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 Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 1:26 pm
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 2:38 pm
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 9:56 am
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 11:56 am
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 5:01 pm
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Route 4 – Parterre Way: Eight Years Ago
The sun was almost entirely over the mountain range in the west, casting an orange glow over the dark green grasses and dirt paths of Parterre Way. At the large fountain that served as the route’s centerpiece, Salieri sat with her back against Mia’s. She could hear the keys of her curly haired friend’s laptop click rapidly as Mia typed away.
High in the air, Sal could see the bottom of Banksy’s shell as the Torkoal flew through the sky with Moze standing on her back. A line of smoke trailed behind her, tracing her path as Moze did loops and spins as if his Pokémon was a snowboard. He was the type to let off steam by keeping himself in motion. As long as he was going somewhere, he would be fine.
“Nothing,” Mia sighed over her shoulder. “There’s nothing there.”
“Keep looking,” Sal replied, eyes to the sky.
“I’m telling you, any search on Arnaud Nostrad comes up blank. There are records for Arnaud Soledad that go back about fifteen years, even though some of them are dated back way longer, but that’s it.”
“What about those kids from Orre you chat with online?” Sal asked. “They have a hacking network, right?”
Mia propped her elbow into Sal’s side for saying “hacking network” a little too loudly. “You mean the Kids Grid. Yeah, I’m connected to that server now. Nationally and internationally, Arnaud Nostrad doesn’t exist. It’s not like info on him is hidden away somewhere. It’s just not there.”
Salieri nodded and closed her eyes, attempting to take deep breaths to calm her growing anger. Sensing this, Mia closed her laptop and stood up. “Sal, your dad said he was happier now, just because of you guys. Fifteen years is like ancient history. Its in the past, why are you both getting mad?”
“Because,” she growled, “The nobles were his family.” Eyes wide open and blazing, Sal stood as well. Now she was doing what she did to let off steam: get more heated. “I know they have everything they want, do everything they want, but toss out their own family? Just because he wasn’t like them? Arnaud just wanted to be who he was, and they took away his home! They left him all alone, it’s not right! It’s not fair!”
Her fists were shaking at her side. Mia was used to seeing Salieri’s temper flare, but even though it barely showed in her expression, it hurt to see her friend in pain. Sal gulped. “Arnaud is just like me and Moze. Except he knew them.”
The whoosh of steam caught the attention of both girls as Moze steered downwards. Banksy slowly descended back to Earth. Her limbs popped out of her shell as she landed, with Moze still standing on her back. He was catching his breath, half from adjusting altitudes and half from calming down. The levity consistent with his attitude was absent, replaced with a focused and cold face. Still mad, Sal looked to her brother for what he was thinking.
“He said that we’re the most important things that he has, right?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Then we have to get to the Champion’s Summit.”
At the end of every Kalos Pokémon League, the after party for the closing ceremony was the Champion’s Summit. This was the time when the new champion’s induction into nobility took place. As such, it was a requirement for every single noble in the country to attend. Once a year was the only time it was guaranteed they would all be in the same place, and because of that, it was heavily guarded with maximum security. Only nobility could attend.
“There hasn’t been a commoner who won the Kalos League for a long time,” Moze said with a slow pace and a deliberate tongue. “We have to be the first. And we have to be the best. We’re going to go down in history, and then we’re going to show every single noble the mistake they made when they said our dad wasn’t worth it.”
Moze jumped down from Banksy and walked towards them. Mia’s eyebrows were raised, which on her face was the equivalent of being awed. Such a boast was probably made all the time, but Moze had the most ambition of anybody they knew. If there was anyone who was serious about that claim, it was him.
“I’m going to train until I know I can beat every Gym Leader and win the League in one shot. If we do it together, we can take both the spots at the top. We can run this, Sal. Are you with me?”
Sal huffed upwards to blow a stray piece of hair out of her eye. Without a second thought, she answered. “Obviously.”
Lumiose City – Lysandre’s Café: Six Years Ago
Two years passed. Salieri finished primary school and got her Trainer’s License. Moze obtained his Pokédex and starter Pokémon, a Froakie named Xavier. After each of them earned cash for a year working odd jobs around Lumiose, they went on a trip to the region of Fiore, a small country where Pokéballs were not sold or used. There, they learned how to become better trainers through a closer understanding of Pokémon. The siblings returned home half a year later, and earned cash once more in preparation to train more conventionally in the foreign region of Sinnoh.
