The Ties That Bind

[Bennett856]

(( This is my first Pokemon RP, so bear with me. I've done RP before, but nothing Pokemon related.))

Bennett stepped out of his cabin and looked at his watch. 6:47am "Oh good, we'll reach Olivine in about half an hour" he thought to himself as he made his way down the corridor, toward the common area, his Ninetales following obediently at his side. Under any normal circumstances, Bennett would be leaving Veilstone City with his fourth gym badge by now and be on his way to Pastoria to get his fifth. However, Bennett's Sinnoh League challenge had taken an interesting turn. It had all started the day before his gym battle with Fantina, about a week ago. Bennett's Tyranitar, Tessa, had begun acting oddly. She would often just forget about what she was doing, lose all focus and stare out into the sky with a forlorn, faraway look in her eyes. She had lost all will to compete in a battle. Bennett was still finding her behaviour rather perplexing. Then, after his battle with Fantina, he received a phone call from his mother, Lydia, who told him that something of great importance to him and his Pokémon had happened back home, and that he should catch the next boat back to Johto.

Bennett surveyed the large common room of the ship. The same crowd as usual. Most of them were trainers who would talk of nothing but all the great battles and contests that awaited them in Johto. Even though Bennett had kept to himself, not particularly interested in battles at this point in time, the younger trainers were making nuisances of themselves, asking all sorts of questions about his Ninetales and challenging him to battles, all of which he refused. Most of the older trainers Bennett found were interesting and cared about more than just battles. But not the younglings. As tolerant a person as Bennett was, he was starting to find them rather annoying. Not really wanting to put up with them, Bennett strolled straight through the common room and out onto the deck.

The wind on the deck was refreshing and cool as it blew across Bennett's face. He looked down at his Ninetales, who also seemed to be enjoying the fresh air. "Nice, isn't it Natasha?" His Ninetales simply responded to him with a look of endearment. Suddenly, Bennett heard the door open behind him. Bennett turned on his heel to find one of the young trainers that had been pestering him.
"Hey! Trench-Coat Guy! You'll never guess what I just heard!"
Bennett folded his arms across his chest whilst his Ninetales stared at the kid with air of suspicion.
"What is it this time, Joshua?"
"I heard that there's someone working for Team Galactic on the boat!"
"Oh really? Is that so?" Bennett replied with a hint of sarcasm
"Yeah! I thought that if you're as tough as you say you are, you could find them and use your Pokémon to defeat them."
"Well, why don't you do me a favour and find them for me. Then you just bring them here and then I'll beat them."
"Humph! You're no fun at all. I thought you were cool." And with that, the young trainer retreated back into the common room.

"Team Galactic? Here? Rubbish, why would they be interested in Johto?" Bennett thought to himself. He looked down at his Ninetales "I hope this big mess sorts itself out when we back to Ecruteak, Natasha, or I just won't know what to do." With that, Bennett continued to look out across the sea, and take in the sea air.

((Feel free to jump on in. But if you want to fill the role of the Team Galactic mecenary, PLEASE PM me first. I cannnot stress this enough as I'm looking for someone with experience to do it.))

 

[Newprofile001]

Gaz heard someone walk out of their cabin from his view off the portside bow. His Lucario heard it, too.

Lucario whispered through telepathy.
What time is it?
"06:47:32. We should reach Olivine about 07:20, and visit New Bark Town by 13:00. From there, we could go through New Bark Lake and go to Kanto, I'm guessing, at about 14:30. From that view, we should hit Celadon and stop to eat at 16:50. Then we could beeline Vermilion through Saffron and get to Steamship Sinnoh by 20:10. That good?"
Yeah... or we could just follow that kid over there.
He looked at where Lucario was talking. Two kids were talking to each other.
"Or we could do that. Which one?"
Both. Which one do you think?
Gaz smiled at Lucario's ability to make a joke in a tough time. He chuckled to himself. Pretty soon, Lucario joined in.

