Ask to Join New Beginnings

[Skittles09]

How long had it been since they departed from the ship? She wasn't sure, but did not care in the long run as she walked along through the dense trees populating the area, accompanied by her Charmander as they walked side by side. Shaynuh had been searching once they had set foot on land, looking for any mountain or caves if there were any. So far, she hadn't run into any trouble, or the other trainers that she had seen on the ship earlier. Being alone with her pokemon was peaceful and quiet, just how she preferred it.

She occasionally checked their surroundings as they walked on, alert for any wild pokemon they might encounter along the way. So far, nothing appeared.

After exiting through the seemingly endless forest, she took notice of a dark cave on her right.

She looked down at her pokemon. "Ready to light the way?" she asked with a smile.

Her Charmander gave an eager nod as it hurried ahead of Shaynuh, heading for the cave as she followed behind her pokemon. The fire of Charmander's tail made it somewhat easy for them to move through the cave as they progressed further. Many different sounds echoed around them as they went in deeper, noting the nocturnal pokemon in here were awake and moving about.

"I hope we find one." she muttered, on the hunt for one pokemon in particular.

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"I'm right?"

A surprised Madison looked up from her Pokédex in disbelief. She never thought he'd be saying that to her either. Madison had expected it when she offered a fake consolation, but not after what she'd just said. The girl had lost her temper and addressed Collax bluntly, and apparently that was what he really needed. She put her device away and continued more confidently.

"...Yes, of course I'm right. You're welcome."

Madison had little time to fully regain her composure, however. The boy suddenly rammed the log on his knee and shattered the charred wood. Then he turned to her with a smile, not a hint of that intensity in his expression. Madison would've been too preoccupied with her dress if she kicked charcoal, but Collax's attention was immediately on her. Although she could chastise him for days about how dirty he was, she appreciated that.

"I see nothing wrong with that, coal axe," Madison smirked, even as she conceded. "...Well, I'm not particularly fond of touching dead leaves and other dirty firebrand, but I'll suck it up as I did with the fire I made this morning and the semi-clean sheets I slept on last night."

She wasn't quite used to it yet, but she was getting there. Madison set the bucket on top of the pot and walked to the lake. The mud was still there, sinking her steps as if desperately trying to slow her down in the last stretches of obtaining clean water. But it was futile, because she already filled her own canteen with lake water and returned to the towered filter. Madison poured it in and waited for the clean water to pass through.

Waiting didn't mean standing around, however. She and Gible gathered sticks and dead leaves as the drops took their sweet time. There would be nothing sweet about them when they were done boiling, nor any other strange tastes.

"I wonder, if you had a Fire-type move, would you have started your fire that way? We do live in a world of Pokémon, after all. Or would you have stuck to the flint, because you're old-fashioned?" teased Madison, as she piled the burning material onto Collax's earlier fire. She ordered Gible to use Flamethrower, a controlled one, so that the fire would be small enough to barely lick the sides of the pot. Madison set it down over the pile of loose bramble.

There was nothing wrong with being old-fashioned. Besides, the girl wore a dress in a jungle, so the same could be said about her. It was a good sign, because that was exactly what they needed to be when removed from the developed world.

 

[StormingCobra]

Anthony saw the boy who asked his identity. “Anthony,” he said. His Flareon walked over to the dying fire and used Flamethrower, lighting it once more. “And you are?”

Brandon looked up and saw people on the other side of the lake. One of them was easily identifiable.

Madison.

He walked up behind Anthony and tapped him on the shoulder. The two of them looked at Madison as she spoke to Collax. “Seems like everyone is starting to find water,” Brandon said.

Suddenly, Anthony heard a distant roar coming from above. He saw a Charizard flying around, with a trainer on its back. He smiled as it flew away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, the trainer on the Charizard flew around the region above them. He saw Anthony on the ground and turned around. He flew back to Sinnoh and reached his rendezvous.

“They’re alive,” he said to the trainer in the room, another man.

“How many?” he asked.

“Most of them,” the first trainer replied. “All but one. Where are the others?”

“Just sent them a call,” he said. “When do we go in the field?”

“Anthony is protecting them. We will go in as soon as he sends me the distress call. He can handle the job for now.”

 

[Mystic Zander]

"Zander, I was sent to help due to the all the mishaps that have been occurring, although its starting to look like the mishaps began during trainer selection for this mission." He said brash tone, quickly turning away from the two before continuing towards the others of the group, a negative vibe coming off of both of them.

"Hey, nice to meet you both. My names Zander and I just recently arrived. And you are?" He questioned, his approach a bit more kind this time around.
"Well, at least everyone seems to have a decent grasp on basic survival, luckily can help with that as well." He noted internally, examining the groups current setup.
"Oh...and I came supplied by the way, ive got various survival tools along with me in case there's been a hitch along the way yet." He added, once again pulling the small pamphlet out of his back pocket before opening it up. It was a crude but detailed map of the island, many large portions still blank.
"We've still got quite a bit of exploration left to do, we've barely gotten started.....chances are we'll be here for quite some time. Perfect."

