Pokémon Academy: Ch 2a: Dragons [IC]

[Chevaleresse]

"Alright, sir." Kage turned back to the little gathering taking place around his new Tyrunt. Listening to the commotion for a short time, he picked out one of the little dragons. This one seemed to be particularly eager to battle, and he liked the little guy's spirit. "Wanna go?" The Axew responded by taking a couple steps back and assuming a battle-ready stance. "Alright then, let's do this! Tyrunt - I really have to think of a good name for you - start with a bite!" She obeyed, jaws snapping at the Axew, who scrambled away as quickly as she could. "Keep going!" Tyrunt swerved about and continued her assault on the Axew. After she landed a solid hit, the Axew reeled for a moment, then roared (well, squeaked, but the intention was obvious) in anger and opened her jaw wide. A bluish ball of energy formed there and launched itself at the Tyrunt, striking her squarely and knocking her over. Before Kage could give another order, the Tyrunt replied with a more solid-sounding roar of her own, and then stomped downward at the Axew. Since both were panting with fatigue, Kage stepped in. "Alright, guys, that's good." He tossed a Pokeball at the Axew and it sealed in much the same manner as how it had captured Tyrunt earlier. The trainer walked over, picked up the ball, and released the Axew again. She let out a sharp cry and looked like she wanted to continue the battle. "Woah, there, buddy, we're done for now. Here, have a berry." He opened the appropriate pocket and both dragons immediately scuttled over and picked out their favorites before sitting to chow down.

[DarkLight]

Avis crowed a confirmation to Tyron, obviously proud that she was recognized for her feats of trickery. Danielle rolled her eyes inwardly at her Murkrow. 'Of all the things Avis should be proud of... I guess it's honorable for one of her kind though.' Danielle allowed her Murkrow to continue gloating on her shoulder as she addressed Tyron. "Professor Silva, now that you mentioned it, I am thinking about going for a Steel type Pokemon, a Mawile to be exact. Do you have any tips on how to raise one? As for my battle style... I'm actually not too sure what it is yet... I want to make each and everyone of my Pokemon shine by themselves, but each of them is quite different from one another." She scratched the back of her head. "Avis, as you saw, likes to fool around before healing herself while my Larvesta tries immobilizing the enemy before using her own healing attack."

[Azeria]

After he had sat down,James heard a cry from the cave he was in a while ago."I wonder what that was....I think i should go check it out...it might be important"James said as he stood back up and started walking to the cave entrance."I hope the golem doesnt notice me if he's still there"He muttered as he entered the cave.After a while of walking through the rock formation,James came upon a battle between Jacob's Trapinch and wild charmander."This'll be interesting"He thought as he silently stood there observing the battle.

[Commander]

"That's cute," Henry spoke responding to Danielle's response, "but that mindset won't get you very far. Try thinking about your strengths and weaknesses as well as your own hobbies. If you practice enough, you can actually show what kind of person you are in battles alone and stand out among the crowd. Having battles where you show a bit of yourself are quite fun, especially when neither is obsessed with victory."

Henry then gave a quick grin to the Murkrow before looking back at her master. "What surprises me is that you'd go for a defense oriented Pokemon like Mawile as you give me the impression you can't stand your Pokemon getting hurt. Why_not go for something with more speed and power focused like Durant? I'm not trying to be mean, but I just don't think you have it in you to see that Mawile be hit after hit. I'd hate to see a repeat of Day 2."

Edited November 7, 2014 by commander218

[Chim]

Group 2 (Commander and DarkLight)

Henry’s advice gave Tyron some time to think before giving Danielle an answer. While he didn’t act like he was an experienced battler or a smart person, he wasn’t dumb either. He was experienced with multiple battle styles and his responsible side made him take this question very serious. “I don’t agree with your friend over here,” he answered. “Every style has its own strengths and weaknesses. You sound more like a defensive orientated trainer. I heard you say your Pokémon have healing up moves and that they cripple their opponents. Your friend mentioned you don’t like them to take hits which are quite a common sight with defensive Pokémon. On the other hand neither of them counts as a defensive Pokémon…” He rubbed his chin in thought. “While that can certainly work for Murkrow, Volcarona and even Mawile it’s not a bad tactic so you don’t need to change to an attack and speed type. If you don’t like them to be hit they would be taken out rather fast. Murkrow and Volcarona can serve the quick hitter role so why don’t you try out a defensive Pokémon?”

