Ask to Join Alola League (Pokemon RP)

[TheWanderer]

"Of course," input Ed, who had been snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden arrival of the newcomer, "if your plans are solid already, then you might not need to change them. If something unexpected occurs, a good plan should be able to pick up the slack. As for home turf advantage, all I can think of would be supporters. Obviously, Alolans would be more familiar with Alolan Pokemon, but you could say the same about Unovans and Unovan Pokemon." Kay nodded behind him, agreeing with his trainer's points.

 

[Martin Pine]

Finion was surprised to not only have one person reply to his query but two, the young trainer listening to what each person had to say before nodding slightly. It wasn't like he was trying to fault the system or anything he just kind of wanted to know. He got a lot more information than he had originally set out to get but it was all very useful. Angel's suggestion of changing plans midway through a battle would be risky and difficult to pull off but possible. Ed's suggestion of trainers being familiar with Pokemon from their region was an interesting theory. If it was true Finion was lucky to have Pokemon from at least 3 different regions on his team. "Thanks" He gave a genuine smile to the two of them, glancing to the Pokemon with them and then down to his own.

"Hey Sparky calm down" The Pachirisu was holding onto Finion's leg, a little bit nervous due to the amount of Pokemon and people in the room. Usually Sparky didn't really mind crowds so it must've been how tightly packed they all were. "You'll be fine, don't freak out" Finion spoke in a caring tone, bending down to scoop he electric type up in his arms, cradling him and slowly calming him down.

 

[ThePlayfulFox]

Alice sat there, listening. She couldn't help but look at them. "You all are forgetting something," She commented, "People that have never been to Alola before would have a serious disadvantage." She held up her Z-Ring. "This can turn the tides of a battle. If you've been to Alola before, then you might have one, but if you are brand new and came here for the first time, you wouldn't even know what these are." Alice then sighed. "However, it isn't an advantage that only Alolans have, but those who have been here in the past."

 

[Gold The Dragonite]

Having listened to Alice with Z-Rings, Jake said: "There's also Mega Rings and Bracelets. Mega Pokemon could easily shred through a team, whereas Z-Moves only powers up one move." He said. Athena then came out of her Great Ball, and attempted to tell something to Jake. "Oh yeah, there's Battle Bonds as well!" Jake remembered.

 

[TheWanderer]

"Flashy gimmicks." dismissed Ed, "They may be inherently powerful, but they still take a level head and cool judgement to use effectively. I've found that people that have some sort of special trick are more than twice as likely to be either overconfident or to waste their trick at the first hint of danger. I've never put too much stock in stuff like that myself: my team and I do our best to win with our own strength. Though I don't know too much about battle bonds. Would anyone care to elaborate?"

 

[ThePlayfulFox]

Alice narrowed her eyes. "Very well then. I guess I'll take my leave. Just don't get upset when you get defeated from a 'flashy gimmick'. Come on Lulu, let's go somewhere else. It's starting to get a little crowded." She said. Her electric rodent flew behind her, looking at the crowd with a worried expression. Alice sighed and went to her room to read a little.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Angel sighed at the ignorance of the individual about the Z-Moves, but at least he was willing to listen about the Battle Bond deal. Stretching, she tapped the Togekiss and she got off, floating over to Primarina's back and sleeping soundly after making a little spot in the singing seal's damp fur. Angel and her Zoroark stood up in sync and walked over to Ed, a smirk on her face as she elaborated on what Battle Bond was all about.

"Battle Bond is a phenomenon that happens when a trainer and their Pokemon share a sufficient enough bond, and they both become one in a sense. I will be able to see and hear through my dear Zorro here, and I can feel his pain. We become in sync and I move as he does. He also changes his appearance, his Night Daze and Dark Pulse get stronger, and he moves about a tad faster and is generally a lot tougher than other Zoroark. Sadly, even though abilities aren't affected, it takes concentration for his Illusion ability to work, which the phenomenon inhibits for some reason," she took a breath and fished out her purse for a camera and hooked it to her Holo Caster, which then showed a hologram of a video of her Zoroark using the Z-Move Black Hole Eclipse during a training session. "As for the 'flashy gimmick', I teach how to use Z-Crystals and about Dark- and Fairy-Types, and how to dance and do yoga throughout several regions already. During this training session, I had accidentally swallowed up the items around the blast and destroyed them effortlessly."

The video showed her and her Zoroark striking some poses before Zoroark's aura enveloped him in dark energy, which was then sent to the sky and expanded in a large black hole. It sucked in the light posts after breaking the foundations they were on as well as uprooting small trees and large boulders. It also sucked up her Mimikyu, who was using Protect. A small orb with Mimikyu seen inside could be seen getting sucked in. The black hole then exploded, shattering the protection sphere around Mimikyu and slamming her to the ground, damaging her. The light posts, from 9 foot tall light beacons now crumpled into unnatural positions and flattened, fell back to the ground and boulders and trees were reduced to dust and twigs. Her Mimikyu was also knocked out. She turned off her Holo Caster and her camera and set them back in her backpack before going on.

