Inner Focus Training Arena

[Flyg0n]

Energy exploded as the moves clashed. He caught sight of Alakazam blast a final charge beam, saw the wave of darkness, then the faint, barely perceptible sensation of the mega stone's power fading. When the dust settled, Alakazam lay on the ground in his regular form, unconscious. Defeated.

Moving stiffly, he quickly crossed the field and knelt next to Alakazam with a potion, ignoring the throbbing headache he had. After a moment, Alakazam recovered enough to open his eyes and stand. He rose, facing Odile. Noro could feel the prickling irritation coming from him. "That was a good fight," Alakazam said, broadcasting his telepathic voice.

Noro rose, staring at Odette, anger eating at him. He'd lost. Badly. Alakazam had lost. The battle played over and over in his head. Letting her get of a Taunt had been a mistake - if he could have even stopped that - and those moves it had used.... Despite everything, most of him couldn't help but feel impressed. Whatever that thing was, she battled with it very in-sync. And hit like a Mega Aggron. He still felt a little sick from the attack.

Without thinking much, he asked the first question, the one burning in his mind all battle. "Mind telling me what the hell kind of pokemon that is?" Despite the abrasive edge to his voice, there seemed to be the barest undercurrent of respect.

 

[Sinderella]

Energy exploded as the moves clashed. He caught sight of Alakazam blast a final charge beam, saw the wave of darkness, then the faint, barely perceptible sensation of the mega stone's power fading. When the dust settled, Alakazam lay on the ground in his regular form, unconscious. Defeated.

As soon as Odette caught sight of Alakazam's fainted form, she took that as her signal to rush for her bag. Drowziness was onset, and though her monitor beeped at a much slower pace, she knew she needed to get some fluids back into her system.

Thankfully, Enora knew what she was coming for before she made it up the bleacher steps. The Sylveon had her water bottle in ribbon, though the offering didn't come without a concerned look.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Pechy," Odette replied as she snatched the bottle, throwing the lancet onto the bag as a sort of trade off. She wasted no time in chugging it. She could just barely hear the sound of Odile wooping over her swallowing.

"̸̫̈D̸̼͖͛̄İ̴̩̙D̶̫̅.̸̺̊̿̌ ̷̫̟̰̭̎Y̵̙̜̋Ō̵̹̚Ų̶̡̛͙͗̉.̵̘̰͎͋̊̈́ ̶̹̥̎F̷̣̏U̵̡̐́̔C̸̠̟͊̈̕K̷̩̊͊̕Ì̴̱̠̎́͝ͅN̷̻̫̪̳̅͘Ĝ̸̢̺͍̊͌͌.̶̣̽ ̵͈͗͆̅̇S̵̡̞̳̆Ę̸̣̩͔̓̋̚͠Ḛ̴̫̐ ̶̥͙̲͘T̴̟̱͈͉̈́͝H̷̗̥̊̋̏A̵̜̜̮̰͑̏͋T̸̮͖̹͗͂͂̉?̷̛͚̙̺͕̂ ̶͔̳̮͕̑̿͠W̸̖͐͛͊Ạ̴̬͖͖̍Ș̸̲̻͐͗̅ͅ ̶̝̲̱̼͛̉̀̓T̵̢̞̂͜H̵͙͛͊A̶͕̖̔͘ͅŤ̶̥̣͋ ̷̬̫̓̕Ç̷̮͐̂̕͝Ȏ̴̗͖́̔Ṅ̷̠̗̅T̶͇͖̔̇Ṟ̶̺̻̔͑O̵̗̓̿L̶̼̠͛̊ ̵̗̖̫̳̊̎̊Ȍ̶͍̯̣͓R̷̡͇̔͗͌͝ ̸̙̂́F̴̘͊̉Ǘ̵̞̥̌̈͛C̵̼̙̈́K̷̛̥͈͕̲̉̽͝Ĩ̴̫͇̲̻̈͊̃N̸̟̜͉̅̈G̴̰͎̒ ̷̢̖͙̊̆͋ͅW̸̪͑͗Ḧ̶̬̯͍́̈́A̵̡̳̲̒̀̎Ţ̸͎͝?̷̘̰̩̘͛"̸̢͕̌̽̈́̉ Odile roared in glee.

When Odette was certain she'd made it through half the bottle, she pulled it away from her lips, sending careful looks to Enora, Kimiko, and even Olivia. "Really, I'm good."

She brought the wrist monitor back to her face. It was blinking green again. Numbers looked normal. No more beeping.

"Just enough to dehydrate myself a little," she murmured.

Though, she didn't really have enough time to beat herself up for losing her focus. She sucked in a worried breath, before gesturing to Enora.

"Hey, I need you to Heal Bell. Please," she begged.

Moving stiffly, he quickly crossed the field and knelt next to Alakazam with a potion, ignoring the throbbing headache he had. After a moment, Alakazam recovered enough to open his eyes and stand. He rose, facing Odile. Noro could feel the prickling irritation coming from him. "That was a good fight," Alakazam said, broadcasting his telepathic voice.

Enora blinked in surprise at the request, but stood up regardless. She wouldn't deny a request for some healing. However, upon looking toward Noro and Alakazam, she could see that the latter had already been revived with a potion. Already up, looking disgruntled from the loss. She thought it over for a second, before ultimately deciding to ring her ribbons anyway. It'd get Odile back up to health (though it didn't appear she'd suffered too much injury) and it would hopefully assist the Alakazam a little more than a mere potion would.

Odette turned back toward them as Alakazam's voice filled her head. Her eyes still gleamed with sympathy, but at the very least it seemed like they were being good sports about it. She reached back for her bag, tucking her bottle into her underarm and swiping a wet wipe from the front pocket. She used to to start wiping the dried blood from her thumb and surrounding skin as she made a hasty trek over to Noro's side of the arena.

"It was, but are you--" she called. However, she was cut off by Odile, having reverted to that human form, Jack Sparrow-running over to them with a look of pure glee on her face.