Alastair, who knew Tyron for a few years now, jaw almost hit the ground. He had never seen Tyron act like that. In fact, not many people asked him advice and got to see the other side of him. People tended to think he was simple minded because of his straightforward battle style and loud personality. A surprising trait Tyron shared with Phoebe if only the water type expert wasn’t so lazy.

Edited November 7, 2014 by Chimchain

[Commander]

Henry was stunned for a second from Tyron's words. He wasn't expecting it at all. Once he regained his train of thoughts he smiled. "I really wasn't expecting that. Since you have a bit of faith in her, I may as well give her a shot to prove me wrong."

The trainer then looked back over to Danielle. "Once we're done with the trip, how about we do a quick battle? I don't believe we've ever battled before and it'd be nice facing a fresh face again."

[DarkLight]

((Stop ninja-ing me you lot!))

Danielle jumped a little when Henry suddenly offered his opinion. 'He... Is someone to keep an eye on, that's for sure...' She then listened to Tyron carefully. A defensive team was not really something Danielle is used to. The girl and the Murkrow had only witnessed a handful of defensive teams beating Valerie inside the gym. Most of them, she found, were pretty boring. But, what Tyron said did make sense. Two heavy hitters coupled with defensive Pokemon to back them up... Or maybe... Her face lit up as an inspiration hit her. "Thank you, Professor Silva! You just gave me some great ideas to work with! I will definitely keep your advice in mind when deciding on my future team members!"

The coordinator then turned to Henry. She paused for a second in order to gather her thoughts on his statements. "You're right, I really freaked out on Day 2 when Corona got hit. But, like you said, that was Day 2. I'm a lot different than who I was before. I didn't go for a Durant because one, my partners didn't want it; two, I prefer more elegant Pokemon... I guess that shows what I am into, huh?" she chuckled. "The third reason... Ties into your first statement. Mawile is pretty special to me because of my past; it is no secret that I am not comfortable with certain Pokemon types. So... Why not have that one Pokemon that could help me overcome my weaknesses and discover myself at the same time? Perhaps a defensive strategy is what I am seeking for all of this time~ And also..." Danielle smiled as she stepped closer to Henry. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Leave the pranking to this little bird here." she pointed to Avis. "I know you're from Orre; it's a tough place, I get it. I've been through some tough times myself. Believe me, though, I'm not your enemy. Treat me with respect, and I will treat you the same way. Believe it or not, I already respect you because your unique battle style; so don't screw it up. Besides, the bad guy act is getting so old. You're better than that." Danielle then spoke in her normal voice. "I would definitely not mind a fair battle, but couldn't help but notice how nice you are always so nice to me. Are you sure you don't have a crush on me~?"

[Tacos]

Ryan fell against the nearest tree, holding one hand to his forehead. "Ummm.... she has brown hair, brown eyes, name's Sofia, little short. Not much else to say, perhaps if she's still crying that's a greater clue." Ryan's face went blank and he looked up into the sky, wondering what he had done so wrong.

[Commander]

"I applaud you for thinking there's actually a nice person inside," Henry spoke in a normal tone, "but any of that 'nice' stuff is just me trying to act like my old self. It's actually because of someone you remind me of that turned me into this. That was the last time I ever really trusted anyone. I guess that nice stuff is a bit of longing for the past, but I try to forget those happy times when I was young and naive."

After a long pause, Henry began to speak again. "I was planning on getting on your nerves, but I'm sure you'll have plenty to deal with because of that Kristen girl. I'll make it simple: you stay out of my life and I'll stay out of yours. That should be pretty easy because this is one of those very few times you've ever talked to me. Maybe you're too busy being lovey-dovey over Slade...sorry. Sometimes I don't even realize when I'm doing it."

[Tses]

Sissy looked at Ryan and at his blank face. If what he told us is true, that girl must have some kind of problem.

She turned herself over the area around them to observe it better, hoping she could see that girl, but with no luck.

"Well, what done is done. I can't keep on searching that girl. After all, you didn't hurt her physically, just mentally." She said to Ryan. "If we meet her later on the trip, you can apologize once again. And she will apologize to us." Her look turned at Robert. "After all, I'm not an obstacle that she can just bump on it and leaving."

