Pokémon Academy: Ch 3: Winter Cup [IC]

[Sutoratosu]

Mareek was smirking on the inside when Henry interjected into the scene and drew away kenny's attention, thanking Arceus some time had been bought for him. He didn't hesitate, ordering Java to disappear into his Dex and taking Erce's capsule from his belt and whispering to the sphere as he held his thumb on the trigger, careful not to release the pressure yet. "Listen, Erce, something...kinda came up. no time to explain, but I need you to use Double Team on us pronto, alright?" A flash of white later and his request was granted, hand on Erce's shoulder as the Mantis automatically launched up her Ninjutsu Technique, making an identical copy of the two of them in the corridor, while all the while the real boy and his scyther were backing up slowly... but Mareek knew he'd have to work faster, it wouldn't fool that damn jackal for more than a second at best...

He considered having grabbing on tight and having Erce use agility... but given that she was shorter than him and they weighed about the same, he figured she might have a bit of difficulty pulling it off... he could try running, but...

Java had a plan though... back to Television he went, poking around for a second or two before turning the volume of the broadcast up to max, hopefully loud enough to provide even more of distraction. Mareek didn't even bother checking his Dex; he knew whose doing it was, turning on his heels and taking off down the hall as Erce herself disappeared in a blur of motion behind him, all the while their illusionary copies stood exactly where they'd been before... both of them looking off towards the monitor, seemingly vexed as it blasted the program as loud as it could...

[K_H]

Kenny heard the television 'Turn Up To Eleven', and smiled.

Nice one, Java!

Kenny and his team then took the opportunity to follow get away from Henry. Just after they rounded the corner, Zorro lifted the Darkness Illusion from Henry's sight. Kenny then spoke to his Team.

"Let's try to follow Mareek, see what he was up to."

The three of them then Cloaked, heading towards the Stands.

Edited January 22, 2015 by K_H

[Commander]

"Honestly, you're more of a pastime whenever I'm bored," Henry responded to Kenny. "I'm not talking to you though, am I?" Kenny was putting up more of a fight than he thought he would. Suddenly the sound of the broadcast roared loudly and caused him to turn around for a minute before looking back at Mareek. He was about to say something when Gypsy bit him in the leg. Her eyes were glowing once again. "...Dammit. I'll let it go this time." Still Mareek had to be the one to find out as well of all people.

Henry then turned his attention towards Evan, "Sorry for ruining your nice conversation. I just...felt the whole situation was eerie. Good luck with your battle." Henry then began to head on his way back to Tyron's waiting room. He wasn't sure how much Evan knew about what was going on. The less he knew, the better.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"Wick, wick!" The Ghost-Fire type obliged and hovered low enough for Lana to hold. Second to Raiza, she was another soul he wouldn't dream of devouring, as she was one of his Trainer's only companions and he was fond of her as well. "Hiya, Lana, pon," chimed Raiza, having arrived at the scene a second after Lucifer signaled. It was only then that she noticed the absence of Mareek - which was kind of a relief for the girl, though the memory of the incident at the guy's stall didn't sting her as much as it did last night. "Oh, you're not with your pal?"

[Sutoratosu]

"Don't see em, but if what Java said was right, he's probably noticed by now thanks to that Lucario and has that Zoroa making some illusion..." Mareek said, casting a quick glance over his shoulder, him and Erce thinking they'd gone far enough to slow down a bit... no one in sight, but still... should be sure. That roaring din coming nearby though gave him an idea, and it wasn't a TV monitor either... It was the none other than the stairs leading up to the stands.

