Pieces of Summer Color

[Belle]

Following the grass type's movements carefully, the titan snarled and tore through the air, batting a handful of the flying seeds out of the air before snarling with frustration as the remainder lodged themselves in the crevices under his silver plates and quickly ingrained themselves, spontaneously exploding into a flurry of vines and piercing his tough skin before settling into place. Scowling as he felt the unprotected skin twitching irritably, he perked when the young man behind him began to speak.

"Watch your flank Laur- and let's see that setup, before we get started here."

Sniffing disinterestedly, he ignored the throbbing sprouts and kept the roserade in his peripheral vision before turning and throwing his weight behind a single blow aimed at the ground beneath. It crumbled easily, and a web of cracks burst out in a wide radius that stretched out for a few feet. Down towards the other end of the field, the earth shivered, trembling lightly in anticipation as something churned beneath the feet of the trainers.
Stretching back to his full height, he met the flashing eyes of his trainer as the monster peered over his great shoulder, looking for the indication in his face. His stare was met with a quick flick of the young man's head as he indicated a space over the opposite shoulder. Swinging his great steel head to face the gap he had been directed to, his body seemed to curl into a more rigid stance as something welled up from his belly, climbing into his throat until he loosened it towards the quickly-moving Roserade- an echoing, resonating, booming snarl that pushed goosebumps onto the legs of even his own trainer; a Roar loud enough to have breached even the walls of the arena.

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

The trainer that served as the judge understood what has transpired immediately. Stealth Rock. Clever, but if he damages the gym too much I'll have to send Tethys to have a word with the man...

While the Aggron was occupied with the attack, the Roserade was already on the move - its lithe body moving in fluid motions, dancing in little spirals, seeming to gather energy in its hands. And the energy gathered and condensed, forming into a ball... until at last, the Roserade cast it up toward the sky.

It was then that the Aggron's roar pierced the battleground. But even that roar, mighty as it was, was drowned by the roar of the skies as finally the sphere of light impacted something invisible in the heavens - and shattered it.

The sky was torn apart, a swirling void in the previously clear azure, rotating ominously on its axis, faster and faster, the whistling of the wind rushing in to fill the void becoming almost unbearable. And soon, the clouds came. As the hole in the sky swirled faster and faster, black storm clouds moved from every corner of the sky, drawn into the hole, patching it up, spinning faster and faster, until...

There was a crack of thunder.

And then the rain came. Thick curtains of rain, a massive downpour that seemed to have no end in sight. The Roserade's Rain Dance attack was mighty indeed - and while it would do little against the effects of the Stealth Rock attack, the trainer had a hunch that he knew what Gardenia was planning.

Gardenia. He couldn't help admire the way she looked in the rain, holding the Roserade's PokeBall - the graceful creature having returned to it due to the effect of the Roar attack. She was Nature's fury, the winds  causing her sash to billow behind her. Such a contrast from her normal gentleness... But now was not the time for admiration.

"Clever." Gardenia smirked. "But this is merely a minor setback. Now, things are -truly- getting interesting! Let us go, Turtwig!"

The second sphere was cast, releasing its contents in a flash of red light. It was a small quadrupedal reptilloid resembling a green and golden snapping turtle, a dark brown and somewhat spiky shell covering its back - a shell that seemed to soak up the water of the pouring rain.

As the trainer expected, the moment the Turtle materialized on the ground, the ground cracked beneath its feet, and sharp rocks assaulted it from various angles as it clambered loose. Some damage was clearly done...

But then, the Aggron's body was surrounded by a glow as the Leech Seeds did their job, draining the Aggron's life energy and transferring it to the slightly dazed Turtwig, revitalizing it and leaving it with much less damage than the opposing trainer was hoping for. He could see the grin on the Gym Leader's face. Two can play at being sneaky.

"Clever strategy there, Archer." Gardenia smirked "And that's quite an impressive Aggron you have here. But you know what they say, the bigger they are... The harder they fall! Turtwig, our signature move!"

The Turtwig simply nodded, its eyes glowing a soft green as it dug a claw into the ground - and Something seemed to change in the grass below its feet. It was subtle, but it was a change - a vague green glimmer, spreading rapidly across the field towards where the Aggron was standing...

Both The Gym Leader and the Trainer watched the battleground intently. Though the Aggron's partial steel typing would save it from some of the damage should the attack work the way it was supposed to, the Aggron's massive weight would mean the attack would still do a ridiculously great deal of damage. It was only a question of whether or not the attack would meet its mark... or did the boy known as Archer Gray have more tricks up his sleeve?

[Belle]

Rather than look on in horror or recoil with a frown, the trainer merely cocked his head, eyebrows arched in pleasant surprise.

"Such a strong attack so early on, Miss. I honestly didn't expect a signature move right off the bat, but this is quite a fortunate turn of events."
As he spoke, the rustle in the earth had already reached the titan, tendrils of springy grass coiling up the beast's tail and legs before hurling him to the earth where a second flurry of growth lashed at his arms and head as stray blades slashed away at the tough hide beneath his armor. The aggron howled in fury and pain as the gashes in his side grew, and the young man frowned, wincing at the obvious pain his partner was experiencing. It took a moment for Laur to tear the binds away and pull himself off the ground, panting heavily as he shrugged off the shredded lengths of grass. Ears perked, he faithfully awaited the command from the dark haired youth.

"Hold back for just another moment Laur, wait for the Leech Seed to kick in-"
Just as he finished speaking, the familiar glow emanated from his body as another small portion of his energy was sapped away, revitalizing the turtwig from across the arena.

"That's good enough, release~"
Snarling from deep within his belly, the aggron composed himself as the hundreds of gashes cut into his body began to take on a silvery hue, almost as if something was pushing through the open wounds until he had grown a fine collection of jagged metal points that poked through the sturdy grey skin. Dropping to support his weight on his arms as well as his feet, the beast howled once as every steely growth burst from his body in a sudden flurry of expulsion, the lethal points slicing through the overgrowth at ridiculous speeds as they homed in on their target- the tiny turtle poised at the opposite end of the battlefield.

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

(OOC: Metal Burst, I assume? Also light edit because I realized I forgot to rematerialize the real Turtwig. XD)

"I see what you did there." Gardenia smirked when she noticed the metallic glow beginning to form "But don't think you're getting off this easily!"

The Turtwig just stood there, unmoving, as the metal points rained in. It did not even seem remotely fazed by them.

That is because the Turtwig was not Turtwig.

Only as the final shard made its impact there seemed to be a slight change in the Turtwig. A little crack. And another. And another. And soon, the Turtwig shattered into shards of light and vanished.

A Substitute. Gardenia must have ordered the attack while Metal Burst was charging. This may have damaged the Turtwig somewhat, but far less than the damage it would have taken from a counter-attack to the Grass Knot. Some of this damage would wear off once the Leech Seeds kicked in again. This was not an attack she used often, but this was a gym battle - and she certainly didn't have any intentions of making things easy for the challenger. And the many, many cracks in the Aggron's armor left it a lot more open to attack than it was before. However, Metal Burst provided a serious advantage for the Aggron - she had to be a lot more careful with powerful attacks.

Rematerializing seemingly out of no where, the Turtwig glared defiantly at the metal monster. Now the ball was in the other trainer's court.

[Belle]

It was only now that he was thoroughly soaked that he took notice of the rain. The blunt fringe of hair that normally hung in his eyes was matted against his forehead, and curved around his eyes where he had brushed it away with a swipe of his thumb. The mess of hair that stood off the back of his head in wild, soft, tousled points was now slicked flat against his head, dripping down as it followed the nape of his neck and grazed his shoulders ever so softly. Taking notice of the hindrance to his vision, he took both hands to his forehead and combed his fingers over his head, clutching at the locks of hair plump with rain and draining it out into his own collar. For the first time since he had encountered the girls in Oreburgh, he could see real clearly. Grey eyes shining, he observed the turtwig's reaction to the attack with mild interest, brushing away loose strands of dripping follicles as he furrowed his brows with thought.

