Jory

{Marius and Loretta} Loretta blinked. For someone who seems to pride himself on being all hip and modern, this kid lives under a rock. She looked at him in utter disbelief. "You're kidding, right? The Winter Cup is one of the most widely televised events in all of Ymora! It's a tournament for the first-year students to compete and prove themselves against one another in the hopes of becoming the Winter Cup Champion. Loretta sighed dreamily, thinking about the matches. "This year, there are two rivals named Jacob and Mareek who are the favorites to win among the Trainers. The Breeders and Coordinators also have competitors, but it's usually the Trainers who take the victory in this event. If you hurry over to the Arena, you should be able to catch today's matches." She thought for a moment before looking back at the screen and then rustled around in her desk. She found a small envelope that contained a key. "This is the key to your room. You'll be in Room 026. Your roommate's name is Henry. His old roommate left early this term, so we're filing the room." She then looked eagerly at the clock, standing up and showing Marius out of the office before locking the room behind her. "Enjoy your first day, Marius." With that, Loretta walked off toward the Arena. {Jacob and Robert} Jacob arrived at the bench by himself, having returned Arete to her ball. In his hand he held what appeared to be an extremely large Blue Poffin. He grinned and took the fifth Poke Ball off his belt, then looked to Robert. "Be careful. She wasn't exactly friendly when I caught her." He threw the Ball. In a flash of light, a Seviper appeared in front of Jacob. The serpent glowered around her, angrily searching for the Buneary that had escaped from her earlier before realizing she was no longer in the forest. The Seviper hissed angrily at Jacob before spotting the Poffin in his hand. She rose up imperiously. Jacob tossed the Poffin to her, but the Seviper simply let it fall to the ground. "What, you want me to feed you?" Jacob asked sarcastically. The Seviper, to his surprise, nodded curtly. It was then that Jacob realized the Seviper was standing with remarkably good posture. Then, he understood. "You're not angry. You're just used to getting what you want. No one challenged you except for Sawsbuck in that forest, right?" The Seviper nodded again. "Alright, princess, I guess I'll feed you just this once." Jacob picked up the Poffin and stroked the Poison-type's scaly head as she ate. "I guess I can name you that," he thought aloud. "Princess." The venomous serpent nodded, content with the name and the Poffin as she ate.

{Marius and Loretta} "Excellent. I have all your files pulled up right here. It says you're a coordinator, which is pretty obvious from the way you're dressed, so you're all set to go!" she said with a forced grin. "Oh, and one more thing." She reached into the desk and pulled out a red PokeDex. "Sorry. Usually we'd give you a choice of colors, but since you're a last-minute transfer you're stuck with the leftovers." The secretary handed him the device. "Anything else?" {Jacob and Robert- The Food Stands} As they approached the food stands, Jacob turned to Robert. "Grab some food and meet me over by that bench," Jacob said as he pointed to the bench he was talking about. With that, he walked off in search of something for his newest partner to eat while Robert took care of his Pokemon.

{Jacob and Robert} The young man chuckled as Robert picked up the gooey Dragon-type. "She's pretty cute, I gotta admit. But I'm not sure she has anything on Arete," he noted. Hearing her name, the Fairy-type fluttered down into her Trainer's arms. "I'd send out my newest partner to show you, but I don't want to risk her attacking anyone. I haven't even gotten a chance to let her out yet," he added, a twinge of regret in his voice. I need to give her some attention. Otherwise she'll stay just as wild as she was when I caught her. "On second thought, let's go down to the food stalls first. I need to feed her." {Marius and Loretta} The secretary caught the insulted tone. "Don't worry about it. It's just the first thing on the form, and we're required to ask you all the questions. Now, what's your name?"

{Marius and Loretta} Loretta walked back into the office and sat down at her desk, gesturing for the student to take a seat. She powered up her PC and put on her reading glasses. After hitting a few keys, she turned to Marius. "Okay, honey, first things first: Are you a boy or a girl?"

