Pokémon Academy: Ch 3: Winter Cup [IC]

[Jory]

{Jacob & Danielle- A new challenger approaches!}

Jacob sighed. "I don't know. Seviper don't tend to be overly-" he began before a loud rustling could be heard in the underbrush to the pair's left, followed by a loud squeak. Jacob turned to face the bushes, Spitfyre and Arete taking up battle positions on either side of the Trainer. A Buneary hopped quickly out of the bushes and made a beeline for Danielle, hiding behind the Coordinator's legs and cowering in fear. Jacob looked a bit confused before another loud rustle was heard, followed by an agitated hissing noise. A Seviper sprang out of the bushes, its long body uncoiled as it sailed through the air toward Danielle with its fangs bared.

"Arete, intercept it!" Jacob shouted. The Togetic concentrated and fired a rainbow-hued beam from its mouth, slamming the Seviper backward to the ground before it could reach Danielle and the scared Buneary. "Spitfyre, stay put!" he commanded. The Charmeleon nodded, understanding the importance of this trial for Arete. The Seviper recovered and hissed angrily at Jacob and his Pokemon. How dare they prevent the hungry Poison-type from consuming her meal! It opened its mouth wide and fired a stream of purple goo at Arete.

"Quickly, get higher up and use another Extrasensory!" the Trainer ordered. Arete fluttered upward, narrowly avoiding the Venoshock attack. The goo began burning the grass where it had landed, smoke rising from the ground as it corroded the grass into nothingness. Meanwhile, Arete fired another Extrasensory at the Seviper. The snake wised up this time and retreated into the bushes and out of the way of the attack. "Don't let your guard down," Jacob warned. "It's still out there. Sevipers are dangerous because they never give up on a hunt." True to the young Trainer's word, the Seviper leapt out of a nearby tree, its bladed tail glowing purple in a vicious downward swing at the Togetic. The small Fairy-type barely avoided the hit, but as the Seviper spun through the air its mouth opened wide and it flicked its tongue out, using Lick on the Togetic.

Arete recoiled, horrified at the disgusting feeling of the serpent's forked tongue. "Don't let up, Arete!" Jacob said. "Use Encore!" The Togetic's eyes began to glow as she started clapping, making direct eye contact with the Seviper. Suddenly, the Seviper's eyes glowed the same hue as Arete's and it began to slither forward, its tongue darting out of its mouth repeatedly. "Perfect! Another Extrasensory, while it's trapped!" The Togetic complied, firing another rainbow beam at the Poison-type. It was a direct hit, sending Arete's opponent rolling backward. The Seviper shook her head, clearing it of the Encore trance. She began moving forward once more, breathing heavily. She was clearly worn down by the repeated super-effective attacks from a stronger Pokemon and wouldn't last much longer.

Jacob unclipped a Great Ball from his belt, lobbing it toward the Seviper as the serpent lunged forth again. The serpent disappeared in a flash of light and the Great Ball hit the ground, shaking violently as the Seviper struggled to escape from the capsule. Gotcha, Jacob thought confidently. However, the Ball shattered outward and the Seviper materialize directly in front of Arete, hitting her hard with a Poison Tail. The Fairy-type was sent flying backward and skidded along the ground. She winced noticeably as she got up. A critical hit!, Jacob thought, groaning. "Arete, incapacitate it! Use Dazzling Gleam!" The Togetic concentrated hard. Several bright pink orbs of light were fired from Arete's body and hit the Seviper dead-on in the face. The Poison-type began to wobble, temporarily blinded.

The Trainer threw another Great Ball and the Seviper disappeared inside once again. After several rather unnerving shakes, the button in the middle of the Ball flashed red. "Yes!" Jacob shouted triumphantly, running over to pick up the Great Ball. Arete quickly flew over to her Trainer, hugging the back of his head tightly and crying out joyfully. Jacob turned to Danielle and the Buneary. "Did you see that?" he asked, grabbing Arete and holding her in front of him. "You did so awesome!" he said, praising the Togetic. The Fairy-type stood in his hands and glowed white, then returned to normal. Her bruises and scrapes from the vicious attack were gone and she looked refreshed.

