Soriana
Newbie Trainer
J'veux ton amour, et Je veux ta revanche...
Posts: 29
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Post by Soriana on Oct 26, 2010 19:55:40 GMT -8
Aeron hadn't even made it back to the edge of Mystic Forest, and already she'd found herself with not one, but two new handfuls. Breathing heavily, she plastered her rear end atop a convenient little sitting rock in plain view of both the Pokémon Laboratory and the seemingly endless stretch of woodland in front of her. In her hands she cradled two inconspicuous Pokéballs, one of which contained the Chikorita given to her by Maevia the Gardevoir, and the other--well... it's kind of a funny story. Not even ten steps away from the lab and Ron had found herself face-to-face with an obviously terrified Kecleon--who, by all accounts, had appeared to Aeron out of thin air. She--for the Pokémon was indeed female--had explained to Nerys that she'd recently escaped from a horrible laboratory and had all sorts of invasive tests conducted on her (this is all according to the Kecleon, whom Aeron isn't fully intent on trusting as of yet). She had inquired as to whether or not she might accompany Ron on her journey--she didn't care where they were going, as she felt that anywhere was better than Trilotics. Aeron, surprisingly, had agreed. At that point, Aeron's belief that Trilotics was all a dream had worn off, and she'd realized the gravity of her situation. Without any further ado, the trainer threw each of the Pokéballs into the air, calling on the Pokémon which inhabited them to come out. Moments later, the two aforementioned Pokémon--Chikorita and Kecleon--stood before her. Both were apparently relieved at their current situation--both had "escaped" (more of an umbrella term) unwanted laboratories. The Chikorita did not readily offer an introduction, and instead looked onward with a calm, peaceful demeanor. The Kecleon, as Aeron was aware, was quite the lively creature. But then, they had already met. "You again? Well, you're better than nothing... almost." Ron had to chuckle as a sarcastic smirk slid across her face. "Yeah, me again." She turned to the Chikorita. "You're not a very talkative fellow, are you? I'm Aeron."A sweet, feminine voice startled the trainer. She'd barely gotten used to the "Pokémon can talk" clause, and she wasn't looking forward to surprises. "Hello." It was the Chikorita. She stared at the Pokémon, eyebrow raised. "...And that's probably because you aren't exactly a fellow." The Chikorita shrugged. "Not exactly." The human threw up her hands. "No discrimination here, as long as you can pull your own weight." The Chikorita nodded mildly, while the Kecleon eyed Aeron suspiciously, as if she could sense something "off" about the human. "So... if you two don't mind, we need to come up with names. It would be preposterous to go around calling you 'Chikorita' and 'Kecleon' for the next... who knows how long." The Kecleon rolled its eyes. "I'm good with anything, so long as it's not utterly ridiculous. I have friends back in Hoenn who've been through some real cringers." She shuddered, as if recalling some rather dreadful monikers. The Chikorita, as Ron suspected, remained silent. "Right. How about 'Mirage' for you?" she offered, gesturing to the Kecleon, who laughed. "You're pretty clever, human. The irony will be most enjoyable to explore." "The human" sighed with amusement. Talk about a colorful character--oh, no. More irony. In a surprising twist, she gazed at the Chikorita with a fierce intensity of which she was unaware. The Pokémon, however, could see the spark in her pupils, and looked at her with incredulousness. She then uttered one word. "Kasumi." The Pokémon answered instantly, as if she had been born with that name. "Yes?" Aeron moved her head slowly, fighting back tears. In a low voice, she replied, "That'll do." She silently cursed herself for nearly revealing a weakness, before raising her right hand and pointing into the forest. "No point in putting it off anymore. We have to reach this place called Ruelda Town, and we're not getting any younger. Let's move!" Mirage scampered off ahead of the party, activating her Color Change and disappearing into the brush, save for her telltale stripe. Kasumi walked alongside Aeron, who was wisely pacing herself for the arduous journey looming over them.
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Soriana
Newbie Trainer
J'veux ton amour, et Je veux ta revanche...
Posts: 29
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Post by Soriana on Oct 27, 2010 21:38:13 GMT -8
As the group trudged along, Aeron began to evaluate her insecurities at the prospect of working with two Pokémon whose types were not her forte and were somewhat unfamiliar to her. While she felt she had done the admirable thing by honoring her friend's legacy and stepping out of her comfort zone, at the same time, the thought of attempting to train a Grass type troubled her. Her specialty, Fire, was Grass's greatest adversary, and now Aeron had to coach the latter to defend itself against the former. She would have to apply all her knowledge and expertise of the Fire type in order to teach Kasumi to beware of their strengths--and to exploit their weaknesses. Feelings of betrayal began to creep into Ron's psyche as she removed her Pokégear from its satchel. She activated it, accessed the map, and tabulated a few course corrections before replacing it. They'd made fair time--not great, but better than she'd expected. They'd even managed to avoid straying too far off their projected path--as far as Aeron knew. She estimated they were no more than ten minutes away from meeting up with Mirage, if all was well.
