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Dedication; Pulling a Yuki and dedicating a thread to training all Risa's Pokes. ;D
Topic Started: Oct 23 2012, 03:00 PM (514 Views)
Aki
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Risa had always enjoyed mountains and hiking. She loved the seclusion provided by the wilderness, and the fresh air was always a plush. It was a great place for her to calm her nerves and relax. On this particular day, however, that wasn't the purpose of climbing Mt. Stella. She had a purpose, and it wasn't for herself. Her Pokemon wanted to train and grow stronger, and for that reason, she had agreed to climb part of the mountain. It seemed to be the perfect terrain for all of them, giving each and every Pokemon their own place to train. The powerful river that tore its way down the mountain was perfect for Sleet, while the forested area lent itself to Rai, Maizy, and Thyra's training. Katiyana would be able to practice some of her moves. As far as Risa was concerned, everyone would win. They'd each get some much needed attention and training, and the likelihood of anyone stumbling upon them was pretty slim. After all, the weather in Aerei was starting to turn, and it was rather chilly.

The teen sighed to herself, looking up to the sky for a moment, studying the clouds that blocked out the sun. Winter was definitely coming, quicker than she would've preferred. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind, however, and reached to her belt to pluck up five Pokeballs. She released each and every Pokemon, one by one, until they were all peering up at her curiously.

"Hi, guys!" she greeted softly, a smile gracing her features. She looked at each of her Pokemon affectionately before continuing. "I know you guys have been wanting to train recently, so... We're here for the next few hours! E-each of you can work on different things and work on becoming stronger, so you can achieve your goals." Risa knew each Pokemon had a different desire. Some of them wanted to battle, some wanted to perform in contests. For this reason, Risa was competing to collect badges and ribbons. She was doing pretty well so far, too, having earned one of each.

"Okay, Rai, Thyra? I... I'm going to teach you a new move that I think could be useful. Sleet? You're going to battle Thyra after we work, s-so, you can go do your own thing for now... Katiyana, we're going to work on Powder Snow and Hail... Maizy, you're going to battle, s-so, just practice your attacks." With the plans for the day announced, Risa watched her Pokemon separate out to begin their training.

Risa approached Thyra and Rai, smiling and greeting both with fond pets and hugs. "Okay, s-so, I think Grass Knot would be good for b-both of you. It'll let you take down b-bigger Pokemon with ease, you know? So... You can just trip them up and then have the advantage..." She looked to the ground, cheeks flushed, as she realized how bad she was at trying to tutor her own Pokemon. She hoped this would work, however, because she sincerely wanted her Pokemon to know this move for their next gym battle.

Her Pokemon were watching intently, waiting to hear all about the move. They were pretty excited to be learning a new move, and this was evident in the Verdant Eeveelution's amber eyes, which seemed to glow with anticipation. Thyra was a bit better at containing her excitement, watching diligently to continue her training.

"So, Grass Knot... You basically, um... Control the roots in the ground, and use them to snare your foe's foot, tripping them. The bigger they are, the harder they fall..." Risa stopped there, smiling a bit to herself. She looked up at her Pokemon, wondering if they could understand what she meant. She couldn't use attacks, so she had no idea how to explain it, or where they'd get the power to do so. She frowned slightly when she focused on this, shaking her head a bit.

"Rai," she began, focusing explicitly on her Leafeon for a moment. When the Eeveelution peered up at her, she smiled a bit, feeling a bit more relaxed. "You know Magical Leaf? Well... Use that same energy, but to control the roots instead of leaves." She hoped her explanation would work. It seemed pretty vague, and left Risa scratching the back of her neck sheepishly, a habit she must've picked up from Phoenix, she realized. She paused for a moment, her mind wandering to her male companion and causing her to sigh. She sort of missed having a human around to speak to, and for some reason, she found herself missing his company.

Rai looked at Risa for a moment, contemplating what she said. It seemed to make enough sense to her. After all, how difficult could controlling a few blades of grass be? She grinned confidently, only to notice her human falter, which in turn, distracted her. She peered up at Risa curiously, ears folded back with worry. Once assured nothing was wrong, Rai dipped her head in understanding before going back to focusing on the attack.

First, she had to contemplate where she drew the energy for a Magical Leaf in the first place. It just came naturally, as far as she was concerned. Since evolution, she simply felt in tune with nature and the life force within plants. Her leaf blade began to glow a rich golden color as she tried to find the source of the energy. It felt warm, like basking in the sunlight, but calm and reassuring as well. With her eyes closed, she felt connected to everything in the forest. She could feel the life force all around her, and the origin seemed to be the sun's life-giving rays of light.

With that down, she realized that what would be next was manipulating the roots, causing them to reach out and snare whatever her target was. That seemed much more difficult than her first task. She tried and tried, willing the grass to move, but to no avail. The most it did was twitch a bit, but it could've been from a light breeze. There was no way to know for sure.

Risa watched with eyes wide as her Pokemon began to glow. She smiled encouragingly, feeling suddenly quite relaxed and at ease. Her Leafeon seemed to have that effect on her, which was perfect for contests. She still couldn't believe just how her Pokemon's calmness seemed to radiate and eradicate her nerves for those few days... It was all thanks to Rai that they won. That much, Risa was certain of.

"Come on, keep trying, Rai!" Risa encouraged with a smile.

The Leafeon, upon realizing that the grass wasn't moving, frowned. Her eyes opened to gaze up at her trainer, tail and ears drooped in disappointment and embarrassment. She had tried, quite hard, to cause the grass to move, but nothing. However, her trainer's encouragement made it a bit easier for her to keep trying. She looked at the patch of grass again, determined to make it move. She focused as intently as she could manage, willing it to move with all her might. Again, however, nothing. Not even a twitch that time.

With a frustrated growl, Rai tried once more, not noticing that she had lost that connection with the grass in her irritation. When nothing happened, she sighed. Maybe she wouldn't be able to do this...? No. Failure was not an option. She closed her eyes in an attempt to relax and clear her mind.

Focus on the sun, she told herself. If she could, then she could get in touch with the other plants. She needed to be a plant to understand how to control a plant and, luckily for her, she was one. She absorbed nutrients from the sun, just like a plant. She flourished and grew stronger with proper water and sunlight. She had a leaf growing on her head.

Rai felt the sun warming her body through the canopy, and smiled to herself. She let the energy flood her body and exit through her feet, which were rooted to the ground. Through the ground, she could feel the life force of that patch of particularly difficult grass. Focusing on it, she tried to bend it to her will, only to feel a forceful push away that startled her. Rather than breaking her concentration, she reacted instinctively, which ended in the grass ensnaring that difficult patch.

An angry squeal caused her to blink her eyes open, attention going immediately to the trap she had created. Ensnared in the grass was a tiny Petilil, which had been hiding in the patch, buried in the ground to absorb nutrients for the winter. It didn't seem particularly thrilled to be disturbed, and cried out pitifully, struggling to escape.

Rai wasn't sure why, but she felt a bit alarmed. A moment later, she realized why she had that sense of impending danger; she was still connected to the ground, sensing the movement of the grass around her.