The Buneary hopped around happily, glad that it was no longer going to become lunch for a mean old Seviper. She looked up at Danielle and nodded her thanks before bounding off into the underbrush to go do whatever it is Pokemon do when people aren't watching them.

Jacob grinned at the Great Ball in his hand and smiled at Danielle. "So now that that's taken care of and we've helped a cute little Buneary, let's go looking for that Sawsbuck you mentioned."

[Chevaleresse]

"Let it land then give her a nice Bite to remember you by!' The Stomp came down hard on Reina, but it also left the rival Tyrunt within easy range of her powerful jaws. She lunged forward, aiming to get a mouthful of Colere.

[Felicity]

"How about a little lovebite of your own, Colere?" Colere had landed with her back to Reina after tumbling off from the Stomp and so got the lovely sensation of Reinas jaws clamping down on her tail. However, on Claudes command she turned around and lunged for Reinas closest limb ; Reinas leg. Colere was going to enjoy this.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"See, honey, I told you that taking up the Breeder program would be just as fulfilling as the Trainer program," Raiza's mother remarked jovially, with the faintest undertone of what could be deemed as scolding, as she glowed with approval. "And you get to see Lana, yes? I hear that she took up the Breeder program too... Pretty fitting, don't you think? Since she seems very interested in taking over the facility in the future."

Raiza thought of how she hadn't actually seen Lana at school till that field trip to see the dragons and forced a half-grin. "Yeah, it's been great! S'pretty nice having her around, with all these weird new people," she said. It was true. The first time she'd actually held a conversation with somebody since she entered school was when she met Henry in the cafeteria. "Aren't we... going to meet dad outsiiiiide?" she asked her mother, after the sudden short silence. "Yes, well--" Cue a pop and a flash of light materializing into a Litwick. "Lucifer!" cried both mother and daughter.

In response, the Ghost-Fire type took a look at the source of the familiar voice and zipped around her, curiously. "Hi there, sweetheart!" crooned the older blue-haired woman. What a nostalgic scent. "Baby, this is Mom. Don't tell me you've forgotten her?" Raiza's voice came, jokingly-- but he could tell apart the slight tone of concern underneath it. Now that she mentioned it, yes... Yes, this woman was his Trainer's mother. That meant... The Ghost-Fire type whirled around, circling the woman-- Narcissa-- as though looking for something. And before either of the two could say anything, he bolted off, phasing through the doors.

"Luci-- hey!" Raiza shouted. "What's gotten into him?" her mother asked. The Trainer shook her head-- maybe he was looking for his own mother Chandelure? "Uh, sorry, Mareek, but I've got to-- yeah, you know," she said hurriedly, bolting after her mother who'd gone ahead and run after the Litwick.

[Sutoratosu]

"O...Kay then..." Mareek mumbled, honestly a bit glad that the scene was over as the mother and daughter both dashed off. That whole thing was beginning to just push the comfort zone a bit too far... so he wasn't gonna gripe about suddenly being left there alone. Java though, seemed to be completely oblivious to that fact.

"Should we go after them?" Beamed in his ear. "I could assist with the use of Lock-on to make things easier if needed."

"No." the boy answered simple. "We really shouldn't be intruding in what I presume are family matters...plus the vibe I got from Raiza's mother reminded me a bit too much of Mom's crazy side for my liking..."

"Crazy side? why, whatever do you mean? she seemed sane enough last night when you talked..." A crackle and surge sounded from over his shoulder. in a flurry of blurred ones and zeros and military-green coding reminiscent of a storm the Strategist materialized in the air, body forming bit by bit as the data slowly dissapated.

"Getting flashy with the transitions, eh?" Mareek commented, smirking a bit. "But to answer your question... let's just say she's not a woman you want to mess with or even think of messing with. Mars might seem big and scary, but in all honesty it's Joltara that you gotta look out for... she mimics my mom almost perfectly; Calm, Collected and Amiable when there's no issue, but the moment you start something...she'll be the first one to finish it, every time."

Java mused it over for a moment... "Hmmm... how interesting. Now, about the following..."

"You just feel like being nosy right now, don't you?"

"Well in my defense, it's not like we have much else to do... even after this match, there's still another before it's time."

"We could look for Lana, you know... instead of intruding in people's private business... ever hear of courtesy?"

