Pokémon Academy: Ch 3: Winter Cup [IC]

[Aurorix]

"Come on, what's the worst it could be?" Slade asked the group. "But if it's really that bad I'll refrain from asking again." He said putting his hands behind his head. Xemnas was disappointed at how quick the bagon left. He at least wanted to see her happy face. He then walked by to where he was before, sitting by Slade's feet and watched Jacob's battle commence.

[TurboAura]

Robert sighed, simply realizing that this WAS Henry after all. Even so, he doubted much word had spread about Shiro having to leave, especially since it was only him and Shiro who knew about it and he himself hadn't spread word due to his own hope. "Well, it's much more horrible than what you likely just think it is, so-" before Robert could even explain what was going on, Kiai simply grabbed his shoulder and pointed in the direction of the dorms, seeming to have finally sensed Shiro there.

"Oh, well he must've ran to his dorm, so- wait, I don't have a key to get in there." He quickly turned to Henry, making the connection as quick as he could. "Henry, I need your card so I can get into his room. Please!" He gave a look of determination and desperation, being so close to getting on his knees and begging.

While Robert was now preoccupied with Henry, Eregansu was able to catch up to them, getting the attention of Kiai easily. 'Eregansu? What do you want?'

'Hey, I'm just getting this to Robert, straight from Akako' She showed the simple box to Kiai as she looked over to Robert. 'What's exactly up with him anyway? I've never seen him acting this frazzled.'

Kiai turned directly to her, starting to get annoyed now. What exactly in that box could POSSIBLY be worth bringing out NOW of all times. Even still, he went and explained what was going on while Robert was busy. As the Mienshao listened, the more she grew to understand what was happening, the more she knew that what was inside would atleast help heal the kind of wound being formed.

Edited January 25, 2015 by TurboAura

[Commander]

Henry sighed seeing Robert's determination. The boy did always dive down too deeply into things. "Fine, whatever." He handed over his key to Robert. "Just don't go digging in my bottom dresser. Still, I feel that you should just let him be. Shiro's stronger than you think and always finds a way out of his troubles."

After he was finished talking, he turned away from Robert leaving himself to his own thoughts while heading back towards his waiting room. It must be nice having someone like that looking out for you.

[TurboAura]

"T-thank you, Henry." Once he got the card, Robert went to run towards the dorms, only for Eregansu to rush past Kiai and block Robert off. "Wait, Eregansu? Sorry, but whatever it is, I have to go, now." Once he finished talking, he swerved around her and started running again.

Despite knowing why, she wasn't going to let him leave so quickly. She rushed around him with Quick Attack, this time getting a firm grip on his arm. "Dang it! I have to go!" After the initial reaction, he saw that her other arm was holding out that plain box. "Let me guess, is that why? Fine, but you need to let me go after." He reached out and grabbed the box from Mienshao. Opening it, he saw that it was his phone in there, as well as a note folded and taped to the lid of it.

'To Robert: If you're reading this, then that means one of two things. The first would be that when we visited you, you decided that your plan of separating yourself when you came to Ymora was a bad choice, looking back. Of course, with the determination you put forth of 'keeping focused' and 'limiting your distractions,' that's just our feelings, and we're willing to support that decision as long as you do.'

'The second, more likely reason, is that we gave it to Kiai to keep it in your room and he showed it to you whenever something would come up in the future. Whatever it is, you would have needed it for some reason before you came home.'

'Either way, feel free to use it however you need to, and don't be too restrictive of yourself next time. We know that your friends up at Hoenn Academy would just love to get back in contact with you.

-Love, Mom and Dad-'

After finally turning up from the letter, Eregansu let go of his arm and pointed first to the phone, then into the dorms direction. Seeing the motions while still letting the letter's saddening sweetness sink in, he looked back at his phone as he remembered Shiro's own phone, back at the school trip. 'Even if he can't stay here...' Robert put the phone-box into his pocket, hugging Eregansu saying "Thank you," running off towards the dorms with Kiai in tow as soon as he let go.

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

Robert had just gotten to the door of the dorm, catching his breath before he slid Henry's card into the lock, getting the door open. "Shiro? You in here?"

