DarkLight

Flux also has an older character (at least older than any of the Covert Ops as far I remember; his character calls us "kids"). I'm not sure how old though since I can't find our character descriptions any more...

Miki gasped as Lupus took off his sunglasses to address them but quickly recovered when Lobo managed to burn the ceiling with his fiery attack. As Jory headed off to find some warmer clothes, Miki began to feel more comfortable around the two men, as each of them here, she realized, joined their cause to take down the so called Goddess for important reasons of their own. She could definitely relate to them. "J-Jory is right, Lupus. Raito and I have lost our family when Dawn and her Church raided our hometown... To this d-day - It's been almost 5 years, I think - I... Still have no clue as to whether or not I will see them again..." She blinked back several tears before she continued. "But, it's because of that that I decided to join Team Dusk. I also don't want more people to lose their lives any more over this. D-Dawn needs to be stopped no matter what!" Miki practically shouted out the last statement, much to her embarrassment as the people around her started to stare. She quickly wiped her tears away as an excuse to cover her blushing. The Japanese girl was so bent on trying to calm her nerves that she didn't even notice that Flux had come by. Raito gave a satisfied purr as Jon stroked him; too bad it ended right after Flux greeted them. He also noticed that the crowd around Miki has also grown smaller, it must be almost time to leave. As Flux went off to join his human partner, the yellow Eeveelution gave one last yelp at Jon before he began darting back to Miki. Once he was by her side again, Raito jumped up and down as if he was inviting Jon to come over.

541

Squirtle

Miki was disappointed, but held her tongue. It was clear to her now that she touched a nerve and she wouldn't want to go and make enemies. After all, this is all she has left. When Lobo stuck out his tongue with pleasure, she giggled at the sight and decided to change to a more lighter topic. "Oh, s-so you're one of the main team to battle Gardenia? That's really cool! I-I wish I was there to see it, but I was placed in the Covert Ops team..." As the conversations continue to take place, Raito began to wander off to see if he could find more similar faces. Finally, his eyes happened to land in the middle of the room, where Jon was standing awkwardly. Raito bounded off towards him and gave a joyful cry as his greeting, bouncing up and down like a dog that was glad to see his owner.

Shinx

525

Kricketot

Bidoof

523

Empoleon

518

Monferno

516 Nope, you're right on the mark Turbo. Thank you! Okay, so that would make sense for the funny obsession to be known to Danielle... I wonder how Mareek will respond to Slade hugging a plushie...

Danielle and Zared had sat down a good distance away from the training grounds that the Deino and Avis are currently in. They both watched silently as Avis fired off Dark Pulses at the solid objects with relative ease; it didn't seem like Avis would lose herself any more. Once the little Deino was satisfied, he soon moved Avis to target the moving objects instead. He would throw small rocks at her at unpredictable moments and command her to retaliate with her newly acquired move. Although the pebbles are nothing compared to a Rock Tomb, or any other rock-type move for the matter, Danielle would cringe each time when her Murkrow was hit with a small pebble, even though Avis didn't seem to mind it all that much. To the coordinator, a hit is a hit no matter how strong or weak it is. Every bit of damage counts towards winning a battle, even in a contest battle. She gave a deep sigh as she continued her thought process. She did decide to go with the coordinator route to break the trend of trainers in her hometown but, deep down, she also did it because she just didn't have the heart to see a Pokemon lying on the ground in pain. Her brief training as a Furisode Girl at Valerie's gym only made her more certain of her path as she witnessed day after day the gruesome battling techniques that the Pokemon have used to obtain the Fairy Badge. She only endured the painful cries to see if there were combinations that she pick up to use in Contests. And yet, despite her unease at the matches, Danielle respects and admires the trainers and their Pokemon for going through so much just to reach the top. That ignited spark in their eyes was admirable; that passion was something she was lacking due to her fears and doubts, and she knows it. Danielle glanced at Zared, recalling how excited he was during Henry's match and, even, his little battle with Corona. She wondered if she could also just "battle for fun" without worrying about her team getting injured. "Hey, Zared. This probably sounds foolish, but don't you guys upset whenever you got hit in the face? I mean, I would probably cry if I ever got hit with fire, let alone a big rock that could crush me." She saw Zared give a laugh before he knocked on his steel horn with his fist. A resounding clang could be heard to indicate its tough exterior. "I know you're a tough cookie, but... What about those that don't have your massive horn? Doesn't it hurt when you get hit because of your trainer's incompetence?" This time, her Mawile stood up and looked Danielle straight in the eyes. With a few cries, he then poked at where her heart is. Then, he gave a grin and thumped his chest proudly, sticking his nose in the air as if to add more emphasis to his previous statement. Danielle chuckled at his display. "So, you Pokemon really don't blame us for making mistakes on your behalf, huh?" Her Mawile shook his head and, once again, knocked on his horn. "I get it. You guys are built for this, so you seek humans out to help you further along." Finally, Zared gave a happy cry as his point finally got through to his master's head. 'Perhaps I did worry too much. I underestimated them, so that's why they could never do their best.' Danielle nodded and smiled at her confident fairy. "Understood. The next time we battle, I will trust you and the others more, that's a deal." She held out her hand for Zared to touch. Her Mawile responded by giving a high five and beamed at her. 'I can feel it; she is getting stronger each time we talk. I can't wait until we team up to battle! She will be great! I know it!'