"It's not intrusion if they practically invited you through the front door with conversation. And to answer your question- yes, in fact, I could give you the very definition of courtesy in twenty different languages right at this very moment...and give a complete history on it's origin."

Mareek gave the normal type a pointed look... Java made the final jab. "And we'll likely end up running into your little girl friend if we follow the blue haired girl. See, two birds with one stone. Now Let's get moving, romeo- and don't forget the poison!"

Mareek's cheek's flushed for a moment, caught off guard by the sudden darkness of the analogy before finally sighing in defeat. "Hey! Really?...I-...aughhh...oh, screw it- fine, whatever. Arceus, I swear..." He muttered, heading towards the double doors. "Come on, let's go...You really could've left out that last bit though..." Java gave no response, barely able to suppress the snickering as he followed behind... all the while also taking note how the boy had made no attempt to deny it or object.

[Commander]

While Henry was walking out in the hallway, he noticed a Litwick rushing down the hallway. "Not this again," he griped ready to take action should this Pokemon go berserk again. Rosie, on the other hand, was ecstatic to see the ghost Pokemon again and tried her best to lift a paw up and wave at him.

[DarkLight]

{Danielle and Jacob}

"Just as quick as the first battle you had this morning! Great job you two!" Danielle complimented the duo as the happy Togetic recovered. The coordinator then waved the little Buneary goodbye as the Pokemon hopped back the way she came, clearly at ease that she doesn't have a venomous snake behind her tail. Once the Buneary was out of sight, Danielle gave a sigh of relief herself. If it wasn't for the bunny cowering behind her, she would have bolted when that Seviper decided to jump in front her face. With a shake of her head to clear her thoughts, Danielle nodded at Jacob's suggestion. "Yes, let's get going. Although, like you said, I'm not sure if Seviper would be willing to help us out now, especially since you two just beaten the crap out of it." She gave a nervous chuckle as she glanced at the Great Ball.

Corona had gotten out of her tree and proceeded to sit on top of Danielle's head, chirping softly in an attempt to calm her master down. The little bug was then greeted with a light weight on her head before she was taken into Danielle's arms.

Zared was about to smack the crap out of that vampire-ish viper as it made a beeline for Danielle but, alas, he was cheated out of the battle when Arete stepped in. Then again, Jacob was the one looking for it, not Danielle, so maybe he wasn't "cheated" out of fighting after all. Ugh, how he wished he was on the battlefield again... Perhaps this Sawsbuck they are looking for could give him a decent brawl...

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

Avis nodded as a native, male Murkrow reiterated what she had just told him. The small flock that now surrounded her began cawing to one another in hushed voices, discussing the relevancy of this warning to their survival. After several minutes, the murder suddenly went quiet and flew off without a word of warning. Avis cawed once more to show her respect to the murder before she began making her way back to Danielle. This was a typical response from the birds; the murder is heading back to consult with their head Honchkrow. He, or she, always makes the final decisions; there are no ifs, ands, or buts. Avis could only hope that this Honchkrow has enough brains to take this incoming danger seriously.

[Jory]

{Jacob & Danielle}

Arete flew up and greeted Avis happily with a few "Tic tic! Togetics!" before fluttering back down to Danielle, flying in lazy circles around her Trainer's friend's head. Jacob looked up at the Murkrow, smiling as the familiar black Pokemon returned to her Trainer. Spitfyre snorted derisively toward Zared, agreeing with the Mawile about their lack of participation in the battle. Despite his earlier tournament battle and subsequent victory, the Charmeleon was eager to enter the Arena once again. After all, how else was he going to get stronger aside from battling and training?

"Avis, did you find anything out about the Sawsbuck?" the young man asked the Murkrow directly. Hopefully we'll be able to find that thing soon. It's getting late, he thought, looking down at the PokeGear on his wrist and checking the time. "Danielle, let's head deeper into the forest. I doubt that Sawsbuck would be so far out, especially given the fact that it's supposed to be the Guardian of the forest."

[Chevaleresse]

"Clamp down harder and try to toss Colere away!" Reina was having a difficult time maneuvering with the other Tyrunt attached to her leg, but she tried her best to fulfill the order anyway, yanking at Colere's tail with clenched jaws in an effort to throw the other Tyrunt off of her.