"Java, where are you?" he asked, pausing for a moment as he began his way up. The Porygon2 responded by appearing behind him and Erce, having retreated back to the Dex after the last TV stunt, having returned the volume on the set to normal before he'd left it's systems. Mareek jabbed a thumb down the hall way. "Use lock on, see if anyone's there." Java turned his sights back down the corridor, forming a red ring of light around his body before expanding it outwards and scanning the ground and walls with it gradually... locking onto Ryu a second later once he'd gone down far enough and causing a strange crimson outline of a Lucario to burn in the air before fading to nothing. "He's definitely using that Zoroa then. But I know how to get rid of him. Both of you, back inside for now." He didn't really give them much warning, recalling them both to their capsules before he'd even said the words, tucking them back onto his belt as he climbed up into the seated crowd looking down over the battlefield.

He wove his way through the stands making sure to take a few turns here and there and wander a few of the less crowded rows, only stopping when he was sure that the lucario would have lost his and his partner's auras thanks to all the people around though still casting the occasional over the shoulder glance for good measure. Only then did he finally shake his head in bitter disgust, both at his failure to pay proper attention to detail, and even more at the bumbling idiot who decided he was gonna play the big damn hero and go blabbing off back there...

"Java," he said, able to speak at a normal level, being a bit high in the stands and away from the brunt of the noise. "Run a search on the site, find every student who has both a Lucario and a Zoroa... I want to know who that god damn imbecile was." Java went back to work in the Dex, firing up the browser and starting the inquiry as Mareek walked a bit further, finding it a bit ironic that he'd left here earlier because he wanted some peace and quiet, headed to the Waiting room and found some, only to return here after he'd gone and done something amitably stupid that had done away with that... but that was his damn life more or less, irony everywhere... and it wasn't funny anymore, hadn't been funny for a loooong time...

"Oye, young man," A voice called to him from nearby, interrupting his thoughts. He glanced around at the few spectators this far up. He only managed to find the owner of it when a Hispanic man, maybe in his late twenties or early thirties at the most, held up his hand in greeting, actually sitting a few seats back the way he'd just come. "Es no problemo, trust me, look at all this space around us," He gestured his arms out wide, acknowledging all the forgotten seats.... "Besides, the way you keep looking over you're shoulder like that, you look like you're running from la Policia Internacionale... if they ever actually bothered getting up off their asses and actually chased down people, that is."

Mareek looked at the Spaniard for a moment, a bit guarded about just going and sitting up to a stranger who'd offered out of the blue like that... but the casual jab the man had thrown the IP's way had calmed his initial suspicion, if even by only a little bit. and chances were he wasn't going to get found by Tweedledumb from back in the hallways. might as well just take up the offer..."Alright... sure, I guess..." He said, taking a seat to the right of the gentleman, though being sure to have a space of a whole other chair in between them...

Galen...

He watched with a bit of curiosity on his brow as his kid brother walked right past him in the stands, especially when the boy cast a few hurried glances over his shoulder, though no one was following him that Galen could see. Still though, he looked a little pissed about something, and well... some habits of an older brother died hard. With just a bit of coaxing and a jab at the IP's incompetency, he'd managed to get the kid to stop and sit nearby.

He could tell something had obviously gone down, the annoyance plastered all over his sibling's face said it all, and coupled with the fact that, at least in Galen's own opinion, it seemed the kid hadn't gotten much better at hiding his body language than he had been when he was little... well, he could still read him like a book. And it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out from the constant checking behind him the boy had done that he felt he was being followed. "Well let's see whoever it is try something now that he's here..." He thought to himself, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his seat, making sure to keep his periphery vision open for someone else coming this way. "Even if he won't talk about whatever's wrong, I can still diffuse things with just a few words if needed. Not like I've got much else to do at the moment anyway... maybe it'll even be a little entertaining to send some little shit messing with my brother packing without even having to raise a finger."

[Chevaleresse]

The noise of battle and the discussions afterward slowly brought Kage up out of his daze. He idly patted at his clothes, trying to figure out if he had put on a combination that someone would refer to as "eye-wrenching." Probably, but he didn't particularly care. Most of his thoughts centered on a different issue. His parents had mentioned in one of their letters that they would bring him a Dawn Stone. The intention was obvious, but he didn't know if Lucas even wanted to evolve. He was still a Ralts, after all. . .

