Candy

From Everland to Reborn ~ Episode 12 “You know this is a trap, right?” I confirmed with Victoria before going down the large rabbit hole. “Perhaps, but we’re prepared to fight. Let’s go.” Victoria started descending the ladder, and I followed closely behind. Even before we reached the bottom, we could see that Team Meteor had somehow turned the lights on. I could see the walls were lined with colorful gems, though I wasn’t sure if any would be valuable enough to collect and sell. Right when we touched bottom, though, a net sprung out of the ground to tie our feet. We both jumped - as I’d expected, Victoria had pretty sharp reflexes. However, unfortunately for her, she bumped into me as she jumped, causing me to completely escape the net’s reach but enclosing herself in the process. “Too bad we missed one,” commented Aster, who had been hiding with Eclipse behind a protruded wall. “It doesn’t matter. We’ve got one girl as the hostage. If you want to free your friend, Vanilla, I suggest you don’t try silly moves and come down.” Aster and Eclipse sent out two lycanrocs - one day form like Wolfie and one night form, who took care of quickly pulling Victoria. They opened a hidden passage on the ground and disappeared, but when I ran over to check it out, I realized it was made so that it only opened when enough pressure was applied. Since I’m only a rather petite girl, well, not even with Pikachu’s weight was I able to push it open. Hence my only options were to either ignore the kidnap or go through the long way. I sighed, for the course of action was already predetermined. Victoria had, after all, helped her win the fight between her and the street rats that were bullying Pikachu. That, too, when they had barely known each other at all. “Can’t ignore that I’ve got to return the favor,” I told Pikachu, who showed me its even squirrel teeth. We walked through the walls lined with glittering gems, occasionally fighting wild pokemon in the way. For some reason, when some wild gravelers used Rock Tomb, sometimes it would deal more damage or less damage than the average, though I wasn’t sure why this was the case. The cave was pretty much a maze. Not to draw parallels with my ancestors’ story again, but I can’t really ignore that when I get lost in a maze. Sometimes I would walk far, only to realize that I wasn’t advancing at all and instead returning to the starting point. I had to try many routes, and finally found the correct one by the process of elimination. On the way to where I assumed Aster and Eclipse were waiting, I stumbled upon a small opening in the wall. I went in and fought a diglett who broke the gems in the tiny room by magnitude. When I finished the battle, I noticed that there was something sitting on a little elevation. “It’s a Pokegear,” I said, inspecting the gadget. “But it’s broken, except for the Field Effects app.” I had all the fields listed on it, except for the Rainbow Field and the Crystal Cavern field. The Pokegear had an export function, so I easily transferred the data to my own. It can’t hurt to have more data. “I’m guessing when I fight the two Meteor grunts, I’ll be doing so in a Crystal Cavern too,” I pondered. Of course, it was a strategic idea to check out the field notes. “I see. So rock type attacks gain additional typing on this field,” I thought aloud. “I guess that’s why those gravelers did random damage on my teammates.” The battle was going to be determined by luck, I supposed, since although Wolfie had an advantage in a field that increased the damage done by rock type moves, they would be hampered if I got the short end of the stick. Besides, Aster and Eclipse already gave me a preview of their team - they obviously had enough time to train those rockruffs from the Peridot factory up to lycanrocs. That means they’ll also do random damage, and so I might lose depending on my luck. “Great. I hope my luck’s shown improvement because if it’s how it’s always been, then I’m going to be screwed.” These were the thoughts that plagued my mind, when I found some surprisingly neat stairs and went down them. “What is this place?” I asked myself, when I reached an opening that had a rather high ceiling and proper tiles on the floor. Bewildered, I walked some more, until I met a random old dude with a fashionable trench coat. “Greetings, trainer,” he said upon seeing me. I’d just been thinking of passing behind him without being noticed, but I guessed that would be impossible now. “Hi,” I said, deliberately making facial expressions of someone who has no time for chit-chat. However, the stranger did not care. “Tell me. As a citizen of this city, did you have any inkling of this place beneath it?” “I’m new to Reborn City, so I can’t answer that,” I replied, still looking anxious to go. “Not surprisingly, most people do not,” the stranger carried on. “These are the same people who live ignorant to centuries of history. Look at this magnificent gate.” I reluctantly obliged. “Do you know what is beyond it?” “No, I do not, and no I’m not curious to find out.” The stranger smirked at me but shook his head slowly. “You seem to be in a great hurry,” he finally noticed. “However, there really is nothing to be in a hurry for. If you’re looking for your friend, she has only been kidnapped and both her and her kidnappers are on the end of this path waiting for you. I still think that you should listen to what I have to say, for it will inevitably be of use to you, in understanding what the purpose of one entity is.” “Alright. Speak away, stranger, but keep it succinct or I’ll not remember a word of it,” I said, giving up. “This is a sacred place,” the stranger started. “It is the very core of Reborn.” From there, this formally-attired stranger rambled on about how this was where the world begun, and went on to complain quite a lot about the city that was built on top. In particular, the mention of 4 gems that are represented in the design of the portal briefly caught my attention, since one of those gems was Ruby. It invariably reminded me of a certain stubborn pink-haired brat. “Now you can go,” he concluded. “Share this place with the world above. Remind them: this world which they have undone will itself be their undoing.” The man went up the stairs without looking back even once. I did not waste time and walked further to where Aster and Eclipse held Victoria captive. “What, the boss let you get away?” Aster asked. “So that excessively talkative man was your boss?” “Yes, but it matters not. We’ll finish our work and capture you too.” We all grabbed our pokeballs at once. Aster and Eclipse sent out solrock and lunatone, and later on the lycanrocs that they’d showed us in the beginning of the cave. Victoria, fortunately, joined me in the battles and was of great help to beat the grunts, although I might have been able to take care of them by myself, since my luck (surprisingly) was pretty solid. My pokemon got either neutral or not-very-effective damage by the lycanrocs’ rock-type attacks, while my Wolfie took down the day-form one with a single super-effective rock tomb. All in all, Aster and Eclipse aren’t really a threat compared to ZEL or Taka. “Thanks for coming for me,” Victoria said, once the two grunts were out of our sight. “Though I didn’t doubt you’d help me out.” “I had to return the favor,” I shrugged. Though I couldn’t understand the language, Pikachu seemed to be saying ‘thank you’ with loud squeaks. The