In honor of this, Arnaud was taking his children out to dinner at the newly opened Lysandre’s Café. Tomorrow Salieri would obtain her Pokédex and Kalos Starter, and the siblings would head to Coumarine City for a boat to Sinnoh. Until then, they were celebrating on the café’s patio at a table loaded with delicious breads and meats.
The city was at its most alive, as this was the weekend when the annual Pokémon League Opening Ceremony would take place. Trainers and tourists from around the world gathered to watch the spectacle. In such busy times, Lysandre’s Café was a quiet safe haven in Magenta Plaza that was only mildly occupied.
“Slow down,” Arnaud said with a laugh and a glass of whiskey in hand as Moze and Salieri stuffed their faces. “You’re both going to have heart attacks.”
“We aren’t gonna eat this well for a loooong time, Arnaud,” Moze assured his father, pointing a breadstick as the man. Sal picked her head up.
“Can I have a beer?”
“Oh, good call. Me too?”
Arnaud grinned. “You ask that like I don’t know you both already drink.” The two of them paused mid-eating, having been found out. “It’s fine. As long as you’re both being responsible, then I’m okay with it. You’ve proven to me that you can shape up to do great things. I think you’ve earned a few drinks.”
“D’aw. Thanks, Arnaud.” Either of the siblings could have said this.
He stood up, gave each of them a firm clasp on the shoulder, then walked inside. While chewing on a baguette, Sal watched Arnaud approach the counter and talk to the cashier. Arnaud waited for a moment, then saw a figure standing behind him. It was a young man whose facial features were mostly obscured by long black hair and a baseball cap. The two of them looked at each other, then the figure walked out the alleyway entrance. With a serious look on his face, Arnaud followed soon after, disappearing from view.
“Weird.”
“Hrm?” Moze questioned with mouthful of food.
“Eh. Nothing. What time do you wanna leave tomorrow?”
“Noonish. We gotta get to Coumarine before the last boat leaves.”
“Merde, I’m not gonna have time to say bye to Mia.”
“So say goodbye tonight. We’ll be back soon.”
“She’s gonna be so bored without me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. She’s always bored.”
“Do you blame her? It’s boring here.”
The tremendous sound of a towering fire signaled the arrival of a Shiny Tyrantrum that was flung out of the alleyway next to the café by a stream of dark indigo flames. His huge frame crashed into the side of a building.
Instantly, the Soledad siblings rose to their feet as the other patrons of the café cowered and screamed. Moze grabbed his bandanna and pulled it up over his face to block the incoming cloud of debris. They recognized the Pokémon: it was their father’s. “Gestalt?”
The Despot Pokémon rose to his feet, cradling Arnaud in his body. Arnaud’s clothes were half destroyed and he was patched with burns, but Gestalt took most of the attack. “Moze, Sal, run! You have to get out of here!”
A Chandelure floated out of the alleyway, and following its ghostly presence was the figure Sal had seen before. Now his baseball cap had been knocked off, and she recognized his slicked back hair, glasses and lack of emotion. That’s Kyren Balibar! He’s a League Champion! What the hell is going on?
The kids screamed Arnaud’s name and ran to him, grabbing Pokéballs off their belts. Kyren pointed to Arnaud, and with that command the Chandelure shot an orb of shadows at the Dragon.
“Gestalt! My kids!” Arnaud ordered. Gestalt snorted and stomped his foot, sending a tremor through the pavement. Earthquake rippled outwards, blocking the Shadow Ball with slabs of rising asphalt. The effect rippled out towards Sal and Moze, but the rising terrain did not damage them. Instead, it launched them high into the air, onto the rooftop of the next apartment building.
The vibration wave coursed to Kyren. He jumped onto one of his Chandelure’s arms, and the Ghost blasted itself upwards with a jet of flame, prompting Arnaud and Gestalt to run from the café towards Autumnal Avenue.
Sal and Moze bounced to their feet and started running forward without a second thought. Neither sibling knew what to think about the assault on Arnaud, or how it even started, but instinct told them to protect their father. She tossed out her Lucario and Moze called upon his Kirilia. “Prou! Warp to the street!”
The four of them grabbed each other’s hands, and in a flash of pink light they disappeared on reappeared on the ground. They stepped onto Autumnal, and it didn’t take long for them to find where the battle had moved to. Bystanders stood at the edge of the street, watching from a safe distance without understanding the gravity of the situation.