[K_H]

When Kenny decided to stop following Mareek, which was when he passed by a Waiting Room, the three of them Decloaked. Kenny still wanted to make sure that Mareek was out of the picture, though, so he had Ryu and Zorro Re-cloak and follow Mareek. Once Java had Locked-On to Ryu, the two of them headed back to Kenny. The three of them then headed to the Waiting Room.

Edited January 25, 2015 by K_H

[Azeria]

"Well,i've seen her wandering around with her Misdreavus.That's gunna be an annoyance-trust me,my cousin owns one-It's fast and uses Special and Long Range attacks to keep you from gaining the upperhand by utilizing physical moves-that is if you can even land a hit on it.Ghost type pokemon are terifying in battle,their wide movesets and ancient age depending on if you caught it or not can be deadly.Do not underestimate them at any cost.Her Slowking is the complete opposite and prefers a varied moveset and it's psychic moves can stop you cold.I don't know about her other pokemon sadly."James said while looking at his camera's pictures."I'd advise you to use your Magnemite in that battle along with your Growlithe or Frogadier,that's as much as i can give you-sorry."He muttered a few seconds later only barely hard enough for Slade to hear him.

Edited January 22, 2015 by AzeryM

[DarkLight]

"Thanks~ All the work is done by those two though." Danielle beamed at Zared and Corona, who are now relaxing with Avis as they watched the screen. Danielle could guess where Jacob is but Ryan was more of a mystery. 'Hopefully somewhere where he... No, it won't happen now. His Pokemon aren't fully evolved yet!" Shaking that thought out of her head, she addressed the boys' present problem. "I doubt you could use it now, but Avis told me about this database that contains all of our information and battle tactics. You just need to type in your name and swipe your ID to access it. I managed to sneak a peek at it last night; apparently it was made by some upperclassmen and it is, surprisingly, accurate to some degree. Our battles were also recorded there, so we could view ourselves too."

[Chim]

Tacos and Jory

“One small incident?” Kristen snorted, “This has been happening since the Pre-Academy. Once there’s an audience or someone I want to make proud I can’t keep my head clear and mess up. So don’t compare this situation with what happened in the Hills. I still don’t know what exactly happened there and I don’t care about it.”

The redhead almost burst into tears when Jacob hugged her. “It’s not like you need me there to win, but if it helps I’ll watch from the stands. I don’t need other students stare at me and wonder what I’m still doing in the waiting rooms after losing to Henry and his Skitty.”

Zephyr

“You mean Mareek?” Lana absentmindedly still petted Lucifer. “No, we have to battle each other and I’m in Professor Silva’s waiting room. I guess he’s either somewhere in the audience or in Professor Arlyn’s room.” Her attention was drawn when Shiro and Nadia entered the field. “What about you? Who’s your opponent again?”

Commander (K_H and Stratos)

“Is the show over?” Evan asked to no one in particular when Kenny and Mareek left. “Pity, I was about to grab some popcorn…”

"Sorry for ruining your nice conversation. I just...felt the whole situation was eerie. Good luck with your battle."

“I don’t even know what that was all about. By the way did you just say that guy is Kenny? Interesting… He’s in my block so I might have to face him. How nice of him to give away what his Lucario and Zorua can do.”

[Felicity]

Claude was watching the fights go n, wondering about how Shiro would deal with the mattchups, when he noticed the wonderboy in the wheelchar. Claude decided to... Interject himself. Claude pranced over to Evan. "Hiya Evan, you ready for your battle?" Claude asked before gasping, making a show of just noticing the other boy in the wheelchair. "Oh, do forgive my manners. I'm Claude the Extraordinaire, who might you be?" He gave a broad grin, looking directly into his deep, blue eyes.