Gaz lit a step-me-down-from-smoking cigarette and smoked it.
I really wish you'd quit.
"Don't worry, it's a fast-burning cigarette."
I know, but you need to quit. That stuff does... bad things to you.
"I know. Besides, look. It's almost done. See?"

When they looked, the cigarette was quarter-finished. Gaz took another puff as Lucario slapped it out his hand. It hit the water with a hiss.

Hey, the kid's walking over.
Gaz turned to look.

 

[Bennett856]

Bennett looked over to see a young man on the other side of the deck, smoking. He seemed to be having a conversation with his Lucario, reagardless of the fact that it didn't talk back.
"Ahh, the wonders of telepathy."
Bennett had often wondered what it would be like if his Pokemon could speak back to him. At this point, the young man's Lucario slapped the ciggarette from his hand and let it fall into the sea below.
"Heh heh, seems even your Lucario knows that smoking is bad for your health." Bennett called as he walked towards him.

Bennett had never really seen a Lucario up close, and he was interested in getting a good look at it. As he stopped in front of the stranger, Bennett held out his hand in greeting.
"The names Bennett. I don't think I've seen you much on the boat."

 

[Rozi]

((OOC: I can join, right? ))

Erika stirred, waking up as her Umbreon hopped onto the bed. "Awww, Umbrey, what time is it?" Looking at the clock, she noticed it was 6:50. "Why'd you wake me up so early?" Umbrey gave he ran innocent look, and then ran to the door of their cabin. "Fine." Getting dressed and all, she walked outside, Umbrey leading the way. With a half eaten bagel in her hand, Erika walked out to the deck, seeing two trainers and a Lucario. As she came closer, she saw the Lucario slap a cigarette out of one of the trainers' hand. I've never seen a Lucario up close before...

As the dark haired girl walked up to the two, she heard one say "The name's Bennett. I don't think I've seen you much on the boat." He doesn't seem interesting, or that strong... Turning towards the trainer who, the Lucario apparently belonged to, Erika said, "Hi, name's Erika. Your Lucario looks strong," she said, as Umbrey pushed her, not liking that she thought the Lucario was stronger than him.

 

[Newprofile001]

Gaz raised an eyebrow. He turned away and said "Gaz." Then he signed to his Lucario.



Gaz turned around.

"Hi, name's Erika. Your Lucario looks strong."

Again Gaz faced the sea and said "Gaz." Then he turned to his Lucario and signed.

 

[Bennett856]

(( Anyone can join at any point at the moment. But when I think there's enough people, I'll say so, just so it doesn't get too crowded.))

"Gaz" The young man replied as he turned away.
"Humph, never known someone to introduce themselves in one syllable." Bennett thought to himself.
His attention was soon diverted as another passenger walked over.
"Hi name's Erika. Your Lucario looks strong."
Bennett had seen this trainer before. She often had her Umbreon or Espeon close by, but there was something else as well. Some instinct always told him that she was a lot tougher than she looked. It was like an aura of strength. Could she have another Pokemon that was stronger than anything else he had encountered? Bennett decided that it would be better to make friends than enemies, especially with someone as tough as this.
"Ahem, I'm Bennett, and this Ninetales at my feet is my loyal companion, Natasha."
"Nine!"
"I take it you're just as interested in Gaz's Lucario as I am?"

 

[Linkachu]

OOC: Please read the rules, down through the multiple posts within, to the bit about quality control. I've already deleted one topic today, and Bennett's original post was great (aside from the random italics when people are speaking. That's really not needed, so don't use it anymore, k? You'd never see that in a proper novel, etc.). So... why isn't anyone trying to emulate it?

Don't let the quality of this topic slide until it gets itself locked. That goes for all of you who've gotten into the habit of making these short replies. We're getting sick of seeing sub-par RPs that could be so much more. I'm not saying you all need to write novels each post - but look at Zacky Ira's latest topic for an example of the quality we like to see here. Those are members who've RPed here for awhile, and RP right. Actual development can occur in their posts, unlike with these short posts that hold barely any content beyond dialog.

