Seehan

Seehan Seehan and Alice passed through the police checkpoint and into the Obsidia Ward, only to behold a scene straight out of Hell. Plants the size of a Steelix had come bursting out of the streets, wrapping around buildings and destroying anything in their path. Smaller vines had sprung out of the cracks, ensnaring people and Pokemon alike. In the corner of his eye, Seehan saw Alice turn her head away from a mangled corpse, its twisted remains still being squeezed tighter and tighter by a cluster of plants. "... Let's keep moving. The map says to go East, then South to reach the Western entrance of the Slums." The two trainers walked in silence, occasionally pausing to cut free several unfortunate, but alive, people and Pokemon, and burning open a door to allow a family to escape towards the blockade. Ame had not been kidding when she said the Police force was spread thin; Seehan spotted less than half a dozen uniformed officers as they moved deeper into the Obsidia Ward. How bad must the other Wards be doing, he thought, if a disaster like this only constituted a police blockade and evacuation order? As they neared the Slums, Alice suddenly pointed forward, at a dense cluster of vines. "Look! Isn't that...?" Running forward, the two trainers examined the bundle of plants and were relieved to find Victoria within, eyes closed but still breathing in short, labored gasps. Clearly, the plants were restricting her ability to breath. Quickly cutting her free with Zigzagoon and Roselia's assistance, Seehan laid her carefully down on the ground, checking her pulse and searching for broken bones. Though her pulse was slow, she appeared to have no injuries besides several bad scrapes. Seehan breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness... We made it in time." "Seehan, look at this." Glancing over, he saw that Alice had wandered off to look at something, and was now returning with the shattered remains of Victoria's Pokegear. "Well, this explains why you heard her get cut off. She must have been fleeing the Slums and got caught up in these plants. Her Pokegear was under a giant vine, so it's no wonder that it got smashed like it did." Seehan nodded, but before he could reply, a hand suddenly locked around his throat. Struggling to look down, he saw that the hand belonged to Victoria, her eyes open and bloodshot. Despite currently strangling the life out of him, she didn't seem to be aware that he was even there. She started screaming. "NO! NOONONONONONONNONOONONONONONONONONONONONONONNOOOO! THEY'RE EVERYWHEREEEEEEEEE!!!!! I'M SORRYYY! I COULDN'T SAVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU ARGHGHAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" "Seehan! Mawile, use Knock Off! Be careful not to hurt her!" As Alice sent out her Pokemon with a flash of light, Mawile leapt forward, hitting Victoria with a held back but still firm Knock Off, forcing her to release her grip on Seehan's neck. Gasping for breath, Seehan climbed to his feet, and looked over in alarm as Victoria also bounced to her feet, Pokeballs in hand. "NONOONONOOO, don't let them take ussssss! Ralts, Makuhita, make them go away!" "Victoria! Ughhh, it doesn't look like there's any other way out of this. Ralts, kiminikimete![i choose you!]" "I'll help too! Mawile, stand by for battle, but go easy on them!" As Alice took up a position beside Seehan, their Pokemon cautiously eyed Victoria's partners as they appeared from their Pokeballs. Unlike their trainer, they appeared to be sound of mind, and seemed reluctant to battle Seehan and Alice. However, perhaps out of loyalty to Victoria, they took up their fighting positions all the same. Seehan closed his eyes, and when they reopened they were sharp and focused, signalling that he had entered Blank Slate. ... I really don't want to have to battle Victoria while she's like this. I still don't know exactly what's wrong with her, but it's clear that we need to get her to safety as soon as possible. We need to end this quickly, before her condition gets any worse. He directed his thoughts toward Ralts, the two already connected in an Empathetic Link. Here we go. Wait for them to make a move, then Teleport behind them and use Disarming Voice. "Mawile! Use Iron Head to sweep them away!" Victoria's Makuhita and Ralts sprung into action, their attention focused on Alice's Mawile. It made sense; without their trainer to command them, their first instinct was to take out the seemingly bigger threat. Mawile did not stand idle either; it whipped around and swung its head mandible towards them in an arc, the Steel type move gleaming in the afternoon sun. Before any of their moves connected, however, Victoria's two Pokemon were suddenly bulled over by a wave of sound emanating from their rear, courtesy of Seehan's Ralts. Off balance, they were easily swept up and flung away by Mawile's Iron Head. Ralts fainted instantly upon hitting the ground; Makuhita managed to struggle to its feet, though clearly winded from the impact and damage it had sustained. Victoria recalled Ralts, her hand shaking wildly around the Pokeball as it retrieved its charge. "Oh no, my dear Ralts...... Don't worry, Pignite will protect us!" As Pignite appeared, Seehan shook his head. From what he had observed so far, it appeared as though the plants had injected Victoria with some sort of neurotoxin, making her delirious and hostile towards everyone but her own Pokemon. If there are other victims like Victoria, we are in for a lot of trouble. "Mawile, use Play Rough!" Ralts, use Confusion. Their Pokemon made quick work of Victoria's, trainerless as they were. As her partners fainted, Victoria dropped to her knees, apparently losing all her strength along with the battle. Seehan moved to her side swiftly, checking her pupils. ".... She's unconscious again. Maybe it's better this way; it'll make it easier to carry her out of here." Quickly retrieving Victoria's Pokeballs and recalling her Pokemon, Seehan was about to pick her up, when he suddenly noticed the ground beneath him beginning to crack- He threw Victoria out of the way, before leaping aside just in time to avoid the giant tendrils as they burst from the ground, obliterating the concrete where he had just been standing. Rolling to a halt, he looked up to see the entrance of the alleyway completely blocked off, with him alone trapped on this side. Avoiding the smaller vines now creeping out of the cracks, he called over to Alice. "ALICE! ARE YOU ALRIGHT? HOW'S VICTORIA?" "YES, WE'RE ALL OK! VICTORIA IS SAFE TOO! YOUR RALTS TOOK A BAD HIT THOUGH, IT'S FAINTED!" Seehan swore under his breath. Without Ralts's Teleport, he was trapped on this side of the plant wall. Turning, he surveyed the alleyway, noting that it seemed to go much further back. "... IT LOOKS LIKE THIS ALLEY LEADS INTO THE SLUMS. I'LL GO FURTHER IN AND LOOK FOR ANOTHER EXIT." "OK!!! I'LL TAKE VICTORIA AND YOUR RALTS TO THE POKEMON CENTER, THEN TRY TO FIND A WAY AROUND TO MEET UP WITH YOU!" Seehan nodded to himself. Making sure his remaining Pokeballs were secure on his belt, Seehan hefted his bag and entered the Obsidia Slums. Trainer Profile: Seehan

**not part of the story**~~ Please feel free to PM me feedback ^^ should I make a discussion page? would it be used? are there any glaring problems in my writing? HIT ME WITH IT

Alice rejoined Seehan just as his buzzer began vibrating, signalling that Ame was ready to see him. Together, they were escorted behind the administrator's desk, and ushered into a room in the back area. Inside, an exhausted looking Ame smiled at them over a pile of papers strewn over her desk. "Seehan, Alice. It's good to see you two, although I hadn't expected for us to meet again so soon." Alice was surprised; Ame was right. Though it felt like much more time had passed, it was only yesterday that she and Seehan had awoken from their comas and begun their journeys in Reborn. Seehan returned her greeting, then got to the point right away. "Around an hour ago, I received a call from Victoria. She sounded like she was in danger, but the call was cut off before I could ascertain where she was. She told me she was in the Obsidia Ward, but I have no idea where she was within it. Is there a way I can trace the location of the call?" Ame frowned, eyebrows creased. "... It should be possible, but it would take time... And if what's happening right now in Obsidia is as bad as the reports I'm getting say it is, then it's time we don't have." She leaned closer, lowering her voice. "As we speak, giant plants are destroying the Obsidia Ward. Hundreds of people are already being reported as missing or dead. Obsidia Park has completely vanished, and most of the roads are impassable. Julia is heading to Opal Bridge to try and help with the evacuation, while Florinia is trying to formulate a strategy to get rid of the plants. We have no idea why the plants have suddenly begun rampaging, nor do we know how. All we know is that people are dying, and we can't do anything to stop it except run away." Seehan leaned back in his chair, trying to digest what he had just learned. As Ame allowed him a moment to process the load of information she had just dropped on him, Alice tentatively spoke up. "Erm..... Why was Victoria in the Obsidia Ward in the first place? I thought she was challenging the Reborn League like Seehan and I. If so, shouldn't she have been challenging Julia's gym, like us?" Seehan answered her, still deep in thought. "She said that something had bothered her as she passed through Obsidia on her way here, and went to check it out......." His eyes widened, and he bolted to his feet, pulling out his Pokegear in the same motion and calling up his map. "Alice, you just made me realize something. If Victoria noticed something on her way here, that means she must have been investigating something she passed by as she ran here from...." He pointed at a spot near the bottom of his map. "The Coral Ward, where she got off the ferry from Apophyll Beach. She was in a hurry, meaning she would have taken the shortest route possible, meaning.... Here. She would have cut through the Obsidia Slums. The Obsidia Slums are pretty isolated from the rest of the Obsidia Ward, which means she wouldn't have had a chance to see anything strange unless the thing that was strange was in the Slums!" He slammed a hand onto Ame's desk, disturbing a few loose pieces of paper. "Victoria must be, or at least was an hour ago, in the Obsidia Slums. That's where we'll start our search." Ame nodded in approval, an impressed look on her face. "An excellent deduction, Seehan. You're correct, Victoria does regularly cut through the Slums whenever she comes to visit the Grand Hall. I believe your guess to be spot on. Before you go, however, there is one more thing I must inform you of." Her look turned grave. "... We, as in Julia, Florinia, and myself, have suspicions that Team Meteor may be related to this incident. Take that as you will, but please take care and watch your back. I'll let Julia know that you two are coming, and to let you through the police checkpoint. Take this HM card for Cut as well; if you place it in your Pokedex, you can teach certain Pokemon the move through the PokeSynchro system. It might prove useful, considering where you're going." Seehan nodded his gratitude, before exiting the room. Alice hastily said her farewells and trailed after him, leaving the beleaguered administrator to her work. As they exited the Grand Hall and began climbing Opal Bridge, Alice returned Seehan's Pokemon that she had taken to the Pokemon Center for him. Taking them gratefully, he returned them to his belt. Alice spoke up, her face a little confused. "I didn't want to say anything back there since we were in a hurry, but who's Team Meteor? I assume they're a dangerous group, like Team Flare?" Seehan thought back to the red-suited individuals that had caused such a stir in the Kalos Region, then shook his head. "No... Team Meteor makes Team Flare look tame." He quickly filled her in on what had happened the night before at the factory. He had pondered long and hard on whether or not he should tell her, but had decided that it was safer that she knew what they were potentially up against. "... I think I get it. But, if they really are behind this plant business, how do you think they're pulling it off?" "I don't know. But I'm getting this sneaking suspicion that we're going to find out, eventually." The two walked on in silence. As the police perimeter came into view, Alice posed one last question to the older boy beside her. "Why do you care so much about getting stronger? What drives you to want victory so much?" Seehan didn't answer, though Alice thought she saw a flicker of emotion cross his face before disappearing. Had she imagined it? ".... I'll tell you another time. We're here, let's get Julia to let us through and see what we're up against." Waving to the emerald haired Gym Leader, Seehan jogged on ahead, leaving Alice in his wake. "W-wait for me!" Trainer Profile: Seehan Trainer Profile: Alice