As if on cue, a Lilligant, likely the Petilil's mother, charged out of the forest, angrily scolding Rai with a breathy chattering. She tore up the roots of the Grass Knot, and glared at Rai, suddenly spinning around, creating a wave of petals that flew through the air at the Eeveelution.

Both Risa and Rai were startled by the attack, taking a step backwards in sync with each other. However, that wouldn't protect the Verdant Eeveelution from being hit. Luckily, a blur of purple flew across Rai's field of sight, and she realized Thyra had used Quick Guard, blocking the attack.

This provided Risa enough time to gather her wits. She blinked, raising one hand to her mouth, calling out, "Now's your chance to practice that, Rai...! Grass Knot!" She bit at her thumb nail nervously as she watched. Nail biting had always been Risa's bad habit that she could never break.

Rai growled and tried to focus on the ground, hoping to ensnare the Lilligant before she could move-- but by the time she managed to send the grass into motion, the Lilligant had already moved, spinning in a circle and sending another Petal Dance Rai's way.

"Quick, Magical Leaf!" Risa cried out. The last thing she wanted was for the attack to strike, as she was fully aware of how powerful Petal Dance was. Even with the type resistance, it would still pack a punch.

Rai seemed to be one step ahead of Risa, for before the order was even finished, she was already in the process of attacking. The leaves were launched by the time the order was uttered, and they slashed through the petals, colliding and creating mini fireworks of dust and remnants of leaves and petals. Unfortunately, however, the Petal Dance was stronger, and part of it still managed to hit. It was severely inhibited, though, and did hardly any damage to the Eeveelution.

"Grass Knot!" Risa commanded, silently praying to Arceus the attack would hit. She knew her Pokemon was powerful and smart, but was she able to execute the attack quickly enough?

Rai tried to attack quicker this time, focusing intently. This time, rather than trying to snare the Lilligant where she was, Rai tried to predict where the Pokemon would be by the time the attack was completed. Once that was pinpointed, she attacked, but unfortunately, the Lilligant seemed to be moving to her Own Tempo, and the prediction was wrong. The attack was launched a whole two feet or so off target. On the bright side, it was executed a bit faster than the last attack.

Again, another wave of Petal Dance was thrown toward Rai, the Lilligant wearing a smirk on her features as she realized that the opponent was unable to land a hit.

"Swift! Then Grass Knot again! Come on Rai, you've got this!" Risa was biting her lip, unaware that at this point, all of her Pokemon were intently watching the battle with bated breaths, wondering if their teammate could pull it off.

Rai complied, weakening the Petal Dance with a wave of Swift. It landed on target, as was expected, tearing through the petals quite beautifully. More petals flew forward, however, and this attack was stronger than the last, actually drawing a bit of blood as the petals cut the Eeveelution. With that executed, she focused, quickly making the transition into the Grass Knot. This time, the move was only off by a few inches, but that was enough to allow the Lilligant avoid it. The Leafeon growled in frustration, beginning to doubt she'd ever be able to land a hit.

The Lilligant stopped her Petal Dance at that point before beginning to do another dance. This time, she performed the Quiver Dance, strengthening herself for the next barrage of Petal Dance. The Pokemon twirled and spun, glowing faintly with energy as she grew stronger.

"Come on Rai, Grass Knot!" Risa called out, a tinge of desperation in her voice as she called out the command.

Rai responded immediately, focusing and sending the grass flying up. This time, it whipped around the Lilligant's leg, effectively tripping her and sending her crashing to the ground. It had been landed perfectly, and the Pokemon was now ensnared on the ground, growling angrily.

Behind Risa, her entire team erupted into cheers, encouraging Rai and congratulating her achievement. The move had hit perfectly that time!

The Leafeon grinned, tail wagging a bit as she looked to Risa, waiting for praise. In that moment, however, the Lilligant managed to free herself, and she sent another wave of Petal Dance, which landed, striking powerfully and forcing Rai back a few inches. The Eeveelution yelped in pain before growling angrily at the Lilligant.

"Grass Knot and Double Edge, Rai! End it!" Risa called out, realizing after she spoke how odd it felt to be comfortable commanding battles in such a manner. She realized that she was growing accustomed to battling, and for that reason, commands were coming more naturally to her.

Rai grinned before complying, quickly focusing on the ground once more. The link was much easier to make now after all that practice, and she quickly managed to trip the Lilligant up before charging forward, creating a streak of white energy as she charged to Double Edge the opponent. The attack struck, damaging both the target and the executor, causing both to wince. Rai leaped back, hoping to avoid any other attacks. No more came, much to her pleasure.

The Lilligant stumbled over, moaning a bit in pain before it stood up dizzily, glaring at Rai, before picking up the Petilil baby and disappearing into the forest.
Edited by Aki, Oct 24 2012, 12:55 AM.
Xaviero
Kyria

Aki: The Sympathizer. Known for being a busy body, ability to communicate in different languages with others, and for procrastinating. Commonly seen as a Mouse.
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Aki
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Risa found herself staring in sheer shock at the Lilligant as it walked away from the battle. Why had it left? She was even in strength and energy with Rai, as far as she could tell. Was that why she backed off? Or maybe she just wanted to make sure her baby was safe? Regardless of what it was, Risa was relieved she was gone. That allowed them to go back to training.

Or praising Rai for finally using her move properly.

"Rai, you did it!!" the teen practically squealed in delight. Of course, this was extremely toned down to match Risa's timid demeanor. She ran to Rai, quickly swooping the Eeveelution up into her arms and squeezing her tightly. "I'm so proud of you, Rai!" she murmured to her Pokemon, giving her a good scratch on the head. It was right behind her ears, just like she liked it.

Rai grinned up at her trainer, beaming with pride. She licked Risa's cheek once before nuzzling closer to her. She had finally managed to do it! Not that she had ever doubted herself, that was... She was certain she would be able to do it.

"Now, Rai, could you help Thyra learn how to use the move? You'd probably do better at explaining it to her than I could... Plus, by the time you finish helping her, you'll be a master at it!" Risa requested, sheepishly smiling a bit, a blush tinging her pale skin pink.

The Pokemon nodded eagerly before leaping to the ground. She peered up at the Mienshao, flicking her tail in question. If Thyra were ready, than Rai would try to help her.

In the mean time, Risa turned to look at her other Pokemon, who had all three been watching intently to see if Rai would manage to properly use Grass Knot. They were all waiting with anticipation for Risa to give them something else to do. Each one seemed ready for their turn, and Risa turned to Katiyana, holding her hand out to the small Ice Ghost. "Kati, let's practice, sweetie, okay?" She smiled encouragingly to her Pokemon.

The Froslass blinked in surprise, tilting her head. Was she to battle? The thought brought shivers to her. She could hardly attack; how was she to try? However, she trusted Risa and her judgment and moved forward accordingly. The small Pokemon placed her tiny hand within Risa's and managed a tiny smile for the human.

