Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Ill make it a point to... eventually sweatdrop ))

"Later." Tk said with a wave, turning towards the center and starting off at a jog. The preteen was optimistic about the day. The sun was shining and everything was looking good.

"YA-HOO!" he howled , jumping through the doors of the Center. With his earlier fatigue from training gone, and his spirit high he made his way to his room to fetch his team. for the first time in the past couple day's it actually felt like he was just on an adventure with his Pokemon, plasma at the back of his mind.

"c'mon guys wakey wakey" he yelled going from Pokemon to Pokemon, eventually just stopping at the blinds and pulling them open wide, flooding the room with light and earning an assortment of grumbling protests. "Guuyyyys, C'mon!" he pouted, plopping down on the bed where lancer ways finally sitting up looking tired and haggard from sleep.

Iron Hide on the other hand had plopped right back down where he was on the floor and was right back asleep. spike was up and stretching. thats a start i guess..

"ok, well im gonna go grab some breakfast, ill be back in a sec" Tk said jumping over Iron hide and making his way to the door.

((and with that nap time is over and the kids are up, my concentration is no where to be found -.-))

((rewrote this post, since I did the last version at ridiculous o'clock and it sucked so bad. kept most of the same plot info, but fixed up pacing and characterisation))

Fox led Wayne past a huge collection of pokémon portraits. They filled up a wall in the Music Hall lobby, from ceiling to floor, left to right. Each one had a different pokémon with a different title fixed to the frame, and each pokémon wore a well-designed costume or outfit. At the end of the walk, Fox showed Wayne the latest three portraits, with his Politoed in each one. From the plaque, he could see that she'd been renamed 'Isadora'.

"Why's she dressed like a Miltank?" Wayne asked, staring at one portrait in particular.
Fox looked at him strange. "There was a farm theme for the performance."
"Oh. Why not just use a real Miltank?"
"That's not how it works in showbiz."

Wayne scanned back down the collection of portraits. They were all for pokémon who were voted the best performers, and nearly all of them were credited to Fox. Wayne didn't know how far back these things tallied, but he bet it was a good few years.

"My success has been the lifeline for this place," Fox said, putting her hand to the wall, delicate touch, "there isn't much call for pokémon musicals anymore."

The trainer thought about it. He was pretty sure he'd seen Fox elsewhere. Maybe on a bottle of some cosmetic product Elizabeth used, or on a billboard. She looked like a movie actress too. He put the pieces together.

"Okay, so you drag people in by being famous. That doesn't change the fact that you've got my pokémon," Wayne said, looking down at the Politoed by the woman's leg. "Nagaraja's mine, ever since I was 9 years old. I want her back!"

"And how exactly did you get separated from her in the first place? Hm?" Fox put her hands on her hips.
"I..." Wayne's words got caught in his throat. He didn't want to admit it, but: "I liberated her..."
"And I bought her afterwards, fair and square," Fox said with a hint of finality, "and look, she doesn't even want to go with you. Can you say that's a pokémon who's happy to see her old owner?"

He couldn't. When he looked down at Nagaraja, all Wayne could see was a worried face staring back at him, like she seemed apprehensive about him even being there. Nothing like the happy go lucky Nagaraja he knew. Except it was her; down to the last speckle on her belly.

"Naga..." Wayne said, "I'm sorry I let you go. It was stupid of me. Well, stupider than normal anyway." He tried a smile, "But hey, looks like I found you again, right?"

Wayne looked back up to Fox. The last time he'd seen Naga was when Plasma took her away to be 'liberated', and now Fox says that she bought Nagaraja. "Where exactly did you buy her from?"
Fox was quiet for a second, like she was trying to think. Wayne picked up on it. "It was at a trainer's market in Driftveil. You know, where people go to sell or trade pokémon? I'd gone to scout for new talent, and there she was. Isn't that right, Isadora?"

Fox knelt down and rubbed Nagaraja's head playfully. The pokémon let out a happy squeal and danced on the spot. It hit Wayne like a punch to the gut.

He pressed on, "Did you happen to spot any other pokémon there? Maybe a Typhlosion, or a Dusclops?"
"Nothing like that," Fox shook her head, her long white hair swaying with the motion. "It was mostly rookie pokémon. The kinds you'd find on the lower routes."