"̷I̵T̸ ̴W̷A̴S̸.̵ ̶Y̸O̵U̸ ̸G̷L̴O̵R̵I̸O̶U̵S̸ ̵B̸A̷S̵T̵A̶R̷D̷,̷"̸ Odile shouted when she was close enough. She folded her hands in front of her chin as she stared at Alakazam closely, eyes shining with something far less vengeful now. "̶M̷o̵t̸h̶e̸r̴f̷u̵c̴k̶e̴r̵,̴ ̴y̶o̵u̵r̷ ̵b̶l̵a̶s̴t̷s̴ ̶h̴u̴r̵t̸.̵ ̴H̶u̷r̷t̵.̴ ̷I̵ ̴w̷a̸n̶t̸e̴d̵ ̷t̴o̶ ̷g̸u̶t̸ ̴y̶o̸u̵r̵ ̶a̶s̶s̴ ̸b̸u̴t̵ ̴P̶s̶y̶c̶h̸i̶c̷s̶ ̷n̶e̴v̵e̶r̵ ̴d̸o̵ ̴t̴h̷a̷t̷ ̸m̷u̴c̸h̵ ̶d̸a̴m̵a̸g̷e̸ ̶o̸n̴ ̴m̸e̶,̶ ̵s̸o̴ ̵I̵ ̷r̵e̷a̴l̵l̵y̴ ̷h̶a̷v̷e̵ ̸n̵o̴ ̷c̸h̸o̸i̸c̶e̴ ̶b̶u̴t̸ ̸t̵o̸ ̸r̶e̸s̷p̶e̶c̴t̵ ̵y̵o̸u̶ ̷f̶o̷r̵ ̷i̵t̷.̸ ̷B̵a̴s̸t̵a̵r̴d̸.̷"̵

She leaned bent over a little bit, curiously staring at the spoons the 'mon was holding. "̴A̸l̵s̷o̸,̶ ̴I̶'̷v̸e̴ ̴n̶e̸v̶e̶r̴ ̵a̴s̷k̴e̴d̸ ̷a̴n̴ ̸A̴l̶a̵k̸a̵z̷a̵m̶ ̴t̸h̶i̴s̷,̸ ̸b̷u̶t̸ ̴d̷o̸ ̸y̸o̷u̴ ̷g̴u̷y̴s̸ ̴e̵a̶t̷ ̸w̶i̸t̴h̶ ̸t̶h̵o̴s̷e̴ ̷t̶o̷o̶?̵ ̴A̷r̵e̴ ̸t̶h̵e̶y̶ ̸d̷i̷s̵h̷w̶a̶s̶h̶e̴r̷ ̵s̸a̸f̸e̵?̷"̵

Noro rose, staring at Odette, anger eating at him. He'd lost. Badly. Alakazam had lost. The battle played over and over in his head. Letting her get of a Taunt had been a mistake - if he could have even stopped that - and those moves it had used.... Despite everything, most of him couldn't help but feel impressed. Whatever that thing was, she battled with it very in-sync. And hit like a Mega Aggron. He still felt a little sick from the attack.

Without thinking much, he asked the first question, the one burning in his mind all battle. "Mind telling me what the hell kind of pokemon that is?" Despite the abrasive edge to his voice, there seemed to be the barest undercurrent of respect.

Odette ignored Noro's piercing stare as she made her way over. When she was close enough, she set her clean hand on Odile's shoulder. "Back off, Grudge, give him some room to breathe," she urged, gently pulling her backward.

"̸I̸'̵m̵ ̶n̶o̴t̸ ̷b̷e̶i̴n̷g̷ ̶m̶e̸a̷n̵,̵ ̷I̶'̶m̴ ̷g̶e̸n̷u̶i̵n̶e̵l̴y̴ ̵c̶u̵r̷i̶o̷u̷s̷.̵ ̴I̴'̶m̷ ̴b̵e̶i̶n̵g̷ ̸a̷m̷i̴c̸a̵b̸l̸e̶.̵"̷ Odile whined, causing Odette to sigh gruffly.

"I know, but..." she trailed off as she scrunched the lightly stained wipe in her hand. She finally met Noro's gaze, before trading it to Alakazam. She refrained from the pity look--if they were anything like her, she knew damn well that wouldn't go over well. Her eyes showed nothing but concern.

"̸A̴ ̵G̷O̴D̶ ̵t̵h̶a̷t̶'̸s̷ ̷w̵h̸a̷t̸,̶"̷ Odile retaliated confidently to the question. "̷Y̷o̷u̸ ̸j̴u̸s̷t̷ ̸b̵a̷t̶t̸l̸e̶d̶ ̷a̷ ̵l̶e̶g̷e̵n̴d̴a̵r̶y̸,̵ ̶h̸o̶w̸ ̵d̴o̴e̴s̷ ̴i̴t̴ ̴f̵e̸e̸l̸?̶"̴

Odette sent her a cross look before taking another swig from her bottle.

"That's a loaded question," she said. "She's a...different type. One I have to assume you've never heard of before. A blood type. And yes, legendary, like she's running her fucking mouth about."

"̸P̸O̸K̷E̶M̶O̷N̶ ̵O̸F̷ ̴W̵R̸A̶T̶H̵,̵ ̴M̷O̶T̸H̵E̶R̴F̷U̶C̴K̵E̶R̷S̵.̶"̴

Odette figured that, if these two really were up to something, they'd just gotten their asses handed to them. Even if she went down the list explaining how Odile worked, they'd think twice about challenging them again. Though, perhaps she'd refrain from discussing weaknesses...

"Are you okay?" she queried suddenly. No sense of babying in her tone; just speaking as one trainer to another. "Seriously. I'm really sorry if something hurt you."

She knew these two were suspects, but she really couldn't help but feel downright guilty anyway. Even though they had barged in here, and carried that collective air of cockiness, her own self-inflicted guilt powered over all. But, she could still feel guilty and suspicious at the same time. Surely the two wouldn't overlap.

Plus, that initial cockiness felt much less prominent now. Even though Noro sounded miffed, he also sounded the slightest bit civil on top of it. Maybe she could work with that.

"I could spend 20 minutes explaining it all to you, but I don't want to talk your ear off. Not a conference room, remember?" she said half jokingly. "You both fight remarkably well, though, I will tell you that for now."

Odile used Mind Reader!

 

[Flyg0n]

"It was, but are you--" she called. However, she was cut off by Odile, having reverted to that human form, Jack Sparrow-running over to them with a look of pure glee on her face.

