Private/Closed Closer to the Heavens- Coronet Climb

[EspeonTheBest]

(Unless you are @_Umbreon, @Blue moon, @Zephious, @BurbleBurble, or (possibly- take your time) @Zythefox please do not respond here without first posting a bio in the discussion thread. We have 2 more spots, and newcomers to the RP will not be accepted after a certain point.)

The sun beat down on a parade of chattering people on an early summer morning. The pastel blue sky was already in full blown color- the traces of the murky dawn long gone. Hearthome has always been known for its many people and busy streets- but the congestion on this particular day was beyond compare to the normal. No, today was not the day of a major Pokemon Contest in the Contest hall where many people would gather to watch coordinators and their Pokemon manifest in magnificent displays of beauty. The streets were crowded then, but comparing the two crowds would be like comparing a small, tiny brook to the treacherous rapids of a swirling river. No, today was far more eventful and exciting than a measly contest- but refrain from mentioning that to many people in Hearthome. Most will likely disagree.

The Coronet Climb. An event known for its hardships and many tests of partnership between Pokemon and human. Multitudes upon multitudes of spectators in Hearthome gather in the main square to watch all the action with live cameras and commentary- or they tune into the Hearthome television channel to watch it from the comforts of their homes. The Climb itself is almost like a suspense movie- will they succeed? What hardships will they face? Who will fail? Of course, casualties are minimized by rescue teams that are always hovering in the same helicopter that the cameras are recording in. Within the caves medical nurses are about- told to stay out of sight but be there. Nurse Joy, Chansey, Audino, Human Nurses, and many other means of first aid are kept close by in case of any emergency. These methods have proved to work extremely well- no deaths have occurred in relation to the Coronet Climb and the casualties recived by the event are usually minor- with the worst being a case where a young trainer fell and broke 3 of his bones- one leg and both his arms. That section of the cave has since been blocked, and the competition has gone on for many years beyond that incident.

The Climb would begin on May 3rd- the day after that day. Competitors would begin at one of three enterances- Hearthome, Oreburg, Solaceon, or Eterna openings. The Coronet Climb producers assured that the treasure meant to be found by the competitors would be an equal distance from each entrance, so there is no 'right' or 'better' entrance to take. Each climber is allowed to take every Pokemon in their possession and a personal item in addition the the small array of items the Coronet Climb Producers provide.

"The well anticipated Coronet Climb will begin tomorrow, May 2nd, at 8:00 am sharp. Sign-ups will close by this evening and spots are filling up fast. Folks, here on Hearthome News station we'll be broadcasting every event live for the entire duration of the event. Stay tuned for our next scoop on-" The television faded to black abruptly as the tiny black remote in Bailey's hand commanded it to shut off. The young traveler sighed and leaned back onto the hotel chair she had been lounging in for the past few minutes. Normally at this time Bailey would be out the door, but today she was feeling particularly lazy- plus she had already signed up for the Coronet Climb online so she was sure to be partaking in the event. A small crash from the bathroom alerted Bailey as she shot up from her stationary position to investigate. It was still moderately early in the morning- 6:00 am. The sun rose surprisingly early in Sinnoh compared to many other places Bailey had found herself exploring for the last few months. The traveler briskly walked over to the restroom sleepily- her vision spotting with black. "Ahh- stood up too fast. No worries Yarrow- I'm fine." Bailey assured the Zoroark who had appeared at her side, allowing his trainer to support herself on his shoulder as the spots subsided.

As soon as her vision had cleared, and many thanks to Yarrow, Bailey headed towards the bathroom of her hotel room. She had traveled to Hearthome only a few hours previously. The hotel room wasn't as glamorous as some she had been residing in the past- it was at least 10 feet smaller than the most recent one she had stayed in Kalos and it wasn't nearly as decorative or comfortable. However in comparison to other rooms, the one Bailey had recived was quite comfortable- it's bed was plushy and it had its own chair, table, television, and bathroom along with enough room for her and her Pokemon to breathe and move around semi- comfortably. Bailey quietly pushed open the door to observe as Aster, her Porygon-Z, attempted to open her tube of toothpaste. "Aster? Do you want to brush your teeth? I hate to say it buddy but I'm pretty sure you don't have any." The Porygon-z jumped at his trainer's sudden arrival, but listened carefully to her words. Aster had never been the smartest of all Bailey's Pokemon, but he sure was loyal and determined to please Bailey one day- which wasn't hard because she practically doused her Pokemon in praise almost every second of their life. In response Aster shook his head in a confused manner and held the toothpaste out for Bailey to take. She giggled and took the tube before ushering her Pokemon out of the bathroom so she could get ready for the day.

Bailey expected Sinnoh to be warm during this season, and she was very glad she predicted that. The temperatures would be much warmer than average this season and the traveler was glad she would be able to experience the worst of Sinnoh weather. That's only one of the weird things about Bailey that confuse most travelers. She doesn't want to experience the best of each region, she wants to explore the worst. So, with thought put towards the weather Bailey had dressed in a white camisole that had four yellow buttons emerging from the neck of the short and jean shorts. Due to her slightly self conscious side she had also placed a black camisoule underneath it- barely seen except for under her arms and a little bit from where the camisole v- neck comes together. Sandles seemed like a great idea, but with the crowds, Bailey didn't want to risk a bruised and battered foot, so she decided on her white tennis shoes instead. She walked out of the bathroom after looking over her appearance once and she realized something was off. "Oh, I almost forgot!" She said as she gently grabbed a black diamond locket from her small jewelry box she kept it in. It was marvelous, and Bailey still adored it as much as she did when she first recived it. It had etchings of a Serperior and the Rocks in Geosenge, Kalos. Memories flooded her mind as Bailey wandered out and attempted to get her Pokemon's attention. Her Zoroark and Helioisk were at play in the room, so she beckoned both of them- a slilent message that it was time to leave for the day. Yarrow, not one for crowds, poked at his Pokeball hanging from a thin belt on Bailey's waist and, in a flash of red, retreated into his residing place. Sunny her Helioisk on the other hand climbed up onto Bailey's shoulder.

Aster seemed to have left the room after she ushered him out, but that didn't bother Bailey too much. She already was missing Cosmo and Lavender anyways, so why not add another Pokemon to her list to find? Bailey stepped outside- blinking at the sun. "Holy stars. Sunny, how on Earth are we going to navigate this!" She exclaimed baffled as she scanned the buzzing crowds. Her Helioisk babbled in confusion in response and switched the shoulder he perched on- possibly to get a better view of the area. Now it was about 7:00 am- an hour since she had watched the news report. Only after a few moments did she find two of her Pokemon- Aster and Lavender. To be honest, even in the bustling crowds she could pick out the sound of their bickering for miles. The Porygon-Z and Meinshao were in a small island of grass, one on either side of a small, white, wilted flower. Lavender looked at Aster as if he were delirious as the Porygon- Z yelled at her, small tears forming in his eyes. It was obvious that the Mienshao had carelessly stepped upon the flower that Aster was examining- causing that reaction. Bailey moved in closer to split up the small argument and possibly find another flower to keep Aster's mind off the incident, but Sunny already had that handled. Miraculously he had found a flower identical, if not similar, to the one crushed on the ground and was presenting it to Aster. As soon as the Porygon-Z laid eyes on the flower his face lit up. "Z! Porygon!" He said as he hovered above the ground and danced happily over the small 'reunion.' With a sigh Bailey returned both her scoffing Meinshao and joyous Porygon-Z into their pokeballs to refrain from them causing anymore trouble than they already had.

Bailey continued on her way to search for Cosmo, her beloved Serperior. The two had formed such a bond that they could nearly read each other's minds and could execute battles flawlessly at times. Trouble was, she couldn't spot her massive snake. "Oh come on. Cosmo are you serious!" Bailey muttered under her breath as she went over to a Cotton Candy Stand to buy cotton candy- maybe that will cheer up the Serperior enough to not disappear throughout the rest of the competition.

 

[_Umbreon_]

Darren was killing about, it the harsh sun, it was scorching, And his Umbreon was not happy. He preferred the nice cool shade of a tree, or a lake for a better matter. The other Pokemon that was following him at the moment was a Riolu, who clutched Darren's hand petrified of the crowd. She was more like a small child then a Pokemon, as she knew human language well. His other Pokemon were stored away since some where rather Large. Currently he had his Arcanine, Scollipede, Flareon, And Bisharp. Respectively named Blitz, Theseus, Amber, And Lysander. The Umbreon was Nocturne, and the Riolu was named Aura. He continued walking, before the Nocturne crawled into the darkness of his back pack. He re adjusted the straps to manage the new weight. Not paying attention to where he was going he bumped into another passerby who was walking towards a consession stand. "Sorry!" He said waking up from his day dream. The Riolu looked up at the Young Adult, and whispered to Darren quietly. "Sorry about that. I'm Dusk, and this is my Friend, Aura." He said gesturing slightly to the shy Riolu, who was hiding behind one of Dusks Legs. "Come on out now. It's alright," he said gently.
She peeked out and gave a small smile, before hiding herself again. "She's a little nervous around new people."

 

[BurbleBurble]

Phog's Ninjask flit his wings impatiently as he rested on his trainer's shoulder. Twitchy never liked waiting or staying in place for too long. Thus, his name Twitchy. This city was full of exciting things, and what was lazy old Phog doing? Sitting in the shade of a tree. How atypical of his trainer. Granted, Phog had been wondering around in the sunlight. Truly nothing like the once every couple of months contest crowds in Lilycove. All the great events and things that caught his attention: it wore him out. The heat did not help, he knew it was bound to be warm, but not THIS warm!