Edited January 26, 2015 by TurboAura

[Jory]

{Accumula Town, Unova Region}

The Robertson family was gathered around the TV set as Jacob's match was about to begin. They all leaned forward in their seats, anxious to see how their favorite young battler would do in the tournament. Helen, his mother, turned to her brother George and smiled broadly. "Would you look at that? Our son's gone and gotten himself a Lapras! Although I'm not sure why he picked Teo and that Lapras to go against this other boy. He has a serious type disadvantage!" she said disapprovingly, crossing her arms. Her Palpitoad croaked a response, looking directly at the screen. George just laughed and put his hand on Helen's shoulder.

"If there's one thing I know about your son, it's that he's as quick as a whip. There's no way he'd send out those two without putting thought into it. After all, he still has to make it through the rest of the tournament after this. It wouldn't be very smart of him to pick a Pokemon that'll only be useful in this battle." He then put his hand on his chin. He'd always been the better battler of the two siblings. His Accelgor was watching the bout intently, hoping Jacob would put on a good show. "Plus, Teo looks much stronger than he was when the two of them left home. He also has the ability Hyper Cutter, which will keep that Hitmontop's Intimidate from working on him. I think Jacob will surprise you."

Richard, Jacob's father, turned to participate in the speculation. "Teo and Jacob are really close. You can't underestimate that, Helen, and you know that Jacob's always had a knack for Pokemon battling. I wouldn't be surprised if he's already mapped out a way to beat this Bert kid," he said quickly before turning back to the television. His Unfezant was perched on the arm of the couch, her eyes intent on watching Jacob battle rather than listening to idle conjecture.

==============================================================================================================

{Battlefield, Ymora Academy}

Jacob nodded to Bert. "I'll let you make the first move, Bert. Go for it." The other student snorted, his cocky demeanor annoying Jacob slightly. He and Jacob had never gotten along particularly well, but neither was there any existing animosity between the two. However, Bert had come out to the battlefield with something to prove today and he wasn't going to lose to some arrogant Unovan. He felt his Mahogany Town pride swelling in his chest as he ordered the first attack.

"Archie, use Water Pulse on that Trapinch! Dre, use Triple Kick on Lapras!" The Poliwhirl charged up a blue sphere and launched it toward Teo as the Hitmontop began spinning rapidly toward Chalchi. Jacob smiled, adrenaline rushing as the opening blows began.

"Teo, dodge that Water Pulse and get underground! Chalchi, give that Hitmontop a Water Pulse burst!" Teo quickly dug his way underground, avoiding the Water Pulse with ease. The aquatic sphere burst apart on the ground, sprinkling Jacob's side of the field with water. Chalchi then fired three smaller Water Pulses at the Hitmontop. However, its feet carried a lot of momentum and were able to cause the first two to burst, while the last one carried enough force to make the Hitmontop spin in place and stop the attack. Bert laughed and shook his head.

"You think you can win just by dodging my attacks? We're gonna break right through your crummy little defense. Dre, Triple Kick again! Archie, wait for Teo to pop up, then hit him with a Body Slam!" The Hitmontop began spinning once more, moving quickly toward Chalchi as the Poliwhirl took a defensive stance and waited for Teo to break from cover.

"Now Chalchi, spring the trap! Teo, Momentum Shift!" Jacob shouted. A pale mist surrounded Chalchi and spread around the battlefield. Almost three quarters of it began to freeze over and Bert looked on in shock. "Surprised?" Jacob asked. "Your Hitmontop's Triple Kick acted like a sprinkler for Chalchi's water! Now it's all over the place, and you know what happens when water freezes. It expands and becomes quite slippery." As the field froze around the Hitmontop it began to spin out of control, moving from side to side and wobbling as though it were about to topple over. Just as Dre began to lose control, Teo sprang out of the ground. Archie went to hit him with a Body Slam, but was shocked to find Teo's jaws radiating darkness and waiting. Teo latched onto the Poliwhirl's arm and flipped it through the air, causing it to land hard on the ground. However, the Poliwhirl was quick to stand back up, not ready to be defeated yet.

