Ask to Join Pokémon: Role Play Thread

[~Patriot~]

Montagne Khastil
July 2 - Santalune City, Kalos

Thank Xerneas for Michel's card game obsession, because if Monty hadn't spent the better part of his life cleaning out the older gangster's pockets he wouldn't have been able to keep a straight face at Azumi's question. "I don't think we have. Maybe we've passed each other in Lumiose? I've spent most of my life there."

Simple, smooth, no room for interpretation. He really didn't know the girl, so a lie it certainly was not. Still, the Gardevoir's 'suspicions' weren't entirely off the mark. "Maybe she's sensing mon devilish charm," he added with a grin for good measure.

Oracle was far more happy with Azumi's words than her trainer. The woman was right, she was lovely and impressive! Azumi had a good set of eyes on her, but if she wanted some other Absol she'd find herself at a loss. Oracle was a princess, after all. Anything else would just be an imitation of her perfection.

Monty threw a quick nod Esther's way to confirm the tournament's location in Camphrier before focusing back on Azumi. "Oh, and before I forget—" The Kalosian drew his wallet and pulled out the 111 dollars he owed her. "—here you go."

 

[Hecotoro]

Azumi pocketed the money given to her by Esther and Monty. She took a mental note to always charge others their fair share, it was sorta of obvious, but paying for others was a good thing according to lonernomore.com.

"Well now that Nico is here, shall we get going? No mean to rush anyone, more curiosity than anything else." Azumi looked at Nana, the Gardevoir looking away with her arms crossed. "So mister Montagne is from Kalos? Esther and Nico, may I ask where your hometown is?" Azumi shot another look at Nana and then back at Monty, before looking towards Nico and Esther for an answer.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Reginald Valerias​

Date: June 1
Location: Tangelo Island, Orange Archipelago
Pokemon Team: Emeric the Shiny Haunter, Elvira the Munna, Bob the Shedinja, Large Marge the Drifloon, Missy the Misdreavus
WCS Rank: 70,231

Interactions: Adrianne Silvers (Godjacob)

Reggie and Chance were tense as they awaited their Pokemon's swift arrival to the ground's surface. They couldn't hear any noises yet, so it was likely they were still hunting for each other. Then the sound of shifting earth came, followed by panicked yipping.

"Leafeon!" Chance said with some concern, then the Shedinja popped out of the ground with a spinning Dig, then shifted attacks to an X-Scissor as he met the Leafeon's Aerial Ace. The sunlight was beginning to lose its harshness, and the Leafeon's speed was faltering. Using the Bug-Type energy as a wall, Leafeon's legs glowed burgundy as she used Double Kick to propel herself away from the Shedinja, then sped around with Quick Attack. Reggie's brow furrowed.

"Shadow Sneak!" Bob fell to the floor before floating just inches from it, his shadow quickly meeting with the speeding Leafeon and connecting with her shadow. A shadowy form shot up and smashed into her, knocking her off her feet. Refusing to back down, the Leafeon then charged towards him, then feinted the movement and jumped down a hole right as Bob flew forward with an X-Scissor, missing.

"Behind you!" Reggie yelled, Bob turning around too late to block the hit as the Leafeon popped up and slammed her tail into Bob, the Aerial Ace cutting his shell. The shell fell to the floor, alerting the Rotom that the Shedinja was no longer able to battle. Reggie returned him, giving his Pokemon a smile. "You did good out there, bud." He turned back to Chance with a smile. "Making me have to use my ace for this."

Reggie looked down at his Premier Ball, then smirked, spinning and throwing the PokeBall in a sort of elegant fashion. He sent out his third and final Pokemon, the shiny Haunter. He sparkled in the sunlight, his big, goofy tongue lolling out.

"Huh, a Ghost-Type specialist, ey?" Chance said, smirking. "Okay, I can dig it. Leafeon, Leaf Blade."

"Dazzling Gleam." Reggie smirked, Haunter's form shining brightly with light pink and blue energies, making the Leafeon yip. She still committed to her attack, something Haunter wished she didn't. He took the Leaf Blade head on, using his hands to stop the blow once the light faded. Despite the type resistance, that Swords Dance was really putting in work. And it was obvious this Leafeon was stronger than him by quite a bit.

"Aerial Ace!" The Leafeon nimbly somersaulted the other way, sending her shining leafy tail upwards as she fell down. The Haunter merely floated up, his eyes shining with his palms outward. Purple flames danced out of his hand and smashed into the Leafeon, burning her.

"Hex!" The Leafeon tried to run, using Quick Attack to dodge the incoming attack and the tunnels to evade, but Haunter didn't even move. Well, make any movements to attack. In fact, he started to humming to himself, floating about as if he were at some kind of ball and he were dancing with an invisible partner.

The Leafeon finally left one of the tunnels, her Aerial Ace coming up from the bottom, only for the Haunter to immediately spin in her direction. The Aerial Ace hit him on the head, but it was significantly weaker. Haunter's eyes shown purple, a shockwave came from his body, and Leafeon's body burned up in red haze. She fell to the floor, the Hex damaging her more than normal due to her Burn. She finally fell, exhausted.

Now, they were down to the last Pokemon on each side. "Damn, your Haunter's some ace. But so's my Simisear." A Fire-Type monkey sprang from his last PokeBall. The Simisear had a rock around in a bracelet, the rock jutting out with red crystals.

"Fire-Type... Means I can't Burn..." He muttered. "Confuse Ray."

"Sunny Day." Simisear did the same thing the Leafeon did earlier, but raised his arms up in the air instead. The confusing lights finally managed to hit him. The Simisear swayed left to the right. "Spin and Yawn." The Simisear spun around, yawning as breath puffs left the Simisear's mouth.

Haunter jumped up into the air, and Reggie realized this Pokemon was trained to handle confusion pretty well. Looking up at Haunter, he was too damaged to use Curse reliably. But Giga Drain wouldn't do too much damage.

Looks like he'll just try.

"Giga Drain. Get enough of your energy back."

Knowing what the next step was after that, the Haunter dove towards the Simisear, spitting a yellow orb that hit the Simisear, then split apart with some of the broken orbs came back to the Haunter's body, rejuvenating him a little bit. He didn't feel like he could use it yet though.

"Fire Pledge!" The Simisear smashed the ground with a fiery fist, sending pillars of fire towards the Haunter. He barely dodged it, but then the monkey suddenly shot forwards, having cleared himself of his confusion, teeth dark. With a cry of fear and pain, the Crunch landed, catching Emeric's hand and cheek.

"Curse isn't gonna work..." Reggie groaned, jaw clenching. "Hypnosis!"

Emeric glared at the Simisear, his eyes shining a bright blue. The jaw relaxed and the Simisear fell to the floor, snoring peacefully. "Hex."

"Simisear, wake up!!" Chance yelled, now worried he might actually lose here. The Hex surrounded the Simisear in a red haze, hurting him double now that he's asleep. However, the Simisear, thankfully, woke up.

"Giga Drain!" Trying again, Reggie spat the yellow orb at the Simisear, who was taken aback and fell backwards, the Grass-Type attack healing Haunter with some energy, but it wasn't enough for a Curse.

The Simisear's body started to distort the air around it, the tuft of hair on his head and his tail glowing red. When he got up, his body was getting way too warm. Reggie gasped. "Blaze... Emeric, Dark Pulse!" He hated the move, they both knew it. It actually bothered Reggie that he had to use such a vile move, but he wasn't about to lose in front of this girl he just met. Emeric growled, his body flashing crimson palms out. A dark, crimson-striped beam flew out of his palms, the dark thoughts of malicious, intentional violence manifested as a beam hitting the Simisear. It didn't seem to be enough.

"Flamethrower!" While the Dark Pulse hit the Simisear, the Simisear became a beacon within the darkness that assaulted it and fired off a stream of fire at the Haunter. Panicking, Emeric flew down and into a hole.

"Fire Pledge!" Putting the pressure on, the Simisear hit the ground again. This time, the fire connected with the tunnel and all of the holes burst with flames. Haunter came out of one, having to use Will-O-Wisp to push back the flames to keep him safe.

"Now, Acrobatics!" As the last bits of Sunny Day left, the Simisear charged, his body glowing as he hopped about, then was about to punch the Haunter. A bright light emitted from the Haunter, and both Reggie and Chance had to look away for a brief moment.

On the ground were Simisear and Haunter. But Haunter was struggling to stay afloat, using his hands to push himself up. He heaved, then grinned happily. The Rotom registered Reggie as the winner, and Reggie's eyes lit up. All that stress washed away to something glorious, and Reggie whooped, jumping into the air and punching the air. "Hell yeah! That was awesome!"

70,231 -> 69,989​

Emeric floated back to Reggie, who patted him on the head and returned him. "Thanks, bud." He ran over to Chance, who returned his Simisear. "That was a fun fight, thanks for that, man." He held out his hand, Chance scoffing but taking it anyway.

"Yeah, I guess it was fun. See ya 'round, Ghostbuster." Chance nodded at him before retreating back to the Pokemon Center. Excited, Reggie ran to Adrianne, practically jumping.