Not everyone could get the starter pokémon that they were best suited to. Some people made a living capturing certain species and selling them on at markets or trade stations.

"Okay," Wayne said, "so you won't give Naga back, but at the very least can you please give me your number? Right now, I guess it's enough just knowing she's okay."
Fox smirked, "Just don't bombard me with random messages. Here."
Wayne thought back to the C-Room. "I wouldn't ever do that." His Xtransceiver beeped as Fox sent him her details. "Clarissa Volpe?"
"'Fox' is just a stage name. You can call me either one... Wayne Lee."
"Most people call me WL. It's kinda infuriating, actually."

"Fox, honey!" Viro sang from the stage side door, "we have rehearsals in 5! Please can you finish your little chit-chat and let us get on with it?"

"Are you in this performance as well?" Fox asked, and Wayne nodded.
"Yeah, but to be honest, I'm mainly here to teach my Lilligant how to dance."
"A Lilligant's dances are easy. I can show you, if you like," Fox said and Wayne's face lit up.
"That would be so cool!" he said, grinning. He glanced down at Naga, who was smiling at Fox. Maybe this way was best for her, after all.

((Summary is uuup))

((We've got an biiiig event planned for today, so don't worry. TK should be busy real soon.

Also, I just read Death of Spider-Man for the first time and daaaaamn. That's a real hero right there.

Anyway smile )

"POIIIIIISON TAAAA~ILLL-UH!" the Guitarist roared as the subway went around a tight corner, almost falling down for a second. But luckily he didn’t. With his tongue sticking out, he did a short metal solo in celebration.

Seviper whipped it’s body around, swinging widely with a bladed tail doused in acid. Wukong jumped high above the slash in response and grabbed onto the hanging hand grips. He swung to the next ones over as Seviper continued to stab at him with it’s long tail. The snake hissed when it changed up patterns, taking a swing at Wukong and smacking him in the side at full force.

The Monferno bounced to the ground, but rolled back onto his feet quickly. [Get up! You’re supposed to be helping me!] he snarled over his shoulder.

Salieri sat clutching her stomach against the far wall of the train car, her cheeks tinged a faint shade of green. “Urrrrg…oh, Wukong, I don’t….ehhh….I don’t think I like the subwheyeh!”

She coughed, then yanked at the conductor’s pants leg. “I need a BUCKET, CONDUCTOR!”

Five years on the job, the conductor knew what he was dealing with. A class five projectile, maybe class six. He ran to get that bucket immediately.

Sal gagged. “It’s up...hrrrn….to you now.”
[You are the WORST TRAINER EVgagh!]

The serpent’s tail coiled around Wukong’s neck, lifting him off of his feet as he struggled to get free. If he passed out from getting choked, they would lose. Between such a loss and his trainer’s bout of motion sickness…well, Wukong wasn’t having any of that.

So he grabbed Seviper tightly and used Blaze Bound, propelling both of them into the air. Seviper was slammed into the roof of the subway car, causing it to release Wukong from the Wrap attack while it tried to slither away.

But Wukong grabbed the end of it’s tail before it could make a retreat. [Like that’s gonna work!] He pulled, snapping Seviper towards him while pulling back a fist.

Seviper’s face zoomed close to the Monferno, who’s fist became wreathed in flame as he punched forward.

KAPOW! It was a direct hit to the Seviper, who was sent flying into the other side of the subway car. The Guitarist looked over to his pokemon, hoping that the snake still had some fight in it.

It didn’t.

[Boo-yah!] Wukong cheered, jumping onto Seviper’s body and flexing his muscles for the crowd to see. [Take it, b***h!]

The train began to slow down, and Salieri’s green face lit up with hope. She crawled over to the window and pulled herself up. The scenery was familiar: it was the Gear Station. She made finally completed the full loop. She had to battle a whole circuit of trainers to do it, but she had made it back.

As soon as the doors opened, the Battle Girl dashed out of the subway and threw herself onto the curb, bowing down to the cement below her. Sal let loose a quick string of words in Chinese, which only made her look stranger to the many commuters. Her sentence was lost on everybody save for one other passenger who knew the language: “Praise Arceus for monotonous terrain!”

