Pokémon Academy: Ch 3: Winter Cup [IC]

[Sutoratosu]

Mareek was silent for a while at the mention of the Massacre from back in Kanto all those years ago, looking over at Nemo, not expecting anything good from this. Luckily though the Cubone merely meet his gaze with one filled with curiosity; obviously he had no idea what the hell James was talking about. It took a few more seconds for his trainer to come back into focus about the situation though.

"Huh, what...oh, Mew?" he asked, obviously distracted, his voice holding a bit of an edge in it now. "Yeah, yeah... I've got several effigy's of all the legendaries from every region carved." He reached to a shelf underneath the stand's surface and produced a carving of a Mew leaning backwards, curling itself into a ball with it's tail wrapped around it's body, sleeping soundly. It was about the size of the palm of his hand, sitting atop a small wood display stand and held up by a pillar rising from the surface. The detailing was beautifully done to say the least, with obvious attention and care paid to the bodily proportions and curvetures. The thing was even lightly varnished and polished, holding a bit of a shine in the sun light. "The price is 12 BP for a legendary, or you could pay the same amount in cash if you want."

[Azeria]

"Perfect,and it looks so cute aswell.'Ts a great piece of art,here you go 12 along with a 2BP tip!"James replied after transfering the BP.The tip was for the excellent quality.It would make a fine present for his uncle and would probably be one of his uncle's favorite carvings."Thanks,Mareek...sorry for mentioning what happened in Kanto,your cubone just reminded me of what happened back then."James said after he paid for the effigy and put it in his bag.

[Tacos]

Ryan sighed. The thoughts of the scene flew back to him in his head. A small tear slipped down his face. He had basically removed them from his mind until now. "Well, a good friend of mine has what I would consider a very reliable source. This source showed him a vision that depicted me dead. And now I don't know what to do." Ryan flopped down in the chair, releasing his breath in a lengthy sigh.

[TurboAura]

Finally finishing the next order, that unknowingly to him was for his parents, he handed the ramen bowls and ticket to Kiai, who accepted all but the ticket. Swinging it up and down for Kiai to take it and replace it with another, it took around 10 seconds to show that Kiai had no intention of taking it. "Oh come on Kiai, just take it the other ones. It's not like the people who ordered their food are just gonna walk up and be the right ones by luck."

After a sigh at what Robert would have no idea about yet, he pulled Robert's hand up to make him look at the ticket. He knew that Robert would just pass it off to Shun instead if some kind of understanding wasn't made. Sighing and looking to see what the point was, there was one part that stood out to Robert, a sloppily written R.P., his initials from what made sense. When Robert was about to question why Kiai, which he assumed due to the sloppy handwriting, had put his initials on a ramen ticket, Kiai just motioned towards the counter. 'Well, whether he realizes what it actually means or not, it should still got his attention.' Making it obvious to Robert that the normal 'bell ding and ticket number' thing isn't how this is going to go, Robert simply headed over. "I don't know what your trying for, but I guess I'll do it. Ticket #15, your order is ready."

Hearing their order being called, the two headed over to the stall for all three of them to be suprised the second they saw eachother. "There yah are, Robert!" With a big smile on Roberts face, not able to react from the utter suprise of the situation, Kiai had moved the bowls out of the way before Robert was pretty much Tackled over the counter by his mother. "Eheh, great to see you to, Mom, Dad. Can't really say I expected this." With both of them getting up, his father simply laughed and continued forward.

"See honey, I told you we'd find him after we got our Ramen. And it's not like you left us much line for communication when you even left your cellphone back at home. Sure, we understood it as 'going out and proving yourself with what you can do,' but it was still hard for your mother worrying about whenever she's not in the gym." While Will let out another laugh, Akako simply got a smirk on her face.

"Oh, so you act like I was the only one blubbering. Of course, whenever YOU got home and realized Robert wasn't there, all that Brine was just salt water." With the energy visible between, they were interrupted once again by their stomache's growling. Kiai let out a sigh, or whatever it would be for him, and simply grinned to see that they were the same as usual. He handed them the bowls, happy to dig in when they actually noticed who he was. "Wait, Kiai? Is that you? Wow, seems you've grown in this time. A Lucario and everything." Kiai simple grinned at their enthusiasm. That would explain why they didn't notice him right of the bat, anyway.

While Robert would have been more than happy continuing this 'long time, no see' chat, he remembered what he was busy doing. "Hey, uh. Sorry to put a damper on things, but I'm a bit tied up at the moment, and I doubt Shiro would be fine making all these orders all by himself, so..."

