private Johto Storm

[Umbreon 569]

OOC

 

The bus that was acting as a ferry for trainers arriving in Johto from other regions was rumbling along steadily, nearly to its destination of New Bark Town.  Lounging in his seat that was about in the middle of the bus, Cecil was somewhere between asleep and looking curiously at the other trainers in the bus.

 

"Huh, lots of stories in this bus, don't ya think Zorua?"  The pokemon in question was laying draped across Cecil's shoulders, and the dark fox pokemon's facial expression matched his trainers so much that it was nearly comical.  "Zo zo, ra."  Smiling at his pokemon's response, Cecil lifts up his hand to rub the tuft of fur between Zorua's ears.  "Yeah, I know.  I'm sure everyone will go their own way once we reach New Bark and visit with the Professor, huh bud?"  "Zorua!"

 

Digging in his pocket for his pokegear, Cecil checks the time before putting it back away.  They would be at the Professor's lab in a couple minutes - may as well relax and enjoy the ride while they were still stuck on the bus.  Neither the trainer or pokemon looked like they felt all that rushed.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Lhee

[Ampharos 1,009]

Alery Witlock sat in a seat by himself near the back of the bus and was staring out the window intently. Well... He wasn't. completely by himself. Alery felt something touch his leg and smiled before turning his head towards his Pokemon. "It's alright Vulcan. We'll be there soon." "Groww..." "I know... But this isn't just for my family. I wanna start again. It's why I left your father and my other companions with people I could trust. I won't leave you Vee. Not anytime soon." The Pokemon nodded slowly before climbing on his trainer's lap and quickly falling asleep. Alery sighed and started looking out the window again. After all this time, it was hard to believe he was so close to finding his parents. Getting to Azalea Town was his first priority, so he could meet up with Callie, as well as Alery's aunt and uncle. Callie had also mentioned brothers, but also mentioned one wasn't home often. Alery felt like butterflies were trying to break through his stomach, so nervous about meeting even an extended part of his family. "We'll be home soon, Vee."

[Gyro Zeppeli 120]

(Forgot to mention that Apollo's Lucario is nicknamed Jet. This has been a PSA from Artorias the Abysswalker. Remember kids, stay away from primordial serpants that show up in creepy abyssal hellscapes!)

 

*Apollo was sitting on the bus, leaning against the window lightly snoring. He was indeed, asleep. His Lucario, Jet, sat beside him with her arms crossed and eyes closed, but still very much awake. Jet opened an eye and looked out the window past Apollo and then gave him a sharp jab in the ribs with her elbow. Apollo flinched and awoke with a jolt. He looked around franticly for a second then turned to Jet. Jet looked up at him with a slightly harsh look. Apollo smiled slightly embarrased.*

"Guess we're almost there, huh?"

*Jet simply nodded and crossed her arms again. Apollo sighed.*

"Arent you supposed to evolve from being friends?" *Apollo asked. Jet shrugged. Apollo gave a look that signified that he was going to be annoying.* "Or maybe you're...... Tsundere." *Jet opened her eyes shocked and backed away with a blush and a... *

"Gwar!"

*Apollo laughed and put a hand on Jet's head.*

"Im just messing with ya! Relax!"

*Jet looked away, still blushing, and snorted.*

"Hey, Jet, come on, dont be like that. You know Im just kidding."

*Jet huffed and lightly punched Apollo in the gut before crossing her arms again and leaning back, putting her feet up against the seat in front of them. Apollo looked at her before leaning back himself, and looking out the window.*

[Leafeon 2,702]

((Ugh. Don't you hate it when backspace doesn't do what it's supposed to do and makes you lose an entire post?))

 

"Helioptile..." A girl muttered under her breath. She seemed to be annoyed, for which she had good reason to be. The pokemon of said name had perched itself atop her head. It seemed to be looking at all the other pokemon, and trying to figure out if they would be considered threats or not. 

 

The girl eventually picked up the pokemon and placed it on her lap. It seemed annoyed, but soon overcame it's annoyment, as the girl had started petting it's ears. "No need to be so cautious about other pokemon, Helioptile..." The girl said, softly. The girl was wearing a dress that looked like it should have been worn in the Sinnoh region. She also had long red hair, and bright green eyes. "I have no doubt that you could win in a battle against mostly all of them." 