It had been her first time riding the subway, and unless it was a life or death situation it would be her last. Salieri had forgotten how motion sick she got in vehicles, not that it was a weakness she wanted to remember. The last time she had been in a vehicle was the bus ride to Castelia, but she had been asleep for that. Totally different story.

“Whooooo boy, that was a rough ride,” she exclaimed as she stretched her arms. Getting off the train made her feel like a million dollars, and most of her Aura had returned by now. Maybe after a short nap she’d be good as new. “Wukong, let’s get out of here. I’ve had enough of the subway for one lifetime.”

As the Monferno stepped off the train, he wrinkled his nose. [We’re back here? In the sticky train place? I thought the whole point of getting on a train was to leave.] He tailed after his trainer, who was exiting back into the main terminal.

“Yeah, so, Battle Institute can wait. That subway ride was actually pretty good training. Testing out your skills in simulations is one thing, but actual battle experience severely outclasses that.” The main terminal was just as crowded as before, so Salieri checked over her shoulder to make sure Wukong was still around. “Hey, we should start training in the gyms before we battle the leaders. Gym trainers are usually a good hint at what’s to come.”

And now they were outside once again. With newfound energy, Salieri was now ready to embrace the shining sun. “Well, now that that’s over...”

Since yesterday, Salieri had meant to talk to Wayne about something he had said in passing, about Team Plasma blowing up his grandpa’s house and killing his friend. In hindsight, the fact that she didn’t try to say anything before made her feel strange. Not in a good way. Friends were supposed to be there for each other, so why hadn’t she reached out to him? To be fair, Wayne didn’t seem like he wanted help. But still…



There was no reason to be straightforward in the message. That would just be off putting. If he wanted to get some lunch then she’d bring it up, but Salieri wasn’t just going to wait for him to answer. Instead, her eyes became fixated on the large Ferris Wheel poking out from the amusement park down the street.

“Hey Wukong, do you like amusement park rides?”

Wukong rose an eyebrow and leaned back, making sure he was still talking to Salieri Del Forrest, the girl who was brought to queasiness instantly on the subway.

[Do you?]

((So Spider-Men is worth checking out then? I guess I'll have to continue reading Ultimate, Miles Morales is okay to me.

Also, I'm trying out Ava-style transitions in the post. Mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery, Ava biggrin ))

Pachi

On the southern outskirts of Nuvema Town, there was a single cabin in the woods. Isolated from the rest of the town, not many knew of it’s existence. And those who did knew nothing of who lived there. It was a quiet place, and whoever owned the cabin kept to themselves. They were undisturbed.

The inside of the cabin was regularly furnished. Nothing fancy. It was very still, except for the sound of the shower and a female voice coming from behind the closed bathroom door.

“There’s no reason to rush now. I’ve waited a long time for this, I can wait a little longer.” Her voice was very calm, level in a way that made her sound world-weary. “You’re awfully hasty for someone who’s been waiting just as long…yes, but impressions are important, even after the first one. So if I have the time to paint my nails, I’ll take it…mmm, you don’t get it do you? It’s the little things that matter. Have you ever heard of cognitive dissonance?”

The phone in the kitchen began to ring. “If you have one belief or idea at the same time you have another, and the two conflict, it creates a feeling of discomfort. So I’ll…stop, you’re not listening. So if I am calm and collected while making a dreadful announcement, and then throw in, say, one more clashing idea into the mix, then what’s the result?...ahhh, you’re so close. The result is chaos. And yes, painting my nails is important for creating the effect. It’s the little things that matter.”

The phone continued to ring. “Hold that thought.”

The bathroom door swung open, and steam leaked out rapidly into the rest of the cabin. A young woman, probably in her mid twenties, walked out with just a towel wrapped around her body. Her shiny black hair still hung wet at her midback, and her amber eyes were glazed over with jaded boredom. She sighed as she picked up the phone. “You’re on speaker,” she said as she set the phone on the counter. “Speak up.”

“I’m not coming with you, Pachi,” said an electronically distorted voice. The amber eyed woman poured boiling water from a teapot into a mug as the voice kept speaking. “The rest of your cell should be more than sufficient.”