Bert grumbled in frustration and looked back at the field, not sure what to do about Dre's situation. With the field this slick he can't move around! he thought to himself, beginning to panic. "Dre, stay put for now! Use Protect to block anything they throw at you!" The Hitmontop nodded and threw his hands up, forming a protective green dome around himself He then looked to his Poliwhirl. "Archie, use Water Pulse on that Trapinch again!" The Poliwhirl charged another Water Pulse and fired it quickly at the Trapinch. However, to Teo this was exactly like the training he'd spent months doing with Chalchi. He nimbly moved to the side and then dug back underground without even being instructed.

"Good job, Teo! Now let's hedge our odds while that Hitmontop is locked in! Chalchi, Freeze Dry that Poliwhirl!" The mist once again rose from Chalchi's body, sending chills down Bert's spine. It moved with frightening speed across the field, creeping around the Protect and stopped at the Poliwhirl, which began to wince in pain. Additionally the close-range Water Pulse he'd fired at Teo began to backfire as ice formed around his feet, locking him in place. By this point, the Poliwhirl was panting audibly. It wouldn't be long until he fainted, and the desperate expression on Bert's face showed that he knew it too. "Big finish, Teo! Use Dig attack!" The Trapinch shot out of the ground roughly five feet in front of the Poliwhirl at high velocity, slamming into the Poliwhirl so hard that the ice around his ankles shattered and the Water-type was thrown backward. Soon enough his eyes resembled the spiral pattern on his abdomen.

"Archie, no!" Bert shouted. He then sighed. "Return. You did okay." A red beam of light emanated from the Ball, bringing the Poliwhirl back to its owner. Bert's expression then became one of fierce determination. "We're not going down without a fight! Dre, hit Lapras with a Low Kick!" The Hitmontop began to spin quickly and made it about halfway to Chalchi before he once again veered off course, falling on his back and sliding to a halt about ten feet from his target.

"Chalchi, Water Pulse! Teo, Super Dig!" The Lapras fired a powerful Water Pulse that hit the prone Hitmontop head on, causing the tough Pokemon to wince but not causing any visible damage. Teo burrowed underground and arrived at the Hitmontop, breaking through the ice under it and swinging his glowing jaw like a sledgehammer at the Fighting-type. The blow sent the Hitmontop reeling back to the other side of the field. It got up slowly, trying to shake off the big hit from the little Pokemon.

Finally, Bert waved his hand. "Enough. I know when I've lost," he said curtly. He returned the Hitmontop to his Poke Ball and gave Jacob a grave look. "You'd better not lose this tournament, Robertson. I won't stand to be creamed by anyone other than the class's top battler, you understand?"

Jacob nodded, flashing the other battler a smile. "You know that's my goal, Bert. Good battle." He then called his Pokemon back and looked up to the crowd, smiling broadly but unsure of what to do next.

[Chevaleresse]

"Hmm?" Kage had been lost in his own thoughts, distracted. Danielle's question, however, brought him back to reality. "Yeah, you could definitely say that. Um, lemme think. I'm not sure if Ryan really wants me to talk about it, but that stupid metal bird has a pretty significant meaning to him, to say the least." He sighed. He was being selfish again, completely ignoring the person he owed so much to and focusing on his own problems first. Shaking his head, he spoke again. "Damn. These last few weeks have been crap for everyone except me, huh? Almost makes me feel bad. . ."

[Chim]

Dobby

“I feel the same when it comes to my little brother…” Jaime pondered. “Unfortunately I only arrived this morning so I missed the spectacular show since I was on a ship. I don’t deal well with those things so I was either in my bed or rolling to some place where I had the opportunity to turn my stomach inside out. I wish we were able to see it though since Lily kept bothering my mom about it. Apparently she has her eyes set on becoming a Coordinator.”

Zephyr

Lana chuckled. “That sound weird coming from you. I already have a strategy in mind so I hope I can catch him off guard. What about you? Did you actually prepare this time?”

Phoebe’s waiting room (K_H and everyone else in there)

“Yes! Free lunch is almost mine for a week! I should’ve bet our Pokémon’s food too… dammit! Alright, Destructive Kid, get moving to the field. If you lose I’ll make you pay my dinner!”

Hosts

“That was a quick battle. With his performance Jacob shows why he’s one of the favorites! Nadia is warned! So, Professor Redwood, why don’t you introduce us to the C-Block competitors?”

