Road Trip to Oblivion

Edit: Kinomora here, with the link to the OOC Chatroom for this RP: Link'd!

Whoo, since I said I would, here's our new RP to mess with. /o/

Tensions between the Teams Magma and Aqua in the region of Hoenn have reached an all-time high. In fact, the majority of the region is in turmoil as the two Teams engage in a full-scale war with one another. Residents of the region huddle in their towns and cities, afraid to do anything or go anywhere, while increased numbers of police patrol the routes and roads. Travelers from other regions have been encouraged to return home, and notices have been sent abroad to warn of the ongoing conflict.
Unbeknown to the two feuding Teams, a third party is guilty of being the instigator of their war. Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, has set up his own base in the abandoned ship on Route 108, accompanied by his quartet of executives. He has sent men to attack both the Aqua and Magma team bases, causing them to blame one another for the damage and therefore begin fighting. He watches from afar with satisfaction, convinced the two local Teams will stay out of the way while he pursues other goals.
Unfortunately for Giovanni, one of his grunts was caught spilling sensitive information, and the Aquas and Magmas are alerted to their predicament. It didn't take much for them to realize the Rocket boss was in Hoenn to obtain Kyogre, Groudon, or even both. As the duo of Teams quickly deduced, their own ambitions would be shattered completely if Giovanni stole away the legendary of their respective element. They just as quickly realized that their rival teams would also become able to stop them once and for all if they managed to get their hands on their legendary. Of course, Giovanni himself would prefer neither of the other Teams accomplishing anything, for doing so would interfere with his plans. The three organizations--Rocket, Magma, and Aqua--entered a frantic three-way race to find the two resident legendaries of Hoenn.
However, a mysterious personage is manipulating the entire game from obscurity. This woman has a secret weapon no one else knows of, including the Rocket boss. She has been staying low-key, using subtle suggestions to influence Giovanni's decisions while making him seem the one in charge; the man's ego would never settle for anything less. She is quite prepared to take over the situation if it ever becomes evident that Giovanni was slipping, and her true intentions remain unknown. The approaching Millennium Comet raises further issues, as the secluded citizens of the region fervently wish for all the chaos to end (amongst a few other things). Jirachi, troubled by what he has learned, descends in an attempt to quell the widespread unrest.
In the midst of all this, a certain band of young trainers finds themselves caught up in the hectic region-wide war. How can four teenagers ever expect to make a difference?
(Credits to key2dawn for compiling most of this; I just paraphrased and reorganized a little. /o/ Please excuse the lameness.)

Here's the original plot by key2dawn, if you prefer that:

TLDR:

Characters:

(I will be editing this stuff later, if needed)


The start-off setting shall be Rustboro City, in it or in its vicinity.

Let's, uh...let the craziness begin. /o/

Kuzumi panted as he collapsed at the wooden walkway that made it possible for people from Petalburg to get to Rustboro. “Umbreon,” he called out in a hoarse voice before starting to cough up blood. “Ow.” Kuzumi muttered while grinning sheepishly at the Moonlight Pokemon that appeared by his side in an instant. Opening his mouth to say something again he instead was forced to close it when the Pokemon placed a paw to his lips.
-Save your breath, Kuzumi,- Aeneas pleaded softly to his beaten up trainer- literally beaten up trainer. Aeneas took this peaceful moment to check over his trainer. The boy’s clothes were dirtied, practically shredded, and caked with drying blood. Kuzumi’s hair was no longer being held up by a bandana folded as a headband, the item having been stuffed into a pants pocket, and chaotically splayed all over the place. Then the kid’s face- there wasn’t much wrong with it just a few scratches that had already stopped bleeding. Overall Aeneas thought Kuzumi did pretty well in that fight.
What would other humans think when they saw him, though? This thought ran through both Aeneas’ and Kuzumi’s minds and they both knew the other was thinking it. Kuzumi reached a feeble hand to his Umbreon, which quickly moved closer to the lifted hand, and began to tenderly stroke the Pokemon’s fur. “Umbreon,” Kuzumi tried again before swallowing to wet his throat. “How bad was the encounter?” A weighty question for the two which brought on a heavy atmosphere about them; the encounter mentioned was none other than the one between Kuzumi and his father, Hiiragi.
Kuzumi and Aeneas couldn’t figure it out- why was Slateport closed? Unable to get on land from the sea, the adolescent decided to approach via the sky and let out his Crobat. Once the switch of transportation was made and the Gyarados was tucked away in its Pokeball, Kuzumi rode on the Crobat’s back high into the sky only to see chaos in Slateport City. The city was in poor condition and, unwilling to risk it, the two agreed to land in Littleroot. Once there Kuzumi returned the Crobat into its Pokeball and let out his Umbreon to accompany him for the rest of the travel.
Before anything, however, the two decided to visit the professor in town in hopes of learning something valuable only to find that the lab was closed at the moment. An odd fact that was beyond rare- it was nearly impossible. Still, the door was locked tight, the windows had all the curtains down, and the lights appeared to be off. No point fussing. This left Kuzumi unsure about what to do from there until, of course, Aeneas suggested they find a Pokemon center and phone Yuki. Surely he of all people would know?
But, of course, there was a problem with this decision: there was no chance in hell that they would be heading to Slateport to make the call and Corwin wanted to rest since he wasn’t used to having to carry Kuzumi anymore. They were stuck with Oldale Town and Petalburg- neither of which was at all appealing to either of the two because of who was as close as it was. There simply was no choice, the two knew, and so they reluctantly made their way through the tall grass, ignoring the wild Pokemon that gave hearty greetings to the pair, until they finally reached the town only to sprint into the Pokemon Center.
Wrong move.
Of course the one person both wanted to avoid had to be in there, at that particular time, and just be exiting. Both male humans gasped in shock as they collided though neither fell down; quite the opposite. The two back flipped at the same time, same style, and landed on their feet in the same position glaring at the other with the same bothered hatred. One would have thought they really were father and son.
All the while Aeneas was wide-eyed and huddled against the wall of the Pokemon Center. He knew the Narumi way and so he was not to interfere unless called upon, and either could demand for his aid for both were and had played his master at some point in his life. Much to his surprise, though, he was silently hoping Kuzumi would completely defeat Hiiragi.
Neither Kuzumi nor Hiiragi moved a muscle save to exchange words and the words were ugly from the start. As they “chatted” both searched the other in hopes of finding a weakness somewhere when, suddenly, Hiiragi made the first move which sent Kuzumi flying back towards the trees only for Hiiragi to appear right behind the boy and kick him forward back to where they started. It was at that moment just before the kick made contact that Kuzumi switched personalities and spun around in midair to catch the foot.
From there the movements became a blur though, at random intervals, one or both of the fighters would be visible long enough to be seen as a mess only to continue the battle after three to four deep breaths if that. Aeneas wasn’t sure how the true chaos started, however, nor did he know when either male started summoning Pokemon to battle as well; neither called upon Aeneas. It didn’t matter anyways for the Moonlight Pokemon would be unwilling to go against either master and, even better, he didn’t want to add to the chaos. Buildings were either on fire or being destroyed, people were screaming while fleeing to the neighboring town, wild Pokemon were attacking everything, Hiiragi’s Pokemon were attacking everything, and nobody was able to stop it all.
Oh but even better- the fight didn’t contain itself in Oldale Town. Somehow it had followed the crowd and migrated to Petalburg. Being back in Petalburg together brought on horrible memories between father and son which only worsened the fighting; if Oldale was a wreck then Petalburg was history. It was a miracle that Aeneas managed to get Kuzumi out of there- a miracle that was swept away with all the chaos left behind and therefore unknown. All either could remember was the sudden change from Kuzumi fighting and nearly dying by his father’s bare hands to Kuzumi being carried by a bunch of small wild Pokemon working together to get the boy out of there. Eventually Aeneas and Kuzumi were left at the other side of the Petalburg Woods where the boy picked himself up slowly and dragged himself over to the water.
Now what were they going to do? “I still need to get to the Pokemon Center.” Kuzumi muttered snapping Aeneas out of his reverie. The trainer had sat up and was splashing water over himself all the while wincing at the pain every movement caused him. “My backpack was left in Oldale Town.” He added absently as he tugged at his stained rag of a shirt and sighed. Getting up painfully to his feet, Kuzumi cast his Umbreon one of his signature cheery smiles, though it was clearly strained this time, while motioning the creature to follow. “The further away from Petalburg we are the more at ease I’ll be and the more at ease I am the faster I’ll heal.”
There was no arguing with that for both knew how true that statement was. If Kuzumi was relaxed and not fighting his other self for control his second personality usually was quick about ridding the body of any injuries. At least Kuzumi had washed up, more or less, so he wasn’t completely soaked in his and his father’s blood. Aeneas could only nod up at his trainer, unwilling to speak in fear of losing to his raging emotions, and eventually found himself at the entrance of Rustboro City. Neither had felt so relieved to be in a big city.

((Yeah, so... Uh... Mandi gave me the "okay" to post ahead of her. Here's the huge monster I've created. Oddly enough, Road Trip to Oblivion was playing when I asked her...))

"Shit." The curse escaped before he even though about it. The dark-eyed adolescent had only just gingerly peeled his old, gray hoodie off, only to grimace at the sight that lay underneath. He had already expected it, of course. How could he not, with one of the hoodie's sleeves almost completely torn off, a large section of it dark and soaked? No, it was the amount of blood trickling down from the long gash on his arm that had caused him to swore so vehemently. On top of that, it bloody hurt, no pun intended. "This isn't good."
~And whose fault do you think that is?~ a scornful voice asked in his head, causing his gaze to flicker upward. This time, a hiss escaped from him as a green hand slapped a warm, wet towel onto the injury, wiping up the blood. ~What were you thinking, getting in the way of an Air Slash?~
"I was thinking, Taira" he snarled, wincing a little, "that Acerbus wouldn't have lasted much longer- Ah!" He swore again; even though the Gardevoir, contrary to the clearly exasperated and annoyed tone in her voice, was doing her best to be gentle, the slightest pressure sent spasms of pain shooting up his arm. Taira immediately paused in her work, her round, red eyes betraying the concern for her trainer as she watched him screw his eyes shut, as if that would block the pain. When his breathing slowed to a normal pace again, she spoke once more, this time in a softer tone. ~Acerbus is a Pokemon. You're not. You're just lucky that I had set up a Light Screen around you. Another human would have had his arm sliced clean off.~
"Another human," came the dry counter, "would have avoided this mess in the first place to save his own skin. But I can't exactly do that now, can I?" Just as quickly as her tone had changed, the expression on her face soured.
~Master Zether, you could have just turned-~
-Enough, you two.- The new voice that cut in was quieter and considerably less harsh than the first two. Yet, both trainer and Gardevoir fell silent on command, glancing over at the Typhlosion that was rummaging through the contents of a box. Wordlessly, Zether took the towel from Taira as she pulled a long, piece of cloth out of the backpack nearby and began wrapping it around his injured, left arm, tying the ends when she was sure that the gash was covered by several layers of cloth. It wasn't the best bandage, but considering the resources they had at hand, it was the best they could manage.
"Found anything so far?" Zether finally asked. At his question the Volcano Pokemon's head reemerged, shaking ever so slightly in a regretful sort of way. It was enough to make the human curse again. "Not even one measly Antidote?" Another shake "no". Scowling darkly, the male snatched up his backpack with his right hand and flipped it over, dumping everything out, though he knew it was pointless. There wasn't much, really. Other than his black and red windbreaker, the only things that fell out were a few spare changes of clothes, some food wrapped up tightly in cellophane, small plastic box of berries, and several Pokeballs of different types. "Looks like we ran out of herbs as well." He sneaked a quick peek at the corner of the cold, rocky room. There, curled up listlessly, was a Houndoom that trembled ever so slightly, body lacerated with various cuts. As if sensing his gaze, the canine lifted his head up feebly.
-C-Could we go to the c-center?- Acerbus stuttered weakly. -This poison...from the Poison Fang...- The hell dog's plea made Zether bite down in his lower lip. Judging from the damage the young Houndoom had taken, the trainer guessed that he wouldn't be able to remain conscious much longer. The Pokemon Center would definitely be the best choice for any badly poisoned Pokemon, but...
~What? No!~ Taira straightened up, glaring at her teammate menacingly. Despite her short stature, she seemed to tower over the weak Acerbus, though the latter managed to muster the energy to roll his eyes. ~You know very well that the facilities in Hoenn are...limited for us. We can't just barge into a relatively populated building and get caught just because you're letting a little poison bother you.~
-But perhaps we should go,- Hyperion interjected once more. -You need it as well, Taira, especially after that Will-O-Wisp.- Taira immediately went rigid with shock as Zether threw her a sharp glance.
"You were hit by Will-O-Wisp?" Almost immediately, he felt a barrier in their mental connection quickly build up, severing his mind from the Embrace Pokemon's. It didn't bother him, though. In fact, it answered his question. "Well, that's that, I suppose." His words earned him several curious stares, especially from Taira and Acerbus. Donning his black and red windbreaker, he made his way over to the old, wooden desk with an extremely dusty laptop on it. He reached under the desk and pulled out an equally dusty black messenger bag. "After I pack everything up, we'll head straight over to the Pokemon Center." Obviously, Taira began to protest, and, just as predictably, the trainer cut her off before she could start. "Either we all go to the Pokemon Center so you, Hyperion, and Acerbus can heal up quickly, or I find something to cure your burn and Acerbus' poison and leave you two behind to rest while I go on with Hyperion, Varel, and Lothair."
~You wouldn't dare!~ She seemed absolutely horrified of the thought of being left behind with only the greenhorn as company.
"Why not? Our base has never been discovered by anyone else yet, even during our absence, if the layers of dust are anything to go by. Besides, Hyperion took less damage than either of you did, and Varel and Lothair didn't even get a chance to fight, so they're at full health. I'm sure I can always-" The only sound the inhabitants of the secret base heard next was a resounding slap.