Pachi looked through her cabinets before finally pulling out a chai tea bag. “It’s not about efficiency. This is our public debut. We’re making a strong first impression, and it would help to have the whole ensemble present.”
The voice on the other end of the line groaned. “Even if I wanted to go, which I don’t, my cover will have a huge hole blown in it. It’s too risky.” While the voice spoke, Pachi took a sip of her tea, then wrinkled her nose. Too hot.

“Fine. You don’t have to be there.”
“Thank you for understanding my burden.”
“Your cover is more important to me than your presence at this…game.” Pachi walked into the living room, tea in hand. On the coffee table in front of the couch was a videocamera and a small vial of dark orange nail polish.
“Game is a very lighthearted way of putting it.”
“Well I’d call it an operation, or a mission…” She paused. Her brow tightened as she lowered her tea onto a coaster. “But that’s what they would call it.”

The word was spoken with a bitterness that served as a huge contrast to her normally cool temperament. “You could call it a display of affection for our fellow man.”

Pachi chuckled lightly. Her laughter was rare, and only as select few had heard it before. “I’m sure history will see it very differently. You might be the only person who would ever put it that way.” There was a pause as she got up to grab the phone from the kitchen counter. “You may not have to go, but I’ll need you to watch. Can you do that for me?”
“Observation is the easiest part.”

The amber eyed woman smirked for a moment. “Good. Now, I have to get going. I have a video to make.”

****

Jump

“Is this thing on? Huh…it’s so dark though-oh! Lens cap, duh.”

Jump fumbled the lens cap off as he sat on the beach at Route 18. It felt like only yesterday that he had fought the Arsenal there with Kero. Probably because it had only been yesterday. He spun the camera around so it faced him, and then he smiled.

“Yo yo, Jump Einatz here, and this is my Vlog part uno! If you’re watchin’ this then you’re in for a treat, cause I’m gonna be recording all sorts of cool s**t. See I’m an Interpol Agent, so my job is always interesting. Check this out.”

He lifted up the camera to show off the cabin he destroyed the day before, then brought it back to his face. “Believe it or not, there’s a laboratory under that cabin that belongs to Team Plasma. Or at least it did. Me and some of my buddies, we’re gonna check it out soon. Zack and Jackie aren’t here yet. Oh but hey, this is Kiedis!”

Jump grabbed his Teddiursa and reeled him into the camera’s view. The bear scowled instantly in stark contrast to his trainer’s perpetual grin. [How much did that cost?] he grumbled.
“Too much for you to break it,” Jump grumbled back, still smiling.
Kiedis continued to scowl, then pushed himself away from Jump, leaving only the Interpol Agent in the picture. He let out a low whistle.

“Ouch. Somebody’s got a case of the grumpies-“
[Piss off.]
“-but his grumpies won’t get me down! No way, dude. Any minute now, when Zack and Jackie get here, I’m gonna go into an abandoned lab to find all sorts of crazy creepy stuff. And if it’s ruined enough, I’m going spelunking! YEAH!”

“Who are you going to show that to?”

Jump looked up at Hexum, who stood facing the water at the edge of the sand. “If this is supposed to be covert, then isn’t recording it a little…asinine?” the Lucario asked. Jump simply pursed his lips together, confused.
“a**-a-who? Did you just call me an a*****e?”
“What? No, I…” Hexum groaned. He could never be too sure of the extent of Jump’s vocabulary. “Yes.”
“I dunno man, I’m trying to be sentimental.” The Interpol Agent stopped recording. “I didn’t think of recording everything that happened in Sinnoh ten years ago, and now it’s all lost. It might be kind of stupid, but it’s still memories, yanno? Just something for me to have close to the chest.”
“Huh.” Hexum turned around, raising an eyebrow behind hisblindfold. “Then why do you talk like you have an audience?”
“Well, I mean, what if my future kids decide to watch it?”
“Your future kids?”
“Yeah man.”

Hexum let out a short laugh. “Jump, if the wrong people find that tape, I’m not sure if you’ll live long enough to have any children.”

Jump grinned, holding up the camera. “Then we’ll just have to make sure it’s in the right hands, won’t we?”