[Felicity]

Colere lost her grip with her jaw on Reinas tail and went sailing through the air. She bounced along the rocky floor but her smoothed, rocky hide protected her from the worst of the damage. before Claude could actually give an order though Colere was off and charging across the field, using the rocks from previous rock tombs to skip across the pock marked field to lunge for Reina again. This time she recycled Reinas own tactic, flinging Reina into a pit that was formed by the Rock tombs and then sealing the deal by caving it in with one, hopefully final Rock tomb.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Momentarily, the Litwick seemed to recognize the boy with the Delcatty-- the Delcatty who waved at him. They weren't who he was looking for, though, and he moved on, rounding the corner. A dark blue-haired woman, around her late thirties or early forties, came running in the direction that Lucifer entered from. This woman in question was followed closely by an even more familiar and similar younger-looking girl-- Raiza-- who was hollering "Lucifer, Lucifer!" over and over.

[DarkLight]

{Danielle and Jacob}

Danielle giggled at the sight as Arete floated gracefully around her. She watched as Corona flew out of her arms to follow the said Togetic, resulting in her head being surrounded by the flying duo.

Zared growled in agreement with the fire type. The Mawile will even settle for watching a battle at this rate this is going; that could at least give them a chance to steal some good combinations to deal with future opponents, which is always something worth learning. Walking around is just boring.

Avis hovered near Danielle, wondering why she was surrounded by the two Pokemon. Well, so much for landing on her perch. Since that is the case, Avis addressed Jacob's question immediately by shaking her head. The thought of alerting Sawsbuck to the whole situation did not cross her mind; she would prefer alerting her own species over a deer. Murkrows could fly, after all. But, if they insist, she guessed she could go and find the said Pokemon. With a few flaps of her wings, the omen of death headed back into the forest once more, cawing for Sawsbuck to appear.

All Danielle could see was a mass of white and red as Arete and Corona danced around her, so she settled for listening in on Jacob and Avis. She could hear that her Murkrow was going off again, evidenced by the disappearing voice, and Jacob asking for them to continue their way in. "Sure thing, I'll follow your lead... Once I get my vision back." Danielle quickly snatched her Larvesta as soon as she hovered in front of her face, which made Corona to squeak loudly in surprise. The coordinator chuckled at her bug's response before she glanced at the happy Togetic.

[Commander]

It took a minute, but Henry managed to figure out what was going on, or something close to it. When he saw Raiza calling out to Lucifer, he figured it had something to do with that other lady because he never saw Lucifer run straight away from Raiza. "You owe me for this, Raiza" Henry mumbled as he moved his cane under the older lady's foot.

Meanwhile, Techie saw the ghost whiz by. Thinking it was the Litwick from before, he decided to tail is when his master was a bit busy. None of Henry's other Pokemon took notice of this except Paradox. Normally, she'd run after him, but Gypsy was keeping a close eye on her.

[Sutoratosu]

Mareek (but Mostly Java)

"Found them..." Java said as the two rounded the corner. It'd been surprisingly easy to catch up if one knew the right paths to take... which of course, he did. The thing that caught his attention most at the seen however, wasn't Raiza or her mother or the living candle stick dashing away like he had stolen something or even the second ghost tailing it. Oh no, what he saw before any of that was the cane positioned right where the blue-haired woman's foot was about to fall..."Oh god...you delinquent..." Without even waiting for Mareek to get there, the Strategist fired off a weak psybeam towards the woman, hoping to perhaps pull her back and save her from the spill before it was too late...

Alexandra (And Erce and Nemo)

"Alexandra?" The call caught all of their attentions as they sat there spectating. There was no direct indication as to where it may have come from, given the cacophony of noise down below... but it had been a woman's voice, that much she could tell. And a very familiar Woman's voice at that...too familiar.

"Joltara, Heel." She ordered as the lightning fennec went berserk at her side, fur bristled and blazing with a thousand gold hues of sky fire as she bared her fangs for all the world to see, snarling wickedly... which Nemo immediately moved away from and his behind Erce. Being eaten... was not on his to-do list today. Joltara seemed oblivious to the command as she glared up the stairs. And before long Alexandra could see why...