It had been a long argument, but in the end, Taira couldn't hold her own against both Zether and Hyperion and gave in. Acerbus seemed positively relieved as the trio of Pokemon returned to their Pokeballs, leaving the human behind. Roughly ten minutes later, Zether, standing front of a large, red-roofed building, found himself in the city. The ebony-haired teen had to admit that he didn't know what to expect from the Pokemon Center; he had never been inside of one before. Feeling a little wary, he adjusted the strap of the messenger bag he had slung across his chest before entering through the glass doors that slid silently open. The woman, presumably a nurse, looked up in brief surprise, but quickly beamed at her guest.
"Oh! Another trainer!" Zether could feel one eye twitch. The woman was practically chirping in that clearly excited, high-pitched voice of hers. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center! It's nice to see we're getting some life back here again. With all the fighting going on, not as many trainers pass by through here, so I-"
"Poisoned," he interrupted brusquely, cutting her off as he placed the Repeat Ball on the counter. Next were Taira's Premier Ball- "Burned" -and Hyperion's Luxury Ball. "I'm in a hurry, so I would appreciate it if you'd start up that machine of yours."
"O-Of course," the nurse stammered, a bit taken aback by his irritated and unfriendly response. She quickly swept the three Pokeballs off the table and was about to fumble for her machine when she noticed something odd about her client. Maybe it was just her imagination, but he seemed oddly familiar, though she was sure he'd never set foot here before...
"Sir?" She tilted her head, frowning in concentration. "Have we met before?" She let out a squeak when he shot her a particularly venomous glare and immediately jumped back to work. Best to finish healing up his Pokemon so he could be on his way, and, more importantly, get out of the building as soon as possible.

I'm never using a Pokemon Center ever again, Zether mentally grumbled as he turned away from the inane nurse, settling down on a chair furthest away from her. He moodily stared at the tiled floor, one hand reaching into his pocket. The moment his fingertips brushed against a cool coin, though, he instantly jerked his hand back out, scowling deeply. All in honesty, the injuries of his Pokemon, as well as his own, were all his fault. He could have easily ignored the fighting and headed somewhere else. Back to Johto, perhaps, and head on over to Mt. Silver. The climate there was harsh, and the terrain hard to traverse, but he had also once heard that the view at the top was incredible. Kanto wouldn't have been a bad choice, either. Even Sinnoh was better than Hoenn, even though he detested the cold region. And yet, here he was again, back in the very region that had felt like a prison for so many years, and he wasn't entirely sure why he decided to return.
"Shit," he muttered again, leaning his forehead against one hand, the uninjured arm propped up on his knee. I'm such an idiot.

Kinomora grabbed his parachute like he's done a hundred times before, checked his pokeballs, secured his backpack, shouted to his pilot that he's ready and opened the planes door. "I hope you're ready, J'seul.." Kinomora then jumped out of the plane and sky-dived towards the Hoenn region. "Wow, what an amazing view! But... Something seems off..." Kinomora felt it in his bones. -I'm sure that's just you, Kino- J'seul told Kinomora through her pokeball. "I told you not to call me that..." Kinomora scolded her. Just then a gust of wind started to blow Kinomora around. "Whoa! I- I'm losing control!" Kinomora shouted and knocked J'seul's pokeball off of his belt. "Crap!" Kinomora shouted and tried to reach for it, but could only watch as it fell straight into the heart of Petalburg Forest. "Damnit! I've got to get her!" He shouted as he released the handles of his parachute and dove as fast as he could towards the ocean. Kerplunk!

"Great, now I'm wet AND I lost J'seul.." Kinomora sighed. "Hello, sonny! Looks like you took quite a fall there." An old man said, watching him from the dock. "Huh? Oh yea. I came from Sinnoh and I decided to sky-dive in since the ports are all closed." Kinomora continued on about getting there while he struggled out of his parachute cocoon. "Sorry about almost landing on your dock, Mister..?" Kinomora apologized and swam over to the dock. "Oh, please, call me Mister Briney! And I'm just glad you're fine! We'd have a horrible time here if you actually hit my dock, I'm always happy for a little bit of excitement, but not in that way." The old man rambled on as he fetched a lake ladder and a towel. "Thank you, Mr. Briney." Kinomora said, as he dried himself off as well as the laws of physics would allow him and then did the same with his parachute, which he stuffed into his backpack. "I need to get going now, though. I dropped one of my pokeballs in the forest and I need to find it before someone else does." Kinomora told the old man as he walked towards the forest. "Thank you again for your help!" He shouted back while the old man just watched and waved. "Aren't I lucky I didn't land on that dock..." Kinomora thought to himself as he wandered in the forest, searching for J'seul.

"I better not run into a stupid wild pokemon." Kinomora said, and as Murphy's law allows, a wild Slakoth 'attacked' him. Well, as much as a wild Slakoth can 'attack'. "Aww crap, and I've only got one empty pokeball on me! GO! Fliedir, attack that Slakoth with Aerial Ace! But don't kill it this time...'" Kinomora cringed at the though -Yoshi! I know, I know..- Fliedir chuckled at Kinomora and attacked the Slakoth. "Ok! Pokeball! Go!" Kinomora shouted for no reason at all as he threw his only pokeball at the injured Slakoth. "In retrospect, I probably should have had Fliedir use Quick Attack..." Kinomora though, then the pokeball ding'd. "Well, at least it wasn't a waist of a pokeball. Now I just need to find J'seul..." Kinomora sighed and continued looking. Just then, a little girl that appears to be around the age of 7 runs up to Kinomora and pulls on his leg. "Hello!" She said. "Uhh... Hi..?" Kinomora said cautiously. "Are you looking for something, mister?" She asked kindly. "Umm.. Yes, actually, I lost one of my Pokeballs in this forest." Kinomora bent down. "Have you seen it?" He asked her kindly. "Oh! Yea! I was sitting in a clear patch just over there playing with my Lonnie, my Linoone, when it almost hitted me on the head!" She pulled the Pokeball out of her pocket. "Is this it mister? Come on out, whoever you are!" She said cheerfully as she summoned the unknown Pokemon from it's Pokeball. Kinomora gasped as he saw the Pokemon develop in the white flash of light that signaled the summoning of a shiny Pokemon from a Pokeball. "J'seul! Oh, I thought I'd never find you!" Kinomora ran over and hugged her. "Thank Azure you're ok!" He said delightedly. -Sheesh, calm down Kino, it's not like I died or something.- She smirked at him and sat at his side while he knelt down near the little girl. "Thank you so much! I'm so glad you found her, and that her Pokeball didn't land on you." He smiled and hugged the little girl. "Oh, no problem! I didn't even know what it was at first! I thought it was a meteor or something! I've never seen a Pokeball like that before!" She giggled. "Okies, well, I gotta go now~! Mommie is cooking dinner and I'm super hungry!" She chimed and skipped off.

"Heh. Well, that was lucky, wasn't it, J'seul?" Kinomora laughed nervously. -At least you weren't the one who almost landed on top of a little girl!- J'seul scoffed. "True, but I almost went splat on an old man's dock. Imagine where you'd be if that happened." Kinomora laughed as he walked with J'seul looking for a way out of the forest. -Hey, Kino, I think I see the forest thinning out up ahead!- J'seul shouted, and ran up ahead. -Hurry! I want to get to a Pokemon center before dark!- J'seul complained. "Heh. That's rich of you. At least you'd have a nice, warm Pokeball to sleep in tonight if we didn't." Kinomora reminded her as he hurried to catch up. "A-ack! It is getting dark! I think there's a town up ahead though, right across this lake." Kinomora slowed to a walk as he exited the forest.

"Hey, you!" Someone shouted and Kinomora looked around. "Yea, you! Wanna learn how to spit seeds??" Kinomora noticed a little boy, about the age of 12, talking to him about seeds and spitting. "Uhh, not really. Sorry, I need to get to a Pokemon center before it get's dark. Maybe tomorrow." Kinomora thought, then asked the boy. "Do you know where the nearest Pokemon center is?" He was slightly embarrassed to be asking a 12 year old boy for directions. "Yea, right across that lake is Rustburro City, there's a Pokemon center there and a whole lot of other things, like a Pokemart, and a Pokeschool and Devi-..." The little boy rambled on as Kinomora snuck off. "Uhh.. Do you smell... Coffee, J'seul?" Kinomora asked as they passed the Pretty Petals Shop. -I think that's just you, Kino. Let's just get across this bridge before it's dark.- J'seul was going ahead of Kinomora and was half way across the bridge by the time Kinomora had gotten to the bank of the lake. "Wow, it feels kinda peaceful here..." Kinomora sighed calmly. -Come on! I want to sleep in a bed tonight, Kino~- J'seul whined. "Ok, ok, sheesh, I'm coming.." Kinomora surrendered and totted across the bridge to where J'seul was standing.

"Hiya! Would you like to batt-" "GAH!!" Kinomora was surprised by two little girls standing on the dock and fell into the lake. -Hahaha!! I can't believe that worked!- J'seul laughed. "I. Hate. You. J'seul." Kinomora moaned. "Oh my. Are you ok?" The twins alternated between sentences. "It looked like. You took quite a plunge. There, would you like. Some help?" They asked. "Gah, no, I'm fine." Kinomora told them as he pulled himself up onto the dark. It was now pitch black and he was wet. Again. "I just want to get to a Pokemon center now. It's late, I'm wet and hungry and tired." He whined to himself. "Ok. Goodbye. Have a. Nice night!" The twins giggled as he walked off. "Ahh, finally, Rustburro City!" Kinomora's eyes twinkled in the street lights while his clothes dripped water. -Oh and look! There's the Pokemon center! And it's still opened!- J'seul cried in relief as she darted over to it. "Oh, thank Azure!" Kinomora said as he ran there as well and opened the door.

((1342 words :3 I'm impressed..))