[Commander]

"I've battled the kid a couple of times," Henry responded to Evan. "It's people like him that made me turn away from the trainer path. I wouldn't really worry about him too much. He pretty always goes on the offensive. From what I've seen, he's pretty much willing to do anything to win, even push his Pokemon way beyond their limits. While I'm not a big fan of his tactics, he's a bit of a hothead and fun to annoy. Mareek on the other hand, I feel sorry for his opponent."

While Henry didn't really use the so called site people glorified, he'd often watch matches of other trainers when he wasn't busy. Truthfully, Henry was very relieved by the bracket change. Of all the candidates on the bracket, that boy was the only one he truly feared. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sight of another coordinator.

"And here comes trouble," Henry mumbled.

[Jory]

Jacob grinned lightly and looked at Kristen. He took her hand and squeezed it lightly. "We'll talk more later today, okay? I need to get back to the waiting room." With that said, Jacob walked off back to the waiting room. Upon arriving he took a seat and began mentally preparing himself for the pressure of the Winter Cup.

[Aurorix]

'Hmmm, so she has a Misdreavus as well as a Slowking.' Slade thought to himself, 'also the prevously mentioned flaaffy, this should be interesting' Slade then gained a smug grin as he hoped the battle would be fun. He was just about to thank James when Danielle spoke up.

"I doubt you could use it now, but Avis told me about this database that contains all of our information and battle tactics. You just need to type in your name and swipe your ID to access it. I managed to sneak a peek at it last night; apparently it was made by some upperclassmen and it is, surprisingly, accurate to some degree. Our battles were also recorded there, so we could view ourselves too."

"Really?" Slade said surprised. He knew he'd be put on a website eventually but not this soon. "Man I wish I would've known that sooner. Anyways thanks you too for the info, and James you said you wanted some info on Mareek right? Do you want it now or after your battle?" He asked not sure when he wanted it though it didn't matter to him.

Edited January 23, 2015 by EXLink32

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

The Candle stayed in the Breeder's arms contentedly, humming an eerie, soft melody just like a Persian purring. "I think her name was Kylie. Don't think I've really heard of her before," Raiza shrugged, "so I did some researching. They seem okay, I guess; whatever happens, we're game, pon." She turned to the screen, thinking on how she noticed that her friend seemed to be interested in Mareek. Well, not really in a crush-y way; who was she to say that? "How're you feeling about battling Mareek, pon? You two seem to get along nice and easy. Honestly, I'd be worried if I were against the guy... He and.. What was his name again, Jacob? They're both the top dogs of the game so far, after all."

[Bfroger6]

"I-it's my turn already?" Shiro squealed. He really wasn't so eager to battle... there was too much at stake. But he had to do it somehow.

"Ru." Shun tugged his deep green sweater, telling him in her own way to go get 'em.

He nodded. "Alright. I-if you say so, we can do it... I hope." He took a bold step forward and unto the arena...

The moment he stepped inside, it was like he threw the base rock of a vocal quarry over... He was welcomed by the sight and cheers of the crowd. Such a huge crowd it was... It wasn't like that during the prelims... His knees began shaking heavily. No, he this wasn't gonna work... He's gonna make some stupid mistake and lose the match. The pressure was getting to him as he glanced around... Anna was among the crowd there somewhere, laughing at him... He was- he

"Are you gonna just stand there or what?"

An unfamiliar voice snaps him out of it. He was covered in cold sweat, shaking all over. The voice came from the gilr on the other side of the arena. She stood there with her two Pokemon by her side, a Prinplup and a Klink, both ready to fight. Shun has already gone to her position in the field, but the batle could not start without him summoning his second Pokemon.

"Hey, we don't have the whole day. See, your Pokemon gets it." She said, leaning her head on her hand. She appeared confident enough to win...

"Uh, al-alright." Shiro managed to mutter somehow. He could still feel the pressure, but at least he was back to normal. "I- Go, Sharph!" A small Druddigon appeared from the ball, shaking himself like some sort of a dog before standing next to Shun.