As such, he and his hyperactive Ninjask were taking a small break, until Twitchy took off from his shoulder. At first he thought the bug-type was going for a tree branch, but then he saw him heading into the crowds. He jumped up, not wanting to lose the Ninjask. Flitting through the crowds, Twitchy found something of interest: a trainer, with a Riolu and Umbreon, another one, queing for a sticky sweet substance. The Ninja Pokemon was interested in said sticky substance, and sped towards the stand, landing on it. Not the substance itself, as he was quickly shooed away from the stand. Nobody wanted bug-cotton candy after all. So he settled for second best, zipping around that Umbreon instead.

Phog had tried chasing after the speedy bug-type, but simply couldn't catch up. Ninjask weren't an everyday common sight, so surely he had to be the only one with a Ninjask, right? But they were so small, it'd be hard to find him around the huge crowd. He secretly hoped he would make a commotion, if not only to find the, well, twitchy cicada.

 

[Semper Iuvenis]

Zephious sat on a couch in his private jet while gazing at the endless expanse of ocean below him. He sighed in boredom as he had been stuck on the jet for more than a day as it made its way over to Sinnoh so that he could compete in the Coronet Climb. Sure, he did want to compete because of the challenge and reward it presented but mostly he wanted to enter because he had seen Bailey's name on the list of the registered competitors. "Oh Bailey the things I would do for you" he muttered to himself. It had been a while since he had last seen the girl that captured his heart, since then he had seen other girls -most of whom were powerful heiresses to some sort of wealth- and been on a few dates forced by his parents, but none of them seemed to be just as beautiful and enthralling as she had been. Lately he had spent entire days in his room and gazing at the few pictures he had of her, remembering the brief time they had spent together. It had been absolute torture to say goodbye to her when she departed and he still remembered the tears that he had shed during that fateful night. Zephious felt a tear trickle down his face but wiped it away, things would be better as he would see her again in due time. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to take his mind off her, he slipped two earbuds through his messy black hair and played some music that his cousin Xavier had written and fell into a day dream about what it would be like to see her again.

A few hours later the jet landed in the Hearthome City Airport. Workers ran up to set up the ramp for the pilots and the lone passenger while others prepared for maintenance or to pick up the luggage. Zephious stepped out of the plane and gazed at the City's landscape, it was breathtaking and serene. He entered the airport and quickly met up with his escort his parents had arranged and they departed for the hotel he was staying in.

Zephious stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom of his hotel room, finishing up with his hair. Satisfied, he gazed at himself one last time. It was a new look for him as usually he wore jackets and a fedora, but the navy blue hooded vest, black shirt, and black jeans fitted him well, and he kind of liked the idea of not having a hat on all the time. He felt a little strange as it wasn't something very many Kalos nobles would wear, but he overall thought it was a good look for him and felt it made him more approachable. He walked out of the bathroom and into the rest of the luxurious penthouse he was staying in. He grabbed his satchel, a bouquet, and a black jewelry case and headed out, eager for the festivities and the chance to see the girl of his dreams once more.

Zephious was shocked, Hearthome was way bigger than he had expected, not as big as Lumiose, but still pretty impressive. It had been a couple of hours into the afternoon, and he had only seen about half of the city! He continued around with no sight of Bailey when he saw a cotton candy stand. He immediately had a flashback of the last time he had been at a cotton candy stand, for it was at a cotton candy stand that he had met Bailey for the first time. Feeling sentimental, he started to walk but immediately stopped as his eyes met his hearts desire. He couldn't help but stand and stare at her, captivated in a coma-like trance, but almost immediately he snapped out of as he saw a boy up close to her engaging in a conversation. He was crushed, had she gotten a boyfriend since the last time that he seen her? It wouldn't be hard as any person would want to date a girl like her. Not wanting this to be true, he sat down on a nearby bench to eavesdrop on the conversation as he wouldn't want to show up and give Bailey a bouquet when her boyfriend was around.

 

[Blue moon]

Alba Took the pair of cotton candy she had just bought for the two pokemon that were sitting on a bank. She had promissed the both of them to buy them one if they stopped fighting, now she hoped the two fairy type pokemon would keep their promise in mind. She tried hard to get her messy curled hair away from the cotton candy as she walked, she didn't want it to get sticky due the sugar.

A smile crossed the face of Dia and Night as they saw their trainer come back with the promissed candy. She sat between the both of them and tent a cotton candy to each one. Then, relaxed and focused on the different ways the pokemon had to eat it: Dia, the Kirlia, did it gracefully, taking little bites of puffy sugar, doing the best she could to prevent the sugar for sticking around her mouth. On the other side, Night, the Mawile, had her huge black mouth getting huge cotton candy pieces to her tiny real mouth, opening it more than Alba thought possible.

She wanted a third fairy pokemon, maybe one friendly enough to keep the other two calmed and, just maybe, get them to be friends, and even though there were lots of fairy pokemon able to do that, she had thought that a Togekiss would be the perfect one. A kind hearted pokemon able to steal a smile to everyone around it. It was the pokemon that she needed and she had to travel to Sinnoh to get one... but the sudden idea of an adventure made her change her mind.

The Coronet Climb event had excited Alba since she knew about it. The need for an adventure that she hadn't realized she had until she had heard it screaming from every inch of her body. She knew she had to participate, even though her lazy condition would make her regret it later.

Night had already finished her cotton candy, meanwhile Dia had still the half of it to eat. The Mawile was still hungry (she always was) and her trainer was distracted because of a Ninjask flying nearby. It was the perfect chance to steal a bit of candy from the Kirlia. Night's back mouth slowly approached the cotton candy, still without getting noticed by Day who enjoyed the sweet flavour of the candy. She did the next move fastly. Just a bite was needed to get all the cotton candy that was left, and leaving kirlia with just a white stick between her hands.

Dia really wanted to keep the promise she had made to Alba, but the Mawile had crossed the line and she wouldn't just stay there watching as Night ate her candy. With her psychic powers, Dia got the candy back to her just before Night ate it. It was already disgusting slobbered and a lady like her wouldn't eat it, so she just threw it inside the dump that rested a few feets from them.

Of course, now both of them were mad and all they wanted was a fight. The Mawile's back mouth was ready to jump against the Kirlia, who's mind was totally focused on the pokemon that had stolen her candy.

Something big was about to happen, but Alba wouldn't let it.

"Guys, what did I tell you about the fights?" asked the curled hair trainer as she approached her pokemon. Dia and Night aparted they're eyes as Alba scold them "I don't want you two to make trouble again. Once more, and you go back to the pokeball."

"Alba!" said telepathically the Kirlia, she would have probably accused Night if she could communicate to her anything that wasn't just her name.

"You've already heard me girls." insisted the trainer. Dia growled in frustration, as Night stuck out her tong mocking at her.

 

[EspeonTheBest]

Meandering through the crowds to the cotton candy proved to be much more difficult than Bailey had first anticipated and she began to wonder how or why she was summoning up the effort to go get the treat. Sure it would make her massive snake happy, but in all seriousness. Cosmo would probably run off again anyways- shes been like that since leaving Kalos. Always wanting more alone time and more freedom. Bailey hadn't expected for her departure from Kalos to emotionally impact the Serperior in the way it did. Though Cosmo ran off to be alone much more often, that didn't stop her from continuing her attitude and fun-loving nature towards her trainer. It just sometimes caused Bailey more work than it was worth to find her once again. The Unova native sighed and stopped for a brief moment to allow a sweet family of four to pass by without having the worries of being separated even for a moment. Bailey couldn't help but allow her eyes to follow the family; a mistake she regretted at the very instant. The family was of a father, mother, and two sisters- one who seemed older than the other. The family were very alike in frame and muscularity, but the father and daughter with their golden blonde hair and the mother and other daughter with light brown hair struck far too close to home for her. A small pit formed in her stomach- a feeling that Bailey always dreaded would prevent her from being able to have any fun. Homesickness wasn't even a good term- probably separation was better terminology.

With a deep sigh and a mental motivational boost Bailey stuck the family to the back of her mind as she proceeded towards her destination of multicolored clouds of sugar. Well that was where she was going until she bumped into someone. (Bailey was pretty sure he bumped into her, but she didn't mind.) She glanced at who she bumped into. "Oh no! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to run into you." Bailey apologized hastily, trying to dodge a group of young teenagers dashing through the crowds to some unknown destination to her. She bit her tongue- refraining from calling out to them to warn them how dangerous running through crowds could be. One of them could trip on someones foot, another could possibly bump into a slightly rude traveler and get into a fight, or possibly they could get into trouble with Officer Jenny for disruption of public areas. With an apologetic smile she twisted her gaze back to the young man who ran into her. He seemed to be about her age- probably the same if not younger. Bailey couldn't help but notice a larger-than-usual load in the backpack he carried, but she didn't pry on the matter. Besides she just bumped into him. He might mumble an apology and go on his way, as she would do in a matter of seconds. Instead he did something she didn't expect, but it was appreciated.

"Sorry about that. I'm Dusk, and this is my Friend, Aura." The young adult apologized, pointing out the young Riolu hiding behind his leg as he introduced himself and the Riolu. "Come on out now. It's alright," He urged the small Pokemon and Bailey couldn't help but beam at the small fighting type's shy behavior. The contrast between her and Lavender was astronomic. "She's a little nervous around new people." The trainer concluded.

