In Her Image: a Pokémon RP

[Anayna]

Although he was inclined to go to bed immediately for some peace and quiet, few men can ignore the calling of their stomachs and Rupert was not among them. Seeing as dinner was apparently being served at the moment he decided that he might as well grab a bite to eat. He just hoped that there weren't too many people there.

Rupert's current dark disposition turned a few shades darker as the dining hall was indeed quite full. Two booths were filled with a lively group of people that he did his best to go unnoticed by. The third booth was however only occupied by Ryan. Thinking it rude to ignore his new friend (was friend the right word? No, acquaintance was more appropriate. Rupert shouldn't assume too much) Rupert took a seat in the booth. They weren't alone for long though as the small boy from earlier, who had spooked him so, sat down beside him.

"So where are you two from?" the boy asked.

It suited Rupert just fine to let Ryan answer first, but the stranger then started to chatter his head off. He introduced himself as Tom from Ecruteak City and managed to make the booth every bit as lively as the other two all on his own. Rupert actually didn't mind these talkative sort of people all that much, despite his social phobia. When people talked a lot this meant that Rupert himself didn't have to say too much. In a sense he was kind of grateful to young Tom.
That this also gave Rupert an opportunity to sample some of the delicious beef stew was an added bonus.

Rupert did however feel the need to apologize for his screech earlier. At a lull in the one-sided conversation he almost got a word in, but Tom then asked:
"So what about you two? Oh! by the way, what're your teams like?"

Stricken dumb for a few seconds after having the spotlight put on him so suddenly Rupert took another few seconds to collect himself.

"Um, m-my name is Rupert Gravel. From Lavender Town. In Kanto. P-pleasure to meet you. Again. Not that it was a pleasure to be shocked earl... uh, I mean... sorry. Never mind." It was probably best not to dwell on these things.
"Oh, and I just have a Cubone and a Haunter," he added limply before ending with something that he meant as a lighthearted sportsmanlike joke: "Don't worry. I'm sure I won't be any threat to you or your Skorupi. Heh..."

This is why you stopped trying to be funny, Rupert. You just make a fool out of yourself.

 

[CJ1145]

"Sorry, I sat right down and didn't even introduce myself. My name's Savannah Iris, from Rustboro City, you're Daria right? From Pallet Town? I couldn't help but overhear.."

"Pewter City, actually!" Daria corrected with a happy grin with a strand of beef sticking between her front teeth. She seemed to notice it, though, and closed her mouth as she worked it out. She hunched over, putting an elbow on the table to use the hand as a headrest as she listened to the others talk. Despite all evidence to the contrary she was an avid listener, and paid close attention to everything they said. When it seemed like there was a lull, after the boy from Lavender Town introduced himself, the young woman decided it was her turn.

"So, I guess if we're all getting acquainted, I'll go next!" She used her hand not currently on the table to throw a thumb in her own direction. "Name's Daria Pace; grew up in Pewter City, and trained at the gym pretty much my whole life. Lemme tell ya, getting to know Brock as well as I did, I know a good stew." She paused to take another bite of the beef. "Buft viss? Beft EVER!" She mercifully swallowed before continuing.

"Anyways, I grew up with my Geodude, Slagger, who actually evolved about a year back. 'Round that time, I was training with my lil' bro, Dirk. He's turning 13 this year, and he was starting to talk about going down to Oak, getting himself a Pokemon and starting his Journey and all. And it made me think, 'ya know, this journey thing might be kinda fun!' So, I beat him to the punch, went down and got my Charmander, Spiegel, and I've been doing the League Challenge ever since."

She threw up a finger, to note a point of interest. "In fact, I just stomped Lieutenant Surge into the dirt about about three days before I came here for the tournament!" She grinned and gave a low chuckle, obviously proud of her achievement. She thought about the questioning people had given each others' teams, and decided to elaborate on her own as well.

"I don't really go much for type specialization; I've got a pretty balanced team going, I think; Slagger, Spiegel, for starters; then there's my Hitmonlee, Jet, who I got from a black belt down inside Mt. Moon. And of course, there's my little lady Gemini, who I traded an Ekans for back in Cerulean... I guess style's my thing. Unrelenting assault, with blows as strong as hammers and a spirit with enough fire to weather any attack! That's why they call me 'The Pewter Fist!'"