“It would be my pleasure. The next battle is between Kenny and Paul. Both of them are, again, in the trainer program. Kenny is an unusual trainer to say the least. He uses an offensive style, like Paul, but the latter is more unpredictable in his battling. Kenny really relies on his Lucario and Zorua so I wonder how they will fair against Paul’s Croagunk and Swellow. At least that’s the battle I’m expecting. There’s a possibility Paul might go for his newly evolved Accelgor.

((You can pick 2 out of the 3))

Jory

When Bert recalled his Poliwhirl, Kristen already moved back to ‘ waiting room. She could tell the outcome even before the battle started.

[Felicity]

Claudes grin slipped a little when Jaime said his family missed the Opening ceremony, but when he mentioned his sister wanting to be a coordinator, he perked up a little. "Well, i'll have to say hi sometime, i'm a Coordinator myself. Though I doubt you had much trouble figuring that out." Claude again flashed his teeth. Keep smiling Claude...

[Azeria]

"Ryan said I should ask you about it...it's fine if you don't wanna reveal it though."James quickly added the end while looking back at the screen."Damn,that was a quick victory if i've ever seen one.That kid Bert got creamed...heh."He said after seeing the rather short battle go on.

[K_H]

Kenny smiled.

"Phoebe, this one's all mine. I've got something special up my sleeve for this one."

Kenny then Recalled Ryu and Zorro, and then headed out to the Arena, coming out at the same time as Paul. The two of them walked to the middle of the Arena, and then shook hands and spoke.

"Good luck, Paul."

"You too, Kenny."

The two trainers then went to their respective sides of the Arena, faced each other, and spoke simultaneously.

"And may the Better Battler win!"

Kenny then grabbed Otto's Dive Ball and Eve's Premier Ball from his belt, and threw them, sending out the two inside. As he did so, Paul sent out his Swellow and his Accelgor. As they did so, the Trainers both gave commands to their Pokemon.

"Accelgor, Quick Attack! Swellow, Wing Attack!"

"Otto, Icy Slice! Eve, Iron Star!"

The Pokemon complied with their Trainers' instructions. As the Accelgor sped towards Eve, it was first buffeted by the hail of stars that came at it, and then was whacked on the head by Eve as she followed through with Iron Tail, which she also used as a springboard to dodge the Quick Attack. Meanwhile the Swellow was also buffeted by the Swift, but continued in for a Wing Attack. Otto readied a Razor Shell, and used the flat of the blade to shield himself from some of the damage, although he did get knocked back a bit. Then, he used the edge to knock the Swellow off balance, and then used Icy Wind to blow the Swellow away, with a side effect being that the Accelgor was caught in the wind. Paul and Kenny then ordered another set of moves.

"Accelgor, Swellow, both of you use Double Team, then continue into Quick Attack!"

"Otto, Eve, use Starstorm!"

When Paul's Team tried to make illusionary copies of themselves, the copies were quickly taken down by Eve's Swift, which also damaged both pokemon, and Otto's follow-through of Icy Wind left them close to being KO'd.

Edited January 27, 2015 by K_H

[DarkLight]

"Don't feel that way, Kage. I'm sure all of us were messed up in some way after that trip. We just hide it from each other..." Danielle consoled the blind breeder in training. "And talking about hiding stuff," she adjusted herself so that she had a clear view of everyone around her, though it was challenging considering how the chair were placed. After giving a quick nod to the abrupt battle that Jacob had (well deserved, she might add), Danielle gave a sigh and decided to explain the vision to the best of her ability.

"Since Ryan doesn't mind, I guess I could tell you. Who knows, perhaps the more of us know about this, the better his chances will be... You see, during that school trip we had in the mountains, Kage was given a vision by Celebi. In the vision, Kage saw a Luxray, a Walrein, and Ryan in a snowy place. The problem with that picture was that Ryan was... Ryan wasn't moving. He was lying down with blood around him. Whether he was unconscious or dead was unclear." Danielle shivered at that thought. "Then, when Slade and I went to the Fortune Teller during that fair, that lady, or rather her Gothitelle, told us about that Skarmory that plays a role in that vision. I think she also mentioned about seeing a Murkrow, which is a sign of death in fortune-telling terms, and a hostile boy who is with the Skarmory... She also told us about some love rival but that is besides the point, " Danielle waved that off before she grew somber once more. "The thing is, the Gothitelle and the woman couldn't tell us whether or not he plays a role in Ryan's condition. My guess is that it has something to do with Evan; he is the only one I know of that has a Skarmory at this point in time... And he isn't exactly friendly towards me at least..."