{Jacob and Robert} Jacob laughed off the collision, not overly bothered by it. "Not a problem, Robert. I was actually about to head down to the waiting rooms and look for Danielle. Care to join me?" {Marius and Loretta} The secretary gave Marius a look of appraisal before sighing. Guess the Winter Cup will have to wait, she thought forlornly. "I'll get you all squared away. Come on in," she said sadly, re-opening the door to the main office.

{Jacob vs. Danielle} "Yeah, but now I don't have to discriminate between targets! Teo, now! Chalchi, help him out!" The Trapinch flew up from underneath the sand, targeting the Larvesta on Avis's back with a Dig attack as they broke through the icy dome. He barreled toward the weighed-down bird, determined to finish off the pesky firebug once and for all. Chalchi used a triple Water Pulse, firing three glowing balls of water at the Murkrow. If Avis wanted any chance of dodging them, she'd be forced to drop the Larvesta into Teo's attack.

{Beach Group- Caught!} Arthur suppressed a grimace as the group was dragged back to Ken and Roy. Can't believe I thought that would work, he thought to himself. Although I really didn't intend for them to start running. I just wanted Flagstarr after me so they could walk through.

{Hosts- Brand, Marco, and Robert} Brand was about to continue the interview when Marco interjected. "Ladies and gentlemen, that's all the time we have for this interview!" he said quickly, pulling Robert out of his chair while glaring at Brand. How dare he steal my spotlight! the host thought, mildly peeved. How childish. He then proceeded to open the door, lightly shoving Robert out and slamming the door behind him. The next thing the teenager felt and saw was another student in front of him, who he accidentally knocked over! "We'll be right back after a quick word from our sponsor. Today's programming is brought to you by Ymora Eats. Hungry for more? Eat Ymora!" {Jacob} I wonder what they're doing in there, Jacob thought to himself as he walked past the announcers' booth, having decided to take the scenic route back to the waiting room. Suddenly, the door opened and another student came tumbling out and landed on him! The teenager scrambled to his feet, looking down at the ground. "Robert?" he asked, quite surprised that his usually-quiet classmate had come flying out of the door in such a manner. "What are you doing here? And you should really watch where you're going!" {Marius and Loretta} After a long day of work, Loretta was tired. Just plain tired. Even while the Winter Cup had been going on, she'd been asked to come in early and finish filing all the students' grades and report cards. One would think that with all the high-tech gadgets and computers, you wouldn't need paper files anymore. Idiots... she was thinking to herself. And finally, finally after working all day doing tedious things that no one who enjoys his or her job has to do ever, she had finished up and was about to leave to go watch the Winter Cup matches. She had just opened the door and taken her first breath of freedom in hours when a student ran headlong into her. He was sent flying backward onto his behind, but Loretta stood still. The new student was faced with a tall, slightly overweight woman. She had dark skin and darker hair, and she wore an expression that seemed more bemused than angry. "Child, I know you were not just running in my hallways!" she said sternly. "Just where are you off to in such a hurry, huh?"

I'll be making my first female character if this takes off. I have a good one in mind that I don't think many people would go for in this setting.

Just another trick by politburo... Eh, such is life.

{Jacob and Mareek} Jacob nodded, grinning lightly. "Don't be so dour, Mareek. You'll scare off all the ladies," he said with a chuckle as he walked back toward the waiting room for lack of anything else to do.

Just a drop One of a million And that's only my cloud Among a legion. We all fall Each speeding down Made sleek by rushing wind Then splashing on the pavement. I'm sinking Drawn into the cracks Never again to feel the soft kiss Of daylight again. Time passes Then I finally feel it Drawing me in, a moth to a candle in the window. I remain with it Moving slowly but surely As my long lost bretheren Join me in my journey. We stay together Achieving solidarity As only parts of a whole can Acting in perfect unison. Straining jointly Against our bonds, Not discriminating between The imagined and the material. Finally, triumphantly We have broken free Reawakened and carrying wisdom From lives lived in days gone by.

