In Her Image: a Pokémon RP

[CJ1145]

Matt and Remy continued their battle unabated, caught up in the heat of conflict. Unseen, some distance away, sat a silent fan. Daria watched the two of them go back and forth with their attacks, trading blow for blow in--for Matt--a very impressive display. She had considered going up and cheering them on personally when she stumbled across them. A refreshing walk in the park was all she'd really wanted, but a battle could be just what she needed. Still, when she'd tried, she felt a great repulsion in his stomach. She couldn't be certain Matt wouldn't blow up at her when she arrived; worse, she might have broken his concentration. It'd be a shame for him to slip up 'cause I showed up...

And on top of that, who was to say what Ventus would do if he knew she was present? She needed to know for sure, that he would be an obedient Pokemon even when she wasn't around to breathe own his neck.

So she cheered in silence, laying on his stomach in the grass as she watched the battle unfold. She was content to stay for a while, when she heard a noise from off to her left.

rustle rustle

"Hrm?" she grunted, looking over at the source of the noise.

 

[JdaS]

I'm pretty sure that transform doesn't copy abilities, so hopefully ember will work. We just need to get her to use it on me, so flash fire will kick in!

Both Houndoom were on par in just about every conceivable way, but Gummy was the first to make a move, lunging at Kalmia and pouncing on her. The copy then sunk its electrified fangs into Tom's Houndoom's neck, the Dark Pokémon stifling a yelp as the current made its way through her body. Kalmia's body convulsed as the paralysis kicked in, but the demonic hound didn't back down, instead moving in for a Bite.

Kalmia pushed the copy onto its back, pinning it down and going for the throat. The attack connected but only managed to slightly hurt the disguised Ditto. Ada and Gummy did indeed repeat Tom's earlier mistake, releasing a cloud of Smog at point blank range, engulfing both combatants in the toxic gas. Kalmia wasn't about to do the same mistake twice, however, managing to hold her breath just long enough to avoid the poisonous effects, only taking negligible damage from the attack.

Gummy was not so fortunate. Letting go of Kalmia, the Transform Pokémon coughed and retched as it felt the poison coursing through its body, sapping away at its health. Kalmia wasted no time. Fighting the crippling paralysis, it jumped at her foe once again, this time charging a Thunder Fang and sinking the attack into Gummy's side, making the copy howl in pain. Kalmia let go of the fake Houndoom, her killer instinct telling her that the opponent would flinch.

And flinch it did. Gummy continued to convulse in pain as both the current and the poison took their tolls on it. Kalmia spewed some Ember for good measure, doing little damage but ensuring that the foe would be on its last legs. Gummy wasn't looking good. Ada on the other hand was beaming with excitement.

"Wow! I guess you aren't in the Tournament's semis for nothing, huh? Gummy, we're not done yet, use Thunder Fang again! Follow it with a Bite!"
______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Alright, concentrate yourself with Focus Energy, then attack with Ember."

"Oooo! A Combusken, eh? Mighty feisty critters, all right. But ya'll goin'ta need at least a Blaziken to put this here feller down... Electabuzz, start with a Light Screen, then use ThunderPunch and end on a Shock Wave!"

Electabuzz immediately started creating some sort of barrier. It was clear like glass but the Sun's reflection and the small jolts around it betrayed its presence. Raphael's Special attacks would not be as effective now. Raphael was busy charging as well. Tapping into his inner strength and getting pumped for the next attack.

There was, however the problem of the next attack. Electabuzz looked strong, and elemental punches were known to be formidable attacks. As a Fighting-type, Raphael knew this all too well. Electabuzz started spinning its left arm to charge up the attack. As the voltage became satisfactory, the Electric-type rushed to meet its opponent, the Young Fowl bracing itself for the blow.

The attack connected. Raphael's body convulsed as his opponent brought down its fist, first striking with a punch, and then discharging the electricity. As the attack relented, a slightly charred Raphael dropped to his knees, panting and wincing in pain. Using a "wing" to help itself up again. No paralysis. At least there was that. The half Fire-type gathered an Ember and let fly. The Ember was a big one, engulfing the Electabuzz in flames as opposed to just pelting it with a few projectiles. The Focus Energy had paid off. Unfortunately it was going to take just a bit more than that.

Electabuzz was not happy to get singed by this upstart chick. Spinning both its arms furiously, the Electric-type charged another attack. Bringing its arms down to a halt, it released a flurry of electricity in a wave that was virtually impossible to dodge. Raphael took another dose of jolts and sparks. Leaving behind a badly hurt Young Fowl. There was something else there, however. Raphael's eyes burned with determination and the air around him began to heat up. Blaze had been activated. The poacher smiled slightly.

"Huh... Now it's gon' get interestin'."
______________________________________________________________________________________________

"...Does anyone else hear that?"

