Roger slowly pockets the 4 potion vials he had in his hand at the sight of Leo going down to a reddish worm looking vaguely like a weedle, with the sting it struck the black dog and Leo with making him convinced that the worm is part poison, and with a quick look to Surskit, he slowly approaches the colony with Surskit trailing behind him. He pulls out one of the vials of green liquid from his bag in a slow and cautious manner and calls out to the colony. "Please allow us to pass, I have medicine for your friend. We gesturing to Treecko, Surskit and Himself mean you no harm." he says while showing his palms, thumb holding the vial in place. His arms have nothing hidden on them outside the potion vial and the egg in his other arm.
Approaching the colony he kneels next to the wounded Wurmple and begins administering the homemade potion into their mouth, gently coaxing them to swallow the oran and herb mixture. "There there, this should help dont worry. Youll just be tired and hungry after, I'll help you out, I promised your friends I would"
Upon administering the potion, he slowly stands and waits to see how the not!weedle responds to the treatment, Surskit and Treecko closely nearby
Preston sees Leo falls and runs over
"S&~$ s$#* s#@&. Ok. Don't freak out."
Preston turns to the others
"Can one of you call the emergency line with one nav and Malakai with the other? We need to get Leo to a hospital ASAP."
Preston rummages through his backpack looking for something to give Leo.
"If anyone's got something to stabilize him now's the time to pull it out"
Astraea's eyebrows, having progressively risen as the "battle" progressed, have disappeared behind her hairline as she watches Lionel throw himself into the melee and go down after several of the Wurmples' Poison Sting hit him.
"That idiot! Did no one ever tell him to leave the battling part of Pokemon battles to actual Pokemon?!" She curses as she quickly takes her one antidote from the storage compartment on her belt. "Esther, you know first aid right? Here, go save the moron from his own stupidy!" She barks as she passes the medicine to the other girl.
"Oh, and please give me the Pokenav?" The redhead asks. "I'll take care of contacting Malakai. After yesterday, I bet he's going to be thrilled by this new development." She adds, sarcasm dripping from her tone.
Esther watches the trainwreck of a battle with mounting horror and nausea, holding a hand to her mouth in a desperate attempt to stifle it. Jumping nearly a foot as Astraea shakes her out of her frozen state, she quickly returns Edel before the Ralts can say a word and does as asked. She fumbles the Pokenav slightly as it comes out of her bag, but the device makes it safely into Astraea's hands.
Turning to face Leo's crumpled body with the Antidote in hand, she hesitates in fear before attempting to recall the correct dosage modification for human use. It was a fourth of what a Pokemon needed... right?
With shaky hands and a paper-white face, Esther leans down by Leo's unconscious body and carefully guides and depresses the needle to the boy's upper arm. She injects as much as safely possible before sitting back on her heels, wiping the beading sweat from her brow and attempting to calm her breathing.
The Wurmple colony tenses up at Roger's approach, only for Surskit to skitter in front of boy and give a small trill that, while not stopping the defensive measures, at least gives Roger an unimpeded approach to the wounded Wurmple. As his home made potion starts to kick in with the green goopy blood starting to clot, Surskit gives him a glance of surprised respect as if the little bug is fully aware of Roger for the first time. The colony circles their healing friend, the little bug giving a thankful nod before painstakingly wiggling onto the bush under the Silcoon's watchful eye.
As Astraea palms an antidote to Esther, the young Psychic girl thankfully remembers the correct dosage, the image of an overdosed trainer from her first aid course popping unprompted into her mind as she feels the needle break into Leo's vein. While the unmodified antidote prompts a bout of shivering and groans from Leo, the unnatural palor slowly starts to fade as his breathing stabilizes. While hardly in good condition, Leo will make it to proper medical care.
As Roger watches the little not!weedle nod to him and returns the nod, before carefully eyeing the cocoon the not!weedle retreated towards.
Carefully approaching the cocoon he offers a second potion. "Cocoon, you also need some healing. I have medicine for you as well, as apology for my companion if you would accept it" noticeably stressing companion in a way that shows his disproval of Leo's actions towards the colony.
Carefully feeding the Cocoon the second homemade potion he has on him, he slowly retreats from the colony without showing his back to any of the not!weedle, and makes his way back to the group, who have hopefully made progress with saving Leo's life.
