In Her Name: A Pokémon RP (Game Thread)(CLOSED,STARTED)

[Dogmatic99]

Couples suite? COUPLES SUITE!?

Mel had booked them a couple suite! Normally Danny would have found a woman who could be confident and forward enough to tell you what she wanted uber super hot, but they'd only just met. How had she even done that?! Was she psychic? Danny's mom had always warned him about psychic girls, or she would have, if she was a fear monger... which she was not! How dare you suggest something like that about Danny's dear sweet momma!

"E-excuse me!" Mel thundered, "Correction: four more rooms... no couple suites!"

Or it was a mistake... yeah that made a lot more sense. Though she seemed pretty darn offended by the notion.

"N-no offence, of course! You've... you've been nothing but kind and friendly!"

Danny's chest swelled with warm, fuzzy pride as a big dumb, fangy, grin got stamped over his face. 'Soooooo cuuuuute!' How did she make her eyes so big?

"No problem!" Danny gave a wink and a thumbs up as he collected his keys to lucky room 13. Cus that was what cool guys did! Right?

"Hey, uh, maybe once you're unpacked we can-" Whatever Danny was about to awkwardly ask dies in his throat, smothered by a mighty gasp as over Mel's shoulder he saw the fine, tower creature that'd come in behind them. In a flash he was through the line and standing in awe of them, his orange eyes glittering with joy. "Is this your Arcanine?" He asked the doctory looking guy it was standing near.

"You're as beautiful as the stories said." His voice quivered. "Oh the pictures don't do you guys justice!" And he was into full on breeder mode now. "Check out this coat! And that paw span! Aaaw but they've got just the right weight distribution!" Danny's tone was getting to somewhere between a small child meeting a puppy and an old pro finding a masterpiece of their field. "And feel the heat coming off of you, that's the sign of a fine fire dog, not like the lizard guys where it's all on the outside, you wanna keep it in here." He patted his chest with his fist. "Right where you want it."

It was right around now that Danny managed to notice the odd looks he was getting. "HI!" He leaped up proper and grabbed the Arcanine's trainer's hand in a hearty handshake. "Name's Danny, That is one crazy impressive Arcanine you got there!"

 

[Terratina.]

"No problem!"

Well, that was a relief.

Although the girl had only seen Danny wear that stupid grin ever since the two had met, the wink and thumbs up convinced her that other Trainer hadn't been offended in the slightest. In fact, the guy had moved on to bothering another pair of Pokémon and Trainer. Just one of those people that moved from one thing to another, perhaps? Regardless, she picked up the key for Room 11. Wait. His was Room 13, right? Maybe that was why the prices were so cheap? Often or not, some hotels had completely forgot about the number thirteen altogether out of superstition, pandering to the more paranoid of people. Nah... More importantly, Room 11 was probably next to Room 13, right? Well, unless the Sleeping Sunkern had one odd room order.

Which meant that she would see more of the bumbling Pokémon Trainer.

What exactly did he want, anyway?

With a sigh, she grabbed the key and placed the money - half of her remaining Poké Dollars on the counter, continuing on to her room. Mel collapsed onto the bed. She had never been good with money and the reality of being low on cash was beginning to settle in. It would certainly help to win the 2nd Annual All Regions Tournament, but Mel had her doubts. She definitely wasn't a Pro Trainer or anything -- not that she had any doubt in her team, just that the very best had dragged their asses to Goldenrod to win that trophy. Either way, she probably had Casper to blame for dragging her here.

Speaking of which, it was time to let him and the others have a stretch...

"Haunter!"

"Grrrimer!"

"WOBBUFFET~ Wobbu, wobbu, wobbu. Wobbu, wobbu, WOBB--"

[HEADING=3]

*BIFF* *BOFF* *BOMP*​

[/HEADING]

Immediately, the rest of the ragtag group launched themselves upon poor Ziggy... Which happened almost every time. Eight out of ten was possibly the lowest estimate.

Still, Mel couldn't blame them; still, it wasn't very nice.

She noticed Kero yawning in the corner, it seemed that this was one of those days where only some of her Pokémon decided to gang up against one of their own.

"Stop, please." The exasperated Trainer said to the rowdy lot, hand rubbing her forehead. "Let's just get some supper, okay?"

Good and golden, or perhaps it was just the mention of food, they stopped and followed their trainer down to the dining room. Food and sleep - you had to admit, it was a tempting combination.

From what seemed to be the menu, the young Trainer ordered some food then chose a lonesome empty table - hopefully far enough to save the others the 'joy' of Grimm's, well, grim stench - and sat down with her Pokémon. If it was one thing Mel had, it was a good sense of what they wanted. The more vocal of the lot had bugged her enough about through her journey. Mel closed her eyes and took a deep breath - it may have been nosy but at least the self-appointed leader of the gang, Casper, was keeping things under control as far as her own Pokémon was concerned.

 

[Anayna]

Still riding high on his own pep-talk Dave navigated the inn's stairwell (leaping down the last three steps and only almost falling flat on his face), and positively swaggered into the dining room.

Said dining room was pretty empty save for a red-haired young man and his entourage of pokémon sitting in a booth noisily devouring their evening meal. Well, it wasn't much but determined to make the best impression possible Dave strode by Remy's booth, every muscle in his body straining to appear as causal as possible, and gave the unknown trainer both a nod of the head and a pointed hand flourish.

"Sup?"

Oh yeah. That was good. Real suave. That guy is gonna remember me when he sees my face on the TV as the winner of the Goldenrod Tournament. Dave meant it too.

