aria sat on the opposite side of the guitar-wielder after that. She listened to his strumming, and soon came to be humming along. Though it wasn't very noticeable, a small genuine smile appeared on her face.

"Hi. I'm Aria." She smiled wider as she addressed the person beside her. "Nice guitar. You play it very well."

Hey, she might as well make friends.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

As Glenn's mind slowly drifted out of the music and back into the real world for the brief duration it took for him to decide what to play next, he didn't notice the red-haired girl entering the room until she actually talked to him. He turned his eyes to the girl, and smiled back.

"Thank you, Aria. A pleasure to meet you - my name is Glenn. So... are you here to start a PokéMon journey as well?"

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

((Yeah, interaction usually equals short posts. But hey, what can you do?))

"You're welcome." Aria nodded slightly, still smiling.
"Nice to meet you, too Glenn." She took the question and seemed to mull over whether or not to answer it. She reminded herself that she wanted to try to make friends early on so when her true self came out, they would be more understanding.
"Yes, I'm going to start a PokéMon journey. I'm a little bit older than the normal crowd because my mom wanted me to wait a while." She looked Glenn over slightly.
"You seem about my age, too. What's your story?" She seemed interested to know, apt at learning about Glenn, it seemed.

She wanted to know if he was friend material or not.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

He could help but notice a mild hesitation in the time it took Aria to answer his question. He brushed it off as the sort of typical awkwardness generated by meeting a person for the first time - he knew that feeling all too well. Small-talk was never exactly his speciality.

"I don't have that much of a story, really." he smiled slightly, with a nod. "I grew up around a lot of PokéMon, so I didn't feel particularly rushed to go off on a journey... I preferred to focus on my music, at least for a while. I guess I decided it's about time I went off and travelled a bit. Meet some new people, see some new things... Maybe even find some new sources of inspiration. Who knows, really?"

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

Very musically minded person it seems. Aria thought this to herself as she listened to Glenn. Her small genuine smile etched itself back onto her face as he finished his 'story'. I like him.

"You say it's not much, but I think it's impressive that you would put so much dedication into your music. You have a point there... who knows what the strange world of Pokemon has in store for us?" She seemed to think about it, different scenarios flashing through her mind... The strangely musical beat of the flashing lights was getting to her.

"How about when all this is over, we travel together? That way we can see what's in store for the both of us." She smiled brightly again at Glenn, a hint of hope in her eyes. Perhaps some small part of her didn't want to be alone in this.

Or perhaps she was just plain bonkers. Either one.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

(OOC: About time we moved the plot a bit. Extremely minor auto of Aria exists, which was approved by her RPer. Also, this post has been brought to you by obscure cameos. Brownie points for anyone who recognizes the origin. >>; )

Elsewhere...

"So. Has there been any progress?"

The systems specialist - the head honcho of all systems technician teams swiveled in her chair to face the Professor. She was an attractive woman in her mid-thirties, dark-haired, bespectacled and clad in a lab coat (which seemed to have a mild pink tinge to it, oddly enough) over a dark green dress. She wore a headset with a head-mounted display and a microphone, which was connected to a small laptop-style keyboard that rested in her lap via a thin cable. She nodded briefly at the professor.

"Surprisingly yes, sir. We've been able to access the central core - my teams had to pull some crack bypasses to do so, but we did. And guess what?"

"I am rife with anticipation. But do get on with it." the Professor replied.

"It's perfectly fine." the system specialist replied, matter-of-factly.

there was a brief moment of silence.

"I apologize if I don't quite see what about the current situation is 'perfectly fine', Doctor Hetfield."

She winced slightly - she worked with the professor for a few years now, and so she knew that under his stern personality he was a very kind individual. But she couldn't help but feel somewhat nervous when he addressed her this formally.

"I know it's hard to believe, Professor Rowan, sir, but... that's how it is. The central core and processors haven't been touched. The monitors are still registering anything that happens. The problem is, commands don't get where they're supposed to. It's like there's a communication shortage."

"Do you suppose it may be some kind of a computer virus?"

"Unlikely. It's true that it's all coming from -inside- the system rather than some form of an external source, but... it seems that data is being accessed, but it's not being deleted or corrupted. I doubt that anyone would create a virus that is harmless to data and only exists to confuse the system. Plus, there's... something else that doesn't quite fit."

"Enlighten me, please, Doctor."

"... Have you noticed something about these interruptions? Systematic repetition. A beat, or a pulse of sorts. Slightly different on each system that gets attacked, but every system seems to compliment some kind of pattern. It's almost like a lot of different channels that form one complete image."

"So whatever it is... it's basically playing the computers like musical instruments? It could still be a virus."

"If it is, it sure as hell is an advanced one. The patterns -change- every once in a while and there is no repetition to THAT. It ranges between subtle changes to completely chaotic alterations. The variations are too complex to be machine-generated, even with a randomizing algorithm. Also, have you noticed something else? Whenever we try to fix one system, the disruption leaps elsewhere. It's got a sense of self-preservation... And it's TOYING with us. Mocking us openly. So either we're dealing with a GENIUS level of programming that we've never seen before... Or we've got something alive in there. Something sentient."

"Hackers?"

"I don't think so, professor. I've been analyzing the code for the access logs... And it seems that they were completely ignored. A hacker would try to cover their tracks by editing the system logs. Thing is, only the system core's automated program has modify-level access to these files and their timestamps, and you can't edit them without damaging them in a very specific area of code that will immediately trigger a resistance impulse."

"Resistance impulse?" the professor raised an eyebrow. Dr. Hetfield chuckled nervously.

"Think of it as an immune reaction." she said "There are three ways to hack a system - using software, hardware or a PokéMon. When we designed the system for you, we created a failsafe against hackers - once unauthorized access is detected, the system instantaneously locks down, disconnects all integrated semi-autonomous systems except the source of the unauthorized access, and releases an energy pulse that runs through the entire system. It's perfectly harmless to data, but it completely scrambles logic circuitry. Hardware would be instantly fried. PokéMon have a strong sense of preservation, and if they would feel something like this coming, they will instantly escape out of the system. Any traces of malicious software are then handled via a complex anti-virus program. It's perfectly flawless. Or at least we thought so... Whatever it is, it doesn't show on the log files at all. It just appeared. Like a ghost, almost..."

"... A ghost, you say? A ghost may be..." the Professor looked thoughtful "Can your technicians trigger a resistance impulse in the system?"

"Why? Whatever this is might not be affected."

"Just do it, please. If it's what I think it is, the sudden change to the system may have just the effect we need..."

"I hope you're right, Professor." Dr. Hetfield replied, then proceeded to adjust her microphone and tap her keyboard furiously - she was known to be somewhat of a slave driver to her teams, but they always got the job done perfectly.

"Alright, people, this... Lunacy... has gone on far enough! I want a full, system-wide resistance impulse going, and I want it FIVE MINUTES AGO! STEP on it, people!"

~*~

The Waiting Room

"Sounds good to me, Aria." Glenn smiled "It's settled, then. As far as I'm concerned, anyway."

And suddenly the lights faded out, and the floor panels started glowing red. A synthesized computer voice echoed through the chamber.

"Warning. Resistance Impulse Triggered. Temporary system shutdown in 30 seconds. Tech teams, scramble. Staff and guests are asked to remain calm. System will resume functionality soon."

Glenn gazed at Aria for a moment "That does not sound good." he muttered as one by one, the floor panels seemed to turn off, their light fading.

Then he saw it - a massive flash of blue energy fleeing the trail of fading lights as if the ground behind it was collapsing. It moved fast - he couldn't trace it... And suddenly it jumped - launching itself out of the floor in a flash of lightning.

In Glenn's direction.

There was a moment of confusion when the flash of light cleared up. Glenn looked around and surveyed his surroundings. After instinctively checking himself for continued existence (and realizing that he was indeed alive, breathing, solid and aside from his hair standing slightly on end, he was fine) He breathed a sigh of relief. The floor panels softly started glowing a warm purplish-blue again as data and electricity started flowing through them again as it was meant to. The lights switched on and this time, stayed on. There was no sign of the mysterious energy signature that 'attacked' him.

Everything was eerily normal.

Everything aside from his guitar that is - it felt a tiny bit heavier than it used to be, though he thought it was just himself - a shock reaction, nothing more. He replaced the guitar in the case and closed it. Then he turned his eyes to Aria.

"Are you alright? Damn. Nothing like THIS ever happened to me before..." he asked, when a research assistant walked into the room.

"The professor will see you now. Both of you."

~*~

"Welcome, trainers."

Those were the first words the professor said to the two trainers - they were probably the first of many to come later. He's seen many new trainers come and go through the years - and he was all too used to this speech.

"So. Today you start your PokéMon Journey." he said "Few things in this world match the thrill of travelling around with PokéMon - at least, that is what I think. Well. First thing's first."

A lab assistant wheeled in a table, upon which were set ten PokéBalls - five on each side, each set sorted in a semi-circle around a handheld device - it was folded up at the moment, but there was no mistaking what it was - a PokéDex.

"These are the trainer's basic-most tools - the PokéDex and PokéBalls. You've probably seen their likes before, but knowledge is half the battle, so to speak. The PokéDex is a high-tech encyclopedia of sorts which holds data about PokéMon - it has a low-frequency scanner which can identify a PokéMon by its DNA signature, and use that to search its data index for a match. You can navigate through various entries using the trackball along the side on the device. I'm sure you'll find it most informative. The common PokéBall is perhaps the second-most useful utility in a trainer's career. It is through the use of these devices that a wild PokéMon may be captured. In most cases, you will have to battle to weaken the wild PokéMon before you can capture it."

He gestured towards the table "There are five PokéBalls and a PokéDex for each of you. PokéBalls may also be bought at PokéMarts worldwide - but these five will be a start. Consider it my gift to the next generation of trainers."

Glenn glanced at the devices. One of the PokéDexes was largely crimson-colored, with black highlights. The other was a steely blue-grey color, with light silver highlights. he hummed to himself, gathering his newly-acquired PokéBalls, and then picked up the steel-blue unit. Somehow he had the feeling that Aria would like the crimson one. It was just a hunch of his.

He looked the device over, flipping it open, revealing its dual screens. He smiled at this... And then he blinked when he realized he wasn't the only person who heard a small electric guitar fanfare that could have only meant "POKÉDEX GET!".

"... Whatever it was, I didn't do it." he blushed when he noticed the professor's look - it was either a glare or a fascinated, thoughtful expression - with Rowan, it was really hard to tell.

And suddenly the guitar sounded again - playing scales at random. And Glenn realized the impossible - it WAS coming from the guitar case on his back. "Excuse me a moment..." he said, placing the case on the ground and opening it.

Sure enough, the guitar was playing itself. An aura of electricity bathed the device, making its color look even more vividly blue and the lightning pattern upon it looking almost -alive-.

Without even thinking, Glenn pointed the PokéDex at the guitar. The device beeped, and within minutes, displayed a picture on its top screen, and many bits and pieces of information on its bottom screen. The picture it displayed was unlike anything he has seen before - it was a small orange creature which seemed to be composed of pure electricity and be surrounded by an aura of blue lightning. Its body shape was roughly spherical, with a spike growing out of its 'head' and another, smaller sphere at the bottom of it. It seemed to have sharp white teeth and strange glowing eyes.

"Rotom." said the PokéDex in a gentle female voice (he halfway expected it to sound more like some kind of a schizophrenic robot and was pleasantly surprised it didn't) "The Plasma PokéMon. Rotom's body is similar in its composition to electricity. This unique property of its composition allows it to possess machines and electrical appliances of various sorts and create mischief."

"So, it seems I was right after all." the Professor nodded "It seems that this Rotom was our gremlin in the gears, after all. But to think it would take refuge in an electric guitar... Truly interesting. It was displaying an unusual affinity to music..."

Glenn glared at the errant instrument, as its ghostly occupant ceased its practice of scales, and seemed to be confused as to what to do next.

"Of course," he muttered softly, as he picked up the guitar - the electricity tingled against his skin, but did not hurt "You realize that this means war."