"I suppose it was naive of me to hope I could have polished him off so quickly. But, on that topic.."
When he had started to speak, he had taken up signing gestures to the aggron poised in the middle of the field who kept a wary eye on his trainer via the reflection in his own armor. Distorted as the vision was, he could make out the twisted image of Archer closing his left hand into a fist and punching it into the flattened palm of his right.

Rock.. ?

The addendum appeared shortly after in the form of a sort of massaging motion- almost like he was polishing his knuckles. The command registered, and his right hand fell away, leaving the left pointing two fingers off to his side in one final indication.

Two bouts of Rock polish. Easy. And even he knew where the young man wanted him to take this

Dragging his foot around him in a half-circle, the dirt swelled into a plump plume of dust that twisted through the fall of rain and scuffed at his legs and armor, developing a healthy looking sheen that rippled through the muscle and sinew of his legs. The development was quite noticeable as he took off to one of the far ends of the field, significantly nimbler and quick on his feet. Once he reached the far end he caught himself at an angle, making a hairpin turn back towards the Turtwig with a quick scuff of his feet- a sliding motion that stirred up another column of earth that trailed after him as he tore across the field with rapidly increasing speed, darting back and forth to trace the tiny turtle's movements before closing in on him. His arms tensed at his sides and the sheet of moisture that cascaded down began to freeze over, influencing the fall of rain that fell on either side of him as the trail of developing ice followed him like a magnet. As soon as he was pulled in close to the smaller grass-type, both fists were raised as the freezing action grew, twisting the immense moisture in the air into a colossus of snow and ice that he pulled over his head, aiming to pummel the smaller pokemon with the avalanche before it had the time to blink.

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"Very high diversity." Gardenia grinned "I like it. But you'd be wise to remember that a skilled opponent watches everything that happens on the battlefield - this little trick may have worked against a novice, but not a Gym Leader! Turtwig, Now!"

The Turtwig brought its foot down against the ground and instantaneously dived into the ground as if it were water the moment the icy mass hit. Utilizing the very unstable ground created by the foe trainer's Stealth Rock attack, all it took was a little kick for the Turtwig to go underground. Some of the icy mass followed the Turtwig into the hole, but that was percisely what Gardenia was hoping would happen.

Green fire. The very ground seemed to burst into it as the Turtwig's body seemed to be engulfed in green flame - just the right amount of damage was done for the grass-type's Overgrow ability to kick in. And the green fire spread to the grass, setting the whole field ablaze with energy...

The grass burst into life, lunging at the Aggron, attacking it, dragging it down. Another Grass Knot, and this time powered by the overgrowth. It was then that the Turtwig burst from the ground, bouncing off the Aggron's mass and landing again on a more stable patch of Earth. Green energy flared up around the Aggron again as the Leech Seeds did their work, adding to the onslaught of nature.

The Turtwig was showing signs of tiredness - That attack took a lot out of the small PokeMon. But in its eyes one could still see a defiant look.

If it was to go down, it would bloody well take this monstrosity with it.

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

PoSC moved back to PokeCharms at this point, but this thread will remain an archive of events happening in 'Charms just in case it EFF!s off on us again.


Belle:

Frowning as the turtwig's countering strike played out, Archer observed the aggron with concern and hesitation as he wondered what the effects of this powered-up attack would have. Shifting uncomfortably, he pulled the sopping folds of white fabric away from his chest and stomach, noting the suffocating effects it had on his person the more soaked he became. As soon as he caught the flickering gaze of the beast, he quickly and subtly signaled with his hands a bursting effect that he could see Laur taking note of.
----

For a first-stage pokemon like the tiny turtle, its use of Grass Knot really packed a punch and acted against the Aggron big time. Thus making it all the more helpful.

The second bout of lashing grass blades cut deeper into the tough skin than the first had, each laceration stinging and burning with the sensation that accompanied the power boost that had come to the turtwig in the form of its overgrow ability. The more they bit into his hide, the more he felt the stirring in the pit of his stomach growing and tingling at the torn skin and fresh wounds multiplying by the moment. Waiting patiently as the leech seed kicked in and sapped at his remaining will and energy, he felt the swelling in his stomach growing until the point were the attack started to break through the welts and cuts in his skin, similar to the tactic used only minutes ago. Piercing eyes locked onto the opponent before a second flurry of blades and jagged metal points seared through the grass binds and offending blades as they skated across the earth and each other in a mad race to tear into the turtle first. Grunting in discomfort, he glowered from beneath his mask as he struggled to his feet, quivering lightly as he watched the gleaming silver bearing down on the turtwig.


Stel:

The Turtwig slammed its feet against the ground, attempting to escape to the safety of the under again, but it was too late. The small grass-type was already exhausted, and even with the healing the Leech Seeds provided, the blades that did impact the Turtwig did the damage the opposing trainer hoped for. The Turtwig collapsed to the ground, utterly spent. The Aggron was clearly on its last legs as well, stubbornly holding on. Somehow.

"Turtwig is unable to battle." Gad announced, raising a red flag.

Gardenia's face showed little emotion as she reached for the Turtwig's PokeBall and returned it. Smiling at the now-minimized ball in her hand she softly uttered the words "You've done all you can, Turtwig. Take a nice rest now."

She then turned her eyes to the trainer - and his nearly-spent Aggron. Then she gazed up at the sky. If her assumptions were correct, the rainstorm wouldn't last much longer. Now that Turtwig was down and out, it was time to strike a decisive final blow that would definitely knock the Aggron out. A super effective move.

She reached for another PokeBall - Roserade's. Her Roserade was still undamaged - and even though that would change as soon as she materialized on the battlefield, she hoped Leech Seed would be sufficient to counter the effects of Stealth Rock.

She cast the Roserade's PokeBall forward, and the creature emerged, landing gracefully on the ground, on the tip of one foot in the manner of a dancer and breaking into a run on the unstable surface, skipping along the ground, evading the surface-breaching rocks to the best of its ability. It could not avoid taking some damage - but nothing that Leech Seed couldn't handle. And now that the rain was still falling...

The Roserade stopped to a halt on an array of rocks that breached the surface, raising its clawed, flower-tipped hands to the sky. Energy began swirling between its hands, a ball of white mist forming between them. Then, as the rain fell, the white ball developed a deep blue hue, growing larger, seeming to draw the falling water around it into orbit. The Roserade kept her focus on the ball, seeming to charge it for longer than it normally would - as the sky was slowly beginning to clear, the unnatural vortexes of the artificial storm created by Rain Dance slowly beginning to fade away. More and more and more water from around was drawn into the sphere until at last, it looked as if the Roserade was holding an enormous, tumbling sphere of water - the essence of the fading rainstorm itself.

Gardenia smirked.

The Roserade sent the orb of water forward, hurtling like an aquatic comet towards the exhausted-looking Iron Armor PokeMon - with the steel type providing no water resistance to the creature's rock-type weakness to water, it was highly doubtful the creature would survive to counter that one.


Belle:

From where he staggered about on the field, the hazy view of the Roserade emerging and taking form doubled and tripled in number until his sight corrected itself, and the shape of the attack it started to charge was manifesting high over its head. A brief glance at the youth behind him, and the aggron could see his cupped hand tracing the line of his throat before splaying out in a wide, open palmed wave when he reached his chin. The motion could have only meant that his trainer intended him to get his Swagger on in a last-ditch means of preparing the next contender for battle. Easy.