"̷I̵T̸ ̴W̷A̴S̸.̵ ̶Y̸O̵U̸ ̸G̷L̴O̵R̵I̸O̶U̵S̸ ̵B̸A̷S̵T̵A̶R̷D̷,̷"̸ Odile shouted when she was close enough. She folded her hands in front of her chin as she stared at Alakazam closely, eyes shining with something far less vengeful now. "̶M̷o̵t̸h̶e̸r̴f̷u̵c̴k̶e̴r̵,̴ ̴y̶o̵u̵r̷ ̵b̶l̵a̶s̴t̷s̴ ̶h̴u̴r̵t̸.̵ ̴H̶u̷r̷t̵.̴ ̷I̵ ̴w̷a̸n̶t̸e̴d̵ ̷t̴o̶ ̷g̸u̶t̸ ̴y̶o̸u̵r̵ ̶a̶s̶s̴ ̸b̸u̴t̵ ̴P̶s̶y̶c̶h̸i̶c̷s̶ ̷n̶e̴v̵e̶r̵ ̴d̸o̵ ̴t̴h̷a̷t̷ ̸m̷u̴c̸h̵ ̶d̸a̴m̵a̸g̷e̸ ̶o̸n̴ ̴m̸e̶,̶ ̵s̸o̴ ̵I̵ ̷r̵e̷a̴l̵l̵y̴ ̷h̶a̷v̷e̵ ̸n̵o̴ ̷c̸h̸o̸i̸c̶e̴ ̶b̶u̴t̸ ̸t̵o̸ ̸r̶e̸s̷p̶e̶c̴t̵ ̵y̵o̸u̶ ̷f̶o̷r̵ ̷i̵t̷.̸ ̷B̵a̴s̸t̵a̵r̴d̸.̷"̵

She leaned bent over a little bit, curiously staring at the spoons the 'mon was holding. "̴A̸l̵s̷o̸,̶ ̴I̶'̷v̸e̴ ̴n̶e̸v̶e̶r̴ ̵a̴s̷k̴e̴d̸ ̷a̴n̴ ̸A̴l̶a̵k̸a̵z̷a̵m̶ ̴t̸h̶i̴s̷,̸ ̸b̷u̶t̸ ̴d̷o̸ ̸y̸o̷u̴ ̷g̴u̷y̴s̸ ̴e̵a̶t̷ ̸w̶i̸t̴h̶ ̸t̶h̵o̴s̷e̴ ̷t̶o̷o̶?̵ ̴A̷r̵e̴ ̸t̶h̵e̶y̶ ̸d̷i̷s̵h̷w̶a̶s̶h̶e̴r̷ ̵s̸a̸f̸e̵?̷"̵

Alakazam's eyes widened and he shifted back in surprise at the sudden change from Odile. He seemed torn between the praise and deeply disturbed, all at once. Alakazam carefully held his spoons away from Odile. They shone under the stadium lighting, pristine and well-cared for. Undamaged. "I-... I have never put them in the dishwasher. I have no need." He spoke, confusion in his tone, as if he wasn't even sure why he was answering the question.

"̸A̴ ̵G̷O̴D̶ ̵t̵h̶a̷t̶'̸s̷ ̷w̵h̸a̷t̸,̶"̷ Odile retaliated confidently to the question. "̷Y̷o̷u̸ ̸j̴u̸s̷t̷ ̸b̵a̷t̶t̸l̸e̶d̶ ̷a̷ ̵l̶e̶g̷e̵n̴d̴a̵r̶y̸,̵ ̶h̸o̶w̸ ̵d̴o̴e̴s̷ ̴i̴t̴ ̴f̵e̸e̸l̸?̶"̴

Odette sent her a cross look before taking another swig from her bottle.

"That's a loaded question," she said. "She's a...different type. One I have to assume you've never heard of before. A blood type. And yes, legendary, like she's running her fucking mouth about."

"̸P̸O̸K̷E̶M̶O̷N̶ ̵O̸F̷ ̴W̵R̸A̶T̶H̵,̵ ̴M̷O̶T̸H̵E̶R̴F̷U̶C̴K̵E̶R̷S̵.̶"̴

Noro silently took in her words, body still stiff and mind racing to absorb everything she'd said. Some part of him inside was still screaming, trying to understand how an entirely new type like this was even possible and beneath all that, another emotion that sent his heart racing and made him sweat, one which he pushed aside.

"I see," he said after several seconds. The slightest hint of curiosity crept into his tone. A true, honest to... well, gods, legendary. But a blood-type legendary? That was something he'd never heard of anywhere. Perhaps something only in her universe then? Pride warmed him as well.

<"Alakazam, you actually fought a god. Like Lugia or Ho-Oh,"> He kept the thought private, but couldn't help but smirk inwardly. <"Next time we make the god really hurt">.

If there was a next time. It was almost a shame blood-types didn't exist on his world, he might have liked to have fought them.

Alakazam shot a pleased glance at Noro before turning back to their opponents. He nodded thoughtfully as he studied Odile harder, now in her.... humanoid form. He spoke openly. "So you use your own blood as a catalyst to empower her," he mused slowly. "-the way a trainer shares their aura for mega evolution, or for a single powerful strike such as a Z-move." He spoke carefully, as if feeling out each word, peering at them.

"You're linked," Noro stated, matter of factly, careful not to sound too impressed. "But clearly it takes a toll on you to control." he nodded his head at the water bottle. "But the bond is there still... it can be stabilized."

"Are you okay?" she queried suddenly. No sense of babying in her tone; just speaking as one trainer to another. "Seriously. I'm really sorry if something hurt you."

She knew these two were suspects, but she really couldn't help but feel downright guilty anyway. Even though they had barged in here, and carried that collective air of cockiness, her own self-inflicted guilt powered over all. But, she could still feel guilty and suspicious at the same time. Surely the two wouldn't overlap.

Plus, that initial cockiness felt much less prominent now. Even though Noro sounded miffed, he also sounded the slightest bit civil on top of it. Maybe she could work with that.

"I could spend 20 minutes explaining it all to you, but I don't want to talk your ear off. Not a conference room, remember?" she said half jokingly. "You both fight remarkably well, though, I will tell you that for now."

"And I'm fine," he added curtly. "Just a small side effect of the link Alakazam and I share. No need for a longer explanation. I doubt such a thing exists on my world."

"Thank you," Alakazam said. "You two are certainly... not what I expected."

"Hmph. He's right, you handled yourself very skillfully. Not half as pathetic as some of the trainers here. Thank you for a good battle then." he seemed to take a forced breath before adding "What did you want to ask?"

 

[Seren]

When Odette was certain she'd made it through half the bottle, she pulled it away from her lips, sending careful looks to Enora, Kimiko, and even Olivia. "Really, I'm good."

When the dust cleared and the battle was over, as Odile shrunk back down the oppressive atmosphere returned to normal, Kimiko began to clap enthusiastically, and Olivia too trilled in excitement. But when Odette approached to fetch her water, it was obvious just how much of a toll that battle had taken on her. Kimiko knew that look well enough to see through it. She'd seen it on her own face many a night.

It dawned on her that there was more to the blood-types that Odette was advocating for, too. Not just their vampiric nature, but just how serious and risky it could be for the trainer, too. Even just for a casual battle, if they wore out the trainer too, she knew how the general population might react to them. It would be a hard sell anywhere. And back in her own universe, Odette had taken the path of defending them anyway. Somehow, even on top of the spectacle she'd just witnessed, Kimiko found herself respecting Odette quite a lot more.

