In Her Image: a Pokémon RP

[Shakomaru]

"I need you to trade me, just for today! Your Pigeotto, for my Graveler!"

This seemingly normal sentence caught Tom's attention. He knew all about Graveler and how it evolved due to there being numerous Geodude around Sinnoh. Besides, if there was one thing Tom was an expert on, it was evolution.

"Uh, Daria, are you sure about that? You DO know what happens to Graveler when someone trades it right? You could just have Matt tell his Pigeotto what to do."

Tom had a feeling that Daria knew exactly what she was doing, besides, why would she refuse to let her pokemon evolve?

"Skor."

Tom looked over to Matt and his Pigeotto who had agreed to the trade.

"Well that's that huh?" Tom said to Kusari, "Still it'd be nice to see another pokemon evolve tonight."

"Skor..."

"I know, I know. We need to find out what's going on. That's more important."

Tom looked around once more. He was still worried about what had happened to Rupert. He was planning on taking him and Ryan on a trip to catch some pokemon after all.

"I'm going to run over to The Sunkern. Maybe Rupert went back after the outage. You all seem to have a handle on things here, but don't forget to tell us what you find out!"

Taking the pokeball that contained Kalmia, he released the Houndoom and asked her to start using ember. He then ran off towards the inn with his new light source, waving goodbye at the others behind him.

 

[CJ1145]

"Alright, let's do it."

"Wicked!"

Daria tapped her Pokeball, and out popped Slagger, stretching his muscles in glee at the bit of freedom. He stopped and nearly lost his grin for a second as she felt Daria gently place her hand on his shoulder. The boulder felt a tug, and turned around as his trainer knelt to look him in the eye. She had a warm and encouraging smile.

"Hey, Slagger, there's something I need to tell ya, all right?"

"Grav?" asked the rock Pokemon, trying to sound enthusiastic, but letting a bit of its childlike curiosity--and just a hint of worry--sneak through.

Daria just chuckled and slapped his shoulder. "Heheh. No big deal, Slagger, honest! But listen." She jolted with a hand and swiped the shades from her face, revealing a very solemn and serious look. "I don't know who, but somebody's behind the outage, and that means somebody's getting a boot to the face. But if I'm gonna do this, then I'm gonna need a Flying type. So, just for one day, I'm trading you, OK?"

"G-g...Graveler?"

Daria felt a pang of guilt slap her chest as the big bruiser's eyes welled up with tears. "Oh, no, Slag, I didn't--come on, please--shhhh, shhh, don't cry don't cry..."

Slagger bit his tongue and choked back the tears as his trainer slowly stroked the back of her hand down the side of his face. She grinned brightly. "There ya go! That's the rock-hard slugger I like to see! Ya gotta be strong, OK? No tears?"

"GRAVELER!" replied the now fervent Graveler, saluting with both arms.

"Damn right there won't be! Now, be on your best behavior with Matt, all right? No funny business, or I swear I'm gonna beat ya with yer own arm when I get ya back!"

"Graveler, Grav!" replied her Pokemon in its, well, gravelly voice. Satisfied, Daria called the Graveler back into his Pokeball and stood back up, hearing Caleb make a request as she did.

"You know Daria, my Staravia could probably help as well. That way, we'd have two flying types perform aerial reconnaissance."

Er... big words again...


Daria stared at Caleb for a moment, working out what he'd just said. Is he... hitting on me?

"OH!" she said, snapping her fingers. "Right, scouting and stuff. Yeah, I guess I could use the help. Just lemme do this real fast."

Stretching her back out for a second, Daria walked back over to Matt, and extended Slagger's Pokeball. "If you're ready, we can get this done."

 

[Anayna]

This was all going to end horribly.

That had been Rupert's first thought when he arrived in Goldenrod. Perhaps he had jinxed himself because the situation really was quite horrible right now. Crouching behind a crate, shivering in fear, Rupert listened as the tattooed stranger yelled at and even smacked two men tied to chairs. The acoustics of the dilapidated warehouse made the *SMACK* hang in the air. The recipient of said smack began pleading with his captor and Rupert couldn't help but felt sorry for him, even as he knew that this person was apparently not entirely innocent themselves. Judging by the one sided 'conversation' these two had attacked someone and stolen their pokemon.

Is this a proper organized crime ring like Team Rocket back home? I have to get out of here. I have to tell someone...