Thusly satisfied that it had been established that he was clearly the coolest cat in the room, Dave sat down in the booth opposite Remy's and let out his Pikachu and Hitmonchan. Never mind the Ponyta and Shellder that made up the rest of the team. Those two had eaten on the way here, and Dave was fairly sure that this place didn't serve hay and krill anyway.
After a minute of looking over the menu the lovely Susanne came out to see if they were ready to order. Dave couldn't hide a faint blush at the sight of the young woman, and straightened the spikes of his frosted hair.

"Good evening. What can I get you boys?"

"Uh... I'll have the extra spicy 'Thyplosive Pizza'. 'Cause I like it hot, you know? Heh... And, uh, these two will have... Well, why don't we ask them? I happen to be an expert in pokémon speech. I guess it's a gift. I've always been very gifted. Been talking to all kinds of pokémon ever since I was a kid. Like, check this out, check this out! Hitmonchan, what do you want to eat?"

In truth Dave was actually pretty good at understanding the wants and needs of his own team, but that's as far as his supposed "gift" went. The humble Hitmonchan, not wanting to embarrass his trainer simply played along and made some grunts to ask for some plain poffins.

"Ah, you see that. He's asking for poffins. Sweet poffins, to be exact. I can hear these things. It's all about the intonation, you see. Most people don't know that. It takes real skill as a trainer to learn this, you know. Let's try this again. Yo, Pikachu! What do you want?"

"Pika pi chau," the extraordinarily grumpy looking Pikachu answered.

"You want what? Speak up, girl, I didn't quite catch that."

"Pi..."

"You want... for 'm-me'...?"

"Pika pi..."

"For 'me to go'..."

"Pika pi chau."

"You want me 'to go suck on a Grimer's...' ! Oh! Uh, never mind that! You didn't hear that! Uh, she'll have have the cherry tomato and pine nut salad! Yeah. Yeah, that's what she said."

 

[CJ1145]

Dante's fingers snatched the room key from the old woman, and thanked her. "Lucky number fifteen!" His Rufflet squawked in agreement, both oblivious to the fact that fifteen was not a lucky number. Jingling the little key, his attention shifted from the nearby dining area to the way up towards his room. A difficult choice: rest, or food? "Rest, or food..." His deliberation was interrupted by the rumbling of his stomach. The big man blushed as his hand rested over his belly. "Heh... food it is. I'm gonna grab some grub, Miss Heller. Feel free to join us!" He scrambled towards the delightful smell of fresh food, finding himself in a room with a few other trainers. He picked out an acquaintance in the making, and sat himself across the table from Remy Olivier, throwing up a salute as he examined him.

"Howdy!" said Dante, slipping into his chair and leaning back. The seat tilted, balancing on the rear two legs. His lips squirmed into a bemused smile as he examined the young man. "Yer a long way from Sinnoh. Here for the tournament, I reckon?" He pulled three Pokeballs from his belt, the remainder of his team. "Hrm... Ancalagos, Eclair, you'd probably best wait inside there a little while. If you break anything they'll probably make me fix it. An' no offense, I don't want a repeat of Ecruteak." He picked out a Luxury Ball, however, and nodded to it. "You're small enough. C'mon out, Geist!"

"Mis-maaaagius!" The Mismagius yawned, stretching out its limbs and smacking its lips as it woke up from a long nap. Geist's eyes scanned her surroundings, setting on a pile of food on Remy's plate. She licked her lips. "Mag!" From above the table the ghost made a slow descent, coming down from above the plate of food, snatching up the platter with her dress' tendrils, and phasing down beneath the wooden surface, then the floor. Geist was gone, and the stranger's lunch with her. Dante sighed, crossing his arms and chuckling at the precocious Pokemon. "You'd think she'd have learned some manners... hey, sorry about that, pal. What kinda grub do they serve here, anyway?"

 

[Pappytech]

The room may have been a bit on the small side, but it was clean, didn't stink of Garbodor, and was more than serviceable for a small party of four. A window on the north wall provided a less than stellar view of several buildings right across the street (not that Ditzy particularly minded. The Quagsire found most vistas entertaining.), there was a TV with access to local cable, a mostly functional air conditioning unit, a desk and chair, a small dresser, and a queen-sized bed. And of course, a bathroom that had several distinct types of water, ranging from ice-cold to almost-room-temperature! All in all, it was a perfectly nice room, and Grace was more than content to simply collapse onto the bed and curl up for a bit.

Her Pokémon, however, felt a bit differently. While Sasaki and Ditzy would doubtless enjoy channel flipping (hopefully finding a rerun of Munchlax in the Middle or Breaking Baltoy or something) later, right now there was something of much higher importance: Getting some eats.

After being subjected to a few minutes of poking and complaining from the trio of peckish Pokémon, Grace finally, if a little reluctantly, acknowledged that maybe dinner was of more importance than a nap. Besides, that dining room had smelled pretty good as she'd passed on her way upstairs. Maybe they'd even have some Cinnabar Volcano Bakemeat...

And maybe the dining room would also be crowded full of most of the hotel's other occupants. Doing her best to avoid eye-contact (doubly so in the case of Dante Pace. Grace still wasn't all that sure what she thought about the bizarre man), the young woman and her team made their way through the ordering process and tried to find an isolated table. Alas, it looked like they had gotten there a bit late; most of the seats in the small dining area were already taken. So, compromising, Grace and company headed over to one of the least-occupied corners of the room, and settled down at Mel's table. "H-hi," Grace said to the other girl. "Um... Mind if we sit here? Most everyplace is taken, so..."

 

[Texas Joker 52]

= HARLEY =​

Harley stepped out of her room in short order, followed closely behind by her team of Pokemon, locking her room's door once they were all out. Making her way down the stairs, she stepped back into the entryway and only gave the two Trainers and the Arcanine a passing glance. They weren't a concern, at least not at the moment, and she had something more important than the tournament on her mind right then.

