Fandom Pokemon: The Frontier

[Ganryu]

~Pokemon: The Frontier~
GMs - Ganryu - InsaneAsylum - Orikanyo


*Red = Team 1
* Pink = Team 2
* Yellow = Team 3
​

The path up through the mountains was relentless, ever going higher, and crags on every side. However, as each and every trainer made it through, civilization could be spotted in the distance, the first town of Vera Valle, Cumulus City. The city had a rustic feel to it, wooden structures creating everything just about. Electricity was new to the place, and the roads were chaotic. The only ‘city’ part about it was how wide and sprawling it was, encompassing an entire hill and then some.

Signs would point the new trainers to a welcoming center, where a meeting was about to begin. The welcome center was less a building, and more a large tent with seats laid out for it, with a platform in front. It wouldn’t take very long for the meeting to start.

A large man walked to the platform, and turned to the trainers there with a spark in his eyes. He was nearly 7 feet tall, wearing a labcoat that threatened to rip at every movement, and had a prominent beard that went down to his chest. He spoke with a deep thundering voice.

“Hello there! Welcome to Vera Valle! My name is Joshua! People call me the pokémon Professor!

Vera Valle is an adventure in and of itself. Unexplored wilderness, unprecedented discovery, and untold opportunities. Now, Vera Valle is a bit dangerous, but that is where the challenge comes in! Some of you will become famous, I can tell it!

Now, I know what a lot of you are thinking. Where are the rumored legendary pokemon? Well, let’s try and start small, shall we? Last group that went to Regi mountain-” Professor Joshua pointed out a flap in the tent towards a large but distant mountain, the sole one in the direction, “never came back! The pokemon here can be strong sometimes. But they can also be our allies. Why, just last week another group was saved from a wreck in the Fogma River by a herd of Seel.

Now, I would like to see each and everyone of you become whatever it is you dream to be, so I’d like to shake each and every one of your hands following this. But first, well, team assignments. They are by no means binding, but if you would follow an old man’s advice, stay with them, and it will do you good. Dreams are hard and friends few.

The League also has a few missions they are willing to pay to see done, and, I, being an outstanding member of the League, have a few lined up right now if you needed help on where to begin. Now, these are optional, but I promise payment, a map of the area, your very own Pokedex, and adventure if you go! Even the simplest of errands here can be fulfilling. And by fulfilling I mean extremely dangerous and promoting of the pectoral growth.

Adam, Maya, and, uh… Ryder? That can’t be right… Cora! Cora! You three are a team. Enjoy. If you wouldn’t mind, I have a letter for Mayor West in Nimbos Town. Hooligans called Team Blackleaf have somewhat strong armed the town, so be ready for a fight.

Lime, Kabema, and, uh… I can’t read this writing, sorry, you’re a team! I’ll be needing some samples from the Cumulo Moars’ swamp water. I hear this area is filled with ground, water, and poison types, so be careful.

Rufus, Ashley, and Helena, finally, no screw ups on this pad, you also are a team. They say the fastest way to adapt to battling is to charge right in. There are a few squatters outside my lab trying to break into Victory Road, try to chase them off for their own safety. I’d rather not have casualties on Mt. Regi right outside my lab.”

Having addressed the room, going over various other trainers and their missions, he turned back to those he’d already addressed.

“I’d like you all to give me a firm handshake on the way out, and to tell me your names, and dreams. Now, go find your teams, and get out there!”

His lab coat finally ripped, his shoulders breaking free from the clothy prison as he reached out to shake the trainer’s hands, and let them be off to meet with their teams.

 

[Damafaud]

Helena "Lena" Winter
Welcome Centre
Inside==> Entrance
Mention: Ganryu
Interaction: Ganryu Human__Ramen​

While the professor was energetic, Lena was not. She stared vacantly at the professor and to the trainers around her without much interest from her seat near the back. So this is the first batch of trainer to explore the new region, huh? She couldn't feel too excited about it.

She had dreamed of being the only one upstart trainer in the whole world to be interested in the unknown region, but that was just a silly wish. While the trainers that wanted to start their career at a foreign region was a minority, gather down the minority from all around the world and you would still end up with quite a number. And so, Lena continued to listen to the explanation without further disappointment. Or care, for that matter.

The Beginner Trainers were split into group. For security reason, she guessed. The rumours about Vera Valle being run down by criminals was not a recent one. As her name was mentioned in a team, Lena turned her gaze toward the people that react to the other two names listed in her team. A boy and a girl, huh. With the briefing finished, Lena stood up from her seat and arched her back. Her messy long hair was freely running down her back. A pencil tucked on her right ear. With slow, light step, Lena approached the Professor's hand gently and said with a neutral -- and slightly unmotivated -- tone,

"Helena Winter. Lena for short. I want to take pictures around. And look for new berries. So. Yeah."

With that done, she let go of Professor Joshua's hand and stepped out.

As soon as she did, a noisy chirp entered her hearing. Stark tweeted noisily as it flew around Lena's head. Originally, the Starly had followed her inside. However, after the speech went on and it grew bored, it started to chirp noisily. Instead of putting her into a pokeball, Lena took her out instead. It seemed to have explored around for a bit while waiting for her.

"Stark, quiet down," she put her middle finger in front of her mouth. It was a sign for the Starly to, as the command imply, to quiet down. While Lena didn't mind the noise, people got bothered with it.

With Stark making a perch of Lena's left shoulder, Lena look around. Her teammates should be around by now. Seeing the girl from before, Lena raised her hand and waved while walking toward them.

"Ashley, hi," she greeted when she was in speaking distance to the girl.

"I'm Lena. Helena. And this is Stark," she pointed at her left shoulder with her thumb "We're a team. So. Yeah." She paused.

Now which one is Rufus again, she wondered.

 

[Orikanyo]

Adam Clement Berger


"A... Fight? Oh dear..."

Adam stood still as he had been listening to the man speak, professor Joshua was certainly a boisterous person, in body and mind it seems. He was with two others... Hopefully they knew how to fight better than him and his little Cherri, whom was currently happily nestled in his crossed arms, looking around at the world like she was seeing it all for the first time again.