(You guys have all created monsters. /o/ )

As the sun began its descent from zenith to horizon, a bedraggled girl strode onto the street of Rustboro City. Her shirt probably would have been white once, but was now a light shade of gray. Her capri jeans were tattered on the hems and no longer very blue, and her socks appeared to have disintegrated while her shoes were just held together at the seams. Her hair trailed behind her in a tangled mass of grayish-reddish-blond, looking like it hadn't been combed for weeks. Not very helpful to her appearance was a glossily groomed Pidgeot, following her slowly in the air. People nearby gaped at her as she walked resolutely toward the Pokemon Center, doing her best to ignore the stares.
-Not so enthusiastic to see civilization again now, huh?- the Pidgeot asked quietly.
"Not now, Flight," the girl mumbled back. She reached the red-roofed building and shoved the door open. People inside paused in their activities and stared at her too. Biting back the temptation to roll her eyes, she approached the counter. "Hi," she greeted the nurse. "I've got four Pokemon in varying stages of travel weariness. Could you take a look at them?"
The nurse, who had been staring as well, snapped to attention. "Of course," she replied, taking the three offered Pokeballs. With a glance from the girl, the Pidgeot withdrew into a fourth ball, which the nurse took as well. "Will you be needing, er, any other assistance?" the woman then asked.
"Why yes," the girl answered. "I'd like to use one of your showers."

Nearly half an hour later, the girl walked down the steps of the Pokemon Center, running a brush through her long hair. Though her clothes weren't in any better condition, her hair at least was restored to its original golden-blond, red-streaked state. "Excuse me, miss," the nurse called upon noticing her. The girl went to the counter, wincing as her brush caught on a particularly nasty snarl. "Your Pokemon are ready to go," the nurse continued, setting the four balls in front of her. "I would suggest not putting them through any more strenuous travel for another week at least, however." She paused, regarding the trainer across the counter. "It seemed almost like you rode them here from another region."
The girl flushed a little, thinking, Of course the nurse would have picked up on that little fact. "Thanks," she murmured instead, retrieving her Pokemon. "Do you mind if I stay in one of your rooms for a while?" she wanted to know.
"By all means, help yourself," the nurse replied, smiling. "We have many vacancies now that there's so few trainers around." She passed a small brass key to the girl, labeled with a number. "I'll just put you down in the register so no one tries moving in on you while you're still here. Might I have your name?"
"Louanne," the girl told her.
"Thank you. You're all set now." The nurse dipped in a shallow bow. "I shall see you later." Louanne smiled and pocketed the key to her new room. Now that she was back in society, it was high time she made herself look presentable, and she had passed a Mart on the way here.

"Now I remember why I hated shopping," Louanne announced to the other occupants of her room later that evening. "It takes ages to organize everything afterward." She folded her old shirt and pants neatly, then stowed them in a drawer next to her bed. She herself was, for perhaps only the second time since starting her Pokemon journey almost a decade ago, wearing different clothing. Her light teal shirt had fitted half-length sleeves to just above the elbow and a collar left open for a few inches down the front, exposing the very ends of her collarbones. Her pants, pale blue, went to her ankles and were so loose that unless she crossed her legs or kicked one much higher than the other, they looked like a skirt. Her new socks were, unsurprisingly, still white.
Flight, perched in an armchair, glanced at her new sneakers lined up next to the door. They, like her socks, were again plain white. -Not going to wear a new style?- he asked.
"Nah. These are fine." Louanne dumped the contents of her bag onto the bed and began sorting through them. "If I'm going to have to buy new shoes, I'm at least going to get comfortable ones." She paused and slapped her starter, who was sprawled over half the bed, on the rump. "Move over, you bum."
-Aww...but it's so comfortable.- Waterblast rolled over, making the mattress creak. Louanne resumed packing.
-You'd better not break the bed,- Flight warned the Feraligatr. He merely chuckled.
"Hali, how's Silver doing?" their trainer asked the Gardevoir seated demurely on a chair. Mutely, the Pokemon shook her head. "Nothing new?" Another silent negative. "That's good then." Strapping her hip bag on, Louanne walked to the door and bent down to tie her new shoes. "I'm gonna go get us some food-"
-Yay, dinner!-
"-So stay here and be good while I'm gone," she concluded, smiling indulgently at her starter. She then turned and exited the room, shutting the door after her and locking it. Humming merrily, she descended the stairs. The lobby to the Center was mostly empty. In fact, there was only a single person seated in the waiting area, dressed in dark clothes and holding his head in one arm. For some reason, the nurse seemed nervous as she worked at her healing machine.
Something about the other trainer seemed familiar. Louanne pulled to a halt, unaware that she was staring. With a jolt, she recognized him from his clothing, though he looked slightly different. "Zether?" she asked incredulously.

(Yes I totally had 2 time skips within this single post >.> )

((Just be glad that most of our posts are going to get shorter from now on...like right now. I got writer's block, but even if I didn't, I don't think I could have posted more without making it seem like I was totally ignoring Mandi.))

Zether, at the sound of his own name, stiffened, snapping his head up so quickly, he could feel his neck crack. His expression mirrored that of the one who had just spoken; dark eyes widened in disbelief, staring incredulously at one of the, admittedly many, people that he would rather not meet. The adolescent stifled a groan; last thing he needed was the goody-two-shoes around, especially in Hoenn.
"I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised that you're here as well," he observed dryly, "considering what's been going on in this region." Figuring that he would prefer not to have her looking down on him- both literally and figuratively- he stood, watching her warily. She hadn't changed all that much since their last cursed meeting; same Pidgeot-hair, same green eyes, same air of unbearable virtuousness. Pretty much all that had changed was her style of clothes.

"So..." The male hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his jacket, shifting most of his weight to one foot. He tilted his head just slightly to one side, forcing an arrogant smirk on face as he regarded the other trainer with a mask of indifference. "The great heroine of the world has finally arrived to rid Hoenn of its treacherous villains." Recalling how Louanne had mockingly saluted him at their last encounter, Zether bowed so lowly, it was obvious that he was returning the favor. "Such an impeccable timing you have." If she had to see him in the very realm the organization he was formerly a part of lurked, he figured she might as well see him as the way she already knew him: a jerk, as Acerbus would say.

"Um...Sir?" His gaze momentarily flickered over as he straightened up; the damn nurse had his three Pokeballs on a tray, evidently done healing his Pokemon. "I've healed all their injuries and cured their status ailments..." Without waiting for her to finish, the teen immediately strode over and began clipping the Pokeballs back to his belt, next to two other ones. He was faintly amused when he noted how she flinched a bit when he drew near, though in the back of his mind, he was quite impressed by the speed of the process. No wonder why Acerbus had recommended the Pokemon Center.

"Well, seeing how I'm done here, I have no reason to linger any longer," the ebony-haired teen continued, turning back to face the target of his animosity. "Much as I would enjoy...exchanging words with you, I must be on my way." He started to move toward the glass doors. Before he had taken more than a few steps, though, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, frowning a little. It was hard to say exactly why he didn't like her. She certainly wasn't enough of a goody-two-shoes to refuse to attack human criminals themselves, and she had proven in the past that she wasn't useless...most of the time. The ex-Magma still never enjoyed allying himself with her, even temporarily, and he was all for the idea of just leaving her in this building while he went off on his own. But judging from the incident at the Lake of Rage, neither of them had expected to meet, let alone work together. In fact, both had been more than happy to just mind their own business, but circumstances eventually forced them on the same side once more. If Louanne was here because of the war, which seemed likely, then that meant their paths would cross. Again. And sharing a common enemy would probably throw them on the same side. Again.

Bloody hell.

"Arceus," he grumbled, rubbing his forehead as he resumed his pace. "You better not screw with me again this time." Because I definitely do not want to work with her again.

((Edit: Apparently, I gave off the wrong impression in one part of the post. Whoops~))

Kuzumi was being watched by everybody out on the streets. Wasn't he presentable enough? Sure some of his wounds were still pretty bloody, his shirt was pretty much made up of strips that would more than likely be relinquished from his body the moment a breeze picked up, and his pants was as much of a goner as the shirt was save the fact that it was mostly just shredded from the ankles to a tad bit above his knees, but surely he was more or less decent? Was it the glazed look in his eyes? The trail of blood he was leaving behind? Speaking of his blood, he should probably try to keep some inside of him so he wouldn't bleed to death. His body was freezing enough as it was. "Are we there yet?" He complained quietly to his Umbreon which nodded eagerly. Blinking in surprise, he looked up and grinned with a look of such an innocent relief that there was a collective pained gasp all around as he approached the Pokemon Center.

"You know..." Kuzumi muttered under his breath as he limped hurriedly to the Center. "I didn't think any humans would be so frightened to see me like this. You would think they'd be eager to finish off the job..." He shook his head as he placed a hand on the red roofed building's door. Didn't budge. No no no, he frowned at the door as he struggled to open it. Not so pathetic that I can't open a stupid door! "Umbreon which way does the door open?" When his Moonlight Pokemon pointed out quickly, he grinned sheepishly as he realized he was just pushing on it wrong as the door slid open easily. Oh thank goodness he thought as he breathed out a sigh of relief.

As the two entered Kuzumi failed to notice Louanne and Zether for his focus was mainly on the nurse who, upon seeing his condition, paled terribly. He stumbled after a few steps from the entrance and ended up slamming a palm onto the ground as he gasped in pain. "Ow," he announced in a trembling voice as he struggled back to his feet to continue his feeble stride over to the nurse. Once at the desk, he motioned Aeneas onto the table before carefully removing the Pokeballs from his belt. "Will you heal my Pokemon please?" He asked in a voice that strained innocence. "Um...And maybe a place for my team and I to stay for the night complete with spare clothes, please?" As the lady mechanically took the Pokeballs, having sent the Moonlight Pokemon into its own Pokeball, and prepared the machine that would begin the healing process, Kuzumi decided then that he would slump over onto the desk before completely collapsing onto the ground. "For the love of all that is useful..." he moaned from his position on the floor. "I'm so hungry!"

"Are...Are you alright?" The nurse leaned over the counter and peered down at the fallen youth. "Chansey!" She called out soon after making two to three Chanseys run over with each chanting their name in sing song tones. "Please take care of this one." She gestured for them to get to work before standing straight again to concentrate on the healing Pokemon. It wouldn't be long now, she was sure. As she waited for the machine to finish, she starting humming to herself quietly: "Do do do do, do, do do do...." Whatever happened from then on would be lost on her as she continued to heal Kuzumi's team.

Each of the Chansey took one look at Kuzumi only to turn and leave quickly in different directions. They would come back, soon, with bandages, medicine, and folded clothes with a tray of food on top of it for the injured boy. Kuzumi, meanwhile, rolled over to face the door and blinked when he realized Zether was here. Mind gone blank, he slowly sat up and stared at the older male though he did wince slightly because of his movement. With a grin that was almost to par with his usual cheerful smile, he lifted a hand and waved a bit. "Oh hey, didn't see you there."

"Oh thanks Azure..." Kinomora said to himself as he entered the Pokemon center. "seeing how I'm done here, I have no reason to linger any longer," Kinomora heard two people arguing off to the side, although they didn't seem to notice him as he entered. "Ok, J'seul, return." Kinomora retrieved his Glaceon and handed his 3 Pokeballs to Nurse Joy. "Can you heal them for me? And may I get a room key? I would like to spend the night, if that's ok." He asked her nicely. "Sure thing sir! Right away." She said, as she took his Pokeballs and handed him a room key. "You have... Room number 3. That key works with every Room #3 Pokemon center in Hoenn, so keep track of it!" She cautioned him. "Thanks, Nurse! I'll come back in a few minutes, I'm going to go settle into my room." Kinomora told her as he took the escalator upstairs and entered his new room. "Ok... so this is where I'll be staying for now.. It's really cool, how they can use the same key for each room... I guess the Pokemon League get's that much money..." Kinomora thought to himself out loud in his room. "Hmm... Ok, so I guess I should probably get into so'me dry clothes before I head back downstairs. That was probably really weird." Kinomora kept talking to himself. His neighbors probably think he's some kinda weird. "Hmm now let's see... ok, good, I've got another set of clothes, that's good, at least I don't have to go shopping. But then again, who'd be stupid enough not to bring a second set of clothes on a long adventure?" Kinomora told himself as he stripped down in his room, went to the bathroom to hang all of his clothes up and stood there for a second. "I guess I'll just take a shower after I go get my pokemon; J'seul needs a shower too and and she'd kill me if I left her in her Pokeball too long." Kinomora thought and cringed at the thought of that, then he grabbed a towel and dried himself off and got dressed.
"Do, do, do~" Kinomora hummed to himself as he exited his room, locked the door and took the escalator downstairs only to notice a kid laying on the floor, bleeding to death and the same two kids who were arguing were looking at him as if they knew each other.
"Oh hey, didn't see you there." Kinomora heard the kid on the floor say to one of them. "Uhh... Obviously alot happened since I entered..." Kinomora thought to himself as he stood at the foot of the escalator, dumbfounded and unable to figure out what to say or do in this situation.