Bailey's beam turned to a full out grin as she crouched down to meet Aura. She couldn't help but admire every single part of the Pokemon. To be honest, when she was looking for a fighting type for her team, Bailey considered asking around for locations to catch or receive a Riolu so she could one day battle alongside a Lucario. She wasn't sure if it was good or bad luck she found Lavender. Good in the way that she now has a loyal Meinshao to battle alongside, bad in the way she never found a place to find a Riolu. "Hello Aura! Its so nice to meet you!" Bailey said softly in order not to frighten the young Pokemon. Then, raising back to her full height, she addressed Dusk. "Pleasure to meet you Dusk. I'm Bailey- normally I would say 'and this is Cosmo!' but my Serperior seems to be out somewhere at the moment. If you do happen to spot her, please let me know." Bailey saw this as an opportunity to get help finding Cosmo, and maybe a new friend, but she almost felt sad knowing that if they went their separate ways they might not ever speak to one another again. Thats how Festival friends worked- with the exception of a few people she knew. "I have to say, Aura seems to have a lot of potential. Shes practically brimming with power now- I can see her becoming quite the force to reckon with in the future." She mentioned, observing the Riolu at Dusk's feet once more.

She looked back up and almost fainted of pure shock. It had been months since she saw him and the odds of seeing him here? In the Sinnoh Region? Far from the region of Kalos? The chances must have been lower than finding a Shiny Pokemon twice in the same forest. Bailey caught her senses back and blinked a couple times to double check that she wasn't hallucinating. Just over Dusk's shoulder she could spot Zephious. The same Zephious she had met during a festival in Kalos and the same one that gave her the Diamond Locket she wore around her neck at that very moment. Better yet- She noticed two gleaming red eyes and a soft blend of minty green and forest green in a tree behind the bench. Her long, scaly, leafy body was extended to the point where she was almost poised right over Zephious' location on the bench he was sitting at. The look on the Serperior's was that of mischief, happiness and a shred of self- doubt. "Oh goodness. I think I found Cosmo." Bailey joked, her eyes not leaving the soon-to-be-disastrous scene. Even Bailey couldn't tell what was running through the Serperior's mind but whatever it was probably would end up in quite the reunion. Discreetly she nodded at Dusk to follow her so she could introduce Cosmo and as swiftly as she could manage without full out running. Bailey just about broke into laughter as she finally came in view of both Zephious and Cosmo, but she was too late. With lightning speed Cosmo struck out and nabbed Zephious' bouquet of flowers and retreated back into her tree, gazing out with her red eyes glazed with humor. "Cosmo! That is not how you treat an old friend and you know it!" Bailey scolded barely containing her giddy laughter at the odds of seeing her friend again. "Give Zephious back his flowers. Now. 1...2...3..." But Bailey was powerless against her large grassy snake, who stood her ground in the tree she was wound up in, the flowers in her mouth.

 

[_Umbreon_]

Dusk was slightly surprised, but also slightly amused at the her Change in attitude as she noticed her Serperior. He secretly wished he still had his Samurott... The poor Pokemon had run off at night, never to return.

He watched her body language shift from determined to straight up giddy as she sprinted over to her Pokemon, and another Adult, around their age as far as he could tell. "Hello." He said warmly to Zephious as he watched Bailey fuss with the Serperior playfully. He wondered if he was doing the Cornet climb as well. "Bailey... You wouldn't happen to be going on the Climb today..?" He asked curiously.

 

[Semper Iuvenis]

Zephious was slightly startled by a Serperior snatching his bouquet of red roses from under his arm. He smiled as he realized that the Serperior was none other than Bailey's Cosmo. He gave a small chuckle and gave the Serperior a nod. He realized that it was just like the first day at the festival where he had met Bailey, a kind of poetic de ja vu.

He turned his attention back to the conversation he was easedropping on only to find Bailey rushing up to him and Cosmo.

"Cosmo! That is not how you treat an old friend and you know it!"

It kind of felt as if a dagger had been thrown and buried itself in the center of his heart when he heard her call him an old friend. An old friend, only an old friend? He felt devastated but tried to hide it with little success.

"Give Zephious back his flowers. Now. 1...2...3..."

"Hey it's ok Bailey, they were meant for you anyway. As for you Cosmo, you will give Bailey the roses, or will I have to summon Angel?" Zephious asked the mischievous snake with a small chortle,
"Anyway, long time no see Bailey! You look just as stunning as the first day we met."

"Hello."

Zephious turned his attention to the man around his own age that had been so close to Bailey earlier. He felt the need to punch him in the gut, but that would only make the situation worse.

"Oh hello sir! I'm assuming your Bailey's boyfriend from the proximity that you two displayed earlier. I just got to tell you, your the luckiest man alive!" Zephious said as he leaned in close to the man and whispered,"If you hurt her in anyway I will kill you, simple as that."

Zephious broke out of contact with the man and gave a fake smile," How rude of me to not properly introduce myself, I am Zephious of the House of Everard, a noble of Kalos and old friend- he said with a slight hint of disgust at the word friend- of Bailey's. What's your name?"

 

[_Umbreon_]

"I wish, We just met, and I'll to that I don't." He laughed slightly, feeling slightly intimidated.

"I'm Dusk, Dusk Everdale." He said. The vibes coming off of this dude were literally spelling out "B A C K O F F" in bright red letters. Aura wasn't liking Zeph at all. Nocturne however was busy watching a Ninjask buzz about, swatting at it.

"Sorry I didn't mean to intrude or anything.." He said to Zeph as Summer was still trying to get the Flowers...

 

[EspeonTheBest]

Bailey noticed Zephious looked a little bit hurt when she said 'Old Friend'. Instantly she knew she had messed up. She didn't quite think of him as just an 'old friend' but she didn't want to march up and practically announce that she liked him. By now he probably had a girlfriend in Kalos somewhere anyways, as he was very handsome. It had been a couple of months and she could never know what went on in that gap of time where they didn't see each other. She frowned slightly and let out a tiny sigh, a small pit in her stomach as a reminder to her poor choice of words. Bailey plastered a convincing smile on her face and gave a small laugh as she went to chase Cosmo down. Plastering smiles was a specialty of Bailey's.

Bailey gazed up at Cosmo, who had a sliver of doubt in her eyes. She knew very well that Angel wouldn't attack her but the threat still hung in the air. The large grass snake glanced down at her trainer- her ruby red eyes full of humor and pity. What- she didn't think Bailey would climb the tree? With a small laugh Bailey swiftly jumped up to the branch Cosmo had her tail wrapped around. The branch was low, but not low enough to just leap upon. She had to step on a few lower branches to reach her Serperior, but it wasn't hard. Some battles she participated in were harder- and she wasn't even the one doing all the work in that situation.

Cosmo grinned and handed Bailey the flowers before wrapping the end of her tail around her trainer's waist. Gently she lowered Bailey down to the ground and swiftly swirled down the tree to meet her. "Thank you Cosmo. That saved me a whopping 30 seconds of my life." She said sarcastically as she glanced at Dusk and Zephious who were chatting about something. She didn't feel very nosy and interrupting is an absolute no. Jumping down the tree wouldn't have been hard and it wouldn't have effected Bailey too much physically- so that is why she said that sentence sarcastically. Although she loved the change in attitude in Cosmo and appreciated the help down. Dusk then brought her into the conversation.

"Bailey... You wouldn't happen to be going on the Climb today..?" He asked.

"Oh? The Coronet Climb? Yes I am actually. I surprised myself when signing up. I have absolutely no strength!" She laughed as she flexed her thin arms, proving her point. "But I'm not worried. I have Cosmo and Yarrow. Well, I'll be taking all my pokemon up on the Climb with me but I anticipate that they'll be the ones to help me out the most. I bet that my Froslass would love to help, but shes always too busy fussing about my health." Bailey explained, thinking to Amaryllis. The Froslass was obviously the mom on the team and was always worried about Bailey's health and appearance. "Do you two plan to participate or are you guys..." she glanced at Zephious carefully trying to catch his expression on this part- it would prove if he had someone with him for the festival, "just supporting a friend?"

Before anyone had time to respond the speakers buzzed to life. "ALL CORONET CLIMB PARTICIPANTS! PLEASE REPORT TO THE CONTEST HALL, INTERVIEWS AND RULES WILL BE HELD THERE. ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY UNLESS GIVEN PERMISSION OTHERWISE." The person behind the intercom stated formally. To be honest Bailey frowned and thought of him as rude, but he was probably required to state that word for word. Maybe the Sinnoh Region wasn't as polite as the Unova Region. Besides that she returned her gaze back to Zephious and Dusk. She kinda hoped that they both were participating- that way she wouldn't have to walk alone.

((Haha. My attempts at bringing everyone together are awful.))

 

[Semper Iuvenis]

Zephious gave a sigh of relief, so he wasn't in a relationship with her. He would have to apologize to him as he realized he had been extremely rude. He was about to offer an apology when he realized that he said that he wished he was her boyfriend. "Okay," Zephious thought," So he wants to play with fire now does he? Two can play at this".

He immediately snapped out of his current mindset as Bailey walked over and joined the conversation. He couldn't help but stare at her eyes as she said something about her lacking strength. He probably would have just stood there all day staring if she had not turned her head to him and asked,

"Do you two plan to participate or are you guys just supporting a friend?"

He was about to answer when he was interrupted by an announcement about how those competing in the climb needed to go to the contest hall. During the announcement he thought about how he would answer Bailey. He was here to support her and to participate in order to have an excuse in order to spend some time with her, but he couldn't very well tell her that without sounding like a stalker. He just decided to answer vaguely after the announcement was over. "It's kinda funny, but I'm here to support someone special to me and participate in the tournament in order to spend time with them" Zephious replied. He instantly regretted it, she probably thought he came to support another girl, but it was too late, he would just have to play his cards right and keep the slight lie going until he could tell her who he really came to support.