The man himself was a good head over the rest, a black and speckled cotton hoodie drapped over himself with his backpack filled to the brim on his back. He looked like a proper hiker, who was here for a rave? And ready to fight somebody?

Regardless, the man went forwards and shook the larger man's hand, both giving muscle tensing strength in their grips, Adam's other hand still coddled Cherri like a little round baby that she was, the scent of the sweet little thing wafting throughout the room from the man's protective embrace made many stomaches grumble, and one think just how much that man must smell like bouncsweet.

Once he finished the handshake with the muscular goliath of a man he walked off to a wall and gazed at the people around him "..Maya and Cora... I wonder who they are Cherri... Do you think they will be strong? Perhaps they are like us..." his voice had a good deep treble to it, quiet but noticable, like the beating of a large drum. His little friend cherri however was still happily chittering away, staring at any and all who began moving infront of them.

"...I guess I must find them first..."

 

[Ganryu]

Rufus Flannagan

Rufus sat through the meeting looking rather paranoid. Professor Joshua was a big deal, right? Were there any cameras recording this? Was he on TV? Looking around, Rufus didn't see any, didn't mean they weren't there. Sighing, he smelt something burning as something nudged his leg. Looking over he saw Slugma pressing its head against Rufus's already burnt clothes. He was so glad he sprung for fire retardant cloth.

"Not now, Mr. Sizzles. Here, have a berry and be good. Meeting won't be too much longer."

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out an oven mitten and a few berries to sate his friend. He started petting it as the Professor got to the part about a group of trainers being saved near the Fogma River by a team of Seels. That was cool, there was a reason his parents always told him to be kind to pokemon, they'll be kind right back. Unless they were hungry. Or territorial. Or Beedrill. Especially not Beedrill.

The team section arrived, and Rufus nodded. Pokemon battles already?

"Here that Mr. Sizzles? Going to need you coming up. Hope you're good for a fight!"

His Slugma happily cried out as an afirmative, and playfully bit his exposed wrist. Rufus cried out, falling out his chair. Not bothering to get up he got a burn heal out of his bag.... again. They were SUPPOSED to be for Pokemon... but they worked pretty well he'd found out. He'd probably need more soon, it was a good thing they were getting paid.

He didn't know about Professor Joshua's promise of them being famous eventually, he hoped not. That was the LAST thing he wanted. Still, as it was his turn, he approached the Professor and gave him a strong handshake... he thought. He then realized his hand felt like a cold fish and was being crushed by the hearty professor's shake.

"Ow. I mean, uh, I'm Rufus Flannagan. I want to be a Berry Master. Just, uh, not a famous one."

Walking away from a confused professor, he went to find his team, already meeting. Well, he assumed it was the right Ashley and (He)Lena.

"Uh, hi. I'm Rufus. Definitely not from Kanto. You guys the ones the professor said are my team? Uh, I, uh, look forward to working with you? See you have a... bird? What's it called again?"

It was on the tip of his tongue. Pidgey, right? His awkward introduction was cut short as he suddenly jumped.

"Crap! Mr. Sizzles don't eat that! The tent's not fire retarded! "

Rufus ran after his Slugma nibbling at the corner of the tent, pulling out a fire extinguisher, and as much spraying his pokemon as the tent itself. The Slugma hissed, then cried, then ran under a table. Scratching the back of his head, Rufus turned back to his compatriots.

"Uh, yeah, sorry, Mr. Sizzles is a real handful... He's sweet and I love him to death, but, yeah... poor guy just doesn't seem to grasp the concept of flammable. Wait... hey, didn't I see you on the way here?"

Rufus suddenly remembered the girl with the Gastly. He'd seen her travelling here. Not that he remembered much, just a quick sighting of someone creepy. He hoped she didn't see him trying to stop Slugma from swimming in a puddle, then him being immolated from his friend by accident.

 

[Human__Ramen]

Ashley Denson
​

Ashley had a stone-cold glare throughout Professor Joshua's entire speech. When he mentioned the teams, she shot a glance to her left, spotting another girl that reacted to the names announced. She didn't bother looking for the other person.

She got up and approached the professor, extending her hand to him more out of social obligation than anything. She was thrown a bit off balance by his hearty handshake, which admittedly forced a chuckle out of her. It went as soon as it came.

"Ashley Denson. I want to discover new Ghost pokemon, and maybe even become a member of this region's Elite Four." Joshua nodded his head at this, giving her a small encouragement speech. She pretended to be listening.

As she turned around to go join the mass of people that had risen up, she suddenly remembered something. Facing the professor again, she spoke.

"Hey, is it true that the people that went up to Mt. Regi never came back?" The professor raised an eyebrow at her inquiry. "By any chance, there wouldn't happen to be any Yamask around there, would there?"

The professor's face went from bewilderment to concern.

"Figured as much." Ashley said, somewhat disappointed as she joined the small crowd that had formed outside. She stood a few feet apart from the others, hands in her hoodie's pockets.

The girl Ashley had spotted earlier when the teams were announced approached her, introducing herself. Ashley kept quiet, analyzing the girl before her. Her interest was peaked a bith when she saw the Starly on her shoulder, tilting it's head at her.

"Sinnoh, huh?" Ashley asked, crunching her nose and turning away, searching for whoever Rufus was. "Which city?" She continued as Lena watched the side of her head. Before Ash received an answer the final member showed up, stumbling over his words as he introduced himself. This was probably the first time he was talking to a girl, let alone two.

Ash gave him the same silent treatment she'd given others up to that point. As Rufus tried to keep his pokemon from burning the tent with professor Joshua in tow, she simply observed, a natural glare forming on her face. When he came back, she kept glaring at him.

If looks could kill, he'd be long gone. Or in a pokeball.

She finally spoke when Rufus asked if they had met before. While she didn't remember his face, she did remember that Slugma of his. Her frown finally dissipated. "Yeah, weren't you the one that almost caused a forest fire near the river?"

Ashley turned to Lena. "We're going on a trip through the forest with an arsonist. This is gonna go great."

