Inner Focus Training Arena

[Flyg0n]

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

Hazel is scanning the area! Results received!

Pacing around the arena, Hazel would find the area still tingling with energies. They had faded since yesterday, but not by much. The tingle of psychic type energy, the distinct feel of normal type energy - perhaps from Flash or even some other move? Comparing notes would reveal it felt like the energy from yesterday, where Nate vanished. The same two moves were used most likely.

But there seems to be something else in the air... traces of something else, something almost invisible to the senses. A supernatural shiver down the spine. Ghost-type energy.

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

Violet is investigating meticulously! Violet discovered something!

A broad examination of the area doesn't reveal anything that seems strange at first. There are pockets of torn earth and marks on the walls, naturally from fights, some that look over a day old. There are fresh marks from something striking the earth where Steven had stood. Signs of other attacks being used on trees and one on a broken training dummy. These appear sphereical shaped. 'Orb' shaped moves, most likely.

But then, near the back of the arena is something else. A grayish colored flake of something, hardly bigger than a seed, that disintegrates at a touch. The same flake as the kind where Nate and Mightyena vanished from... This arena seems to hold many clues.

 

[MintyMimix]

A broad examination of the area doesn't reveal anything that seems strange at first. There are pockets of torn earth and marks on the walls, naturally from fights, some that look over a day old. There are fresh marks from something striking the earth where Steven had stood. Signs of other attacks being used on trees and one on a broken training dummy. These appear spherical shaped. 'Orb' shaped moves, most likely.

But then, near the back of the arena is something else. A grayish colored flake of something, hardly bigger than a seed, that disintegrates at a touch. The same flake as the kind where Nate and Mightyena vanished from... This arena seems to hold many clues.

"I found something!" Violet yelled out to the others, beckoning them over. "Hazel, couldst thou make a record of this?" She said, pointing to the phone.

Hazel nodded, snapping photos of each marking, as well as well any remaining flakes. She also noted that they disintegrated to touch - indicating either brittleness or a reaction to something that even human skin would create. She sent all of this information to the others in the group chat accordingly, including the photographs.

"I will need additional eyes over here — let us fan out and see if anything else is around." Violet added.

 

[Hanafuda]

"I found something!" Violet yelled out to the others, beckoning them over.

“Nice!” Seb said with some excitement, pumping out a fist in front. “More evidence!” After a buzz from his Rotom Phone, he checked the chat and saw the pictures of the flakes Hazel found. “Ooh, tiny metal pieces. Must’ve been a Steel-type getting hit.”

After Violet’s exclamation, Jack went closer to one of the flakes. “Yeah, most likely a Steel-type. I don’t think it was Aggron—this doesn’t look as shiny as their armor.”

“Ya think it was the key guy?” Zack asked, darting his head around for anything else.

“That’s another possibility to consider.” The Farfetch’d tried to pick up the flake, but it disintegrated into powder and was blown away by a soft breeze. “Unfortunately, we can’t exactly take these ‘puzzle pieces’ with us. Would’ve been easy to see where they fitted…”

 

[Flyg0n]

"Victoria, scan the area. Perhaps we can figure out what these little specks are, or maybe we can find something else." Wallace wasn't too knowledgeable on rocks and minerals—that was Steven's forte—but he knew enough to tell if something was metal or paint.

And yes, part of that was Steven's fault. Wallace wanted to bless Steven's heart right then and there.

[[Odor Sleuth @Flyg0n ]]

Victoria sniffe' for clues! Victoria detected something!

Deep breaths. Victoria scented the air drawing it in deeply, sorting through each smell. Forest. Grass. Earth. Humans. An avian scent, but a abit dragon-like, which had to be the Latii's.

And then... something else. The same sweetish, chemical-like scent from before, that the others had spoken of. It was faint, but pungent and not very pleasant. It lingers all around, impossible to tell what exactly left it but... closer inspection reveals a few more of the same grasyish colored flecks. They distintegrate easily, almost like old parchment or the like. And the scent seems to linger strongest around them. It appears the scent may be from the flecks...

 

[MintyMimix]

("Hazel, that smell is here. It's coming from the flecks. Is there a move or item at play?")

Hazel's felt her cheeks warm and chest feel lighter at the sound of the Milotic's voice, but she gave a smile to try to hold those feelings down. They had a mission to do, and she needed to focus. Violet would want it that way. "W-well, hmm..."

Giving the flecks a closer inspection, she stated, "Distingrates upon touch, and very ashen-like... perhaps remnants of an explosive of some sort..." She tapped on the goggles around her neck — which if someone looked closely would see are far too small to fit her head — and chuckled as she continued, "Ordinarily in a laboratory setting, you must avoid smelling anything foreign yourself. Chemicals can have dangerous properties when inhaled."

