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 Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 4:06 pm
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 4:28 pm
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Zack was halfway through shovelling another forkful of sausage into his mouth when he felt like he was going to choke. He swallowed and drained some coffee. "It was, uh..."
Flames blossomed in his stomach, memories of the previous evening dancing in his mind like fireworks. He couldn't say anything about Esme, not yet. If one thing was certain in Zack's mind it was that Helena thought he was the coolest person on the planet. He couldn't make out that he was some lovestruck teenager; she'd never take him seriously again. Carefully sipping more coffee, he chose his words and set the cup down.
"See that building across the street, the one with the broken window? Some noble got thrown out of it yesterday, died as soon as he hit the floor. I was sitting right over there when it happened." Zack leant forward, speaking lowly now, "I saw it, Helena. I saw the whole thing, and I saw what pushed him. It was this... this creature, no idea if it was even human, dressed in all black. It had this mask, yeah? A white mask with some red patterns on it. Like tribal imagery."
Zack sat back, letting any intensity wash off him as he started cutting his fried bread into smaller pieces. "So yeah, I was in the library trying to see if I could get a clue to what it was. Didn't go so well. Then spent the rest of the night with my head pressed against a radiator."
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 4:40 pm
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 5:08 pm
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People died all the time, Zack thought as he cleared his plate. Kalos was famous for its food, and he had to admit that their version of a Full Sinnoh came close to the real thing. He wasn't so uncouth that he'd lick his plate clean, but the temptation was there. He looked Helena in the eye for a second and sensed her trepidation.
"Look, this country is ******** up," he said, squeezing her hand gently, "A man dies and two hours later they're throwing a parade in the same spot. You can spend your whole life dwelling on the miseries of the world, or you can focus on making yourself better."
He stood up, chair scraping on the rough flagstones. "Now, I'm pretty sure you've got a badge to win today. Want a warm up battle?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 5:28 pm
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 6:24 pm
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Lumiose City - Central Pokémon Center
Pokémon Centers were big. Despite being numerous, they were large complexes designed to cater to the needs of trainer culture. As well as offering free, effective healthcare, they were shops, dormitories and nexuses of information. They also provided training facilities and battlegrounds, allowing trainers to practice their game in relative safety. The day was still young, but noon steadily approached and trainers began shrugging off the previous night's festivities with greater numbers.
With four high walls surrounding it, the battleground was right in the middle of the Center. Windows dotted the white brick, blue sky and sunlight dappling through the decorative trees. By now, the area was steadily becoming occupied, with people coming and going, and constant chatter filtering through automatic doors every time someone passed. Luckily there was a free arena, which Zack claimed before anyone else. Zack took his position at one end and called on Serene. Before any fighting would take place, Zack tossed the little Ralts an apple he'd taken from the cafeteria, and she devoured it ravenously.
"Pay attention while we battle," Zack called over to Helena and a bunch of other trainers peered around. He paid them no heed, not caring for an audience. In his experience, trainers were the most hyper-critical creatures on the planet, always with an opinion for why your technique was flawed, or why thoroughly trashing their team was 'going overboard'. He crunched his knuckles. "Move quickly, decisively. Don't let me breathe."
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 8:04 pm
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Lumiose City- Gotengo
The party in Gotengo had indeed gone on all night. A lot of kids left to sleep at home. The others crashed wherever there was place to sleep, and the lucky ones got someplace like a beanbag chair or a couch. Most of them simply lay on the floor, too tired to care that it was uncomfortable.
High up in the tree was a small shack dedicated as the library, where an eclectic and large set of books were stacked along bookshelves and in milk crates. Salieri had a hammock there for reading and sleeping purposes, and this is where she spent the night.
Her pokegear buzzed to life at eight in the morning, sounding the alarm. “WAKE UP! GRAB A BRUSH AND PUT A LITTLE MAKEUP! HIDE THE SCARS TO FADE AWAY THE SHAKEUP-”
Salieri twitched awake and threw her pokegear across the room, wondering why she ever thought it’d be a good idea to make that song into her alarm. One Snorlax-esque yawn later and she was up, shuffling over slumbering bodies to the bathroom shack. All the solid memories she had from the previous day came from before the parade. The drinking came after, and that was just a blur of dancing and laughter now. Not a bad way to spend her last night as a kid.