 

@,

 

Helioptile nodded in response to the girl's words. It seemed to understand what she was saying. So much, in fact, it decided to jump into the seat in front of the one it's trainer resided in. It looked at the Zorua, curiously at first, then thoroughly excited to be talking to a pokemon who might end up being her future friend, or even rival. "Helioptile...!" The girl said, annoyed that Helioptile was basically forcing her to converse with someone, but she also kept her voice low as to not draw too much attention. 

 

Helioptile looked confused at her trainer's annoyance for a bit, but soon bounded back onto her shoulder. "Sorry about that..." The girl said, sitting back down and hoping the other trainer didn't say anything back to her.

[Descant 1,897]

Cassie Kade reclined on one of the bus benches she had to herself, a small pokemon holding a blue flower swimming in the air beside her. A pokemon that small did not deserve it's own seat. It could have fit in the girl's closed hand if it had wanted to. She attempted to relax, but the bus was too noisy. "Having trouble sleeping, too, Flo'?" Her Floette squeaked. "Thought so." She reclined across most of her private seat, listening to the bloke behind her talk to his grumpy-sounding Growlithe. He mentioned something about home. "Home?" Cass sat up in her seat, peering over it at the boy behind her. She was barely tall enough to see over it. "Excusez-moi. Did you just say you were from here?"

[Vaporeon 1,168]

Sable sat on the bus to New Bark ignoring the various conversations from the different trainers. She had headphones on and was listening to music to drown out any outside noise. Sable was most likely listening to Roxie, the gym leader of Virbank City who she would always see in concert before her days in Team Plasma. "Errm...Sable. Sable." a quiet voice said from the seat behind. "Sable!" the voice said only slightly louder. The voice came from a girl named Cilla who was Sable's older sister. The Espeon that sat next to the girl simply rolled it's eyes and used it's psychic powers to remove the headphones from Sable's head. "Hey! What'd you do that for?" Sable said irritated. "You were blasting your music again, Sable. It's a long ride to New Bark Town and I'd like to get some sleep." Cilla said equally as annoyed. "Hmph. Umbreon use-" Sable stopped when she realized she was surrounded by many other people. If she attacked Cilla in this crowed bus with everyone watching then it wouldn't end well for anyone. As such Sable simply put her headphones back on and continued listening to her music, this time with the music only slightly quieter. "Thank you..." Cilla said as she closed her eyes.

[Ampharos 1,009]

@,

 

Alery didn't remove his gaze from the moving road, not thinking that someone would willingly make conversation with him. Vee simply gave a guttural growl that put Alery on alert, before realizing that the girl had been asking him the question. Vee smiled slyly and continued to rest. "Oh! Uh... Sorry, was a little out of it I guess." The Growlithe on his lap snorted, making the boy give him a glare. "But to answer your question... Technically, yes. Ish. My... Direct family lives in Kanto, but I couldn't get a way there, so I'm just gonna pass through Kanto first." Alery chose his words carefully before giving the girl a flat, quick smile. He decided not to return his gaze to the window, as that would be rude.

[Umbreon 569]

@, 

 

"Huh?  Wha?"  Cecil had blinked as Helioptile hurdled the seats, chuckling quietly and rubbing at the back of his neck.  When Stella apologized he turns to glance at her, smiling and shrugging slightly.  "Oh, it's no problem.  That's a cute pokemon you have by the way.  Those are from Kalos, right?"  As he spoke Zorua peaked over the edge of the seat, smiling at the Helioptile and waving one of his paws lazily at both the pokemon and its trainer.

 

@@Ampharos,@, @, @,

 

About that time the bus pulled to a stop outside of the Elm Research Lab.  The old man driving the bus turned in his seat to look at his passengers as he opened the door, his large, bushy, white mustache moving as he shouts to the assorted trainers "We're here!  Now get off my bus, and take all your stuff wit' cha.  Anything gets left, I'm sellin' it on the GTS tonight."