But as she approached the dining room, she heard the sounds of table conversation and eating. The grin that spread on her face was instantly recognized by each of her Pokemon, who exchanged glances with one another.

"Com Combusken-Busken?" asked Fahrenheit in a quiet, exasperated squawk as he looked at the others.

"Zor." Cutter offered, only giving the barest of shrugs.

Godmother didn't seem to respond, only staring up at Harley, while Celsius covered her mouth with a hand to muffle her soft chuckle. The red-head didn't seem to notice their exchange however as she brushed off her clothes, then got her phone and speakers ready just outside the doorway. Once she felt that she was presentable, she pressed play.

Spoiler: Prepare for Trouble

The song blared for a full moment before she began.

"PREPARE FOR TROUBLE, AND ON THE DOUBLE!" she announced, stepping out into the entryway, followed by her Pokemon.

Her timing was practiced and perfect.

"TO SCORCH THE WORLD WITH THE FLAMES OF AMBITION! TO TAKE IT ALL OVER HAS BEEN OUR MISSION!", she continued, sweeping her hand before her.

"TO TRAIN THE STRONGEST OF POKEMON! TAKE IT FROM ME, IT WON'T TAKE LONG!", she sang while waving a dismissive hand right on cue.

While her Pokemon did their best to look threatening, Harley jabbed a thumb into her chest and gave those in the dining room a wicked smile.

"HARLEY'S MY NAME, AND TEAM ROCKET BLASTS OFF AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT!" Harley roared, raising a finger to the heavens, then promptly thrusting that same finger to the seated Trainers in challenge as she finished the last verse, "SURRENDER NOW, OR PREPARE FOR A FIGHT!"

Her eyes scanned the room as the song finished, then she relaxed and turned her phone off. Not long since she had started her motto, she strode in as if it hadn't even happened, though there was a swagger to her step as she grabbed a menu and chose a seat across from Remy since it was free.

"Hey Remy. Anything that really stands out on the menu?" she asked casually as she opened it and skimmed its contents.

 

[Terratina.]

A serving of grub later...

"Um... Mind if we sit here? Most everyplace is taken, so..."

Mel paused and looked up at the other girl, and her eyes fell upon the necklace. It was kinda cute, in its own little pewter way. The awkward pause seemed to last for forever, well, until Grimer belched. Quickly remembering that the poor girl was probably as nervous as she was, Mel responded with, "O-of course! Er, I hope you don't mind the s-smell."

Casper jabbed her in the sides - she had neglected introducing herself, again.

The Gas Pokémon knew his Trainer well, but her conduct was somewhat frustrating at times. She had to learn how to confront the world without any umming or arring or ahhing or suttering sooner or later. That was the whole point of dragging Mel out here. Though, the other girl seemed like a godsend. Maybe she would show Mel how exasperating a painfully shy person was.

However, another girl walked into the dining room and...

"PREPARE FOR TROUBLE, AND ON THE DOUBLE!"

Mel immediately cowered at the sound of Team Rocket's motto. What were they doing here? They haven't done anything, well, since a certain crimson character had dealt with them. Maybe they were back?! Mel darted her head around the dining room in panic - were they going to take her Pokémon? Her dear, dear friends? Unfortunately, one seemed to have switched sides.

"WOBBUFFET, WOBBU WOBBU WOBBU~!" Ziggy sang as he popped up with... a salute?

Bits of food went everywhere.

"Ziggy! Please don't sing with your mouth full!" Mel begged.

Casper, on the other hand, saw an opportunity for a prank and a way to calm Mel down. He had his fill of food anyway and left the rest of his portion to greedy Grimer, who - no doubt - was grateful of the donation. Wordlessly, the Ghost-type floated over to the Team Rocket Fan and made off with her bandana. Returning to Mel's table, Casper then made a show of using the bandana like one with a cold would use a tissue, complete with a comedic raspberry sound. Hopefully the owner didn't mind too mind.

Mel let a small giggle, "J-just, just give it back already."

 

[JdaS]

Remy was about halfway through his dinner when a somewhat geeky looking young man entered the dining room, catching his attention. The Sinnohan followed the boy as he appeared to very awkwardly swagger over to his booth and...

"Sup?"

Remy just stared back at the kid, eyes wide in bemusement, as they followed the kid to the table he then took. Then, he calmly returned to his dinner, utterly forgetting to even acknowledge the boy's existence. Primeape however had noticed Dave, and was feeling a stronger than usual rage towards this particular Trainer, something he himself had trouble understanding...

"Howdy! Yer a long way from Sinnoh. Here for the tournament, I reckon?"

The Veilstonian was interrupted again, this time by a somewhat older man, who had quite loudly joined him at his booth. By the sound of him, a Johtoan, albeit a slight Kanto air had taken hold of the man. He muttered something about two of his Pokémon and Ecruteak.

Hmmm. Must be big Pokémon... At least Tauros sized...

"You're small enough. C'mon out, Geist!"

A Mismagius came out, much to the visible dismay of Remy, whose face took on an even paler complexion as well as a bit of a frown.

Ugh... Ghost-types... Hate these guys...

His feelings seemed to be reciprocated by the rest of his team, with Zangoose, Sneasel and Primeape all taking a minute from their meals to glare at the intangible being next to them, before cautiously returning to their dinners. It was at this time that Remy decided to finally speak up.

"Well yeah and no. Been touring the country for a good number of years now. Started from my home region, Sinnoh. Went to Hoenn for a while, passed through Kanto and been in Johto for a year now. Settled in this city for a while. Tournament came up, wallet's empty, figured we'd give it a shot."

He said motioning to the ragtag quartet on the floor, Darumaka curiously eyeing Geist as she sized up Remy's meal. Before swiftly making off with it. Zangoose and Primeape tried to stop the Ghost-type, only to fail miserably and hit each other in the face.

