Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Jump Einatz]

Route 14 - Laverre Nature Trail

"If we make it back in one piece, you'll get every Pokédollar," Alex ensured. She rubbed her hands together and gestured to her crew. "The big guy is Guigsy, and the twins are Liam and Noel."

"Hi, nice to meetcha!" said Guigsy enthusiastically, tucking his camera under one arm so he could give Ben and Roy handshakes. The twins waved and smiled, then went back to tinkering with their equipment. Liam, the sound guy, released a Gogoat with a saddle and mounted his stuff on.

"I kept the crew small so we can move easier," Alexa explained, primarily to Ben. "We want the clearest, crispest shots possible or else this story could get pegged as a hoax. The more media we can hit with this evidence the better. Remember, if we find this place, we get in and get out. No one else should know."

Alexa nodded to Ben as she walked off the beaten path and to the forest between Routes 14 and 16. The wilds. "You ready to lead the way?"

((Support Pokémon! Alexa's Vivillon has a specialized Friend Guard. As long as Roy or Ben are near Sazerac for this event, each of them and their Pokémon will have damage done to them reduced by 50%. 50%? Yes! The deals are real folks))

Lumiose City - Gotengo

From her seat on the stoop of the porch, Mia counted exactly six other people in the treehouse's courtyard. Two of them were Youngsters Carter and Anais, getting taught the way of the stick by Quacklin'. The four others, maybe around fourteen years old, were at the exit of the dilapidated building that made up the perimeter, deciding on where to go next. Sal's other Pokémon either frolicked around or lazed in the treehouse. It was a slow day. Mia needed the stillness anyway.

Music bled from the record player inside the treehouse to out on the porch as Mia hit another wall with the Menger Sponge puzzle. She normally enjoyed puzzles because of how quickly she could do them given her mad analytical skills, but the joy was sucked out because she knew this was just a distraction. "Hrm."

She took the spliff out from behind her ear and put it into her mouth, then decided against lighting it. Instead, she called Moze for the third time. She reached his voicemail. Again. Mia called Salieri.

"Oh my god finally Mia, what the hell?" answered Salieri after the first ring.
"Sorry." Mia leaned back against the wooden railing and dabbled with the puzzle. "I was busy."
"Are you okay? You have to tell me everything."

And so Mia explained for the umpteenth time what she had seen: everyone in the hotel lobby was asleep, lulled by a Whimsicott, except for her because of the headphones. Ratio walked in and battled Horton Balibar's security while Mia hid behind the desk. When Ratio was done with them, he broke her phone when she tried to call the police. Then he told her to leave and went into the elevator.

Sal asked her how Ratio fought. With a Talonflame, a Magnezone and hand to hand combat, Mia answered. It had been easy for him. Too easy. "He even moonwalked," Mia told her flatly. By now the spliff was lit.
"Weird, he didn't seem like the moonwalking type. Urgh. What a smug sunnuvabitch."
"Are you okay?" Mia asked, eager to change the subject. "You sound edgy."
"Just whooped this delusional trainer who needs to learn her place. It's nothing." It sounded like something. "What else was there?"
"That's it," Mia grumbled. "There's nothing else to say." And nothing else she wanted to say on the matter.
"Merde. That's not a lot to work on. You said the cameras got wiped?"
"Yeah. Magnets."
"Can you sketch anything else you saw? Make a picture with some tech wizard skills?" Sal prodded.
"I don't know, Sal," Mia said, getting annoyed. "No, I can't do that."
"Well, that's fine. As long as he didn't hurt you. I wonder why. What's the point of all those witnesses?"

Mia laid down on her back, counting the numbers of wooden planks on the roof of the porch. "To make a scene."
"I guess. OH! I found an alien, Mia!"
"...what."
"She's a Cleffa, a widdle baby Cleffa! Fell from a meteor into Reflection Cave this morning."

Salieri went on to explain everything about this Cleffa and then send a selfie of herself with the Cleffa to Mia's new phone. Despite the riveting subject matter, Mia ebbed in and out of listening. Salieri was just tortured by Ratio yesterday. How could she be so energetic right now? Was this what it was like, being used to this madness? Being a trainer? Mia was sure more than ever that she wanted no part of it.

"By the way, when I put Oberon in a Pokéball, Ivan sent Lupin back. He said I have a full party but I only have six Pokémon, what's up with that?"

Merde, Mia though as she sat up, more alert. Ivan was rejecting a sixth Pokémon. How advanced had the AI become during the last upgrade? It hadn't acted up again until now. If Ivan could break the parameters of Mia's code, it could run loose. In ways Salieri couldn't have predicted. But Mia couldn't tell her the truth about Ivan, not now. She made a promise, a promise that she hated. "I, uh, don't know. That is weird."
"Can you fix it? No one wins the league without a full team."
"I'll give it a look, let you know later...hey Sal, my dad's calling, I talk to you later."
"Oh. Uh, okay. See ya."

Mia hung up and sat in stoned silence. She took off her glasses and rubbed her phone against her forehead. "******** buzzed again, startling Mia. She wondered if her dad actually was calling. Mia had transferred all of her contacts into this new phone, and so she was able to check the caller ID.

It was her mother.

Mia hit the ignore button and went back to the puzzle.  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Hospital.

"Thank you! We hope to see you again!"

Matheson tilted his head to the side as his Nurse wished him goodbye while he sported a curved burn under his eye and a black sling on his healing arm, just like Zack's. "Whyyyy would you say that? Sorry, I know you're trying to be nice, but-"
"s**t, I did it again didn't I?" The Nurse shook her head, embarrassed. "Sorry, my last job was at the Pokémon Center, we said that all the time."
"Oh." Math thought about it. "It's not really, like, what you'd wanna wish anyone there either."
"The union is ********, dude. Just take care of yourself, okay?"
"Thanks! You too!"

Instead of exiting the hospital, Matheson went down the hall to the nearest door with a keyhole, his Klefki Metis floating alongside him. Salieri had sent him a picture of the door he should use to get to her. He took out his Magic Door Key, visualized himself exiting on the other side, and tried opening the door.

"Huh." The door wouldn't budge. He tried it again, but it was stuck shut. Metis jingle jangled and watched him struggle. "I know I shouldn't be embarrassed, but this is embarrassing." Matheson used his good arm to push against the door while jiggling the handle. "Somewhere in this scenario is a d**k joke, I know it."

The Magic Door Key could open any door, locked or not, as long as there was a keyhole. If he couldn't open the other door it meant it was being forced close. He called up Sal.

"Hi!" There was a loud rustling over Salieri's voice on the phone, so much that she had to yell.
"Hey, so I can't open the door? Is there something blocking it?"
"What?!...oh, that's gotta be the wind! I'll turn it off, hold on!"
"Turn off the what?"
The noise died down. "Okay, try it now."