Gestalt’s massive jaws chomped after the Chandelure, who floated every which way to dodge each mighty snap. When it gained enough distance, it fired a “Will o Wisp” on Kyren’s order. Small purple balls of fire circled around the Tyrantrum before converging upon the Despot all at once. In the next instant the draconic dinosaur dropped to a knee, huffing in pain from his Burn.
Chandelure floated even higher in the air and lifted up both of its arms. A swirling, shadowy vortex formed above Gestalt, and in its center was a humungous beady eyeball that blinked down upon both Arnaud and his Pokémon.
“DAD!” Sal screamed, catching Arnaud’s attention. His mane of hair swayed in the wind as he looked back at his kids with exasperation. In that moment, he gave them a nostalgic smile, and said something to them that Salieri could not hear. To this day, not knowing what those words were haunted her.
A ray of purple light burst from the eyeball, and both Arnaud and Gestalt were swallowed by the full power Hex attack. The light produced a sound reminiscent to a legion of screams, and almost as soon as it started, it was gone. Gestalt was on the ground, knocked out, while Arnaud floated a foot off the air. His eyes were pure white, and his body was wreathed with purple flames that slowly fed into his mouth. A mark shaped like one of these flames appeared on his forehead.
Sirens grew closer, and Sal could make out the flashing blue and red lights of police vehicles as they closed in to the scene. She called upon her Lucario to attack, and Moze did the same with Prou.
A blue Aura Sphere flew at Chandelure, but it simply passed through the Ghost’s body and blew up into a wall behind it. Moonblast was next, a pink beam that looked like cosmic light. Chandelure waved an arm, and with a torrent of purple flames, the Moonblast was destroyed. The same flames collided with the two Pokémon, rendering them unconscious in an instant. The siblings returned their partners.
To Moze, it was clear they couldn’t fight Kyren. He was on a completely different level then either sibling. So he ran to Arnaud, whipping out his Pokégear to call an ambulance.
Salieri also ran forward, but her path took her towards Kyren. There was no other direction to go in her mind. The only things she could perceive were Kyren, and the piece of steel pipe that she picked up along the way to kill him with.
With a scream she swung the pipe at Kyren’s kneecap. Not expecting to be attacked by a child, the blow took him by surprise and he grunted in pain, dropping to one knee as Sal swung again. “You’re DEAD!” she yelled, over and over.
Kyren caught the pipe before he could be struck again, and with a look of pity he thrust his fist into the preteen’s gut. The wind burst from her lungs and she doubled over while dropping the pipe. Kyren stood up, thinking it was over, but Salieri jumped up and tackled him to the ground.
Her little fists came down hard and heavy onto Kyren’s face, each punch punctuated by a word. "I'll-KILL-YOU!". They didn’t stop even after his blood began to obscure his face, but they did stop when she couldn’t move them anymore. Tendrils of cold flame solidified around her arms, pulling her back like vines.
Chandelure yanked on the fiery reins and Salieri was tossed into a mailbox. She struggled to stand again. The last thing she saw before her vision faded was the arrival of an ambulance and the police. Then, she blacked out.
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 9:47 pm
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Route 7 - Riviere Line
'Thats an Abra, a Psychic type...or was it Dark type..? Whatever, they teleport all over the place and are a pain to capture.'
"Zeke, Odor Sleuth!" Levi called. Once Zeke had Loki's scent, they wouldn't have to worry about getting attacked from behind. The cogs were already turning in the back of the pre-teens head, filing away Helena's commands and tactics to use as a crutch to supplement his lack of combat experience.
Like a good majority of trainers at the start of any league, he was a new trainer and therefor was lacking in real battle experience. Levi had a badge, sure, but he was still novice level compared to big league competition. But the sneak wasn't worried, he was a quick study, and this battle was just another rung on his ladder to the pokemon league.
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 10:03 pm
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Lumiose City – Hospital Lobby: Six Years Ago
Salieri woke up in the hospital, recovering from minor injuries. Despite the nurse’s insistence that she remain in bed, she demanded to know where her father was. The nurse took her to the emergency room where Arnaud was in recovery.
Her father was covered in burns, and the purple flame mark on his forehead was still there. The nurse said he regained consciousness once, but he had forgotten all the details of what had happened to him and why he had been attacked. Because he wasn’t concussed, the doctors had concluded that the memory loss was a side effect of the ghostly flames.