Louanne opened her mouth dumbly, then closed it again incredulously. "I am not the heroine of the world, nor do I aspire to be," she blurted, then paused, frowning slightly as she considered Zether's choice of words. "What do you mean, the 'treacherous villains' of Hoenn? Are Aqua or Magma up to something again? In a less-than-normal method?" She stared intently at the slightly older trainer, her gaze for a moment taking on aspects of the bird Pokemon her hair already resembled. "What were you doing that got your Pokemon inflicted with statuses, anyway? Last time I checked, you were a g- competent trainer." She paused again, wondering if what she'd just said sounded too much like a compliment.
She didn't have very much time to think on this, however, as a certain familiar face dragged himself into the Center at that moment. She almost didn't recognize him, but once she did, she forgot completely about her borderline argument with the ex-Magma. For a few minutes she couldn't do anything but stare in equal parts horror and concern. Then Kuzumi spotted Zether and greeted him. That snapped her out of her daze.
"Kuzumi!" she exclaimed, walking over to him. "What on earth happened to you? You look worse than if you'd been run over by a Rhyperior." She reached down toward the boy, then jerked her hand back. "Oh, right..." Quickly, she rummaged around in her bag before pulling out a glossy white scarf. She wound it tightly around her hand, covering all her skin and making a sort of makeshift mitten, then held it out for Kuzumi to take.
~Louanne,~ a gentle voice called within her head. ~Waterblast would like to inform you that he's still hungry.~
Well tell him I just ran into Zether and Kuzumi, and that the latter is badly injured, Louanne thought back at her Gardevoir. And no he cannot come barging downstairs in order to greet them. Not yet. She sensed her Pokemon's faint amusement, then realized there was another kid standing at the stairs to the upper levels of the Center. Great. Now to hope he wasn't too interested in socializing with strangers.

((This is even shorter than my last one...))
The smug smirk that appeared briefly on Zether's face at Louanne's outburst was instantly wiped off by her questions. The trainer whipped around, a look of genuine surprise on his face. "You really don't-?" He didn't have a chance to finish, for at that moment, the door behind him slid opened. Instinctively, the adolescent turned once more, though the sight that greeted him made him regret his decision.

"Shit..." The curse came out quietly as he watched, wide-eyed, as an all-too-familiar boy limped painfully past him and toward the nurse. What the hell did that idiot do to himself this time? He mentally winced when Kuzumi's legs gave way once more. His gaze wandered over to the crimson spots that dotted the floor. This was far worse than the state the boy had been in back in Sinnoh...
The male blinked when the younger boy finally noticed him. For a moment, Zether hesitated, then chose to adopt his usual scowl. One foot shuffled forward as the trainer intended to head over to Kuzumi's side, but Louanne, naturally, beat him to it. A quirk of an eyebrow was the only sign of incredulity he dared to show, not that the girl would see it. With a small sigh, the ex-Magma crossed his arms, flinching when he felt the sting in his left arm; the shock of seeing a half-dead Kuzumi had thrown all thoughts of his own injury out of the window.

"Better get him into a room of some sort," Zether finally suggested. "I doubt people would remain calm if they see a dying kid in the lobby of a Pokemon Center." A momentary pause. "I'd call Taira out- partly to carry him up without moving him too much, and partly to show her exactly how serious the injury should be before she starts her nagging- but I think she'd be more likely to throw Kuzumi against the wall instead." He pivoted on one foot, intending to head up the escalator and pick the lock of the closest room if he needed to. It would probably be easier asking the nurse for a key, but the adolescent didn't exactly have a good impression of her. Besides, if the room happened to be inhabited, Zether was confident that he could manage to throw the occupant out, even with one good arm. He didn't get very far before he halted again, one eyebrow twitching in annoyance as his expression darkened. Of course, someone had to come in just at that moment and block the escalator.

"Kid, if you're so interested in watching dying people," the teen commented dryly, jerking his thumb toward the door, "I'd recommend going to Mauville City. Plenty of injured people there."

Kuzumi's eyes glazed over even more as he sat there before he shook his head weakly making him suddenly dizzy. "Whoa wait...Can't keep up." He managed when Louanne and Zether had each had their turns commenting. Wincing slightly, he looked up to see Louanne offering a covered hand which made him grin so widely it hurt. "Hey Louanne," the boy greeted cheerily while reaching up to take hold of her offered hand. Barely did he recall the conversation he, Louanne, and Amaya had had back in Johto after all the fun and games at Mt. Mortar. He wasn't all that sure telling two humans everything they wanted to know about him and whether or not he could trust either of them with the secret. For now, though, he would just go with it and let what happens, happen. Blinking, his mind finally registered all that had been said allowing him to give replies of his own.
"I- ah..." He paused as he racked his brain in search of an alternative reason for being in the condition he was in. Surely there was something better than admitting your dad tried to kill you? Again? He sighed, finding that he had nothing but the truth to admit. Wearing a sheepish grin as he got to his feet, he announced in an overly happy tone: "Oh I had a family reunion." He turned his attention to the nurse behind the receiving counter and smiled at her as she slid a tray holding his Pokeballs over to him. He took hold of ball slowly and hooked them back to his belt only to pause at Aeneas'. Shrugging, he placed the occupied ball to his belt as well and then looked back up at the nurse expectantly. "Do I get a room and key?"
That must have been a reminder, as far as Kuzumi could tell, because the nurse blinked before hastily making the arrangements then handing him a key to some Room 5. Giving a slight bow to her, he turned to remove himself from the ground floor. "I guess you're right, Zether, about people not remaining calm when seeing a dying kid in a lobby." Kuzumi let out a hoarse chuckle as he made painful progress to the escalator that Kinomora stood at. "Luckily there aren't any dying kids in here, right?" At the bottom of the escalator he looked up at the stranger and frowned slightly for his vision went white briefly which left him closing his eyes and swaying slightly. "Where's the Chansey with the food?" He moaned just as the Chanseys returned. Returned only to take hold of the boy and lead him downstairs. "Whoa, wait, what's going on?"

"They're going to treat to your wounds downstairs, away from everything else. The bottom floor is empty of people and has probably been equipped with a bed and whatever else the Chansey need to treat your wounds." The nurse smiled while waving goodbye. Once Kuzumi and the Chansey were out of sight, she sighed as she bent down from where she was only to jump back up with a mop and a bucket filled with water already. Where, Arceus' name, she pulled that out from remains a mystery. "Well, before the blood dries up, I think I'll clean up!" She announced with a sing-song voice as she got out from behind her desk and began mopping up the blood.

"Uhh, I don't know what you're talking about, but I think I'm going to go down and check on that guy." Kinomora said "Excuse me." and he walked towards the escalator on the other side of the room. "J'seul, com on out." Kinomora told her, as he held her pokeball and aimed it at the bottom of the escalator. -*Yawn* Oh, hey Kino, I was just taking a nap. Do you need something?- She asked. "Well, I was gonna give you a bath, but something came up and I wanted you to be here." He motioned towards the injured male on the stretcher at the other end of the room.
-Oh my gosh! Do you know what happened?- She gasped. "No, he came in while I was putting my things in our room." Explained Kinomora. "I'm worried about him, even though I don't know him; I have the strangest feeling it's going to be very important in the future." He looked away. -I understand.- Was all that J'seul could say.

"Hey, uhh, you. Person in pain. Are you ok? What happened?" Kinomora asked the male after he regained consciousness.

Zether sighed heavily as the newcomer who had previously been blocking the escalator, only to raise his eyebrows in surprise again once he realized that the same kid had decided to follow Kuzumi and the group of Chanseys downstairs. Muttering a rather hypocritical comment about nosy trainers under his breath, the adolescent settled for leaning against the nearest wall, eyes dark as the trainer pondered on what he should do next. He absolutely hated staying in one place longer than necessary- his Pokemon, after all, had been fully healed- but there was the issue of Kuzumi...
Rubbing his tired eyes, Zether uttered an oath; things would have turned out so much easier if he had left earlier. At least that way, he wouldn't have known that the younger boy had sustained injuries so severe that it impaired his ability to walk. Now, though, he felt a certain obligation to stick around a bit longer, at least until he was positive that the kid would make full recovery.

Just so Acerbus wouldn't nag me about him, he finally decided, absolutely refusing to toy with the possibility that he was worried.

"I wonder," the adolescent commented out loud, more to distract himself than to converse with Louanne as he absentmindedly stared after the stranger, "if that kid knows better than to bother someone who needs time to recuperate." He half-turned his head in order to glance over at the other trainer's direction with none of the usual signs of loathing. It seemed that Kuzumi's appearance, combined with recent events, had somehow managed to drain whatever energy he had left, if the slump of his shoulders was anything to go by.

"As for your question before we had been interrupted... Well, considering how you have no idea about what's been going on in this region, I assume you haven't been here for long." Zether cleared his throat to buy himself a few seconds. After all, he wasn't sure exactly how much to tell. He certainly wasn't about to reveal what he had been up to lately. That would practically be inviting the goody-two-shoes to start preaching again. On the other hand, it wouldn't hurt to tell her a bit of what he knew; she would eventually find out anyway. "Mind you, Team Magma and Team Aqua are always up to something. It's just that this time, they haven't exactly been keeping a low profile." A bitter chuckle managed to escape. "Well, they've been fighting with each other, to put it simply. These days, it's not uncommon for a town to carry on as usual, only to have a large section of it obliterated within an hour. Nearly the entire middle area of Hoenn has been cut off from the rest of the region because of the battles that have been taking place."

"But that's not all the good news I have," he added with obvious sarcasm. "Shortly after my return, I found out that your friends, the Rockets, had been skulking around and provoking both Magmas and Aquas into fighting each other. Exactly for what purpose, I haven't found out yet, but the other two Teams eventually found out about their presence. The conflicts only escalated after that; it's now a three-way war." Zether, hooking his thumbs in his pockets, quirked the corner of his lips upward in a sardonic smile as he kept his eyes trained on Louanne. "Was my information satisfactory, Heroine Louanne?"

Aside from narrowing her eyes, Louanne made no response to the mocking title Zether gave her. Instead, she glared at the opposite corner of the Pokemon Center as she removed the scarf from her hand and jammed it into a pocket, not wanting to look directly at anyone in the room. "For your information, I just got here, today, several hours ago," she told the ex-Magma, sounding irritated. It didn't appear the irritation was directed at him, however. "How did that pack of utter imbeciles come to the conclusion that war would solve everything?" she suddenly exploded, her face slightly red. "This is affecting everyone in the region! I would've thought even the idiot Leaders of Magma and Aqua would have managed to see that THAT goes against their own ideals! Wasn't their original intention to create more living space for humans and/or Pokemon?! They're getting innocents hurt or even killed in this meaningless war! Although I suppose those morons wouldn't be able to think of a less destructive method to settle their differences!

"You say Rockets are here too?" she asked, more rhetorically than for confirmation. "What the hell is that blasted Giovanni thinking, spreading his foul influence here? Isn't it enough he already has Kanto and Johto? He has to have Hoenn too? If I ever see him, I'll...I'll..." She cut herself off, shuddering a little, and hid her face in her hands. She stood silently for a few moments, then slowly lowered her arms back to her sides, her fingers curled into fists. She looked pale. "Damn it all," she swore quietly. After a moment or two more of silence, she walked slowly toward the door. "My Pokemon are hungry," she told Zether in a weary voice. "I'm going to go get some food for them. Will you or your team want anything?"

-Did I just hear you offer to help someone you normally detest?- an incredulous voice asked from the top of the stairs. Startled, the girl stopped walking and spun around to face the speaker.