"You'd think she'd have learned some manners... hey, sorry about that, pal. What kinda grub do they serve here, anyway?"

"Ah well, I was getting kinda full anyway. Don't sweat it. As for the food, they'll serve you just about anything. The 'Tasty Tauros Burger' is pretty damn juicy though. Not made of actual Tauros, obviously." Remy said as he took another swig of his beer. No use in getting heated about it. For one, expecting a Ghost-type to not ruin your day was like expecting a Zangoose to stay cool next to a Seviper. And then there was this Dante Pace character. Remy had been around and seen enough shady cats to tell that this guy was not to be messed with.

Speaking of shady cats.

"PREPARE FOR TROUBLE, AND ON THE DOUBLE!
TO SCORCH THE WORLD WITH THE FLAMES OF AMBITION! TO TAKE IT ALL OVER HAS BEEN OUR MISSION!
TO TRAIN THE STRONGEST OF POKEMON! TAKE IT FROM ME, IT WON'T TAKE LONG!
HARLEY'S MY NAME, AND TEAM ROCKET BLASTS OFF AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT!
SURRENDER NOW, OR PREPARE FOR A FIGHT!"

Remy was gobsmacked. Between the weird, campy music, the odd poses and the ridiculously over-the-top statement, the red haired youth was beginning to wonder if this, along with the weird old guy and the weird geeky guy he'd seen earlier was but a weird, alcohol fueled dream.
Harley on the other hand, had finished her little intro and made her way to Remy and Dante's booth.

"Hey Remy. Anything that really stands out on the menu?"

Snapping out of his trance, Remy tried to construct some semblance of a coherent sentence.

"Uhhh... Yeah, uhh... Tauros. Burger. Very tasty, yeah."

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Spoiler: Moozec

Blitz squeezed herself through the crack in the door the instant Ella had unlocked it, barking excitedly as she ran a lap around the room before the girl had even entered the place. Matchstick was a lot more restrained, perching on his hind legs, he held onto a tuft of Ella's hair, grunting curiously as they both entered.

Letting out a ling whistle, Ella placed her hands on her hips, kicking her foot out behind her, she gently tapped the door of room 10 closed. "We scored big with this one guys, no way a room like this should have been that cheap, mwahaha." She cackled with mock deviousness, Matchstick joined in as he matched her laugh and pose.

Brushing a thumb across her nose, she smiled as she tapped the two pokeballs attached to belt. "I bet the other two wouldn't mind the chance to stretch their legs." She chuckled as she released her Kirlia and Mienfoo. "Hi guys! Sorry about the long wait." She put her hands behind her head as she looked down at the two arrivals, Matchstick barking happily as he hopped down onto Serenity's head, the Kirlia's happy chirps cut short as the Cyndaquil lay flat on her head, her surprise fading quickly as she raised her hands to pat her friend on the snout.

Tai Chi merely nodded his head gently in appreciation, his arms crossed over his chest, a stoic expression on his face as his headband waved gently, despite the lack of any kind of draft to fuel such movement. Ella had long since given up trying to fathom how such a thing was possible. The headband's motives were mysterious, Tai Chi knew this and did not question them. Despite his calm demeanour, he was restless, he had been without a battle for far too long.

Blitz barked loudly as she hopped up and down on the end of the single bed, claiming her place of rest for the coming days.

Serenity cooed gently as she held out her arms, Ella smiling warmly as she grabbed the Kirlia's hands. "I would have let you out sooner, but the city was absolutely jam packed, and I know how crowds make you anxious." Serenity shook her head, dismissing the issue, chirping happily as she squeezed the girl's palms. As long as she was with her trainer, everything was fine.

Ella nodded, winking at Serenity as she let go of her hands. "Anyway, I'm bloody starvin', let's get some food!"

Matchstick and Serenity squeaked in agreement, Blitz barked her approval, and Tai Chi merely let out a quiet grunt, his headband stroking the air as he looked into the distance solemnly.


As the team made their way downstairs, Ella raised an eyebrow. Was that music she could hear? It didn't sound particularity hotel-eque.

Blitz ran ahead like she always did, the Jolteon always claimed it was for recon purposes, but Ella knew differently, calling out for Blitz to slow down, but to no avail. Looking down at her other three companions, she nodded silently, the three Pokemon returning her nod in understanding.

Rushing after Blitz before she could cause any trouble, they skidded to a halt behind the Jolteon, he head tilted in confusion at the scene before her.

"HARLEY'S MY NAME, AND TEAM ROCKET BLASTS OFF AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT! SURRENDER NOW, OR PREPARE FOR A FIGHT!"

Ella and the rest of the team followed suit, all tilting their heads as they watched the display of... Well, display of something.

Except Tai Chi, of course, he continued to look towards some unknown location, his arms crossed over his chest as his headband stroked the air behind him.

"I... what?" Ella muttered, raising an eyebrow as she glanced at Matchstick and Serenity, both of them shrugging at her, Blitz turned to face the rest of her team, a whimper escaping her snout as she shared in their confusion.

 

[Dogmatic99]

"Yeah, y'know I always wanted to try and find a Growlithe but y'know it's tough to find one outside of Kanto and I just haven't gotten round to heading out that way yet." He really should have too, he could have stopped by Mom's home town and Belle could have gotten in touch with her roots. Maybe they could do it if they won the tournament. "I mean I got the chance to trade for one a few years back but no way was I gunna let one of my guys go. I dunno trading, man, it's never quite sat right with me. Like, no judgement and stuff but you gotta check each other out first if you're gunna be pokemon and trainer right? Am I right?"