****

Reid

“No. It’s a bad idea.”
“I wasn’t asking for your permission. I’m the one who gives orders.”

Yana narrowed her eyes at Reid and sucked in her bottom lip in frustration. It was hard to make her vocally angry, but Reid was starting to succeed. She wanted to raise her voice, but they were surrounded by the rest of the customers in Nimbasa City’s bookstore. She couldn’t make a scene.

Instead, she lifted up the magazine she was pretending to browse through. “Going to a concert that’s essentially hosted by the World Government just so you can test your ability?” She looked over her shoulders nervously. “Tell me why it’s not a bad idea.”

“Well for one thing, they aren’t looking for me,” Reid noted as his fingers skimmed the magazine rack carelessly. “And if this works, then we’ll have a major advantage. One of the WG agents in the area is bound to have the entrance codes to the Entralink base since it’s so close by. If I can find read their minds and I find them…well, there’s a whole plethora of possibilities.”
“What if Henrietta is there? Or any of our other previous marks?”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take. Just be ready with the jeep, and as soon as I give you the word we’ll be on the drawbridge.”
“It’s asinine.”
“Funny. You were just treating me like I wouldn’t know the meaning of the word.”

Yana stood up and put the magazine back onto the rack. “I understand you think that hiding right under their noses is ingenious, but with one little slip up our whole cover is blown.” Reid began to walk out of the store, so she followed. “And for what? Something that you don’t even know you can get? And it’s something we don’t really need, for that matter.”

Reid stopped and turned to face her. “If I succeed, we walk away with something invaluable to the future of Team Plasma. If I fail, no one will know the difference. What’s not to like about this plan, Yana?”
“Hmm, let me think…” She tapped her lips in mock thoughtfulness. “How about everything I just said?”

His only response was to smirk at her. “Duly noted,” he told her as he walked out the doors of the bookstore. “Now try to forget those opinions. I’d ask you to keep them to yourself, but…well, there’s no keeping secrets from me.”

****

Salieri

“There’s no secret to it, folks! Step right up and teeeeest yooooooour strength!”

The man with the megaphone stepped to the side of the large meter so the gathered crowd in the amusement park could see it clearly. It resembled a large thermometer, with markings from zero to ten on the side. At the ten marking was a bell. A large mallet lay on the ground in front of the pressure pad attached to the meter’s bottom.

A bulky bald man stepped up and grabbed the hammer. He looked like he went to the gym, probably just enough to make his biceps look nice. With a grunt he swung the mallet over his head and then back down onto the pressure pad.

A blue marker in the meter rose upwards rapidly, until finally stopping at eight. “Well done, sir! And here’s your prize!” The host handed the bulky man a stuffed Pikachu doll. The bulky man looked at it disapprovingly before tossing it over his shoulder and walking away. What a wimpy prize for someone who scored an eight.

Salieri caught the Pikachu doll and looked into it’s eyes. She stuck out her tongue, finding the doll to be creepy. Sal had never been find of stuffed animals, but Henrietta had plenty. The Battle Girl put it into an item ball to give to Henrietta later, then stepped up to the meter. “Can I try?”

The host rose an eyebrow, then shrugged. “Sure thing, kid! Anyone can give it a go! What do you think you’ll get?”
“Ten, obviously.”
“A ten! What confidence! Alright little lady, time to step up to the plate!”

He moved aside so Salieri could grab the mallet, but the Battle Girl ignored it while moving onto the pressure pad. Casually, she rose one leg straight up into the air, then dropped it down in an axe kick.

The marker zoomed from zero to ten, ringing the bell loudly for a few seconds. And then the bell broke and smoke rose from the top of the meter. The host was slackjawed, mumbling gibberish to himself as Salieri walked away in disappointment. “They need a higher scale-oh, a text! Nice!”

Unfortunately, Salieri was also running low on cash. Her winnings from beating Burgh and Simon the researcher were dwindling, and the Battle Points she got from the subway couldn't get her food. Wayne's joke proposal to battle for money again was a pretty good call.

As was akin to his personality, Robby was left out of that little opening C-Room conversation, and when he finally did wake up, was completely unaware of it having taken place. The lad looked around the nice spot under the tree, and to his bodyguard, Fried.