Matheson stuck the key in the lock. He didn't know what he was looking forward to the most. Seeing the alien, the pirate, or Salieri. He took a deep breath and opened the door to...

Shalour Pokémon Center - Roof

"You really like rooftops, don't you?" Math said as he and Metis stepped out onto one. The vantage point here was fantastic, great for seeing most of the city and the Tower of Mastery to the north. Salieri and Durendal were the only ones on the roof, which begged the question: "How'd you, uh, turn off wind?"

"You'll see what I mean when it's ready," said Sal coyly as she walked up to him while Dune waved hello and he waved back. She looked happy to see him, but also on edge about something. Either way, he thought she was cute. But not the same kind of overwhelming cute that hit him like a wave when he feasted his eyes on Oberon standing on her shoulder. "Hey-"

"Ohhhh my gawd that is the CUTEST WIDDLE BAYBEE ALIEN~!" Math squeed, making Sal wince. Oberon looked back at him with big baby eyes. She held up her arms, trying to reach him.
"You wanna hold her?" Sal asked. <******** yes I do. Merde, I shouldn't curse in front of the baby, right?"
"I've been doing it this whole time, I think it's okay." Sal held out Oberon and the Cleffa leapt onto Math's shoulder in a single bound. Math was surprised by the weightlessness of the jump, and how coordinated this Cleffa was for a baby.

"Hey there little guy, oooo I just wanna pinch your widdle cheeks," Math cooed, but Oberon paid him no attention. She was focused on Metis, trying to cling onto Math's keys and knicknacks. Specifically, she was trying desperately to grab onto Matheson's Mega Ring. "Aww. Sorry Obie, that one's not for sale. Here, Metis, give her the pocketknife."

Metis unclasped her arms to drop a tiny pocketknife on a keyring into Oberon's outstretched hands. She inspected it closely. "You can keep it."
"You're giving her a pocketknife?" Sal was touched. "That's so sweet."

Oberon bounced down onto Salieri's belt bag, slipped the pocketknife inside, and bounced back up to Math's shoulder, gunning for the Mega Ring again. Math and Sal both "D'awwwed" and Metis floated away so Oberon would bounce after her on the roof.

"That is the most precious alien I have ever met, I just wanna squeeze her."
"It’s the only alien you ever met."
"Actually, my little sister's Starmie came from a meteor too." Math nodded. "Yeah, it's like, super uncommon."
"Seriously? That's pretty cool, I guess," Sal said, slightly deflated. "I thought I made first contact."
"Sorry to disappoint you." Math cleared his throat as Oberon continued to bounce many times her own height to chase after Metis. "So, is it cool if I kiss you in front of the baby? Or like, in general?"

Salieri grinned, grabbed his collar and got on her tiptoes. They both forgot Durendal was standing a few feet away while their hello kiss lasted for long enough to make him uncomfortable. Considering his patience, it was a long time. "Dune, how about you join up with the rest of them? Math and I gotta talk shop."

Durendal jumped at the chance to leave. He flew off the roof and down in the small meadow on the hill below where Salieri's other Pokémon were training. "We're super close to mode number two, I think it's gonna blow you away dude," Sal boasted.

"What is it? I wanna know."
"Nope, you'll have to see."
"Tell meeeee."
"Not happening."
"Fine, okay. So? What were you saying before about a pirate?" Math asked, cursing internally for forgetting his sweet pirate hat before deciding it was for the best. That would've been too much.

Salieri took a deep breath. Math sensed that it really was time to get down to business.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wait so he’s a pirate king?”

Math sat on one of the industrial air conditioners, looking at a photo on Sal’s phone of Skarada, provided by Interpol for his wanted poster. “Self proclaimed. Math, I hope that’s not the take away you get, because I just explained literally everything to you.”
“I got it, I got it,” Math claimed, and he did. This was the guy who had set up the traps on Route 10. He was most likely a member of Team Flare, and he ended up with all the Mega Stones Ratio had been searching for except for the one that ended up with Zack. “And you just want to know where he is?”
“That’s why I called you, mister master tracker. I thought he’d be around this city but I’m not sure. His airship can submerge under water or create a cover of cloud to hide in the sky. Here I drew it for you.”

Salieri took out a crumpled napkin from her pocket and handed it to Matheson. On it was a doodle of Skarada’s airship, a Roll Cloud class cruiser called The Fishbone. The badass ship Matheson had been imagining was severely mitigated by Salieri’s dreadful artistic skills, enough that he had to flip it around a few times to figure out which way was right side up.

“I’ll give it a shot. Sounds like a challenge.” Bigger objects were generally easier to find, but this one could hide effectively. Math was going to have to approach this from outside the box. “How do you know this guy, anyway?”
“I ran into him in Orre. A lot.” Salieri put her hands on her hips. “Too many times.”
“So training wasn’t all fun and games, huh?”

Sal laughed without mirth at that statement. “No, not fun and games…my teacher wasn’t really a good dude, we didn’t see eye to eye all the time. So after a year, I got fed up and split off. Orre’s a big place, and Ska was the only other person I knew there. And he gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse, so…” Sal scratched her head and looked away. “I kind of joined his crew.”

Matheson’s jaw dropped. “You were a pirate?” His voice was already on the rise.
“Barely. For like a year, tops, before I split and found my teacher again.” Sal rolled her eyes. “We didn’t part on great terms.”
“…You were a pirate.”
“It’s no big deal. Orre is way different than Kalos.”

This was definitely the strangest turn on Matheson had felt all day, and that was considering the bizarre arousal that happened when the Nurse applied his burn medicine. Either he was still suffering from a concussion or he just had to come to terms with the fact that guys could get boners from anything. “Man, guys can get boners from anything.”
“Hm? What was that?”
“Nothing.”

Math jumped off the air conditioner and put the sketch in his pocket. “What do you want me to do when I find this ship?”
“Just call me.” Sal put a hand on his arm. “Listen, he might seem like a fun guy and I know you think the best of people, but he’s a rotten man. If he sees you, don’t let him take control. He has a way of doing that.”

Salieri seemed more spooked at the prospect of Skarada than she did after fighting Ratio. Math wondered exactly what had happened to her in Orre, but didn’t question the specifics. He had learned that when it came to Salieri, she’d reveal how she felt in due time. Pushing her just made her shrink away.

He put his hand on hers. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”
“Okay the last time you said that though, you got turned into a crispy chew toy.”
“I’ll be even more careful. Promise.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Princess Atomicka looked as the male and female humans sucked each other’s faces again. At first she thought it was simply the male sucking the female’s excess energy out through her mouth as was custom on Glacknor until it was clear that this was some sort of disgusting display of mutual affection. The large peppy male with the intense cuteness aggression departed through the door he came in through, with the keyholder floating behind him.