Danny hadn't stopped shaking the poor guy's arm all through this ramble. He only slowed down when a loud growl cut him off and it didn't come from any of the pokemon present. "Ohhooo, well..." Danny trailed off as his stomach made the grumblies. "Guess that's my cue to refuel." Danny laughed.

His room was pretty spacey considering the price, it even had a nice little radio to catch some tunes on. Danny let his bulky backpack land on the bed with a thump before reaching for the shrunken pokeballs at his belt.

"Okay everybody, time to get a breather." He smiled as the pack was unleashed.

Doom went about lazily sniffing out the perimeter while Belle made herself comfortable on the bed.

"Vul! Vul,Vulpix." She barked happily as she bounced around on the bed, looking over the edge as if it was some great height. The happy look on her little face could warm Danny no matter his mood.

"Another good call from you, Belle." He stroked her velvet soft fur lightly as he sat down on the bed and Belled bounced up onto her hind legs, nuzzling into his hand. He hadn't played with her enough recently.

Everyone made themselves comfy as Danny went about unpacking what little he had, wrestling with Sparks as the little Electrike made a game of tug out of everything. At least when they were done Danny could chill out for a little. Well, the others could chill out, hunger was making Danny all kinds of restless. He didn't last too long.

"How about we grab some grub before the we have to get too busy training, huh?" That got some happy barks from everybody, except Subbull, who just grunted as she flipped through the free brochure.

"Awesome!" They should have room for everybody down there right? 'Hmm, maybe we better play it safe.' Danny and the pack had gotten thrown out of enough places for all charging in and he couldn't take that risk after parting with $500. His wallet was feeling pretty light these days. "Just a quick trip guys, you'll be out soon." And everybody quickly disappeared into their balls, except for Sparks who kept dodging the beam.

"Gunna make this tough are ya' Sparky?" The little Electrike gave a few yaps back, jumping a little with each one. "Okay, okay. I'll see if we can score you a kids meal." Danny grinned, scooping Spark's up. Sparks made his displeasure at that remark very clear as he used his tiny claws to clamber up onto Danny's shoulder as he'd seen countless other pokemon do. It didn't seem to matter to Spark's that he wasn't built for perching as his front and back legs dangled over their respective sides of Danny's shoulder.

They made their way downstairs, Sparks happily bobbing along with the rhythm of Danny's stride, his tongue dangling around as he panted with energy. Both of them tilted their heads in unison once they saw the opening entertainment in the dining room though.

"HARLEY'S MY NAME, AND TEAM ROCKET BLASTS OFF AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT! SURRENDER NOW, OR PREPARE FOR A FIGHT!"

"Say what?" Danny asked after an awkward silence. Sparks just shrugged. How was he supposed to know these things?

Anyway, the two of them quickly found a table. 'Sweet, whole tables!' and everybody else was letting out their teams, so this place must have been cool! In a flash each chair a Danny's table was filled by a dog pokemon, though it was only the girls who didn't let their side down.

"AW YES and they have Tasty Tauros Burgers! Score!" Five Burgers and fries all round, today was getting better and better. Of course Belle also demanded tea, as was her way, and quickly plomped herself right on her butt on top of the table one their order arrived, wrapping all four of her paws around the tall cup. The others dug in as fast as they could, their food disappearing in a storm of meat and drool.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

= HARLEY =​

It took her a moment to realize that her bandana was gone. Without it, her red hair simply fluffed out into messy spikes that went every-which-way. Frowning a little to herself, she looked around for where it might have gone when she overheard a giggle behind her, as well as a blowing sound.

"J-just, just give it back already."

She turned, and the irritated look on her face was reminiscent of a particularly rude and unruly Mankey from Northern Kanto. Who was on fire. All the time. Striding up to the Haunter, she locked her eyes with Casper's.

"You looking to start a fight?" she asked quietly.

As one, each of her own Pokemon turned to look at the Haunter, then looked amongst themselves. Before anyone could say anything, Harley slowly smiled in amusement.

"I'd say you've got spirit, but seeing as you're a Ghost Type... Still, I'd like that back." Harley told him, holding out her hand.

Once she had it back, her Pokemon seemed to shrug and relax, and she sat back down across from Remy. After taking the time to tie the bandana back on her head, she looked back at the menu. Once the waitress was at the table, she ordered for her Pokemon, before deciding on two Tauros Burgers for herself. Then she leaned back as she waited for her food, smiling a little to herself.

"I have to say, I like this inn already. It's homey." she said.

 

[Arcanist]

Anthony accepted the key with a grateful nod. "Thank you, ma'am." He stowed it in his bag, along with his notebook. He could see Kelvin staring at his bag, eyes glaring right at the pocket he knew Anthony kept his pokeballs. Anthony sighed to himself - he DID promise he'd let them out when they got to the hotel, but he still wasn't sure it was wise to release them all in such a cramped space. Luckily, Kelvin's attention was soon diverted away by a scruffy-looking boy examining him with an expression of total awe.

"Is this your Arcanine?" Anthony nodded. "His name's Kelvi-"

"You're as beautiful as the stories said." The boy paid him little mind and continued to gush, extolling at great length how Kelvin was a choice specimen of the species. Kelvin, for his part, certainly didn't mind the praise, lifting paws and preening when requested.

"Oh the pictures don't do you guys justice!" And he was into full on breeder mode now. "Check out this coat! And that paw span! Aaaw but they've got just the right weight distribution! And feel the heat coming off of you, that's the sign of a fine fire dog, not like the lizard guys where it's all on the outside, you wanna keep it in here. Right where you want it." Kelvin sat with a self-satisfied expression on his face, basking in the boy's endless praise. Anthony rolled his eyes - he was a choice Arcanine, for sure, but he had a problem of letting it get to his head every now and then. "Kelvin, we really should be-"

"HI!" Before Anthony had a chance to react, the boy had bolted up to him and was vigorously shaking his hand. "Name's Danny, That is one crazy impressive Arcanine you got there!"