Preston holds Leo still while Esther applies the antidote. Once applied he gives a weary smile to the girl
"Wow Esther, nice work. Thank you. Let's hope this keeps him up long enough to get him to proper care."
As Leo stabilizes, Preston steps back and lays him down gently to give him room to breathe.
After taking a step back and taking everything in, Preston turns to Roger.
"I can't believe they let you patch them back up. I'm impressed. I didn't think they'd let you get anywhere near after what just happened."
He sits down and looks back at Leo, the unconscious body reminding him of how his Dad looked in his last days. The limp, weak features and sickly complexion resurfacing bad memories.
Preston is able to maintain a calm facade before snapping back to reality before anyone can really notice.
Preston holds Leo still while Esther applies the antidote. Once applied he gives a weary smile to the girl
"Wow Esther, nice work. Thank you. Let's hope this keeps him up long enough to get him to proper care."
As Leo stabilizes, Preston steps back and lays him down gently to give him room to breathe.
After taking a step back and taking everything in, Preston turns to Roger.
"I can't believe they let you patch them back up. I'm impressed. I didn't think they'd let you get anywhere near after what just happened."
He sits down and looks back at Leo, the unconscious body reminding him of how his Dad looked in his last days. The limp, weak features and sickly complexion resurfacing bad memories.
[dice=Deception]1d20
Preston is able to maintain a calm facade before snapping back to reality before anyone can really notice.
gesturing Surskit who is by his legs "Surskit helped me get to the wounded not!weedle, it's not going to die from its wounds and the cocoon over there is healed now too. She really did help me alot" said affectionately and then he silently hands one of his remaining potions to Preston. "Here, take this. You never know when you'll need more medicine. How is he?" he says looking at Leo's body as Esther is holding the antidote and Astraea making a call on a Pokenav and eyes the pokenav that Leo has on his person.
"...he'll be okay until we can get him to a Center." Setting the remaining Antidote down by Leo's leg for when Astraea ends her phone call, Esther gives a deep and shaky sigh before turning to face the colony's Silcoon, giving them a bow and an apology. "I apologize for our companion's behavior- it was uncalled for and we'll be removing him as soon as possible." While the wording isn't particularly elegant, her down-turned head and tone are genuinely contrite.
Astraea sighs audibly into the receiver. "Not quite, sir. Although this does concern Lionel, this is Astraea speaking. We need an emergency pickup on route 102 for an unconscious and poisoned trainer. An antidote has been administered but doubtless he'll need professional medical care... again."
Malakai's groan barely passes through the Pokenav before he states, "I have a contact in the local Rangers that should be able to get to you quickly and get Leo to Petalburg. Given the previous incident was less than 24 hours ago, I am going to ask for you to provide a breakdown for why I'm pulling a Seafarer back for poisoning on a route normally considered one of the safest in the region."
With a deep breath, Astraea begins to retell the chain of events. How Lionel had rejoined the group in the morning, seemingly back at 100% after a night at the Pokemon Center. How, as they had continued onwards, the boy had spotted a group of Wurmples and immediately attacked them without proper challenge or provocation. How, as the bugs had counter-attacked, he had sought to intimidate them and had, admittedly, somewhat succeeded. And how, as the last three Wurmples stood their ground, Lionel had recklessly thrown himself into the melee only to be hit with multiple Poison Stings.
"Which brings us to now. Lionel is unconscious, with Esther and Preston tending to him, while Roger is making sure the Wurmples (along with a newly evolved Silcoon) aren't agitated any further."
As Astraea begins to tell the tale of Leo's actions Malakai grows quiet. His words drip with anger when he finally does speak. "Annihilation was his exact wording? I believe the boy and I will be having another chat, this one in person. You and the others did good work, I'm glad to see the majority of our choices were good. The Rangers should be arriving quickly, they'll handle getting him back."
The young woman nods. "Yes, sir. Those were his exact words. I would also like to add that this is the second time in as many days that I've seen Lionel go for lethal takedowns on wild Pokemon. I put a stop to that yesterday but... well, obviously this wasn't just pain or a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing messing with him." She pauses, taking another deep breath. "It might be presumptuous of me to say this but, at this point in time, it is my recommendation that Lionel must be cleared by a League psychiatrist and/or therapist before being allowed to continue his trainer career."