Suddenly, she pushed herself out from the table a bit and swiveled her legs around, nearly kicking Darius in the face as she turned herself around to straddle the back of her chair and show everyone the back of her jacket, which indeed had a gray, clenched fist on it. She turned her head around to look at them, grinning like an idiot. "Hehe, see?"

 

[toobie]

When Ryan had taken a seat, he noticed the dining room filling up quite quickly. Trainers from all over the place emerged from there room, their stomachs leading them towards the amazing smell of food cast by the kitchen adjascent to the dining room.Sometime later and somewhat reluctantly, Rupert also entered the dining room, and joined Ryan at his table. Almost immediately Tom added himself to the table.

Tom immediately started talking away about everything. It reminded Ryan of his sister at home, who wouldn't stop talking unless you put a cork up her mouth.

So what about you two? Oh! by the way, what're your teams like?"

"Well, that's quite the story you got there!" Ryan laughed inbetween the giant spoons of stew he shoveled into his mouth. "So, Pastoria, eh? I've been there a couple of times. It's not a nice place. You can't even run because the swamp will eat yer shoes! And if it ain't the swamp, it's the pokemon that'll do it." He laughed again.

He then turned to Rupert. "Lavender town? Ah, you don't say! that's where you got that Creepy Pokémon of yours, didn't ya?"

"Well, if we're all doing our stories, I might as well. I've lived in Sinnoh since I was a wee lad. I lived on a farm with my parents and my grandparents. And my brothers and sisters of course. I'm the oldest of the bunch there. So when our Herding Mightyena gave birth, I got the first cub, this fella here," and he pointed at his Mightyena, which was just like ryan stuffing his face with all the food he could see. "And that's about my story. Nothing special."

 

[Shakomaru]

"And that's about my story. Nothing special."

"Oh wow, so another sinnoher? I should've guessed. Then again, I don't know much about Pokemon that aren't really native to sinnoh or johto, so I had no idea what you had there."

Once again Tom begins to talk. And talk. And talk some more. "Guess it's my turn huh? Alrighty then." He starts introducing his pokemon. "Well, I already told you about Kusari, but I've got more than her. "

He releases two more pokemon. "Well I guess I'll start with the one you helped me find. This here is Trapic." He points to the small tan Pokemon that looked like it had a metal plate covering its face. "He's my newest team member. Believe it or not, he's one of those fossil pokemon. Tripped over his fossil on a trip to oreburgh, and got it reanimated.

Then over here." He points at the black and orange dog. "This is my houndoom, Kalmia. I got her as an egg when I left for sinnoh."

he reaches for a pokeball without a symbol, unlike all his others. "And then I have..." Tom's face suddenly falls. "Three. I only have three." He starts to eat vigorously, his smile soon returning to his face.

"So who's ready for this tournament? I can't wait!"

 

[Pappytech]

"Anyone care to take the first step?"

At Caleb's prompting, Matt quietly cleared his throat, getting ready to speak up. However, just as he opened his mouth, Remy interjected with his own life story. "I guess I could contribute. Name's Remy Olivier..."

While he sampled the hotel's surprisingly delicious food, Matt attentively listened to Remy's short, sad tale. By the sound of things, the young man had led a hard life, and yet the Sinnoher was still apparently kind enough to help out strangers on the street! Matt felt his heart reach out to the talkative rogue; when Remy finished speaking he once more coughed quietly, preparing to thank him for his help, "I,"

"Oh wow, so another sinnoher? I should've guessed..."

Once more Matt found himself cut off, as Tom began bragging about his Pokemon. Still, it wasn't like he minded; listening to someone else ramble on about their own adventures were always better than sharing his own. As Tom continued to speak, Matt found himself admiring the trainer's teammates. Though he'd read about them and seen them on TV and the PC, this was his first time seeing these particular Sinnohite species; he was so enthralled he didn't even notice when Tom suddenly stopped talking, hastily stowing a fourth Pokeball back in his pack.

"So who's ready for this tournament? I can't wait!"