"Oh, of course. Wouldn't want to burden your friend. We'll see you after, or maybe even before your match." With that, they went around to see what else was there to offer, while Robert and Kiai simply went back to work with grins on their faces.

Edited December 23, 2014 by TurboAura

[Bfroger6]

Doing the stall thing with Robert was, thankfully, going better than Shiro had anticipated. He was afraid and nervous that what was going to happen soon wouldn't have let him relax for even a minute, but here he was, having fun with his friend like nothing major was going on. He was grateful for that bliss, even if it was only temporary.

He was just about to ask Robert a little something about cooking, since he never really made ramen before, when he noticed Robert was at the counter, talking to an adult man and woman, his parents. Shun was frozen in a bow directed at the duo. Two bright red pieces of cloth were tied up around her hands the same way as some wrestlers or whatnots tie them up to serve as gloves. She insisted on wearing those over that scar, but it looked silly only on one hand, so he tied one around her other hand too. But silly her, she shouldn't have stayed in that position as long as the customers were present. She apparently felt his eyes on her, as she quickly straightened up, her face blushing a little. She tried to hide it but it was apparent, and Shiro smiled. Or did he smile at the scene with Robert and his parents? He never had a caring family like that... His parents were always too busy, so he was basically brought up by nannies. It must be great to have someone who cares about you and visit you to cheer you on... The only visit Shiro expected right now wasn't going to be one he looked forward to..

Soon, Robert's parents left and he returned to cooking. "So, were those your parents?" Shiro turned to him with a smile and asked.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Bfroger6

[Jory]

Jacob frowned at Kristen, opening his mouth to retort when he realized the redhead was just teasing him. He grabbed the girl's wrist as she pushed him and stood up, wrapping his arms around the girl's waist and giving a small chuckle. "Yeah, I guess I'll just have to show you what for if we get matched against each other. After all, if I'm going to become one of the Elite Four someday then I need to start proving myself to the League scouts this year." He paused, then grinned goofily. "I can't imagine what my dad would say if he found out I lost to a girl, after all," he joked.

[TurboAura]

Robert turned to Shiro, still going back to the cooking. "Oh, yeah, they decided to come visit. I really didn't expect it, but it cheered me up to say the least. They did seem like they wanted to catch up, but there's no way I'd make you do all this alone, being that this was mostly my idea." He chuckled to himself, knowing that he would probably let Shiro go off the second he asked to. "So, I'll just wait until the matches start to catch up with them. It's fine with me."

Then he went to his earlier thought, about how he'd take on all the cooking himself if Shiro wanted to go somewhere. If Shiro DID have someone visiting, then he'd be more than happy to. But... Did he have someone visiting him today? Robert was reminded about Shiro's phone, especially of that one call that had shocked Shiro a couple of months ago. With that, he assumed that kind of connection would work that well. Maybe he should wait till later to ask something like that, but for now was just going to make the understanding obvious. "Y'know, if you need, or even want to be somewhere else during the festival, feel free to tell me at any time, okay?"

Edited December 23, 2014 by TurboAura

[Tses]

Sissy's parents couldn't enter the future teller stand, since it was occupied, so they met their children quicker than they thought.

"Oh, you started eating without us I see." Her father stated once they reached them.

"Honey, let's go eat something as well." Her mother added. "I saw a ramen stall nearby. Let's stop there and take some bites."

Thus all four started walking towards Robert's and Shiro's stall.

Once passing by Danielle's stall, Sissy greeted her and continued walking with her family until they reached their destination.

The Mclake family sat down at a table and ordered some ramen bowls. Sissy found her chance to slip away from them and head at where Robert and Shiro were.

"Hello you two." She smiled at both. "How is the work going?" She looked at Robert without waiting an answer to her first question. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

[Chim]

Jory

Kristen put her hands on her hips and pretended to pout. “He would say you lost because you didn’t stand a chance! I know all your tactics and tricks, Jacob!” She put her finger against his chest and poked him a little. “I didn’t just sit on my hands while you were doing training.” She grinned and looked him in the eyes when she suddenly saw the clock behind him. “Oh it’s almost 1 PM! They will announce the schedule soon!”

Tacos

“So you want to know about your death?” the Old Lady said. “Well then, let’s take a look at the cards, shall we?” Her voice suddenly became more mysterious as she laid tarot cards in front of Ryan. She looked them over for a moment, frowned and shuffled them back. She tried again and the exact same cards appeared. “This can’t be right,” she mumbled and tried over and over again. After the fifth time she stared at Ryan with sad eyes. “Dead is coming into your life, sweetie,” she forgot to use her professional voice. “No matter how many times I shuffle the cards, Death is present. The only thing that isn’t clear is who will die. Maybe the Crystal Ball will answer that…”

She placed the Ball in between them and stared deeply. “I see something moving…” Suddenly Gothitelle’s eyes started to glow. The Psychic type was standing left from the Old Woman, out of her vision, when she too started to act weird. Her eyes rolled back and a high, yet gentle voice spoke through her mouth.