Not a lot of people messed with a giant one of those, it turned out.

And those that did hadn't made enough trouble to wake up Robby. Considering Bacon was also out, and woke up anytime Fried got scared.

The two were returned, Fried with a thankful look on his face, and the obese lad walked on, away from his napping place, and towards the future. Lunch.

Or was it breakfast still?

***********************

Grant Wilkinson was the man's name. Wasn't like he was makin' it obvious what he was doing, walking around with a ***** stash or something like that. He had the beginnings of a beard, like he'd barely stopped shaving or maybe had just missed shaving or something along those lines.

He could have pulled the girl he'd stopped near into the van without any effort whatsoever, considering she was about six or so, but it wasn't like he'd lose in a fist fight automatically. Right?

In a moment, he was talking to her, curious child was giving the usual "don't talk to strangers" song and dance. In a moment, he was offering her candy with his usual trustworthy smile. It was probably sheer luck that no one was passing by.

"Y'got candy?" Wilkinson looked up with surprise, and frowned when all he could find was a snorlax he'd noticed strolling around. Except... That wasn't a snorlax!

"Wha- y-yeah, this is the-"

The candy was out of his hand, and he noticed the snorlax-man holding the empty wrapper.

"Tha's a pretty big car." The snorlax-man said. The car, luckily, could be mistaken for a nice family vehicle. The pictures in the windows that flawlessly covered the children tied in the back seat was genius on his part.

"Smells like maybe four." The kid here made five. "Y'got room for ten if ya just use the seats I bet." He didn't expect any seats in there. "Gimme the candy for the others."

Wilkinson frowned. What was this snorlax talking about? It hadn't figured it out. "I don't have anymore, that was... That was for my daughter here." He gestured to the girl who was looking at the lad, almost crying. He'd stolen her candy.

Robby narrowed his eyes, the door to the van was open. he took a step towards it, and Wilkinson panicked when he almost got to the door. Panicked and attacked...
*******

"Now, get on home." Robby said, slowly, deliberately, untying the ropes that bound the children who'd been kidnapped. But don't touch the candy." There had been a bucket in the very front, away from the kids. "Tha's mine."

They were all moving away, just trying to get home. Some of them thanked him, one hugged the giant snorlax-man. Wilkinson was unconscious in the back of his van, he'd been conscious for the first untied child, but Robby had wanted quiet.

The obese lad took the bucket and waddled away from the van, delicious candy, lollipops, jawbreakers, tootsie pops to name a few, going down his gullet.

Breakfast was good and easy enough to find.

((Happy Birthday to Ni- Happy Birthday to Ni- Happy Birthday to Nio, Happy Birthday, ne ne

@Jump- Using the word asinine so much made me think of the heaven joke from this episode of DBZA

Also, yeah, I'd say Spider-Men is a pretty good read so far. Especially if you're a fan of both universes. Miles takes Peter down a couple of times though, which didn't really make much sense; granted, Parker wasn't taking the fight seriously, but he shouldn't be getting beat by the new kid))

"Goodbye!" Viro and Fox called from the entryway of the music hall, Nagaraja at their side, Wayne and Daphne setting off to continue their adventure. The two waved back, and maybe imagined gentle, wistful music was playing in the background. Sort of like that show Wayne used to watch as a kid.

"See you again!" Wayne shouted, walking away with his hand in the air.
Viro didn't stop smiling, and yelled back, "The performance is at 9, you're damn right you'll see me again, you!"

"Did he," Wayne said quietly to Daphne, "did he just wink at me?"
The grass type shrugged and hurried Wayne around a corner and out of sight. [I'm glad that's over...] she sighed.

"Yeah, I don't know what you mean," Wayne said, holding up his Xtransceiver and seeing if it had a map app. No it did not. "Okay, so we're gonna have to find our way to the Gear Station, or whatever, without the aid of a map. Dad said the best way to do that sort of thing is to blow something up, and then things'll just sort of work themselves out. But honestly, I think he's talking crap. I guess I should text Sal before anything."