No! Atomicka gasped and bounced after Metis as fast as she could. That Pokémon held a mineral that gave off the same energy wavelength as the rest of her species, and of her ship. It was the first sense of familiarity she had felt all day. She had to have it, she had to see if she could use it to contact her people.

The door closed and Atomicka jumped onto the frame, peeking inside. Matheson and Metis were gone. No… Her eyes welled up with tears as she banged on the door in despair. NOOOO!

“Awww wassamatter Oberon?” Salieri asked, scooping up Princess Atomicka in her arms like she was some ignorant child. “You hungry? Oh, you wanna see my team train?”

The princess stopped herself from crying. As much as she was learning to use the human’s belief that she was a ‘precious widdle baby’ to her advantage, she did not want to shed real tears in front of these primitives if she could help it. Atomicka nodded. “Mmmkay. Here, play with this.”

Salieri gave her the folding sword that the male one, Matheson, had called a ‘pocketknife’. She clicked it open and clicked it closed repeatedly, memorizing its feel and properties as Salieri took her down to the meadow.

Two of Salieri’s Pokémon were sparring with each other. The oafish plant beast, Biz Marquis, was trying to punch at the aqueous quadruped, Reynard. Reynard kept transmuting her body into liquid and squirming around each punch with deft skill. “Come on, Biz! Punch where she’s gonna be, not where she is!”

[It’s-not-that-easy,] Biz groaned, each word punctuated by another missed punch. Atomicka turned her attention to the other two Pokémon. One was a turtle that Atomicka had originally believed to be just a hot rock until it revealed its limbs. The other was the metal soldier that had engaged in a battle earlier at the cove. His skills impressed Atomicka greatly. If they were on Glacknor, she would have allowed him a seat on her warrior’s council.

Durendal noticed her as well, then folded his arms and looked away. Embarrassment? Jealousy? She was unsure. The culture and behaviors of these Earthlings, primitive as they were, were still hard to read.

“Okay guys, this training is getting nowhere.” Salieri checked her mobile device for some reason. “We’ve got a ways to go if we wanna beat Korrina before dinner. Let’s kick it up a notch. Or twelve.”  

[Marsuru]

Route 13 - Lumiose Badlands

Zack was still amazed a place like this could exist when the rest of Kalos was so lush. Desert, arid cracked earth, piles of rocks. A far cry from the grass and rivers he'd experienced elsewhere. Thankfully this wasn't his first time to this particular route, so he had known to stock up on liquid supplies at the pokémon center before he left. Esme had helped him put the six pack of bottled Fresh Water into his backpack, which was lined with a plastic bag to keep things from spilling out of its burn holes. Then they'd parted ways, Zack moving onwards to Shalour City via this pretty little wasteland.

He wasn't some lazy amateur, however, and chose to train during his travel time. The rocky inclines dotted around the route were tough to climb with only one hand, but not impossible. Oh how he missed having a flier.

'Should be right around here,' he said to himself, sweat draining along his cheek as he stood atop the hill. Behind him, the route stretched out in miniature and the fall would be lethal. He'd noticed the telltale sign of his prey at the base of the rock; dragon dung unmistakable, and this batch was still fresh. Another reason he was glad he hadn't fallen.

There were tracks, and they were cut deep. He knew Gible nested in this area, and he'd found the burrow. Whether natural or gouged from the rock by pokémon, it didn't matter. It was an ink-black hole in the ground, and Zack could hear noises. Clicking sounds, like the scuttling of insects magnified a hundredfold, and a lot of them at that. Perfect.

'Alright, Malis, let's see what you can do,' Zack said, unclipping the pokémon's ball. He held it over the Gible nest, tapped the button and let it fall.

Light flashed, flipping the cave's black to white, then vanished. Zack heard his Charmander roar, and the clicking intensified as dozens of Gible-roars returned fire, unleashing hell on the intruder. Zack had seen how ferociously wild pokémon would defend their nests, and he hoped Gible would be no less disappointing than Haxorus. The ground shook under foot, lit up through cracks as fire launched in bursts, loud as cannons.

'Now that's not very effective,' Zack said, reaching for another ball. He wondered how long it would be before Malis realised that too. The Gible would range in strength, from babies to pokémon of Malis's level, and once the weaklings fell, he'd have a real fight on his hands.

So Zack popped the second pokéball, and Hazard materialised before him. The Haunter grinned at her master, possibly quite amused that he hadn't become a ghost himself, but Zack didn't really care. 'I think you'd better make sure he doesn't die.'

The Haunter saluted, then flew downwards. Her eyes went wide a moment later, and she dodged to the side as Malis flew past. The orange little lizard arced and hit the deck with a roll, his scales battered and singed from the Gibles' attacks. Blood rolled underneath his eye in a thick line as he staggered to his feet, growling with bared teeth. First his eyes were raging toward his trainer, but they flicked back to the hole. A fresh Gabite escaped from the nest, landing hard enough to make the ground quiver.

Taller and far more agile than a Gible, the Gabite looked to be the nest's protector. It ignored Zack, focused on the threat. Malis staggered to his feet, out of breath from being released into an ambush and fighting in the dark. It was gruelling, but it had to be. No more playing around.  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Benedict looked at all the newcomers and shrugged. "We'll see." All it would take was one clue. Something that Helena had left behind to point the way.

Between Routes 14 and 16 -Beginning path-
Ben made a show of leading the crew, more or less, as he hunted for something that would lead the way. There had to be something that Helena had done. She wouldn't have given them something extremely vague and useless, would she have? Go prove this thing exists, but I won't tell you where.

It had to be obvious, right?

It wouldn't be safe out there without being ready, though. Reluctantly, he released Essence, she would have an easier time maneuvering while staying in sight. Ajax' evolution meant Ben was reluctant to let the pokemon perch on his shoulder. "Manny." He said, looking back to the Meditite that followed him as closely as possible. His finger tapped his head, and the link was formed. His hand moved to gesture to Essence, and the emotions and impressions formed the rest of the message. Manny added her to the link.

"What I'm looking for isn't too far off." He lied. And then they came out into what seemed to be a clearing at first, at least to Ben it did. They'd been moving diagonally forward, away from the route but still along a path. Instinct more than anything told Ben to go that way. If the link were more perfected, he could probably have used Ajax for scouting and general overwatch but...


Benedict turned slightly and realized they weren't in a clearing. There had been a path ripped through by something... Big. Dangerous.

Helena had mentioned having a pokemon called Tyrant. Quickly he took out his pokedex and looked up anything that might have to do with that name.

Tyrantrum. Large. Dangerous. Not at all inconspicuous. He made a hell of a path, though.

"Her pokemon did this. Tyrantrum." He said, showing the group his pokedex. "We follow this as far as it goes, and look for any human footprints we can find. Few humans go this way, so it should be possible." Without another word, he walked with complete confidence.

Of course, this was just a hunch, so if it was some other trainer's path of destruction they were following, that would be disappointing.  