Beldum crept closely next Zander, staring on curiously at the different pokemon around him.

 

[Zixal]

The "coal axe" joke went right over his head.

Collax smiled again, however, seeing Madison in a better mood as she piled more kindling onto the fire pit and lit a new blaze. It was mildly relieving, for whatever reason, knowing that they had restored relations. And now they had clean water. Things were looking up and up. In the meantime, she started conversation again, and this one felt more casual than the last one. Nothing deep or serious, just some everyday conversation that Collax enjoyed most. He sat down and watched the water slowly set over the newly born flames as he considered the question for a moment.

"I guess I'd prioritize convenience, but I guess it's more fun to stick with what you know. Out of habit, eh? When you practice something long enough, it just becomes second nature. Maybe I'd catch myself midway through lighting with a piece of flint and wonder why, but still use it anyway. It all just depends on what you're given, and what you practice." He continued to watch the pot for a few seconds before he pulled out his canteen and went to grab some water of his own.

It was only a moment. He submerged his canteen, withdrew the water, and instantly poured it into the filter. It had done a fantastic job progressively filtering out most of the contaminants with Madison's run, so he simply dumped his entire canteen into it and picked the bucket up, lining up the top of his canteen with the hole on the bottom. The filtered water eventually seeped through all the layers and dripped into his canteen, which was plenty enough for him. Once his canteen was full again, he didn't bother pouring it into the pot to boil, he simply took a straight swig of the water. It tasted familiar to him, as he had done this many times before with similar water. To others, it may taste mildly chalky or slightly sour, possibly rancid to the particularly picky, but to Collax, who had lived drinking the same water almost daily on his own accord, savored it. It even slightly reminded him of home.

"Ahh. Well, there we go. Clean water, and I can tell food won't be a problem any time soon. Maybe we can make a pretty good team after all, eh Maddie?"

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"Out of habit?" the girl asked rhetorically. "I understand. I've practiced my appearance for so long that dressing nicely comes naturally to me. And I've honed my training to an art, combining Twisters and Stealth Rocks, Sandstorms and Twisters. My moves were elaborate displays of battling prowess, while Ray's were uninspired. I know what habits are, because all of mine are good."

After 5 minutes the boiled water had cooled significantly, and Madison had a full canteen to drink from. Gible coughed up another heap of sand to put out the fire.

"Oh, and about us being a team, that would imply we're of equal status," she added as she quenched her thirst. Then, a smile crept to her face. "...But in every other sense of the word, sure. Thank you, Collax."

That would've been a good note to end on before they headed out and started the new day, but another boy appeared out of nowhere and introduced himself.​

"Hey, nice to meet you both, names Zander, just recently arrived. And you are?"

Madison immediately thought of Zack Steel, turning away from Zander and sharing her negative judgments with Collax.

"They must all come from some distant Planet Z, these people who don’t pause between sentences."

Had Zander not been there the whole time, this would have been gossip, but Madison seldom spoke ill of people behind their backs. She said it to their faces. And the girl was making it obvious that she was unimpressed, just as she had to Collax, Sterling, and Lisa, when they first met.​

"Oh...and I came supplied by the way, ive got various survival tools along with me in case there's been a hitch along the way yet." He added

"Fine. I am Madison Cairn, Lasryn's future queen."

Her response alone clarified why she was so condescending. She would soon conquer the region, tame the unpredictable biomes and unite them under her rule. Why should Madison care about this boy?

"So," she continued. "What do you want from us?"

 

[Mystic Zander]

Zander simply let the funny little girls words sink in, not quite sure what about half of them meant as she seemed to be ranting to the boy behind her.

"I am Madison Cairn, Lasryn's future queen."

"A pleasure, Madison. Just asking if anyone needs help. And if they make this place a democracy, you sure as hell wont be." He said flatly, turning his attention away from yet another rude trainer on this island before zoning in on Collax.
"Lets see if at least one of them are in a peaceful state of mind." He pleaded to himself, not wanting to start a solo journey so quickly.
"You seem to have some experience in this field, great to know." He added, taking note of the fresh water an smoldering remains of a campfire that had been smothered out.
"Not that im trying to take the pride out of your work, but this may also help if your in a hurry...." Zander hurriedly rummaged through his backpack as he spoke, digging out a plain white tube with a blue with a cloth like piece of material on one side, and a mouth piece on the other.
"You can use this to drink directly from streams if needed, just remember to empty and clean the filter every week or so." The Beldum trainer held the small filter out, hoping at least one of the trainers here would be sociable.

 

[Mystic.25]

When Peter awoke, his Dunsparce was going to work. His tail was drilling into the solid ground to find groundwater. "What're you doing, bud," Peter asked rubbing his eye. It looked back at him with a blank face. Dunsparce let out a small grunt; Peter crawled over and saw a small hole. Fresh water! "You're the best, Dunsparce," he patted his back. In return, Dunsparce wagged it's drill-like tail excitedly. In his excitement, however, the hard tail slammed into Peter's foot. "AGHHHHH," he yelled in agony. As soon as it saw what it did, Dunsparce nudged his foot apologetically, which only made it worse.