“Your death is uncertain, young trainer. A lot of strings will influence the outcome. Some are more prominent then others, especially the one with white eyes. Look for the cry of a Skarmory for that will be the key.”

The Gothitelle’s eyes returned back to normal as she started to pant heavily. She pushed her powers to the absolute limit. Her trainer didn’t realize as she acted like she wasn’t interrupted. “I see a lot of different shades behind you, Sweetie, and one is circling above you… it is some kind of bird but the species isn’t clear. That’s all the Crystal Ball is showing me. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Consider this a free sessions from me,” she gave him a warm smile. The Gothitelle seemed to gaze right through him.

[TurboAura]

Hearing Sissy, he turned to her and was about to welcome her before he was interrupted by her later question. "Uh, sure? Kiai, could you-" before he even finished, Kiai was already doing his very best to help Shiro with the food, filling in what he hadn't already seen from Robert by watching and Copying Shiro.(Copycat) With that, he headed over to the counter.

"Okay then. So, what do you need? And incase you ask, no I can't actually GO anywhere right now because even if Shiro were to want to clean up now, my parents seem like they'd want to see me first."

[Aurorix]

Parents:

Mrs.Kafkin took both of them and gave a gentle smile to the Mawile, "Thank you, here's some money and keep the change." She said before handing a twenty to the Fairy-type. "Honey, lets walk around for a bit. Slade'll probably be here later." She handing her husband his coffee. Mr.Kafkin sighed, "Fine." He simply said before getting up and took a sip of your coffee. They left for other stalls and may return to Slade's stall later.

Pokemon:

As Slade's parents left they all let out a sigh of relief and continued manning the stall while Slade is absent.

((Slade is still outside heading back to his dorm))

[Tses]

"I don't want you to go anywhere." Sissy replied back at robert. She took out the Dusk Stone from her pocket and showed it to Robert. "I want to ask you a little favor." She paused for a second and then continued. "Can you keep this for me?" She looked at the table where her parents were. "You see over there the people at that table? They are my parents. And that guy with the Honchkrow is my big brother." She turned again at the boy. "My brother handed me this stone once he saw me today." She pointed at the stone in her hand. "This stone lets Miss evolve. But I don't know if I want her to evolve or not. My brother said it will make her more powerful and some other weird stuff. But I really don't know what I want to do. Also it is her decision if she wants to evolve or not." She looked Robert straight into his eyes and continued. "Can you keep it, until the winter cup is over? I have other things in my head that distract me right now, so I don't think I can handle this one too." With that Sissy finished her little talk. Robert was the only one Sissy knew for a long time, that's why after all she asked him for that favor.

[TurboAura]

Listening to Sissy, he could understand fully what she meant. If Miss doesn't want to evolve, then she didn't want that forced on her. And it DID make sense for something tempting like chosen evolution to wait until they could decide clearly. "Yeah, I have no problem with that. I'll keep it hidden away until you say so." With his hand out to take it, he also had his mind on the order the family had put in. "If you have anything else you need, you could just cover it while the food is cooking and you can help take it to the table once it's done."

[Tses]

Sissy smiled at Robert and putted the stone in his hand. "Thank you!" She muttered and gave him a little kiss in his cheek.

"I can help you with the cooking if you want. After all it was my family that order it." She said and started walking back at where Shiro was.

[TurboAura]

Robert blushed immediately at the little kiss on the cheek, and it took him about 10 seconds to shake himself back to reality, wondering if that actually just happened. When he was recovering from the sweet moment, Kiai gave him a 'nonchalant' smile which only made him even redder. After which, Kiai switched back to the counter as Robert went back and made room for Sissy to finish their family's meal. 'D-does that mean... was she just thanking me, or was that... no, I'm probably just overthinking it.'

Edited December 23, 2014 by TurboAura

[Tses]

Sissy released Sherlock once the bowls were ready. "Sherlock can you help me serve this at that table?" She pointed at her family's table. The Slowking nodded with a yes and used Confusion to carry the four bowls of ramen back at the table. He landed them in front of his trainer's family and waited for Sissy to come over.

"I'll see you soon guys." She said at the boys and headed to the table.

"Well well. What we have here? You got yourself another freak pokemon sis?" Edward stated once Sissy sat down at her chair.