"I had no idea about the power behind the Dark-Type Z-Move, and wanted to try it out. That was the resulting damage that happened and I ended up paying for the light posts I had accidentally decimated. You say 'flashy gimmick' when I had nearly destroyed our surroundings. I say you learn about them before you make any judgement against them," she then stepped back a bit, allowing the man and his Pokemon some space.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Robin watched the whole conversation go down, leaning against a nearby wall. He sort of wanted to head up to his room, but he found the discussion on z-moves and Megas and Battle Bonds to be way too interesting to pass up. In truth, Robin had always wanted to figure out how any of those things worked. In his travels, he had managed to figure out that Mega Evolution required certain stones. But those were really rare to find, and the people that Robin had talked to that had found them were tight-lipped on where they got them. And Battle Bonds, well, Robin knew even less about those. Only that they made a Pokemon stronger, and had something to do with the bond between the trainer and Pokemon? Well, it had to be something more then that, right? Robin considered his relationship with most of his Pokemon to be pretty close. As for Z-moves, well, Robin hoped to spend more time in Alola to figure out how they worked. And how to get a Z-Crystal.

The young man watched, quite impressed, as the lady that had all of her Pokemon out showed a video of her Zoroark using a Z-move. Yep... that level of destruction about matched the other Z-move Robin had seen in another tournament. Except that one was a water-type Z-move. Still, it had been pretty destructive.

"Yo, forgive me for butting in..." Robin said, entering into the conversation. By this time, Cherry had finally woke up and was sitting on her trainer's shoulder. "But I kinda side with this guy."
Robin gestured to Ed.
"Don't get me wrong, Z-moves are super tough! I'd hate to be on the receiving end of a move like that. And even though I've never seen it, I'm sure Battle Bonds are also pretty intense. But as tough as they are, both have their downsides, right? You said that with Battle Bonds, the trainer feels the pain that the Pokemon feel? That can really throw you off if you're not ready for that. And in the video you just showed, it looks like Z-moves take a little bit of time to set up, right? Your opponent knows what's coming. Not to mention that both of these only effect one Pokemon, and this is a tournament of up to six. If a trainer really knows what they're doing, they could be able to come back from that." Robin said. His expression turned a little sheepish, and he scratched his head with a joking smile.
"Then again, maybe I'm only saying this because my Pokemon can't do any of those fancy stuff like Battle Bonds or Z-Moves, and I'm trying to make myself feel like I still have a chance of winning the tournament." Robin joked.

 

[Zixal]

Collax was leaning back and listening quietly to the exchanges. He wasn't entirely certain in his battle strategy, as it had always been rather straightforward before his experiences on Lasryn. Despite this, Collax was confident. Not confident that he would be victorious over these various, obviously skilled trainers. No, confident that he would go down swinging, that he would give them a show of power. Victory wasn't his end goal- the experience was. That had always been Collax's goal- experience. To travel the world, to see everything, to do everything. Not to become powerful or some genius battler. Not to break some sort of record. To simply participate, and to be able to say "I've done that" in nearly every situation. That was why he was here. Not because he was accomplished, but because he was here to meet good trainers, fight well, and enjoy himself. Even if he never made it past the first match.

With all the talk of Z-moves and mega evolution, Collax began to realize just how vastly outclassed he was. Though he had a Z-crystal, thanks to his experience in the island challenge, he never practiced or used Z-moves with any of his Pokemon. Yes, he knew they were powerful. Yes, he knew it was a game-changing tactic. But it didn't pique his interest. He had tried it, and that was all he wanted to go through. Trying it. And he did not enjoy it, so he didn't bother repeating it.

Collax's Z-crystal was embedded into the side of his grey trilby. For him, it was nothing more than an accessory. And this talk of Z-moves and mega evolution was beginning to wear on him. He spoke up from the chair he sat in.

"Mega evolution's prolly the toughest of the three to deal with. Lasts a whole battle, and can make one Pokemon strong enough to wipe an entire team. On the other hand, Z-moves are super-powerful one-shot moves that only work once a battle. Yeh, can hurt like the dickens. Let's be honest, everyone 'ere's gonna be trying to pull out all the stops in their battles. This is a tournament, ain't it?" He chuckled, stretching in his chair.
"I'm sayin' it now. Don't matter what technique y'all pull, there's always gonna be another one tucked up the other guy's sleeve. It's just how tournaments like these roll. I ain't here to win, y'all. I'm just here to play. That's what we all out to be here for. Sure, go for the win, but don't let it ruin yer experience. It's a competition. Let's keep it a friendly one."