Although Kyren definitely ended the battle, no one knew how it started but him. He told the police he had been attacked by Arnaud, and with no witnesses the police had no choice but to go with that story. Kyren’s noble clout gave him the legal leeway he needed to slide the whole story under the table with little consequence. The battle was the buzz of the news for half a day before it disappeared from headlines.
Arnaud had been living on an almost day to day basis, and had almost no money to leave behind for his children to use. The siblings used their savings to pay for the hospital bills, but they needed more money to pay for Arnaud’s recovery and to find a specialist to fix the problem. Money they didn’t have.
So as Salieri and Moze sat somberly in the hospital lobby after another visit to check on their unconscious father, the elder sibling popped the question: “What do we do now?”
To hear someone so full of conviction be at a loss for the future made Salieri uneasy. She saw only one solution to their problem. The same solution they had before. “We have to get to Champion’s Summit.”
Moze narrowed his eyes at her. “Are you serious?”
“The cash prize they give to the champion…we need that money.” She drew her knees up to her chests and curled her hands tightly around her ankles. “You have to enter next year’s Pokémon League.”
Her brother remained silent in the face of this proposition, so she kept going. “We don’t have time to train for three years. Use the next year to train, and I’ll stay here and take care of Arnaud.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“…I don’t know. I’ll think of something.”
“One year isn’t enough.”
“It has to be!”
She jumped out of her seat. “What if dad gets worse? We can’t afford to pay for him forever, and we can’t afford to lose any more time…besides, if the doctors can’t fix him, then we have to go to the source.”
“Sal, what are you talking about-“
“Kyren Balibar! Don’t you get it? That Chandelure didn’t just burn him, it cursed him. If we can’t get rid of the curse on our own, then we need to make Kyren Balibar fix what he broke. The only place we know we can find him is at the Summit. Moze, you have to be the Champion. Arnaud can’t wait.”
Moze let her ultimatum sink in as he looked to the ground. “…I can’t win the league, Sal. Not like this.”
Her breathing became heavy. Others in the hospital were staring at them now, but she didn’t care. “But you said…you said, two years ago, we were going to be the best.”
“I know. But not like this. We’re not ready--No, I’m not ready.”
“No, that’s…don’t ******** with me, Moze, this isn’t you. You always said you wanted to be the king of the hill. Now it’s your responsibility.”
A short, bitter laugh escaped from his otherwise grave expression. “It’s easy to talk big. When everybody else is looking to your every move, you have to be unstoppable. This isn’t like leading around a bunch of kids on the street. You’re asking me to take on the entire league, and I know I can’t do it. There has to be another way-“
Salieri rushed forward and yanked on the blue bandanna around his collar. “You don’t GET TO BE SCARED!”
His eyes grew wide, and for the first time, he was actually nervous to be around his sister. Her breath became slower as her anger turned into despair. “Arnaud needs you-“ she began. A few rapid blinks kept the tears in her eyes at bay, but not for long. Sal bowed her head into his chest. “I need you…”
She could feel his chest heave with a heavy breath. Soon after, she felt his hand atop her head, patting down on her hair. “One year. That’s all I need. One year, and then I’ll make everything normal again. I promise, Sal, I’ll do my best.”
Camphrier Town Pokémon Center: Present
For the entire duration of Salieri’s story, Durendal had remained silent and attentive. She had moved from her chair to the window, watching her Quilladin and Farfetch’d train outside with glazed over eyes.
“Moze was right. He wasn’t ready to win the league. Four sponsored trainers systematically destroyed him, like they’ve been doing it for years.” She looked back at her Pawniard, and began to list them off, holding up four fingers and dropping one down for each sponsored trainer mentioned.
“The first one was a Sniper that stole two of his Pokémon. The second was a Duelist that took his badges. The third was a Charmer. He stalled Moze out while he tried to get back what he lost.” At the mention of the third sponse, Sal’s eyes got even more vibrant. “The Charmer was supposed to be my brother’s friend.”
Only one finger remained up. “The only one whose name I know for sure is Nicolette Nostrad. She messed with my brother’s memories. If I find the Four Sponses, maybe I can find Moze…” Her thoughts trailed off as she took a deep breath. The past wasn’t easy for her to look back on, and even harder to recount to somebody else. “I pushed him into making the biggest mistake of his life, but I can’t be the same. He only trained up for a year. I trained in Orre for three. When they come after me, I’ll tear them apart.”