"Your recommendation is noted and considered. When Lionel related to me the story of your pond excursion he conveniently left out any mention of lethal intention." The implied lie has the Searfarer overseer's rage settled into a cold icy anger that colors his words. "Rest assured he won't have a license under the league as he currently stands unless he can make serious changes to his approach with wild Pokemon. I'll work on that now, take care and try not to let the bad apple poison the bushel."
"I leave it in your hands then, sir. We'll continue our trip to Oldale as soon as Lionel has been picked up and try to avoid... further complications. Have a nice day." Astraea says, bidding the overseer farewell before ending the call.
With a sigh, Astraea lowers the Pokenav and walks back to the other Seafarers. "Good news, a pickup is coming to take Lionel back to Petalburg." She says, handing the device back to Esther. "I am not going to lie, Malakai isn't exactly happy at the moment. So I suggest we do our best to avoid further trouble for a while."
Roger’s approach to the Silcoon earns an opened maw from the pale creature, only for Surskit to reveal her own needle filled mouth at one of the Wurmple who seemed to be particularly defensive of their leader. Giving them a second look, it’s the Wurmple that struck Lionel, its previous bravado barely hanging on. With Surskit’s breathy trill holding back the little trainer toppler, there’s nothing that stops Roger from healing the leader, the pale creature seemingly unbothered by any wounds or healing occurring through appreciative nonetheless.
The colony seems to have gathered Leo was the odd man out of your group, and has mostly returned to the glorious life of eating leaves, only the middle evolution posted atop the bush like a crown atop a king’s head paying you any attention. The other wild pokemon have returned to their regular lifestyle and the sound of the wild has mostly returned to the path.
Only a couple of minutes go by before the sounds of wings beating the air draw your attention. A Pelipper squaks as it lands, allowing the woman wearing a leather long coat with a ranger’s badge pinned to the loose garment on it’s back to hop off, stretching her legs as she did so. Her tattered cowboy hat banded with a indigo flower dips as she glances over you all, eyes holding on to Leo as she smirks. ”So you’re that new band of children they pulled ol’ Crusher ‘Kai to babysit? I expected better of him than to let his little Lotad wander off and get bullied by a particularly feisty Wurmple colony.” As she talks her hands release a Chimecho and Cacturne, the pair working on preparing a canvas stretcher Chimecho levitates Leo onto. As the Cacturne coats the stretcher with fluffy spores of cotton, she releases a third Pokemon Astraea recognizes as a Monsoon pattern Vivillion that quickly begins securing the wounded boy onto the stretcher with string shot, the practiced pattern looking more like the work of an Ariados securing prey.
Everything happened so fast.
As they continued their journey, Claudia was incredibly excited when they stumbled across the revival herb. Truly, what was such a rare strain of medicinal plant doing all the way here in 102? She couldn't contain herself and began jumping up and down in excitement, nodding at Astraea's initial comment and getting ready to reply before-
She heard the attacks, the baffling words of the young man, and finally, his body hitting the ground like a puppet with its strings cut off. Claudia did not need to turn to know who the provocator and ultimate victim of the confrontation had been. She just gulped down and turned to the young man, an increasing pang of concern revealing itself in her expression.
It is quite saddening, but I suppose some people truly are not meant to follow the path of the trainer. An ugly emotion was clearly displayed in Claudia's face, one which she never wished upon anybody, having suffered so long under it... She looked at the boy with pity.
Knowing she was likely the person who could help the least in this situation, she left it all in the hands of Roger, Astraea, and Esther, the latter of which she decided she would talk to later, hopefully separated from the group and without Edel's input.
She watched on as they treated him, Esther's capable hands not buckling under pressure, Claudia couldn't help but smile in approval of her friend. Roger did what most would consider the right thing and healed the innocent Wurmple her fellow Seafar- no, that Leo had attacked without provocation. Astraea used the, err, device they had been given to communicate with the Praetor and call for help.
Preston and her can only stand in support whilst the others finish up. Claudia notices the young man's expression turn dark for a second but adjust quickly, perhaps Leo told him something during his first visit to the hospital? She could only wonder. Perhaps she would ask later when they arrived at Oldalde - if they arrived tonight -.