"Cut it off Ed. Sherlock here, isn't a freak. It's the best of his kind." She replied petting her pokemon.

"Now that I remembered it." She looked at her parents. "Will you stay and watch the opening of the cup? Or will you leave once it starts?"

"We will stay till it ends." Mr Mclake responded back at his daugther. "We couldn't lose any of your participation in it." Mrs Mclake added.

[Chim]

Evan was sitting in his room. Colin had left a few days ago and he had he entire place for himself. He enjoyed the extra space but at the same time he felt like something was missing. Colin had been his best, and probably only, friend in the entire Academy.

He sighed and watched Faith chasing Vlad the Zubat. His room was the only place where the bat was free to fly around without questions. During the past weeks Evan was careful enough not to show Vlad to anyone with success. His plan to keep a low profile however failed miserably. Skarmory loved to get to know people and attention and usually did something to stand out. Even recalling the steel bird didn’t help as she simply left her Pokéball a few seconds later. But if Evan was completely honest his newest addition wasn’t completely useless. He had tried her out in a few battles when he was low on BP and she easily swept through teams. She was far stronger than any Pokémon on his team and listened surprisingly well on the battlefield.

Faith stood absolutely no chance and even Triton, his Vaporeon, failed to win even once. The only one that could do some decent damage was Nike, the Vulpix, but she wasn’t strong enough at that point to defeat Skarmory. Things were probably different now as Evan managed to evolve her with the use of a Fire stone. Evolution was the only exception when it came to the three Pokémon limit rule so now his team was pretty decent looking; a Clefairy, Vaporeon and a Ninetales. Everyone, even the people that didn’t like him, hated to admit he stood a fair chance at winning the cup. His chances would probably be even higher if he had used his Skarmory, but he decided against it when he sent out Nike instead. It happened on one of those days he doubted every decision he made so far and immediately set his final team in stone. Ever since that day he had been concentrating on Nike’s training schedule and it went well.

Evan got up out of the couch and decided to go to the festival. “Sorry Vlad, but you have to stay hidden for now. The rest of you can stay out if you want.” He recalled the Zubat and passed by Slade on his way to the stalls but didn’t say anything. His Pokémon followed behind him, with Skarmory only a step away, when he passed an old man at a Haunted House. The man was cursing and appeared to be upset about something. When he saw Evan he desperately grabbed the student.

“You there, boy, I need your help! My wife is sick so now I don’t have anyone to run my candy shop. I’ll have to do it so can you take over the Haunted House? It’s very simple; when they buy a ticket you have to push the blue button to let them in and when they get out push the red one. I’ll pay you for it so thank you!”

Evan didn’t really have a choice as he was pushed into the selling booth. “Try to gain some attention by letting your Pokémon do something. In the back you’ll find some things to dress them up if you need it.”

Five minutes later Vlad was flying around in the Haunted House trying to scare people while Triton, Nike and Faith walked around trying to get some attention from people and led them to Evan’s cabin. On top of the house was Skarmory. She was obviously in her element and had some fake blood on her razor sharp wings, beak and the rest of her body. She looked intimidating and behave like she just killed someone by giving sharp cries like she was about to start a war. The plan helped since she gained a lot of attention and customers.

******************

In the meantime it was the clock hit 1 PM. A giant projection on the school building showed Marco the commentator. He was tall and handsome. Short brown hair, blue eyes, but what stood out most were his white teeth. Every time he smiled they were visible.

“Good day ladies and gentlemen!” he smiled, “welcome to the Ymora Academy. I’m Marco and I will be your host. You may know me as the man who reports every major tournament in this Region! Now as you all know the Cup starts tomorrow. 32 of the strongest first years made it through the preliminaries and will fight it out for the title of Winter Cup Champion! All battles will take place in the Stadium and a randomizer will choose the field. All trainers are limited to use only 3 Pokémon throughout the entire competition. All their teams are already known by their opponents to make it extra hard and exciting!” Marco grinned again and waited for a few seconds.

“Now without further ado let’s get started! These 32 talented trainers will be divided in 8 different blocks.” 32 photos of the remaining competitors displayed for everyone to see, even on television as this was a live match-up lottery. “Now let the randomizer do his magic!”

The pictures started to move around and four of them came to the front, one by one. “Block A: Kenny, Karen, Laura and Robert! Their battles will start at 10 AM tomorrow! Kenny versus Karin is the first match followed by Laura versus Robert immediately after! Whoever wins this block will face the winner of Block C!”

The pictures started to do their magic again and this time Block B was revealed. “Shiro versus Alvin and Henry will face Kaido! These battles will start after Block A’s first battles are finished! The winner of this block will battle the winner of Block D!”