This wasn’t the first time Durendal had heard that before. Salieri had never delved into the details of her training, only mentioning in passing that her master was competent, wise, and very cruel. From the way she talked about it, it sounded like hell. But the story behind her training in Orre, as well as what actually happened to her brother, seemed like they would not be told. Dune hoped that if he was patient, and if she trusted him more, he’d someday hear the rest.
“I tell people the nobles are monsters, but they don’t believe me. They think I’m crazy…I’m not crazy…it doesn’t matter if they don’t see the truth.” The slight whimper in her voice signaled the arrival of a rare moment as Salieri dropped the tough part of her persona, leaving wounded anger out in the open. Her eyes softly pleaded with Dune as she brought her fist to the wall lightly, a punch with no power. He felt privileged and pained to witness it. “I’ve already lost so much…I don’t want to lose anymore. Not to them. It isn’t just about revenge. It’s about what’s fair.”
And the tough part snapped back as her eyes grew dark. She pressed her fist into the wall harder. Dune could hear the crunch of the drywall beneath it. “Do you get it now, Dune? This isn’t a game for me. I won’t let them get away with this. Not anymore. I’m not going to stop until what they’ve brought on my family is paid back tenfold.”
Dune’s gaze wandered down to his bedsheets. Her past had moved him, and now he understood where all her focused rage came from. But she had neglected Arnaud’s most important lesson: two rights don’t make a wrong. If she kept going down this road, she’d only make things worse for everyone. He “got it” just fine. She didn’t. But he was her loyal guardian and confidant, and he’d go down that path if she did. He just hoped he could steer her down a better one.
The Pawniard didn’t nod or shake his head. Salieri stood up straight, easing her muscles, and suddenly the grave feeling in the room melted away. If she was still feeling tense, she hid it well. Probably a trick she picked up from Mia. “Hmph. You’re not very dark for a Dark Type, are you?...Dune, I promise I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. But I need you. Are you still in or what?”
What she was really asking was would he abandon her, as others had in the past. He nodded and Sal gave him a faint smile. "Thanks." Out the corner of her eye, she saw Jace walk by in the hallway. She recognized the boy from earlier in the morning. He was the sponse representing Lysandre Labs that talked bad about Moze.
“I’ll be right back,” she said absentmindedly as she left. Dune sighed, knowing full well what that tone of hers meant: That boy had irked her, and Sal was about to get some revenge.
~~~~
“Alright Melvin,” Jace said to his Frogadier as he finished packing up his stuff in his suite. “A quick stop at the Chateau and we’re on the road again, okay?”
The Frogadier croaked in response. Jace returned his Pokémon and looked at the Card Key on the bed. It was an entrance pass into the Nostrad Chateau on Route 7. Definitely not something to forget about.
He grabbed it and whistled as he opened the door, stopping his tune short when he came face to face with Salieri. The bandanna girl was looking up at him with a flirtatious smile and her hands behind her back. “Hi.”
“Uh, hi?”
“You’re the guy who said you could beat the White Flag in the cafeteria, right?”
Jace wasn’t sure what she was trying to do, but nevertheless he became cockier. “That’s right. He’s got the nickname for a reason. Why do you wanna know?”
“That’s cool. That’s really cool. So you’re good, huh?”
“Right again. What’s this about, anyway?”
“Jace, is it?”
“Jace Nostrad. Look, if you came here for an autograph, you’re out of luck. I don’t have a pen.”
“It’s okay. I brought mine.”
From behind her back she revealed that Veillantif was in her hands the whole time. Wielding her in the standard pistol grip, Sal had Veil fire a point blank Octazooka at Jace’s face. The front of the noble’s head was almost entirely covered with goo, and while he was blinded, Sal punched him in the face.
Jace fell to the floor, out cold. Sal dropped Veil, leaving the Horsea to bounce on the mattress as she crouched over him and wiped away some of the goo so he could breathe. Satisfied, she stood up and noticed the Card Key in Jace’s hand.
“Hm?” Sal picked it up and eyed it over. Realizing what it was, a huge grin came on over her face. “Veinard.”
She returned Veil to her pokéball then dragged Jace to the bathroom of the suite. Sal took off his Lysandre Labs sponsor jacket, and put it on herself. After a quick spin in the mirror to see how it looked, Sal nodded at her reflection.