And for the record, most of this is aimed at some of you who've been doing this in multiple topics, and I can only see this one going the same way if things don't shape up (and not because of the creator himself).

 

[Bennett856]

(( Okay, the last thing I want is my well-planned RP plotline to go down the crapper. So from now on, minimum of one paragraph for your post. I will make some exceptions, but please try to move it along. I'll be sure tell you if I think your post is too short.))

Bennett looked down at his watch. 7:05am, it read.
"Cripes, better pack up my stuff and get ready to move out"
He looked up at the other trainers on deck.
"I do apologize, I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to pack my things and get ready to move out. Come on Natasha!"
"Ninetales!"

Bennett walked briskly back through the ship to his cabin. His cabin was a bit of a mess, as the floor was littered with spare socks, his other pair of jeans, his other two shirts and a couple of candy wrappers. The small table in the corner was no better, as all the space was taken by his laptop and a number of books. To top it all off, his bed was rather untidy.
"Hmm, better straighten this place up."
"Nine."
Bennett spent the next twenty minutes making his bed, folding his clothes, picking up wrappers and then double checking to make sure he had packed everything. "Alright, got my PDA, my phone, the gang are secure in their pokéballs and all my spare clothes are packed away. All that's left is the computer." Bennett strolled over to turn the computer off, when he noticed an e-mail.

To: Bennett2583@p-mail . org
From: Dr_L_Erickson@p-mail . org
Subject: Please Hurry
Body: Bennett, if my estimate is correct, you should be in Olivine soon. I need you to hurry home as fast as you can, try and get here by the afternoon. The situation has gotten worse, I would tell you more about it, but it's something we need to talk about in person.
With Love, Mum.

Bennett was about to write a reply, when an announcement came over the P.A system.
"Attention all passengers, we are about to dock in Olivine City, please prepare to disembark."
"Damn, no time." Bennett thought to himself as he shut off the laptop and packed it with everything else in his satchel. Then, slinging his satchel over his shoulder, he opened the door of his cabin and proceeded down the corridor, his Ninetales trailing faithfully behind him. The ship was lowering the gangplank to the dock by the time Bennett reached the lower deck. As Bennett disembarked he took a quick marvel at how tall the Olivine Lighthouse was. Snapping out of his trace-like state Bennett saw the red roof of the Pokémon Center in the distance.
"First things first Natasha, we should get some breakfast and stock up on supplies before we leave"
"Ninetales!"
And with that, Bennett made his way towards the shelter of the Pokémon Center.

(( Keep up with me if you can! By the way, nobody has messaged me about being the Team Galactic character. If they don't do it soon, I'll be forced to take matters into my own hands.))

 

[Newprofile001]

From Professor Oak
To gaz@eternavpd . net
Subject: microwave
Gaz,
Can you put metals in the microwave?
RSVP
--Oak

Hmmm, Gaz thought.

From Gaz
To Oak@palletpkmnlabs . com
Subject: RE: microwave

It ain't a good idea to. It can spark and cause the microwave to explode, causing nearby PokeMon to die from overexposure to microwave radiation.

>>Gaz,
>>Can you put metals in the microwave?
>>RSVP
>>--Oak

Gaz clicked SEND.

---
[quote author=Captain]
"Attention all passengers, we are about to dock in Olivine City, please prepare to disembark."
[/quote]

With that, Gaz put the laptop on Hibernate, and closed the cover. He spoke to his Lucario.

"Come on, Lucario, we're about to disembark."

Gaz got his luggage, and went off the ship. Almost immediately, they bought his quadbike down from the cargo hold. Gaz got on it and cranked it up. Despite it being built in 2000, the quadbike ran fine.

"Hop on, Lucario."

The Aura Pokemon sat down on the quadbike behind Gaz, and held on to the cargo hold-downs. Gaz revved the engine, told his Lucario to hang on, and they were off! Flying through Olivine, Gaz kept going until they hit Ecruteak, where they stopped to rest at the dance theatre.