In the meantime the next pictures were ready. “Alright Block C is James versus Paul and Danielle against Liza!”

Right after Marco was done talking the next four battlers were shown on screen. “Mareek versus Lana and the second battle is Kageharu against Julie! These are the exciting battles for Block D”

“And this brings us to Block E! Jacob versus Nico and Slade is going up against Victoria! Whoever survives this block will battle the winner of Block G.”

“This is going fast so stay with me! Block F; Evan versus Kylie and Louise against Max! The last man or woman standing will face the last competitor of Block H!”

“We’re already at Block G. You already know what that means; the winner will battle whoever wins Block E. Now let’s see who will our competitors. Sissy will battle Gerard while Kyle will go up against Nadia!”

“This means that the last four people will be put in Block H. Raiza versus Kristen and the last battle of the first round is between Ryan and Bert!”

“Thanks for watching the drawings with me and I will see you all tomorrow! And may I remind you that our talented Coordinators will officially open the festivities at 9 PM? You don’t want to miss that! Have fun and I’ll see you tomorrow!”

The screen went blank again. Immediately people started talking, especially those that knew the competitors. Friends and family cheered them on loudly while some of them looked very nervous and pretended to laugh.

[DarkLight]

Zared bowed politely as Mr. and Mrs. Kafkin left their stall. He then looked at this weird piece of paper that the woman had handed her, turning it in all different directions to see if he could make heads or tails of it. The only other type of currency that Danielle had taught him was the BP system, which she has on her Pokedex. Zared decided to hand it over to Danielle; she could probably explain it better than any Pokemon at this point.

Danielle had just finished receiving some BP from her most recent customer and saying hello to Sissy and her family when she saw her Mawile handing her a twenty dollar bill. He seemed confused about the rectangular paper. She knelt down and explained the system of currency to Zared as Avis returned with her parents in tow.

---------

Avis looked around her worriedly as the three of them made their way back to Danielle's stall. She finally let out a sigh of relief once she saw Mr. and Mrs. Kafkin passed by them. The Murkrow also gave uttered a more cheerful greeting to Slade's Pokemon as they passed by. Marc Chastain noted the sudden change in his daughter's Pokemon, but kept quiet. He, instead, gave a glance towards Slade's parents, taking mental notes of each of their appearance. Mr. Chastain then nudged his wife, nodding towards the couple as they finally reached Danielle. Carole Chastain also gave a subtle glance at the well-to-do pair and nodded, understanding the source of Avis' panic now.

"I guess Danielle has something she has to tell us then, no?" Carole Chastain chuckled. "Could you grab us a bite to eat? I will go and get this straightened out."

Taking his wife's cue, Marc Chastain complied. He left for Slade's barbecue stall after giving her a quick kiss on her forehead. Once Mr. Chastain reached Sasuke, he gave a polite smile and gave his order. Afterwards, he decided to strike a friendly conversation. Perhaps Slade's Pokemon could give him some answers to Avis' distress. "Bonjour, mon ami. I'm Marc Chastain, Danielle's father. I don't mean to be nosy, but Avis, my daughter's Murkrow, was very disturbed by two wealthy parents. The lady had red hair and her husband is very tall. Could you, perhaps, explain the reason?"

------------

"So, Zared, who gave you this twenty dollar bill? It's way too much for just two coffees." Danielle asked her Mawile after a thorough explanation. In response, Zared straightened himself up and put on a stern face. Then he pointed to Danielle, herself, and back to him. "Mr. Kafkin's wife?" Her Mawile returned to his normal expression and nodded. Danielle gave him a pat for a job well done; she was quite relieved that they were polite to her Pokemon, at least.

"Ms. Danielle Chastain, I believe you have something to tell me."

Danielle immediately got up from her position and found herself facing Avis and her mother. With a sheepish grin, the young girl gestured to Zared the back of Mareek's working station. "Can you please get Corona back out? I'm sure the rest of the customers would love to see a flying, fluffy Larvesta." As the Mawile ran off, Danielle sighed and nodded to her ever-so-supporting mother. Avis took her place at the register as she pulled Carole Chastain to the side, explaining the whole situation to the best of her ability.

[Jory]

Jacob chuckled and led Kristen outside just in time to catch the reading of the schedule. He scratched his head at the mention of Nico, not entirely sure who the student was. "Well, I guess I'll find out who this Nico guy is and what he uses tomorrow. After all, it'll be a great opportunity for me to show what my Pokemon are capable of and hopefully get a little intimidation factor going." He then turned to Kristen and frowned. "You're up against that Raiza girl. She's a good battler, so you'd better make sure you bring your A-game!" He then took the girl's hand and began leading her toward the stalls. "Come on, Kristen. Let's go check out what some of the other students are doing!"