"Flight!" she exclaimed, looking surprised. "And everyone else? Didn't I-"

-Yes, you locked the door behind you, and Hali told Waterblast he couldn't come down and greet Zether and Kuzumi. Yet. But then she got a back draft from your outburst just now and decided you needed emotional support,- the Pidgeot replied casually, eying the staircase with distaste. -She unlocked the door.- With some reluctance, he began hopping down the stairs in a comedic fashion. Waterblast snickered and followed with much more coordination. Hali, deciding she had no time for stairs, simply Teleported to her trainer's side.

Louanne couldn't decide if she should be upset or not. Finally she decided against it. "Thanks," she told the Gardevoir, hugging her with one arm. The Psychic-type seemed embarrassed. To Zether, she added, "My offer still stands. I might bring back extras for Kuzumi's team, anyway."

-You didn't answer my question from before,- Flight prompted her, looking much more dignified now that he was back on solid ground. Louanne cast him a half-exasperated half-amused glance.

"I'll admit even you can't irritate me much at the moment," she informed Zether directly. "What the Teams are doing here is already inciting all of my...wrath, insignificant though it may be. There's three of them, and only one of me." She paused. "Hang on, what're the police doing about the Teams?" she wanted to know. "They're not gonna wait for a...a...kid or something to save them, are they?"

Waterblast, meanwhile, had headed on down to the next floor. He spotted Kinomora first, wondered who he was, then chose to ignore him for now. -Kuzumi!- he greeted the badly injured boy. -How are ya? You've looked better in the past. Want some Sitrus Berries? I'm sure Louanne wouldn't mind parting with a few.- The Feraligatr thumped himself on the chest. -If you need help getting anywhere, I'll offer you my assistance in advance.- He grinned hugely, exposing his sharp teeth.

Kuzumi was sliding on a pink shirt which had two hearts on the front complete with text bubbles in each heart; one heart read 'You', there was a '&' which invaded space of both hearts, and the other completed the phrase with a 'Me' after the Chanseys' had their way with him by bandaging him up and the like. He was already wearing a skirt that was a few inches short from reaching his knees, a pair of leggings under the skirt, as well as a new pair of white tennis shoes; he was also bandaged pretty much throughout his body, though medical tape and such would go unseen besides those on the arms. When Kinomora had walked in, Kuzumi was messing with his hair, trying to comb it out now that it was cleaned before he looked over.

Blinking, Kuzumi smiled widely at the new arrival. "Hi!" He greeted more cheerfully than the others now that his mind wasn't as clouded with pain than before. "I'm Kuzumi and yeah, I'm fine now- it's going to be a real pain going anywhere, but I'm good." He paused at the last question, weary about the memory. "Had a family reunion; messy events those are." He laughed airily when Waterblast made an appearance. His eyes lit up upon seeing the Johto starter. "Waterblast!" The fifteen year old cried out as he jumped to his feet in his excitement only to wince and nearly crumple at the pain.

A Chansey that was keeping a close eye on him was quick to appear at his side and help him back onto the bed. Like her two friends, she pulled out her egg and offered it to the weak boy. A quiet apology as well as acceptance was spoken to the Pokemon before Kuzumi took a bite out of the egg. The glazed look in his eyes lifted once more, a temporary solution, and were filled with his previous intense happiness. Swallowing his mouthful, he listened to what the Pokemon had to say before grinning from ear to ear. "Sitrus Berry? Maybe later; would you mind helping me back upstairs though?"

((I got bored and had nothing better to do, so~ ...Louanne's forcing Zether to talk a lot. And I'm totally abusing the italics code.))

For most of Louanne's rant, Zether remained silent, staring moodily at the tiled floor. He flinched ever so slightly, however, at her sudden explosion. It wasn't her reaction itself that bothered him; he had, after all, expected no less from a goody-two-shoes such as she. No, it was her criticisms that bothered him.
"Original intention..." he repeated slowly, knitting his brows. The male shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, once again making contact with the cool metal of the Magma emblem. This time, however, he absentmindedly toyed with it as a slightly distant look came into his eyes.

"It's amazing," Zether murmured in a low tone, once again more to himself than to the other trainer, "how much one can deviate from the original course when tempted by power." Brooding over his thoughts, he only managed to snap out of his reverie after the last of Louanne's outburst was over and several new voices announced the arrival of her Pokemon. The adolescent, mirroring in the Flight's incredulity, blinked in surprise at her question. Now that had been highly unexpected. Was she really so troubled by the news that she was actually volunteered to bring food for his Pokemon and him?
He opened his mouth, about to refuse, but shut it just as quickly. Now that he thought about it, his Pokemon had been fighting quite often recently, and it wasn't too long ago when they found themselves yet in another battle. The Pokemon Center may have provided effective healing services, but the teen highly doubted that the machines would be able to replenish a Pokemon's energy. Food would rejuvenate Hyperion and the others after today's work.

"I suppose I'll come along," he relented rather grudgingly, giving a simple, brief nod to each of Louanne's Pokemon in greeting as he spoke. "A couple of my Pokemon are rather choosy about what they eat, and I might as well check on something while I'm outside." Zether sighed, running his hand through his unkempt black hair as the Pidgeot-haired girl asked yet another question. Not that he was surprised, given whom he was speaking to...

"It's amusing," he began, without a trace of humor in his voice, "how you've more or less declared yourself as an enemy of the criminal organizations, yet know so little about them. Do you honestly believe that they care about so-called 'innocent' lives? Especially after how Team Aqua tried to capture Kuzumi back in Johto?" One eyebrow quirked upward as he gave her a meaningful glance. "Could it be that your only experience with them is battling their grunts?"

Without waiting for Louanne's reply, Zether continued offhandedly, "The police? Utterly useless and unreliable. Always have been, always will be. So they've managed to catch a few grunts here and there. They needn't have bothered. Grunts are...dispensable." A sneer of contempt appeared briefly at the thought. "And the police force is hardly skilled enough to even hope to catch anyone of a higher rank. I wouldn't be too surprised if they were waiting for a kid to bring everyone to salvation."

"And...'three of them, and only one of me'?" the teen quoted, a mildly exasperated expression crossing over his features. "It's things like this that gives me the impression that you're trying to play the hero. Are you honestly considering taking them on?" Zether shook his head in scorn. "Why bother? It's not your fight, and if you decide to jump in anyway, you would only lose, or possibly even be killed yourself."

"Are you sure you're ok? Do you need anything?" Kinomora asked "My name is Kinomora and this is my partner, J'seul." He explained.
-Hello; I do hope you feel better soon.- J'seul chimed.
"Are you friends with the two upstairs?" Kinomora put his hand to his head, trying to think, "Louanne and... Zether, if I'm not mistaken, correct?" He asked the injured male.
"Uhh, mind if I ask why you are dressed in... female attire?" He looked at the male strangely.
"I just arrived here in Hoenn a few hours ago via skydiving, so I'm kinda lost." Kinomora admitted as he sweat-dropped, anime style.

(Sorry. >< I've been wrestling with writer's block the size of the iceberg that sank the Titanic for a month or two now. That, combined with art crud and a story I'm supposed to be writing for one of my classes which I'm ALSO writer's-block-ed on....yeah, hasn't made me a very productive roleplayer.)

Louanne was at the moment rather regretting ever having said even Zether couldn't irritate her. At least I thought to say the word 'much', she thought crossly. Keeping her tone as neutral as possible, she asked the other trainer a question in turn. "Was there any real need for me to know anything about them other than what they're doing is wrong?" Shrugging, she then continued, "I simply figured that, especially for Magma, they're expanding territory for people to live on. If in that process they wind up killing a lot of the people, I find that to be extremely counterproductive and quite hypocritical." She stared at Zether. "But I suppose you'd know much more about their incentives than I do, and I'll thank you not to enlighten me on it. I'm sure I'll only be more incited to get in their way.

"As for the...last thing you mentioned," she went on, suppressing a sigh, "I was only stating the obvious. I didn't mean it in a way that meant I thought I was the only one opposing them. As far as I'm aware, you're against them too; wouldn't that make my statement true in your case as well?" She crossed her arms over her chest, glancing at the steps Waterblast had disappeared down. "I would also ask you to stop twisting every single one of my words into something I didn't mean. I'm not trying to second-guess anything you say, because frankly there's no reason for me to not believe you at this point. And if we're going to keep standing around and arguing over this I might as well leave you to do your own food shopping." She walked to the door, yanked it open, and held it there. "Well?"

~

-Kinomora, huh? And J'seul. Nice to meet you both!- Waterblast greeted the unfamiliar trainer and Glaceon. -I would go shake your hand but uh, they're kinda occupied. Or will be in a moment.- So saying, he reached down and scooped Kuzumi up into his arms, holding him in a way so that one arm was under the boy's knees and the other supported him across the back, near the level of the shoulders. -I think your current appearance warrants being carried like this,- the Feraligatr commented jovially. He strode over to the stairs and began climbing them, careful not to jolt Kuzumi too much. Near the top, he called to Kinomora and J'seul, -You guys gonna come too?-

-What in the...- Flight stared at his friend as he reappeared carrying a very pink teenager. Princess-style. -Waterblast...do I want to know?-
"Know wha-?" Louanne cut herself off as she also spotted who her starter was carrying. After a few seconds, she slapped a hand to stifle her incredulous giggles. Hali didn't appear very surprised by the boy's appearance, though she did prod her trainer gently in the shoulder. Louanne allowed the door to swing closed, still trying not to laugh out loud.

(BS post is BS. @_@ )

Kuzumi grinned at Kinomora as he was lifted by Waterblast. In a voice that was a perfect imitation of his elder sister, Aika, he replied "Oh, you can't tell? I'm a girl!" He winked, a glint of mischief shining brightly in his eyes; "Don't worry, though, because my gender is often mistaken- just don't do it again, okay~?" That said, he turned his attention to the Johto starter as he was carried away, him wrapping his arms around the Pokemon's neck the best he could, and smiled brightly. "Heh, I suppose it does." Vaguely did he wonder what his own Pokemon would think if- no, when they saw him wearing what he was. With his hair style the way it was, for his hair was put into a slight braid with his blue and white bandanna tied at the bottom of the braid to keep it together, he could pass for a taller Aika Narumi any time of day. That is, of course, if the bandanna doesn't give him away.

What will Zether think?

The moment that thought flitted through his mind, Kuzumi had to blink in surprise. In an instant, as if to cover up his embarrassment of actually caring what the latter thought, an idea hit him. This is going to be so much fun! He grinned widely as the Feraligatr stopped near the top of the stairs to inquire if Kinomora and his Glaceon would be following. Before he and Waterblast were finally in view of the others, Kuzumi had put on an innocent mask with a soft smile. Once Louanne started giggling, however, Kuzumi's smile widened slightly and he lifted a hand to give a small wave.

Once more, in his best imitation of Aika's voice, he spoke: "Hi Louanne~ What do you think? Aren't I cute?" So saying, he waved his hand in a royal flourish, done as best as he could for he was still in Waterblast's arms, and turned his attention to Zether while still wearing that innocent look- though there was a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Hiii Zether~" Kuzumi winked, Arceus was he glad that all those years mimicking his sister's voice was finally proving its worth, as he smiled joyously; "what do you think?"

Zether merely shrugged. "Suit yourself, although if you considered that as an argument, well..." He left his words drift off, choosing not to finish his sentence as he straightened up and stretched. If only she would stop assuming that I'm willing to fight Team Magma, he reflected, slightly irked that Louanne had ventured upon a more sensitive topic. In all honesty, he preferred minimal contact with his former allies.
"Go ahead," the trainer finally replied, waving her off casually with one hand as the other fumbled with the Pokegear on his belt. "On second thought, I should finish up my business here in the Pokemon Center before leaving this bloody place for-" The sound of heavy footsteps trudging closer caught his attention. Figuring that Waterblast was returning, only to have that thought confirmed by Flight, the adolescent sighed as his gaze flickered upward to watch the Feraligatr. "So how's Ku-" Once more, he cut himself off, though this time, it would be more appropriate to say that he choked on his own words.