“This is going to be fun,” she mused as she unclipped her headphones from her belt and popped them on her ears. A quick tap on its side buttons with a finger was all it took to play a track. The music started pumping into her ears. The rhythm built, and with her a skip in her step, Sal danced her way out of the room.
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 10:33 pm
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 9:53 am
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 10:10 am
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 10:48 am
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 11:25 am
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Route 7 - Riviere Line
"Higher," Helena said as Levi called out the order to scatter the Ducklett's and the duo would disappear into the clouds, which still poured down rain. The roar scattered the Ducklett's, but the sound was hardly intimidating where Helena and Loki ended up.
"I have an idea," Helena said as she looked over to Loki. The two were falling - because Loki couldn't fly - but they had gotten high enough for Helena's plan to be conveyed. It was a simple one, she simply placed a hand on his back as they fell.
And then Loki teleported. Zeke was going to smell them upon their arrival, but that wasn't important. Loki, who appeared above the ground, would release a Charge Beam at the soaked earth - aiming to shock Zeke and Levi.
Except this time, when Zeke moved to dodge, Loki would blast the second Charge Beam, held in his other palm, toward Zeke in his escape route, where his escape options - or even his ability to notice the attack before it was too late - would be limited.
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 2:22 pm
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Camphrier Town Pokémon Center
“Right?” Salieri spun in place in front of the PC, showing off her new stolen jacket. “Riiight?”
On screen, Mia leaned forward to get a closer look. She appeared to still be in her pajamas, and had a half burned spliff hanging out of her mouth. Active children running around popped in and out of the background. The quality of the video feed was choppy, a sign that Mia was still fixing up the PC in Gotengo. “…Merde, Sal, you’ve done it now.”
“You like what you see?”
“How’d you get that jacket?”
“You don’t wanna know. Let’s just say I shouldn’t stick around here for long.”
“I’m not even going to ask. So, how does it feel?”
“Super soft,” Sal noted as she rubbed her fingers on the jacket’s inner lining. “I think it’s Cinccino fur.”
“Yeah? That’s pretty ******** up…but probably really soft.”
“Sooo soft. Anyway, is that private box open yet? I wanna send somebody your way.”
Mia backed away from the screen and toggled some switches on the PC. “One way to find out. Who’re you sending?”
Sal didn’t answer and simply placed the Pokéball on the sending tray. It dematerialized in a blue flash, and rematerialized on screen at Gotengo. Mia opened the ball and out came Quacklin’. “He’s pretty well behaved. Just don’t let the other kids bring him to any restaurants, I heard he’s a delicacy.”
Quacklin’ tensed up, having never heard that about his species before. Mia sighed and simply tossed the duck over her shoulder and off screen. “You’re going to the Chateau, right?”
“As long as I’m passing by, I need to see if I can dig something up on Nicolette.”
“If you’re going into the Chateau’s mainframe, use Ivan to do it. See the USB port on its side?”
Salieri removed the Pokédex from it’s arm cradle and saw what Mia was talking about. She nodded. “Plug that into any computer you find, and Ivan can reroute you data if you connect it to your Pokégear later. It isn’t automatic, so you’ll still have to search. But you can access way more, probably break down some firewalls, and you can take any data you find with you.”
The bandanna girl thought back to a tiny moment that happened yesterday. It was almost forgettable when placed alongside Dune’s battle with Luxray and the appearance of a Quillon, but when she was in danger Salieri could have sworn she heard Ivan malfunction in a way it never had before. She was beginning to wonder just what kind of tinkering Mia had done with the Pokédex. Ultimately, she decided it wasn’t important, so long as it worked. “Gotcha. Thanks Mia. I’ll hit you up later.”
“Have fun storming the castle,” Mia sighed with a flat wave before hanging up.
Route 7 – Riviere Walk
On her way out of Camphrier, Salieri found she was getting a lot of attention from passerby thanks to the jacket. Random people would tip their hats to her, say “Hello” or wish her good luck in the league. Little did they know she wasn’t a noble at all. At first it was amusing, but soon it lost its charm and Salieri just felt their positive discrimination.
Heading east on Route 7, there weren’t as many people. The morning rain had lightened to a drizzle, but it still came down consistently. It was enough to deter many travelers, but not Sal. For her, it was still time to train.