"That's better." Nadia grinned. "But don't think I'll go easy on you just 'cause you're such a nervous little coordinator. That will only make it easier for me to beat you!"

Shun frowned at Nadia's remark. Nobody was gonna beat Shiro on her watch, nobody! "Ru!" She cried out, taking her stance.

"Haha, what a feisty little critter over there. All right then, let's go!"

((This was the most I could write today, sorrz))

Edited January 23, 2015 by Bfroger6

[Azeria]

"I'd prefer it after my battle,it's the first time i'm in a wide scale tournament like this...it's nothing like the mock battles we used to have back in Lavender Town...Anyways,I think i know where Uncle Thomas is so ama go over to him and ask him for Solaris's Pokeball."James said as he walked out of the waiting room into the area with the stands.

-Uncle Thomas-

Thomas looked at the current battle starting.Seeing Shiro having a Druddigon interested him considering he had one aswell,but the Small Dragon was nothing like his 5'3'' Monster of a Dragon."All these battles have decent,not as intense as i'd expect from a tournament as advertised as this one...."Thomas sighed as his wife looked at him."Oh come on Thomas,they're still children.The starting rounds of a tournament like this is nothing compared to Head to Head Battles against the Champion.You should know that by now,seems like hanging around Alder in the Pokemon League so much has made you a bit too used to Hectic fights huh?"Linda said as she tried to have him watch the battle.As she turned her head back 'round she was met with James standing there looking at Thomas."Hey Uncle Thomas,would you mind passing me Solaris's pokeball please.A friend of Mine has a Larvesta and i wanna see how the two'd get along"He asked which was replied by my nodding and throwing the pokeball towards him"

-James-

I walked back to the waiting room this time accompanied by Solaris sitting on my shoulder."T's been a while buddy,hope you havent been too much of a problem on Uncle Thomas and Aunt Linda,right?"James asked rhetorically,already knowing it had been quite a terror."I'm back and this here is my Little Devil Solaris"

[DarkLight]

"Good luck Shiro~" Danielle had cheered from the waiting room as James stepped out. Zared was eager to see how his fellow steel type brethren would hold up against Shiro's two Pokemon, so his full attention was on the screen now. Avis was just being her curious self and took a comfortable seat by the Mawileto view the battle. Corona was also focused on the screen until James walked back inside; she could feel the room getting just a tiny bit warmer than usual... Before Corona had a chance to find its source, she felt herself being picked up by her master's hands.

"Welcome back, James! So that's the little terror you were talking about?" Danielle asked as she picked up her Larvesta from the floor. "I could understand if Solaris is a Volcarona but he is only a Larvesta... Oh, whatever." She held out Corona so that she could see who they were talking about. "Corona, say hi to Solaris~"

Danielle's Larvesta couldn't believe her eyes! It's another Larvesta! And a male one! She couldn't recall seeing one her kind since she was scooped up into a Pokeball inside a strange building. Corona immediately flew out of her master's hands and hovered in front of Solaris, chirping ecstatically and being completely unaware of Solaris' reputation.

[Azeria]

"Believe me,Shade and this little guy wreaked havoc back in Opelucid City..I hope Solaris isnt..too intimidating towards your Little,Shy one....i'd rather not injure it considering you'll be using her in the tournament."James said as he watched the two interact after he put Solaris on the floor.

-Solaris-

Being picked up by his Trainer didnt annoy him one bit,being brought to a room with a bunch of people standing around hoewever did.Whatever-wait..what was that..another Larvesta?And a Female considering her voice.He stared with his blue souless eyes cautiously not knowing too much of his surroundings.He chirped rather threateningly trying to show who was boss-something punched into him by his father."This seems interesting,i hadnt expected to find another of my species here,maybe watch them fight sure but this is worth coming here"

Edited January 23, 2015 by AzeryM

[Bfroger6]

"I'll go first!" Nadia smiled, pointing at Shiro and catching him off guard. "Let's beat them quickly, eh Gear?" Her Klink began spinning, psyched up for a fight. "Use Autotomize! And you, Prince, use Agility!"

