Valyrian_Reforged

So. Hi. Unintentional double post here, which I will take my chance to correct via a chapter update/personal check in. I've noticed that there are some of you (ah, you know who you are) who for some reason or another, do not see fit to give any of the feedback and/or content critique that I had previously requested. That's somewhat disappointing, but it's okay. Your views still matter to me. If there is anything that you'd particularly like to see in any of my upcoming chapters, you know how and where to reach me on this site. I'll be sure to implement any proposed additions that you may yet provide to me. I pray that you do so if you feel the urge to do so. Until then, I'll nurture my writing craft and writing talent and hone it via revisions and uploads upon this smashing website. Later, losers Valyrian_Reforged.

Pokemon Fangame Recommendation Update: Here are some fangames that I had seen get recommended within Best Pokemon Fangames lists thanks to PokeTubers. Please do research them and if they sound like they might be worth a playthrough to you and/or to your friends, etcetera, feel free to experience them for yourself. I do hope that this will not be considered a double post. If so, I do not mean for it to and I can edit this information into my previous post if need be. :) POKEMON Amethyst POKEMON Alchemist POKEMON Bushido POKEMON Empire POKEMON Enigma POKEMON Infinity POKEMON Jade POKEMON Melanite POKEMON Nightmare POKEMON Nightshade POKEMON Paradox POKEMON Parallax POKEMON Postscriptum POKEMON Raptor Ex POKEMON Royal POKEMON Unbreakable POKEMON Vengeance

Hi, Mindlack, Thank you for your insights. I shall continue to read this fanfiction and see where Gabriel's journey will lead him. I like how realistic your take upon Gabriel's Pokemon journey is. The main games do not take into account how much or how little the protagonist may or may not want to step in and save the Pokemon world/s. They simply thrust the protagonist headlong into the adventure, danger and drama in spectacular fashion because of their own belief that this is the right thing to do for all and by all. This is what makes Gabriel's reluctance logical, reasonable and understandable, in my opinion. I agree about the Chapter 1 events being understated. I really enjoyed reading about the devastation (that the world wasn't protected from xD) that had been wrought upon the wards and your colourful usage of words such as malignant flora and fauna. You made great use of the world that had been built within Reborn and had fleshed it out magnificently so that it read cleanly and eloquently off the pages to great effect. I had been understandably engrossed within your turns of phrase and by your battles themselves that by chapter's end, I had felt more than somewhat at a loss, yet eager to read more of your work. I have alot to catch up upon in regard to my readthrough of this work of yours, but I do not see my having to catch up at all a chore. In regard to the lateness of your updates, worry not - life delays the rest and the best of us and I imagine that I won't be the first among the fans and the readers of your written works to say that writing as great as your own is well worth the wait. It's easy to feel as though you may have let your audience down via your time away from your keyboard. Know that you have not done so and that you could not do so. Keep up the fantastic work - I'm cheering you from the sidelines, my writer friend. Apologies for my late response. I appreciate your reply. :)

Oh, my Lords Arceus, Helix and the like, Hello, all, and apologies for my abscence. Life has been a Whirlwind for me as of late, which has necessitated my taking time out to myself and for myself. I assure you all that I am doing well and refocusing alot less upon fangames that I need to play (I am focusing solely upon the ones that I am writing about here, instead), as this will result within less stress about meeting self-imposed deadlines and more chill time to write and post my story content in a timely yet relaxed manner and method. In my defence, I have been afk up until today. * EDIT: I will now write and post Chapter Four asap, starting from tomorrow, my time. (Fri 24/09/21). I will edit it here upon its completion. OK, so I have decided to focus my attentions upon each of these fanfiction works, but one at a time. I will complete Alisa, then Alto and only then will I complete Jester, then Myriad. I had been focusing upon posting one chapter for each and splitting my attention between them before now, but I have to do what's right for me. If this will require a story repost for Alto, Myriad and/or Jester, then I request permission to repost them (I don't know how and/or if posts that don't get updated regularly would then get archived or not.)

Oh, my Lords Arceus, Helix and the like, Hello, all, and apologies for my abscence. Life has been a Whirlwind for me as of late, which has necessitated my taking time out to myself and for myself. I assure you all that I am doing well and refocusing alot less upon fangames that I need to play (I am focusing solely upon the ones that I am writing about here, instead), as this will result within less stress about meeting self-imposed deadlines and more chill time to write and post my story content in a timely yet relaxed manner and method. In my defence, I have been afk up until today. * EDIT: I will now write and post Chapter Four asap, starting from tomorrow, my time. (Fri 24/09/21). I will edit it here upon its completion. OK, so I have decided to focus my attentions upon each of these fanfiction works, but one at a time. I will complete Alisa, then Alto and only then will I complete Jester, then Myriad. I had been focusing upon posting one chapter for each and splitting my attention between them before now, but I have to do what's right for me. If this will require a story repost for Alto, Myriad and/or Jester, then I request permission to repost them (I don't know how and/or if posts that don't get updated regularly would then get archived or not.)

Oh, my Lords Arceus, Helix and the like, Hello, all, and apologies for my abscence. Life has been a Whirlwind for me as of late, which has necessitated my taking time out to myself and for myself. I assure you all that I am doing well and refocusing alot less upon fangames that I need to play (I am focusing solely upon the ones that I am writing about here, instead), as this will result within less stress about meeting self-imposed deadlines and more chill time to write and post my story content in a timely yet relaxed manner and method. In my defence, I have been afk up until today. * EDIT: I will now write and post Chapter Four asap, starting from tomorrow, my time. (Fri 24/09/21). I will edit it here upon its completion. OK, so I have decided to focus my attentions upon each of these fanfiction works, but one at a time. I will complete Alisa, then Alto and only then will I complete Jester, then Myriad. I had been focusing upon posting one chapter for each and splitting my attention between them before now, but I have to do what's right for me. If this will require a story repost for Alto, Myriad and/or Jester, then I request permission to repost them (I don't know how and/or if posts that don't get updated regularly would then get archived or not.)

Hey. So, just a bit of a progress update before I post my next Myriad chapter. Not to worry, I haven't given up upon this fanfic. I have simply been caught up with the usual day to day tasks and responsibilities. Thank you for sticking by me with your views - it means alot to me to have your continued creative support. Admittedly, I have been sidetracked lately by the Sucker Punch-es of the whims of Fate and of life, as well as with certain Pokemon fangames (why must you be so darned addictive, fangames? xD) and Let's Plays. In any case, it's been on my mind to keep you all in the loop in regard to my writing here. Please consider yourself/ves looped in. How am I doing thus far? Please let me know what you think of my Myriad fanfic if you feel inclined to do so.

