Ask to Join Chilled to the Bone (15+) [RP]

[Merciless Medic]

Darcy heard the door click and instantly stood up from her leaning against the wall. Seeing the towering man above her, her snake hid her face behind her trainer's back. This man was definitely intimidating, but Darcy had her fair share of older people being intimidating to her. She was done with that from her parents, so she stood up tall, not taking her fearless, determined eyes off the man. Whatever fear she had when coming up here was just from anticipation and anxiety. When up against someone as intimidating as Guzma, her fear just melts and is then replaced by... Nothing. It isn't bravery, but more like nothing. No emotions. Just nothing. It kind of scared her at times, but she was used to it.

She only ripped her eyes off of Guzma when a grunt came in, obviously scared. Something was probably happening outside from what she could gather from her stutters and broken English from the fear. She looked over when Guzma got audibly irritated. She couldn't help but smirk when he got a kiss from his lady, and she shared eye contact with Atty when she mouthed out good luck. She looked up at Guzma, fear still gone and there was no chance of it coming back. She followed the slightly on edge leader, now not afraid of the heights and the wooden plank covered in glass. If she wasn't going to be afraid of the irritated leader, she wasn't going to be afraid of a little pathway that she'll have to get used to. She followed close behind Guzma, even though her short legs can't match his longer strides, she still found herself able to catch up with the man, going through the windowsill at the other end after him.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Dylan noticed the same two Grunts reappear from the side with more members of the group. This could be a problem. Don't concern yourself with them right now. Focus on the battle at hand.

Dylan narrowed his eyes as fissures started to branch out through the field and the ground shook violently. Dust was faintly clouding the field, and the trainer shouted his command whilst covering his eyes to avoid any sediment getting into his eyes. "Ignis, find your footing and counter with Rock Slide!" The Typhlosion roared as he managed to balance and avoid the attack amid the ruptures in the ground and stomped on the ground once. Ignis lunged forward along the cracks and firmly gripped two large boulders produced by the Earthquake in his hands, flinging them at the opponent with incredible strength.

 

[waluigipinball]

Touko, with all her arrogance, knew this was not a battle she would win easily. When the Haze covered the alleyway, her eyes stung with the poison gas, and she frowned as she saw Serpentine confused by the obstruction of her view. As the instruction of 'Poison Fang!' was called, the girl braced herself for a supereffective move from the Seviper- until, she saw the thing rushing toward her, instead of Serpentine.

She had attempted to shelter herself from the blow when she heard a shout of distress- Gers' voice. Reluctantly she opened her eyes, knowing what she would see would wouldn't pretty- and saw Sam bolting it away. "Coward," she spat, wondering who he had hit instead of her- when her gaze befell Gers, who had seemingly taken the blow for her.

As much as Tou knew she could fend for herself, any sane person was familiar with the fact that it was terrible to be hit by a Pokémon move. Sure, Pokémon could take them- but for a human's fragile body, they could be near fatal. And she was smart enough to know that Poison Fang couldn't mean anything good.

"Gers!" she cried, dropping to her knees beside where he lay convulsing in pain. Confusion rose before any of her other thoughts- why in Arceus' name had he done that. "C-Can you hear me? Are you... Oh, Arceus, why did you do that!?" she rambled, not knowing what to do or say. Panic was settling in to her normally calm and collected demeanor. "Help!!" Tou called hysterically, her bag of stolen goods abandoned behind her, "Help!!"

 

[EnigmaticMissingNo.]

Alex returned Beedrill as he finished up training for the day, "Well route 17 hasn't been the best training spot now has it, maybe I should head towards Po Town to see what Team Skull is up to." He took out a small notebook, inside were notes on Team Skull most described his anger towards the group and its questionable/confusing morals. "It's a good thing I avoided those grunts, for the most part, luckily the ones who did insist on stopping my training weren't too strong." Alex suddenly felt a powerful tremor and saw rocks fly a little further up the route, these were all the signs of a large Pokemon battle, "What the- If that's a trainer and they're fighting a Team Skull Grunt then they're not just gonna win that battle, they'll kill the Pokemon." Alex broke into a sprint, while running he got Sandslash and Beedrill out. He came close enough to see the battle, he was unsure of who was who as Grunts usually didn't carry such strong Pokemon unless of course the person here was battling a high ranking Skull. While Alex would have loved to join this battle he had his own plans with Team Skull and needed to make a bold move while this distraction was up. He avoided the battle and Team Skull members surrounding it as he made his way towards the Po Town gate and entered the walled town.

 

[rubyrowlet]

"Hmm. Well played." Cyrin scoffed, noticing her Typhlosion had taken damage from that. "But not well enough. Cinder, use Eruption!" With the swift gesture of Cinder's arm, huge geysers of lava shot up from the ground with incredible force. Cyrin smiled in satisfaction. She was really proud of how her Typhlosion was performing so far, she hadn't battled like this in a long time, and Cinder reflected that same strength she had bottled up for a while. She was ready to see what the outcome of the Eruption would be.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Kale noticed the redhead and blonde grunts emerge from Po Town, with a new grunt with them. However, instead of being a teen like Kale and the other grunts, she was a young woman with short, brown hair. Kale stood up, ready to fight or flee if need be, but it looked like she was just looking for an explanation. The two trainers with Typhlosions weren't listening to her, as they were too occupied with their battle. So Kale decided to try to talk to the Skull Admin.