Risa nodded. "I bet you'd do wonderfully in contests, sweetheart!" she murmured, gazing at the small, slightly off-colored Froslass in wonder. She was still in awe at the baby Pokemon, both with the fact that she had evolved, and how beautiful and graceful the human found her. She just needed some training, Risa told herself, and she'd be sure to win contests!

Katiyana tilted her head in response, unsure how to answer. Contests? They still had battling, didn't they? That was her understanding after listening to Risa speak about her last contest. She wasn't sure she'd be able to compete in a battle... After all, she was so small and weak and timid..!

"Well... First, let's start out with Powder Snow... It's the weaker version of Hail, kinda..." Risa trailed off, raising her hand to her mouth and unconsciously biting at her thumb nail. Her eyes focused on nothing as she tried to recall what she had been taught in school prior to becoming a trainer. They were similar attacks, as far as she was concerned. The only difference was creating a gust of wind with ice in it and creating clouds that poured ice. Similar enough, right? She hoped so...

"So, um... Let's see a Powder Snow, Kati, okay?" She watched with soulful brown eyes to see how well her Pokemon would perform.

Katiyana hesitated for a moment, unsure how to start. She closed her eyes and tried to create the attack. Much to her surprise, and Risa's it was quite natural. The technique began to form a tiny, glowing ball between her hands, and after a second of swelling, the small ball erupted, sending a powdery wave of snow through the wind. It flew forward a few yards before melting into tiny drops of water that hit the ground. The Pokemon blinked in surprise, having been unaware of how instinctive the attack was. The young Pokemon had never used a move before, aside from a Protect, which had been thrown up through pure instinct, and it was likely that she wouldn't be able to reproduce the move without the proper training.

She smiled a bit, unsure of herself and the move. It seemed rather weak...

Risa, however, clapped softly, a small smile gracing her thin lips. "That was a good first start," she murmured to her Pokemon, "But, I'm sure you can do better. Try again, sweetie."

Katiyana nodded timidly before focusing to recreate the move. It reminded her a lot of home, the tundra in which she had been born. It was in that same tundra that she was forced to evolve, much sooner than would've been appropriate, which caused her shiny coloring. The attack made her feel familiarly cold, as if there were snow all around her, caressing her, and calming her. It was a comforting feeling, and with that, the Froslass focused once more on recreating the move.

This time, it went much more smoothly. The ball of condensed energy grew faster that time, in turn growing a bit larger. When she unleashed the energy, the snow flew almost twice the distance, effectively covering the general range of the move. The Powder Snow fell to the ground, landing on the leaf-littered ground before melting away, only to be absorbed by the debris.

The Pokemon then peered up at Risa, waiting to see her reaction.

"Much better! I think you've got it down, sweetheart!" She smiled softly as she gazed at her Pokemon. "Think you could do an Icy Wind for me now?" she asked. The goal was to work their way up to Hail by hitting the progressing moves. After Hail, Blizzard would follow, but that was for another day. After she thought Katiyana could perform those moves, she'd draw Sleet into the field to battle a bit. Of course, the Croconaw wouldn't attack back; merely take hits and retaliate defensively. That way, Katiyana could practice her moves with an actual living target, and gain a tiny bit of experience in a battle, even if it was a friendly one.

Katiyana tilted her head, unsure how to approach this move. She faltered, looking to Risa with pleading, icy blue eyes.

Risa caught onto what she wanted and frowned slightly, brow furrowing as she focused on trying to find the right words. "Y-you see, it's kinda stronger than Powder Snow. It has shards of ice instead of powdery snowflakes, y'know?" She shook her head, an almost exasperated sigh escaping her. She wasn't sure how to progress in the explanation.

Luckily, Katiyana seemed to get the idea. She just wasn't sure how to create it. Creating a larger Powder Snow would be easy enough, she believed, but condensing the snow to ice shards? That would be a bit more difficult. Regardless of the challenge, she closed her eyes to focus, trying her best to to create the attack. It sure would help if she could see one, she found herself thinking a tad bitterly.

Between her hands, she began summoning cold energy, focusing on what a hailstorm looked like at home. Hard pellets of ice would slam down from the sky, surrounding her and creating a cloak for her to hide within. It was safe. It was home.

That seemed to be the motivation to allow her to form the attack. The energy began to consolidate into a ball that shimmered an iridescent pale blueish color. The ball grew, becoming about twice the size of the Powder Snow's ball, and released a gust of wind, filled with tiny pieces of hail. The hailstones struck the ground with tiny thuds for the duration of the attack.

It was weak, but it was a proper Icy Wind.

Risa nodded, smiling. "You're doing great, sweetheart! Now, try that once more for me, let's see if you can't get that a bit stronger."

Katiyana nodded, finding herself eager to please the teen. Praise, she was discovering, was a wonderful reward. It was something she had never gotten before. She had never done anything that would really cause anyone to be proud, she mused, and today was the day that would change. Perhaps the young Pokemon that was forced to evolve early was being forced to mature early as well. Or maybe she was just becoming accustomed to the life of a trainer's companion. Regardless of what it was, she began preparing the attack once more, ready to earn Risa's praise again.

The Froslass focused on the attack, this time creating a much stronger version of the move. She was finding that using these moves, which were traditionally learned by her species, was much easier than she thought. It just took a bit of coaxing and motivation for her to try and practice. After a few times of using the move, she seemed to be unlocking the potential of her species.

Even the few attacks that she had managed to execute properly thrilled the small Pokemon. She grinned up at Risa, clapping her hands cutely as she realized that she had done it properly that time. She was growing more confident. Perhaps next time something happened, she'd be the one protecting Risa, not the other way around. She decided that that would be the case with a resolute nod. After all, wasn't it the Pokemon that would do the protecting?

"Great job, sweetheart! You'll be able to compete in a contest in no time, I'm sure. Maybe even in the next one! Now, are you up for one more move for the day?" she inquired. The teen didn't want to overwork the young Pokemon. Despite the fact that she was fully evolved, she was still a child, and Risa had to remember to acknowledge that fact.

Katiyana nodded fervently, eager to try and perform another move for her trainer. She just wanted to please, and this would give her the perfect opportunity.

Risa seemed to hesitate for a moment, however, before explaining the next move. "Well, you know how I said we'd work on Hail? I think that'd be a wonderful move, especially for a contest with your ability. However, perhaps we should try Ominous Wind first. It's a bit easier, I'd imagine. Closer to Icy Wind than a Hailstorm would be."

Katiyana didn't seem to mind the sudden change in plans. She'd have plenty of time to work on practicing Hail later on, she decided. With a nod, she agreed to Risa's proposal.

With a small smile, Risa nodded. "Great! Now, let's get started... Well, Ominous Wind is like Icy Wind. Except, it uses a Ghost's energy rather than an Ice-type's."

The comments regarding types seemed to confuse Katiyana, as she tilted her head, a perplexed expression shining in her blue eyes.

Risa caught onto that, and with a sheepish smile, she hesitated a moment. "You're not just an Ice Pokemon anymore, Katiyana, you're part Ghost now, too. It's a wonderful combination, I think. It's very suiting for a Pokemon that can fade into a blizzard without a trace. Think you can manage that move for me?"