Alakazam's eyes widened and he shifted back in surprise at the sudden change from Odile. He seemed torn between the praise and deeply disturbed, all at once. Alakazam carefully held his spoons away from Odile. They shone under the stadium lighting, pristine and well-cared for. Undamaged. "I-... I have never put them in the dishwasher. I have no need." He spoke, confusion in his tone, as if he wasn't even sure why he was answering the question.

She didn't miss the way Odile studied the alakazam's spoons. Whether she was checking them for marks, or just from pure curiosity, was another matter. Either way, while it was hard to be sure at this distance, they appeared polished and fresh. Hadn't someone back at the cove mentioned silver residue? It likely wasn't from the alazakam then, after all. Unless mega evolution had somehow repaired the damage. She wasn't ready to rule them out just yet; best to wait and see how Noro answered those questions, first.

 

[Hanafuda]

After the battle was decided, both birds were speechless for a few seconds. Zack had stopped recording after Alakazam laid defeated on the ground. “Dude… I’m kinda scared right now…”

“Me too,” Jack replied. He let out a sigh, trying to relax as he laid back on his seat. “That was intense.”

“They really are epic, but now I don’t know if I should get close to them again.” The Pidgeotto flicked his bang a few times. “I really learned the hard way, eh?”

“Yeah,” the Farfetch’d muttered. “Good thing Alakazam is okay, though.”

 

[Sinderella]

"So you use your own blood as a catalyst to empower her," he mused slowly. "-the way a trainer shares their aura for mega evolution, or for a single powerful strike such as a Z-move." He spoke carefully, as if feeling out each word, peering at them.

Typical psychic type. Sharp as a damn chef’s knife.

Odette shrugged. “In essence. I’d certainly compare it to mega evolution. Except, I don’t need a stone, just need to draw some blood.”

"You're linked," Noro stated, matter of factly, careful not to sound too impressed. "But clearly it takes a toll on you to control." he nodded his head at the water bottle. "But the bond is there still... it can be stabilized."

She then turned to Noro. “Correct. Call it demonic possession,” she cracked, rolling her eyes as she said the words.

Her hand tightened around the bottle as it was regarded. “I did say I was working on my own technique when you walked in, no?” She decided to take one last sip, downing what was left of the water. “Rocky sometimes, but that’s why we train. It gets better every time.”

She did like the way this conversation was headed, but she also didn’t want to say too much. Suspects were suspects, of course. Giving them too much info, even after beating them, was a no go.

"And I'm fine," he added curtly. "Just a small side effect of the link Alakazam and I share. No need for a longer explanation. I doubt such a thing exists on my world."

It took everything in Odette to not breathe a sigh of relief. Saved her from another drawn out conversation going through the ropes of how blood types worked all of that fucking bullshit. In reality, yes, he obviously had never seen the type before, so there really WASN’T a need a to get into it. Not when there were more pressing matters at hand, at least. What explanation he got seemed to pique his interest enough, and that was good enough for her.

"Thank you," Alakazam said. "You two are certainly... not what I expected."

"Hmph. He's right, you handled yourself very skillfully. Not half as pathetic as some of the trainers here. Thank you for a good battle then." he seemed to take a forced breath before adding "What did you want to ask?"

“̴ T̶h̴a̴t̵’̷s̴ ̵s̴w̶e̶e̷t̷…̸I̴ ̴t̸h̵i̴n̶k̵.̶ ̴I̸t̴’̷s̷ ̶s̴w̴e̵e̸t̷,̶ ̴r̵i̵g̷h̸t̵?̴ ̶D̶i̴d̵ ̵y̶o̵u̶ ̷e̵x̶p̸e̶c̸t̵ ̴m̷e̷ ̵t̸o̶ ̸b̶e̷ ̸s̴c̴a̵r̵i̷e̶r̵?̶ ̶I̶ ̷c̵a̸n̸ ̸d̶e̷f̴i̸n̵i̷t̶e̸l̶y̶ ̴b̷e̵ ̵s̴c̸a̷r̸i̸e̷r̵.̶”̵ Odile said.

Odette sighed deeply. “Please take the compliment and stop talking.”

“̴S̴p̴e̶a̶k̸ ̴f̵o̴r̷ ̶y̸o̷u̵r̵ ̵d̸a̴m̷n̶ ̷s̶e̵l̴f̴,̴ ̵s̴t̷a̶t̵u̴e̴.̶”̸

Odette opened her mouth to respond, but decided to just let it be.

“I appreciate that,” she said, trying to remain dignified. “I pride myself on not being pathetic. And you as well, I very much enjoyed it. I…hope you liked fighting a god?” she added somewhat sheepishly. Odile vibrated with utter joy next to her.

That was mostly the truth, guilt aside. It definitely was good practice.

Odette shoved the soiled wipe into her pocket before crossing her arms. “Well, I already wasted my first question asking if you were okay, so that’s one down,” she said in a breath. “Glad to hear it, though.”

Truly.

Then, she shrugged. “I suppose I’ll just be blunt, then. I’m sure you’re both getting a ton of shit because half the people here want to rush onto a witch hunt based on jack fucking shit. I’m really not looking to drill you and add more to your aggravation, believe me.”

She didn’t need to fake her earnest expression. “But, from one competent trainer to another, I’m just trying to gather facts. So I’d really appreciate if you at least somewhat humored me. Do you remember where you were around the times of all these incidents? If not, did you at least see anything you would call strange or …”

“̷F̴u̶c̶k̴e̶d̸!̵”̵ Odile finished, grinning.

“Uh, yeah. I suppose that’s the word I want. But, that makes three.”

Odile has Mind Reader active!

 

[Flyg0n]

She then turned to Noro. “Correct. Call it demonic possession,” she cracked, rolling her eyes as she said the words.

Noro narrowed his eyes slightly. Possession? That sounded... He wasn't even sure what to consider that.

“̴ T̶h̴a̴t̵’̷s̴ ̵s̴w̶e̶e̷t̷…̸I̴ ̴t̸h̵i̴n̶k̵.̶ ̴I̸t̴’̷s̷ ̶s̴w̴e̵e̸t̷,̶ ̴r̵i̵g̷h̸t̵?̴ ̶D̶i̴d̵ ̵y̶o̵u̶ ̷e̵x̶p̸e̶c̸t̵ ̴m̷e̷ ̵t̸o̶ ̸b̶e̷ ̸s̴c̴a̵r̵i̷e̶r̵?̶ ̶I̶ ̷c̵a̸n̸ ̸d̶e̷f̴i̸n̵i̷t̶e̸l̶y̶ ̴b̷e̵ ̵s̴c̸a̷r̸i̸e̷r̵.̶”̵ Odile said.

