Sutoratosu

"Kono Yaruo..." Mareek snarled at Henry, wheeling to face the newcomer. "Don't sit there like some self-righteous dick and ask if people think about the consequences of their actions, Baldwin. Because I fucking tried your way, keeping it all under wraps, and in the end it was pointless because: One- Everyone already knew far more about this overall situation than I ever did, and they knew it from almost the start, and Two- All I ended up did was let my own damn pride get in the way and act like a pompous ass while I tried to change the course of things." He glowered, shaking his head and snarling in disgust as Java watched on cautiously... "I realized that by trying to do this your suggested way, what you talked to me about in that damn corridor, is only going to hinder things in the end if I was going to try and belittle and ignore and mislead the people who obviously were more on top of the situation at that moment... So you know what, badlwin? Yeah, that's right, I'm all for this- I tried to voice objections and all it did was cause problems all around and ultimately place farther outside of the loop. At least this way, with trying to fucking WORK WITH them instead of against them, some progress can be made... and at least now, even if I don't agree with the methodology, I can at least try and set up contingencies on my own encase something goes wrong- kinda hard to do that when everyone hates you because you've been a complete and total dick towards them about the subject... what matters here isn't who freaking gets things solved, only that gets solved at all, and if working with all of them will help get it solved sooner...then I'm going to pull my head out of my ass, shut my damn mouth, and fucking do it. how about you take just a moment of your time and consider the same? just some food for thought." Finally done he looked to Jacob and Danielle and Lana. "anyway... time's being wasted sitting here... I guess I'll go on ahead and wait for you guys at the Announcer's booth if we're doing both ideas." And then he was gone, beginning to walk off through the food stalls back towards the Stadium, Java at his back after casting a last brief glance to Henry...

I'm sorry, but I honestly didn't follow the logic of that last part... He's ultimately going to end up being a mixed fighter, relying on a bit of all three aspects of Stealth, Offense, and Bulk, switching back and forth between the three as he deems appropriate for the combat situation- basically, his fighting style is going to be one of versatility. Here's what I have Supports: Detect Double Team Attacks: Bone Rush Ancient Power Incinerate (And yes, there's a damn good reason I chose incinerate over something stronger like Fire Blast or Flamethrower- it's more versatile) ??? the ??? represents the slot for Bonemerang... I could use thunder punch and cover water, but... eh, not really feeling it for that decision...

Lols... both shade's and doux's themes sound like they;d fit perfectly... I've been debating something lately though- Should nemo have Bonemerang as one of his final moves? While sure, it can hit flying types and all... so can Ancient power, and he can get a lot more out of that than just Bonemerang alone... and even though it is the signature move of his line, he's not exactly your typical marowak anyway... and realistically, the only reason Ground types don't effect flying types is because flyers are up in the air and so it's hard to friggin hit them with one, but if he were to get close enough, like jumping on their back's close... and unleash Bonemerang, well... The real question though is what to replace it with, since Ancient power can do the same job and more...

So tempted to make this Erce's fight theme... Cause Don't lose your way goes with everything... and plus, Vendettas are implied in the lyrics, so... (And she's basically a giant pair of scissors if you think about it, lols...) overall the tone and theme fit quite well with her role both in the boy's past and future... And this right here will probably end up being Mossad's theme under while under both ownerships... or maybe it'll be Galen's fight theme... (Even though he's probably only going to ever battle like... once in the entire story or so...)

Galen "If that was meant as a subtle jab of sorts, then your logic's a bit faulty," Galen said simply as he continued feeding out the measuring line. It wasn't like he hadn't had to deal with shit like this in the past... there had always been some wise guy who wanted to try challenging things. "Remeber that you happen to be in the same forest as myself- so by your own reasoning, you really have no place to comment. and even beside that," He glanced over at Pierre this time. "You yourself said you were getting bored in the stadium, so we came out here to do actual work instead of sitting around on our asses. It's either one or the other...working to further the mission out here, or sitting around in the crowds at the stadium, your pick; I honestly don't care which so long as you don't cause any trouble or blow our covers." Mareek Mareek kept looking on as his roommate's match finished and the field was selected for the following one. His attention was so fixed on the massive screen that Java damn near thought he had spaced out until he glanced behind him towards the others. "That actually might not be necessary..." he said after thinking for a few seconds, turning to face them fully. Memories of the previous matches that day flashed through his mind- most specifically what was said before during and after them... "While yeah, it's true Professor Cadmus is one of the announcers for the Tournament... there's one thing we're overlooking here... how much announcing has he actually done since it began? He's maybe commented on two or three matches in depth out the entire day- the vast majority of the talking has either been done by Professor Redwood himself or that Marco guy... which leads me to believe that he's probably just been sitting there with almost nothing to actually do this entire time..." The implications should've been more than clear enough... Or, at least, Java obviously thought they should've, nodding his head at the boy's reasoning.