Katiyana didn't let the fact that she had gained another type with evolution bother her too much. After all, it was just an advantage, wasn't it? She nodded at Risa's request before trying to figure out what a Ghost's energy felt like.

Before she could finish dwelling on that, however, Rai began to growl, earning both Risa and Katiyana's attention.

Behind Risa, a man stood with a Houndoom and Gardevoir, watching her from behind a pair of glasses with inscrutable eyes.

Tension so thick it could've been cut with a knife filled the air. Risa stared, dumbfounded at this man's sudden appearance. It was the man from the laboratory, the one who had given back both her and Phoenix's Pokemon. What was he doing here? Her heart began to pound as she stared at him with wide, Deerling-in-headlight eyes. Silence seemed to fill the mountainside for a few painfully long seconds before Xaviero spoke to break it.

"You're alone."

The laconic greeting was enough to cause Risa's heart to race even faster as her body began to fire off every alarm telling her to get out of there as quickly as possible.
Xaviero
Kyria

Aki: The Sympathizer. Known for being a busy body, ability to communicate in different languages with others, and for procrastinating. Commonly seen as a Mouse.
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Risa's Pokemon, by this point, were all on edge, well aware that this man was making their trainer uncomfortable. Only Rai recognized the man as the one who had tormented her human. He had tried to feed the tiny Eevee to a strange looking monster before she evolved, and that incident was the reason the Leafeon was so dedicated to growing stronger.

Katiyana in particular was alarmed by the Italian's presence, cowering behind Risa with wide eyes as she peered over her shoulder, waiting to see what would happen. Was he here to take her away? She could sense the similarity between him and the man that had forced her to evolve. Did they know each other? Did he work for the bad people, too?

Risa found herself paralyzed by her fear, her heart thudding against her chest. She couldn't turn away, and she couldn't speak. Her body was shaking, eyes widened with alarm as she simply stared at the man who was so much bigger than she was.

They were alone in the forest; he'd be able to do anything he desired, and there was nothing she could do about it. The silence that hung in the air was deafening. Risa felt she was suffocating underneath the tension that filled their surroundings.

However, the silence wasn't too long lived. Xaviero broke it after a few moments, as if he could sense her discomfort. What Risa wasn't aware of, however, was that her insecurity and fright was completely obvious for Chiara, the Gardevoir standing next to her trainer.

"Where is your friend?"

Risa blinked, seemingly brought out of her daze by the speech. She shifted uncomfortably, crossing her arms in front of her chest and taking a step back timidly. When she did so, she found herself bumping into a furry arm belonging to her Mienshao, which then patted her comfortingly. Her team had all gathered next to her, watching carefully and preparing to attack, should he try anything. Thyra, Sleet, and Rai in particular were tense and ready to fight.

"H-He's not my babysitter..." Risa managed to mumble shyly, eyes averted to stare at the man's feet. His shoes appeared to be old hiking boots, judging by the faded colors and the scuffs across them.

"He broke a promise then," Xaviero responded offhandedly, whose attention was now on Risa's team. When he looked to Rai, a tiny smile that didn't touch his eyes tugged at his lips. "The tiny thing grew up."

The man seemed entirely at ease as he spoke. His demeanor was relaxed and he didn't appear too threatening, but Risa wasn't about to be fooled. She merely nodded tersely before biting her lip.

"You seem to have grown, too. I don't think we've ever had a proper introduction, have we? How... Rude of me." Xaviero smirked a bit at his speech as he brought back memories of Yuki. It had been so long since he had told that man from Rocket that it was rude to barge into the Italian's lab uninvited and demand information without introducing himself first. Had that been when they first met? He was fairly sure it was, unless his memory was failing. It was in Johto, a few months before that fateful day he left behind his family and team for a new life.

Risa didn't reply; rather, she stared at the man, a timid expression on her face. She didn't want a confrontation, and she surely didn't want the man any closer to her. He was evil. He was Umbran, or at least, she was pretty sure he was.

"I'm Xaviero Adalfiere," he told her, pronouncing the Italian name flawlessly. It rolled off of his tongue with a perfect accent. It seemed he had intentions of offering his hand to shake, for it moved a bit. He must have decided against this, however, because he didn't offer it. " And you are?"

"Go away..."

The words were pleading, as were Risa's eyes when she spoke. Her eyes revealed nothing but pain and suffering. She wanted as much space between herself and the bad man as possible. "You're evil."

The word evil seemed to amuse Xaviero, judging by his quirked eyebrow. He shrugged it off with a smirk. "I take offense to that, young lady," he spoke, a slightly playful tone touching his words. She reminded him of his daughter, and of his mentee, and that seemed to be why he wanted to stay there and continue speaking.

"Y-You're one of th-them... U-Umbra..." she forced herself to say. She was shaking violently with fear at this point, wanting the man, who seemed so powerful to turn and leave.

Of course, Xaviero had different plans. "Umbra? That is quite an accusation you make." He looked to Chiara, and then to Hanabi, placing his hand on the Houndoom's back. Both Pokemon seemed perfectly calm and perfectly under his control, which they were. They were both loyal to the point they'd lay down their own lives for him. If he told them to jump off a cliff, they would, no questions asked.

"P-please just g-go away..." Risa pleaded, closing her eyes. She felt tears stinging them. Clenching her fists, she focused specifically on breathing, trying to calm her nerves. "G-go away, o-or, I-I'll..." The threat trailed off when she realized that she wasn't particularly threatening to begin with. What could she do to a man his size? His Pokemon seemed powerful. She couldn't win in a fight.

"Or you'll fight? I've heard some grunts complaining about a girl that looks like you. It seems you get in Umbra's way quite a bit," he told her without admitting to be one of them. "Perhaps we should have a battle," he suggested offhandedly. "For every Pokemon of mine you defeat, I will tell you something of Umbra. For every Pokemon I defeat, you shall answer a question of my choice."

The request seemed innocent enough, or it would, had Xaviero been her own age. She was alarmed at the fact that he would be asking her questions, but at the same time, it seemed to be the only way she'd be able to get the Italian to leave.

Risa hesitated a moment before nodding her head, waiting for the man to send out his first Pokemon.

Xaviero smirked, nodding in response as he reached for a Pokeball. He released an Archen from it, looking to Risa to see how she'd respond.

The teen hesitated before looking over her shoulder. "Katiyana...? Do you want to try?"

The Froslass blinked in surprise, preparing to shake her head. She faltered, however and agreed to try to battle. The Pokemon slowly moved around her trainer before looking to Sabia timidly.
Xaviero
Kyria

Aki: The Sympathizer. Known for being a busy body, ability to communicate in different languages with others, and for procrastinating. Commonly seen as a Mouse.
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Aki
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Sabia watched with interest as the Ghost-type drifted closer. She tilted her head, peering at Katiyana before squawking eagerly. She wanted to play! However, the cool, collected voice of her trainer calling her name caused her to stop and stay put. She obeyed instantly, watching the Froslass with what could only be described as hungry eyes. With a twitch of her long, feathered tail, she sat on the ground obediently, watching closely.