Barkley nodded his approval for Collax's words. The rest of the crew expressed their emotions in a variety of ways, Lan and Duke both chirping in response, as if to say they were on his side, while Scrat, Viola, and Majia all looked at each other and smiled. All six of them had come there for the same reason Collax had: The experience. They would obviously give it their all, to enjoy themselves to the fullest, but their end goal was no different from Collax's. Win, or do not, just enjoy it all the way.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Angel looked over to Robin with a raised eyebrow before breaking into a smile when he finished his thoughts. She then looked over to Collax and never really thought a young man of his standing would say something so profound. It seemed like he wasn't here to win, but here to have fun. She enjoyed that about people. Able to have a bit of fun in something as serious as this. Although, she was more concerned about people's understanding of how Z-Crystals worked and their destructive tendencies and their respect towards the concept in general. She replied to Robin about his input, agreeing with Collax about the Z-Move's limitation.

"Yes, this gentleman here is correct. You can only use a Z-Move once per battle. The same Z-Move could do less or more damage depending on the attack it was based on. If your Pokemon uses Thief, the resulting Z-Move will be weaker and will deal physical damage than a move like Night Daze, where it will deal special damage and will be stronger due to the power of the move it originated from. And yes, bit of a set up, but you can quickly get the poses down after some training, so that the build up of Z-Power gets faster and so your Pokemon has more control over the move. These Z-Moves can target multiple Pokemon with their destructive tendencies, but with the added control, you can attack one. As for Battle Bond..." a slightly creepy smirk not befitting her looks or her character stretched across her face. Her Zoroark matched the smirk, but his eyes were glowing red. As if she had contacts, it seemed like Angel's own black eyes had a glint of red in them, as well. "Well, we'll just show you in the tournament. It's actually super fun once you get into it. Then again, I may not look it, but I do enjoy my fair share of adrenaline and action. When I sync up with my Zoroark, I feel the energy coursing through my body as he lets out his attacks. Although," her smirk disappeared and a contemplative frown appeared in its place. "Yes, I do feel his pain and his exhaustion, as well as his instincts running wild. When we do the Battle Bond, it will be because we are sure of our victory or as a last resort. It is very taxing on both of us and we can't keep it up in the battle. Plus, we may mentally snap and get extra brutal, so I am terribly sorry in advance if we damage your Pokemon badly. The thrill is super fun, but the after effects are not so fun," she chuckled a bit before finally shutting up.

The rest of her Pokemon were lazily sitting around now, with the Togekiss now awake and watching everyone. Her Mimikyu hopped off of a chair and walked towards Collax, tilting the raggedy Pikachu head a little in curiosity. She searched underneath her rag for something and pulled out a star she had stitched up and made into a plush with some cotton she had "found". She held the star out to Collax, a chirping noise that sounded like a cute giggle emanated from the rag.

 

[Gold The Dragonite]

"Honestly, I think it's mostly down to obedience. For example, there's a chance that a more obedient Charizard could beat a poorly cared for and reckless Mega Charizard Y or X, or a similar one with a Z-Crystal. My point is, it's down to the trainer's training and care." Jake said, patting Gold's head. He then grabbed a Dusk Ball and a Poke Ball and sent out Geo and Sunny. Sunny started to saunter towards the Togekiss, whilst Geo protectively stood in front of Jake, eyeing all the Pokemon. "As for "flashy gimmicks", I just think of them as part of a strategy," he said while ruffling Geo's fur, attempting to calm him down.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Robin watched as Angel's appearance seemed to change, become more sinister. It was only for a moment, but it still surprised Robin. Then again, taking another look at the lady's team, maybe it shouldn't have been such a surprise. She did have quite a few dark-types, and the type of Pokemon a trainer had somewhat tended to reflect the trainer's personality. It definitely made Cherry shirk back nervously. But just as it appeared, her expression had gone back to normal. Robin couldn't stop a small, surprised laugh at the lady's changes in expression. She would definitely be interesting to battle against.
"Well, that's good to know. If we face off, I'll be sure to give it my all then." Robin said to Angel. Looking around at the rest of the group, Robin decided that these were a pretty good group of people to be having the chance of battling.
"The name's Robin, by the way. It's real nice meeting you all, but I'm getting kinda tired of lugging all this stuff around. I'll see you all on the battlefield!" Robin said, adjusting his backpack. He smiled, then turned and made his way onto the elevator.

 

[TheWanderer]