*CLANK CLUTTER*

"What the hell was that?"

And with that Rupert was certain. This was a new record. He really never had been more frightened in his life. Rupert didn't move a muscle. Not because he hoped that these pokemon thieves would dismiss the noise as nothing if he was just quiet, but because he was simply frozen in horror. However, as soon as Rupert heard someone take a step towards him he instinctively bolted. Warriors knew when to fight, but cowards knew when to flee. He ran without regard for who saw him, faster than he had ever run before, propelled by fear.

 

[Redryhno]

Darius and Daffy looked curiously at the Sleeping Sunkern, it must've had it's own generator, or wasn't connected to the main power system of the city. Whichever it was, it was where he was staying and the power was on, it was good enough for him. He let Knuckles out of his pokeball and set Daffy on the ground, and the trio walked in. The two pokemon immediately ran to one of the tables in the dining room and began their mock fencing again, as they'd both held onto their lollipop sticks from the PokeCenter.

Darius chuckled to himself a moment before sitting down and lighting his pipe again, content in the relative quiet and got a bowl of broth that was warming under a set of lights and had a note on it saying it was for the patrons. A small, thick loaf of bread was positioned next to the steaming bowls, presumably one for each of them, wrapped inside a cloth, keeping the bread fresh. He sat down and began to eat, leaving Daffy and Knuckles to their play. Finishing his food, he leaned back and lit his pipe again, contemplating why Sav had yelled at him during the match.

Sav was the obvious choice to continue on in the tournament, he'd said beforehand that he'd only came for some fun and a battle or two. He'd done what he'd come here to do more than anything else, and now was just the time to sit back, relax, have a bit more fun, and then head back to that place he was working at now a bit south of Cerulean City. Just for good measure, he let Whismur and Numel out of their pokeballs too, not much sense in keeping them in there any longer. Numel trundled to the nearest tablecloth handing down and began staring at it before drifting off to sleep. Whismur jumped into Darius's lap and shivered a few moments before finding a place she was comfortable and just lay there, watching the world from within the safety of her master's arm while he smoked his pipe, thought a bit, and waited for the rest of the tournament goers to arrive back.

"PSY! PSY! DUCK!" Daffy punctuated with each of his thrusts.

"Slash,sandslash,sand." Knuckles replied, either blocking,dodging, or angling all but one away, which hit one of his claws and bounced back, slapping Daffy in the bill.

 

[JokerboyJordan]

Sav had just finished having her pokemon healed up at the arena's Pokemon Centre when the blackout occured. She had just been handed back her pokemon and was sitting down in the waiting room, thinking about the day's events and reading a recent issue of Breeder's Monthly, when all of a sudden the lights in the room shut off, proceeded by the Centre's backup generator kicking in, working on protecting the pokemon that were still undergoing recuperation.

"What the hell?..."

Screams and other sounds began to ring across the grounds as panic slowly set in in the general crowds, followed by the announcers attempting to provide some semblance of order amongst the chaos, as people scrambled hopelessly in the dark. It was then that Sav heard a booming voice in the distance.

"ATTENTION, ALL PATRONS! DO NOT PANIC! EXITS HAVE BEEN MARKED FOR YOU. PLEASE MAKE FOR THE BLINKING STARYU, OR THE CHARMELEON BY THE EXIT GATES IN A CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION!"

Wait... Staryu and Charmeleon? Daria...? At least she's got some kind of a plan

She stared outside the immediate area of the Pokemon Centre into the blackness, it was times like these that she wished she had a fire-type pokemon, or at least something able to learn Flash, she had just always thought that having such a pokemon for a specialised purpose would be impractical, and most of all, impersonal. Never did she realise that she might be in a situation where it might actually prove extremely useful. She set herself thinking about what to do next, there was no way that she was going to stay here, and now that Daria was on the move she assumed the rest of the Sleeping Sunkern patrons would do the same, or at least the ones in her vicinity. That, and the rest of the matches were most likely going to be put on hold, not that she even cared anyway.

Not since that damn ass pulled that stunt anyway...

Sav's mind cast back to the exits she had passed by on her way down, she hadn't really payed them that much attention at the time, but she knew their rough location, enough to hopefully feel her way in the dark at least. Although she'd prefer some kind of light source, a place this large must have something for this kind of emergency. She walked over to the front desk.