The ever-growing sphere of water was less malicious when the beast had a task he could focus on. Feeling the warmth of the steamy outburst welling up within his chest, he pulled his shoulders back as he felt his ribcage rise with the amount of clean air he took in. By the time the grass type released it's finishing blow, he had successfully exhaled a thin layer of smoky gas that settled and washed over the compact earth, easing its way over to the roserade as it tumbled and curled over itself. The opponents blow met its target and sent the aggron hurtling back with such force it dug a new trench across one corner of the field.
The young man murmured to himself as he reached for the appropriate capsule hanging from his belt, fingers tracing over the surface of each sphere as he counted them off.
"Now that one was not my fault."
The tired form of the beast condensed into a streak of red matter before retreating to the confines of the machine in his trainer's hand.

"Now, this may or may not be unwise, but I'd like you to stretch your legs a bit, Quey."
Purring from beside his ankles, the vaporeon slunk onto the field, shoulders rolling as she prowled. Her slow gait was not simply for show, however- as she moved, a violet sparkle seemed to twinkle in her eyes as she gazed dreamily at the looping growths on the ceiling, making various wishes to herself. Physically, she seemed to take on an intoxicating violet hue as she moved, each pore of her body seeping with acid as it streaked along the curves of her body, hardening into a malleable, movable form of armor. Picking her way around the field, she seemed to sniff out a single spot on the ground that she considered ideal, and seated herself ever so gently when she had found it, cocking her ears and twitching her fins when she had settled.

Behind her, Archer turned his gaze onto the gym leader with an expectant look settled in his watery gray eyes.

ooc| LOOK STELLUS I FINISHED IT as a birthday present to myself hurdadurdalur <3333333


Stel:

Happy Birthday, Belle. ^^

The Roserade seemed to sense the Aggron's last ditch effort, leaping into the air and releasing a cloud of sweet-smelling pollen from the petals on its arms. The pollen seemed to neutralize the gas - both attacks dissolving harmlessly into each other as the Roserade landed gracefully on the ground a slight distance away.

Soon enough, the opposing trainer made his choice - a Vaporeon, acting in a catlike manner, already activating its Acid Armor attack.

"Interesting choice." Gardenia murmured. Although clearly rather reliant on the notion that Swagger would have worked. Acid Armor makes it harder for physical hits to strike, but it is not physical hits that are Roserade's forte. What's he playing at?

Be that as it may, Vaporeons were not to be underestimated. The rain may have been over, negating whatever advantage it would have given the creature in terms of water moves... But  Water-types or not, the creatures were agile, could certainly take hits, and worst of all - had quite an arsenal of Ice-type moves. She would have to finish this quickly.

The Roserade seemed to have the same feeling - it has taken on a Vaporeon or three in its time. It shot the gym leader a questioning look.

Gardenia nodded.

And thus, the Roserade took a battle stance as all over, trees and bushes ignited into a green glow as a sudden wind picked up, taking up the glowing leaves and forming a great vortex around the Roserade - a massive, whirling tornado of glowing leaves, which blasted off directly in the Vaporeon's direction, swooping over it.

Leaf Storm was a dangerous gambit - It was a powerful attack, and it would bypass the Acid Armor - but the very execution of it would have weakened the Roserade's attack power dramatically. In her mind, Gardenia already began to prepare for the worst. 

She might need her on the battlefield.

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Belle:

As the Roserade began to move, the vaporeon seemed to pace back and forth across a small portion of earth still dark with the rainfall, almost as if it were waiting for the opponent to make its move. By the time the attack had actually been sprung, she had already locked her joints into place and turned herself towards the opposite end of the field, braced for the impending impact that would certainly batter her sturdy body. Staring through the attack and into the eyes of her opponent, the muscles of her shoulders and legs and abdomen shuddered beneath the watery blue pelt as the storm of leaves ripped into her small body, tearing viciously at her skin and digging into her face and legs as she made little effort to avoid the colossus of leaves- she'd learned through experience that the beatings become tolerable when one is not skittering frantically over the field, stumbling and fumbling over one's own feet.

When the calm returned,  she shuddered briefly before limping forward a few paces, dragging one of her hind legs behind her and leaving a trail of moisture in the soil beneath her feet. As she prowled, a trail of what looked like something that had once been tiny rivers of saliva and blood trickled down her jaw, oozing out of a particularly nasty split in her lower lip. As of that moment however, they had started to freeze over as a fine mist of chilled moisture spilled from her maw, heavy and thick as she exhaled and let her muscles relax once more. The newly formed streams of tainted ice cracked and tumbled off of her neck and onto the ground below, followed by chunks of frozen drool as she gnashed and gnawed to herself, pushing the excess ice out of her mouth as a misty blue haze gathered around her open jowls. In the short seconds she took to prepare herself, a violet ripple had started to wind its way around her tail and heels, trailing up the rest of her body in a single pulse of warm purple hue that seemed to close up the fresh wounds and soothe over the scrapes and stains made in her fur. A wish come true, it seemed.
Rejuvenated by the recovery, she curled her lips over her teeth as the ice beam steadily growing wrapped her muzzle in its chilly pale blue haze. Turning on her heel, she stared coolly into the face of the Roserade stationed on the other end of the field, and released the store of pent-up energy in a single burst that lanced through the air, tearing over the field towards its target.


Stel:

There was very little the Roserade could do, the beam moved too quickly - and with the damage it has already taken, the Ice Beam's effects proved to be exceptionally effective.

Gardenia returned the frozen creature with a little sigh. The Roserade's natural cure would thaw it out, but this round, clearly, belonged to the challenger. She was hoping the battle wouldn't have to come to this - but it looks like it did.

"Well, well." Gardenia said with a nod and a little smirk. "It's been a while since I was pushed to a corner like this - but It's not the end yet. My final PokeMon... Cherisol, Rise!"

The air went still. Then a light wind picked up, and a rain of cherry blossoms descended upon the battlefield.

Something spiraled down from the sky - something that looked vaguely humanoid, though one could not easily tell as it was surrounded by pinkish-purple petal-crests which swirled around it, wrapping around it, obscuring its true form. As the creature touched down, the petal-crests were wrapped around it entirely in what almost looked like a protective cocoon - all that remained visible were two large cherry-red orbs on the creature's shoulders, two smaller ones on its forehead, and the sides of the creature's face - which had a pale yellow hue with an array of dark markings running along its sides. From within the creature's floral shielding, a mass of green, spiny vine-like tendrils dug into the ground, drawing nutrients, stabilizing the creature and the ground around it - And from within this mass, two thick, long and leaf-tipped spiny vines extended, one on each side of the creature's body.

The rain of sakura ended. Gardenia's Cherisol has entered the fray.

From the referee's post, Gad was smiling from ear to ear - When he first arrived at Eterna, the creature on the battlefield was only a Cherubi, and was one of her least powerful PokeMon. With his nurturing and Elysium's help in teaching the creature a certain move, the little PokeMon evolved twice and blossomed into what it was today - a flower borne of Sinnoh and Miato intergrowing.

And if he knew Gardenia, she was going to use endurance for this one.

The orbs on the creature' body began emitting a soft glow. There was a change to the air - a light ripple - and new scents filled the air - the scents of old growth forests. An orb of translucent green mist seemed to enclose the battlefield, the trainers' boxes were just on the edge of the mist - and they could see clearly into it.

It was an illusion - but it was not an illusion. It was like the battlefield was gone and a fantasy forest took its place. It wavered unnaturally along its edges - a projection in the mist - but the trees were as solid as they could be. Even the light had a dimmed, filtered quality to it and had a vague green undertone.

"Sylvan Orb." Gad explained for the benefit of the challenger "A Grass-type move from my homeland. While it is in effect, the power of creatures that may be found in forests increases - grass-types and bug-types become more powerful - much in the manner water-types grow stronger during rain and fire-types grow stronger when the sun blazes brightly."