 

[BurbleBurble]

The jittery bug got the result he wanted: an annoyed Umbreon. He backed off of the fox-like creature, not to far from this interesting group however. They seemed to react to a man saying something over a speaker, something something climb...eh. These were interesting people, probably doing more interesting things than Phog was right now... Speaking of which, he wondered where that 'lazy' trainer of his is. Despite his 'lazy' attitude, he was his trainer. He fed him, dealt with him, gave him somewhere to live... Jeez, he never realized how much Phog did for him! Though, thanks to his fast paced mind, the bug cocked his head and forgot within the next three minutes, his beating wings ready to fly after the young men and woman and their group of Pokemon.

Phog however, was walking around aimlessly, desperate for the Ninjask to come towards him. In desperate attempt to find him, he called out "Twitchy! Come here boy!" Other than some awkward stare from passerby's, he garnered no result. A announcement came over, to sign papers and the such at the contest hall. Mandatory to attend. Why did Twitchy do this to him at the worse times? He held his head down, as he walked through the thick crowds of varied faces... Eventually he reached the contest hall, and wow... It was better looking than expected. The one in Lilycove was puny in comparison. It matched the look of Hearthome itself: rustic, brown, and elegant. A beautiful sight. It was almost intimidating, the size.

He approached the door but hesitated. What about Twitchy? That Ninjask could be anywhere, plus he wasn't attentive enough to figure out to go in the contest hall, nor would anyone let him in without a accompanying trainer. He stayed out front for a minute, wanting to not lose the poor bug-type. His speed would get him out of most situations, but Twitchy surviving in the wild by himself? Wouldn't last for two days. Besides, perhaps luck would have it that the easily distracted insect would fly over. If not, Burns might be able to sniff him out.

 

[_Umbreon_]

Dusk gave Zeph a odd look, as if he was sizing him up, before he grinned and said," Yup. That's why I was asking you." He said warmly.

Aura however, was interested with the large serpentine Pokemon, and walked over curiously. She looked up at the huge grass type snake, and gave a small wave to the majestic creature, one who had certainly fought many a battle.

Nocturne had prompt hopped out of the bag and watched the Ninjask buzz off, in a hurry apparently. He had thought about giving chase, but knew Dusk would be disappointed with him, which was not good. Atleast for terms with Nocturne.

Dusk figured Zeph and Bailey had history before, but it seemed if Zephious wasn't interested in her. 'What a shame, on his part' he thought. "Guess we should get going? C'mere Aura!" He said as she padded over, and he returned her to her pokeball. "She doesn't like big crowds." He answered to nobody in particular.

 

[Blue moon]

"ALL CORONET CLIMB PARTICIPANTS! PLEASE REPORT TO THE CONTEST HALL, INTERVIEWS AND RULES WILL BE HELD THERE. ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY UNLESS GIVEN PERMISSION OTHERWISE." The call could be heard all over the place. Alba stood up excitedly, the two of her pokemon following her. Dia and Night dedicated furious looks to each other as they followed their trainer to the hall. A good number of trainers headed the same direction as they did, the most of them with teams way stronger than her. She had seen glamorous ice types and threatening dragons together in less than five minutes. And there she was with her two small (but not weak still) fairy types behind her.

Her nervousness increased as she noticed that most of the trainers had big pokemon, probably to help them stuffs of strength or something. That's when she realized she had no big pokemon to carrie her or put some rocks aside. Her biggest pokemon was Mar, her Vaporeon, but unless he had developed some incredible musculature, there was no way he could move rocks or carrie her on his back.

Oh god, what if she fainted and none of her pokemon could help her? Kirlia's psychic wasn't strong enough to carry her, and she didn't think that even all of her pokemon together would be able to take her all the way back to the city.

"Guys, we can't participate on this thing..." said Alba scaredly as she turned around to Dia and Night "I'll faint and you won't be able to carry me, and I'll die and you'll be living in Coronet Climb until the end of the days, wondering why did you let me even try to climb it, and you'll cry everynight unles..." Alba let her mouth shush as a new idea crossed her mind "Is it too late to start training Kira? She's a Mareep, an Ampharos sould be able to carry me..."

Both of the pokemon rolled their eyes as they listened to their trainer. Whenever she was going to start something, she would get insecure at some point and that was when they had to do something.

"Come on girls, I know you were excited about this but it's just so dangerous... There's probably more people regretting it right now like..." Alba's brown eyes scanned the place, searching for an example to the fairy types that stood nexto her "Like that guy!" she finally exclaimed as she pointed to a blond guy running in the opposite direction "You see, I'm not scared. I'm just... careful."

Once again, the pokemon didn't agree with their trainer, and they knew it was time to do something on their own. Dia, with her psychic powers, began lifting up some rocks that rested on the floor, as Night faced to the trainer her mouth-like horns. Alba flinched, knowing that they won't be affraide to attack her if she didn't dare to participate in the climbing. "IT'S OKAY GIRLS!" she yelled "I got it. I'm going to participate, no need to get violent." pleased enough, both of the pokemon let down their guard, ready to continue their way to the hall.

 

[Semper Iuvenis]

"Yep, we should probably get moving, I can't wait to see my special someone in action! We meet at a festival and I instantly fell in love, although I don't think she really thinks of me like that sadly..." Zephious said.

It was completely true, he fell for a girl at a festival, Bailey to be precise, yet he felt as if she didn't feel the same. Maybe she thought of him as more of a brother or a friend. He shuddered at the idea of forever being friend zoned by the one person he would follow to the ends of the earth. And what made him shudder even more was the fact that this Dusk person was competition, he had made that clear.

He looked to Bailey for any reaction to what he had said, when a certain locket caught his eye. It was the locket he had given her at that fateful festival, and she still had it... Could it mean that... No it couldn't. Well, maybe he could try to see if it was true, but how? A idea popped into his head, of course! He could re-enact the scene depicted by the locket's picture!

"Well we should probably get going" Zephious gently grasped Bailey's hand and brought his lips to it," Shall we my lov- I mean, m'lady?"

He mentally wiped his forehead in relief as he saved himself from saying my love as it would be awkward if he said that and she didn't like him back.

 

[EspeonTheBest]

"Yep, we should probably get moving, I can't wait to see my special someone in action! We met at a festival and I instantly fell in love, although I don't think she really thinks of me like that sadly..."

"Oh." The rest of her sentence became constricted in her throat. Before Bailey accidentally choked on her words she stopped trying to communicate and took a deep breath. 'I knew it. He loves someone else.' Bailey thought. Her mind was a mess of different emotions trying to write themselves onto her face, but she refused to show anything but obliviousness. Maybe she wouldn't make Zephious feel too bad if she pretended not to hear that comment. Cosmo slithered up behind Bailey and wound a vine around her trainer's hands (which were clasped behind her back at the time) and squeezed it gently, like a mother would to an upset child. She couldn't spare a glance at her kind Pokemon, but both Cosmo and Bailey knew that the gesture had helped calm her down. Despite that a small fire still burnt in Bailey's stomach. What was that? Jealousy? Oh come on- that was one of the feelings she was trying to remove from her life, not to induce it more.

Bailey couldn't help but display a shred of confusion as Zephious took her hand. Didn't he already have a special someone? Wouldn't an action like that be considered... what was the term... cheating? Or in more modest terms, disloyalty? It was a welcomed gesture, but whomever was lucky enough to be with Zephious must be very powerful, in both wealth and power, and Bailey certainly did not want to fight with someone like that for any reason whatsoever. The thought hit her somewhat suddenly, and Bailey felt stupid for even thinking anything. Duh, Zephious came from a noble family. That was a way of being polite.

With yet another mental facepalm she listened to what was being said. Zephious seemed relived at some mistake he made while Bailey was scolding herself for her thoughts and Dusk returned Aura. Cosmo tugged at Bailey's hand signaling her that it's really time to go. "Oh, well let's go then. I know the way, but in all honesty, how can anyone miss the Contest Hall?" Bailey joked as she found a more sparse side of the road where not many people were walking. She could actually see the Hall from her position- it was massive. The light tan bricks that caused many years of work stood brilliantly in the now fully risen sun. It truly was a work of art. It's circular shape, the craftsmanship needed to make the dome absolutely perfect, and the detailed engravings that outline not only the facades of the building but the whole entire exterior.

The interior was no less magnificent than the exterior. While, in all honesty, the pink carpets and purple walls were a bit of a stereotype and moderately annoying (pink being Bailey's least favorite color), it still was very pleasing to the eye. Some eyes. It depends on the viewer. Besides that as soon as Bailey entered the Hall she noticed three desks, each with an attendant behind it. The building extended beyond that main room however, with multiple hallways full of Sinnoh history branching off of that room. She noticed that the people who were not participating either went down those hallways or talked to the far right attendant to get seats to watch the interviews that would be taking place soon. A desk in the center had no one crowded around it. The reason why probably was because of a large sign with the words, 'Participant entrance.' That being said Bailey looked behind her to see if Zephious and Dusk had followed her. She didn't really want to go in alone, and she couldn't spot them though the small crowd.

 

[Semper Iuvenis]

Zephious released her hand, absolutely crushed by her reaction. The first time he had performed the action she had blushed uncontrollably with a small giggle that he found to be adorable, but this time she showed no sign of caring. Perhaps she really didn't like him... He stood there for a little bit before realizing that he was alone.