Beast? Beast!? BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111ONE111!!!11 Crap. It's got armor, Bark thought to himself as the Beast repositioned itself. The large man felt the thing's leg leave the ground and swung his both hammers down and to the left in an overhead stroke, hoping to turn aside the Beast's foreleg. "By the beard of the Allfather, we've got a live one!" he shouted enthusiastically, glad for the chance to stretch his legs after being left out in the last fight.

{Jacob vs. Danielle} Jacob laughed as the Larvesta emerged from the sand pit on Avis's wing. "Nice move, Danielle! But little Icarus, you've flown too close to the sand, as it were. Teo, give Avis the same treatment! Use Sand Tomb!" The Trapinch immediately dove under the dirt after taking one hit from the Larvesta's Acrobatics attack. Suddenly, a dome of sand enveloped the Murkrow, pinning her wings to her side. Chalchi fired a Water Pulse at the already-wet sand, hitting the exposed bits of Murkrow and soaking the rest of it, but this time she was ready to close it out. A familiar pale mist crept over the wet sand dome, freezing the construction solid.

{Jacob vs. Danielle} Jacob grimaced as the Night Shade attack approached Teo. This is gonna hurt, he thought helplessly. After all, a Ground-type could only do so much aerial maneuvering. The attack hit directly, the pain evident as Teo's eyes clinched shut. However, due to the nature of the attack, Teo remained on his intercept course with the Larvesta. He slammed into the larval moth, catching it in his mouth. As a desert Pokemon he was used to Fire-types and their annoying abilities, but he still winced from the high temperature. Just before the pair hit the ground, Jacob grinned. "Now, Teo and Chalchi, we're finishing Corona! Texas Burial combo attack!" The Larpas fired a Water Pulse directly below the pair, sopping the already soaked ground as Teo used Sand Tomb to open a pit of sand directly below his descent. The Water type attack mixed into the sand and Teo dove in with Corona first. The Crunch-locked pair disappeared into the sand. The crowd held its breath, waiting on the outcome. Moments later Teo scrabbled up above the surface, having left the Larvesta immobile in the quicksand. The Trapinch was panting but still more than ready to fight the annoying Murkrow that had hit him with a dirty cheap shot from behind.

{Jacob and Mareek} Forfeiting so he doesn't get swept up in the moment? Jacob thought to himself. That's exactly why I battle. And it's why I don't lose, he added. He looked understandingly at Mareek, though. "I can't say I know entirely what you're talking about, but I think I have an idea. I didn't see Kristen for almost a week while I was training for this. Hell, I barely slept. So maybe you have a point," he said thoughtfully. "But the difference between us is that for me, the Winter Cup isn't just about competition against others. It's never been about that for me. I just want to know that I'm doing the best I can. You think I don't know that I'm the favorite to win? Still, I couldn't care less about that. I know in my heart that my Pokemon and me are stronger than just about anyone else. It's the conviction I hold closest to me, and it hasn't led me astray yet." He then sighed, putting a hand on Mareek's shoulder. "Look, Mareek, I totally support your decision. I can't say it's something I'd do, but we're different people, so that's okay. I just want you to know that the level of epicness that's going to be involved in the final round isn't going to even come close to what I'd hoped." While he was busy talking about himself, he completely missed Java's nod. "At least come and watch. After all, I'm going to be battling my roommate. It should be a good one," he said hopefully.

{Beach Group} Arthur sighed. Frickin' police always getting in the way of the real investigation, he thought to himself. Then, he got an idea. He looked down at his D-Pad and opened his conversation with Zander. He tapped out a quick message. "Brb, distracting this pig." Suddenly, Arthur dashed off behind the policewoman in an attempt to draw her away from the rest of the group.