Seehan Exiting the Peridot Gym, Seehan began walking East. Alice joined him. "So, what's the plan? Do you have any ideas on where Victoria is in the Obsidia Ward?" Seehan shook his head. "Since you're joining me, we can't go there directly anyway. Let's go to the Grand Hall first; you need to rest your Pokemon, and I can take the opportunity to see if Ame has any information. It won't do Victoria any good if we run in blindly and get ourselves killed." Climbing the steps leading into the massive building, the two trainers entered the Grand Hall. The duo quickly split up; Alice headed to the Pokemon Center with Seehan's Electrike and Monferno in tow, while Seehan walked straight through the Hall to the back wall, where the administrator's desk was located. As he arrived, he did not fail to notice the strained, harried atmosphere surrounding the administrators frantically taking calls and bustling around hurriedly. However, there was no sign of panic on any of their faces; it appeared that being an administrator of Reborn City required one to have nerves of steel. Requesting an appointment with Ame, Seehan was told she was currently in a conference call with the leaders of the Peridot and Onyx Wards. In other words, Julia and Florinia. After being given a buzzer, Seehan began pacing impatiently up and down the waiting area. As the boy brooded, he was approached by an old man holding a large, watertight container. "Excuse me young man, you are a trainer, correct? I have an offer for you. One that you cannot possibly refuse~." Seehan ignored him. He didn't have any interest in being scammed at this particular point in time. The man moved closer, insistent. "A trainer such as you deserves a Pokemon of legend; A Pokemon so rare in this region that I had to call in thousands of old favors to procure it. With this Pokemon, you will be invincible." Seehan perked up, slightly interested despite himself. At his root he was, after all, a Pokemon Trainer, and hearing the words "rare Pokemon" were super effective on him, as perhaps the old man knew. Gesturing for the old man to show him the goods, the old man shook his head. "Sorry sir~. I cannot risk allowing anyone to know this Pokemon has found its way into the region; I am making a special exception even mentioning it to you!" So, it was the Pokemon Seehan thought it was. "... I don't know........... If I can't verify what Pokemon it is, I cant adequately judge whether it's worth the money or not......" Seehan teased the old man with his words, watching him squirm. In reality, Seehan was really quite interested in getting his hands on the Pokemon he suspected the scammer was trying to push on him; he did not, however, feel like paying an exuberant amount of money for it. "Don't worry sir, my products are always top notch! I'm willing to part with this beauty for a mere 50000!" Seehan looked at him with a blank stare. "... 100." "S-s-s-SIR! How could you possibly suggest for my merchandise to be worth so little?!? I'll admit, perhaps my initial price was slightly ambitious; just for you, I shall cut down to 40000!" Seehan sighed and made to leave. "W-w-w-w-wait!!! Alright, I get it, you are a very tough customer. I understand, we are both men, right? 30000!" Seehan looked at him, his eyes emotionless. A bead of sweat formed on the man's brow. "20000!!" "....... 200." "15000!!!!" "250." "5000!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "400." "...... 1000?" "500." "......................." "." And thus, Seehan happily acquired a Magikarp for 500. Trainer Profile: Seehan

DD Gyarados can single handedly sweep every single Leader in the game, if paired with someone with Lightning Rod

Alice knew better than anyone that in an all out battle, she stood no chance against the trainer in front of her. Even so, she couldn't back down. There was more than her pride on the line; her gut told her that if she failed to get the older boy to acknowledge her here, she would never get the chance ever again. Appearing in twin flashes of light, Seehan's Monferno and Alice's Squirtle took to the battlefield, the latter wincing in pain as it materialized. The damage it had taken from the fight against Julia had taken its toll on the Tiny Turtle, and she gave it a silent apology for forcing it back into battle. Seehan wasted no time in making the first move. "Mach Punch." "Defend with Withdraw!" Squirtle retreated into its shell just in time to avoid a direct hit from Monferno. However, instead of being knocked backwards, like Alice had expected, Monferno launched Squirtle into the air with its fist. Alice's eyes widened; this was the same tactic that Julia had used against her Numel. Just like what had occurred then, Alice's mind momentarily drew a blank. "Once more." "Squ-Squirtle! Use Bubble!" Alice's command, just as before, came a second too late; Monferno leapt into the air with blinding speed and punched her Squirtle, hurtling it towards the ground before it could counter attack. As it slammed into the ground, Alice stood there, speechless. Once again, her ineptitude as a trainer was holding her Pokemon back. Was this truly as far as she could go? Monferno landed back onto the battlefield and took up its fighting stance once more, bouncing lightly on its toes. Seehan lifted his pointer finger up towards Alice, indicating a number 1. "... Weakness number one. You panic easily in unfamiliar situations. You cover up this weakness using a mix of ingenious combination moves and planning multi-layered strategies in advance. However, as you cannot feasibly predict every possible situation that will occur, you inevitably find yourself freezing up in critical situations." Squirtle stood up, shaking. It was reaching its limit; it would be dangerous to go on much further than this. But even so... Even so.................. Please, just a little more, Squirtle. "Hit Monferno with a Tackle!" "Leer. Two steps to the right. Mach Punch." Squirtle made to throw itself forward; Monferno looked it in the eye, making it hesitate for a brief moment before executing its Tackle. Monferno moved two paces to the right, dodging the Water type Pokemon, before chopping down with its Mach Punch. It struck a quick, clean blow to the back of Squirtle's head, knocking it out instantly. Seehan raised a second finger. "Weakness number two. When you get into a dangerous situation, you always unconsciously resort to close combat. This ends up making you predictable, especially when your Pokemon aren't suited to it." Alice simply stared at her Squirtle lying on the floor, stunned at herself. The difference in experience and skill was just too large; once again, she had lost even with the type advantage. Even if she sent out her Mawile, her current self would be unable to make use of its advantage in strength over Monferno. She was even unsure if she was of sound enough state of mind to use Mega Evolution. She closed her eyes, shoulders shaking. ... I haven't changed at all. ........ But even so. I know I'm weak. I've accepted that I'm weak. That's why I'm here, isn't it? So that I, as a trainer and as a person, can become someone that won't hold back my Pokemon. She opened her eyes, a new flame of determination burning in them, and looked Seehan in the eye. "I won't lose here. And even if I do, I will never give up. I will chase after your back forever until I finally reach it, and when that day comes, I will beat you." As she spoke, her Squirtle slowly and painfully rose to its feet. Letting out a cry of defiance, it began to glow. Within moments, a Wartortle stood in front of its trainer, neither Pokemon nor trainer giving any indication of surrendering. However, instead of scoffing at her proclamation and resuming the battle like she thought he would, Seehan was staring at her as if he had never seen her before. No, that was wrong. It was as if he was looking at someone he had known very well, but in a time long past. Seehan closed his eyes. When they opened, they were the eyes of the lovable boy she had befriended just the day before, but already felt so close to. "... Understood. Let's end the battle here, then. You've proven your point; you can come with me to the Obsidia Ward, as long as you promise to stay close and follow my lead." Alice blinked, thrown off guard by his sudden approval. He seemed to be genuine, though, as he recalled his Monferno, thanking it for its work. "Return, Squir- I mean, Wartortle!" Her Pokemon turned towards her and grinned, before vanishing into its Ball in a beam of red light. Seehan turned and walked out of the gym. For a second, while looking at Alice, he had seen the silhouette of a blue-gray haired girl in a pink skirt and white beanie glaring at him, instead of a blonde one in a black skirt. And if Alice was anything like her, nothing he could say or do would dissuade her from doing what she wanted. Trainer Profile: Seehan Trainer Profile: Alice

Seehan Seehan's blood was pumping; he was eager to start the battle. As the referee began the formalities of the battle, however, his Pokegear began ringing. Seehan frowned; he was sure he had set it so only a few people could make it ring while on Silent. One was Alice, one was Ame, and one was... Raising a hand of apology to the questioning gaze of the referee, he placed the device to his ear. "Hello?" Immediately, he could tell that something, somewhere, was going horribly wrong. The screams in the background of the call were a dead giveaway. A scared sounding female voice began speaking quickly. "Seehan, I need your help. Something terrible has happened in the Obsidia Ward, and-" The voice trailed off with a scream that sounded like the speaker was being dragged away by something. Sounds that suggested that her Pokegear had clattered onto the ground came through his receiver. Seehan yelled into his device, even though he knew that it was already too late; she wouldn't be able hear his words. "What's happening? Where are you? Oi!" His heart beat against his chest; if something had happened to her because he had wasted his time here in the Peridot Ward, he would never forgive himself. "VICTORIA!" Smashing noises were heard, then the line went dead. Presumably, her Pokegear had been crushed by something. Without turning his head, he sensed Alice running down the stairs from the spectator's stand. Julia joined him as well. "What what what? What's going on, Seehan?" Feeling a horrible twisting in his gut, he bowed deeply to Julia. "I'm sorry, Julia, but I'll need to put our match on hold. I have to go to the Obsidia Ward immediately." Julia scrunched up her face, confused. "But didn't Rini say she wouldn't let you help if you didn't have any badges?" Seehan shook his head. "I'm not going to help Florinia. I'm going to go find out what happened to my friend. From what I could tell from the call, something terrible is happening, and I'm going to go find out what." Alice stepped forward. "I'll come with you. From what it sounds like, things are going to be dangerous. Having someone to watch your back could be-" She broke off as Seehan shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, but this is too dangerous. You should stay here, with Julia, where it's sa-" She slapped him across the face before he could finish, making him stagger slightly from the unexpected blow. "Where it's what? Safe? I am a Pokemon Trainer, not a little girl that needs to be protected. If you won't take me with you, I'll force you to stay too." She pulled out a Pokeball and pointed it at him. Seehan stared at it, then at her face. She was dead serious. "... You're kidding right? Your Pokemon are all wounded. You don't stand a chance against me." He wasn't trying to hurt her feelings, it was the truth; including her Mawile, she had 3 usable Pokemon; two of which were badly wounded. Although her Mawile would be a problem, it was one he was confident he could handle. The other two weren't even worth mentioning, as injured as they were. However, even though she must have known these facts as well as he did, Alice showed no sign of backing down. Fine then. He would match her determination with his own. "I don't have the time for this. You'll have to forgive me if I don't hold back." "I'd be insulted if you did. You'll have to break both my legs if you want to stop me from following you." Julia stood there, aghast, as the two trainers faced one another, Pokeballs in hand. "Uhhh. Well, I'm going to go call Ame and figure out what's going on. Try not to kaBOOM the gym, alright?" And with that, she and the referee left the room. Seehan gave silent thanks to the emerald haired gym leader, then focused his attention on Alice. Every second counted; he couldn't afford to be held up here if Victoria was in danger. He would end this farce as fast as possible, then run directly to the Obsidia Ward. Seehan activated Blank Slate. A crackle of electricity from the gym floor set the two trainers into motion. "Go, Squirtle!" "Monferno, kiminikimete![i choose you!]" Trainer Profile: Seehan