[Marsuru]

Off Route 14

Roy wiped sweat from his brow as the group passed through the dense woodland that separated the routes. Human-made dirt tracks had dissolved the further they'd moved from Route 14, replaced by thick foliage and the darkness of the forest. His Fearow scouted overhead, looking for anything resembling an oil field, but so far hadn't reported back. Meanwhile, his Luxray took point near Benedict. It scanned their surroundings for wild pokémon with its X-ray vision, and let the group know of any dangers by stiffening its body posture and changing direction until it was safe to continue their current route. Its Intimidate ability was put to good use, keeping the riff-raff pokémon away.

The last thing they needed was to get into avoidable battles and draw in the predators.

When they reached the clearing, Roy let his mouth hang open a little. There had been signs of battle dotted here and there in spots of scorched earth, broken plants and chewed-up animal bones, but nothing quite like this. They were either lucky to have found what appeared be the track, or terribly, terribly unlucky. And pessimistic he may be, but to Roy Hunter, serendipity was for other people.

'Are you sure this kid knows what he's talking about?' Roy said, falling back to walk in line with Alexa and keeping his voice from Benedict's earshot. 'Just saying, so far it feels like our guide needs a guide.'  

[Marsuru]

Lumiose Badlands - Rocky Hill

'Stop being a little b***h, and take it down already!'

Malis took another Slash across the chest and collided with a rock, shattering it into a jagged splinter. The Charmander hit the ground in a roll, scrambling to his feet in time to avoid an overhead Dual Chop. He was tired, practically on his last legs, but from the mad glare in his eyes and growls accompanying his every move, Malis was too pissed to go down just yet. Gabite ripped at the earth with a flurry of blows, too focused on its attack to notice its target had escaped. Malis followed up with Dragon Rage, which lifted its opponent off its feet and off the cliff.

'Not good enough,' Zack said from the sidelines, earning a hateful glare from his pokémon. He always skirted the lines of mutiny with Malis, but it was for a good reason. He knew from the day they met that Malis was an evil little b*****d at heart; he needed to bring out its strongest traits, not water it down by being nice. Viciousness, ferociousness, it fit the fire type perfectly, and they were almost ready to take it to the next level.

'Dragon Rage won't get you far. You need to channel it, focus it into a pulse,' he explained, but Malis didn't seem to be listening. He'd turned himself toward Zack completely, muttering under his breath as flames seeped between his teeth. It'd be more terrifying if it didn't come from a Charmander. Zack folded his arms, and decided not to warn him that Gabite had crested the cliff.

Malis found out a second later as Gabite hit hard with a Take Down where Zack could've sworn he heard something snap. Malis fell on his back, screeching in pain and terror both, and Gabite mounted him, pinning the Charmander between its legs. Its hooked claws rose into the air, then came down in a flurry.

'Come on, Malis,' Zack shouted. Blood flew from cuts on Malis's arms as he barely fended off Gabite's assault, its claws a dance of knives. 'Focus hard and fight back!'

The Charmander's screech became a growl, became a roar. Bright light escaped his maw, the purple dragon-type energy condensed into a Dragon Pulse that ripped Gabite from the earth and into an arc. The light spread over Malis's body, fading a second later and leaving his scales a deeper red, his limbs longer and more muscular, but the madness in his eye went nowhere. Gabite hit the floor, rolling backwards to its feet, its chest burning from the super effective attack, but it had no chance. The Charmeleon launched itself forward, fist ablaze with Fire Punch, and skewered Gabite in its wound. And the Fire Punch ignited further on contact, unleashing a secondary blast wave that vaporised the earth in a circle around the two battlers.

Gabite crashed into a sharp crop of rocks and lay still, smoke rising from its scales. Its body hung limp, its head slumped to one side. Malis breathed hard, smoke escaping his nostrils, then turned towards Zack. He should've been beaten long ago, but stayed standing through sheer force of will. Malis looked down at himself, at his new, more powerful form and gazed in wonder. Then looked back to Zack, baring his teeth.

'Good,' the trainer said. He walked right up to his pokémon, who glared, breathing deeply from the fight. The evolution had mended most of his cuts, if not his stamina, but there was now a dark scar running from beneath his left eye to the edge of his jaw. Malis's eyes lingered on his pokéball, which Zack picked up and turned over in his fingers. He smiled, then clipped the ball back onto his belt. Zack nodded towards the Gible nest, and Malis stared at the deep, dark hole.

'We're not done here just yet.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Route 12 - Fourrage Road

Biz Marquis squinted at the ocean, his hands balled into tentative fists. [Is it ready? I dunno if it's ready.]

Fourrage Road had just as beautiful a view of the sea as its surrounding cities did, with the added bonus of being mostly claimed by nature. A passage of water separated Shalour City from the fields and meadows, crossable only by Pokémon or by taking a perilous trek over watery stones. From the western side Salieri could have seen the Baa de Mer Ranch, but she was focused on the training at hand.

Straight north between Route 12 and Azure Bay, Reynard stood on water like a biblical beast. It streamed up before her, lifted by her hydrokinesis and shaped into an orb. Salieri wanted her to compress the water as much as possible until it was a true Hydro Pump, and every time she was successful, she was to fire the Hydro Pump at Biz standing on the beach. Reynard had no problem with this form of tough love.

Biz had plenty of strength but he needed to work on the speed and coordination of his punches, so Salieri had an idea that would help him cheat. The Chesnaught had a Seed Bomb growing out of each elbow, primed to explode anytime he wanted. The explosion wouldn't harm his Bulletproof body, but it would make his punch insanely fast and strong. If his aim was on point, he'd theoretically be able to punch right through a Hydro Pump. Theoretically.

[There's a glare,] Biz complained from his spot on the sand while Sal watched, leaning against a tree with Oberon at her feet. The Cleffa was frolicking in a small area, closely examining each new species of plant she came across on the grassy floor.

"Pay attention, Biz," Sal said while she looked up at the sky. "You need to focus." Durendal had flown away a while ago to train on his own and finalize his new mode. Sal lost track of him, but trusted he hadn't gone far.

[I'm focused-]

Reynard made a sloppy but dense Hydro Pump and shot it across the sea at Biz Marquis. It whizzed through the air and he brought up his fist to meet it, blowing up one of the bombs to power up his punch. He was too slow on the draw, swinging at air while being blasted in the face. Biz was sent flying backwards into the grass near Sal's feet, groaning in pain and embarrassment. "Oberon, can you take care of that?"

Salieri discovered after looking at her movepool that Oberon would make a perfect healer for her team. The Cleffa nodded and a pink, warm energy flowed from her hands onto where he had been struck. The spot was healed before it even bruised. "Back on your feet, Biz, you can do this." Sal cupped her hands together and hollered as loud as she could out to Reynard. "GOOD JOB! KEEP IT UP!"