And then he struck a chord - a C to be exact.

As he expected, the guitar responded with a comeback chord of its own. Within a matter of moments, he countered with a more complex sequence of chords, which the ghostly creature countered. The theme only got more and more complicated as Glenn and the Rotom got into a higher drive. Soon they were switching so fast that it was near impossible to tell where one started and the other finished. The resulting tune had an intense, eerie, almost dischordant nature - and it got faster and faster until finally, Glenn struck a final chord - an E Flat, to be exact... and something poured out of the guitar's amplifier plug - a cackling stream of orange and blue energy, mouth open in an electronically-synthesized sounding scream. It pulsated briefly, stretching up, down and sideways, before collapsing unto the ground lifelessly, its blue aura faded and its orange 'mass' solidifying. The creature was so drained of energy that it could not remain bonded to the guitar.

Quickly, Glenn set the Guitar down and drew a PokéBall, casting it onto the fainted Rotom. The small plastic-and-metal sphere burst open and engulfed the inert creature in a stream of red energy, absorbing it into itself, and closing tightly. It wobbled once, twice, thrice... and then it moved no more.

At that moment, Glenn realized that he has just captured his first PokéMon. And also that playing THIS intensely was sheerly exhausting. He dropped to his knees, taking the now-occupied PokéBall into his hand, gazing at it with a grin that could almost be described as manic.

"I think this means I won this battle, partner. But you put up one hell of a fight. I think I'm going to like working with you."

~*~

"I apologize for this... scene, Professor. I completely forgot myself..."
"You have no need to apologize. There is more than one way to capture a PokéMon, and this may yet be the most... interesting way I've seen so far." the professor nodded "Rather... unorthodox... melody, I must say, but I guess that is to be expected when a Rotom is involved..." he looked wistful for a moment.

"Anyway," he suddenly said, in the sort of tone that would snap anyone to attention. "All's well that ends well. But now that you have your first PokéMon - albeit not quite a usual one - I believe it is time for Aria to choose her own."'

He turned his attention to the second trainer, the female "'Here in the Sinnoh region, new trainers are often given a choice between one of three PokéMon - each has their own elemental type and their own particular strengths and weaknesses... Allow me to introduce you to them."

Another assistant rolled in another table - upon which three PokéBalls were placed - these ones were obviously occupied and each was labeled with a small sticker.

"They are Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf PokéMon, a Grass-type..." the leaf-marked PokéBall burst open, revealing a small reptillian-looking PokéMon. It resembled a green-and-yellow snapping turtle with a half-shell and a small sapling growing out of it head.

"Chimchar, the Chimp PokéMon, a Fire-type..." the flame-marked ball burst open as well, revealing a small orange primate, a steady flame burning slightly where a tail should have been.

"And Piplup, the Penguin PokéMon, a Water-type.". The final PokéBall, marked with a droplet, burst open last, revealing a small, blue birdlike creature whose feathers appeared to have some form of a protective hood along its back.

"Now, which shall it be?" the professor shot her a look.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

((For the latter part of this post, I've copied some of what Stel posted earlier, just to make things go quicker.))

"Awesome!" She smiled broadly at his acceptance of journeying with her.

Then the lights flickered out, the floor glowing her favourite colour in indication that something was going on.

"Warning. Resistance Impulse Triggered. Temporary system shutdown in 30 seconds..."

"Lovely." She met Glenn's gaze afterwards.
"No, it doesn't sound good at all." She said this as she noticed the floor tiles fade to their regular color...

Then, almost as if it were in slow motion, a spark of blue light jumped out towards Glenn. Aria covered her eyes in reaction, not wanting to see what would happen...

Then she heard the rustling of a still live body next to her. She peered between her fingers to see that Glenn was still alive and breathing, miraculously. She checked her own pulse afterwards, finding that it was indeed there, but racing from that close call with the electric shock. Her sigh of relief echoed Glenn's as the floor turned back to it's normal color. They hadn't even started out yet and already things were getting interesting.

Aria looked at Glenn after he asked the question. "Yeah. I'm alright. I'm glad to see you are too." Indeed, nothing like that has ever happened to her before either. It wasn't something that happened everyday.

The assistant came into the room again. "The professor will see you now. Both of you."

***

"Welcome, trainers."

This came from the Professor himself. Aria wasn't too keen on listening to long speeches, so she barely listened to his 'new trainer speech' that she was all too sure he had gone through too many times to count. Not too long after he had started, an assistant wheeled in a table of ten Pokéballs and what looked to be two different Pokédex'.

"These are the trainer's basic-most tools..." Blah Blah Blah. Instantly Aria was drawn to the crimson and black themed one, and Glenn seemed to pick up on the fact that red was her favourite color, because he took the other one, which seemed to be themed a Steel blue-gray with silver highlights. She picked up her five Pokéballs and the crimson and black Pokédex.

It was then that she heard the music fanfare of "POKÉDEX GET!".

Instantly, she turned to face Glenn with a questioning gaze. He explained that it wasn't him, but more chords sounded from the direction of his guitar. Impossible. Aria thought this, her eyes wide with astonishment and curiosity as Glenn pulled the guitar back out of it's case... Only to reveal that it was glowing. Glowing. Truly, today was a new height of weird. Glenn seemed to have some idea to scan the guitar, and Aria listened aptly in wonder and amazement.

"Rotom," cooed the PokéDex in a gentle female voice, "The Plasma PokéMon. Rotom's body is similar in its composition to electricity. This unique property of its composition allows it to possess machines and electrical appliances of various sorts and create mischief."

Interesting. Aria thought, acknowledging that the PokéMon was very musically minded. She smiled at this. A lot like Glenn.

She watched in awe as they battled it out, the tunes become more and more complex... until finally, a cackling stream of orange and blue energy came out from the guitar. The blue aura faded and the solidified orange mass of Rotom collapsed tiredly to the floor. She watched with a broad smile on her face as Glenn threw the Pokéball and caught the Rotom. She applauded him on his victory. Truly, the two would be great companions with their combined love for music.

***

After Glenn apologized to the Professor (to which an exaggerated 'no worries' was given), the Professor turned his attention to Aria. This time, she decided she would listen, in anticipation of getting her own first PokéMon.

"Here in the Sinnoh region, new trainers are often given a choice between one of three PokéMon - each has their own elemental type and their own particular strengths and weaknesses... Allow me to introduce you to them."

Another assistant rolled in another table - upon which three PokéBalls were placed - these ones were obviously occupied and each was labeled with a small sticker.

"They are Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf PokéMon, a Grass-type..." the leaf-marked PokéBall burst open, revealing a small reptilian-looking PokéMon. It resembled a green-and-yellow snapping turtle with a half-shell and a small sapling growing out of it head.

"Chimchar, the Chimp PokéMon, a Fire-type..." the flame-marked ball burst open as well, revealing a small orange primate, a steady flame burning slightly where a tail should have been.

"And Piplup, the Penguin PokéMon, a Water-type." The final PokéBall, marked with a droplet, burst open last, revealing a small, blue birdlike creature whose feathers appeared to have some form of a protective hood along its back.

"Now, which shall it be?" the professor shot her a look.

She looked them over one by one. Piplup the Water Penguin was exceeding cute, to the point that Aria found it disgusting. Turtwig, though tough looking, didn't seem to quite click with Aria. Finally, Chimchar. Though it too, was cute, it wasn't exceedingly so, and it was a Fire type to boot. Aria's favourite.

"I think I'm going to pick the Chimchar." She said this with a confident smile on her lips. Rowan seemed to mull this choice over in his head, as if he was processing information.

"Interesting choice." He nodded then, and all the PokéMon were recalled to their PokéBalls. Rowan picked up the one with the flame symbol afterwards and handed it to Aria. "Here you are. Your Chimchar."

She took the PokéBall with a broad grin. "Thank-you, Professor." She smoothed the PokéBall over in her hands. This was her first PokéMon, a friend for life. She looked towards Glenn and smiled at him also. Already, she was going to have a couple of friends to travel with. She had already had a strange adventure with Glenn.

Now there were many more in store for them.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Several moments later...

A cool breeze washed over Sandgem Town from the sea. People were going about their daily lives. Flocks of Wingull occasionally landed on the ground, squabbling noisily over scraps of food. It was a nice little place - a peaceful, somewhat sleepy town, which has somehow managed to remain so in spite of its closeness to a semi-major port.

On the north end of town, where the buildings became sparser and one of the main roads converges with a greater path - Route 202 - two trainers stood, preparing to set off towards adventure.

Mere moments ago, Glenn and Aria left Professor Rowan's lab. After the professor graciously had Glenn's Rotom healed and provided him with an extra PokéBall to replace the one he used to capture it, he sent them off with wishes of good luck and a general suggestion to take Route 202 to Jubilife City - where their journey will truly begin. They were now standing on the very beginning of that path.

"I don't know about you, Aria, but I think that it's time we got acquainted with our partners." Glenn smiled lightly, gazing for a moment at the occupied PokéBall he was holding. "Alright, Rotom, Let's get to know you better..."

The PokéBall snapped open, releasing a stream of red light which formed into the floating orange form of the Rotom. A field of blue electricity instantaneously developed around it, and its eyes started glowing again. The creature gazed in Glenn's general direction for a few minutes, before extending a pair of vaguely bolt-shaped energy tendrils from its sides and spinning rapidly for a little while. Then it paused, turning its eyes towards Glenn again, emitting a questioning synthesized-sounding tone.

"Hello." Glenn waved at the Rotom and then extended his hand in greeting, "Name's Glenn. I suppose you could say we're partners now."

The creature floated there without a sound, surveying the scene around it. And then it slowly, cautiously approached Glenn, reaching out with one of its energy tendrils and lightly touching Glenn's hand. The creature's blue aura seemed to be drawn to Glenn's fingers, like the sphere of lightning in a plasma lamp, and the feeling was somewhat tingly. A spark of realization flew through the creature's eyes.

"Yes, that's right." he said "That was me with the guitar earlier. That was quite a performance."

The Rotom's expression had 'Tell me about it!' written all over it. It emitted a series of electric crackles and synthesized digital tones, then seemed to gaze forlornly at the trainer. It took Glenn a few seconds to realize that it was actually looking through him, to the guitar case on his back.

"You want to go back in there?" Glenn asked the Rotom, gesturing in the direction of the guitar case - and the creature bobbed up and down slightly in an emulation of a nod.
"Yeah, I had a thought you'd enjoy a guitar moreso than a PokéBall... Okay. Just don't overexert yourself or damage the circuitry, alright?"
The Rotom seemed to crackle happily, nodded again - and then proceeded to *change*. Its orange form seemed to fuzz out, losing its apparent solidity and glowing radiantly - as if it became energy of its own accord. The creature flowed - a almost helix-patterned stream of orange and blue electricity - into the guitar case and into the guitar itself through its amp port. There was a small musical cue from within the case as the Rotom settled in. Glenn couldn't help but chuckle. He proceeded to minimize the Rotom's PokéBall and place it on his belt.

"Well, then. The Professor said that taking this route will eventually take us to Jubilife City... And that from there, we'll probably be able to get an idea as for what to do next." Glenn nodded "Shall we?"

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

Route 202. According to Rowan, this was still sort of a prequel to the beginning of their journey. Frankly, Aria was just glad to finally be on her way, with some friends in tow. Jubilife City was their destination now. Aria had a feeling they would meet new friends and possibly new enemies along the way.

"Yeah, I think it's about time that I got to know my partner, too." She smiled back at Glenn, before taking out the PokéBall with the flame insignia again. "Alright. Time to meet Chimchar!"

The PokéBall snapped open, releasing a stream of red light which soon formed into the small, orange and peach form of the Chimchar. The tuft atop it's orange head, swirl-like symbol on it's peach chest, and it's insufferable dark blue eyes upon it's peach face are what made it look somewhat cute. However, the small orange body had some reddish eyelids and insides of it's ears, what looked to be tiny fangs, and a flaming tail for cripes sake. This more than made up for the cute demeanor of the PokéMon on its own.