Alice As the dust cleared, Alice desperately rubbed at her eyes, trying to clear her vision. At last, she opened her eyes to find the battlefield fully visible once more. Julia's Electrode lay unconscious in a shallow crater where it had exploded. However, Alice's Squirtle was no where to be seen. As Julia returned her Pokemon to its Pokeball, Alice looked wildly around for her Squirtle. Motion in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned her head to see the Tiny Turtle stick its head out of its shell and look around, still half buried in a pile of dirt. It had managed to follow her command in time after all. Although the Electric Field had given Electrode's attack an additional Electric typing, Explosion was inherently a Physical Move, making its damage reducible by moves like Withdraw. However, it was clear that the attack had dealt massive damage to the Water type Pokemon as it stood up slowly, wincing in pain. Glancing across the arena towards her opponent, Alice thought Julia looked a little uneasy, perhaps having expected her Electrode's final attack to have finished off Alice's Squirtle. This is it. One Pokemon left. I'm so close now. Alice looked to the spectator's stand, where she saw Seehan observing the battle intensely. Above all, she thought, she didn't want to lose in front of him. She wondered why she cared so much about what he thought of her, but was pulled out of her distracted thoughts as Julia pulled out her final Pokeball. Pointing it at Alice, the emerald haired gym leader called out to her. "This is it, Alice! One of us is about to be going BOOOM, but it won't be me!" And with that, she threw her Pokeball. Alice saw Julia whispering something that looked suspiciously like "don'tgoboom, don'tgoboom, don'tgoboom..." under her breath as her Emolga materialized into the air above the battlefield. As Alice's Squirtle and Julia's Emolga faced off, Alice was struck by how calm she felt. In Kalos, she had panicked in almost all her gym battles, making bad calls and losing over and over until finally earning her badge days later. Here, on this battlefield in a land so far away from home, her mind was clear; her careful plans and strategies prepared the night before were all lined up neatly for easy access, and no matter what happened next, Alice felt ready for it. Feeling her Pokedex vibrate, she pulled it out and read its notification. Her Squirtle had learned a new move. Alice made use of it immediately. "Squirtle! Hit it with a Bubble! Try to slow it down!" "Emolga! Dodge it and uuuuuse Charge Beam~!!" Executing a crisp barrel roll, the Emolga avoided Squirtle's Bubble, and fired off a beam of electricity towards the Water Pokemon standing on the ground below. Barely rolling out of the way in time, Squirtle was unable to dodge Emolga's next move. "Follow it up wiiiiiith an Acrobatics!" Julia's Emolga slammed into Squirtle, flipped through the air, then hit it again from another angle. Squirtle tried to knock it down with another Bubble, but the Flying and Electric type Pokemon was too agile, deftly avoiding the streams of translucent spheres and striking again and again. Squirtle was forced onto its knees, its arms covering its head trying to protect itself from the assault. "Squirtle! Defend yourself with Withdraw!" The Tiny Turtle quickly hid in its shell, helpless to fight back, as Emolga beat down on it mercilessly. Alice cut her hand through the air in front of her, calling out commands. "Squirtle! Use Bubble to make yourself spin! Create some distance!" Squirtle complied, forcing its opponent away from it with a cloud of Bubbles. In a flash, Squirtle reemerged from its shell, glaring at the Emolga. "Don't give it a chance to recover! Boom it with one more Charge Beam~!!!" "Shoot that thing down! Hit it with your strongest Bubble!" The two Pokemon fired their attacks, and for a brief moment their moves clashed, equal in strength. Emolga's type advantage quickly grew apparent, however, as Squirtle began being pushed back, wincing as stray sparks of electricity danced down and struck it on its face and body. Emolga's Charge Beam began overpowering Squirtle's Bubble inch by inch, drawing closer and closer, until at last Alice had had enough. "Squirtle, return!" Emolga's attack struck the spot Squirtle was standing with a crash of energy, scorching the dirt and causing sparks to fly up from the Electric Field. As Emolga's Special Attack increased in power, the referee raised his flag. "The Challenger has recalled their Pokemon in a manner that has directly interfered with the battle! As such, the Challenger's Squirtle may no longer be used for the duration of the match! The Leader's Emolga is the winner!" "Thanks for your hard work, Squirtle. You did great." Alice whispered to her starter, whose Pokeball wiggled weakly in response. Clipping it to her waist, Alice pulled out her final Pokeball. As she did, her mind inexplicably flashed back to her first battle against Seehan. Despite the tension in the air, she smiled. "It all comes down to this. Budew, kiminikimete![i choose you!]" A flash of light caused Budew to appear on the battlefield. However, Budew did not stop glowing even after fully materializing. In fact, it shined even brighter as the Pokeball's light faded, growing in size and shape. Alice watched, entranced, as her Budew evolved into Roselia. Her Pokedex, still clutched tightly in her left hand, whirred as it registered a torrent of new data, notifying her of the moves her Roselia had acquired. Glancing through it, she put the device away. She wouldn't be needing it anymore for this battle. "Here we go, Roselia! Shower it with a flurry of Poison Sting!" "It's time for our last cheer, Emolga~! Knock those pins away with Tail Whip, then use Acrobatics!" As Roselia fired a round of Poison Sting, Emolga closed in. It spun once, safely deflecting the tiny pricks with its tail, before closing in and ramming Roselia with its body. However, in contrast from when it had used the move on Squirtle, Emolga did not bounce away from Roselia and strike again, but rather stayed stuck to the Plant Pokemon. Alice grinned. "Gotcha." Roselia had waited until Emogla got into range, then had used Absorb. Its tiny roots had caught Emolga as it had dived in, digging into its skin and preventing it from flying away. As it struggled to free itself, Alice gave her final command. "Once more! Poison Sting!" Being fired at point blank, this time Emolga had no way of avoiding or deflecting the tiny barbs, and it screeched as dozens of purple pricks were buried into its skin, poisoning it. "NO NO NO NO NO!!! EMOLGA! KABOOM THEM WITH A CHARGE BEAM!" Gritting its teeth against the Poison in its system, Emolga fired a powerful Charge Beam straight into Roselia's face. The two Pokemon stood there, locked in a strange embrace, howling at one another as they used their final moves. Moments passed, and at last, Emolga's Charge Beam flickered out as it fainted in Roselia's arms. The referee raised his flag. "Leader Julia's Emolga is unable to battle! Challenger Alice of Lumiose City is the winner!" Alice recalled her Roselia and dropped to her knees in exhaustion. Across the arena, Julia stood stock still in disbelief. "..... Mrrrrrrrr.............. I... Lost?" She sighed. "SO LAME!" Recalling her Emolga, she stomped across the battlefield until she stood in front of Alice. Reaching into one of her pom poms, she pulled out an envelope and a thin piece of shining metal. "Here you go! Your prize money, and one brand new Volt Badge! Congrats~!" Alice accepted both, placing them into her bag before standing up and dusting herself off. Julia turned and winked up at the trainer watching from the stands. "It's your turn now!!!! Gimme a sec to heal my Pokemon and I'll be right back kayyyy~!" And with that, Julia skipped off into a back room. Seehan strolled down the stairs and gave Alice a high five. "Nicely done! You've definitely improved your battling style since our battle yesterday." Alice accepted the praise with a blush and shook her head. "I lucked out. Budew would have had no chance against Emolga if it hadn't evolved when it did." Seehan smiled at her. "It was your trust in Budew that allowed it to evolve when it did. This battle was your complete victory." Turning away from the red-faced girl, Seehan grinned challengingly at Julia, who had just returned. The cheerleader shot one right back. "Are you ready to be kaBOOOOOOMED????" Alice moved into the spectator's stand as the two trainers took their positions. The referee began the formalities. "Seehan of Pallet Town wishes to challenge Julia of the Peridot Ward Gym in-" He was cut off as Seehan's Pokegear began ringing. Frowning, the dark haired boy raised his hand in apology and pulled it out, putting it to his ear. "Hello?" His expression shifted; a look of confusion settled on the trainer's features, then quickly changed to panic. He began yelling. "What's happening? Where are you? Oi!" His face was white. "VICTORIA!" Trainer Profile: Alice

I love you. You are making writing my story so much easier. You have my eternal gratitude for doing this <3

I've been using this wonderful guide written by Sophia for my story http://www.pokemonreborn.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=13417

Seehan was impressed, watching as Alice sent out her Squirtle after successfully weakening Julia's Electrode with her clever strategy. It was clear that she had done a lot of thinking on how to improve herself as a trainer. In contrast with Seehan's battling style of simply overwhelming his opponents through sheer skill, Alice appeared to have covered up her weaker real-time battling skills with extended research and multi layered backup plans. She, like Serena, had accepted her own weakness, and had instead focused on becoming stronger in her own way rather than trying to become something she was not. As her Squirtle took to the battlefield, Seehan wondered how much further Alice would go as a trainer. He was excited to find out. Her Budew returned to its Ball in a stream of red energy, and at the same time, Squirtle materialized in a flash of dazzling light. Across from Alice, Julia looked surprised. Clearly, Alice's tactic had caught her off guard; even Alice herself was surprised that it had worked. Poison Point was an Ability that only had a certain amount of chance of activating, and she wouldn't have had a second opportunity to reapply it if that one touch hadn't activated it. However, the odds were once again in her favor; Julia's ace was now weakened by Poison, and Alice's Squirtle was fresh and ready for battle. Alice didn't relax though, even in the slightest. Even if she got past Electrode, there was still an untouched Emolga waiting to be sent out on Julia's side. The real battle had only just begun. Julia quickly got over her surprise, beaming an enormous smile at her opponent. "WOW! THAT WAS AWESOME!!!! I'm so happy that you're a tough opponent, Alice, or this wouldn't have been fun at all!! Sorry though," Here she assumed a semi-serious expression. "you're still gonna get kaBOOOMED!!!! Electrode, uuuuuuuuse Charge Beam!" "Push it back with a Water Gun!" As the Electrode shot out a techno colored beam of electricty, Squirtle responded with a powerful Water Gun, and for a moment the two Pokemon were evenly matched. However, Alice had forgotten about the effects of the Electric Field. Sparks flying around the Electrode, its Charge Beam suddenly increased in power, forcing Squirtle to dive out of the way as the wave of electricity crashed into where it had been standing. Strands of electricity crackled around Electrode as its Special Attack became more powerful from the leftover energy of its Charge Beam. "Close the distance, Squirtle! Hit it with a Tackle!" "Electrode, Electrode, don't let up~! Blow them up, blow them up, go and use Spark~!!!!" Squirtle charged forward, the Electrode moving to meet it while blazing with sparkling energy. The two Pokemon got closer and closer, and Alice clenched her fist, her knuckles white. Come on... Come ON. Just as the two Pokemon were about to collide, Electrode's electric aura suddenly disappeared, and it rolled to a halt, gasping. The Poison was finally doing its work. With nothing to stop it, Squirtle hit the sphere shaped Pokemon head on, knocking it across the arena into a wall. Dropping to the ground with a resounding thud, the Electrode left behind a deep imprint of its body in the once smooth horizontal surface. Alice punched the air in relief, and waited for the referee to announce the Electrode's defeat. However, to her confusion, the call didn't come. Was the Electrode still able to fight? Julia smiled at Alice's confusion. "Sorry~!. Electrode loves booms as much as I do! How could it possibly bow off the playing field before giving a grand KABOOOM?" As she spoke, the Electrode began glowing white, and sent one last grin towards Squirtle, whose eyes widened in panic. Alice cried out desperately to Squirtle, praying that it would follow her command in time. "ELECTRODE, UUUUU-" "Squirtle! Use Withdr-" "-UUUUUUSEEEE EXPLOOOOSIOOO-" "-aw!" "-OOOOOOOOON~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" The Electrode exploded, blasting everything within 20 meters of it into dust. The resulting shock wave kicked up an enormous cloud of dust and a powerful gust of wind, throwing Alice's vision into chaos. She tried blocking her face with her arms, squinting desperately to look for her Pokemon through the electric infused wave of smoke and dust. "SQUIRTLE!" Trainer Profile: Seehan Trainer Profile: Alice