The hair style. The clothes. The voice. If it hadn't been for the look in the younger boy's eyes that clearly spelled trouble for Zether, he would have never guessed that Waterblast was carrying the same kid who went downstairs several minutes ago to recuperate. Louanne might have found Kuzumi's new stunt amusing, but to Zether...
The raven-haired teen's face suddenly flushed bright red when the impish boy directed his attention toward him. Zether swallowed hard. Dear Arceus... It was bad enough that the kid had chosen to cross-dress, but that was minor compared to...
He could feel his cheeks warming up even more as an image of a certain red and white female dragon in human form that bore an uncanny resemblance to the boy in drag flashed in his mind. Definitely not a memory he cherished.

"I have s-something to take c-care of," he muttered, quickly averting his gaze as he decided that it was safer to ignore the question. Bloody hell. Did he actually stutter? One eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the thought as he quickly made his way toward the door. Unfortunately, Zether didn't anticipate a bored hell dog.

One flash of light. Two yelps. One crash.
All that added up to a small, untidy heap, with the trainer sprawled on top of a groaning Houndoom.
"Damn it, Acerbus," Zether swore as he rolled himself off his Pokemon, flipping onto his back with his elbows propping him up as he did so. "Why are you always underfoot?"
-If that's meant to be a joke,- growled the Dark Pokemon as he stumbled back to his feet, -I don't find it particularly funny- Oh, hello Louanne.- He gazed up at the Pidgeot-haired human, pointed tail swaying gently from side to side in greeting. -Long time no see. Zether has been a bad boy again, hasn't he?- Ignoring the grumbles of protest that followed his words, the canine perked up a little as his nose caught another familiar scent.
-And Kuzumi! It's been a while!- Eagerly, he spun completely around, panting happily in his excitement. -How have you been- What are you wearing?!-
"Not a question I exactly want to know the answer to," Zether replied under his breath.

((HAHA! This was short. :c And BSed. Whurr.))

Kinomora stood there, staring at the Johto pokemon carry the cross-dressed male up the escalator.
"U-uhh.. Yea! I'm coming!" Was all Kinomora managed to stutter as came back to reality... Gosh... I am extremely confused right now... He thought silently.
-Uhh.. Kino, did I just hear what I think I just heard..?- J'seul asked. "I'm... not quite exactly sure.. Let's go up and see what's going on..." Kinomora walked over to the escalator and slowly rode up just in time to see the boy named Zether trip over his own Pokemon as he exited the building. Kinomora tried to refrain from laughing, but was losing the fight.
-I don't know weather I should be shocked, disturbed, laughing or dumbfounded, but I like them, Kino- J'seul giggled lightly to herself as she watched the boy turn over and yell at his Houndoom.
Yes, J'seul, but you must remember, we have absolutely no where to stay, no food, hardly any money, and nothing to offer all while on an entirely new continent. Kinomora had to remind himself. "Although... I do think it would definitely be a good idea to see if we could find some people to hang around so we don't stick out so much, but who would just let us follow them around? They don't seem like the kind of people that would let some random stranger start following them around. We need to choose our words wisely around them for now." Kinomora said to J'seul as he stopped in front of the Pokemon Center's front doors.
-Yes, Kino, we should try to join them. They seem to know what's going on here and I like them, they look... fun.- J'seul replied.
Kinomora sighed, looked at his pokemon, looked out the front doors of the pokemon center at the three people and smiled. "They are strange, but I'm never going to get anywhere just standing here, I might as well try to meet them. Officially." Kinomora smiled as he finally exited the building.
"I'm not exactly sure how I should word this exactly, but... is there a specific reason all three of you are here? At the same time? It seems like you weren't expecting each other to be here at all. Don't you think it's more than coincidental that we all met here at the same time? I'm not saying it was destiny that we're all here, but I think Arceus had planed for this to happen." Kinomora said to the group as J'seul stood by his side.

Meanwhile...
Pii~ -I've got to find him, where did he go?- ??? seemed to be looking for someone.

((Fluffy post is fluffy >.<' I do think I made it alot better...)

(Wel, now I've kinda got two part-time jobs, one of which involves a crap ton of drawing, so... >_> Just a warning. I am not in a writing mood and am not likely to be for quite a while. And therefore, this post is BS too.)

Louanne lost all vestiges of self-control and burst into laughter once Kuzumi began talking, not even making an effort to respond to Zether's statements. Flight shook his head, half amused and half bewildered by why the boy would do such a thing. -Humans,- he remarked to no one in particular.
-Beautiful, isn't she?- Waterblast asked, winking at the teen he carried as he intentionally used a female pronoun. -I thought she could use a little help getting back up here.- He walked closer, still being careful not to move too fast or too abruptly. -By the way, Louanne, have any Sitrus Berries she could have?-
His trainer, still stifling her mirth, nodded her head. "They-They're up in my room," she managed to get out. "Should I go get some for you, or...?" Finally regaining control, she managed to look Kuzumi in the eye, though an amused smile kept tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Do you have a room here or something? I was going to go get some food for our Pokemon--and for ourselves, while I'm at it--but I think we need to get you settled first." Feeling a tug on her sleeve, she looked at Hali, then at the Houndoom the Gardevoir was pointedly gazing at. "Oh. Hello Acerbus, long time no see indeed. Hope you've been well, excluding your mishap just now. No comment on the bad boy thing." She watched Zether with her peripherial vision. Despite her amusement with Kuzumi's current appearance, she had not missed the ex-Magma's discomfited reaction. Nor did she overlook the color his complexion had turned. Interesting. Wonder what story was behind that one.
Flight blinked curiously at Kinomora as the boy began talking. -No particular reason we're all here at the same time,- he responded casually. -My trainer decided to take us on vacation. We simply conveniently missed the notice that Hoenn wasn't the best of places to be. I can't answer for what the other two are doing here, however.-
- Are you two also on vacation?- Waterblast asked Kuzumi and Zether eagerly. He then turned to Kinomora. -What about you?- In a more confidential tone to his trainer, he added, -I didn't think Hoenn was that popular of a tourist spot.-
"I didn't think it was either," Louanne answered dryly, one eyebrow raised at her two male acquaintances. She highly doubted they were here on vacation. To Kinomora, she continued, "I'm not a big believer in fate or destiny or any of that, but if you want to believe Arceus planned this meeting, feel more than free to do so. However, you phrased your question like you expect us to team up or something because we all happen to be in the same place." She swiveled to look at him, glancing briefly at his Glaceon as she did so. "What makes you think we'd do something like that?"
-And can we do something about food?-
"Being hungry a few minutes more won't kill you, Waterblast."

Kuzumi held a hand to his mouth, the way Aika would, as he tried in vain to keep his laughter in check. His laughter was light, sounding as girly as Aika's when she was having a wonderful time- the way he remembered her laughter from his childhood, and stuck to his imitation of Aika's voice. "Acerbus~" He greeted happily as he eventually managed to subdue his laughter; "I'm wearing clothes of course!" The boy paused as he thought about what he was wearing, he really thought he looked as cute as his sister would in it, and replied a bit more seriously "The nurse's Chansey Pokemon mistook me for a girl and so they brought me female clothing. It wasn't until after they bandaged me up that they realized their mistake. Before they could take back the clothing, though, I threw it all on thinking I would have a grand time with Zether." At that, Kuzumi winked at the Houndoom. "So what do you think, Acerbus? I look cute, right? Meanie Zether wouldn't answer me." That said, he stuck his bottom lip out slightly, his eyes watering as if he was about to cry, only to burst out laughing at Waterblast's words.

Being referred to as 'she' really made Kuzumi's day. Oh how many people could I possibly trick into thinking I'm a girl! This will be interesting! When Louanne began talking to him, he concentrated on what the trainer was saying and smiled wearily. "Some place called Room 5," he replied while reaching under his skirt, revealing leggings, and slipping a key out from beneath the leggings. "I had absolutely no idea where to put this since I forgot my bag back in Oldale Town- which, I recommend, none should go visit as well as Petalburg. It's a good thing I discovered the wonderful use that is leggings! I would wear these more often if I was one that wore shorts more often."

A sigh then escaped Kuzumi's lips before he dropped his imitation and looked up to the Feraligatr. "Actually, I don't usually come to Hoenn for any sort of vacation- you want to find me on vacation, then go to Kanto or Johto. I love Viridian Forest and Ilex Forest." Glancing down at the trainer belt around his waist, he looked affectionately at the Pokeball which was occupied by his Umbreon. "I actually came here because Umbreon wanted to play in contests again up at Lilycove. Imagine my horror when I realized I couldn't land in Slateport, where I usually start my fun here in Hoenn, and had to land at Littleroot? It was all downhill from there."

The boy quieted, then, as he listened to Kinomora and Louanne's conversation. Team up? Destiny? What could they have possibly been talking about? "Hate to cut in," Kuzumi announced as he smiled sheepishly to his friends; "but I don't know what either of you are talking about. What's happened during my time away from the Hoenn region? Oh, now that I have the chance to ask," Kuzumi tried to turn his head so he could get a better look at Zether. "What did you do, Zether, to get yourself hurt?" He recalled keenly that the older male had flinched while crossing his arms back when Louanne had her back turned. "Just curious, of course, so you don't have to answer."

((Ha~ I completely went blank.))

The expression of shock on Acerbus' face slowly melted away, soon replaced by a mischievous smirk when Kuzumi mentioned Zether. This was certainly a nice twist to his day, and a brilliant way to relax after a battle.
-Is that so?- the Houndoom asked playfully, watching his own trainer out of the corner of his eyes. -Well, don't cry, Kuzumi. I think that you look perfectly adorable, and I'm sure Zether here secretly agrees.- As he spoke, he had to stifle a snort of laughter; playing along with Kuzumi was certainly much more entertaining than simply hanging out with his grouch of a trainer.
At the Pokemon's words, said male groaned loudly, covering his face with one hand. Why was he not surprised that the hell hound decided to team up with Kuzumi? "I just can't win, can I?" Although I suppose Acerbus needed a break like this. But why, oh why, did he have to be the victim again?

But Acerbus wasn't done yet. Oh, no. He would never pass the chance to pick on Zether up.
-Zether never goes on vacations, actually,- Acerbus replied to the large, reptilian creature, still in a teasing manner. -I doubt he even knows what the word means. Kind of pathetic, huh?- How smug could a canine look? Judging from the pleased look on the Houndoom's face as he continued insulting the human, very smug indeed. Inwardly, the male flinched again, this time from what Kuzumi mentioned.
Ilex Forest... He closed his eyes briefly, steeling his mind to prevent himself thinking anymore about the place. Now was not the time to be reminiscing.

It came as a mixed blessing when the kid with the Glaceon interrupted; nearly any distraction at this point was welcomed. On the other hand, the kid's "greeting" irked him. A lot. Though the raven-haired teen would never admit it out loud, he wholeheartedly agreed with Louanne's reply.
"By the way, kid," Zether added, half-glancing over at the stranger, "if you really believe that Arceus would really care about humans, including yourself, you're in for a major disappointment. And that's putting it mildly."
-Zether!- He ignored the reproachful tone in Acerbus' voice. For all he cared, his bluntness would only serve to stop the Dark Pokemon from making fun of him for a while.
"Oh, and destiny?" An ironic smirk crossed his features. "'Events developed by a supernatural power.' If Arceus had truly willed this 'meeting', then that would count as a so-called 'destiny'. Don't contradict yourself like that; it only serves to make you seem more naive than you already are."

Of course, the distraction could only last so long, considering who else was in the group. A barely audible wince at Kuzumi's question involuntarily escaped. His new injury and recent activities were definitely a few of the many subjects he would rather not touch upon.
"If you were merely 'curious', and knew I most likely wouldn't answer anyway," he countered, "why bother asking?"
-Zether!- Acerbus threw his trainer a disapproving glare again. It was just like the adolescent to avoid the question. -Don't pretend that you didn't get sliced by that Air Slash!- At that, the male grimaced; well, if Kuzumi didn't have proof of his injury before, the boy certainly now had a witness in the form of an irritatingly talkative dog. The teen was beginning to wonder why he bothered with arguments when those two teamed up against him.
"What does your bag look like?" he finally asked instead with a sigh, figuring that it was best to change the subject at this point. "I'll fetch it." He eyed the younger boy squarely, folding his arms once more as he tried his best to ignore how much more feminine Kuzumi looked at the moment. "And don't tell me not to go there. I would have to pass through the place eventually."