Unless of course, burrows has mold breaker, in which case, rip rotom... though personally, I think that Rotom would go much better with henry because of the fact that he's called "Glitch" by some...and what does rotom do? "Glitch" appliances and wreak havoc with them. Also, I just now noticed something... the relationship pairing with Jacob and Mareek are inverted- Kristen is a red head, Jacob has brownish/dirty blonde hair, while at the same time Mareek is red headed and Lana has brown hair... how ironic that it happened to work out like that, lols...

And he shall be the most unexpectedly dangerous and formidable coffee table there ever was... @Azery/ Jory: one of you can go ahead and respond, Mareek's gonna stay a bit quiet for a while...

Now I'm tempted to actually name the thing "Solitude" :3 lols, jk... I can come up with something much better, just gotta look. EDIT; Think I got it... He shall be named... Jeor... or perhaps simply, Mormont.

Alright, it's decided; I'm using Avalugg. Here's what the first year roster's looking like now: Scizor Marowak Porygon2/Z (Maybe, maybe not) Empoleon Avalugg Meganium all in that order of projected obtainment. Now he has a literal fortress of solitude...just like Superman... lols XD

hmm... interesting, I was actually considering Avalug for a while a bit earlier back when most of the team roster was still being formed... (HE got glossed over quite hard because it was so early on and the core members still needed selecting.) And just to set the record straight real quick since I've been spending a shit ton of time planning this particular character out compared to most my other PCs and getting a feel for who he is and why he does things and not other things, what his past is and how it affected what he's like today, so on and so forth, and it honestly kinda irks me just a bit at this point to hear some saying this cause I've heard it twice or so now: contrary to what some think, He wouldn't have raged over the Slaking if he were still going to eventually get it. It's already been shown a few times that he's one way around people and another way around mons- he's more comfortable and open interacting with the latter than he is the former, around them, the semi-subconcsious need and habit he developed to defend himself behind an icy fortress of solitude and hard logic does not manifests itself as strongly when he's only around pokemon and not any other people, as such, he acts far differently (And yes, I have gone to certain lengths to show and hint at this on occasion, you just have to go back and look for the times when I have done it in previous chapters). His team members are honestly the only ones (And to somewhat of a lesser extent at this point, Lana) around who actually sees both sides of him. Like has already been hinted at and both shown and even blatantly told a few times (Nemo when he got his ass royally knocked to the ground by Rhydon's Metal Burst and Mareek hovered over him and asked if he was just going to give up), he treats his team like Individuals with free will rather than simply drones who are to follow orders (Like some NPCs who have been temporarily controlled for battles in the cup have shown being inclined to think like). He does not try to force his will down their throats, to break them and rebuild them as servants or mindless soldiers who have blind loyalty who identify with obedience to master and country before basic right and wrong. No, instead he allows them to retain who they trully are, allows them to retain their identities as individuals and their free wills- he and his team's dynamic is one that functions primarily off of trust than simple obedience. There is a reason not a single member of his team thus far has been forcefully captured, but have instead either come to follow him of their own free will (Nemo after the swellow encounter, and to a lesser extent java, though he was more of just curious at the time of his joining) or bestowed to him by certain... circumstances not entirely in his control (Erce, and later on Mossad will fall under this as well) there is a reason why he does not solidify even the names they take on until or unless they give their approval of it first (EX, how he asked the Cubone if he felt the name "Nemo" would be alright, asked if it was something that he would want to be called and wear the name with pride) Ergo, in closing, he would not "Rage" against the Slaking, should it join the team. No. He would simply come to accept who the Slaking is as an individual and instead of spending time raging and ranting, work to develop a fighting style for it that works for it and that flows with the ape's own natural style, he would try to work with and incorporate the Lethargy into the combat techniques rather than develop them inspite of it (Infact, I went and developed an entire move set just to this end.) because trying to break mons down, in his mind and opinion, is honestly is just plain wrong and almost always leads to disaster at some point down the road... and Slaking honestly would've been the coup de grace for the final showing of this fact, how his beleif in that philosophy is powerful that not even the laziest mon in the world could make him lose his shit when it gets on his team. anyways, moving on from that and to the point, sorry, but it was kinda just getting to me a bit- I'll go back and look at Avalugg again since there is a good point that the overall symbology I can do with it could be freaking perfect for development. Time to go see all the things I can do with it move wise now... Thanks for the suggestions, folks.