---
END STORY TEXT
---

Bennett, you can void the email things by hitting the "CANCEL FORMATTING" button. It looks like this.

That or you could put a space between the full stop and the text like this.

text . net
instead of text.net

 

[Bennett856]

As Bennett was about to enter the front door of the Pokémon center, he heard an engine rev behind him, and turned around to see a quadbike speed off into the distance.
"Humph, wish I had one of those about now."
Slinking through the doors, he eyed the inside of the Pokémon center. It must have undergone some renovations since he was last in the city, as it had changed a fair bit. But like all Pokémon centers there were trainers of every kind all about. Of course, there were just as many Pokémon as there were trainers. Bennett suddenly noticed the nurse at the counter was beckoning him over.
"Hello young sir, may I help you?" she asked him with a smile.
"Ah, yes you can. I was just wondering where the food court is."
"Oh, yes of course. It's right over there." She said, gesturing to the left of the counter
"Thank you."

As Bennett walked into the large food court area, he noticed a large buffet set up along the wall. Like all Pokémon centers, it only carried the essentials, but it had everything he needed. After grabbing a bowl of cereal for himself, and filling five bowls with assorted Pokémon food, Bennett found a nice spacious corner for him and his Pokémon to sit and eat in.
"All right everyone, food's out!" He called as he tossed his other five Pokéballs into the air
The balls all snapped open in mid-air, releasing various streams of light, which in turn formed into the Pokémon that was stored in each ball. Each Pokémon settled down into their food and spent most of their seemingly conversing with each other and eating, except for two. The first was Zed, who didn't eat, and instead preferred to glide about making a series of beeping sounds. The other was Tessa, who had already been acting strange, but now she wasn't touching her food, which meant she was getting worse. Bennett walked over to the large creature.

"Oh Tessa, what am I going to do with you?"
Tessa just let out a great sigh. If Bennett didn't know any better, she was suffering from severe depression.
"Come on, eat your food. Then we'll head off to Ecruteak, it'll be nice there, so keep your chin up."
Tessa uttered a small smile, and slowly began to eat her food. Bennett resumed eating his own breakfast. As he did, he looked at all the trainers that had gathered.
"Hmm, without a quick means of transport, it'll be a long road to Ecruteak. Maybe there's someone I could team up with here."

 

[Pelenor]

((Greetings All! My bio is also on page 15, so feel free to check it out))

Jesse walked through the large double door of the pokecentre, and main a beeline for the main counter.

"Good Morning" said the nurse Politely "is there anything that i can do for you?"
"Oh just a quick checkup if its not too much trouble" replied Jesse Affabily "ran into a pack of Rattata on the way into the city"
"Oh ok" Said the nurse "if you would just hand me your pokemon this won't take a second"

A Familiar hum and jingle came from the machine as it worked, finishing its job the machine stopped and allowed the nurse access to the pokeballs.

"There you go" Said the nurse handing Jesse's Pokeballs back to him "they were all fine, nothing to worry about"
"Oh well" Said Jesse with a Shrug, fixing the 3 small balls to his Belt "Can't be too careful with these things"

Turing on his heel Jesse was about to make his Departure when he spotted a Very Glum Looking Tyranitar at a table nearby, walking closer he decided to comment;

"Thats a very glum Looking Tyranitar you have got there, is there anything wrong?"

 

[Newprofile001]

Gaz and Lucario hopped back on the quadbike, heading back to Olivine. Going at about 42 mph, the quadbike zipped across the terrain, making a Persian look slow. Things were going all right, until after the 3 ledges between the Moomoo farm and Olivine, where Gaz's rear-right tire blew.

The sound echoed across the area like a gunshot, quieting birds and confusing PokeMon, and smoke from the tire flew up like a flare.

"Hop off, Lucario."
The Aura Pokemon patiently obeyed.

Gaz unloaded the jack, a torque wrench, and a spare-tire lowering tool from the compartment under the seat. Frustrated, Gaz put the jack below the rear differential and started to twist the raising mechanism on the jack. Gaz removed the lug nuts with the torque wrench, and went up to the handlebar. He found the headlight switch and turned it on.