But making his way over to her was a little difficult. The Earthquake attack by one of the Typhlosions nearly knocked Kale off his feet.
"Your friends there jumped me, and tried to steal my Pokemon!" Kale said over the sound of a Rock Slide attack. He wasn't quite sure why he was telling this to a Team Skull member, as she would probably try to steal his Pokemon as well. But she did ask for what happened. Shine clung to Kale's arm, looking nervous about the nearby battle.

"I was just- WHOA!" Kale exclaimed. The Eruption attack, although at a distance, caused quite a loud amount of noise and heat. When Kale looked back at Atty, he noticed another person approaching Po Town.

 

[vaultie]

[Route 17 - Po Town Gate]

Atty frowned, getting increasingly more annoyed as both one of her own grunts and the random trainer continued to duke it out with their Typholosions, completely ignoring her. At least the other kid she had pointed out was providing some semblance of an answer as to what was going on, but it still didn't explain why there was a huge fight happening. "Is that so?" Her glare shifted from Kale to the guard grunts. "You mean to tell me, you decided to just go ahead and try and mug this kid's Pokemon, instead of doing your regular guard duty, like you're supposed to?"

The redhead continued stuttering, fearful now that she had pissed off the only one of higher rank that was the most understanding. Seeing her angry wasn't a good sign. "W-Well, y-yeah, we figured if he didn't have any Pokemon, he wouldn't be able to g-get in..."

She let out a long, loud groan, far too similar to how Guzma did just earlier ago. "Seriously? Leave that job to the others, you're both on guard duty for a reason. And now I'll probably have to move you two to something even easier. How's dish duty sound, huh?" She watched as they bowed their heads in embarrassment, not willing to argue with an admin. Atty sighed, looking over at the battle. Could they BE any more loud? She kept her footing strong in the wake of the earthquakes and eruptions, turning to Kale and putting on a softer expression. "I'm really sorry about that. They didn't rough you up too much, did they?" While she was actually concerned for the boy, she failed to notice Alex coming up behind and entering the walled town.

--

[Po Town - Shady House]

Guzma kept his cool, staring straight ahead, listening to Darcy follow behind him. While Atty had explained her reasoning for wanting to join and put in a good word, he was still put off by how flat she seemed around him. Newcomers would typically be terrified of him, what was up with this girl? Whatever, he thought, she'll probably make a good recruit in that case if she could do well in the battle.

Now on the other side of the second floor, he stopped at a single door down the hall. He gave it a knock, calling to whoever was inside. "Yo, Plumes,"

No response.

His voice rose, knocking harder. "Pluuuumes!"

"Hold on!" A female voice responded from the other side, clearly annoyed at the intrusion.

"Plumes, I'm comin' in!"

"I said wait-!" Much to her displeasure, however, Guzma had already opened her door, revealing who was inside. Plumeria, the other admin, sat at her vanity, mascara brush in one hand. Her makeup appeared to be half finished, and she turned, glaring at the boss. She swerved around in her chair to face both him and Darcy standing in the doorway, crossing one leg over the other. "...What do you want?"

"New recruit," Guzma simply stated, unphased that he had interrupted the young woman from her morning routine.

"Seriously?" She scoffed. "Why me? Why not have Atty or someone else?"

"'Cause Atty's busy right now, that's why." His thick brows furrowed, still in a bit of a grumpy mood. "I'll be outside waiting." And with that stated, he made his way down the hall and over to the staircase, leaving Plumeria to deal with Darcy.

"Asshole..." Plumeria mumbled, looking over to Darcy now. "You, come in. What's your name?" Though she began to speak with the younger girl, she swiveled back around to finish her makeup.

 

[waluigipinball]

Tou began to panic more, her gaze flickering from Gers on the floor to the spinning world around her. She felt as if she was going to faint, but she knew she needed to stay strong, so she could get help. He was foaming at the mouth, and convulsing horribly. "PLEASE!" she began to scream, hoping her voice would echo over the carnage of the ever-busy town. "HELP! HELP!"

@Foxy_Boxes

 

[Merciless Medic]

Darcy followed him some more, Nathair hissing anxiously about what could happen and was a little terrified of the man's large size. She pet her head, shushing her and telling her that everything was going to be alright. After making it to Plumes' room, she stood still, unwavering in the slightest. When he decided to barge in, she peeked in through from in between the crack of the door frame and the man's side. Seeing in, she could definitely see this so-called Plumes wasn't exactly ready, but she looked to be ready enough... If she wanted to be like Two-Face, that is. After being summoned inside, Darcy glided in, and then chose a part of the wall to lean against, Nathair hissing softly. For some reason, Nathair seemed to like Plumeria's presence a lot. It was just something about her. Nathair was even relaxing her grip on her trainer and her coils were slack, as her head was level with her trainer's.

Darcy had to be honest with herself, she really liked Plumeria's get-up. If only she could maybe get on her good side and have some custom clothes for herself. Not that Darcy's current clothes were bad, but she'd like to have some skin showing is all, besides her pale legs that can serve as a beacon with how pale they were.

Anyway, Darcy looked at Plumeria with a more relaxed posture and look to her eyes. They weren't dead, like with Guzma. Mainly because she wasn't intimidating, or at least didn't carry it around with her at all times. She nodded and smiled, although her face was still flat with emotion. "My name is Darcy Higgins. Am I going to be battling you for the initiation? Nobody told me about a battle, but I just kind of figured that would be the case."