Remy snapped out of his "battle mode" as Matt suddenly interrupted the heated battle. Something was indeed rustling around in the nearby bushes. Remy, Matt and Savannah looked at the shaking greenery expectantly. Unbeknownst to the trio, Daria was also waiting to see what had paused the battle.

The tension was tangible.

Here it comes! Remy thought as he gulped audibly.

*RUSTLE RUSTLE SHFF*

Wooop. Woop. Per Per Wooper.

Spoiler: Wooper

A Wooper. A Wooper had just sauntered out of the bushes and smack dab into the middle of the battlefield. Ventus could do nothing but land and stare incredulously at the little twerp who had just interrupted his battle. Tentacool, however didn't seem to mind. In fact, his expression barely changed at all since coming out from its Lure Ball.

The tiny amphibian just stood there, bobbing its head from side to side. It was as if it was utterly oblivious to the various humans and Pokémon around it.

Woooop Woooooop!

Wooper/Female/Lvl 15
Ability: Water Absorb

Moves:

-Water Gun
-Tail Whip
-Mud Sport
-Mud Shot
-Slam

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Caleb felt pained as he watched Raphael taking numerous electrical attacks; but felt a brief moment of joy as the Ember attack came out as a huge fireball that impacted the Electabuzz with speed. The electric type then span its arms wildly, creating the powerful, and almost impossible to evade Shock Wave. This caused the Young Fowl to hurt even more, but then came a white hot glow from his eyes, as the air around them began to feel warmer; Blaze had been activated again.

"Huh... Now it's gon' get interestin'." The poacher remarked with a smile.

"That it will cowboy." Caleb remarked in response, and upon feeling the heat, removed his coat, showing the respectable attire that he wore underneath. Brushing back his hair, Caleb began to plan. Raphael meanwhile managed to pick himself up, and glared furiously at the rather smug looking Electabuzz who had his arms crossed.

"Raphael, bring down his wall of glass with Brick Break, then fire off another Ember."

 

[Pappytech]

"Woop wooooop. Woooop!"

Well. This was certainly an unexpected development.

"Um..." Matt found himself struggling through his broken concentration, digging through his disarrayed thoughts to find some kind of reaction. Unconsciously scratching the back of his head, the bemused trainer blankly stared at the interloper, his mouth opening and closing as he looked for the right words.

Ventus, on the other hand (Claw?) had no such difficulties. With a restrained growl, the Pidgeotto hopped and flapped his way over to the Wooper, intent on putting the distraction in her place. Just what did she think she was doing, barging into the middle of a battle like that? Shit was on the verge of going down, and she just come in and wrecked the entire atmosphere! "Pidgerrooo! Rrrrooo, pidg pidge, rrrrooooooo!"

It was no exaggeration to say that Ventus towered over the newcomer. Standing at nearly three times the Wooper's height, Matt's Pokemon didn't stop until he stood directly in front of the water type, his keen eyes narrowed as he waited for a response. Whatever excuse this upstart had better be a good one, or else he was gonna

"Wooper!" The oblivious Pokemon, instead of replying to Ventus, merely walked around him, straying further away from the bushes she had emerged from, the same carefree smile spread across her face as she enjoyed her little stroll. Ventus, meanwhile, was currently rendered speechless. Did she... did she just ignore him?

It was only after seeing the unadulterated look of shock on the Pidgeotto's face that Matt finally decided on his reaction: laughter.


"Oh dear Lord," he managed to choke out between bursts of chuckling, "Ventus, buddy, you gotta see the look on your face right now! It's just like that time you found out your attacks don't work on Pers - ohgodIcan'tbreathe."

As Matt was lost in his paroxysms of laughter, Ventus finally found the mental willpower to be affronted. Glaring daggers at his trainer, (Who happened to be doubled over as he attempted to refill his empty lungs) the Pidgeotto took to the air. Landing in one of the park's many trees, he began to preen his ruffled feathers, doing his best to ignore Matt's slowly fading guffaws. It looked like the battle was effectively ruined anyways; might as well try to ignore the annoyances and enjoy the sunshine.

"Hahahahaha... hah." Wiping the last of the tears from his eyes, Matt stood back up, smiling apologetically at Remy and Sav. "Hey guys, sorry about the interruption, but... Well, after seeing something like that, I've gotta try and catch that Wooper. Good God, haven't laughed that hard in ages."

Well, seeing as how Ventus probably wouldn't be of much help, there was really only one choice Matt had left. Of course, he would've gone with her anyways.

"Alright Persephone, break's over! Come on, time to make a new friend!"

As the Gastly once more materialized out of the blinding light, her toothless grin even wider than the Wooper's. "Gas."

"Okay, make sure to take things easy. Don't want to knock her out, right? Start off with a Night Shade, and then Hypnosis until she falls asleep!"

 

[Shakomaru]

"Wow! I guess you aren't in the Tournament's semis for nothing, huh?"