The blonde finally decides enough is enough. She shakes off the pity from her features and addresses the newest arrival, a capable-looking ranger. She clears her throat and whilst she doesn't smile, the girl at least tries to seem dignified in the face of this tragic incident.
"Greetings, miss Exploratores. Yes, we are members of the Seafarer program, my name is Claudia Bianchelli." She bows her head. "Forgive us, for we were unable to halt our... companion from attacking the noble bugs. It was our mistake to not report this behaviour to Praetor Malakai sooner. Please take care of Lionell, I am certain he means well, even if his actions do not mean so."
Esther takes back the Pokenav from Astraea and visibly winces at the mention of Malakai's disappointment, shoulders curling in defensively. She passes the girl her remaining Antidote, and fidgets until the ranger arrives, with a slight jump at the touchdown. She, however, makes something of a cringe at Claudia's final comment and mumbles quietly, mostly to herself, "Choosing to attack non-hostile wild Pokemon and claiming that they're 'food' doesn't... seem like he means well."
Roger, seeing that Leo is in the process of being secured by the lady and her interesting pokemon note to self either look them up later or ask the others, makes his move "Ma'am don't mind me just gonna grab this here so we aren't relegated to one point of contact with... "Crusher Kai" you said?" pointedly aiming for the pokenav on Leo's person, and goes to quickly snatch it without disrupting her pokemon.
And quickly puts it on his person, but out of sight. Under his vest and clipped to his belt.
When Astrea mentions Malakai's mood at the current situation, Preston gets a twinge anxious at the thought of disappointing their sponsor. Preston feels a tad responsible for Leo, but ultimately knows he can't control his choices.
Following the others interactions with the ranger he looks to her,
"Uh Hi, I'm Preston. Thank you for coming so quick. I don't think you'll have any problems but I'd like to give you a heads up. His Poochyena, named Kaupe, likes to bite.... hard. Actually, speaking of, do you know what will happen to his Pokemon now? I also imagine his dad is gonna be, well... very upset. I don't think he'll take this news well."
Preston doesn't make an attempt to hide his concern for the boy and his abusive father, only hoping things don't get worse for him from here on out.
Astraea blinks at the Monsoon patterned Vivillon before turning to look at its trainer as she accepts the half-empty antidote from Esther. "To be fair, I think none of us quite expected something like this to happen so soon into our journey. It's been less than forty-eight hours since Malakai let us 'wander off' as you put it." She replies.
"My name is Astraea, pleased to meet you. Although the circumstances could certainly be better. Also, 'Crusher Kai'? That sounds like there is a story behind that name."
Elvira’s smile grows particularly sharklike as the children all speak and introduce themselves.”Oh he managed to snag an actual Volumoan, I never get to do rescue ops near your people. Something about cultural insensitivity to the skirt wearing boys.” Giving a short two tone whistle, Elvira’s Pokemon noticeably stops to let Roger grab the PokeNav, taking the opportunity to rummage through his belt to return his Pokemon. The duo quickly returned to their work while the absolute unit of a Pelipper snacked on some Pokefood the ranger deposited for it on the ground.
At inquiries about the boy who now was closer in appearance to a Silcoon than a human, the woman shrugged. ”Depends on how well his and Crusher’s chat goes. If he’s already this aggressive and bloodthirsty they’ll likely just end up rehabilitated and cycled back through to someone more responsible. A day doesn’t exactly form lifetime bonds, unless it was one hell of a day.” The way the woman’s eyebrow wiggles suggestively doesn’t leave enough to the imagination. Continuing, she outright guffaws at Preston’s concern. ”Kid, you’re trainers. As soon as you took that ID you’re adults as far as the League’s concerned. Besides, between that absolute hunk of a man and the kid’s pops I know where I’d bet my money. Kai hasn’t let more important things stop him, and neither a nippy Poochy or an irate father rank too high a threat to the right hand of Evergrande's Lord.”
Hearing the 48 hours comment and the not so subtle press for information, the woman turns to whistle another order, the harness for the stretcher being lifted around a squawking Pelipper who flaps their wings impotently as the psychic tightens the straps into place. Moving to settle atop the bird that has more than half an arm’s length on the woman, she flashes the kids a grin. ”Oh far be it from me to spoil Big Man’s surprise. Fortune favors the bold little ‘Tads, and asking this beautiful young woman on her day off to evac your idiot hasn’t earned any points. Ask him yourself.” Some light pats prompts the Pelipper to lift off the ground slowly, until the lines between the stretcher and flying type go taunt. Recalling her other Pokemon, the ranger blows a kiss. ”Try not to die before you hit Oldale, I’d never hear the end of it. I'd say call for Elvira, but I'm not gonna answer.” Leo’s restrained body lifts off the ground, and begins the trip back to Petalburg.