Risa bit her lip nervously, looking at the extinct Pokemon. She had never seen one in real life, which normally would've excited her, but in this case, she realized she had no clue how Sabia would fight or how she would behave. This was concerning to the youth, for she usually relied on book smarts to get her through battles. She remained silent, focusing solely on how she could possibly manage to pull off a win.

Or, at the very least, keep her Pokemon from being seriously harmed.

Xaviero waited for a moment, wanting to see the teen make the first move. After all, that was the polite thing to do. He wasn't there to pummel the child's Pokemon; on the contrary, he wanted to see their potential. He had run into the youth purely by chance, and wanted to see what she could do. "Well? Make your move," he called out.

Risa's attention was drawn to the man she was so frightened of, and she quickly nodded in response. She was beginning to feel like a bit of a hostage, stuck doing whatever Xaviero requested simply for the sake of remaining unharmed. He was Umbran, that much she was certain of, and for that reason, she remained wary around him. She didn't know what he was capable of, or whether or not he would harm her.

"K-Katiyana, try your Powder Snow...!" Risa called out after a moment's hesitation. Archen was a Rock/Flying-type, so the attack would be super effective, and it would be even more powerful because her darling shiny Froslass was an Ice-type. With that in mind, she called for her attack.

The Pokemon, hand up to her mouth timidly, nodded as she looked ruefully at Sabia. A moment later, the Froslass moved her hands to begin creating that orb of energy that would release a gust of snow and ice to strike at the feathered dinosaur. The attack wasn't particularly powerful when she unleashed it, and Sabia didn't even have to move before the attack dissipated into the air. The Archen escaped unscathed without even trying anything in retaliation.

"You've got a lot of work ahead of you... A Froslass that cannot create a simple Powder Snow?" Xaviero quirked a brow at the youth. That was the most basic attack the Pokemon could learn; something that was innate, yet the Ice Ghost failed at even that! He sighed, glancing over his shoulder to his Gardevoir. "Try that again," he called to Risa, not even bothering to call out an attack for Sabia.

The Archen, meanwhile, yawned, revealing tiny needle sharp fangs. She became distracted, scratching at the ground to dig something up. If her opponent was incompetent, then she had nothing to worry about, right?

Katiyana flinched at the criticism coming from Xaviero. She whined a bit, floating back and further from the man. It wasn't until Risa confirmed what Xaviero said, ordering another Powder Snow, that the Ghost complied. She looked at the dinosaur before attacking once more. This time, she drifted closer as she attacked, her gaze focused intently on the Archen. When she released the attack, it struck its mark, although it was still rather weak.

Sabia squawked indignantly when she was suddenly surrounded with snow, which caked onto her feathers and chilled her down to her bones. The cold-blooded Pokemon shook herself, trying to rid her colorful feathers of the snow. The Pokemon then turned to hiss at Katiyana, frightening the ghost even more.

The Froslass drifted back, closer to Risa, eyeing the Archen nervously. She whined a bit, desperately wanting to do nothing more than simply run away. She'd even be content sitting in her Pokeball, away from people. However, Risa had different plans for her.

"That's better," Xaviero called out.

This confused Risa. Was he... Toying with her? It surely seemed that way. Obviously she wasn't a particularly strong trainer if he could so easily. The fact that he was so much older seemed to elude her. He had years upon years more experience than she did with Pokemon, and he even made it his profession to study them. If there was something to be known about a Pokemon's biology, he likely knew it. If he didn't, he'd know exactly where to look in order to find it.

Risa bit at her lip again nervously, unsure how to continue.

"Wing Attack."

Sabia growled ferally as she was ordered, and hissed as she ran forward, flapping her wings haphazardly in an attempt to gain some altitude. Of course, the Archen couldn't fly, so she remained grounded, only managing a few gliding jumps as her wings began to glow with reinforcing energy. She leapt at Katiyana, aiming to strike the Pokemon in the chest.

"D-dodge!!" Risa cried out, but all Katiyana did in response was flinch and turn away, head hidden in her arms as she hoped the attack would go straight through her.

Unfortunately, that wasn't how Flying-type moves worked against Ghosts, and the attack forced the poor baby Froslass to the ground, where she squealed in pain. The Pokemon cowered on the ground, shaking and terrified, before she peeked up at Risa, eyes begging her trainer to take her out of the battle.

"C-can you keep going, Katiyana...?"

The Pokemon cowered, looking away. She didn't want to continue, but she knew her trainer wanted her to try. She needed to be strong, and she couldn't grow if she fled from battle. She nodded timidly, pushing herself off the ground and into the air, where she peered timidly at her opponent.

Sabia was staring hungrily with wide, blank eyes at Katiyana, as if all she wanted to do was snack on the tiny Ghost. The Pokemon's breathing was deep and feral, and she growled a bit at the Froslass.

Xaviero, meanwhile, watched patiently, arms crossed and brow quirked as he analyzed the situation. He wasn't going to take advantage of the few seconds of hesitation Risa had. Not this early into their battle, anyway. As they got further and further through their battle, he'd get more and more ruthless, forcing her to adapt her battling style to accommodate a harder opponent.

"O-okay, Katiyana, try an Icy Wind...!" Risa called out, biting her lip and hoping her Pokemon would be able to pull it off properly.
Xaviero
Kyria

Aki: The Sympathizer. Known for being a busy body, ability to communicate in different languages with others, and for procrastinating. Commonly seen as a Mouse.
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Aki
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Xaviero watched the small Froslass inscrutably, crossing his arms and shifting his weight. He appeared somewhere in between relaxed and impatient about something as he did so, his nearly black eyes surveying his surroundings, searching for something. Next to him, Chiara seemed on edge, betraying her trainer's true feelings. The Gardevoir drifted closer to her human, placing one hand against his back as she closed his eyes. She seemed to be conveying something to him, judging by the smile that barely touched his lips and the nearly imperceptible nod of his head.

Of course, this exchange went completely unnoticed by Risa, who was absorbed in watching her Pokemon prepare an Icy Wind.

The unnerved Froslass focused on the attack, summoning it a few seconds after the order in the form of a tiny orb, which, within it, held the power of a Blizzard she had not yet entirely tamed. The Icy Wind came out rather sloppily; she flung a gust of ice and snow flying for Sabia, eyes closed.

The attack would've hit dead on, had a gust of wind not forced it to the ground. In the middle of the battle, a Skarmory seemingly appeared out of thin air, landing on the ground on one foot. In the other, he held a rather large, red and silver Vibrava. The wings were pinned against the Dragon's back, but the length of its body was at least four and a half feet; a whole foot longer than most specimen. The Pokemon was limp and appeared to be unconscious.

Risa gasped and stumbled back upon seeing the large Steel bird. Her Froslass did the same, crying out in instinctive fear of the Steel-type, and flinging herself at Risa, burying herself in her human's chest with pitiful, terrified whines.