Ed began to walk to the door of the room, ready to leave, when he stopped and turned around. "Megas, Battle Bonds, Z-Moves." he said, "They are powerful, and I don't doubt that you can use them effectively, but at the end of the day, they are still Pokemon and moves, not automatic win buttons. I don't expect any of you to hold back during the tournament, but just remember this one thing: nothing can make you or your team invincible. Now, if you don't mind, I'll take my leave." With that, he turned back and left, closing the door behind him and Kay.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Reaching his room, Robin let out a sigh and dumped his backpack on a chair. Cherry jumped out of his arms and on to a nearby desk, while Robin fell back onto the bed. It felt so... Soft. So comfortable. Robin had spent the last few months backpacking, so it had been a very long time since Robin had been in an actual bed. Part of him wanted to just lay there and stay there... But the trainer had just spent the last few hours napping in the sun! If he wasn't careful, he was liable to sleep the whole day away. Sitting back up, be walked over to the window. Well, while he was here he might as well try to make some money. Taking a Pokeballs from his belt, he sent out Sam. His Farfetch'd appeared in a flash of light. Sam was a relatively normal looking Farfetch'd, with only one major difference. He had no leek, and instead wore a small belt. On this belt was a small green wakizashi sword. Taking his sword from his bag, Robin laid it down in front of his bird Pokemon.
"Hey man. I'm gonna get out of trouble if they find this in my room. You think you can fly it down and stick it in that tree over there?" Robin asked. Sam looked down at the sword, then back up to his trainer with a skeptical look on his face. As if to say, really, man?
"Come on, dude." Robin said, a small smile on his face. The Farfetch'd sighed and grabbed the sword in his feet before flapping his wings and flying out the window. Robin watched as the Farfetch'd glided down to a nearby tree and hid the sword in it's branches. The blue haired trainer smiled when the Farfetch'd returned.
"Thanks, Sam." Robin said. The Farfetch'd gave a little salute, and Robin reached into his bag to pull out a smaller, day pack. "Come on guys!"
Cherry looked up from where she was sitting on the desk, as if to say but we just got here! Still, Cherry quickly ran over and jumped onto her trainer's shoulder. Sam was content walking behind his trainer. The trio made it to the elevator and headed back into the lobby.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Angel looked at Ed with a raised eyebrow before he left. She crossed her arms before looking up at a screen in the meet-up room that was on the logo for the Alola Tournament. "I wasn't saying they were win buttons. I was expressing the importance to respect them. But oh well," she shrugged before looking at her Pokemon and walking back to her spot and sitting down, her legs beginning to feel cramped from standing up for several minutes already.

She looked over at Jake and smiled a bit at his thoughts before chiming in with her own. "If a Mega Pokemon becomes reckless during a fight, they will have a chance of winning or, if its in a official tournament, the state of the Pokemon will cause a pause in the battle and they will have to calm down the Pokemon and revert them back to normal, as they are not ready to fight yet without going crazy and possibly killing their opponent, the opponent's trainer or their own, or their audience. A more obedient Charizard may be taught how to strategize, but they won't be taught how to deal with a maniacal Pokemon hellbent on actually killing everything they see, especially when fueled by Mega Evolution energy. And, if the Pokemon was poorly cared for, they wouldn't be able to Mega Evolve in the first place. But yes, it always comes down to how the Pokemon are treated, and the powerful moves and phenomenon are a part of a strategy. There is timing involved."

Togekiss, who was resting on Primarina's damp seal fur, looked over at Sunny and waved her wing at her cheerfully. The Primarina eyed the Alolan Raichu, as she could feel the sparks radiating from Sunny, but stayed calm as she approached them.

 

[Zixal]

Collax sighed. He wasn't the biggest fan of strategy talk. He especially didn't like it when some people took this stuff too much to heart. Yeah, Pokemon battles are a huge sport that people love to get involved in, but come on. It's not war. Nobody needs to act like anything was too serious. Though, it was fair for him to think that nothing everyone had their own opinions on stuff. This topic had to be one of them.

He sat up, and Duke buzzed down to sit on top of his head. As he did, the Mimikyu hobbled up to him and presented him with something. It looked like a star of some kind. With a warm smile, he reached for the plush star and held it up.

"You make this, little fella? It's nice, I like it. Thanks!" He grinned at the little ghost-type. Collax always had a soft spot for small Pokemon, even though he knew they could still very well be powerful. He just always liked them small. They were cute to him, and he just enjoyed their company. That was partly why Duke was always part of his team. Being a Ledian, Duke wasn't commonly seen as a particularly powerful Pokemon. But Collax didn't keep him around for battle, even though Duke could hold his own in one. He kept the ledian around because he liked it. No particular reason, he just liked it.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Walking through the lobby again, Robin noticed that they were still going on with the conversation. Sam took a bit of interest in the different trainers and their Pokemon, but mostly just stuck with following Robin out the door.

Now that he was outside the hotel, Robin climbed up the tree that Sam had placed his sword and grabbed it. He was going to need it for what he was about to do. The trainer walked a bit of a distance away, near the town square. Taking note of the amount of people walking about, Robin smiled. This was a good place. Kneeling down, Robin reached into his bag and pulled out two things. The first was a metal can. The second was a sign which read:

Move Tuitor! 800 P per move.
- Cut
- Slash
- Leaf Blade
-Psycho Cut
- More!
TMs for sale! Donations appreciated!

Now that his sign was set up, Robin began laying out TMs from his bag, each one marked with the price he was selling it at. He had managed to get a few that weren't super common, like Metronome and Soft-Boiled. Robin also got a few strong TMs, like Hyper Beam and Earthquake. All TMs that worked, and Robin had found or traded for on his journeys. Robin took a step back and looked at the little shop he had set up, then smiled and turned to Sam and Cherry.
"Now, only to bring in people." Robin said.
"Fetch, fetch..." Sam muttered, shaking his head.