[DarkLight]

Danielle was shocked over that revelation, but nodded respectfully. "Hmm... Fair enough. I know nothing I say now will convince you that I'm not that kind of person you speak of, so I'll drop the subject. And no offense taken," she grinned despite the mention of his name, "It's not because of Slade that I didn't bother talking to you. I'll make it brief: My experience with people allows me to understand when you are approachable and when you are not. It's as simple as that. I could give you an example with Kristen, but I think you figured it out already." With that, Danielle held out her hand. "I appreciate your honesty so... I'll abide by that deal as long as you follow your end of the bargain. Sounds good?"

Avis titled her head at Henry's words. 'Well, that explains the happy part. Bittersweet memories. As long as he doesn't do anything stupid, I guess I'll follow my master's decision.' She gave a small cry of acceptance to Henry.

[TurboAura]

Hearing the conversation that the others were busy with, it was made pretty obvious that only Ryan could fix this whether others wanted to help or not, and Robert had just shifted to his thoughts. 'Well, guess that's how it is. Should I atleast try to help mediate it, just for the sake of not making it worse?'

Finally with something to add to the conversation, Robert turned his attention to Sissy's later comment. "Well, even if I was angry about that, if not just shocked, I guess she had okay reasoning. I mean, with what she was dealing with, I don't think there's any reason for me to worry about that bit." He was fully okay with what had happened earlier, ready to brush it away as soon as he found out what had happened.

Edited November 8, 2014 by TurboAura

[Commander]

Henry remained silent as he slowly reached out his hand toward Danielle. Before they could shake, Henry yanked his hand back and started to laugh. He quickly stopped himself to explain what was going on. "I just wanted to see how you'd react. I wasn't expecting you to act all super mature and stuff." Henry took a few breathes to calm himself down. "While most of what a said was true, it's stuff I got over a while back. The person I referred to being like you is actually more like a quieter Lana than yourself. I guess I could tell the story, but I'd prefer telling it with less people around. It really did a number on me, but..." Henry looked over at Zuko. "a really good friend helped me out of it."

Henry then sighed for a moment. That was the easy part, but he knew he had to continue. "As for why you're one of the few people I'm nice to, I guess I feel like you're the type of person who'd never give up on a friend. Even if we agreed on that handshake, I doubt that'd keep you away for long. It feels like I'm in a losing battle before I even speak. There is one thing though. Something you said makes me feel very uneasy. It's one of the few things from the past I don't think I'll ever get over. Hmm...I guess I really should tell you that story because it wouldn't make much sense without it. Maybe then we can reach some understanding instead of ending up trying to slit each other's throats or acting like the other doesn't exist."

Edited November 8, 2014 by commander218

[Chim]

Meanwhile at the Academy

“Ah, Miss Welsh, welcome!” Professor Redwood said. He opened his arms to welcome her.

Miss Welsh held out her hand in a protective manner. “I’m not here for my pleasure, Craig,” she said. “I received some concerning information that a student was brutally injured by one of those dangerous dragons. Are the other board members here?”

“I’m sure you have,” Redwood said sarcastically, a tone he reserved to deal with Caroline Welsh. “8 members are already present and awaiting us on the seventh floor. Th-“

Miss Welsh interrupted. “That means one of them isn’t here yet. Let me guess; Brand. He’s never on time! Frankly I don’t know why he’s still on the board!”

“That hurts my feelings, my dear Carolina!” a voice coming from behind her said. She turned around and saw a man 5’6” with long blond hair that reached his shoulder. He had friendly grey eyes and a warm smile on his face. He wore one of his dark blue business suits and had a briefcase with him. He opened his arms and smiled even wider. “Old friend!” he extended his hand to Redwood.

“Jeremy, welcome, how was your trip?” Redwood replied. He accepted the extended hand and guided Mister Brand inside. The two of them let Miss Welsh behind on purpose while pretending to be in a serious conversation about Brand’s trip.

“That’s Miss Welsh to you!” she hissed in a low voice.

Brand turned around. “Caroline, dear, did you say anything?” He looked her straight in the face. Her black hair tied in a knot and cold grey eyes hiding behind glasses. Even though both of them were respected CEOs, the difference couldn’t be any bigger.