Resolved to contribute at least partially to the conversation, Matt found himself blurting out, somewhat louder than he had intended, "NEITHER CAN I!" Realizing that he had just shouted, the embarrassed lad hunched over to hide his reddening face, eyes looking at anything but his companions. "Well, that is, I think it'll be fun... I mean, it's not like I've got a shot at winning or anything, but it should still be a good experience, right? See lots of neat Pokemon, watch some really good trainers go at it, maybe learn a few new tricks?"

 

[Redryhno]

"Hehe, see?"

"Sure," Darius began, unsure of what to make of the woman who had just almost kicked him in the pipe,"Might want to be sure of where you're kickin' next time, girly." Darius took the pipe out of his mouth, and tapped it out in the ashtray.

"As for me and mine, we're heading up to our room and get some sleep. See you guys at the tournament tomorrow. Come on, guys, no, don't give them a show. Daffy, you've got a headache, I can tell, Knuckles, lets go." Darius sent the two of his pokemon back to their pokeballs and left the dining room. He climbed up to his room and let himself in, put his belt on the bedpost and was asleep within a few minutes.

 

[nuba km]

Lee took his time eating his lunch, it was a nice meal and he didn't want to rush it, he listened to the others talk, and had just finished eating as daria nearly kicked darius and showed the back of her jacket. after darius had left the table lee said 'a relentless assault is all well and good, but I nearly took out your hitmonlee with two attacks, and snover isn't even one of my fighting pokemon. You need to come up with plans for when a straight up attack might not work.'

 

[CJ1145]

"but I nearly took out your hitmonlee with two attacks..."

THUNK-TWANG

The noise was enough to catch Remy's attention from the other side of the room, as he looked over to see a fork sticking through the neighboring table halfway up the handle. Daria's chair had been thrown back five or six feet from her as she stood, and was now glaring at Lee like she had been possessed. Her shades had nearly flown off her face, and now dangled from a single ear as she leaned in close to snarl at him.

"NO... YOU... DIDN'T."

She jammed a finger into his chest; specifically, his solar plexus. Jet, the only one of her Pokemon in the room, looked away and covered his face. He had seen this before, and didn't want to be associated with it in any way.

"I give it my all every day training my Pokemon, and they give back double that! That's the bond between human and Pokemon; if we give it our all, and pull ourselves back up after every blow, there's nothing we can't accomplish! I couldn't stand to live with myself if I didn't believe in my team like that, and neither should you!" Her gaze intensified, and her pointing finger turned into a fist. She started to raise it, before a sound caught her attention.

"CHAR! CHARMELEON, CHAR!"

"Eh?"

Daria only had an instant to look towards the door before Spiegel tossed himself through the air, smacking his trainer across her face with his tail and flooring her.

"haaaaaaaa..." was the only sound Daria made as her breath escaped her, and consciousness slipped out of her grasp. A second later, she was out cold on the floor, her Charmeleon looking down at her with disapproval. Spiegel turned to the humans present and gave them an apologetic nod on behalf of his erratic trainer. He waved over Jet, who picked up Daria's legs as Spiegel got her arms. They hoisted her up, and slowly carried her out of the room and up to the bed she had rented for the night.

 

[nuba km]

Lee was at first startled and slightly scared at daria's actions, keeping his hand on octillery's pokeball. Though as daria continued talking Lee was filled with the anger as daria demonstarted; arrogance, ignorance and unnecessary aggression. Lee was about to give daria of piece of his mind but was cut short by her being knocked out, Lee calmly walked to his room, when he shut the door he let out a scream of frustration and went to sleep.

later that night duskull left his pokeball, a trick that he had learned long ago and lee had yet to find out about, duskull let out a chuckle as he left to mess with people.

Spoiler: OOC

duskull would mainly do this by moving stuff like pokeballs, keys, wallets and other items around while people sleep.

 

[JdaS]

"NEITHER CAN I!"

Remy nearly choked on his beer when the usually shy Matt suddnely yelled right next to his ear

"Well, that is, I think it'll be fun... I mean, it's not like I've got a shot at winning or anything, but it should still be a good experience, right? See lots of neat Pokemon, watch some really good trainers go at it, maybe learn a few new tricks?"

