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Santalune City - Pokemon Gym

Flabébé flew upward on the command to use Fairy Wind to push herself skyward. Helena refused to get caught inside of another trap where she was helpless to watch herself lose. In both of her official Pokemon matches to date she had lost completely and utterly to her opponents.

She refused to make this any easier for Viola. Frustrated, she called for Flabébé to attack again, targeting where Vivillon was going to be in its circle while she used that same force to propel herself away from the area of conflict.

((!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! emotion_jawdrop [Link] ninja ))

Santalune City - Pokémon Gym

Struggle Bug was lost to Flabébé's Fairy Wind as it launched itself skyward. It was an odd decision, Viola thought, to put a non-flier into the air. Had Helena practised this manoeuvre? If not, she doubted that the fairy type would be able to properly direct attacks at her moving target while avoiding being flung out of the arena. That would mean disqualification and the end of this challenge.

The thought gave her an idea for how to push forward.

As the second Fairy Wind flew towards her, Vivillon rolled and flapped her wings at the ground, striking it with a Gust. The explosion of air pressure shot her higher, and she soared on her own momentum, looping through the air. Fairy Wind once again became entangled with Gust, but the bug type was already clear.

Helena had decided to play it safe at the beginning of the battle and keep her pokémon close to her end of the arena. This meant that the fight would be taking place close to the edge with three directions in which to fall off into the pitch dark pit.

All Vivillon had to do was put pressure on her opponent and keep positioned on the only safe side of the arena. She could buffet her opponent with Gust, and even if Flabébé managed to avoid the attacks, it was only a matter of time before this fight was over.

Vivillon got into position just as Viola ordered "Gust!", and air surged towards the fairy type. If she was caught up in it, then Flabébé would be sent soaring over Helena's head and out of the arena. If she countered with Fairy Wind, then she'd avoid the Gust, but wind up catapulting herself away anyway.

(([Link] mrgreen

...I am so gonna get my a** kicked when it's my gym battle sweatdrop ))

Santalune City - Pokémon Gym

And the crowd went wild with polite claps. Viola recalled Vivillon, but her smile faded when she saw Helena trudge off. She frowned, watching the trainer thoughtfully as the scoreboard beeped and showed the results. A minute later, it would reset with the name and face of the next challenger being displayed.

Lumiose City - Southern Boulevard

A circle had formed around Gabriel's body, nobody daring to get too close or look away. Police and security staff for the parade pushed their way in, yelling commands over shouts and screams, calling out pokémon to aid the situation. A pair of Growlithe materialised in the crime scene, warding off intruders, while a Gardevoir was deployed to physically settle the crowd's emotions and prevent a panic. The senior officer knelt beside the body, a troubled look on her face. A death was something, but the death of a noble? On today of all days?

She stood and called her Holo Caster, bringing up the miniature holographic display of a precinct colleague. As she relayed the situation and received her orders, another officer was trying to calm Zack down.

"I'm telling you, I saw something," the trainer growled, shoving the policeman's hand from his chest, "Right up there."
"And you say it was a man in a mask."
"I don't know, it was wearing a mask. Could've been a pokémon, it teleported." Zack talked as if speaking to a child, earning him an unimpressed frown.
"Fine. Gardevoir?" the officer called, and in a flash of light, the Gardevoir that had been calming the crowd appeared at his side. "I want you to relax and think about what you witnessed. Every detail you can think of, relive the moment."

An easy request, Zack thought, he'd been reliving that moment since it happened. The Gardevoir floated towards him and raised her hands to either side of Zack's head. Pressure built up behind his eyes, his skull feeling too crowded, like his brain had company. He tried to ignore it, concentrating on the thing in the mask, knowing that whatever he pictured would be what the psychic type saw. Her probing touched at the mental image, clawing at its freshness and leaving it like a faded picture on a wall. Crashing glass, Gabriel's body falling in slow motion, the creature peering out of the windowframe, cold and featureless, and it disappearing in a flicker of light. The rush of Gardevoir leaving was like coming up for air after almost downing, and nearly threw Zack off balance.

"Thank you for your help," the officer said. He had Zack's trainer card and was scanning it into a handheld computer. It would give him a record of Zack's details, and ways to communicate with him. He passed the card back and said, "If we have any more questions, we'll call. Boss!"

The officer hurried towards his senior with Gardevoir gliding close behind. Tape barriers were already being erected, and there was talk of the crime scene being cleared up to avoid impeding the parade. Zack was left with a dizzy tingling sensation in his head, wondering if the psychic had peered at more than just the murder. He bit his knuckle, frowning and feeling troubled as more and more people came by to see what had happened.

Lumiose City - Southern Boulevard

The buzzing of his Xtransceiver snapped Zack out of a trance. He swiped his finger over the touch surface and raised the device to his mouth.