"Hello" she said giving the nurse a smile. "Nurse...Joy is it? I was just wondering if, by chance, you'd happen to have a flashlight I could borrow? You must have something for these kind of things right?"

"Well... we do happen to have a few in the back... but I'm unsure as to procedure in these situations..."

She watched as the Nurse quickly disapeared into the back room, before returning with a pair of flashlights.

"Thank you very much. Don't worry, I'll be sure to put them to good use, I'll get them back as soon as I fix this thing"

She gave a reassuring look before taking the flashlights. She checked the batteries in both of them and made sure they still worked. She reached for a green pokeball on her belt, before opening it in a burst of red light.

"Grove...Grovyle!"

 

[Pappytech]

"Oh, no, Slag, I didn't--come on, please--shhhh, shhh, don't cry don't cry..."

Matt felt a few tears come to his own eyes, as he witnessed the Graveler's heart wrenching reaction to Daria's request. Such devotion, such attachment, such a bond between trainer and Pokemon! It was a truly beautiful sight, one that moved Matt to his cord.

While Daria attempted to comfort Slagger, Matt turned to the Pidgeotto still perched on his shoulder. "Ventus, I... I'm going to miss you bud, okay? Please make sure to take care of yourself."

Ventus responded with a roll of his eyes. "Pidgero," came the disinterested reply.

"Awwww, look at you, putting on the tough guy act just to try and make me feel better. Thanks buddy, I'm really going to miss you too!"

As a few tears began to drip down Matt's cheeks, Ventus began to uneasily sidestep down the lad's shoulder, attempting to get as far away from his trainer as possible. The situation was quickly unnerving the Flying-type; he couldn't wait to just get this over with.

Matt, choosing to interpret Ventus' distance as another attempt by the Pidgeotto to cheer him up, began to sniffle. Reaching up with his free arm, the young trainer tried to wrap the limb around his Pokemon, barely managing to choke out a few words as he did so. "Ah, c-come here! C-come on pal, l-let's hug it out."

"GERRRO!" There was no mistaking that unearthly gleam in Ventus' eyes. If Matt went in for the hug, he was getting a beak to the face. "Alright, alright, fine. be that way." Though the trainer managed to avoid sniffling this time around, there was no disguising the disappointment in his voice.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Matt returned Ventus to his ball as Daria brought back Slagger.

"If you're ready, we can get this done."

"S-sure. I'm good." Following Daria's lead, Matt offered his own Pokeball.

 

[JdaS]

Spoiler: What time is it? EXPOSITION TIME!!!

There are two types of trading one can do. Official trading happens when two consenting parties trade Pokemon at the Global Link building (there's one in each region's capital city), via a specialized machine, which allows for the newly traded Pokemon to be registered with their new Trainer ID on the spot.

Then there's the so called unofficial trading which, while perfectly legal, requires both parties to go register their new Pokemon at a PokeCenter later down the road.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

The two Trainers traded PokéBalls and with that, Daria was now the (temporary) owner of a Pidgeotto, while Matt would be holding on to Slagger for a bit.

Remy and Sneasel looked on with curiosity.

"Well, you got your bird, question is, what's it for? I thought we were heading back to the inn. What's your plan Daria?"
______________________________________________________________________________________________

Darius had finished he's meal and was enjoying yet another Knuckles & Daffy production when Madam Kerner came over with a cup of coffee.

"Enjoy your meal, lad? Sure was a sour note on the tournament tonight... I quite enjoyed your battle against that lass, although..."

*BONK* Tapping Darius in the head with the blunt end of her long pipe, Granny continued.

"...you really shouldn't leave a young girl hanging like that, it just ain't courteous y'know? Anyway, ol' Mr. Kerner always said 'Get a backup generator' he said 'Never get caught with your pants down and the lights out' he said... Anyways, enjoy your coffee now Mr. Breeder... Hehhehhehh."

The elderly innkeeper made her way back towards the reception, puffing on her old pipe with her Meowth following suit

*KLINGLING*

"Easy there, sonny boy. That door wasn't built for such violent entrances."

Tom had just burst through the door with Kalmia, scanning the small lobby for any signs of Rupert.
______________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Rupert was busy getting out of a derelict warehouse with all his limbs still attached. Running like he had never run before, Rupert made a mad dash for the exit. He'd never make it. Eres was much faster than he was.

"You're that damn whelp! C'mere ya lil..."