Zephious had completely forgotten to take his personal item with him so he dropped by his hotel room and picked up the item, which happened to be his sword. The sword had a handle made of gold and was decorated by two black diamonds on either side, the blade being a expensive black steel, and the sword had a sheath made out of silver. He took a moment to admire the sword, which he called Angle's Blade after his Gallade, before heading back out to the contest hall.

He entered and gazed at the hall, it reminded him of one of the many mansions that his parents had possession of, so he wasn't too amazed at the extravagance of it all. He neared the participant entrance and picked out Bailey through the small crowd immediately, mainly because she was the only beautiful girl in the room, or according to Zephious, the whole world. He walked up to her, noticing she looked a bit nervous.

"Hey, would it be ok if I joined you?" he asked.

 

[_Umbreon_]

Dusk was still following. He'd supposed that he'd tell her his name wasn't actually Dusk, once they'd gotten to know eachother better, and although she was pretty, and cute , which was not a word he used likely, he wasn't going to throw himself at her feet, as Zephious was doing. He twirled the steel knife in his hands, as its blade was a pure white color, and the handle, lined with ebony black obsidian, giving the butterfly knife a simple, yet elegant look. It's blade was sharpened incredibly, it being able to slice through wood with a flick of a wrist. Although when it came to fights Dusk knew how to pack a punch, which might come in handy for dealing with "Pretty Boy" in the future.

He watched Zeph approach, noticing the sword. 'Christ almighty, he thinks he's a knight.' He thought sadly. To make matters worse, it was rather expensive, and not to forget. Impractical.

"Sure, but why'd you bring that sword? It's not like we're going to be fighting any evil wizards or anything." He joked lightly, although it was given to Zeph with a look of pure malintent. He wouldn't last a second in a real knife fight.

 

[Semper Iuvenis]

"Sure, but why'd you bring that sword? It's not like we're going to be fighting any evil wizards or anything."

Dang it, that twit was still with her. To make matters worse his humor was horrible.

"Oh, didn't notice you there. I brought a sword because it has an infinite amount of uses and has more range that something such as that toy knife your playing with there. Besides, I have been taught in swordsmanship since I was five and am a nationally ranked fencer in Kalos. A sword is truly the best tool for me."

'And it would help me protect Bailey from you when you try to pull something, you filthy alley boy' he thought to himself. The knife was a perfect weapon for him, a covert weapon which believed in no honor, absolutely repulsive.

 

[BurbleBurble]

Twitchy had followed the group to the contest hall, but then they went in. Eventually he spotted Phog waiting for him. It was time to go back to the 'Laze'. He zipped down, taking his place on the man's shoulder. Phog was quite happy to see him, as he pat the Ninjask's head gently. Twitchy let out a satisfied hum. He had annoyed the Umbreon, got back to Phog...what else on the checklist for the day? He was sure it would present itself soon, but for now he'd stick Phog's shoulder.

The ninja bug had returned to Phog, resting itself on his shoulder. The twitching cicada was a bit of a weight, however Phog didn't mind; the Ninjask was his friend, annoying as he was. He was sure there was a name for that... He pushed that thought on the back burner and decided to lightly pet Twitchy. "You shouldn't run away boy. You know that." The Pokemon seemed oblivious to the statement, but reacted towards the pet, letting out a chirp of happiness. It was a good try, at least. Twitchy was never observant to words, but physical contact made him react. It must've been a primal feeling of sorts. But, Twitchy was back, and that's what matter.

Entering the contest hall, he was greeted by cliched pink and purple carpets and walls. Didn't men participate in these things? They could've went for a more gender-neutral color. He spotted a entrance to a side room, "Participant entrance". He found where needed to go, and so he went.

Inside the side room, there was quite a few people. Twitchy gazed around the room, finding the group he had been trailing ealier. He snickered as he remembered pestering the Umbreon. He had considered bugging the little Riolu as well, but he didn't want to come face to face with that shady man. Granted, he had a younger Riolu with him, so he probably wasn't the horrible person he was thinking of. Phog also took interest in the group, especially the two men in it. They were having a disagreement of sorts, perhaps? Shady and smug against pretty and proper. The man snickered to himself. He was probably where Twitchy learned about his own snickering from. It took him a moment to realize the pretty boy had brought a sword with him, while shady had a knife. They were both melee weapons, one more expensive and impractical than the other. However, neither of them required a reload, which Phog's did.

Phog had brought a small snub-nosed revolver. Nothing lethal of course; just paralyzers darts were loaded in. Probably wouldn't hurt anyone. Probably. Then again, he had six shots. No extra ammo allowed, as that would be a second personal item. He wasn't sure if it was approved: if not, he'd most likely opt for a flare or something of the sort. But at the moment, he sat back and observed the situation unfold between pretty boy and shady. There was another person in that group though: a young woman. Strangely, she hadn't spoken a word about the situation unfolding infront of her. Would she break it up? Join in it? Heh. This was more interesting than Phog and Twitchy thought it would be.

 

[EspeonTheBest]

"Hey, would it be ok if I joined you?"

Bailey turned to see that Zephious had approached her. Again, why was he so intent on spending time with her if he already had someone else? She silently sighed. Maybe she was thinking of the situation in the wrong way.

"Well, of course. I would love it if you'd join me." She said, but then thought carefully of what she was going to say next. "But wouldn't your 'special someone' want to sit next to you as well? I mean, that's not a problem, I think it'd be fun to meet whomever you're talking about." Bailey suggested, turning a light shade of red. Even she wasn't sure if it was because of embarrassment for asking the touchy question or because she was subconsciously somewhat jealous again. Quickly she put her hands to her face and mumbled an apology. "Oh, sorry. I don't know what's gotten into me." She took her hands away as Dusk had appeared again, toying with an incredibly sharp knife. Before she has the chance to warn Dusk not to cut his fingers, (though he looked very skilled at what he was doing) the festival goer engaged in conversation with Zephious.

"Sure, but why'd you bring that sword? It's not like we're going to be fighting any evil wizards or anything." Dusk had said.

Now that she looked closer, Bailey noticed the sword in its sheath that Zephious was carrying around. Like most of his possessions, the sword was magnificent. It must have costed a fortune. But Dusk's knife was no ordinary on either. It too had engravings made from precious rocks. Normally Bailey would have been surprised at the appearance of weapons in her presence, as that usually means that they owner is a threat. However, she knew that Zephious wouldn't hurt her, and she saw Dusk as kind enough not to cause any harm, so Bailey took more time to admire the workmanship of the weapons. Zephious responded to Dusk's comment with his own about being a very skilled swordsman, which Bailey could imagine.

Being the slow-ish person she was, Bailey finally realized that they were fighting rather than having a friendly conversation about their past with weapons. Bailey herself had no experience with weapons aside from one time when she shot a bow. However, being at the age of 5 at the time she couldn't handle the thought of taking another's life and refused to touch another weapon. Bailey knew, even then, that Pokemon poaching was illegal and archery would be a non violent past time rather than actual hunting, but nonetheless the experience left a mark. She sighed and suddenly remembered where they all were supposed to be. "Maybe we should get to the interview place?..." Bailey suggested, but she almost felt the time running out so she walked maybe 5 steps to the counter for participants. "Hello! Name, please? That way we can record your attendance." The lady said warmly. "Hi! Well. I'm Bailey Lynn... Over there is Zephious.... Everard." Bailey tried to recall his last name. She probably got it wrong. "And....Dusk... Do you just have Bailey, Dusk and Zephious on your sheet?" Bailey asked as the attendant went down the list. "I have Bailey and Zephious, but no Dusk. We have a Darren though." Bailey looked confused. "Oh...ok." The lady smiled and pointed her towards the room behind her, but Bailey was going to wait for Zephious and Dusk before she went to go sit down on stage. However, a Wigglytuff aiding the attendant pushed her kindly towards the entrance and hurried her to a seat. Bailey was the first one there, so she sat near the middle so anyone could sit next to her.

 

[Semper Iuvenis]

"Well, of course. I would love it if you'd join me. But wouldn't your 'special someone' want to sit next to you as well? I mean, that's not a problem, I think it'd be fun to meet whomever you're talking about."

'Crap!' He thought to himself. He knew she would ask questions but hoped that it would have been days away. He would have to tread very carefully. He instead of answering continued his argument with Dusk.

He got so caught up with the argument to the point where he didn't realize Bailey had left until he caught a Wigglytuff guiding her on stage in the corner of his eye.

"Well this argument is getting dull, I'm just going to go and sit next to Bailey, tah tah!" Zephious said sarcastically as he waved to the attendant and ran after Bailey while trying to find a way to answer her earlier question.

After reaching the stage he spotted Bailey sitting in the middle of the stage with nobody next to her - although he caught a few guys staring lustfully at her. He casually strolled down to her and sat in the chair on her right hand side.

"Ok, to answer your earlier question, the girl I was talking about, well, I think doesn't like me like I do to towards her. It's hard to be around her, because she only treats me like a good friend, she's even introduced me to people as a good friend of hers and nothing more." He said with a sigh.

"Which leads me to want to ask you a question, what would you want in a boyfriend?", he asked with a small blush," I ask this mainly because the girl I'm talking about is a lot like you actually, she's a traveler, not rich but not poor, not royalty, nobility, or famous, yet she's perfect in her own way, a way in which nobody else could be... just like you."

 

[Blue moon]

When Alba got into the hall, she got amazed by the way it was decorated. Pink carpets surrounded every corner she looked at almost hypnotizing her, she almost felt like a princes... maybe she sould have dressed better, her old shorts and comfy sweater didn't look accurate.