Beautification wasn’t something Salieri lost sleep over. She preferred the effortless, all natural approach to looking good rather than spending an hour checking out her hair in the mirror. After a quick wake up shower and a teeth brushing, she went downstairs, still only wearing a t-shirt and her underwear.
A few other kids were awake and searching for the belongings they misplaced the night before. Some of the older guys gave a passing glance of approval to Sal’s lower half, but she didn’t mind. Truth be told, despite acing like she didn’t care, sometimes she liked the attention.
Mia was at the kitchen counter, leaning over an empty plate and listening to Lauryn Hill. In one of her hands was a rolled up joint. Sal grabbed a plate from a cabinet and dumped breakfast food from a frying pan onto it. “It’s not even noon,” Sal yawned with disapproval, eyeing the J in Mia’s hand.
“It’s noon somewhere else,” Mia replied flatly, taking another hit. Sal hid a tiny frown. Mia was brilliant, but her family’s low economic status made taking advantage of that brilliance hard. It seemed like all that brainpower was wasted on somebody so apathetic, but Mia was only apathetic because she had little to care about. Watching her best friend laze around without aspiration wasn’t easy, but she knew that Mia didn’t want to hear her preach. “Wanna hear something cool?”
Sal shrugged and stood on the opposite side of the counter. As she ate, Mia pulled out a tiny radio attached to a microphone. She fiddled with the knobs, and spoke into the microphone. “Boo.”
The voice came from behind her. Salieri spun around and was greeted by Mia’s Noibat, Bass, flying behind her. “Cool, right?” came Mia’s voice from the Noibat’s speaker-like ears. “I finally figured out his frequency.”
Salieri rose her eyebrows. Once again, Mia could be brilliant when she wanted to be. I’m not even gonna ask how. “Yeah? When did you figure that out?”
Mia put down the microphone and held out the J to Salieri, who declined. “Last night sometime after I took over DJ duty. It gave me an idea about your pokedex, though.”
The bandanna girl perked up. “You think you know what’s wrong with Ivan?” she asked with a mouthful of food. Mia shrugged.
“Maybe. You gotta let me tinker with it for a bit.”
“After I battle Viola. I want Ivan around for some training first.”
“You’re gonna trust that piece of junk?”
“It’s better than nothing. And it’s your piece of junk.”
Mia couldn’t argue with that. Sal scarfed up the rest of her food, feeling slightly renewed, and stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
Ten minutes after going back upstairs she came down again, now wearing a full outfit (identical to the one from the day before, because that's how cartoons work) and equipped with all her necessary belongings. Mia had finished her J and had switched to sitting on the porch with Bass, fiddling with her microphone box. “You’re outta here?”
“Yeah. I’ll stop by after I beat Viola.”
“Is that Taka kid still here?”
“It’s TK,” Sal corrected. The bandanna girl scratched her head, racking her brain for TK’s whereabouts. Did he even sleep at Gotengo? “I don’t know. Hey, if you see him can you pass on a message for me?”
Mia stopped fiddling with the microphone box and looked up at Sal coyly. “Tell him –don’t give me that look- tell him he’s welcome back whenever. And if he’s serious about the league then I’ll see him around.”
“Hmph. That’s so basic.” Mia sighed. “Fine, I’ll pass it on…how are you feeling?”
Salieri cracked her neck and stretched her legs in preparation to parkour out of the city. “Like the future champion.”
“Okay. Would you like some fries with that god complex?”
Mia snickered at her joke. Sal just flipped her off and started to leave. “Seriously though. Good luck, Sal.”
“Thanks Mia.”
Without looking back, Salieri skated away.