*ZzzRRRRIIINNGGG... RRRRIIINNGGG...*

Ugh? It's her! Damn. Whatever, it's not like that lil' shit can do anything about us.

"Mistress. I've done as asked."

"...The goons?"

"Taken care of."

"...And tomorrow's party?"

"Can't wait to get started Mistress."

"...Very well. Do not fail me."

*zzzt*

"...Never, Titania-sama. OI! Clean up this shit and let's ditch this place!"
______________________________________________________________________________________________

Lee and Ryan had made it out of the stadium. They had come out on the opposite side though, and thus, there was no sign of any other patrons from their inn. Most other people had already left the area as well. Only officials and police remained.

"No sign of any familiar faces... My guess is that they're at the inn already."

Ryan gets down to pet his Mightyena and continues.

"What about you Lee? Think we should get back?"

 

[Anayna]

Rupert never registered that Eres stopped pursuing him almost immediately. The young trainer simply ran, over sized coat be damned. He ran until his legs felt like they had Geodudes holding onto them. Then he ran some more. Finally, falling to his knees in exhaustion, Rupert looked back still panicking. Where he expected to see armed thugs rushing towards him he saw only a dark street.

Did I... did I lose them?

Rupert opened both of his pokeballs, just in case. The red flash seemed all the brighter in the darkened Goldenrod, as it produced Rupert's Cubone and Haunter. Cubone came out with his club raised, seemingly ready to take on the tattooed man. He looked vaguely disappointed as he looked around and saw no one. Haunter on the other hand, oblivious to the situation, merely bobbed up and down in the air. The blackout seemed to excite him. Nevertheless, Rupert felt a bit safer with the two of them.

"Huff... Puff... Okay guys, we're in a bit of a bind. Just... just be on the lookout for anyone approaching, okay? Cough! We need to alert someone about what happened at the stadium. Tell them what happened to the city's power."

Cubone immediately looked alert and began scanning the area, slowly circling around the trainer as he got back on his shaking legs. Haunter merely gave a cursory nod. Looking at them Rupert suddenly feared for his team. What if the guys from before really caught up to them? Would they steal Cubone and Haunter? Maybe he shouldn't have called them out. Maybe they would be safer back in their pokeballs?
No, that was stupid. Rupert couldn't hide them. He had fought in the tournament. Surely the tattooed man already knew that Rupert was a trainer.

No, if anyone wants my team then they are going to have to fight to get at them.

With that the trio set out, Rupert limping and still wheezing. Everything was quiet. A little too quiet in fact. The power still hadn't returned to Goldenrod and it was actually downright eery, keeping Rupert on edge. When they turned a corner all three immediately noticed something odd: a lit building. It looked unnaturally bright in the light deprived city and adding to Rupert's amazement was that it was apparently the Sleeping Sunkern. Trainer and pokemon made their way there as fast as Rupert's weak legs and burning lungs would allow.

*KLINGLING*

Tom and Madamm Kerner looked somewhat surprised as the sweat drenched and pale Rupert stepped in, still breathing heavily.

"Oh, h-hello. Cough! Could either of you maybe call the police for me? E-excuse me, I'm really not feeling very well... HURP!"

Rupert's pale face took a slightly green tinge as he hurried out again. The mad dash from before had been too much for his body. As he threw up on the sidewalk Haunter floated over him, laughing and clapping in glee.

"Hau hau hau haunter!"

 

[Shakomaru]

*KLINGLING*

Tom and Kalmia burst into the Sleeping Sunkern. He was still distraught, due to never encountering Rupert on his trip back to the inn. Hoping that Rupert had gotten back safely he looked around frantically, but only Darius and Madam Kerner were inside.

"Easy there, sonny boy. That door wasn't built for such violent entrances."

"Sorry, sorry, Have either of you seen Rupert? He left right before the outage."

Both of them shook their heads. Rupert was still lost in the darkness.
Tom decided that he should at least eat something and wait for the others. He was just sitting down when Rupert and his pokemon ran through the door.

"Oh, h-hello. Cough! Could either of you maybe call the police for me? E-excuse me, I'm really not feeling very well... HURP!"

Tom was still shocked when Rupert ran outside once more, and came back in looking a little green around the gills. But that didn't stop Tom from tackling him an a huge hug.

"RUPERT! I was really worried about you!"

He finally noticed Rupert's state.