Today’s agenda was very specialized. Salieri had always been the type to train moves and techniques first before gaining levels. In her three years of battle experience, she found that having options was more superior for her battle style than straight power. So today she wanted to begin unlocking the Hidden Abilities of Dune and Biz Marquis: Pressure, and Bulletproof.
Hidden Abilities were special characteristics many Pokémon had but were not born with. They could be gained by living in an environment that required an adaptation, or by training very hard. The plan was to test both of those theories. At the edge of the Riviere Walk’s namesake, Veillantif would swim in the water and fire Octazookas at Biz. The Quilladin was supposed to stay put and allow the technique to slam into him repeatedly in order for his armored hide to build up the necessary resistance to all ball and bomb type moves. With the drizzle coming down, Veil’s signature move packed more of a punch. It was painful tutelage, but the wannabe was keen on standing strong against the onslaught.
[A badass -ouch- never quits -ouch- when the going gets tough!] Biz told himself as he tried to stay as still as possible while the Octazookas kept blasting into him. Although he resisted that type of move, the repetition was still painful. His face was smeared with runny ink, and Veil giggled at him. Biz’s face was tinged light red. [Nope! Not quittin’ now! Merde, that really smarts…]
The idea behind unlocking Bulletproof was simple. Unlocking Pressure was more difficult and required a mental edge. Salieri stood alone with Dune higher up on the riverbank. “Pressure does what it sounds like,” she had told him when they started the day’s training. “You exert a force from your body that makes the air pressure around you more intense. Outwardly, it’s about manipulating air pressure. But to do it, the pressure is all up in here.”
She tapped in the side of her head. “The pressure you have to feel like you’re emanating is all psychological. I read a theory once about primal spirit. If two predators are about to go head to head, once of them might try to dominate the other by making their presence known. If you have more presence, you’ll have to edge over anyone that can’t stand up to it.”
With that in mind, Sal watched at a distance to give Dune some breathing room as he tried to unleash his “primal spirit”. It wasn’t much direction to go off of. He stood there, tensing his muscles and trying to growl in a low voice like he had heard Sal do many times before when she was trying to make a show of force. The more he did it, the more embarrassed he felt.
No, that’s her primal spirit. Not mine. The Pawniard closed his eyes and sat down legs crossed in concentration. If he was going to use this ability, he was going to do it his way.
Watching Durendal seemingly meditate on what to do wasn’t all that exciting for Salieri. Despite wanting to encourage her Pokémon, this type of training didn’t leave much invitation for spectating. Trusting her Pokémon to continue their exercises without her, Salieri went further up the road to see what was up. Three of her Pokémon weren’t with her for it, but Banksy’s ball still hung on her belt. She’d call upon the Torkoal if she got in any trouble.
Near the river farther down the road, Salieri spotted two familiar figures: Helena and Levi. She’d only known Helena for two days, and she didn’t know Levi for very long either. From what she gathered he was a thrill seeking troublemaker and an alright guy otherwise. Sal had never seen him battle, but judging by what the other kids at Gotengo told her, she considered him to be the second strongest trainer who hung around Gotengo, the first being herself of course.
Salieri took a seat on a downed log and watched as the two trainers battled. If they noticed her she’d give a wave, but she was hoping they wouldn’t spot her right away. She enjoyed watching battles where the fighters didn’t know they were being watched. It was more natural that way.
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 6:34 pm
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Route 7 - Battle Chateau
Little did the teen trainers know, their battle was being observed by more people than just Salieri. Jullien Nostrad watched with tepid curiosity from atop the battlements of his château, and only then by default, as the sweeping views of the countryside and river had long ceased to hold his interest. Jullien was the head of House Nostrad, making him one of the most powerful men in the country, exceeded only by the Queen. His hollowed face was stern, wrinkles etched by long years of hard work charting a web around his eyes. His long green robes ruffled in the breeze, and their ornate silver trims gleamed in the sunlight.
"Lord Nostrad," the voice said, and Jullien turned around, forgetting the trainers and their battle as one would forget a stone.
"Ah, Siebold," he said, smiling when he laid eyes on the Elite Four member. "Now this is a surprise."
"My Lady Taine would like you to know that the uh, item is nearing acquisition. It won't be long before it's added to the collection."