"What?" said Zack.

((Still on the first day? And it's not even night time? Hoorayyyy!))

Lumiose City – Police Cruiser, Hours Ago

“You’re lucky it was me who picked you up, and not someone else.”

Officer Wallace turned the car onto a back street towards Magenta Plaza. In the back seat sat Salieri, looking bored yet comfortable. Obviously this was not her first time in the backseat of a police cruiser.

No, bored wasn’t the right term. What she felt was frustration. The skirmish she had wanted at Gotengo ended up being an embarrassment. Even though it only lasted a few seconds, she remembered it quite clearly.

Zack’s insults ended up getting to her after all, so mid taunt she had decided on a much riskier opening play. She had dashed in his direction, pokeball in hand ready to release Biz Marquis directly in the other trainer’s face while attacking his pokemon on her own. But she hadn’t accounted for his pokemon to be the one type she couldn’t fight on her own: a Ghost.

Oh how she loathed the Ghost type and their knack for avoiding her punches. Sal liked to punch things, so naturally any being she couldn’t hit on her own earned her ire. Her opening gamble had been a failure, and she had paid for it.

From what she gathered from Officer Wallace, there were no other kids at Gotengo, and Salieri had been carried right outside the building. Mia, the girl on the crow’s nest, must have been responsible for scattering the kids and moving Sal’s body in order to hide the existence of the base from the cops. Sal knew Mia would chew her out for this later.

It was fortunate that the one cop who had a soft spot for her, Wallace, was the one to pick her up and drive her home for what seemed like the hundredth time. The questioning of her assault over Antoine was quite brief, since there were witnesses in the crowd with evidence that he had struck first thanks to her machinations. Despite the power of the court nobles, she had at least played her cards right in that situation.

Still, the loss to Zack felt like it could have gone down differently. Although she wasn’t really in trouble with the law thanks to luck and Zack's unwillingness to press charges, it still pissed her off that a noble got away with insulting her base.

“What’s his name?” she grumbled through the seat divider to Wallace as they pulled up towards her apartment. “The kid who ratted me out.”

Wallace rose an eyebrow. Sal had a habit of calling everyone around her “kid”, even though Zack was definitely at least a year older. “Frere Jaques,” he replied sarcastically. “You really think I’d tell you the name of that poor boy so you can add him to your revenge list?”

“…yes?”

He put the car in park, came around and opened Salieri’s door. “You’re a smart kid, Sal, but when you do things like this you really challenge that statement.”
“So you’re saying I should use a pokemon next time?” she said, looking away as she stepped out.
“You know exactly what I’m saying.”

Sal sighed. She did. “Thanks for the ride, Wallace,” she said as she walked to the apartment building’s door.

Wallace tipped her cap at Sal. “There is no next time. Tell your dad I said hello.”

With that, he drove off and Sal walked inside.

******

The door to Sal’s home creaked open as she tiptoed inside. It was dark and dusty in the tiny home. Next to the window was a large turtle shell, which seemed out of place with the simple furniture and minimal decoration. “Dune? It’s me.”

Her Pawniard stepped out of a room immediately at the sound of her voice, waiting patiently for her. “How’s Arnaud? Sleeping?” she asked as she plopped herself onto a chair.

Dune wasn’t one to emote much, so he simply looked at the ground with a nod. Sal knew that meant her dad was doing the same as before: not worse, not better. She considered going in to see him herself, but that got harder to do with each passing day.

Instead she got up and grabbed a glass of water. “I got us registered, so I’ll call up one of the Gotengo kids to watch Arnaud while we’re in Santalune City…oh, we have a new team mate too. I named him Biz Marquis. Get it?”

Dune’s face was blank. He also didn’t get the joke. Sal pinched her brow. “Maybe it’s just not funny…”

Ten minutes later, she was freshened up and ready to go out again with Dune in his pokeball. Before she went exited, she looked to the large turtle shell. “Banksy, are you coming or not?”

A Torkoal slowly poked her head out of the shell, looked to Sal, then retreated back inside. This was a tired routine. For years, Sal would ask this question and always get the same reply. Today was no different. She sighed, the disappointment having become a part of her daily life, and stepped out the door. “Suit yourself, stupid turtle. I'm gonna go kick some a**.”

It was time for some training.

Route 4 – Parterre Way

Even as the afternoon dwindled away, trainers new and old still gathered on the route connecting the first gym in Kalos to its largest city, looking for battles or relaxation. The water fountain sparkled, the smell of grass blew through the air, bla bla bla y'all know what it's like on Route 4.

For the past few hours Sal had been grinding up her pokemon’s levels against rookies that challenged her thinking she had just started training, which was a rookie mistake itself. At this time, she was battling a Roller Skater’s Fletchling with Biz Marquis near the fountain. She had specifically been searching for opponents with pokemon that held a type advantage against her own to prepare them for greater challenges.