"Uh. Are you ok? What happened? Why did you run here?"

As Tom's onslaught of questions continued Rupert started to look even more green.

 

[Redryhno]

"...you really shouldn't leave a young girl hanging like that, it just ain't courteous y'know?"

eh? Thought Darius, and he decided to mull over that comment over for a bit before really taking any action. In his mind, he'd gotten what he wanted out of the tournament, and Sav was advancing, and so long as another trainer didn't get as lucky as he had(and he knew full good and well that he should've lost to her Spriggan), she might end up winning the thing. Good luck to her if she did, and if not, well, she had another day of battling attributed to his withdrawal.

He sat and sipped at the coffee in front of him, the twin pipes creating a slight haze in the enclosed rooms of the inn for a bit before another of the patrons came running through the door.

*KLINGLING*

One of the palest people he'd ever seen walked in with his pokemon and sat down, asking about one of the others.

"Sorry, sorry, Have either of you seen Rupert? He left right before the outage."

"Sorry, kid, but no." The guy got his helping of broth and bread though and began to eat. A shorter interval passed before another of the patrons arrived back, two pokemon out and wheezing, and more than a little sick looking. Darius stood up and rushed to his side along with Tom after putting a towel around Whismur and putting her down in his chair. She looked more than a bit afraid however, and he reached into one of his pant's pockets and pulled out a small case with earplugs in it just in case and jammed them into his ears, but leaving one slightly out so that he could still hear.

"Oh, h-hello. Cough! Could either of you maybe call the police for me? E-excuse me, I'm really not feeling very well... HURP!"

"Well that's obvious, I've seen people that disturbed Beedril colonies in better shape than you." Darius said, a bit louder than he'd intended to.

Taking a look back, Whismur was tearing up a bit, and shivering inside the makeshift blanket, nothing bad yet, but it could escalate quickly if they didn't get the guy settled better and his pokemon not jumping around so much.

"RUPERT! I was really worried about you!Uh. Are you ok? What happened? Why did you run here?"

Darius chanced another look back at Whismur, who was in meltdown mode now from the sudden action, tackling, and loud noises coming from so nearby.

"Cover your ears NOW if you want to keep usi-" He said as he jammed the earplug in and covered his ears for good measure, but he was unable to finish as the scream began.

"WHISMUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The small pokemon screeched, and unable to fully control her abilities outside of battle, added Extrasensory to the mix, which not only cut through whatever meager defenses anyone could put up against it. Bowels rattled, Knuckles grabbed his head, Numel was taken out of his nap, and Daffy stood there, completely oblivious to what was happening to everyone as his eyes glowed, staring out into space.

Darius collapsed to the floor from the sound tearing through his mind and that was when Whismur stopped, jumped from the chair, and ran to his side, clutching the towel the entire time. When she reached him, she threw it over his head and tried stuffing his pipe back into his mouth, which had fallen out onto the ground as he had fallen. After a few seconds, Darius was able to open his eyes and not be blinded by the sheer volume of Whismur's voice. Her eyes was full of tears and she was clutching his forehead against her body, whispering to him. He grabbed her up and sat cross-legged on the ground before wrapping her up in the blanket again and cradling her.

"Sorry for that folks, she's still really young, prone to sudden acts of...well, what just happened."

 

[Anayna]

After doing what had to be done Rupert staggered back inside with some support from Darius. Thanks to his pipe smoke the smell from outside hadn't bothered Darius too much. Rupert apologized profusely to everyone present as soon as he had the necessary air for it, especially to Madam Kerner and promised that he would clean up his mess.

"RUPERT! I was really worried about you!Uh. Are you ok? What happened? Why did you run here?"

The air in Rupert's lungs left him once again as Tom gave him a great bearhug. Despite his size the Sinnoh trainer had much strength in him.

"I-I'm fine, really. And I was running because the tattooed man... But b-back at the stadium, when the power cut... The warehouse..."

Rupert didn't make much sense in his agitated state, and when he finally took a deep breath and pulled himself together Darius interrupted.

"Cover your ears NOW if you want to keep usi-"

That was a far as he got before he was himself interrupted by what seemed to be an extremely loud towel. An earpiercing screech filled the Sleeping Sunkern followed by an blast of Extrasensory. Rupert could only cover his ears while Cubone clutched his skull and Haunter held his head. They only looked up as the sound died down. With his ears ringing Rupert looked around him.