Amazed by the surroundings, Alba's consciousness faded away, leaving her body mindlessly walking through the hall without noticing anything, not even the great green figure that was just a few steps away from her. Alba dangerously approached it, until... BAM! The messy curled hair girl bumped against this huge green body, getting her feet back on the ground.

"Oh I'm so so-" she tried apologizing, but got paralyzed as soon as she had noticed what she had gotten into. The creatures face looked to her from such a high height, with it's dangerous red eyes staring threatening at her. The worst part was it's long body, without arms, legs or any type of extremities. Just like... a snake.

Alba freaked out. There was nothing that would scare her more than a snake-like pokemon, specially this one that was so... big, it would have been able to eat her alive if it wanted to, and Alba began to fear it wanted to. It was a snake, everyone knew snake were evil, they had teeths, and poison, and didn't like to be disturbed like she had.

Alba slowly began walking away from the pokemon, murmuring "Someone, help me... please" as she walked backwards, abruptly bumping into some guy. She didn't even bothered in looking at him, she just hugged him tight as she screamed "HELP ME!! A SNAKE!! PLEASE!! Ple..." she shut up as soon as she realized what she had just done. She opened her eyes slowly as she aparted her head from the guy, taking a look to the people who surrounded her. There was a light brown haired girl and a bad-guy like standing next to her. And then there was the guy holding her, she found herself staring at him more than she should, but who could blame her? Her ocean blue eyes were the most beautiful she had ever seen...

When she finally woke up and took her eyes off his, she foundherself blushed and ashamed, she had just made such a show... "I-I'm sorry..." she murmured as she stared at the floor.

 

[Storybook]

The whistles rang in Que's ears. They were sad whistles, lonely whistles. They cut through the air, sharp as a rusty old knife, souring the world around them. They battered his form, shrill and piercing as a baby's cry. He couldn't get them out of his head.

The longer they rang, chopped up the air, hung their heads and trudged into his brain, the more empty Que felt. The world slipped away around him, his senses duller by the moment. He no longer smelled the sickly, exaggerated scents of vendor's food as they wafted out towards the crowd, he no longer felt his body thwacked by stray purses and feet that dared near his bench, he no longer observed the tremendous crowds shuffling to and fro throughout the scene, seeming never to disperse but only to grow. Que's world dulled, fading into nothing.

But the whistle was still clear. In fact, it grew, seemed to bounce back and forth in the vast expanse of storage he called a brain, echoing, echoing, throughout his mind. Shrill as a baby's cry. Lonely as a wolf torn from his pack. And with the whistles, Que began to hear something else. It grew steadier and steadier, as if it had always been in existence, and was only now approaching awareness. It was the rough and gravelly chug chug sound of machinery at war with earth.

It was a train.

Que despised trains.

The world seemed to crash back around the boy as harsh as a slobbery, wet tongue on his cheek. He started. There were no trains. He was in Hearthome. There were no trains in Hearthome.

"Only great big, slobbery goofballs," he muttered aloud. The Arcanine seated beside the bench drew his tongue away from the boy's cheek, nodded once smartly, with a pleased expression, before staring off into the crowds, or... above the crowds? Que snorted, not in disdain, but more in disbelief. Growlithe was looking at nothing. What was the point of looking at nothing? Que swore that if the big oaf had enough vision to put his eyes to use, he wouldn't even use them.

The Arcanine's head swiveled, and his nostrils flared. A sort of eager wag spread from the tip of his tail to his great big, idiotic rump. He nudged the boy with his muzzle, and raised a muddy paw towards the cotton candy stand just visible over the crowd's head. Growlithe didn't seemed to care that the fur was still coated in mud from the trudge up towards the city. In fact, Que doubted that the dreamy, brainless beast even noticed.

"It's sugar. On a stick. Out of everything in this festival, you want sugar woven onto a stick?" his voice was strangely uniform, mildly skeptical, but all the same bland in demeanor. Although it was a question, the tone did not raise, and it almost sounded like more of a warped statement. An observation.

The Arcanine nodded smartly, closing his half-lidded eyes and yipping once, in a sort of cheery, childish "Yup." Faster than the fleet-footed beast could run, the sound danced upon the air and, although it was but a short sound, the bark was powerful, regal, even, seeming to convey the aftertone of "Submit to my wish, and grovel before me, my friend!" Though Que would never admit it, at least not yet, the partners shared one trait in common- both over fifteen years old, and they acted as if they were two.

The boy dug through his bag and tossed his wallet towards the pooch. "Get it yourself," he muttered, burying his face in his knees. He was perched on a bench on the side of the street, his feet right on the edge, and his knees pulled close as his arm's wrapped around them. The boy found it a satisfactory position to rest his weary feet, and yet obtain the least batter from the ever-growing crowd. Plus, it was... comforting, as if he was sheltering in himself. Que never enjoyed large crowds anyways, although he denied that he was intimidated by their enormous stature, Gogoat-like brays, and countless devices of war disguised as oversized wallets that swung at his bruised hips.

Plucking the wallet out of the air, the fire dog began to purge his way through the crowd, the tourists and travelers alike seeming extremely happy to stay a fair distance away from the pup as he trotted straight through them, nose quivering, neck flattened so as to point like an arrow towards his destination, following more scent than sight. As the crowd closed back in around his Pokemon, Que's shoulders slumped in what could only be a sigh.

The braying of the crowd began to fade, and a sharp tune rose in power.

His head rocketed back up. Were his ears playing tricks on him or... were the whistles returning? There are no trains in Hearthome. I am in the middle of a crowd. I can't be less alone.

Alone? Why do I care if I feel alone?

The boy gripped his knees tighter. He was cold, and he couldn't figure out why. He felt helpless, powerless, and void of light, void of the queer tingling that caused his lips to crease upwards when he still wished them to go down. His fingers quivered as he seemed to desperately tug at the shoelace on his wrist, not thinking, just reacting, and for a moment, the boy's eyes betrayed the fear that thwarted his calm demeanor. Abruptly, he leapt from the bench and raced after the ambling beast, ignoring the bodies that pushed against him and lead him astray as if he were a boat trying to traverse a strong current.

"Wait! Wait for me!"
The voice, so calm, so uniform, like a blank slate... an erased slate, void of connection. It sounded almost like a plea.


"ALL CORONET CLIMB PARTICIPANTS! PLEASE REPORT TO THE CONTEST HALL, INTERVIEWS AND RULES WILL BE HELD THERE. ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY UNLESS GIVEN PERMISSION OTHERWISE."
"Growlithe. Come on, the cotton candy is going to have to wai- uh, oh fine." The boy, for all his travels, was clearly not as in shape as he should have been, and fear, for one so unused to the emotion, had strained his lungs and patience. He flicked the slobber from the wallet, handed over some cash, plucked the sugar off the stick, and tossed the treat in the air. No way was he going to eat the sickeningly sweet thing. He didn't look back to see if Growlithe had caught it. The great snuffling of inhaling the woven sugar told him everything.

Que took a few steps forwards, and his bones seemed to freeze in a sudden draping of anxiety. He stood a little straighter, amending slightly the slouch that overtook his form, consciously, as if to fool the world of his strength, before pulling back and draping his left arm over the Arcanine's neck. His fingers mingled with the coarse overcoat. Though he was standing perfectly well, Que felt as if he were leaning on his Pokemon, who stood almost five inches above his own head.

"Come on, Growlithe. We have to go to the contest hall. Let's... stay a little closer. Just this once."

The Arcanine didn't appear to be listening, but Que didn't care. He didn't want to be listened to. The scraping of fur on his skin, the transfer of heat between the two bodies, the knowledge that he wasn't alone. That was enough for Que.


"Sir, you are going to have to return your Pokemon to its pokeball if you want to compete. We know he has a... distracted mind, and we would prefer not to have our stage burned down," stated the drone of the lady at the check-in desk. Que's slouch deepened, but he returned the Arcanine to his pokeball nonetheless.

With the eyes drawn away from the futilely fluffy beast, whose lids hung over his clouded black eyes, whose fur was mussed, matted, and tussled, and expression undoubtedly lost in thought, the seventeen your old boy trapped the gazes of many who had nothing better to gaze at, and were the types who tried to read everyone in the room, but became lost to those who are prone to catching only the glamorous as a shadow is blinded in a line of stars. His bland brown hair flopped, flustered, in a mop upon his head, his platinum eyes were almost mechanic in their steely expression and roving movements, and his garb was nothing to note at, just pieces of cloth that hung upon his frame.

Intrigue was called upon when one prone to notice the little things cast their gaze down to his not-quite-dusty-enough shoes. The laces, originally white, now patterned where dust had leaked into the crevices, definitely had to be longer than normal, for they swaddled his ankles in a wad of intertwining knots that suggested one who enjoyed the challenge of ripping them off his feet every night, taking a good chunk of the morning to tie them up again, and repeating the process day after dull, listless day. The suggestion of the act was a sure symbol of one who had patience, and a sort of childish drive to create puzzles in a world that needn't be so complicated.

"Right down that hall, please." The attendant smiled, but Que's face remained blank. Instead of responding, the boy began to walk the way she suggested. His gait was akin to that of a sluggish river, frightfully sour as the murky water draped itself over the earth. As if gravity was too strong, his feet refused to fully leave the floor, and traveled in an almost perfectly straight line across the hall, so narrow and acute that it could only be an act of will. In fact, the boy was staring at his feet as the ground coaxed them into action, and it soon became clear that he was doing everything in his power to walk perfectly straight. A sort of game, perhaps to attract attention, perhaps only to keep his mind occupied, away from things he wished not to think about.