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Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 6:03 am
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Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 8:22 am
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Two teleporters going at it was a recipe for tedium. Still, Serene was the more effective porter. As Loki reappeared, she disappeared, vanishing from sight. Then, as her body rematerialised, it was preceded by a tell-tale flash of light. Only instead of one flash, it was a dozen. The arena lit up blue as Double Team copies of Serene appeared, surrounding Loki all at once. After a couple of seconds, once the cooldown phase for Teleport was over and just to show off, they Teleported again, switching up their positions.
"So I'm basically untouchable," Zack said. Even if Loki were somehow able to determine which Serene was the real one, she'd be able to reset her guard at a moment's notice and it'd start all over again. "How do you respond?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:40 pm
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Lumiose City - Various areas.
The shower, a long shower that was not likely to be interrupted by anyone he'd mind barging in, was possibly one of the most refreshing things in the world to Benedict. The previous day of training, catching a couple of pokemon, and more training, would have been enough to leave him fairly tired all by itself, but then the celebration had pulled him in at a moment's notice. It was hard to remember exactly how he'd gotten there through the fog of people's excitement filling the air as they made their ways to it. It was as intoxicating as the alcohol that had been fairly liberally passed around in the place he'd chosen to be led to.
Gambling had gone well, none too many wins or losses, but he'd managed to come out with a net gain, and that was really what the goal was in the end. Of course, there had been the boasting, and then the issue coming up of finding a place to stay in the city. The pokemon center, someone had said, was likely to be full, or close enough to make no difference. Other places had been filled with those smart enough, and with the money, to go somewhere with comfort. Benedict had found a more free option, who was calling from her room outside the door right then.
Not all of the aches had been from training...
*******************************
The farewell, in this case, was possibly the easiest one that Benedict had managed in his life. She'd known he was a trainer, and had actually encouraged him to leave and pick up his pokemon from the center. After that, the two had said their goodbyes, and he suspected he wouldn't be meeting her again unless he got far enough in the league fast enough, or possibly unless he won the whole thing, which was fine. His pokemon seemed, more or less, rested when the rookie trainer came to claim them.
They seemed to have enjoyed the time in the center, or that's what it seemed like when he released them in an out-of-the-way space, and they seemed to be happily moving about and making sounds. "It's better here than out there, isn't it?" He mused to himself, and offered his two trustworthy squires, Francis and Essence, his best grin. A gym fight was likely the best move to be made, and what little practice he didn't have could be gotten on the path between there and Santalune. With a final deep breath, Benedict returned his pokemon and started on his way out of the city, and towards Route 4 once more...
(((I'm not at all late, what're you talkin' about?)))
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 9:48 am
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Lumiose City - Gotengo
TK ended up staying at the Gotengo after Sal offered. His ultimate sleeping arrangements ended up being a surprisingly comfortable branch formation pretty high up in the Gotengos tree. From the branch he found, The silver haired youth had a comfortable few of the city scape around him, the prism tower still glowing strong as he sat with a small hand sized notebook and pen in front of his face.
Growing up with out parents and having two younger siblings to take care of, as it turns out, makes one pretty good at managing finances. Growing up, TK and his elder sister split up the responsibilities between the two of them, managing the finances was one that fell on TK's shoulders. So even now, some thousand of miles away TK, still makes sure his three siblings cash intake and outtake was balanced based off the income Adrianna was bringing in, along side the money TK had sent back so far from his trainer winnings, and corresponding that with the bills that needed paid and various other expenses his siblings would be using the money to finance.
But now, TK had to keep a ledger of his own finances as a trainer. After totaling everything up and deducting the items he's purchased so far, mainly his skate shoes, sling pack, Holo-caster, camping equipment and healing supplies. He was broke. The Cash he's won so far, plus the money he brought with him, and after subtracting his expenses and p10,000 he sent back home. He was Broke, only about p500 left.
Sighing, he leaned back, letting his head rest against his sling pack he put behind his head. TK's lasts thoughts before he fell into a comfortable sleep was of winning the league and having enough money to pay for his youngest sisters operation.