Jullien nodded. Of course Madeline Taine would be far too busy to deliver the news herself, or so she'd claim, and few others could be trusted with such a message lest it lead to complications. Siebold seemed tense in Lord Nostrad's presence, as tense as any commoner would be before a noble, despite being one himself. He stood back as Jullien approached, allowing the older man to walk past while trying to maintain an air of calm.
"I hope I'm not intruding," he said, rubbing his tall collar between his fingers, a nervous tell Jullien had noticed in the young man.
"Don't fret, Siebold," Jullien said, "Today, nothing can irk me. Today is a good day. I have a very special guest waiting for me downstairs, would you like to meet him?"
"I would be honoured, my lord," Siebold bowed.
"Walk with me."
---
The Battle Chateau was once a fort manned by military officers during wartime. It was ideally placed to overlook Rivière Walk and deploy forces east and west. It was a solid building, with its foundations built deep into the earth to stand strong within the surrounding riverbed. The space wasn't wasted, however, and while the château became an academy for aspiring noble trainers, the underground dungeons served another purpose. Once a place to house, interrogate and torture prisoners of war, House Nostrad repurposed the dungeons as pokémon holding facilities; captured and donated pokémon would be brought in and trained until they were fit to be used within the academy. Some pokémon took to the training well, and were taken above ground within days; agreeable pokémon could be found on the dungeon's upper levels, closer to the surface. The deeper the level, the more unruly the pokémon and the harsher the training.
"In all your years as a student here, did you ever question what lay beneath your feet?" Lord Nostrad asked as he lead Siebold down a square-shaped staircase. It was dark, lit only by the occasional electric wall sconce.
"We heard noises," Siebold said as they passed a door. It lay silent, but he expected horrible groaning noises to come from behind it at any second. "Cries echoing through the castle. Some thought they were ghosts."
"Is that so? What did you think?"
Siebold thought back to his days as an apprentice trainer. He, like all noble trainers, underwent tutelage at Lord Nostrad's Battle Chateau. Once, while he was training alone in the courtyard, a choked scream bubbled out of an open door. Then it stopped abruptly, as if something had cut it off. To this day, the very thought gave him shivers.
"I tried not to think about it," Siebold said quietly.
"Ah, but an inquisitive mind is a healthy mind. As a Court noble, you should know it is never out of bounds to ask a question. Or demand an answer."
"My lady says the same," Siebold said. The staircase changed as they walked deeper into the earth. It wasn't as well maintained, its bricks had fractured with weedy plants growing between the cracks. Its angles became more crooked, a far cry from the neat and orderly château he'd become familiar with over the years.
"And how is Madeline?"
"She is quite well, my lord. Though I fear the parade did nothing for her temper. Reviews for the Leroux procession were more favourable than our own."
"In-fighting between the Court houses will not do," Lord Nostrad said as they reached the final door. There were no more stairs to follow. "Especially not at such crucial times, where so much is at risk."
Lord Nostrad paused before the door, which was plain and made of strong iron. He removed a Klefki from his robes and chose an old, slender-looking key from the bunch and unlocked the door with a clunk. Nostrad pushed the door ajar and Siebold gasped in the bracing chill that escaped. The old lord turned to him with a triumphant grin.
"Well now," he said as he heaved the door open, "Allow me to introduce my guest."
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 10:16 am
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Route 7 - Riviere Line
Levi thought Helena was using Loki's teleport to stay out of range, he hadent accounted for her to have him teleport so close within their range. Levi was slow on the call so Zeke did what he could with what little time he had, and placed himself directly under the charge beam.
The electric attack delt damage, but Zeke was still in the battle, his health estimated to a little less than half. The important thing was that he had stopped the electric attack from reaching the ground and dispersing to hit both him and his trainer.
All the while, Levi remained calm and collected on the outside, while mentally he was furiously working out solutions to their combat dilemma. Helena was using the field to her advantage, something he himself didn't take into account, resulting Zeke taking damage.
First thing Levi wanted to do was stop Helena from using the wet ground to her advantage. Zeke could dodge the electric discharge from a shocked ground, but Levi couldn't, They weren't going to be able to fight against teleporters effectively if he kept having to worry about his own safety.
"Zeke, use a stationary flame wheel and torch the ground."
If all went according to plan, a small area of ground would be left chard and free of water, Levi would attempt to occupy this space. If Helena tried having Loki attack while he moved into position, which would only take a few seconds at most for the agile youth, Zeke would let out a Gatling of Embers towards the duo
She had Levi playing defensively at the moment.
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