 

[Ninian]

"Good." He'd state simply, though now that she mentioned the scent, he finally picked up on it once again. He had pushed it out of his mind previously, but now that was all he could think about. "Ugh..."

Walking alongside his Trainer, the Umbreon was actually surprised when the small Fire-type apologized. A small rumble escaped his throat as he accepted her apology, and admitted he understood the gang mentality, though he actively fought it. Cruel tendencies were especially hard for a Dark-type to break the habit of.

As Dahlia began to explain how she interpreted the situation, the teen gave a nod, "I assumed as much." A small frown crossed his visage, his gaze falling downcast. "...I get it. The only other person I've ever been close to is my sister. My biological sister... Maybe I just can't. I don't know." Letting out a sigh, he began to fiddle with the inside of his pockets, "There's too much I need to do to get close to anyone."

⟶ Paniola Town

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

The Eruption attack made a direct hit, and the area around Ignis became engulfed in smoke and explosions. However, amid the burning flames and smoking ground, Ignis still stood strong, the determined fire in his eyes somehow burning brighter. Dylan smirked as he folded his arms across his chest. "Typhlosion's secret Ability, Flash Fire. I'm sure you know what it does. Now, Ignis, use Focus Blast!" The Typhlosion roared as a dense, blue sphere of energy materialized and gradually grew larger in his palm. Once the sphere had grown to a considerate size, Ignis roared once more and flung it at Cinder with astounding speed.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Now this was even more confusing. It was clear from the way that the redhead and blonde grunts acted that this lady was a high-ranking member of Team Skull. And yet she didn't seem very... Sinister. Kale had always imagined the Admins of groups like Team Rocket to be cruel looking, or evil or something. But the longer Kale observed Team Skull, the more he was getting the feeling that they were a bit different than Team Rocket.

"Ah, n-not r-really..." Kale said to Atty. She seemed genuinely concerned about Kale and his Pokemon, and the whole peculiarity of the situation was starting to bring out his stammer. It didn't help that the young woman looked quite pretty, or that there was an intense battle raging right next to him. "A-actually, the batt-tle was k-k-kinda fun... Trainers s-seem to pose a l-lot here."

The battle quieted down for a moment, and Kale thought he heard a distant yell from inside Po Town. Looking around Atty, Kale saw the remains of the Haze attack, which looked kinda like smoke to Kale, disappearing. Kale also saw the trainer that had entered Po Town (Alex). Kale looked back to Atty.
"Is everything o-okay in there?" Kale asked.

 

[vaultie]

[Route 17 - Po Town Gate]

Atty struggled to listen to Kale over the noise of the nearby battle, his sudden stutter not helping much either. She attempted to be patient with him, assuming that he had just accidentally wandered over with no intentions to actually challenge Skull. "That's good," She smiled, hoping a more friendly demeanor would calm him. "You're free to leave at any time, though. I'll make sure those two get a good stern talking to, and I promise not to tell the boss of your little trespass," She winked, letting him know she was looking out for him.

Her head turned at his additional question, looking up to see a haze rise over into the the sky from within the town. She let out another annoyed sigh. "I can't exactly check whatever that is out right now. I gotta make sure these two don't kill each other," Retrieving a Pokeball from her belt, she threw it up, sending out her Lycanroc.

Her red eyes glowed in the shadows of it's spiked fur. She stood, hunched, panting a bit as she turned to Atty and Kale, waiting for instructions. "Seems a bit noisy here, don't you think, Tama?" Atty crossed her arms, watching as her Pokemon understood. The canine took a step forward, tilting her head to the sky and letting out a howl to pierce through the rampant noise.

"Awoooooo!"

--

[Po Town - Shady House]

Plumeria listened as Darcy stepped in, continuing to carefully apply her makeup. "Usually if G leaves me with some newbie, that tends to mean you're gonna end up battling me, yeah." Thankfully, she stated the facts, making no actual effort to intimidate the poor girl. She turned once more after finishing her mascara, looking Darcy over, golden eyes settling on the Ekans wrapped around her. "That yours? She's pretty cute. What's her name?" Ekans were native to Alola, and Plumeria had to admit, there had been more than one instance where she considered raising one. She had a good feeling about this girl just from her taste in Pokemon alone, but she still refused to go easy on her once the battle came around.

--

[Route 4]

The yellow grasses of the Paniola Area slowly turned into more of a lush green as Dahlia and Gladion continued their walk. With the stench of the farm town also behind them, Dahlia took a breath of fresh air. She listened on as Gladion began to unintentionally vent about his life, starting off with his sister.

"What's your sister like?" She asked, mainly out of curiosity than trying to comfort him. He had just explained how hard it was for him to get close to others, and she figured she wasn't an exception. "Keep in mind pretty much all I've heard about you is rumors. All I really know is that you're supposed to be from Aether. Dunno why you'd wanna leave, though... It must be nice living in such a big, clean place with such a great reputation. No wonder why so many of us end up seething anytime we see those white uniforms..."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Darcy nodded in understanding, mentally gloating to herself that she was right, yet again. Even if Plumeria did try to intimidate the girl, she wouldn't dare flinch, but give that same unwavering, dead look she gave Guzma. She looked over to her Ekans, who had cocked her head curiously at Plumes. With a look that asked permission, Darcy nodded and Nathair slipped off of her trainer's body and slithered over to Plumeria. She raised her body, so her face was level with Plumeria's. She then looked at one of her hands and nuzzled her hand, wanting attention. Darcy just chuckled, the first semblance of a smile in this place and it definitely lit up her features a little better instead of some gloomy child. Nathair's black bandanna slipped off of her body, showing her bright yellow band in contrast to her dark purple scales. She even licked Plumeria's hand.