"Uh... thanks. I'm Anthony, by th-" Anthony's self-introduction was interrupted by a loud growl from Danny's stomach, who proceeded to lose interest in his current conversation to head off in search of food. Kelvin sulked for a moment with his newfound fanboy gone, but he perked up again a moment later, sniffing the air with excitement. He nudged Anthony in the back, pushing him deeper in to the hotel. "Woa there, Kelvin! Slow down! I suppose I still need to feed you all, but-" Kelvin ignored his trainer, eventually pushing him right into what appeared to be a dining room.

 

[Anayna]

Dave was sitting in his booth, noisily shoveling entire pizza slices into his mouth, when the loud blast of music nearly shocked him out of his seat. It did, however, shock a slice of pizza straight down his gullet, which in turn led to Dave finding that he was choking. He didn't have much time to devote to this new, quite terminal, condition though, as what happened next was so astounding as to require him to ignore the whole 'dying' thing.

"PREPARE FOR TROUBLE, AND ON THE DOUBLE! TO SCORCH THE WORLD WITH THE FLAMES OF AMBITION! TO TAKE IT ALL OVER HAS BEEN OUR MISSION!"

There was a red-haired girl standing in the middle of the dining area, red R adorning her chest, belting out a tune that seemed to be dedicated to... no, that just wasn't possible...

"HARLEY'S MY NAME, AND TEAM ROCKET BLASTS OFF AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT!"

Or apparently it really was. She really was singing a jaunty anthem to them. She even had a, really very well choreographed, dance number to go with it, complete with backup dancers in the form of her pokémon.

"SURRENDER NOW, OR PREPARE FOR A FIGHT!"

And just like that it ended as quickly as it had begun. As the girl named Harley finished her song and dance number you could hear a pin drop in the dining room. It clearly wasn't just Dave that she had left slightly perturbed. She ended this silence herself, however, by merrily skipping over to a seat and making conversation with some inn patrons like nothing ever happened.
Dave meanwhile was still at his seat, cheese dripping from his increasingly blue face, frozen in motion. To say that his mind was going a mile a minute would be disingenuous as it was still stuck on one particular point: Team Rocket? Like, the Team Rocket? Slowpoke mutilating, Marowak killing, all around pokémon exploiting Team Rocket? That Team Rocket?

Dave was in shock, looking like he had just seen... well, horribly out of universe example, but like he had seen a strangely upbeat and possibly delusional neo-nazi. He wasn't sure whether or not he should feel offended.

This stunned state couldn't last though, as the Kanto man's body felt forced to remind him that he was in fact suffocating. Quickly dying, really. As Dave collapsed into a series of violent coughs the ever capable Hitmonchan rose and surmised the situation with a single worried glance. Silently, he lifted the small young man from his seat, put both gloved hands on his trainer's stomach and gave him a quick, and extremely powerful, abdominal thrust. The result was a soggy slice of pizza launching itself from throat onto table, and that Dave would live to see another day.
A fact which his Pikachu loudly lamented from her own seat, from which she had never bothered to rise. And she was so close to being free of this idiot for good...

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Despite her inclination for mischief, nothing convinced Blitz to behave more than the prospect of food. Running ahead of Ella and the others, she leapt up onto a chair next to an empty table, resting on her hind legs as she plopped her front paws on the table. Panting gently, she barked her demands as Ella and the others took their seats. Well, except Matchstick, he was too small for a chair, instead opting to sit on Ella's lap.

"I 'spose because of how cheap the room was, I guess I can let you guys eat what you want." Ella chuckled with mock reluctance.

After placing their orders, Ella denying Blitz the several extra plates of food she 'needed to maintain constant battle readiness', their food finally arrived.

"Wow, thish is rewwly gud!" Ella muttered with a mouth full of food as she leaned over her Cyndaquil to reach her own plate, immediately apologising as Serenity gave her a disapproving look.

Tai Chi, however, had stopped mid bite, his eyes locking on the several Pokemon in the room. His expression hardening, his gaze could pierce the heavens, if only one of them would catch his eye, that would be the Pokemon who would be his new challenge.

"Tai Shi, wash up?" Ella grunted, a bread roll half in her mouth, she waved her hand dismissively at Serenity as the Pokemon bereated her for bad manners.

The Mienfoo's headband began to wave violently as his right eye twitched, his stare intensifying.

 

[Dogmatic99]

"This is some good stuff, huh guys?" Danny said between slurps of soda. IT had been a little while since he'd gotten the chance to treat himself and the drink tasted extra sweet for it.

Belle gave a happy little "Arff." Of a agreement as she held her cup of green tea like a full body hot water bottle. Warming her tummy inside and out!

Sparks was busy making little 'hiffing' noises under his breath as he picked up clusters of fries and threw them around his plate and lightly pouncing around the plate perimeter to attack his freshly fried prey from a different angle. For a little dude with such stumpy legs he sure could move with 'em.

"You enjoying this so far snubbs-" Danny paused, taken aback. Snubbull's plaint was clean... empty... sparkling. "Did... did you finish your whole meal already, Snubbs?"

"Hrmph." She grunted, her usual frown completely unbroken.

"When did... when did you do that?"

"Hrmph."

"Just I... I didn't see or hear you do any kind of eating."

"Hrmph."

"Okay, well... if you're okay then. Did'ja like it?"

"Hrmph."

"Okay."

Meanwhile doom had wolfed down his burger in a few hasty bites and was left with little to do. He barely fit in these stupid chairs, sitting at the table like a human was stupid anyway. Let the little ones play their games. It was just kiddy stuff, not like they'd evolved or anything. Maybe he could go outside or something? It was while he was making himself comfy on the floor that he caught sight of the crazy lookin' Mienfoo.