[Azeria]

James smirked when he heard that he would be put in Group C along with Danielle and 2 other kids he didnt know."Well,this is gunna be quite interesting,don't ya think Shade"The Specter replied by floating over his head and moving through the stalled area."Hey Shade,Don't leave me here like that...SHADE,Stop that"Were James Last words before he took off after shade.A while of running later,James stopped infront of a Haunted House,with that kid he met on his second day,Evan was it?"Hey Evan,did you see a Duskull pass this place by any chance?"James asked the kid behind the table infront of him.

[Sutoratosu]

MAREEK

Mareek and his entire team sat silent after the match ups had been announced, not a bit of work getting down at the stand at all, though thankfully all the commissioned pieces had already been picked up and there wasn't anyone currently browsing. Erce cast an uncertain glance to Java, who returned it with an equally apprehensive one. Nemo meanwhile looked back and forth between Mareek and Lana from where he was perched on the counter top, not really sure what to expect. All Mareek himself did was lean forward on the counter, eyes straight ahead, staring off into space as if trying to replay what had just happened in his mind, only to find that no matter how much he did, it couldn't be changed...

"Well, I'd be a liar if I said I was expected that..." He said, glancing at Lana. "But looks like the Di has been cast... we're gonna be facing off against each other tomorrow." He stood up, giving the girl a warm smile, and it wasn't one out of pity. "I'm sure you'll do fine out there. Both of us will, right?"

Erce and Java meanwhile were still too busy absorbing the match up announcements to notice Zared come along to collect Corona from the Scyther's watch.

GALEN

Galen whistled as he looked up at the last few moments of the announcement projection, standing just within the Academy gates after having left his pre set up apartment of sorts. His belt and capsules hidden beneath the winter long coat he wore as part of his disguise; With Teach and RoG having set pretty much everything up for him infiltrating had taken no effort at all, and here he stood, Hair dyed a midnight black and a false yet highly convincing mustache and goatee combo on his face, his hair slicked back with gel and his normally light blue eyes tinted chocolate brown by his colored contacts, a padded long coat draped over his shoulders and a blue work shirt underneath coupled with a pair of Black Cargo Paints. He'd even gone so far as to... rough up his face a little. nothing permanent, but just enough to where a few old marks would still be visible, enough to where he felt his little brother would be thrown off for long enough from recognizing him through the facade. Agustine Caveza, he was known as now, A gardener hailing from a land west of Kalos who was so proficient in his job that it was almost stereotypical...almost.

"Looks like things are going to get interesting tomorrow," he chided to himself in a Gravelly spanish accent as he walked further onto the campus. "And speaking of which...she should be here right around now if she accepted the tickets..." As he strolled towards the stands he pulled out a small burner flip phone, punching in a number on the speed dial and contacting the Travel Agency he had been talking with just two days ago, a nasally man's voice answering on the other end with a generic greeting said in a tone that made you think he was just about ten minutes away from falling asleep on the job.

"Yes, this is Senor Caveza," Galen said into the receiver, stopping and looking around at the various stands and attractions that had been set up by students and outside vendors alike. "I am calling to check on the tickets and trip I booked for a Miss Alexandra Sisto, in kanto..."

"One moment, sir..." The bored worker answered, the sound of clacking echoing through to Galen's end as he looked through the company's records trying to process the request. "One Miss Alexandra Sisto, yes sir, she embarked on the trip the day after the tickets were delivered. It seems there were no delays and according to the travel charts, her ferry arrived in Ymora not long ago today."

"You sent her the flyer I gave you as well, correct? And the stock account transfer?"

"Yes sir, the flyer was sent along with the tickets and cash...and the invoices and notifications for the bonds and stocks along with them."

"And you made sure to leave the sender as simply anonymous, yes?"

"Absolutely sir. we respect the wishes of our clients at this agency."

"Bueno, bueno mi amigo," Galen said, preparing to end the call. "then perhaps I will seek out your services again in the future. Adios."

"Have a nice day sir."

A simple click was heard as he shut the burner and put it back in his pants pocket, making sure to start walking again, casting a few glances back at the Gates every now and again as he pretended to browse various stands, trying to find his contact so that he could get things started around here.