Odette sighed deeply. “Please take the compliment and stop talking.”

“̴S̴p̴e̶a̶k̸ ̴f̵o̴r̷ ̶y̸o̷u̵r̵ ̵d̸a̴m̷n̶ ̷s̶e̵l̴f̴,̴ ̵s̴t̷a̶t̵u̴e̴.̶”̸

Odette opened her mouth to respond, but decided to just let it be.

“I appreciate that,” she said, trying to remain dignified. “I pride myself on not being pathetic. And you as well, I very much enjoyed it. I…hope you liked fighting a god?” she added somewhat sheepishly. Odile vibrated with utter joy next to her.

"It was good to finally have a real fight here," he said simply.

Alakazam kept one eye on Noro and the other on Odile, as if expecting her to go off or try something any moment.

Then, she shrugged. “I suppose I’ll just be blunt, then. I’m sure you’re both getting a ton of shit because half the people here want to rush onto a witch hunt based on jack fucking shit. I’m really not looking to drill you and add more to your aggravation, believe me.”

She didn’t need to fake her earnest expression. “But, from one competent trainer to another, I’m just trying to gather facts. So I’d really appreciate if you at least somewhat humored me. Do you remember where you were around the times of all these incidents? If not, did you at least see anything you would call strange or …”

“̷F̴u̶c̶k̴e̶d̸!̵”̵ Odile finished, grinning.

“Uh, yeah. I suppose that’s the word I want. But, that makes three.”

Noro seemed to regard her for a very long time, before glancing at Alakazam, who dipped his head.

"Very well. You have proven you at least have a head on your shoulders," Alakazam said. "I will answer your questions. But we have little to offer. I spoke briefly to the Xatu on the boat, but anyone here can tell you we were at the banquet all evening. However, Xatu seemed interested enough in this event that I found it odd that they disappeared. And Noro and I were heading to the lounge researching when the young girl vanished from the beach."

"And we were in our rooms when that kid with the Scizor was taken. I suspect everyone was," Noro stated simply. "And in all honestly the strangest thing I've seen is you." He stared at Odile, arms folded. "Ever since that girl was taken we've avoided everyone." Or they'd avoided him. He didn't care, it had gotten old fast. "We were never near those places when anyone was taken. Is that all?"

There seemed to be little malice in his tone. Perhaps abrasive was his default setting.

Odile watched him for signs of deception! They're both telling the truth!

 

[Sinderella]

"Very well. You have proven you at least have a head on your shoulders," Alakazam said. "I will answer your questions. But we have little to offer. I spoke briefly to the Xatu on the boat, but anyone here can tell you we were at the banquet all evening. However, Xatu seemed interested enough in this event that I found it odd that they disappeared. And Noro and I were heading to the lounge researching when the young girl vanished from the beach."

She nodded along with Alakazam as he spoke. He sounded earnest, and the longer she kept her eyes on him, the more sincere he looked.

"And we were in our rooms when that kid with the Scizor was taken. I suspect everyone was," Noro stated simply. "And in all honestly the strangest thing I've seen is you." He stared at Odile, arms folded. "Ever since that girl was taken we've avoided everyone." Or they'd avoided him. He didn't care, it had gotten old fast. "We were never near those places when anyone was taken. Is that all?"

There seemed to be little malice in his tone. Perhaps abrasive was his default setting.

Odile visibly perked up even more so (if that was even possible) when she was regarded again. "̴Y̶O̸,̶ ̵O̸D̴E̶T̷T̴E̵,̷ ̸W̵E̴'̶R̷E̴ ̷T̵H̸R̶E̵E̴ ̸F̶O̶R̴ ̴T̸H̸R̴E̵E̸,̷ ̷L̶E̸T̶S̵ ̴F̶U̸C̸K̴I̵N̵G̷ ̸G̷O̸!̴"̸ she cheered, holding her hand up for a high five.


Odette stared, clearly unamused, at the hand presented to her. "Dude, that's not--"

She looked so excited. Probably the lasting effects from the battle. Adrenaline, excitement. Maybe that sense of victory, even though Odile should have known she'd beat the hell out of a psychic type.

Odette rolled her eyes yet again before holding her palm to Odile's. "Yeah, congratulations, freak."


Huffing, she pulled her hand back to mull over the alibi and details she'd been given. All in all, aside from the harsh undertone to Noro's words, and the way Alakazam still warily watched Odile, they both sounded genuine No lying tells; all straight to the point. And that answered her question as to why they stuck to the side. Now that she thought about it, if she were in their position, she'd also stick to the sides of everything. She already was trying to do that, and she had no suspicion on her whatsoever. As far as she knew.

She held her hands up, feigning surrender. "The terms stated three questions, and that was three questions. Again, not trying to interrogate you two senseless," she said. "Though, what about when the trainer with the Mightyena was taken?"

Odile nudged her. She simply shook her head, then lowered her hands.

"Thanks for placating me, guys. Let's do this again sometime," she smirked. Then, she sent them both a half salute as she turned back toward the bleachers. "Keep your eyes peeled and stay safe."

Upon making it back to the bleachers, she returned all of her items to her backpack and whipped her phone back out. She already had it unlocked as she sat down between Kimiko and Enora.


"That seemed like a rather relaxed exchange. What do you think?"


"̴I̶ ̴c̷a̶n̵ ̴s̵a̸y̴ ̵t̸h̶e̷y̸ ̵w̷e̶r̷e̴ ̷b̸o̷t̴h̶ ̶t̴e̸l̵l̷i̷n̷g̴ ̵t̸h̷e̷ ̶t̴r̶u̴t̵h̵ ̷a̴b̵o̴u̶t̷ ̸t̵h̶e̶i̵r̵ ̵a̴l̶i̸b̶i̴.̶ N̴o̶w̸h̶e̷r̷e̵ ̸n̶e̷a̴r̸ ̵a̸n̸y̷b̶o̷d̵y̴,̸ ̵e̶v̸e̸r̸.̶ ̷ ̶A̶n̷d̷ ̶a̸b̷o̸u̶t̵ ̷t̷h̴e̶ ̴s̴p̷o̷o̸n̴s̷ ̸n̶e̴v̸e̵r̴ ̶b̸e̶i̷n̸g̴ ̴p̵u̷t̵ ̵i̷n̴ ̵a̶ ̸d̸i̶s̵h̶w̵a̴s̶h̸e̷r̸.̵ ̷T̴h̶o̸u̸g̶h̷,̸ ̵I̴ ̶d̶o̶n̵'̸t̶ ̴k̶n̶o̴w̵ ̷h̷o̴w̵ ̸t̵h̷e̷y̷'̷r̴e̶ ̵s̵o̴ ̷c̵l̴e̵a̸n̷ ̷t̵h̵e̵n̸.̸.̸.̸"̸


"Why would--?"