"Hey you! Yeah, I'm talkin' to you!" someone yelled not so far away. Wayne looked over and saw a lanky teenager with long black hair that looked like it hadn't been washed since it was grown. "Our eyes met. We gotta battle! That's like, the rule."
"Dude, that's no rule," Wayne said back, "if it is that's the dumbest rule I ever heard. Wait, I don't even remember looking you in the eye, mister... err...Tallman."
The guy cocked his head. "You did when you turned around, duh."

And Wayne's face dropped. "Okay, that's basically cheating. You really want to battle me, huh?"
"Like I said, it's the ru--"
"No it's-- okay. Let's do this thing. Daphne, this'll be good practice. You ready?"

The Lilligant nodded hesitantly, and got ready for the fight. She'd managed to get Petal Dance down to an acceptable standard. Fox seemed impressed at any rate. Apparently she'd never seen a pokémon master dances so quickly, both with Quiver and Petal Dance. She did mention that Daphne could stand to learn Teeter Dance at some point, but it should be really easy compared to the other two.

"We're gonna stomp you, Tallman!"
"I like your attitude!" Tallman grinned, taking out a pokéball, "but you're fresh outta luck! And my name's not Tallman!"

The pokéball shot into the sky and cracked open. Wayne had to lower his stance to stop himself from falling over as the ground shook. The light faded, and the pokémon mooed and bellowed, stomping its front hoof and looking downright intimidating. Daphne shrank, and Wayne had a look on his face that said:

"Oh crap."

The pokédex beeped, and just read [MATCH-UP MISALIGNED: CHANGE POKÉMON NOW]

"Man, you should see the look on your face!" Tallman cackled as his bull pokémon stomped menacingly.
"Right, dude," Wayne said seriously, "why does your Tauros have an afro?"
"What? No! It's a--

[BOUFFALANT: SERIOUSLY, CHANGE POKÉMON NOW] said the pokédex with a beep.

"I thought you had an off switch," Wayne muttered, fiddling with the device, "or at least volume contro-oh-oh-oh s**t!"

Bouffalant was already charging, hooves cracking the ground beneath its weight. Wayne managed to dive out of the way, hitting the ground with a tumble. He pushed back onto his feet and saw that Daphne had launched herself overhead. Good, she was making use of her new form.

"Are you crazy?! You could've hit us!"
"Yeah right!"

'Okay, so. This guy's clearly out of his mind.' Wayne thought, watching as the bull pokémon turned itself around, 'Whoa, that thing's got bad handling. I bet a forklift truck would turn faster... oh right, yeah. That makes sense.'

"Guess you were counting on that opening move to save you," Wayne said. Daphne landed. "Charge outta nowhere, then plow into us when we try to retaliate. I gotta admit... I've seen better, sorry."
"Half right," Tallman said with a smirk. "Megahorn!"

"Mega-wha--?" Wayne was nearly knocked off his feet by the pokémon's roar. Bouffalant charged right at Daphne. The thing was a hell of a lot faster going forward than left or right. It reminded Wayne of a tank; a big tank with a jet engine boosting it forwards. And an afro.

The trainer ordered a "Quiver Dance!" and Daphne complied; her back leaves began to vibrate like a bug's wings and she bowed her head, swinging her body around without taking her eyes off her target. When she returned to her normal position, her strength and speed increased.

Daphne shot sideways, zooming past Wayne and kicking into the air. She turned upside down, going over Bouffalant's head as it crashed into a parked car and sent it flying. Wayne winced as the car hit the ground down the street, metal twisting and folding in, the wrecked machine crumpling more each time it bounced. Luckily the street was pretty much deserted. It was just them, some road, and a few sleepy store-fronts.

Wayne watched the car crash with a look of horror, but wiped it away as he grit his teeth, spinning back around with a new command.

"Mega Drain!" he roared as Daphne hit the floor. She sent out a gargantuan blast of green energy, that made a sound like loud rushing wind as it soared past.

Tallman ordered a "Reversal!" and Bouffalant kicked off its front hooves, flying backwards and turning around the in air. The Mega Drain crashed right into the pokémon, but Bouffalant carried on moving, facing Daphne, hitting the ground running and closing the distance in a matter of moments.