Xaviero smirked as Gin delivered his target. The mission was much easier than he had thought it would be, he found himself thinking. He was unsure how that other scientist had managed to screw things up so badly, especially when the Pokemon must not have been too strong if Gin could capture it so easily.

Of course, he couldn't dwell on this thought for too long, as there was a teenaged girl who seemed to forget her timidity and screamed at the Pokemon.

"L-Let it go!!" Risa cried out, tears stinging at her eyes. The large bug looked like it was about to be devoured by the Skarmory.

"That's enough, Gin, thank you," Xaviero spoke up, snapping his fingers in a wordless order to the Skarmory. The Pokemon seemed to know exactly what was wanted, for he dropped the Dragon to the ground before pinning it down with well placed talons. He wasn't harming the Pokemon; merely keeping him down on the ground where he'd be unable to escape.

The Pokemon waited for a blueish tinge to take over the body of the Vibrava, showing that Chiara had successfully executed her Psychic to keep him pinned to actually let go of the Pokemon, hopping away from the dragon and next to Sabia, who peered up curiously, happy chirps coming from the Archen.

Risa stood in horror of what was happening. She shook her head in shock, unsure what to do. She held Katiyana close as she stepped closer to her own Pokemon. There was no way she could fight off a giant Skarmory; none of her Pokemon were strong against it. On the contrary, three of her Pokemon, including two of the most powerful on her team, were weak against it. That left only her Croconaw to fight it, and even then, Sleet wouldn't be able to do too much either.

"You are with them." Risa managed to whisper. Of course, Xaviero couldn't hear this. He was merely watching the teen with an uninterested expression.

"I think we must cut our battle short, so please excuse me," he began, "I've got some... Errands to run," He quirked a brow, daring the adolescent to say something in retaliation.

"L-Leave the Vibrava alone...!" Risa managed to squeak out. Of course, this was not particularly threatening.

"I am sorry, but I cannot do that."

"Y-you have to!!" Risa cried. Tears were filling her eyes, and she was terrified of what might happen to that poor, defenseless Pokemon. "S-Sleet..." She glanced to her Croconaw, who wordlessly took a few steps closer, and then ahead of his trainer.

The Croconaw was prepared for battle, staring stoically at the opponent. He didn't particularly care what the human was up to, or what it wanted with the Vibrava. However, he didn't appreciate his trainer forced to tears in such a manner. He growled ferally, baring powerful fangs set into a jaw designed to crush through bone. The Pokemon's tail lashed behind him and he waited for his orders.

However, before Risa could call anything out, she felt a mind numbing pain in her skull and screamed out. She was blinded by the sudden pain, only able to see black with flashes of a deep red across her vision. She stumbled back, confused by the sensation and clutching at her head. Her Pokemon all flinched as well, although they were able to endure the mental attack much better than their human trainer.

Xaviero, however, smiled through the assault. His eyes narrowed in on the Pokemon that had tried so hard to fight for its freedom, and as his vision cleared, he could see the Vibrava, wincing and hovering in the air. He was straining to break free of the Psychic he had already weakened. "So you were a success, after all..." the Italian murmured, reaching into his pocket for a Pokeball designed specifically for capturing Umbran experiments. The ball was stronger than a normal one a trainer would use, simply because experiments tended to be much, much stronger than normal Pokemon. This one proved to be no exception.

Next to him, Chiara was struggling to maintain her grip on the Pokemon. She was finding the emotions of everything so hard to focus through, and for that reason, she struggled to maintain control. She was surrounded by a barrage of emotions, nagging at her and begging for her attention.

However, when an unforeseen Hydro Pump slammed into the Psychic type, courtesy of Sleet, the Psychic was broken, freeing the Vibrava, which flew into the air. The Dragon proceeded open its sharply fanged mouth, unleashing a wave of Dragon Breath at the Italian directly. With that done, the Pokemon promptly began to rapidly flap its off-colored wings, sending the vibrations through those surrounding it. Within seconds, Risa collapsed to the ground, unconscious, and Xaviero didn't take long to follow suit. The Pokemon dropped to the ground as well.

Vibrava were particularly well known for the vibrations they could harness, usually to inflict unconsciousness on their prey before they were dragged away to be eaten. This one, in its rage, resorted to this dirty move to escape the humans and fly deeper into the mountainous forest, where hopefully, he'd be able to remain free.
Xaviero
Kyria

Aki: The Sympathizer. Known for being a busy body, ability to communicate in different languages with others, and for procrastinating. Commonly seen as a Mouse.
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There was a sandstorm. It was vicious, whipping around Karvol Desert savagely, blinding all but those few Pokemon able to naturally navigate through the high winds that kicked up grains of sand, whipping and tearing through those who didn't have the affinity for it. Within the storm, an odd cry could be heard; one of anger that pierced through the storm, rising above the roaring winds.

Through the storm, two Flygons screamed in protest, launching waves of fiery DragonBreath at the humans pursuing them. The larger of the two hissed angrily, tail lashing behind him as he fought to defend his mate and the odd-colored child she clung to so desperately. The smaller flew further away, fighting to avoid the imminent demise that she instinctively knew would follow capture. Her eyes narrowed on the humans, who promptly pulled out strange human tools, which pointed at them.

The tools seemed harmless enough, the mother Flygon decided, and she sent another jet of fiery DragonBreath careening toward them. She quickly recoiled from the attack, however, as a loud BANG!! rang out through the desert. The mother Flygon blinked, shocked and in a daze, until pain pulled her out of her trance. She looked down, seeing blood and something sticking out of her side.

The Pokemon swayed dizzily, confused and disoriented, and her tail lashed angrily. With a roar that came out more like a dull moan, the Pokemon fell to the ground, quickly losing consciousness as the tranquilizer began to take effect, shutting her brain down.

The shiny Trapinch leaped from her arms just before it was crushed by her massive body. The Pokemon cried out, scared and confused, and began pawing at his mother, pleading with her to wake up. He nudged at her with his large head, but there was no response. The Flygon was nothing but dead weight at the moment, and nothing he could do would help.

The father roared in anger, eyes narrowing. The Pokemon flew to tackle the men, to force them to the ground. As he did so, he screamed at his child to flee into the desert. Before he could even touch the humans, however, another loud bang was followed by a tranquilizer dart, then another and another. With three doses of tranquilizer, the Flygon stood no chance against the humans, and he, too, collapsed to the ground.

This left the baby Trapinch alone, and the Pokemon couldn't get his tiny limbs to work. The small desert-dweller tried to force his legs to move, but found himself paralyzed, his worst nightmares coming true. The humans chattered in their strange language, saying something to him before they shot him too with a tranquilizer.

---

When the Pokemon awoke, he was confused and disoriented. There were so many odd scents surrounding him; pain and confusion rung out amongst all the Pokemon present. He could hear shrieks of anguish around him, mixing with the quiet whimpers of those too weak to protest to whatever was about to befall them.

The Trapinch tried to push himself up groggily, succeeding in part, until his foot slipped through the wire bottom of his cage, forcing his heavy head to slam against the bottom with a sickening thud followed by the metal ringing. This caused even more disorientation for the shiny Pokemon, who forced himself up and shook his head slowly, trying to rid it of the ringing.