Gaz walked back to the blowout and found that Lucario had put the tire on it and was putting on the lug nuts on the running vehicle's tire.

"I got it, Lucario."
The Aura Pokemon nodded, and Gaz got to tightening the lug nuts. When Gaz got through and both he and Lucario got on the quad, a kid was running up.

Gaz finished talking with the kid and turned around for Ecruteak. He could get a new tire there...

 

[Bennett856]

(( That's a much better post. Also gives a good cue for someone else to appear in the story.))

Bennett looked up at the other trainer that had wandered over to him.
"Oh, yeah. Poor thing, I don't know what's wrong with her."
Bennett scanned the trainer up and down. He looked experienced enough, maybe this guy could be of help to him. After all, the road to Ecruteak was long when travelling by foot. But Bennett couldn't help but let his mind wander back to the thought that Team Galactic might be here. This guy might work for them! No, the mere thought of that was preposterous, besides, he seemed too nice to be a criminal.
"Say, I was just about to head out to Ecruteak City, maybe you'd like to join me?"

((Short post is too short))

 

[Pelenor]

"Say, I was just about to head out to Ecruteak City, maybe you'd like to join me?"

Jesse Considered the offer, he had always enjoyed traveling, and this seemed the perfect opportunity to not only do that but to also get to know another young trainer like himself.

"Well I've never been to Ecruteak... so this seems the perfect opportunity, lead the Way..
Hrrm, i don't think i caught your name, I'm Jesse"

 

[Newprofile001]

Gaz finally got the tires rotated, balanced, and a new rear right one. Gaz asked about the blowout, and it was determined that a slight overinflation caused it. (Gaz last checked the pressure in October, when it snowed at his house.) The heat expanded the air, and the three impacts had weakened a part of the rubber. After the third impact, the rubber was spinning with a centrifugal force of over 100 PSI, compared to the tire's rated pressure of 10.

Or, in other words, the third impact weakened it, and a rock poked it and made it pop.

A few hours and $593 later, the tires were securely on the quadbike, and Gaz drove himself and Lucario down to a friend's house across town and knocked.

"...Gaz?!?"
"It's me, Ben. Can I stay the night? I... haven't had a place to stay since... the incident."
Ben nodded and spoke, "Sure, Gaz. It's been a while... Sargeant Wilmbroke."
Gaz half-smiled and said, "That it has, that it has... Mr. Landry."

Inside, Gaz and Ben had conversed about various things, a gunshot a few hours ago being one.

"So, Gaz, did you hear that gunshot a couple hours back?"
"Ben, that was my rear-right tire. Blowout. About $600 to repair and make sure it didn't happen again soon."
"$600? Damn, son, that's more expensive than mine!"

Gaz suddenly said, "I'm sorry, Ben, I'm about to crash."
"Alright. Bed's in the back. Follow me."
Gaz followed Ben into the back bedroom, and Gaz said, "Thanks, Ben. Goodn-"

And with that, Gaz fell asleep.

 

[Bennett856]

"Great! The name's Bennett. Just get this lot sorted and then we'll get on our way."
Bennett turned to his Pokémon, who had finished scoffing their breakfast, and pointed all but one of his Pokéballs at them.
"All right guys, breakfast is over, we've got a busy schedule to keep."
And with that, the group was enveloped by red light and were all sucked back into their respective Pokéballs, leaving only Natasha behind. Bennett quickly re-attached the devices to his belt, grabbed his satchel and made his way out of the center, his Ninetales and new travelling partner in tow.