"What he said. "Gardenia smirked "And it has one other lovely effect... it makes it exceptionally easy to fire a Solarbeam!"

The word 'Solarbeam' was a command directed at Cherisol - and the grass-type obeyed - the ambient energies of the artificial forest shifted as the Cherisol's orbs instantaneously burst into brilliant light, launching four small beams that converged into one destructive beam of focused light, tearing towards the water-type.

Gardenia watched and waited.

OOC: This battle has been brought to you by DBZ Time Aura, where an entire season passes before an attack lands!

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Belle:

Still gawping in awe of the foreign creature, and only more so intrigued by the new development on the field, the young trainer tore his attention aware from the artificial (sort of) surroundings and refocused on the increasingly blinding flare of light. Less obvious was the mental note-to-self he made reminding himself to ask the young man which region he hailed from and what kind of voodoo mind tricks they had that he had yet to disclose. However, from his end of the field the vaporeon shrank away from the glare, shielding her eyes beneath a paw as she glanced warily at her trainer, again making no effort to escape the accuracy of her opponent and instead grinding her teeth on a pale white something as she caught the trainers eye long enough to see him trailing his fingers ever so softly up the length of the opposite arm. Comprehending the message he had started to convey, she tucked her head into the crook of her shoulder and braced herself for the impact.

Once again, the beating she took was severe, and she found herself spared only through mere chance and will as she staggered a couple steps forwards, chewing on the Leftovers she had clutched between the rows of teeth and, very subtly, her legs found an old strength and she stumbled upon her second wind, something she knew would only last long enough to follow her last set of orders. Feeling herself beginning to salivate, she unconsciously activated the glands nestled somewhere behind her jaw and grumbled as the fresh fluid dipped over her teeth, oozing a toxic looking substance that seeped through and over her lips, collecting in a pool on the ground before she lunged at the opponent, sprinting with her all and ignoring the sharp pains in her legs and ribs and chest and everything as she snarled and snapped as she loped along, closing the distance between herself and her target at surprising speeds.


Stel:

Drawing energy from the Earth, the Cherisol made no effort to evade the Vaporeon's rush. It stood there, motionless, awaiting the toxic bite...

Or so it seemed. Once the Vaporeon was close enough to make contact, the creature flicked out one of its spiny vine-tendrils, wrapping it around the Vaporeon and lifting it off the ground, tossing it into the air as its second tendril lashed forward to whip the water-type fiercely - a power whip attack. It was a gamble - the attack itself could miss, the Vaporeon could deliver its toxic bite through a vine... But it was a gamble that the gym leader was willing to take.


Belle:

Granted, discovering oneself dangling in the air as opposed to planted solidly on the earthy floor was surprising in and of itself, but the viny extremity that came lashing at her was not so quick that she could not twist herself in such a way that when it made contact she took minimal damage, and even managed to land on her feet with muscles tensed so tightly that she need only feel the sturdy earth beneath her before springing the last few feet aiming to bury the fangs dripping with toxins into the opponent. Having opted to ignore the option of infecting what may be a disposable extremity, she felt her own hind legs dragging with the effort of movement and steadying herself as she took hold of the grass-type counterpart and craned her neck as the toxins poured over the fresh wounds.


Stel:

The Cherisol emitted a high-pitched screech, ripping it roots out from the ground and clambering away, scattering a cloud of green pollen to cure it of the newly-inflicted status ailment before it could do any damage. It did not have the benefit of being ingrained to the ground, and the Sylvan Orb was showing signs of destabilizing.

"I grow weary of this game." Gardenia said, and pointed up to the sky "Let the sun shine and Cherisol's true form be revealed!"

The Cherisol emitted a gleeful little chirp, the tips of its vines glowing white and releasing a beam into the sky.

It was as if the sunlight suddenly intensified, clouds clearing out. The beams of light shattered the illusion of Sylvan Orb, but they also had another effect.

Suddenly, a pair of red eyes snapped open in the midst of the Cherisol's facial markings. The rain of Sakura petals began again as the petals unwrapped and spread out as the creature rose to its feet, vines retracting.

Where the almost cocoon-like thing was now stood a graceful, tall, slender and long-necked humanoid figure. Its pale yellow head was bald save for three very long petal-crests - one of which covered most of its face before, and was now trailing behind it. There were five smaller orbs on the creature's head - not two - the other three were simply obscured.

The head connected to a long, green and slender stem of a neck that terminated in a sepal-like covering of the shoulders and chest, and served as the origin point for more trailing petal crests. there was a third orb on its chest, now revealed. the creature's body was the same yellowish as its face, and its thin, digitigrade legs, which terminated in what almost looked like hooves, had sepal-like coverings on them as well, ones that reached up to the ankles.

It looked fast, graceful, and deadly.

Which is exactly what it was. Cherisol's PosiForme was faster and more powerful by far than its negative form, but its defenses were less powerful. Gardenia truly brought out the Big Guns.

The sun's bright light flowed into the creature's orbs, rapidly focusing them into a concentrated beam of light.

The Solarbeam fired.


Belle:

After making contact and delivering the toxins, the vaporeon slunk away to gnaw quietly at her Leftovers, a familiar violet glint flashing in her soft blue eyes as the Cherisol took time to heal itself and fire a bright flash into the sky, writhing and transforming under the light it had summoned. From the trainer's box on his end of the field, Archer observed the change with intrigue as the heavy petals folded over to reveal the face of the Cherisol. Letting his interest in the creature subside, he turned his gaze onto the vaporeon in the brief moment between the opponent's sun-inspired form settled and when it began to charge its second solarbeam attack. A quick flick of the wrist conveyed his intention to the creature as he turned his gaze to the gym leader, a polite smile curving his lips as she spoke and his heartbeat quickened in response to her words.

Very well, then.

The beam fired soon after, careening across the field towards his partner before colliding in a burst of light. When the light faded and the dust settled, the vaporeon stood crouched behind a plate of ice and earth, arranged in a hexagonal construct to stand protectively over her and take the brunt of the attack for her as, beneath its cover, her body rippled in a wave of violet that closed most of the new wounds and restored her composure. When the last of the attack had subsided, the shield crumbled and fells to the earth in clods as a second attack fired straight through it from the opposite side, crackling and snapping as it left sheets of new ice forming in its wake.


Stel:

"Dodge it!" Gardenia called, and the Cherisol leapt off the ground, acrobatically dodging the ice beam flying its way, landing a safe distance away on the tips of its slender feet.

It seemed to her that the opposing trainer was relying on his creatures' defenses a bit too much - both the Aggron an Vaporeon were very powerful defensively and could take quite a number of hits - and the Vaporeon, annoyingly enough, had the advantage of healing itself slightly every turn. Cherisol, of course, could heal itself significantly as well - but Gardenia was seriously beginning to tire of drawing the match out. It was time to strike a decisive blow.

"Alright then." Gardenia murmured "If that's the way you want to play it..."

She motioned an upwards movement with her hand

"That's the way we'll play it."

the Orbs were glowing again, but this time, they were glowing even brighter. The Cherisol leapt into the air, taking in even more sunlight than before. Now, even its petal crests were glowing, and soon enough the creature acquired the radiance of a small sun. The creature closed its eyes, allowing the light to flow through its markings as well. Soon enough, there was little more that could be seen of the Cherisol than a glowing white mass of light, and heat.

This was the beginning of a Sol Force attack - normally a moderately powerful move that also instilled confusion - but Gardenia had no intention of executing it as a Sol Force. Rather, she used it for a special form of charge - drawing in more energy than the creature could normally acquire...

And as the Cherisol was exactly above the Vaporeon, Gardenia motioned downward sharply.