"How'd you like that? Except that blunder, don't... Let's not talk about that blunder." He chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. He began muttering to himself again, shaking his head. "Can't believe I thought Stantler was a Psychic-Type, what's wrong with me...?" At least Adrianne had been cheering for him this entire time. That was cool! And he felt a bit better fighting in front of her.

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Bar, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous

Interactions: Ron Towers and Luz the Espeon (Hecotoro)

Naka beamed, though immediately regretted it. She really didn't want to sing tonight. She really didn't, but if Ron wanted to go drumming, she wasn't going to show she was a Torchic. Hearing his surprise at how quickly the alcohol took to her, she just chuckled and shook her head. "Nah, I'm not feeling it yet. Takes a whole mimosa. It just feels nice and the taste hits me kinda hard."

Fluffy was about to take a lick of his milk, but Luz took it. He deadpanned, trying not to blush as he began lapping up his milk.

"Hmmmmm...." She hummed, practically drinking half the mimosa as she thought. Well, nearly spilled her drink when he said he was single. "Really? Had me fooled." She grinned, then finally found a question as she nearly downed her entire mimosa. "So... Band. What band are you from? I swear to Arceus if you say the Horny Tauros, I'm gonna smack you."

 

[Hecotoro]

Ron.

"I'll have you know, the Horny Tauros is a very cultural band." Ron said with a serious face, "Country isn't a joke."

He drank from his beer and then broke a smile, signaling the bartender for the second one. "But, if you have to know. It was a small band, we played locally in Goldenrod, nothing big. It was called Flaming Infernapes." He then leaned back and looked at Naka, "Now I'm curious, why the scar? Research accident?"

Luz sighed with delight at the taste of the milk and began to snif the air. There was a lot of noise and different odors, her senses were going wild. She could smell some boneless, while the sound of music came from somewhere far away and the constant movement of people made the air currents around her switch around.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Saturday – 6:45 am July 2

Santalune City

Kalos Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Tarrah Ta’Ella (Bounsweet), Kasriel Ikaros Svelinka Sō (G-Zigzagoon), Bâquîle Nâva (Goomy), L’ Basseau. (Surskit)

In Esther’s care: Houndour​

“Oh, I’m from Oblivia,” Esther answered the question absentmindedly, she was preoccupied with her legs and the roller skates she was equipping. She recalled that the route between Santalune and Lumiose was straight and relatively flat, perfect for roller skating, perfect for racing.

“Come on out!” Pokéballs cracked open one after the other, Pyrrha, Pariparisithea, Tarrah Ta’Ella, Kasriel, Nava, Basseau, and even Houndour.

“Alright gang, it’s a straight shot from here to Lumiose. Winner gets a treat!”

The clamor was immediate as Esther’s pokémon whooped and bristled. The Oblivian turned back to face her group, “Five seconds before I bolt! Five...four...”

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$3,889
Hand-woven kilt
Pokéballs x 2

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Park, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous

Interactions: Ron Towers and Luz the Espeon (Hecotoro)

Naka rolled her eyes at the comment about the Horny Tauros. "Riiight. I like some country, but eh... Prefer riding to the tune of something else." She smirked, proud of her innuendo.

Flaming Infernapes... That sounded familiar.

"Hmm, think I heard one of your songs before..." She hummed to herself, trying to remember. Only to get asked one about the scar. She shook her head, then bounced it side to side as she was unsure if it included as a research accident.

"Well, it was by a Scyther's Slash. Twenty. Went to go save some Pokemon from a poacher, he had a Scyther. One of them was a really weak Nidorino. It was beaten before it was caged." Her eyes lost that sparkle it had earlier, now looking forlornly off into the distance. Her lips were tight in anxiety. "The poacher went to attack me. I dunno how he got one, but he had a gun. He tried shooting me with it, Fluffy saved my life. Smashed into his hand and burned the gun into a puddle. His Scyther came at me and I threw it over my head, but it hit me. I went to open the cage door." Her fingers and hands twitched, as if she was reliving it in the moment. She nearly lost her drink and her eyes snapped back to where she was and her drink. "I freed him, broke open the cage with my Infernape's help, when he was a Monferno. The Nidorino panicked, attacked wildly."

She straightened up and pulled up her shirt, showing off the circular scar on her stomach. "Horn Attack'd my stomach." She let him stare for however long he wanted, drinking the last of her mimosa and ordering another drink, but a small glass of vodka. "So... If I remember correctly. Ignorance?" She smiled, remembering the song and began to hum it.

Fluffy noticed Luz's interest to the crowded area around them. He patted her shoulder with his paw, hoping she wasn't getting overwhelmed. He ended up giving her his fluffy tail, so she had a fluffy anchor to play with and tune stuff out if needed.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Aldon...~

~Yellow Island, July 19th...~

Aldon's grin faded when he looked at the photo of Desmond and kaiju blastoise in the background.

"Damnit, Desmond! You blinked! Whole ass picture gonna need to be retaken!" Aldon said angrily. He looked at his camera again, nearly jumping back as he saw the blastoise attack. But he managed to stand still long enough for the camera to focus, annnnnd snap! Taking a picture of Desmond as he made his deadpan expression. Aldon didn't have a fancy camera like Desmond, but he had his handy dandy cellphone. He cleared his throat then looked at the bastoise calmly. Then back at Desmond again.

"I am handling the situation well, right?! People spend too much time worrying and stuff. Like if your scared of dying... Just like die already, drama queen...? Ain't gonna get too far with that attitude. Life is a whole lot better if you look at the bright side of things" Aldon smiled and gestured to the blastoise but paused because he couldn't think of anything bright about the fight going on.

"If and when we leave here, we get to eat something nice! I dunno. Ice cream. I dunno if theres any hotdogs left in that vender" Aldon said debating on opening it. he thought about it for a few moments before listening to Desmond's plan. With a cheerful smirk, he turned.

"That's the spirit! Sleepy-by! Skol, you can stay here and keep Gene safe, just in case, yeah?" Aldon asked.

"Slo...!" Skol responded.

"I'll bring... Bran... and Wunder, I suppose" Aldon said before sending out another pokeball.

"Bronzzzzzzz" Bran made a loud ringing sound like the vibrating sound of a bell.

"Siiiigiiil" Wunder made a humming sound. Aldon grin at his two pokemon. He climbed on Wunder's back.

"Ready...?" Aldon asked Desmond.

~Aldon...~

~Abyssal ruins, June 16th...~

As Aldon gazed around the seaweed filled room he began swimming into the seaweed. Eventually he would Bang!

"oaf!" Aldon groaned out as he smacked his foot on something. At the same time, aldon heard a click sound. He looked down to find something under the seaweed. A lever of sorts. He continued swimming until he would find the pillar. This one was covered in moss and would require some of Aldon's tools to clean off some of the moss on the stone so he could properly read what it had to say. "The king must have order". What did that mean?

He remembered the lever and began wondering if there were any others. He began swimming around until he could find more levers. Eventually he did, and upon pulling it, the lever violently swung back, resetting itself and throwing Aldon as he still held onto the lever. He continued swimming and eventually found another lever, but it would not budge. He found a fourth lever that also wouldn't budge. He went back to the first lever and began trying to work out the pattern. Admittedly he failed a few more times, but eventually he managed to get the correct pattern which caused symbols on the floor to light up. There was no door on the other side of the pillar so it would seem Aldon would need to go back to the other side of the ruins. Skol and Wunder followed behind Aldon, eager to continue.

Spoiler: Bag

$16,350
14x pokéballs
5x Super Potions
3x Full Heals
6x Oran berry,
C-Gear
Waterproof sleeping bag
Travel cooking supplies
Portable tent
Hiking and archeology tools

 

[Hecotoro]

Ron Towers, Eterna City, Sinnoh. June 16th.

Ron listened attentively to Naka's story. Fighting poachers was something he could relate to. He never had such a result though. Sure he used to get beat up a lot when younger, but as he and his team grew stronger it became less frequent. She seemed experienced, so it must've been some time ago when the incident happened. He felt the pain in his abdomen of just imagining taking a Horn Attack from a Nidorino. If it wasn't for Naka's humming, he would've kept looking at her for a lot longer.

"Ah, so you have heard of us." He finally spoke up. "Respect for doing so much for Pokemon." Ron said, holding up his newly opened second beer, "And for the Nidorino that left such a cool scar." He joked before taking a long drink.

Luz felt the warm tail around her and sighed, glad to be feeling such a comfortable thing in such a loud place. She couldn't help but purr loudly. The thought came to her head, maybe it was an Eevee thing? So, she did the same, sharing her tail with the Flareon.

"Okay, so you beat up grunts and poachers, what else is in your resume?"

The crowd began to cheer as a band began to take the stage, the vocalist sending shout outs to some of the locals and thanking the crowd for giving them such a welcome.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Bar, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous

Interactions: Ron Towers and Luz the Espeon (Hecotoro)

Naka noticed Ron staring at her stomach for quite a bit. She had heard of his band, too. While it wasn't too popular, she had heard of a couple of their songs, but it was quite a while. She smiled sweetly at his compliment to her achievements, then chuckled at his comment about her scar. She downed her vodka drink, and asked for another. Being asked what else was on her resume, she shrugged. "Well, I helped some kids figure out what they wanted to do in life. Rowan told me to go to Kanto and help some of Oak's new kids ten years ago, ended up stopping a resurgence of Team Rocket. Very, very small though. They barely had a chance to get off the ground when we saw them popping up..." Sighing, she downed yet another vodka shot.