Blushing at the compliment, Tom barely heard Ada's orders to Gummy.

"Gummy, we're not done yet, use Thmmfff again! Follow it with a Bfff!"

Even though Kusari had pinched him, the daze lingered which resulted in him stuttering out his orders to Kalmia with a stupid grin on his face.

"Ok Kalmia use s-smog when the d-ditto gets close to you and then uhm, uh, try to just.. uh... g-get out of the way before you g-get hit or something.... Oh and use ember again too."

Kalmia however stood where she was, confused. She could tell that the usual fire Tom had when battling had been extinguished, and was wondering why. Being paralyzed as well made it difficult to move at a speed faster than a Jumpluff with a fifty pound weight attached to it. Only after a warning from the Skorupi did she snap back to the fight, with barely any time to react as the transformed ditto was nearly on top of her.

 

[Anayna]

The pale young trainer winced at the sunlight as he stepped out of the PokéCenter. His pokémon were now in top form again, but the same could not be said for himself. Putting aside the fact that his midsection was still hurting from Pineco's Tackle, Rupert also felt a bit dumb. He had let his nervous disposition get the best of him again. Rupert had hurried back to Goldenrod thinking that the tournament could start at any moment, but there were actually a few hours to kill before the next match.

Stupid. Why didn't you just check your Pokégear? It could have told you the time. I always do this when I get nervous. I never stop and think. That probably doesn't reflect well on me as a trainer... huh?

Rupert had flipped open his Pokégear only to see that it wasn't turned on. This could be attributed to the fact that its owner wasn't the most sociable person on the planet; Rupert regularly left the device off, completely forgetting about it. This did however set something straight in Rupert's head: he had been nurturing a nasty feeling that he had forgotten something and he now remembered what. As he switched the Pokégear on the little display confirmed his worst fears: 23 missed calls. They all came from the same number which Rupert recognised immediately. They had been trying to reach him yesterday evening and this morning. Rupert had to call them back. This was long overdue. He steeled himself and chose to lean against the Pokécenter's wall too for good measure. He might need the support. With a gulp he made the call. They picked up before the dial tone could sound twice.

"H-hi, mom."

Using the PokéCenter for support had been a sound decision. The shriek of jubilation that emanated from the PokéGear nearly blew Rupert off his feet. Silph Co. really made quality products; it was a wonder that the noise didn't rupture the small gizmo's speaker.

"R-real nice hearing from you too, mom."

Rupert's family was made up by what you might call some pretty hardcore trainers. His grandparents (on both his mother's and father's side) had met whilst out on their respective pokémon journeys, as had his own parents. Though they had long since settled down, it was safe to say that Rupert had grown up in a very trainer happy home. This was also why the young man had always felt a bit like the black sheep of the family. Never having much of an interest in pokémon growing up, Rupert couldn't help but feel like an outsider. That's not to say that there had ever been any pressure on Rupert to become a trainer, far from it. His parents had been very understanding about the boy's fear of the critters, but growing up in a household consisting of nothing but trainers couldn't help but leave a mark on him.

The Pokégear had to be held at arm's length now that the jubilation from Rupert's mother had turned into chastisement for not calling them earlier.

"I-I know. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. It's just that... well, things happened here."

There was no need to tell his parents about Looker, Eres, crime gangs and helping the police. No need to make them worry any more than necessary. Besides, if they told him to come home Rupert wasn't sure if his resolve to help Looker wouldn't falter.

"Yeah. But... um, s-sorry for losing the match. Cubone really gave it his all too..."

What followed was a full five minutes of both parents yelling into the speaker how proud they were of him. Win or loss, they could tell that he had really gone all out in the match against Tom. For the first time in his life he had taken a battle seriously, and they couldn't be anymore pleased.
Rupert's eyes got a bit misty. He hadn't expected this reaction.

*Sniff* "T-thank you. I... we tried hard, yeah. Thanks."

Wow. They always believed in me huh? Well, I won't disappoint them. You'll see. I'll become a proper responsible trainer.

"Huh? Yes. Y-yeah, Cubone's fine now. He's... what? No. No, mom. No, I'm not putting him on the phone! He is not my guardian! I-I'm his trainer and... and an a-adult!"

The conversation soon moved onto when he was coming home and whether or not he was staying for the remainder of the tournament. Rupert turned quiet now. It would be difficult to tell them this. He was their only son. It needed to be said though.

"Um, actually... w-well, I'm c-considering not coming. H-home, that is. I-I'm considering not coming home. After everything that's happened... I sort of have a new p-perspective on things, you know? I was thinking about maybe... (Here it came) going on a pokémon journey of my own."

The Pokégear was dead quiet. Rupert nearly checked to see if they had been disconnected when a great wail sounded from the device. It faintly reminded Rupert of Darius' Whismur, if her voice dropped a few octaves. Once again he was happy to have his back to a wall.