Avis could only sigh when her kind was mentioned. Honestly, when will the outsiders get that her kind appeared around death because they were paying their respects to the dead. The mentioning of the Fortune Teller's prediction, however, made her tilt her head. Avis made no sound, however, looking to see if anyone has anything to add.

[Azeria]

"....i see..." James muttered when he realized the reason Ryan was depressed."Death is not something one can easily get past...take that from a person who lost both of his parents.However,a vision is still just that a vision.It's unclear when or how it happens.Considering there was snow it has to be sometime in the winter and the fact that it mentions a Luxray and Walrein indicates that it'll be quite a while from now."He stated while remembering all that he knew about Evan's Skarmory.

[Bfroger6]

"..." Shiro cuddled up beneath his blanket the moment he got to his room, hugging the tear-watered pillow tightly on his chest. All of this was just too much to handle! How was he gonna go back home now, after experiencing all these new things? Robert would also miss him... Why did Anna have to come so soon? Just, why couldn't they take over the company? Why couldn't they just make her school herself instead of him? She was the one who screwed up! A bottle of rage just burst out of Shiro all of a sudden, and he violently jumped out of the bed, tossing the blanket along with the pillow on the floor. That's right, he wasn't going to just let her take him... He was gonna stay here, forever! Even if it meant... No, that was no good, she would take him by force... He should just make everything dissapear, if only until the whole situation settles... I-if he runs away right now, perhaps they wouldn't be able to find him! And then, after everyone has already forgotten about the whole situation, he would return and be a hero! Yeah, he should do that.

Part of Shiro's brain knew what he was planning was wrong, childish and stupid, but the distressed child always tends to simply surpress that 'voice of reason' ringing deeply inside their minds and go with the easier way, which, at that time, seems like a better idea. That was what happened with Shiro. He wiped his nose with one of his sleeves and sat by the table with a piece of paper and a pencil. He put his three Poke balls (yes, he even out Shun in a Poke ball) by his side, along with the peculiar pocketwatch he pulled out of his pocket. It was a beautiful piece of art, carved from some odd kind of stone which glinted under the faint light emanating from the bulb on the ceiling. Shiro put it down next to the Poke balls after observing it for a while and took a pencil. He wasn't sure what to write, or even if he should write anything. Maybe it was better not to do it... I mean, they would all know something was wrong after seeing the confession, but he still couldn't leave Robert without saying goodbye...

'Dear...'

Shiro was interrupted by the sudden click of the front door. "Shiro? You in here? He heard Robert's voice calling out. Wait, Robert was here? Where did he get the key? Without thinking, Shiro grabbed the paper, throwing it into the trash can below the desk. He then opened the door to his room and peeked out.

"I-I'm here..." He said, looking down. It wasn't easy looking at Robert right now, in fact, it pained him a litle, knowing he was going to leave him behind today... "H-how did you get the key?"

[DarkLight]

"It could have been winter time, or it may have been on top of a mountain too." Danielle added. "We can't be sure until we get to that point. What's bothering me the most is that Skarmory and, in turn, Evan. What does he have to do with this?"

Avis glared at the screen as Danielle mentioned Evan's name. Although time has dissipated most of her anger over the boy, Avis still doesn't trust him. Still, she sat without a word, pondering about how she could deal with that Steel bird, should a time come. Avis has the speed to maneuver in between that defensive tank's attacks, but she has nothing that could strike a blow to a Skarmory effectively... How annoying...

[Sutoratosu]

"Quickest battle yet..." Mareek mumbled as he watched Jacob mop the floor with his opponent. Not that it was honestly that surprising, the guy had gone out there cocky and trying make a show, and he just got his ass handed to him as a reward. "I didn't even count a single hit that they got in on his team...did you?" Java shook his head, though he directed his trainer's attention to one thing in particular on the screen... the ice field. "I know... still using the same tactic it seems. But chances are he's figured out something that's made electrocuting the field a bit less effective. Luckily though, I've been doing a bit of work with Nemo just for things like that..."