little one jumped off my shoulder to land on Victoria’s shoulder, circled around her back and returned back to me. “I was wondering about him, but I didn’t quite have time to be asking these questions in Obsidia Ward,” she laughed. “So you caught a pachirisu. Is it the same one that was on the Opal Bridge?” “Yeah. His name is Pikachu. I think he’s giving you the thanks for helping him back then.” “It’s been a while now. With all the weird stuff happening, it’s incredible how time flies,” Victoria pondered. “Let’s go back to Lapis Ward. I’m worried about Shelly.” I didn’t disagree to the offer. On our way back, though, an overly excited hiker bumped into me. “Oh, excuse me, young lady,” the hiker said. “I’m just very happy to find a new cave to explore and climb, even! Team Meteor might not be completely bad after all.” “They’re scum, but enjoy the secondary effects of their destructive character, if you want,” I said. “My my. I think you just don’t feel the excitement that I do. Let me give you something to brighten your sour mood!” The hiker gave me the HM for rock smash, which was totally useless since I still didn’t have Shelly’s badge and hence my pokemon were not strong enough for it yet. Even then, the hiker pushed the disk into my arms and laughed so loudly I could hear him long after he was gone from my sight. “I’m glad there still are optimistic citizens,” Victoria smiled. I was at a loss as to how to react, so I refrained from commenting. When we returned to Shelly’s room, we found her in the same position and location we’d left her in. “It seems Shelly isn’t feeling well yet,” Victoria said with concern in her voice. “I don’t think I can help her myself, but if I remember correctly, there is a certain Dr. Connal who has a psychiatric hospital in town.” “Ok, I’ll go look for the bloke,” I said and left. That depressing atmosphere radiating from Shelly was threatening to choke me. Besides, I’d be either a neutral or negative influence in the little girl’s recovery, so my absence would be a win-win. I asked around Lapis about the hospital, but most of the people told me either to get lost or didn’t even know about the place. I actually made a wrong turn and managed to enter an alleyway with blue-uniformed guys. Obviously, this was not the way to the hospital. “What’s this? An intruder?” “Are you from Magma gang or something?” “What’re you even talking about? I’m only looking for this psychiatric hospital.” The two guys looked each other and laughed. “The only hospital you’re going to go to is the Pokemon Center when we beat you real good.” I did expect these two sweaty boys not to let me go easily, but I didn’t expect their pokemon to be so weak. The battle was over in less time than our conversation had lasted. “Wow, this lil’ girl’s got some skills.” “Come in, princess. Ya gotta meet our chief. If yer lucky, you can join us Aqua gang.” “I’m not interested,” I said and turned around, but before leaving, I punched the second guy right on the nose bridge. The guy fell back to the ground, covering his face, while the other one grabbed my wrist. “What’s your problem now, eh?” he barked and twisted my arm. “That’ll teach him to never call me ‘princess’. Watch out, or you’ll get the same treatment,” I said and tugged on my arm to get it out of the guy’s grasp. He didn’t bulge, though, and instead pushed me into the alleyway. “I said I’m not interested in joining your Magma gang or whatever,” I repeated. “And I don’t have time to deal with humans who can’t even deal with a tiny slap on the forehead.” “What’s all the commotion?” asked a black haired man, taller than the others and much more muscular. “Chief, this streetrat’s punched Razzy in the nose.” The team’s chief looked at me, at Razzy still on the floor, and back at me again. “A girl with attitude, huh?” the man chuckled. “I like that. What’s your name?” “Why should I tell you my name? I have no business here.” “I’m Archer, the chief of Aqua. How would you like to join our gang?” the Archer person asked, but before I opened my mouth to refuse once more, he added, “From the looks of it, this wouldn’t be your first gang.” I widened my eyes, and changed my stance to defensive mode. “What would you know,” I spat on the ground. “I’m not looking to join any gangs.” “I guessed you wouldn’t. Why join a gang, when you’d been the leader of one? Isn’t that what you’re thinking, Vanilla Eterna?” I choked on air. “How… Who are you?” “You wouldn’t recognize me. Back in Everland I had neatly trimmed hair and a shaved beard, after all.” “Chief, you know this girl?” the Aqua gang boy that wasn’t on the ground asked. “Unfortunately, I do,” Archer sighed. “If you don’t plan on joining us, you can leave.” “You haven’t answered my question. Who are you?” “Simple. I used to be a member of the Everland Police, specifically the group overseeing the Underworld. By unlucky chance, I found out about your involvement in the Defiance.” I looked at Archer for a little while, to locate him somewhere in my memory. Eventually, his thick eyebrows matched with someone I had limited acquaintance with. “I might remember a police officer who threatened me, did not hear my advice and got his ass banished from Everland. Would that happen to be you?” “You didn’t have to put it that way, but it is correct.” I laughed from my nose. “You should’ve known better than to accuse a top-ranking noble of betrayal. Even more, when there were no witnesses.” “If I’d had my gunball with me back then, you might not be standing here today,” Archer smirked. I smiled too, for I didn’t dislike a morbid sense of humor. “I’ll do you a favor and see myself out,” I held a hand up without waving. “Enjoy your new gang life.” “Thanks, but I actually do,” Archer said and made signs for the now-standing Razzy and the other to make way. When I exited the alleyway, I let my body relax. “What a curse that the nightmares follow me,” I said to Pikachu, while stretching my arms and rolling my shoulders. “Where were we? Oh, the hospital.” I carefully avoided Aqua gang’s hideout as I looked for the hospital. I was starting to doubt Victoria gave me the right information, when I happened to stumble upon a girl with, well, rather dope hair. “Today’s your birthday. You can finally escape,” the girl was saying, when I approached her. Upon meeting my gaze, though, she made a hostile frown. I kept a serious expression, too, but just when were were inside each other’s defensive zone, the building’s door flung open and out came a tall girl with bright pink hair. “Let’s go, sister,” she said to the girl with cool hair. The older sister still eyed me with a look of disapproval but we exchanged no words as they passed right by my side. “What was that bitter girl?” I wrinkled my nose at her distancing back. “Wonder what this building is.” I checked on the building’s sign, since it was rather large, white and somber, befitting of the image of a psychiatric hospital. “Dr Connal's Orphanage and Psychiatric Treatment Center. Hah we hit the jackpot, though I'm not sure how an orphanage and a psychiatric treatment center fit together,” I told Pikachu. I'm developing a bad habit of talking aloud to a Pokemon that doesn't understand my language. If I'm not careful, Dr Connal might want to diagnose me with a speech disorder. Whether with understanding or not, Pikachu rubbed it's yellow cheek against my unpigmented cheek. VANILLA RATES: REBORN CHARACTERS QUICK LINK TO NEXT EPISODE