 

Blinking at the old man's attitude, Cecil shrugs and stands up.  He calls forwards towards the bus driver "Pleasure meeting you too, sir!"  before glancing at Stella and motioning towards the door.  "Ladies first."

 

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

 

Inside the lab, Professor Elm would be waiting towards the back of the room.  A number of boxes are arrayed on a table nearby, and there are a few chairs arrayed around seemingly at random.  A number of signs are posted to direct visiting trainers back towards where the Professor is waiting, though it would appear he's currently talking on the phone.

[Leafeon 2,702]

@,

 

Stella was still forcing her head down as to avoid eye contact. This was mostly because her facial expression was that of annoyance. She supposed it didn't particularly matter, as she would most likely never see this trainer again, but minding one's manners was essential. Still avoiding eye contact, she nodded. "Yes, she is." The girl spoke in a surprisingly calm voice, despite her body language suggesting otherwise. "I travelled through Kalos before this region."

 

As the bus came to a halt, Helioptile pounced upon Stella's shoulder once again. She grinned at the Zorua. Helioptile seemed to consider Zorua her first ever rival. Surely she would have more, but Zorua was the first. It seemed formidable enough to match Helioptile, after all. 

 

The girl blushed slightly at the other trainer's quip. But said cuteness was only for a moment's time, as she quickly stepped infront of the trainer, smiling at him in thanks. We need to go to the Professor's before we head out. The girl thought to herself. Let's hope he's not going there too...

[Descant 1,897]

@@Ampharos, 

"Oh. I'm here for Johto." She shrugged, and sat back down in her seat, now ignoring the boy. Kanto. Phneh. They were yokels over there, she'd heard. Johto was where it's at. ((She has a pretty snooty French accent. That's Lumiose for you.))

 

@, @

 

"Ladies first?" Cass smiled, and slipped of the bus behind the woman with a Helioptile. Wait, a Helioptile? Maybe she wasn't the only Kalosian here. 

"Oh, bonjour! Etes-vous peut-être de l'endroit où je suis également d?" She asked, smiling kindly at the rather taller girl than her, as Floette floated behind her shoulder.

(Poorly Google Translate French:

Oh, hi! Are you also from the place I'm from?

 

[Ampharos 1,009]

@, @,

 

Alery stood up slowly at the driver's announcement, nudging Vulcan a little to get him up. He didn't particularly like the girl's tone of voice, but he shrugged it off. "Yea well when you're trying to reconnect with you're family after 18 years..." he muttered. Alery picked up his dufflebag and quickly took off, brushing past everyone to get off the bus. He then went directly to the lab, not wanting to waste any time. "Hey uh... Professor Elm here?"

Edited March 16, 2014 by Ampharos

[Vaporeon 1,168]

@,@,  

"Umbre!" Sable's Umbreon says as he nudges her. "Wha? Oh we're here already?" Sable said as she took her headphones off and put her music player in her bag. In her hurry to get out she bumps into Stella and a girl speaking what sounded like Kalosian. "Get outta my way!" she says before rudely walking away.

 

@,@,@,

Cilla, who was walking right behind Sable, sees this and walks up to Stella and Cass. "Oh I'm sorry about my little sister. She likes to cause trouble and doesn't really know any-" Cilla stops when she glaces at the bus and notices Cecil's Zorua. "Oh. My. Arcues." she says as she runs back into the bus, knocking Stella back a bit in her haste. "That's just the cutest Zorua you have there!" she says to Cecil. "You know Lord N-" she stops herself once again as to prevent bringing up the topic of Team Plasma. "Oh erm...Anyway I just love Zorua. I've always wanted to catch one myself but they're just so rare. Tell me, are you from Unova too?"

[Gyro Zeppeli 120]

*Apollo heard the bus driver's words and nudged Jet, who opened her eyes and looked over at him.*

"We're here." *He said. Jet nodded and stood up. Apollo stood as well, grabbed his bag of supplies, and the two got off the bus. They took a few steps off the bus and Apollo stretched as Jet raised the hood of the jacket she wore. Apollo looked over at her.*

"There is no way you are cold." *He said with a smirk. Jet looked up at him and Apollo looked away.*

"Come on, lets go find the professor. Dad did say we should go see him before going off." *Jet nodded in agreement. The two of them headed towards the professor's lab and entered the building.*

[Leafeon 2,702]

@, 

 

Helioptile stared intently at the trainer's pokemon. If it wasn't so small, it could be her second rival. Oh well. Not every pokemon could exactly match Helioptile.