Hey. So, just a bit of a progress update before I post my next Alisa chapter. Not to worry, I haven't given up upon this firecracker of a fanfic. I have simply been caught up with the usual day to day tasks and responsibilities. Thank you for sticking by me with your views and with your feedback, Mindlack - it means alot to me to have your continued creative support. Admittedly, I have been sidetracked lately by the Sucker Punch-es of the whims of Fate and of life, as well as with certain Pokemon fangames (why must you be so darned addictive, fangames? xD) and Let's Plays. In any case, it's been on my mind to keep you all in the loop in regard to my writing here. Please consider yourself/ves looped in. How am I doing thus far? Please let me know what you think of my Alisa fanfic if you feel inclined to do so. * Oh, my Lords Arceus, Helix and the like, Hello, all, and apologies for my abscence. Life has been a Whirlwind for me as of late, which has necessitated my taking time out to myself and for myself. I assure you all that I am doing well and refocusing alot less upon fangames that I need to play (I am focusing solely upon the ones that I am writing about here, instead), as this will result within less stress about meeting self-imposed deadlines and more chill time to write and post my story content in a timely yet relaxed manner and method. In my defence, I have been afk up until today. * EDIT: I will now write and post Chapter Five asap, starting from tomorrow, my time. (Fri 24/09/21). I will edit it here upon its completion. * Chapter Five: The Will and the Won't I have Pokemon to save, was Alisa's first thought. Upon emerging from her shower this morning, Alisa followed her train of thought to its logical conclusion. Pokemon to save, as well as this Region. If I don't do it, who will? I have the autonomy that most do not. I have the will and the resources. In addition to these, I have the inner reserves of a Champion to be. I can- and I will - do this. Sliding the shower door closed behind her, Alisa toweled off and began to get dressed. Today was nondescript black clothing day. Her outfit consisted of a streamlined black Nike hoodie with silver satin interiour lining, as well as crisply pressed black silk underclothing and jeans. Black cotton socks of the Egyptian variety and black, silver shoe-laced Nikes encapsulated her outfit within a microcosm of perfection. Once she was clothed, Alisa sank into a catlike crouch, pulled on her black Nikes, and began to lace them up. Her SilphCo running shoes were still in her backpack. No-one had ever asked her about her thoughts upon this save the world matter, Alisa mused. No-one had thought to ascertain her stance upon anything, truth be told. No, they had just expected her to go along with their region-rescue and Pokemon-rescue in their stead. Alisa imagined the supreme indolence that surely must, even now, be reflected within the stance of one and of many. She imagined the pitiless horde peering out through grimy appartment windows, ungluing themselves from their TV screens to gawk at Alisa, unabashed, as she passed them. She imagined the look of resolve upon her face. This, combined with the purpose within her swift yet economical movements, would serve to lower their self-estimation and lift her within their sense of awe and personal lack. She would be the heroine that this region needed, but had not asked for. The Pokemon that she was set upon saving? They had belonged to Corey. Alisa clicked her tongue, disgruntled, as she laced up the silver satin shoelaces of her Nikes. She hadn't been able to save him. This left her with lingering remnants of caustic unforgiveness of herself. Her heart still went out to Heather. The young girl talked a big game, but Alisa sensed that there was more to the tormented ten year old than met the eyes. Alisa suspected that Heather would always wonder why she hadn't been worthy enough, within her father's estimation, to be the one that he stuck around. Perhaps Heather had expected that Corey would have remained with her until the day of their deaths. Cocking her head to one side as her renegade muse struck her like ten million bolts from the blue, Alisa slowly smirked. She had an idea. Brimming with reinvigorated and renewed resolve, Alisa straightened from her crouch. First things were first, though. After ensuring that she had everything that she needed to suit her various region traversal requirements, Alisa left the Great Hall's Pokemon Center suite room. Closing and locking its door behind her, Alisa checked in at the reception desk. She tried to turn in her borrowed suite key, but the Nurse Joy in residence would not accept it. "For all the help you've given us, you can keep that suite," Nurse Joy said. She employed a volume and an inflection of such good cheer that Alisa thought that she could give Julia a run for her money. "But so many people could make use of it in my stead! It wouldn't be fair to those in n -," Alisa responded on autopilot, always with her thoughts towards others, rather than toward herself. "In need? Oh, we're all in need, honey. But we need to help ourselves," Nurse Joy said philosophically. Alisa's jaw dropped. Nurse Joy gave full sway to her own amusement. She scrambled to close her dropped jaw before the nurse's throaty chuckling could divert the apathetic and mutinous stares of the Hall's many other occupants. Alisa was successful at this endeavour. This still did not sit right with Alisa. She dithered where she stood, which only made Nurse Joy continue guffaw. Before Alisa could stop her, Nurse Joy performed a series of remarkable actions. She cut her laughter off with brute force and gently slid the key from her grip, only to attach it to an official Reborn Great Hall ID lanyard, which was minus its ID card. "Incognito mode activated," Nurse Joy said beneath her breath, as handed it back to Alisa. Accepting the gift, Alisa frowned slightly as Nurse Joy took hold of her hands. Pressing Alisa's fingers softly closed around the key and lanyard, Nurse Joy held her gaze and spoke. "The world doesn't owe us anything. We owe you. Take the key. Take the suite," Nurse Joy implored. Still feeling like an extremely stunned mullet, Alisa nodded, thanked Nurse Joy and put the lanyard and suite key into her Key Items bag pocket. Alisa turned to leave. "Oh, and honey? We've perfected our state of squalor and lack. You don't need to. Show our world what for. Thanks for all that you do us all," Nurse Joy called, in a brisk and peppy tone of voice that conveyed her respect and gratitude. Pausing only a moment to turn back with a rueful grin and a hearty wave, Alisa pivoted toward the Center's entrance and left the Great Hall. Striding swiftly and determinedly back up the nearby Hall steps, Alisa trekked back to North Obsidia Ward, then turned left and hurried up the staircase that led directly to Lapis Ward. The citizens of Reborn glowered at her from the foot of the staircase, milling about either alone or in a ragtag group of threes and fours. Everyone nearby bristled at her approach, but a look of self-pride and censure was enough to make everyone resume their conversation/s. Alisa re-entered Lapis Ward. Descending its entrance staircase, Alisa turned due left at its foot and kept moving. A long walk back to Shelly's Gym was cut in half as she jogged through the Ward, ignoring the derisive looks and exclamations of outrage as she made a zigzagging beeline around a trio of wealthy passerby. "Well, I never!." "Oh, stow it, Clotilde. You would have legged it and joined her if you'd been that upstart's own age!." "Fiddlesticks, Cordelia, must you get my goat? I. Would. Never. Do that." "In my day, Mother would have tanned my hide right proper for that gallivant," someone else interjected. "No-one's gabbing to you, Cecilia!," the first two said simultaneously, turning back toward each other. "Not now, you aren't, but you'll not refuse a chat around a pot of chamomile tea, should I put it on to brew." At the mention of chamomile tea, Clotilde and Cordelia stopped in mid-conversation and swung to face Cecilia expectantly. "Alright, you cunning old shrews! Go on, then, join me and mine for tea and scones," Cordelia said cannily. "Cunning old - Cecilia, we're your own age!," Clotilde and Cordelia said in mock outrage. "True, but I'm the only one who actually acts our age," Cecilia said primly. The trio then set off with purpose, ribaldly needling at each other with playful shoulder-jostles, conspiratorial looks. This trio's broad smiles were continually brightened when looking at each other, only to be continually dimmed upon meeting the hostile and haughty gazes of their neighbours. As Alisa threaded her way around this group, she got the sense that these three had been bickering and bantering since they had been her own age. For once, Alisa felt proud of her sixteen years of life and all that she had managed to achieve within her life. If she could gain such friends as these three seemed to have and to be to one another, then Alisa would count herself extremely fortunate indeed. The trio made their way to Cecilia's house, which was situated within a gated compound lot. Alisa decided to watch the trio from afar. After keying in a code upon the keycode scanner by the compound's front entrance gate, Cecilia chivvied her friends and neighbours through the gate ahead of her. Scanning her immediate vicinity with a rapid and all-encompassing gaze, Cecilia then turned back to the keypad. She punched in the lock code, running through the gate before it could close behind her. Alisa watched the gate slide smoothly and quickly closed. Although the front gate itself was comprised of thick steel, Alisa guessed what would be