Kk~ We'll miss you though.

Torterra Wooh! You guys are awesome!

512 I don't think there is a huge time gap in between chapters 2 and 3? Correct me if I'm wrong though.

"Oh, I see..." Miki said quietly as Sarcus and Jory went about discussing their ideologies. There was something about the way Lupus had explained his state of shock. Although she couldn't see his eyes, there seems to be a hint of sadness in his voice before Lupus changed the subject. However, Miki couldn't help but pry a little further. Maybe, by letting him talk about it, she could help him out in some way. "S-Sorry if I am intruding, Lupus, but... This someone t-that you m-mentioned... She was really important to you, wasn't she?"

"H-Hi... And bye?" Miki greeted the new boy with the Snorlax and the leaving boy with the Honchkrow respectively. Before she could get her bearings, Jory's outburst had made her flinch. Raito had immediately taken his stance, growling softly until he saw the Zangoose's concerned gaze. Miki also noted the Zangoose's expression and nodded quietly as Jory apologized. "It... It's alright. I-I understand, Jory." she finally spoke. "T-This has been h-hard on us too... E-Especially with e-everyone d-dying... I-I'm sure S-Sarcus really doesn't m-mean it that way, though... He and I are on the Covert Ops team..." "Who are you?" "M-Me?!" Miki asked, pointing to herself as she faced the guy standing next to Jory and Shredder. It's not that didn't expect the conversation to continue, it's just that the man's startled expression had caught her off guard. Raito still stood in front of her defensively, although he did tilt his head in confusion. "I-I'm M-Miki Shizayuma... I-I came from S-Sunyshore City b-before D-Dawn took over..." she managed to say after she shifted around awkwardly for a few seconds. "A-And this is my longtime partner, Raito..." The said Jolteon gave a polite cry before he went over to check out the Houndoom. After a brief sniff, he sat down in front of him and twitched his ears to signal his acceptance. Since Raito didn't seem bothered by the man and his equally surprised Houndoom, Miki decided to keep the conversation going to avoid the awkwardness. "A-And you are...?" ((Getting ninja'd everywhere!))

"There's s-so many people n-now..." Miki whispered to her Jolteon by her feet. The shy, Japanese girl had just arrived back into the gym dressed in a dark blue hoodie instead of her grey, hoodied jacket after Lucas' debriefing. Now that Miki knew that they were going to Snowpoint, she wished that she had packed her heavier clothing earlier that she left at her temporary home down south. Considering the chaos that is taking place, however, running back and forth from her base is out of the question for now, so she will have to make due with the blue sweater she has. Miki took a good look at her surroundings: Judging by the damage, the main team has, literally, tore up the place without much regret. She sighed sadly at the thought of the lives that were lost. 'If only Dawn could see this. But, then again, does she even care?' She then heard Raito gave a happy cry as he trotted over to Sarcus and Absolution. "Ah, w-wait, Raito!" Miki stammered before she caught up with him. "Hi Sarcus and Absolution and... Um... N-Nice to meet y-you t-too..." Miki greeted shyly to the unfamiliar faces. She just wished she could just turn invisible now.