"Her name's Nathair. She's been with me for three years. She's been my only friend ever since my parents stopped me from adventuring around Kanto and has been the only one who respects me and treats me like I'm worth something. I seem to get along better with Poison-Types anyway. Managed to cause a whole horde of Koffing around Celadon City to create a huge toxic fog to spread throughout the city. Luckily nobody thought it was me, but I thought it was a hilarious prank. Although, I could've gotten into trouble, at least those strange kimono ladies got a lot of that gas to make perfume with," Darcy said, looking back at that time with a goofy smile on her face.

 

[rubyrowlet]

"Ugh..." Cyrin grumbled. "What a bother." She looked down at Cinder, who was still raring and ready to go. "I won't lose. Cinder, use Brick Break!" She lunged towards the other Typhlosion, and unleashed a powerful Brick Break. She needed to win this battle to prove herself to her teammates. She heard a howl and everything seemed to stop. "What the hell?" She looked back and noticed the Lycanroc. Why was it there?

 

[Ninian]

Gladion had been essentially holding his breath every time he wasn't talking as they made their way through the quaint farmland. An exaggerated gasp of air escaping his lips as they were finally free. Now breathing normally, he turned to Dahlia, "Pure. Innocent... very sweet, and kind to everyone. She's incredibly naive..." Clenching his fist, he let out a sigh, "I shouldn't have left her, but..."

Frowning after he trailed off he nodded along with what she was saying, "Yeah, I know there's a lot of rumors about me. But... I am from Aether, that much is true." Looking up at her, his brows creased when she asked why he'd want to leave, "Clean? The word you're looking for is sterile. The president she's... controlling. Everything has to be done a certain way, everyone has to dress a certain way... act a certain way..." Clenching a fist he continued, "I can see why members of Team Skull might be envious... or enraged, but... Even though Shady House is a crapshack, it's preferable. At least you can do whatever you want there without someone looking over your shoulder making sure you're perfect."

⟶ Route 4

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Kale took a step back when the admin sent out her Pokemon. He had never seen a Pokemon like that before, except maybe an Arcanine. But this wolf-like Pokemon seemed darker, and a bit more scary. Kale still thought it looked pretty cool, but Shine trembled and tightened her grip on Kale's arm. She wasn't a big fan of dog or wolf-like Pokemon. The Lycanroc let out a piercing howl, and luckily the grunt seemed to hear it.

Kale stepped closer to Atty's wolf Pokemon.
"Whoa..." The boy said, awestruck. He turned to the Skull Admin. "What Pokemon is that?"
Shine shivered as her trainer stepped closer towards the Lycanroc, her tiny claws digging into Kale's shirt. Her eyes never left the Lycanroc.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Ignis had gotten ready to dodge Cinder's Brick Break attack when the Lycanroc's Howl cut through the raging battle, loud enough to break the Typhlosion's focus. Ignis, grunted as he was sent back by the attack and dug in his heels into the ground, managing to stay on his feet. He glanced at the newcomer, his trainer following suit. Dylan glared at what looked like the Lycanroc's trainer and noticed her Skull top. "Another Skull 'lackey', huh? I guess you guys really are all holed up in Po Town, then."

 

[vaultie]

[Route 17 - Po Town Gate]

"Finally," Atty rolled her eyes, stepping up as the two battlers finally had their attention on her. "I was beginning to think both of you were deaf," She remarked, crossing her arms and looking between the two and their Typhlosions. "Now that you're actually listening, I'll ask again. Just what in the hell is going on here? What's with the big battle, huh?" She ignored the shade from Dylan, but had expected Cyrin to know better.

Awaiting their responses, she turned to Kale, being much more patient and friendly with him than the other two. "It's a Lycanroc, sweetie. The "midnight" variant, specifically. I take it you're not from around here, are you?"

Tama watched Kale and his Emolga, cocking her head in curiosity at the boy and his Pokemon. She leaned in, sniffing the both of them. Though her appearance was rather intimidating, she didn't seem ready to attack or do anything of the sort.

--

[Po Town - Shady House]

Plumeria accepted the affection of the Ekans easily, stroking her hand against her dark purple scales. A small smile grew on her lips, softening her otherwise sharp and feminine features. "Poison types, huh?" She mused, eyes flicking over to the girl. There was an inquisitive look on her face, the smile not yet gone.

"I like you, kid. Here- I'll let you in on some tips. Since you're gonna be battling me, that means the boss sees some kind of potential in you. He only gets admins and himself to battle when he thinks someones really worth accepting. He purposely pits newbies up against admins 'n stuff just to see how far they can get." She rose from her seat, taking her hand off of Nathair and allowing her to slink back over to Darcy. "Don't focus on winning if you don't have a chance. Make it entertaining." Walking over, she opened her bedroom door once more, holding it open for Darcy to leave first. "I might like you, but I'm not about to go easy on you. C'mon," Her pigtails bounced as she nodded her head, motioning for Darcy to get out and start following her.