 

Stella blinked in response to the new trainer's question. She was speaking in french, or so the girl thought, which was spoken commonly in the Kalos region. Stella didn't speak it, of course. "Sorry..." She began. "But, I don't speak French. I wasn't in Kalos nearly long enough to pick it up. Though, I thought about lea-"

 

@, @, 

 

Before Stella could finish talking, she was cut off as someone raced by. She was able to step out of the way, just in time as to not get hit. However, while she was trying to rebalance herself, the girl was knocked forward by another entity. Seemingly another trainer. Fortunately, Stella didn't fall over, more stumbled forward. Such an action greatly upsetted Helioptile, however.

 

What the other trainer did next certainly didn't help Helioptile's mood either. This girl was gawking at her new rival! Such an action would not be tolerated. If Zorua wanted to be Helioptile's rival, it would ignore this new character. Helioptile huffed and turned her attention away from Zorua. She looked to be heart broken. "How about we go before anything else happens?" Stella asked in a soft voice to her Helioptile, who nodded. The two quickly headed off the bus and to the lab.

Edited March 16, 2014 by Firebolt

[Umbreon 569]

@,

 

Cecil was about to be the last one off the bus - he had no problem with letting everyone off before him, he was in no real rush.  He hadn't been expecting Cilla to rush back onto the bus in excitement over his partner.  "Heh, slow down a little, would ya?  Yeah, we're both from Unova.  Zorua here's been with me for about as long as I can remember...  My mom's partner is a Zoroark, Zorua is one of her offspring.  Ever since I was little I grew up with my little Zorua pup here, we're practically brothers."

 

Knowing that he was the topic of conversation, and not being used to having anyone obsess over him the way this girl seemed to be doing, Zorua just starts to snicker quietly and raises a paw to wave at Cilla.  From his perch on Cecil's shoulder the little fox pokemon takes his trainer's ear in his teeth and tugs his head towards the door of the bus - the bus driver was still glaring at them over his mustache, and Zorua was ready to get out.

 

"Ow, let go Zo!  What?  Oh, right."  Smiling at the girl who'd rushed back to the bus to see his partner, Cecil gestures towards the lab as he starts walking towards the door.  "Shall we?  Oh yeah, I'm Cecil by the way."

 

 

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

 

@,@, @@Ampharos, @,

 

As the trainers entered the lab, one of Professor Elm's aides pointed them down the hall towards the back of the lab where the Professor was waiting.  As they enter the room he glances up and holds up a finger, still on the phone.

 

"Okay - right, I've got it, you can swing by and see for yourself anytime you're free, alright?  Listen, a new group of trainers just arrived, I've got to go.  Okay, I'll tell them for you.  I'm sure you'll see some of them for yourself eventually, just stay busy.  You'll have your work cut out for you."

 

Hanging up the phone, the Professor turns in his chair to smile at the gathered trainers.  "Welcome, welcome!  I'm sorry about that, I was discussing some of my research with the current League Champion...  Oh, and Gold asked me to tell you all that he's looking forward to seeing you progress through the Johto League."

 

Standing up from his seat, Professor Elm starts walking over towards the table with the boxes resting on it.  "Anyways, I'm sure you're all wondering why we asked you to come all the way out here.  You see, with the number of foreign trainers coming to challenge the Johto League, we've seen a number of cases of trainers getting lost or otherwise getting into trouble that should be easily avoided...  So, we now ask that you come here first so that you can receive these!"

 

Professor Elm picks up one of the boxes from the table, opening it up and turning it so the trainers could look inside.  "There is one of these for each of you.  Inside you'll find a Pokedex pre-programmed for our region, as we've seen a rather large influx of pokemon from other regions these past few years.  You'll also find a town map, pokeballs, potions, and the phone number for this lab should you discover anything on your journeys that you have questions about."