And the creature released an attack - but rather than dive-bombing the foe as a Sol Force attack would, the Energy was released in the form of a truly massive Solarbeam - one that would melt through a barrier similar to the one the Vaporeon put up earlier easily, and probably overpower whatever attack the Vaporeon might use to attempt to counter it. She knew there was no chance the creature would take the full force of the attack - something will weaken it before it hits - but she was hoping it was enough to do just the right amount of damage to finally silence the water-type. This particular maneuver took a lot out of Cherisol - but there was only so long that she could draw this battle, anyway. Something had to give sooner or later.


Belle:

o, the decisive blow was decisive.
After the resounding crack of the impact quieted to a dim rustling of pebbles while the dust quietly settled, the vaporeon lay still for a moment before shifting meekly as she willed herself to her feet, layer upon layer of grit smeared across the gentle face now scoured with determination.
Frowning from his end of the field, the trainer ran his fingers along the row of metallic spheres clipped to his hip before summoning the enraged creature back to her holding place.

"Now now, that's enough of that."

Running his finger along the smooth surface, he smiled kindly down at the capsule as he reattached it to his belt. "You did real good, I should have pushed you a little harder in the beginning, but you did real good. Now, I think we've twittered about quite enough for today, so let's wrap this up quickly, Lucy."

As he spoke, he pulled free the last of his choices and, with a flick of his wrist, enlarged it before hurling it onto the field. When it cracked open, the streak of red matter took to the skies as opposed to settling on the ground like his previous choices. For the first time since the battle had started, he chose a competitor with an actual advantage over the opponent. When the shape began to form and the lingering trail of matter caught up to itself, the mass began to take shape and develop. Wings, sleek body, teeny feet and the crests sprouting off her forehead quickly took shape, and she trilled happily as soon as she caught a whiff of the woody atmosphere. Comfortably gliding to and fro, it only took a brief moment  for her to turn sharply and streak across the stage almost as if she were to collide with the opponent, but instead pulled up at the last hairy moment to glide in and plant a messy Sweet Kiss on the opponent before zipping away once more, starting off the last round of the battle straight off the blocks.


Stel:

"Well. A PokeMon with a type advantage. How refreshing." Gardenia grinned "Now that's what I've been expecting in a final battle!"

So I finally pushed him to this. she thought to herself I don't think Cherisol can last much longer... this maneuver always leaves her drained, and I don't have the time to shift her to NegaForme and heal up... Guess I have to make due with what I have.

The grass-type rose to its feet shakily, eyes still closed - and appeared almost woozy. As its eyes opened, it seemed to take some time to get its bearings, attempting to sense the Togekiss' movements somehow, but it mind was clouded. Unable to rely on precision aiming, the Cherisol broke off into a blind run, unleashing wave after wave of softly-glowing, multi-colored leaves - leaves that seemed to target their elusive prey as if by magic. Even with Cherisol's impressive attack power, though, it wouldn't do much damage to a flying type - but Gardenia was hoping to at least do SOME damage before the battle was over.


Belle:

A smile broke through the calculating expression on his face as he heard her comment, flushing lightly as he replied.
"So sorry to have kept you waiting then, perhaps I should have pulled her out earlier."

As he spoke, the plane swooped about, seemingly enjoying the freedom as she maneuvered through the airspace, and even twirling about to avoid the majority of the leafy assailants even as the ones that hit home burrowed into her wings and chest. At these she managed a wince or two as the gashes began to weep, but as the gym leader could conclude on her own, the leaves left little impact on the winged wonder. Once the assault showed signs of slowing, the togekiss zipped along the edge of the field, dropping to a height that would have grazed the top of her trainer's six-foot-height. From this altitude, she began to twist her body in a way that whipped up gusts of air, twisting around her sleek body before condensing into a single form that, upon a swift blow from its creator, burst into a thick array of cutting gusts that sliced through the air toward the Cherisol.


Stel:

Confused as it was, the Cherisol could not sense the Air Slash attack coming, the super-effective attack connecting and knocking the creature down from its run to the ground, where it rolled unceremoniously to crash against a tree.

There was a moment of stillness - but it was not the end. The Cherisol was confused, heavily damaged - and still exhausted from its attack - but miraculously, still capable of standing up - which it promptly did. Shakily, the Cherisol moved so the tree was behind its back, steadying itself with an array of roots sprouted by its legs. The roots took in some energy, recovering a bit of damage - but not much.

She knows. Gad thought to himself, sending a look to Gardenia. If she's ground-locking the PosiForme, it could on mean that she had no intention of defending anymore. He's seen her do it before - the no-holds-barred take-the-enemy-with-you sort of maneuver.

But what could she do with a weakened, confused Cherisol that had a chance of dishing a fair chunk of damage?

The creature's orbs emitted a new type of glow - a golden glow.

Oh no. She is -not- doing what I think she's doing.

The Cherisol closed its eyes, holding its hands in front of its body, as the orbs' glowing intensified, and a ball of energy was slowly forming and condensing between the Cherisol's hands - a radiant sparkling geodesic sphere of light, increasing slowly but gradually in volume.... Power Gem.

Clever. he thought She's using the tree to make sure there's only one way she can be approached - from the front. With so much power poured into Power Gem, it can act as a shield against ranged attacks. The roots provide extra stability against the likes of whirlwind... And so the only way to attack it is head-on. But attacking head-on would lead it directly into the Power Gem... Which means she wouldn't have to aim the attack and launch it - risking the trajectory distorted by confusion...

"Well. It seems that you have me cornered, Archer Gray." Gardenia smirked "But let us see how you break this stalemate."


Belle:

Musing silently to himself, Archer felt himself smiling as he rocked onto the heels of his feet, drumming his knuckles against the soft skin beneath his chin as his mind whirred at a million miles an hour.
"That's an interesting move you've set up there, Miss. Now I haven't actually used Extremespeed with Lucy too much before this, but for the sake of keeping this interesting what say we throw caution to the wind, hm?"

As he spoke, the pokemon hovered over some distance farther from the opponent than she had been before, eying the Cherisol warily as she waited for the flick of the young man's hand that would cue her movement. When it came, she began her trek back across the field, her movement rapidly quickening until she couldn't be tracked by the naked eye any longer. However, even after she'd vanished, there was no sign of her anywhere near the Cherisol.

"I think the best course of action would be to uproot things here, if you'll excuse the tragically poor pun."

Wincing shamefully at the words he spun, he turned his smoky eyes on the tree and the pokemon still blinking dazedly at the base. Extending a hand towards the towering trunk and motioning at it, it seemed almost as if he were asking it to rise up from the earth. Surprisingly enough, it did just that with a chirpy humming from somewhere behind the wood as the soil clasped by its roots began to churn and tumble in a flurry of violet-blue light, its source becoming apparent as the Togekiss appeared from behind the flora surrounded by a similar shade of light. Riding on the mounds of dirt, the plant shuddered in the air before toppling over and onto the opponent still rooted firmly into the ground as the little plane hovered cautiously over the wreck.


Stel:

If there was a way to condense pure, unrefined rage just being vaguely suppressed into one look, that would have been the look that Gardenia just shot the trainer.

"It will do you good to remember," she said "That trees are living things. NOT just scenery to be carelessly uprooted. ESPECIALLY in a GRASS-TYPE GYM."

If words could kill, Archer would have probably been very, very dead indeed.

Her expression softened for a moment when she realized that the Cherisol probably did not make it. She returned the creature to its PokeBall, wordlessly, murmuring a soft 'You've done all you could' at the ball - not even waiting for an official declaration.

Then she took a few deep breaths, closing her eyes, ordering her thoughts.

"Well done, Archer Gray. I concede defeat." she finally said, approaching the trainer slowly. Seemingly out of no where, a small metallic badge - green and silver, resembling, vaguely, an array of trees forming a forest - fell into her hand. "You've battled skillfully   and most certainly earned this badge."