Updated Avis' moveset. However, this doesn't mean that her Dark Pulse is always normal. It will still fail from time to time until the Winter Cup is underway.

“Avis… A- kay…?” “P--se say s—thing…” “Avis, please wake up…” Avis heard the soft, familiar voice of her master echoing from the depths of her mind. As she slowly regained her consciousness, Avis began to hear the other sounds of the forest around them. She could hear Zared trying to reassure Danielle that she will wake up soon and the Deino sniffing her to check her vital signs. When the Deino got too close to her face, Avis couldn’t help but utter a small cry telling him to get away. An immediate shuffling then occurred before she heard Danielle exclaim, “Avis! You’re alive!” ‘Of course I am. It takes more than that to kill me.’ The blurry images of her master and Zared slowly became clearer as she opened her eyes; they appeared relieved to see her coming around. Avis gave a weak smile as she tried to move onto the forest grounds. The Murkrow found herself struggling though before she resigned to settle back into her master’s arms after assuming a more comfortable position. Her wing muscles were aching terribly and she can feel a headache coming around. What in Arceus’ name has happened to her? The last thing she remembered was that huge boulder in front of her, which was now gone. She strained her neck muscles to look left and right and gave a questioning cry. Danielle allowed Zared and Deino to explain what had occurred, believing that they could do a better job than a human ever can. She stroked Avis gently on her head as their conversation took place. *** Danielle, Zared, and the Deino had to wait several more minutes before Avis finally collapsed in the clearing. When the three of them reached her, they found Avis panting heavily from exhaustion before she slipped into a deep sleep. As Danielle cradled her black bird, Zared took a look at the destruction the Murkrow had caused. All around them, there were bits and pieces of rock and wood beneath their feet. The huge boulder that was once the Deino’s target practice was now reduced to a pile of pebbles. The leaves were floating down around them as the silence settled in once more. *** Avis crept around the clearing cautiously, clearly in shock at the destruction she has caused in her rampage. She then felt Danielle pick her up and snuggled her close to her chest. “It’s not your fault, Avis… I didn’t know you were so bothered by Evan and Kristen. If I did, you probably wouldn’t have lost control at all. I’m sorry…” Avis snuggled back and uttered a soft cry to let her know that the bird forgave her. In honesty, though, Danielle didn’t do anything wrong at all. The Deino had explained that this was a natural cycle to learning Dark Pulse. Unforgiving, dark thoughts would begin to cloud a Pokemon’s mind at its onset. These feelings would only intensify as the stimuli are discovered, which happened to be Evan and Kristen. The only way to subdue its effects to, simply, let it all go in one full setting. Despite its destructive learning process, a Pokemon’s Dark Pulse, and consequently the user’s mind, would then be more stable afterwards. But, of course, the Pokemon cannot really explain all of this to a human, so Avis will just settle with letting Danielle learning it on her own in school and pretend to accept the apology. The Deino cried out to snap them back into reality. With an approving nod at the progress made, he began to stumble out of his playground and allowed the human and her Pokemon to catch up to him. Now that the harshest part of the lesson was complete, the Murkrow would only need practice her aim and concentration. Since most of the stuff here was demolished, he will lead them to another part of the forest where he and his friends and family play. This would also give him an opportunity to keep an eye, or rather an ear, out to see if Avis would lose control again. Those cases are rare, though, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Plus, he might get a bigger reward from the human for being so responsible and helpful.

Bagon

500 LOL! She's good, but she cannot assume he will like it without any basis. Slade has not dropped a hint in front of her that says he likes plushies yet xD