--

[Route 4]

Dahlia couldn't help but snicker as Gladion explained, her knee-jerk grin a stark contrast to his brooding mood. "Pfft- Sorry. I just imagined you in those ugly uniforms. Like, did you have to do that? Wear the uniform, I mean. If Aether is so "big brother" as you're saying it is, I don't think you'd get away with wearing that." She looked over his form, pointing out his edgy and torn attire. "No offense or anything. I'd rather take that ratty hoodie of yours than those gross uniforms any day."

The sun over Akala beamed down on the two of them as they walked along Route 4, signaling that it was finally midday. Scarlet, still walking between Gladion's Umbreon and her trainer, flicked her tail in pleasure as her body basked in the sun. Now that she had given her little apology to the other Pokemon, she climbed back up on Dahlia, curling around her neck like a scarf. She let out a small sigh, resting her body and taking a break from walking.

 

[rubyrowlet]

Cyrin sighed. "He came out of completely nowhere, and the other blonde grunt over there's Gastly was really weak. This guy here was going to battle it after it had been through a battle already, so I stepped in for him so his Gastly could heal up." She responded, looking directly at the agitated girl before her. Cyrin thought helping her fellow teammate was a good idea, but maybe she was mistaken.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nathair hissed lovingly, her tongue lolling out like a dork. Darcy smiled and nodded as she answered the rhetorical statement. It took her a moment to realize that she just answered a rhetorical question, but she didn't exactly care. Although, she didn't expect the lady to like her so much or so quickly, but having a Poison-Type really paid off, since she was getting some sweet, juicy tips from the admin herself. When Plumeria was done petting Nathair, she pouted, but slithered up Darcy's leg and body until she was securely coiled around her waist, with her head resting on her trainer's shoulders. Darcy smiled as she looked to her partner and then back at Plumeria. Make it entertaining, huh? thought Darcy with a smirk. Awesome! She's good at making it quite the show. After a moment of how things should play out like if she were a strategist, she followed Plumeria out of her room, Nathair completely content and relaxing herself.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Shine buried her head in Kale's shirt when the Lycanroc started sniffing her, shaking. Kale began to stroke behind his Emolga's ears to calm her.
"Hey, its okay! She's not gonna hurt you." Kale said quietly. Shine slowly turned and looked at the Midnight Lycanroc, slightly eased by her trainer but still nervous. Kale looked over to Atty.
"No. I'm from Kanto, so Alola is a huge change. Is it okay if I pet your Pokemon?" Kale asked hopefully. Even though the Lycanroc looked kinda intense, it's fur looked pretty soft. The Pokemon in itself kinda reminded Kale of an Arcanine he had seen once.

 

[vaultie]

[Route 17 - Po Town Gate]

Atty sweetly tilted her head at Kale, a look of realization on her face. Being from Kanto, this kid really must be innocent. "Oh, go ahead. She doesn't bite unless I tell her to," The admin joked, allowing Tama to get a bit of affection. "I have to warn you, being from Kanto, you probably don't know much about Team Skull, huh? My grunts were right, thought, it's probably best if you get out of here soon if you have no interest in joining up with us. You're better off just staying out of anything Skull-related, sorry." She shot the boy a sympathetic look. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta deal with these goons..."

With a sigh, she left Tama and Kale's side, walking up to Cyrin and Dylan. "Did you really think having a huge fight right outside Po Town was the best option?" Atty pinched the bridge of her nose. "Those two," She nodded over to the blonde and the redhead, still embarrassed over their mess up. "Shouldn't have been trying to mug that kid's Pokemon in the first place. They're on guard duty, that's it. I mean, look at all this," She gestured out to the battlefield, the ground now torn up and burnt. "Was all this drama really necessary? And you," She turned to Dylan. "What about you, what's your side of the story?"

--

[Po Town - In front of Shady House]

Plumeria led Darcy out of the mansion, the cool rain hitting her warm, tanned skin as the two stepped outside. They passed Guzma, his back against the wall of the house, dry and safe under the overhang. He shot both Darcy and Plumeria a look that they could start at any time, eager to see some action after such a crappy day prior.

Plumeria stepped out onto the street adjacent to Guzma, giving him a good side view of the battle once it would begin. She hovered around the left side, allowing Darcy to move over to the right. Many of the grunts had noticed, forming a circle around the fight as they spectated. Many on the ground watched, a couple even looking on from the roof and upper floors of the mansion. Plumeria listened as they began to call and cheer for her, encouraging the admin to beat down Darcy. While she was about to do no such thing and make things unfair, she wasn't going to go easy on the girl, either.

"Go, Muk!" She tossed her Pokeball up, choosing her Alolan Muk as her Pokemon for the 1v1 match. The blob appeared on the makeshift battlefield, it's colors oozing together in a mess of a rainbow as it took form. It stared at Nathair and Darcy, anticipating an attack. "I'll let you make the first move," Plumeria called out. "Don't keep me waiting."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Darcy walked over to the other side of the field, shooting Guzma a happy look as she took her position. It was raining a bit, which would be good. Puddles were slowly starting to form. A little bit of rain didn't harm Nathair's energy. Nathair slithered off of her trainer's body and slithered onto the battlefield, being her only Pokemon. Darcy knew that she wouldn't win against a Muk that looked like it had eaten way too many Skittles, but she would gladly make it entertaining. She had no idea this thing had two types, so she was going in blind. Looking at the thing, that thing can't be too different from Kantonian Muk, right? It just had more crystals and more color to it.