occurring behind its now inscrutable and locked façade. Upon rejoining her friends at the front steps of her house, Cecilia looked back up the driveway that she had hastened down before she shook her head. Upon Clotilde's and Cordelia's urging, Cecilia stepped onto the front stoop of her manor house. Unlocking her front security door, Cecilia stepped forward and unlocked her front door as Clotilde held the door open for her. In their turn, the trio entered Cecilia's house. Entering her house, Cecilia locked both doors firmly and securely closed behind them all. The uninitiated and the uninvited were not getting to Cecilia easily. Upon re-entering Shelly's Gym, a short trip upstairs led Alisa to Shelly and to Victoria. "Oh, hi, Ali! So, I'm still really worried about Shelly. That man that we'd seen before Shade took him away? He'd been Heather's father," Victoria explained. Shelly looked up from the couch that she sat upon, her small elbows dug deep into the skin of her upper kneecaps. Her face was streaked liberally with ceaseless tears and she shook with visible, myriad and conflicting emotions as she stared at Alisa. "I'm fine! Tell Vicky that. My challengers are waiting for me. I've got to go now!," Shelly said vehemently. Shelly stood up quickly, but Victoria gently placed her hands upon the young girl's shoulders. Shelly took one look at Victoria and then flung herself into Victoria's open arms, allowing Victoria to hug her and hold her in a consoling and maternal manner. After she had sufficiently comforted Shelly into a state of gentle compliance and complacency, Victoria guided Shelly back onto the couch, sat down beside Shelly and then spoke, looking up at Alisa. "Alisa, thank you. I should have waited for you. But never mind that. Shelly really needs our help," Victoria said pragmatically, wringing her hands as she spoke. "How can I help you both?," Alisa enquired. "Oh, I'm fine, really, but Shelly's beside herself right now. A doctor that may be able to help her more than we can," Victoria added. "What's the name of this doctor, and where can he be found? I could speak to him with you, if you'd like," Alisa offered. Shelly lunged up from the couch as though she had just been scalded by it. "Doctor Connal? I won't be checked into that cracked pot's asylum!," Shelly raged. Victoria looked scandalised. "Shelly, honey, no-one said anything about checking you in anywhere. And I'm sure it's not an asylum. It's an orphanage. It has an additional treatment center," she said, her attention swiveling between Alisa and Shelly. "I don't NEED to be treated for anything. I'm just FINE," Shelly said, crossing her arms and planting her feet as she spoke. Awarding Alisa a pointed look and a nudge of her chin toward the staircase, Victoria bit her lip before she turned toward Shelly and spoke soothingly yet maturely to the young Gym Leader. "Of course you are, Shelly. Everything will be alright," Victoria soothed. They lapsed into a prolonged conversation which swiftly escalated into a heated debate. Shelly surprisingly held her own as Alisa turned to leave the room. Descending the staircase, Alisa reached its foot and ventured toward the gym guide. Having gathered that this 'Doctor" was some kind of psychiatrist, Alisa empathised with Shelly's point of view. Still, a word with this doctor surely would not, metaphorically, hurt. "Although Shelly is currently accepting challengers, I cannot allow her to do so in such a fragile emotional state. Please feel free to return at a later time and date," the Gym Guide said seriously. "When would it be best to return for my Challenge?," Alisa asked the Guide. He shrugged dispassionately. "You will know as soon as I know," the Guide answered. He would not be drawn for further comment and so Alisa left the Gym. Visiting Dr. Connal's Center, Alisa was almost barged into by someone who was exiting the center as she was about to enter it. "Oh, excuse me! I simply must get out of here. Right now," the young woman said. She had long, eye-scorchingly bubblegum pink hair and looked to be around eighteen or so. She wore a green outfit. "No dramas at all. OK," Alisa replied in a jovial tone. The young woman smiled with slight warmth at Alisa, then hurried past her, almost running now as she moved toward the ward's dual purpose entrance and exit. Alisa entered the Center. She was met by several people who saw fit to introduce themselves to her. The first, a young girl, seemed to stare straight into her soul from mere inches away from Alisa. She wore her glossy, purple-black hair in high pigtails that dropped to rest at mid bicep height and a magenta outfit. It was her eyes, however, that provided the most unsettling sensation to ripple throughout Alisa in a radiating series of waves. Pigtails possessed violet red eyes that were truly boggling to the mind to behold. When Pigtails spoke, it took Alisa a great effort to wrench her attention off of the peculiarity of Pigtails' eerie eyes. "You're new! Huh, you're not Laura. Not that it's not great to see a new face, quite the opposite, but did you see her? Laura?," Pigtails said manically. "Laura? Er, would the Laura that you speak of have long, bright pink hair? Because if so, she just left," Alisa answered, in a taken aback tone of voice. Pigtails' expression, which had considerably brightened upon hearing Alisa's response, subsequently fell in response. "That's our Laura! Oh, she left? Dang. Anyhoo, who are you, with your glowing self, all set to razzle-dazzle?," Pigtails asked. Giving Pigtails a subtle smile and a slight nod, Alisa spoke. "I am Alisa. Your name is?," Alisa responded sweetly. Pigtails beamed at Alisa. At a glance, Alisa estimated that Pigtails could not be any older than twelve to thirteen years of age. "Anna. Great name! Why are you all super glowy-showy?," Anna replied, her eyes narrowing as she squinted at Alisa with a perplexed expression. "Glowy-showy?," Alisa queried, her own expression shifting from polite interest to sudden bafflement. A chiding voice spoke up as if to break the feeling of awkward tension that had risen up within the face of Anna's focus and question. "Anna, dear, no-one is glowing," a nearby person, a young boy, said seriously. "But this person clearly is, even if you can't see it. Never mind. Come on in and meet everyone!," Anna said charitably. Walking up to the room's centre, Alisa faced Anna squarely, her expression resolute. "You already know me. I'm Anna. This is Nostra, my Jirachi. She says that it's nice to meet you," Anna said, with a childlike solemnity. Feeling profoundly foolish, Alisa waved at the Jirachi doll that Anna held, mirroring its own wave which had been initiated by Anna. "Over there, you'll find Noel, my twin brother, and his Cleffa, Nomos. Say hi, you two!," Anna added. The young boy nearest to the door slid idly off of the mint condition white couch that he had been seated upon. He shared the same unique hair as Anna and he made his Cleffa bow to Alisa as he, too, bowed to her in acknowledgement. Noel straightened up and so did Nomos, with an athletic grace that Alisa wouldn't have attributed to him upon first glance. He had a more serious countenance than Anna, as well as a pair of red violet eyes that matched Anna's own. "Nomos and Nostra are just dolls. Hi. Nomos says hi to you, too," Noel said, speaking in a stoic tone of voice. Anna rolled her eyes. "That's my brother, alright. Always the wise-guy. That's not true," Anna replied, her expression lapsing into one of grievous injury. Noting this, Noel sought to lift his sister's flagging spirit. "Uh, OK, Sis. Whatever you say about that. Nomos says hi," Noel said. Far from being placated, Anna angrily folded her arms, glared one million daggers at her twin and then stomped her right foot against the floor for good measure. "Noel, you lie. They are, too, real. You're being ridiculous!," Anna said insistently, her tone verging heavily toward antagonistic. "Sis, you're one to talk," Noel replied, arching a snide eyebrow. He made a show of metaphorically rolling up his sleeves for a great debate. Before the rising tension could further escalate, Anna changed the subject. "Anyway! That's my friend Charlotte. She of the fantabulous purple-pink hair," Anna said, turning upon the spot upon which she stood to cut her gaze to the left. An older girl forcibly tipped up her chin toward Alisa. The ends of her own high pigtails looked as if they had been partially drenched within smog purple paint. Her side-swept fringe, which fell in a swoop over her right eye, had been given the same artistic treatment. Her virulent crimson outfit terrifically clashed with her dark pink hair, but Charlotte seemed to care less about this fact. She exuded an aura of recklessness, relentlessness and rebelliousness and Alisa liked Charlotte, platonically, at first sight. "Um. Charlotte's really, really pretty. Just try not to stare at her burn scars," Anna advised. The older girl looked visibly aggrieved and annoyed as she flung an inscenced look at Anna, then swiftly swung her look of appraisal back to Alisa. "Look, it's a treat to meet you, Alisa. In all seriousness, I am unmarked," Charlotte said with certainty. Noel rolled his eyes skyward and heaved a short, glass sharp sigh. "Charlotte has no scars, Anna. We've rehashed this many a time," Noel said contentiously. Anna opened her mouth, closed it, opened it once more, then pressed her lips closed. With a shake of her head, Anna spoke. "But - uh - oh, shoot! I didn't mean to call attention to them. I won't speak of them any further. Really," Anna said, visibly distressed. She wrung her hands incessantly, as if by habitual reflex. Charlotte shook her head with a resounding and tolerant sigh. "Again, there's nothing to speak about. Tch, never mind that. Hi, Newbie," Charlotte said testily. "As I hadn't been mentioned to you by name yet, I'll provide it to you and to Noel. I am Alisa. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances," Alisa said casually. With a wave of her right hand, Charlotte cleared her throat. "That's cool and all, but you saw Laura on your way in, yeah? I overheard that you had. She's my sister," Charlotte explained, her expression relaxing as she spoke. "Your sister? I see the clear resemblance between you both," Alisa replied neutrally. They both had the same unforgettable pink, somewhat mismatched hair. Whether that had been a conscious decision of either of theirs, or simply an unintentional collision of a previously discussed style collusion, Alisa could not tell or say. "Right. Laura's a Reborn Elite Four member. It's no big deal, but awesome runs rivulets within our family tree," Charlotte said placidly. Noel smiled a slow, combative smile as he leaned forward toward Charlotte, paying her his full attention. "Well, those are fighting words. You say that, I might mention that Anna -," Noel began boldly. "Anna, what, exactly, if I may ask?," Alisa asked. Noel made to answer her directly. However, Noel was interrupted by his kid sister. "Er-heeerm. Laura's so cool! Charlotte and Noel? They're also Reborn Gym Leaders," Anna said, quickly and courageously. Noel pressed his lips closed in response to Anna's verbal brush off. "Anna," he began warningly. He appeared to be entirely used to being cut off in midsentence. Anna's interjections did not seem to phase Noel in the slightest. "Whose intro is this, anyway? I'm gonna really miss Laura, but it's great that she's finally free of this dump - er, fine center," Anna said, eyeing the nearby orderlies, clad head to toe in crisp white uniforms and caps, toward the end of her introduction. Noel seized his chance to a) one up his twin and b) further hijack her introduction. "Yowza! Laura turned eighteen today. She's well rid of this place and probably of us, too," Noel said morosely. Charlotte sighed. "Of all of us? Surely you jest. Of this place? For sure. It's partly an orphanage," Charlotte grumbled. "How long will you all need to be here for?," Alisa enquired with interest. "Basically? Forever," Noel said plainly. "Until we either turn of age or earn the Doc's consent, we're stuck here," Charlotte contributed. She spoke within a mutinous tone. Noel suddenly full body shuddered. In response to Alisa's quick and quizzical look, Noel shed light upon his nonverbal response. "The Doctor's really scary," he said fearfully. Anna nodded thrice, each movement following the one before it with metronomic precision. "Yeah. Doc Connal has this freakishly strong Electric Pokemon. He uses it in his quote-unquote 'therapy.' It's sickening, if you ask me," Anna replied, forgetting to lower her voice as she said this. "Anna, no-one did ask you. It's Doctor Connal to you," a nearby orderly said antagonistically. Anna lowered her voice. "Its shocks really hurt. Nostra thinks that his past patients have D - I - E - D. Around him, you'd think so, too. Listen carefully and you'll hear a disembodied voice," she concluded in a whisper. There was a truly confounded expression upon her face as she gave voice to this previously internalised observation. Charlotte scowled. "I haven't heard anything like that. So I really don't know about that. Moving on. Alisa, what brings you to our cosy abode?," Charlotte asked, her tone saturated with a sarcasm so blatant that even Alisa could not doubt nor ignore its prescence. "Someone that I know needs my help. That's why I am here, to seek some medical advice from the Doc -," Alisa began, but Charlotte's cacophonous gasp interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. "Trust me, this is the last place that you should bring anyone to. It'll only make whatever ails your friend worse. Oh, drat and derring-do, the Doctor's headed right for us. Eeeep!," Charlotte said, wearing a genuinely freaked out expression as she turned toward the door that was directly North of their location. A man with sedate blonde hair that had been side combed to his right hand side entered the main room. Middle aged in chronological appearance, he wore a white laboratory coat over charcoal grey slacks, black socks and black shoes. Upon catching sight of Alisa, this man's eyes narrowed in immediate distrust and his expression was one of forced professionalism. "I had been right to investigate. Greetings, Stranger. I am Doctor Sigmund Connal," the man said pompously. Dr. Connal continued, speaking as if she had already spoken. "You may refer to me as Doctor. How can I assist you?," Doctor Connal said in a cloying, obsequious tone. The term 'try-hard' seemed to have been expressly invented to become purposefully and personally attributed to Doctor Connal, in Alisa's subjective opinion. "I had heard that there are Gym Leaders here," Alisa supplied upon the fly, having to think fast within the confines of Doctor Connal's unblinking scrutiny. "And so you came here because of that, perhaps? If that is all...so be it. There are, indeed, some particularly gifted individuals that are here within our care," Doctor Connal said, pausing to take a breath before he continued. "Several of them have managed, either through artifice or undeniable, proven skill, to inherit or earn positions of high ranking within the Reborn League. I take it that you must have some degree of battle prowess. Let's see you prove it," Doctor Connal said sadistically. "I'm ready," Alisa replied, speaking with the truest of grit. She readied her first Poke Ball and Doctor Connal called upon one of his two, main room orderlies to battle Alisa. "Orderly John! Please conduct a concise examination of this challenger," Doctor Connal directed. "Yes, Doctor," the chosen one said dully, stepping forward with a gleeful expression. The first orderly sent out his Level 31 Slowpoke against Alisa's Level 31 shiny Noxious, her Swalot. "Noxious, Toxic!," Alisa commanded briskly. Noxious roared its approval as it slung a large globule of dark purple slime toward Slowpoke. Her opponent immediately failed to dodge the attack and it took two turns of Poison damage. It was immediately recalled by its Orderly Trainer, who then sent out his Level 32 Magneton. The Electric/Steel type glared with baleful irritation at Alisa before she recalled her Noxious. The next two Pokemon, a tanky Level 31 Eelektrik, was taken down by several Confuse Rays from Alisa's shiny Ampharos, combined with the switch-ins of Daenerys the shiny Mightyena and her Bite and Snarl attacks. The Orderly and Alisa recalled their Pokemon, fainted and otherwise, while Doctor Connal spoke. "Very impressive...Alisa, was it not? Young Anna's voice had carried so, you know. I'm afraid that an audience with our esteemed Trainer contingent cannot currently be arranged. We are, most inauspiciously in fact, in the midst of extensive renovations to our battle arena. The common areas are unsuited to battle conditions," Doctor Connal said regretfully. "That's understandable. Thank you, I will leave now. It was ever so neat to meet you. Bye now!," Alisa said, turning to leave as she spoke. Doctor Connal's voice, as oily as a snake oil salesman's yet many times more clinical and detached, made Alisa stop short in midstep. "Oh, but there's no way that I can possibly permit you egress," Doctor Connal said deviously. "And what possible reason could you have to keep me here in an involuntary capacity?," Alisa enquired irreverently. Doctor Connal's eyes gleamed as Alisa spun back to face him. "Sadly, that's for me to know and you to ponder over the next few days. You will remain here. Orderlies, seize Alisa, I beg of you!," Doctor Connal demanded. The left hand and right hand orderlies advanced upon Alisa, who was swiftly dragged out of the Center by Anna and Charlotte. "Man. That simply doesn't fit Alisa's flat out schedule. She'll check back in with you in...I wouldn't hold my breath," Anna called over her shoulder. "Nostra can feel your friend's sorrow waft from you. Something bad must have happened recently," Anna said to Alisa, quietly and grimly. "Yes, it has. How can you possibly know that and feel that?," Alisa asked. "Listen. The one who's been truly hurt by this is the one that's truly in dire need. Your friend should seek her out. Then she won't have to feel sorry for herself and she'll be with her friend in need," Anna said empathetically. "Is there anything in particular that you should bring to my attention?," Doctor Connal called out, as he, too, began to advance toward the trio. "Nothing at all! Bye, Alisa," Anna and Charlotte said breezily. Alisa heard the sliding door swish closed mere millimetres from the tip of her nose. She heard the sound of the glass door mechanisms being clunked into lock position. This made her suspect that the distraction that had been caused by Alisa's hurried departure had been taken full advantage of by Noel. He would have slipped away to locate and activate the door locks to ensure Alisa's ultimate and convenient personal security. Left with the parting words of Charlotte - "This guy is not the right doctor for your friend" - Alisa shook her head slowly. Smiling sadly through the glass doors at her new friends, Alisa sighed as Charlotte and Anna turned to meet their resulting punishment. The knowledge that she couldn't currently re-enter the building and help her friends made the wait to do so feel unbearably long in the teeth to Alisa. Having made a pit stop to heal her Pokemon, Alisa retrieved her replenished 'mons and returned to Victoria and Shelly. * Now, on to Myriad. Please stand by. xD