"You...you bitch..." was all she needed to say before Mars himself decided to finally look over. Within and instant he was out of the plush backed chair and standing at the entrance to the row, the sound of metal girding against metal crying out like a child in the night as twin blades of steel extended as far as they would naturally go. He fixed the newcomers with his own deadly stare... or rather, fixed the past with one. For that was truly the issue here.

"Yes, me..." The gold haired woman smirked as she descended the last few steps, those slate grey eyes as infuriatingly mocking as ever. An ashen-blonde man sharing her eyes and face trailed her, looking about in his mid-twenties. A younger boy also fitting the genetic bill of Progeny wasn't too far behind... She couldn't peg him as being much older than Mareek- barely a year ahead perhaps. And bringing up the entire caboose of the little entourage, was none other than that damn bitch of a Gothitelle... "It's certainly been a while, hasn't it? Why, my dear Gladus here tells me things have gone rather south for you and Alphy...

one offspring is a murderer, and the other is an emotional wreck just under the surface... how fitting for your children to be so defective like yourself"

Mars' blade burned a deep fuschia as the aforementioned Gothitelle moved closer. His eyes did all the talking- he didn't much care about making spectacles if he felt his ward was under assault... Gladus had best back to fuck up, and tell her damn hag of a mistress to as well. And she did... though not before passing a telepathic comment or two about the Dark Type's still ever present barbarism. Joltara stood on the Arm Rests of the chair, feet spread wide in a combat stance as she sized up the small party... though she wouldn't dare move unless Alexandra gave the greenlight vibe... but the look was far more than fierce enough to be deceiving.

"Lucille Blood..." Alexandra snarled silently, staying in her own seat unlike Mars. Her eyes flared with something... long since dormant. Some ancient storm, burried by decades, only to be unearthed and sent raging anew by some fool's blunder..."The Lord Arceus must think it a cruel joke to have my path cross with that of such a witch like yourself yet again..."

[Commander]

A Delcatty, that seemed to pop out of nowhere, jumped into the air near Java and clapped her paws together to create a little shockwave to push Java back (Fake Out). This is one trick she knew so well, she didn't have to hear Henry's orders to even know when to use it. Afterwards, she dashed back to Henry's side.

[Sutoratosu]

Java

Java glared as the over-sized feline interrupted his concentration, the beam faltering before he could even launch. But the was fine by him... seemed he was going to have quite a few issues down the line with this boy here and his team, if recent events were any indication. Another spytfire situation was honestly nothing to him though, he'd deal with it just as he would the dragon...

"Don't." Came from beside him as his eyes just started to blaze their deep scarlet. Perhaps the girl had been right... maybe the boy was a ninja, as silent as he'd been... "You wouldn't have gotten faked out if you hadn't wanted to intrude... Like I told you so back there."

Java glared at him. gesturing to the cane "So we're just going to allow this to occur?"

"Yes." Mareek said after a moment. "Because we shouldn't even be around to see it right now anyway. Best to just stay out of everything and just watch since we're already prying in enough as it is..." He smirked, ever so slightly. "And if the vibe I get from her is correct, then I'm sure she'll give baldwin hell to pay once the deed is done..."

Java glanced back and forth between the apathy of his own trainer and the scene about to play out. Then with his equivalent of a sigh, he released the lock-on, settling back in at the boy's side. Might as well watch whatever fireworks were about to occur...