As the group stepped out into the cold air, Bennett reached into his jacket and retrieved his PDA. Bennett's PDA was a complex device that Bennett had modified, giving it all manner of features, including Pokédex software and E-Mail uplink. Tapping the touch screen a few times, Bennett brought up a GPS layout of the area. Bennett studied the detailed map carefully, plotted a course on it, and then checked his watch before showing the map to Jesse.
"This route looks pretty clear and safe, if we stick to it we should reach Ecruteak by about 2 o clock, since it's about 9 o clock now. Plus there are some houses around in case we hit trouble."
Bennett took one last look around town, scanning the area, before he stuffed his PDA into his jacket and started to walk north out of town.
"Come Natasha, we've no time to lose." Bennett said, as he beckoned his Ninetales to follow

As the group walked out of town Bennett turned to his new friend and studied him carefully. He looked like he was pretty experienced, but at the same time he seemed unsure of his own abilities.

 

[Newprofile001]

This post is gonna have to be short - my brother wants the computer. I'll edit it later.

Gaz suddenly woke up, thinking of Bennett. He raced out of bed, but stopped to make it, wrote a quick note and put it on the bed, and ran to the quadbike. He gunned it and drove it at max speed, but stopped after the PokeCenter... Wasn't the speed the reason he had a blowout?

Gaz reconsidered, and drove 25 instead of the maximum 43.

He and Lucario were marveling at the sights that weren't easy to see going 40 miles an hour.

Gaz's state stopped abruptly, and he continued on the route, until he reached Olivine's city limits. There he would wait for Bennett.

Gaz lit a cigarette and took a drag. It had seemed like FOREVER since he had a ciggie.

OOC - Bennett, I don't mind if you make my character drive you and the other guy to Ecruteak's dance theatre... I just told Lucario to run there, and there's a third seat mmounted to the back. When you get within earshot of the idling engine, Gaz will say, "So I heard you needed a ride."

 

[Bennett856]

(( Okay, there's gonna be a couple of slight autos here, and I apologize, but this really needs to keep moving along.))

As the group continued their trek, they stopped when they heard an unfamiliar sound. It was a low, and somewhat rumbling sound, kind of like an idling engine. Going to the source of the sound, they found Gaz, by himself what's more, standing by his quadbike taking a long drag on a cigarette. He threw the cigarette to the ground, and put it out by stomping on it, then turned to the group.

"I thought you could use a ride. It's a long way to Ecruteak." He said, gesturing to his bike.
"Oh that'd be great, but what about you're Lucario." Bennett asked
"I told him to run ahead, he won't take long."
Bennett turned to Jesse, who seemed to be a bit lost in thought.
"What do you think, should we take him up on the offer?"
"The choice is yours, Bennett. As long as we get there, it makes no difference to me." Jesse replied.
Bennett smiled and turned to Natasha, taking her Pokéball from around his neck as he did.
"Sorry girl, but there's only an extra two seats, and I don't think you can run as fast as a quadbike."
"Nine."

And with that, she was enveloped in a bright red light and sucked back into her Pokéball. Bennett reattached the device to the string around his neck before he, Jesse and Gaz mounted the bike. Gaz revved the bike and accelerated as the group took off. Gaz maintained a good speed of about 23-25 miles per hour as the three trainers all rode toward Ecruteak City. Bennett looked about him, the area hadn't changed much since he left Johto 2 years ago, and he actually couldn't wait to see his parents again. Sure they all talked over the video phones at almost every Pokémon Center, but it wasn't the real deal. It was only about 10 minutes until they reached the city. Gaz screeched to a halt outside the dance theatre, where his Lucario was waiting. The group dismounted the bike and Bennett called Natasha back from her Pokéball.

"Thanks a lot Gaz, you saved me so much time. Why don't you come and meet my parents? They're really nice, besides, they'll want to thank you for getting me here so fast."