"D-dad!? Dad, are...? Dad, are you crying? Dad? Dad, put mom back on the phone."

His mother's voice sounded like her own eyes weren't completely dry, but this didn't stop her from launching into another symposium about how proud they were of him. Rupert could hear his father in the background yelling something that sounded like "My little boy's become a man!". Suffice it to say that his parents approved of him undertaking a pokémon journey. They had feared that Rupert would never realize his full potential as a trainer.

After another few minutes on the phone, under which Rupert had to promise his mother to change underwear regularly and his father had parted with some training advice that he probably felt was sagely but didn't make much sense to Rupert, parents and child said goodbye and Rupert could snap his Pokégear shut again. He let himself fall against the wall to a sitting position. That had been draining. It felt good though, knowing he had their blessing and support. He felt a bit sad knowing that this meant that he probably wouldn't see them again for some time, but it felt right. The prospect of undertaking a pokémon journey all on his own scared him something fierce. Seeing strange lands, battling strange people and catching strange pokémon? This was exactly what he had been trying to avoid his entire life. And yet Rupert knew that he had to do it. It was the only way he was going to grow as a trainer. He couldn't promise that he wouldn't give it all up at the first sign of trouble, but he was going to do his best.

And with that the Kanto native set out for the stadium, a nervous grin adorning his pale face. He might as well patrol the stadium until the tournament started again. That's basically what Looker had asked them to do, right? Keep an eye out for trouble.

 

[CJ1145]

Daria watched the bush with baited breath, when out hopped... a Wooper.

Her mouth was drawn taut, trying very hard not to rip all the muscles in her jaw from the stretching grimace she was pulling. A Wooper. Seriously. Seriously?

"OH, COME ON!" she shouted, leaping from the bushes. "I got spooked by a freaking WOOPER?!"

She was about to launch into a tirade, when a fact presented itself in her mind. She had just stood up, from the bushes where she was hiding. Standing erect, she was significantly taller than the bush, so anyone looking her way would spot her plain as day.

Matt and Remy were staring at the Wooper not four feet from her.

She looked over, and sure enough both of them were giving a mighty good look in her direction.

"Aw, jeez."

 

[Pappytech]

"Ga, gastly!"

The air around Persephone seemed to warp and shift, traces of dark pink and purple coloring bleeding out from the Gas Pokemon. As she charged up her Night Shade, the space surrounding the Gastly slowly became charged with bizarre, unearthly energy; anyone standing close enough to Persephone could feel their hair standing slightly on end.

Unconsciously, Matt found himself chewing on his bottom lip. His eyes flicked back and forth from Persephone to the somehow-still-oblivious Wooper, the ghost of an anticipatory smile flitting around his mouth. Though he'd been a trainer for the past few years, catching new Pokemon was something Matt had always struggled with. Hell, the last time Pokemon he'd caught (Persephone, for those who might be wondering) was a total accident! (It's a funny story; you should totally ask him about it)

But even as his typical waves of self-doubt and fear surged through his thoughts, a certain... lightheartedness embraced Matt. Maybe that battle with Remy had gotten his blood flowing, maybe it was the Wooper's downright silly antics, but Matt, for the first time in a long time, felt like he could really do this. He could catch this Pokemon, not thanks his step-dad's guidance, not thanks to luck and accident on his side, but thanks to his skill and hard work. He could do this, he felt great, he-

"OH, COME ON! I got spooked by a freaking WOOPER?!"

Oh. There was Daria. Over there in the bushes.

And now she was staring right at him. With a half-horrified, half-embarrassed grimace on her face. One that was probably extraordinarily similar to the look that had just hijacked his face.

Well. Fuck.

Okay. No need to panic. It was just Daria, right? Probably the most badass, battle-ready, energetic, and downright awesome trainer he'd ever meet. The one who had gone out of her way to help him out yesterday when he'd been confronted by Jack. The one who had proven herself to be the strongest battler he had ever met. The one who had been nothing but friendly, enthusiastic, and inspiring.

Also the one that he had yelled at, for (In hindsight) no damn good reason.

Yeeeeeeeeeah. He couldn't do this.

"Oh, um, h-hi! ...[small]Daria[/small]..." Matt managed to stutter a greeting, a clearly forced smile awkwardly splayed across his face, "I... um... H-how're things? ...In the... b-bushes..."

Oh god, had she been watching him? While he was battling Remy, and screwing up EVERYTHING? God dammit, this just kept getting worse and worse! What, it wasn't enough that she thought he was an asshole? Now she was going to think that he was an INCOMPETENT asshole! At this point, was it even possible for things to get worse?! Granted, he supposed that if she had seen him last night, then...

Before he realized what he was doing, Matt reached up and grabbed the brim of his hat, yanking it down so that his eyes could see nothing but the green fabric. "I... uh, I..."