The two of them took their attention away from the monitor as the next fight began, the very same guy who had blown everything before taking his place across the field from some student Mareek didn't recognize nor cared to find out about. Java couldn't help but wonder about something though, given how admitably flawless Jacob's victory had just been...

"What is our strategy here?" The porygon2 asked via his trainer's pokedex. "Offensive, Adaptive, Deception? who will be doing the fighting?"

"None of them," Mareek said simply, reaching to his belt a retrieving Nemo's capsule, depressing the trigger and sending out the Cubone in a flash of white as his co-strategist watched. "And to answer your second question, it's you and Nemo who I'm running with in this match; We're going to be deviating from the usual tactics here, instead of of an adaptive offensive like I use with Erce or a Stone Wall appraoch like I do with you, what we're using here is going to be a bit of Defensive Alternation in a way..." Java only looked at him skeptically, eyes demanding the boy explain what exactly he was going on about. "You two are going to be focused covering each other's flanks on the battlefield instead of just hauling off with attacks and counters to the opponent. What that means is that Java; you'll be watching Nemo's back, if something comes his way, you step in and intercept it with an attack of your own. Nemo, same goes for you, just vica-versa... we're going to create a wall to break up any initial salvo of attacks, test the waters, then we'll either just keep it up while tossing in our own counters here and there to whittle them down to nothing, our we'll go full offense and keep the pressure on the other side. You two understand?" Nemo nodded earnestly, brandishing his club in anticipation as he looked over to Java as he gave approval to the plan as well, though he was still a bit weary of this sudden change up from what had been working so well for them so long... it seemed sound enough though, worth a shot at least. The moment after both of them had agreed to the plan, Nemo was back inside his capsule as the Java and Mareek started back off down the corridor again, passing the monitor by without so much as a glance, carrying on their search for their upcoming opponent... chances are though, she'd be in other waiting room...

[Aurorix]

Slade let out a big sigh as everyone was engrossed in this vision by celebii, "Yall are worrying too much," He said stretching out his arms, "We don't have enough evidence to put Evan as our big bad guy and the skarmory could just be a coincidence. Besides like James said there were a Luxray and Walrein which means there's plenty of time to dwell on this later." He wasn't trying to say Evan is not the killer but, just a skarmory, with the way they're thinking if there was an arcanine then it must be him. "What's most important right now is cheering this guy up. If anything he just needs a pick me up from some friends, that's all." He then put his hands in his pockets as he looked back at the screen. 'Man Jacob didn't even take a hit that match though I got a plan for when we fight next, hope he's ready.' Slade thought to himself as Jacob left the stage.

[Commander]

While everyone was focused on Claude, Henry used it as a time to head back to his waiting room. He had little interest in watching Kenny pull off any of his tricks. If he really needed to learn about Kenny, he could just look him up and that godforsaken site anyways. Once he got a bit closer, he started to hear a very familiar sound. It sounded like someone was crying nearby.

"Henry! Thank Arceus you're here. How do you turn this thing off?" Citrine quickly ran up to him holding a crying Togepi. Since he wasn't going use her, Henry thought it would be a good idea to let Paradox watch from the stands.

"Maybe if you weren't so loud and obnoxious, she wouldn't be crying. What'd you do, drop her?" Henry knew these two better then anyone else. Paradox seemed alright when he handed her to Citrine, so he figured the girl had something to do with this.

"No, I mean yes, I mean it only happened one time. That didn't seem to bother her though. She only started crying after your battle was over. Please...just do something. She's giving me a goddamn headache." Citrine then lifted the little Togepi up to her face. "Why don't you just shut up?" Citrine's yelling just made the Togepi cry even harder.

"Sigh...just hand her over to me." Citrine didn't even take a second to get rid of the creature. Once she was secure in Henry's arms, he began to rock the Togepi back and forth while whistling. Shortly afterwards, the Togepi stopped crying and fell asleep.

"That's so adorable," Citrine responded. She watched as Henry began to blush. "Oh come on, it's not that embarrassing. If anything, girls would probably flock over you after seeing that. Too bad you're always so grouchy."