Ganryu Damafaud

 

[KageYuuki]

Maya Kauffman
Maya shifted in her seat while waiting for the professor to arrive. Grey eyes occasionally flickered around the tent as more and more trainers poured in. Why am I so nervous? She idly ran her hand down the back of the Vulpix curled up in her lap, drawing a content coo from the small fox. Being around so many people normally had him anxious - probably a result of her being anxious. It had been over a year since took that egg and ran into the night, leaving Kanto behind. The chances of actually being recognized here were slim. More so now that Byakko had returned home.

Did her family ever even look for her?

Why the hell was she thinking about this now? This was supposed to be a fresh start, a new life.

Finally, the pokemon professor appeared to address the gathered trainers. Every other professor she'd seen appeared tiny in comparison. It was almost... intimidating. Probably softened by that bright spark in his eye. Maya found herself hoping the man was right, that many of them would find fame and recognition in this new region. A chance to finally make a name for myself.

“I’d like you all to give me a firm handshake on the way out, and to tell me your names, and dreams. Now, go find your teams, and get out there!”

Maya quietly groaned - not so much about being on teams, that likely was for the best - but for having to shake the professor's hand. The guy looked like he could give a Machamp a run for its money, to say nothing of what could happen to her hand! Even the lab coat had no hope of containing him! But... what choice did she have? She might have become fairly proficient in recognizing the more common pokemon during her travels, but a pokedex was invaluable. So, she finally stood and started to approach him, Kurama happily trotting behind her.

Wait, did she smell smoke?

Maya pulled back the hood of her jacket to get a better look around the room, revealing her wild mess of red hair. A quick glance at Kurama confirmed that the Vulpix wasn't the culprit this time. Seemed it was someone's Slugma, judging by the state of the trainer's clothes this wasn't its first count of accidental arsony. Shaking her head, the red haired trainer walked up to Joshua. "I'm... Maya Kauffman, I just... want to make a name for myself."

With that out of the way, now she just had to find the two she'd been paired up with. What were their names again? Adam and... Cora? Name tags probably would have been a wonderful idea now that she thought about it. Look like I'm going to have to guess... crap. Suppressing an annoyed sigh, she approached the first trainer that was close by. "You... wouldn't happen to be Adam, would you?"

Strike one.

"Excuse me, are you Adam?"

Strike two.

How could she become a region champion if she couldn't even find the trainers she'd been paired with? Her step had become much more hesitant as she approached a third trainer, a large man holding a pokemon she'd never seen before. A grass type from her guess. "Um... is there any chance that you're Adam?"

Maybe third time's the charm.

 

[Damafaud]

Helena "Lena" Winter
Welcome Centre
Entrance
Interaction: Human__Ramen , Ganryu
Mention: Ganryu​

"Oh. cool, I guess, " she answered Ashley disinterestedly. Her attention was more focused on Rufus at the moment.

An arsonist sounded like a colourful past. Much more colourful than hers, anyway. Seeing the slugma, Stark hopped on Lena's shoulder, chirping on and off alternately. You are curious, huh. Right after that thought crossed her mind, Stark jumped off her shoulder and flew to the ground near the table, hopping toward the slugma carefully. Trusting that Stark knew better than to get too close, Lena turned to Rufus and Ashley to answer their questions.

"Canalave. I met Stark in Verity Lake, though. Stark's a Starly, by the way. So. Yeah."

She fell silence again. If Lena cared more of Rufus, she would advice him not to pamper Mr. Sizzles too much. Even from his name, she got the feeling that the slugma was too pampered. It was the same with Stark. Stark used to chirped all day and night long when he's inside. It took her two months, numerous taps from her pencil, and one loaf worth of bread crumbs to teach Stark the 'quiet down' sign. Rufus should device a training routine to control Mr. Sizzles, she thought.

...well, not that she care enough to put her thought into words. It was too much of a trouble. Instead, she decided to introduce herself to Rufus.

"So. I'm Lena. Helena. This is Ashley. And you're Rufus. So," she briefly introduced herself to the others and introduce the two of them to each other, just in case.

"we can go to Professor's lab now?"

That was the only thing left right? Oh wait.

"Oh. Right. So, Ashley. What's your pokemon?"

Under the table, Stark was chirping noisily as it hopped around Mr. Sizzles.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Lime​

Surrounded by trainers with pokemon from all over the world, Lime was feeling pretty insignificant. But nonetheless, she felt amazing at the same time. These trainers had to be so brave and confident to come all the way to explore a new land, and make their claims to fame! Lime was beginning to lose confident she could really make an impact here with all of these older and likely more experienced trainers around her. Heck, some of them were even confident enough in their pokemon to just let them roam free out of their pokeballs. Lime would love to let Cubie roam free, but she never seemed to care much whether she was in or out of her pokeball. Maybe one day she’d be able to be as good of friends with Cubie as other trainers were with their pokemon.

The professer was huge! He was at least five Lime’s, if not more! When he spoke, Lime felt conpelled to listen, watching as his poor labcoat strained to hold back his bulging muscles. It didn’t take long for him to break out of his coat, but not before he put her in a team with some named Kabema.

“A team?” Like asked herself, her eyebrow raising ever so slightly. She had mentally prepared herself for a lonely journey between just her and Cubie. However, having another more experienced trainer along might make her adjustment into becoming a pokemon trainer a lot easier. She’d never participated in a pokemon battle before, and wasn’t sure how Cubie would react to being told to attack other pokemon.

Lime shook her head, clearing her head. She eas thinking too much again. Lemon wouldn’t wait around to let her think, she had to move forward now! When her chance emerged, Lime tried to give the swole professer the strongest handshake she could muster, but he didn’t react to her squeezing in the slightest.

“My goal is discover al the secrets of the region and become an elite pokemon trainer!” Lime stated boldly, smiling at at the professer’s reassuring nod. She then hurried off to find Kabema, and some other person she forgot the name of...

Lime gazed around the tent for awhile, holding on tightly to Cubie’s pokeball for reassurance. There were a lot of trainers, and some were her age, and others looked like old people! As comfortable she was in stuffy enclosed places, Lime didn’t like the mass of people all bumping around to find their teams. Wiggling her way through jumbles of people towards the exit, Like slipped out of tent, taking a deep breath as she stood outside.