“I said you have to address me as Miss Welsh!” she walked straight passed Redwood and Brand and opened the elevator.

Brand bowed in apology. “My sincerest apologies, I keep forgetting that Caroline is for your friends only… That’s why everyone calls you Miss Welsh.” He still had a smile on his face when he looked back up.

The tension in the elevator could be cut with a knife.

[Aurorix]

After hearing Devin's announcement he looked down at the two Axew, "Looks like we're going soon," He paused for a moment and rubbed both of them on the head "I had fun today and hopefully we'll meet again in the future." Flare yipped as to say that he had a fun time as well. Slade gave both of the Axews a Oran Berry and tipped his hat off to them. He then walked towards to group ready to move onto the next place or head back to the cabin and Flare followed soon behind.

[DarkLight]

Danielle blinked as she put down her hand. She honestly didn't expect that Henry, of all people, would genuinely be this amused by her. At least, she hoped it was genuine. The expression he gave to Zuko gave her more confidence that he is actually opening up. After Henry offered his suggestion, Danielle smiled and gave a fake, offended expression. "Henry! How dare you suggest that? I can be mature if I wanted to, you know! On a more serious note, though, you definitely got me curious about your past, and I wouldn't mind listening if it helps you. Hopefully, as you said, we can clear up some misunderstandings and improve ourselves along the way." She paused, thinking about what she could offer. "I could tell this is hard for you, especially if you are going to tell me about whatever I said that made you feel uneasy - which I sincerely apologize for - so I'll throw in a bit of my past as well if you want. Some, or perhaps all, of my actions will become clearer to you then."

[Felicity]

Claude had been milling about, killing time after handing in his photo proudly to Brendan. He was playing with Doux, Chasing him like a child would a balloon without helium, when he heard a sharp cry. Claude turned to the source of the sound to find Lancelot charging through the trees towards an unknown target. Claude immediately gave chase. After running for a few minutes, Lancelot, pursued closely by Claude, burst into view to find a few people, including Mareek and Erce. Lancelot immediately launched himself at Erce, Shrieking a war cry as he did so.

[Sutoratosu]

Mareek turned around as a strange cry filled to air, To see Erce facing down some other Bug type that was charging at her. "What the...?" The scyther only glanced at him confidently as the Karrablast continued it's headlong attack... then just before it was about to make impact, Erce moved, becoming a blur and seeming to disappear into thin air as two identical copies of her appeared behind the Bug as it charged through where she had been before.

"Well, I guess the work we've been doing for the past few weeks paid off then," He said, a hint of dejection from moments earlier still in his voice as he turned to find Erce nudging his shoulder from behind. The Doble Team generated copies were still positioned where they were, glaring at Claude's Karrablast. "You finally managed to Focus enough to use a Little Ninjutsu. See, I kept telling you that you needed to calm down and concentrate, anticipate distance and time, and I was right, wasn't I?" The Scyther nodded, turning her attention to the Karrablast as it finally realized that it had missed it's target and began to slow down to a stop.

"So...who's partner is this?"

[Felicity]

"So...who's partner is this?"

"Oh dear Arceus, I'm sorry about that..." Claude scoured his mind for a name and brought up Mareek, remembering their minor interactions "Mareek. Lance just kind of charged off..." Claude turned and marched over to Lancelot, who was glaring at each of the copies as much as he possibly could, when Claude picked him up and began throwing him up in the air again and again. Lance struggled to orient himself, fighting vigourously when he was caught and flailing when thrown until he oriented himself and fell into the beginning of their small sequence of acrobatics they had fallen into. After a few repetitions, Claude put his hand in the air and let Lancelot slide on his blue shell across his shoulders, similar to a basketballer.They continued this, working up to the next step. "Again, sorry, I have to keep him distracted, else he'll, well, you know what he'll do."

[Sutoratosu]

"Um...Ok, then," Mareek said, recognizing the other Trainer's face immediately from Cadmus' Garden a while ago. "Aren't you the guy that interupted me and that Trainer hailing from Orre back at the Professor's Garden?" he already knew full well that the answer was yes, but for the sake of trying to rebel against this feeling of isolation within himself... this need to... to either push people away or keep them at arm's length, he forced himself to try to make small talk. Erce noticed the expression on his face, still the same from earlier when Rebecca had asked if anything was wrong. She knew full well that there was something going on... but as to what exactly, she couldn't quite pin point just yet. But she would get to the bottom of this; she simply wouldn't allow herself to give up until she did.