Was he giving Doom the eye, tryin' ta' stare him down, was this a challenge? Little Fella was trying to muscle in on Doom's turf! Like that was gunna happen! Doom raised his head, craning his neck and macking it clear that even lying down he had enough muscle and size of his own to bring to a fight. His fiery eyes glowering like cold embers at the little Mienfoo. A low growl rumbled in his throat. Challengers be wary.

 

[SamtheDeathclaw]

Haruki exited the training room drenched in sweat, his shirt hanging open and loose. His Pokémon trailed after, each in a similar state. Manami was wrapped around Miyako's neck, both of them exhausted. Akio and Dan were less exhausted, still glaring at one another. Their sparring match had been yet another tie- it was basically a toss-up which one would win on a given day, but ties weren't very common. Neither of them would give up the fight if they could help it, so one or the other eventually tossed the other. However, today, Haruki wanted to eat before the diner closed, and had pulled them apart.

The diner was pretty busy, it seemed, and there weren't that many open tables. There were... Anthony, whom Haruki had already met. The boy and girl from the lobby, plus the dark-skinned girl who'd nearly escaped his notice on initial sweep of the lobby- She has a Meinfoo as well. Interesting, he thought- and a few others, including a girl with... The Team Rocket logo emblazoned on her clothing? Haruki sighed. Her type weren't uncommon, but that made them no less obnoxious. He dismissed her with a shake of the head, and headed over to the girl with the Meinfoo, who wore a wildly waving headband. Haruki guessed- based on his own experience with Akio- that it was using microspasms in its muscles to produce the waving, but he wasn't sure why it would do so.

"Hello there," he said, sitting down. "I hope you don't mind? Not a whole lot of room in here, it seems." He quickly ordered a meal for himself and his Pokémon, then turned to scan the room. "Quite a bunch, isn't it?"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

As the Houndoom locked eyes with Tai Chi, a low satisfied squeak grumbled in his throat. The lightning bolt of challenge sparked between the pair, they were now fated to fight. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day.

Tai Chi narrowed his eyes at the Houndoom, for now their's was a battle of wits!

"Yo, Tai Chi, what's up? What are you staring at?" Ella waved a hand in front of the Mienfoo's eyes, but it was if he was staring right through it. "Tai Chiiiiiiii? What are you staring at?"

The other three Pokemon glanced at each other knowingly, all letting out a sigh of exasperation. Once Tai Chi had decided on an opponent, there was no talking him out of it. The poor Houndoom, he didn't know what he had gotten himself into. He'll never be able to look at anything ever again without the Mienfoo trying to catch his eye. Now that was a Pokemon who loved a good old fashioned stare down.

With the exception of Tai Chi, who hadn't blinked in about five minutes, Ella and her three other companions raised their faces from their plates as a huge man approached them

"Hello there, I hope you don't mind? Not a whole lot of room in here, it seems."

Ella smiled, well the best one could smile with a face stuffed with food. "Shur no pwobwem!" A few grains of rice escaping her lips, spattering across the back of Matchstick's head, an annoyed squeak coming from the little Cyndaquil. Blitz let out her own little amused bark, while Serenity continued in her attempt to reprimand the girl's poor table manners.

The man quickly went about ordering his own meal.

"Quite a bunch, isn't it?"

"I think they're all here for the tournament." Ella gulping down half a glass of water, panting slightly as she slammed it back down on the table. "Which is great! I didn't come all this way to fight nobody!" The girl chuckled, embarassed slightly as a squeaky burp escaped her throat. Serenity rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh.

"My name's Ella! Enchantée, nice to meet you!"

 

[CJ1145]

"Well yeah and no. Been touring the country for a good number of years now. Started from my home region, Sinnoh. Went to Hoenn for a while, passed through Kanto and been in Johto for a year now. Settled in this city for a while. Tournament came up, wallet's empty, figured we'd give it a shot."

"Another vet, eh?" Dante flashed a swarthy grin at the Sinnohan, appearing quite relieved to have met him. "That's good, always good. Always glad to meet another member of the old guard. Starts to get a little... alienating, ya know?" He pointed a pair of his fingers like a gun and took a shot. "See all these little kids running around, starts to feel like the scene's outgrown ya, or, I'unno, ya've outgrown it." The older man frowned, and shook his head, then waved a dismissive hand across his nose. "Ah, hell, I sound just like my dad. I've gone and started rambling. What kinda old fart does that? I'll wish ya luck in the tournament, just keep in mind that I won't be accepting anything less than the grand prize."

Before the conversation could progress, Dante was distracted. Distracted by a teenage girl that went off spouting what had to be the dumbest thing he'd heard in decades. "HARLEY'S MY NAME, AND TEAM ROCKET BLASTS OFF AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT! SURRENDER NOW, OR PREPARE FOR A FIGHT!"

His jaw dropped, his brow creased, and his arms crossed. Dante Pace, baffled, watched this kid bumble again like she was sporting the latest Kalosian fashion. But that ain't no country's flag she's flying... That red "R" sparked memories in his head. Not any good ones, though. Sure, he remembered Team Rocket. He remembered a band of cutthroat thieves and criminals who treated Pokemon like tools. Human scum. He'd tangled with them more than once, but he was distressed enough to say not enough. He was already settled into Pewter City at the time, his daughter so young she was barely out of diapers, and his son a newborn. He didn't have the luxury of leaving to deal with them. That role fell to the younger generation. Seeing that logo emblazoned on an ignorant youth's chest didn't do much for his mood. Grinding his teeth, Dante whispered to himself, "Stupid kid. What's she think she's doing going around wearing that trash?"