Preston blushes at the kiss being blown in their direction, the woman's confidence and bravado catching him off guard.
After a second he collects himself
"Well... shall we continue on? We can probably make it to Oldale if we can keep a good pace. Any objections?"
Preston looks at his compatriots eagerly
Her head tilts to the side, slightly confused over the woman's words. Ultimately, she decides to at least give her a parting comment.
"If you ever decide to visit, ask about Floren's Rosa or Ludovica's restaurant, you'll get a fine meal amongst the, err, skirt wearing boys." She can't help but giggle a bit, failing to hide it with her hand. Skirts are very comfy! And though her father never wears them, there are certainly men who do.
As the woman says her good-byes and takes off, Claudia feels relief wash over her once Leo is finally taken away. She silently wishes him better endeavors, the feeling she won't see the young Alolan dawns heavy on her, but perhaps it is for the better.
"Yes." She nods at Preston. "Let us move on, there is still a ways until we reach Oldale." That said, she adjusts her bad and moves over to Esther's side, squeezing her friend's shoulder to try and reassure her. Claudia scrunches her face a little, attempting to use "psychic" comunication like Esther tried teaching her one time, but utterly failing, she thinks. Some thoughts do pop in her head for Esther to read if she wishes.
"It should get better from her on out, Leo's situation was an unfortunate, but don't let it unmotivate you, you're smarter and more careful. So chin up, okay?" She tries smiling, but the small headache she gets from thinking too hard makes it look like a funny and strained grin instead.
Roger looks over and sees Claudia's expression, raises an eyebrow and says nothing. Pulling out the 2 remaining potion vials he made recently, he hands one to Preston and then one to Astraea. "Here, from the Surskit incident yesterday and then from what just happened. I had made sone Potions up with berries and some herbs Leo found. I was going to give 2 to Leo but I used those to heal the colony, and I kept one. So of the remaining 2 I ask that you both accept these as an apology for causing the incident yesterday."
Preston accepts the potion from Roger with a gentle smile
"Thanks Roger. I'm just glad we made it out relatively unscathed. This was very thoughtful."
Then he turns to Claudia with an inquisitive look upon his face
"Did she just say that boys from your home wear.. skirts? If true that's a bold fashion statement."
Preston lightly chuckles at his last statement
Preston accepts the potion from Roger with a gentle smile
"Thanks Roger. I'm just glad we made it out relatively unscathed. This was very thoughtful."
Then he turns to Claudia with an inquisitive look upon his face
"Did she just say that boys from your home wear.. skirts? If true that's a bold fashion statement."
Preston lightly chuckles at his last statement
Claudia turns to Preston and nods with a bright smile.
"Bold? I would say it is rather comfortable. Yes, some do in fact, wear skirts. It steems from an ancient tradition called lack of pants in the old ages." She can't help but laugh at her own joke.
Preston gives a big grin and chuckle at her response and retorts
"So if I ever visit your home someday am I gonna have to wear one too?? Or are pants in fashion with ancient tradition now?"
"Only if you so wish. Her mood quickly lightens up. It seems like things are finally going to start rolling, no more accidents or stops. "Many rumours plague my village, but you would be surprised how well we have adapted to the new ways. Technology is still... well, not many are willing to part with the analogical, but we will catch up one day or another."
She smiles confidently.
Astraea gives Roger a grateful smile as she accepts the potion. "Thank you, I appreciate it." She says, putting it into her storage unit.
She listen with a slightly bemused expression on her face as Claudia and Preston talk about Voluman fashion. It would seem that the language isn't the only thing Claudia's people have retained from those times. Fascinating.
As the group starts moving again, Astraea finds herself hanging back with Esther, while Titania is trotting again at the head of the pack. "How are you holding up, Esther? I have to say, this has been quite the unique start for our journey." She says before sighing "As callous as it might sound, I am not sad to see Lionel go. I did not expect him to be so... volatile." She shakes her head. "I am all for a bit of excitement to spice traveling but this has been a bit much for less than two days."