Hi. I'd like to recommend Pokemon Ashen Frost. It's a different suggestion to the aforementioned ones and it's definitely a must play, in my opinion. You are a Pokemon Detective. You start off with a very different Starter (I won't spoil what it is) and you solve Cases during your playthrough. I'm going to dedicate myself to it more fully after my completion of Pokemon Reborn, Pokemon Desolation and Pokemon Rejuvenation and I quite look forward to doing so. I also recommend Pokemon Empyrean and Pokemon Gaia, plus more once I discover them for myself. There will be no spoilers here in my posts, so if you are interested within these games that I have mentioned, I strongly recommend (although it is absolutely your choice) that you check them out for your own self and see what you personally make of them. :)

Chapter Three: Alto and Outro I visited Karrina as per her request, marveling at her surroundings sproadically. The black and gold decor was a great thematical touch to the mobster's main room and Alto could appreciate the many bookcases that were in plentiful supply here. "Alto! A woman after my own heart, it seems. It gladdens my heart to see that we have such a fine and mighty Trainer upon our side," Karrina said earnestly. "Thank you for your invitation. So, if I may ask, what has brought about my induction into your organisation?," I enquired, politely but with backbone. "A straight-shooter, to boot? I like that. To not put too stark a point upon it, I require your assistance," Karrina replied. "Can you please elaborate?," I requested, speaking with as much brevity as I could. "Certainly. There is going to be a gang fight tonight between my gang and a rival gang. Ever since their arrival here a few years back, that gang has been causing no end of trouble. We aim to put a stop to them. Are you in?," Karrina answered. "I'm in, but why ask me to help you? Are there not others who may be just as qualified as I am?," I asked, with feeling. "Go figure, but the city holds no love for my gang and I," Karrina replied loftily. "And why do you think that is?," I asked seriously. Karrina scraped her fingers through her vibrant auburn hair and shook her head in exasperation. "I have no idea! We're only trying to help the citizens of this city! There are few others of your caliber that I feel that I can ask. Please meet us at Amethyst Cave, post-haste. Ta-ta!," she said pleasantly. Lowering her hands to her sides, Karrina awarded me a curt yet professional nod and then strode briskly out of her office. Reminded ever so strongly of Venam, I took a quick look around Karrina's office, then made my own exit of it. After exiting the gang HQ, I put paid to a couple of loose-end sidequests, then made my way to the East Gearen train station. A train ride later and I stood at Route 2's entrance, looking down the metaphorical barrel of yet another Trainer gauntlet. Steeling myself in preparation, both mental and physical, I set off at a brisk pace. Upon reaching the entrance to Amethyst Cave, I experienced a flashback of my previous experience within it. With an involuntary shudder, I met up with Karrina and her gang a little ways within the cave. A battle against Technician Edward later and I re-encountered the same enigmatic Xen Grunt who had delivered the Melia death-sentence pronouncement earlier. He didn't seem at all surprised to see me back within Amethyst Cave. This immediately struck me as suspicious. His casual address of me ratcheted my suspicion up a further seven notches. "I see that you failed to heed my earlier warning," Enigmatic Grunt said. "You'll find that I'd done the exact opposite. Why do you still see fit to be a human barricade?," I responded in my turn. The hooded figure ignored me. "You'll soon find this to be a hopeless endeavour indeed. Now that you've experienced the pain of losing someone, I assure you that pain will forever remain a part of you," Enigmatic Grunt continued, speaking as though I hadn't spoken at all. Without further ado, Enigmatic Grunt turned and made a beeline toward open doorway that was just behind him. "What is this, Riddle a Minute Day? You know that I'll just follow you to see what you're up to," I said, doing just that as I spoke. My trip through the open doorway revealed two Trainers, train tracks jutting up from a portion of the cave floor and a secondary doorway. Dashing through the snow secondary doorway. I encountered a black haired girl who immediately took my photograph. Blinking the bright white spots that were dancing before my eyes, I listened to the young woman speak. "Say cheese! Oh, wait, I was meant to say that prior to my snapshot. Oh, well, you're in my memory bank now," Snapshot said impishly. "I'll say," I said, but the young woman spoke over me. "You've been randomly selected! Congratulations, you are now a Fun Games competitor. Your grand prize? Entrance to Sheridan Village. Let us begin," Snapshot said, enthused. I was warped to some weirdo dimension, where I was urged to play three consecutive games. Having correctly guessed which of three rocks held a purple pebble (the central one) and which of the three trees was a fake (the third one), I won my way through to Game 3, a battle with Snapshot herself. "You should know something before we battle. I've been watching you for some time now," Snapshot said. "Uh, why would you a) admit that, b) watch me in the first place and c) think that would not creep me out?," I enquired, a little more harshly than I'd intended to ask. Again, Snapshot acted as though I hadn't spoken. This was starting to become a theme with her. "I watched you during your Venam battle. No-one took any notice of me! I wanted to talk to you then, but I just couldn't. It takes so much focus for me to be physically present. But I digress! My name's Nim. I'm a wanderer with a metric truck-tonne of spirit. Nice to meet ya," Nim said spiritedly. I opened my mouth to speak, but she spoke first. "Oh, we're sooooo going to be besties, just you wait and see!," Nim said exuberantly. The battle began. Nim sent out her first Pokemon, a Level 16 Darumaka and a Level 16 Inkay. I sent out my Level 23 Padfoot and my Level 20 Feebas. "Brine, Feebas! Take that Darumaka down," I commanded of my shiny fish. "Padfoot, Bite that Inkay until it's down for the count!," I commanded my Mightyena. Both performed their attacks admirably and took down both of their opponents. Nim recalled her fainted Pokemon and sent out her Level 18 Solrock and Level 18 Lunatone. Padfoot Bit down upon his opponents, backed up by my spectacular Hermione, whom I switched my Feebas out for and the battle tide was turned in my favour. I won the battle. We both recalled our fainted Pokemon. "Oh, my Lords Helix and Arceus! You are the Fun Games victor. Congratulations, you phenom," Nim yelled, completely losing what little composure she seemed to have as she leapt up and down upon the dimension floor. She handed over her prize money. "OK, calm your farm, Nim. Thanks. Good battle," I replied, not sure how to take my new superfan's pinnacle of zeal. "You're top notch, you know that!? From the very moment that I witnessed your defeat of Venam, I knew, I just knew that Fate had tied us together with many strings! So. Freaking. COOL," Nim continued, utterly unabashed. "Thank you, but can I leave now? I've got a gang war to end," I said lightly. Nim pretended to think about my request for a moment, but then she shook her head. Her brows furrowed more than slightly as she spoke. "Sorry. There's just one more game remaining to be played. Answer this question with the truth. With your truth. The question is: Did I cheer you up?," Nim concluded. I emamined my current emotional state. The answer that was clear and true to me was yes. "Nim, you did cheer me up. Thank you for that," I answered diplomatically. Nim stopped bouncing upon her heels, lowering herself slowly to the floor with an ear to ear grin. "Yes! Exactly the answer that I'd hoped for. I'd wanted our first impression to be a great one. That way, you wouldn't easily forget me!," Nim said contentedly. I smiled back at Nim. She invited me to chill with her, so I approached her and stood by her right side, just far enough apart from her that she didn't feel crowded. "Say, that Ren guy gave you this humungo grief speech, but I thought to take the opposite approach. I spread happiness to brighten the dark of that," Nim said gently. I blinked, betraying my shock and to mitigate the shock that she had given to me, Nim made an additional confession. "My apologies for the shock. I'd also watched as you fought Zetta, Alto. I'd wanted to help, but...no matter how much I tried to assist you, I just couldn't," Nim confessed. "Your attempt is noted and appreciated. Try not to beat yourself up about it. What had been done is now past," I said consolingly. Nim looked off to one side with a beatific smile, a llok of gratitude washing over her face before she schooled it into a mask of neutrality. "Anyway, after you'd been swept into the Rift, I watched Zetta toss Melia's bag off the side of the cliff. I delved into the depths in search of it and...I found it. Completely water-logged, it was, but otherwise intact. I was able to retrieve this," Nim said. She handed me a Room ID Card, which I tucked away into the Key Items pocket of my Bag. "There wasn't anything else around. If I missed anything, I apologise," Nim said regretfully. I sought to reassure Nim. "That's quite alright, Nim. I'm thankful that you'd managed to retrieve this. Thanks for gifting it to me," I said appreciatively. "Awww, Alto, you sweet-talker, you! But seriously, this horror-filled world is the pits," Nim replied. I frowned. "What gives you that impression of the world?," I asked. Nim shrugged a shrug that was meant to cast off her cares. Her cares stubbornly refused to budge from her shoulders. "I'd been traveling, for awhile, with someone. Eventually, we'd had to part. But if you don't remain weird and zany, this world would get sooooo unbearably boring, you get me?," Nim said cheerfully. I nodded and she continued. "There's just so much out there. Blink and you'll forever miss it all. I want for you to continue, Alto. Keep at it with your head held high!," Nim said. "I will," I replied, surprising even myself with the ringing endorsement of humility and of sincerity within my level tone. Nim nodded as if I'd restored her faith within the world. "Excellent! Sorry for dragging you out here. I'd just wanted a chat with you. So, I'm going to send you back now. I believe in you! Bye now," Nim said, in a slightly-regretful tone of voice. Before Nim did this, though, she spoke. "Don't