[Felicity]

"Indeed I was." Claude confirmed, giving him a reassuring grin. The boy reminded him of Lana, or Shiro, just, for a different reason. It was the vibe of shyness, or a desire to just not interact for one reason or another. Claude figured this guy was a lot more focussed than either Shiro or Lana though, if his manner from the aforementioned interaction was any indication. "I probably shouldn't have done that, sorry if I got in the way, but hey, it was certainly interesting. Anyway, I couldn't help but notice your Scythers little technique there. Did my eyes spot a smart use of Double team and another move?"

[Sutoratosu]

"Agility followed immediately after by Double Team," Mareek confirmed, "Took us a little over three weeks of practice to even get anywhere close to doing it right. In fact, just now was the first time she ever successfully pulled it off... so I guess I should thank you and your Karrablast for that random charge a few moments ago." He stood there, not really knowing what to go on with and grasping at something to say next. It was strange, usually when he talked to people, it was easy enough... but doing it like this, actually forcing himself to engage in a conversation... it just felt painfully Awkward. after another few moments he finally just gave up and broke off eye contact, thinking to himself Dejectedly "This is Pointless...Why am I even bothering?"

[Felicity]

Claude rushed to fill the awkward gap. He was curious about Erce. There had to be a reason why Lancelot, who was now in a trance of concentration, had a moment of desire to challenge her. "So, I guess you and you're partner spend a lot of time working. You must be close. Arceus knows I love Doux" Saying his name, Doux floated down and settled slightly above Mareek, examining him.

[Sutoratosu]

"What? oh...um, yeah, We've been together for a few years now," Mareek said, broken out of his thoughts. He didn't pay much mind to Duox as the Cottonee hovered around him. "She's probably the closest friend I've ever had..."

And then the awkwardness began to creep back in. God, how conflicted he was right now... While he did want to try to talk to someone... at the same time, the struggle he was going through just to find the words to respond with was borderlining on absolutely ridiculous in his mind. The effort honestly seemed so clunky and unwieldy... then there was some type of tapping on his shoe.

Cubone tapped again with his club against his new trainer's sneaker, Trying to get his attention. He honestly didn't know what was going on with him, but it seemed like he was struggling with something and honestly feeling like just giving up and backing down. Cubone wasn't going to let such a thing happen, though, not after what Mareek and The Scyther and the Weird Angular thingy had shown him about courage when they drove out that mean old hag of a Swellow who had robbed him. More than anything, Cubone wanted to try to emulate that type of courage himself, to be like Mareek and his brave team... and seeing the boy like this... well, he just felt he had to do something, give him some sort of encouragement, whatever it was that the Trainer was struggling with right now.

"Cubone!" he called insistently, looking up at Mareek with a shake of his head coupled with a look in his eyes that said "Don't give up". It was about all he could do though, so he hoped it worked and helped him.

"What?" Mareek asked, glancing down at the bone wielding orphan. He could see the strange fire in it's eye, that insistent stare it was giving him, as if the Cubone could see the trouble he was having right now and his desire to quit, and was trying to yell out at him "Don't you just quit like that!". It was that strange, seemingly perfectly needed stare, that was the only thing that stopped Mareek from giving up right then and there. He maintained eye contact for another few seconds with the new team member before looking back up at Claude, determined to try to see this conversation through to a reasonable end.

"So... how did you and Doux here meet?" he asked, deciding that if the words didn't want to come to him, he'd just try harder to find them from now on.

[Felicity]

Claude beamed. It was rather selfish of him, but he loved to talk of himself and Doux "Well, it was quite a while ago... if you want to hear the tale? But bear in mind, If i tell you my tale, you owe me some of yours! Not all," Claude lowered his voice here "I can tell by your prior interest in the various organisations that something happened, and if it has something to do with your partner, I won't push. But I am curious." Claude was determined to drag some sort of information from this guy, to delve into the shell he had set up for himself, if only a little.