"You ready?" Robin asked, unsheathed sword in hand. A few feet away, Q the Gallade stared back with a smirk on his face. His elbow blades were unsheathed, and the Gallade nodded to his trainer. The two took a few steps closer to each other, when Robin lunged forward and slashed downward with his sword. The two began fighting, and while it was clearly rehearsed the fight was still cool and showy, and began to attract attention.

 

[Zixal]

Collax kicked his feet off the table, sticking the plush star in his coat pocket. Duke buzzed off of his head and clung back onto Barkley's upper branches as the rest of the team began to regroup after mingling. Collax tipped his trilby at the various trainers in the meeting room.

"Well, if we're done with the meet'n'greet, I guess I'll be headin' outside. Never liked bein' inside for too long. If y'all wanna come get some fresh air, feel free to join me." And with a parting grin, he stepped out the meeting room doors.

It didn't take nearly as long for Collax and his team to find their way out of the hotel than it did for them to get to the meeting room in the first place. Collax had a knack for memorizing terrain and the environment. Once he had a thorough explore of the hotel, he knew his way around it. It didn't change the fact that he didn't find it all too comfortable, being so cramped. He would always be a boy for the outdoors.

The wild boy exited the hotel followed by his posse of Pokemon, all of them taking a moment to stretch and enjoy the fresh air. They hadn't been inside for that long, but they were much like Collax in the sense that they weren't any more comfortable indoors than he was. Collax was glad to be outside again.

Almost immediately, though, he noticed he wasn't the only one. One of the other trainers had set up a makeshift move tutor a distance away from the hotel, and was now facing his Gallade in an obviously choreographed but still flamboyant swordfight. This made Collax smile. He didn't have much money, if any at all, but it was inviting nonetheless. So he marched his way towards the swordfight.

Collax's posse of Pokemon began to drift apart as they reached the square, separating into groups. Viola and Majia floated and fluttered off together to get an aerial view and meet a passing wild Vivillon and Butterfree. Scrat clambered off with Duke buzzing right behind him, accompanied by Lan. Barkley alone stuck with his partner, stomping behind Collax in a surprisingly nonthreatening manner for such a large Pokemon.

Upon reaching the swordfight, Collax crossed his arms and watched with a smile, just appreciating the connection Robin seemed to have with the Gallade. Collax always had respect for trainers like that, ones that connect closely with their Pokemon. Ones that develop close relationships with them. After all, Collax and Barkley had literally grown up together. They thought almost perfectly alike, and could understand each other with relative ease. The Pokemon language was hard enough as it was, but it wasn't that troublesome when the two were essentially siblings.

Collax continued to watch the performance with glee, as did Barkley. They certainly seemed pleased with it.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

The Gallade and Human's right continued, with Q beginning to drive back Robin. By now, Q began using some of the moves that were being advertised on the sign Robin had, such as Leaf Blade and Psycho Cut. Robin was sure to dodge and block every move that came his way carefully with his blade. He even had some visual comedy thrown in, when at one point the two punched each other's fist only to step back and shake their hands out in pain, Jackie Chan style. Finally, the fight ended when the two kicked each other in the gut, only to fall back. Robin and Q stood back up and bowed to the crowd that had formed, and the people watching began to clap. A few people came forward and began to drop money in the can Robin had laid out, while others began to inspect the TMs Robin had laying out. Robin sat down behind the TMs, sheathing his sword and waiting to see if people had any questions about the prices. Q scanned the crowd, noticing the different Pokemon people had and paying special attention to strong-looking ones. When he set his eyes on Collax's Trevanant, the Gallade couldn't help but to smirk. He tapped his head, Q's way of saying "hello there, you look strong", then turned to Robin. The Gallade's expression shifted from one of cocky excitement to one more of boredom.
"Lade, lade..." Q said.
"Yeah, I know buddy. We can train later." Robin said, glancing over at Q and smiling. Q simply rolled his eyes and shook his head, then leaned on a nearby lamppost and watched Robin interact with the people. Cherry had managed to nestle in Robin's small pack during the fight, and stuck her head out to see what was going on. Sam, on the other hand, had nested on top of the lamppost and looked like he was about to take a nap.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Mimikyu smiled happily and nodded while making a cute, yet eerie giggle as Collax took her present. Jumping around in a circle, she began to follow Collax around, following close behind him as he exited the guest room.

Angel relaxed somewhat before getting antsy. She looked to see her Pokemon were getting cramped inside the spacious guest room, so she stood up and silently followed Collax and his posse of Pokemon out of the guest room, and she went outside to breathe and train. Her Pokemon followed along, with her Togekiss waving goodbye to Sunny as they departed. She caught a glimpse of Robin training with his Gallade in a showy sword fight with a stand to sell certain TMs and teach moves. Raising an eyebrow, she smiled and thought that maybe she could help somewhat. She thought about it for a second, and then realized she wouldn't be able to help much, and it would look like she was trying to grab people away from his stand.