"Cubone? Haunter? You guys okay? What was that? Tom? Darius?"

"Sorry for that folks, she's still really young, prone to sudden acts of...well, what just happened."

Darius was clutching the aforementioned towel which held a small, pinkish and utterly terrified pokemon. Rupert had never seen this particular type before, but calmed down almost immediately. He knew all too well what fear could do to people and pokemon. Feeling a bit guilty over his behavior he calmly told Haunter to pipe down, as the always loud Ghost-type might also have contributed to the Whismur's confusion. Cubone, however, went over to the cross-legged Darius on his own accord and laid down his club at his feet, trying to grab the Whisper Pokemon's attention.

"Cubone bone. Bone."

Rupert didn't quite catch what was said to Whismur, but he was undoubtedly trying to calm her down. Perhaps Cubone recognized his previous self in Whismur. Whatever the reason Rupert couldn't help but feel a bit proud of him. As the situation quieted down again Rupert took a deep breath and calmly, and without too much stuttering, started telling Madam Kerner, Tom and Darius what he had seen. How he had met a tall, bald man with a Garchomp tattoo who he thought was called "Eres". How he suspected that this man had something to do with the blackout, and how he had followed Eres to a warehouse. At this point Rupert tried to paraphrase everything he had heard there as well as he could. Finally he told them about how he had escaped, but due to his panic stricken state at the time this part came out a fair bit more dramatic than it had actually been.

 

[nuba km]

"What about you Lee? Think we should get back?"

'well I don't exactly see what else there is to do' lee turned to face his duskull 'now I am going to let you stay out of the pokeball when we get back to the inn' At this duskull made a smiling face using his will-o-wisp flames 'IF you promise to behave' The smile turned into a frown, after taking a couple of seconds duskull nodded.

[small]whismuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr[/small]

lee turned to ryan while walking back to the inn and said 'did you hear something?'

 

[CJ1145]

"Well, you got your bird, question is, what's it for? I thought we were heading back to the inn. What's your plan Daria?"

Daria gave a little laugh that may have been just a tad malicious as she rolled the new Pokeball around in her hands. "Well, ya CAN head back if ya want... but me, I'm not leaving 'til I get to the bottom of this! Come on out, Ventus!"

She opened the Pokeball, and in a flash of white light the borrowed Pigeotto came flashing out. It landed on the ground, disinterested and preening its feathers as Daria gave it a once-over with her Pokedex. "Uh huh, uh huh..." she muttered, checking its moves. "All right then." She pocketed the device and crouched down next to the bird, trying to look it in the eye. It chose to look away.

She grimaced a bit, and tried reasoning with it. "Come on now, we've got work to do. I need ya to look me in the eye for this part."

The Pigeotto wasn't budging.

"Come on, now! Don't'cha wanna be a big hero! Get all the ladies checking out yer feathers?"

The bird hesitated for a minute, before shrugging. "Gerro."

That sparked something in Daria's eyes. Something positively evil. "Ohhhh-ho-ho, I get it! You're just like Spiegel aren't ya? No time for trainers, 'cause you're the only sane one around, am I right?"

A hand shot out and grabbed Ventus by his beak, pulling his face to look his temporary trainer dead in the eye. Her grin was present as ever, but it seemed just a hint more violent this time as she whispered, "I've got ways of making you rebellious types obey. Capiche?"

Sweating ever so slightly, the Pigeotto nodded once.

"Good! Replied the trainer, sweeping him up in her arms to stand him there as she stood. Ventus needed a second to gain his balance as Daria put him on his forearm like a falconer would, and pointed up at the stadium. "All right, now here's your orders! Listen good 'cause I don't wanna repeat myself! This stadium's real big. I'm betting it's got it's own power source! I want ya to do a once-over and find it, then come back here and lead me there! Got it?"

"Gerro!" cried the bird, taking off into the sky to do its survey. Beaming with pride at her quick subjugation of the Pigeotto, Daria turned to Caleb.

"Ya wanted to help, right? Send out your... whatever your bird was, see if it can help!"

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Ya wanted to help, right? Send out your... whatever your bird was, see if it can help!" Daria said looking at Caleb as she spoke. A satisfied smirk appeared on his face, as he held the PokéBall that contained his Staravia.

"Very well then, since you asked so nicely." Caleb remarked as he triggered the activation button. As Angelique was released, she flew around briefly, before perching herself on Caleb's right shoulder.