"By the by, you look..." Naka paused, trying to find the words now that the alcohol was hitting her. She sat there and rocked minutely just slightly before finally finding her words, her expression holding a very silly smile. "You look like you wanna touch the scaaarrrrs. Silly scar man, getting all excited cuz I'm some survivor of some badass encounterzz." She stretched her shoulders and blinked rapidly, trying to regain herself. She looked over at the band that came up on stage and pursed her lips. "Hmmmm, gotta wait our turn, I guess."

Fluffy had to look away when Luz began purring. It made him feel all sorts of funny things he was unsure on how to handle. He felt her tail against him, and his ears drooped in uncertainty. He stretched and laid down, resting his head under her head, one of his ears perking up to tickle her. He was starting to get a bit tired and slightly anxious, which only kept him more awake.

He hoped he was going to get a good nap after this.

 

[sSoul]

Wilford Pine
Turffield, Galar Region
August 2nd
WCS Rank: 70,203
Nearly two months had passed since Wilford had begun his journey in Galar. The progress of his Pokémon's power was moving adequately on most ends his Chimchar and Grookey quickly proved themselves as the primary battlers of his team, each of them evolving after a sufficient amount of battles at the Motostoke Battle Café in preparation for the Galar's Gym League. Togepi, despite her comparative inexperience in battling, was able to defeat a fledgling dragon trainer due to her immunity to their Dratini's Dragonbreath. The exception to this was Panpour, the foul creature, unable to aim a Hydro Pump at a Carkoal, costing Wilford the victory. He had half a mind to discard the bastard if he was able to find a superior water type. Wilford wasn't anticipating difficulty, but he found that the water types he was looking for weren't exactly walking to the next town over, if they walked at all. Thus, he was stuck with the hopelessly hopeless simian.

Despite a less-than-ideal member of the team, Wilford was ready to finally progress past beating inferior opponents to take on someone actually worth his time: a Gym Leader. At his personal assistant's suggestion, Wilford booked a trip to Turffield using the Corviknight Taxi service famously offered in Galar. Though Henryson gave glowing reviews of the service, Wilford remained skeptical, uncertain that he could rely on a public service. His uncertainty remained valid, as he was stuck with riding to Turffield with a buck-toothed young girl who talked like she never heard the sound of her own voice before. The only thing keeping Wilford's sanity intact were the fantasies of her falling out of the carriage. Despite that, the ride was smooth, leaving Wilford to give two stars instead of one before setting foot on his destination: Turffield.

A quick scan of the town left Wilford thoroughly underwhelmed. In start contrast to Motostoke's useful café or Hammerlocke's grandiose airport, the only thing Turffield had to its name was what could only be a child's attempt at drawing their first encounter with a thunderstorm. None of that mattered though, now wasn't the time to falter. Before him stood the only thing worth visiting in this dirtball excuse of a town: the Gym Stadium. It was there that Wilford would truly begin making a name for himself in the Galar Region, where he'd finally make some meaningful progress towards his father's little vision board project.

"Henryson." Grabbing his Rotom phone, Wilford called his personal attendant as he sauntered towards the Stadium entrance.

"Yes, Master Pine?" Henryson made no eye contact with his Rotom phone, as he was preoccupied with hanging up Wilford's seventh suit for the week.

"Make a reservation at the nicest restaurant this region has to offer, I'll be celebrating tonight," A confident smirk painted Wilford's face, assured in his victory before even seeing the stadium doors.

"Very well, sir," Henryson's disconnected from the call around the time Wilford reached the entrance. During his walk, he noticed a slightly older man leaning against a café. He was likely waiting for someone, either a significant other or someone carrying something they shouldn't be. Though he knew it was rude to stare, Wilford spent a noticeable moment gazing at the man while theorizing about his intentions before finally entering the gym.

@Merciless Medic

 

[Hecotoro]

El Rono de la Torre, Sinnóh, Ciudad Éterna.

Ron tried not to laugh, watching Naka starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. "You might want to slow down a bit there." He looked at the bartender and ordered his third beer. "It's not just the scars, how often do you see a girl with a good belly? Would be a crime to get a show and not watch it." He shrugged and took a long drink, sighing with satisfaction when he finished.

"Helping kids, fighting Team Rocket. You've really done a lot of stuff." He scratched under his chin, remembering when he was a kid trying to fight Team Rocket, sorta what Gwen was trying to do also. "I guess that's something we have in common. The fighting rockets part, I could never take care of a group of kids." He shutter at the thought and took another long drink. "We'll get up and sing after the concert, don't worry. That's when the fun starts." He winked with a smirk on his face as the band started to play some rapid rhythm rock song.

Luz giggled as the ear tickled her. She stopped a bit to figure out what Fluffy was doing, realizing he was under her, she playfully pounced on the Flareon, nibbling at the ear trying to tickle her chin.

 

[Godjacob]

Desmond Andrews (Unranked)
Yellow Rock Isle, Whirl Islands, Johto (July 19th)​

Desmond blinked a bit as, for the first time far as he could recall, Aldon had gotten angry with him. This caused the photographer to blink, before he realized the source of the annoyance was apparently him blinking during the picture which just seemed to cause Desmond to give a dumbstruck look as Aldon "correct" it with a follow up picture.

"....I almost envy your casual attitude about this." Desmond sighed as he listened to Aldon seemingly give this sort of motivational dribble about finding the bright side of life before he left Skol to watch Gene as he released some Pokemon to aid, and despite his body shaking a bit he glanced at his ton mon as Politoed and Kricketune seemed ready as can be.

"Poli!"

"Krick!"

"...suppose as I'll ever be." Desmond said, reluctantly but he prepared for battle as he set out with his two Pokemon and the colossus before them, as Desmond glanced at Aldon.

"Think your Wunder can give Kricketune a ride? If Politoed and Bran can help keep this big guy busy, could fly Krickestune up to the head and let it sing into it. Politoed use Mud Shot!" Desmond said then called out as he seemed to discuss an idea. Politoed already moved to distraction as it hopped ahead and fired some Mud Shots as it tried to aim up for the head and face of the big guy, even having moved to the broken life guard tower for more elevation.

Adrianne Silvers (Normal Class: 96,094)
Tangelo Island, Orange Archipelago (June 1st)​

The battle had been a fun close contest but in the end Reggie had managed to pull a win! Adrianne and her team cheered him on as Chance left on good terms and the young trainer approached her new travel buddy and seemed to have a wide grin.

"That was awesome! Really good stuff and congrats on the win." Adrianne said having returned Aqua and Ace while Reggie seemed a bit sheepish at his little miscue with the Stantler as Adrianne couldn't help but chuckle a bit but she still tried to look at the positive signs of things. "Hey mistakes happen, just reminds us that we can always improve." Adrianne smiled.

"So, you ready to head to the Pokemon Center?" Adrianne asked as much as this day had been a blast, for her she knew she needed some rest. Had a big day tomorrow, needed to find a Pokemon that could use Surf and then some challengers on this island, she had a lot of leg work to catch up to Reggie and she had not been prepared to slack off now.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Bar, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous

Interactions: Ron Towers and Luz the Espeon (Hecotoro)

Slow down? Naka gave Ron a challenging look, not really caring how shit-faced she got tonight. She was able to sing pretty good while plastered. At least, she hoped. Upon hearing Ron compliment her belly had her already flushed face redder. Oh, he wanted a show? Now that she was starting to lose her inhibitions, she was very tempted to give him a show. "Never thought I'd see a man get fruity over a scar." She teased. His comment on never being able to take care of a group of kids had her snorting and chuckling. "You're doin' fine with Gweeen. I think you're just too caught up on the sear-us stuff all the time." She grabbed yet another vodka shot, downing that before finally having enough of alcohol.

Why that wink? It made her giggle, absentmindedly fixing her hair to one side to show off more of her undercut. She just realized they had a very similar hair style, just her hair was far longer and draped over one side. "So, not to pryyyyy or anythin' but-" She then turned towards him, her hands between her legs on the bar stool's edge to hold herself there as she leaned forward. "What'cha doin' in Sinnoh? You had that look of a man on a mission earlier, so I doubt it's anything fun that isn't beatin' somebody. Maybe I can help."

Fluffy didn't expect Luz to be so playful. Maybe nuzzle against the top of his head, sure. But upon getting pounced on, he let out a tiny squeak, his body going tense but he didn't really move away. He just glumly sat there, waiting until Luz got bored. The area around his face got a bit warmer as he blushed.

Reginald Valerias​

Date: June 1
Location: Tangelo Island Pokemon Center, Orange Archipelago
Pokemon Team: Emeric the Shiny Haunter, Elvira the Munna, Bob the Shedinja, Large Marge the Drifloon, Missy the Misdreavus
WCS Rank: 69,989

Interactions: Adrianne Silvers (Godjacob)

Reggie chuckled, her optimism really making him feel better. He wished he thought like that whenever he did a mistake. Instead, he just took it a bit hard, but he could learn from her on that regard. "Your spirit for optimism is fantastic." Reggie chuckled. He nodded at going into the Pokemon Center, walking with her back inside to heal his Pokemon, and then get a place for them to stay in the Pokemon Center. He had to sleep.