[Gooooo ******** yourself!] Reynard called back cheerfully with a wave. Sal waved back as she slunk against a tree, pulling up blades of grass.

She wondered if Zack had found out anything about the Mega Stone yet. Sal hadn't stopped asking around about Skarada's ship whenever she passed someone on the road, but she was leaving the bulk of the search up to Matheson. If Zack had also passed down the work to someone else, then there was a chance none of them would get anything done.

Benedict was probably more reliable. Salieri considered calling him, but she'd save business calls for her late lunchtime. Right now she wanted to relax and train in peace.

Off Route 14

Alexa shrugged at Roy's suspicions, but she had begun to suspect the same until they got to the clearing. She got her Pokédex out as well and scanned a huge footprint. It was a match for a Tyrantrum. At least that checked out. "I have no idea," Alexa admitted to Roy, also just as quietly. "But as long as we have sunlight it's worth a shot."

Sunlight didn't mean much on the forest floor shrouded by lush canopies, but the travelers would definitely miss it when it was gone. Sazerac fluttered close by Alexa, unnerved by the thick gnarled branches. She could have sworn she saw a branch stretch out and grow like a creaky wooden claw, but when she looked again it was gone. Sazerac hoped it was just her imagination.

"Does anybody else know we're here?" Guigsy asked, filming b-roll footage of the forest as they walked. "Cause if we go missing I want someone to find our bodies."
"Cut it out," Noel grumbled from atop her twin brother's Gogoat. "This place is already freaking me out."
"Just kidding, Noel," Guigsy said with a big grin. His humor put Alexa at some ease.
"Chill, sis," Liam said with a chuckle. "Wild Pokémon are still just wild Pokémon."
"That's not what's freaking me out," Noel admitted, wishing she hadn't volunteered for Alexa's snap job. "It's just creepy here-"

A rustling came from the bushes next to them, and Alexa's crew switched their attention. It wasn't like the creaking Sazerac thought she heard before. This time, three Haunters equivalent to Roy's Luxray in level or slightly higher, floated up from the sidelines and hovered around the group. The news crew stopped walking.

"Shaaaaa~" hissed the Haunters as their long tongues lolled out the sides of the mouths and their hands glowed a sinister deep purple. They were toying with potential prey, waiting for them to make a move.

Alexa could hear more rustling around them. Other Pokémon were coming.

"Yo!" Guigsy yelped, recoiling in pain. A branch stretching out from one of the nearby trees had scratched him on the arm, drawing a slow trickle of blood. As soon as it did, the branch shriveled and shrank away like it had a mind of its own. "The hell..."

"What's your move, Benedict?" Alexa called from the back of the group to the front, sticking close to Roy. Sazerac flapped near her, ready to go.

((So I'm gonna try something new here. Alexa is now our first combat support character. What do I mean by this?

Every post, I will give a list of options as to what Alexa and Sazerac can do in the given situation. Klarp, you may choose one and say which option you chose in your next post. I'll have Alexa respond appropriately. If you don't choose an option then I will write her as normal. Hopefully, this gives you more versatile combat options to pick. And don't forget guys, Sazerac's ultra Friend Guard is still very active. 50% damage reduction for all allies.

Option A: Attack (Single Target)
Option B: Defend (Choose who Sazerac is defending)
Option C: Evade (Move Alexa and Sazerac ahead or backwards)

Happy hunting!))  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Off Route 14: Tyrant's Desolation

The moment that s**t started to jump out, Benedict sought focus in Manny's meditation. True, he wouldn't be increasing any stats, and neither would Essence, but that wasn't the only use that it had. With the telepathic link, imperfect as it was, he could still find something.

Haunters were ghosts, psychic strikes from trained pokemon would help a lot. He sent to Essence as he turned to direct Alexa. Worry and the image of seeds flying at one of the haunters went out to his pokemon. They might still be able to move, but taking away the levitate might help them be less mobile. He searched for pokemon nearby, and briefly considered using Manny for that.

It might work, if there was more training there. He sent the instruction anyway. Search for minds, give directions of them. Still, he used his eyes as well.

"Psychic attacks on any that leave an opening." He replied out loud. It seemed a good opportunity to add them into the link, but again...

He wished he'd gotten Manny sooner than this. "Defensive moves otherwise."

Essence, meanwhile, was responding to the vague order. She had had less from him, verbal commands that were ingrained. The feelings she understood well enough to launch worry seeds at the haunter in the center.

She focused on any movement around her, of course. If something attacked, she'd be ready for it. At least enough to start reacting. If none of the pokemon came quickly enough, she would use the spare time to activate growth and prepare herself for what came next.

Manny had the easier job, reaching out with his Telepathy, his natural psychic abilities. The same thing that let him detect allies, and start reading enemies. If Ben was correct, he would be able to detect pokemon by which was closest. It wouldn't be as exact as if he had mastered mind reader, of course, but would allow him to give Benedict a direction to focus on for the next attackers.

((Specifically, psybeam the Haunter if it's hit by the worry seed is what I'd choose if it's available.. But Ben's not aware of all her pokemon's moves.))  

[Marsuru]

Off Route 14

The Haunter hadn't attacked them. There had been a good chance that they wouldn't pick a fight and just float away; it wouldn't be the first time Roy had seen wild pokémon come over out of interest, then decline to battle. But when Benedict launched his assault, that chance vanished, and Roy was forced to do his job as the team's bodyguard.

'Electric Terrain,' he commanded his Luxray, who bashed the ground with its front paws and charged it with an electric wave. Anything touching the floor would feel its electric hum, their legs tingling softly. Benedict, as the one closest to Luxray, would almost certainly be caught in this effect, but it wouldn't be harmful to him. It might, however, interfere with Team Alexa's equipment if they dropped it to the ground.

If the Haunter was grounded by Essence's Worry Seed, it would also be charged, and benefit from a 50% increase to its electric moves, assuming it had any. Luxray, however, most certainly did have such moves, and intended to put them to good use.

'Split Thunderbolt,' was the second command. Luxray had used this special technique against Dune, where he fired two weaker Thunderbolts in rapid succession. The Electric Terrain would recoup some of the loss in damage, and ought to demolish one of the levitating Haunters.

'Everyone get behind me!' Roy shouted to Alexa and her crew. If they weren't dotted around the battlefield, he and Benedict fared a much better chance of winning.  

[Jump Einatz]

((You got it!))

Off Route 14

The center Haunter Licked up the Worry Seeds before they hit its face, cackling alongside its cohorts. Then it felt sick, clutching itself while the seeds did their magic as the other two Ghosts kept laughing. It still floated a couple of inches off the ground, but that Haunter's movement was limited to lateral now. Angrily, it formed a blob of darkness in a palm and tossed the Shadow Ball at Essence.