_________________
The Next Day
Right after Sal left, TK slowly walked into the kitchen-esque area of the Gotengo. fully dressed in similar clothing that he was wearing yesterday. Plain black cargo shorts, a dark blue T-s**t with a thick black vertical line going down from the left shoulder to the hemming of the shirt, wearing his skate shoes and his sling pack strapped across his chest. Honestly, he'd look pretty boring if it wasnt for his unkept long silver hair, stopping just before the bottom of his ears.
"M-m~oooooorning," TK yawned at Mia, his eyes still basically closed from sleep in a slit like fashion that would make Brock of pewter city proud. Grabbing a bottle of water he'd lean against the makeshift counter. Still no where near awake enough to formulate an actual plan for the day ahead. but he knew if he let himself sleep in he'd feel like crap the rest of the day.
"What time did everything start dying down last night?" TK asked Mia, tearing open the wrapping on a breakfast bar he had from his own supply of food. He remembered falling asleep listening to a low tempo-ed dance song, that was still stuck in his head, sometime around 4am last night.
The breakfast bar was stale tasting and crumbly. Not at all satisfying.
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 9:54 am
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 2:20 pm
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Lumiose City - Gotengo
Mia, now back inside and flipping through a box of vinyl records next to the turntables, shrugged at TK's question. "I put a playlist on at three AM and passed out," she explained. It was dawning on her that it was very possible she and Takamaru had spoken the night before, but she couldn't recall it.
Just in case they didn't, she said, "I'm Mia, by the way...oh, Salieri wanted me to pass on a message for you."
****
Route 4 - Parterre Way
Roller Skater Roland dropped to his knees as his Pidgey fell to the ground, freshly knocked out. "How could this beeeeee?!" he cawed. "I had a type advantage!"
Only a second later, Biz Marquis proudly planted a foot on the downed Pidgey and started flexing his muscles in victory, causing Roland to moan in anguish. [Suck it, bird!]
Opposite Roland stood Salieri, holding a cup of coffee. Even half asleep, these pre-Viola warm up battles with the trainers on Parterre Way were still not a problem for her. The bandanna girl shrugged and recalled her Chespin with a sip of coffee. She hated bitter stuff, but it gave her the extra push to fully recharge her batteries. "I had an advantage too."
The far more energetic Roland was beside himself as he handed her cash prize over. "What? What was it?"
"I'm a boss." She stretched her arms above her head and started walking away. "Thanks for the battle, I guess."
"Wait! How did you learn to battle like that?"
Salieri stopped walking and looked back to Roland. The Roller Skater must have been a beginner, just like nearly every other trainer on Parterre Way. It was only natural that he assumed she was one as well. "I had a mentor in Orre for three years."
Three years in Orre? Roland had never been there, but everyone knew Orre was a wasteland continent filled with seedy folk and criminals. He didn't have the guts to go there to train. "That's intense...So, uh, who was your mentor? I mean, I could use one myself, so-"
That comment brought forth genuine and slightly callous laughter from Salieri. Roland's face turned red. She began to walk away. "The most important thing I learned from him is that I shouldn't have learned from him. Go read a book or something."
Roland continued to ask for her help, but she simply waved over her shoulder and continued down Parterre Way.
****
Sal stopped south of the fountain, sitting on a bench with Durendal, Veillantif and Biz Marquis positioned in front of her. Banksy was in her pokeball, and apparently it was impossible to get her out of it when she wanted to stay in. Salieri didn't feel like fighting the Torkoal on that now.
"I think we're in good shape to challenge Viola, but I want to do one more thing. Biz, I want to teach you Bulk Up. You know how you do that, uh, weird flexing thing whenever you win?"
Biz nodded, made a bicep, and kissed it. He picked up the pose from a bodybuilder magazine he saw once, cause he thought it was badass. It was nice for Salieri to acknowledge it, but he wished she didn't call it weird. [You think it's weird? I thought it was cool!]
Veil giggled at the comment, which was lost on their trainer. "Bulk Up makes your muscles denser. So just go over there and work on that pose again, except try putting some power into it. Like you're attacking without attacking."