(( Just for the record, Newprofile001 gave me the all clear to auto him a little for this part))


"Sure, lead the way" Gaz replied

As Bennett led the group through the city, he looked around at all the sights with a fond sense of nostalgia. It hadn't changed that much since he left it two years ago. Sure, buildings like the Pokémon Center had undergone some renovations to bring them up with the latest technology, but hardly anything else had changed, not even the people as Bennett found himself recognising many of the people who walked past. Before long, the group found themselves walking through the front gate of a nice, modest little cottage. Beyond the gate was a path that winded through a garden filled with flowers and berry plants. The whole place seemed alive. Further back was the front of the house, a nice wide veranda which gave shelter to a couple of chairs and a bed meant for a Pokémon. In that bed was another Ninetales, though this one looked considerably older than Natasha as some its fur had dulled into a greyish-gold colour and its eyes had lost their youthful gleam. It arose from its slumber to find two familiar figures making their way up the path. No sooner did she see them, did she climb out of bed and bark happily at their return. Bennett made his way over to her and scratched her behind the ear.

"Hey there Nicola, it's been a while hasn't it?" He said, continuing to pet the ancient Pokémon
"Guys, this is Nicola, she's Natasha's mother. She's been in my mother's family for generations, we think close to 500 years. So as you can see, she's quite aged."

Walking past Nicola, Bennett made his way to the front door and knocked a few times. The door soon opened, and standing in the doorway was woman of about 52. She was tall and she maintained an average figure. She had brown hair and brown eyes and a smile of her face.
"Bennett! You're here early. Oh, and you've brought some friends, well come in all of you."

It wasn't long before they were all sitting around the kitchen table whilst Bennett's mother, Lydia, made them all a cup of tea. When she had served everyone, and sat down herself, Bennett introduced his new companions.
"Alright, so this guy is Jesse. I met him at the Olivine Pokémon Center, and he's tagging along because he wants to see the city. And this guy is Gaz. He has a quadbike, and he was responsible for getting me here so quickly."
Lydia sized up Bennett's friends and smiled. Her gaze soon shifted to Gaz's Lucario, which was standing behind Gaz.
"Hmm, a Lucario. I must admit, I've never actually seen one. Only travellers from Sinnoh have them here in Johto. Hmm, but never mind, I'm rabling, there is a more pressing issue."

Lydia turned to look her son in the eyes.
"Bennett, I asked you to come because something has happened to Tessa's mother. She may die very soon"
"What? Really? I knew she would be pretty old by now, but I thought she would have more in her than this." Murmured Bennett, with a hint of shock in his voice.
"But I suppose it makes sense. Tessa's been acting really strange lately, she just stops what she's doing, sighs and than just sits there."
"Ahh, that's because she knows her mother needs her. Pokémon have family bindings too, special ties which cannot be explained by science." Lydia replied
"And as it so happens, Tessa's two other siblings arrived yesterday. They must have walked all the way from their habitats to be here. They haven't left their mother's side since they arrived.
"I see, then perhaps I should take Tessa up there to see her?"
"Yes, it probably would be the best thing to do. I tried all the medicines I could to try and save her mother, but nothing worked. I think it's only a matter of days."
"Yeah, well you tried your best. As a doctor, that's all you can do, I suppose." Said Bennett, with a tone of sadness.
"Well, its only midday, I think we should leave in about an hour. Until then, please make yourselves at home."
"Thanks mum."

Bennett mulled over the state of affairs. It was a little bit depressing knowing that it was only a matter of time till Tessa's mother passed on into the great beyond. But, he had to make sure that Tessa saw her for one last time, and that her mother could see how great she had become. Bennett turned to look at his friends.

"Well, if you two want to join me, you can. It's a fair hike to where she lives, you in?"

 

[Newprofile001]

Gaz spoke, "Lead the way," and tossed Bennett the keys to the quad. He then got on the seat on the back and said, "Damn, I'm gonna need a 4-seating dune buggy and a new keyboard soon. Lucario, follow the quad."

 

[Bennett856]

Bennett caught the keys and tossed them back to Gaz
"Hold on to them, we won't be taking the quad, the terrain's way too rocky." Bennett spoke as he turned to Jesse.
"Whether you want to join us or not is up to you, though your help would be appreciated."
Jesse still appeared to be in thought, so Bennett let him be for the time being.

Since they had an hour or so to burn, Bennett decided that he would explore the yard that was so precious to him when he was younger. "If any of you need me I'll be outside" he called as he strolled out the door.