As the ground became electrified, everyone on Alexa's crew but her shrieked. Noel dropped her lighting kit but Alexa caught it with one hand while adjusting her fedora with the other. "Do it, Saz."

She wasn't much of a trainer, but Alexa was still Bug Gym Leader Viola's sister. Her Vivillon packed a punch. Sazerac leveled a beam of warped space at the grounded Haunter, currently distracted by its anger at Essence. The Psybeam would hit its mark after the Shadow Ball was tossed, heavily damaging Haunter while knocking it back into the thicket of trees.

As the terrain crackled with sparks, one of the levitating Haunters was struck by the first half of Split Thunderbolt, and then the second. It went flying away back into the forest. The last Haunter was already throwing out a Shadow Ball at Luxray to avenge its fallen friend.

The sounds of battle were attracting strong off route Pokémon to their location. Manny would feel three different factions of Aura converging on them:

-A group of five Pokémon a slightly lower level than Luxray were coming from the left, the closest of the factions.
-A duo of Pokémon just as strong as Luxray were coming from the right. They were the second closest, but the fastest, and would get to the travelers first.
-And a third Aura faction, made up of just one Pokémon, the farthest and more powerful than Luxray by five levels. It was coming from a fair distance behind the travelers, moving slow but gaining speed.

If Manny could make out the subtleties, he'd be able to feel the small presence of a Pokémon all around them, like a looming shadow.

Guigsy followed Liam, his Gogoat and Noel to get behind Roy, looking at the scratch on his arm that had stopped bleeding and turned a purple green color. "I take back that joke!"

"Let's move!" Alexa shouted, keeping his camera ready while the twins hopped onto the Gogoat. The first wave of attackers was already upon them, a duo of Floatzel jumping from the branches above them. As soon as they had targets in sight, they bounded down from above, Aqua Jetting like cannonballs to tackle into Luxray and Essence.

Three long range but relatively weak Acid Sprays arced in from the second wave of attackers before they were got there, coming from the other side. The shot of noxious poison was poised high over the group, raining down seconds later.

And as the wild attacks continued with no signs of stopping, the tree root in front of Benedict's foot ripped up from the ground and grew a gnarled hand of wood to grab his ankle.

((I should have mentioned this earlier: Sazerac has all of a Vivillon's level up moveset and Egg Moves, as well as Infestation. She's level 20. Here's Alexa's options this turn:

A) Defend one target from an Acid Spray
B) Attack target Pokémon (any attack)
C) Support move (Safeguard/Aromatherapy/Light Screen/Rage Powder)))  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Off Route 14This was a large battle, Ben was fairly certain he wouldn't be the one leading everything. No, it was foolish for him to lead everything, with Roy there. "Group up, defend!" He called to those who were getting behind the trainers. Grouping up meant that they were a juicier target, no doubt. It also, however, meant that the pokemon could defend that group with far less effort.

Roselia, used to making quick dodges against opponents who were stronger and faster than her by this point, managed to move around the shadow ball in time for the next order that entered her head. More came. Something had to be done. She took the order as the desperate thing it was.

******
Night before: Pokemon Center

"You already know how to drain energy from enemy pokemon and use it to strengthen yourself. What I want to teach you next is more like... Doing it to the sun. Pull in the power, and release it. There are two ways to do it, one is easier, I think. Just release it as power. The other, though... You take it, and redirect it, make it sunnier? I don't know if that's right, but you direct it."

[That doesn't make any sense.] Roselia replied.

Benedict had chosen to start his nightly discussions with her, all things considered. It was a new tactic, speak to the pokemon about what he wanted them to learn before they started. While they were resting, while they could think about it. Consider it. It meant if they got extremely busy, maybe they would at least have a mental image of what to do in a fight if they needed to.

Essence didn't look like she thought it was as good an idea as he did.
*****
Off Route 14
Energy was pulled in, similar to her draining, taken from the sun. Some pokemon could do this easier than others, surely, fire ones more likely. Essence didn't know that, though. Instead, she focused on the theory, and realized she was, in fact, more than halfway there.

The power was redirected, and Sunny Day activated.

Ben tapped a ball on his belt, a quick gesture releasing Ajax. Too soon to be shifting to more pokemon, but it seemed that the flying type instinctively took to the link. The sensation of speed and a target, a general feeling, was given. When the Floatzel came out, Ajax was Quick Attacking to the spot the one flying at Roy's Luxray would be. The pokemon was fast, possibly faster than the pidgeotto, but he had the advantage.

They likely thought they were the surprise.

Before it could hit the luxray, if the pokemon kept its current trajectory, it would be knocked off-path.

Manny was, admittedly, much slower, but also more aware of the movements, and the likely trajectory. It was true, he couldn't track them perfectly, but enough to have an idea of their speed. He would move forward, away from Ben, which was definitely not the plan, and strike out with a force palm. This wouldn't be one to fully knock the pokemon off-course, he was too slow for that.

Instead, Roselia would shift back a step as they came in, not enough to dodge but enough to buy time, and the force palm would strike downwards, aiming to drive the pokemon into the ground. It would dampen the blow somewhat if it hit, redirect the force downwards, but the main purpose was to give Roselia an opening.

Once the Floatzel hit her, she would go limp, latch on and push with the momentum. One arm and bud would face the Floatzel, tucked between it and Essence...

And Solar Beam would fire at point-blank if everything went well.

Last was Benedict's own struggle. He was about to move to the acid spray, but the corner of his eye would catch the root, and instead of forward he would instinctively stumble back, though the fact that it was a hand would escape him. The movement would save him from getting caught by it, but it would also prevent him from getting out of the way of the spray.

He would raise his shirt above his head in a panic, attempting to protect his eyes, ears, and face. Couldn't protect everything, but...

It was something.

((In this case, I'd suggest some form of protection above the group. Perhaps a hurricane could keep the spray away from any member that chooses to group? It doesn't have to be accurate in hitting pokemon to redirect the acid spray.

On another note, what bloody level is Luxray? I have a feeling that it is important.))  

[Marsuru]

((It's OVER 9000! xd rofl It was originally 30 but let's say it was only using 60% of its true power against Dune way back when. So 50. Pretty sure that's how scaling works))

Lumiose Badlands - Valley Passage

Oh how Zack wished he had a flier. Instead, he was forced to stand well back as Hazard battled, dealing orders from afar while the match played out in relative miniature. The horde of Dugtrio he had pissed off were doing their level best to collapse the narrow passage on his pokémon with quakes and rock slides, but they weren't even the Haunter's main concern.

'Spine Sling!' shouted the opposing the trainer as her Sandslash took to the air and span, loosing a trio of spines from its back as projectiles. Hazard avoided the first couple spines, but the third caught her in the side and she staggered mid-flight. A tumbling boulder almost finished the ghost type off, but she noticed it in time, flying around it in a roll. The Sandslash landed, then took off, jumping from falling rock to falling rock to avoid the Dugtrios' quake damage as its spines regrew.