Hmmmmm.... I might be having second thoughts about the decision with the Slaking now... it might be physically strong, but theoretically Nemo could equal that strength himself with the double base attack upgrade for the cubone line and everything...and it might be a bit bothersome to have to try to find an opportunity to use Skill Swap once it gets to a certain point in time when he wouldn't lose his shit thinking about trying to control it.... and to be quite honest... would he even need the power at the end of the day? I'm considering maybe an Ice type to go in it's slot.... or maybe an eveelution like Glaceon or Espeon of Flareon.... then again, I could continue with theme I've got going with Empoleon and choose a bladed pokemon.... (maybe a Sceptile named Ser Barristan?XD) Auorus in particular currently has a bit of my attention... eh screw it. What ya'll think? EDIT: Then again, don't have any poison either...

Shit. Forgot all about poor Galen again. I'll make sure to put something up for him in my next response, at the TOP of the post...

Updates coming soon... got some stuff to work on at the moment though. And Typhlosion, I'm going to be jumping into that "Guy" Lucas saw at the bar... can't have you all seeing each other quite yet.

Java looked to the boy, expecting him to answer Jame's question as the other two carried on their little gift moment. What he found though was him staring up at the jumbo-tron screen, eyes tracking every movement of the battle displayed overhead in the distance. Java hovered a bit closer to him, noting the vastly different demeanor than a few moments before... at least the trainer had managed to distract himself, it seems... "Java, what does that look like to you?" Mareek asked, not daring to take his attention away, even for a moment. "How he's using those rocks..." "It looks like..." Java's eyes widened as he finally saw what the boy saw. "Stone Sentinels... functions almost on the exact same principles...yet he's relying on Ancient Power alone..." "Exactly... which means that we could've cut out the need for Stealth Rocks entirely with Nemo... talk about a waste of time, teaching him how to even use the move in the first place..." "Yes, while in hind sight, it might be a waste of time, but do recall... Nemo never exhibited the use of any other manifestation of-" "Then we'll just have to teach it to him." Mareek said simply. "It shouldn't be too much of a learning curve actually; he would basically just have to do the same thing he's been doing... and we've already trained how to manipulate the sizes and shapes..." Java only nodded, making a digital note on the subject as they continued watching... it was good to see his partner was back to usual self though- as much as Java had railed on him for being childish, seeing him like that, so defeated without any warning... it just didn't feel right for some reason... not that Java knew it though, of course.

Mareek held his stare with Java a few seconds longer, a silent gratitude there. Java only gave a slight nod towards Jacob. "...Make sure she still has Zared with her," He finally said cryptically. "right now it's the closest thing we have to an actual witness..." Java picked up, helping the boy as he saw where he was headed. "Ah, a good idea... even if Cadmus does not believe my own interpretation and translation of the account, if another of my line were to also speak to it and get the same story...that would make it another story entirely. The only real question though, is how one would even get to the professor at the current moment? considering his current position as a host for the tourney... Perhaps if this break that was supposed to occur were still going on, but now..." "That's a good point..." Mareek said, glancing towards jacob. "We might have to wait till this evening when the matches for this round are done before we try talking to him."

No. We all got something different, my friend, no two men who shall walk this dying earth shall ever be the same in their hearts. For all men yearn for a different taste of the day and the night. You feel this interest in weapons that you naturally seem to have makes you a waste? It does not, not in and of itself. How you direct and ultimately what this interest drives you to someday do, for good or for worse, will be the thing that determines who you are. Our interests in and of themselves is not what damns us in the end, no... it is how we act on our interest that does that. Basically, this right here is what I mean: My man mewtwo and GRRM, saying profound and deep shit since back in the day...