Oh for crying out... Just say it!

"I JUST WANTED TO SAY, THAT I'M VERY, VERY SORRY FOR THE WAY I ACTED LAST NIGHT."

It took Matt a moment to realize that he was shouting. Cursing under his breath, the lad adjusted his volume to more reasonable levels before continuing, his hat still pulled over his eyes, "I had no right to criticize you for training Pokemon the way you see fit. Even if I think that different methods should be used. You need to do what you think is right, and what works for your team. It's not my place to tell you what to do, and I'm very, very sorry."

After a moment of inaction, Matt bent at his waist, bowing awkwardly in Daria's general direction, his tight grip on his hat ensuring that the accessory would not fall off. "I hope that I did not offend you, and if I did then I am very, very sorry."

In the silence that followed the apology, it was almost possible to hear the blood rushing to Matt's ears and cheeks. The kid looked like a sunburned tomato, he was blushing so much.

Oh God oh God oh God. Um... There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home.

 

[JdaS]

"Raphael, bring down his wall of glass with Brick Break, then fire off another Ember."

A cocky smile made its way to the poacher's lips as he let out a mocking sigh.

"Boy, that'd be a damn sight scarier if you chicken weren't already at the check-out desk... Electabuzz! Finish 'em with a Shock Wave!"

Electabuzz complied, charging up another Shock Wave and sending it towards Raphael who could do nothing but take the hit. This was it. No way he'd be able to stand up after this one. The fledgling fighter could feel his consciousness slipping as the vicious current passed through every muscle in his body until it finally stopped, and Raphael fell to the ground. He could still move. If he could just...

Ralts! Ra-Ralts!

It was the Ralts from before. For whatever reason it had come back, and was now standing between Electabuzz and Raphael, as if wanting to protect the Young Fowl Pokémon from further harm. The poacher scoffed.

"Hmph. Well I'll be. True to their protective nature. Looks like this 'ere Ralts wants to come with you... Electabuzz, come on back!"

As the Electric-type returned to its owner, Neil turned away, adjusted his hat and walked away.

"I'll let ya off the hook this time, pretty boy. But you best not cross me again, ya hear?"

Sure that the poacher was gone, Ralts turned towards its saviors. Using its Confusion, it fished out an Ultra Ball from Caleb's pocket and placed it in his hand.

Ralts! Ral Ralts!
______________________________________________________________________________________________

At the park, the gang was surprised (for want of a better word) to see that their little match was interrupted by a small, spaced out Wooper. Remy couldn't say a word. He just looked on bemused as Ventus and Matt went about their shenanigans with the small Water-type.

"Hey guys, sorry about the interruption, but... Well, after seeing something like that, I've gotta try and catch that Wooper. Good God, haven't laughed that hard in ages."

Matt's adamant proposal snapped Remy out of his trance-like state. The kid was really coming out of his shell. Battling and laughing like he was among old friends. It was nice to see.

"A Wooper, huh? I say go for it, kid. That one sure doesn't seem to lack personality."

Remy said with a chuckle. Not that he needed to. Matt had already switched Persephone in and given his orders to keep that Wooper catchable.

And that's when Daria appeared.

"OH, COME ON! I got spooked by a freaking WOOPER?!"

Remy almost died of sheer fright when Daria's booming voice came out from the bushes nearby. It was Matt, however, who reacted to her presence the strongest. The fire in his eyes quickly extinguished as a very long, very awkward apology took place.

Poor kid, he really took last night's events hard. And with this interruption I don't even know if that featherbrain obeys him yet or not... Do the right thing here, Daria...

"Uh... Matt..."

While Matt's conversation was focused elsewhere, Persephone had taken the liberty of applying her otherworldly charms onto the no longer oblivious Wooper. The Water-type's disposition had changed from happy-go-lucky to utterly horrified and catatonic, as the gaseous Ghost-type scared the daylights out of it with Night Shade and now toyed with it before using Hypnosis on her hapless victim, putting it to sleep and awaiting Matt's little bowing exercise to be over so they could move on.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Ok Kalmia use s-smog when the d-ditto gets close to you and then uhm, uh, try to just.. uh... g-get out of the way before you g-get hit or something.... Oh and use ember again too."

It was too late for Kalmia despite her colleague's warning. Gummy had pounced and now bit Tom's Pokémon's back, releasing the savage discharge of electricity into her body. Kalmia's legs gave out and she hit the ground. Gummy had won this one.

"Yay! We won this one! Way to go Gummy. Come on Tom, were you asleep or something?"

Tom's distraction was proving to be counter-productive. Something had to be done if he wanted to win this.

 

[CJ1145]

Daria's face was one of stunned silence, drawn taut with utter shock, both at her own stupidity and the precarious situation she found herself in. Matt had a similar expression as he struggled to form words.