Roger nods to both Preston and Astraea, and then upon inspecting the pokenav he enters his mother's number as he knows that one will get a response within the hour.
At the voice-mail Roger leaves a message.
"Hey mom it's Roger, could you send the egg's incubator to the .... Oldale pokemon center please? Yeah I forgot it, and could you send some pictures of Arcanine and her litter? I have some new friends that may be quite interested in seeing her and the babies. Maybe some of your other dog and your "unicorn" too. I also sort of have a new bug who's warming up to me, she's a Surskit and my first buddy is Treecko. Talk later Mom, Love you."
After the message is sent out, Roger hangs up the pokenav and clips it back where it was before. Turning back to the group, he quietly states "Well onward then?"
Esther again jumps slightly at Elvira's leaving, but Claudia's touch to the shoulder coaxes her slightly down from her anxious state. She sends her friend a shaky smile, that quickly becomes one of genuine amusement at the face-scrunching and mental shouting. Stifling a laugh-snort, Esther nods at her and raises a hand to squeeze Claudia's fingers back affectionately.
She lets go for Claudia begin her conversation with Preston and fades to the back of the group. Esther tilts her head at Astraea's question and considers it for half a moment. "I... didn't particularly want to go on a journey in the first place," she admits, studying a small pebble and kicking it lightly instead of meeting Astraea's eyes. "It probably won't be as chaotic now, but you know what they say about first impressions."
As the group starts towards Oldale, the route begins to lose some of the thicker vegetation, a sure sign that they were nearing the small town, or would village be accurate given the near complete lack of any real human infrastructure outside the ubiquitous PokeCenter and PokeMart. While the local Pokemon remain present, and more daring given the absence of Leo and his aggression, they peter out once the outskirts of Oldale are in sight.
However, it seems fate is not content to let the Seafarers enter the city without something going awry. Please tell me they’re trainers, I’m getting tired of seeing old people wander in and out. A small Ralts, her mental voice high and squeaky, strides confidently from the bush that rustles even as she leaves it, a flash of lavender and white peeking out from the edge of the foliage. Strangely, you catch the mental equivalent of someone blowing a raspberry even though it doesn't seem directed to you.
Astraea looks at Esther with a surprise clear on her face. "Truly? I... assumed, wrongly it seems, that you were here out of your own volition, perhaps if only to accompany Claudia." She replies before frowning slightly. "And I do understand what you mean about first impressions. Let's just say my parents were... thorough regarding that particular aspect of my education."
Whatever the other girl might have to say to that is interrupted by a rustle in the bushes, shortly followed by a Ralts striding into the open, and Astraea finds herself raising an eyebrow at the small psychic's mental words.
"If you were looking for trainers, you've found them. Is there something we can help you with?" She asks the Ralts, while at the same time keeping an eye on the other bush where there is clearly another Pokemon hiding.
Esther shrugs awkwardly. "I wouldn't go at all if I wasn't able to go with Claudia." At the new chirp of a psychic, she blinks in surprise and internally wonders ...huh. That's some luck.
Esther sends out her next few thoughts with enough power to include everyone in the conversation, and it's immediately notable that she sounds significantly less anxious and stuttery when communicating wordlessly. With the mental equivalent of a polite tap on a shoulder to Ralts and the unseen psychic, she offers Hello! Yes, we're trainers. No kidnapping, just traveling into Oldale. Is everything alright?
Hopefully no kidnapping, she prays internally. Her poor heart couldn't take more of this.
Roger holds back, his interest in the ralts clear on his face but he also recognizes that Astraea has only Titania while he has Treecko, Surskit for now and the Egg. So he resolves to observe and only interfere if something goes wrong for either of the girls. Quietly casting his gaze around the area for any anomalies.
The Ralt's throws her arms wide. Please, get me out of this place. If I have to keep the same Zigzagoon from eating my favorite Nabab bush I'm going to lose my mind. As she approaches she gives Esther the psychic equivalent of shrug. I'm fine, G's just a giant worrywart.