The Chespin scratched his head in confusion, but gave a thumbs up to Sal. [You got it! I'll have the most badass Bulk Up there can be!] With determination, he went over to the fountain and worked really hard on his Bulk Up pose. A family of passing Pokefans thought this was too adorable to bear, and snapped up plenty of pictures. Needless to say, Biz was loving it.
"Right. So, Veil, I'm gonna use you in this battle too." The Horsea hopped up and down excitedly, and Durendal frowned a little. "Sorry Dune. It's not like I don't think you can handle it, but Biz needs the battle experience and I want to test Veillantif's moves."
Durendal nodded and looked at the ground. He couldn't help but feel like he was getting put on the backburner. "Hey man, pick your head up. I have a special move I'm gonna teach you later."
That was enough to perk up the sullen Pawniard. Sal smirked. No one passed up the opportunity to learn special moves. It was an instant pick-me-up for any ambitious pokemon. "I knew you'd like that. Let's let Biz have his moment until he actually learns Bulk Up and then we can get a move on."
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 3:30 pm
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Route 4
The battling didn't feel as intense as it had yesterday. For many, that was likely because some of the better trainers had moved on. For Benedict, it was because the competition felt less fierce somehow. Take this Gardener fellow. His Corphish had landed hit or two, but the mega-draining they were practicing was enough to keep the grass type from really having much damage done.
"Good job Essence." Benedict said with his patented grin, and knelt down to pat the pokemon on the head. The budew made those sounds it made, in what could only be described as a happy way. With a sigh, the youth stood up and started towards the fountain, pokemon trailing behind.
**********************************
There was some sight still to behold near the fountain it seemed, with a pokemon flexing as well as it could, while other people watched. The rookie had been near enough to see that the pokemon belonged to a girl nearby.
"Hey." He said, squatting down next to the pokemon for now, looking at it as it made the pose. Was it trying to do something? He'd seen this before, pokemon performing the basics of what might build up into a move. It seemed like the perfect way to teach the pidgey mirror move, which his pokedex handily explained it might learn someday. "Francis." He said, as he released the pidgey. "Mimic him in every way."
Francis, not one to argue, began immediately to imitate Biz's flexing so well as he could. [How d'you look so cool doin' that? 'Sit cause of the wings I don't look as good? 'Scause of the wings.] He started chirping at the other pokemon.
And with this opportunity shifted in his favor, Benedict immediately approached the girl whose pokemon was training. Of course, he could act normal and all that, that'd probably work a heck of a lot better than anything else, but he wasn't exactly in any hurry to find another girl. there was still a whole day. So, instead, he tried out a line. Cheesy as he could pick it.
"Excuse me, Mademoiselle, but are you a proton? Because you have me positively charged."
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 4:28 pm
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Route 4
Cool? I look cool? Oh my god that'sallthatIwantinlifefuuuuUUUUCK YEAH BOY! Biz Marquis was practically glowing from the compliment. Not letting up on his flexing, he told the Pidgey [Nah, your wings are great! It's all about the lifting, bro. Lifting, posing, being rude and being regal. That's what badass is all about.]
Meanwhile, Salieri rose an eyebrow at Benedict and sat back with a coy smile and her arms draped across the bench. "Maybe I am."
He was a fine specimen of a guy. Damn fine. It had been a while (in teenager time) since she had hooked up with somebody, a fact that Mia was giving her grief for the night before. And this guy had it going on, in a manscaped, front cover of a teenbeat magazine, pick up artist kind of way.
Unfortunately for him, the reason Salieri hadn't hooked up with anyone in a while was because promiscuity was getting old for her. Ever since her first kiss, an incredible memory that got hazier with each passing year, she had grown tired of the games boys liked to play and simply got with them for the thrill of it.
But the novelty of those experiences was wearing off, the bandanna girl had become picky, and his line was a red flag for no. Unless he proved otherwise in the next few moments, it'd be a swift rejection.
"Are you a Darumaka? Cause you seem like a Hustler."
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