 

Smiling, the Professor sets the box back down and goes back to his desk.  He waves a hand dismissively as he sits back down, immediately going back to his research.  "There should be one for each of you, so no reason to be pushy.  I do hope you all have an enjoyable time on your journey."  He already seemed distracted again as he said this final part, his eyes focused on the screen of his PC.

 

Shrugging, Cecil steps up next to the table to pick up his own little care package.  As he looks through it idly he happens to stand next to Stella - giving Zorua a chance to smile and wave at Helioptile.

[Leafeon 2,702]

@, 

 

Stella had tuned out most of the speech the professor was giving. It was pretty basic stuff she had heard before, so there wasn't much of a point in listening. Once the Professor had stopped talking, she started paying attention again. Helioptile looked upset for some reason, so Stella quickly pet her on the head, making the pokemon seem somewhat less gloomy. 

 

The girl then went up to the table to pick up a package, and put it in her bag. She'd open it when she needed to. Stella didn't seem to notice the person who was beside her, but Helioptile most certainly did. It was her rival! Or, her supposed rival. Zorua didn't seem to take Helioptile seriously enough to be her rival. So when Zorua waved at her, she huffed and turned her head away.

 

This disapproving action only lasted for a few seconds, though. Helioptile soon looked back at Zorua and spread out her ears. They flickered bright yellow for a split second. It seemed Helioptile was trying to challenge Zorua to a battle. 

[Gyro Zeppeli 120]

*After the professor's speech was over, Jet went over and picked up one of the packages, walked back over to Apollo, and put it into the bag he carried.*

"You don't have to do everything for me. I am capable of functioning myself." *Apollo said with a smirk. Jet simply rolled her eyes and lowered her hood. She looked around at all the other trainers and their Pokemon, as if she was examining the competition. She then huffed with a bit of confidence, very sure that she would likely be able to take on any of these opponents with a victorious result.*

[Ampharos 1,009]

@,

 

Alery went up quickly, dumped the contents of one of the boxes into his dufflebag, and exited the laboratory without saying a word to anyone. Vulcan padded along after him, not paying much attention to the others either. The duo went straight onto Route 29, intent on quickly getting through to Azalea. However, that didn't stop Alery from keeping an eye out for Pokemon.

[Umbreon 569]

@, 

 

Cecil was distracted away from looking at what was in the care package when Zorua bit him on the ear again.  "Ouch!  C'mon Zo, get my attention somehow else would ya!?"  Turning his head to see what Zorua was trying to get him to notice, he pauses and smiles when he sees Helioptile looking at his partner and Zorua returning the pokemon's stare.

 

"Heh, umm miss?"  He just now realized he hadn't caught Stella's name.  "I think our pokemon want to battle each other...  I don't mind if you don't, want to go outside?  Name's Cecil by the way, figure if our pokemon want to battle so much may as well give ya my name."  As his trainer spoke for them, Zorua stares at Helioptile before grinning a sly little grin.  Bringing a paw up to his mouth Zorua snickers into it, and the little dark fox's tail starts to wag in excitement.

 

 

---------------ROUTE 29----------------

 

Route 29 offers a fairly straight shot to Cherrygrove City, only broken up by a few tall ledges and clusters of trees.  The only thing that really stands out from the otherwise simple route is a guardhouse to the north.  A couple of large men in hardhats are lounging outside of it, one with a Machoke and the other with a Gurdurr.

 

A few wild Rattata and Pidgey can be seen searching for food at the edges of some of the tall grass.  One of the trees continues to shake at random intervals, suggesting there is something playing in the upper branches.  Ledyba can be seen floating around some wild flowers, and from the tall grass every now and then a Sentret stands on its tail to peek over the top of the grass.

 

In the dark shadows cast by some of the larger trees, a few sticky webs can be seen strewn underneath the branches.  Spinarak can be found sleeping on them if one looks long enough, though a couple of the webs seem to almost be glowing...

Edited April 9, 2014 by Umbreon

[Leafeon 2,702]

@, 

 

Cecil was distracted away from looking at what was in the care package when Zorua bit him on the ear again.  "Ouch!  C'mon Zo, get my attention somehow else would ya!?"  Turning his head to see what Zorua was trying to get him to notice, he pauses and smiles when he sees Helioptile looking at his partner and Zorua returning the pokemon's stare.