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Something funny happened. Raiza's mom moved like she tripped over-- then she steadied herself somehow, like somebody used a tractor beam on her for a split second-- then she stumbled and tripped, thankfully not faceplanting into the ground or low enough that she'd scrape her knees through the simple white-on-midnight-blue knee-length dress. In the meantime, Lucifer had phased through the wall, seemingly unaware of the nefarious Electric-Ghost type tailing him. "OhcrapmomareyouokayToothlessgotailLuciferHenrydudebrowtf--" the girl rapped out all at once, unsure of what to focus on, tossing a Pokeball into the air as she panicked. Without realizing it, she'd chucked Achlyx into the air instead, and the Poison-Bug type flailing as she sailed through the air and tumbled into the hallway. "Mom-- Henry-- Mom--" she looked at Henry, then at his cane, then back at him-- "Henry-- why--" she could only sputter out, bewildered as she stooped over to check on her mother. "It's okay, it's okay, hurry, we've got to go get Lucifer!" Narcissa cried out, righting herself, finally, as though nothing happened. This had done nothing to improve the flustered girl's demeanor and, well, state of mind. "Mom, you're limping," she pointed out. "This is why I tell you to never run in heels, or wear heels for that matter. I'll go get Lucifer and Toothle-- wait. His ball's still here." Tapping the capsules on her belt, she came to a rudely abrupt realization. "OHSHI I THREW ACHYLX INSTEAD. Okay uh Henry could you please help my mom hobble back to the nurses I've got to skedaddle okay bye--" came out of Raiza's mouth all in one breath, with an emphasis on the word mom stating that she had a bit more to say to the Coordinator when she was done dealing with the fiasco that'd come first. Not giving the boy a chance to refuse or protest, she dashed and rounded the corner, pushing off against the wall in order to not break her momentum.

Narcissa/Raiza's Mom

"Silly Raiza, I didn't-- oh okay, there's the pain," Narcissa said, wincing as she leaned against the wall opposite the boy-- Henry, right?-- as she tested her ankle. "Sorry for the trouble! I was helping my daughter catch her Litwick. He's been her little baby ever since he hatched, you see, and doesn't... usually go off just like that," the woman continued like she'd missed that the teenager she was apologizing to was the reason for what'd just transpired and why she was forced to go barefoot as she removed her two-inch high heels.

Lucifer and Achlyx

Achlyx was not happy at all. The Skorupi was more than content sitting in her ball all day till she was forced to play or something with the other Pokemon, which totally wasn't fair at all because Rogue was too speedy for any of them to catch in the first place. Even then, she didn't mean to nab the stupid dragon or whomever it was with her Pin Missiles (served them right anyway for being in the way!). After that, something exploded, and again she was beamed back into the Pokeball, and now she was out again-- this time, because her dumb human threw the wrong Pokemon. To add insult to injury, these two stupid Ghosts were right overhead now, and although they were clearing the path for her to scuttle around and follow them (not that they had to; she just hissed and waved her pincers at anybody who wouldn't budge and they'd move out of the way), sometimes they'd just disappear then reappear again. She had a nagging feeling that the Litwick didn't even have an inkling that he was being tailed. Also, there was something off-putting about that weird orange Ghost, like it instinctively set off bells in her head, like she should keep her distance from it... But if she did, then she'd lose sight of either of the pair. Well, no, she didn't want to do what she was doing right now, but it wasn't like she had a choice anyway.

[Jory]

{Jacob & Danielle}

Jacob chuckled lightly, then whistled softly and tapped his shouler. Arete fluttered back to her Trainer and came to rest on his shoulder, obviously having a good time during their nature-filled outing. The young man continued deeper into the forest, leading Danielle along with him. "So how're things with Slade?" he asked curiously, having not really seen the two together much often recently.

[Commander]

Henry and Joseph

"How the bloody hell am I supposed to help someone else when I can barely stand myself?" yelled Henry emphasizing on the cane he was holding. His Pokemon looked at each other completely dazed by the whole mess that unfolded. Except Rosie, she was cheerful as ever.

"What the heck happened here?" Henry hadn't heard that voice in a while as he turned around to see his dad. "Sorry, son, for not coming to you after your splendid battle. You see, Luna just kind of got and left and I haven't seen her since. You haven't seen her around, have you?"

"Not since my battle, but she'll turn up eventually. Anyways, can you help me help this lady to the nurse? I may have...Oh Lord! Where's Techie?" Henry looked around trying to see the floating Rotom was. It seemed the Pokemon had wandered off, which was certainly. "Sorry Dad, but something important came up. If I don't find this thing soon, who knows the damage he will cause." Henry looked down at Paradox who seemed to be pointing the way that Lucifer went. "We need to find that thing and drag it into its Poke Ball right now."

Joseph wanted to say something, but his son and his Pokemon headed off without saying another word. "Henry, what am I going to do with you?" He then turned to the lady who needed help. "Sorry about this whole mess. My son can be a bit...rash. Anyways, allow me to help you back to the nurse. It's the least I can do."