In the distance a small lavender face pushes through the bushes, small bow like growths attached to the face. And you have all the concern of a particularly stupid Aron taste testing a moving cart! The new face gives a cautious glance at the group before pulling her head back into the bush. The Ralts gives a snort before approaching Astraea. You're not a beacon of sunshine but you're definitely the type to take me to all sorts of interesting places.
Esther frowns and kneels to be a bit less tall to the skittish Gothita, easily recognizing the little psychic from some of her cousins' teams. She offers her a patient smile, hesitance gone in the face of something that for once, she actually knows how to handle.
Astraea smiles, crouching in front of the Ralts. "If there is one thing I understand very well, it's the desire for freedom from a less than ideal everyday life." Her face turns serious. "Still, I must ask. I am a trainer and, while I will not ever force my partners to battle, I would prefer to kindle a fighting spirit rather than forging one from scratch."
"So tell me, Ralts. Do you have such spirit inside of you?" She asks, doing her best to broadcast to the small psychic her desire for grandiose battles, to face ever bigger challenges.
And, perhaps most important of all, her wish to live her life the way she wants it to be.
Claudia can't help but beam at Esther's behaviour. Seeing her friend take initiative and do something she's great it fills Claudia's heart with joy. Not wanting to interrupt the exchanges, the girl looks around, trying to find potential trainers to challenge in the meantime.
Sadly, the route is as empty as they originally met. Claudia sighs, but nevertheless picks up a positive attitude. Perhaps she could challenge Preston or Roger? She'll ask them later when this is resolved.
The Ralts peers up past the green fringe atop her head to stare directly into Astraea's eyes, mirth in the face. "Ooooh you're a feisty one. If you want I'll happily take on whatever you got. The energetic Psychic spreads her legs into a combat stance before adding in a meek followup, Please no Dark types though, only G's able to deal with them. The shiver she gives seems to subside quickly, though at glance at Surskit has her shifting to put Astraea between them.
Seeing Esther's goodspirited intention to reduce her stress, the Gothita pops out of the bush. I'm not as much worried about your friend's intentions. She's never been good at sitting still and I worry she'll push herself too far, and she's hard to stop without a little edge. The Gothita lets a little wisp of dark energy collect atop her head protrusion before dissipating it. Giving an audible sigh, she turns to look back at Esther. You seem awfully reasonable. Maybe I could tag along with you to keep an eye on her?
Astraea grins back at Ralts. "Very well, then. My oath to you shall be one of adventure. Together, we shall see what this world has to offer. In return, I expect of you that you shall seek greater heights along with me." She takes out a pokeball and present it to the spychic type. "My name is Astraea Arvelia. If you abide by these conditions, then make your choice."
Esther's spine and expression go slightly rigid at the appearance of the dark energy but the reflexive flinch is gone in the blink of an eye, a slightly more wistful and sad smile taking the place of the original. She offers the tiny psychic a few fingers to shake. Sure, if you want to. No promises necessary. Would you like to stay out and watch your friend battle first, though?
Claudia can't help but beam at Esther's behaviour. Seeing her friend take initiative and do something she's great it fills Claudia's heart with joy. Not wanting to interrupt the exchanges, the girl looks around, trying to find potential trainers to challenge in the meantime.
While the trainers interact with the two little psychics Preston notices Claudia occasionally glancing up and down the route, presumably for other Pokemon or trainers.
Preston leans in to Claudia and speaks to her in a hushed tone as not to disturb the ongoing psychic palooza
"Routes much quieter than I would've hoped. If we're making good time to Oldale after this wanna battle?"
A hint of anticipation and excitement behind his steely blue eyes as he offers this challenge to the Voluman girl
Claudia perks up, a smile reaching her features.
"Certainly! I have been itching for a proper trainer battle since yesterday, it will help Aulus get accustomed to combat."
Fiery amber meets steely blue with resolve.
Roger looks curiously at the wild Surskit and silently compares the princess near his feet to the wild one, judging princess as the stronger he quietly tells Preston and Claudia "Im going to check on something out near the treeline and I should be back soon"
Heading off to where the Wild Surskit is at he issues a challenge. "Excuse me, but would you terribly mind if we had a quick battle? My buddy here gesturing to the slowly awakening Treecko on his shoulder needs some exercise and I can heal you afterwards. Do you accept?" Roger looks at the Wild Surskit with curiosity after his challenge.