 

"Heh, umm miss?"  He just now realized he hadn't caught Stella's name.  "I think our pokemon want to battle each other...  I don't mind if you don't, want to go outside?  Name's Cecil by the way, figure if our pokemon want to battle so much may as well give ya my name."  As his trainer spoke for them, Zorua stares at Helioptile before grinning a sly little grin.  Bringing a paw up to his mouth Zorua snickers into it, and the little dark fox's tail starts to wag in excitement.

Stella turned her head to notice the trainer talking to her. It was the same from before. Oh joy. Stella couldn't hear what he was saying at first, mostly due to annoyance, but soon gathered what he was saying. "Well, I suppose... But, I would like to get going..." Stella said. She had absolutely no intent to battle with this trainer. But then, Helioptile tried to beg with puppy-dog eyes. A cute pokemon like Helioptile making such a face simply couldn't be ignored. "Ah. What the heck. Sure. And I'm Stella." 

 

Once the two had found a suitable spot for a battle outside, Helioptile climbed down to the ground. She looked quite excited. "Ladies first, I would suppose?" Stella asked, sarcastically. "Helioptile, charge up, please." Helioptile's frills once again unfolded, and her head and ears began to glow.

[Ampharos 1,009]

@,

 

Alery saw some basic birds and some normal type Pokemon and gestured for Vulcan to go find something. However basic it was, they needed more than just Vee on the team. The Growlithe looked around, avoiding the webs. Arceus did Vee hate spider Pokemon.  Vulcan nearly stepped on a small Rattata, the runt of the litter it seemed. Um... hello? Vee tried to put on a friendly face, and backed away to give the Pokemon some space. It was small, but it was better than nothing and was a quick find. Hopefully the thing wouldn't run off.

[Gyro Zeppeli 120]

@,@,

 

*Jet noticed two of the other trainer's and their pokemon leaving the lab, with talks of a battle floating around them. She turned to Apollo who was looking at various pieces of machinery  in the lab, grabbed his arm and dragged him out after them.*

"Hey, what are you... oh."

*He said as he noticed the other two trainers about to have a battle.*

"You wanna watch, eh? Alright then."

*Apollo sat down on the ground to watch the other two trainers battle. Jet stayed standing.*

[Umbreon 569]

@, @,

 

Cecil crouched down to let Zorua climb down his arm and he pats the little fox pokemon on the head.  "Alright Zorua - you know what to do, right?"  "Zo rah!"  "Well, then it's all yours buddy."

 

Zorua calmly walks out in front of Helioptile as the other pokemon starts to charge up.  Zorua lifts up one of its paws as though to attack...  Then abruptly brings the paw to its face and pulls down one of his lower eyelids.  Sticking his tongue out at Helioptile as he does, the little fox wags his tail as he uses Taunt.

 

 

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

 

@@Ampharos,

 

The little Rattata looks up at the much larger Growlithe...  Before abruptly hissing and charging forward attempting to tackle the larger pokemon.  It would seem even though (or perhaps because) this particular Rattata was so small, it was extra intent on proving how brave and powerful it was.  

[Leafeon 2,702]

@, @,

 

 

Stella caught sight of another trainer out of the corner of her eye. How troublesome. A spectator would throw her whole game off. The pressure was always a bit much for her.

 

When the girl had focused back on the battle, Helioptile looked annoyed. It seemed Zorua had used a Taunt on her. That was a problem, for sure. "Helioptile!" She called to the pokemon, who looked excited to attack the Zorua. "How about we charge again? Dead on." Helioptile looked confused at first, but soon nodded. She began racing towards Zorua as fast as she could. She seemed to be keeping low to the ground for some reason.

[Ampharos 1,009]

@,

 

Vulcan yipped in surprise as the Rattata launched itself at him. He fell over and then quickly scrambled to get up, calling out to get Alery's attention. While he waited for Alery to come over, Vee shot a few small bursts a fire at the Rattata, hoping the Embers would hit. Alery came over just as Vulcan was using the attack. "This'll do Vee. Just don't hit it too hard."