Leaning low to the ground, Hazel then added with a smirk that mirrored her trainer's, "...But we're not exactly in a lab, now are we?" She sniffed at the particulate, hoping to identify more about its source.
@Flyg0n
[Odor Sleuth]

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"Good morrow once more to you two; I see thou hath already begun without instruction. As expected of such trustworthy and capable individuals."

“Morning to you, too, Vi. Not sure if I’d call it a good one, but given how some of the others have gone I guess we’ll have to take what we can get.”

"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?"

[Yes,] Hazel signed. Gladion turned her attention to her. “Yes what? You have something?”

[Sensu power.]

Gladion blinked. “Se- I’m not actually sure what you’re saying there.”

[Spirits? Ghosts? Like that. Also Pa’u and neutral. Seen those before. Teleporting and flash?]

Gladion realized she was talking in terms of Oricorio styles. Where had she even picked those words up? He’d maybe mentioned them once or twice, but… still… Those terms stuck with her.

“Got it.” He looked towards the other Hazel. “We got normal, psychic and ghost in the area. Go figure.”

 

[Flyg0n]

Leaning low to the ground, Hazel then added with a smirk that mirrored her trainer's, "...But we're not exactly in a lab, now are we?" She sniffed at the particulate, hoping to identify more about its source.
@Flyg0n
[Odor Sleuth]

Sniiifffff....

That odor. It's not like smoke or ash or metal. The sweet part its... almost berry-like, but much less pleasant. As if some part of the scent contains berries. But mainly, it is a pungent chemical scent, almost plastic like.

 

[MintyMimix]

Sniiifffff....

That odor. It's not like smoke or ash or metal. The sweet part its... almost berry-like, but much less pleasant. As if some part of the scent contains berries. But mainly, it is a pungent chemical scent, almost plastic like.

After taking long, protracted sniff to identify the smell, she began writing this information, vocally relaying to the Pokémon and sending a short message for the humans. She held up her phone for the trainers in front of her as well for emphasis.

[Hmm, this is not my particular specialty... but a pungent, plastic-like chemical scent could be signs of a manmade bomb or smoke ball. The troubling part for me is the hint of berries... Any ideas?]

“Got it.” He looked towards the other Hazel. “We got normal, psychic and ghost in the area. Go figure.”

[Normal, psychic, ghost... got it. I'll send out a quick update to everyone right away.]

 

[Hanafuda]

[Hmm, this is not my particular specialty... but a pungent, plastic-like chemical scent could be signs of a manmade bomb or smoke ball. The troubling part for me is the hint of berries... Any ideas?]

“Berries? Kinda weird if you ask me.”

Seb read Hazel’s message with curiosity. He tilted his head a few times side-to-side as he thought out loud.

“But maybe they were important in the battles with the people who got kidnapped. Maybe someone had a Sitrus Berry in case they needed to turn the tides around? I also heard about these berries that help Pokémon survive super-effective attacks, so if there’s any of those… No, only the kidnapper would know about our Pokémon, so none of us brought any resistance berries. Might be me going on a dumb tangent like I always do.”

“Hey, that might actually be a good point,” Jack said, raising his brow feathers. “Let’s not take any info for granted. Well, unless it’s irrelevant.”

 

[MintyMimix]

The group searched out what they could, but the morning was broke as the afternoon approached with not much further in leads — not without going to further extremes of course, but Hazel advised against trying to smell the plastic waste any further in the event that it may have some poisonous element to them. Small sniffs seemed fine, but she didn't want to risk it any further.

Violet had wanted to pushed further, but her stomach rumbled in protest as she let out a light chuckle. "I believe we have gathered more than enough, have we not?" she said, "If we push too far here, we may miss out on vital clues elsewhere or draw the suspicion of anyone else passing by. We want to keep this as discrete as possible."

Hazel looked to the ground, then back up at Violet she felt her own tummy empty. She nodded her head in agreement, and turned to the everyone as she said, "I think it's time for lunch!" She pat her belly her emphasis, "Violet and I are gonna grab something to eat, if you wanted to get something together!"

"I am getting a bit peckish," Violet agreed, getting the gist of what the Weavile said based on her motions, "Very well then. We will be retreating for some food for now, and we may end up looking further into the mythical Pokémon on this island as opposed to continuing our search here. You all are free to do as you wish, but it may be a good idea to get in contact with the Latis or anyone else that could assist."