She handed the trainer the badge with a little smile.

"But mess with my trees again, and I'll feed you to a whole pack of Victreebel. Do I make myself clear?" she said in what almost sounded like a soft growl. Then, she turned away to walk towards the fallen tree - probably to survey the damage.

"It's okay, love. I think it can be replanted." Gad - who was already there - wrapped his arm around her waist. "Some of the root system was damaged but i think some controlled growth could fix it... I'll get right on it with Ely, you get your team restored in the meantime. More challengers might drop on us soon."

"Okay." she said, giving the tree one last look before heading off to the cell restoration machine.

"Silly, crazy woman I fell in love with..." he murmured to himself, wondering if she heard that - but even so, he knew she wouldn't take it personally.

"Alright then, Ely, we've got work to do." He called out, and the Wisteriark responded - she, too, was watching the battle intently from the grounds outside the arena, so she knew what was needed of her.

She emitted a series of subtle notes - quiet like leaves on the wind - but whatever it was, it had an effect - A few Victreebels emerged from the surroundings, taking position behind the tree and reaching out with their long vines, wrapping them around the trunk and pulling as the Wisteriark pushed the tree upwards, her leaf-wing fanning backwards as she did. Soon, the tree was standing upright again.

"Hold on a bit longer, okay?" Gad nodded, and the Victreebels emitted their screechy vocalization. "Elysium, You know what to do."

The Wisteriark nodded, placing her hand against the tree and humming to it softly. Her claws plunged a bit into the bark. A soft, deep forest-green glow encompassed her form, flowing into the tree as he hummed. There was a rustle amidst the tree's roots as suddenly, they changed - it was as if their growth was accelerated and manipulated to plunge deeper into the ground, anchoring the tree further, as damaged roots were growing again. as the Wisteriark stabilized the tree, the trainer shifted the disturbed earth back to surround the roots - to the best of his ability.

The Wisteriark's aura intensified as it now flowed through the grass as well, regrowing whatever vegetation was damaged in the battle. She couldn't help herself.

Finally the aura settled down and the Deep Forest PokeMon withdrew her hand from the tree. The Victreebels retracted their vines, and hopped back into wherever. Again, the tree stood tall and proud. And all was right with the world.

Well, for now, at least. the trainer thought a he rose to his feet, dusting his trenchcoat off. Then, he proceeded to head back into the residential wing of the gym, to wash his hands - and also to see how Gardenia was doing.

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Katsuo:

                Dai lay in the thick vegetation and let her mind wander. Her interest in the young trainer had vanished as soon as the battle started. She had listened to the battle, not caring who won, for she had been proven wrong. The young trainer, Archer, was, in fact, a trainer hoping to challenge the Gym leader. Sniper had curled into a fetal position and fallen asleep. Dai watched his torso rise and fall with every breath. The artificial light shimmered and glinted off his slate gray fur, refracting little crystals of light on the surrounding foliage. Dai found herself both uncomfortable, and comfortable in this environment. It was pretty and warm, but she had never experienced a place so green and alive. It was unsettling.
                She twirled the stem of a flower she had plucked earlier. Trainer, she pulled off a petal. Gym Leader, she pulled off another. The soft yellow petals drifted to the ground, landing softly in the almost fluffy grass.
                Trainer. Gym Leader. Trainer. Gym Leader. Trainer. Gym Leader...
                 Trainer.
                 The last petal drifted morosely to the ground and Dai lifted the naked stem to her nose and sniffed it. Its scent was gentle and sweet. She lifted her gaze and peered at the trainer and Gym leader from under her long lashes. Her mind was still wandering and too far from her senses to register what they were saying, but she garnered enough to realize that Archer had bested the leader, despite the array of fantastic new Pokémon that Dai had never seen before, if only from the fact that the flower she had plucked indicated that Archer had won.
                Dai yawned, sat up, and jabbed a rigid finger into Sniper’s resting side. He screeched and leapt to his clawed feet, panting and snarling at the rude awakening. Dai snorted with laughter, which was soon replaced by indignant grunts and curses as Sniper tackled her to the ground. They wrestled for a bit before Sniper managed to pin Dai face down into the soft Earth. She squirmed for a bit, then conceded defeat to her friend. He hopped off her lithely and Dai rose to her feet, dusting off her clothes.
                She cocked her hip, placing one hand on her hip, and waited impatiently for Xyrem so they could leave the bright green atmosphere. Her eyes deliberately avoided Archer and the Gym Leader, preferring to pretend they didn’t exist rather than admit she had been wrong about Archer. She tapped her foot impatiently, and Sniper mimicked her impatient stance.


Stel:

Reclaiming her PokeBalls from the cell-regeneration machine, Gardenia made her way back into the residential wing - she needed to relax a little after this match. It was quite a rush - the opposing trainer was certainly tenacious. It's been a while since she's seen such defenses.

She stretched, gasping for a moment when she felt a pair of arms slip around her waist from behind, but soon relaxing into the embrace with a sound that almost sounded like a purr.

"All this time and you still catch me by surprise." she murmured.
"All this time and you still never learn to expect me." Gad purred softly, planting a gentle kiss on the gym leader's neck. She giggled. "One hell of a battle, huh?"

"You can say that again." Gardenia said, snuggling in. "It's been a while since I could battle no-holds-barred like that... I'm glad that you got to see it before you leave... So, who are you taking along?"

"Obviously taking Ely along." Gad murmured, "Along with Arano and Tethys. Grass, Fire and Water. Trio of Terror. As for the others... I don't know. I guess it depends on whether or not I'll take on a few of the gym leaders along the way to Pastoria. The way there seems to pass through Hearthome. I hear the gym leader there specifies in ghosts... Might need to get one of my other Crystal-types. Or a dark-type."

He felt a little shudder run through the gym leader, and pulled her a little closer to him. For reasons he could never fathom, Gardenia had an odd fear of ghost-types. She's been getting better about it over time, but she still had some kind of odd phobia about them all secretly planning to eat her soul, even though she knew such a thing was impossible. ("They feed on strong emotional energy, you silly thing, not souls." "I know, but that doesn't mean that they don't want to eat my soul. Don't confuse me with the facts.") Silly woman. He loved her to pieces anyway.

They stayed like that for a little while longer, before deciding to head back out into the battleground - in case another challenger came along. This time they walked out with their arms around each other's waists. To heck with protocol, they needed a bit of a cuddle before they said goodbye.


Belle:

The young Gym Leader's biting words struck him like a blow to the face. Or twelve. As the blood rose into his cheeks and Gardenia finished speaking, it was all he could to do keep himself from toppling over as he gave a stammered apology before slinking quietly back towards the stands, cheeks flushed as he avoided eye contact with either of the young women and busied himself with the various items in his pack.

When he'd settled all his pokeballs into their places on his belt, he reclined against the wall beside it and fiddled with the new badge: wiping it off on his shirt, testing the points against his fingerpads, flicking it to listen for the melody in the reverberating metal...
Quite satisfied with his fiddling, he fished around in his pack for some thing or another, tugging loose items free of the pack until he'd laden his hands with goggles, a wallet, a trainer ID, badge case- into which he promptly popped the new badge into its rightful place- all sorts of goodies.


SCT:



         Xyrem watched the battle with the intensity of a thousand angry lobsters...Or she would have been, if Dai hadn’t yanked her from slumber at some ungodly time in the morning. In fact, rather than being anything close to focused, her brain started to float.

         First, she looked around her, taking in the surrounding area. The only Gym she was used to was back home, and obviously that was just full of rocks. Pretty rocks, but rocks nonetheless. In a way, it was quite barren. Here, there was lush greenery everywhere. Yes, it was a Grass type Gym, but Xyrem never expected any actual building to be so alive. It seems like the kind of place where, if you were to lay down and drift off, time would cease to pass as you rested.