you can alternatively actually trade with yourself by making two online play accounts or use the Shared Box mod

Don't think too much and say it, is my advice. If they're compatible with you, they'll roll off with anything you got to say

It seems I somehow missed this one. Here's a welcome a month late~

Seki is known for their excellent gifts~ :3

Hey dunno if you know this but when I first entered the orphanage, I got eternally stuck in there because Anna couldn't reach the MC due to the following Pokémon getting in the way. Fortunately I had a recent backup save, so all es ok but just giving a heads up

Sorry y'all who thought I'd gotten tired of writing this story... because IT AIN'T OVER YET!!!!! succs fer yew~ >:) Chapter 23 As Brenda, Cheren and Ren walked towards the subway station, the street lights lining their path started litting up. The early sunset and slight chill in the air reminisced of the spring, but the trees had already recovered their full leafage, indicating the arrival of summer. The three walked in silence for a while. Brenda, because she was observing the piers, leading Ren by holding his hand tightly. Cheren, on the other hand, had his mind desperately at work to find a topic to speak about. The silence for him was stifling, something his companions were completely unaware of. “Ah, there’s the station,” was what he could say, when they finally reached it. However, upon entering the station, Cheren quickly realized that his problem was far from over. “Wah, I’d never seen a station so crowded,” Brenda marveled. “So this is what ‘rush hour’ looks like, eh Cheren?” “Ah, y-yeah. I forgot that people leave work at five.” It was more accurate to state that his mind was too preoccupied with acting naturally to think of anything else, than that he had forgotten about rush hour, but he opted not to go into detail. Cheren bought a ticket for Brenda and him, and they walked over to the platform. They half-expected to find Bianca still waiting for a train, for they assumed she had left them to come to the station, but she was nowhere to be found. When they found a waiting chair available, Brenda asked Cheren if he’d like to take a seat, realizing he probably had exerted himself more than his usual amount, but Cheren shook his head sideways. In the end, Brenda pointed at the seat and allowed Ren to sit down. While waiting for the train, Brenda looked at Ren and asked him whether he was excited to watch a play tonight. “You must behave well, since I’ll let you sit on my lap,” she grinned. “And try to ignore me when I start singing along with my raspy voice.You're more than welcome to sing along with me, though!” Cheren, knowing that he could perhaps earn points on his favor, considered denying that Brenda’s voice was raspy; however, he felt the act would just sound too forced. After all, he had spent almost every day of his life close to Brenda, and he knew for a fact that what she did not lack in confidence and loudness, she did in tuning and rhythm. Hence, instead of that, he decided to gain her favor by the other way he knew was super-effective against her. Pointing at a small stand to the side, he grabbed the pair’s attention. “Would you like to buy some snacks before getting on the train?” Cheren asked and added, “I don’t think we are allowed food inside the theatre.” However, Brenda and Ren had already reached the stand before he finished speaking. “Mmm, they have Mixed-berry-flavored jam-filled cereal bars. You know, the ones my mother packed for lunch on Fridays? I was disappointed when I didn’t see them anywhere out of Nuvema Town.” Cheren took enough pokecoins to buy her five of those bars, and some other snacks for Ren. “My, Cheren. You must tell me how you have so much money! I bet you're as rich as N now, though we were similarly poor in Nuvema Town,” Brenda gasped. “Simple, I’ve been training at the Battle Company,” Cheren told her. “It's on Mode Street. Actually, you might have passed it yesterday when you went shopping with that lady.” “Oh, I must have missed it. Bummer,” Brenda pouted. “As the name suggests, it’s a company that develops items for use in battle, but they also have some floors of the building dedicated to allow trainers to come together and battle. Most employees are actually skilful trainers and come to battle during their lunch break.” “That is so great! I was wondering where would be an ideal place to train, but that seems like a perfect place,” Brenda raised a fist into the air, just as the train was heard approaching. “You must take me there tomorrow!” “Tomorrow? You don’t ever get tired do you, even after a day full of walking,” Cheren laughed. “But it’s fine with me. Let’s go tomorrow.” At that moment, the train arrived, together with a strong wind, which almost blew Brenda’s skirt to dangerous levels. “Gyah,” she screamed but Cheren had already turned his face away to prevent any mishaps. “This is why I don’t wear dresses. You didn’t see my underwear, did you Cheren?” “No, rest assured,” he replied, still looking to the side, hoping Brenda couldn’t see his face turning pink from her angle. “Not that I’d really care. People wear more revealing swimsuits and that’s all a-okay,” she shrugged. “Cheren, you don’t have to look away anymore, geez. Come, or we won’t get any seats!” They somehow managed to find seats for two, despite being pushed right and left by the tide of people. “Ren, come here,” Brenda patted her thighs. Ren caught a little glimpse at some woman holding a toddler on top of her