The farther the boy traveled, the deeper his feet seemed to sink into the floor, and the more prominent his slouch became, until it became apparent that the boy was sulking. As he averted his coarse at a nice ninety degree angle to enter the door, his platinum eyes flicked back to the attendant to catch her gaze.

He smirked.

Que disappeared into the stadium. Lost from the attendant's line of sight, he stood slightly straighter, walked ever so slightly faster, and the sluggish, murky, stagnant river became a slowly droning draping of water over earth. He declared his motives to be to mess around with the people who had already appeared, and diverted his course towards the middle of the stage, where a small group of beings had begun to gather. The only people, in fact, who had bothered to enter the place yet, overtaking him as he sluggishly dragged his feet across the hall. The rest, he observed, were still muddling with the crowds, declaring to the world their proclaimed superiority through interviews and conversations. I'd like to think they aren't as primeval as to lust for 'fame'. What a disappointing word. It's sad, how people cling to it like Joltik's to electricity, always madly scrambling over each other like some sort of lunatics, believing that having it will make them some sort of god. Fame breeds no wonder, no magnificence, only hate and disappointment.

Fame is the fool's excuse for gold.

 

[_Umbreon_]

"Id like to see you try and hit me with that giant sword, you wouldn't even stand a chance." He grumbled taking the other seat next to Bailey, clearly unaffected by the diss, his jade green eyes shooting daggers at Zephious, before returning his gaze to the knife, in which was wide open. He pricked himself with the blade, and flinched, before sheathing it swiftly.

"Zephious, you don't seem to understand. With a knife, you have to have skill, which, unlike a sword, you can just flail around. It's also large, clunky, unattractive, awkward, and hard to transport." He added before wiping his finger on his on the sleeve of his sweatshirt. "I'd know." He added cheekily, knowing he'd Get at reaction out of Zephious, who seemed like the kind of person who would get all defensive over a little teasing.

He then watched the whole scene with Alba play out, and had to suppress a smile. Karma worked in mysterious ways. And now Zephious had his hands tied. Dusk shook his head ever so slightly. And as far as he could tell. Girls liked guys who were artistic, more than... What was the word... Chivalrous.

 

[EspeonTheBest]

"Which leads me to want to ask you a question, what would you want in a boyfriend?" Bailey noticed that Zephious began to blush a bit. "I'm asking this mainly because the girl I'm talking about is a lot like you actually, she's a traveler, not rich but not poor, not royalty or nobility, or famous, yet she's perfect in her own way, a way in which nobody else could be... Just like you."

Bailey sat there, her hands in her lap, staring at Zephious in shock. 'He's totally fallen for this girl. If I'm a lot like this girl, why hadn't...' She stopped. Whomever Zephious likes must be different in some way- maybe she was more attractive. Bailey's heart tore to pieces as she heard that sentence form; it hurt to see her crush like someone else. Maybe she should have talked to Summer about dating advice, her sister always seemed to be good at that. Bailey put on the best smile she could manage and laughed a little bit- to display the lie that she was ok. Though, maybe it was a different situation...to cheer herself up?

"O-oh. Well... I don't know. I've never actually had a boyfriend before." Partially a lie. She thought to Damien, a childhood friend who she agreed to date for about a year in their teenage years, but found that being friends was so much easier at that time. "Well, I would just like a person who would be themselves around me. And, well, I guess that they would really have to be patient too, considering how slow I can be sometimes." Bailey glanced down at her lap quickly, realizing that she forgot to retrieve Cosmo, an awkward thought for that particular moment, but a thought all the same. She looked up quickly again thought, lacing reassurance into her voice. "Oh, but I bet that whoever has caught your eye likes you the way you are."

Bailey really expected for a few weird moments of silence to follow, but Dusk walked in. That was probably a good thing, considering that most likely he would talk to Zephious on the darkened stage. She really thought a moment to contemplate would be a good idea. Dusk sat next to her, which she responded to with a smile before looking up at the closed stage curtains. In only a few minutes those curtains would rise and she would be facing hundreds of people and even more from their televisions. Suddenly a small squeak for help darted Bailey's attention to a woman, maybe about her age, run up to the group and hug Zephious. 'Is this who Zephious likes?' She though to herself, looking over the newest arrival. Bailey noticed that she looked very pretty, and not overly pampered at the same time. A small spark of jealousy flashed across her eyes, but she quickly replaced it as soon as it came. It took her a moment, but she realized that the woman was screaming, 'SNAKE!'. "Oh my goodness. Cosmo! I'm so sorry, did a Serperior bother you? That snake is going to get an earful once I find her." Bailey apologized to the woman, completely ignoring that she was flushed red with embarrassment, as Bailey herself was embarrassed as well.

She stood to go find her Pokemon, and heard someone else walking down the hallway. Bailey contemplated for a moment, and then decided to sit back down. Cosmo could wander around for a bit- Bailey didn't mind.

 

[Semper Iuvenis]

"O-oh. Well... I don't know. I've never actually had a boyfriend before. Well, I would just like a person who would be themselves around me. And, well, I guess that they would really have to be patient too, considering how slow I can be sometimes. Oh, but I bet that whoever has caught your eye likes you the way you are."

And then Bailey displayed a face of emptiness, one of a crushed spirit, only for a moment, but Zephious saw it before she covered it up with a obviously fake smile and laugh. Zephious had seen her laugh before and could tell it was forced. He thought for a moment then realized that every time he mentioned the imaginary girl, she reacted in the same way she was now. Could that mean... Well, there was only one way to find out, the gig was up.

"Bailey I-" He got off before the most bizarre and devil-like interruption stopped him from his confession.

"HELP ME!! A SNAKE!! PLEASE!! Ple..." A girl said as she bumped into Zephious, turned to him, and hugged him for dear life. After a few awkward moments she began to calm down, looked up, and stared into his eyes. "I-I'm sorry..." She said as she let go of him. His eyes immediately shot towards Bailey, and saw once again another face that made it seem as if she was jealous. Man, why hadn't he seen this before!

"It's ok, here let me help you" he said as he guided her to the seat next to him and sat down, " Hope you'll be alright, no snakes going to hurt you.

He then turned to Bailey. "Well as I was saying before the incident, Bailey I feel as if you should know who the girl I'm talking about really is, however I am finding it hard to use words. Perhaps this would best explained through action."

He leaned in slowly, gliding his hand from her cheek to her hair in a loving manner. He leaned his head in, tilted it a little bit, and his lips met hers.

 

[_Umbreon_]

And with that Dusk made a very fast motion, stabbing the 5 inch blade of the knife into the handle of the chair he was residing in. The loud noise echoed in the amphitheater.

"Could you not? It's kind of hard to concentrate with you flirting with Bailey every three seconds, also giving you the personality of a person who's desperate. FIRST OF ALL, you brought a sword, and your acting like a prince. So your royal highness. Please stop." He said glaring at Zephious. If he wasn't in a bad mood before, he was pissed now.

Nocturne was underneath Dusk's feet, purring quietly. He was asleep of course. He could sleep through just about everything. It led to some quite hilarious results on some occasions.

 

[BurbleBurble]

Phog had walked into the seating room, a little before some girl jumped in fear...into pretty and proper's arms. He snickered under his breath. It seemed to be a mistake of sorts, as she seemed rather rattled after that. Maybe it had something to do with that giant snake...Serperior, that's what they were called. He wasn't very up to date on many Pokemon. Especially Unova's ones. Which was ironic, since he was a "researcher". Speaking of Pokemon, it seemed Twitchy had misplaced himself again. Phog's eyes darted around, before settling on the Ninja pokemon, sitting a few seats in front of him.

As Twitchy continued to close in on his target, Phog was distracted by a loid noise: Shady stabbing a knife into his chair arm. It was loud enough to make him jump, losing focus on his Pokemon. He tried to find the Ninjask once again, but to no avail. Where was he?

Twitchy was half way towards the Umbreon under Dusk's feet. The young man plunging a knife into the chair arm didn't deter him one bit. Bug-types were never known for their cleverness, were they? Once he reached his target, he sat on the back of the purring creature, before poking Nocturne every couple of seconds. He let out a hum-like laugh, not loud enough for Phog to hear, but probably exposing his location to the man above him.

 

[EspeonTheBest]

"Well as I was saying before the incident, Bailey I feel as if you should know who the girl I'm talking about really is, however I am finding it hard to use words. Perhaps this would best explained through action."

Bailey's world began to move in slow motion. Her slow mind, as always, wasn't very keen on picking up the details and collecting thoughts, so it wasn't until Zephious ran his hand through her hair did she realize what the whole situation for the past hour or so was. This 'special person' wasn't a girlfriend or a crush- it was her.

Maybe it was unfortunate that Bailey went numb. Although, maybe it saved her from fainting of shock. No one will ever know; Bailey's world blurred as Zephious kissed her. This was surreal! Bailey was so sure Zephious has his heart on a lady of a fine household who was fair enough to be of interest. Of course, maybe if she actually payed attention once in a while maybe she would actually take a hint or hear things that she's supposed to hear in full rather than cutting in halfway through the conversation. Dusk became moderately upset at the action and began to scold Zephious, but Bailey didn't want this moment to last. She didn't hear what Dusk was rambling about but Bailey guessed it would be best if she caught her head. (Which currently was lost in some dream world beyond comprehension.)