The trainer rolled her arm as she took a fancy bow, "I bid thee all adieu; thou may wish to join us for lunch if it is thine wish, but otherwise I wish you all the best of luck in your investigations."

<><><><>​

 

[Sinderella]

Odette wasn't quite sure what pacing was going to do for her here. Everyone who had come here to investigate had long since found what they were looking for, and had vacated the area. So what was she here for now? There was always the possibility that they'd overlooked something--really, nobody here was an ace detective--but Hazel's text made it seem like they were pretty thorough.

Yet, she still had questions. On her walk over from the Cafe, she'd pretty much started to convince herself that Steven had been up to something. Again, she'd been here for hours yesterday, and saw nothing out of the ordinary past her battle with Noro. It wasn't wild convenience that she happened to steal a glance at him walking in as she was leaving, only for him to conveniently be pursued by the Latii's with such vital information. No, something was missing there.

Not to mention, Hazel's text spoke of ghost type residue now. As a partial ghost trainer herself, this was up her alley. So, she might as well look around in the meantime.

"Sniff around the building. Let me know if you smell a ghost," she said to Odile and Enora as she stopped in front of the training area entrance.


"̶B̶u̵t̵ ̵h̸o̴o̴o̷o̷n̵e̵e̷e̷e̶e̸y̷y̸y̷y̵y̵y̵y̵ ̷I̷'̷m̴ ̵a̵l̶r̴e̸a̶d̸y̷ ̷h̶e̶e̵e̴e̶e̷e̵r̴e̴,"̵ Odile smirked.


"You're not a ghost, you're a demon. Stark difference."


"̴W̸e̸l̸l̸ ̶f̵i̸n̶e̶,̵ ̸b̸e̴ ̸l̵i̵k̵e̸ ̴t̷h̴a̶t̸.̸ ̶I̸ ̸j̸u̴s̶t̷ ̸w̴o̷n̴'̶t̴ ̴r̶e̸a̶d̷ ̶y̴o̶u̸r̵ ̵f̸o̴r̵t̷u̵n̷e̴ ̶a̶n̸y̶m̴o̴r̶e̶.̶"̸ ̴


"What ever will I do," Odette said in a monotone.



Enora glanced back and forth between the two before huffing to herself. "Well, if you two are done, I'm going to walk the perimeter. Odile, since you can fly, can you perhaps--?"


"̵C̷r̸a̷w̸l̵ ̶a̴r̷o̴u̷n̷d̴ ̷o̷n̴ ̸t̸h̵e̵ ̴r̴o̸o̸f̷?̴ ̷S̵a̸y̶ ̶l̶e̷s̸s̵.̷"̸

She darted forward, and before long, she was crawling up the side of the arena walls. Like the demon she was.


Enora watched for a beat before eyeing Odette again. "I won't go far. You can yell if you see something."


"Back at you."

Odette watched as Enora trotted off, nose hovering over the grass. She took this new moment of lonesome to inhale deeply, hoping it would do something to jumpstart her sensitivity toward ghost type presences. Anything similar to the vibes Loic or Isaur or Ange gave off. However, nothing felt any different. Whatever was here before was now long gone.

She held up two fingers and mimed taking a drag from a cigarette. Or in this case, a blunt. She knew that as soon as she got off this damn island, she was going to raid Hau's stash for all he had, and nobody was going to stop her.

"No, no, Odette," she said to herself, quietly mocking somebody else's voice. "That's a poor long term coping mechanism. You'll fry your brain."

She switched her voice back to her own. "Did it occur to you that my brain is already fried? At least this time it'd be by my own volition."

She let her own words linger around her before slowly dropping her hand and shoving it into her jogger pocket. She began to shake her head doubtfully.

"What the actual fuck is going on here."

[[ @Panoramic_Vacuum @HelloYellow17 ]]

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven slowed to a brisk walk as he cleared the woods and emerged back in the village center. It wouldn't do him any good to keep running around like a maniac (though he was convinced one might be chasing him). That, and his exhaustion was beginning to catch up with him.

He felt slightly dizzy as he quickly canvased the area. No one in sight, that was good (or not, depending on how one looked at the situation.) He still didn't know where Aggron was. Not so good. He needed to find his partner ASAP. But where to look?

Steven turned toward the dorms, then stopped. A pang of guilt hit him as he remembered the way they parted the previous night. He never wanted to see that look on Aggron's face again; a look he caused.

No, Aggron wouldn't still be at the room. He would roam when he was restless. But where? Steven's gaze settled on the tall silhouette that sat at the back of the village. The training arena.