thighs, and stopped mid-action. He crossed his arms and refused to sit. “What’s gotten into you now,” Brenda pointed her lips. “Don’t you want to rest your legs?” Ren shook his head sideways, and only grabbed onto the hem of her skirt to retain balance. “Alright, but you will sit on my legs in the theatre, you hear me,” Brenda pushed Ren’s forehead gently with her index finger. The train started moving, and everybody swayed in the same direction. Being able to sit down was good and all, Cheren thought, as they departed the station. But this might be too much for my nerves. Precisely then, the train started on a curve, and Brenda’s arm pushed against his, which almost made him shiver. Calm down Cheren, he told himself. You’re over-reacting, or rather acting like an idiot. He sighed, and casually glanced diagonally down to where Brenda’s head was. He choked on air, when he unexpectedly met Brenda’s gaze. “What is it,” Cheren asked, as nonchalantly as possible. “I’m going to open a jam-filled bar now. Want some?” “But I bought them for you.” “Sharing is caring, my friend. You can thank me later,” Brenda made a peace sign. Cheren looked up to the ceiling, rolling his eyes without actually rolling them, but accepted the cereal bar when it was offered to him. When he looked back down, he found Ren’s piercing gaze on him, though he couldn't tell what the sudden hostility was due to. As though Cheren had imagined it, Ren chomped on a berry, taking his eyes off the young man. Brenda sprang up from her seat once they reached the theatre district station. She was so excited about going to watch the Pyroar King, that she completely forgot Bianca’s present on the train seat. Fortunately Cheren noticed, and took it with him as he followed Brenda and Ren’s lead. “Is it here?” Brenda pointed at a theatre with a lot of lightbulbs lining up the plays shown today. “No, I think it’s a little further down.” “Here?” She jumped to the next theatre, but Cheren shook his head. “Here? Here? Here?” She continued, until they actually made it to the correct theatre. It was small and not as lavishly decorated, but a theater was still a theater, so Brenda was not let down in the least. They showed their tickets to the lady at the entrance, and walked into the theater. They sat down on squeaky seats, placing their bags on the floor near their feet. Brenda picked Ren up, and sat him on her thighs; however, the little Pokémon wiggled through her arms and sat on the arm rest in between Brenda and Cheren instead. “Ren I don't think that's nearly as comfortable as my thighs, you know,” Brenda touched Ren’s wrist, but he slapped her hand away. “You always make the most mysterious choices,” Brenda scratched her head. The act was not a mystery to Cheren, in fact. It was not visible from Brenda's side, but Ren was looking at Cheren through the corner of his eye, in the most disapproving manner Cheren had ever been looked at. Despite this, he laughed as naturally as he could. The show was just about to start. Brenda was not joking when she said she was going to sing along. She sang every single song. Sometimes with wrong lyrics, but she seemed to care nothing about it. On top of that, she laughed a lot when there were funny scenes and shed real tears in the sad scene when Pyroar Sr fell into a stampede of Tauros and passed away. What was most amusing to Cheren was that he knew Brenda had already watched the movie about 5 times in their childhood, and she could still react as though she were watching the story for the first time in her life. When the curtains closed and opened again, revealing the actors in two orderly lines, Brenda did a standing ovation by herself, before pulling Cheren’s arm to join her. “That was great,” she exclaimed when they exited the theatre together with the crowd of audience. It was now nighttime, but the large amount of theater lights did not make it feel dark. Even then, Cheren imagined that it would be dangerous to walk like they were set to do, if they were in a more dangerous region. On their way back to the train station, Brenda placed an arm over Cheren’s shoulders, and started singing The Pyroar King songs at full volume. “Brenda, people are watching,” Cheren whispered on her ear. “They'll think we're underage and drunk.” “I'm drunk with ecstasy. Singing aloud isn't against the law, as far as I know!” When Brenda felt Ren pulling at her dress, she paused her song and rose Ren to her other shoulder and resumed her singing. As Cheren had warned, not everyone looked at them with friendly faces. However, surprisingly, some others joined Brenda in her singing. To those people, Brenda raised an arm to greet them, and in return the strangers raised their cans of beer. Cheren didn't know whether he was living the dream or a nightmare. The train ride back to Castelia street was less crowded than it had been earlier, and Cheren felt relieved that Brenda stopped singing midway the love song when they boarded the train. They had no trouble finding the Pokémon Center on Castelia street either. Upon their entrance, an unfamiliar Nurse Joy greeted them with a warm smile. “You must be Brenda, Cheren and little Ren. I've been instructed to guide you to one of our ballrooms upon your arrival. Please follow the Audino wearing the green ribbon.” A ballroom? Both, or perhaps all three of them, thought at the same time. The Audino waved at them, and the trio quickly joined her to guide them for an exciting nighttime entertainment… and most importantly, much needed food.