Alice Alice's luck with Magnitudes got better very quickly, rapidly knocking down both of Julia's Voltorbs and her Blitzle, but taking several hard hitting SonicBooms and a Quick Attack in the process. However, Alice had a sneaking suspicion that Julia was allowing her to even the odds on purpose. Perhaps knowing that she only had 4 usable Pokemon, was the older girl going easy on her? Or did she have something else up her sleeve. Julia was still smiling confidently as she recalled her Blitzle, certainly not wearing the face of someone who had given up. Striking a pose, she began to dance. "A! L! I, C, E! She really wants this victory! Will I give it? No no no! Here I come, here I go!!! KAAAAAA...BOOOOOOOOM~!!!" And with that, she tossed her 5th Pokemon into the arena. Materializing from the flash of light that signaled its arrival, Julia's Electrode grinned and rolled around, electricity from the field sparking along behind it in its trail. Alice frowned and scrunched up her eyebrows, confused. From the research she had done, Julia should have an Emolga still waiting to be sent out. Why had she sent out Electrode verses Alice's Numel? Was she throwing it away as well? Shaking her head, Alice ordered Numel to use Magnitude one more time. However, halfway through her sentence, she realized her mistake. Julia's smile grew wider as well. "Electrode, transform and ROOOOOOLLLLLLLL OUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTT!" Like a race car, Julia's Electrode revved up for a brief moment, and in the one second that it took for Numel to complete its motion of lifting its leg and stomping it onto the floor, Electrode shot forward, closing the distance almost instantly, and slammed straight into Numel. It cried out in surprise as it was blasted into the air, its legs flailing helplessly in the void. "Shimatta![oh no!]" Alice gasped. In the air, Numel was at the mercy of Electrode, losing its "Ground" typing and becoming, for the moment, a pure Fire type. Julia punched the air in short, cute jabs. "Go go go! One more hit! Goooooooo Electrode!" Her Pokemon obliged, wheeling around the arena once to gather speed before rocketing up towards the falling Fire Camel. "No no no! Numel, hit it with a Flame Burst!" Before Numel could twist its head to face Electrode, however, the Ball shaped Pokemon smashed into it with a Super Effective Rollout, blasting it into the ceiling. Bouncing off the insulated roof of the Power Plant, it seemed to fall in slow motion before hitting the Electric Field with a crunch. "Numel!" The referee raised his flag. "The Challenger's Numel is unable to battle! Electrode is the winner!" Alice recalled her Numel, cradling its Ball in her hands. She had been careless. This was a Gym Leader of the Reborn Region, after all. Underestimating Julia had cost Alice her trump card, and now things were looking very grim. Closing her eyes for a moment, Alice made her decision, and chose her next Pokemon. "... I choose you! Budew!" The tiny Pokemon appeared onto the battlefield, its carefree smile unsurprisingly out of place in such a tense situation, and began meandering around the arena. Alice had one chance, one strategy left, and she clung to that slender thread of hope with the desperation of a drowning person. Julia continued dancing, her Electrode rolling around the arena once again picking up speed. "Electrode! KaBOOOM THAT BUDEW!" The white and red Pokemon shot like a bullet towards Budew, who was still peacefully wandering around. Alice waited as long as she could, before yelling "Budew! Now!" The bud Pokemon, who had walked into a patch of sunlight, suddenly used Growth, abruptly swelling in size. As the Electrode smashed into it, Budew bounced off the Electric Pokemon, flying gently through the air due to its new balloon-like body shape. Although it had taken a lot of damage from the Rollout, most of the impact had been successfully dispersed. Not only that, but Electrode was forced to skid to a halt, wincing as its color turned a shade of purple, having been affected by Budew's Poison Point. Alice quickly aimed her Pokeball at the deflating Budew falling through the air, and at the same time pulled her last Pokemon from her waist. "Budew, return! Go, Squirtle! It's time to tip the scales!" Trainer Profile: Alice

VS Cheer Captain Julia Stopped at the door of the gym by a man in a dark suit sitting behind a desk, Seehan and Alice were made to fill out several forms and present their Pokedexes for verification before being allowed to continue deeper into the building. As they walked down the long hallway, the two trainers took the opportunity to examine the power plant's interior. Bright red and blue banners hung in conjunction with green heavy duty power lines in an interesting contrast of color that gave the gym the appearance of a strange exotic bird. Alice commented on this to the boy beside her. "Who on earth pairs up Red and Blue with Green? What's next, adding Yellow to the mix?" Seehan smiled but didn't reply, his attention taken by the room ahead of them. Standing on the far end of an arena crackling with electricity was Julia, her arms crossed. If it weren't for the enormous shit eating grin plastered across her face, and the pom poms attached to her arms, she would have looked exceedingly intimidating standing atop such a battlefield. The Peridot Ward's Gym Leader spoke up, calling to the duo from across the room. "Greetings, challengers! Which one of you will be getting kaBOO- I mean, will be battling me first?" Alice and Seehan exchanged looks. "By all means, go ahead. You did get here first." Seehan said. He actually had an ulterior motive for not wanting to go first, but didn't say anything more. Alice grinned confidently. "Ha! Don't blame me when I destroy the battlefield before it's your turn then!" Turning to the arena, Alice strode up to the challenger's box. Seehan walked up the stairs to the spectator's area. The referee, a man dressed in an insulated suit and a hardhat, standing to the side of the battlefield began the formalities of the battle. "Alice of Lumiose City wishes to challenge Julia of the Peridot Ward Gym in an official League match! This battle will be a 6 on 6 single battle. The Challenger may switch their Pokemon freely, while the Leader may only switch Pokemon upon successfully fainting one of the Challenger's Pokemon. As the Challenger has 0 badges, the Leader will be using their 6th, and weakest, team. The battle will take place on the Electric Field. Trainers, are you both ready to begin?" When both nodded, the man continued. "Then let the battle begin!" Julia let out a brilliant smile. "I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS! TIME FOR SOME FUN, HELIOPTILE!!!!" "... It's time to begin. Time to dance, Swablu!" As the two women sent out their Pokemon, Seehan quietly slipped back out into the entry hallway. He had spotted something of interest as he had been walking in, and wanted to take a closer look. Exiting the gym with a "be right back" to the guard at the front desk, Seehan walked around the building to where the fleet of solar dishes sat. As he got closer, he confirmed what he had thought he had seen earlier; a wounded Electrike was lying next to a transformer, trying to absorb whatever electricity it could with its Lightning Rod Ability. As Seehan got closer, it bared its teeth at him, but was too weak to run away. Raising his hands to show he was harmless, he slowly reached back into his bag and pulled out a Cell Battery. Offering it to the Electrike, the Electric Dog sniffed it, then tentatively took the item into its mouth, closing its eyes in relief as energy began flowing into its electricity starved body. Seehan wondered what had caused the Electrike to have gotten into this weakened state, and briefly cast a look around. A scorched area near a close by solar dish caught his attention. Leaving the Pokemon to suck on the Cell Battery, Seehan went and inspected the patch of blackened dirt. As he got closer, however, it became increasingly obvious what had happened. During the heavy rain the previous night, the Electrike had probably wandered around the power plant, looking for food or electricity. However, the high amount of electricity in the area must have increased the potency of Electrike's Lightning Rod, bringing down a strike of lightning from the sky onto it. As wild Electrikes rarely knew any Special Electric type moves that could quickly get rid of large amounts of energy, the Electrike must have been overloaded with electricity that it couldn't release, eventually forcing it to discharge all of its body's energy in an uncontrolled way and wounding itself in the process. Thus, the scorched earth and the weakened Electrike. His curiosity satisfied, he returned to the Electric Dog, which appeared to have sucked the Cell Battery dry and was now scratching itself behind the ear. Patting it on the head, he debated on catching it; the decision was made for him when he tried to leave and the Electrike stubbornly began to follow him, whining and tugging at his pant leg. Smiling, the trainer touched the Pokemon with a Pokeball, converting the Electrike to a beam of red energy. Shaking three times, the Ball sealed itself with the usual click, causing Seehan's Pokedex to vibrate in his pocket as it registered a new team member. Seehan tucked the ball away onto his belt, and walked back into the gym, returning to the spectator's stand just in time to see Alice's Swablu fall to a SonicBoom fired by one of Julia's Voltorb. Alice grimaced as she recalled her Swablu to its Pokeball, thanking it for its hard work. Her Swablu had done its job brilliantly, defeating Julia's Helioptile despite the type disadvantage. However, the damage it had taken from Helioptile had done its work, slowing it down enough for Julia's second Pokemon, Voltorb, to shoot it down with ease. Now, with only 3 Pokemon left, Alice considered her options. Squirtle, of course, had a type disadvantage towards Voltorb, and didn't have the advantage of being able to fly to avoid attacks like Swablu had. Budew resisted Electric attacks as a Grass type, but was still weak and untrained; it probably wouldn't even be able to take a single SonicBoom before going down. That left........ "Go, Numel! Hit it with a Magnitude!" The Fire Camel Pokemon materialized onto the battlefield, the Electric Field flickering without effect against the feet of the Ground and Fire type. Its roar of challenge at Julia's Voltorb reverberated around the room, making the windows shake from the force of the shout. Numel then stomped the ground, creating a shockwave that was felt across the entire field. But only slightly. Alice sighed as she concluded that Numel had just hit the Voltorb with a Magnitude 4. Trainer Profile: Seehan Trainer Profile: Alice