However, before he could do much more, a human approached his cage, a dark smile on his face and sadistic pleasure shining in his reddish-brown eyes. He pulled a leather glove onto his hand and muttered something unintelligible as he did so, and reached into the cage, pinning down the Trapinch's large head before dragging him out and onto a medical table.

The tranquilizers made his mind fuzzy and he could not get his body to cooperate with him. He couldn't protest what the human wanted to do with him, and he was strapped onto the cart and pushed away into another room. He looked around with dull eyes, seeing other Pokemon, lying defeated and weak within their wire cages, unable to even lift their heads.

That was odd, the Pokemon thought, and he closed his eyes. The tranquilizers kept him from caring much. Or perhaps he simply didn't comprehend the situation he was in. The drug-induced fog engulfed him, keeping his mind muddled.

What seemed like the blink of an eye later, he was moved again, onto another table, where he was once again strapped down. His vulnerable stomach was turned up, his limbs strapped down around him, and jaw clamped shut with a muzzle. He didn't seem to mind much, but his instincts were dulled.

However, when a blinding pain shot through his body, he jerked his body, writhing within the restraints as he tried to free himself. He recoiled as multiple injections were administered, and there was no way for him to fight them.

Each injection had its purpose, although the Trapinch was unaware of this. One injection was a hormone produced during pregnancy that encouraged the growth and development of the brain. Another was DNA coding of a Ralts, a Psychic-type, with the genes that allowed the Feeling Pokemon's psychic abilities to grow and prosper. Another included stem cells that had, as of then, no particular specialization yet.

The goal of these hormone treatments was to create a Pokemon capable of communicating at long distances telepathically, something not seen in the wild. Even among Psychic Pokemon, the one being contacted had to be within a certain proximity, which, although it varied from Pokemon to Pokemon, was generally quite close.

These treatments, however, were quite painful, as the procedure basically caused the creation of neurons, which would override the ones that were already there. This was succeeded by the newly-designated stem cells becoming neurons and overlapping the old ones, creating a sort of sheathing of the original neurons, which would then become myelinated with further development, making them even more efficient and powerful.
Xaviero
Kyria

Aki: The Sympathizer. Known for being a busy body, ability to communicate in different languages with others, and for procrastinating. Commonly seen as a Mouse.
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Aki
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The procedure was slow, and for a long while, there was no indication anything was occurring. The Trapinch simply grew sickly, his size shrinking while his previously striking, steel-grey exoskeleton was beginning to dull to a bland greyish color. He had no life in his eyes, and no fight left in him. He was simply ready to die, even willing himself to do so to end the pain.

Of course, the scientists weren't going to allow the death of their expensive experiment. They force fed him, and when his body rejected food, they hooked him up to IVs, transferring nourishment straight to his blood stream to keep him alive. They were certain he'd be the breakthrough they had been searching for for so long. He had appeared to be young enough for his body to recuperate and endure the strain of practically having its brain recreated.

What they didn't know was that they were right; but could they keep the Trapinch alive long enough to see the results? The Pokemon, like a fetus developing within a womb, would require a steady supply of nourishment and hormones to fuel the development of the Psychic-type brain. Due to the specific hormones injected with the DNA, the stem cells would activate and flow to the brain with their new task; creating one on top of the already existing one.

This was a feat that, as far as the Umbrans were aware, had never been attempted before due to the unethical nature of swiping up a creature and forcing it to endure such pain of having its body's build rewritten. For this reason, they were simply left with failure after failure as their only hints of how to go about their experiment.

The scientists were experimenting on the two Flygon they had obtained as well; locking them in cages while chaining them down and heavily sedating them. The majestic Pokemon had their wings clipped to prevent an aerial escape, and each was experimented on for different things.

The father was the subject of an experiment to try and reverse evolution through sampling the DNA of the Pokemon and altering the genes to be identical to pre-evolution. Likewise, the mother's genes were being studied while she was forced to lay eggs regularly, in an attempt to reproduce a shiny Pokemon to discover the genetics behind it. The hopes were to discover how to force Pokemon to be born shiny, in order to be sold for large sums of money.

As this continued, the Trapinch remained lethargically in his cage, sleeping long hours as his brain was built. He would wake for short periods of time in which he would apathetically watch the movement around him. He was vaguely aware of what was going on around him, as if he were half asleep. People would pass by him, poke and prod at him, and then inject him, although after a few days, he was kept in his cage 24/7. This was to allow the IV to remain in place without need to take it apart and allow constant nutrients to be administered to allow for proper growth of his new neurons.

Soon enough, his muscles began to atrophy. This didn't make much of a difference to him, as he was never allowed to exercise anyway, but was a sign of his immobility nonetheless. He took it as a sign he would soon perish and welcomed this thought.

After close to a month, he lay sleeping in his cage, the IV connected to his left front leg. He was woken by a foreign voice; one he had not heard before. It was faint and fuzzy, making it barely audible, but it was definitely a voice, and one he recognized. With a muddled mind, he opened his eyes, blinking away his bleary vision. His head remained rested on the cage bottom while he tried halfheartedly to identify the familiar voice.

After a few moments, it came loud and clear in the form of a scream, both mental and auditory, full of anguish and loneliness. Even deeper in the cry was relief to be leaving the world.

This noise caused the Pokemon to force himself up, realizing that there was an overwhelming sense of fear and pain flooding his mind. It confused him as he realized that, although it was familiar, it didn't belong to him. When he looked around, he realized what the source of the cry was, and it was one he had hoped he'd never see.

His mother was laying on the floor, emaciated from abuse and surrounded by a pool of blood pouring from an open wound across her throat. It likely had severed the jugular, judging by the speed it took for the Pokemon in front of him to die.

The Trapinch roared angrily, for the first time in his life, projecting his anger telepathically and forcing it into the Umbran scientists responsible for his mother's death. The mental noise caused them to cry out, both in fright and fear, and they turned to stare at the baby dragon in shock, followed by awe. Their experiment had been a success...! The Pokemon was telepathic!

But he was also angry, driven by bloodlust and the desire to avenge his mother's death. With another roar, the Pokemon gathered all the strength he could, and instinctively stomped his foot down, creating an Earthquake. It was strong enough to not only throw the humans off balance, but caused the cage to topple over to the ground, falling a good six feet before crashing onto the ground. As the seismic waves in the earth continued to pulsate through the lab, wreaking havoc, the cage broke, freeing the Trapinch.

Mid escape, the Pokemon tried to walk, but found his legs atrophied and weak, forcing him to the ground. In anger and desperation, fueled by the hatred for the humans and his desire to escape the hellhole they had trapped him in and the smell of his mother's blood, the Pokemon triggered an evolution, morphing into a Vibrava. Instinctively, the Pokemon took to the air, and after a few seconds of learning to control his new wings, he seemed to have flying down, and he zoomed past the humans, being sure to unleash one more wave of his fury upon their minds.