WOOOO I wasn't reading this but the meme content on this was too damn high for me not to come 'ere and check it out

Np, good luck~

I loved using Swoobat to hyper-ultra-destroy Fern's Roserade

Cain: 20 Victoria: 11 Adrienn: 16 Amaria: 19 Aya: 21 Charlotte: 21 Ciel: 20 Corey: 19 Florinia: 26 Hardy: 21 Julia: 18 Kiki: 20 Luna: 24 Noel: 20 Radomus: 13 Samson: 21 Saphira: 21 Serra: 14 Shade: 25 Shelly: 25 Terra: 19 Titania: 3 Anna: 19 DJ Arclight: 16 Blake: 15 Cal: 25 El: 20 Heather: 14 Laura: 22 Dr.Sigmund: 13 Taka: 24 ZEL: 21 Sirius: 16 Solaris: 22 Lin: 11 ... Sad to have to hurt someone of the team but...

Holy are you psychic? Es tru, Victoria's rating is going down soon... and yah I wasn't sure about Shelly, but Vanilla doesn't know her very well and I don't think that "sorry for making you worry" wouldn't have sat well with her (since it smells like she has low self-esteem. Shelly should've said "thanks for supporting me" or something)

From Everland to Reborn ~ Episode 11 When we reached Beryl Bridge, the first thing Corey did was to send out all his pokemon. For a moment, I thought my coming there had been a trap, and that he was going to ambush me with all his pokemon at once, but that was not the case. “You have served me well, but you are no longer needed. Go now.” Three of his pokemon did not hesitate even a moment to consider his words and left, but his nidorina and his crobat remained. The nidorina actually tried to beg for her trainer to pet her head, but when she pressed her head against Corey’s hand, he brusquely pushed her away. “Hey,” I let out, but he paid no attention to me. “You’re not wanted. Go away,” he said, and the nidorina looked back once before walking away with a bent neck. Corey noticed his crobat still flying by him, as though it thought it could camouflage and be forgotten. “That means you too,” Corey insisted. “You're not special. Go away, and don’t come back.” The poison-type leader waved his hands in the air to shoo the bat. The crobat got the message, and with much hesitation, flew away north. “Why-” I started, but Corey did not hear me again. “With those out of the way, I’ll not be needing these,” Corey murmured and threw away his pokemon’s pokeballs. Finally, he turned to face me. His face looked like he’d aged ten years in the last hour. “Now, what do you want to know, Vanilla? You said you wanted to know why I’m with Team Meteor.” “Indeed. Why?” “In my youth, I happened to stumble upon a certain Ruby Ring. I’m not a connoisseur of jewelry, but this ring looked so wonderfully dazzling, that I just needed to give it to my love who was equally as beautiful and perfect. My fate was decided right then, and in my naivety I could not predict how downhill everything was headed to.” Corey paused and walked towards the bridge’s edge. Now his back was faced to me, and he was taking in the scenery of Reborn City from the tall bridge. “My love died during childbirth. Heather remained, but her mother never opened her eyes again. Through a lot of blackmail and pressuring, though, I discovered that she had been neglected by the doctor, who was more interested in obtaining that cursed Ruby Ring than maintaining my wife alive.” “What’s the point of the Ruby Ring? Did the doctor want to sell it off or something?” “Team Meteor seems to be collecting certain artifacts, including the Ruby Ring, though the specifics weren’t briefed to me. I only joined them, after all, to strike a deal with them to allow me to keep the ring - the only memory I now have of my happiest days.” “I assume it's the ring that your daughter carries now.” “Yes. Now she has the cursed ring in her hands, and will be hunted for it. I can no longer do anything for her, but if you have an ounce of sympathy, do look after her for she’s naive and does not understand the cruelty of the world.” “I won’t promise anything,” I said. Corey turned his head halfway. ”I don’t know you well, or really at all, but it does seem to me that you do understand it. At least there will be someone from whom she can learn.” The right side of his face, which was all I could see from my angle, was grinning. I should’ve read under the lines. I should’ve understood what was behind that enigmatic smirk. But I didn’t. “I no longer have the right to call myself her father,” Corey said, and with more energy than I supposed he would have, he jumped onto the parapet. “Wai- Wha- Come back down!” I blurted out and ran to where he was standing, but it was too late. He had already jumped to his end. “No… No…” I stood close to the parapet. I almost dared not see below, but I also couldn’t help looking. When I saw his body, which was slowly releasing blood, I felt sick to my stomach. It wasn’t a novel sight for me, and I literally knew the man for less than an hour, so I couldn’t figure out why I felt like this. But the fact was that for a good minute, I did not have strength on my arms to pull my upper body right up. “What a moron,” were the words that snapped me back to the present. With trembling arms, I pushed myself to stand upright. The voice, of course, had been Fern’s. “To think that I came all the way here to challenge a suicidal psycho. What a waste of my time.” “You call your sister a robot, but you have less sentiment than her, you know,” I said in a low voice. “Probably. I’m unaffected, because I just see it as natural selection, y’know. The weak die off because they can’t adapt to their environment. Think of me as heartless, if you will. I couldn’t care less. Truth is often times heartless, and I’m not ashamed to say it how it is.” “Whatever. I don’t care about your foolish opinions. Just leave me alone.” Perhaps I looked paler than usual, or he might have caught a hint of discomposure in my voice, because Fern looked at me with an eyebrow raised. “Can't believe something this minor has you shaken. He fell onto Lapis Ward, if you want to take a look at his corpse,” he shrugged. “See ya late-” Just then, I don’t know if it was an earthquake of something else, but the entire bridge moved sideways, almost making us trip over. “What the heck was that?! Look, I see smoke coming out further south. Somewhere in North Obsidia Ward, I suppose.” “What even,” I said, standing up to check the smoke. “Well, I’ll be going