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Post by Taya on Oct 27, 2010 21:46:59 GMT -8
What Aeron didn't know was that there was a Pokemon that had been secretly following Mirage as soon as she had broken away from Aeron and Kasumi. The Pokemon had stayed fairly well away and hidden in the bushes as it tracked her, even though she was only a floating stripe. It only moved forward when it had to keep the lizard Pokemon in its sights. Just why it was following her was anyone's guess.
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Soriana
Newbie Trainer
J'veux ton amour, et Je veux ta revanche...
Posts: 29
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Post by Soriana on Oct 27, 2010 22:24:33 GMT -8
"So," Aeron piped up, "how're you doing?" The query was obviously directed at Kasumi, but the latter never had a chance to answer, as a floating red stripe unexpectedly burst out of the underbrush. "Jiminy," Ron gulped. "You could have given some warning." The Kecleon, who had presently reverted to her silver coloration, shook her body as if she were trying to ward off something. "Sorry. I was a little on edge." Aeron's left eyebrow shot up. "And why is that?" Mirage shrugged. "Just an instinctive reaction, I guess. I had a funny feeling. Don't tell me I'm the only one who gets nervous while traversing a densely wooded forest."
(I hope it wasn't ridiculously confusing to have different party members in different parts of the forest in the same thread.)
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Post by Taya on Nov 5, 2010 18:46:11 GMT -8
The unknown Pokemon continued after Mirage slowly, hiding out of sight as the Kecleaon regrouped with its trainer and the Chikorita. It listened intently to the conversation that followed, and its fur rose up on end. Had the odd Pokemon managed to notice it following her?
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Soriana
Newbie Trainer
J'veux ton amour, et Je veux ta revanche...
Posts: 29
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Post by Soriana on Nov 8, 2010 4:38:02 GMT -8
"Well, don't put so much emotion into it. Use some common sense." Mirage rolled her eyes. Yeah, right. Easy for her to say.
"Your intuition is your greatest ally." Mirage raised an eyebrow as the Chikorita spoke. "What?" Kasumi stepped forward so she could be at eye level with the Kecleon. "Never second-guess yourself. You're always right the first time."
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Post by Taya on Nov 8, 2010 21:13:58 GMT -8
Just then, a chuckle could be heard, not coming from a single member of the party. The Pokemon stalking the Kecleon finally showed itself, seeming to have been amused by the tiny upset that it had caused. The trainer should have had faith in her Pokemon, and it seemed that the oddly colored Growlithe needed to point it out, "You ought to have listened to her. You should have had better faith in her," it said, eying Aeron with narrowed eyes.
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Soriana
Newbie Trainer
J'veux ton amour, et Je veux ta revanche...
Posts: 29
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Post by Soriana on Nov 11, 2010 18:23:29 GMT -8
Aeron's eyes glimmered after the Pokémon had revealed itself. As an upset Mirage began to complain, and as Kasumi stood silently in place, nodding her head in deference to the newcomer, the trainer activated her Pokédex.
"Growlithe, the Puppy Pokémon..."
Ron seemed to have largely ignored the Growlithe's criticism. She appeared to have been preoccupied with the Pokémon's highly unusual coloration, a scheme she'd never encountered in the known regions. I almost failed to recognize you.
"Thanks for the advice, but I barely know these two. I don't even know how long I'm going to be trapped here, wherever 'here' is." Still spouting with anger, Mirage butted in. "Why were you following me unannounced?!" The Kecleon, in actuality, wasn't angry with the Growlithe for following her so much as outsmarting her.
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Post by Taya on Nov 11, 2010 19:17:33 GMT -8
The Growlithe snorted distastefully at the trainer's statement. "You better start listening to them, rather you know them or not. You're the newcomer here, not them," it barked at Aeron, before turning to Mirage. "My apologies. I just noticed that you must have also been one of the Pokemon to escape The Muse Laboratory, but I wasn't entirely sure until you returned to visibility. I didn't mean to startle you."
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Soriana
Newbie Trainer
J'veux ton amour, et Je veux ta revanche...