you go and forget your bestie now - me! Nim. Now go forth and conquer all!," Nim called. A blindingly-bright white light enveloped the dimension and I vanished. I reappeared within the Cave alone. Nim's parting words echoed throughout my mind. "I'll always be watching, never forget that! I'm your personal guardian angel of sorts." The way to Sheridan Village, at the top of the steps before me, lay unbarred. Now, however, was not the time for me to venture that. I backtracked back to where Karrina lay in wait for me. She appeared to have jarred her ankle, though to what degree, I did not yet know. "Oh, don't mind me, I just slipped off the side of this cliff while I was battling. Finish off their leader for me, pretty please?," Karrina said snidely. There was more than a bit of predatory bite within her tone, but I attributed that more to her current state of pain than anything else. Steeping onto the raised plateau, I battled the Motorcyclist in front of Karrina. "You wish to battle me? I'll crush you into pulverised nanoparticles, Karrina's stand-in," The Motorcyclist said, in the tone of a genuine threat. He sent out his Level 21 Cufant and I sent out my Level 23 shiny Talonflame, Ventilate. "Don't take Gang Member Charly lightly, Alto. He did defeat me. With that being said, show him what for, talent galore!," Karrina called to me. Charly's eyes lit up even as his brows narrowed over them, sizing me up upon the spot. "Alto, huh? I'll remember your name. Cufant, Rollout twice!," Charly called. His Cufant performed two consecutive Rollouts, which took Ventilate down to red health points. "Great job, Ventilate, return! Go, Feebas," I called to my wounded bird, zapping him back into his capsule. I sent Feebas into battle and commanded it to use Brine over two turns. The burn that Ventilate had inflicted, in addition to the Water attacks, sent Cufant plummeting to the floor in a faint. "Noooooo, Cufant! You'll pay for that. Vigoroth, shut that fish down for good!," Charly called. I smirked. "Too late for that jazz. Padfoot, get 'em, boy," I yelled, calling Feebas back and sending out my Mightyena. "Bite, then Snarl for good measure!," I commanded haughtily. Padfoot barked, bristling with canine hostility as he obeyed my commands. Vigoroth chittered with pain as Padfoot's combined attacks brought it down to yellow health points. "It's almost downed completely! Bite attack," I commanded and my will was carried out to the hilt. Vigoroth screeched with agony as it crashed to the cavern floor, but it ultimately succumbed to its injuries. It fainted. Charly recalled it, then sent in his Level 21 Mankey. He had it annoyingly spam Seismic Toss attacks, but I took it down with my Dustox's, Hermione's, Gust attacks. "Dang it! Take your money and scram!," Charly said fiercely. Handing over his battle cash with a scowl, Charly eyed me for several intense and intimidating beats before he turned away. Striding angrily up to his motorcycle, Charly mounted his bike with a sneer. "No slouch in the battle department, you are. Fine, have it your way, then," Charly said gravely. "What is that supposed to mean?," I asked Charly, before he could ride off. "It means this: You have made me reevaluate my life of crime. We'll stop, my gang and I. Retreat!," Charly snarled. He hit the gas and I nimbly leapt aside, left in Charly's metaphorical dust as he led his gang out of the cave. Karrina limped toward me. "Considerably well done, Alto. You've disbanded that bandit gang and left our gang as top of the heap! Please, take this as a boon of my gratitude to you," Karrina said kindly. She handed me a shiny Houndour, which I nicknamed Firestorm. Karrina reached forward and squeezed my left shoulder with a surprisingly-forceful grip. Patting my shoulder twice before she retracted her right hand, Karrina nodded her chin toward the Great Ball in my left hand. "Take good care of Firestorm for me, y'hear me? I'll know it if you don't. Bye, and thanks for your battle help. See you around sometime!," Karrina said flatly. Before she could try to limp her way out of the cave, though, I spoke. "Hey, Boss Lady, it's OK to use my shoulder to lean on now. Let me help you out of this cave," I offered compassionately. Karrina's grave countenance shifted into a look of middling appreciation. I saw the glimmer of burgeoning respect within Karrina's eyes as she nodded her assent. "Alright. How very considerate of you," Karrina said graciously. I rested my left arm across her back, bracing my left hand against her left shoulder-blade. She did the same, albeit in reverse. As a team, we made our steady yet plodding way out of the cave. After Karrina pointed out some raised, dead end tracks within the cave that were nearest to its entrance, I enlisted help from a nearby Trainer to rip two of the larger tracks out of the cave floor. Karrina then used these as makeshift crutches. Making our way back to the station, Karrina and I sat across from one another once we had boarded the train. Karrina and I went our separate ways upon reaching East Gearen City. Once I had accompanied her back to Gang HQ, I returned to the Help Plaza and handed in my side-quest reports. These netted me money and a shiny Pichu. Returning to the Gearen Laboratory, I paid a service fee and grabbed a shower, changing into my secondary travel outfit of a Miles Morales red and charcoal hoodie, worn over clean underclothing. A crisp pair of charcoal denim jeans, orange basketball print socks over a sky blue background and a pair of black Pumas with gold detailing capped off my outfit. Upon my Lab return, I checked into a free Trainer Suite, locked its door behind me and crashed upon its foldout sofa bed. It had already been set up with a fresh change of everything - although, seeing as this was the Reborn region, 'fresh' itself was debatable. It was serviceable enough, I supposed, as my right cheek hit the fluffy pillow. I was out like a light for remainder of the encroaching night. ****************************************************** Arpeggio sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had just returned from Route 2 and from Amethyst Cave. Ren and Venam had gone off to do their own things and here he was, sat here upon one of the visitor's chairs within The Great Hall. The Dimensional Galvantula had been a deeply formidable foe. Had he not had a reliable Doubles partner in Ren, he was certain that he would have sustained far more heavy casualties than he actually had. After venturing to the Poke Mart to stock up upon much needed supplies, Arpeggio decided to visit the Help Centre. Having tackled and completed a request or two, Arpeggio returned to the Gearen Laboratory. He grabbed a quick, overpriced shower. Thanks to the plentiful region Trainers, however, a somewhat steady income was there to be made. This was a small consolation. Behind his Trainer Suite's closed and locked door, he changed out of his regular outfit and into a set of new clothes. He changed into a black Harry Potter hoodie with a teal Slytherin left sleeve, a maroon Gryffindor right sleeve, butter yellow Hufflepuff pockets and a sapphire Ravenclaw hood. Rounding his outfit out with a pristine pair of navy blue denim jeans with white pockets, black with Golden Snitch print socks and a pair of maroon Nikes with black matte black detailing, Arpeggio grinned at his mirrored reflection. Oh, yes, he was set to slay within this region and beyond. Arpeggio followed a hooded figure through a certain portion of Amethyst Cave, Arpeggio found, battled and was befriended by Nim. Upon the completion of Nim's oddly-titled Fun Games, Arpeggio was zipped back to Amethyst Cave. After checking in with Karrina and helping her to take down her rival gang, Arpeggio was rewarded a shiny Houndour from Karrina. He nicknamed it Cerberus because in his opinion, the male Houndour was worthy of the name and its reputation. Their gang had been kind enough to help carry Karrina back to the train via a Midday Lycanroc back-ride. Arpeggio had ran all of the way back in their wake. He had tried to keep pace with the rock wolf 'mon, but he just hadn't been able to do so. Next upon his list was seeing what room the Nim-gifted Room ID would unlock. Arpeggio checked the rooms near Professor Jenner's starter lab and lucked out upon finding Melia's room. Ordinarily, Arpeggio wouldn't trespass in anyone else's room, let alone a girl's and this girl's, but the Card did require a usage. It also helped that he was understandably curious about what Melia's bedroom happened to say about her. Scanning the Room ID within a keycard scanner panel just below Jenner's starter lab, Arepeggio turned the door's handle. He then stepped through into Melia's previously-forbidden room. The room reminded him of a time capsule that had been expanded to real life size. Melia's suitcase was sitting upon a central table, awaiting Melia's pick up. Beside the case was a framed family photo of the Jenner family, as well as a Gym Leader acceptance letter, which Arpeggio read. The letter was congratulatory and somewhat concise, detailing Melia's new Gym location and a potential personal escort via car to Grand Dream City and its Athenaeum, which would have played host to her Normal type Gym, had she survived to take up her post there. Movie posters that Venam had painstakingly picked out for Melia adorned the wall beside Melia's personal wardrobe. The wardrobe itself had been left open as if Melia had been debating which clothes to pack for her new job before she had left the Laboratory. Picking up the Exp. Share that had been resting upon the desk at the foot of Melia's bed, Arpeggio immediately saw a use for it in battle. A Wigglytuff doll was sat upon Melia's bed, just chilling out at the foot of her pillow, while a Clefairy doll sat to the left-hand side of a desktop computer monitor. Its screen was of the gigantic sized variety and it suited the life of relative privilege that Melia must have led up until her unfortunate and untimely demise. It was a room that one could feel proud of, furnished with just the right ammount of personality, practicality and professionalism. Exiting Melia's bedroom, Arpeggio left the Laboratory and set off toward Amethyst Cave...and his next destination, Sheridan Village. With thoughts of the most advantageous team composition upon his mind, Arpeggio set out to train his current team, build several backup teams and cut a broad swathe through the region while he was at these endeavours. He would catch all that he could, while he could. * A/N: May edit additional scene content here, but I could decide, upon second thought, not to do so. Stand by.