Then he quietly states to the Princess Surskit, "I will find you a battle more worth your time, Treecko needs this to start on the path to get closer to your strength."
Seeing the outstretched answer to her monotone life, the Ralts dives forward, accidentally headbutting the button. In a quick flash of red, the psychic disappears into the ball without a single shake.
She hesitates, guilt filling her at the Gothita's crying, but Esther pulls a Pokeball off her belt and offers it to her. After the Gothita captures herself with a classic 'ding', Esther spends a moment rifling through her bag for food. With a small bag of dried fruit and nuts in hand, she sends Gothita back out and offers her some.
Startled at the wild Surskit's change in attitude and was prepared to head back, he gives a quick order.
"Treecko try pound"
[dice=Initiative]1d20+0
Startled at the wild Surskit's change in attitude and was prepared to head back, he gives a quick order.
"Treecko try pound"
[dice=Pound attempt]1d20+2
[dice=Pound potential damage]1d6+2
Roger then takes a few steps back so that he is in less danger of being hit by a stray attack from either of them.
With a smile, Astraea releases Ralts from her pokeball. "Welcome to the team, Ralts. So far it is only Titania, you, and I but in time we shall grow, both in number and in strength. I look forward to our adventures together." She says, taking out her Pokedex. "Now, I can scan you with this machine that will tell me what your current capabilities are, but I'd rather hear about those from you if you don't mind. Then we'll see what other details this can tell me."
Catching a flash of light from the corner of her eyes, Astraea turns to see Esther releasing the unovan psychic, who looks just about miserable with tears in her eyes.
"Ah, but perhaps we should reassure your friend first." She murmurs, a worried frown on her face.
Gently setting Ralts on her shoulder, the redhead approaches the other psychic type as Esther timidly offers her food and water. Slowly so as to not unbalance her new partner, Astraea kneels in front of the Gothita and, with her handkerchief accompanied with soft gestures, wipes the Pokemon's tears.
"Fear not, little one. I am not someone so cruel as to separate friends who cherish each other so." She says soothingly. "Had Esther not caught you, I would've been delighted to offer you a place at my side, whether you wish to battle or not. Besides," Astraea gives the Pokemon a gentle smile, her eyes locking with Esther's. "Fate willing, your trainer and I shall travel together for a long time. So dry your tears, love. This is not goodbye, far from it."
The Gothita blinks at the offer of nutrition, seemingly confused that anyone would offer to share before giving a hesitant nod. Off in the distance, the newly released Ralts winces, seeming to shrivel up under the green fringe. Oh, I didn't even think about how Goth'd react. This is gonna be bad. Regardless, the adventurous psychic allows herself to be placed atop Astraea"s shoulder.
As the pair near the Psychic Dark nibbling at fruit, Astraea's comfort seems to further unnerve the Gothita at first. Pondering the Kalosian's words, the little Pokemon seems to unwind her self just a tad, almost imperceptibly. You're surprisingly kind. I always figured humans were more like PROGENITOR. Her descriptor of a gene donor is laden with emotional traces of fear and panic, alongside a large scoop of unease and seems to rattle about in your brain.
As she straights up, she forms a small ball of inky black that she tosses directly into Ralts' face. The other Psychic sputters as she attempts to remove the shadowy blob. And by the Creator do you even stop to think! This time you can't escape this lecture. You... Realizing she's broadcasting her tirade, she squints her eyes in focus before seeming to continue a tirade silently, Ralts occasionally rising to her defense before swiftly be rebutted by the darker psychic.
"Alright Treecko good job, you wanna try another pound buddy?"
Roger then takes stock of the battle, looking for any signs of how the wild surskit is doing after both pound attacks, as well as checking to see if there are any previously unknown spectators.
Esther winces at the psychic signature that might as well be a scream of anguish, and rubs at her forehead to try and relieve both the stress lines and the budding headache. Try as she might, though, the unease in her expression persists. She attempts to smile at Astraea's pep talk and the back-and-forth, but doesn't quite manage total sincerity. This is not how she expected her first catch to go, to say the least.
"I don't see why we wouldn't. Absolute worst case scenario, I could try and teach Edel to teleport a bit further for regular visits, but I don't think that will happen. You'll get to stay with your friend." Without the distance of telepathy, Esther's voice is back to its usual level of quiet unsurety.