Meanwhile, Mimikyu was standing around Collax and his Trevenant. She looked up at the tree Pokemon and began climbing up his bark. She climbed up to his shoulder and made herself comfortable. If Barkley or Collax noticed, she would wave at them before settling down.

Angel just chuckled as she peeked over to see her Mimikyu on the Trevenant. Shaking her head, she let her Pokemon roam around. Greninja stayed underneath the shadow of a nearby tree, Zoroark stayed with Angel, Togekiss began flying around and making aerobatic maneuvers, Primarina rested near Greninja's lurking spot, and Incineroar went up to Robin's Gallade and growled playfully. He wanted to train against him. How cute.

 

[Zixal]

Collax smiled and applauded at the end of Robin's performance. He was impressed. Collax had seen a lot of things in his short lifespan thus far, but he still knew to respect skill when he saw it. It's not like he was able to do it himself. Even as the two of them finished their bout, they did it with flair. Collax could only stop to appreciate it. He glanced over at the selection of TMs, not intent on buying any, mostly because he didn't have any money at all for them, but also because he was comfortable with his Pokemon's moves. They knew what they were doing, and he was fine with that.

Barkley, meanwhile, nodded in acknowledgement to the Gallade. He then turned his head to watch the Mimikyu clamber up him. The Trevenant chuckled, gladly allowing the raggedy Pokemon to climb on him. To Barkley, it was entertaining, and he enjoyed being what he was around smaller, more playful Pokemon like this Mimikyu. It brought him joy, allowing the relatively tiny Pokemon to frolic around on him. He even remembered when he himself was a Phantump, tiny and playful. Like Collax, he had grown and matured, but that never changed the fact that he was playful at heart, just like his human companion.

The Togekiss' aerial acrobatics caught the attention of Majia the Mismagius and Viola the Volcarona. The ghost and insect floated and fluttered towards the flying Pokemon with interest, both sharing their greetings as they approached. The two seemed inseparable, Majia and Viola.

Collax, meanwhile, had stepped towards the TM shop Robin had set up. He only really glanced at the selection, then turned his attention back to Robin.

"Hey there. I don't think we actually got ta really introduce ourselves t' each other. Name's Collax. Collax Edgerigo. Pleasure ta meet ya." He said, holding his hand forward for a greeting shake. His grey trilby tipped over his face, slightly, letting his shaggy and unkempt brown hair flop out.
"That was some fancy fightin' ya did there with yer Gallade. Nifty stuff. So, did ya come here with this shop 'ere in mind, r' somethin'?"

 

[Captain Cardboard]

A few members of the crowd had dropped some money into Robin's bucket, and other had bought some of the TMs that Robin had out. None seemed to want him to teach their Pokemon a move, much to Robin's disappointment. Not even a new trainer to teach their Pokemon Cut! Hold on... Did they have HMs in Alola? Didn't they have some other way of getting around obstacles...? Robin's train of thought was interrupted when Collax approached him. It was one of the trainers from back at the hotel...

"Thanks. It's nice to meet you too." Robin said, returning the trainer's handshake with a smile. He leaned back, looking at Collax. Trench coat, fedora...This was the loud kid that nearly kicked down the door to the hotel. Well, he certainly had style and flair.
"Did I come here with the shop in mind? Well, I guess... I set it up at every town I get to, if I plan to stay their for more then one night. To be honest, this is the closest thing to a job I have. The money I have, I usually get from either this or Pokemon battles." Robin shrugged and smiled sheepishly, gesturing to the donations can. "A penniless wanderer, that's what I am. But I can tell that you're a bit of a traveler yourself, huh?"

Gallade looked over at the Incineroar that had approached him. It stood a little taller than Q, and that was already enough for Q to want to fight him. It was even better when the Incineroar said he wanted to train with Q. Q smirked and nodded, taking a few steps away from Robin and stretching. Feeling at the ready, he gestured for the Incineroar to come at him.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Mimikyu chirped and giggled, happy to have a new friend. Pulling out some other rags from beneath its Pikachu rag and a sewing needle with some string, she began making something akin to a lightning bolt.

The Togekiss looked to see it was drawing attention and greeted the Mismagius and Volcarona with a cheery chirp. It had seemed that the next bout of chirping was the Togekiss starting up a conversation about each other.

Incineroar held a cheeky grin on his face as he cracked his knuckles and got ready. He then charged at the Gallade, but at the last minute he changed from running to a slide and attempted to kick Q's feet from under him.

Meanwhile, Angel and her Zoroark were getting bored and already saw Collax and Robin were conversing. Tired of having her brain get stuck on Z-Moves, she decided that having some differing conversation should help that. She walked over and overheard the bits of conversation from Collax and Robin, including their names, before waving at the two, waiting for them to acknowledge her presence so she could feel a bit more invited to the conversation.

 

[Zixal]

Collax grinned again, staring down at the TMs. He picked up one for Cut, inspecting it carefully but showing no intent of actually wanting it.