Chapter Three: The Cousin "No. Freaking. Way. I can't believe you aced that Shade battle!," Jester exclaimed. She flopped back onto the futon, then sprang to her feet. Her expression of utmost alarm made Connor laugh as he closed and locked the appartment door behind himself. "I'm glad that my bed meets with your approval, Mewtwo. That dark Field hadn't been a walk in the park," Connor replied mildly. Feeling the lingering effects of sheer mortification, Jester lifted her nose into the air. "Your Luxray sure came in clutch in that battle, but your Mighty was the sheer MVP," Jester replied. Connor nodded, but it was obvious that his mind was elsewhere, unfocused upon naught but his own troubled thoughts. "Earth to Elder! Do you read me?," Jester enquired, with a roll of her eyes. Returning to his present with a concerted effort, Connor blinked and shook his head slowly. His head-clearance attempt was moderately successful as he replayed her words back within his mind. "I read you loud and clear now, but I'm worried about the others. Heather and the others...I hope that they're OK," Connor said, troubled. Jester frowned, her blue eyes darkening as she, too, thought about the kidnapped Railnet victims. "I'm sure that they'll be fine, so long as the Meteors' demands are met," Jester said flatly. Connor scowled. "No demands have been announced as of yet. If we leave now, there's still a chance that we can rescue our friends. What are we waiting for?," Connor demanded, turning back toward the appartment door. He had just placed his hand upon it when the door handle turned, seemingly of its own accord. Connor had time enough to jump backward as the door was flung wide-open. A figure rushed into the appartment, nudged the door closed behind them with their preferred foot and gasped upon seeing Connor. The latter casually reached past the figure and latched the appartment door shut before the figure could speak. "Mewtwo, meet my cousin, Kieron Baines. KB, meet Mewtwo. Freak-out in three...two...," Connor said amiably. "Naw, man. A Mewtwo, in my appartment? You've got to be - shiitake mushrooms on a hotplate, how did you get here?," Kieron enquired of Jester, finally noticing her upon a scan of his appartment. "Oh, you know, the usual way. You might know of it, Baines. It's called your front door," Jester said balefully. Kieron jumped, his right hand flying to rest upon the first Poke Ball that hung, bandolier style, from the first and hip loop of his jeans' belt-loops. "Mothertrucker, man, it can speak! How can it speak? Connor, what the Hell?," Kieron said, speaking at just under a yell in volume. His tone was incredulous, his expression unamused as Jester assumed her battle stance before him. Noting the sudden animosity between the two, Connor stepped smoothly in front of Kieron in an attempt to calm him down. "Hey, c'mon, man, be cool. Mewtwo's a friend. And even though Mewtwos are usually genderless, I'm certain this Mewtwo is not an it," Connor said seriously. His tone gave Kieron a reality-check and the elder man slid his hand off of his ace's Poke Ball, his expression morphing from hostile to accepting. Upon seeing Kieron's shift into neutrality, Jester eased out of her Kamehameha stance. She lowered her raised paws. The Shadow Ball that she had swiftly formulated slowly diminished until it vanished completely, doused by her will alone. "That's hella impressive, Mew...that's not your real name, right? Because that would be too simple. Life's anything but," Kieron said perceptively. Jester blinked, twice rapidly, which made Kieron grin impishly in response. "I knew I was right! So, come on, then, get with the enlightenment, already," Kieron said gamely. "Thanks. And if I choose to maintain my aura of mystery?," Jester asked, unenthused. Kieron crossed over to his kitchen's counter-top, placed his two shopping-bags upon the counter-top, then laid his hands, palm down, upon the counter-top. Leaning in toward Jester as he spoke, Kieron let his brows lower like twin cowls over his piercing, cobalt blue eyes. "Then for Connor's sake, you can stay, but you'll be relegated to the opposite of my hit list," Kieron replied coldly. Jester's slow smirk gradually deepened before she spoke up in her defence. "Oh, so, your shi -," she said with relish, but Connor overruled her by speaking over her. "His 'usual suspect' list, yes. Believe me, that's not a place that you want to end up. I was on it once and it took me years to be scratched off its ledger. Say, KB -," Connor said grimly. It was his turn to be conversationally overridden by Jester, however. "Whatever, Trevor. You want to know the first flush of my story? You'll get what I choose to give thus far, so listen close," Jester said smugly. Both Connor and Kieron gave Jester their undivided attention, which she noted with ease. Taking a somewhat deep breath, Jester began to tell her tale. "You get what you give in this life. I certainly did. I gave of my talent and I received the attention that my talent drew to me. An invitation - of the 'one that you can't refuse' variety - was extended to me. I dressed to the nines that night, certain that it would change my life. Little did I know that it did, just not as I'd expected it to," Jester said imperiously. She took a steadying breath and, rallying, Jester continued. "The Gym was dimly lit, the atmosphere grim. But then, I'd expected that. I'd even prepared for that. No sooner had I stepped into Beryl Arena, everything went to Hell in many hand-baskets. Noxious gas poured issued forth from countless vents. All seemed lost, but then...," Jester trailed off, her blue eyes darkening with the full recollection of her feelings that night. Connor remained riveted upon the floor upon which he stood, utterly captivated by Jester's confession. "But then?," he prompted, in a cautious yet intrigued and courteous tone of voice. Jester swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and continued with renewed purpose. "But then I collapsed to my knees, the paralytic nerve agent keeping me restrained within an invisible cage. I saw a hooded figure shove his hood back contemptuously as two other men rushed toward me. It was -," Jester continued, only to give an emphatic head shake that spoke of her vehement denial of this person's identity. "It was? You can't just withhold the goods like that, it's not at all reasonable," Kieron called. he knew full well that what he had said could be interpreted as a double-entendre, but he didn't care. He felt rudimentarily invested within Jester's tale. Jester sighed. "Oh, I can, Baines, and I will. Just before I passed out, a man wearing a red scarf scooped me into his arms in a bridal carry. A man with three voices spoke. One voice said, '"Silence suits the bird of song and serenity."' Another, in an entirely different tone of voice, said "Oh, let her sleep this slumber of painless sleep," only to be followed up by, "Perchance to awaken in a body of our own devising, should she survive The Insurmountable Mists," Jester said darkly. Kieron's eyes widened, then automatically narrowed, zeroing in upon Jester from where he stood. Hands braced against the counter-top, he spoke. "The Insurmountable Mists? Sounds damn daunting to me. And then what happened? if you don't mind my asking," Kieron opined by way of implacable demand, although his tone was markedly softened as he spoke. Kieron straightened up slowly and folded his arms, his feet planted equidistantly apart as he studied Jester closely. "I awoke, some time unknown to me later, exactly as the last of that person had portended. My mind, my soul and my will remained my own. My body, however, was that of a Legendary Mewtwo," Jester responded sourly. Connor opened his mouth to speak, but Jester continued before he could do so. "I was trapped within a cylindrical medical tank, encased within some kind of murky green laboratory fluid. The chamber that I was in looked to be empty, but I didn't buy it. In that moment, I knew that all that I had to do to escape was forge my own fate," Jester said dourly. Connor grimaced. "I imagine that took some forethought. Some sneaky sort of strategy," he prompted guilelessly. Jester shook her head slowly, drumming the pads of her left feline paw against her left cheek as she spoke. "It was beyond child's play. No strategy needed. That was when stuff got real," Jester elaborated. "Real, how? Explain, or so help me, I will -," Kieron commanded coarsely. "You'll what? Call your League buddies and tell them that there's a talking Mewtwo in your place that you continually interrupt while she is speaking? Do it.," Jester said goadingly. Kieron metaphorically chewed upon Jester's challenge. She could practically see the gears grind within his mind as he did so. "She? So you ARE a girl! Is that why you'd stared at me, previously? Did you like what you'd seen - me in my change of clothes?," Connor said slyly. Jester gave no comment. Kieron grinned a wolfish grin. "You both bicker like an old married couple. You know that, right?," Kieron pitched in. "No, we don't!," Jester and Connor said, hotly and simultaneously. "Shut up, Connor," Jester said frostily. "Why don't you shut up, Mewtwo?," Connor called back. "Alternatively," Kieron said in a level tone, "you could both seal your lips, separately or otherwise. I could watch." Connor and Jester were stunned into silence. They both averted their gaze from one another at once, as if they had just been scalded. Kieron shook his head, studying Jester with a hardened cop's undeterred stare as he did so. "Do it. That's what I usually hear from my wife alone. Instead, I will offer you, Mewtwo, amnesty here for however long