"Oh, um, h-hi! ...Daria..." Matt managed to stutter a greeting, a clearly forced smile awkwardly splayed across his face, "I... um... H-how're things? ...In the... b-bushes..."

Daria didn't respond verbally. Her moth opened slightly, revealing gritted teeth. They jostled back and forth a bit as she tried to say something, but all that came was a furious blush on her cheeks. Her left hand raised just a few inches, as if making a motion, but Matt was whispering something to himself. He tucked his face away under the brim of his hat. Confused, Daria tried to take a step closer. Then, he practically screamed at her.

"I JUST WANTED TO SAY, THAT I'M VERY, VERY SORRY FOR THE WAY I ACTED LAST NIGHT."

Daria's eyes shot wide open.

"...What?"

"I had no right to criticize you for training Pokemon the way you see fit. Even if I think that different methods should be used. You need to do what you think is right, and what works for your team. It's not my place to tell you what to do, and I'm very, very sorry."

She froze in place, listening to Matt stumble over himself trying to apologize. Her face was difficult to read, but her lower lip was twitching repeatedly. She saw him bow, and her mouth dropped open slightly, trying to process what she was seeing.

"I hope that I did not offend you, and if I did then I am very, very sorry."

She lowered her head. "Matt... no..."


Daria advanced from the bushes, taking short steps in an awkward rhythm, as if she were struggling to remember how to move her legs at all. She stopped only two paces away from the boy, her head lowered and her eyes staring at the ground. She took a heavy breath, lifting and then shrugging her shoulders.

"No...you should--shouldn't apologize. Ventus is, erm, your... Pokemon. I didn't have any right to threaten him like I did. You can... you can train your Pokemon however you want."

She grappled with every word, fighting to make the words come out right. It was not lost on Matt how difficult it was for her to articulate herself like this.

"I was--I was wrong. I saw you were out here, and I wanted to... watch you fight. But I was afraid you were still mad at me so--so I hid." She scratched the back of her head nervously. "I... I'm the one who should be apologizing."

Daria bowed her head, a small frown on her lips. "I'm sorry."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Caleb stepped back as Raphael took another direct Shock Wave, and watched as the Young Fowl collapsed to the floor. He tried to move, but felt that all his strength had been all but sapped away from the electricity, and started to fall unconscious. Suddenly, from nowhere...

Ralts! Ra-Ralts! Came a voice, and to Caleb's astonishment, it was the same Ralts that had started this battle in the first place. It stood firm in-between the two Pokémon that were currently battling, but appeared to be protecting Raphael. The poacher simply scoffed at this event.

"Hmph. Well I'll be. True to their protective nature. Looks like this 'ere Ralts wants to come with you... Electabuzz, come on back!" The trainer began to walk away, adjusting his hat, and spoke to Caleb without turning his head.

"I'll let ya off the hook this time, pretty boy. But you best not cross me again, ya hear?"

"I'll try to avoid your path... cowboy." Caleb responded in a stern voice. When the man disappeared, the Feeling Pokémon walked over to its saviours. He saw that the Ralts was fishing inside of his satchel for something, and brought out a Ultra Ball, placing it into his hands.

Ralts! Ral Ralts!

"You, you want to come with me?" Caleb asked, slightly confused, and pointed to himself afterwards.

Ral!

"Okay then, in you go." He threw the Pokéball at the little Psychic type, and watched as it disappeared into the red light then the ball wobbled slightly, which soon stopped, and was proceeded by a quick *ping* noise. Caleb knelt down to pick up the ball, and looked at it.

"Welcome to the team friend, I promise that we'll have fun. I'll give you a name later, but first a rather dire emergency." Caleb said, welcoming the Ralts to the group, then activated the return on Raphael's ball. After putting both balls on his belt, he calmly turned around, and made his way from towards the Pokémon Centre.

 

[Shakomaru]

Kalmia hit the ground hard. The last thunder fang had been the straw that broke the camerupt's back. However even this did little to wipe the dopey smile off of Tom's face. Kusari continued to pinch him, over and over, but Tom seemed to be numbed to the pain. Sighing in annoyance, the bug type jumped off of her trainer's shoulder, landing next to Trapic. After whispering her plan to the steel type, Trapic nodded. Giving Tom a hard tackle with Kusari behind him, Tom fell down, still dazed. Climbing onto Tom's chest, Trapic let out his ear piercing metal sound. Clamping his eyes shut and covering his ears, Tom temporarily broke out of his infatuation.

"OW! WHY ARE YOU SCREECHING RIGHT IN MY FACE?"

Tapping Trapic on the shoulder, to signal that he should stop, Kusari smiled, and then hit Tom with her tail.

"SKOR!"

"What!? What do you mean... KALMIA!"

finally noticing his downed pokemon, Tom stood up, and sadly withdrew her with a, "Sorry girl, I just wan't paying enough attention."