Of course... If he could.

Melatonin didn't really work as intended, it just left him more anxious and gave him more nightmares that not even his Munna could get rid of. "So uhh... If you hear anything later tonight, I deeply apologize. Probably just me having issues sleeping and seeing things..." He tried to be super subtle in what he was talking about, not wanting to just tell her straight up he saw dead people. She definitely wouldn't believe him if he said that.

Well, he thought anyway.

Cole Forrest​

Date: August 2
Location: Turffield Stadium Lobby, Galar
Pokemon Team: Grookey, Totodile, Rookidee, Galarian Meowth, Stufful, Pancham, Magikarp, Trubbish
WCS Rank: 75,432

Interactions: Wilford Pine (sSoul)

Cole caught sight of a really dapper teen kid. Someone who had lots of potential. He eyed him from afar, but disguised it by sweeping his eyes around the area, as if he was truly looking or waiting for someone. He did eventually walk towards the gym stadium, having caught some words from his conversation. Pine? Henryson?

This guy sounded rich... But he didn't seem like the other goody two-shoe trainers he kept running into. He sounded so sure that he'll win. Fixing the Dynamax band on his wrist, Cole stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked towards Wilford as he walked into the stadium.

When he entered the stadium, Wilford was right there in front of him. Cole's eyes stared through the back of his head, smirking. He can't be like the others. He didn't have the same vibe. And there was something about him that looked familiar. Pine...

Like the company? Pine wasn't a very common last name.

"Pine, hm?" He spoke to him from behind him, his body hunched over. The vibe Cole gave off was an unassuming eeriness that had a few of the other people look at him a bit warily. He was like an outcast evolved from the quiet kid from school you shouldn't fuck with. His voice sounded quiet and unassuming, as well. But his body language was tense, as if he's ready to snap into movement at any moment. "You don't seem like the others... Hopefully, you'll get to celebrate your victory. Milo's easy, but don't get too cocky, kid. It'd be a shame if some goody-two shoe loser beat Milo but you couldn't."

With that, he walked off, though he didn't make much distance from him as he passively waited for Wilford to comment on him to give him an excuse to come back.

 

[Hecotoro]

Ron.

"Gwen?"

He raised and eyebrow and shrugged, "Met her a few moments before I met you. So I wouldn't say I'm taking care of her or anything. She needs my help and I need hers, for now."

He looked at Naka, her fixing her hair and leaning forward made the man smile. It had been a long time since he saw a woman talk to him like she was. It felt good. Still, he wouldn't tell her the truth yet.

"I'm just traveling, happened to find some Rocket Grunts and figured, why not? I have the ability to do so, and like some great person once said..." He finished his beer and slammed the bottle on the counter, signaling for another one, "With great power comes the duty of being responsible or something like that." He smiled at Naka and took another drink. "I wouldn't mind the company though. In fact it would be really appreciated. Don't get me wrong, Gwen is a great kid, but I have my limits with them. I could also use a drinking buddy."

With the band playing and the crowd gathering towards the stage, Luz began to focus more on Fluffy. She rested her head on his, sighing with delight at the warm and soft fur. She began to purr, snuggling her cheek against the top of his head.

"Those two hit it off." Ron looked at the Pokemon and back at Naka. "You a snuggler?"

 

[~Patriot~]

Montagne Khastil
July 2 - Santalune City, Kalos

Esther's boundless energy was impressive, but it was way too early in the morning for a race. Her countdown came and went, and when she turned heel and spun down the road with her team in tow Monty called out, "Try not to leave us too far in the dust!"

After the disgusting display of courtship that she and Monty subjected her to yesterday, Oracle was happy to see the fiery-haired girl and her whelps go. Esther being gone meant one less distraction for her useless trainer, so surely they'd be able to focus now, right? WRONG! Her ears caught the sound of useless Monty's voice, but instead of the 'Let's go train' or 'Let's get something to eat' that Oracle expected she heard something far worse—

"So why only spectate the gym battles? You've got a pretty strong-looking team as far as I've seen. School just takes that much attention?"

Monty's attention was back on Azumi. Seeing Esther release her team reminded him of the swarm encounters on Parterre Way, and the way Azumi took charge of the situation with her Gardevoir. He always thought the point of training strong pokémon was for the gym challenges, but the blonde woman hadn't mentioned her own participation in the decades-old rite of passage.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Bar, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous

Interactions: Ron Towers and Luz the Espeon (Hecotoro)

Oh? Literally just met with Gwen? Fascinating...

Well, it felt even more fascinating to her drunken brain. Though, with how detached he sounded, it seemed like he wasn't considering staying with her for too long. Something in her doubted that he'd be able to travel apart from Gwen. And ooooooh, his smile was too cute!

Hearing that he was just traveling, Naka pursed her lips, her eyes scrutinizing his face. "Hmmmmm... I was expectin' something a bit more... Oh well." She grinned, not really taking what he said at face value but as a placeholder instead. "Yeah, I forgot, too." She chuckled, her face absolutely beaming when Ron mentioned he'd like the company and a drinking buddy. She gasped, eyes wide. Then, her voice went up an octave. "Awww, really??? That's really sweet."

The band? Naka tuned that out right quick, as Ron was the focus of her attention. Fluffy heard the band and wondered how loud it must be for Luz, considering she was blind. He felt her rest her head on his, and he felt even warmer. But did feel ten times better now that Luz was calming down and snuggling him. Totally not because he's a snuggler. Right, yeah, totally.

Shit, he's purring. Stop, stop, stop... No use, he can't stop purring, this contact felt too comforting.

Upon being asked if she was a snuggler, Naka laughed, nodding. "Yup! Fluffy wanted to become a Flareon to protect me cuz he saw being a Fire-Type as strength. But he also wanted to help me emotionally by being my fluffy cuddle buddy, and he likes cuddling too, he just doesn't want to admit it. But yeah, he helps me, especially when I'm stressed and need to just curl up and hug something soft." Then... Naka's eyes fell on Ron's hair.

"You know... Your hair is soooooooooft." Inhibitions already out the window, she went to pet his hair, giggling. "Sorry if I'm too touch-feely, I ... kinda get like this while drunk. Not all the time though..." She looked away, the red on her face worsening. That can't be just the alcohol. "I don't normally drink with anyone, so I'm glad I got you as my drinking buddy!" She gazed back at him, though shyly despite her excitement.

 

[Hecotoro]

Azumi Towers- Santalune, Kalos - July 2nd.

"Oh well, I'm not interested in the Pokemon League." Azumi replied, placing her hands behind her back and looking ahead to see if Nico would spot them, "But I am interested in getting stronger."

While she loved justice, she wasn't blind to the fact that her beloved region and possibly world, suffer from the lack of it. Some of the things you learn about growing up, is what criminal organizations have done to the world in the past. Many have suffered at the hands of these, many untold stories of those who had to dealt with un repairable consequences, from losing their homes, to their loved ones. Some are dealing with such situations even years after the incident happened. Power, authority and dedication was needed to stop the world from going into chaos again.

"So, I train at the Battle Chateu." Azumi smiled at Monty, "I've battled some of the gym leaders there and sadly, we have never won. So I am curious to see how different they perform under different circumstances." She looked at Oracle, "For example, I don't understand why Viola didn't use any bug moves on her Surskit or a stronger Pokemon against Oracle. It's easy to see she's a threat, even if you don't have any badges, so one would assume she would at least try to match her power."

Azumi shrugged and then pointed at Nico, "Should we go get your friend? Esther already has a head start, we don't want to keep her waiting too long."



Ron Towers, Eterna City, Sinnoh. June 16th.

Ron just squinted his eyes while Naka messed with his hair. He hadn't had anyone do something like that in a long time. In fact, he was feeling comfortable, which made him feel uncomfortable. The mixed feelings didn't seem to bother only the trainer though, Luz ears perked up. She raised her head and looked towards Ron. Her eyes closed while her tail wrapped around Ron's arm. She continued to purr, resting her head on Fluffy again while using Calm Mind, giving her body a pinkish glow.

"Thanks Fluff, why you're the best designated driver." Ron scratched the back of the Espeon's head and tapped her tail so she could release his arm. "Well Naka, I would ask what brings you to Sinnoh, but I'm guessing resea-"

"Your Pokemon is glowing." The voice of a man made Ron turn around, he was a bit taller than Ron, long black wavy hair down to his shoulders and some rock band t-shirt.

"She's using Calm Mind to... well calm down." Ron replied, turning back to face Naka.

The man stumbled forward, bumping into Ron's shoulder, "Sorry." he said before stumbling back into the crowd.

Ron sighed and looked at his jeans, beer had been spilled on it. He smirked and looked back at the blonde. "I got a stain on my pants, mind if I get into yours?"

 

[Quantum Lila]

July 19, Tuesday - Yellow Rock Isle, Johto, Eveline

"WAIT DISORDER YOU DAFT PIECE O- aaaaaand he's pancaked again... the one problem with having Pokémon that battle on their own... they don't think a lot of the time... especially Disorder... I'm gonna have to get their attitude checked later."