She stopped herself. She knew better to ask when it came to Odile.

"You know what, forget it."


Odette kept her eyes on her screen. She was in the middle of typing something out to the group chat. "Yeah, definitely telling the truth about that. I'm still stuck on the Focus Blast, though...and that Charge Beam was fresh..."

Maybe she should have asked how long he'd known that move? Or when it was taught? Then again, they never gave any indication that they were lying about where they were. Studying in the lounge, in the dorms, just well out of the way of everybody. If that was true, then they obviously were nowhere near the altercations. So she might have just been thinking too hard about this. Who's to say that was even the move used? All they knew was that it left a fighting-type residue.

Of course, not to mention, a lot of thoughts were starting to come up about the Xatu...


"̶T̷r̵u̴e̷,̵ ̷b̸u̵t̴ ̶o̶t̷h̷e̵r̵ ̵'̵m̵o̸n̵ ̶h̷e̴r̵e̷ ̸c̵a̸n̸ ̸l̷e̴a̵r̸n̴ ̷t̴h̸a̵t̶ ̷s̸h̵i̸t̵ ̷t̵o̶o̷.̷ ̵L̷i̵k̸e̷ ̸H̷y̵p̷n̴o̶.̵ ̷A̴n̴d̸ ̵G̷r̷u̸m̸p̶i̸g̶.̴"̷


Her eyes lit up once more, and she gasped loudly as she grabbed Odette by the sleeve. "̶O̵h̷!̶ ̶A̴n̵d̷ ̸t̷h̷e̶ ̷s̸p̷o̶o̶n̷s̴!̴ ̵T̴h̷e̶y̵ ̶w̴e̸r̸e̶ ̸i̶m̴m̸a̸c̶u̷l̴a̶t̴e̵!̴ ̵N̴o̵ ̸c̷h̴i̸p̷s̵,̵ ̸n̷o̸ ̵n̵o̶t̷h̴i̶n̴g̴!̷ ̸S̶o̵m̷e̶b̷o̶d̴y̵ ̴f̷o̵u̶n̸d̷ ̶f̴l̶a̷k̷e̴s̵ ̵o̸f̷ ̶l̴i̸k̴e̵ ̴g̴r̶e̶y̶ ̷s̴t̷u̶f̸f̷,̴ ̵r̸i̶g̷h̶t̸?̴ ̴S̵o̸ ̴i̸t̴ ̴c̸o̴u̶l̴d̸n̴'̶t̴ ̴h̸a̷v̵e̵ ̷b̷e̶e̴n̴ ̷t̸h̷e̸ ̸s̸p̶o̶o̸n̵s̴!̷"̷


Right, there was also that. Of course, that grey matter wasn't limited to either of those yellow 'mon. There was also a Klefki. Or maybe it belonged to an item being held by a 'mon nobody was even considering...

"Damn..."

She inhaled sharply as she palmed the side of her face. "I don't know. I'm feeling a lot less rough about him. Too paranoid to drop suspicions completely, but...I've met creepy cocky bastards that would pull some kidnapping shit like this. Cocky, yes. Creepy, no. Just a kid who still needs a couple notches knocked out of him."


"̴B̶a̷s̸t̴a̸r̴d̶,̸ ̵y̵e̷s̵.̶"̴


"So, what now?"


"We keep looking. I still have a list."

<><><><><><><><><><><>​

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. A good portion of it was spent chatting with Hayes at the dorms while their pokemon relaxed in the dappled sunlight of the garden. In the late afternoon, Steven excused himself, making up a story that he'd wanted to head to the Swap Shop after their battle strategy conversation. He bid Hayes goodbye (and a promise that if the young man ever needed anything, he could come calling any time, day or night) and headed toward the shop.

As soon as Hayes was out of eyesight, though, Steven veered toward the training arena with Aggron in tow. He didn't want his presence there to seem suspicious, showing up so close to the end of the day, and he'd wanted to try out a few techniques, so he was happy to spend a few hours at the arena simply, well, training.

Steven was careful to avoid Odette and the Alakazam trainer as they left the arena for the day; he didn't want to have to field any unexpected questions or attract unwanted attention. This was supposed to be a clandestine outing. At least as clandestine as one could be with a hulking Aggron slamming rocks around the practice field.

Aggron hadn't run Rock Slide in his moveset for quite a while, but the TM was second nature to him, and it wasn't long before he was hitting all the patterns they'd wanted to practice. Wide spreads, tight clusters, sequenced chases across the field for even the most mobile opponent.

Steven was just about to test out one of the more interesting strategies he'd cooked up since they arrived on the island when he glanced at his watch. It was getting late. He signaled to Aggron and his partner's thunderbolt fizzled out as he left the rock-strewn battlefield and joined his trainer near the arena's entrance.

In the lull in their training, it was clear that the facility was almost completely vacant. Exactly like how Hayes had described it when he heard the mysterious training the previous night.

Steven strained to hear anything, and Aggron's head tilted back and forth as he did the same, but neither picked up anything unusual. Undeterred, they exchanged a determined look and took leave of their practice field.

It was fortunate the ground-themed battlefield they chose was next to the grassy one where Hayes had reported the mysterious presence; it made for a short walk. No time for Steven to talk himself out of this investigation and reconsider how incredibly foolish this might be.

Quietly the pair made their way down the hallway that ran between the main battlefields, and approached the entrance to the grass themed arena. Steven took a steadying breath and shared a long, level look with Aggron. Be prepared for whatever we might find.


On high alert, they peered in through the arena's entrance to see if they could catch Hayes's mystery late night trainers in the act.

@Flyg0n

 

[Flyg0n]

As the pair left the earth field and crept up to the adjacent one, managing to keep surprisingly quiet considering, there came sound from within, like an attack had been discharged. The floor vibrated slightly, not enough for the average human to feel, but just enough for someone like Aggron to pick up on.

Someone was indeed practicing, late at night, when no one else was around.

Peering through the arena's entrance, the field appeared mostly dark, the only light from a few high windows. Below, shadows blanketed the field of tall grass and the sparse trees throughout. Thick silence hung in the air. All appeared still - too still.

The shadows danced and flickered, almost alive. Movement! No... Perhaps just the shifting shadows or a cloud in the sky then. An odd chill permeates the air, very faintly along with a strange scent-

And then, for a brief, terrible moment a malevolence fills the air, a sense of dread and unbridled, overwhelming hate

CRACK!