"Chimchar!" It said, it's voice matching the not-so-cute looks of the small creature. A grin appeared on Aria's face, betraying her supposed sanity for a moment, before she slipped back under her mask.

"Hey there." She followed Glenn's example and held out her hand, smiling sanely again. "I'm Aria. We're going to be partners now, if that's alright."

The Chimchar looked curiously at her, then her hand, and put it's own hand into hers, grasping it lightly. She shook it, and they smiled at each other.

"So, little guy. I don't entirely want to carry you, for fear of you setting me on fire." Aria put on a face that would be candid in anime situations with a huge sweat drop running down the side of her face. "But you're welcome to walk beside me, or if you prefer, stay in your PokéBall." She held it out in offering to the small monkey, just in case.
The Chimchar seemed to think it over for a little bit. Finally, it reached out to press the central button on the PokéBall, the red light calling it back to it's home. It clicked shut afterwards, sitting lifelessly in Aria's hand. "Very well..." Aria muttered, to no one in particular.

She looked at Glenn after shrinking the PokéBall back down to put it on her belt. "We shall." She said, nodding her head with a neutral expression.

With that, she walked on with her new friends by her side, down the path to the true beginning of their journey.

 

[Anon Zytose]

(OOC: Okay. This is by far the most literate RP I've ever been in. At least if you go by the amount of stuff typed. Apart from this initial post, I expect my posts to be no more than a paragraph or two each.

It's also worth noting that I got a whole lot of help from Dwayna on making this post.)

Character name: Persephone Kiaxi
Age at start of RP: 19 years, 1 month
Gender: Female
Appearance: A bowl-like hat, unpredictably and color changing dyed hair (we'll start with sea blue) in a ponytail, brown eyes, pale skin, a few freckles on the sides of her cheeks (maybe), blue sunglasses, long sleeves year round (right now a lavender sweater), black pants, white tennis shoes. Drawing TBA.

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

"There's more to life than obsessing over Pokemon... right, everyone?"
There's something she might be heard saying every once in a while.

Persephone Kiaxi was far less obsessed with Pokemon than everyone around her. One might say Kiaxi didn't follow the culture as easily. Nevertheless, when she was offered the opportunity to become a Pokemon trainer at age 10, her lacking interests caused her to reject the offer in favor of more academic pursuits.

Kiaxi has always been less one who does and more one who thinks. She would, as still does, often seek solitude in her room or a vacant spot in a library or wherever. So she may concentrate on homework or read some article or tinker about with a computer. Or, more often, just think about stuff, and compile her ideas.

Time passed on and soon Kiaxi managed to finish high school with high marks. However, she found herself unable to afford college so far. So instead, she decided to work as a network operations specialist and data manager at the local research lab. This she decided she would do until she could afford a college education from start to finish. A year and a half has passed since then.

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

As usual at the lab, Kiaxi was deeply involved in her own thoughts, as well as in documents new and old, both local and online, seeking ways to improve computer coding, engineering mechanisms, or other facets of technology. She insisted that there was more to life than obsessing about Pokemon. Sure she couldn't escape them entirely in her life, but that was no more her goal than escaping from other humans. Granted, this didn't mean too much as Kiaxi still preferred to be left alone to work. Still, she was issued a purple and cyan themed PokeDex. After all, that's what the local lab worked with.

Today, however, was far from normal, as a wild Pokemon managed to cause mayhem in the circuitry, that morning. Considering the disarray's musical nature, Kiaxi eventually stated in a later conversation, "Huh. I just thought the managers decided to start presenting music on the teleprompter."
A coworker responded, "Well, Kiaxi, it's true. Thanks to Rowan and our newer generation of Pokemon trainers, the problem was solved. Albeit a little strangely, but solved all the same."
"Alright, then."

Kiaxi's coworkers looked at each other, subtly motioning toward her, as if debating whether or not to tell her something of importance. Part of her couldn't really shake the feeling that it was something to do with her. However, she ultimately shrugged off the notion and silently got back to work. Her reacquired solitude lasted about 30 seconds.

"Well, Kiaxi, this is where you come in, actually. We - and by 'we' I mean Rowan - want to put you out on the field. Congrats on the sudden promotion!"
Kiaxi tilted her head at this. "Eh...?"
"Meaning that we - I mean he - wants to get you traveling all over the Sinnoh Region to study Pokemon. It's a great honour and it's for a good cause - to learn more about these wonderful creatures that live among us."
The other co-worker speaks. "He suggested going with the group that just left actually. Kid with an electric guitar and a crimson-haired female alongside him."
"In this world it's not safe to travel without a Pokemon partner, so how about you choose one of the starters?" said the first co-worker, a bit too cheerfully for Kiaxi's comfort.

Ironically, it was not beyond Kiaxi's comfort to stand and mock such cheeriness with sarcasm. "Yes, because the starters would TOTALLY stand a chance against the dangers of this world we just might face, ranging from muggers to more powerful wild Pokemon!" Dropping the Sarcasm and cheery tone, "I think I'll stay inside, thanks." Kiaxi sat back down before continuing, "Really. Why do we send kids with low level Pokemon out like that? There's going to be huge issues if you take your level five Pokemon, thinking it can face just about anything, and tread somewhere you have yet to have a reasonable chance at handling.

"Because they're trainers? Most trainers only care about raising their Pokemon to high enough levels to safely take on the Sinnoh League. That's why they're TRAINERS, for cripes sake."
"I suppose that's great for them. Why do I need to go out and do the same, then? Last I checked, there aren't that many people less obsessed about Pokemon training than I am."

Then one coworker stated, "Perhaps you should go then to make sure those two others that recently left don't tread beyond what they can handle?"
Kiaxi raised a finger as if about to say something, only to find she had no counter argument. "Ugh... fine! I'll go... but that was kinda low."
"Well, it worked, didn't it?"

Kiaxi gave the coworker a glare, before saying, to no one in particular, "... I'd better get either a huge pay raise or a considerable monetary scholarship from the university of my choice for this..." With that, she began packing. Some basic supplies, her PokeDex, her pocket PC, everything she immediately figured she'd need.

"So, since you don't seem too keen on the starters, perhaps you'd like to start with something else? " The second coworker seemed to think about something.
"I'd imagine something different to stand me out a bit better..." she says out loud, before muttering under her breath, "Like Mewtwo."
"Well, how about this. Pull out your PokeDex and scan this PokeBall for your first entry on this journey." He said, holding out a PokeBall.
She sighed and did so.

The device beeped, and within minutes, displayed a picture on its top screen, and many bits and pieces of information on its bottom screen. The picture it displayed was somewhat unorthodox. A small Pokemon, mostly white in color, had the appearance of wearing a dress. It had what looked to be a green helmet with what looked to be two red ridges spiking out of it, covering its eyes. Soon, the PokeDex cooed in its familiar female voice, and Kiaxi listened.

"Ralts. The Feeling Pokemon. It uses the horns on its head to sense human emotions. It is said to appear in front of cheerful people."
Now, Kiaxi knew she wasn't the most cheerful person out there. But at least she might get some help through the Ralts on keeping an eye on how the others would be doing. And so she decided, "I guess I'll give this one a try..."
The co-worker nodded and handed Kiaxi the PokeBall. "Take good care of it during your travels."
"Well, yeah. That much goes without saying. If I didn't have a responsibility to take care of others, I wouldn't have gotten up to keep an eye on those two others, now would I?" Referring to the others that recently set out.
"Right."
"Good luck!" They both say, waving and wandering back off.
"Yeah..."

Before leaving she decided to grab some PokeBalls just in case she later decided to add to her team. She then made her way towards Route 202. Hopefully, the trainers she was supposed to 'babysit' hadn't gotten too far.

 

[Sem]

"He's still acting strange…" a young blonde haired girl said. She looked to be about nine, though she was smarter and more mature than the typical nine-year old. She had a small and slender frame that was covered by a pair of dark blue jeans and a violet-colored shirt with black vine print. While Sandgem town sounded like a warm place, anywhere in Sinnoh was rather chilly, and so she also wore a deep lavender hoodie, and dark purple scarf that was whipped up by the occasional passing of the wind, as was the single pony-tail that she had tied her silvery-blonde hair in that morning. An ultra ball hung from a silver chain around her neck.

She was looking at a rather bizarre thing, stormy gray eyes staring intently at the ‘creature' before her. It was a floating, steel orb that had a single large, robotic eye. Three screws went into the sphere, two smaller ones under the eye and a larger one coming out of the top. Two magnets were connected to either side.

"Sem and his parents did say it was the weirdest of the bunch." Fida commented as she placed a finger to her chin in thought. The magnemite hovered around randomly with its eye half closed, seeming only half-interested in the world around it.

They were in Sandgem currently, outside the Pokémon Center. Fida had been in Sinnoh for a few months already and decided to start fresh in the region by going to the starting place of most trainers, even though the addition of this magnemite was the fifth pokémon in her arsenal. She was still relatively new, and she could definitely still learn plenty of things, especially from the Hearthome trainer she had heard about from Morty.

She looked at her purple PokéGear for the time. The device, she found, was not the typical trainer gear for the region, the other being a ‘stylish' watch of sorts, though she wondered if it actually did tell the time. She pulled up the map function, using her newly acquired map chip for the Sinnoh region. She found that her next stop would be Jubilife City, which she would get to by traveling through Route 202.

"Well… here goes, Elvia." She said to thin air, or so it would appear to anyone watching the girl. She was in-fact speaking to her ever-present mismagius, who was currently invisible, as always when the girl was in a public place.

After mere minutes the girl found herself looking at a sign that signaled that the beginning of Route 202 was just up ahead. The magnemite who was hovering behind her looked left and right apathetically, making it seem like the thing was bored.

Fida was glad that Magnemite wasn't one to stray, for it always stayed near her. It was its personality or, lack of one rather that bothered Fida. Sure it was an artificial pokémon, but all the other magnemite at the Aquais lab seemed to have their own special traits. The only one this one seemed to have was an attraction to Fida for some reason unknown to her.

As they walked the number of houses lessened as green began to take over, and the asphalt gave way to dirt and gravel, the smell of fresh and brisk country air was even more pungent in her nose. She walked a few more steps before noticing a couple of trainers up ahead.

"They must be starting out too…" Fida commented as she continued walking. She probably would not have even talked to them or approached them; she had passed many trainers on routes without so much as a second glance. This time would've been no different had Magnemite hadn't chosen that exact moment to go berserk and speed off towards the two trainers as fast as it could.

"W-wait!" Fida called after her steel-type. By the time she had reached the trainers Magnemite was already wildly making a buzz-type sound as it orbited a trainer with a guitar case.

"Sorry!" Fida apologized with flushed cheeks and a quick bow. She pulled out a white pokéball, which had a black circle on the top and three red dial-like protrusions on the sides and top. She aimed the timer ball at the young man and Magnemite stopped completely at the same time the ball was raised, faintly surrounded by a blue aura; not typical of a timer ball, or any pokéball for that matter. A red beam flowed out from the center of the device and made contact with the magnet pokémon, converting it into that same red energy and recalling it back into the sphere.

The girl put the ball away inside her jacket and nodded to both trainers again, still embarrassed. "Sorry again." She eyed them both for a bit, taking in each trainer's unique characteristics. They were both older than her by at least six years. She bit her lip for a moment, thinking to herself as her foot dug into the dirt nervously. "My name's Fida," she said, extending her hand. "Are you starting out too?"

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

OOC: Welcome aboard, Sem, Always good to see you. And welcome to you too, Anon. Please note that what I wrote in the first post applies to you as well - I realize you have time constraints and stuff, but I require a certain amount of dedication and quality from my co-RPers. XP

BIC:

Suddenly, two sharp notes played - almost like an alarm. The trainer made a quick 180 to notice something rushing his way - something which he instantly recognized as a Magnemite. The thing was chirping and beeping wildly as it settled into orbit around him - or his guitar case, for that matter.

"Well, I seem to be a magnet for Electric-Types today..." he muttered "Although it's probably my partner it's interested in..."