Disorder was now crushed underneath the Blastoise, letting out a high pitched whimper as Eveline was very clearly frustrated with this, covering her face with her hands. Unfortunately as well, she wasn't keeping an eye on Revengeance, who was previously still latched onto Blastoise's leg. They were now inside of Blastoise's shell, barely being in a safe spot as water spouted past their face. This was his opportunity to prove his worth! Doing his best to keep his grip, since a small adjustment of the water would likely send him flying, he continued using Fury Cutter, time after time after time, determined to please both his master and himself. In the time he had been attacking, this would be the 5th hit of Fury Cutter, so while it hadn't gotten any stronger for a bit, it was hitting much harder than what everyone else was putting out at that moment.

 

[IDKWhatUserNameToDo]

Kaden Miller - June 14th - Grand Lake Hotel, Sinnoh
The ground shook underneath Kaden and his trusty electric type. There was no way that Raiten could take it and the coordinator was oh, so right. The shockwaves hit the nimble, but rather frail, Lightning pokemon and knocked him out in one hit.

"You already did what I sent you out for," Kaden mumbled for himself as he returned Raiten to his pokeball and swapped the Quick ball out for a plain pokeball, "Got me down to my last pokemon, but I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything else from a veteran trainer like you," the coordinator said before resuming to the battle at hand with Dendro the Roserade on the field now, but he did get hurt by the hazardous Stealth rock laid out on the field, grimacing in pain as the pointed rock dug into his feet.

"Dendro, use Grass knot!" and just as Kaden commanded, Dendro's eyes glowed green as green vines sprouted out from the ground and tried to wrap around the Steelix.

Lara Brook - 16th of June - North Lake Miloch, Wild Area, Galar
"Yeah, and lucky for us we have this whole day reserved to wait and to film," Lara noted, chuckling slightly as the Sigilyph continued to copy Nicole. The reporter took her bag off of Toast and returned him to his pokeball before settling down beside the bird keeper with her own camera ready, "Done this often? I mean like waiting for bird pokemon to pass by when they migrate?" Lara asked, quite curious to know more.

Gwen Tucker - 16th of June - A park in Eterna City, Sinnoh
Gwen was having a good time playing together with Ozzy, especially now that he had a stick to play with instead of him chewing on either her ankles or shoes. Of course he was still a small Deino so Gwen had to be careful not to play too hard with him. Then she suddenly felt something poke at her ankles. Looking down she had Cobalt at her ankles, pecking her.

"Hey- whoa, ow- Cobalt! What are you doing?" Gwen exclaimed and almost danced around to try and dodge Cobalt's pecks and had to let go of the stick and let Ozzy run around with the stick, "What was that?" the blue haired girl asked dumbfounded at how her pokemon was behaving. Cobalt stopped the pecking right as Gwen let go of the stick and looked at her with his flippers crossed. This didn't help Gwen at all in understanding what was going on, but she glanced back at Ozzy to make sure he was okay. Apparently in Cobalt's eyes that was the wrong move as she felt another peck hit her foot.

That's when it hit her. She crouched down to her starter to be on more of a similar level to him, "Are you jealous of Ozzy? Or what's going on here," she asked and tilted her head. This didn't seem to be a response Cobalt expected as he almost flinched before eyeing at the Deino, but this time he wasn't glaring. It was more like.. worry.

"What's going on Cobalt?" Gwen asked, becoming more and more concerned. Sure, Cobalt has always had some.. issues with him not listening to her being the main one, but there had been some other ones. Like him trying to hinder her from getting more pokemon. There had to be something more going on here. Gwen then decided it would be best to return Ozzy to his pokeball so it'd just be her and Cobalt there talking. Cobalt was now only looking at the ground with his body incredibly stiff. Was he anxious for the upcoming gym fight? Was it something else? Maybe it was multiple things. Well, whatever it might be, Gwen was sure she could help Cobalt. She would do her all to try at the very least.

"Hey, it's okay," the blue haired girl said and petted the Piplup's back. In Cobalt's mind however a lot of thoughts were swirling in his mind.
He was afraid that he hadn’t proven himself enough to Gwen that he was a powerful capable pokemon on his own and was about to be returned to the Jubalife trainer school again. After all, she had now another pokemon she could rely on instead if she thought that he wasn’t strong enough and -

“You can trust me, right? We can do anything as long as we do it together,” Gwen said with a soft smile to her starter and it seemed to have broken Cobalt out of his stupor as he looked at his trainer, honestly surprised. He looked down at the ground again and thought about what she said. Gwen had returned Ozzy to his pokeball so she could have a moment with him.. just him? Cobalt looked at Gwen again and then hugged her, or as much as he could with his stubby little flippers, making his trainer chuckle and hug him back.

"Yeah, together. And that means the whole team,"

 

[~Patriot~]

Montange Khastil
July 2 - Santalune City, Kalos

"That's been bugging me, too." The pun was unintentional and completely lost on Monty, so he continued, "Gym leaders are supposed to be the strongest around, but the battle was...underwhelming." Three weeks of constant training went into the victory, but did they win because of the work his team put in or because Viola was holding back?

He'd heard of the Battle Chateau that Azumi mentioned, but knew nothing about it beyond its name. If someone like her had never won against a gym leader there, it sounded like the kind of place where they went all out. His 'holding back' theory was confirmed. Fuck, was that annoying. How was he supposed to enjoy a victory if his opponent wasn't going all out?

"You should show me around the Battle Chateau sometime. Seeing some of the leaders at their full power sounds intérresant, right Oracle?"

The Absol nodded in agreement to both of their statements. She was liking the blonde woman more and more with every word. Oracle was a threat to any opponent, and it would be good to see the height of power on full display in this strange land that Monty called home. She did disagree with the qualms her trainer held with her victory on the battlefield, though. If that insect-obsessed woman didn't want to go all out, it was her loss.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Bar, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous

Interactions: Ron Towers and Luz the Espeon (Hecotoro)

Why was he squinting at her for? After flooffing up his hair, she stopped touching him, which was when she caught sight of Luz glowing. The tail was on Ron's arm. Did... He feel bothered by what she did? But he didn't stop her... So if he really felt bothered, he could've just asked. But he didn't.

Huh, maybe he was okay with it, which might've been weird for him. Fluffy was having the time of his life being snuggled up to a purring Espeon, which was only making him into a heated plushie with purring of his own. In fact, if he weren't in a bar right now, he'd have fallen asleep.

Of course, when someone was saying Luz was glowing, Naka snapped her head towards him, and Fluffy gingerly pulled his head from under Luz to glare at the man. Bumping Ron on the shoulder had the Flareon growling, but Naka quickly snapped a look towards Flareon, then cooed with a silly smile on her face. "Awww, aren't you protective?" Fluffy huffed and angrily went back to snuggling the Espeon, nuzzling into her cheek with a huff.

Naka, however, felt like she wasn't done yet with the guy. She stared at the retreating figure with wide, mischievous eyes, a creepy slasher grin growing on her face. "Rude." She then sighed. "Time and plaaace..." She soothed herself before going back to Ron, nodding. "Yup, I also live in Sinnoh. I work with Professor Rowan and his successor."

Well, that was when she saw what he was looking at. A stain on his pants? Well... It was in a funny spot. Then the greatest pickup line she's ever heard came from Ron and she pressed her lips tightly to avoid laughing her ass off from it. "Gonna get all cozy with me? I could always clean that stain myself~. Can't waste good beer like that~." She leaned forward more, her eyes lidded.

Well, until her hold on the bar stool slipped and she yelped as she fell straight into Ron.

 

[| Korutesu |]

Nico Zacharias Flynn
Date: July 2nd
Location: Santalune City, Kalos

Okay, time to stop being distracted. Nico keeps falling behind the group since, well, he wanted to look at the sights of Kalos. He was pretty far behind, but he'd be able to catch up. Esther was already far off, although Monty and Azumi were still pretty close. They looked like they were talking, so he probably shouldn't butt in, although they should probably catch up to Esther by now. With her personality, who knows what she's been doing the past few minutes.

 

[Godjacob]

Adrianne Silvers (Normal Class: 96,094)
Tangelo Island, Orange Archipelago (June 1st)​

Hey if one had a choice between presuming the worst of a situation or looking at the positions, Adrianne had always been willing to choose the later. Just helped to motivate one even at times they fail and always had given an encouraging step to build from but that had merely been how she approached it.

As they entered the Pokemon Center, specifically one of the many guest rooms they allowed traveling trainers to stay overnight at, Reggie seemed to cast a ominous but vague warning about his sleep which caused her to raise an eyebrow. He had made this warning before and he had began to wonder if his insomnia was something serious as the worst she had expected was him sitting up in a stupor or something.

"Uh, t-thanks for the warning. Is there anything I should hear out for?" Adrianne asked, as she worked to fix her own bed while she asked Reggie this. Perhaps if he had been so worried they should speak to the Nurse Joy about it or something.