Everything went searing white, bright light blinding, wiping out all sight. A cloud of smoke fills the arena. And almost immediately after something strikes the ground before Steven and Aggron. Energy radiates from whatever the strike is, seeping into both of them. Unavoidably, their eyes would begin to grow heavy, their bodies fail them and sleep draw at their minds until its irresistible, a yawning darkness that feels almost physical as well as mental and threatens to swallow everything-

Perhaps, just before they can't help but succumb, a sound can be heard. Twin, high-pitched whistles, like something approaching. Fast. Furious, draco-avian cries and a flash of red and blue amidst the searing brightness.

Then, nothing. Darkness....

... ... ...

"Steven! Steven! Wake up!" A soft telepathic voice, prodding Steven's mind. Feminine, almost child-like, and filled with worry and relief.

"Aggron. You're safe." A voice that sounded a little older, more masculine.

Latios and Latias hovered over Steven and Aggron, healing energy flowing from them to the unconscious pair.

When they awoke, they'd find themselves still in the darkened arena, unharmed. Alive. And watched over by Latios and Latias.

Behind them were signs that something had attacked - the strike marks in the earth, the dust still settling. And... the empty arena.

Latias spoke, voice almost shaking with happiness. "We were patrolling when we heard something here and felt something dreadful! We rushed over. Whatever or whoever it was left before we could see anything, but it didn't have time to take you. You're safe." She nuzzled Steven's shoulder in relief. "Oh please don't go off alone like this again. What if we hadn't reached you in time?"

Latios nodded, then addressed Steven. "We will escort you back to your dorm shortly. ...It is best to remain there for the night. We can protect you there better. Today, we arrived in time. I fear next time may not find us so fortunate..."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

--ven! Wake up!"

Steven groaned as he came to, propping himself up on one arm, the other hand reaching up to massage his temple where a headache throbbed. When had he fallen? Was that why his head hurt so much? What happened?

He tried to remember. Right, they'd come to the arena to investigate. They snuck into the grassy arena, it was dark, and then--


They were attacked, a bright light, and-- Steven swiveled to find Aggron just as his partner stirred with an aggressive snuffle.

Aggron rolled from where he had fallen on his side onto his stomach in an attempt to rise, but froze with a snort as he caught sight of the two pokemon hovering over them protectively.


"Latios?! Latias?!"

Latias spoke, voice almost shaking with happiness. "We were patrolling when we heard something here and felt something dreadful! We rushed over. Whatever or whoever it was left before we could see anything, but it didn't have time to take you. You're safe." She nuzzled Steven's shoulder in relief. "Oh please don't go off alone like this again. What if we hadn't reached you in time?"

The attack, the flash, it was just like what Hayes described the morning the Mightyena and her trainer vanished... A cold rush of fear swept over Steven as Latias spoke, and the pounding of his head was muted by the weight that sunk into his gut.

"...didn't have time to take you," Latias had said. The Eon twins, he'd met them only once, back in Hoenn. They flew faster than anything he'd ever seen. And they'd only arrived in the nick of time. "What if we hadn't reached you in time?"

Latios nodded, then addressed Steven. "We will escort you back to your dorm shortly. ...It is best to remain there for the night. We can protect you there better. Today, we arrived in time. I fear next time may not find us so fortunate..."

He'd shown up here knowing full well what to expect if these after-hours trainers were somehow the culprits, and they still were completely blindsided. They hadn't even gotten off a move to attack or defend... A small knot of shame burned on top of the growing dread.

The hand still propping him upright balled into a white-knuckled fist. Steven didn't dare say a word for fear of his voice betraying how terrified he actually was. So he simply nodded and picked himself up of the ground, giving a nod of thanks to Latios and offering a hand for Latias to nuzzle into. He hoped she couldn't feel the tremor in his fingers as he gave a gentle scratch of the glossy feathers behind her ear.

------

Quietly, the four of them made their way back to the dorms. It was well after dark when they arrived. Steven stopped with a hand on the building's door. He didn't turn around, but he could feel the Eon duo's stares boring into his back as he pushed it open just a crack. He didn't know what they truly were thinking in that moment, but it felt an awful lot like he'd disappointed them.

"Thank you both," he whispered, before pushing the door open the rest of the way and heading inside.

<><><><><>​

 

[MintyMimix]

Violet and Hazel set their sights on the training arena as soon as they finished their conversation with Steven. The longer they delayed, the higher the chance a critical clue could be compromised considering the chance that a guest from the other ship or member of staff could accidentally clean or up, or worse, tamper with it.

The look that Steven gave Violet before they left though... she would need to talk to him about it as soon as they had the chance to meet again in private. It was a scar of shame that didn't suit him.

Hazel was a shaky mess as she asked Violet to hold her claw during their march to the arena, and her trainer accepted without hesitation. Once they arrived to the grand building, they made a beeline for the grassy battleground, and Hazel got to work on her text to the group. She relayed to Violet that if anyone other than those on the S.S. Trousselin arrived to distract them as much as possible.

Her typing was slow, and Violet looked over and even made a few corrections to help get her point across, but the Weavile managed to relay the message to the rest of the "serious business" squad as best as she could. Violet clasped her fingers around the claws more tightly as soon as it was sent, to which Hazel returned a grateful, if still anxious smile. Now all they needed to do was wait for the others to arrive and keep an eye out to make sure nothing would get tampered with.

 

[Hanafuda]

After Seb read Hazel’s message, he made a beeline towards the arena after exiting his room, Zack and Jack flying high above with vigilant eyes.

“Eyes in the sky, guys!” Seb exclaimed. “Gotta make sure no one’s following us!”

After arriving at their destination, Seb was panting with his hands on his knees. “Hoo… Thought I’d miss breakfast over this…” He wiped off his mouth from the spit that came out, along with some syrup and bread crumbs.

Zack landed and slid along the ground, taking a fighting position after stopping. “Bad guy, where are ya!?”

 

[Hanafuda]

After Seb regained his breath, he looked behind him and saw Wallace entering the arena.

“Oh, Mister Wallace! Good morning. Hope you’re fine.” He held his chin in thought, staying quiet for a moment before continuing. “I don’t know about the culprit, so we shouldn’t really jump to conclusions just yet.”

 

[ShiniGojira]

When the meeting ended, June and Evie took a brief stop at the little shop near the beach entrance and stocked up on a couple of TMs and snacks.

Although Evie had found the idea of using TMs rather distasteful, June managed to convince her and Evie eventually, albeit reluctantly, agreed.

On their way towards the arena, June tried to reassure her that if this universe's TMs were the same in their world, he'd be able to use a disc player to view their instructions rather than shoving the information straight into her mind.