"Well, they didn't lie, looks like the ferry did arrive on time..." he chided to himself in his normal voice as he caught the glimpse he'd been expecting; A red haired woman in her early fifties or late forties arriving through the gates, wearing a simplistic white working blouse and a long black skirt that came down to just below the knees, a pair of red rimmed spectacles sitting on her nose, her cold blue eyes reminiscent of Mareek's and Galen's both, though no one would be able to even tell where they to look at the latter right now. Her sons resembled her as well, sharing several similar facial features. Her age didn't quite show on her, her face still looking a bit youthful despite her years and all the stress she had none over the last few. A Black and Blue (Shiny) bisharp followed closely behind her with a protective look in his eyes, carrying the woman's suitcase in one hand, with the other ever at the ready for trouble... just as Galen remembered the ol sentinel from all those years ago before he'd been booted out of the house by that bastard he had called a father.

A slight chuckle was all that came from him as he turned his attention away from his Mother after having not seen her over all these years, walking off into the crowd to continue his search for this 'Evan Reeves' boy.

MS.SISTO

"Do you see him anywhere?" Alexandra asked her ever faithful companion as she looked around at the festivities and the countless stalls everywhere, The Bisharp merely shaking his head in response. "Well, guess it can't be helped with so many people out and about. Maybe someone will be able to point us in the right direction? Come, Mars..." She began to walk off towards the vendors as she spoke, leaving the Bisharp, named Mars apparently, to catch up if he wanted to do his job and guard his trainer, as he had always felt the need to do since they had met... ah were those the days...

"It's quite the pleasant surprise someone was kind enough to send the tickets and that flyer, wasn't it?" She asked as they strolled through the fair, making small talk as she scanned the various stands looking for her youngest, and as far as she was concerned, her only son. "Not to mention those Stocks and that anonymous bank account in the market back home in Unova. Made me a bit reminiscent about everything from back then... well, some parts of it, there were definitely some i'd rather just forget completely... you know what I mean..."

The Bisharp merely nodded. He had to admit though, he'd like to shake the hand of whomever the fine individual who had sent the gift was; It was a complete Arceus-send, no doubt about it. With just one letter his oldest and most dearest friend's financial situation had completely 180d over night. Alexandra had gone from having to work two jobs just to keep up with things to being able to drop one and even start thinking about getting rid of the other one too in order to start pursuing what she really wanted to do with her life in terms of a career. Of course, it had only been two days ago the letters had arrived, only two days since she'd become the owner of the bonds and the controller of the account, which was, to say the least, quite well funded by whomever had opened it. She still needed to sit down and properly process things, think about her options, but she had pounced at the chance to come visit mareek here.

She had no idea the majority of the cash and stocks she'd been gifted into her account was from Galen's black market dealings years ago and very little from actual work, but what the woman didn't know wouldn't kill her... and besides. Galen was about seven years behind in terms of giving her christmas and Birthday gifts. The man had figured this would more than make up for that.

((Ms. Sisto is currently walking around looking for Mareek, Galen is nowhere to be seen as he's disappeared into the crowd feeling good about himself. If you want to notice her walking around and talk and point her in the right direction, feel free to do so. Mareek resembles her strongly enough to where it's obvious he's her child.))

[Aurorix]

Parents:

"Honey, did you hear?" Mrs.Kafkin said happily, "Slade is one of the top 32 trainers. Aren't you happy, you used to be a trainer in your day." She said to her husband he just remained silent adjusting his glasses which gave a shimmer in the light as he pushed them up with one finger. "Being top 32 and being good are totally different things." He said proceeding to sip from his coffee. Mrs.Kafkin was disappointed in her husband's answer, she thought he'd be somewhat happy with their son.

Pokemon:

Sasuke smirked as Avis flew by but then noticed two people following her. One of them approached them saying that he was Danielle's father. He didn't know how to explain it only to hold out the gift Slade's mother gave him and pointed to the name where it read 'To: Slade From: Mom'. Hopefully he'd catch onto it.

[DarkLight]

Danielle and Mrs. Chastain had paused in their girl talk to hear the announcement of the Top 32 match ups. Avis also took the time to look at the screen to see if she could remember anything about the potential opponents from her place at the register. Zared and Corona also managed to dash out just in time to hear that Danielle is being paired up with Liza. Danielle crossed her arms once the screen faded to black. Her expression became more somber as she considered her match as well as Jacob and Slade's. 'Wasn't Liza one of those girls I faced back when I was scared s**tless about the Fairy type? And Slade and Jacob are in the same block...' "Slade is going have some trouble ahead..." she said quietly.