KA-THUNK

"Hey, lady!" Dante called, oblivious to the strength of his own hands. A painting on the far wall was jostled loose from the vibrations, and tumbled down over one young Dave's booth. "Susanne, was it?!"

The serving girl coasted over to Pace's seat, trying not to look overtly intimidated. With an intense frown Dante highlighted the man sitting across from him. "This guy said your Tauros burgers are good. Are they?"

"U-uh... yes, I'd definitely recommend--"

"Bring me five!" He held up his left hand, all digits raised, before withdrawing it and making a few grumbling calculations to himself. He raised the hand again, and added a finger from his right. "No, wait, make that six!"

"S-six?!" Susanne asked, mouth agape. "Are you, er, certain about that?"

"OF COURSE I AM!" His fists slammed the table again, causing Susanne to jump in fright. "WHAT KIND OF NO-GOOD MEN DO YOU SERVE HERE THAT WOULD ORDER FOOD THEY DON'T INTEND TO EAT?! BRING ME THREE BAKED POTATOES AS WELL--STUFFED!"

"Anything you ask, sir!" she appeased him, frantically scribbling his order down on her notepad. "Anything e-else?"

"GREEN BEANS AND A GLASS OF MILK!"

"R-right! Right away!" She twirled on her heel and fled as quickly as possible leaving Dante to fume and slowly sink back into his chair, oblivious to any reaction of Remy's.

"Ahhhh," he exhaled. "I'm lookin' forward to this. Been too long since I had a properly cooked meal. I miss my little Deli-bird's cooking..." A loud growl erupted from his stomach, which he clutched with both hands. "I've gotten spoiled..."

"Mis-maaag-ag-ag-ag!" chortled Geist, amused by her distraught trainer.

 

[JdaS]

"Another vet, eh? That's good, always good. Always glad to meet another member of the old guard. Starts to get a little... alienating, ya know? See all these little kids running around, starts to feel like the scene's outgrown ya, or, I'unno, ya've outgrown it. Ah, hell, I sound just like my dad. I've gone and started rambling. What kinda old fart does that? I'll wish ya luck in the tournament, just keep in mind that I won't be accepting anything less than the grand prize."

Remy didn't have time to answer before Harley's little show interrupted the two, sending Dante into an incoherent state where he barked orders to a surprisingly intimidated Susanne, slammed the table with his Ursaring-like strength to the point that Sneasel almost choked on his food, and grumbled something inaudible to the human ear.

Harley didn't stay put for long before her bandana was stolen by a Haunter, belonging to a shy girl sitting in another booth. Remy watched as she made a case to the gaseous being for the return of her accessory, a sigh escaping the northerner's lips as he yet again bemoaned the Ghost-types' bothersome nature.

Honest to Arceus, I just don't get the appeal...

As the older man on the other side of the table settled down, Remy had already forgotten what he was going to say, content to just look at the bizarre comedy unfolding before his eyes. That said, Darumaka's loud yawn signaled it was high time to call it night.

"Well, it was nice to meet you two." Remy said to both Harley and Dante as he got up and gestured to his Pokémon to follow. "It's time for us five to hit the sack though. It's been a long day and we've got another one coming tomorrow."

As he turned towards the lobby he waved and quipped.

"See y'all at the tournament tomorrow!"

As they reached Remy's room, the team wasted no time in finding their sleeping spots. Zangoose settled down on the balcony, preferring to sleep outside. Sneasel curled up on the pillow next to Remy's. Primeape jumped into his hammock that'd been set up into a corner of the room and Darumaka settled for a spot next to Remy under the covers.

Remy himself crashed pretty fast, barely getting out of his clothes before the snoring started.

"Aaaahhh... The wonders of... alco..ho...ZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZZzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZZZ....!!"

 

[Anayna]

"Cough cough! Haaaark! HACK! Cough cough cough!"

Dave was recovering from his lethal encounter with the nefarious slice of pizza, exercising his newly unobstructed windpipe by loudly coughing up remains of criminal chorizo, perverse parmesan and baneful bacon. Stupid evil pizza.

"Cough... hoo boy," he finally said with watery eyes. "Thought I was a goner there for a mo'. Man. What's up with that girl? Thanks for the save, Hitmonchan. You really *KA-THUNK* ow."

And just like that Dave went out like a light as the heavy picture frame fell from the wall onto his head, and fainted face first into his oh so diabolical pizza. The aforementioned "girl", Harley, had found a seat over at Remy's and Darius' table. Said unfortunate table was at the receiving end of Darius' mighty fist in an attempt to catch the waitresses' attention. What with the old trainer still possessing roughly the strength of a roided mammoth, this impact sent seismic waves through the room that managed to somehow only affect ol' David Itosu, making a solid wood picture frame drop from on high onto his spiky noggin.

The Hitmonchan sighed. He'd only just gotten seated again.

"Piika pi chau," the now significantly more cheery Pikachu reassured the Punching Pokémon. Their trainer would be fine. Leave him.

"Mon?" he wondered sardonically. Would their trainer ever be "fine"? Behind the irritation the loyal pokémon was kinda worried though.

"Pi pi," she assured him through her mouthful of dinner. They would take him up to their room in a minute. Truthfully, the usually surly Pikachu just wanted to enjoy the moment. A good meal accompanied with the meal-time entertainment of her idiot trainer having a near-death experience followed with being knocked out cold? She hadn't had this much fun since her days as a free pokémon in Viridian Forest. Well, except maybe that one time that huge sailor beat up Dave for stealing his wallet. The wallet that she had stolen and planted on her trainer. Heh. Good times.

Oh right, Dave ordered the extra spicy pizza too, didn't he? Lying face down in that hot chili filled cheese was really going to mess up his eyes, huh?
Hitmonchan couldn't understand why Pikachu was constantly suppressing laughter as they finished their meals.