His thoughts were interrupted by a girl - she seemed almost too young for a trainer, although she could have simply been small for her age, he had no clue really - who was apparently the trainer of the Magnemite. She ran towards them, apologizing, then returned the creature to what looked like a timer ball - although the way the creature froze before it was recalled, that blue nimbus... He's seen something like this before.

That looked like a Psychic impulse of some sort. he thought From a PokéBall? Either this ball was modified by special technology... or there is something else.

The ominous little tune the Rotom added did not help matters either. It was the sort of tune that seemed to suggest something was lurking in the shadows, present but not choosing to make its presence known.

Then the girl spoke, introducing herself. She seemed nervous.

"Glenn. Glenn Hendrix. Yes, as the matter of fact we are." he replied, with a slight chuckle "Er, does that Magnemite of yours do that often? Randomly start orbiting people, that is."

 

[Belle]

[size=8pt]ooc| So. This is me getting off my ass (a.k.a I don't have homework tonight) and typing up an intro. I'm on too much of a nocturnal high to make a fully serious intro, so I'm aiming for mildly amusing :3


With an arm raised before her face to lessen the beating of the thermals rising up in waves of warmth from beneath her, Belle found herself squinting into the distance in an attempt to make out the shapes on the horizon. Obscuring her vision further was the orange head that bobbed in sync with the beating of the thick, leathery wings that stretched out on either side of her, and she frowned at her inability to see further out irrespective of how unfamiliar she was with the area. Glancing cautiously down to the pikachu in her lap, the pokemon's gaze met her trainer's bright green eyes with a smile, looking all the more endearing as the occasional gale of wind would pull the skin farther back on her face and expose the delicate pink flesh at the corners of her eyes and mouth. The girl giggled lightly at her companion, and let her hands release their grip on the charizard's shoulders to tug down the faded yellow shirt that had started to ride further up her stomach with each buffeting gust. Looking herself over briefly, she chewed mischievously at her lower lip before deciding to attempt adjusting the black jean of her shorts. With her new hands-free tactic, she tightened the grip her legs had around the dragon and used the strength she could to ease herself into a 'posting' position, much like the ones professional riders would use in Ponyta Shows. Shaking lightly, she quickly seized the cuffs of her shorts and tugged them further down her legs so they fit her significantly more comfortably.

Feeling proud of her achievement, she slid back into her seat with her hands on her hips, surveying the scene below her with a lopsided grin and a head of tousled chocolate ringlets that whipped about her face. Comfortable on the back of the fire type, she eased herself into an angle where she could peer over the dragon's shoulder to see the scenery directly below, mostly consisting of trees and the occasional path of cleared section that indicated a walking route. Allowing herself a deep breath of air, she felt a brief sensation of sleepiness touch the backs of her eyelids and make them feel even heavier before snapping back into awareness. Still fascinated by the sensation regardless of how many times she had been in the position before, she grinned lightly as she noticed the yellow mouse pokemon peering over to share the view.

Straightening up in her seat, she managed to spot a larger clearing that she assumed would be Sandgem approaching off to one side, and a thing stream of clearing branching off that could only have been route 202. As they passed over the thin stream of dirt path below, she felt a sudden weight lifting in her lap, a movement punctuated by a startled shriek as the pikachu tumbled over the side of the charizard. Feeling an alarmed yelp escape her to harmonize with the pikachu's cries, Belle felt the dragon beneath her jerk in a most unorthodox manner as he lunged for their companion, only to twist into a sharp dive when his claws merely grazed her tail.

Heart racing, the trainer watched as the ground neared the party at an alarming rate but snapped her head up in time to snatch the pikachu as the charizard pulled up suddenly to speed down the trail in an effort to lose the dangerous amounts of momentum he had gained in the sudden free-fall. Clutching Rusty to her chest, the brunette felt her pulse pounding as their combined heart rate created a percussion of beats between them. When they stopped further down the trail, she stumbled off the back of the fire-type and saw her knuckles turning white as she tightened her grip on the yellow pokemon. Slowly dropping onto the path, she curved over the little creature while the charizard sniffed nervously at her huddled shape, nuzzling at her cheek before she glanced back up at him.
"Charme, you're amazing and I love you. Okay?"
Satisfied with her tone and pleased by her words, he relaxed and sat back on his haunches while watching his trainer expectantly. Obligingly, she stood and pulled the metal capsule specific to the dragon from the string of pokeballs hanging at her waist, expanding the little sphere before recalling him.
"And you."
Pulling the pikachu from her chest, she put on the most stern face she could as Rusty met her stare with a traumatized gaze. Feeling the color drain from her cheeks again, she tucked the pokemon into the crook of her arm and shuddered lightly.
"... Yeah."

Peering around warily, she took note of the scenery now that they were in a closer proximity to it and identified the route as being 202 as she had suspected. She also noted the small posse of people that congregated less than a hundred meters away from where they had landed, and immediately felt the rosy color flush back into her face as they came into view.

OOC| WHOOPS I DROPPED MY PIKACHU.
Glenn seems to be a magnet for electric-types. Literally.
Or maybe that was just me being homicidal :3[/size]

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

((OOC: Well. This is turning out to be quite the group. 5 people already. Dear lord. >>
Bit of a short post, but meh.))

Aria heard noises coming from the guitar and turned soon after Glenn did. She watched as what she recognized as a Magnemite start to orbit Glenn curiously. It senses the Rotom. She raised her eyebrows slightly, wondering if all PokéMon were this perceptive to others.

The girl came rushing after it, indicating that she was it's trainer. She muttered her apologies and recalled the Magnemite, though something curious happened before it was recalled... What was that strange, blue aura that surrounded it? It was nothing she had seen a PokéBall do before...

Then the ominous music came. The Rotom knows something... What with the Magnemite earlier orbiting around Glenn, Aria's immediate suspicions came to ponder perhaps another PokéMon nearby.

"Aria. Aria Terra." She smiled and reached to take the girl's hand, shaking it in greeting.
"Pleased to meet you, Fida. We are indeed just starting out." Aria took this time to look around at their surroundings. In the distance, she could spot perhaps another trainer, and what looked to be one of the lab's assistants. She pushed back a strand of crimson hair, looking back to Glenn.

"Looks like we might have more company soon."

 

[Sem]

Fida nodded, shaking Glenn and Aria's hands in turn. "Yeah, me too sort of." she repeated. "And no, he doesn't, that's the first time he's done that... he's usually very... bored..." Fida admitted.

There was an awkward silence for the moment, speaking-wise anyway; there was an ominous strumming come from Glenn's guitar case.

"W-well, if we're going the same way, mind if I tag along?" She asked finally. She might as well go with them, it's not like they wouldn't be right in front of or behind her if they went separately anyway. Plus company was always nice; she had been in her own since leaving Snowpoint.

"This is Elvia by the way," the girl said, introducing her invisible friend and guardian. The air seemed to blur as it did when viewed through smoke, and the mismagius appeared, long purple body flowing out behind her and large hat-like brim covering her eyes. The sun-light twinkled as it reflected off red gems in the ghost's neck. Elvia gave a quick nod before vanishing once more, as if the wind had blown her away like a mound of dust.

"You only really see her if she's really comfortable or if she's in a battle," Fida explained. "But she's nice, so don't be afraid or anything." The girl felt the need to say that whenever she met new people, since not all people were particularly fond of ghost-type pokémon, and she didn't want people to be scared when Elvia did decide to show herself.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"A Mismagius!"' Glenn said, eyes widening, clearly impressed "I've always found them strangely beautiful, but this is the first time I actually see one from this up close... Wow."

He was interrupted by a small, cheerful series of chords - the Rotom's idea of a greeting probably.

"Actually, my own companion is also a ghost-type... Although he.. she... it... I'm not sure myself... doesn't have a name yet... It's a Rotom. And that is why my guitar plays itself." he chuckled.

A small, almost-indignant sounding solo.

"Well, that's what it sounds like to an outsider, you know!" he said "I mean no disrespect to your musical skills, partner."

The following two or three notes just dripped with "Hmph. That's better." Glenn chuckled nervously.

"I didn't realize he'd be this touchy. It's an artist thing, I guess."

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

((OOC: I've been told Anon will be leaving us. Therefore, I will see him off in this post.))

Aria opened and closed her mouth several times, but no sound came out. A Mismagius. So my hunch was correct. She smiled slightly at this. Pokemon are strange creatures indeed.

"Of course you can come with us, Fida." Aria said this smiling, but she closed her eyes, for she knew they would betray her sanity in this moment. I wish to learn more about this girl and her ghost.

She looked back into the distance. The lab assistant seemed to have gone off in the opposite direction that she had come. Guess we're not having as much company as we thought. She shrugged slightly to herself. Oh well.

"I have a Chimchar, myself. I believe that he's male. I think I'm going to name him Ferny." Aria smiled more at this statement. She knew what the Fire Monkey would eventually evolve into... The thought of it's final form glimpsed through Aria's mind, and she turned her face away from them for a mere few seconds, to hide the wicked grin that had spread across her face.

Didn't want to scare the children.

 

[Sem]

Fida giggled to herself at the little exchange between Glenn and his rotom. She could tell that those two would be a decent source of laughs and good humor.

"Of course you can come with us, Fida." she heard Aria say.

"Thank you." Fida smiled. She felt Elvia's presence tremble slightly.

"Oh, a chimchar?" Fida responded. "I don't think I've actually seen one, though I've seen pictures... They're kinda cute in their own way I guess..." she shrugged.

Another gust a wind blew by; Fida zipped up her jacket. After another moment of silence Fida piped up, asking, "W-well, should we get going?"

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

OOC: Alright, folks, we've run into a bit of a snag. Now that the interaction scene between Glenn, Aria and Fida is over, we technically should be ready to move on. However, there is still the matter of Belle's character (which we need to interact with) and whether or not anyone has plans for things in route 202. Y'know, like catching a random pointy bird. >>; For now, I just finished off the interaction scene and started getting us going... Dway, Sem, Belle, we need to discuss what the hell next. XD

Also, I have a name for Rotom: Siegfried. It's a bit of a double reference - Both a reference to an opera by Wagner (I totally need to have him fight a dragon-type someday >>; ) and an excuse for me to call him Ziggy. Y'know, like Ziggy Stardust. He took it all too far, but boy, could he play guitar. >>

... Now all I need is Ariados from Mars. >>;

BIC:

"Sure thing, Fida." Glenn smiled at the girl. There was a cheerful musical cue from the guitar - which, in the right setting, would probably be accompanied by a message of "Fida and Elvia joined the party!"

Glenn rolled his eyes "You have a flair for dramatics, don't you..." he muttered, but he couldn't hide the small grin on his face. "Maybe I should call you Siegfried..."

The Rotom replied with a slow crescendo, building up as it was pondering the name... Then, it emitted a satisfied cue.

"Glad you agree. Well, then. Let's get going."

~*~

Route 202 was relatively peaceful - a path that winded through grassy fields and connected the peaceful town of Sandgem to the south to Jubilife City in the north. From what he heard, Jubilife was the largest city of the Western Sinnoh area, if not the Sinnoh region as a whole. Supposedly, the entire city was built on land carved out of a mountain with the help of the neighboring Oreburgh City, though why was anybody's guess. Maybe the local ground was too unstable or plagued by killer Onix attracted to rhythmic vibrations, or something. He also heard that it was -the- place to obtain gear for prolonged travel, and that it served as a central junction between several of the region's more major cities. Either way, it would be a good place to find out where should they go next.

But first thing's first. he thought Getting there is half the fun...

 

[Raven Dragonfire]

((OCC: Sorry it took so freaking long to post >.> been working my butt off with very little time to do computer stuff.. btw Dway was the one who accepted me so blame her >.> and also i'm sorry its short, ran out of ideas.))

Victor blinked staring at his computer's screen as he typed away at his research. He had woke up early today as this was the day he would set out to become a pokemon master. He walked over and stroked Growlithe's fur "Today is the day Zack" he softly told the pokemon. Growlithe nodded in agreement. Zack had been Victor's first pokemon, when he turned 14 his mother gave him the pokemon in hope he would go out and become a master. However Victor ignored the hint and focused on his studies training Zack in his spare time.