 

[EeveeBlueSisters]

She had been sent to this unfamiliar region so had decided to leave her house that early morning with Ribbon her Eevee who had rested on her shoulder with a purple ribbon tied to her right ear. She wore this white dress with light lavender flowers printed on it with white flats with the straps wrapped around her ankles. She wore a cross necklace around her neck but had a dark purple scarf around her neck covering it with her white long hair up in a pony tail. She fixed her glasses that was upon her face fixing her bang that had covered her right eye. She made her way through an unknown path that she was unfamiliar with as she held her violin case in her hands hoping to find a spot to practice once she was more settled and familiar with this region. She smiled gently though looking at Ribbon on her shoulder. "What do you think Ribbon? Do you like the scenery here?"she asked her gently smiling. "Ee! Eevee!"she smiled. She smiled gently after her but had looked around mostly. "I wonder if other trainers are around here? It would be nice to make some friends Ribbon, what do you think?"she asked her. "Eevee!"Ribbon said agreeing giving a smile.

 

[Zixal]

Collax watched as Madison again embarrassed herself before someone she had only just met. He half-smiled, now finding slight humor in it, but was still respectful enough not to show it to Madison herself. When Zander turned to talk to him, Collax was only slightly focused on what he said; he was looking the boy over, seeing his face, his clothes, his stature, his tone of voice. Anything that wasn't directly what he was saying that spoke something about the boy.

When the boy offered him the filter, Collax looked at it and chuckled. He had seen these things in shops all the time, and he never bothered to buy them. Not only did he not trust them, it just felt really uncomfortable to drink with a straw from a river or pond. Albeit, Collax was a fan of trying new things and being in uncomfortable situations, this straw felt more like a handicap than a tool to assist survival. Even though it would make things significantly more useful, Collax held a hand up in refusal of the tool, his slight sense of pride making him reject it.

"Appreciate the care and concern, but I'm jus' fine with my own filter. It works, and truth to be told, I kinda trust it a bit more. Maddie could probably use it; if we were in a hurry, I'd just drink the water without a filter." As he spoke, his three Pokemon, Barkley, Skorupi, and Inkay, stood and floated beside him. Skorupi attached itself to his boot, Barkley orbited Collax whilst looking at Zander in the same way his trainer did, and Inkay clung to the side of Collax's head. The boy was young, but obviously had a way with Pokemon.

"Good ta meet ya, Zan. Name's Collax. Collax Edgerigo. This here log of a Phantump is my lifetime companion, Barkley. Down there is Skorupi and up yonder on my hat 'ere is Inkay." Inkay hung onto his grey trilby, looking away from Zander, while Skorupi tilted his head while looking up. Barkley just smiled and waved.

"I'm just Queen Maddie's lackey for the time being. Somethin' I can do for ya?"

 

[Mystic Zander]

"Thank goodness, he's sane. And seems to be quite in touch with nature, ill have to keep him around." Zander simply gave a small grin as Collax turned down his offer.
"Thought so, understandable." He replied, glancing over his shoulder once again at Madison before sliding the filter into his side pocket.

"BELDUUUM!" The hovering companion of Zander yelled, approaching Barkley and Inkay without hesitation.

"Excuse you! Manners!" Zander yelled in response, flicking the top of Beldum's head as he pulled him away from the other pokemon. A hollow metallic thump could be heard as he did so, causing Beldum to spin around, facing Zander with a look of agitation on his face.
"Youll have to apologize for Orion here. You see we're from the Sinnoh Region, he's not very familiar with Kalos or Alolan pokemon, he's just curious." The young man apologized, his 'cool' persona quickly dropping as he stumbled back with Orion wrapped in his arms like a baby.

"Dum." Orion cried quietly and in a rather snarky tone whilst it stopped hovering, all of its weight dropping on Zander at once. The boy fell forward, the unexpected increase in weight making him topple over and roll right next to Collax.

"As you can see, hes quite the rowdy little guy." Zander said in a strained voice, rolling the 200+lb mon off of his chest.

"Belbelbeldum!" The pokemon cried in laughter, his payback for the flick simple yet oh so sweet. He quickly floated towards his trainer, giving him an apologetic nudge that almost spoke, 'we're even'.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny." Zander replied, letting out a heavy sigh as he sat up, simultaneously slipping his backpack off his shoulders for a bit of relief.
"Anyways, I just wanted some information on the people who've gone missing on the island, know anything about it?" He continued, not even acknowledging the small 'battle' he and his partner just had.

 

[Skittles09]

A sudden shuffle of movement could be heard ahead of them, causing Charmander and Shaynuh to stop. She looked at her Charmander as it stared at her before giving a nod, signaling him to move towards the movement with caution as she followed behind in silence. More movement was heard, followed by various sounds that echoed through the cave loudly.