“Alright, maybe I’ll wsit out here and let things calm down before going back in to find my team,” Lime said to Cubie’s pokeball. It wasn’t one of the bold moves Lime promised she’s make out in this new world, but she had plenty of time to make others, right?

 

[Life.]

Cora Armstrong
At first doubts began to cloud Cora's conscience as she sat in her seat towards the front of the platform. The girl felt that if she sat in the front her anxiousness would be replaced with excitement or maybe even motivation. But as more trainers began to file into the meeting tent, Cora couldn't help but begin to feel slightly out of breath. How did Cora come to think that not a lot of trainers would come out to the new region? Then again what was her reason for travelling all the way over to Vera Valle? This had been a question lingering in her mind for the past few days, but the one consistent answer that she could come up with was that she was here to find her reason. Although if she tried telling that to someone else they might find her reason insufficient to her being in Vera Valle, so she knew that she would have to come up with some other reason.

Her worries were gladly interrupted by the sore sight of a beastly man walking onto the platform in front of her. She immediately held a hand to her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter. Just the image before her of a lab coat trying its best to contain the rippling muscles of a...Pokeman was out of the ordinary. Even her Riolu must've seen the sight as an anomaly since Ryder had moved into a cautious stance, almost expecting for the man to step forward and challenge everyone in the room. But once he started his announcement, Cora placed a hand on the Pokemon's head to assure him that he was not a threat.

The girl sat there, trying to listen to what the Professor was saying. Half her mind was paying attention to the words he was screaming while the other half was occupied by the hilarity of the current man's appearance. Compared to old man Rowan, Professor Joshua was like a legendary Pokemon himself. He radiated strength and power. Cora began to wonder how this man chose to become a Pokemon Professor, but then her attention focused onto his speech when she heard team assignments.

While it wasn't uncommon for trainers to travel in groups sometimes, Cora was not expecting to be in one at all during her journey. Some part of her wanted to have her journey of self-discovery alone while the other half was eager of the idea of having travelling companions. Her head tilted when he listed out the first team with Adam, Maya, and at first Ryder, but then the man corrected himself with Cora's name replacing Ryder's. She couldn't help but roll her eyes on the professor's mistake. Ryder on the other hand found this slip-up amusing, and straightened his posture as if to show his superiority over Cora. A smirk tugged on Cora's lips as she softly nudged the Riolu.

Her small amount of playfulness disappeared when she heard the closing statement of Professor Joshua's speech. The man not only wanted a firm handshake, but he wanted to know their goals for this journey. The worries that had been bothering Cora at the beginning of the presentation were returning to her once more.

Cora watched as trainers stood up and made their way out of the tent. From the place she sat, she was forced to follow the crowd out, which meant she was coming up soon to meet the professor. The girl had been so preoccupied with her thoughts on an answer that she didn't realize that his muscles had exploded out from the hold of his labcoat. Seeing the weirdness of the professor increase from where he previously stood eased Cora's mind, helping her settle on a front that she could hold.

Once she was face-to-face with the professor, Cora had to tilt her head up to see the man's face. She made sure to give the man the firmest handshake she could muster, "I'm Cora Armstrong, or as you seem to know me as Ryder's trainer. This here is Ryder." Cora had glanced down momentarily to the Riolu next to her when she spoke her name but continued on with her answer once her eyes returned back up to the professor's face. "And my goal is to become a strong Pokemon trainer." It was the only white lie that Cora could come up on the spot that would probably satisfy the man's question. But she didn't stick around too long to see if he believed it. With a big smile to end her introduction, Cora quickly walked off to find her team.

What Cora soon came to realize was that she had no idea who Adam and Maya were or what they looked like. It also did not help that no name tags were distributed out or any indications handed out to give the trainers an easier time to locate each other. Her eyes scanned around the crowd in front of her as people began to find their teams. On one corner of the area she saw a young man panicking as his Slugma was freely beginning to burn down the corners of the tent. Silently Cora sent out a prayer to Arceus that he was not a member of her team.

Not knowing where to start ,Cora looked down to her partner, "Think you can find them? Perhaps take a good guess as to where they are at?" Ryder shrugged his shoulders, but closed his eyes to focus his senses on his surroundings. Cora knew to stay still and silent when he was concentrating, but only a second had passed before the Riolu opened his eyes and began to walk away. "Hey wait up. How did you find them? I didn't think they had any auras different from anyone else's," Cora was mystified on how Ryder had managed to locate them quickly. But then her suspicions disappeared when Ryder simply pointed to his ears. "Oh you just heard them. That makes a lot more sense."

The girl followed after her Riolu then, watching as they approached a mature looking man and a pretty, red-haired girl. "Hi are you guys Adam and Maya?"

 

[Human__Ramen]

Ashley Denson
​

Ashley was annoyed by Lena's question. She threw her head back at the girl with a raised eyebrow. "Does it really matter?"

Ashley removed her glasses and cleaned the lens on the hem of her black hoodie. The girl wore a purple long sleeved V-neck underneath, with the sleeves rolled up a bit. With somewhat blurry vision, she glanced at her surroundings and shot a look at Rufus' pokemon before putting them back on.

"I guess we're done here. Let's get going." Ashley said to her newfound teammates, adjusting her backpack before parting.

Damafaud Ganryu

 

[Captain Spooks]

Welcome Center

Kent Williams
To be honest Professor Joshua's appearance took Kent by surprise, usually you would expect a professor to be some dweeb, but this guy looked like a total badass! The dude was like a freaking mountain, and the beard added onto it. If only Kent could grow one of his own, he was always known as being a 'pretty boy' due to his feminine features such as long eyelashes and high cheekbones. Though it was obvious that he was a male.

Anyways moving on from appearances Kent listened intently to the man's speech getting more pumped as Joshua went on, like a Pokemon using focus energy. Today Kent was turning over a new leaf in a region far away from Unova, a place where he wasn't know as a thief, bully, or a delinquent. Hopefully this will be the place where he finally let go of the past, but for now Kent had to focus on the present. And with his first part done Professor Joshua went on to announce teams and Kent waited for his name to be called, but it never came. Confused Kent remembered that there was a name that Joshua couldn't read, so he put two and two together and figured that he was on that team. But now he had to remember the other people on his team, racking his brain together he remembered the name Lima and Kabe-something.