"I....I...." The boy broke off the shared gaze, turning his eyes to the ground, hands in his pocket. He turned away slightly, to which Java only gave another roll of his eyes. It all felt so strange... finding himself so suddenly speechless like this. Of all the times in the past that he could recall his words being knocked aside, torn asunder from his very mouth before he even knew them and tossed away like some parried Katana, this of all things had never been the situation surrounding the cause... and it frightened him. Frightened him how easily his shell had been compromised, pierced through with just the briefest of exchanges. Frightened him how much it all felt exactly as it had all those years ago, those days when he had needed a shell, a cover to duck behind and think of himself as safe... but could not make one himself, did not know how to make one himself, or even where to learn... He cast a beseeching glance to Java after another moment of struggling for control of his own tongue. The familiar sensation of choking for air began in the back of his throat. For the first time since the shouting incident the hovering Strategist's eyes couldn't help but soften a bit... "Ah yes, thank you for the kind sentiment," The program began his computerized voice issuing loud and clear from Mareek's pocket, hoping to perhaps steer it all back into waters the boy wasn't so... pitiful looking in. "As for the matter of apprising Professor Cadmus to certain pieces of information though..."

*Looks at Grass's Schedule...* Sweet jesus... I can barely motivate myself to put forth the effort for a single AP class a year... most of my attention goes into writing rather than school (I mean it, I'm a freaking HUGE procrastinator most of the time...) well anyways, no need to worry... a busy schedule is why I'm here, after all...

"Yeah..." Mareek said... what a pleasant surprise that here Java was being harsher about it than Jacob himself... "I... just wanted to apologize for being a pompous prick back there... and back in the waiting room too. Guess I got so absorbed in trying to resolve all this that I lost sight of the fact that it doesn't matter whose method ends up stopping it before it's too late... just so long as it stops, period." "...Marvelous." Java said into his earbud discretely. "Simply marvelous... such simplicity, such bluntness... if I were in charge of selecting oscar winning speeches, you, my good friend... you would most definitely never get one." "Alright, now you're the one being a dick..." The boy thought to himself as he reached into his pocket and silently removed the Jack from the Pokedex's audio port, effectively cutting off Java's direct route as a whisperer... "You want to keep railing on me? Fine, but you're gonna rail on me for all the world to hear, instead of having the luxury of only doing it in my own ear." "But yeah... sorry for being like that and everything..." Java meanwhile just cast a certain, unreadable look at his trainer... fully aware of what the red head had just done...

*Looks at Commander's use of Ancient Power... Realizes he should've paid more attention to what Azery once said...* Well damn... I'm sitting here actually thinking on it for the first time, and it just now occurs to me that the stone sentinels technique could honestly work just fine without Stealth Rock if nemo was given enough training with using Ancient Power's other manifestation (it currently relies on the anime's manifestation) ... oh well, derp. but eh, guess I know something he'll be doing in between the end of Chapter 3 and the beginning of Chapter 4...

"We should keep moving." Mareek said as Avis circled about in the air not too far away before wheeling back and soaring off again. "Come on already, whatever that was about, it's in the area we're already heading towards anyway..." The porygon2 only nodded, hovering along behind the boy as he made his way deeper into the mixed aromas of various dishes being prepared, passing by vendor after vendor, neither one of them paying much attention to what they were offering nor trying to advertise. Before long the Firebrand felt a forceful tug at his back, nearly sending him stumbling backwards as Java reeled him back. "Found them," The program said in his earbud, nodding his head down an intersecting path as he released the Psybeam. Mareek was ready with something to say to the bit of excess force, though ended up keeping his mouth shut when Jacob and James came into his view. "So, Einstein... how will you go about fixing your mess of arrogance?" Mareek only glared at the proxy. While yes, he had been a pompous dick, and yes, he did somewhat deserve the curtness Java had shown him, at this point it was honestly starting to get very old very quickly... "By getting straight to the point," He replied. Then stepping forward a bit and calling down the path. "Hey, Jacob,"- Java gave him an eye-roll... way to be any less elegant about the approach. He ignored it.-"Can we... talk for a minute?"

why not just wait till he gets in close and attacks, then use ingrain? ... on Flare *Chuckles evilly* I can actually think of a pretty damn mean combo right there...

KK, no problem, do whatever you gotta do, man.