Then again, she had no idea what his vague warnings could've meant.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Reginald Valerias​

Date: June 1
Location: Tangelo Island Pokemon Center, Orange Archipelago
Pokemon Team: Emeric the Shiny Haunter, Elvira the Munna, Bob the Shedinja, Large Marge the Drifloon, Missy the Misdreavus
WCS Rank: 69,989

Interactions: Adrianne Silvers (Godjacob)

Reggie tried to dissuade his own worries, but realized he was now just worrying Adrianne, the stuttering very obvious. Reggie fixed up his own bed and threw and rolled himself under the covers, completely not really caring if he was still in what he wore today. "Nah, you won't be able to hear it."

Now that just sounded worse.

"Uhm, don't worry about it too much. It shouldn't bother you much. Hearing me move around is kinda normal, maybe hearing my Pokemon if they come out, but they are usually really silent. And uh... I've tried medicine for sleep and stuff. Doesn't really work. Actually makes my sleeping situation worse, so there's not much I can do. I'll just uh..." He fished around in his backpack, getting an almanac for Pokemon. His Pokedex, essentially. "Good night." He smiled, hoping his awkwardness didn't scare her too much.

With that, Reggie will attempt to rest up, read, do whatever but silently. His Munna had released herself and he was holding her to his chest like a plushie as he tried occupying himself with random things to calm his mind. Munna glowed a soft pink at random intervals, using Calm Mind to send the same feelings to Reggie to aid in making him not too anxious throughout the night.

 

[Hecotoro]

Azumi Towers- Santalune, Kalos - July 2nd.

"Of course, we can go there sometime. If you want to train, I can help you sign up. It really is an interesting experience." Azumi smiled, despite the negative vibes coming from the glaring Gardevoir. "I must insist however, your friend Nico looks lost?" She pointed at the boy with the kind of face a man makes when he scores in his own goal by accident.

"Oh, in case you want to train before the Chateu, I would love to help you out. I'm not the best teacher, but we can handle ourselves in battle quite nicely. We still have a lot to learn, but we can learn together!"

Ron Towers, Eterna City, Sinnoh. June 16th.

"Seriously how are you single?"

Before Ron could even finish expressing his doubt, Naka had leaned forward and down they went. Ron pulled her to his chest, to avoid Naka going straight into the ground or into his beer stain, which would hurt. He tried to hold the weight of the two with his free arm, unable to reach the edge of the counter in time. Before he could tell, he was on the floor, hugging Naka and looking up at a very confused Espeon.

"You two okay?" The voice of the bartender was heard from the other side of the bar.

"We're fine!" Ron called out, not wanting to worry anyone, specially Luz. "Well, this is one way of cuddling I guess?" Ron said while he waited for Naka to get a hold of herself. "You wanna call it a night?". He looked at the hand that was hugging Naka, his beer somehow still intact. "I can just finish my beer and we can go."

 

[Grand Master Koop]

August 1, Turffield City Gym, Galar
Laura Willham

Laura rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment at the quip from the gym leader. "Yeah well... You better prepare yourself because I'm going to win!" She shouted, mostly to snap herself out of her self-inflicted daze. She reached down and pulled out a pokeball before winding herself up for a throw. "Go Magneton!" She shouted, arching her arm in a rather clumsy display and sending out her first pokemon.

The Electric Steel Type appeared on the field, spinning its magnets around as it eagerly awaited for its trainer's commands. "Let's start this off strong! Use Tri Attack!" Three different elemental orbs appeared in front of each of the Magneton's segments before being fired off all at once towards the Gym Leader's Oddish.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Bar, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous

Interactions: Ron Towers and Luz the Espeon (Hecotoro)

The question she wouldn't be able to answer at the moment as the two clumsily fell onto the floor. She felt him pull her towards his chest more, so she was relatively fine. Well, she had gone through other stuff like falling down steep hills and rolling down snowy mountains, so this was fine. If anything, it was more than comfy.

Naka had to actually take a moment from her stupor to fully gather her bearings, his Flareon looking down at the two humans with some mild exasperation.

The cuddling comment had her giggling. It did feel really nice. But upon calling it a night, she pouted. "But but... I thought you wanted to hear my singing..." Now she showed she cared about showing off one of her talents. "Besides, I'm not done yet until I get thrown out of a bar, reputation notwithstanding." She tried to ignore that she didn't get all pouty with him. Remembering the question he made earlier, Naka grinned again. "I mean... I'm single because I'm picky. Haven't found a guy who could handle all of me yet. Well, you're handling me pretty well~." She winked at him, trying to steadily get off of him and holding out her hand to help him up. "Can't let ya stay on the floor, the floor's nasty. They got drunk bum shits walkin' here."

She noticed his beer was relatively okay and she nodded with an impressed smile and wide eyes. "Huh, nice. The mark of a true man~." She teased, eyeing his fine beer handling skills.

Milo​

Date: August 1
Location: Turffield Stadium, Turffield, Galar
Pokemon Team: Oddish, Eldegoss

Battling: Laura Willham and Magneton (Grand Master Koop) vs Oddish

Milo chuckled as he watched the girl's spirit rise and she threw out her first Pokemon. A Magneton, hm?

"Man, you sure are a doozy. Sunny Day!" The Oddish spun and jumped about, her little feet carrying the little guy faster than most Oddish. As the Oddish shone with energy, the sky above them started to become arid and the sunlight got harsher on the battlefield, making the Oddish glow with a soft green light as her Chlorophyll activated. The Oddish charged towards the Magneton with surprising speed, sliding like a baseball batter to a goal to dodge one of the blasts, but one of the elemental spheres hit her. She squeaked, the energy hurting her as she tumbled over like a Bramblin sideways. She quickly shook it off and ran as fast as her little feet could carry her, which was pretty fast for an Oddish. It might even rival that of a Scorbunny or a Raboot.

"Lessee if y'all can handle Oddish's dizzying speed." Milo grinned, watching his Oddish attempt to run around the Magneton in a circle without potentially getting caught by an attack.

 

[Hecotoro]

Ron Towers, Eterna City, Sinnoh. June 16th.

"Thanks." Ron smiled before taking another drink from his beer. "Glad I'm standing out from the other chumps who tried to get into your book." He reached out to Naka's hand and got himself to his feet. "So we're still going? Fine by me, three beers is just starting to loosen me up." He picked up his seat and looked at the bartender, "Keep em coming!"

The man behind the counter laughed and sent Ron another beer and more milk for the Eeveelutions. Ron saluted the man, holding his beer up and taking a long drink. "So you want to sing huh?" He looked around, the concert was still going, they were going to have to wait if they were to take the stage. "Fine, we'll keep drinking, put on a hell of a show and then see where we end up."

Luz sniffed the air, feeling the scent of the new bowl of milk in front of them. Unfortunately, she ended up drinking from the water she had been served in the first placed. She was more than happy to feel the cool drink down her throat, kinda wondering why they kept serving her the wrong drink.

"So, since you brought the subject up, what's the funniest story of a guy trying to handle you?" He leaned forward on the bar top, looking amused by his question and probably the answer.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Saturday – 8:30 am July 2

Lumiose

Kalos Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), Pariparisithea (Munna), Tarrah Ta’Ella (Bounsweet), Kasriel Ikaros Svelinka Sō (G-Zigzagoon), Bâquîle Nâva (Goomy), L’ Basseau. (Surskit)

In Esther’s care: Houndour​

Esther plucked herself out of route 4’s fountain and wiped her face. Her pokémon surrounded her wearing varying expressions of concern, curiosity, and—in Pyrrha’s case—bashful guilt.

“We’ll work on that one.”

The drake rattled softly but Esther was already mulling over the errors in her plan. She had noticed back in Galar that «Protect» could take different forms: Pyrrha’s was a large glowing dome, but she’d seen defensive hexagons and disks. That had given Esther an idea, a smooth and angled Protect would make a perfect ramp!

She had been racing towards the mid-section of the route when the idea popped into her head and almost immediately after the susurrations of her subconscious made a daring suggestion: ‘Do a flip!’

Now Esther was a former dancer and was no stranger to gymnastics. How much harder could they be while on rollerblades? In a fraction of a second, the girl made her decision, and well...yea...

Water spilled onto the ground as she wrung the fabric of her dress.

‘Whose dumb idea was this anyway?’

『That’d be Past Esther...』

‘Past Esther? Ugh, what a bitch!’

『Agreed.』

Spoiler: Esther’s Inventory

$3,889

Hand-woven kilt
Pokéballs x 2

Spoiler: Working Towards

Everstone x 1 – $15,000.00

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Bar, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous

Interactions: Ron Towers and Luz the Espeon (Hecotoro)

Naka giggled, helping him up with ease despite her own drunken state, her arm feeling numb but strong. She was getting a bit warm, so she took off her camo coat, setting it on her stool to sit on. She was wearing a dark grey t-shirt, her arms showing other bits of scars she's endured throughout her life. Her arms weren't bulky, but it was obvious she had quite a bit of arm strength. She nodded excitedly when he said they were still going, sitting back down on her stool. The cool air was starting to warm up - either by all the people, the electrifying atmosphere from the band, or Fluffy's warmth emitting from him, or maybe it was just her getting too warm. Either way, she was waving a hand in front of her face to cool off some.

She sheepishly nodded at the singing question, fixing her hair again even though she didn't really need to. She giggled, happy that they were staying for a while longer.

With another bowl of milk their way, Fluffy looked and saw Luz taking a drink of the water. Snorting a bit in amusement, he pushed the water away and pulled the milk towards her with his other paw, mewling at her that she was drinking the wrong liquid if she wanted milk.