She decided to attack first, using Nathair's special status move Glare to paralyze the Pokemon first. She calmly told Nathair to use Glare, to which Nathair's band began to glow brightly from behind the bandanna and her eyes glowed a bright red, staring down the Pokemon with her menacing and unnerving look. It would look like something from a horror movie, where the antagonist would have these scary eyes to look at people from the dark, scaring viewers. Nathair's tail also flicked back and forth hypnotically, as if she was preying on the Muk.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Kale listened to Atty, his smile turning into more of a thoughtful look. For a member of Team Skull that got that much respect from her Grunts, she sure was nice. Not only that, but Team Skull overall seemed a lot less dangerous than Team Rocket. Maybe if he asked her, they would just give back Aunt Izzy's Heart Scale. If not, Kale might be able to just... Steal it back. It might not be too hard to climb-

Kale shook his head. No way. That would only be a last resort. He considered himself an adventurer, not a cat burglar. Deciding to distract himself from the dilemma at hand, Kale began to pet the Admin's Lycanroc behind it's ears. Her fur was quite soft and pleasant to the touch. Kale realized that he hadn't even asked the lady's nand yet. Shine glanced over at the Lycanroc, trying to be brave for Kale.

 

[Ninian]

Letting out an aggravated grumble, the teen let out a guttural response, "...No, I had to wear what the president wanted me to." Clutching his arm, he stared off into the distance, "No, I wasn't allowed to wear this. Wi—" Cutting himself off, he continued, "...someone who worked at Aether bought this for me as a gift." Frowning he let out a sigh, nodding at her conclusion, "I tried one of those uniforms on, once. It was actually better than what I was made to wear all the time. It was all too formal..."

Watching Scarlet, the Umbreon let out a gruff laugh, looking up to the sun and sniffing lightly.

"Anyway, if it weren't for the promise I made myself, I'd probably be wearing one of those," He gestured at Dahlia, "uniforms myself. But I can't forget... I'm just glad Guzma understood."

⟶ Route 4

 

[vaultie]

[Po Town - Outside Shady House]

Plumeria's Muk winced as Nathair's Glare struck the Pokemon. It's ooze began to drip slower, a clear sign of a successful paralysis. With the added status effect, the Muk's speed was greatly decreased, even with the chance of it completely freezing up before it could attack. Luckily enough, it's body was fairly manipulable, allowing for a better chance of movement. Plumeria's brows furrowed, taking a keen note that Darcy was playing it smart with a status move to set up. She waved her hand out, retaliating with her own command. "Muk, go for a Crunch!"

The Pokemon jumped forward with a disgusting slorp sound, it's body jiggling like jello when it landed in front of Nathair. With it's maw opened wide, the crystalline "teeth" glimmering on closer inspection. Granted, being this close to the mouth of a Muk was probably a bad thing. It lunged for the Ekans, ready to chomp down.

--

[Route 4]

"Hey, these uniforms aren't too bad," Dahlia shrugged, looking only slightly offended Gladion's choice of words for her attire. "At least it's weather-appropriate. I can't even understand how some people are out here in anything more than a t-shirt and shorts, God..." At the mention of the temperature, she pulled her hair back from her shoulders, hoping to cool herself off. "...Your sister, though," Oh boy, back on this subject. "Must be still back at Aether, then, I'm assuming. Damn, that must suck if you guys were as close as you say you were... Imagine that, waking up one day only to find out the only other kid in that entire place that understood you was gone..." She spoke her thoughts outloud, fully aware of the guilt-tripping tone she had put on for the boy. "You think you're ever gonna go back for her? Actually, shit, if I was her, I'd probably be pissed for being abandoned like that. Hopefully that's not the case with you."

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Dylan smirked, his darkened gaze directed to the newcomer. "My side of the story? I'm here to take every single one of you down. I don't care if you're just a group of petty thugs; I'm going to make sure people like you aren't plaguing the streets. Two of your Grunts over here were about to steal from that kid over there who's petting your Lycanroc, I stepped in to stop them, the other girl came in, and we exchanged a few blows before you showed up."

 

[vaultie]

[Route 17 - Po Town Gate]

Atty deadpanned at Dylan's response. "Oh boy. Another one of you." She sighed, rubbing her eyes before speaking up again. "Listen, you're not the first to come here thinking you're gonna "take us down", and I'm positive you won't be the last," She looked less than amused, crossing her arms. "Could you, like... Maybe come back another day if you're that dead set on battling us? The Boss really isn't feeling it today, he had a rough night, and I'm pretty sure he's not in the mood to deal with something like this right now."

However, there was at least somebody in a good mood. Tama, Atty's Lycanroc, was responding graciously to Kale's petting. He found a sweet spot and she began to drool, thumping her hind leg against the soft earth as his hands worked their way through her thick fur. She panted, tongue rolling out, and leaned in. Pressing her wet nose to the boy's cheek, she gave him a lick as thanks- albeit a bit of a sloppy one.

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Dylan's cold aura dissipated instantly, and his eyes widened at the blunt response, clearly taken aback. "Oh, uh... okay. That... that kinda makes sense. He rubbed the back of his head, finally having gotten control of himself. "Yeah, I guess it's just a personal vendetta that made me so determined. Some of your thugs stole a Pokemon of mine, and it clouded any sense of reason I had." Dylan chuckled sheepishly, holding out a hand for the Team Skull member to shake. "Apologies for my impudence." (Maybe I should tone down edgy Dylan here eggsdee)

 

[Ninian]

Shaking his head he responded to her possibly mock-offense, "The uniform is fine, it's..." Smirking at her he'd retort, "Well, the caps are a bit much." Frowning when she mentioned that the uniforms were weather appropriate, he'd go on, "...That would be another reason why I couldn't wear one." Averting his gaze, Gladion elaborated, "I burn easily. But... if I didn't, it would be nice." Unfortunately for him, his black attire absorbed a lot of sunlight.