Techie

While the ghost was tailing the Litwick, he turned around and noticed a little Skoroupi close by. Getting bored with pursuing this fast candle, Techie turned around and made his way over to the Skoroupi. He gave it a quick poke before flying off into a different direction from where Lucifer was going.

[Sutoratosu]

Mareek and Java

"Well damn..." He sighed under his breath. "I guess I was wrong then. Whatever, come on..." He turned his back to the whole scene, walking off and not bothering to see if Java followed. "Enough of this, we've got a match coming up soon. time to start preparing..."

"But what about your-"

"Shut up." Mareek said pointedly, glancing over his shoulder. "Later. For now we have more pressing matters. You coming or not?" He didn't bother waiting for the answer this time either. Java cast a single sideways stare to the rude boy with the cane... then hovered off in his partners steps...

Alexandra and Lucille

"And what a humorous one that my eyes should dare be profaned by the sight of yourself once more..." Lucille responded, an infuriating little smile blooming on her full lips. She had always owned far more regalness in the retort department... five dollar words when a dime would suffice and a superiority complex that made men like Cyrus seem like nothing more than babes fighting over blocks. Yes, that's what Alexandra had come to expect of the Witch of Unova over the years... "Curious how I find you in these stands- Gladus led me to believe there was no functioning left in your boy's head. Like a broken doll, she described him... strings cut and dangling, just waiting for some able to see it to come along and start pulling them again. I'm surprised he'd be able to compete in a tourney like this after whatever caused it... the little red head without a soul IS your's, correct? The one who got soaked in the last round because he was too stupid to move out of the rain? Oh well, perhaps that genius Alphonse had didn't quite pass down through the line... if it's even his child, that is- knowing you..."

It was quick as lightning. Mars didn't even know what was going on until he was flat on his ass a few steps down the walkway, gazing up as Joltara passed a single approving glance at the woman, still snarling up a storm. "Listen to me, you little psychic whore," Alexandra snarled, hand clenched in a tight fist around the other woman's lapel, arm pulsing with a surprisingly bit of muscle as she held her face to face, storm blue meeting the slate grey of their eyes. "You continue to speak about my child or his father, and I'll take out your tongue myself."

"Oh, my... getting feisty aren't we?" It was the eldest son who spoke up. "Well, what can one expect, after all these years?" He shrugged in so smug a manner Alexandra would've slapped the taste right out of his mouth had Mars not placed a hand on her shoulder. "Isn't that right, Kota?"

"But of course..." The youngest boy, Kota, concurred. "Afterall, mother always said that her tongue seemed to be the part you liked best about her..." He smiled at the obvious implication, the pompous look in his eye making her want nothing more than to strangle the little shit...

"Bish!!" Mars shouted to Joltara as he grasped both Alexandra's arms. It was obvious what was going on here, obvious how much they'd both misjudged the situation- The Bloods weren't trying to start an assault... they were goading their trainer into doing it for them. Without a single moment of hesitation the Fennec stopped her growling, walking in between the two women as Mars managed to pull her back a bit, shaking her head as if to say "It's not worth it"

"Bitch..." Alexandra snarled one last time, finally relenting and shrugging off Mars' hold... though he remained prepared to restrain her yet again if needed. Lucille seemed rather disappointed for a moment that the plan had failed... but it was only a second before she was back on the subtle offensive.

"Now now, Alex, no need for that..." She turned to the boy. "Here, why don;t we have ourselves a friendly competition of sorts? Your little puppet versus my perfect little Kota here? How about it, Kota?"

"As you wish, mother..." Another smirk, then he was heading off through the stands, beginning the search for the little red headed boy. Alexandra would've taken the time to lash out... had it not been for the Bisharp and Jolteon being rather obstructive at the moment.

"You two." She snarled, glaring right at Erce and Nemo as they sat watching it all. "Get back to him, NOW. And Erce..." She glared back at Lucille and her remaining son. "If things get bad and you have to cut someone, then that's alright, you cut them. I'll deal with whatever fall out there is. These little bastards are monsters just like their mother- I can tell..."

Nemo looked back and forth while riding on Erce's shoulders, absolutely terrified of the woman Alexandra had so suddenly transformed into... Erce simply gave a grim nod, hopping against hope that she wouldn't have to put that permission into actual play... but if things escalated and she had no other choice..