Bailey let the moment last a few blissful moments more before sitting back in her seat again. She turned to face Zephious and was about to sputter about how sorry she was for the misunderstanding, but the gathering crowd behind the lowered curtain gave an upset sigh and the sounds of people packing up commenced. A tall lady with a red dress that brushed her ankles approached the group, scanned her eyes over each one, and nodded in approval. "I'm so sorry for your trouble today ladies and gentleman." She began. "I'm so sorry but the interviews have been cancelled. Sinnoh TV can't get here in time and the television broadcasting station is acting up tonight. Originally we were going to continue with it in front of a live audience, but as an announcer myself, I know how much being in front of people can be stressful, and this is no time to be stressful." The lady smiled and started to hand out the papers in her hand. "This list has all the rules and regulations of the Coronet Climb. This year we have 15 contestants and the prize hidden within the mountain that you will be required find is..." She paused to add suspense and passed out the last paper.

"A key stone." Bailey's jaw dropped in shock. A key stone? The rare items that lead to the first steps of Mega Evolution? They're small, though colorful and glittering. Plus, from previous years of watching the Climb, the prize is usually found on a pedestal. So even though they are significantly smaller than its counterpart, the Mega Stone, it won't be a search through every nook and cranny. Bailey finally took her eyes off the ladies' satisfied smile with the reaction she received (at least from Bailey) and looked down at her paper full of instructions. It was the same as the rules on the sign ups. "You are dismissed. For the members who didn't make it, I've sent a few young kids out to deliver them. I will be pleased to see you tomorrow!" The lady finished, walking off the stage as elegantly as she would if the curtains were up.

 

[Storybook]

Que shadowed Phog across the stage, letting his feet drag dully over the floor as his steely gaze roved to and fro. For a few moments, he had hung around the entrance, surprisingly statuesque and eerily void of even the movement of his fingers. When the older, darkly dressed trainer slipped into the room, the spell shattered, and Que trudged silently after him.

The tall stature and devious demeanor of the trainer didn't seem to subdue Que in the slightest, and he appeared not the least bit intimidated as he acted as the man's shadow. In fact, there wasn't much written on his face at all, nothing in his mechanical eyes, and not in his thin, straight lips, not his warped way of walking as if gravity were just too strong. If it weren't for his slouch and the wads of knots, an onlooker would doubt a personality even existed to fog the strategist's brain. Que chuckled at the thought. The demeanor, as always, was purposeful, and the strange looks that often trapped his form were half of the motivation. Strange looks were amusing.

When the tall man reached the seats, Que slid away from him, as if deciding that the matter of interest was not really a matter of interest after all. His steely gaze swept over the cheap chairs, no doubt procured at haste for the event, and for awhile the boy stood silent once more, as if weighing the pros and cons of every act he could make, thinking of every reaction he could procure out of others and himself. The fearful cry of a girl swat at his ears, but the boy remained opaque in expression and deathly calm in demeanor.

The dully shining floor once more coaxed his feet into action, and Que dragged himself across the stage, pondering on the amusement that the man could have given him. He made his way to a row as close as he could get to everyone, but still rather unoccupied, so that he sat at the foremost position of the stage. Although he was perched in front of everyone, Que had his knees upon the chair, and his elbows on its rim, so that he was facing the odd selection of trainers in a posture befitting of a four year old who didn't feel like turning his chair around with him.

"Absolutely riveting," Que murmured shortly after the ex-bemused girl broke from the awkward romantic's grasp, as if noting a fact to himself while observing the crew. The bearer of bad news (all news was bad news, plus, she had that look on her face) entered, and the boy twisted, raising one knee so as to lean on it, but not fully changing his body to face her. The words she spoke swam dully through his brain, and although the queer boy noted their existence, and gathered a sort of loose idea of what had happened through all the mumbo jumbo of senseless chit chat, his full attention was focused on the wad of knots upon his wrist, settled almost like a constrictive bandage. After a time of intense focus, the boy deftly brought his left hand into action, clasped with hollow, bony fingers a few choice strands, and plucked them loose, effectively untangling one knot, and loosening about five others. The action was repeated, and before she had finished her rant on interviews, the knots were all unraveled to reveal a single, warped, long black shoelace, indented perpetually where the tangling of itself had strained it.

"A key stone," he inwardly seemed to straighten at the words, having lost a bit of desire to listen after her senseless pause in speech. After a moment of pondering on such a prize, in which he brought his left hand up to toy with his lip, the boy concluded to order his face remain blank.

"You are dismissed"

"A key stone..." he repeated thoughtfully, accenting the word 'key' and toying with the paper in his hand. "And only fifteen contestants. What a shame about the interviews, but This..." his voice took on a sort of misty, ghostly tone, almost serpentine as it rose in pitch and revealed a sort of warped excitement, "This is going to be exciting."

 

[Blue moon]

"A key stone" Alba's mouth opened in amazement. One of the fundamental parts of the mega-evolution was the prize of the competence and she couldn't help but getting everytime more excited. Which pokemon was she going to mega-evolve? Right now the only one able to do so was Nigh but in a few years... Ciel, Kira, Dia... all of them were able to mega-evolve. Her six pokemon team would have four mega-evolved pokemon!

As Alba daydreamed, her pokemon were able to approach her. The both of them were now scared of their trainer's face, had she gone mad? She was just smiling at nowhere... But who could help her? She would be the strongest trainer of them all!

Night, in a desesperated attempt to wake her up, bited her hand with her back mouth. The messy hair girl opened her eyes widely. "Night, that hurted!" she exclaimed sobbing her hand "Look! You left it all red!". Dia looked at the Mawile in reproach, the steel type pokemon laughing at the situation.

"You are dismissed. For the members who didn't make it, I've sent a few young kids out to deliver them. I will be pleased to see you tomorrow!"

A new kind of look was borned in Alba's eyes. There were strong trainers to fight against for the prize, but now she knew she had to win it. "Are you ready girls?" she asked determined "Because we are going to win this competition!". A smile grew on Night's lips as she heard her trainer with such an energy, she couldn't wait to kick some asses. Meanwhile, Dia walked a few steps backwards... what was happening to her trainer?

 

[_Umbreon_]

"Dream on kid." Dusk added cheekily to Albas statement. This was just a game for him. A rich kid just dying to fit in with society. And a pitiful attempt at friendship. Which usually ended with them stealing money from him. He grumbled something his mood changing drastically as he realized the "Knight-In-Shining-Armor" was still ass kissing.

 

[BurbleBurble]

The Ninjask squinted his eyes at the silent body of the Umbreon he was attempting to irritate. Seemed it was a hard sleeper. Well, time for his personal alarm clock. He let out a rippling buzz, a buzz bug attack. If he wasn't irritated before, now he would be pissed. Mission accomplished! He flew away from the dark type, back towards his owner. He seemed fairly deep in thought. Or as Twitchy called it, being lazy.
-----
Phog blinked as the information washed over him. A Key Stone? He knew this event was prestigious, but this was a once in a life time chance!...then again, the only Pokemon he owned that could Mega-Evolve was Aggron, who would be even worse threat after that. But it still fetched a high price. and who's to say this wouldn't be a learning lesson with his Aggron? Maybe it could learn to...obey.

Twitchy flew over and landed on his shoulder, snapping him back into reality. "What've you been up to?" "Bzzzzzzzt." The hum he replied back was not what Phog wanted. Not that he could understand Ninjask in the first place...

As he walked away from the seating area, he couldn't help but notice Shady from earlier telling some aspirational kid to "Dream on." Well, might as well stick up for her...

"Hey kid. Don't listen to Shady there. Go out there and get that key stone, or at least do your best. Ol' tall and glum is just upset at pretty boy over there..."

 

[_Umbreon_]

"Watch your tongue, or I'll cut it out." He said coldly. He returned his gaze to the show stage. Dusk also had no idea that Bailey was Summer's sister, because in they're earlier school years she had never really talked about her to him.

Nocturne looked kinda confused at where he was, and his ears were pressed to the side of his head , barely having enough energy to lift them.

 

[Blue moon]

"Dream on kid." Alba heard from the guy next to her, she turned to face him. She was going to answer something but...

"Hey kid. Don't listen to Shady there. Go out there and get that key stone, or at least do your best. Ol' tall and glum is just upset at pretty boy over there..." said another voice from the other side.

"Watch your tongue, or I'll cut it out." the guy was scary, somewhat attractive, but still scary... oh god, Alba, it's not time to think about guys, he's insulting you.

Alba sighed, and turned to the guy that had just defended her. "It's okay... I guess. Not like I'm such a experienced trainer... Thanks anyway." she said to him with a smile on her face "By the way, I'm Alba."

Noght rolled her eyes. How could Alba just pretend as if bothing had happened after that guy's rude comment? She was certainly mad. Okay, it was true, Alba was still a rookie when it came to training but she had her! And of course she was strong, stronger than Dia and the rest of the team and she would probably win in a battle against that Umbreon of his.

Unlike Alba, she wasn't just going to let that pass.

The Mawile discretely approached the egocentric trainer, facing her back to him. She just wanted to get a small revenge nothing that would actually damage him...

She did it fastly, just a small nibble on his hand with her horn. She could have ripped it off his arm buth that would have attracted too much the attention...

 

[_Umbreon_]

Dusk turned his head over at the Mawile with a flicker of a smile. His sister had been very fond of Steel type Pokemon, very many of which had very sharp teeth, so Dusk was used to this.

He had meant no bad intent with his sarcastic remark, it was just that he had lives through some nasty events. So his humor was a lot darker than others.

He fumbled for something in his pocket. He pulled out a small verdant colored gem, about the size of a half dollar, and gave it to the Mawile. He had no idea why he did this, he just felt he needed to.