"That's the spirit kid!" Remy said assuringly while tapping the boy on the shoulder "Even if you lose, meeting new people and their cool partners is half the fun, right?" He asked, a beaming smile decorating his face as he finished, motioning towards Matt's Pokéballs. "Besides, I'm sure you'll do fine. You have a kick ass team right there.

THUNK-TWANG

"Hmm?"

The other tables' attention seemed focused on Daria as she had a falling out with Lee. The situation seemed volatile up until her surprisingly level-headed Pokémon knocked her out and carried her to bed. Lee followed suit, an unmistakeable look of frustration draped across his visage.

"Whew! That girl is a force of nature! Sure hope I don't have to face her in the tournament, eh kid?"

Remy then streched and got up to leave.

"I think I should hit the sack too. Thanks for the company fellas. Oh and Matt? See ya at the tournament kid."

Remy went to his room, turned off the lights and crashed almost instantly.

"Ahhh the wonders... of... alco...ZzZzZzZzZ..."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Caleb watched as the calamity unfolded between Daria and her Charmeleon. The fiery little lizard tackled her head on, crashing her to the ground, and leaving her unconscious. He and her Hitmonchan soon carried her off to her room, where she was soon followed by Lee, who she seemed to be getting into an argument as he showed the recognisable look of both anger and rage.

It was then Remy turn to leave, stretching as he got up.

"Whew! That girl is a force of nature! Sure hope I don't have to face her in the tournament, eh kid?"

"Yes, definitely a strong willed woman. I believe that I shall retire as well for the evening. A good night to you all." Caleb remarked, as he waved goodbye to the group of trainers, as he left the dining hall. But before that, he made a quick stop off at Daria's room. He knocked on the door, only to be greeted by her Charmeleon.

"Ah Spiegel, just came to check up on Daria. You know, both you and Jet are very loyal to her; I admire that very much. Give my regards to her. Anyway, I must be off, I feel that both of us will need the sleep tomorrow. Good night." Caleb said to the fiery lizard, as he shut the door. He then proceeded to his own room. Upon entering, he discovered that Raiden, Sebastian, and Angelique were already fast asleep; Raphael on the other hand, was out on the balcony, starring up out the stars.

"Beautiful night isn't it?" He asked.
"Comb?" Raphael responded, sounding confused at the question, but then nodded in agreement.

"We have certainly been through a lot haven't we? I know that tomorrow, our team will do great. Anyway, I think its time we both got some rest, don't want to be sleeping on the job. Good night." Caleb said as he walked back into the room, Raphael soon following behind him, closing the door afterwards. Caleb cast off his coat, putting it to one side, and got cosy underneath the sheets. As he drifted off to sleep, he could feel something furry get closer to him, upon his discovery, it was Sebastian, who briefly woke up to get comfortable with his trainer. All three of them, soon drifted off into slumber.

 

[Anayna]

Having finished his meal Rupert really wanted to find his room for some much needed time alone before going to bed. However, he had some trouble actually getting out of the booth. As a result of sitting in a corner of the booth Rupert would have to pass Tom on his way out. And try as he might he just couldn't muster the courage to inconvenience the talkative bundle of energy. At every lull in the conversation (of which there were not many) Rupert would try to conquer his fear of being a burden to others, but try as he might he never managed to. He knew that this fear was ludicrous but he couldn't help it; being surrounded by strangers like this had brought back his social anxiety with a vengeance.

"So who's ready for this tournament? I can't wait!"

"Oh, yeah. Can't wait." *gulp*

It was the sound from the next booth over that stopped Rupert from his feeble attempts to get up and instead froze him in his seat. This woman named Daria the Pewter Fist, whose name had been easy to catch because of how she had just shouted it loud and proud for everyone to hear, was now seemingly about to get into a fight with someone from her booth.

A fight? An actual physical fist-fight? Right here? Now?! The though terrified Rupert. He had never been in a fight. He had been in pokemon battles obviously, but never in an actual fight. He had to get out. He had to get out now. As the commotion rose Rupert feared that he would have an honest-to-goodness panic attack. With the sound of someone seemingly being clobbered (Spiegel tossed himself through the air, smacking his trainer across her face with his tail) he nearly did. Rupert leapt up from his seat, bypassing a bevildered Tom, and ran out of the dining hall without a look at the bar-room brawl that he was imagining in his head.

