Welcome to Gaia! ::

((first Rule of Liberation's Kenta, Dont attempt a fight with Avalite when she's Posting as Plasma, you'll probably end up either dead or worse.))

'Is this guy serious?'

Tk couldn't believe what he just heard. He'd just chased The Ranger throughout a major city, assulted him, and rode on the Hood of the his Speeding Ranger Mobile, all for what, Fun?

"Of Course he is!" Tk yelled, stomping his foot a single time, now mildly irritated.

((This post feels lacking, though i cant think of anything else to put :p))

((I think my sense of time has gone all skew-iff but eh. I shall roll with it.))
Luka made his way to the gym. He assumed that Henrietta probably didn't go straight to the hotel so she'd probably not go there until late in the afternoon after she'd gotten herself even filthier. So there was not much point sitting around on the the central pier for hours on end. It was probably worth going and attempting to take on Burgh even if Luka doubted his chances considering the number of losses he had chalked up over the past three days. Still, it was worth a shot. His Pokémon were raring to go and all he had to do was believe in his abilities and then maybe he would stand a chance.

As he walked down the road he spotted a number of flyers lying all over the floor. Many people had just trampled over them but something caught Luka's eye. The big P for Plasma was emblazoned on the flyer and suddenly Luka remembered the huge blimp that he'd seen earlier ((Henrietta took her Gym Battle between 3 and 5 from what I recall, so, Luka was at the pier around 2-ish and was too busy relaxing to take much notice of the huge blimp other than the fact that there was a huge blimp with a big P on it.)). Being so high in the sky, Luka hadn't noticed that the P on the blimp was the Plasma Insignia, but, now that he could see the flyers he picked one up. It was crumpled and in a poor state, but, he got the message. A formal banquet, eh? Luka knew that Plasma were dangerous. They'd almost killed him. However, this was a chance to see what they were revealing to the public. They'd probably mention the atrocities that had hit the Dream Yard and the Pinwheel Forest, but what he really wondered was whether the group that had gone to retrieve the Dragonite Skull owuld also be mentioned. If so, they were in more danger than Luka had previously thought.

((You did a list of who Henrietta's gonna be battling today. Who's left? I know Wayne is ninja ))

Hitmonlee rushed forward, using his leg-springs to boost his speed and move like a bullet. Solosis brought up a "Reflect!" at the last second, deflecting the "Jump Kick!" but shuddering back as sparks exploded from Hitmonlee's foot.

He sent out a wave of "Telekinesis!" at Wayne's order, but Hitmonlee knew the technique well and managed to kick off the Reflect and leap over the pinkish field of energy. Wayne commanded a "Brick Break!" as Hitmonlee came down, swinging his foot like an axe to crash into Solosis' shields and shatter them entirely.

The Psychic type flew back, using his "Recover!" to heal back the damage he'd sustained. By the time he righted himself again, Hitmonlee was rushing at him. The Fight type used "Meditate!" as he entered Solosis' range.

For Hitmonlee, even the pitch of battle seemed suddenly calm. He sensed every blade of grass, every glint of light; he was even aware of the gentle flapping of a bird pokémon's wings as it soared high above the central plaza. He could pick out Solosis' weak spots a mile away and knew just where to strike.

"Psywave!" Wayne roared and Petilil shuddered at how loud it was.

Solosis felt his energy build up higher than normal, containing the wave a moment longer than normal release for maximum control and power. He blasted the attack towards Hitmonlee, but the Fight type managed duck to the side, the wave of energy surging past his head, and he continued his blur-like advance, feet pounding on the grass like the beat of a snare drum.

Hitmonlee jumped slightly, spinning forward and driving his foot like a circular saw. His "Rolling Kick!" would have ended the fight right there had Solosis not taken to the sky with "Self-Telekinesis!"

-

"Phew," Wayne breathed out. Shouting orders for both sides of the battle was hard work, but he found it kept his react speed in good form. It had been a few hours since his encounter with Jump. His pokémon carried on training to master their abilities:

Hitmonlee had gotten the hang of meditating in the middle of battle; Wayne figured that the pokémon's desire to prove himself superior lead to his enhanced focus when it came to training. There was also that rumour about traded pokémon being capable of growing faster than other pokémon. He hoped it was true, but at the same time he was wary of Hitmonlee's ego exceeding his abilities as a trainer.

Solosis' Recover had come on well. At first regeneration was slow, but with practice (and many kicks to the face) it was able to restore a fair level of damage in a single use. There was supposedly something about the Solosis line's pliant bodies that aided with their recovery abilities, but Wayne found that there were a lot of lies when it came to pokémon training.

Meanwhile Petilil had completed her Stun Spore technique. Wayne wasn't sure if it was working as neither of his other pokémon were susceptible to paralysis. Unfortunately for his now-numb fingertips, he had to touch the powder himself to work out whether or not the technique was complete. She was taking a back seat to this battle while frantically trying to figure out how Aromatherapy worked. So far she'd stumbled upon Sweet Scent, and was currently trying to master that.

-

"Concentrate your power into one point!" Wayne yelled up at Solosis, then snapped his attention to Hitmonlee, "Get ready! Make sure you're prepared to dodge!"