He packed up his bag then slid it onto his back, his backpack contained pretty much anything a nerd would need on a journey such as this, plus he had his trusty Laptop. "MOM! I'm leaving now" he bellowed from the front door as he headed out of it. Victor's Mother ran to the front door and watched her son leave the house; she smiled with a single tear falling down "You be careful young man! ,come back in one piece"

Victor smiled as he headed away from the house walking down a long path with Growlithe following close behind him. He wasn't really sure in which direction he was headed since Growlithe had once sneezed fire onto his town map and he'd neglected to buy a new one. He continued to wandered aimlessly down the path since he was still slightly tired. "You know Zack this is going to be great, just the two of us on a journey of a lifetime, Dad would be so proud of us." He told the Growlithe as they headed down a rather poorly lit path due to the large trees.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

((OOC: That's mean to blame me, Raven. >>
Anyway, on with the plot... Sorry for taking so long to make this post.))

Aria smiled as the group was finally on their way down Route 202. She trudged through the tall grass, looking from side to side to see if any wild PokéMon were about. She knew that sometimes, they would leap out when she least expected it.

"Starly!"

She turned, bewildered thoroughly by the sudden sound that came from her right. A small bird was at her right, different shades of gray as it's colors. The dark gray eyes upon it's white face stared up at Aria curiously. She took out her PokéDex and scanned the PokéMon, to learn more about it.

"Starly. The Starling PokéMon. Usually with a large flock, it is barely noticeable when alone. Though small, they flap their wings with great power."

Well, I think I know it's final evolution... Aria envisioned the larger bird in her mind, smirking widely. I must add this bird to my team. She grabbed the ball at her belt and enlarged it, the familiar flame symbol greeting her eyes before she threw it. "Go, Chimchar!"

The familiar orange monkey burst out of the ball, to face the Starly. Aria looked towards the bird with a confident smile. "I challenge you to a battle."
The bird seemed to accept, as a fierce look of determination crossed it's face. "Starly!"

Aria smirked yet again. Curious yet determined... Perfect. "Me first. Chimchar, use Leer!"
The Chimchar gave the Starly an intimidating leer with sharp eyes. The bird shivered slightly under the glare of the Leer attack, countering with an endearing Growl. "Another Leer, Chimchar!"
The monkey glared at the small bird yet again, at which the Starly looked somewhat deterred. In it's panic, it decided to leap at Chimchar with a Tackle attack. It crashed into the small monkey, but this was the advantage that Aria was looking for. "Now, use Scratch!"

Hard, pointed, and sharp claws raked at the Starly, and it looked somewhat wounded afterwards. It desperately tried another Tackle attack, only to have the Chimchar dodge and use another Scratch at Aria's command. The Starly was badly wounded now, and this was obviously evident to Aria as she pulled out an empty PokéBall. She pulled her arm back and threw the ball towards the bird.

The small sphere hit the bird dead on, enveloping it in a white light to retract it into the ball. The PokéBall wobbled a few times, and Aria watched in anticipation. Finally, the ball made a clicking sound and the red light appeared at it's center to indicate a successful capture. Aria smiled and clapped her hands together with glee, picking up the PokéBall triumphantly.

"Good job, Chimchar." She patted the small monkey on it's head out of appreciation. She then looked like she was pondering something, as she had been for a while.

"I think I have a name for you. Will Ferny suffice?" She looked at the Chimchar in wonderment, seeing it's opinion. The small monkey seemed to think it over, before smiling in approval.
"I'm glad you like it. Therefore. Ferny, return!" The small monkey was sucked into it's ball yet again. Aria then opened the PokéBall of the bird she just caught.

"Hello again, Starly. You seem like the type to want to be flying around instead of inside a PokéBall. To satiate your curious nature, I'll let you fly ahead of us or if you like, you may perch on my shoulder." Aria explained all of this calmly to the small bird. She genuinely cared about her PokéMon, even if she was a bit on the crazy side.

The Starly spread it's wings gleefully, and it's eyes sparkled with joy. "Starly!"
Aria smiled pleasantly at the small bird, as if she understood the sentiment. "You're welcome."

The small bird perched atop her shoulder, and she smiled at at in a welcoming manner. She then looked towards her group of friends, with another smile intact, before turning back around to move towards their goal.

"I'm thinking Seamus. What do you think?"
"Starly, Star!"
"I thought it might suit you. I'm glad you agree."

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

OOC: And so the plot is given another kick in the teeth to wake it up.

BIC:

Afternoon was approaching when the small group made it, at last, to the outskirts of Jubilife city. The grassy countryside seemed to give way to smaller, and then progressively taller buildings as the path widened and became more of a road - and suddenly the land ROSE in an impressive formation of reddish-brown stone - different enough from the native ground to distinguish it. The outlines of the platform were fenced to prevent the unwary from tumbling over the edge, roads rising onto it via a system of small bridges. The raised platform was exquisitely paved with mosaic-like patterns of marble-like rock, complementing the tall buildings that seemed to be a dominant feature - some older looking, majestic brick structures with intricate carvings on their walls, others large glass-decked office buildings. Trees were planted in rows along the sidewalks, and occasional junctions were decorated with large water fountains or larger, old trees that were seemingly transplanted from the ground underneath the platform. Intricate streetlights were already lit - and people were already everywhere, to-ing and fro-ing busily.

It was a large and busy city - it seemed almost alien in comparison to the relative peacefulness of Sandgem.

"And here we are... Jubilife. The 'City of Joy' or somesuch." Glenn said, taking note of the large sign that hung by the side of the small pedestrian bridge that connected Route 202 to Jubilife City. "According to this thing here, the PokeMon Center and the Trainer's Mart are just ahead, along the main road. I think that we should get ourselves rooms in the 'Center and see to our PokeMon before checking the place out... It's getting rather late and we still don't really know where to go next. What do you guys think?"

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

Aria pushed her crimson locks out of her eyes to have a better look around. The large city before them was bustling with life, and to most new trainers it would seem intimidating. However, not being most trainers, Aria looked around the small group gleefully. The sights here were breathtaking in comparison to Sandgem. The Starly on her shoulder apparently agreed with her sentiments, it's eyes glowing with joy.

"City of Joy indeed." She mused, looking to Glenn, the insane gleefulness still raw in her eyes, as if she could care less about what he thought of her sanity by now.
"You're quite right, my good friend. We should rest for the night. Both of my Pokemon need to visit the good Nurse." She chuckled softly to herself, looking towards the building with a red top. Some small part of her wondered if Glenn would stay with her after he had seen beneath the mask. If she had to travel alone... so be it.

She would be insane either way.

 

[Sem]

The walk was calming and took up the whole day. The only notable event was Aria's catching of her starly. By the end of the day the could see Jubilife's tall skyscrapers looming in the distance, telling them that they had arrived.

Fida gazed silently upon the city, which she had only seen from a distance before now. It was huge, perhaps bigger than Goldenrod or Saffron. People were like ants, crawling all over the city as they went about their business.

"Sounds good to me," Fida responded to Glenn's suggestion, noting the orange light that washed over the city, casting long shadows, she would love to explore the city at night.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

OOC: LIFE I SAYS, LIFE! Sorry for taking this long to reply. Been busy with real life and with At the End of the Wilderness stuff (prologue 2 is taking way too long to write x-x)

Also, cue nameless cameos of old characters!

BIC:

"It's settled then. Let's go."

As the group proceeded down the road, it wasn't difficult at all for them to recognize the PokéMon Center - A large building with a red roof, the traditional PokéBall emblem emblazoned on it. Both inside and outside the structure, PokéMon and their trainers were omnipresent. As they approached the door, it automatically swung open and out burst a red-haired girl in a black and blue outfit, muttering a stream of vaguely Celtic obscenities under her breath while her PokéDex - an older Kanto model - was beeping madly. The girl was so wrapped up in her frustration that she almost bumped into Glenn.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that." she paused for a moment and apologized in a low-register mildly-accented voice "This city, I'm telling you. If it's not the reporters, it's the schoolkids. If it's not the schoolkids it's those mascot clowns... Bloody 'ell, with this and my PokéDex flipping out, I don't know what is worse... Can't wait to get to Sandgem."

In response, the girl's PokéDex proceeded to beep sharply and emit several static noises, and in a strained, synthesized voice, chirped that the last Tentacruel was in captivity and the galaxy was at peace.

The girl sighed and shook her head "Technology. Gotta love it. Sorry again."

And with that she was gone as randomly as she appeared. A small musical cue emitted from Glenn's guitar which made him wonder why does he have a strange sense of deja vu. He shook his head at this as he walked into the center, disregarding the incident.

The center was rather standard, even for such a huge city - the only difference that Glenn could notice was its size - it was clearly built to accommodate more people and PokéMon. The main hall had even more seats than normal - many of which were already occupied with assorted trainer types and their PokéMon.

Glenn walked up to the main counter, where one of several virtually-identical, smiling, pink-haired Nurse Joys turned to him.

"Welcome to the Jubilife City PokéMon Center!" the nurse piped in in a bubbly voice, almost unnaturally so. "How may I assist you?"

"Er, yes." Glenn replied "Two things actually. First, I require a room for the night. Second, I... Kinda need directions. I've only just started out my journey, and I don't have much of a travel plan."

"Well, have you considered taking the league challenge?" the nurse chirped. "It's an effective way to travel all over the Sinnoh region, improve yourself and your PokéMon companions..."

"Sure, why not." Glenn interrupted her "What exactly does it involve?"

"It's quite simple, really. Travel around the region, challenging PokéMon gym leaders, defeating them and collecting their badges. Once you've collected eight, you become eligible for participating in the Sinnoh League Tournament." The nurse replied.

"Sounds good to me, really. Does this league thing come with a handbook?" Glenn chuckled.

"As the matter of fact it does." the nurse replied. "If you'll just hand me your PokéDex, I can register you."

"Alright." Glenn replied, handing the nurse his newly-acquired PokéDex. She nodded, sliding the device into a reader slot on a computer behind her. Several lights turned on, and then, there was a beep.

"Done." the Nurse said, picking up the PokéDex from the slot as well as a small booket and a case from a drawer under the desk counter, and handing them over to Glenn. "Welcome to the Sinnoh League Challenge. This is the official League guidebook - hang on to it, it contains, aside from the official rules of the PokéMon league, much information about the Sinnoh region that would prove to be very valuable for a trainer. The other thing is a badge case - specially designed to accomodate the eight badges of the Sinnoh League. On behalf of the PokéMon League, we wish you success in your challenge. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Well, Siegfried might need a checkup... What do you say?"

There was a sharp bass from the guitar, clearly a negative answer.

"I guess not." Glenn nodded "So. About that room?"

"Oh, of course!" the Nurse piped in, handing Glenn a key "Here you go. Second floor, Room 13."

"Thank you." Glenn said, taking the key, nodding.

"Have a nice day!" The nurse chirped again. Her voice was so full of happiness, it seemed completely devoid of any other emotion. Or any personality, for that matter. As he walked away from the counter, Glenn found himself wondering, vaguely, if the good nurse wasn't in fact a robot.

"Well, then. Now to wait for Aria and Fida to finish their business with these... nice people in the white robes and pink dresses." he muttered silently.

 

[Sem]

Fida waited in line patiently as Glenn talked with the nurse about the league and a room. She had out Tara's PokéDex and was sifting through a list of pokémon native to Sinnoh. The black and blue PokéDex clashed against the young girl's purple-theme and seemed like it didn't belong at all.

Fida stepped forward as soon as Glenn walked away. She was barely tall enough to look over the counter.

"Hello, there! Did you just start on your journey?" Nurse Joy asked with a cocked head and a smile.

"Uhm, hi, and well, not exactly..." Fida uttered. "I would like a room, please," she asked as she dug into her jacket for her I.D.

"Did you know your PokéDex is also your I.D.?" the nurse asked as she eyed the device Fida still clutched.

"Yes I did, but I like to use this," the pony-tailed girl explained as she handed the nurse the card while slipping the electronic encyclopedia into a pocket.