"Yeh, I guess you could say I've been 'round. I don't think y'all even heard about the Lasryn expedition. Don't even get me started on that, lemme tell ya." He remarked, putting the HM down. "Well, anyway, join the penniless club, mate. Ain't ever had cash, ain't ever asked for any, and ain't ever gonna ask. I live out in Akala Island's Lush Jungle, y'know? Ain't no stores out there, mate." He raised his head up slightly to the side to check on Barkley when he noticed the Mimikyu on his shoulder. Barkley, meanwhile, looked happy as could be, just enjoying himself with the little ghost on his shoulder. Then Collax noticed Angel and her Zoroark, also trainers who were in the meeting room. With an inviting grin, he rose a hand to her, waving her over.

"Hey! C'mere and check all these out! This guy's got 'imself a right proper move tutor shop!"

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Q stepped back as the Incineroar charged in, fully ready to counter with a Slash attack. It took the Gallade by surprise, however, when the Fire-Dark Pokemon quickly swept Q's legs out from under him. Acting quickly while midair, the Gallade rapidly extended his elbow blades so they stuck in the ground. This prevented him from falling on his back, and gave him the perfect position to counterstrike. With a smirk, Q aimed a downward kick at the Incineroar's head.

Hearing a variety of noises from his perch on the lamppost, Sam the Farfetch'd opened an eye to see what was going on. It appeared that Q had already found another opponent to fight. Some other large Pokemon appeared to be gathering and talking. A Togekiss and Mismagnus, but Sam didn't recognize the bug-type. Deciding that he didn't care enough to join in their conversation, Sam closed his eyes again and shifted on his perch. He made sure to have a protective wing over his wakizashi.

Robin glanced over to the lady that Collax had called out to, and recognized her. It was the spooky Z-move lady from the hotel. Well, Robin said spooky, but she didn't seem that bad. Only in that one moment. Robin smiled and waved to the woman and her Zoroark.
"Hello! See anything you want? I still have quite a few good TMs to boost your Pokemon's moveset for the tournament." Robin said, slightly joking. He had the feeling that this lady, and most people for this tournament, didn't really need a new move at this place and time. But hey, it never hurt to ask. With that, Robin turned his attention back to Collax. By now, Cherry had managed to make her way out of Robin's bag and into his lap, where Robin began to pet her.
"Well, I can't say I know about Lush Jungle. I haven't really had the chance to explore Alola yet, I planned to do that after the tournament. But I get what you mean. I spend a lot of time in the backcountry myself, so mostly its just scavenging for food. Still, it's nice to have money for modern conveniences. After all, its a lot easier to buy a Revive then it is to scavenge around for a life herb. And actual beds can feel quite nice after spending weeks sleeping on the ground or in trees."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Angel smiled as she was gladly allowed to join in on the conversation taking place. Seeing that the conversation was about their living situations, she decided to talk along about her experiences.

"I am also a traveler. I go around and teach people about Dark- and Fairy-Types, as well as Z-Moves and the Alolan culture. I even teach people how to dance and do yoga. I don't normally have people pay for these services, but I get tips here and there if they seem to really like me. I have been living off of the land pretty well as my mother taught me to make herbal remedies and where to look for the best places that grow herbs, so I never needed a Pokemon Center or a Poke Mart for years. Some people are nice enough to give me helpful items, as well as finding random items laying about the ground as I go along on my journeys, so I never really needed to buy anything. Although, these move tutor moves look interesting. I may have a Pokemon I would like to teach these moves to later. I will have to get them transported from my home in Melemele Island by bird."

Angel was inspecting the moves before she looked over to see her Incineroar was feuding with Q. Smiling, she watched the battle for a second before looking back to what she was doing. Zoroark also caught the battle and was watching intently.

Meanwhile, the Incineroar was busy trying to stop his slide and get in his ready stance. That worked out quite well until all he could see was a flying foot aimed towards his head. He would have used his hand to stop it if he wasn't already trying to use them to stop himself, which sent his head crashing into the ground. Growling, he smirked before letting loose a few sparks of fire from his mouth, trying to burn Q's foot as his foot was on his head.

 

[Zixal]

Collax grinned, apparently impressed. He was a person after his own heart, but he was just as willing to respect what other people's talents were.

"A dance an' yoga instructor, eh? Well, good on ya! I've always just been a wilderness kid, an' I guess I'm gonna stay that way. Anywho, while we're talkin', what invited y'all to this tournament, eh? Like, battle experience, reward, proving your worth, that kinda stuff. I myself jus' came t' have fun and meet folks like you two." He said, gesturing to Angel and Robin. Barkley nodded in approval from behind him, occasionally peeking down at Mimikyu.

Meanwhile, as the battle unfolded between Incineroar and Gallade, a certain Drapion named Scrat made his way back into the square alongside Lan and Duke. He growled, setting his eyes on the battle, and looked back at Lan. Lan only wove a tentacle at him, then pointed at Collax.
"Lamar." Was all the Malamar said.
"Dra! Pion drapi." Responded the Drapion, sounding rather huffy. In almost complete disregard for Duke's incessantly buzzing input, the Drapion stomped his way over towards the scuffle. Lan sighed and floated over towards Collax, placing a razor-sharp tentacle on the boy's shoulder. Collax turned to see what the matter was, and Lan pointed at Scrat, who was approaching the bout between Incineroar and Gallade. Collax sighed.
"...Jus' keep 'em outta trouble. I dunno if they wanna be interrupted or not." He replied with a hint of resignation. Lan rolled his eyes and floated over beside Barkley, crossing his tentacles and watching what ensued.