Wayne snapped his pokédex shut. Solosis should be ready to learn Psyshock. He'd already trained his psychic materialisation with Reflect and Light Screen, and its power with Telekinesis and Psywave; mastering the basics meant that he'd be capable of learning more advanced techniques.

The energy built up into a single point until Solosis couldn't hold it any more. It was like a person filling his lungs up with air until he reached his limit, only with the tiny green psychic, it was a process of amassing point, concentrating it and trying to direct the release. To stick with the analogy, the attack was like unloading a full set of lungs in the time it takes to blink.

Solosis' bolt of psychic power was blue in hue, and from his Telekinetic perch, it resembled an enormous bolt of electricity blasting into the ground. Hitmonlee's Meditate saved him. He was able to read Solosis' movements and gauge the split-second timing he needed to react.

"Double Team!" came into play and Hitmonlee split into two, Psyshock landing on the grass between them, right where the Fight type was originally standing. The land exploded into dry chunks of dirt and thick clouds of soil. The Double Team clone flickered and died and Hitmonlee was thrown onto the floor nearby.

His limber body let him roll back, just in time to see Solosis weighing up for another strike. Luckily the cool-down was so long, as Hitmonlee only just had time to leap to the side with a leg spring, another shock blowing the earth apart. Even though dirt was raining down on him, Wayne had a huge grin on his face. Helena might not have appreciated it as much.

Solosis kept unloading until he hit home. Hitmonlee's timing was messed up by Solosis releasing a less-powerful version of the attack, which struck the Fight type square in the chest. Unlike their short fight at the start of their journey, Hitmonlee couldn't simply tank this attack; Psyshock attacked physically, and quickly knocked the kicking fiend out cold.

"Alright, Solosis!" Wayne cheered, recalling the tired but happy pokémon for some rest. He went over to Hitmonlee, who was wincing and unable to move but still conscious. "Better luck next time. You gotta give Solosis some credit taking you down like that," he grinned, "Here, let me help you up."

Hitmonlee glared at his trainer silently, eventually reaching up and grasping his outstretched hand. It was a small gesture, but it meant a lot to Wayne. He hid it well, but he wasn't completely comfortable with training Hitmonlee after their difficulties. Zack punching the pokémon into submission made it listen to his commands, but he always felt that you needed proper trust in a partnership.

With the Fight type resting in the shade of a nearby tree, Solosis quietly in his pokéball, Wayne turned his attention to Petilil, who was still squeezing out little Sweet Scents that smelled like bubblebath.

"You'll get the hang of it," Wayne said, sitting down on the grass and ruffling his Grass type's leaves. "Hey Helena, what do you think of my pokémon? They're doing well, right?"

"Oh sweet, thanks," Wayne said, grinning at Scizor then back to Helena. "Huh. Do you wanna hold Petilil or something?"

Petilil's face went whiter. She wasn't scared of Helena so much as her company. She eyed Scizor's claws like they were razor-sharp vices meant only for killing, which they also happened to be. Petilil let out a stubby wet sound that Wayne assumed was a Sweet Scent until he smelled it.

She hid behind him, only poking out slightly to look.

Helena stared at the Petilil. It was. So cute. She, sadly, couldn't read minds to tell Scizor to go away.

Scizor, meanwhile, didn't seem all that interested anymore in things he couldn't kill. Instead he played background ornament for Helena.

Helena did nod, however, at the question of holding Petilil, and she offered Wayne Wynaut to hold.

((Then we destroyed that thing he loved. Not his pokémon, even though he loved those too. Creepily so.))

"Why not," Wayne shrugged, picking up Petilil, who kept squealing and kicking and desperately trying to convey her utter terror at the thought of being anywhere near that giant evil hedge-trimmer.

He'd go to pass her over and take hold of Wynaut. Except that the second he touched the nimble little thing it leapt into the air, landed on his head and bounced off.

"Ow!" Wayne whined, turning around. The pokémon was faster than he thought possible. Chanting its name on fastforward and speeding away, kicking up dirt and grass in its wake. It was already at the edge of the park, the giggling and shouting grown faint.

"So fast..." Wayne said slack-jawed, "oh, err, sorry Helena! I'll go get it!" He shouted, racing off toward the city, where Wynaut was a traffic-stopping little dot. Petilil, meanwhile, would be left alone.

Helena, meanwhile, got to hold the Petilil. The little thing seemed uncomfortable but Helena found it too adorable to care. Like when you hand a kitten to a teenage girl and they wanna cuddle it instead of hold it right. Except that Helena knew how to hold tiny creatures.

If Helena could, she'd probably hum, but she couldn't. Instead all we got was the silent girl looking down at the Petilil.

Then she seemed to get it. Couldn't be her, it must be Scizor, right? After all, Helena usually didn't have this problem with cute Pokemon. Her head gave a jerk to the left, sudden and with some sort of authority.

Scizor stared at it, appearing to get the message. The truth was, he was forced to learn about a thousand gestures from Helena that meant one thing or another for just such an occasion.

Scizor glared and went to patrol the park, out of sight but totally ready to bullet punch the first person that came up to Helena if they showed even the subtlest signs of being evil.

One of those may or may not be being alive in the first place.