Frowning, the teen nodded at her assumption about his sister, "I don't think she'd have the guts to leave, so I can only guess she's still there." It was clear she was trying to guilt him, and it was equally clear her attempts were working. Furrowing his brows, he sighed, "I know. If she's capable of getting angry... she must be absolutely pissed at me. If I... When I'm strong enough, I'll go back. But... I can't until then. I hope that some day she'll be able to forgive me, but I have to do this..."

⟶ Route 4

 

[rubyrowlet]

Cyrin was in total agreement with Atty. she stared at Dylan, and when she heard his oddly understanding response, her jaw dropped. What the hell?? She fumbled for words for a second, and then was able to compose herself. "Atty's right. It's kind of my fault for stepping in though." Cyrin shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever, though." She played with her long, blonde and cerulean ponytails. A nervous habit she had, as well as looking around, you could see the anxiety in her green eyes. Cinder looked guilty, and looked to Atty for forgiveness.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Kale laughed when the Lycanroc licked him and continued petting her, wiping off the dog spit. His petting, however, started to die off as Kale listened to the conversation the three trainers were having.

"What?!" Kale exclaimed, standing up. Shine let out a startled yelp, barely managing to hold on to her trainer's arm. Kale looked between Dylan and Atty in disbelief, then marched over to the three trainers.
"Your sense of reason isn't clouded!" Kale said to Dylan. "If those grunts would have managed to steal my Pokemon just now, I would have broken their noses! Pokemon are your friends, and you're just going to let those guys take them?!"
If there was something that really ticked Kale off, it was people stealing Pokemon. The boy looked back over at Atty and Cyrin, looking a little angry. "Give him back his Pokemon!"

 

[Merciless Medic]

Seeing that the Muk was now slower, Darcy grinned. Her grin became a twisted smile and she began to giggle maniacally, catching a few grunts near her to stop their chanting. They thought this girl was insane. She pointed to the sky and told Nathair to use Aqua Tail. Nathair hissed happily, the rain hitting Nathair became her aid as her tail became cloaked in a vortex of water. If it hadn't been raining, the vortex wouldn't have looked so big. Looking back quickly to see where her trainer had pointed, she lowered her body, her tail coiling up like a spring. It was then that she sprung at the Muk, aiming for right below that goopy chin of his with her tail, hoping that the power of the Aqua Tail would at least lift the Muk up and off the ground. Maybe she could do something with that.

 

[vaultie]

[Route 17 - Po Town Gate]

"Trust me, the Boss doesn't typically turn down a chance to "beat someone down", as he likes to call it, but I know when he's having a bad day. And today is one of those days," Atty let out a relieved sigh and gave a quick shake to Dylan's hand, thankfully stopping the two trainers and their Typhlosions from wrecking poor Route 17 any further. However, she wasn't expecting Kale to suddenly jump up defensively. Tama's ears perked at his volume level, turning her head away now that he wasn't even bothering to give her attention anymore. She frowned, going over back to Atty's side in defense, watching Kale in case he was about to try anything, despite the attention she was receiving from him just moments ago.

The older girl turned to him, not looking as sympathetic with the boy as she was before. "Listen, I know I'm an admin or whatever, but it gets hard keeping track of what my grunts do. That's more Plumeria's job, if anything..." She mumbled the last part, looking between everyone in the area, including the two grunts that were standing guard. "I can't really control what everyone does, either. Most of the time I don't have to get involved, but... Yeah, there's some things I don't agree with." Her eyes focused on the blonde and redhead, still looking sheepish and guilty for starting all this. "It can't really be helped, though, y'know. And it sure doesn't help that you're not giving me any details beyond a "stolen Pokemon"."

--

[Po Town - Outside Shady House]

Plumeria's brow quirked when Darcy erupted in laughter, not looking as intimidated as some of the grunts, but still caught off guard. The same went with her Muk, the sludge monster not expecting the sudden Aqua Tail. It's chin was hit, jaw connecting upward with the top of it's mouth, missing it's target entirely. There was a cracking noise as it's mouth slammed shut, a couple shards of it's crystal teeth scattering the ground. Plumeria couldn't help but wince, knowing that it would be a bit for the crystal to heal and reform.

She watched as the Pokemon's goopy body was subjected to the recoil of the attack, it's slimy structure getting knocked back and catching a bit of air. "Quick, Acid Armor!" She was anticipating a follow up to the Aqua Tail, ordering her Muk to play defensively. It worked through it's paralysis, it's colorful sludge slowing down further as it hardened, forming a temporary shell as a means of protection.

--

[Route 4]

Dahlia was temporarily distracted as they passed by a large palm tree, watching a Crabrawler at the base of the trunk attempting to crack open a coconut. Her magenta eyes shifted back onto the boy next to her, acting as if she was listening the entire time. "Yeah, but what does 'strong' count as for you? You're already an enforcer, and pretty experienced compared to a lot of the other grunts. I hate to admit it, but you could probably take me on in a battle and win easily. Dunno about the admins, and I don't think I've heard of the boss losing a single battle, but you're certainly up there... Sorry, I'm just not exactly sure what you're getting at, Glads."