{Mareek and Jacob} Jacob looked questioningly at Mareek. "What do you mean, 'not making it past the next round?' Mareek, you're one of the best battlers here. Even Kage won't be able to give you so much trouble." The young man thought for a moment, then decided it wasn't definitively the battle that was troubling his rival. He's always been the dark, brooding type. Maybe that has something to do with it, he figured. "Listen, Mareek, if you need someone to talk to I'm here," he said quietly. "I know there's some stuff about your past that makes you question yourself constantly, but you need to accept that this is your life to do with what you choose. Personally, I've made it my mission to become one of the strongest Trainers in the world and I know you have ambition too. So why are you moping around when you could be following that ambition?" he asked. "I know we're not like best friends, but I know what it's like to deal with stress." He looked slightly annoyed with Mareek for a moment. "And if you're planning to lose in the next round and deny me the battle of a lifetime for the Winter Cup championship, then why am I even competing? You're the only battler here who pushes me. Without you in the Cup, I'm Vegeta with no Goku!"

{Mareek and Jacob} Jacob shrugged, offering a slight grimace to the other boy. "Yeah, I suppose so. I guess we should probably try to be nicer to him, but he just makes it so difficult," the teen vented as he shook his head. "Add that to the fact that he can't back up half of what he says and you have a recipe for an annoying person." He then looked thoughtfully at his belt and took Arete's Ball off, releasing the Togetic. She gave a happy cry and then fluttered over to the Scyther, examining her new friend with fascination. Jacob chuckled and pointed at the interaction. "Looks like Erce has a new friend there."

"Don't just stand there!" Faust had yelled. Psh. As if he needed to tell me that, he noted. He stood his ground against the Beast. As Faust jumped out of the way, Bark managed to find himself in the line of fire. As the Beast's claw approached him is eyes began to glow white and his skin turned gray. It began to take on a marbled, stony texture. His hair went from white to shoulder-length jet black and the ground beneath his feet was shaken by a shockwave that left the pavement cracked. He had a stone breastplate that appeared similar in design to ancient Greek hoplite armor- just a simple one-piece breastplate with no pauldrons and an armored kilt draping down to just above his knees. He raised his hand to block the talon and braced on his opposite leg, intercepting the blow with the same hammer from earlier. Its twin was held in his other hand. "It's his scales! They release some kind of depression aura! Expect similar from him!" Bark said through gritted teeth. He then pivoted and swung his other hammer in a vicious uppercut at the Beast's midsection.

{Hosts- Brand & Robert} Brand beamed at Robert's praise of the fields, clearly elated by the response. "There you have it, folks!" he bubbled. "Even the students love the new field effects! Would you look at that!" he exclaimed proudly. "As good as an intense Gym battle, you said?" he repeated for emphasis. "That was the inspiration for the idea! To allow our students to compete on a totally separate level from regular battles. After all, this is the Winter Cup!"

{Hosts- Brand & Robert} Brand chuckled and smiled encouragingly at Robert. "Well, if it's any consolation that's about the answer we've gotten from Professor Redwood and Professor Cadmus, too. Jacob and Mareek must be fierce opponents if everyone's so confident one of them will win!" the man said. "What do you think of our BRAND new field effects?"

Bark also looked over the lip of the building into the alleyway, where he saw the familiar form of Faust facing off against what appeared to be a Beast. "He needs our help. Now." Bark said quickly. He stood on the lip of the building and looked down at the fire escape. He leapt over the edge, turning backward in the air and grabbing the first available metal rail. He proceeded to drop down the rest until he was in the ladder, facing down the Beast near Faust. "Looked like you needed an assist," he said cordially.

{Jacob, Mareek, and Alvin} Jacob nodded. "Yeah, I should probably heal up my Pokemon anyway. Then we can go find a place for me to show you my new teammate," he said excitedly, waving goodbye to Alvin and waiting for Mareek to lead the way to the med center. {Hosts- Brand & Robert} "Hmm! Fascinating! So as a part of the Trainer program, you must be familiar with a lot of today's battlers! Who do you think is gonna win this year's Wwwwwwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinter Cup? And are there any lucky ladies out there cheering you on?" Brand asked the student.

No problem. Just making sure everyone stays involved