Her mother chuckled at her daughter's serious behavior. She had already been informed about Danielle and Slade's relationship and, although she was upset about Danielle keeping it a secret from her for so long, she got over this news once Danielle explained to her about Slade's parents. "Of course you would be more worried about your boyfriend than yourself. Oh, the joys of youth~" she sighed dreamily, reminiscing on the time when she and Marc were dating. Carole Chastain quickly snapped out of her thoughts as Danielle coughed to get her attention. "Oh yes, where was I? Slade's parents, oui?" she asked, which elicited a nod from her nervous daughter. Mrs. Chastain laughed and put both arms on Danielle's shoulders. "Well, this shouldn't be new to you, cheri. Just put Avis in Slade's place and you're set to go! Did you give up on Avis when our elders threatened to take her away? No no no," Her mother emphasized her point by wagging her finger. "You fought back and look at where it has gotten you? You and Avis are now free from oppression, and you two get to show off what you could do in the Winter Cup! So, why are you here all scared? Pull yourself together and support Slade! If anything, he needs you more than ever!"

Danielle could only smile and hugged her mother for her continuous support in her decisions. She felt much more at ease now that she knew her parents are behind her cause. "But, Mama, you and dad will help me if they get nasty, right?"

Carole Chastain gave her a disappointed glance before her expression softened to one a mother would give to her precious baby. "And what kind of parents would we be if we didn't come to defend our daughter? Silly child of mine~" she laughed as she returned Danielle's hug. "Now that that is taken care of, you need to tell me all of the details about how you met your... Pokemon!" Carole laughed loudly as a blushing Danielle was about to protest to divulging the details about her relationship with Slade. "Oh come on, dear, you should know me better than that! I have my manners! We will save that for tonight!"

---------------

Marc Chastain's eyes widened as he read the words on Slade's present. While it is unsettling to see a child not being able to confide in his parents, as he has unfortunately seen during his time as a manager in the Pokeball Factory, he couldn't quite understand why Avis would make a big fuss over a boy's parents, unless... He turned around to find her daughter blushing profusely as her mother teased about something. Mr. Chastain nodded as the pieces began to fit into the equation. He turned back to Sasuke and gave a warm smile. "Merci bou coup; I understand now. Unfortunately, I have seen some of these cases back at my work in Kalos. Some of my co-workers aren't all that friendly to their kids' ambitions either..." He paused for a moment, considering what his next action should be. "If I may be so bold, do you happen know where your trainer is? Normally, I would stay out of these situations, but since this does concern my daughter... Well, you could imagine how protective I am of her." He chuckled. "I only want to talk to him to get an idea of the situation, since this is quite similar to Avis' back at home. Perhaps I - or rather my wife since she's better with words than me - could help get through to his parents."

[Aurorix]

Pokemon:

Sasuke nodded and took a piece of paper for which they used to take orders and wrote Slade's room number, 213. Then pointed towards the men's dorm and handed him the paper and present. He wanted him to give the wrapped box to Slade since he is going to see him. If he did pick up the box he could feel a slight warmth coming from said box.

((Slade is now in his room))

[DarkLight]

Marc Chastain followed Sasuke's directions, taking a mental note of the room number. He then accepted the surprisingly warm package along with the note with his free hand, nodding gratefully to the Frogadier for giving him a chance. "Thank you very much, I'll get to it once you are finished with the order... Which is right now!" He then tried to reach for his wallet, but realized that he now has no free hands. Mr. Chastain laughed at his own foolishness and turned to call his family. "Carole, Danielle, a little help here please?"

-------------

Once he dropped off the lunch order and his wooden picture with Danielle and his wife, Mr. Chastain sauntered off towards the boys' dorm to find Slade. He also got Avis to come along, since the bird could provide Slade a proof of his identity as Danielle's father. Marc Chastain now has one hand holding onto Slade's gift while he was munching on a shish kabob with his other hand. "I got to say, Avis, your friend really did a great job with these. I should have gotten more of these before we left! I just hope Carole, Danielle and her friends enjoy them as much as I do!" He offered the last bit of meat to the bird, who gobbled it down eagerly. Avis then crowed her agreement, ruffling her feathers with happiness. Mr. Chastain chuckled as he tossed the stick in a nearby garbage can; the Murkrow never failed to amuse him.

"So, room 213 it is. Knowing you, though, you know how to get there easily. So, I'll let you lead the way." As he expected, Avis flew for the straightforward route towards Slade's room. Once he got there, Avis seated herself on Marc Chastain's shoulder and let him proceed with the human courtesies of entering one's room.

"Good girl, Avis!" Mr. Chastain complimented his daughter's Murkrow before he knocked on the door. Then, he stepped back and waited patiently for Slade to open the door. He also began adjusting his black, leather jacket and his dark blue denim jeans to make himself look presentable. Avis decided to cry out a greeting to let the boy inside know who was outside his room.