She was temporarily drained from the ineffective attack, doubled over and weak, but another order of "Quiver Dance!" had her dodging to the side, increasing her speed further as she span around, lifting off the floor slightly and catching her own momentum on her fluttering wings. As Daphne halted herself in the air and set herself down, Bouffalant began to turn. Wayne whipped out his pokédex and gave it a quick scan - he didn't exactly have time to spare.

"Sap Sipper?!" he cried and Bouffalant began to charge again, "I hate that thing!"

Bouffalant kicked off the ground again, this time using, "Aerial Ace!" and vanished. While Wayne wasn't too familiar with this pokémon, but he knew Aerial Ace. He knew he had a matter of moments to set up a counter; no time to dodge, and only one move that wouldn't make Bouffalant any stronger.

"Hidden Power!" Wayne shouted. Daphne began charging up her ball of ice, but Bouffalant hit, smashing the technique apart and sending her crashing through a shop window, shattering the window into pieces. Tallman started laughing as chunks of glass fell from the window frame, and the fruit stand crumbled into wreckage.

"Daphne!"
"Ahahaha! Oh wow." Tallman forced his fingers through his hair, bony body shaking with each laugh, "I've never seen anything get hit quite like that."
"Hey, are you okay?!" Wayne rushed over, sliding over a car bonnet, tearing away at the wrecked shop front. She was lying on the ground. A sliver of glass poking out of her abdomen. There was blood.

She wasn't moving.

"Ever since Castelia I've been feeling great! Everything I try goes just like I planned it! This is incredible!"

"No." Wayne said, teeth grit. A heavy shadow was hanging over his face. Daphne's green blood stained his hands. He stood up, turned around, eyes flashing an icy blue. "This ends right now!"

---

"Sir, we're getting reports of a disturbance in Nimbasa North," said the officer. She was in her 20s, sharp features with short red hair beneath the standard issue beret. Her distinguishing trait was the black patch over her right eye, which had been missing for years. "A lot of reports. Sir."

"Hey Roy, isn't north Nimbasa home to all manner of strip joints and prostitutes?" Oz called from his chair. "I mean, not that you'd know... right?"

The observation deck was a large circular room with a glass wall in every direction, showing 360 degrees of cloud and sky. There were rings of computers, a good couple dozen officers at their terminals, monitoring activity on the ground. The captain's chair was in the middle, At the moment, it was Agent Roy Hunter's chair, but it normally belonged to Amadeus Houseman, chief of command in the World Government special forces. While Houseman was overseas, it was Roy's duty to replace him.

At the moment, they were stationed in a headquarters a couple thousand feet above Nimbasa. The reflective shielding panels on the hull allowed the structure to blend in with its surroundings, so if anybody looked up all they would see is sky. Were the panels not in place, they'd spot the huge flying headquarters; thanks to anti-gravity technology, the building floated in place, looking like a large tower in the sky. The bottom was tapered off, with the first observation deck near the tip. Thanks to its shape, the government headquarters had been nicknamed 'The Bullet' by staff.

Roy gave Oz a 'shut up' look and climbed out of his seat. It was way too large for him anyway; he looked like a toddler sitting on a big boy chair. "What kind of disturbance are we talking about?"
"The reports say it was a pokémon fight that got out of hand," said the redhead.
"Isn't that something the local police can deal with?" Roy carried on walking, down the metal pathway and up to the window, where he was able to look out.

The city yawned below him. Everything seemed so miniature yet at the same time, it seemed to go on forever. Originally, the Bullet went on patrol across the world, joined by dozens of its sisters. But as the years went by, one by one they fell out of service, until only a single model remained. This one. It housed hundreds of troops, each infused with Aura and trained to survive combat with high level pokémon.

They were aided by some of the finest analytical devices on the planet; the Bullet was connected to the World Government's central server, and its hull was covered in an untold number of cameras and surveillance equipment. It constantly streamed data, making it a global hub for crime fighting and information. But only the lower segment was specialised in observation; the top two thirds of the station were dedicated to military supremacy.

"Ordinarily, yes, most cases of pokémon-related destruction are handled by the police force, but our scanners picked something up during the battle. It was Aura, sir. A lot of it."
Roy's eyes went wide. He turned his head, his calm crumbled but he remained oh-so-serious. "Bring them in."

((I will write more. Hopefully it won't take like a week either))