Posts: 29
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Post by Soriana on Nov 11, 2010 19:55:53 GMT -8
Ron's eyes were now completely ablaze, and her demeanor had changed quite drastically. She wasn't entirely angry, but very invigorated. Fire was her domain, as it was the domain of the Pokémon that stood in front of her. Although she wouldn't say it out loud at that moment, she welcomed its presence, even if its sternness ruffled her feathers.
"Good point." Sometimes Aeron just didn't know when to hold her tongue.
Mirage seemed to have calmed down a bit after realizing she'd just run into a comrade. She shrugged. "No harm done. I'm glad you got out."
Kasumi sensed Aeron's keen interest in the Growlithe, and decided to speak up for her trainer. "Aeron Nerys is most honored to meet you. She harbors respect for all Pokémon, but it is the Fire type which will always stir her soul."
Ron's jaw nearly dropped. She at least had enough sense to nip impending embarrassment in the bud. How did she...?
It was infinitely better that Aeron didn't know Kasumi had simply made a lucky guess.
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Post by Taya on Nov 11, 2010 20:06:31 GMT -8
The Growlithe chuckled as it observed Aeron, though it was quite glad that the 'Ghostly Kecleon,' as it had heard from one of the professor's assistants, had not been too upset with it having followed her. It could certainly unnerve anyone, especially because she had been nearly invisible when it had started following her.
The puppy Pokemon titled its head as it started at the human before it, flicking its tail suddenly. It heard Kasumi's words loud and clear, though it didn't know if the grass Pokemon was actually correct. "I am not so entirely sure that you hold respect for all Pokemon," it stated. "You didn't seem to appreciate her words, when she was correct in that I have been following her all this time." When the fire Pokemon referred to a 'her,' it motioned with its head toward Mirage.
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Soriana
Newbie Trainer
J'veux ton amour, et Je veux ta revanche...
Posts: 29
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Post by Soriana on Nov 11, 2010 20:17:21 GMT -8
Nerys, still visibly stunned, assumed a more passive stance.
"I'm not the most trusting person around. It took a lot of effort to become comfortable with all the Pokémon I've traveled with throughout my career as a trainer. That said, it was a stupid mistake, especially in a place I'm unfamiliar with, and because..." Her voice trailed off. Oh, just admit it, you coward.
"As of right now, I'm not the expert. I'm the rookie all over again."
Kasumi had refrained from speaking since the Growlithe had replied to her. She was very meek, and had already done more orating than she'd ever done in one day.
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Post by Taya on Nov 12, 2010 16:45:31 GMT -8
The Growlithe observed Aeron closely, noticing that her demeanor was changing from the confident one that it had witnessed before it had shown itself to everyone.
Oddly, the fire Pokemon offered her a smile of sorts, when she was finally able to admit to them that she was out of her comfort zone in this region. "It is a great step to be able to admit such a thing," the Growlithe said, an approving tone in its voice. "But because you're a rookie here, you're going to need all the help you can get. That is what your Pokemon are here for, if you are able to trust them." It flicked its tail. "And even other Pokemon, like myself, and other humans too, if you can find the right ones." The wild Pokemon seemed to enjoy giving helpful advice. It decided that Aeron wasn't all bad.
"You know, I came out this way looking for a trainer," it stated suddenly.
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Soriana
Newbie Trainer
J'veux ton amour, et Je veux ta revanche...
Posts: 29
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Post by Soriana on Nov 12, 2010 22:15:52 GMT -8
She just had to chuckle. The Growlithe was certainly dispensing good advice, but it was the type of advice she'd heard before and never followed because it didn't "jive with her style." Doing things her own way hadn't cost her much in the past, but now it was time for a change. A change that Aeron wasn't ready for, but had to face all the same. The stakes were upped to the max, and Ron knew she'd be an idiot not to heed anything she was told by anyone. It was time to grow up.
"Did you? Well, it looks like you found one." She smiled back at the Growlithe.
Apparently, Aeron's subtle gestures weren't quite what Mirage had in mind. "What she means is, do you want to travel with us?" The Kecleon interjected, flashing a silly grin at the Pokémon.
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Post by Taya on Nov 12, 2010 22:43:05 GMT -8
Was that a smirk? It certainly seemed that the Growlithe was now wearing one on its face, but this wasn't a bad thing. It looked between Aeron, Kasumi and Mirage, and then nodded its head. "I believe you may need all the help you can get," it said to the trainer, though this time it held a lighter tone, almost as if it was teasing her. There was some seriousness to it, but not nearly as much. It seemed that she was doing fine and already had two Pokemon that had their heads on straight. "I would like to come with you, yes, if you will have me. All I need is a Pokeball."
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