The Fletchling dove down at Biz on the Skater’s orders with a Peck attack. Salieri folded her arms, noting that Biz refused to flinch in the face of a stronger attack. It was time to test his hard shell that Ivan the Pokedex had so kindly informed her of. “Curl up, Biz!”

Biz obliged and rolled into a perfect sphere with Defense Curl. Fletchling’s peck collided with him, sending him bouncing high into the air. Sal saw the damage was definitely less than what he would have received before. If Biz was able to take a direct hit from a truck with his shell, then this wouldn’t be much of a problem. She grinned and pointed up. “That’s sick! Now finish it!”

The Chespin uncurled, extended a Vine Whip at the midair Fletchling, and reeled the bird in close. “Get out of there!” ordered the Skater, but it was too late. Biz suplexed the tiny bird into the ground for a K.O.

The Skater dropped to his knees, distraught at the loss. Biz planted a foot on his opponent’s body and pumped his arms triumphantly. [I showed you the biz-ness, suckas!] he cried out in his native tongue, sounding much cuter than what he was saying.

After Sal collected her prize money, she brought out all her pokemon around the fountain. “You guys gained some pretty nice levels, but now it’s time for the specifics. Veillantif, it looks like you’re ready to learn Focus Energy. Can you handle it?”

Her Horsea wasn’t paying attention, idly looking up at a flock of Pidgey fly above them. Curiously, she flapped her back fins quickly in an attempt to fly, falling short with every tiny hop. Sal pinched her brow. “Geez Veil, do I need to buy you an adderall? Pay attention or I’m tying you down.”

Veil snapped back to focus and nodded. “Right. Biz and Dune, I wanna teach you both Aerial Ace. It’s a dash attack, good for getting in close or getting out a dodge. And it’ll come in handy against, uh…Bug camera lady? Does anyone remember the gym leader’s name?”

Her pokemon shook their heads simultaneously. Salieri scratched the back of her head. She had looked up Viola prior to leaving Lumiose, but the only info she had retained was some battle videos and general strategies. Then again, she wasn’t in this to make friends. A forgotten name was no big deal. “Well whatever. It’s probably Crawly or some stupid pun. Let’s get to work-“

Veil was hopping away, chasing after a wild Ledyba that fluttered into the nearby hedge maze. “Damnit Veil! I’m getting the tape, I’m serious!”

****

An hour passed, and passerbys took notice to the Horsea that was glued to the water fountain with several layers of duct tape. With nowhere to go, Veil was forced to remain still and meditate, learning how to Focus Energy.

Meanwhile, Aerial Ace training was a mixed bag. Being a living sword, Durendal was able to grasp the move easily: in one step, he could move so quickly in a straight line that he was nearly invisible, becoming the personification of a stab.

Biz, on the other hand, had to take a few steps before he could accelerate to that speed. The move relied on it’s quickness, so even one or two steps wouldn’t suffice. Aerial Ace had to be launched from the initial movement.

Sal sat next to Veil and watched on diligently, not interrupting their progress. Dune was the most focused being she had ever known, and Biz was determined to catch up to him. Their ambition was impressing her, which was in itself no small feat since ambition was basically her middle name. It wasn’t actually her middle name though, that would be so dumb. Her middle name was-

“Did you hear?” yelled some trainer to all the trainers by the water fountain. “Gabriel Leroux just died in Lumiose!”

The trainers shifted their priorities and turned on their personal devices, tuning into the news. Salieri was the first to do so, using her Pokegear’s radio to listen in on the report. Dune looked to her for instruction, but she simply waved him off so he’d continue.

Now training was the last thing on her mind as her brain racked through the news report. It didn’t sound like an accident at all. It sounded like a murder. Sal knew in her gut she was right because she often thought of pushing court nobles off of high places to watch them fall.

But she would never pull that trigger. More than anything she wanted to see them cry at her hands, which wouldn’t happen if they were dead. “Someone hates them more than I do…” she muttered to herself.

Maybe that's someone I need to meet. If they kill the court nobles before I'm done with them I'm gonna flip my s**t. I mean, one of them almost got me arrested at Gotengo. If I can't take that one down...ugh. At least I got to really ******** up the other one's day...hmmm, I did waste a slushie on him though. I wasn't even halfway done with that slushie...ah, I love slushies.

"Hey guys!" she called out to her pokemon. "Do you wanna go get slushies?"

Lumiose City - Southern Boulevard

"Ah geez, okay." Zack ran a hand through his hair. He hated losing, so he could sympathise. What made it worse was that Helena didn't have his confidence yet; a couple bad losses right at the start of her journey could be crushing.

"Meet me at the Lumiose City gatehouse on Route 4 and we'll talk about it."