He swallowed thickly, a chill running down his spine. The sensation of falling crept up in the back of his mind, of helplessness as shadows reached up to claim him and drag him down into their depths. He shivered. Would Aggron really go back there? Could he go back there?

The bushes behind him began to rustle. No time to make a better decision. He turned on his heel and made his way toward the arena.

-----

Steven's feet felt like lead by the time he dragged himself to the arena's grounds. Here too was mercifully quiet, and left Steven to ponder if he'd managed to avoid the brunt of the investigation that surely would have followed his news from this morning.

It seemed to be the case until he spotted a familiar face. Not Aggron, but someone he trusted. Someone who he could depend on should the trenchcoat trainer from the lake show up, hot on his trail.


"Odette," he said, hoping his relief didn't sound too much like exhaustion, "you have no idea how glad I am to see you."

 

[Sinderella]

"Odette," he said, hoping his relief didn't sound too much like exhaustion, "you have no idea how glad I am to see you."

The sound of approaching footsteps caused her to jolt. She stepped a foot back, taking on a more defensive stance as her hand navigated to the hidden holster around her waist. All of her angst from the Manaphy scenario aside, she wouldn't hesitate to fire again if the culprit had decided to come at her today. It wouldn't feel as bad if the gun was in HER control, and she herself, or her Pokemon, were directly in trouble. Not that they weren't in that instance, but...ugh, there were so many layers to it.

But, the first thing her eyes caught on was that silvery-blue hair, and she very quickly registered who had come upon her.


"Oh."

Gods, for as often as it seemed like the worlds were out to get her, they oftentimes knew when to throw her a bone, too.


With a huff, she returned to her normal stance and crossed her arms over her chest, not bothering to be subtle as she eyed him up and down. Why did he both look and sound like he'd just jogged a mile?

"That's a new one, huh," she responded, deciding to be the one to slowly close the space between them. As she walked over to him, she began to look around the immediate area, as it quickly dawned on her there was no big draconic rock 'mon following close behind him. That felt like it would have been odd even if she wasn't in the middle of mentally scrutinizing him. She couldn't recall a single instance where, even if she were observing from a distance, that she did not see the two together.

Something was definitely up here.

"Does it have something to do with the fact you just saw a rabid Banette? Try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth before you make yourself faint," she said pointedly, gazing up at him from under the top rim of her glasses. She took one last exaggerated look around, before settling her hands into the pocket of her track jacket, allowing most of her weight to go slack against one leg.

"And where the hell is Aggron?"

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"Does it have something to do with the fact you just saw a rabid Banette? Try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth before you make yourself faint," she said pointedly, gazing up at him from under the top rim of her glasses.

"A Banette?!" he said with a startled flinch before taking another breath to realize what she'd meant.


"Ah, yes, sorry. Just... Give me a moment please." He closed his eyes and tried her suggestion. Breathe in, breathe out. One more time. He could feel his racing heart slow. Not enough though, he still felt like he might fly apart at any moment.

He smoothed his hands down the front of his suit jacket, something for them to do. It didn't really help.

"And where the hell is Aggron?"

He sighed. At least he'd fielded this one before. And his answer was actually the truth this time.


"I was kind of hoping you'd seen him, actually. He's not inside the arena is he?"

 

[Sinderella]

"A Banette?!" he said with a startled flinch before taking another breath to realize what she'd meant.

She opened her mouth to say something about his reaction, but decided against it. Maybe he'd just had a bad experience with Banette. They were pretty damn scary, that was for certain. And she could acknowledge that even as a ghost trainer.

He sighed. At least he'd fielded this one before. And his answer was actually the truth this time.

"I was kind of hoping you'd seen him, actually. He's not inside the arena is he?"

Hm. Now that he'd calmed down and smoothed himself out, he seemed to be telling the truth. Had they split up or something?

"I actually just got here, so I couldn't tell you," she replied. "Enora and Odile are scouring around, so maybe one of them can let us know if they smell him."

Pursing her lips, she turned her head to eye the front door of the arena again, trying to figure out how she should approach this. Ask him what the hell he was just running from, or get straight to what was on her mind? Both had to go hand in hand, so maybe the order wouldn't matter.


"Well, while you're catching your breath, I do have a question for you. Because I'm a little perplexed at the moment."

She fixed her gaze back on him. "I was having breakfast this morning with another girl from our group, and I got this text," she began. "Said that apparently..." she began to tap her foot, "...you had a meeting with the two and only Latios and Latias. Saying they 'got attacked' and 'relayed that information to you' I suppose. Did I read that right? I'm sure Hazel got that from your mouth, so I want to double check."