to see what’s up with that. Later, loser.” Fern left, and I was left by myself. Now alone with my thoughts again, I remembered the last moments of Corey. I hated that I was so shook by a death so unrelated to me. I punched the parapet, which made my hand bleed a little. Pikachu squeaked at the sudden motion. “Sorry, I just needed to hit something, and I missed my chance to do it on Fern’s face.” Why must death follow me everywhere I go? Pikachu jumped off my shoulder and sat on the parapet, looking up at me with knitted eyebrows. “I’m alright,” I said and patted its head. “Let’s go to Lapis Ward. If I remember correctly, that’s where the next Gym is anyway.” I had to go all the way through Jasper, Peridot and Opal to get to Lapis Ward, but that also allowed me to find the origin of the smoke Fern and I had seen from the Beryl Bridge. When I was walking on the northern Opal bridge, I saw the number of people increase until I was almost pushing in between them to scramble through. Then I reached the crowd of police officers, some who recognized me from the Jasper and Beryl incidents, and got the inside scoop about the issue. “Someone detonated a bomb and broke the Grand Stairway,” said one police officer. Indeed, there was a large hole on the stairs, which was still producing some smoke but not as much as when I first saw the explosion from Beryl Bridge. With the permission of the officers, I approached the gaping hole on the stairs, but the cave was so deep I could not see anything but the occasional flickering of lights. “Probably Team Meteor,” I whispered to Pikachu. Given that there was no way I could climb down the hole, I chose to prioritize Lapis Ward. When I reached to the large ward, which, unlike most located within Reborn City, was much less of a mess, I found a large crowd of people gathered in the north of the ward much like the one I had encountered near the Grand Stairway. I knew what that was about, and part of me didn't want to get near it, but I nonetheless dragged my heavy feet forward. At the front row, I found Victoria and some other lilac-haired girl looking behind the building, where presumably Corey’s dead body was. Victoria acknowledged me, but was busy coaxing the upset child. “Why… Isn’t… Isn’t that?” I heard the purple-haired girl uttering. “Shelly, honey, step away from there,” Victoria said, pulling her sleeve. “I… I… I can’t breathe.” “Don’t cry, everything is going to be alright. Let’s go back in,” Victoria said, hugging the young girl. “Isn’t that… That’s… Heather’s…” “It doesn’t matter now, honey. Let’s go in and take it slow.” Shelly nodded, and we were going to enter the large building, which happened to be a Gym facility, when two familiar faces appeared on top of some rooftops. “I’ve seen those faces before. They’re from Team Meteor,” I whispered on Victoria’s ear. “Agent Beryl confirmed deceased,” I heard the young man say to the intercom. “Team Meteor? Don’t tell me you did this,” Victoria shouted. “As if! That was-” However, the man was cut off by his comrade before he could blabber on about Corey belonging to Team Meteor. “We didn’t do it, but it’ll be best for all of you if you keep your noses out of our business. For your sake,” she said. “Let’s go, Aster.” “Oh yeah, they’ll need us at the stairway.” That confirmed my suspicion that Team Meteor was behind the stairway explosion. “Keep shut and come,” the woman commanded him, visibly irritated by the leak of information. When they were out of our sight, though, something even more weird happened. “What is that…?” I pointed at something with a trembling hand. “Is it a ghost?” I have seen elves and fairies, but ghosts were something new for me. In Everland, ghosts were regarded as the followers of the Devil, and hence we were taught from a very young age to fear them. “Oh, t-that’s Shade. What do you w-want, Shade?” Shelly, who still had hiccups from crying, surprised me by asking the ghost with little to no fear. The ghost didn’t reply, but instead made the body and all the blood disappear together with himself. “What even was that?” I blurted out. “Shade’s a Gym leader too, but nobody is sure whether he’s human or not…” Victoria explained briefly. “Let’s all go inside before any more weird things happen.” Nobody disagreed. I was led to Shelly’s room on the second floor. Apparently this young girl was the Lapis Gym leader. Inside the room, Victoria narrated what had happened. Apparently they were just about to have a Gym battle, when they saw a man falling off the window. “As Shelly said outside, that was Corey, and this girl Heather’s father,” I informed her. “By some unfortunate chance, I happened to be right where he threw himself off the bridge.” “Ah, this is terrible. Poor Shelly is only 12, and now she seems so distant. If all this complicated mess is related to Team Meteor, I need to find out.” “If you want to check on them, they’ll probably be at the Grand Stairway.” “Right. I’ll go there now. Whatever they’re doing, we need to know what our enemy is up to.” Victoria approached Shelly, and lowered her upper body to reach eye-level with the sitting girl. She then caressed her purple hair, and asked whether she needed anything for when she was away. “N-no, thank you. And sorry,” Shelly said, looking quite pale. “Why are you sorry?” “For making you two worry…” “Oh, don’t be silly. I know I don’t know you well, but we’ve got to look after each other in these desperate times, see? I will be back soon, so take care and don’t force yourself, alright?” Shelly nodded and slightly smiled. I was glad Victoria was there, for I couldn’t have offered such comforting words. Victoria and I departed Lapis Gym to see what Team Meteor was doing in the Grand Stairway. Team Meteor had apparently left us a ladder, which smelled like a trap. However, we had no choice but to go in, right? "I'll go in first, you follow me alright?" Victoria told me and I nodded. Here we go. VANILLA RATES: REBORN CHARACTERS QUICK LINK TO NEXT EPISODE

I wanted Vanilla to know about Corey being T Meteor, but missed the chance for not rescuing the officers in time lol Yah eventually I think Vanilla should overcome the dislike of a loud 10 yo and realize Heather and her are pretty much alike in temperament and goals.