He then approached the Professor and gave him a solid handshake, "The name's Kent Williams, you didn't call my name but I'm guessing my name's the one you couldn't read," he said while letting go of the Professors hand, realizing that he forgot something, "Oh yeah, I'm just here for the adventure," Kent lied knowing all too well what his actual goal was, it was too personal go just flat out announce it. Moving on Kent went to look for his teammates which shouldn't be too hard since everyone was already filling into their teams, discouraged Kent sent outside the tent to get some fresh air, but much to his surprise someone else was out there was someone else, a girl who looked a few years younger than him. "So, couldn't find your team either?"

InsaneAsylum​

 

[Damafaud]

Helena "Lena" Winter
Welcome Centre ==> Professor Joshua's Lab
Entrance
Interaction: Human__Ramen , Ganryu
Mention: -​

When asked whether the species of Ashley's pokemon was important, Lena just shrugged.

"Not really."

Just curious, was the word she didn't say aloud. After all, everyone got their fair share of privacy. If she didn't want to share, it was fine. The sun was getting higher. While the crowd of trainers showed no sign of dispersing anytime soon, frolicking about sounded a bit wasteful. Lena decided to take out her camera from her backpack. It was a gift for her 15th birthday, which was also the second time she had insisted on getting something (the first one was keeping Stark) . The camera was a digital one, and her father fashioned a solar charger for the battery so she should be fine.

As a test, she snapped a picture of Stark jumping about Mr. Sizzles.

click

The sound of the shutter sounded more like a click than a snap. Not that it mattered much.

"Stark, come," Lena asked, before pointing at her shoulder and whistled.

It was the second signal she and Stark had made. Come, as it implied, beckoned Stark to come and sit on her shoulder. Not that Stark followed it often. As if proving her point, instead of flying toward her shoulder, Stark leaped to the air and flew around. Well, whatever.

"So. Yeah. Let's go," she said to Rufus as she let the camera hang around her neck before she went after Ashley.

 

[Larry]

Pokémon:

Name(/s): Percy

Kabema Aoyama
Location: Professor Joshua's Lab.
Mood: Excited for the opportunity.​

What a bunch of shmucks, Kabema thought to himself as he eyed the fellow trainers, a feeling of apparent superiority welling up inside of him. Ever since moving to the newly-found region of Vera Valle, the young trainer has been vying for his opportunity to wander this vast, unknown landmass and fight as many trainers as he could come across, alongside his faithful companion Percy. The aforementioned Mudkip glared across at the various trainers atop the perch of Kabema's shoulder and the Pokémon's demeanour cracked a smile onto the face of his trainer. The biggest fool had to be the Professor, who instead of appearing an intelligent, mindful character, possessed the appearance and attitude of a jacked-up nimrod. The young man held little regard for brutes unless it be tempered by a calm disposition. As a look of boredom crept it's way onto the youngster's face, this buff Joshua fella announced that all the trainers present were to be split up into teams. Kabema heard the name Lime and something that the Professor could only mutter out. Too bad this fella couldn't have just given us numbers and told us who we were put together with, the young man analysed cynically, fortune forbid that we have a semblance of simplicity about the whole placement procedure. Having heard the Professor finish his speech whereby he instructed the teenagers present to not only give him a firm handshake on the way out but also to give him an indication as to what their goals were in this region. Smirking, the young man walked his way up to the absolute unit of an intellectual, grasping his hand as firmly as he could physically allow him to do. "The name's Kabema Aoyama, not only will I become the first Champion of this region, but I will become the greatest Champion it will ever hope to have; nobody will stand to oppose me!" With his goals fully explained to the Professor, the young man released his grip and headed outside to find the other members of his team.

Except for the fact that Kabema had no idea as to what his supposed partners looked like so the young man opted for the more simple idea of drawing them to himself.

"LIME, GUY WHOSE NAME NIMROD COULDN'T SAY, I'M KABEMA SO GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE!" the young man yelled so hard that he wouldn't be surprised if his parents perked up. Despite the deafening roar emitted from the young trainer's mouth, Kabema felt he had made a great first impression to all those present.

 

[Orikanyo]

Adam Clement Berger

And without a moment later, two young women came up to him, asking if he was Adam, and if the other was Maya. Both seemed to have pokemon out and about, which was good to see. A vulpix and a Riolu... The man held his bouncsweet closer to his chest, his squinted eyes looking the two over. "I am Adam, good guess. I'm happy to see you two have pokemon who are known for putting up good fights, I'm worried mine is..." he patted the little thing's head, which immedately began playing with his fingers. "Doesn't care to much about fighting.

I suppous I should introduce myself fully, Adam Clement Berger, I aim to become a pokemon breeder and caregiver. This is Cherri, my bouncsweet aprtner. I got her to come with me from a visit to Alola, I'd recromend heading there if your looking for a vacation. it's beautiful... And the food is delicious." he added in with a slight sniff of the near constantly perfumed air.

His eyes, while he was indeed talking to them, wasn't exactly looking towards the two, rather he was looking towards the small pokemon that were down below. the fluffy little vulpix, the Riolu that looked rather valiant and... Well like it was a rather useful pokemon really. Most Riolu were from his knowledge, stalwart and strong companions if you earned that trust. Vulpix, he has heard things about their line, msichevious and haughty... Not very trusting, but often bonding with thsoe they find kinship with. They were, also, one of the cutest things ever.

His eyes shined as she stared down at the two pokemon, seemingly forgetting what he was talking about in the first place. "So cute..."

KageYuuki Life.

(Sincere appologies for the wait, I've been pulled left right and center since I got home.)

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Lime​

Turning her head up to the left, Lime looked up at soft faced boy exiting the tent. He looked like a nice fella. Maybe he needed some fresh air too?

“Huh? Oh, yea. I don’t like crowds too much so I came out here to wait for things to die down a bit,” Lime replied cheerfully, smiling a tad.