Scrat stood now at a mild distance away from the Gallade and Incineroar, preparing for something. He didn't charge in quite yet, but he did certainly look like he was about to.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Q smirked as his attack was a success, but his expression quickly changed when the Incineroar began to burn the Gallade's foot with flames from his mouth. The Gallade pushed off the Incineroar's head with his foot and pulled his armblades out of the ground, twisting in midair to land on his feet. He winced slightly when he landed, since the Incineroar had managed to do some damage with that fire, but ignored the slight pain and charged forward. The Gallade had noticed the Drapion approach, but was to focused on the battle at hand to try to detect the Pokemon's intentions. Q's elbow blades began to glow with a light purple energy, and he slashed them at the Incineroar with a Psycho Cut attack.

"Hey, that sounds pretty neat. Cool!" Robin said, giving Angel a thumbs up when she said she would have Robin teach her Pokemon a few moves. Robin turned his attention to Collax when he spoke up, and smiled at the trainer's question.
"Well, I came to the tourney for a few reasons I guess..." Robin said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "It gave me an excuse to come to Alola. I had been hoping to do that for a while now, and I kinda hope to get my hands on some Z crystals or whatever while I'm here. I also really like to battle, and tournaments tend to bring in strong competitors, so... I guess I'm here for fun, too. Actually, I'd say fun is a major reason why I'm doing this tournament. I also think it would be pretty cool to be a champion. If you win, they crown you the champ, right? I've never done something like that, and it sounds like a pretty fun job to have."
Robin smiled again, and flexed a bicep.
"I'd be unstoppable as the champion! I would stick around for a year or two, gain a bunch of money from beating challengers, then retire and continue traveling the world!" Robin said. His face began to take a more thoughtful expression as he began to reflect on some deeper reasons, however. "Uh... Well, I'd also like to find a sixth member for my team. I, uh... Haven't been able to find one yet..."

Hearing the sound of fighting, Cherry looked over to see Q and Incineroar sparring. The Plusle jumped out of her trainer's arms and ran over to the fight, bringing Robin's attention to the fight. Cherry ran over next to the Drapion, pausing only a moment to look up at the massive scorpion-like Pokemon that towered over her before looking back to the fight. Sparks began to fly from her small hands, and two balls of sparks formed in her hands. But instead of throwing them, the Plusle began to wave then like pom-poms and jumped up and down.
"Plu, plu! Plu, plu! Pluuuu, Plusle!" Cherry chanted, clearly cheering on Q.

Robin watched the fight for a moment before turning to Angel. He had seen an Incineroar back in the lobby, which he assumed belonged to Angel. If not, well, that would be awkward.
"Hey, uh... That's your Incineroar, right? You okay with him sparring with Q? My Gallade, I mean." Robin asked Angel. Thanks to Cherry's cheering, the fight was pretty obvious and it was possible that Angel had already seen the fight. Still, Robin wanted to make sure it was okay.

 

[TheWanderer]

Ed sat in his room, writing furiously in a notebook. He had the appearance of a student frantically trying to take notes before the teacher moved on, and that was, in a sense, exactly what he was doing. After observing his opponents and their Pokemon, he would often write down what might be some strengths that he would have to deal with, as well as weaknesses that he could exploit. Morgan and Shimmer stayed next to him as he wrote, observing his work quietly. The Dusknoir and Flygon were relatively new members of Ed's team, as he had caught them both in the past year as he was traveling through the Hoenn region. Training them had been taxing, but the hard work had paid off in the end, with two powerful Pokemon with capabilities that complemented those of the the rest of his team nicely. Although... He sighed and looked down at his notebook, tapping it thoughtfully.

Zoruark:
Strengths: Fast (likely faster than most we've encountered before), Hits Hard, Z-Move (summons black hole, incredibly powerful dark energy blast, breaks Protect, must find solution), Illusions (probably), Battle Bond (unlikely unless trainer feels she is in a tough spot).
Weaknesses: Fragility? (Zoruarks typically struggle when hit by powerful attacks), Z-Move can only be used once per battle, Battle Bond leaves trainer drained (do more research into this phenomenon).
Notes: Trainer teaches dance (= more agile Pokemon?), We have to take it out quickly (use a speedy Pokemon? accurate attacks are a must).

Ed was more worried about Z-moves than he let on. He had a plan for dealing with the Zoruark, but it was frighteningly nebulous and had a high potential for error. Oh well, he thought, maybe I won't end up battling that lady after all. That would be nice. Sighing once more, he flipped the page and began filling it out based on another competitor's Pokemon.