I don't really want to comment since Idk how good my words would be for someone who is in a tough situation I've never lived through. All I can say is I'm sorry you have this heavy burden on your shoulders. No one should have a person constantly putting them down. All I can say is, realize that you are not what your mother tells you you are. You are your own person, and should know your worth. Don't let anyone but yourself decide that for you.

From Everland to Reborn ~ Episode 10 Interestingly, the way from the forest to the pokemon center and beyond were pretty much left unharmed. The destruction of Beryl Ward wasn’t as advanced as Florinia had made me believe after all. Once I healed my pokemon, I headed towards the Beryl Gym. On the way, I bumped into a middle aged woman. When I apologized, she said not to worry and asked instead whether I was headed for a Gym battle. “You know, Poison leader Corey has a daughter much younger than you, but she’s got some attitude. I wonder where she got such personality, for neither her father nor her late mother were like that.” Heather, of course. “I see,” I said to the woman before walking away. Although the short conversation was unwelcomed, it did give me a hint of the battle to come. “Poison leader, huh,” I whispered to myself, and Pikachu trembled. No joke, no one wants poison. I pulled out my Pokegear, because I remembered finding the Field Effect read-out for a poison-related field. It was corrosive field, which I assumed was what Corey would battle over. Unless there was another poison field. Whatever, that’s something I’ll ask Ame when I go into the Gym. Now that I checked the field, though, I realized that I had only two pokemon that could be handy for the battle: Prince, with his move Earth Power, and Golden Key, who is a steel-type. If my offensive Prince was defeated, I would have a hard time, since my other pokemon have weak defenses and would get wrecked by boosted poison moves. I had to do something. I returned to the pokemon center, and checked my box of pokemon. “Fairy type, no. Grass type, no. Come on, Candy. Why did you give me so many grass types?” I sighed. “Kame can’t do much either, since his Muddy Water would be resisted because of added Poison typing.” I scrolled through the list, and eventually found the pokemon I needed. “Aladdin? Way to scratch my fresh wounds, cousin.” Candy probably didn’t do it on purpose, however, for she doesn’t know the whole story. She likely thought she was playing a little game, since I did tell her a long time ago that I had a stupid crush on Aladdin. About 3 years ago, I believe, when I technically attended family and friends gatherings. Being a descendant of a lineage of high status mages, Aladdin was also forced to attend many parties. He was a kind guy, but didn’t have many friends because he was born without magical powers and hence considered rather an embarrassment to his family. As it turns out, he joined our squad of unpopular nobles. It’s a shame that he fell in love with Jasmin, one of the most popular girls, and her poison ruined him completely. He disappointed me in ways I can’t bring myself to describe, but Candy, optimistic as she always was, has no clue about his change… and I have no intention of bursting her bubble. Ironically, what a befitting name for a team member that will be used on a poisoned field. With a little disgust, I grabbed Aladdin out of the PC and deposited Cinderella. “Don’t be a jerk in the field,” I told Aladdin, but the poor meditite had no idea what I was talking about. The addition of a new member meant I needed to train him up. I tried battling trainers, but they were all so weak! In the end, I had to grind on the grass next to the Gym. In the process, though, I had a pleasant surprise - Wolfie evolved into a lycanroc (day form). She also learned accelerock, but afterwards I had to choose stealth rock before it because I judged Wolfie to be a rather fast pokemon anyway. Pikachu stood by as we trained against spearow, noctowl, ekans and meowth, jumping and dancing, using its tail as a cheering pom-pom. I guess Julia would be pleased with an electric pokemon like Pikachu. I wonder why she doesn’t have a pachirisu in her team, but it’s of little importance. I must train. Aladdin, turns out, isn’t very fast, but “strong as ten regular men” just as the Aladdin from the legend, not so much the Aladdin I was acquainted with. “Come now, Pikachu. I think my team is ready for action.” When we entered the Gym, however, there were no trainers like in the other two Gyms. I shrugged and went into the field where the battle should take place, but there was nobody. “Don’t tell me Corey isn’t taking challengers.” It’d be too annoying and I don’t have time for this. Who knows, Team Meteor could be setting up a new PULSE while I’m here wasting time. I ran out of the field room, which as expected smelled like artificial chemicals, and went to the display to talk to Ame. “Corey isn’t there?” Ame said. “Hmm, maybe he’s in his secret room. He sometimes keeps himself locked there, though I don’t know for what reason. Corey certainly is one of the more… I don’t know, withdrawn leaders. He hasn’t been the same since his wife passed away a decade ago.” “Alright, I’ll try to find that secret room. Bye.” “Oh, one more thing. Corey uses the corrosive field and-” “So I was right. Thanks for telling me, Ame.” “I see you have already gotten the Field Effect read-out. In that case, good luck and don’t get drenched in venom!” The display then returned to its default screen. “Pikachu, can you help me find the hidden room? I’m human and can’t really make an educated guess here.” Pikachu hopped off my shoulder, and started running around the Gym while I also tried the walls of the place. When Ame said ‘secret room’, my immediate thought was of a hidden passageway behind a bookshelf, as that’s what was commonly seen in comic books, but I had to think of something else, for there were no bookshelves in our vicinity. I heard Pikachu’s loud squeaks and I ran over to see what it had found. The little squirrel was in front of a wall cornered by the right stairs. If I paid close attention, I could see that there was a barely-visible narrow opening under the wall. That part of the wall was actually a door! “Thanks buddy,” I said and petted Pikachu like the lady from the salon