"W-wait! Uhm..." Shiro stared blankly at Nadia's first move. She was serious enough... But Shun was here, and Sharph. They wouldn't let him lose, so he won't! "I-I know! Shun, catch them with Shadow Sneak!" And then Sharph would be able to freely Bulldoze them and trap them in the ruble, so their Speed increase would be meaningless, right? Shun performed her move, enwrapping the whole stadium in a spider web of shadows, which succsfuly surrounded and wrapped the foes in place. Shiro was boggled though as they didn't even try to dodge. And Nadia had a strange smirk on her face. What was up with that? "U-uhm..." No, this wasn't the time to lose focus. Now was his chance, now that both of the opponents were immobilized! "Sharph, Bulldoze them!" The dragon charged at the opponents with a humongous roar.

"Ha!" Nadia's laugh interrupted the fight. "Interesting way of using Shadow Sneak, I gotta commend you on that. But..." She smiled. "you underestimate me. These stupid litle tricks of yours won't work on us, right, Gear?"

What was she saying? "S-sharph, contin- !" The Klink began to glow, enveloping itself in a sort of a mettalic shine which dispersed the shadows around him.

"Haha, Mirror Shot!" A bright burst of light emanated from the Pokemon, covering everything in white, while leaving both Shiro and Shun bewildered. "Prince, Featherdance!" Everything happened too quickly. The bright light was gone as soon as it came, revealing Sharph covered by a vortex of blue feathers.

"Huh!?"

"Go, Metal Claw!" The penguin hacked through the feathers with its wing, slashing Sharph directly. The attack was deflected by Sharph's heavy hide, though, but the shock still made the young dragon lose its balance. "Huh?" Nadia made a silly face. "Ha, I suppose you're not all talk." She would cross her hands before speaking up again. "Princ, Gear, come here."

"Y-you're..." Shiro rubbed his eyes. They still hurt from the Mirror Shot...

"Hehe, don't think I'm letting you win. I merely do not like to fight unfairly. Now get yourself up, come on! You can open this round, Coordinator boy."

[Sutoratosu]

"How interesting," Galen observed, lifting his head a little from where his cheek had been resting on his hand, arm still propped up on the seat's rest. "It seems either that she's just toying with him and dragging things along, or the girl really is showing him a bit of mercy...."

"Well, not everyone wants to completely curb stump the opposition," Mareek said, looking at his Dex as Java's search finally finished and the Porygon2 revealed the identity of their little whistle blower from back in the corridors. Kenny Holmes, eh? Alright, now I've got a name to put with the face... and I don't intend to forget what happened back there anytime soon... "Some people actually want to feel like the fight wasn't entirely 1-sided when it comes to competitive battles... though I think it's honestly more about Self-Restraint than it is an actual desire to show mercy."

"But why hold back?" The gardener asked, almost Socratic-ike. "In a battle such as this, why prevent yourself from using the appropriate amount of force to end the match as quickly and efficiently as possible? Why bother babying the competition like some poinsettia fresh from the branch? Seems like more of an insult in my opinion..."

Mareek looked at him for a moment at that comment, detecting from the man's tone he was obviously trying to steer this conversation somewhere. "Don't know," He said, though he had to admit, now he was legitimately pondering the question... especially with the match with Lana coming up later today. He didn't exactly have to keep an ear low to the ground to know that almost everyone and everyone's mother's bets here were against her along with this kid Shiro down on the battlefield now actually standing much of a chance. Not that he'd ever brought up the odds to her or anyone else really, but still, it had been floating in the back of his mind ever since he'd seen the matchups yesterday.... "Though in all honesty, I don't really focus on competitive battling like I used to, and even when I did, I always used the same philosophy your thinking of, being that it's basically the exact same basic concept I was always taught while learning self defense... so I probably couldn't give you a good answer anyway." With that said, he returned his sight to the battle field, his mind beginning to race with thoughts of whether it was better to show restraint; intentionally fight below one's capabilities, or to simply use as little force as needed to end the fight as quick as possible... while true, if the person finds out you were holding back, it could cause them offense... but at the same time, if you decide not to hold any punches on them and instead just swat them down like flies when it's obvious the fight is 1 sided, well.... defeat like that can be humiliating to some... but so could knowing the other side didn't take you serious...

and Galen could tell full well from his brother's eyes that he'd gotten him thinking just now... himself turning back to look at the field.