The light of Charmander's flame slowly revealed a more spacious part of the cave, the sounds growing louder and louder until a group of Zubat flew by hurriedly, along with several Diglett and Dugtrio. They did not stop, not caring about the Charmander or Shaynuh as they went by. It almost looked as if they were frightened of something that was steadily following after the fleeing pokemon.

Without warning, an Aron appears running toward them, charging at Shaynuh and Charmander full speed with no signs of slowing down or stopping. "Smokescreen!" she said, waiting until the right moment to move.

The fire pokemon opened his mouth, letting out a thick cloud of black smoke, obscuring the Aron's vision which gave them enough time to quickly get out of the way, moving to the left as the pokemon passed by. However, after the smoke had fully cleared, the Aron skidded to a stop before turning around to charge again at its new targets.

A smile formed on Shaynuh's face as Charmander hurriedly stood in front of his trainer, ready to fight. "Smokescreen again! Follow it up with Ember!"

Charmander wasted no time in attacking as he let out another cloud of thick smoke to blind the Aron, causing it to halt abruptly in its charge to search for Charmander. Suddenly, the illuminating light of fire appeared behind the Aron before a douse of flames hit the pokemon.

 

[EeveeBlueSisters]

She made her way to an area where a beach was present as the road like path was next to it, she looked to Ribbon before gently smiling. "This is a good spot whay do you think Ribbon?" "Ee! Eevee!"Ribbon said gently smiling before leaping off her shoulder. She sat down just on the edge on the road like path before opening her violin case as she grabbed her violin holding it with her cheek before beautifully playing it as the sound echoed as Ribbon closed her eyes listening to it as she saw other Pokemon starting to gather to listen to her play as a Glameow seemed to approach her along with a Popplio. They both sat down as they listened to her play smiling.-

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"Democracy is the most flawed form of government, letting the uneducated masses decide. I'll conquer Lasryn, and that alone will remove any doubt that I'm worthy to rule," Madison retorted, but Zander was too busy bickering with his Beldum to pay attention.

She hated being ignored, and that's exactly what he was doing to her and Gible. But the Steel-type was already making him look like a fool, and that satisfied her enough not to completely lose her temper. She was too tired to raise her voice, anyway, so the biting remarks would continue at normal volume.

"Dumb indeed," she sighed, agreeing with Orion. "I've heard nothing about missing people. We did lose someone yesterday and her name is Lisa, but we know exactly where she is... Unless you're referring to me, and you've acknowledged that you're treating me like a missing person, I don't know."

What could Zander be talking about? The 10-year-old story about the failed expedition? The deceased Lisa? The story about missing children all over the world? The former had to do with Lasryn, but it said nothing about the fate of the explorers. Did they die, go missing, or simply leave? Her device powered down before she could find out.

By contrast, the latter had to do with missing people but said nothing about Lasryn. If there was some third story that met both conditions, Zander knew something she didn't. He came here trying to help people and investigate disappearances, like some disaster relief worker. There were so many strange characters in one place, and the girl again found herself questioning what they were all doing here, when their motives couldn't be any more different. Was it money that got these kids on the same boat? Experience? What did they all have in common?

"All we can do now," Madison concluded, letting these questions echo in the depths of her mind and focusing instead on the task at hand, "is discuss our next course of action. Collax, I'm not sure if you want to get going now, or if you're enjoying the scenery, but there's no dearth of time."

She was essentially saying that if he wanted to relax, go for a swim, or take a walk down the beach, there was nothing wrong with that. Sure, they'd come to the unpleasant realization that this was survival, but they didn't always have to see nature as the enemy. There was plenty to enjoy out here, too. Like that violin... it was nothing like Sterling's flute. Madison wanted to get up and follow the beautiful sound to its source, but she wasn't ditching Collax without a response.

"And Zander," she added, "I doubt that you only came to help people, missing or not. Collax and I just had a heated discussion about our selfish reasons for being here, so you must have some of your own."

 

[Pokéboy098]

Scarus looked off of his private speedboat at the land mass ahead. Professor Monkeypuzzle hired a cartographer sent him to an unexplored land, and in return, he gave Scarus a Trapinch as his starter. It was pathetic. Scarus had only taken the job because he wanted the opportunity to explore and map a new land, not for a little ant.

He lifted the ball that held his new Pokémon and looked at it. He didn’t really want it, but he supposed he would need it to help him survive in the wild. The cry of a sailor’s ‘Land Ho!’ interrupted Scarus’s thinking, and within moments, he was practicall thrown off the ship with his few belongings. The sailors on the ship merely shouted ‘Good Luck!’ at him and promptly left. It was almost like they didn’t want to be anywhere near the new region. Lasran was an eerie place, and something about it frightened Scarus.