The nurse shrugged and took the card, running it through a scanner, smile ever-present on her face. "Fida Valens?" she asked as she handed the card back.

"Yes, ma'am," the girl nodded her head.

"You're all set, it's room 14 for you; here's your key." The pink-haired nursed handed Fida the key.

"Thank you," Fida took hold of the key and stepped away from the counter. She met Glenn's gaze and motioned over to the video-phones, letting him know she was making a call. She walked past a duo of people and their pokémon and sat before on of the blue plastic-clad machines. Taking hold of the receiver she punched in a number on the large touch-screen. In only moments the phone began to ring and an image of a ringing green phone popped up on screen .

After only the third ring the green phone vanished and the screen flickered, revealing the interior of a labratory. A woman's face stared directly at her. The woman looked to be in her twenties, though Fida knew the woman was actually nearing forty. She had a smooth yet strong face, with dark brown eyes. She had a fine head of straight black hair with highlights of red and light brown. Fida saw her wearing a red top under her white lab coat.

"Oh, hello, Fida." the woman greeted with a smile. "You too, Elvia, wherever you are."

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Aquais," Fida said politely.

"Where are you?"

"I'm in Jubilife right now. We met some nice people in Sandgem this morning and we traveled together," Fida explained.

"Oh, that sounds nice. How did you meet them?" Mrs. Aquais smiled.

"Well, that's the thing... Magnemite kinda freaked out and started spinning around one of them. It was kinda embarrassing..." Fida looked away from the screen.

"Your magnemite? That's strange, that one is always really mellow..."

"Yeah," Fida nodded. "I'm afraid to let him out again."

"I could send over that one's companion," the woman suggested.

"That could work," the girl agreed.

"All right, just a minute." Mrs. Aquais got up from the chair she sat in and went off-screen.

Indeed, after just a minute the transfer device that was connected to the phone sparked to life, shining bright with white energy. After the beam had gone a simple pokéball was left. Fida smiled a bit and grabbed the ball, keeping it in her hand.

"Got it?" the woman asked as she leaned over the chair.

"Yes, thank you," Fida bowed her head. "I'll call again soon; tell Sem and Mr. Aquais I said hi."

"Alright, be safe." With that the screen blanked out and returned to the menu.

Fida stood up and pulled out the timer ball as she approached Glenn once more. She released both pokémon at the same time and watched as the energies formed into identical shapes. Two magnemite now hovered before her. They turned and blinked at one another in a robotic fashion, exchanging some for of speech that was a mixture of beeps and buzzes and syllables of their own species name. To Fida's relief, her magnemite seemed disinterested in Glenn and instead more interested in its companion.

"There," Fida stated to Glenn. "Now I can still get used to him and he won't bother you," she smiled softly.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

OOC: Blargh, sorry for taking so long. Just been a bit uninspired lately. Hope that this is sufficient. ^^;

BIC:

Aria was the last one to approach the counter and stare up at the smiling face of Nurse Joy. Aria gazed at her curiously, after overhearing her strange voice. She wondered to herself if this one was even human...

"Hello there!" The Nurse chirped cheerily, bringing Aria out of her stupor. "How may I assist you?"

"I'm with those two, so I'll need a room for the night, and I'd like for my PokeMon to be healed." Aria said all of this very quickly and matter of factly.

"I'd be happy to assist you with that." The Nurse smiled then, and it seemed fake somehow... mechanical. Shivers went down Aria's spine, and she reluctantly handed over her PokeBall with Ferny in it, and returned Seamus to his own PokeBall to do the same. She also handed Aria a key with the number 15 etched onto it. Aria simply nodded as if to say thanks, then seemingly forced her mouth open to ask a question, as if not really wanting to.

"I also overheard something about the Sinnoh League?" Aria was never very good at paying attention to long explantion speeches. She found them quite boring usually... But this one, she thought, might be interesting.

"The Sinnoh League is an effective way to travel all over the Sinnoh region, improve yourself and your PokéMon companions... It's quite simple, really. Travel around the region, challenging PokéMon gym leaders, defeating them and collecting their badges." The Nurse relayed this infromation back to Aria in slow-but-still-cheery tones, as if somehow understanding that she needed to capture Aria's attention.

"Once you've collected eight, you become eligible for participating in the Sinnoh League Tournament. If you'll just hand me your PokéDex, I can register you." She smiled that mechanical smile again, and Aria was again reluctant in handing the device over to the Nurse. The fact that she seemed almost robotic in nature creeped Aria out, and considering her insanity, that was certainly something to note. The Nurse slid the device into a reader slot on a computer behind her. Several lights turned on, and then there was a beep similar to the one when Glenn had his registered.

"Done." The Nurse confirmed, picking up the PokéDex from the slot and handing it back to Aria, along with a as well as a case from a drawer under the desk counter. "Welcome to the Sinnoh League Challenge. This thing is a badge case - specially designed to accommodate the eight badges of the Sinnoh League. On behalf of the PokéMon League, we wish you success in your challenge. Would you like the official League guidebook as well?"

Aria simply shook her head, thinking that Glenn would simply help her with that, and turned on her heel towards the direction in which Glenn and Fida had walked off. The Nurse called back something about having a nice day, but that only caused Aria to walk away faster. She obviously didn't want to talk to the Nurse any longer, and as she looked towards Glenn, a slight sense of fear glimpsed beneath her usual calm mask. Her amber eyes flicked back towards the Nurse, then fearfully back at Glenn, as if hinting towards what Aria thought about the Nurse being human.

She didn't want to say anything on the subject aloud for fear of the Nurse overhearing. Even if she seemed like she was out of earshot.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

OOC: Yeah. So far I'm the one that holds this damn RP up more than everyone else. x-x

BIC:

As he waited for his new companions to finish their business, Glenn took time to observe the area around him, taking in the sights of the trainers and the PokéMon. At one table, a black-haired girl with blue highlights in her hair was having a lively conversation with a dark-brown haired boy in a trenchcoat. A small mothlike creature was fluttering around the girl's head with two pairs of wings - a Masquerain. Regally sitting by the boy's side was an elegant-looking white creature with a scythe-like horn projecting from the side of its head - an Absol, who was surveying the Masquerain with a look of mild curiosity. A tall, pale, brown haired-girl with glasses was sat at another table, reading a book and toying with a peculiar-looking PokéBall, while at the table next to her, a white-haired androgynous-looking trainer with the looks of a martial artist had his - or her - eyes locked with those of an avian fighting-type - a Blaziken - Both trainer and PokéMon appearing to be engaged in some kind of meditation.

As he turned his eyes away from the tables, his eyes met Fida's - who signaled him that she was going to make a phone call. He nodded in her direction and smiled a little as she walked away. There was definitely something unusual about the girl - she definitely seemed well-travelled for what seemed to be her age - but Glenn was not the sort to pry. If his new companions would choose to tell him anything lately, he will be there to listen.

His eyes caught someone else's gaze - his other new companion, Aria. The gaze she shot him seemed almost terrified - and he knew it had to be about the almost robotic nurse. He returned Aria's gaze with one that could only mean "My thoughts exactly." and a light shudder, and proceeded to smile reassuringly. Shortly after, Fida returned, two Magnemites in tow - locked in orbit around each other.

"There, Now I can still get used to him and he won't bother you," she said with a soft smile, and he smiled back and nodded.

"Right we are then." Glenn nodded "We have a place to stay tonight, and I think we have a travelling direction. I'm not sure what you want to do right now, but I'm personally planning to head to the PokéMart and stock up on some supplies. You know. Antidotes, potions, the like. You can never know what we might run into out there. I want to pick up some navigation equipment too. What do you want to do?"

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

OOC: I extended the post as much as I could, thinking about how Aria would react to everything... I am having WAY too much fun with this character.

BIC:

Aria was relieved to find out that Glenn returned the sentiment about the Nurse, judging by the look he gave her in return. Fida came back shortly afterwards, with two Magnemite floating around her head, more interested in each other than in Glenn. Awfully clever of her... Aria speculated to herself, This child does seem to have a lot of experience under her belt...

Amber eyes turned to gaze around at the rest of the room around them, observing other people and their PokéMon, seeing how experienced they were, and feeling almost inferior to them for several moments. A Masquerain, an Absol, and a Blaziken, and all she had was a small flaming monkey and a silly bird. But then, she reminded herself that she would be training to become as powerful as they seemed to be, and smiled her insane smile at the thought of that kind of power at her fingertips. However, if anything, Aria was loyal to her friends, and as such would never do anything to hurt them. She would stay on their side, fighting whatever opposed them or stood in their way.

Aria snapped out of her stupor and turned her attention back to Glenn, as he was now speaking, and she had accepted him as the leader of their trio. Leaders always had something important to say, and followers were meant to listen. She took this very seriously, perhaps as another example of her insanity, but then again it could keep up her usual calm demeanor that she masked so well. He mentioned going to the PokéMart to stock up on supplies, and as she cared about her PokéMon, she had to agree.

"I think I'd really like to come with you to the PokéMart to stock up on supplies as well. It would be good to have them on hand just in case." She nodded slightly as if to affirm her sanity on making this decision. Briefly she speculated if Fida would make the same decision, as she was curious about the girl. But then, Aria was curious about everyone at first, so it was really no surprise.

"You have the only guidebook among us, so it would be appropriate if you got the navigation equipment, too." Wherever you go, I'll follow, leader. She smiled softly, almost seeming sane for a moment, even if she knew she didn't need to bother hiding her insanity anymore.

Plus, just being in the presence of the seemingly robotic Nurse was effecting her so much that she would follow anyone out of this place.

 

[Sem]

Fida listened at Glenn's suggestion. It was a smart idea and certainly one of the first things any trainer should do. Fida herself had done the same, although she found herself having no need of them for quite some time now due to a certain addition on her team.

"Sounds good," she nodded once. She could just tell them that they would have no need for such items if she was going to be with them for a while, but things happen. They might decide to separate or she might not be around when needed, or said pokémon would be unable to assist. Lot's of different situations were possible, so better to be prepared she supposed.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

OOC: Minor auto to get us moving.

"Alright, then." Glenn smiled. "This won't take too long - I'm assuming that by the time we'll be back, the fine medical staff here will finish patching Aria's PokéMon up."

~*~

It was not too long after that the three trainers made it to the PokéMart - it was only a short walk away from the center, and was easily recognizable.

It was even more easily recognizable now by a small commotion going on just in front of it - Where on the broad sidewalk, a small crowd of onlooking trainers - schoolkids around 10 years of age, the lot of them - were standing in a loose circle and cheering two battling trainers on. A rather nondescript looking blond boy with horn-rimmed glasses and a freckled girl with curly brown hair done in pigtails were yelling orders at their PokéMon - a blue, penguin-like creature which Glenn recognized from the lab as being a Piplup, and a small, fluffy, brown rabbit-like biped.

By the time the trainers got close enough to see the battle in more detail, one of the trainers - the boy - has already won. It was clear, however, that the circle wasn't dispersing, even as the losing trainer withdrew her beaten PokéMon - the rabbitlike creature - and ran off towards the PokéMon center, barely containing her tears.

"Hahah! Did you see that? Another one, Tux! We rule! Yeah! No one can take us on! None of you are a challenge! I can take on anyone that walks by!" the kid called out to the other children in the circle. His voice dripped with arrogance and overconfidence, and the high-pitched, snobby replying squeak from his Piplup was just as obnoxious.

Glenn shrugged to himself. He would have ignored the little braggart, but then, something happened.

"Hey!" the Kid called out to him. "You! With the guitar! You look weak enough - C'mon, I'll take you on! Unless you're chicken?"

The trainer spun on his heels, glaring into the circle at the kid and his PokéMon. It wasn't the challenge that drew him, but the sheer arrogance in the voice.

Glenn nodded to his companions for a moment. "This will only take a moment." he sighed, walking over to the circle, eying the still-gloating challenger.

"Excuse me," he said to one of the kids, who moved aside to allow him to pass. Glenn looked down at the child - he knew that age had nothing to do with experience, but this was so obviously an overconfident beginner, that he felt obliged by all laws of nature to give him a proper fight.