As they kept walking, the grass of Route 4 began to thin, soon making way for a paved sidewalk. Beach houses and colorful buildings came into view, signaling they had just reached Heahea, which prompted Dahlia to pull her bandanna back up, lest anyone happening to recognize her.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Darcy giggled as the hit was successful, causing some of the grunts near her to step back a bit.

This bitch is insane.... One had so unluckily whispered in her ear shot. She decided to play a little game with them. While the Muk was in the air, she chuckled and told Nathair to get under the falling behemoth.

Nathair, knowing what to do, shot forward until she was at the falling site of the Muk. Seeing that the Alolan Muk was now as hard as rock, she told Nathair to coil up. Nathair's neck was resting on the ground, propelling and allowing the rest of her body to coil up in a spring above her head. When the Muk landed on her, the makeshift spring bent down to then push the Muk towards the grunts that had commented on Darcy's possible insanity.

Hopefully, the hardened Muk rolled along and hit them like a bowling ball hitting pins. Of course, the grunts were terrified and had scrambled to get out of the way, with a few being a little unsuccessful as they were pushed back into the way of the rolling Alolan Muk.

 

[Ninian]

Shaking his head, the boy simply commented, "I'm not strong enough. Even though I'm no match for Guzma... I don't know if he's strong enough, either." A frown marred his features, and his gaze drifted off to the same palm tree, although he wasn't watching the Crabrawler, more like he was staring straight through it into nothingness. "I need to be stronger than a Tapu. I need to be able to face... anything. I can't accept anything less. There's a lot at stake..."

Now in Heahea, Gladion's gaze scanned their surroundings. Unlike most members of Team Skull, he didn't particularly care if anyone recognized him; in fact it usually made his job easier. His skill at the Battle Royal Dome wasn't a secret, and more often than not the intimidation factor alone resolved situations without him having to directly intervene. The practice would have been nice, but he wasn't in the business of bullying children, either.

⟶ Route 4 to Heahea City

 

[rubyrowlet]

Cyrin decided since the battle was over and she didn't have anything more to say to anyone, she would go back to the Shady House. "Cinder, return." She beamed her Typhlosion back into its Pokeball, and walked away without a word. She walked towards the gate of Po Town, and then walked inside. She knew something like that would happen, she remembered why she didn't talk to people. She sent out Lyré. "Lets go back up to the roof. Could you give me a lift?" She asked when they got to the front of the Shady House, and in response her Dragonair lifted her to the rooftop. Cyrin looked out over the top of the roof, where she could see Route 17 and the sea. She felt Lyré's head rest against her back. She smiled. "Thank you, Lyré." She put a hand on the serpentine dragon's head, feeling a wave of serenity fall over her.

 

[vaultie]

[Po Town - Outside Shady House]

Although the Acid Armor definitely helped the Muk, the same couldn't be said for the poor grunts that got knocked over. They tumbled as they were struck by the hardened sludge, Plumeria watching. She was slightly stunned by the sudden action and creativity of Darcy, but she wasn't about to let it stop her. Not wanting to be bested by a newbie, especially one that had the gall to use her own Pokemon against her "siblings", she called to her Muk. "Strike back!"

She used Nathair's speed and the paralysis to her advantage, purposely waiting it out and having her Muk go last. It reared up, thankfully not hurt as much as the grunts and making a quick enough recovery, charging it's goopy fist with dark energy. It glowed a dark purple hue before the Pokemon launched a powerful punch at the snake, attacking with a Payback.

Guzma stood still in his spot, back against the house, arms crossed over each other as he watched the battle unfold. Plumeria seemed to be doing her usual thing, nothing out of the ordinary there, but the newbie, on the other hand, was more than meets the eye. She definitely had a good idea of what her Ekans was capable of, and her counters to the Muk seemed to come out of thin air. He watched as his grunts went down as they were comically rolled over by sludge, a grin cracking through his darkened face.

[Heahea City]

Dahlia couldn't help but suddenly let out a laugh, sounding more harsh than she intended. "A Tapu? Seriously? Like, okay, I get the idea of wanting to be stronger and get better, whatever the hell, but- Really? I don't theres much that can beat a Tapu. They do whatever the hell they want, really. Even the Kahunas are at the mercy of them. Don't you remember what happened to that village and the mart on the coast of Ula'Ula? Bulu completely wrecked their shit in, just because it didn't like them building stuff." She dropped her voice, not wanting to attract unwanting gazes from passerbys, especially on the topic of the Island Guardians. "I have no idea what you're so worried about that you need to be stronger than a Tapu for. There's the Totems, but even then, there's kids doing their Island Challenge that can beat them... What else could be that strong?"

 

[Merciless Medic]

With the Payback coming its way, Darcy thought for a second before having Nathair do something. The already slow Muk had just shot forward his fist, to which Darcy called out for Nathair to "Use Wrap."

The grunts were fine, but now they stepped back a bit, not wanting to get hurt by the oncoming Pokemon. Nathair slithered up and went to the fist, her body trying to coil around it. If she succeeded in doing so, she'll Bite the arm she was coiled around to at least inflict some kind of damage.

Darcy took a peek at Guzma and saw his smirk. I'm making it interesting! she thought. She was a bit too happy to see the boss smile, but he was having a rough day, so that made her feel awesome.