He decided that it would probably be a good idea to scout out the outskirts of the region before the inner forests, so he set up camp on the beach. He didn’t even know how big the region was, it could be an island or it might be a continent. The fire of his camp burned bright in the light of the sunrise, and when he looked into the forest, he saw the smoke of another fire on the horizon. “Fools.” Scarus Thought, “No proper explorer has ever explored the inside of a place first.”

 

[EeveeBlueSisters]

Her music on her violin had ended shortly after as she opened her eyes seeing a quite a lot of Pokemon appear before her seeing a Glameow and Popplio mostly close to her as she gave a smile. "Wow so many of you came near me, do you really like hearing me play?" she asked them as they all gave happy cries to her. "Pop! Popplio!" "Meow! Meow! Glameow!" "What is it? Are you saying you want me to play another one for you?"she asked them again. They all gave a cry in approval as she gently smiled before giggling. "Alright, I'll play another one if you like the melody that much"she said before lifting her violin again to her cheek and played another beautiful melody as the Pokemon, along with Ribbon, Glameow, and Popplio closes their eyes listening to the beautiful sound that seemed to calm them. She didn't mind playing for Pokemon but it was for other people she was shy to play too so she felt more comfortable playing for the Pokemon to ease their mind since she didn't know if people we're around here in this region.

 

[Mystic.25]

"It's fine, Dunsparce," he rubbed the Pokemon's head. "Let's get moving. Go get Ekans, will you," he ordered. As Peter began packing up, he heard a horrid noise. "Ugh, what's that sound? Is someone slaughtering Piloswine out here," he insulted to the faceless noise. Dunsparce crawled out with Ekans coiled on his back. His rattle shook in a snoring pattern.
"We're not going to get far at this rate," Peter said analyzing Dunsparce's pace. "I'll let you two out when I find something," he promised.

He pulled out the Dusk and Premier ball and returned them in two matching red streaks.

As he continued to step deeper into the forest, the excuse for music got louder. When he moved a branch out of the way, there was a girl in a white dress with white shoes disgracing violinists everywhere. The Pokemon in the surrounding area seemed to be drawn in, but Peter didn't see the appeal. "What're you trying to accomplish here," he heckled the girl.

 

[EeveeBlueSisters]

She jumped up to the sudden voice as the Pokemon surrounding her except the Popplio and Glameow seemed to disappear as the two girls in front of her looking at the male. She became shy as she placed her violin back in her case before locking it shut as she picked it up with one hand before holding it with both in front of her. "-What should I say....I'm rather shy around other people...-"she thought as she felt Ribbon on her shoulder looking at the trainer cautiously. "Eevee?"she said. The Glameow and Popplio seemed to protectively keep their guard up in front of her. "....I was....um...only....practicing.....if it was bothering you....I'm really am sorry.....really I don't want any trouble from others..."she said shyly placing on of her hands on her neck shyly looking away from him. "-....Hopefully he's nice....that way I can go somewhere else...if he doesn't want me here...I don't want any trouble.....-"she thought again closely her eyes.-

 

[Pokéboy098]

Scarus decided to leave his camp and begin scouting the area. He had already grabbed a map. The warm sands of the beach seemed to stretch for miles, and he had no idea which way to go first, so he went along the side to the left of the camp. There was dense forest just past the shore, and Scarus knew better to explore it yet. The shore was safe, and he could find out exactly how big this place really is.

He had gone quite pretty far away from his camp, to the point where he couldn’t see it anymore, and he reached a place where the beach ceased to exist and gave way to high cliffs instead. Seeing no point in exploring it further, he began to go back towards his camp, planning to check the right side next. That side of the island wasn’t much better, as the sands gave way to a seemingly impassable saltwater marsh.

Thus, when Scarus returned once more to his camp, he could see that he had 3 options: scale a high cliff, swim through a saltwater marsh, or explore the forests. At first he was leaning towards the cliff, but he ended up deciding on the forests. He probably would usually have been more opposed to the idea of going into a bug-ridden forest, but he had heard music coming from it, and was curious to see what it was about, and why it had stopped so suddenly.

 

[Mystic Zander]