“What’s your name, I’m Li-“ before the girl could finish, she was interrupted by a terribly loud scream from within the tent. They screamed Lime’s bame specifically, and stated that their own name was Kabema, the fella she was teamed with. That made the search easy, but his tone didn’t make him seem all that approachable...

“I- I think that’s who I’m looking for,” Lime stated, waving to the fella she just met as she ducked back into the tent. “See ya!” She had no way of knowing that he was actually her third team member.

It was easy to find Kabema in the tent. Everyone had shuffled away from him after the bout of yelling. Lime locked eyes with him and waved, swinging her arm high above her head to make sure he saw her.

Larry Captain Spooks

 

[Ganryu]

Rufus Flannagan

Rufus watched with a small smile as his slugma ran in circles trying to keep up with where Starling was. Moments like this definitely made him happy he'd decided to give this trainer thing a try. Well, there was nothing for it other than to be one. He couldn't have arson charges on him! He was still a kid! Besides, he can't have been the first trainer to have caused a forest fire!

Seemed like everyone was ready to go. Lena sounded nice, maybe he'd get along with her. Ashley... Well, she was... a human? That was a start. He didn't have it in him to try and defend the 'arsonist' part. In truth, he didn't even like fire! He stopped Mr. Sizzles more times than not! With how many burns a day he had to deal with, why would he start ones!? He grabbed a map from the front to try and find where the professor's lab, Lacuno Observatory was. They weren't going to the forest, he gave a sigh of relief: good.

"A pokemon battle. Huh. You two any good at'em? I've nev- I mean, I've not done many. Anyways, yeah, wasting time sitting around here."

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

The trip itself wasn't overly long, though it was very scenic. Desert sprawled to the East, with mountains to the North and South. The road was fairly rocky itself, meaning there were few chances for a certain arsonist to burn things. The entire way Rufus let his slugma out of his pokeball. Not that it had one, but hey, who needed to know that? Slugma was loyal to him, and liked walks.

As they reached near the observatory, Rufus stopped suddenly before they made it. He looked in the distance for a moment, then ran away from the path up to a tree.

"Hey! I don't know these berries. Wonder if they are edible."

Looking at the tree for a bit more, he nodded his head as if to answer a question no one asked. Picking one off, he took a bite.

"Wow. These are sweet. Come here Mr. Sizzles. I saw some branches torn off, I'm sure pokemon have eaten these before. Wonder if they are exclusive to Vera Valle or if I just didn't know about them before?"
========
In the distance, more attentive members of the party might notice a trainer in a small group kicking a fence, and receiving an electric shock for his troubles. Swearing words that shouldn't be repeated, he turned to his friends.

"Damnit, we gotta get through. That Regigigas is MINE. Hehe. He won't see what hit'em with my Rattata. It's, like, uh, the top percent of Rattatas!"

His friend with glasses sighed, adjusting them.

"You're rattata won't be able to even hurt it. My zubat can at least confuse it, let it hurt itself. Katelyn, your grimer can then poison it, and we'll be set. Also, I thought we agreed to lots for who owns it."

 

[Damafaud]

Helena "Lena" Winter
Professor Joshua's Lab
Dirt Path
Interaction: Human__Ramen , Ganryu
Mention: -​

"I never battle before. So. Yeah." She answered Rufus truthfully before falling silent again.

To clarify, Stark had fought before. Stark often fight other Starlies and Wurmples when food is on the line, but Lena had never personally command Stark in a battle. Most that she would do is to watch the fight and feed the Starly potion if it got hurt. Maybe she should train Stark to fight next. After all, she would need strong pokemon to travel savely in Vera Valle.

Unlike the shady rumours surrounding Vera Valle, the region itself was quite beautiful. While Stark was chirping, enjoying the new atmosphere high in the air, Lena walked relaxedly on the dirth path. A vast desert sprawled to the east, while rocky mountains towered in the north and south. Lena took a picture of the horizon on the desert and the north mountain, but the sun position stopped her from taking a picture of the south mountain. Oh well.

"Hm?" Stark was no longer in the sky.

It didn't take long to find the Starly again, as his jovial chirping was quite familiar to Lena. On a tree, it was busy picking off berries, eating them one after another. It looked quite good. Rufus seemed to be interested in the berries as well, but that was not her business. Lena stood on her toes and picked one. After seeing Rufus eating one, she put the berry on her tongue and crushed it. The juice flowed easily into her throat, leaving a sweet aftertaste on her mouth.

"...a bit strong, but edible."

She didn't know the medical content, but if she didn't have a stomachache after one week, she would use them to make puffins. Lena stood on her toes and gathered a small bunch of the berries and put it in a berry compartment in her bag. Stark was still busy eating. However, seeing Lena gathering them, the Starly flew to a higher branch and ate there instead. Pretty considerate.

As she zipped the berry compartment, her attention was turned toward a group -- a trio, to be exact -- standing about near the iron fence.

"So. Is that the squatters?" She asked Ashley and Rufus, pointing at the trio.

 

[Human__Ramen]

Ashley Denson
​

Ashley nodded at the boy's question - more as self-comfirmation than actually answering him. After listening to the others' answers, Ash figured she was the only one there that even a sembleance of what they were doing.

How those two expected to make it was beyond her.

Not that Ashley was complaining though. She'd train her Gastly a little back home, and she genuinely enjoyed battling. It was a thrill, and she'd seek it more. Being stuck with two trainers who haven't even debuted their careers yet would just give her more room to shine. She'd gladly take it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The trip through the desert was uneventful, and if Ashley could choose, she'd pick forest fire in a heartbeat. (even if her heartbeat stopped at the end of that).

The group had met a few wild pokemon. Seemed that Sandiles and Sandshrews were the majority of the population there, with a few Geodudes for good measure. While Ashley did realize it'd be beneficial to have a Ground type in the long run, right now, she just wanted to get this errand over with.

Sand for as far as the eye could see, but Ashley spotted a few ruins off the beaten path. She stopped in her tracks, admiring the historic debris and pondering. She noticed the others had continued on without her. Choosing to not be left behind, Ash quickly grabbed a few rocks and piled them on top of each other in the middle of the path, disturbing a few Geodudes in the process. Next time she was there, she'd know exactly where the ruins were.