The spine that caught Hazard had to be yanked out, and she looked slowed. Great. Obviously Zack's opponent had been working on some custom moves, and Zack guessed that one was a dark type. Sacrifice something for something, make your pokémon hurt itself to slow its opponent down. Looked pretty cool too.

He commanded a Toxic, flooding the passage with poisonous gas, emanating from Hazard's body. The Sandslash landed on a rock and jumped no more, falling downwards as its trainer retaliated with Sandstorm, kicking up a sudden wind that brought a desert's worth of sand. Toxic's progress had slowed and visibility was enshittened for Zack's side. At this point, Zack would normally have Hazard use Shadow Punch to fade into her surroundings and tag her opponent with a blow, then press her advantage to obliterate it. But she couldn't fade into the passage walls without suffering from the quake damage.

'Oh, you cheeky b***h,' Zack said to himself before raising his voice. 'Fly above it, Hazard!'

He thought he made out a thumbs up amidst the raging sands, but for now the battle took place in shadow. Hazard's shadow soared skyward, then stopped short of breaking free from the Sandstorm as a wild Rock Throw exploded against her. She hit the passage's vertical wall, and the Dugtrio sped toward her like ants to food. The Sandstorm thinned just enough for Zack to see what was happening from his distant vantage point. To see his opponent's Sandslash leaping at Hazard to deliver the finishing blow while she was stunned.

'Venoshock, now!' commanded the trainer. Hazard peeled her hand from the wall. Sandslash came in with a darkness-bleeding Night Slash as Toxic bit at its body, and the ghost type nailed it in the forehead with her burst of purple light. Sandslash fell, hitting the valley floor as the Sandstorm destabilised and vanished in a spray of sand.

But the wild pokémon were still coming, and Hazard was in no position to take them all on, so Zack recalled her quick. He exhaled, annoyed with himself. Granted, he had made the fight harder by involving wild pokémon, but that victory was far too narrow. If his opponent had kept her cool and stayed at a distance, he'd have lost. Not good enough. Ratio wouldn't make a mistake like that.

'Heeeeey!' the other trainer shouted from far down the passage. 'Look ouuuuuut!'

Zack frowned, then saw what she meant. In lieu of attacking Hazard, the wild pokémon had rounded on Zack, turning en masse and rushing toward him. Zack swore under his breath and grabbed Serene's ball. Without a flier, he'd have to rely on Teleport. She materialised in a burst of light and Zack gave the command.

'Get us out of here, Serene. Teleport!' Zack shouted over the rumble of a thousand Dugtrio rushing them. Thirty metres away. Twenty-five. Serene stared at them, tilting her head slightly as she looked at one Dugtrio to the next. Fiery panic shot through Zack's stomach. 'Not now, god dammit. Snap out of it!'

Serene did nothing. The Dugtrio were almost on them. Zack grit his teeth and did what he had to do to get Serene's attention. He kicked her in the chest, knocked the psychic type to the floor. She lay on her side, looking him in the eye. The rumble grew louder and louder, the floor shook up and down as the wild pokémon dragged a butt of filth toward the pokémon and her trainer.

'Teleport. Now,' Zack said calmly. Serene responded without a sound. She stretched her power around them, and they vanished in a flash that faded in my butt of dirt.

Off Route 14

Electricity crackled along Luxray's body and it sent a charge into the floor beside it. The Thunderbolt exploded as Luxray leapt to the side, its electric charge briefly speeding up its movement as the Shadow Ball shot past. Luckily the attack had been long range, or that little trick wouldn't have worked. The electric type barely had time to breathe when the Floatzel was upon it, then Ajax was upon that, and Luxray shot off a panicked Thunderbolt into the fray. It was aimed at Floatzel, but if the wild pokémon was fast enough, it might be able to make the Pidgetto take the hit in its place.

But if Ajax was unable to redirect the Floatzel at all, then the Aqua Jet would collide with Luxray and knock it off its paws.

Ben was at the mercy of the Acid Sprays, but lucky for him, Roy's level 50 (yeah) Fearow was on the job. The sprays would get hit by Fearow's Whirlwind as the pokémon zoomed in from above, then struck hard with a mighty flap of its wings. It ought to be enough to force the attacks off-course and into the plants and trees beside him, where they'd eat away at the foliage.

'Now!' Roy shouted, checking the distance between Alexa's crew and where Benedict was fighting. Looked about right, time to do it. 'Big Whirlwind!'

It wasn't a particularly creative name, but it wasn't a particularly creative attack either. Fed up of being beset by horde battles, Roy had trained his Fearow to turn its whirlwind into a miniature tornado. The pokémon flapped hard as it soared in a circle overhead, quickly nurturing the winds into a storm that would encircle the expedition party.

Everything that was already on the field would be caught in the eye of the storm within one turn. While weaker pokémon would be unable to penetrate the eyewall, stronger pokémon could just wade through. Still, it'd buy them time enough to regroup and mount an escape.  

[Jump Einatz]

Off Route 14

The Floatzel gunning for Luxray was knocked aside by Ajax. It shook off the surprise and searched for another target. Luxray's Thunderbolt was destroyed before it made contact by a loose Shadow Ball, fired by the grounded Haunter that just returned to the fight. It flipped off the floating Haunter, and the two of them blasted hypnotic Confuse Rays from their eyes at Roy and Ben.

The second Floatzel managed to strike Essence after taking a relatively weak blow from Manny, and it reared up to strike again. Before that could happen, Essence's beam of light hit it in the chest, sending it flying across the now sunny horizon.

Sazerac flapped her wings faster and faster to launch a Hurricane upwards, but it was made unnecessary as Fearow blew the Acid Sprays away into the forest canopies. The Big Whirlwind formed and surrounded the travelers in a tight circle, excluding all wild Pokémon.

They cried and tried jumping back inside, getting blown back each time. The remaining Floatzel braced itself and crawled forward, inching its way through the Big Whirlwind. The Haunters were attempting to do the same. They'd break through and attack again shortly.

By now, the five Arbok coming from the left of the path had arrived, writhing and hissing at the misfortune of meeting the Big Whirlwind. Two of the snakes burrowed underground, and from there they would Dig up next turn underneath Gogoat if the explorers didn't escape the area.

If Manny still had the wherewithal to detect incoming enemies, he'd discover that the increasing volume of the battle was attracting more wild Pokémon to their spot. Two more groups of three Pokémon were coming from the left and right, both of them around Luxray's level. The huge Aura behind them was getting closer. Soon they'd be able to hear its reverberating footsteps.

"Something's wrong with Guigsy!" Liam yelled over the wind as Noel tried shaking the cameraman out of his stupor. Guigsy was staring at his wound, holding his head.
"It's fine, it's nothing," Guigsy insisted nervously.
Alexa grit her teeth. This was going horribly. The longer they stayed to fight, the quicker they'd be wild Pokémon food. This Big Whirlwind wouldn't hold them back forever. "What's the plan?" she asked Roy.