Having heard the question come up after getting her second mimosa, she giggled. "Ahhhh, so that. Boy, do I have a story. Okay, a short one." She started, then turned to him with a lips pressed together. "So, had this cute guy working with me. Coworkers and all. But there was somethin' about him that made him seem like an absolute priss, no matter how intelligent and well-put together he was. He never went on a field mission before though. Now, I don't mind a bit of prissy-ness, but not in guys I'm into, right? So." She leaned back, grinning. "So, he's supposed to go with me on a research trip. We go into Eterna Forest for that Amber Castle thing the Vespiquen and Combee call home. I find it, he's trying to match my gungho-ness by wanting to enter. But of course, he didn't enter correctly. You're supposed to bring in a large pot of honey to appease the Vespiquen so you can be largely left alone for a brief period. He ended up walking in there and the poor guy got attacked by a swarm of Combee and Vespiquen. Those Gust attacks were... honestly a joke, I dunno how he thought they hurt. The most they've done was mess up his faux pompadour and rip his clothes. I've taken a Shadow Ball from a Gengar, that shit hurts worse than piddly wind. Anyway." She waved her hand and shook her head.

"He hides behind me, all scared and shit. I take out a pot of honey and open the top to offer to the Vespiquen. I told her that I apologize for my subordinate's actions of trespassing, and he won't do it again, and ask if there was any punishment I could do to make him remember not do it next time. I'm pretty sure the bee queen laughed. Kinda sounded like it with the buzzin'. Anyway, he didn't take kindly to that, so he got mad at me. He told me I was fucking crazy, strikin' deals with Pokemon against humans and even considering the thought of punishing him for his insubordinance. I told him he shouldn't be a pussy and actually, you know, read about Pokemon before going into the field. I asked if his intellect was just for show or if he was actually smart. He got mad at me and tried to punch me. I'll give him guts for that, but he was so off on his form. I ended up taking his arm and throwing him into a nearby tree and then leaving him there to think about his decisions. Of course, I get lambasted by Lucas for leaving an "injured" researcher behind, but I told him the only injured thing about him was his pride. I lost interest in him, and he's been keeping a wide berth from me since." She grinned. "I'd so totally judo throw him again." She laughed, sipping her drink.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Saturday – Night, June 11

East Lake Axewell,

Galar Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), In Esther’s care: Houndour​

Blood dripped from Esther’s heart. She’d restocked on pokéballs and just like that she was $800 poorer. Almost half her fortune! Just like that, poof! And she’d only been a trainer for what, not even half a week? Bloody Giratina! Being a trainer was expensive! How'd they expect a girl to thrive? In this economy?

Money management was, arguably, the greatest hurdle trainers faced on their journey; they had so many expenses to pay and yet they went without a consistent source of income. No wonder only a fraction of trainers made it to the league each year...

Whatever. Esther seized her worries, boxed them up, and then tossed the box into a closet in some corner of her mind. It was high time she focused on the important tasks at hand: she had a Munna to catch!

There was only one question...how was she gonna find, much less catch, a Munna in the dead of night? Tricky, tricky...

Spoiler: ”Esther’s Inventory”

$1,200
Pokéball x5

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Briar Hightower...~

~August 1st, 1pm...~

"Don't ask me hic! Hank, why do ya drin- Hic!... Whyyy do you smoke!" Briar laid there on the ground outside her apartment singing at one in the afternoon. She had already started drinking. Must have been a rough day. Maggie the tentecruel was by her side ready to strike anyone dumb enough to try mug Briar while she was down.

"Dear arceus... Please strike me down now..." Her rotom phone winced.

Baba the grafaiai was digging around in Briar's pockets looking for snacks, but Maggie was having none off it, and her lil monkey paw. She angrily growled at Maggie who stared down the little monkey with a "Try me" expression on her face. Baba angrily shook her fiist, then reached back into Briar's pocket and swung her room key in the air. Maggie lifted the monkey up, whom used the key to open the door. Baba ran in the room and jumped on the couch. Maggie crawled in, dragging Briar behind her. thud! The sound of Briar's head bumping the door arch.

"Owwwwww, my parietal bone..."Briar grumbled under her breath. Maggie left Briar on the floor in the middle of the room, and Baba got up to flip off some man walking by before slamming the door shut. It took Baba a few tries, but she managed to lock the door.

Spoiler: Briar's mystery bag

$22,839
14x super balls
5x hyper Potions
3x Full Heals
6x sitrus berry,
Rotom phone
a bottle of whiskey
x2 mystery flasks
x6 shot glasses

 

[Hecotoro]

Ron Towers, Eterna City, Sinnoh. June 16th.

"That guy sounded like a complete loser. No wonder I'm doing good so far." Ron pause to consume more of his beer before continuing. "That guy set the bar too low for me." He looked confident as he slowly peeled the label of the brown beer bottle.

"Most of my hook ups were during my time in the band. After a concert, you go to an after party, drink so much you stop caring about what happens to you and next thing you know you with some girl you met that night." He smiled proudly as he managed to peel off the entire label without tearing it apart. He slid it over to Naka, "People say if you're able to peel off the sticker on the bottle without a scratch on it, it means you're still a virgin. Here, you can have my virginity." He teased before ordering another beer.

"I think the only serious relationship was with this girl in Goldenrod. She was great to be fair, we just had different goals. She was attached to the city and I wanted to leave. Didn't work out." He thanked the bartender as the beer slid into his free hand. "Guess it's the price we pay for our need to roam around huh?" He looked at Naka and smiled, "Glad to find someone else not being held down by anyone else."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Bar, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous

Interactions: Ron Towers and Luz the Espeon (Hecotoro)

Oh, yeah. Doing a bit too wonderfully...

If Naka's face wasn't red before, it definitely was now after Ron gave the sticker off the bottle of his beer to her. Fascinating how he was so smooth with this. She giggled, taking the sticker with a cheeky grin. "So smooooth, like Mhoba Franky's rum... Maybe a touch dangerous for me to drink~." She teased back. She listened to him talk about his life, taking in little notes here or there. He had a partner before, but they separated due to differing goals. Plus, he was the drifter kind. Getting drunk and having parties. He was just glad she wasn't tied down either. She chuckled, almost finishing off her second mimosa.

"My price for a relationship was my career. Most people found my travel log and future college classes daunting, as well as my passion for the Pokemon in my research. They thought that I had no love or fun for me to give if my heart was so full with my work already. But I only have a partnership with my job." She eyed Ron over her glass, grinning. "And I promise, I won't be holding anyone down, let alone let myself be tied down to other responsibilities I'm not ready for." She finished her drink, setting it down. "This planet is my home, and I intend on not settling anytime soon until I've satisfied my unquenchable thirst for knowledge. My goal is to be a professor. But I don't mind making young twenty-year-old mistakes. I need to let loose."

Then she laughed as she realized something. "How the hell did you not lose your virginity yet, even after all those hookups?" She teased. "Hmm, I can definitely show you what you're missing out on~." She giggled, eyeing Ron up and down briefly, then her attention went back to the concert for a moment before looking back at Ron. She was starting to get impatient. When was it their turn? Still, she held all smiles for Ron, her cheeks red not just from the alcohol anymore and it wasn't likely it'll die very soon.

 

[Hecotoro]

Ron Towers, Eterna City, Sinnoh. June 16th.

"Then sign me up for that show." Ron held up his drink before chugging it down until the last drop. "Okay, let's do this." He stood up, looking at the stage.

The singer of the band had announced their last song and people were starting to filter out of the building, mostly to avoid struggling to get out in the parking lot. Ron reached out with his hand to Naka. "Time to see how good to drifters can actually perform." He chuckled a bit, "On stage of course. I have no problems performing anywhere else." He smirked and waited for her to take his hand.

Once the band finished their song and thanked the audience, they stepped away. People really began to leave. The place looking a lot more emptier than before, even more bright for some reason. Luz seemed more comfortable, taking a drink from the milk Fluffy moved closer to her and then rubbing up against the Flareon, nibbling his ear playfully.

Ron stepped on to the stage, sighing loudly as he looked down at the set of drums. He picked up the drum sticks and looked at them for a bit. They were worn out and seemed about to break in any moment, just like he remembered his. While Naka was someone who was doing what she loved, Ron was doing something he didn't enjoy, but something he felt he needed to do in order to be able to move on with his life. It was weird, he wasn't sure how two similar but different people were going to mix on stage, but he was eager to find out.

Badamum-tss!

Ron smiled at Naka, adjusting his seat as he tested out the instrument before him. "Ready when you are."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Bar, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous

Interactions: Ron Towers and Luz the Espeon (Hecotoro)

Giggling, Naka noticed that the band was actually just leaving, and with them their fans who were now drunk enough to cause a ruckus outside - where it belonged. She blinked and noticed Ron was holding out his hand for her, making her smile wide. She held his hand in hers, feeling her chest ache for whatever reason. She nodded, eager to show off her singing. Hopefully, the lights were bright enough that if she did bring in a crowd, she wouldn't be able to see them.