Catching up to her teammates, with her jacket resting on her neck dangling side to side, she spotted Rufus and Helena huddled around a small tree, eating berries. They hadn't noticed her arrival. She didn't mind. Noticing that the two trainers and the two pokemon were eating them, Ash grabbed a handful for herself. She didn't recognize them, but she figured she'd find out what they did when the need arised.

Helena's announcement caught Ashley off-guard. She glanced at the girl and then snapped her neck to the direction she was looking at. And sure enough, there were three trainers no older than her trying to break into Professor Joshua's lab. Throughout the trip, Ashley kept thinking to herself: "These guys are dumb, but they can't be dumb enough to challenge Regigigas with low level pokemon, right?"

Turning her attention back to her team, she watched as they didn't do much other than stare. "Shall we?" Ashley asked, extending her hand at the trio far off in the distance before parting in that direction.

Damafaud Ganryu

 

[Ganryu]

Rufus's attention on the berries was broken as Lena pointed to the trio trying to break through the electric fence.

"Huh? I guess? Thinking about it, he never did tell us what they looked like. Guessing it's them though, they look like they're trying to get in, and the map says victory road is just past here. Well... uh, ready Mr. Sizzles?"

His slugma growled, approaching. He at least seemed ready.

Rufus scratched the back of his neck. First pokemon battle. Then again, what was the worse that would happen if he lost? He'd got to a pokemon center, and these trainers would go fight a legendary pokemon. What's the worst that could happen... to him?

Remember dear, pokemon are our friends. And strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. Help them out, and they'll help you. Juuust don't get into any cars with them or anything like that.

"*Sigh* Hey, you guys, you aren't allowed back there. Uh, prepare for trouble?"

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

The trio whipped around to the trainers confronting them. The 'rattata' boy spoke as their leader. They were all in their later teens.

"And who do you think you are? Regigigas is a pokemon, and we're trainers. Ain't we supposed to catch pokemon? If you say we're not supposed to be back here, why don't you make us move? Katelyn, you take on Mr. Hero here. Keith, take on the little girl, see if you're 'strategies' can keep up with a kid. Guess that leaves me with birdbrain."

The woman of the group giggled.

"Sure you can handle it Keith? I mean, it is a meeeean looking little girl."

The vein in the nerd's head bulged.

"My strategies are unbeatable. You lot don't understand my genius. I'm the one who came up with the plan to catch Regigigas anyways!

"Yeah, yeah, we know. Just giving you a hard time man. Well, break!"

==========================
(Lena)

The steaming leader of the group, Kris, turned his baseball cap backwards.

"I'll have you know my Ratatta stands as king. Sorry birdbrain, but I don't do mercy!"

Grabbing a pokeball from his belt, he threw it forward, releasing a beam of light, which quickly formed into a Rattata. The small rat hissed at the Starly. Kris didn't even wait for his opponent to agree to a battle, and started shouting orders.

"Rattata, use quick attack!"

The rattata ran sprinted forward trying to tackle the bird.

===========================
(Ashley)

The nerd drew his pokeball, from his pouch. A handful of dice fell out with it, and he quickly scrambled to put them back.

"I'm not sure how I feel about beating a little girl, but you gotta start somewhere. Maybe I'll inspire you with my impregnable strategies. Go, zubat! Go on, try as you might, I've already thought of every possibility, every possible route, you cannot best me!"

Throwing the pokeball in the air, a zubat emerged. It energetically cried and did a quick loopty loop. Even without eyes, its energy spoke of confidence.
==========================
(Rufus)

The girl of the group giggled as she approached 'the hero'. She reached into her purse drawing a pokeball.

"You're kinda cute. But, sorry, that Regigigas is mine! You gotta at least let us try, what's the worse that could happen? Doesn't work out, we try again. Well, guess we're doing this. Come on, Grimer."

As the pokemon emerged, so did a horrible stench. The girl didn't seem to mind.

"I like to call it odeur de la victoire. My grimer doesn't like to lose now."

The grimer let out a battle cry, jumping up and down with its sludge, pointing at Mr. Sizzles.

Human__Ramen Damafaud

 

[Damafaud]

Helena "Lena" Winter
Professor Joshua's Lab
Dirt Path
Interaction: Ganryu
Mention: Human__Ramen , Ganryu​

"Oh."

The battle started already. Stark was still holding the sweet berry, though...?

Lena scratched her head at the weird boy's proclamation as she saw him turning his cap backward. Is all pokemon trainers like this? Those she watched at the gym was, but she didn't know that loudness was a part of a trainer's qualification.

The boy threw out a pokeball, with a Ratatta inside. In that short span of time, the two side of the battle showed a stark contrast. Lena was staring blankly. Stark was still finishing the berry from the tree. The boy was shouting something. The Ratatta was staring viciously at Stark. All in all, their attitude was as mismatched as wearing a swim suit to a battle.

Wait, Gym Leader Misty usually battle in a swimsuit, though.

When such absurd thought passed through Lena's mind. The Ratatta charged at Stark. Its paws, albeit small, was showing the sharp claws it hid, aiming at Stark, who just finished the berry on its beak was going to another one in. She should probably give Stark a command now.

"Oh, right."

How do you do it again? Pose, give out command, then call Stark? Or should it be call first?

"Ah, whatever," muttered Lena. The teenage girl took the pencil from her right ear and pointed at the Ratatta with it, her left hand on her hip and her body facing to the left.

"Stark, dodge upward! Continue with a Growl!"

Seeing the rat pokemon charging in, Stark tried to evade. However, as Lena gave her command a bit late, the starling got the brunt of the hit before it was able to flew off. While in the air, Stark let off a threatening growl, as if making its presence larger and scarier. Lena maintained her pose, although her eyes was only half open at the moment.

...that should be good, right?

 

[Human__Ramen]

Ashley Denson
​

Ashley wasn't very impressed with her first opponent here in Vera Valle. The dice and trinkets that fell out of his pocket as he reached for his pokeball gave off an amateurish vibe, and a snarl made it's way to Ashley's face.