Zander didnt turn to face Madison, but listened rather intently to her words. He had began to form a rough idea of who this girl may be. Unlike being just a huge prick as he expected, she seemed to have quite a bit of motivation behind her words. For a girl with the 'I dont care about you opinion' type attitude, she sure does wanna hear what we gotta say.
"You would know better than any of us the selfish desires that drive people so far, 'Queen Maddie'. After all, dont you wanna crush anyone that opposes you and rule Lasryn?." He replied, his sarcastic tone now dying out to be replaced by a softer yet serious one.
"Lets say it works out. Lets say after all the battling and exploring, you finally become Queen of Lasryn. Congratulations, your a sad little lonely Queen with no real friends at her side. Youll grow bitter and harsh and hate the world even more. What will you do then? A mentally unstable Queen with a inferiority complex, ironic. Thats why I hope you have a change of heart. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but sometime...." And with that, the boy slipped his backpack on his shoulders, stood up, dusted off his pants, and went on his way through the dense treeline.
"Ill be back shortly you two, maybe then we can continue our riveting conversation." He added from a distance, the sarcastic tone in his voice returning as he disappeared into the brush.

~~~~~

"This place is huge. Even with all of us working nonstop, this island would take over half a year to map on foot." Zander concluded after a few short hours of mapping the forest floor. The young man looked up in time to see the sun finally kiss the horizon, signaling it was his time to head back. The forest grew dimmer and dimmer, making it harder and harder for the boy to retrace his steps, or even follow his own map properly.
"What the hell, I cant see anything." He complained, that tall, dense treeline shrouding out the small glimmer of light he had left almost instantly.
"Damn it." The boy mumbled as he began blindly searching through his bag for a light.

"Litwick!"

"What?" Zander spoke hurriedly, spinning around in time to see.....a small anthropomorphic candle? Yeah, sometimes the world was just a little to convenient. These thoughts ran through his mind as Orion floated forward, already understanding his trainers intentions with this luminescent pokemon.

"Ready Orion?"

"Belduuuum...."

 

[Pokéboy098]

Entering the forest, Scarus held Trapinch in his right hand with an empty map in his left. He was filling it in as he went along, but it wasn’t even close to full yet. For a forest, he hadn’t seen many bugs yet, except Beautifly and Butterfree. Suddenly, a Venipede practically flew out of the shrubs, and the quick reflexes of Scarus were barely enough to send out Trapinch before it hit his face. Upon seeing Trapinch, Venipede fled back into the bushes. Returning Trapinch, Scarus Said, “What the hell was that! I don’t see a bug for miles and then one pounces on me. It isn’t normal behaviors. Interesting...”

After trudging through the forest in the direction of where the sound had been coming from, he saw a boy confronting a girl with a violin about bad music. Not wanting to get involved, he hid in the bush and listened in our their conversation.

 

[Mystic.25]

"You clearly need to practice more, but not around here. Practice underground or something. I'll tell my Dunsparce to dig you a hole, but it would be tempting not to fill it with you inside it," he threatened. He felt the Premier ball wiggle excitedly. Could his Dunsparce be malevolent as well? Ekans hadn't even budged.
If he needed to fight, Glameow and Popplio didn't seem like they'd put up much of a fight. Ekans and Dunsparce, despite the Normal Type's speed, could take them easily.

 

[Pokéboy098]

Scarus saw this boy threaten the poor girl with the violin and decided that he would secretly send out Trapinch. Opening the Pokéball behind the bush, he whispered to his Pokémon, “Go and bite him from behind. Then run off somewhere and come back once he isn’t following you anymore.” The Pokémon obeyed, sneaking up from behind the other trainer and opening his jaws to bite his ankle. Usually, Scarus wouldn’t be such a hero, but he didn’t want this girl to be hurt because of her beautiful music. He should have seen the trainer had 2 more experienced Pokémon, and he only had 1, but he didn’t.

 

[Mystic.25]

As he finished his threat, an annoying Ground Type chomped on his ankle. "Aghh," he exclaimed. The creature's jaw was clamped on Peter's ankle. "Stupid animal," he lashed out flinging the poor critter into the brush behind him. "This place is ridden with bothersome Pokemon," Peter complained.
He had a sneaking suspicion that someone sent out the Pokemon. "Come on out, coward! Don't hide if you're gonna send a pathetic Pokemon to do your dirty work," he yelled into the bushes.

 

[EeveeBlueSisters]

She saw how rude he was to that Trapinch as she didn't like it at all but she wasn't the type of person to argue so went in front of him to facing him. "That wasn't nice...what you did..I think you should apologize to this Trapinch...and that threat wasn't nice either....you could have just said I was bothering you here and I would have walked away....but technically you can't tell me if I can play my violin or not..."she began to tear up but kept eye contact with him as she was too gentle and sweet to fight with him as she gently held the Trapinch as Ribbon her Eevee,Glameow,and Popplio went to defensive clearly not like the boy.

 

[Pokéboy098]

Scarus would not leave the bushes just because someone was shouting insult someone at him. That would be stupid. Suddenly, however, Trapinch ran back out from the bushes and targeted the trainer’s leg again. This was particularly unusual, because Scarus had not ordered his Pokémon to do so.