Alice Morning crept up slowly on Reborn City, the dawn's early light poking its way through the few wispy clouds still hanging lazily over the region. Alice stretched as she reluctantly crawled out of bed, still sleepy. She had stayed up late the night before, taking the time to groom and bond with her Pokemon. Excluding Mawile, her entire party was only a day old, and had not yet fully adjusted to their new statuses as her Pokemon. Her effort had paid off nicely. All around the room, her Pokemon were either sprawled out on the floor, or curled up at the foot of her bed. Budew had sat itself down on the sill of the room's small window, and was now enjoying the warm rays of sunlight that were spilling into the room as it dozed. Quickly washing up and getting dressed, she woke up her Pokemon and fed them, before heading down to the Pokemon Center's food court for some breakfast. As she sipped a warm mug of coffee after her meal, she scrolled through her Pokedex, checking over her Pokemon's stats and conditions one more time. Today was, after all, the day she would challenge her first gym in the Reborn Region. Finishing her drink, she returned her tray to the kind faced lady at the counter before picking up her bag and walking out of the Pokemon Center. Today's weather was much better than yesterday's; a light breeze was blowing through the city, but the sun kept the chill at bay as its beams lit up the dirty streets of Reborn City. As Alice strolled towards the gym, she dropped by the Pokemart to pick up some Pokeballs and Potions. Alice grimaced at her increasingly light wallet; she would have to go withdraw some more money from a Pokemon Center within the next week, or she would run out before she knew it. Many trainers preferred to keep all their worldly finances on their own person, only replenishing their stock of cash with prize money won through battling; Alice, however, kept the vast majority of her money at home with her mother, and only withdrew enough to last her through the week at any given time. She did this for two reasons: for one, if she lost a battle it meant she would have to give up less (standard etiquette for losing a battle was to give up 10% of your current amount of funds). The second reason was that Alice was a shopaholic; if she was holding too much money at once, she would immediately go spend it all on clothes and accessories for her Pokemon. Thus, in order to enforce discipline on herself, she kept as little money on her as was reasonably possible. Arriving at the gym, she found it still closed, the note from yesterday still hanging on the door. Had the gym leader not yet returned? Alice decided to explore while she waited. The gym building itself was quite interesting, as it served another purpose besides being the Peridot Ward's gym; it also acted as a power plant that supplied energy to the Western half of Reborn City. Examining a large power dish that was apparently collecting solar energy for processing, Alice heard footsteps and laughter approaching. Standing up, she turned around to see Seehan walking with a pretty girl in a cheerleader's outfit towards the gym, chatting as they went. Alice briefly felt an unfamiliar feeling rising up in her chest, and her cheeks reddened as she looked away, embarrassed at her reaction. After all, she barely knew him. Why should she feel anything just because she saw him walking with another girl? Alice clapped her face with both hands, arranged her features until they resembled her usual expression, then walked up and greeted the two approaching trainers. Seehan gave her a warm smile that made her heart skip a beat. "Morning, Alice! Are you here to challenge the gym too?" She nodded quickly, grateful for the opportunity to hide her face, albeit briefly. The girl that Seehan had arrived with clapped gleefully. "YAY! Two challengers, first thing in the morning! I'll go prepare the kaBOO- I mean the gym for you two, so just wait out here for a sec okayyyyyy~?" And with that, the girl skipped into the gym, pausing to tear the note off the door before disappearing inside. Alice turned to Seehan questioningly. He held up his hands, an innocent expression on his face. "I know this looks bad, but that's the gym leader of the Peridot Ward, Julia. Last night, Ame gave her and I a job that involved another gym leader, and by the time we finished up it was too late for me to go to a Pokemon Center. Julia kindly lent me a room, and that's why we came here together just now. That's what happened, I promise!" He insisted upon seeing Alice's skeptical face. She sighed, and tried desperately to resist the urge to giggle. Teasing Seehan was fun; he took things so seriously. Their conversation shifted to catching up on what the other had done since they had separated, and Alice proudly showed off her Pokedex, which now sported 5 pages of party data; a step up from the 3 Seehan had last seen her with. Seehan himself sheepishly showed that he had only acquired 1 more page since they had parted ways. It was nice, Alice thought, to have someone to chat with like this. The two were bound by the tragedy they had shared; it was a bond that couldn't be broken easily. They had finished talking and were simply sitting on a bench outside the gym, enjoying the day's warmth, when an intercom crackled to life above the gym's entrance. "CHALLENGERS! THE PERIDOT WARD GYM IS NOW OPEN!!!!! KABOOMS AND BATTLE WAIT FOR YOU INSIDE, ARE YOU BRAVE ENOUGH TO ENTER??" Julia's magnified message trailed off with a cackling laugh, and the doors of the gym swung open. Trainer Profile: Alice

Seehan The two grunts stood stock still, their faces frozen in masks of disbelief. Clearly they had not expected to lose in such a spectacular fashion, especially after having had the dominating advantage for the majority of the battle. "... Huh?" "Grrr!" The man in the black coat looked over at them. "Oh, you two were defeated already? How disappointing. I can't say I'm surprised, though I'd hoped you'd be able to hold them for a little longer than you did." Seehan turned to face the battle on the other side of the room. Though at first glance the fight appeared to be even, upon closer inspection it was disturbingly clear that the man, despite fighting 1 on 2, had the upper hand. Julia and Florinia's Pokemon were showing signs of exhaustion and sported several wounds; in stark comparison, the man's Seviper looked as fresh as it had when it had first been called out of its Ball. If he had been given more time, the two leaders would have been forced into a complete defeat, even though they outnumbered him 12 to 6. However, the situation had changed. The man was now facing 4 Pokemon at once. "I can take on two easily by myself, but four..." The man shook his head. For some reason though, despite his impending defeat, he did not seem all that bothered. "Well, this was an amusing diversion. It is of no matter though. Do not think you have won; Team Meteor does not forgive." And with that, he grabbed a Pokeball from his side and threw it, engulfing the room in a flash of blinding light. When Seehan could see again, the grunts and the man, along with their Pokemon, had disappeared. Probably Teleported away, he thought. Julia blinked and looked around. "... Is he gone?" "Affirmative. Cradily, return." "You too Electrode! Good job~." Julia and Florinia recalled their Pokemon, with Seehan and Fern following suit. In a quick second, the only ones left standing in the room were the four trainers. Julia strolled over to an undamaged console and ran her fingers over the keyboard, quickly inputting in several commands. "Now let's see... Mhm... Mhm~." She turned around, her face ecstatic. "Okay! Well, he told us there's nothing of value left for us in the factory, sooooo..." She winked. "You should all start running now!" Fern looked at her, confused. "Huh? What did you do now?" Julia looked like she was about to burst from excitement. Wait, burst... Seehan suddenly had a bad premonition. Julia started shaking in pleasure. "KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA............." Fern finally got it. "Oh shit! Let's move!!" As the trainers fled the room, Seehan spotted the corner of a folder partially hidden under the bank of consoles. Perhaps the Meteors had missed something after all. Snatching it up, Seehan sprinted after the others. As the factory exploded behind them, the trainers stood gasping in the rain, watching as pieces of blackened metal flew through the air and splashed harmlessly into the lake. Julia clapped her hands and struck her Sailor Lunatone pose, sticking her tongue out and winking. "Aaaand that's a wrap! Good job team!" Fern looked up from his position on his hands and knees, where he had been heaving on the wet stone street. "Holy fucking shit woman, what the fricking hell is wrong with you?!?" He got up slowly, clutching at a stitch in his side. "If you're done with your fucking pyrotechnics, I'm getting out of here." Florinia nodded her agreement. "Indeed. Obsidia remains problematic. I will attend to that now." Seehan looked at her in shock. Was the problem that Florinia was talking about the same thing Victoria had sensed and gone to investigate? If a gym leader was getting involved, that meant whatever was happening was extremely dangerous. If that was the case, Seehan needed to get involved as well. He stepped forward. "I'll come too. Perhaps I can help in some way." The green haired gym leader shook her head. "I cannot allow a trainer with no badges to put himself into danger of this magnitude, no matter how skilled he may be. I only agreed to your cooperation for this investigation because I had not anticipated such a high level of opposition to be present; it is not a miscalculation I will make again. If you wish to assist me, please challenge Julia's gym first. If you are able to defeat her and still wish to offer aid, I will reassess the volunteering of your services." Julia bounced over. "Okay~! Thanks for your help! I know you've been super busy since our graduation, but it was nice to get to hang out~! Just like old times, right?" "And equally destructive. However, sentimentalities remain counterproductive. I will report today's proceedings to Ame before I leave for Obsidia. Farewell." As the Onyx Ward's Gym Leader walked off, Julia watched her go with a sad look on her face. "Rini... She's never been the same since..." Fern cut in. "Since Titania? Yeah, that crazy bitch traumatizes people like that. What's new?" He smirked, rain running down his face and washing the gel out of his hair. Without his hair's pompous poof, Fern almost looked like a decent human being. Almost. "Anyways, I got places to be. I'm not like Seehan here who has the time to wander around with his thumbs up his ass and not get anything done. Peace!" And with that, the green haired trainer swag-walked off into the night. Seehan decided not to say anything about the massive hole on the rear of his jeans. Julia turned to him. "Thanks for your help today Seehan!!! You were great! It's kind of late to be heading back to the gym right now, but I can safely leave it alone for the night since I know it's not going to be randomly going BOOM or something for the time being." She looked at him curiously. "I know you need to challenge me and get your badge, but do you have a place to stay for the night? Did you already reserve a room at the Pokemon Center?" Seehan shook his head. It had not occurred to him that he would need to reserve a room; in all the other region he had been to, there had always been at least one vacant room available for a last minute check in. Julia looked slightly disbelieving when he told this to her. "Whaaaaaaat? Here in Reborn, if you're planning on getting a room for the night, you have to either check in before 11 or make a reservation. After 11, the Pokemon Centers here give up all their vacant rooms to the Order of Nurses to put homeless people in. They just make you sleep on a bench in the lobby if you try to get a room after that!" Seehan checked his Pokegear. The digital clock told him it was slightly past midnight. He sighed. Julia grinned at him. "Fear not! You can spend the night at my place! You're coming to the gym first thing in the morning anyway, so we can just go together!" Seehan looked at her incredulously. They had only properly met just 2 hours before, but this girl was already allowing him to spend a night in her apartment. It just went to show how big of a heart she had beneath all that obsession with explosives. Seeing no reason not to, Seehan accepted Julia's offer, and together they set off towards the blinking lights of the inner city. It had been a long day for him, and Seehan was looking forward to clonking out as soon as he had a place to lay his head down. In his exhaustion, he forgot all about the folder he had picked up during their escape from the factory, now hidden away in a corner of his bag. Trainer Profile: Seehan