She walked up to the stage with Ron, not feeling the usual anticipatory and anxiety-riddling butterflies that came with standing on stage. She noticed Ron's forlorn gaze on the drumsticks and tilted her head at him. Ah, then the meme sound, making her laugh despite there not being a punchline. "Hah, very funny. Alright."

Fluffy chirped upon feeling Luz nibble his ear, then he noticed his trainer was on stage. He cooed in awe. What was she doing up there? He yipped to Luz, telling her that their humans were gonna play a song.

She found an electric guitar and smiled at it. While she wasn't awesome with it, she was pretty decent. She picked it up and strummed it once with the chip, testing to see if they were all tuned, which they thankfully were. Plus, they were hooked up correctly to the speaker, so that helped. She began playing the solo intro treble guitar portion of the song Dream On, smiling as she nodded her head to the beat. Then, she began to sing into the mic she turned on.

Despite the amount of drink she had in her system, her voice was soft with a bit of an edge to it, especially as she sang up a few pitches. Dream On, while it wasn't the song that spoke to her, was one of those songs that did surprisingly fit her pretty damn well, so she also sang with soft passion. As she entered the chorus though, it was clear she had belted this many times before, even nailing the guitar solo that led up to it.

She was just glad the lights were bright enough for her not to see through despite her liquid courage, happily moving on to the 'dream on' segment. Then finally, the soft screaming of 'dream on' and the yell afterwards she nailed, not overdoing it but clear it was her favorite part.

Now that she already wet her Swanna, she was wanting to sing something else a bit more hardcore. She looked back at Ron, a bright light in her eyes. "Hey, hey, how about something else? You pick. Or we can do something metal. Changing up Toxic?"

This confidence she could have had naturally, but instead locked away by something and only let out with all that liquid courage in her system.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Saturday – Night, June 11

East Lake Axewell (Wild Area),

Galar Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), In Esther’s care: Houndour​

Compared to the daytime, Lake Axewell at night was a whole other world. One might even say...an isekai!

Where during the day, the lakeside had been so alive with pokémon and the songs of nature, now it was equally as dead and filled with a disconcerting quiet. Even the lakeside wind had fallen silent; the world was left without sound, save for the rustle of grass—all too loud—as Esther shuffled through it.

The Oblivian stepped out of the grass, she’d never get the drop on anything with all that rustling, as she pulled up to the riverbank the beauty of nightscape revealed itself in all its eerie beauty: the lake’s waters mirrored the starry sky, bright pearls on black velvet. Too bright. Esther stepped closer. She could just make out the brightest of ‘stars’—mini-suns—swimming about the lake, illuminating the waters from beneath in a way that set the whole lake aglow.

“Wow...”

For a moment Esther’s worries were lost. This was why she had gone traveling, to see and experience things like this, things she couldn’t possibly see in Oblivia. This was a good omen, she decided. Tonight would be just fine.

Good things come to those who wait...and as Esther hung around, basking in the glow of Lake Axewell, she spotted it. A pokémon floated by the lake shore, hovering just above the water as it quenched its thirst. Her pokétch was quick to confirm:

Primary Type: Pyschic

Secondary Type: N/A

Species Abilities: Forewarn, Synchronize {Telepathy}

Munna always float in the air. It eats the dreams of people and Pokémon and releases a mist. The mist is pink when it's eating a good dream, and black when it's eating a nightmare. People whose dreams are eaten by Munna forget what the dreams had been about.

Perfect!

She didn’t know whether this Munn had telepathy, but she’d know when she caught it! Slowly, silently, stealthily, Esther reached for Pyrrha’s pokéball. She crept closer then—

“Come Pyrrha, Pyrrichios!”

The pokéball spun through the black of night and the drinking Munna startled, frozen in terror. Pyrrha’s pokéball got closer...closer...closer...until—PLOP!

“...”

Esther and Munna both stared as the pokéball fell into the lake; it hadn’t even twitched. Pyrrha, it seemed, had no intention of coming out. And as her pokéball sunk into the lake—wait!

“Oh Mah Gawd! PYRRHA!”

Esther rushed over and dove into the lake. Thankfully, she was a good swimmer...

The lake was brighter than it had any right to be, and Esther could see now that the ‘mini-suns’ she had spotted from above were the glowing lures of a large fish-like pokémon. After her earlier encounter with Houndour, she was a bit worried about being attacked, but the lantern-pokémon either didn’t see her as a threat or didn’t think she’d taste good. Either way, Esther wasn’t complaining.

Their glow reflected off the shiny surface of Pyrrha’s pokéball as it slowly sunk deeper into the lake and Esther kicked her legs as she chased after it.

Spoiler: ”Esther’s Inventory”

$1,200

Pokéball x5

 

[Hecotoro]

Ron Towers, Eterna City, Sinnoh. June 16th.

Ron didn't struggle to keep up with Dream On. On the drummers side, it was pretty simple. Instead he focused more on Naka, surprised by her talent to not only play the guitar but sing along with it, doing pretty on both. He even managed to finish his beer while playing, even if the song for him was slow, he felt something he hadn't in a long time, he felt alive.

"Toxic?" Ron frowned and then nodded his head, "Yeah I can play it." He spun the right drum stick between his fingers, "Let's do it."

With passion flowing through his system, Ron smashed the intro of the song into his set. Playing like if his life depended on it. The energy that he recognized, that had been dormant so long inside of him, exploded. He knew the song, he never really practiced it, but his body seemed to know what to do anyways. He played his heart out, following Naka and even joining in on the last bit of it, adding more echo to her voice.

Luz didn't know where the stage was, so she kept her head on Fluffy's. The sound of Ron's drumming though, brought her back to her younger days with the trainer. It soothed her and Flareon's warmth only made things better.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nakano Saito​

Date: 1 Month Ago (26 years old); June 16
Location: Eterna City Bar, Sinnoh
Pokemon Team: Chu the Pichu, Fluffy the Flareon, Hanu the Infernape, Yuki the Froslass, Aero the Aerodactyl, Orochi the Zweilous

Interactions: Ron Towers and Luz the Espeon (Hecotoro)

Ah, she wished she knew how to play the violin for this song.

Hearing Ron wanting to metal-fy Toxic, she grinned, loving the energy he was introducing. She entered the song with an edge to her voice, which was immediately replaced with a far more smooth and sultry voice, not showing off the edge to the scream at all, even as she hit the higher notes right before it. She hit the chorus with the soft high pitch from earlier, then regained that edge back within the chorus.

Still not screaming yet, she continued through, absolutely loving the drum work from behind her. Finally, the metal part came in as she dropped the beat on the guitar, screaming low into the mic like she's done this plenty of times before, only to change like a pro to that soft falsetto. Eventually, she made it to the falsetto whine, which then hit the rough low scream of-

"TOXIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!"

Then the belting out of her guitar, then she was back to switching from edged rock voice to falsetto, then throwing in a random screaming of a couple words at the end.

They were done.

Fluffy's eyes widened. He's never really heard her sing like that before. Was she doing this in secret? He purred, feeling happy that Naka was finally letting loose after so long.

Naka was feeling a bit dizzy from the adrenaline rush, deciding to rip the mic from the stand and belting out a low, roaring scream, her body hunched over it just to lean back as the roaring scream went up in pitch, then letting out a whoop as she put the mic back on its stand and the guitar back where it was sitting. She went back to Ron, a huge grin on her face and her throat a bit hoarse, but otherwise fine. "That was fucking fun!" She had that crazed look in her eyes now, but likely from the thrill and excitement and... Likely just widening her eyes to make sure the world wasn't spinning.

 

[kyuukestu]

Esther

Saturday – Night, June 11

East Lake Axewell (Wild Area),

Galar Region​

Team On-hand: Pyrrha (Jangmo-o), In Esther’s care: Houndour​

The surface of Lake Axewell broke; first, a hand clenched tight around a pokéball and then second, the rest of a teenaged girl as she hauled her drenched body onto shore. Esther looked around and her faintest of hopes were dashed: the Munna was long gone.

“Figures...”

Great. Now she was cold, wet AND she’d just been reminded that her only pokémon didn’t want to see her. The shift in her mood was downright depressive.

Esther sighed, she couldn’t walk around soaking wet, especially at night. She’d catch cold. She needed to change clothes. A pair of trees a few feet away would serve her purposes well. She could set her hammock tarp between them: a makeshift changing tent.

Esther dragged her feet towards her bag pack; she let her gaze wander to the nightscape above and pursed her lips to whistle out a tune.

“♫♪♩♫♪♫♪♩♪♩~”

"♫♪♩♪♩~”

“City of stars~

“Are you shining just for me?

“City of Stars~

“There’s so much that I can’t see...

“Who knows?

“Is this the start of something won~derful and new?

“Or one more dream that I cannot make true?”

“♫♪♩~"

"♫♪♫♪♩~"

“♫♪♩~"

"♩♩♩♩♩~"

After changing her clothes and wringing out her clothes, Esther approached her task with renewed determination. As much as it hurt to be well, alone. The whole point of catching Munna was to overcome that with Telepathy. She couldn’t be discouraged now; she’d hardly even started!

If Pyrrha wasn’t to help her then...she’d just have to snag herself a Munna with only a pokéball. It couldn’t be too hard, right?

Spoiler: ”Esther’s Inventory”

$1,200

Pokéball x5