For the first time since he became a Pokémon trainer, Scarus was torn between his Pokémon and himself. He did the right thing, and he chose his Pokémon. But he wasn’t about to go in there without a plan. He saw the venipede from earlier. It had been following him the whole time. He didn’t know why, but he knew he could use it. He whispered to it, “Will you follow my orders in battle?” The venipede didn’t nod its head, but it left the shadows of the bush it was hidden in and came up to Scarus.

Then, Scarus stood up out of the bush and returned Trapinch. “I was the owner of that Trapinch. What is wrong with you? That music was great. Why would you stop it? I was enjoying it you know.” Venipede sat nearby listening for a sign of a fight. It didn't want to join in unless it had to.

 

[EeveeBlueSisters]

She saw the boy emerge from from the bushes hearing him say how he like her music and was defending her. She clearly kept silent ae she was trying not to get after that threat that boy had given her. "There's no need to be mean to other....its just not right.....I wasn't in your way...so why are you threating me...."she said gently holding the handle of her violin case a bit tightly as she fixed her glasses a bit before tears fell down her face as she glanced away slightly.

 

[Mystic.25]

"If we're going to survive, you're going to have to get used to violent, thieving, and rude people," he advised.

He glared at the boy who decided to pop out of the bushes. "Control your Pokemon from biting other people. You must've been enjoying the music a so much that you had to hide, right," Peter retorted. Both of Peter's Pokeballs were shaking violently. He had to hold them still, but even so, they were sending vibrations up his arm. He could practically hear Ekans' tail rattling in ferocity.

 

[Pokéboy098]

The boy’s insults stung, but Scarus had never been one to back down. “You should never control your Pokémon, that is so manipulative. I was commanding him, and I told him to bite you. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with hiding to come up with a plan. That isn’t cowardice, it is this thing called strategy. Have you ever heard of that, or are you too stupid?”

Venipede exited its bush and crawled out into the open ready for a fight. Even some of the Butterfrees seemed to be watching and waiting to see a fight; they probably usually didn’t get this sort of entertainment.

 

[Mystic.25]

"If it's a fight you want, then you'll get one," he spat. He let go of his Pokeballs and both of his snake-like Pokemon sprang out. Oddly enough, Dunsparce's wings were flapping furiously so he could slightly hover off the ground. Ekans' was coiled with his head down- ready to strike. "Come on and fight me. Let's see how good your strategy is against me," he teased.

 

[EeveeBlueSisters]

She looked at the two boys again seeming that they were going to have a battle. She seemed to blame herself about starting this so decided to intervene. "Please stop...both of you...I know that there are rude and mean people...I'm not that stupid.....my brothers told me so.....but the smart thing to do is to just apologize...at least to the Trapinch you hurt....and me because of the threat you did and....leave at peace.....please...."she asked as gently as possible as Glameow and Popplio seemed to intervene as well standing between them.

 

[Pokéboy098]

Scarus barely managed to stop the wild Venipede from attacking when the enemies Pokémon were sent out. “What kind of rules are you fighting by, 2 against 1?” Said Scarus, then turning to the girl, he said, “Well, since you don’t want us fighting, I’ll leave. Someone had to, and I’m sure he won’t be doing it.”
Scarus walked away, and the Venipede followed him. It wasn’t his, but it seemed to like him. He didn’t like it though, because he hated bugs.

 

[Mystic.25]

Bitter that his opponent simply walked away, Peter attacked whatever he could. He balled his fists tightly. "Use Acid Spray on that Glameow and Popplio! Dunsparce, use Ancient Power," he commanded. After the two Pokemon launched their attacks, he returned them and darted into the brush. "Good luck to her and those weaklings," he said to himself.

Walking away, he unclenched his hands and saw his palms bleeding from his nails digging into them. Nail marks were evident.

 

[EeveeBlueSisters]

She saw his two Pokemon attack the Glameow and Popplio but had dodged it as they both disliked that trainer. She suddenly cried as she sat down where she was as the Glameow and Popplio followed her but had a sad look on their faces. "Meow....Glameow?" "Pop....?" "I'm sorry you two...for almost getting you hurt really..."she said as she remembered what her brothers said to her. "-Play your violin when you feel blamed for something and no matter how some people can be mean to you, you have the gift of playing-" She gave a smile gently before placing her case down opening it before starting to play the beautiful melody again as it seemed to echo as Ribbon,Glameow,and Popplio listened quietly as the wild Pokemon seemed to gather again to listen to her play as she felt herself feeling better.-

 

[Pokéboy098]

Scarus reached where the beaches turned to cliffs, and he heard the beautiful music again. It was great, and he went uphill in the forest, hoping for a way around the cliffside. As the music began to die off in the distance, he heard a new noise. A sound of breaking things and karate yells came from a little past the next bush. He peered through and saw a Sawk. This was a Pokémon he was not opposed to having. So, he sent Trapinch out and got a surprise attack on it, using a not very effective bite. It took several more, but strangely, the Sawk didn’t fight back. It was almost as if it was testing its own sturdiness, and it did not expect what came next. Eventually, Scarus threw the ball and caught it. Then, he decided it had been a long day and headed back to his camp to eat.

 

[Skittles09]

The fire attack hit the Aron directly as flames danced around the pokemon, only to enrage it further as it as it ran at Charmander full speed. With little to no time to dodge the attack, Charmander was hit hard by the Aron's tackle, flying back and landing several feet away. The fire pokemon struggled to regain itself before it was hit again, this time with an Iron Head attack.