Evie said she wouldn't hold onto that idea.

---

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Eves," June said. "Trust me, it'll be–"

"Yeah. Yeah. I hear ya," she said, muttering under her breath. "Doesn't mean I'd have to like it."

June chuckled nervously, rubbing the nape of his neck. "Yeah, I'm sorry," he said, shrugging. "How 'bout we go to the grassy arena? If the TMs don't work out, we could have a little spar and I can try to increase my heat tolerance. God knows we don't need another burnout incident like last time."

Evie nodded with a grunt.

It took them a little bit to find the place but when they've arrived, they noticed the small group of people already present.

The Weavile... What was her name again, Hazel? Eh, Hazel and her trainer looked like they were waiting for something. Then there was the guy and his anthro birds, and also a Milotic and a green guy who looked like he'd just escaped hell.

Deciding to make their presence known, he waved at them. "Hello there and a lovely morning to you peeps and mons!" Cringing at his lame greeting, he shook his head and said, "So um, is something going on?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion and Hazel arrived, with looking irritated. Could people stop doing shit first thing in the morning? Seriously, it was starting to piss him off… or maybe that was just the disruption to his sleep schedule talking, if ever he’d had such a thing.

Gladion noted Wes and waved. Hazel noticed the idiot one who made things worse and chose to turn her attention towards literally anything else instead. She focused on the room to see if she could sense anything.

Hazel is using Aura Reader! @Flyg0n

 

[Hanafuda]

"Hello there and a lovely morning to you peeps and mons!" Cringing at his lame greeting, he shook his head and said, "So um, is something going on?"

“Oh, hi!” Seb greeted back at the Charmander with a smile. He put his hands into his jacket’s pockets. “Really wish we could chat more, but this mystery is making things tough for all of us. Hope Steven’s okay…”

Jack landed on the ground, taking his leek into his wing. “Good morning,” he said to the other Pokémon present in the area with a quick wave.

 

[ShiniGojira]

Wallace managed a wave. "Hello there. There's been an... event here that we need to investigate. Um... I don't think I've seen you before. Who might you be?"

An event? What kind of event? Did something happen here last night?

Flashing the man a grin, he jabbed a claw at himself. "The name's June and that's Evie. We've been a little busy over the past days, y'know keeping a low profile and stuff. Nice ta meet 'cha."

“Oh, hi!” Seb greeted back at the Charmander with a smile. He put his hands into his jacket’s pockets. “Really wish we could chat more, but this mystery is making things tough for all of us. Hope Steven’s okay…”

"Steven? Did something happen to him?" Was that why they were here? He noticed the Steel-type champion at the meeting earlier so it wasn't like he was taken.

Did he get attacked?

 

[Hanafuda]

“Let’s all stay calm, okay?” Jack said.

“Y’know, we could look for the others, but we’d get exposed to the bad guy,” Zack said with a wing holding his beak.

“Yeah, sounds reasonable.”

“How ‘bout we do some trainin’?” The Pidgeotto rolled his shoulders and bent his neck in different directions with anticipation in his expression. “If the bad guy strikes right now, we might not be ready for him, so we should get stronger while we can.”

“You wanna do this because you wanna evolve sooner, right?” The Farfetch’d looked at his friend with a tilted head and a smirk.

“Yeah, mostly, but since we’re a big team, we should all work together. Ya get me, Jack-o?”

“Yeah, I follow you.”

 

[MintyMimix]

It was good to see some proactiveness going on within the team, though not everyone was present. Nonetheless, it was certainly enough to ensure accountability and vision within the field. Violet and Hazel relaxed their stances as they gave everyone a hearty greeting.

When Hazel glanced over to Victoria, her cheeks flushed and she looked away for a moment towards the birds, clearing her throat and saying in Poké-speech, "L-let's keep our eyes and ears peeled for any clues, 'kay?" Her eyes glanced down at the grass as she kicked her foot and said, "B-by the way Victoria, your scales are looking really lovely today," she squeaked, uncertain if it was appropriate to be saying that.

Violet, not understanding her words, nodded, believing that she was just still a bit nervous from last night's events. "Right, your attendance is appreciated, everyone. Thanks to the Latis' efforts in encountering the culprit here, we now have an open field of potential evidence to uncover." She crossed her arms as she added with no variance in her voice, "And I can assure you Steven is fine; he simply relayed this information to us this morning. It was the Latis that fought off the culprit, ultimately." None of what she said on its own was a lie, but her phrasing would lead one to conclude one way over another — a behaviour that the court drilled into her quite well.

"Keep on the lookout for any scents, residual auras, and possible traces left behind — mayhaps even those metal flakes once spoken of?" Violet commanded as she beckoned to Hazel. "Hazel here — that is, the Weavile one — shall make note of anything we uncover and relay it to the greater group." Her expression was serious, but not grim, as her elder sister leadership instincts kicked in.

She looked to Seb and the birds and smiled, "Keep thine eyes from the skies if thou wish to ensure our group's privacy; thine efforts so far hath been much appreciated."

Violet then turned her head to Wallace and Victoria and smiled, "Ahh, Sir Wallace, a champion of your calibur ought to hath some tricks up thine sleeve, no? If we art to find any possible clues, would it trouble you two to provide a closer look? Unless, of course, thou hath other ideas in mind."

Seeing Gladion and the other Hazel, she nodded her head and grinned. "Good morrow once more to you two; I see thou hath already begun without instruction. As expected of such trustworthy and capable individuals." Her eyes glanced towards her own Hazel as she looked back and forth between the two. It was obvious even to her the pair had more in common than just name, but there was a language and cultural barrier that prevented her true understanding. She wondered if Manaphy could provide some help on one of these days for that.

She then looked to the two Pokémon and quirked a brow. Still, Coleane was a Pokémon trainer as well, it was not too Farfetch'd to assume otherwise... especially when there was an actual Farfetch'd present. "Any senses thou can provide would be invaluable; something us humans cannot detect on our own. Mayhaps a scent left behind, or near invisible fault in the ground of some sort?"

Finally, taking a bow to the general group, she finished her instructions, "Once more, I thank thee for thine attendance. I myself will be searching what I can amongst the grasses here. If thou art in need of our services or Hazel's notes or brain, please do not hesitate to say so." In almost complete contrast to her previously cordial demeanor, her grin turned passionate as she slammed her fist in other her open palm. "Let us begin!"

While Hazel remained in the center — both to observe and take notes of everyone's findings and because she was a flustered mess at the sight of Victoria — Violet began to try to look around for any visible traces that remained from the encounter with the culprit last night.
[Foresight]
@Flyg0n