((Zether is as friendly as ever. And I had a hard time putting this post together. I knew what I wanted the characters to say, but I just couldn't connect the dialogues together. This next part...could technically go unwritten, but I couldn't resist typing it up anyway. So read it if you want, but if you don't, no big deal.))

It's quite long:

"The reason I'm here is actually because I was headed over to visit the Unova to do some exploring and research, but my plane had a malfunction with one of it's engines and I had to jump. I had left without without a flying pokemon rather... stupid and unfortunate, really, so I had to parachute from the plane and I landed just outside of the Petalburg Forest. After I had found my stuff, which I dropped accidentally into the forest, I made my way here, to the pokemon center and I must have just missed you three arrive."

Kinomora then looked over at J'seul, who had decided to stay quiet for the time being, and then he looked back at the group and said, "Well, fate and destiny or not, whether you decided to believe in it or not, we are all here now and there seems to be more going on here than we had all originally believed. You three also seem to know eachother from before this time, old aquaintence I presume?"

Kinomora then turned towards Kuzumi and responded to him, "I, personally, have no idea what's going on in this region, myself. I have not been here in years, but what from what I've gathered, team Aqua and Magam are up to something... vile? If possible, and I do believe that I saw some team Rocket flags and other things of theirs around here aswell."

After hearing Zether's responce to his previous statement, Kinomora just stood there awkwardly and silent. His body shouting "RESPOND, DANGIT!" and his mind shouting "HOW, DANGIT?!". J'seul just looked down and to the side, not wanting to speak still aswell as being unable to respond to the older male herself.

(Trying to get us to move somewhere other than the Pokemon Center...)

Feeling somewhat overwhelmed by all the simultaneous conversations, Louanne gave her head a small shake, wondering which to contribute to first. Finally, she decided to tackle what she saw as the most important ones. "Zether, I don't particularly care if you wander off to Oldale to get Kuzumi's bag, but honestly I think Flight could get there and back faster than you can. Plus he's uninjured and apparently you are, another reason he'd be quicker about it. Unfortunately he's also very hungry. Shall we just go get something to eat before anything else? The mart isn't too far away, and we can continue talking as we walk." She cast a wry glance at both the ex-Magma and the youngest trainer present. "If we even want to continue talking."
-Yay, food!- Waterblast exulted, completely dropping his interest in people's choice of vacation spots.
"You, however, can carry Kuzumi to his room, first," Louanne told her starter sternly. "Get him in bed and make sure he's comfortable. I'll bring both of you food in a few minutes and we can talk about getting Kuzumi's bag then."
-Awww.- Despite the reluctance in his voice, the Feraligatr readily began climbing up the stairs to the rooms. Hali followed after him, although Flight stayed put. The Pidgeot obviously didn't want to have to deal with stairs more often than he had to.
"As for the Teams, it's old news by now, really, but-" Louanne cut herself off and shook her head. "No, I just said we should eat first." She walked resolutely to the Pokemon Center door and pulled it open. "Either of you coming?" she asked the remaining two.

Waterblast and Hali made it to the top of the stairs with little incident. The Feraligatr scanned the hallway, then ambled over to the door labeled 5. -You think you can use that key of yours, or do you wanna give it to Hali?- he asked Kuzumi.

((Aw, sending the cripple away like this. <<))

"Gramps is up to something again...? I wonder if that's why Hiiragi was being lenient with me today?" Kuzumi wondered out loud as he leaned his head against Waterblast's shoulder. He really was exhausted after running into his father and following that up with dragging himself all the way to Rustboro City. Where he gets the stamina to do such crazy stunts was truly beyond the boy's ability to decipher for his eye lids were drooping tiredly. But then he heard Louanne mention food and he was suddenly full of energy again with a wide grin on his features.

"Can I have something spicy?" The boy with auburn hair inquired hopefully after he heard the order for Waterblast to send him to bed. As much as he wanted to protest, he figured that there was nothing he could do at this point; the kid was in a Feraligatr's arms after all so it wasn't like he could just waltz right after the other trainers. "I don't like beds though- they're too comfortable and might put me to sleep! I don't know about you, but I think that's not the greatest idea even if I'm a little beat up." Although it sounded like an excuse, especially with the childish pouting tone he adopted after hearing Xerxes use it so often, he really didn't like the idea of falling asleep. With his luck, he'd make his wounds worse by flailing around due to nightmares.

Much to his dismay, however, he was already taken up the stairs and carried to the door of his temporary room. Fumbling with his Room Key, he eventually took a better hold of it and reached towards the door to unlock it. A look of concentration became apparent as he mustered the strength to turn the key, then the door and he grinned in triumphant. "No worries! I did it!" The boy replied once he pushed the door open wide and peered in the best he could from his vantage point; the room looked quite generic with a single bed and a nightstand on either side of the bed with a lamp on one of the stands.

With a sigh, he replaced his head against Waterblast's shoulder. "I need to speed up the healing process or something... I don't like to be in one place too long... Especially when I'm in the Hoenn region."

Maxie Says 'Hello':

At the mention of his own injury, Zether involuntarily glanced down at his wounded arm. With a small frown, he gave that arm a small shake, ignoring the renewed sparks of pain that shot up his arm. "This injury is nothing," the adolescent murmured, as if reminding himself rather than talking to the others. Then, as if someone had flipped a switch inside of him, he shook his head vehemently.
"Maybe so," he answered out loud, refocusing on Louanne once more. "But it's been- what? Nearly a full year since we last saw each other? Plenty of time for me to recruit a new Pokemon." Turning his attention to Flight for the first time today, the ex-Magma asked, with the mocking tone quickly melting away, "Do you have the ability to turn the wind in your favor when you're flying? If not, I think you better let my Pokemon handle the job."

-Can I stay with Kuzumi?- Acerbus suddenly piped up, wagging his tail as he looked up at his trainer with wide, hopeful eyes. When the male human simply shrugged in response, which the Houndoom took to mean that permission had been granted, the canine yipped excitedly. Without further ado, he scampered up the stairs, his claws clinking against the slippery tiles as he tailed Waterblast and Hali.
"Don't bother him too much," Zether called out after him, his voice laced with mild exasperation. Whether his order was heard was a complete mystery; the silly Dark Pokemon was probably yipping too loudly to hear his own trainer. The hell hound only skidded to a stop when he was just about to crash into the large, reptilian Pokemon.
-Sorry, came to join you three!- he announced, beaming proudly up at the others. -Hope you can bear with me.-

"I suppose I'll come along, then," Zether replied half-heartedly when he turned away from the stairs. He glanced briefly at the clock in the wall, absentmindedly running his fingers through strands of his hair, then added quickly, "I still have some time to kill." And I need to feed the others, anyway. At that point, a thought suddenly struck him. It was such an obvious thought that came so late, he could have slapped himself for not thinking about it sooner. Honestly, ever since the former Magma member had returned to Hoenn, he had been simply out of it.
"Well, now that you two know the basic idea of what was going on in this region, shouldn't you two be more concerned about getting out?" the eldest asked, quirking an eyebrow upward. His tone had reverted to his traditional, sullen one. "Seems like you're taking everything into stride."

((BS BS BS BS BS))((If I ever figure out what to do with Matt and Shelly, I'll edit their intro into here.))

Kinomora snapped out of his daze from Zether's response when J'seul nudged him and managed to respond to Louanne, "I-I an very grateful that you're allowing me to join you." was all he managed to spit out. Feeling like a complete idiot for sounding so formal J'seul noticed this and spoke up, -Uhh, what Kino meant to say was yes, we would love to join you guys for dinner.- the Glaceon said to them.
At the sound of Zether's voice Kinomora winced mentally, still unsure about this male and his place but atleast this time he was able to respond to him. "Worried? I don't see why we should be, we're all competent trainers that can defend ourselves." He said, trying to sound like he knew what he was talking about, even if he was unsure of how terrible the situation was. J'seul butted in, like always -I, personally, am quite confident at our ability to handle any situation that we may encounter!- she said, proudly.

Louanne opened and closed her mouth dumbly, blinking at Zether. Flight took the responsibility of providing a coherent response. -Admittedly, I do not often use Tailwind, and so I'm...out of practice with it. Perhaps your new Pokemon would be a better fit, particularly if he's better rested.- The Pidgeot gave his trainer a meaningful glance. Louanne's face reddened, recalling just how much flying she'd put him through recently.
"Sorry. I sorta forgot," she mumbled.
-At least you didn't offer to have me fly too far,- he noted, waddling out the door his trainer was still holding open. The girl waved at Zether and Kinomora to do the same, wondering if the nurse behind the counter was irritated or not by the wind that had been drifting into the building for several minutes now. The woman didn't seem too upset, though.
"Let's get going so I can actually close this door," she suggested anyway. "As for the Teams and what they're doing...I don't know. I just got here, I'm sick and tired of traveling, and I don't plan on leaving until my team is well rested. Until then I suppose the Teams can continue their stupid war." She frowned at the very idea. "We could probably fight off any grunts we run across-" Glancing at Zether, she cut herself off and stood silently. He would definitely take her following statement of "Do what we can to stop them" the wrong way. Again.

-Why hello there!- Waterblast greeted Acerbus as the Houndoom caught up to them. Hali drifted into Kuzumi's room ahead of the others, turning the lights higher. The Feraligatr followed after her and deposited his load on the bed. -If you don't want to fall sleep, we can probably stay here and bother you to keep you awake,- he offered. -Although...- He grinned suddenly and picked Kuzumi up again before clambering onto the bed and draping the boy over himself. -I might be marginally less comfortable than the bed,- he remarked, obviously pleased with his idea. Hali sighed and shook her head.

(Argh, house hunting + moving into said house + orientation week at school = adsfsghjkg)

Kuzumi lifted his head immediately after hearing Acerbus' voice and a wide grin, as well as brightly shining blue eyes, became apparent. "Acerbus! Great to have you with us!" The inviting words were made all the more inviting by the excited tone in the teen's voice as he was carried within the room and carefully placed on the bed. Once on the bed, Kuzumi fidgeted a bit as if trying to get comfortable, though he was actually hoping for the exact opposite, before he suddenly found himself back in Waterblast's grasp.

Grinning curiously at the Johto starter, Kuzumi watched as the Feralitgatr decided to get comfortable on the bed in his place and actually laughed when he was laid onto the Pokemon. "Awesome idea Waterblast!" The boy laughed again, visibly wincing at how much pain his sides hurt due to the effort, before quickly settling down and resting his head on the Water-type. He was definitely not feeling well, now that he had stopped to let it sink in, and his eyes were squeezed shut as a sudden headache pulsed behind his eyes. Closing his eyes proved to be the wrong move.

Quickly his eyes fluttered open, somehow having fell into a short slumber, as pain flared in his chest. Groaning, the trainer shifted around a bit before looking around at whatever was around his line of vision. The room was boringly plain and made him blurt, "Why do people bother staying in rooms like this? I'm going to go irreversibly insane because of this place." Of course, he could have released his Umbreon and let the Pokemon entertain him, but that would come after his being scolded for running into people when they desperately didn't need it. On second thought, Kuzumi was planning to hold off on letting the Moonlight Pokemon out for as long as he could. Save the surprises for another time.

Archie:

Zether managed a smirk even as he passed Louanne on his way out. He had noticed that she had stopped in the middle of her sentence, and the male had a hunch he knew why. There were so many comments he could make right now, but his routine came first. Moving just far away from the door so he wouldn't be blocking anyone, the adolescent stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled sharply once. As he dropped his hand back down, he listened intently, glancing around absentmindedly as he did so. Something in the tree several yards away shifted; immediately, the teen's gazed locked onto it, staring unblinking at the shadowed figure perched on the branch. Within a few seconds, he relaxed once more as a single, short screech answered his call. Looks like everything is fine.
"Kid, here's another lesson for you," Zether finally spoke again, returning to his contemptuous tone, addressing only Kinomora this time. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jacket, staring absentmindedly up at the dark sky. "First of all, you don't know any of us. Don't judge our strength so quickly." Which Zether himself had done plenty of times before, of course, but he definitely wasn't about to admit that. "Secondly, don't always rely on solely your Pokemon. You might run into a time when your Pokemon won't be there, or won't be enough." Which is obvious, except to a prat. "And lastly-" Here, he finally deigned to look back, attempting to make eye contact with Kinomora. "-if you think you're 'competent', you're not."
Turning his head again, the trainer resumed walking. "Well, better rest up as quickly as possible, Flight," he added to the Pidgeot, once again with a more neutral voice. "These days, it's best to be on guard as much as possible." Probably the nicest thing he has said today.