Seehan Unfortunately, Zigzagoon was unable to defeat either of the Meteor's Pokemon, though to no fault of its own. As soon as it was released from its Ball, it was immediately double targeted by both Magby and Elekid. Although it easily evaded several Thundershocks and Embers, a Shockwave from Elekid stunned it long enough for Magby to finish it off with a Feint Attack. Fern's Snivy tried to even the odds, but was unable to properly enter the fight until Zigzagoon was defeated. Gritting his teeth, Seehan recalled Zigzagoon and prepared to send out Ralts. Then time seemed to stop for him. Inside its Pokeball, Ralts had been feeling nervous, but defiant. It didn't want to lose. It wanted to protect the trainer that had saved it. The little Pokemon had reached out, touched Seehan's mind with its Psychic ability, and joined their thoughts, creating a connection. Seehan's natural ability to create mental bonds willingly accepted Ralts's advances, and although the two had never battled alongside one another before, the impossible became a reality. An Empathetic Link had formed. In his mind, everything clicked into place. For the first time since arriving in Reborn, he could display the full utilization of his skills. At last, Seehan had all the tools he needed to achieve victory. Taking hold of Ralts' Ball, he sent it out without the slightest hesitation in his movement, its battle information flowing into his head without a need for his Pokedex. A blazing light exploded into existence, and Ralts materialized, an aura of Psychic energy pulsing out in waves around it. Yet again, Aster and Eclipse ordered their Pokemon to single out Seehan's. "Once more! Elekid, use Shockwave!" "Magby! Keep Snivy out of the fight with a burst of Ember, then use Fire Spin on the Ralts!" Their Pokemon sprang into action. Neither Seehan or Ralts moved an inch, nor did Seehan call out any commands. Then Ralts disappeared. Elekid and Magby's attacks flew through the air where the Psychic Pokemon had been just a moment before. "It's behind you!!" The Elekid and Magby turned, just a second too slow, and were hit with a massive Confusion. The force of the Psychic assault drove them to their knees, giving Snivy the chance to grab Elekid with Vine Whip and throw it aside, away from Magby. The two Pokemon were separated, their exemplary teamwork finally unusable. Seehan continued to simply stand there, calmly surveying the battle. A torrent of information flowed through his brain in a fraction of a tenth of a second. His mind's eye showed him a picture of what would be happening in the next few seconds. In 1.2 seconds, Magby will recover, but will be confused from Ralts' attack. It will fire an Ember towards Ralts. Ralts will Teleport out of the way. Elekid will have just used Shockwave on Snivy. Ralts will Disable its Shockwave. It will fire a Thundershock towards Ralts. It will miss and hit Magby instead, causing it to faint. Elekid will then fall to a Disarming Voice. This battle is over. "Magby, get a hold of yourself! Use Ember!" The Magby forced itself back onto its feet, and fired an Ember at Ralts. Teleport now. Ralts disappeared once more, appearing just behind Elekid, who had just fired a Shockwave towards Snivy to push back its unrelenting Vine Whip. Disable. Snapping its fingers, Ralts Disabled Elekid's Shockwave, then casually moved between the Magby and the Elekid. Enraged, the Elekid whirled onto Ralts. "Take that thing out with a Thundershock!" The child sized Pokemon fired a surging Thundershock at Ralts, who waited calmly. On Seehan's mental command, Ralts used Teleport one more time, blinking out of the way and narrowly avoiding the pulsing blast of electricity. The attack struck the Magby head on. With a cry of agony, the Fire type dropped to the floor, unconscious. The Elekid was, for a split second, frozen in place by the crushing realization of its own mistake. As such, it failed to react in time to the Ralts appearing just centimeters to its right. End it. Disarming Voice. Ralts opened its mouth and blasted Elekid point blank with a devastating wall of sound. Its eyes rolled up into its head, and it fainted with a resounding thud as it hit the tiled floor. Trainer Profile: Seehan

I, for one, am going to crush every last member of Team Meteor for what they did to Kiki. I have no hard feelings against Taka, and even wish we could be friends. However, as long as he is a member of Team Meteor, he will get no mercy from me. He can do his passive aggressive rebellion against Team Meteor all he wants; but the only reason why we let him live at the Water Treatment Plant was because he helped us. We don't need an inside man, because Saphira and Titania have made it clear that we are going to cut down every Meteor that is a threat. Either he is with us, or against us. Because of this, I chose not to battle him. I owe him no debts, nor any favors. Anything he has done for me has been negated by the team he has affiliated himself with.

Seehan The Elekid and Magby easily avoided Budew's Stun Spore. However, in doing so, Magby left itself open for Monferno. Taking it out was critical, thought Seehan. If allowed to remain active, Fern's entire team would be taken out with ease. Monferno closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, its fist tracing a white streak behind it as it cut through the air, and connected its attack squarely with the Magby's face. However, instead of being blasted back by the impact, as Seehan had thought it would, it stood its ground defiantly, a blazing look of anger etched on its face. Twisting its body as it absorbed the force from Monferno's Mach Punch, the Magby fired off an intense Ember towards Budew, catching it in the chest and causing it to screech in pain, before fainting. Monferno tried to follow up with a second Mach Punch, but was blasted off its feet by a powerful Thundershock from the Elekid. The Fire Monkey was thrown into one of the screens lining the wall by the force of the attack, cracking it before sliding to the floor with a thud, stray sparks of electricity dancing in its fur. "Useless Pokemon... Return! Go, Lotad! Hit these fuckers with a Bubble!" snarled Fern as he recalled his Budew and called out his Lotad in a single smooth motion. The tiny Pokemon materialized in front of him, and fired off a stream of translucent spheres. The Magby, still off balance from the hit it had taken from Monferno, took the attack hard, each popping Bubble forcing it back half a step. Monferno stood up with a wince. "Monferno! Take it down! Mach Punch once more!" "Oh no you don't! Elekid, Low Kick!" "Magby, Fire Spin! Burn them to the ground!" Monferno leapt towards the Magby, its fist once again whistling through the air at subsonic speed. However, the Elekid leaped into its path. Its Low Kick collided with Monferno's Mach Punch, creating a shock wave that cracked the floor beneath them and shattered every screen present in the room. Both Pokemon were blasted backwards onto the tiled floor, grimacing in pain. Without Monferno to stop it, the Magby completed its attack successfully, sending out a stream of fire that wrapped both Monferno and Lotad in blazing rings of flame. Screaming, Monferno writhed in agony as its fur caught fire, before collapsing in a smoking heap of burnt fur and flesh. Fern's Lotad tried to free itself from the fire by using Bubble, but to no avail. It, like Monferno, fainted amidst the flames. Recalling his Monferno, Seehan grimaced. The situation had turned very bad extremely quickly. The two grunts were indeed proving themselves to be leaps and bounds ahead of their fellow grunts in terms of combat strength. If it had been one on one, Seehan could have easily taken on either of them; however, in a double battle, their impeccable teamwork and well trained Pokemon were negating the advantage his Blank Slate was giving him. To make matters worse, Fern was down to his last Pokemon, and Seehan only had one battle ready Pokemon left, unwilling to force his Ralts into combat if he could help it. If Zigzagoon could not finish the battle, however, the choice would be taken out of his hands. Seehan unclipped his second last Pokeball from his belt. "Zigzagoon! Take the stage!" "Who do these shitters think they are... Come back, Lotad. Take them down, Snivy! Teach them a fucking lesson!" Trainer Profile: Seehan

Meteor Commander ??? Meteor Grunts Aster and Eclipse Seehan Julia and Fern entered the room, joining Seehan and Florinia in the tense standoff against the three members of Team Meteor. Although they outnumbered the criminals, Seehan sensed that the man in the black coat was more than a match for two, or even three, of them at once. The man raised his arms in a mocking greeting. "Welcome, Leaders Julia and Florinia. I suppose I should be congratulating you four for making it this far. However, considering how I purposely allowed you reach me, such praise would be undeserved." Florinia narrowed her eyes. "As suspected. For an organization as careful as Team Meteor, I thought it strange that there would be such a poorly encrypted access console leading to the control room. You were merely stalling for time." The man clapped his hands in several slow, heavy beats. Seehan noticed he wore an eye patch over his left eye. "As expected from the Leader called the living computer. Indeed, the electronic doors and barrier were all simply a measure to slow you down. Our mission has already been completed, and all our data has already been moved or deleted from our system. Your foolish operation has failed; you have come too late." An intercom sitting on one of the desks suddenly turned on. "Sir, our unconscious members have all been retrieved. We will now retreat towards the agreed rendezvous and begin our next assignment." The intercom went dead with a hiss of static. The man smiled. "Excellent. In that case, all that is left is to erase you four, then we can leave without a trace." Julia pointed at the man defiantly, her eyes fierce. "The only one going down here will be you! Go, Electrode!" Florinia stepped up beside her, facing the black coated man. "Agreed. Cradily, prepare for battle." "Seviper. Crush them." In an explosive burst of energy, Julia's Electrode and Florinia's Cradily materialized. Across from them, an enormous Seviper appeared from its Ball, hissing and dripping with Poison. The three Pokemon glared at each other tensely, waiting for commands from their trainers. The man signaled to the grunts without taking his eyes off the two women. "Aster" "Yes sir." The male grunt stepped forward. "Eclipse." "Sir." The female grunt moved to stand beside her partner. "Deal with the small fry. I will take care of the gym leaders myself." Saluting, the two grunts turned and faced Seehan and Fern, who scoffed. "What, you think just two of you shitheads can even slow me down? I don't even need Seehan; I'll take you both on and make you beg for mercy." Seehan was not as confident as Fern; he was feeling a surprising amount of pressure from the two grunts. Were they really on the same level of strength as the grunts they had easily dispatched earlier on? He doubted it. These two were trusted enough to fight alongside a commander who was confident enough to take on two gym leaders at once. Without another word, Aster and Eclipse sent out a Magby and Elekid, respectively. Seehan let loose his Monferno, and Fern threw out his Budew. For just a brief second, the four trainers stood at an impasse, sizing each other up. Seehan felt himself swell with the familiar rush of battle, and activated Blank Slate, his eyes becoming sharp and focused. The momentary silence was broken by a hiss from the black coated man's Seviper. The Pokemon sprang into action, their trainers shouting out orders. "Elekid, hit them with a Thundershock!" "Monferno, Mach Punch! Focus on the Magby!" "Magby, use Ember! Try to separate them!" "Budew! Shut them up with a Stun Spore!" Trainer Profile: Seehan