Ash adjusted her glasses before reaching into her back pocket. She pointed her pokeball at the battlefield, and a surge of energy came from it, quickly forming a Gastly. The ghost cackled as it's eyes landed on the foe's Zubat.

"A bit presumptuous of you, no?" Ash replied to his grandiose statement. The girl continued, giving her shpiel of the situation. "Gastly and Zubat both have the Poison typing. However, if I were to guess, based on how underleveled you are, I'd say you either have Tackle or Leech Life as your offensive option. My pokemon is immune to one and resists the other."

The Gastly was visibly irritated with how long it's trainer was taking to give it commands. He kept looking back and frowning at Ashley, and even began groaning.

"Meanwhile, I have an attack that does normal damage on your Zubat. The odds are clearly not in your favor." A smug smile creeped it's way to Ashley's expression. She pocketed her hand and closed her eyes, confident in her analysis. "You should just forfeit the match and save yourself the embarassment of being beaten by - as you've put it - a 'little girl'."

Ganryu

​

 

[KageYuuki]

Maya Kauffman
Maya let out a slow, soft breath. She actually found him... good. Though looking at the man, Adam seemed to easily tower over her. What should have been a far more intimidating appearance was mitigated somewhat by the small bundle of joy he held close to his chest. Such a sweet smell wafted from the tiny pokemon. Kurama, meanwhile, puffed out his chest at Adam's compliment. The young vulpix was more than pleased to be called strong. Though, that bounsweet... like a giant berry...

He wondered if it tasted as good as it smelled.

So he wanted to be a pokemon breeder? It was a respectable position, caring for and nurturing newly born pokemon. Or was he interested in it for the money? There was quite a bit of prestige to be had for breeding award-winning pokemon. "I'm... Maya Kauffman," The red-haired trainer spoke softly. Even after all this time, the new name felt weird on her lips. Her grey eyes watched Adam warily, "Maybe one day Kurama and I will get to see Alola."

Maya glanced over at the other trainer that had walked up with her, quickly taking note of the riolu beside her. She'd crossed paths with a trainer that had one in Johto. They seemed like strong, loyal pokemon. Almost as picky towards who trained them as ninetales were.

Kurama carefully balanced on his hind legs, stretching in an attempt to get a better smell of Cherri. His tails slowly swished in curiosity. Adam's towering height made it impossible for the fox to get too close, however.

Orikanyo Life.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Lime​

Whatever the case was, Lime and her comrade headed out the tent, out a big gate, and out onto the open road towards the swamp.

“So, this is the right way, ri-“ Lime paused, looking for her teammate. He was nowhere to be found! Had he ditched her?

Lime groaned, and let out an irritated puff. Apparently she would in fact end up alone on her journey after all.

So far, it wasn’t too terribly exciting, but the trees in Vera Valle were tall and sturdy looking. Their shape was a bit different than back in the Sinnoh, and plants and shrubbery around Route 2 were all pretty foreign to her.

Suddenly it dawned on Lime that she didn’t have a map of where she was going! The young trainer contemplated returning to the professer to ask for one, but decided to just ask whoever she found on the route for directions. There had to be someone right? Lime sure hoped so, because she’d never been in a swamp before, and wasn’t all that excited about getting lost in one.

Lime let out a deep breath. “It’s fine. Everything’s fine, and i’ll kick the swamp’s butt too!” With the self-reassurance, Lime happily strode along Route 2. She had more or less forgotten what exactly she was going into the swamp to do anyway, and that she had another teammates probably trying to flag her down.

Captain Spooks

 

[Life.]

Cora Armstrong
Upon closer inspection and careful attention, Cora was finally able to draw up some first impressions of the individuals before her. The first thing she noticed was the big and tough-looking man holding a rather adorable Bounsweet. Cora felt that it was inappropriate to chuckle so instead she settled for an amused smirk. The pair was unusual but the Pokemon certainly softened the demeanor of the man with its aroma and cute personality. But once the girl heard the man's goal, her impression of him was changed. She needed to re-evaluate the man, who she learned is named Adam Clement Berger.

Cora's eyes noticed that the man's attention had slowly moved over from them down to their Pokemon. Ryder tilted his head when he felt the man's eyes on him, curious as to what he thought of him. Cora lightly touched the back of Riolu's head indicating him a message. The Riolu glanced over to his partner quickly and nodded before he stuck out his paw in front of him, a sign of introduction for Adam to take.

A smile continued to hang onto Cora's face as she watched Ryder behaving himself properly. Her eyes shifted over when the female trainer began to speak. Cora's impression of her was one of beauty and fire, due mostly to her red-hair and Vulpix companion. She seemed timid to introduce herself though. But Cora felt that she would make for a great travel companion, as well as Adam. So far things for this journey of hers was looking great.

Finally learning the names of the other members of her team, Cora knew it was her time to introduce herself. "My name is Cora Armstrong, and this here is Ryder. I'm here for the adventure." While it wasn't a complete lie, Cora couldn't bring herself to truthfully say that she was going through this trek to discover herself.

Orikanyo KageYuuki

 

[Orikanyo]

Adam Clement Berger

Adam bent slightly at the knee with the pokemon's actions. With Kurama a large hand reached out over the Vulpix's head, then quick scratched behind the ears with a gentle bout of petting. "Curious aren't you Kurama? How charming you are..." his voice was, almost suprisingly, softer when speaking to the pokemon.

His attention went towards the Riolu now, the small pokemon stood strong against his size, offering a paw even. A gesture he took gladly as Cherri spun around on Adam's shoulder, looking up at the two trainers with beady sparkling eyes. whem done shaking the little Riolu's paw he stood up once more, Cherri now out of the curious little Kurama's reach.

"Now then, I believe we have some ground to cover, lets walk and talk." He spoke as he began to move. "I have some degree of experience as a caretaker, groomer, and chef. I can take care of us on the road, but an issue is.. I am not very good at battling pokemon..

No reason to in Kalos, nobody approached me to battle regardless." He said as it somewhat became clear that said trainers were probably more worried about him fighting THEM rather than their pokemon going at it.

"Have you two often battled?"