Acerbus beamed at the others, pleased that he was given a warm reception. -Well, why wouldn't it be great to have me around, unless you're Zether?- Trotting into the room after the others, he sat back down on his haunches next to Hali, gazing up at the Gardevoir as he did so. -I like you a lot more than Taira. You're so polite and quiet.- He turned his attention back to Kuzumi, head tilted to one side curiously as he watched the boy's eyes closed, then flew back open shortly after. Whining softly at the sudden outburst, the Houndoom made his way over to the bed, pushing himself up on his hind legs and bracing his front paws against the edge of the bed.
-Well, for convenience, really,- the Dark Pokemon muttered in response, scrutinizing the room himself. Kuzumi had a point; it was a rather drab room, though he had seen worse before. -Do you want to go outside instead?- Even though the young trainer seemed hardly fit to go anywhere, resting wouldn't do the boy much good if he couldn't relax. As Acerbus dropped back down to the floor, he raked his mind for a reason to make the other two Pokemon agree.
-Waterblast, Louanne told you to bring Kuzumi to his room, put him in bed, and make sure he's comfortable. You've done all that, so you've followed your orders until the end. Shouldn't Kuzumi be allowed to do what he wants now?- A hopeful grin crossed his face as another thought occurred to him, his tail beginning to sway faster. -Besides, wouldn't you prefer to follow the others so we can eat as soon as they buy the food instead of waiting for Arceus-knows-how-long and potentially starving in the process?- Perhaps the last part was a bit of an exaggeration, but the Houndoom was low on ideas.

They're clearly loved:

"Right, off to the Pokemart I suppose. I'm getting rather hungry myself, actually, and I'm sure J'seul is starving." Kinomora said neutrally, looking down at J'seul smiling as he followed Zether out the door and again, followed him as they headed off to the PokeMart where they were to find dinner. As he tailed the other two older trainers, he hung his head slightly, looking at their feet, but really just staring off into blank space. He was obviously trying very hard to figure out much about the three trainers he had met, but mainly focused on the two that he was just now following. Sadly, he was finding it incredibly harder than ever before, "Something is different about these trainers...", he thought hard. "These trainers must all have such an interesting past.. Not one that I will be able to decipher soon or find out easily." Kinomora thought hard about the subject during the walk to the PokeMart, but before he thought very much about it, he suddenly noticed that the older male that he had be following had stopped suddenly and he had almost walked right into the back of the him. He looked up and noticed that the female trainer had also stopped. "Oh, we're here already. That was rather fast." He mumbled as he straightened himself and looked at both the trainers after glancing at the bright lights through the front doors of the PokeMart. He then looked over at his Glaceon, who looked back up at him, smiling, and obviously ready to eat.

Waterblast appeared on the verge of nodding off himself, but Acerbus' words snapped him back to wakefulness. -That...is an excellent idea!- he decided happily. -I was just thinking along those lines myself.- Nodding in a pleased manner, the Feraligatr prodded Kuzumi very very very gently in the shoulder. -Would you prefer following the others instead of staying here and dying of boredom, then? Actually, I'm sure you do! You said as much yourself! Hang on, we're moving again.- He shifted the boy around until he could support him with both hands, then inched carefully off the bed. -Hahli, are you coming?-
~No, thank you,~ the Gardevoir replied, sounding somewhat amused.
-Well then! Shall we be off, Acerbus?- Waterblast proceeded to march straight out the door, not bothering to close it after himself. Hali waited until the Houndoom had followed her partymate before waving a hand in a small arc. The bedroom door swung silently shut, and the lock clicked into place. She then returned her hand to her lap and began gazing out te window, even though it was closed.

Louanne frowned at Zether's words to the stranger boy. She thought about putting a word in, then hesitated. As much as her bias wanted to disagree with the former Magma, she could see the reason in his three statements. Even if they were a little harsh, it was better to let the stranger boy know his shortcomings before they got him into serious trouble, especially given the situation in Hoenn these days.
-I thank you,- Flight was saying to Zether in the meantime, as though completely unaware of his trainer's thoughts. -I would say that I hope your team is doing just as well, but something must have happened to warrant a visit to a Pokemon Center.- The large bird Pokemon shook his head vigorously, his head crest swishing from side to side. -So instead, I shall hope you don't encounter any future situations of the same kind.-
Louanne covered her mouth with her hand as she watched her Pidgeot, smiling. Shaking out his head crest while he talked was such an deeply ingrained habit of his, he rarely noticed when his feathers were slapping someone nearby. In this case, their tips were flicking gently against Kinomora's shins every time Flight moved his head. She dropped her hand from her mouth as she noticed they were approaching the Pokemart, its brightly lit windows a welcome sight after weeks of staying overnight on deserted islands. "Well, guess we're here," she announced. She moved forward to open the door, as she had at the Pokemon Center.
-Wait for us!- A loud voice behind them made her start and miss the door handle completely. She whirled around.
"Waterblast?! Didn't I-"
-You did tell me to take Kuzumi to his room and make sure he was comfortable, and I did all that, but he wanted to come with you guys,- the Feraligatr explained proudly. -Oh, and I'm still hungry.-
The girl shook her head at her starter, glancing briefly at Zether and Acerbus. She had a pretty good idea just who had suggested bringing Kuzumi to the Mart. "Well, there's no helping it. Since you're already here..." She stifled another round of giggles as she caught sight once more of Kuzumi's outfit. "We might as well go in." She successfully caught onto the door this time and hauled the door open. Waterblast led the charge inside as his trainer waited for the others. "Don't mind him!" she called inside to the somewhat startled-looking guy behind the front desk. "He won't break anything. Will you, Waterblast?"
-Nope!- came the jovial reply. -I'll just stand right here, just inside the door, not moving. Just remember to feed me before we leave, please.-

Kuzumi, upon hearing Acerbus' comments on the manner, was all smile. What the Hound said made sense; all the way to the suggestion to head out and follow the others. "Great!" He beamed happily as he was shifted back into Waterblast's arms and carefully carried off the bed. "As long as we're moving, I'm up for heading out!" The boy laughed as he wriggled a bit to get comfortable in the Pokemon's grasp. Although he wasn't thrilled about having to be carried around like a spoiled child, it was a relief to be allowed to rest while still on the go.

Then a feeling of absolute dread wormed its way into the pit of his stomach as he stared down at his clothing and reminded himself of Aika. The girl would have struggled to keep from laughing at his choice of clothing, a style she wouldn't have worn unless she was younger, while possibly coming close to breaking his back by slapping him on the back as she laughed. Despite how nauseous he was feeling, the thought managed to get a small smile back onto his facial features; no matter how often the girl beat him up whenever the two met up, she was still looking out for him and was even friends with Yuki; reluctant actions or not.

Without fail however, the boy's amusement dissipated as his thoughts turned to Hiiragi as they often did after Aika. Would Hiiragi realize that these clothes were worn by a boy, not a girl? His hope was that, no, Hiiragi wouldn't catch on. As far as Kuzumi knew, the Narumi family didn't have any recent family reunions so the idea of a change of style might not have ever crossed the elder martial artist's mind.

But Selenia would know; she always could tell between Aika and Kuzumi even when they stood at the same height and looked exactly like the other. Just the little things gave the children away and the mother never failed to catch them...

The boy shook his head to clear his mind. This thoughts would put him in a bad mood and when he was in a bad mood, Oudies always seemed to pop up ready to feed the negative emotions. In fact, the trainer was mildly surprised that his second personality hadn't already attempted this - no, he had to stop thinking about that thing. The more he thought about it, the more likely it appeared and prodded insistently at him for control. So this was the problem with being around others that felt the need to help him when he was wounded! His mind wandered unnecessarily and kept him from relaxing!

Surely they were near the PokeMart now? Kuzumi looked over, a look of optimism automatically plastered onto his face, and grinned with genuine relief. He could see the others' backs from his current position and were gaining on them fast. Soon as Waterblast shouted to the others, Kuzumi reminded himself to act like Aika; he almost laughed out loud when he realized acting like Aika would mean acting spoiled. Pushing out the thought, he decided on a compromise of himself and Aika.

"Sorry we're late!" Kuzumi called out as he was carried over and inside; his voice a convincing mimicry of the Narumi daughter. "Waterblast and I almost fell asleep when we laid on the bed." Startling blue eyes flickered toward Kinomora and Zether before one closed in a mischievous wink; "No peeking under the skirt, boys!" He laughed as Waterblast strode by the two males and carried him inside. The moment the Johto starter entered, people glanced over in surprise to which Kuzumi immediately looked away warily. He was weak, not necessarily vulnerable, and temporarily at the center of attention. As far as he was concerned, the people inside would alert whomever it mattered, probably Hiiragi, that he was still in Rustboro City.

Clearly:

At Flight’s words, Zether paused in mid-step, as though surprised. He recovered quickly and resumed walking. “It doesn’t matter. The team knew what it was getting itself into, and we’ve fared worse.”
He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, glancing up absentmindedly at the sky as he did so. “I simply miscalculated, that’s all.”
He was perfectly content with leaving the subject at that, especially since they were approaching the PokeMart. Despite the hour, there were still plenty of people inside.

Stopping at the door, he hesitated briefly. His fingers involuntarily toyed with the Magma emblem once more; ironic how the coin seemed to be a source of comfort to him. With a small sigh, barely audible over the other two Trainers’ words, the male took a step toward the brightly-lit building.
-Hey guys!- The all-too familiar voice, at least to the ex-Magma, combined with the loud, jovial one of a certain Feraligatr, made him stop in his tracks once more. The black-haired male resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Coincidentally, he happened to be thinking more or less along the same lines as Louanne after Waterblast finished his explanation.

“Why must you always be so contradictory?” Zether grumbled, glancing down at the hell hound partly to avoid catching sight of Kuzumi. In response, Acerbus stuck his tongue out at the Trainer. Where the Houndoom had picked up the human gesture, Zether would never know.
-You know I’m adorable that way.- Now he deigned to roll his eyes. The ego the canine had at times…
Shaking his head and continuing to avert his gaze from the cross-dressing figure, Zether turned to head into the PokeMart again. It was all for naught; despite his best efforts, Waterblast just had to carry that bloody kid past him. Kuzumi’s teasing only made matters worse.

Damn it! The blood rushed quickly to his face again as his eyes narrowed at his own reaction. How was it that Kuzumi managed to find a way to embarrass him so easily? It was rather unnerving.
A snickering at his side caught his attention. In response, the adolescent shot a dark glare at Acerbus’ knowing smirk. Curling his hand into a fist around the emblem, Zether used his other hand to wave at the general direction that the second half of the party had come from.
“Go tell Lothair that he can take a break. You’re taking his place.” At the order, the smug expression was quickly wiped off.

-Oh, of course you would send me away,- muttered Acerbus with a snort of distaste, –and put me on guard duty, to boot.-
“Go.”
-I’m going, I’m going!- With an indignant huff, the canine turned to retrace his steps, though not before bidding the others goodbye. As the Houndoom walked farther away with each step, Zether let out another small sigh, this time in relief. At least that was one fewer annoyance to worry about. Now if only-

-You just want Kuzumi all to yourself!- Zether cringed.
Thought too soon. Ignoring the fit of laughter as the Houndoom darted away, he pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing in slowly and deeply to calm himself. Only when he was confident that his face had returned to its normal complexion did he drop his hand and head into the PokeMart. As much as he would dearly love to, chasing after Acerbus with the intent to strangle the Dark Pokemon was not his main priority.

But it’s okay~:

Tabby!:

-poke-