"Sure, I'll battle you." he replied calmly "What's your name?"
"Hah! You want to know who to bow down to when Tux the Invincible will wipe the floor with your PokéMon?" the kid grinned, and the Piplup chirped in that "Damn right!" sort of tone that made Glenn's leg twitch with the beginnings of a kick reflex. "The name's Billy, and I'm the best battler that's ever been! I just destroyed every one in my class, and I'll destroy YOU too!"
"Technically, you just stood there doing nothing but barking orders while your partner did all the work." Glenn replied dryly.
The kid positively seethed at this comment.
"You going to stand here and yak or send out your PokéMon and get your ass handed to you?"
"Don't count your Torchics before they hatch, Billy." Glenn replied. "Let's do this."

"Okay, Tux, walk all over him!" Billy cried out, and the Piplup jumped up, shaking its head and gazed at the trainer pompously.

Glenn smirked.

"Alright, Siegfried. Let's Rock."

A series of haunting notes emitted from the guitar as a strand of living blue and orange electricity flowed out of the guitar case, cackling, sending small sparks in all directions. Soon enough the string detached from the guitar completely and coalesced into the Rotom's form. The electric ghost shot an evil grin to the Piplup... And within a moment, it charged, mouth opening wide, exposing rows of razor-sharp white teeth, with a screech that sounded electronically synthesized - like an old modem. The penguin squeaked, the abruptness of the attack knocking it off its feet. The Rotom cackled, pausing a mere centimeter ahead of the Piplup, pelting the creature with a few small sparks as it cackled.

The Piplup's trainer was furious at being caught off-guard but grinned confidently "You can't even control your own PokéMon! Hah, this will be easier than I thought! Okay, Tux, give it a pound!"

Glenn could not help but facepalm.

The Penguin PokéMon took off the ground with a jump and prepared to crash down, feet first, onto the thing that scared it so much. "Payback!" was going through the bird's mind - but the thought dissipated quickly when the bird's feet simply went through the creature, and a jolt of pain shot up its legs as it realized - too late - that attempting to rush a mass of living electricity was not a good idea when you're a water type.

The Rotom cackled again, its body emitting a Thunder Wave attack that coursed through the Piplup's body, knocking it away powerfully. The Piplup staggered to its feet, shaking lightly, sparks flying along points of its body.

"So that's how you wanna play it?" Billy yelled "Okay, Tux. Use Bubble attack!"

"Siegfried, stop playing with it - use Thundershock!" Glenn pointed at the Piplup, and the Rotom cackled again, shooting Glenn a small gaze that was dripping with "Awww. But I love torturing the little guy!" Glenn couldn't help but return an amused grin.

It was then that the Piplup reared up, launching a stream of bubbles from its beak in the Rotom's direction. Several bubbles hit the ghost-type's back, sizzling slightly against its electric field.

That did it. This thing needed to be put out of its misery.

With a howl like a generator, the Rotom entered a rapid spin, twin tendrils of lightning aura emerging from its sides arcing around it like a pair of blades. The Rotom's spinning drew faster and faster, more and more electricity being generated and pumped to these new appendages as the creature charged forward - still spinning, electric blades swirling, slicing through the bubbles and lashing through the Piplup, one after another, sending sparks all around. Slowly the spin slowed to a stop and the tendrils retracted, shrinking to their more typical length, as the Rotom floated away back towards the trainer, leaving a slightly charred - and obviously in need of a few weeks of therapy - Piplup behind it.

Billy just stood there, eyes widened. He couldn't believe this happened to him. This battle was over before it even started! He did the same things he did before, the same things that helped him beat every single kid in his class before, and they barely even fazed the opponent.

"You cheated!" the kid cried out, shaking his fist furiously at Glenn "Your PokéMon's an electric-type, right? There's no way Tux couldn't hit it with a Pound attack!"

"Siegfried's a Rotom." Glenn replied "He's part ghost-type. Ghost-types are immune to Normal attacks. Honestly, what do they teach you in that school of yours?"

"Hmph!" the kid emitted a whine, stomping the curb with a foot "I'm not listening to you! You're a big mean stinky cheater! C'mon, Tux! Let's go!" The kid returned the fallen Piplup to a PokéBall and walked away in the general direction of the PokéMon Center, attempting to keep a look of dignity and failing altogether.

"Wow. Sore loser." Glenn muttered, then turned to the Rotom. "Great job out there, Siegfried. Sure taught this kid a lesson in humility."

The Rotom grinned a toothy grin at its trainer, as if to point out that it enjoyed this, and within moments it was a stream of electricity again, flowing back into the guitar case and playing a short victory ditty to the cheers of the circle of schoolkids. Glenn walked out of the circle, taking a little bow, and rejoined his companions as the circle dispersed.

"Honestly, kids these days." he muttered, blushing lightly as he remembered one of his companions was not much younger than Billy "Er, no offense, Fida."

~*~

A matter of minutes later, Glenn and his companions walked into the PokéMart - and it was clear that he drew several looks. Some of the patrons were watching the battles outside for a while. The trainer chuckled nervously as he proceeded to browse the shelves. He had more than enough money on him - he made sure of that when he left. Certainly enough to get what he needed.

He shortly located what he was looking for - a first-aid kit that contained several status-ailment cures and a few potions bundled up conveniently together, and an electronic, satellite-tracking 'Town Map'. He approached the clerk and paid for his purchases quietly, waiting for the others to make their own purchases, studying the Town Map as he did, getting a feel for the layout of the Sinnoh Region. If he was to lead the way, he wanted to know where he was going.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

Aria saw the small group of children outside the PokéMart, her attention drawn to the cocky child in particular. She let her smile slip for s second, glaring at the boy, and his pompous little penguin, too. She mentally thanked herself for not choosing to have a PokéMon like that. They would've kept moving, if not for the boy challenging Glenn on sight.

Amber eyes watched, almost in completely insane glee, as Glenn whirled around, giving the child the same glare that had not been on her own face too long ago. She felt her chest almost swell with pride towards her leader, as he told them that he would only be a moment. Aria smiled her insane smile and looked on in anticipation, knowing the cocky child would soon get his due.

The banter before the battle was aesthetically pleasing, and it was all Aria could do but not to throw her arms around Glenn in a hug. She was proud of him, proud for reacting the way he did towards the whole situation. She felt herself smirk with him as he called Siegfried into action. This was going to be almost too easy, but Aria didn't seem to care about that one bit. Her eyes were only for the battle.

Siegfried immediately started off with an Astonish, and how appropriate because that was exactly the reaction it got from both trainer and Piplup. The trainer, assuming little spoiled brat he was, was stupid enough to try to retaliate with a Pound attack. Aria let out a small 'tsk' and chuckled softly, watching the Piplup, and smiling as the attack dissolved right through, like she had expected. Ghost types were fun little creatures.

The Penguin was shocked back by an impressive Thunder Wave, the small water penguin effected greatly by it's weakness. She heard that it would be using Bubble, and raised her eyebrows in surprise, as if she didn't believe that it was really that strong, not with what Siegfried could do to it. She watched the electric ghost smile at it trainer, playfully disappointed that Glenn wanted it to stop playing with the penguin and just get it over with.

It was then that the Bubble attack hit, and the Rotom turned back towards the Piplup in a swirling, electrified rage. The Thundershock hit the water type, and it was easily downed. As the spoiled brat remarked about Glenn must have cheated, and Glenn gave his confident, truthful reply, Aria couldn't help but to grin with pride.

The kid plodded off towards the PokéMon Center in dismay, and she seemed a bit bemused at the fact that he would soon face the horror within as well. She cheered along with the school kids afterwards, showing her pride and admiration in her gaze towards Glenn.

***

Shortly afterwards they walked into the PokéMart, and she browsed the shelves with Glenn, noticing the looks towards him that people were giving. The pride had not worn from her face just yet, so she displayed that to the people inside as she followed her leader.

She looked around beside where he had found his kit, and picked up another one of her own. She had plenty of money with her, as her mother had made sure of that before she left. Inwardly she drew a sneer at the thought of her mother, but all the same, she picked up the kit and bought it. Now her PokéMon would be safe for the first leg of the journey at least, and this brought another genuine smile to her face.

Quietly, she peered over Glenn's shoulder slightly to study the map herself, pushing crimson locks of hair out of her eyes. The Sinnoh Region was large, perhaps daunting to some, but not to Aria. She smiled at the thought of each new companion that she could meet along the way, and waited silently beside her leader as Fida finished up her business too.

 

[Sem]

Fida stood with Aria as the battle began to play out. She looked on intently, wishing that Glenn would indeed silence the boy. (Through not in the killing sense of the word.)

She blended in rather well with the crowd of young children, except for the fact that she had two magnemite orbiting her in perfect sync with each other.

The girl had no idea whether or not Glenn had battled before, but he won as she thought he would. He didn't just have a type-advantage but also a level-head, which couldn't be said for Bill.

"Good job," she congratulated him as he returned to his posse, taking no offense at all to his comment about kids these days.

-------

Once inside Fida simply browsed the isles since she was in no major need for anything. She would have bought a map-chip for her PokéGear had she not already been provided one.

Instead she took a look at several brochures at the check-out counter. Several of them advertised many of the arenas in the city. Others for various attractions in Jubilife, one in particular seemed to be about tracking down clowns in order to win a free Pokétch. Another pamphlet advertised the Sinnoh Gym Challenge, the challenge all trainers had to take in order to participate in the Sinnoh league.

She took one, touching the crinkled corners, considering whether or not she even wanted to take the challenge. Her initial mission for coming to Sinnoh could no longer be pursued do to certain circumstances. She was going to be focused on training, so battling gym leaders would certainly grant plenty of experience.

"Well, why not, Elvia?" she shrugged. "Let's do it." Fida felt a warm feeling from Elvia in response.

She slipped the brochure into her bag and looked up, seeing that Glenn and Aria were waiting for her.

"Oh, I'm ready," she grinned sheepishly.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

OOC: Short post. Does anyone want to do anything before we call it a night and fast forward to the morning?

"Well, then." Glenn smiled, folding the town map and turning his eyes back to his companions. "I did a bit of a check - since Aria and I are taking the gym challenge it seems our next destination should be Oreburgh. It's to the east of here - if this little gadget is reliable, if we head out in a decent time tomorrow, we could make it there by afternoon, maybe early evening - depends on when we leave."

He stretched.

"So... What do you guys want to do now? We still have some time to check this city out, I think. Although we probably should go and pick up Aria's PokéMon first." He gave a slight twitch and a little shifty-eyed expression to Aria "I don't think we want them scarred for life by the Cybernurse."

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

OOC: I can't think of anything I want to do, so I'll go right ahead and fast forward.

Aria kept her amber gaze on Glenn, listening to what he had to say. Oreburgh would be the next destination, which meant more traveling, and from what Aria had seen, taking a detour through a mountain. The thrill of adventure struck her again and caused her little insane grin to appear back on her face for a moment, before he mentioned going back to the PokéMon Center.

Her amber eyes filled with horror and fear at the thought of having to be in the presence of the Cybernurse - as Glenn so aptly put it - again. But he was right, her PokéMon needed to be saved from the nurse in question before permanent damage was caused by just being in her terrifying presence.

"I agree, Glenn. We should go back to the Center to collect my PokéMon, at least. However, I cannot think of anything else I'd like to do for the day." She said all with some reluctance, which under the circumstances was completely understandable. She would be spending the night in the same building as that horrible creature.

Shivers went down her spine at the thought of it, and she speculated that she probably wasn't going to be getting much sleep at all.

***

After they had gotten back to the PokéMon Center, Aria had stammered out her request for her PokéMon to be returned to her, being met with the mechanical grin again in response as the nurse returned her PokéBalls. She took them quickly and rushed to Room 15, where she would be staying the night.

She found the room in question and unlocked the door frantically, taking her key with her as she rushed into the room. She quietly closed and locked the door behind her, as if trying to appear calm otherwise, not wanting to alert the nurse anymore then she had to.