you may need it. The same goes for you, Cousin. But please do go on," Kieron returned casually. "Hold every single phone, bro! Since when have you been married? Why didn't I get an invite?," Connor asked belligerently, his expression deeply wounded. "We eloped. Certain individuals did not want us to be together, but we got the better of them. That's not all. We -," Kieron elucidated, but Jester's loud throat-clearance cut him off in midsentence. Connor waved for Jester to continue. She did. "Put a pin in that emotional killjoy of a side-track. I have. Anyway, skids got real when I saw the Master Ball. One Psystrike from me blasted the tank wide-open. Some wannabe maverick confronted me as I commenced my escape. He looked like a military man and he sought to sway me to his side. I stated my case and I escaped. Then Connor met me," Jester said gravely. Connor nodded as Kieron swiveled toward him, clearly checking to see if Connor would corroborate Jester's version of events. "I'll take it from here, Mewtwo. I was thinking about my next Gym Challenge, debating the best team formation for it, when I felt a strange atmospheric shift. It was akin to the feeling of being watched by an unseen observer, but it was amplified to the nth degree. I called out to the Pokemon that I suspected of being that observer, but it was some time before Mewtwo answered in turn," Connor began. "Well, you try to speak to someone you'd yet to formally meet and see how well they take to you," Jester opined. Kieron's eyes gleamed with glee as he made to make an innuendo, but Connor's look of censure made his elder cousin mercifully remain silent. "As I was saying, when I'd finally gained some semblance of hesitant pre-trust, I lowered my hoodie's hood. Mewtwo flipped out and flew the coop, so to speak. I had to chase her down with my Char to even try to get her to hear me out. It turned out that her captor, the military man, had been - and still is - my brother. It took a bit of convincing, but some time later, I helped Mewtwo gather her roughing-it stuff and hightail it here alongside of me," Connor said. Kieron looked somewhat convinced, emboldened by Connor's and Jester's matching version of events. "Uh-huh. Then what happened? Surely there is more," Kieron said encouragingly, unfolding his arms as he spoke. Jester scrubbed her right paw over her face in the manner of having done so quite often in her previous life. Lowering this paw, she sighed. "Then Mewtwo accompanied me to Shade's Gym. We switched on some monitors, saw some horrific portents of terrible and traumatic events of past or future and then...I battled Shade and won," Connor concluded. Jester lightly pressed her paws together. Pointing her paws at Connor, she held this concession-ceding pose for a moment. Drawing her paws apart, Jester slowly lowered them, returning them to her sides in an expressive fashion. "Reign victorious, Connor did. Shade riddled us this and that and then he left. Then we returned here and I met you, Baines," Jester said. Kieron pursed his lips, his ebony brows furrowed in mingled consternation and concentration as he gave a weary sigh, then spoke. "Call me Kieron, or Kier. Connor calls me KB. Only opposing council can call me Baines," Kieron said bossily. "What does your wife call you, Kieron?," Jester enquired nosily. Upon hearing even the mention of his wife, Kieron's face lit up. His usually taciturn features were incredibly transformed as a result. "She calls me Kier...among other things," Kieron replied, "and our kids call me Kiery, interspersed with Dad." You could hear many metaphorical things drop at once. Many mics around the world. Countless crickets chirping. An untold ammount of eyes turning to look their way. Jester's and Connor's jaws hitting the metaphorical floor in unchoreographed synchronicity. "...What?," Kieron asked, honestly baffled as to why his pronouncement had caused no end of befuddlement to be inflicted upon his audience. The world resumed its most natural state of being. "I just can't picture that. You, as a father and husband. It boggles my mind," Jester opined some time later. Again, Kieron opened his mouth to say something scandalous and innuendo-laden, but Connor spoke before he could do so. "And that's enough of that. Moving right along. Can you two be counted upon to work together? We all need to be on the same page, not at cross-purposes with one another. It stands to reason that Mewtwo's successful consciousness transfer would serve to ramp up the likelihood of that same experiment upon perhaps multiple individuals," Connor said bleakly. Jester's spirits momentarily flagged, only to perk right back up to normal high spirits through her sheer force of powerhouse will. "We can. There could be more than one of me in labs in multiple places," Jester decoded. Kieron heaved his heaviest sigh yet, then he spoke. "Yeah. Maybe," he said shrewdly, "they'll all surprise you when they ambush you." Jester pressed her lips into a thin line before she spoke. "Maybe they'll make my day and you'll be with us when they do just that. How do you like me now, Kieron?," Jester fired back. Kieron looked Jester up and down, then tilted his head to the side as he met and held her gaze. "You've been raised a fair few notches within my personal estimation. Don't tell anyone that I've said that. I kind of dig this mutual rapport," Kieron confided charismatically. Connor folded his arms, looking Kieron squarely within his eyes. "Go dig somewhere else, K. For all anyone knows, Mewtwo might be taken, and you're married," he said contentiously. "Rapport doesn't sever that easily. So you DO care for Mewtwo!," Kieron crowed. "It's not like that," Jester and Connor said. "Speaking in unison again? By the time that Mewtwo regains her human form, you two will have some facing-up to do and some literal face-time to catch up on. I'll be the guy nearby with the popcorn and the 'I told you so.'," Kieron crooned. Jester hissed at Kieron, then scowled. "That may never happen. He may have a certain type," Jester said flatly. Connor said nothing. Kieron shrugged his left shoulder, infuriatingly at ease. "It's not what you'd said. It's what you hadn't said," Kieron said smugly. Jester rolled her eyes. "What fresh riddle is that?," Jester snarled. "The one that you must unravel. Don't worry, I'll wait. It'll be well worth my while to bear witness to that. I'mma grab a shower. You make yourselves even more at home than you already seem to have done. Back soon," Kieron said breezily. With that said, Kieron went and got his shower on, leaving an awkward silence stretched between Connor and Jester. "Soooo," Connor ventured, after twelve minutes had passed. The sound of the shower shutting off heralded the beginnings of Kieron's return to the open-plan suite and Jester dreaded his return. In the wake of Kieron's love prediction, nothing seemed to make the sense that it previously had. "So leave it," Jester advised. With that said, she floated across the room and landed upon a window seat within a breakfast nook nearby the kitchen's island bench. She curled up like a cat upon the seat and considered closing her eyes, but remained both guarded and on guard. Connor slid the fingers of his hands through his hair, making it stand in porcupine spikes before he smoothed his hair down by force of habit. "Consider it left...for now," Connor mumbled, as he crossed over to the foldout sofa and busied himself with the search through his backpack of his pyjamas. Connor had just found his fitted black singlet and his maroon boxer shorts when Kieron swaggered in wearing an unbuttoned navy shirt and black boxer shorts. "Jinx!," Kieron said, firing finger-guns at Connor as he crossed to lean back against his island bench. "Where?," Connor joked, making Kieron chortle with rumbling laughter that suited him. "Seriously, though, that only works if we're wearing the same outfit, not just one part of the same outfit," Connor said astutely. "Ye of much nerdiness, Cousin. Never change all that makes you utterly yourself," Kieron advised. "OK, KB, I won't change that part of myself," Connor replied. Meanwhile, Jester closed her eyes, having heard every word. Sleep claimed her. The two cousins bade each other goodnight and slept individually within their separate beds.

I never did get a response to this black screen flicker error which occurs when I open up v13.0.5. It scares me every time that I see it and I'm afraid that if I continue to play this version, my game will not play right due to never-ending glitches. Is there a direct download link other than the ones that had been provided that will let this game work as intended? Please advise. I still have my previous Rejuvenation versions. Should I use one of those in the meantime until a more stable build is released?.

Alright. Thank you for answering my query.

Thank you for answering one part of my two-part query. I will do that, also, as soon as I find out if part two of my query will not affect that new and seemingly glitched update, described in my query's part one, in a negative way.

Hi, Firstly, upon opening my Rejuvenation v13.0.5 folder, my game window screen flickers a few times and then stops. This happens even after I close and reopen the game. Why does this happen? Is there a way to stop this from happening? Is this a regular occurrence that's to be expected from the Mega download v13.0.5? Secondly, once I have the latest version of this game, should I delete the previous versions of this game in order to not have multiple versions of it?. I had been playing, up until my update download of it, been playing v13.0.2. Would this be an extract problem? Please advise.