Seehan Successfully disengaging the door's electric lock, Seehan and Fern proceeded to the next room, where they found Florinia and Julia finishing off a pair of hapless grunts. Nodding to the two, Florinia turned her attention to a large, black metal door that blocked their path. A strange shimmer could be seen dancing in front of the cold, rough steel. Sitting to the side of the door was an old looking console. "Upon inspection, the door appears to be protected by a force field, similar to a Pokemon's Protect." Observed Florinia. "However, this particular barrier seems to be electrical in nature. If given enough time, I can bypass it from here, using this terminal's substandard digital security system." Julia screwed up her face and let out an impatient whine. "Awwwww. Can't we just kaBOOM it? If they were planning on BOOMing more stuff, I'm sure Team Meteor would have stored some barrier-smashing-explosive-AWESOMENESS somewhere in the factory. I CAN FEEL IT!!!!" Florinia shook her head. "Negative. I require your presence with me, to keep up surveillance while I concentrate on penetrating this console's security matrix. However, there is a room to our rear that has not yet been investigated; perhaps Seehan and Fern could perform reconnaissance while we maintain our positions here." "Yeah, I'd much rather go kick some butt than sit around here watching you two hags play with a computer. Seehan can stay here though, he'd only slow me down." Pretending he hadn't heard Fern speak, Seehan nodded to Florinia's suggestion and accessed the door between the two passages the pairs had already been through. From the open doorway, he observed steam from several overworked machines, as well as the hurried movement of something moving deeper into the room. Chasing after it, Seehan and Fern ended up cornering a pair of grunts, their backs to a table covered in red, shiny explosives (did Julia have an explosives sense or something?). Crushing the grunts handily (again with very little assistance from Fern), Seehan retrieved as many explosives as he could carry and returned to the terminal room, where Florinia was still busily poring over the console. Julia's face lit up when she saw Seehan's load of explosives, and hurried over to take his burden from him. Placing the bombs in strategic positions around the door, Julia, her face wearing an almost maniacal expression of pure joy, began a countdown. "3... 2... 1... KA-" Before she could press the trigger, the door opened. "Barrier breached. Door mechanisms released. Let us proceed." Walking past a frozen Julia, Florinia moved through the now open doorway. Seehan glanced at Julia's face as he passed her, who seemed to have fainted from disbelief, and followed Florinia through the door into a room filled with blinking consoles. Waiting for them were two grunts, and behind them was a tall man dressed in a black coat. Trainer Profile: Seehan

Seehan The party of trainers quickly encountered their first major obstacle, one that no had had foreseen; the front door. "URGHHH!!!!!!! IT! WON'T! BUDGE!!!" Groaned Julia as she tried opening it for the umpteenth time. Fern already lay panting on the ground, having used up all his strength on the first try, in an attempt to show off his "swag". Florinia and Seehan stood by, watching with wry amusement as the Peridot Gym Leader attacked the door from multiple angles, to little effect. "It would appear we have made a miscalculation." Florinia stated with a deadpan expression. "Our stealth operation may well be over if we cannot penetrate their first line of defense in a soundless manner." Julia perked up. "Does this mean we get to kaBOOOOM the door?!???" Florinia nodded, though to Seehan it seemed that she did so with some reluctance. He understood. Their plan had revolved around getting in and out quickly and silently, taking down individual guards before they could sound an alarm. In an all out fight, the four trainers could easily find themselves surrounded and overwhelmed if they were discovered. But there now seemed to be no other way to enter the factory than to announce their presence... Explosively. "Here we goooooo! Electrode, uuuuuuse..." Julia did a little twirl and a backflip before striking a Sailor Lunatone pose. "EXPLOSION~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" With a flash of light that signaled the release of her Pokemon from its Pokeball, the Ball shaped Pokemon rolled happily around its trainer once before charging at the door. Seehan spotted a massive grin on the Electrode's face just before it reached the barrier- and with a massive BOOOOM, the door was blasted off its sliders into the factory, now nothing more than a twisted hunk of half melted metal. Julia clapped and laughed gleefully, before skipping over and feeding her fainted but happy looking Electrode a Max Revive. Seehan stepped over the threshold of the factory, and was hit with a smell that reminded him of a cross of Weezing residue and week old fish on a hot day. Filth lay on every surface of the factory; one could easily tell that this room was rarely used except as an entryway. Florinia stepped up beside him and examined the water rushing before them in a small canal. "Analyzing. Analysis complete. It would appear we were correct in our assumptions; this factory is one of the sources of pollution that are plaguing Azurine Lake. Further analysis suggests this substance to be more than 90% toxic." Fern walked up behind them, looking around. "Looks like there's two ways to go. Time to split? I'll go solo that way, Seehan can go with you guys; I'm sure he needs the protection." Seehan ignored Fern's sass and turned to Florinia and Julia, who had retrieved her Electrode and bounced up to join them. The glasses wearing girl spoke. "Upon examination of the filth on the floor, it can be observed that the majority of footprints lead to the right. As such, I will go with Julia and investigate that route. Seehan and Fern will perform reconnaissance on the left route, then attempt to regroup with us at the earliest opportunity. Are there any questions?" Seehan had an objection to being paired with Fern, but stayed silent. It made sense to send their main firepower in the direction with more resistance, and send the party's weaker pair as scouts in the other. The two pairs split off; Florinia walking at a brisk pace with Julia bouncing behind her, and the two women quickly disappeared around a corner. Seehan turned to Fern, who was picking his nose. "Let's go, we should try to avoid as many fights as possible, and-" Before he could finish, Fern simply walked away. Seehan had to enter Blank Slate for a moment to resist punching out the green haired boy, then followed. The two trainers didn't have to go far before they spotted two black uniformed figures patrolling down the corridor. Hiding behind a pipe, Seehan was about to suggest ambushing them when- "Hey, losers! You want a piece of me??" Seehan sighed, then joined Fern where he stood in plain view of the two grunts. The grunts looked at one another, then pulled out their Pokeballs and charged the two trainers. Seehan quickly called up Monferno, while Fern sent out a Budew. "Monferno, Mach Punch!" "Budew, Water Sport!" Seehan shot an incredulous, though unsurprised, look at Fern, then returned his attention to the grunts. Making short work of them, Seehan hid their unconscious bodies safely behind a boiler. Years of fighting the grunts of nefarious organizations had left Seehan with the skills necessary to take care of lower ranking members without much thought. The two trainers (mostly Seehan) quickly dispatched the half dozen other grunts in the area, then came face to face with another locked door. Fern looked bored. "Maaaan, if only sparky sparky boom girl had come with me instead; she would've actually been useful in this situation." Seehan ignored Fern's jibe, and examined the door. "It looks like this door is connected to an electrical circuit. Considering there were grunts working in this room, there must be some way to open it from this side." Seeing that Fern wasn't listening, Seehan merely shook his head, and left him to go examine several terminals placed around the room. Trainer Profile: Seehan

Leader Julia Leader Florinia Seehan As he approached the factory, Seehan thought it looked like something straight out of Hell. Old, and black with soot and grime, this building represented the current, pathetic state of Reborn. Entering the agreed meeting place (a house, used by the Reborn City Police Department as a stakeout spot) through the back door, Seehan found himself alone in a spacious living room. Sighing at the tardiness of the others, he plopped himself down onto one of the worn but still comfortable couches. Minutes passed, and finally another trainer walked in. Emerald hair tied back in a pony tail, and sporting a bright yellow cheerleader's outfit, Julia took one look at Seehan and gave him an enormous smile. "Hey hEy heY HEy HEY! Look who's still alive!!" She said enthusiastically, rushing over to him and wringing his hand. "After the train got all explodey, I was worried you wouldn't make it! Guess you really showed them boomers huh?!?" Seehan couldn't help giving her a smile himself. "You were there that night, right? I vaguely remember someone with Ame when she found me. As the Peridot Leader, I guess having a train station blow up in your ward was kind of your concern." Julia nodded rapidly. "Yup yup yup! After the station when kaaBOOOOOM, I rushed right over! Ame was already there waiting for you, but she was super lucky! She had to step outside to take a call, and the next second the station went BOOOOOM! If she had still been in there...." Julia's smile faltered, but only for a second. "But she wasn't in there, so everything's A! O! K!" For each letter she said, she spelled it out with her arms. Seehan could only watch in complete bemusement. The door creaked open, and in walked two jade haired trainers. The one in front, Seehan assumed, was Florinia. She confirmed his suspicions immediately. "Greetings. I am Florinia, leader of the Onyx Ward Gym and Trainer's School. I am pleased to see you are well, Seehan. I heard about the station incident, of course. I thank you wholeheartedly for your assistance despite your recent recovery." She turned to Julia. "Hello Julia. It is good to see you." Anything she was going to say next was silenced by Julia's chest as Florinia was glomped by the Peridot Leader. Turning away from the writhing pile of women on the floor occasionally giving off sounds like "RINIII!!" and "Please release me.", Seehan offered his hand and a smile to the boy who had entered with Florinia. The boy stuck his hands in his pockets and ignored Seehan, turning away and going instead to examine the pictures on the wall of the house. Extricating herself from Julia's embrace, Florinia stood up and dusted herself off. "That is Fern, my brother. Say hello, Fern." The boy named Fern mumbled something incoherent. Florinia turned to face Seehan. "He, too, will be assisting Julia and I with the investigation. I am quite grateful that we were able to acquire someone of your reputation to join us as well; assaulting a potential base of Team Meteor with only the three of us seemed less than ideal." Seehan shook his head. "At the moment, I'm only slightly stronger than any other novice trainer. My Pokemon are all fresh and untrained; I'm afraid I won't be as much help as you might have imagined." "I had already taken your party into consideration when I evaluated your overall asset to the operation. Be assured, your experience as a trainer and combatant are what is truly valuable to us. We are not about to enter a Pokemon Battling tournament, but rather a den of criminals. Even if your Pokemon are weak, they are still stronger than the average human; this will be sufficient for our purposes if the trainer commanding them is exceptional." Seehan acknowledged her point, and backed down to her authority, though not without some misgivings. What, then, was the plan if they did find a trainer too powerful for them to handle? "Before we go, let us give our Pokemon a quick refresh. It would not do to potentially enter combat with tired partners." Leading the others to a side room, Florinia pressed several button on a large, cylinder shaped machine. Whirring to life, it began emitting a soft, blue light. Florinia placed her Pokeballs into the machine, and gestured for the rest of them to do the same. When all of their Pokeballs were safely inside the machine, Florinia shut the door and pressed another button. The blue light flared, and in the back of Seehan's mind he thought he heard a gentle "dun dun dundundun~". Florinia opened up the machine once more and returned to the trainers their respective Pokeballs. Once she had shut off the machine, she led them to the front door. "When we exit this door, the operation will begin. Our objective is simple: we are to discover what Team Meteor is doing within the factory, and why. If whatever they are doing is malicious towards the city, we must stop them at any cost." And with that, Florinia pulled open the door and led the party outside into the night. Trainer Profile: Seehan