"I'm not interested in that stuff," Henry responded still blushing. "Besides, everybody pretty much hates me anyways."

"Really? Surely you have to be interested in someone. I mean this place is flooded with pretty girls. If not, you still always have me." Citrine grinned while saying those words. She always loved trying to get stuff out of Henry.

"I already told you I'm not interested in any of that. Also, isn't that illegal?"

"Nope!" responded Citrine still keeping her large grin.

"I really don't want to know why you know that." Henry's face finally returned to normal as he focused on rocking Paradox back in forth in his arms. This was the last place he wanted Paradox to have one of her episodes.

[TurboAura]

"Well, at least one thing turned out positive and I ended up running into Henry just as Kiai finally sensed you by the dorm. Thankfully, he gave me his keycard so that I could get in here." Robert then began to walk closer towards Shiro, ready to do whatever was needed. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to follow you in here, which would've just been horrible after... what just happened."

[Jory]

{Accumula Town, Unova Region}

Jacob's family cheered loudly as Bert returned his Poliwhirl to its ball. All of them were quite excited at Jacob's decisive victory, especially his uncle George. "That boy is an exceptional battler. I hope you're planning to keep him at the Academy, because I haven't seen anyone battle quite like that in a long time." He looked at the screen, pondering something. "Is there some reason he hasn't picked which of his new Pokemon to use yet? I counted two more Balls on his belt, but he stayed with the old recipe that he sent us a video of the first day." He looked to be deep in thought again. "Maybe he's making sure his new strategies aren't revealed too early. After seeing that display I wouldn't be surprised to see him let those two do the legwork until the final round."

Jacob's parents smiled and looked at each other. His father chuckled. "Well, I suppose we'll have to wait to find out. I hope he wins the whole thing. Everybody would be talking about it at the water cooler."

========================================================

{Stadium, Ymora Academy}

Jacob had a huge grin on his face as he exited the tunnel back into the waiting room. He went up to Kristen and wrapped her in a tight hug, happy to see her after his first Winter Cup battle. "So, what'd you think?" he asked quickly. "Did I do alright?"

[Chevaleresse]

"I don't know. I'll beat the hell out of him if he tries anything, though." Guessing at the probable response to his words, Kage preempted any comments. "Don't look at me like that. You don't need to be able to see a guy to throw a punch." He didn't know Evan all that well; what he did know was that Evan had a Skarmory that showed up out of nowhere and they had to look out for one.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Lana got her. The Trainer scratched the back of her head. Even now she couldn't help feeling the slightest bit of surprise whenever the Breeder saw through her like that... Then again, they were childhood friends; if anybody, it would've been Lana who would've seen how uncertain Raiza really was with herself. "You'll run him over, I know it," she said, steering away from talking about her personal insecurities. "And do I look like a girl with a plan?" There was a cheeky grin on her face before she sobered down and said, "Okay, well, uh, yeah, I'm not really good at planning, y'know, pon... But chances are they've looked me up and know that all my babies are Dark-type, except for Lucifer here. So I'm fairly sure they've got a check in mind for Ghost and slash or Fire types as well as Dark types. But!" Striking a pose - she really was more energetic than she liked to show, so long as her friend was around - she added, "We're totally ready for that check. So, Kylie'd better watch out." Despite her momentary swagger, however, she faltered a little bit. The Litwick in Lana's arms noticed and floated over to his Trainer. "Wick?"

[Bfroger6]

"Yeah..." Shiro replied weakly, coming out of his room. This was good. Robert came here on his own, meaning that Shiro could just say goodbye now and drop the letter idea completely. Anyhow, he noticed the package Robert was holding and, since he wanted to, at least, change the subject to something else (because he was feeling really realy really down after the loss), he spoke up with a light smile. "S-so, what's that you got?"

[TurboAura]

"Oh yeah, this." He removed the lid of the box, showing the phone inside. "It's my old phone. My parents brought it with them incase I needed an 'emergency number,' so... Yeah, there's no better use for it. And, even if you can't stay... I still... You know." He was getting choked up on the later part, trying to stay strong despite what he knew was coming.