Back in the yard, Bennett unclipped all of his pokéballs and released his team. Bennett decided to let his other Pokémon explore the yard while he explained to Tessa what had happened to her mother. Tessa listened to Bennett, with the same look of sadness, however she seemed more at ease when he explained how they would all hike up the mountains outside of town to see her. Just as Bennett was finishing his last sentence, he heard a familiar, yet out of place sound. He looked to the sky to see for the source of the sound when he saw a helicopter fly overhead. It was big, grey and looked more technologically advanced than any other helicopter he had seen. "Team Galactic?" Bennett had a bad feeling as he saw it fly towards the mountains. He recalled all of his Pokémon except for Natasha and Tessa, who he would be taking up the mountain with him.

Bennett walked back inside and sought out his mother, who was just finishing packing her medical bag for the trip.
"Mum? I think we should leave for the mountains now." He said with an air of seriousness.
"Now? Why? What's brought all this on?"She asked, slightly startled
"Trust me; I think it would be better if we left now."
"Alright then. I'll just put on a coat." Lydia said as she rummaged through her wardrobe.

As Bennett was about to stroll out the door, he turned to back to his friends.
"Gaz! Come on, we're going. Jesse if you're going to join us, then follow me."

 

[Newprofile001]

Gaz was considering the young man's request when he heard Bennett shout to him. He ran over to Bennett and said, "You sure? The quadbike's got 4-wheel independent suspension, and you can change the thing into 4WD by flipping the yellow switch on the handlebar."

 

[Bennett856]

(( I just got word from Pelenor, he says he can't continue the RP. Barring that, lets continue.))

"Suspension or not, I wouldn't risk it. Now if we're all ready to go."
As he said this Jesse stood up and turned to both of them.
"Look, thanks for getting me here so fast but I have somewhere I need to be. Good luck though, and thanks a lot." And with that Jesse strode off down the road.
"Hmm, oh well, we best be off." Said Lydia, and on that note the group set off towards the small mountain range outside of town.

Hiking the up the mountain was a somewhat hard and at times a little perilous, but it was because of Tessa that they couldn't stop. She had been leading the way the whole time, and refused to stop until they got to her mother. After a time they came across a large ledge, with a cave in the rock face. Outside this cave was another Tyranitar, it looked old and one could tell simply by looking that it was unwell. Around there were two other Tyranitar, one was accompanied by a couple of Larvitar. Tessa acknowledged her siblings before making her way over to her mother, and then simply sat by her side.
"I think it would be best of we gave them their space, so don't go too close." Bennett said.

Bennett couldn't help but think what thoughts were going through Tessa's mind as she stared into her mother's eyes. However, everything was interrupted by a sound that Bennett had heard not too long ago. Looking over towards the edge of the ledge, Bennett saw the same high-tech helicopter from earlier hovering close to them. A man dressed in a grey bullet-proof vest and combat gear was hanging to the side.

"Aha, I've got you all now!" He yelled towards the group.
"How dare you interrupt us! Who are you!" Bennett inquired at the top of his voice.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Derrick, and I'm a Pokémon hunter. If you don't mind, I'll be taking all of these rare Tyranitar."

 

[Newprofile001]

Gaz shouldered his rifle and shot a narq-dart at the man, but it went wide.

"Lucario, tell those Tyranitar to run into the cave beyond the bend!" Gaz shouted over the helicopter. Gaz then got a Stinger surface-to-air missile and fired it in the general direction of the helicopter.

Lucario started talking to the Tyranitar and they all started moving into the cave.

"Take care of the wounded!"

Lucario spoke something and Gaz shouted to the man in the helicopter, "Either you get outta here, or I call the United States Air Force - Sinnoh/Johto division on you and/or I let the Stinger lock on and blow you to hell!" He then aimed the Stinger and listened...

Beep...beep...beep...beep...beeeeeeeeeep...

Gaz said to himself, "Target acquired."

Gaz then gave Bennett a PRP cue.