Swag Jockey Fern Alice Alice bent over her soot covered Pokeball and picked it up. Inside, a very annoyed Numel glared out at her. It had made Alice work for the capture, forcing her to chase it through the old train station. When she had finally cornered it in the small shack just outside the station, it decided to set the old wooden building on fire. It had taken both Squirtle and Mawile's effort to get them all out alive. Upon escaping safely, and noticing that the weakened Numel had crawled out of the wreckage as well, Alice had taken the opportunity to toss a Ball at the tired Pokemon, capturing it. Taking the time to thank Squirtle and Mawile for their hard work, she recalled her Pokemon and clipped all 3 Pokeballs onto her waist holster. She now had a total of 5 Pokemon with her, the fifth being a Budew she had found wandering around atop a wall on her way to the train station. Alice pulled out her Pokegear. Earlier, in one of her bag's pockets, she had found a Map card for her Pokegear, most likely placed there by Ame. Retrieving it from her bag now, Alice equipped her Pokegear with the card, and called up a map of Reborn City. Noting that it would be faster to head to the Peridot Pokemon Center than to return to the Grand Hall, Alice dusted the soot off her clothes and was about to set off, when she noticed a green haired boy standing alone near the sea wall, gazing at a large, abandoned looking factory. Normally she wouldn't have paid him any mind, but she was intrigued to see another person standing outside in the pouring rain. Before she could make any sort of move, however, the boy noticed her looking at him, and gave her a sneer that for some reason annoyed her to no end. Walking over to him intending to ask him what his problem was, she spotted the Pokeballs on his waist. "Hey girly, no need to crowd me. Plenty of Fern to go around." The boy apparently called Fern said smugly. Alice resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "What's up with this factory? Is there something interesting about it?" She asked, curiosity overpowering her dislike of the glasses wearing boy. Fern somehow made his expression even more annoyingly smug. "Sorry girly, that information is C-L-A-S-S-I-F-I-E-D. Although..." Fern looked at her through his glasses, apparently coming up with what he thought was a great idea. "If you can beat me in a battle, I'll tell you." Alice narrowed her eyes. "And if I lose?" Fern's face adopted a lustful expression. "Then you give me your number, and...." He eyed her skirt, or more specifically, what he was imagining underneath it. Alice suppressed a shudder. "Fine. Let's do this." The green haired boy's eyes lit up, and he smirked, thinking his victory was assured. "No backing out when you lose! Go, Lotad!" With a flash of light, the small Water and Grass type Pokemon materialized onto the wet stone of the street. Alice, having no intentions of losing to this creep, sent out her Mawile. Several minutes later, Fern watched, aghast, as his Budew, his last Pokemon, was smashed into the wall of the factory by Alice's Mega Mawile. Alice watched the proceedings, bored. In an unofficial battle in which she could use her Mawile, there was little to no chance of her losing to anyone of Fern's level of skill. She had torn through Fern's Lotad and Snivy almost instantly, and had Mega Evolved her Mawile when Fern had started talking smack. Watching his change in expression had made this battle totally worth accepting the wager he had offered. As her Mawile released its Mega Evolution and stepped back, Fern quickly ran up and scooped up his Budew. Alice recalled her Mawile, and casually strolled over to where the boy kneeled. Folding her arms, she asked, "Well?" Glaring at her, Fern recalled his Budew and returned it to his belt. Standing up, he brushed back his wet green hair with his hands, and looked her in the eye. To her surprise, his face was smug, as if he had been the one who won. "Yeah sorry, that win didn't count. I didn't lose to you, I lost to your illegal Mawile." Alice sighed. She had suspected he would weasel his way out of telling her the factory's secrets. They were distracted from their conversation when Fern's Pokegear vibrated. Quickly opening it up, Fern scanned the message he had been sent, then gaped. "WHAT? I WAS AT THE WRONG FACTORY THIS WHOLE TIME? Shitshitshitshitshitshit..." He muttered as he jogged off. "THIS ISN'T OVERRRR!" He yelled over his shoulder as he disappeared into the rain. Alice watched him go, thoroughly confused, before shrugging and continuing towards the Peridot Pokemon Center, intending on getting a room for the night. As she walked off, lost in thought, she failed to notice a girl with emerald hair and wearing a yellow cheerleader's outfit run past her, heading in the direction Fern had gone. Trainer Profile: Alice

Seehan Sweat dripped down the trainer's bare chest as he circled his Chimchar, their eyes locked. Reaching the Pokemon Center well ahead of schedule, Seehan had decided to get in some training with his two Pokemon. For the past hour, he had been sparring with first his Zigzagoon, and now his Chimchar, each making fast progress in their battling ability. Chimchar made the motions for Ember, and Seehan dived out of the way, before he saw that the Ember wasn't coming. Sitting up, he looked at his Chimchar, which had a confused expression on its face. Glowing softly with an azure light, the light flared in brightness, and moments later a Monferno was standing where his Chimchar had been, examining itself. Seehan grinned giddily. Having a reliable Pokemon at his side was truly reassuring, especially in a place so far from home. The young trainer picked himself up, recalled his new Monferno, and was about to head back inside the Pokemon Center when he felt a sudden, sharp pain behind his right temple. Wincing, Seehan whirled around, trying to find the source of the mental contact, for that was what the pain had been. A Psychic, either a Pokemon or human, had just brushed against his mind. Quickly dressing and gathering his things, Seehan strode towards where he thought the probe had originated. As he moved through the streets, drunks and beggars wandered around him. Walking past a small alleyway between two squat buildings, he felt the mental probe again, this time stronger and more insistent. A drunk lay sprawled out across the opening of the alley, watching the boy with a malicious grin. "Ay there boy, got a coin to spare for a poor old man?" He laughed, taking a swig from a large bottle. Seehan looked at him, disgusted. "Let me guess. You found some poor little Psychic type, and decided to have a little fun with it. When it didn't respond how you wanted, you dumped it," he gestured further into the alleyway, "somewhere back there. How am I doing so far?" The man only smirked, and took another swig. Seehan lost his patience. With one quick, practiced motion, he kicked the bottle out of the man's hand, catching it neatly without letting a single drop of foul smelling alcohol spill out. The man, rather than being cowed, merely hooted and clapped. He gave Seehan a toothless grin. "Seems like you're intent on rescuing the poor thing, eh? A right little knight in shining armor you are!" Standing up unsteadily, he clapped Seehan's shoulder as he walked past. "Do yourself a favor, boy. Drop the act. There's no place for a white knight in a city like this." And with that, the man stumbled away down the street. Seehan watched him go, then carefully placed the bottle where the man had been sitting. Moving briskly into the alleyway, he found a small door and entered. Inside, bound and gagged, was a Ralts. It had a deep cut, dripping with gleaming silver blood, on its green head piece. Moaning softly, it turned its dirty head to look up at Seehan, its eyes cloudy and out of focus. Seehan untied the Ralts, pulled a Potion out of his medicine pocket, and gently sprayed it on the infected wounds of the tiny Psychic Pokemon. The Ralts stared up at him, then closed its eyes and fainted. Finishing up with his First Aid, Seehan retrieved a Pokeball from his ball compartment and touched it softly to the Ralts' fragile head. The small, baby sized Pokemon was enveloped in a soft red light, and with 3 almost imperceptible shakes, the Pokeball gave off a solid click as Ralts was registered to Seehan's Pokedex. Standing up and dusting himself off, Seehan checked the time on his Pokegear, saw he had a message, and read through it. The text was from Ame, telling him the meeting place had been changed from the Pokemon Center to the factory itself. Seehan took one last look around the dirty, dusty room, then walked away, closing the door behind him. Trainer Profile: Seehan

Alice "Again!" For the tenth time, Cain sent out his Nidoran(M). Alice sent out her Squirtle. The two had been battling almost nonstop for the past hour, with Alice rotating between her Squirtle and Swablu between matches. Stopping only to give their Pokemon Oran Berries and Potions (Cain had a seemingly unending stock of recovery items in his bag), the two trainers had agreed to only end Alice's relentless training when their Pokemon were too tired to go on. Despite its constant battling, Cain's Nidoran(M) seemed as fresh as ever, dancing lightly on its toes as it prepared for yet another battle. In comparison, Squirtle's breath came out in short gasps as it glared at Nidoran(M) through the rain. Although its Rain Dish Ability had kept it in better shape than Swablu, the back to back battles were starting to take its toll on the Tiny Turtle. This battle, thought Alice, will probably be the last one we can do before I have to head to a Pokemon Center. She was quite satisfied with her training, however. Her Squirtle had progressed incredibly fast, perhaps in part due to the heavy rain both strengthening its attacks and healing it at the same time. Her poor Swablu had been too weighed down by the rain to make use of its air superiority, and had thus suffered multiple defeats, unable to use Sky Attack due to its feathers (fur?) being too damp for it to fly. "Nidoran(M)! Use Double Kick!" "Squirtle, use Withdraw then Water Gun!" Squirtle hid in its shell just in time to avoid getting kicked by Nidoran(M). The force of the kick, however, blasted Squirtle into a nearby tree, where it bounced off and slid into muddy puddle. Squirtle then stuck its head out of its shell and, using water absorbed from both the puddle and the rain in conjunction with its own body fluid, shot a boosted Water Gun straight at Nidoran(M)'s bucktoothed face. Nidoran(M) sidestepped it easily, but was caught by surprise when a second Water Gun, shot immediately after the first, hit it head on. With a quick cry of pain, Nidoran(M) flew through the air and landed in some bushes. Cain clapped his hands, a grin on his face. "A decisive victory! Aaaand the winner iiiiis, Alice!" Alice gave a mocking bow, then joined Cain when he started laughing. Recalling their Pokemon, they returned to the Grand Hall Pokemon Center and healed their Pokemon. Alice looked around for Seehan, but he was no where in sight. Probably already started on his journey, she supposed. Although she felt a strange pang of loneliness, she took comfort in that she could always call him if she wanted to meet up. As the two trainers sat down for a hot drink, Cain pulled out his Pokegear and called up his map. He shuffled around the table and pointed out an important looking building for Alice as she sipped her hot chocolate. "This is the Peridot Ward's Gym. Its Leader's name is Julia, an Electric type specialist. Your current usable team of Squirtle and Swablu might have some troubles, so you should think of picking up a Ground or Grass type as soon as possible, if only to take some hits." Alice nodded her understanding, deep in thought. "I was under the impression that Pokemon had been forced into hiding within the City," she said slowly, "where should I go to catch wild Pokemon?" Cain sat back in his chair and sipped at his coffee, while with his other hand he pointed at several locations on his Pokegear. "I've heard rumors of an abandoned Numel hiding somewhere around the old North train station. Maybe the rain will have forced it indoors, making it easier to find. As for a Grass type, there's a garden hidden behind this apartment. Talk to the owner; he and I are pals. If you let him know I sent you, he'll let you in. Even if you don't go to the garden, there are tons of Grass types hidden around the city if you look for them." The two of them finished their drinks. Alice sneakily paid for the both of them, as thanks for all the help Cain had given her. As they were leaving, they exchanged numbers, and with a wink and a kiss blown in her vague direction, Cain disappeared into the rain. Alice couldn't help smiling as she heard him singing off in the distance. What an odd fellow. Great guy though, helping out a girl he just met and expecting nothing in return. Guess this city isn't that bad after all. She set off for the gym, intending on scoping out the location before going hunting for new team members. However, when she arrived at the gym, she found it locked. A note on the door read "Fern and I will proceed to the target headquarters. Objective confirmed to reside within Factory. Investigating West Peridot Factory first. Join immediately. ~ F" Alice frowned. Was something happening, concerning the Gym Leader? Shrugging, she decided to come back later, and set off towards the North train station. Trainer Profile: Alice