Edited January 29, 2015 by TurboAura

[Bfroger6]

"D-do you want me to take it?" Shiro noticed Robert's hesitation. This was hard on him too, more than Shiro could've ever imagined... Robert truly was his friend and he would've stayed that way no matter the conditions. That's why he brought that phone, so that they could still keep in touch, even from a far. "T-thanks, Robert..."

[Chim]

Dobby

“We stick around until tomorrow, when the first years are done battling, so you might meet my little sister,” Jaime grinned. “By the way, how well do you know my little brother? We contacted him a few times but we never heard him mention any friends…”

Zephyr

“Are you alright?” Lana asked concerned, “And you could’ve looked up Kylie as well. Luckily for you I know she’s a Breeder. I’ve seen her around a few times. She has a giant Gourgeist, but that’s about all I know.”

Jory

Kirsten returned the hug. “You did alright but what’s with the Ice-field tactic again? You know people are going to expect it from now on, right? Mareek won’t fall for it and he’s your biggest rival…” She smiled a little, “But Slade probably will since he’s an idiot.”

On that moment the door to Phoebe’s waiting room opened and Evan came out. He didn’t even look at Jacob and Kristen and made his way towards the field. “He’s leaving already? That means someone beat you when it comes to the fastest battle. Maybe there’s a Dark Horse in group C you might have to face after Slade.”

K_H

Paul recalled his Pokémon, shook his head and walked away. He wasn’t about to push his Pokémon too far. In the meantime Eve and Otto were panting heavily. Constantly using two moves while dodging everything seemed to take a toll on their bodies, something Kenny apparently was unaware off.

Phoebe’s waiting room

“At least he won… that means I’m getting way ahead of Tyron and that’s all I need.” Phoebe mumbled. “Grumpy, your turn!” she suddenly yelled and pointed at the corner furthest away. Evan, who was previously sitting there without drawing attention, was already halfway to the exit.

Hosts

Devin and professor Redwood remained silent while Marco tried to find something positive to say. “And Paul decides to call the battle. He walks away with his head held high. Hopefully the next two students will give something more exciting to watch! Professor Redwood, Devin, enlighten us when it comes to Evan and Julie.”

Professor Redwood gestured towards Devin. “Why don’t you do this one, my friend?”

“If you insist, professor, the next battle is between a trainer, Evan and a Coordinator; Julie. They have both similar teams when it comes to typing, but their personalities and styles are very different. Julie is a model student and has some decent combinations, while Evan is all about battling. He usually goes on the offensive and relies on instinct and thinking on the spot. Julie probably has 3 or 4 plans ready to counter him. This battle really can go anywhere and as far as I’m concerned this is one of the best match-ups in the first round alongside the Mareek versus Lana battle in the last block.”

Redwood chuckled. “I can’t agree more with you.”

“And there you have it folks! This might be one of those exciting early battles!”

Stratos (Galen)

“Pff boring! These kids got it completely wrong! This is the perfect opportunity to show everyone how beautiful they and their Pokémon are in front of a big audience, but all they do is muscle their way through. What a big letdown this competition is. At least that girl Danielle got it right. I hopes she goes far…” Pierre whined.

His conversation partner, Matt, shook his head. “You call that power? Please, I could annihilate them in an instant. But you’re right this Winter Cup is filled with trash. Since we joined the first years I have no choice but to hold back so I don’t stand out.”

“Shut up both of you!” the girl in front of them hissed. “There he is so let’s introduce ourselves like we are supposed to do!” Sarah Jones walked over to Galen and took the seat next to him. “So you’re the one in charge…”

Evan

The few empty seats that remained were quickly taken. By the way things looked Block D had a full house to fight for. But that wasn’t important. Kylie had a determined look on her face and Evan knew her reputation. She was the complete opposite and would’ve planned for every possible combination he could use. Not that it mattered. He was ready and when the buzzer went off he released his Vaporeon and Ninetales.

On the other side of the field an Ivysaur and a Hippopotas were glaring at him. A sandstorm immediately started to blow around the field.

Evan covered his eyes. “This is your plan? Coming at me with a disadvantage?”

Julie smiled. “You can also see it the other way around. I can create the advantage since every Pokémon on the field can be super-effective against another one.”

“That sounds like you knew which Pokémon I was going to use. You’re choosing a risky strategy.”

“If I want to beat you I have no other choice. My Torkoal would be in trouble against your team.”