Spoiler: Angelique the Staravia

"Star. Staravia." Angelique chirped in a joyful tone.

"Now then Angelique, I have an important assignment for you. It appears that somehow, the generator for the stadium has been rendered temporarily out of commission. To put it simply, we need to find it. Whilst we already have one flyer up searching for it, a second flyer would help the process along. I want you to fly over the area, and see if you can spot it from above. When you do, return to me, and lead us to it. Understand?" Caleb asked, giving Angelique her instructions, her eyes focused on the details.

"Star." Angelique said in response, before flapping her wings, and taking off to begin her search.

 

[Pappytech]

Matt stared nervously at the unfamiliar Pokeball clutched in his hand. It felt... wrong, suddenly becoming the owner (However temporarily) of a Pokemon raised by another trainer. It was hard to describe, but it just seemed like he was doing something he shouldn't. Still, the exchange shouldn't last too long; he'd have Ventus back soon.

"Well, ya CAN head back if ya want... but me, I'm not leaving 'til I get to the bottom of this! Come on out, Ventus!

Stowing Slagger's Pokeball on his belt, Matt silently stood back, watching as Daria scanned Ventus with her Pokedex, muttering to herself as she observed the Pidgeotto's various stats and moves. Try as he might, Matt couldn't keep a small, proud smile off his face. He may not be the strongest or smartest of trainers, but he still knew that Ventus was strong. Showing off may not have been his style, but everyone enjoys other people seeing their accomplishments.

"Come on now, we've got work to do. I need ya to look me in the eye for this part. Come on, now! Don't'cha wanna be a big hero! Get all the ladies checking out yer feathers?"

A few chuckles escaped Matt's lips, as Ventus continued to be his usual, aloof self. "Yeah, sorry about that. He can be a little tough to command, especially if you don't..."

"Ohhhh-ho-ho, I get it! You're just like Spiegel aren't ya? No time for trainers, 'cause you're the only sane one around, am I right?"

Predictably, he found himself cut off. Again. Shrugging, Matt resolved to just stand back and watch. Daria was a good trainer; she would figure something out. There was no doubt that she could get Ventus under her thumb in a matter of moments. It wasn't like she'd do anything drastic, like...

Matt found his train of thought completely derailed as Daria's hand shot out, locking around Ventus' beak in a vice like grip. Had the young trainer's mind not ground to a screeching halt, he might have noted that the Pidgeotto's muffled squawk coincided perfectly with his heart skipping a beat.

"I've got ways of making you rebellious types obey. Capiche?"

Was... was she threatening Ventus?

Time seemed to slow to a crawl for the Jhoto native, his companions and surroundings fading into the background. Dimly, he noticed Daria lifting the now attentive Pidgeotto onto her arms, giving a few orders, and sending the Pokemon soaring off into the sky. Likewise, he barely saw Caleb as the noble released his own flyer, nor did he see the Staravia take off after Ventus. After a few moments, the only sound Matt could hear was the blood rushing through his ears, his mind still utterly blank.

[small]"...quil! Cyn-cyndaquil![/small] CYNDAQUIL!" Finally, Matt's stupor was broken by Spike's anxious prodding. Tilting his head upwards, the trainer locked eyes with his starter, the worry in the Cyndaquil's gaze helping to clear his thoughts. Silently, the lad reached up, wrapped his hands around Spike, and lowered the Fire-type to the ground, his face still and expressionless.

"Quil?"

"Stay here."

Spike's fur stood on end as he noted the harsh, iron edge in his trainer's voice. As Matt began to evenly stride towards Daria, the Cyndaquil hesitantly followed after, trepidation in its footsteps.

"Daria." Matt came to a halt a few paces away from the girl, his fists clenched and teeth gritted. There was an unfamiliar spark in his eyes, a glimmer unrelated to the determination that had filled them earlier, as his unwavering gaze locked onto her. "Just what the hell do you think were you doing to my friend?"

 

[Shakomaru]

Tom couldn't really understand what Rupert was saying, but he wasn't exactly interested in much past the fact that Rupert was ok.

"Cover your ears NOW if you want to keep usi-"
For some reason, Darius was warning everyone about something.