With a hiss, she adjusted the cloth wrapped around her and shoulder chest like a makeshift bag. Then in a blur, both her and nemo were gone with the wind.

Unbeknownst to all however, a man in black and a Fox of grey and crimson watched the whole scene from afar. And the Gardener started storming right towards them all, eyes locking on the Witch and her eldest son as the Illusion Fox began firing up her power and the air shimmered as if in heat...

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Narcissa

"Oh, thank you, kindly. But... what do you mean?" she asked. It seemed that she really wasn't aware that it was Henry who'd tripped her, after all. "Anyhow, it's quite all right. Incidentally, the way your son took off just now's really a lot like how my daughter often acts. She's rather reckless and flighty." Graciously, Raiza's mother accepted the father's help, and decided to introduce herself. "My name is Narcissa Marson; it's nice to meet you, Mister...?"

Raiza

"Shitshitshitshitshit--"

Lucifer and Achlyx

Sunnofa-- Irritably, Achlyx glared at the orange thingy and hissed at it. But she'd been-- sort of-- told to tail the Ghost that was part Fire, so she'd just deal with this pest later and continued to brisk walk-- the way a Skorupi would if it could, anyway-- after the sentient candle.

[Commander]

Joseph

"Joseph. Joseph Baldwin. As for Henry, he's not usually like that. Something big must've come up if he took off like that. Stubborn and hard-headed is what I'd call him. I wanted him to be part of the trainer program, but the kid was so set on becoming a coordinator I just pretty much gave up. I even said he'd have to earn the money himself if he wanted to do this." The man knew he was starting to ramble again. "Enough about me and my family troubles. What brings a fine lady as yourself to this region? I assume it is the winter cup."

Henry

"Nope, not here either," Henry spoke while looking into one of the TVs. "Note to self: never let Techie play hide-and-seek." He and his Pokemon continued on the search for the missing Rotom.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Narcissa

"Yes, indeed! Raiza's father and I came here to watch her, actually. Unfortunately, we only managed to see what looked like the second battle for her. But my, I can sympathize with you, there! You see, we run a Breeding facility specially for Ghost types, and have, for the longest time--" she put heavy stress on the word "longest"-- "been trying to teach our unica hija about the joys of being a Breeder. But all that girl thinks of is being a Trainer or a Coordinator, insisting that being a Breeder is 'boring'. Ay, we love our daughter to bits, but she's almost as hard headed as a Bastiodon."

Lucifer

Instead of a Rotom popping out of the TV, a very familiar Litwick passed right through the wall next to the electronic device, looking around before turning to move on, about to phase through the opposite wall.

[Commander]

Joseph

"Well, at least you'll be able to catch at least the next one. My son is out already. Actually, I'm a bit relieved Henry lost this early in the tournament. I mean...I wanted him to win but...Let me explain. Back in Orre, Henry actually went into a Colosseum tournament for rookie trainers. He made it to the finals, but...things got a little rough." Joseph decided it might be a good idea to change the subject. "That breeder stuff ain't for me though. I prefer raising and using wild Pokemon. Every team member I ever had was born and raised in the wild. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Henry and Techie

"Oh joy! This is going to take a while, isn't it?" Henry griped. Then he thought of something that might attract the Rotom's attention. "Techie, if you come back here right now, I'll let you screw around with my Pokedex for a few hours." Luckily, the Rotom was close by and heard the words loud and clear. He charged straight up to Henry ready to dive into the device. "Hold your horses! First, I want you to follow that Litwick." Henry pointed to the wall. "If you do this, I'll let you stay out of you ball the rest of the day as well." Techie liked the sound of this and quickly phased through the wall after the Litwick. "Well that's one way to solve a problem."

[DarkLight]

{Danielle and Jacob}

Now that she could properly see what's in front of her, Danielle jogged her way up to Jacob's side and walked with ease. "You know how he gets when it comes to battling and my parents love to play catch-up, so we haven't been together as much lately. But, we did manage to celebrate his birthday together before the intense training started, so that's good. Unless you want all of the details, if you know what I mean~~" Danielle teased, nudging Jacob lightly while struggling not to laugh.