When Rupert finally calmed down he found himself on an upper floor of the hotel. Everything was quiet. He felt stupid. He wasn't sure if a fight had actually broken out or not, but he had overreacted in any case. There wasn't much else to do other than to find his room, get some sleep, and try to get ready to get through another day. Oh man, he was not looking forward to that tournament.

Actually, Rupert suddenly remembered, there was something else to do. He wondered if his room had some sort of computer available. He wanted to do some research on Ryan's lone pokemon, Mightyena. Specifically Rupert wanted to find out why his Haunter had had such an odd reaction to it. Rupert didn't consider himself much of a trainer, but he trusted his pokemon. If Haunter didn't want to face Mightyena, there had to be some reason for it.

 

[toobie]

After the delicious meal Ryan noticed how tired he was after traveling here. He was planning on leaving, but Rupert beat him to it; He leapt towards his bedroom in a somewhat erratic way. "It seems like he really wants to go to bed, 'innit? Well I'll be turning meself in also. Wouldn't want to be groggy the first day of the tournament, would we?" And then he left, waving everyone goodbye for the night. "Goodnight lads!"

He and Mightyena went to their Bedroom, and almost immediately fell asleep.

 

[Shakomaru]

"It seems like he really wants to go to bed, 'innit? Well I'll be turning meself in also. Wouldn't want to be groggy the first day of the tournament, would we?"

"Ah, sorry Rupert, didn't notice. Come to think of it I'm getting tired myself. Let's call it it a day guys." Tom let out a huge yawn, stood up, and stretched. And almost hit Rupert in the face. "Heh, sorry about that... Um here, I'll let you out. C'mon guys." Tom got out off the booth and went back upstairs.

In his room, Tom flopped down on the bed. "Alright team, tournament tomorrow. I.."
"Skor?" "Huh? Oh right."

Tom took the pokeball he had previously hidden In his bag back out and released a large aqua reptilian Pokemon. "Sorry buddy, but I really can't use you for a while. Second level evolutions are really rare at this point, and I'm not sure that people will think using you is fair. But hey, I'll make it up to you. We can go for a walk in the morning. Maybe do some last minute training. Get you some fresh air, ok?"

"Gator!"

"Great. Let's get some shuteye then. Gotta wake up early."

 

[JdaS]

The sound of fireworks and excitement was everywhere. It was a beautiful Summer morning as the 11 Trainers from The Sleeping Sunkern made their way to the stadium. It was a sight to see. Hundreds of Trainers from all over had made their way to Goldenrod for the event, all of them looking for glory.

As they all gathered near the entrance a portly man in a loud shirt and black shades made his way to a microphone.

"*tap**tap* Is this thing on? Good, well, WELCOME TRAINERS, to the 2nd Annual All Regions tournament. My name is Scott and I'm the President of the All Regions Tournament Federation, in fact, some of you might know me as the pioneer that brought you the Battle Frontier!
*ahem* But enough about me, as you can see we've got hundreds of contestants here today. Only the BEST is enough to take home the gold! Do you have what it takes? LET'S FIND OUT!"
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And with that, Scott unveiled a big screen with the tournament brackets on it. There were 20 groups of 10 Trainers each. After a quick scan Remy found his name.

"You have to be shitting me..."


GROUP 14

Remy Olivier x Daria Pace
Matt Seras x Kayla Denit
Caleb Grey x Nicolas Tagnoni
Forte x Ken Capins
Jack Almond x Dimitri Harris

GROUP 16

Lee Brook x Ike Sherman
Darius O'Kere x Savannah Iris
Tom Relict x Rupert Gravel
Jeremy Moore x Ryan Oliver
Tony Iverson x Seth Killian
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Good afternoon, battle fans and welcome back to PBBN for the Group 14 qualifying battles! We've seen some insanely electrifying matches thus far, isn't that right Andy?

That's right Terry, it's crazy how Trainers just seem to be getting better and better each year. We've seen some real characters here today with some Pokémon that just take your breath away! But enough about that, let's move right along as our first Group 14 contestants make their way onto the field

You read my mind Terry! Now then: IN THE RED CORNER, FROM VEILSTONE CITY, SINNOH, REMY OLIVIER!!!