"Why is something going to happ-"

"WHISMUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Tom cringed as the second scream tonight tore through the small room. And then a blast of extrasensory was let out by Darius' Whismur. After the torrent of sound subsided, Tom picked up Kusari who had suffered some major damage from the psychic type attack. Luckily Kalmia was a dark type, and had only been hit by the noise.

"Ouch... Looks like that got you pretty bad huh?" He patted the Skorupi on the head and returned her back to her pokeball.

"That little one sure packs a punch! I think it was almost louder than Daria. She might have some shouting competition soon." He dusted himself off and shook his head a bit.

I was going to ask Rupert something... Augh but I forgot what! It'll come to me soon enough I guess.

 

[JokerboyJordan]

Savannah passed Spriggan a flashlight, and turned her own one on, it's beam of light illuminating the previously pitch black corridor. The two quickly and cautiously made their way throughout the arena hallways, Sav struggling to find her bearings and remember how they had made their way inside previously. Eventually, they lucked out and found a fire door, and although it wasn't necessarily a fire, she was sure that they were allowed to be used for any kind of emergency, and that's certainly what she thought this classified as.
As she pushed open the the doors' handles, she was greeted by the pale moonlight hitting her face, and they were at least thankfully outside.

Now the question is, what to do next?

This thought of her's briefly subsided once she took a look around the immediate vicinity, and spotted a crowd of familiar faces, one particularly familiarly loud voice stood out amongst the rest.

"Ya wanted to help, right? Send out your... whatever your bird was, see if it can help!"

Sav made her way over to the group, which as she grew closer saw that it contained Caleb, Matt and Daria.

"Hey guys! I'm so glad to see some familiar faces, I've been stuck in that place for Arceus knows how long, I'm so glad to be out..."

"...I've got ways of making you rebellious types obey. Capiche?"

"...quil! Cyn-cyndaquil! CYNDAQUIL!"

"Daria... just what the hell do you think were you doing to my friend?!"

It was then that Sav saw the beginnings of what looked like an argument begin, although she hadn't been present very long she could work out the gist of it by overhearing, as well as noticing the way the Pidgeotto was acting with Daria not being it's native trainer.

Sigh... So predictable... Daria being heavy-handed again.

"Hey! Come on guys! I don't know what exactly is happening here but I'm sure if we all take a few seconds to step back, we can set some ground-rules. Sound like a plan?"

 

[CJ1145]

"Daria."

Daria was still watching the bird fly off as Matt spoke to her, and lazily turned her head to look at him. When she actually saw him, however, her expression changed. Both her eyebrows raised, and her mouth dropped open a bit; she was surprised to see him like this.

"Just what the hell do you think were you doing to my friend?"

The young woman tried to say something, only getting a stammer out at first. She looked dumbfounded. "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice going a bit higher in pitch. "I was just telling him who was in charge, ya know? Or else, traded Pokemon get kinda unruly."

"Hey! Come on guys! I don't know what exactly is happening here but I'm sure if we all take a few seconds to step back, we can set some ground-rules. Sound like a plan?"

Daria looked relieved as Savannah stepped onto the scene, smiling as she approached. "Yeah, yeah sure!" she said with a happy grin. "I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding... right Matt?"

 

[Pappytech]

"Hey! Come on guys! I don't know what exactly is happening here but I'm sure if we all take a few seconds to step back, we can set some ground-rules. Sound like a plan?"

Savannah's words made sense to a certain part of Matt. Sadly for all involved, it was the part that he chose to ignore.

"I was just telling him who was in charge, ya know? Or else, traded Pokemon get kinda unruly."

"So you threaten them until they listen to you?!" Matt's words slid between clenched teeth, as he refused to back down. "Is that how you try and make new friends? Is that how you treat the Pokemon that other people have entrusted you with?"

 

[CJ1145]

"Is that how you treat the Pokemon that other people have entrusted you with?"

"W-what?"

Daria looked hopelessly confused as Matt continued to seethe at her, the corner of her mouth starting to twitch as she tried to throw out some words to calm down the previously reserved trainer.

"I-I don't threaten them, I... Pokemon respect strong trainers, and I--I... I wasn't trying to hurt him!"

As the girl floundered, two newcomers approached the group. A freshly Recovered Gemini and Spiegel, who was quite noticeably and immediately glaring at Matt as he continued to chew out the Charmeleon's trainer. As he stepped closer, the beginning fiery licks of a Fire Fang could be spotted slipping between his bared teeth.

"Charrrr...."