Suddenly Guigsy stared out past the twins, past the swirling wall of wind. "...Mattie? What are you doing here?"

Mattie? Alexa kept a hand on her fedora and turned her head to where Guigsy was staring. Mattie was the name of his son. She'd heard it often around the break room. Guigsy was the proud father type. Alexa couldn't see the boy anywhere. Guigsy approached the edge of the wind.

"Mattie! How'd you get out here?" he yelled. The twins looked at each other. They also saw no one. "It's not safe, come here kid, come here-"
"Guigsy! Get back here!" Alexa roared. "You're losing it!"

Two patches of shadow formed on the cameraman's neck. They reshaped, looking like the hands of a small child, and they squeezed as if they had physical substance. Guigsy tried to pry them off, but they were immaterial, just a shade on his skin. They squeezed tighter. He couldn't breathe. Noel almost jumped off the Gogoat to be by his side, but her brother cautiously stopped her, watching him in horror.

And then Guigsy's head snapped the wrong direction, too far to survive. His corpse fell to the floor.

The twins screamed, their Gogoat reared back in panic and Sazerac almost fell to the ground. Alexa's mouth hung open. "Holy..." A few seconds was all she allowed herself to process what just happened as real, before she yelled to Benedict, "Let's GO! GO!"

((Alexa's options:

A) Run away (from the direction they came)
B) Run away (forward down Tyrant's path)
C) Support move (Safeguard/Aromatherapy/Light Screen/Rage Powder)))  

[Spinne Biss]

Off Route 14

Goodra's chance was now. To kill these intruders, to bring honor back to his people. The girl before, she had torn through his champions. This time, they would be the predators in the hunt.

As Goodra was preparing to strike, stepping out into the path, a man ran past. Taken aback, Goodra looked down at the trainer, passing just a foot away from him, but clearly uninterested in him.

"Stay away from me, you psycho!" He screamed.

"Not without my badge!" And then there was a bright flash of light, and Goodra's world was shattered into darkness.

***

Wailord's arrival, tearing through the path, caused a shockwave of the sudden displacing air and dirt, trees being torn up by their roots, a poor thief being blown away by the force and crashing into the mud.

The light faded as quickly as it came, and Bridgette jumped out into the path, Kabutops on one side of her, and Drifblim on the other. "That's what you get!" she shouted, wind blowing everything around her. When she looked over, her hair blowing backwards and the kicked up dirt forcing her to squint against it, she saw the Big Whirlwind.

"The heck is that?!" she shouted over to Drifblim, but he didn't say anything in response. It was a miniature tornado, of course, but out here, in the blue skies of Kalos, there was no way it could actually be that.

"Oh man! I'll bet someone's having a pokemon battle!"  

[Marsuru]

Coumarine City

After the battle, Zack continued along Route 13 to his next destination, skipping most of the journey with bursts of Serene's Teleport. She seemed more like her old self when they steered clear of wild pokémon, though he still caught her staring at the ground, almost as if she could see through it to the burrowing ground types below. When her Teleport ran out, Zack walked, but by then they were almost there. Coumarine City announced itself in the subtle differences of plantlife, in the way the occasional broad, hardy blades of grass from Route 13 became taller, lusher fields that roamed toward distant hills. The misty sea peeked between hilltops, sunlight glinting on its waves and promising respite from the dry hardships of the Badlands.

'Nice to meet you, friend!' said the man in the pink suit just outside the pokémon center. He pressed his way towards a young boy, who had jumped at the man's sudden announcement. 'They call me Mr. Bonding. Have you heard about O-Powers?'
'Uhh,' said the boy.
'That expression of yours tells me you haven't! Don't worry--I'll tell you all about it.' Mr. Bonding stepped closer to the boy, placed his hand on the child's shoulders and peered into his eyes, lowering his voice to a whisper. 'O-Powers are mysterious forces that have all kinds of useful effects. They can make your Pokémon stronger or even help you get more money!'
'Please let go, you're hurting me...'
'Any friends you have nearby will also benefit from them.' Mr. Bonding grinned, licking his lips, spittle caught in his moustache. 'They truly are mysterious powers! Let's get started, shall we? It's bonding time!'

Mr. Bonding's head snapped around from the sudden, crunching impact. He flew from his feet, hit the nearby bench and lay sprawled out, cheek turned flaming pink to match his suit. Zack shook out his fingers, then flexed them into a fist as he wore a callous smile.

'Man, I am sorry about that,' he said as Bonding drooled blood. 'My left isn't quite as good as my right, but I'm a little strapped for choices right now.'

The small child stared at Zack, open-mouthed, his eyes going from the one-armed trainer to the man half unconscious on the bench, and back.

'Strapped? No? Nobody taking me on with that one,' Zack shook his head. 'Probably best you tell the people at the center what happened. And remember, if someone comes along and offers to make you money, they're probably trying to ******** you, one way or the other.'

---

Security guards ran past Zack and out the front doors as he entered the center's lobby. He deposited Malis, Hazard and Serene's balls on the tray the receptionist gave him, then headed to the cafeteria for something to eat. It wasn't yet noon, but the high sun and day's exercise left him both tired and hungry. The fact that his arm was still healing probably didn't help, and neither did Zack have much money.

He grabbed one of the free meals and kicked back as a police squad car rolled up outside the cafeteria's glass wall. Smiling to himself while chewing, Zack looked past the scene to the city beyond. Another seaside town, this one on the opposite side of the country to Ambrette. He hoped it fared better. From what he could tell by gazing out the window and glancing at a wall-mounted map of the city, Coumarine was situated in a crescent bay, and had been built into two parts: the upper city, which is where Zack had to go next, and the lower city. He'd have to find the monorail station to reach the upper city.

'Really need to get that flier,' he said to himself, scratching at his stubble. He was hesitant to use Antiq again, even if she fully healed. She was probably spooked by Ferox, and the last thing he needed was a pokémon seizing up at a crucial moment. His scar tingled, probably in his imagination. He couldn't really blame Antiq if she didn't want to go through that again, it was hardly a picnic.

'Zack Redgrave?' said the receptionist. She had come over to the cafeteria. What a rare treat. Then again, the center wasn't particularly busy. Coumarine was somewhat out of the way, and trainers had been dropping their league challenge like flies if the television knew its business. 'Your pokémon have been healed, would you like to collect them?'
'Do I have to?' said Zack, stuffing the last of his bacon sandwich into his mouth. It was nice and chewy, like plastic.
'Umm, nobody's ever said that before but I'm fairly certain you do. Do you need a hand getting up?'

Zack paused mid-rise and met the receptionist's eye. They shared a knowing nod, and he couldn't help but laugh.