         Completely timeless. Unburdened by the shackles of entropy. That’s what this place was. No matter how fierce the battle, the area had its own zen to it.

         Her topic of thought quickly switched over to wonder how the other Gyms were. Did they all have their own odd mysticism to them? Or was this just special? Either way, she sat in the stands, nearly oblivious to the battle unfolding just yards away.

         ‘Vadumee sat at her side, carefully plucking at a blade of grass, peeling tinier and tinier strips away from it, until he could no longer hold the blade to rip it. When he got to that point, he threw it to the ground, and grabbed another one, and the process began anew. Even though the two of them had meditated, they had neglected to actually go through their daily training routine. Xyrem made a mental note to go back to the hill before the day was over, to make use of the gratuitous amount of space around the statues.

         Before she could pause her flow of thoughts, the battle was over. She had spent the whole thing just daydreaming away. So much for learning new things. ‘Vadumee stood, stretched, and looked down to his trainer.

         Xyrem, rather then noticing the avian fighter’s stare, was now focused on Dai, who looked pretty pissed off. A pang of guilt resided in her chest. She was the one that suggested that they followed Archer- and while at the time she assumed that it would put Dai’s mind at rest, what it ended up doing was grinding the weight of her previous misconception further and further into her psyche. Xyrem knew from experience- it was definitely one of the worst feelings out there.

         The redhead quickly brought herself to her feet, looking quickly to ‘Vadumee in order to give him the signal that it was time to go- not that he needed it, he sensed Dai’s impatience simply by her stance. Xyrem motioned her head towards the exit, and began to head over, her partner right behind her. She saw Archer, awkwardly fiddling with his items, and knew that it was bad form not to congratulate a trainer on a tough win, but weighed it against the already strong feelings of ire that Dai had towards the young male.

         Feelings aside, it would be wrong not to say something.

         “Hey, Archer,” Xyrem started, a friendly smile crossing her face, “Nice battle.”

         She hoped that the pleasantry wouldn’t upset her friend too much.


Belle:

Having let himself become lost in thought as the Togekiss looped around his head, he only snapped back into focus when the girls approached him. Flushing lightly, he rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand as he straightened up off the wall and turned to face them, brightening at Xyrem's affability in spite of how much the sour expression on Dai's face made him cringe inwardly with the knowledge he had done wrong by her.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." Fixing the girl with his best appreciative and slightly sheepish grin, he hesitantly turned towards the blond and forced eye contact with her, though it was broken by the occasional flicker towards the earthy floor.

"I um, I kinda want to apologize. I'm not sure why exactly, but I feel I owe you one."
Twisting his wrist in the grasp of the opposite hand, his gaze flickered between the two girls as he spoke.


Katsuo:

Dai simply stared at the young man. Her icey blue eyes oozing something that resembled disgust.
             "I um, I kinda want to apologize. I'm not sure why exactly, but I feel I owe you one."
Twisting his wrist in the grasp of the opposite hand, his gaze flickered between the two girls as he spoke.
Dai couldn’t help it; she burst out in loud guffaws. She doubled over with enormous bouts of laughter. This young man, no boy, he was in no way a man, was apologizing for nothing! Sniper rolled in the grass, his laughter coming out as loud hissing gasps. They cackled together for a solid five minutes, ignoring everyone around them, reveling in their mocking joy.
             “You… You’re apologizing for nothing?” Dai gasped between fits. “Good gods, don’t you have any pride? Any confidence? Oh for the love of Arceus, you need to grow some cahones pronto. I mean c’mon! Even Sniper knows how ridiculous this is.” She slapped Sniper on the back and they renewed their laughter.
             Wiping a stray tear from her eye, Dai listened as Sniper chattered something into her ear.
             Her laughter stopped, abruptly, and she looked at Archer, taking him in slowly, clear blue raking up his dusky form. “You know that ain’t a bad idea, Sniper,” Dai pat the Weavile’s head and approached Archer, watching him as if he were something to be molded.  “How’s this, uh Archer was it? I’m gonna help you grow a spine,” but the way she said it, implied that Archer had absolutely no say in the matter. “I’m gonna make you into a man your Pokémon can be proud of.” She punched him in the arm, playfully. Sniper grinned his eerily menacing grin.

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Stel:

"Well, no one coming in yet, my dear. I guess I'd better get moving. Sooner I leave, the sooner I may be back to you."
"Call me every once in a while, hmm?" A grin.
"Naturally, love…You think I could survive this journey without at least hearing your voice?"
"Oh, you could survive just fine." A giggle, and a little playful prod.
"But would I want to?" a smirk, and a counterprod. The gym leader almost squeaked, wrapping her arms around the trainer and kissing him deeply and passionately. It was their goodbye kiss for a while, and they wanted to savor it. Hopefully, the other trainers still in the gym were too wrapped up with each other to notice.
"Goodbye for now, lovely." He said, and, holding the grass-type trainer close for a little longer, the two finally parted ways, the trainer making his way to the door, vanishing past the curtain of vines. The trainer known as Gad was on his way.

~*~

Still savoring the taste of Gardenia's lips from their goodbye kiss, Gad made his way eastwards. Passing by the foot of the statue hill, he smiled at it one last time - It will probably be a while before he sees it again - as he made his way past it and onto Route 211.

Route 211 on the Eterna Side was perhaps one of the most impressive routes of Sinnoh – at least to him. The town maps only gave it a small footnote as 'A mountain path that tunnels through Mt. Coronet, one of the tallest mountains in Sinnoh' – but there was far more to it than that.

The route began as a short stretch of grassy land set between two small but crystal-clear lakes, their water reflecting the mountains around them and the light of the sun. As one walked past the lakes, the land seemed to start rising steadily and develop somewhat of a craggy edge as the path slowly made its way into the Coronet ridge.

And then, it abruptly ended, the ground suddenly giving way dramatically into an impressive canyon, carved over many years by the rapid currents of a river.  Moss and plant growth seemed to dominate the rocky ledges along the cliff faces, and even from rather high above – as one crossed the large, sturdy bridge that stretched across the gorge – one could hear the rush of the river below. Across the bridge, a smaller path snaked down to the canyon itself while the main route continued on for a while longer before terminating in a sheer wall of rock, a large cave opening up in the cliff face leading into the mountain itself.

It was the entrance to one of the many tunnels that crisscrossed the interior of the ridge – some part of the mountain's labyrinthine network of natural caves, others dug up and enhanced by humans to serve as crossways through the mountain. This cave entrance was one of the latter – dug up as part of Route 211 connecting Eterna City to the nearly obscure Celestic Town.

But Celestic Town wasn't the trainer's destination – and neither was the tunnel. Its location just happened to coincide with a really good point for what he intended to do.

He was going to take a shortcut across the mountain and into Hearthome.

He grinned, a PokéBall rolling into his hand – this one was halfway a dark shade of red and halfway lustrous black, with a reddish rim.

"Arano," he said, tossing the sphere up to the sky "Arise!"

The sphere burst open, the energy contained within coalescing into the form of an arthropod-like creature, loosely resembling a huge scorpion - though its long tail, terminating in what almost looked like a club tipped with multiple, wicked looking red spikes, trailed behind it rather than arching over it like a scorpion's tail would.

 Deep red plates of armor covered the top half of the creature's body, as well as its 'feet' and pincers - save for markings in a black upon them - matching the hue of the creature's underside and leg joints. Sharp claws in the same shade of venomous red as the creature's tail spikes adorned each of the creature's six legs - almost seeming to glisten unnaturally. The creature's eyes - which were quite large and developed - were the same shade of red - as were some markings on the pincers and the armored joints connecting the body to the legs.