"Of 200 Trainers I just had to get the insane "Pewter Fist" didn't I?"

AND THE BLUE CORNER, FROM PEWTER CITY, KANTO, DARIA PACE!!!!

 

[CJ1145]

AND THE BLUE CORNER, FROM PEWTER CITY, KANTO, DARIA PACE!!!!

An open palm slapped on Remy Olivier's back, though in all fairness it was more in line with an artillery barrage. As he lurched forward, Daria leaned down with him to give an aside glance to her upcoming opponent. Her surprisingly tight-fitted shades sealed up her eyes completely, but that was no issue; the fire burning underneath was more a thing that was felt than any sensible sort of sensory intake.

Grinning as wildly and madly as ever, she told her opponent, "Good luck out there, Snow-boy!"

She stood back up, chuckling to herself as she moved to her corner. As she went, she plucked four Pokeballs off of her belt to give them a closer look. Hm... Graveler and Charmeleon are both weak to water types. If he's got a water-type I need a counter. Gemini or Jet... All right, then.

Making her choices, she tossed one Pokeball inside of her bag and re-attached the three she'd be using for this round of the tournament. She arrived at the blue corner in a burst of energy, waving and making all manner of mad motions towards the audience to rile them up as she waited for her opponent to ready himself.

 

[JdaS]

"I guess it's up to me to make the first move, right then..."

Taking out a Dusk Ball from his pants pocket, Remy sent his first partner.

"Sneasel! You're up!"

Sneasel!

Sneasel appeared in a flash of a weird dark veil and settled into a combat stance.

"Your move."

 

[CJ1145]

Daria observed the opponent's Pokemon carefully, a dark little creature with sharp claws and a none-too-friendly face. She grinned as she plucked a Pokeball off of her belt. "Dang, I chose well didn't I?"

She leaned back into a pitcher's stance, holding the ball in her hand, when suddenly she stopped to wave up at the nearest camera. "Yo, Mom! Dad! Dirk! Watch me smoke this guy, all right?!" She turned back, and with the force of a star baseball player sent her Pokeball careening out into the field. "Let's jam, Spiegel!"

The ball opened in the iconic flash of white light, and out popped the Charmeleon, cracking his joints and raring to go. "Spiegel, ya ready to shine?!"

"MELE!" the lizard responded, pounding his two fists together. Daria's teeth beamed like diamonds as she retracted into a fighting stance; the crowd was a bit worried she was about to take a field, for a second, but instead she threw a left hook into the air and shouted.

"KICK IT OFF, SPIEGEL! SMOKESCREEN!"

"Chaaaaaar...." Spiegel exhaled slowly, letting a dark shroud spill out from his mouth and fill up the arena. As the black fumes restricted the Sneasel's vision, Spiegel looked back at his trainer for confirmation. She nodded and pointed at the smoke, and on his cue Spiegel jumped straight in.

 

[JdaS]

As Spiegel covered the area in thick smoke, Remy chuckled.

"Heheh. You do know that Sneasel has Keen Eye right? You just gave him free pass to beat your Charmeleon undetected. SNEASEL! Faint Attack!"

Sneeee...--

Sneasel could be heard running around Spiegel in the smoke. Then, for a split second, the steps seemed to stop.

SELLL!!!

Sneasel exclaimed as it smacked Charmeleon out of the slowly dissipating smokescreen.

"You're gonna have to try something else, girl."

 

[CJ1145]

"Spiegel! Are ya all right?!"

The Charmeleon laid there on the ground for a second, eyes tightly knit shut, before grumbling out a grunt of assurance to his trainer. Spiegel rose to his feet, glaring that the cocky litlte Sneasel on the other side of the field.

"All right, Spiegel! They want something else, let's give it to 'em! Ya know what to do!"

Spiegel gave a sly little smile to himself. It was time for Fire Fang. Charmeleon charged straight at the Sneasel, his teeth slowly becoming wreathed in little gouts and licks of flame. Then, just as he got close, Spiegel side-stepped to his left, and came in for the kill from Sneasel's left. "CHAR!"