He didn't know where he would go, or how he would escape, but he flew anyway. As his Earthquake came to an end, he realized that some of the infrastructure had been damaged, providing an area just barely large enough for him to slip out of. He continued to fly, ignoring the wailing alarms that were blaring all around him. As each wave of Umbrans appeared to detain the escaped experiment, he shocked them all with blasts of telepathic energy to render them immobile, all the way to an exit that allowed him to be in the outdoors once more, and he flew deeper into the forests of Mt. Stella, hoping he wouldn't be discovered again.
Xaviero
Kyria

Aki: The Sympathizer. Known for being a busy body, ability to communicate in different languages with others, and for procrastinating. Commonly seen as a Mouse.
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Aki
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As he flew deeper into the forest, the confusion and alarm felt coming from the humans within the Umbran lab dulled, eventually becoming a quiet whisper in the back of his mind that was easily lost as he focused on his physical senses, trying to find a safe haven away from that human hellhole. The further away he got from the cruel, unethical humans, the more he relaxed, and the more he began to pick up on how he was feeling. He felt as if he had woken from a long, deep slumber as his mind cleared. After a few miles of flying, he had a startling realization.

For the first time since he had been captured and experimented upon, he was hungry.

The low growl of his stomach and the hunger pangs in his gut caused him to slow down, leaving him hovering amidst some trees. He would have to hunt; something he had never done before in his life. He was still relatively young for a Pokemon; a child forced to mature at an early age. His parents still cared for him-- at least they did when they were alive. They provided him with his food, and he wasn't to begin learning hunting for another month or so.

However, if he waited til that point, he'd find himself starving, and nobody to teach him then, either. It was in his best bet to just try to find food himself to eat. As a Trapinch in the desert, he had eaten meat, with the occasional cactus fruit and juice. Most of the time, his parents would simply bring him back a small desert-dwelling Pokemon, already hunted. He never had to do the dirty work before.

Without his parents to guide him, the Pokemon simply sighed before landing on the branch of an evergreen, trying to hide himself within the needles as he waited for a Pokemon to pass by him. Hiding in the tree not only mostly hid him from sight in the darkness of the nighttime, but it also allowed him to rest and conserve his energy as much as possible; something he would have to learn to do in order to survive in the wild.

He wasn't quite sure how much time had passed since he had landed in the tree, and soon found himself dozing off into a light slumber. The Pokemon was woken not too long later, however, by the sound of scampering beneath him. A feline Pokemon was trying its hardest to silently slip through the night, but was failing quite miserably. It must've been a young child, especially since the Pokemon seemed rather small.

Seeing this as an opportunity to fill his empty stomach, the Vibrava leapt from his perch, swooping down at the Shinx and pinning it down underneath four thin, insectoid legs.

The Pokemon squeaked in fear, suddenly recoiling and shrinking to the ground, desperately trying to escape the grasp of the hungry Pokemon. The tiny Shinx cried out for mercy, pleading to be freed.

It wasn't until just as the Vibrava poised to strike, aiming sharp fangs at the Pokemon's exposed neck that the Pokemon hesitated. Instinct had driven him to aim for the vital point, and should he bite down there, his strong jaw would surely tear through it and allow him to feed. Just as he prepared to land the death blow, something stopped him.

He could feel the fear of his food, as clearly as if it were his own.

This was enough to quell the hunger in his belly, and even disgusted him a little bit. He growled and tried to build up the resolve to take that first fatal bite. However, no matter how much he tried to steel himself up, he couldn't bring himself to attack the small Pokemon. He made a sort of hissing noise in irritation at himself, turning his head away from the Shinx for a moment before asking himself why he couldn't do it.

The Electric-type he had captured continued to quiver beneath him, practically hyperventilating in fear of the monster that tried to eat it. Its eyes were squeezed shut tightly, and the Pokemon tried its best to turn away from the dragon.

<Don't fear me.> The Vibrava spoke softly, slowly removing himself from the Pokemon. He watched the Shinx carefully, noting the sudden confusion he felt emanating from it. He sighed to himself as his stomach once again rumbled, betraying his physical need to eat.

The Shinx blinked in confusion, slowly pushing itself up to peer timidly at the Vibrava. <W-why shouldn't I?> The Pokemon shook its head slightly, taking a few steps backwards and watching warily.

< Because I won't eat you.> the Vibrava responded simply, adjusting his wings on his back into a more comfortable position. Tilting his head slightly, he observed the Shinx curiously for a moment. He had never seen a Pokemon like that before. After growing up in the desert, he was pretty isolated to the species that were fit for survival in the harsh conditions. <If I wanted to eat you, I would've done so already. Maybe you should just go. Go home to your parents and live your comfortable life.> The more the Vibrava spoke, the more violent and bitter his words became.
Xaviero
Kyria

Aki: The Sympathizer. Known for being a busy body, ability to communicate in different languages with others, and for procrastinating. Commonly seen as a Mouse.
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((writing this post on my phone... << please forgive any typos I might miss. :'D))

The Shinx looked at the dragon curiously. It knew it should be frightened that it could potentially become a tasty morsel for a much larger creature, but the Pokemon's words intrigued it. Curiosity killed the cat, however, and there was a lot of initial risk in staying put, even if only for a minute. <I don't have a family,> the Electric-type admitted reluctantly. The sound of the growls gave it away as a female.

This caused the Vibrava to pause for a moment, taken aback by the response. A pang of guilt hit just as a wave of foreign discomfort flooded his mind. It belonged to the little female in front of him, and he found himself a bit sympathetic with the situation. He was being forced to endure loneliness, and he was certain it was painful for the child just as much as it was for him. He didn't know her situation, but the pain was evident. It was a tiny black hole in the back of her mind, quickly consuming all other emotions moments after they came into existence, leaving the Shinx's mind barren and devoid of all but the pain and anxiety associated with the separation of child and parent.

"<They were taken by strange two legged Pokemon... Eaten in a beam of light. The twolegs took them away, leaving me--> Her voice cracked and she stopped speaking, eyes averted and ears and tail drooped. She shook visibly before she took a tentative step toward the Vibrava. Then another and another before she threw herself at him, howling in grief and properly mourning the loss of those close to her.

The Dragon hesitated, unsure what to do or how to response. After a moment of awkward silence on his part, he lifted one leg and awkwardly patted her, trying to calm her down. He winced at the overwhelming sound, both mental and physical, of misery that assailed his senses. "<I understand.>

Those two simple words were all he could think to say, and after he did, he realized just how little help they would be. He wasn't even sure how to handle his grief, let alone someone else's. He closed his eyes and tried to shut down his newfound power of sensing other's thoughts. <Things will be okay... Just avoid the twolegs at all costs. They are evil creatures,> the Vibrava concluded. He then gingerly removed his leg from the baby Pokemon's head as his stomach growled.

((Will edit this later to be a proper post's length. X3 phone posting isn't all that fun... >> ))
Edited by Aki, Nov 20 2012, 11:35 PM.
Xaviero
Kyria

Aki: The Sympathizer. Known for being a busy body, ability to communicate in different languages with others, and for procrastinating. Commonly seen as a Mouse.
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