Charmander flew back once more, landing on the ground with a hard thud. "Get up, Charmander! You're tougher than that Aron! I know you are!" Shaynuh spoke with urgency.

The Aron prepared itself to attack again, charging full speed at Charmander.

The fire pokemon stood up with a look of determination in his eyes as he stared down the Aron, holding steadfast in his spot. He refused to back down. Shaynuh saw the determination and grinned as her Charmander gave her a glancing look, smiling at her.

They waited until the Aron was within range.

"Flamethrower! Then Flameburst before it recovers!" she exclaimed, just as determined as her pokemon.

Charmander wasted no time in attacking as a pillar of fire escaped from its jaws, hitting the Aron until it was engulfed. Once the attack was finished, Charmander attacked again, leaving the Aron burned and weak.

Shaynuh took out a pokeball and threw it at the pokemon, watching as it was encased and waited, staring at the pokeball intently. Soon enough, its movements ceased and a small ping was heard, indicating that it was successfully caught.

She smiled as she walked over and picked up the pokeball. "Got'cha."

 

[EeveeBlueSisters]

She ended the song before placing her violin back in her case before standing up. "I must go now ok...thank you for listening to me" she said gently smiling as the Pokemon gave happy cried to her before they disappeared but had noticed the Glameow and Popplio still with her. "Aren't you girls gonna go follow them?"she asked them. "Meow! Glameow!" "Pop! Popplio!" The two girls digged into her bag before grabbing her Luxury balls and placed them both down in front of her as they gave a smile. "Glameow!" "Popplio!" "You girls want to come with me, a Pokemon coordinator in training" they both nodded to her keeping the smile. "Alright, welcome to my team River the Popplio and Bell the Glameow" she smiled gently before touching the two Luxury balls before being sucked in until it shook three times indicating to be caught. She picked up River's and Bell's Pokeballs before placing them in her bag with a purple ribbon on it. She saw where the male trainer had went as she thought. "-I didn't get to thank that boy for helping me...but I don't know where he exactly went...well I'll go through the forest for now....then find a place to sleep for the night...-"she thought before going through the forest as Ribbon leaped up to her shoulder as she looked around the forest. She held her violin case tightly in front of her as she watched a lot of the Pokemon play and fly around as she smiled.-

 

[Mystic.25]

While he was walking away- wiping the blood on his shirt- Peter heard commands being shouted. He felt heat coming from somewhere but didn't know the exact location. Turning to his right, he saw a girl with a... Charmander... ugh. There were only a few Pokemon Peter hated, and Charmander as well as it's evolutions were some of them.

"Flamethrower! Then Flameburst before it recovers," the trainer ordered. Whatever poor Pokemon was getting attacked, wouldn't last much longer. It wasn't too long before he heard a Click- a Pokeball. He scowled as he watched the trainer relish in her catch.

And, of course, Peter stepped onto a twig which made an audible Snap.

 

[Skittles09]

The audible snap of a twig caught her attention, averting her eyes from the pokeball to the direction of the noise. The sight of a boy with blood on his shirt made Shaynuh uncomfortable, nervous and alert as her body went tense.

Her Charmander noticed the boy as well and moved in front of his trainer, being protective and ready to fight again if needed.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she asked, gripping the pokeball in her hand firmly.

The pokeball gave off little shakes here and there, indicating that the Aron was unhappy in its new confinement.

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" Madison snapped.

She didn't want to raise her voice, but Zander had driven her to that point. The cowardly boy disappeared into the bushes before she could do anything, however. Unlike the earlier "what do you want from us," her second question had been less demanding. Madison had simply asked if he had his own goals in this region. She'd even conceded that she and Collax were selfish, too. Yet Zander took her question as an insult, her interest as an opportunity, to disrespect her.

"Coward! That's what he is!" she raged. "Thieves, murderers, sociopaths, cowards! There's a despicable person for every Pokémon I see here! It's like we've-"

She stopped herself, thinking of Lisa, who had actually lost her life. So Madison finished the sentence under her breath, with no conviction. "It's like we've died and gone to Hell, Collax…"

She didn't want to be heard, but this had to come out. There was no stopping a speeding car without some braking distance, after all. These words were just that, slowing her to a full stop as she realized what she was saying.

"Anyway," she continued more calmly, "don't I want to crush anyone who opposes me and rule Lasryn? The answer is simple. Don't oppose me, and no one has to get crushed. I'm sure I don't need to tell him that, because I fear no opposition from a coward."

Madison wasn't done.

"He didn't say otherwise, so I assume Zander really is just here to 'help.' This side character with no purpose of his own has no right to criticize me. If I am by myself when I'm queen... I would rather be alone than in bad company!" she concluded. What real friends could she make here? Criminals? Psychopaths? They were the problem, not her.

Her anger was peaking once more, but there was that beautiful violin again... It was almost prophetic how it returned to her ears just then, calming her back down.

Calming her to another realization.

"But I've got you, Collax," Madison smiled. "You promised you'd stay by my side. So I'm not worried."