taught me to. “Now we need to find a way to open it.” Yes, for even with my strength, the door didn’t bulge one bit. I checked my surroundings, and felt that the large lava lamps were just too suspicious given that they were randomly either pink or blue. I turned them on and off until I got them all to be pink. Just then, I heard a metallic sound, and I found the secret door opened on its own. Pikachu jumped onto my shoulder again, and we went in. “When people keep themselves shut off, it usually means they want to be left alone.” The man with purple unruly hair turned around to face me. Somehow his face looked familiar, though I didn’t think I’d met him already. “It’s midday. You’re a Gym leader. Come out and do your job,” I said what was on my mind. “I will. I’ll-” Just then, I happened to look at his table, where some black clothes were neatly placed. “That hood…” I widened my eyes. “You…” “Guess you caught me in a bad timing,” Corey said. “If you have figured out who I am, then do not tell Heather, for it is unnecessary for her to know.” I stood there frozen for a moment, remembering Heather’s outright distrust of her father, and how badly she wanted to defeat Team Meteor, who was making a disaster out of her ward and beyond. Next, the conversation between that unknown Meteor Agent and her hit me. Corey looked at me with cold eyes, and without a word tried to pass by me. I grabbed his arm tightly, but surprisingly he did not complain. “I thought Heather was just a spoiled brat, but she was right about one thing,” I said, looking at him dead in the eye. “Your a piece of scum. How dare you betray your own daughter? How dare you side by those who kill innocents?” Corey raised and flung my grip off his arm. “I do not see a single reason I should need to confess my grievances to a stranger who has only come for a Gym battle.” “I may be a stranger,” I said, holding back my bloodthirst. “But I demand an explanation. When Heather complained about you, I thought you were correct. Tell me why I shouldn’t hold the same opinion she does now.” Our eyes met in a glaring competition. However much Corey’s apathy permeated his soul, my sheer determination must’ve eventually persuaded him to speak up. Still, that didn’t mean he would choose words that made his motives clear. “I was cursed by my own luck,” he said, barely moving his lips. “Let us have the battle you wish. There will be plenty of time to discuss the specifics after that. In fact, I will be able to show you my true thoughts, in a way that cannot leave any doubt. I guarantee it.” My fist loosened. There was something in the man’s expression which just made me unable to press further. It made me hate him more, but there was nothing I could do about it. I stood in his room for a minute while he himself left it behind. As I’d wished, we had our Gym battle. The corrosive field was indeed a handicap for my team, and all save for Golden Key suffered greatly. When the battle was over, Corey gave me the most empty congratulations I’d ever received. He was also about to hand me a badge, but he was interrupted by an uninvited guest barging into the Gym battling court. “I’m going. Bye,” was what Heather said when she entered. “Excuse me?” Corey asked. “I’m leaving for good, and you can’t stop me,” Heather insisted. “I’m sick of you and your stupid rules. I’m sick of you saying I can’t do anything ever!” Corey fell silent. Heather seemed to await a response, despite wording things as though she didn’t require his approval. Meanwhile, I was feeling increasingly awkward by the second of silence, since I was sure this wasn’t a conversation that should really be heard by a stranger. Despite having no fond feelings towards Heather, I couldn’t help pitying her, for I knew what it was to be deceived by a person one trusted. It would be a lie if I said I didn’t consider telling her about his father being Team Meteor, but I held my tongue as it was neither my place nor my business to reveal such a secret. Seeing that Corey had no intention of saying anything at present, Heather turned around and said, “So I’m done. With you. With everything. That’s all.” “That’s all?,” Corey finally spoke up. “You can’t just fly away and wish all your problems will be solved by magic. I see I have failed even in teaching you the most basic things.” “I can take care of myself. Watch me.” “Heather,” Corey stopped her once more as she was about to exit. “Have you taken your mother’s ring with you?” “I did, so what?” “Don’t lose it.” I thought I heard his voice cracked, and couldn’t help but glance at him sneakily. He did not, however, crack his poker face, so there was no way to guess his thoughts. Even when Heather was out of the room, he didn’t betray the slightest hint of emotion. “Ten years of torment… for her to vanish this quickly,” he said. “You didn’t tell her your secret, which I’m not a fan of, but that’s not my business,” I said. “What is my business is to know why you are with Team Meteor. You haven’t forgotten you owe me an explanation, have you?” Corey shook his head slowly. “Of course not, but this place won’t do. Follow me to Beryl Bridge and you’ll know what you wish to know.” VANILLA RATES: REBORN CHARACTERS QUICK LINK TO NEXT EPISODE

Kewl now I can stop stealing xD jk honestly a pair of cheap gloves last quite long. Our lab just buys them by large amounts so I didn't know you could get them easily in supermarkets.

*sees answers to Corso's questions* :eyes: :blurry eyes: I... I don't think I have any more questions. Actually I'll do an optional one: In DR mafia... Lykos vs Corso vs me- who was... um... better...?

Dunno about you but I've never found latex gloves being sold at super markets ... but honestly I'm particular about my choice in gloves too hahah

Popplio (mermaid) or fennekin (mage) have my vote nice to see I'm inspiring fantasy-lovers like myself~ im wondering which kind of fantasy tho- something like Harry Potter / Lord of the Rings like, or idk Disney cutesy kind? because one of my suggestions would be whimsicott, if it's the latter type. otherwise, choices could include: rapidash (unicorn), hydreigon (dragon and Cerberus), giraffarig (just feels like a fantasy creature lol).

I still have quite a bit to qualify to write here but I just can't contain myself. Gotta say when I read "vet" I'm instantly reminded of veterinarians xD