She took a deep breath and settled herself on the edge of the bed. The room was plain in color, an egg white that reminded Aria of the Chansey that often worked in these places alongside the nurse. She pulled her face into one of remorse for any PokéMon that had to work with that monstrosity, and moved on looking around the room.

The floor was a yellowish color and looked very smooth, and it was much like the rest of the floor in the Center, causing her to wonder if all of the floor was like this. The bed she sat on was covered in plain white sheets, save for a band of pink near the top and bottom. A fluffed pillow rest at the top of her bed, and she placed her backpack on the nearby bedside table.

Lastly, she let her PokéMon out of their PokéBalls momentarily. She looked at them, and they looked somewhat fearful as well, but once they saw Aria they calmed down. She smiled at her fire monkey and silly bird, and returned Ferny to his PokéBall, keeping Seamus out of his. She got dressed for bed and slipped under the covers, hugging the bird tight to her body as she rested back.

The last thing she thought about before she fell asleep was that she was glad she had friends to look out for her, especially now that she would be sleeping in a place with a monstrous being in charge.

 

[Sem]

OOC: Field trip! Character development ftw.

The day passed into evening and evening into night. They had returned to the center a few hours before and gone off to their respective rooms.

Fida was laying on her bed stomach-down sifting through Tara's PokéDex once more, looking up attacks for her pokémon in order to see what else she could train them to use. She had gotten back from eating only a few minutes prior, finding a good free meal at the center's own cafeteria.

The girl pressed a button on the device, bringing up the owner's information. She sighed, gazing at Tara's beautiful face and her sapphire eyes. Fida scrolled down to the listed address.

"We leave tomorrow," she said aloud to Elvia, who hovered right beside her being the guard of the palace. Fida rolled to her side to see her friend. "We won't get another chance very soon."

The mage pokémon nodded her head, watching as Fida sprung up, gathered a sweater and slipped into her shoes.

"Let's go," Fida nodded, reaching out a hand to Elvia. She walked straight to the wall of the room that faced the outside world and phased right through it.

She breathed in the crisp night air and set down the street. She made good time, able to use Elvia to cut down on time walking by taking shortcuts. No one paid her any mind as she traversed the city. After perhaps an hour the tall buildings had diminished, leaving her in residential areas.

Another half an hour and she turned onto Tara's street. She passed the houses slowly, waiting for the house with the correct address to appear. She looked on either side of the street, stopping only to gaze curiously at a light yellow house before moving on.

Not long after that she finally got to the right address, which was that of a blue house with a white-fence. It looked completely abandoned, the lawn looked like it was being kept, but not nearly as often as needed; it reached half-way up Fida's shins.

"Here we are..." Fida looked at the house. Despite its abandoned state, it wasn't uninviting or imposing, just sad. She touched the door-knob of the front door carefully. After letting go she and Elvia phased through the door and into the house.

It was completely empty, and had been for sometime. A good layer of dust covered all flat surfaces and all curtains and blinds were shut. Fida began exploring the house, looking at all the empty rooms as if expecting to find something.

Elvia followed silently along, sensing for feelings and emotions within the walls. Almost all of them were quite happy, and even some glimpses of memories played through the mismagius' mind, which she also showed Fida.

When the silver-blonde girl walked into one of the rooms she didn't even need Elvia to know that it had been Tara's room. The painted blue walls seemed to tell her that on their own. The girl went to her knees and sat silently. She took out the PokéDex in her pocket, wanting very much to leave it in the room, but she decided against it, figuring Tara would want her to keep it.

After about fifteen minutes Fida decided to leave. Elvia took some glimpses at the very latest emotions and feelings that the house could offer, but found that they were only of fear and sorrow, as well as a faint feeling of apathy.

With a last glimpse at the house Fida turned away back down the street. She feel asleep as soon as she returned to the center.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

The three of them just returned to the Center, neither seeming particularly inclined to explore the city any more than they already have - which suited him just fine. Jubilife was a bit too big and noisy, even for him. Already as they were approaching the center, he could feel the ominous atmosphere thickening as the boy he battled earlier crossed their path. The boy did not give them a second look - his face was pale, his gaze was fixated at the ground, he was clenching his PokéBall tightly, and he was walking as fast as he could, far away as he could from the PokéMon Center.

Glenn gave a bit of a nervous twitch. Something was definitely wrong with that nurse.

~*~

As soon as they walked into the center, Aria split off from the group to take her PokéMon back, and as soon as she had her PokéBalls, she rushed off to her room. He could almost feel the waves of paranoia from the red-haired girl even as she left the lobby. Shooting a quick sideway glance, he noticed the nurse return to her duties - seemingly unfazed, mechanical as ever. Come to think of it, he didn't think he saw her blink even once...

He dismissed the thought with a shake of his head. Maybe the clever buggers at Silph or Devon or whatever finally managed to make one of those Emergency Medical Holoprograms that were all the rage on TV sci-fi and were testing it out here in hopes no one would notice.

Siegfried did not need a checkup this time either - whatever mild damage the bubbles did to his electric field, he could regenerate on his own. Or at least, that's what Glenn understood from it. With that in mind, he decided to head for his own room and settle down for a bit.

~*~

"Well, then." Glenn stretched as he set his guitar case on the bed, settling into Room 13. He was a bit surprised at the design - This room was dominated by an egg-white color, with a smooth yellow floor, similar to that of the entire center, and a pink band along the sheets that made him raise an eyebrow.

"Definitely not my color." he muttered, managing a little chuckle.

Unzipping the front compartment of his guitar case - which doubled as a backpack - Glenn surveyed his equipment, just to make sure he did pack everything for this journey. Being prepared for eventualities was never bad - as his father often said, who knows when you'll end up marooned on some god-forsaken island, surrounded by rabid man-eating Magikarp, with no way to reach civilization until you fix your boat.

Even though he'd be more worried about getting trapped in a blizzard on some godforsaken mountain and having to fend off ravenous packs of Sneasel in this region, the sentiment was still there.

He had his basic survival gear - tent, sleeping bag, the works - packed conveniently into item capsules (as most large items geared for travel were). He had his league guidebook and his town map for navigation, his first-aid kit and the medicine kit he got in the PokéMart for emergencies, and a change of clothes or two for the hell of it. Definitely enough to survive out there for a while.

As far as food rations went, he carried a small box full of home-made cereal and berry bars that preserved for a long time and were very filling and energizing. His father taught him how to make these things from readily available ingredients long ago - so there was no need to worry if he ran out. There were plenty around to share, as well.

And speaking of food, dinner felt like it could be a good idea. Followed by some sleep.

~*~

After a nice dinner down at the PokéMon Center's diner wing, changing into pajamas and setting his clothes in the combination washer-dryer-folder machine that all PokéMon Center rooms had, Glenn slinked off to bed with the league guidebook, leafing through it. The rules and regulations of league battles seemed to be pretty standard - what he was more interested in was the challenges up ahead. Sinnoh was extremely diverse on the climate front, and had various routes that passed through all sorts of environments - from snowy mountains to marshes, from meteor craters to the shores of the great ocean. The guidebook did not reveal much about the gyms - to keep it challenging - but it did have their locations, the badges they gave out and small images of their leaders. The first gym they had to handle was supposedly a rock-type gym - which could spell trouble. Many rock-types had ground-type characteristics, and Siegfried was electric-type. Sure, he could levitate off the ground - but his better moves would still be ineffectual.

He shot a look to the Rotom. Siegfried was already sleeping - if you could call what the Rotom did 'sleep'. 'Recharging' would have been a better term - the electric ghost was floating over the guitar case - which was now resting in the corner of the room - its 'eyes' closed, its body spinning while its lightning aura flickered softly, emitting a soft, dynamo-like hum. To an outside onlooker, he would look like a strange floating orange object surrounded by a soft glow.

He smiled, replaying the events of the day through his head - definitely not what you'd call a typical first day for a trainer. The thought made him smile even wider - regardless of potential disadvantage, he trusted in his partner. Siegfried will pull through.

As his eyes closed, his thoughts drifted, briefly, back to that nurse. He wondered, briefly, if her kind ever went to sleep, and if it did, did they dream of Mareep?

~*~

He woke up early the next morning - well, not ridiculously early, but early enough to have time to take a nice shower before changing back into his clothes and head out to the diner wing to catch some breakfast - he assumed that the others will want some too. It was going to be a long day of walking, after all. He picked up some breakfast (some type of very fluffy pancakes which came with some kind of berry syrup and a cup of cinnamon-spiced coffee) and found himself an empty table, settling down and putting his guitar case on the floor beside him. He was hoping today will be as interesting as he thought.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

"STARLY!"

Amber eyes flew open, horrified and seeping with terror, pale arms gripping the bird as she looked around the room frantically. No sign of the cybernurse, but daylight was creeping through the blinds of her window. She took a great sigh of relief, and looked at the bird on her chest. It looked pleased with itself, and she couldn't help but grin at the bird as she slowly became more aware of her surroundings.

"Thank you, Seamus." She managed to mumble this tiredly and stretched, sliding out from under the covers. She picked up her backpack and brought it into the bathroom with her, which seemed a bit peculiar at first. She took her shower and got dressed, but it was a different outfit this time. For aria, it was actually kind of shocking.

She had slid on a nice, white t-shirt, that was mostly plain white, except for a grey, intricate flower design that ran down her front right side. Flowers surrounded by smaller flowers and leaves, near the bottom trailing off into stems and finally, another flower. Instead of her black pants, she now wore plain, denim jeans, held up by a black belt with a silver clasp and silver studs lining the sides.

Finally, she slid on her black boots and her backpack, returned Seamus to his PokéBall for the moment, and walked her way into the diner hall. In this outfit, her movements seemed more fluid, her blood red hair flowing down around her face and shoulders. Her amber eyes seemed to burn with fire even though she felt like hell from the little sleep that she had.

She picked up some of the very fluffy pancakes and made her own drink, a tea concoction that seemed to be a metaphor for the kind of person she was. As hot as her temper, spicy like her personality, sweetened with sugar (like all the sweet little masks she put on for people), yet still retaining it's unique taste (and she was a unique person).

She scanned the room and spotted Glenn right away, what with his guitar case. She walked on over, a small smile on her face as she slid into the seat across from him. She gave him a small smile, her amber orbs for eyes drooping slightly with how tired she was.

"Good morning." She managed this tiredly, before digging into her meal. Her eyes closed as she savored the food and drink, having her breakfast in silence. Vaguely she thought about the exciting day ahead of them and smiled again, breathing in the scent of her tea before sipping at it. She looked back towards Glenn through her eyelashes, vaguely wondering what he was thinking about, if anything. She wondered about what sorts of things they would be seeing together. He would probably be giving her the information about everything soon, along with Fida, whenever she woke up.

Secretly, she also hoped the nurse in Oreburgh wouldn't be nearly as frightening as this one.

 

[Sem]

Fida stood at her window, staring at the white sun as it rose into the gray sky. Her hair dripped as she dried it with a towel, already she was in her clothes for the day; some dark blue jeans like the day before and a violet shirt with lighter purple swirl-patterns.

She tied her silvery blonde hair into a single ponytail and grabbed the rest of her things, checking the room one last time before exiting and heading down for some breakfast.

She had risen a bit early so she could register herself with the league. She went up to the nurse, who everyone seemed terrified of.

"Good morning," the girl greeted as she approached the counter.

"Good morning!" the nurse replied cheerily. Her pink hair was in the usual style for nurses and looked perfect, almost like plastic. The smile stretched across her face and her eyes looked warmly at Fida.

"I'd like to register for the league," Fida addressed as she brought out her ID once more.

"Oh, changed your mind? That's great," the nurse chirped, cocking her head and taking the identification of Fida Valens.

After a few moments of typing the laminated card was returned with another grin. "Welcome to the Sinnoh League."

"Thank you," Fida bowed her head. With a wave she walked off for some food.

The small girl navigated quickly through the room and the line, picking up her food and silently walking off, looking around for her companions. Of course, Aria's fiery mane of red hair and very hard to miss. Fida smiled and went off towards the table, quietly sliding into a seat.

"Good morning," she said as she took a bite of the fruit she had.