The large creature - a human of Gad's general size could ride one comfortably and there would still be room for another rider if need be - seemed to almost stretch lazily, allowing the warm rays of sun to flood its body - the light and heat seeming to trigger a change in the creature's carapace. The deep, dark red faded into a light, sandy tan, the black changed into a reddish-brown while the vibrant red of the claws, spikes and eyes darkened gradually, eventually becoming a vaguely iridescent dark purplish-blue color. The transformation from the dark color scheme to the light color scheme was rather dramatic - but it was quite characteristic of the creature's species. Arano was a Scoruption, a Fire/Poison type PokeMon native to the great Jeweled Desert of Miato. By daytime, they adopted the light color scheme – and as sunset approached and night fell, their colors darkened. This served both the purpose of camouflaging the creature as well as regulating the absorption of heat. This allowed them to dominate both day and night in the harsh climate of the wastelands – a great benefit for the species.

The trainer smiled at the large arthropod, walking over to him and running a hand along the creature's headplate gently, the rough sensation of the Scoruption's chitinous carapace serving as a silent testimony for the many battles he has seen. Ever since he evolved from a skittish little Flarpion that Gad captured in the Jeweled Desert, Arano displayed a strange battle-lust – a desire to push its considerable defenses to the limits - he knew he wasn't invincible, but he'd be damned if he wouldn't try to be.

"Good morning, my friend." Gad smiled, and the Scoruption seemed to nod in greeting. "Today we conquer a mountain."

The creature turned to face the cliff face, clicking its pincers and flicking its tail upwards in a challenging stance. The trainer couldn't help but chuckle.

"We're headed to Hearthome, and we're going there over the ridge – and I couldn't think of any better climber for the purpose of crossing this mountain. So what say ye – think you can take on the tallest mountain ridge of Sinnoh?" He grinned, and the fire-type emitted a deep clicking noise, seeming to almost swell with determination for a few moments before settling down, lowering its body to the ground and its stinger to its more typical resting position, signifying to the trainer it was safe to climb onto its back.

"Thank you." Gad smiled, and climbed onto the fire-type's back, settling down between the second and third plate of the creature's body, right behind the pincer's connection to the body. The Scoruption stood up again, effortlessly, and began to move, its claws grasping for purchase against the cliff wall as it scaled it – relatively swiftly. Being a slow and armored creature, the Scoruption didn't have the grace and speed of a charging Rapidash – but it still moved fluidly up the mountain ridge, clinging to the rock face as it continued its ascent. Soon they would be crossing steep paths, ascending and descending passageways that were probably dangerous for anything other than the most skilled hikers – blazing (if you may pardon the pun) their own trail southeastwards, towards Hearthome City.

This journey has officially begun.


SCT:


   "How’s this, uh Archer was it? I’m gonna help you grow a spine.” It was less a suggestion than it was a command.
 
         “I’m gonna make you into a man your Pokémon can be proud of.” She punched him in the arm, playfully. Breifly, Xyrem began to wonder why Dai hadn't just been arrested for kidnapping, if this was the way she "made friends". Damage control time.

         "You don't have to come with us," Xyrem started, hoping she wouldn't anger Dai too much, "but hey, what's a journey if you're by yourself?" A short, thoughtful pause. "I mean, I was originally going to do the whole 'Big Sinnoh Journey' alone, but I guess you can say this one," she gestured to Dai, "robbed-slash-convinced me into letting her join in." 'Vadumee sighed lightly at the blonde's idea of human interaction, and, were there fewer humans in the vicinity, probably would have facepalmed.

         Xyrem looked to the young male for an answer. He seemed incredibly introverted, and so the idea of traveling with other humans, especially one who had been so pugnacious towards him prior to her invitation, might seem completely alien. Still, it would be nice to have another along on their insane journey.


Belle:

Perplexed by the blond's reaction, it took a minute for his expression to smooth over into one of cool patience. Reflexively tensing at her playful punch, he offered a small smile and a cocked eyebrow at her genial grinning and the weavile's toothy expression before looking back to Xyrem. At her he directed a polite smile that creased the beginnings of the dimples in his cheeks and stood up tall, burying his hands in his pockets before nodding graciously. Sparing only half a moment of hesitation to glance away at the togekiss that was hovering in circles around the trio, he chewed at his lip before mustering an answer for the girl.

"A valid point, miss. And, though it seems as though I wouldn't have had much say in the matter regardless," At this he spared a glance at the girl and weavile grinning mischievously at one another, "having company on the road would make a nice change of pace. I'd be glad to join you on your 'Big Sinnoh Journey'"
Inaudibly, he seemed to murmur something about a mild fear for what Dai might have had in mind along the way as he rubbed the back of his neck tentatively, though it was buried so far into what seemed like a sigh of relief that it hardly mattered.

[Rose]

OOC:: Sorry Sorry Sorry for the inactivity on all fronts. I haven’t been able to get into chat so I kinda stopped visiting… I’ll fix that. /OOC

               "A valid point, miss. And, though it seems as though I wouldn't have had much say in the matter regardless, having company on the road would make a nice change of pace. I'd be glad to join you on your 'Big Sinnoh Journey,'” he sighed with relief and Dai’s grin broadened.
               She looked at her Weavile; he was examining Archer closely, walking around him so as to get a look at all of him. Sniper scratched his chin as if there was something incredibly fascinating on Archer’s person. Dai snapped her fingers and hissed at him. He looked up at her confused and a little annoyed. Archer was not a target any longer he was a companion like Xyrem now and Sniper was not going to ruin this journey with his sticky claws. Dai allowed her look to intensify and Sniper returned to her side grumbling. Grinning, she turned and faced Xyrem and Archer.
              “What’re we all waiting for? For a shiny Dragonite to come and escort us to Hearthrome? Fat chance,” she paused, “Speaking of which, how the hell are we getting there?” Dai turned to Xyrem with a shadow of sheepishness. “I… None of my Pokémon can fly,” Dai held her head up high, challenging any of them to tease her.

[SineCosineTangent]

[OOC: Yay! We're alive~ <3]

         Xyrem breathed a sigh of relief. A new member on the journey- what a lark this would be. 'Vadumee seemed to relax a bit as well.

         “What’re we all waiting for? For a shiny Dragonite to come and escort us to Hearthome? Fat chance,” Dai said, after a minute of silence. “Speaking of which, how the hell are we getting there?” she turned to Xyrem with a shadow of sheepishness. “I… None of my Pokémon can fly,” Dai held her head up high, challenging any of them to tease her.

         Oh. Ooooh. Now it is -on-! Xyrem grinned, looking much like the perpetually sneaky Weavile that Dai always had by her side.

         "Not to worry, Dai. I have a Pokemon that can fly~," she started, her grin growing wider. She headed outside, hoping that the newly formed party would follow.

         As she cleared the doors of the Gym, she pulled out a Pokeball, a cunning grin still etched on her face.

         "You thought it was so hilarious to have me on the handles of a careening bike at speeds that I dramatically estimate were faster than the speed of sound..." Xyrem started, talking to no one in particular, "well feast your eyes on -this-! Arise, Prometheus!"

         On her command, a stream of energy shot out of the ball, quickly shaping into a large, flying dinosaur. Prometheus, who looked like he had been taking a nap in some form or another, did not seem all too happy to be brought out into the bright afternoon sun. Xyrem sauntered over to the Aerodactyl, 'Vadumee in tow, and softly rubbed his neck. Prometheus' teeth had been nicely filed, and it was obvious that the young girl took good care of him.

         With 'Vadumee's help, she hopped up onto the Aerodactyl, seconds later recalling the fire chicken into his ball for safety.

         "Well then. All aboard to Hearthome!~" Xyrem yelled cheerily, grinning like a maniac.