[DarkLight]

"I wouldn't worry too much. Corona has Morning Sun should anything happen~" Danielle smiled confidently. "Plus, she's not as helpless as she makes herself out to be." She then turned to watch the first round of Shiro's match, tilting her head slightly at what had just occurred.

Unfortunately for Solaris, Corona didn't take the supposed threatening cry very seriously. In her innocence, she thought he was just playing a game. The baby Larvesta echoed his warning, although it sounded more playful than Solaris', before she stared right into his eyes to wait for his next move.

[Azeria]

"I guess you're right on that.Huh,seems like that Shiro kid aint doing too well."James said as he checked the board for a replay of what just happened leaving Solaris out of his sight."I hope we get a good battle soon,no offense to you or Henry,Danielle but the battles so far have been quite..how should i say it..flavourless."He muttered,ironically his thoughts were mirrored by his uncle.

-Solaris-

It had the nerve to mock him?!?Oh he wasnt gunna let this slide.Hmm should he attack her or simply glare at her..she was a bit young it seemed but that didnt excuse her mimicing."FLAME CHARGE HERE WE GO!"He cried as he charged recklessly at Corona surrounded by flames.

[Tacos]

Ryan didn't do anything after Kristen spoke to him. He simply just sat with his left leg up against the wall and his head hung. His thoughts broke through the floodgates of his brain and began to flow recklessly throughout his mind. Once again, my words seem to do nothing at best, and harm at not even the worst. Wish I had fedora like Shade's right now, would at least make this look less awkward. And I left my friend without telling them and I guarantee at least one person's worried, while the others probably think I was being rude. I made Kristen feel worse. I just wanted to bury the hatchet but instead I guess I took it out and swung it again. Am I crying? Is this even real?

The unorganized thoughts evaporated when he felt a tiny tug on his jeans from Victoria. This is the first time she's thought of someone other than herself, hasn't she. He looked down and saw the little dragon rubbing her head with her spare hand and a little tear slipping out of her eye. Oh no, she must have fallen and I didn't even notice. Ryan bent down and swept Victoria into his arms, rubbing her head and shushing her pouts. He kissed Victoria on top of her head in hopes that it would comfort her. I think it's about time we returned. Considering it was where he came to enter the area, he decided to return through the waiting room. He was so oblivious that he almost ran into the Larvestas focused on fighting each other. He quickly backed up and expressed his sorrow. "I'm sorry guys, I guess I didn't see where I was going. Please forgive me." His face was evidently hurt, but not obviously sad.

[DarkLight]

"None taken~ This is only the top 16 though, so we, the top trainers, need to weed out the boring ones first without showing off our real combos. Then that is where things get exciting." Danielle chimed.

Seeing Solaris going on the offensive, Corona decided to dodge out of the way by shooting a String Shot to the ceiling. She then watched as Solaris sped by as she dangled on her silk thread, giggling a little to herself. This was almost as fun as balancing on her balloon. "Missed me~" she chirped to the aggressive male Larvesta.

While the Larvestas are getting acquainted (if it could even be called that), Danielle then heard Ryan entering the waiting room and greeting them once more. "There you are, Ryan! What's--" she paused once she saw his less jovial expression. This was definitely not the time for jokes. "Hey, no worries; you didn't miss much. Are you okay though? You don't look so good..."

((Ninja Tacos decided to strike @.@))