Turning back to the facsimile of his teammate, Tom wondered which of his team would be next to battle.

"Trapic has the advantage, but I kinda want to see how Kusari's training went..."

"SKOR!"

"You want to go in? Are you ready for this?"

"Skor."

"Alright then, give it your best shot, and do it for Kalmia!"

Casting a skeptical look at Tom to make sure he wouldn't go all heart-eyed again, Kusari jumped in front of the disguised ditto.

"Kusari! Start it off with pin missile!"

 

[nuba km]

While waiting Lee familiarised himself with murkrow's moves, snover enjoyed watching murkrow fly and his company. murkrow enjoyed snovers company but much more enjoyed having a warm place to rest. Lee waited on the others getting their catching done Why can't people be more efficient, go in with a plan and you murkrow' lee said while pointed at the murkrow firmly roosted on snovers head.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"So how did it go? As you see I was able to catch my Murkrow." Lee asked as Caleb came towards him, pointing out the recently caught Flying type that was roosting itself on the head of Lee's Snover. Its deep red eyes stared directly at Caleb, as it tried to unerve him; but failed to do so.

"It went well enough as it could, was out trying to capture a Ralts, found one; then some poacher came and yanked it away. We was in the midst of a battle, when the little psychic type came in to defend my Combusken, who is shall we say a little worse for wear currently. After the poacher left, Ralts actually wanted to become part of my team. I'm just off to the Pokémon to have Combusked healed up." Caleb responded, giving a cut down version of the events that happened.

"So, how was it with Murkrow?"

 

[nuba km]

"It went well enough as it could, was out trying to capture a Ralts, found one; then some poacher came and yanked it away. We was in the midst of a battle, when the little psychic type came in to defend my Combusken, who is shall we say a little worse for wear currently. After the poacher left, Ralts actually wanted to become part of my team. I'm just off to the Pokémon to have Combusked healed up."

Caleb said after having a very short stare off with murkrow.

"So, how was it with murkrow?"

'Well, it was rather uneventful compared to what happened to you. I hid in a bush, placed out a shiny object and some berries and then threw a pokeball at the first murkrow that came down to check it out.' Lee paused for a bit to make sure he included everything that happened 'Yea that's it, well I guess planning ahead helps speed things up. Hey after you visit the pokecenter want to have a practice match with our two new pokemon? well... if there is time before the tournament' lee asked while the two walked to the pokecenter.

 

[Pappytech]

To Matt, it seemed as though time had ground to a halt. He had spilled his guts like an idiot, embarrassed himself in front of two of the few people who maybe kind of liked him, and had probably found a way to earn even more of Daria's ire. There was no doubt about it, he had screwed up big time.

Unable to properly think, let alone move, the trainer remained in his hunched over position, fingers clenching his hat with all the strength they could muster, praying with all of his might that this was all just some kind of sick nightmare. Sadly, that delusion was shattered when he heard heard Daria exhale slowly, her voice thick with some unidentifiable emotion. "Matt... no..."

Though he could see nothing but the sidewalk beneath his feet, Matt's ears still functioned quite well. As he detected the telltale sounds of bushes rustling and footsteps on concrete, it wasn't hard for the lad to guess who was walking towards him. Somehow his fingers found even more desperate might, his knuckles turning white as he balled his hands into fists full of fabric, awaiting the admonishment that was sure to follow. This was it, he was in for it now.

"No...you should--shouldn't apologize. Ventus is, erm, your... Pokemon. I didn't have any right to threaten him like I did. You can... you can train your Pokemon however you want."

...Wait, what?

"I was--I was wrong. I saw you were out here, and I wanted to... watch you fight. But I was afraid you were still mad at me so--so I hid. I... I'm the one who should be apologizing."

...Wait, what!?

"I'm sorry."

Matt wasn't sure when he had stood back up, nor was he aware that his hands had dropped back to his sides. As his (Significantly crumpled) hat slowly slid back to its normal position, the Jhoto native found himself staring at Daria with a health mixture of shock and surprise. This was... unexpected to say the least. He could have sworn that she would have torn into him like everyone else always seemed to, berating him for his mistakes until he apologized over and over and over. But apologizing to him, no, hiding from him? How was he supposed to react to that?

"I, uh... I, uh..."

Slowly, bit by bit, a smile began to inch its way across Matt's face. A small chuckle, tiny in comparison to his guffaws from early, escaped from his lips, as he finally found the words he was looking for. "Heh. So while I was scared that you were mad at me, you were scared that I was mad at you?

"Well, I... I'm sorry, I guess. But no, there's more than that isn't there? I... Well, I don't really know, but I can tell you that I'm mad. And I'm sorry that you thought I was, I..."

Awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, Matt flashed a grin Daria's way. As he finally lapsed into silence, the smile remained, sincere and honest as he tried to communicate the feelings he couldn't put into words.

"Uh... Matt..."

Despite the softness of Remy's tone, his words still broke through Matt's reverie like a thunderclap, as he suddenly remembered what he had been doing. "Oh, shoot!"

Spinning around, Matt quickly took stock of the... surprisingly successful battle. Persephone had done good, damaging the Wooper and putting it to sleep. She had done her part, now it was time to do his.

Reaching into his pack, the trainer rummaged around until he found what he was looking for: a curiously colored Pokeball, its typically monochromatic top part half red, half light aqua, with a trio of orange, vertical stripes just above its button. Apparently that detour to Azalea Town had been a good idea after all. "Come on, Lure Ball! Let's go!"

The ball tore through the air, bouncing off of the immobile Wooper before splitting in half and swallowing the Pokemon in a flash of red light.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Well, it was rather uneventful compared to what happened to you. I hid in a bush, placed out a shiny object and some berries and then threw a pokeball at the first Murkrow that came down to check it out." Lee said, pausing for a moment to check something before continuing.

"Yea that's it, well I guess planning ahead helps speed things up. Hey after you visit the pokecenter want to have a practice match with our two new Pokémon? Well... if there is time before the tournament." Lee asked as the pair both made their way towards Pokémon Center.

"Well it appears that your capture attempt, whilst not as eventful, certainly went a whole lot smoother. Whilst normally I would enjoy testing out a new Pokémon's strengths in a battle; I feel as though your Murkrow would have the better chance of winning, it have a type advantage over Ralts, plus it really only knows one attack. Perhaps another time maybe?" Caleb responded, following up with a question of his own, sounding hopeful at the end for things to come.

 

[JdaS]

Tension was high, as after a heartfelt reconciliation by Matt and Daria, a PokéBall was now wiggling with a Wooper inside.

*WIGGLE*

*SHAKE*

*WIGGLE*

*CLICK*

That was it! Wooper had been caught!

"YES! YEAH! Awesome, kid! You totally did it!"

COOOL! TENTACOOL!

The otherwise quiet Tentacool threw its two feelers up in jubilation as it joined Remy in congratulating Matt.

"I knew you had the spark, Matt. And something tells me you still have some tricks up your sleeve."

Remy said, allowing the girls their turns at celebrating the young man's newest aquisition.
______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Kusari! Start it off with pin missile!"

Kusari complied, aiming for the Kalmia doppelgänger with its tail and releasing a wave of small needles. Normally, these would have little to know effect on a Fire-type like Houdoom, but its Dark half would be its downfall today. As the needles kept pouring on it, the Houndoom started changing shape, slowly but surely regressing back into the small pink blob it originally was.

Di...Ditt...To

One hit was all that was missing. Tom and Kusari had taken the match!

"Wow! For such a small Pokémon, your Skorupi sure packs a punch. Well done Tom, you deserved that win."

As she shifted her gaze from the little scorpion in front of her to her watch, she quickly jumped up.

"Oh my, look at the time! It's already 17:25! Doesn't the Tournament resume at 18:00?"

 

[CJ1145]

"HA!"

Matt felt himself lift off of the ground as Daria's arms wrapped around his chest, constricting like an Arbok going in for the kill as she lifted him up, yelling "I KNEW ya could do it, kid! Didn't even break a sweat!"

This little celebration went on entirely longer than it should have, and the girl spun around enough times that Matt was feeling just a tad sick to his stomach when she finally set him back on the ground. She was laughing pretty uproariously, rocking back and forth on her feet as she clapped a hand on one of Matt's shoulders. It stung, as any contact with Daria always did, but it felt significantly less painful than usual; as if she was aware of her own strength, for once.

"Ya see?" she asked cheerfully. "Stop questioning yourself, and ya handle yourself just fine! Now you'd better go get your team healed up, we've only got oh crap"

When she glanced at her Pokegear, her face went white. She immediately exploded into a flurry of motion, legs scrambling every which way as they tried to pick a direction to run in.

"Oh wow oh crap oh jeez, tournament starts in thirty minutes! My whole team's still back at the hotel GOTTA RUN!"

She began sprinting off towards the city proper, only stopping at a twenty-pace distance to turn around and wave at the pair she'd left behind.

"Bye Remy! And good luck with your match, Matt!"

She turned around, and was gone in a flash.

 

[nuba km]

"Well it appears that your capture attempt, whilst not as eventful, certainly went a whole lot smoother. Whilst normally I would enjoy testing out a new Pokémon's strengths in a battle; I feel as though your Murkrow would have the better chance of winning, it have a type advantage over Ralts, plus it really only knows one attack. Perhaps another time maybe?"

'well that seem fair enough' lee had no real complaints with calebs response, he also couldn't say that he wouldn't fell the same way, he followed caleb to the pokecenter without saying anything else.