She decided to channel her inner Lambourne genes, and her stare hardened. Set on piercing his mental if it could. If there was one thing that side of her existence was good for, it was the set eyes she was blessed with. Blind as a fucking Zubat, but good for letting people know she always meant business. "However, what's really not sitting right with me is that...I was here all day yesterday. Training. Nothing really struck me as out of the ordinary past my battle with the kid and his Alakazam partner. At least, not until I left and saw you and Aggron walking in."

Holding her arms out to her sides, she gave an overstated shrug. "This might come as a shock to you, but I'm also a region champion. Little place called Alola, you might have heard of it. So I started wondering to myself why Latios and Latias would specifically seek you out so much later in the day, when I'd already been around for several hours." She pursed her lips and for a moment, averted her eyes toward the sky. "Then I realized that, perhaps it wasn't the Latii's who'd fought something off, but rather the rogue trainer I saw entering the arena right before the curfew. And now you're here, looking as if you just sprinted a few miles, and Aggron's nowhere in sight. You don't know where he is. Strange coincidence, no?"

Maroon hues locked back on his grey ones, and she took one heavy step up to him.

"I know you're a solid foot taller, but from one champion to another, I need you to level with me."

She pressed her finger to her cheek. "Am I on to something here, or am I simply babbling?"

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"I actually just got here, so I couldn't tell you," she replied. "Enora and Odile are scouring around, so maybe one of them can let us know if they smell him."

"Ah, yes, well," he began, scratching the side of his cheek, "if they do come across him, I'd appreciate it if they let me know. We kind of decided to each do our own thing this morn--"

She cut off his half-hearted rambling.

"Well, while you're catching your breath, I do have a question for you. Because I'm a little perplexed at the moment."

She fixed her gaze back on him. "I was having breakfast this morning with another girl from our group, and I got this text," she began. "Said that apparently..." she began to tap her foot, "...you had a meeting with the two and only Latios and Latias. Saying they 'got attacked' and 'relayed that information to you' I suppose. Did I read that right? I'm sure Hazel got that from your mouth, so I want to double check."

"Yes, that," he said, a tinge of nervousness creeping into his voice. "I don't know if I'd call it a meeting, per se... But the Latis did appear before me last night. I reported what I knew to Hazel this morning. Our group, we had to know."

"However, what's really not sitting right with me is that...I was here all day yesterday. Training. Nothing really struck me as out of the ordinary past my battle with the kid and his Alakazam partner. At least, not until I left and saw you and Aggron walking in."

"Ah, so you saw us then," he said, bringing a hand to his chin and letting his gaze drift off to one side. "I had been hoping to do a little private training that night in light of everything that happened. You can understand."

He paused, nodding to himself. Yes, that's what had happened. Odette's presence was doing wonders for his overtired brain.

Holding her arms out to her sides, she gave an overstated shrug. "This might come as a shock to you, but I'm also a region champion. Little place called Alola, you might have heard of it. So I started wondering to myself why Latios and Latias would specifically seek you out so much later in the day, when I'd already been around for several hours." She pursed her lips and for a moment, averted her eyes toward the sky. "Then I realized that, perhaps it wasn't the Latii's who'd fought something off, but rather the rogue trainer I saw entering the arena right before the curfew. And now you're here, looking as if you just sprinted a few miles, and Aggron's nowhere in sight. Strange coincidence, no?"

Maroon hues locked back on his grey ones, and she took one heavy step up to him.

"I know you're a solid foot taller, but from one champion to another, I need you to level with me."

She pressed her finger to her cheek. "Am I on to something here, or am I simply babbling?"

But then she closed the distance between them, and instantly Steven was on edge again.


"No, no, uh. We're level," he stammered, unsure of what to make of all this. "The Latis, they're... They're Hoenn Legendaries. I imagine they knew me on some level. It was a close call."

Latias's voice echoed in his memory. She'd called to him by name. Scared, she was scared.

"As you said, I am the League Champion there."

One who can't even protect the people he cares about. One who can't even protect himself.

"Which, congratulations, by the way. That's quite an accomplishment."

He'd lost in one blow. A Champion. Felled by one attack.

"Aggron is fine, by the way. He's..."

So angry with me he won't even look at me.

"...resting last I saw him. I just worry, you know. With everything that's happened."

He drew in a shaky breath and looked down at Odette. A fellow Champion. He should warn her. Even a Champion's might was nothing in the face of this attacker.

Not a Champion's. His. He was nothing.

He withered under her stare. He couldn't bring himself do it.

"A...a fine coincidence. It's fortunate we decided to stay so late," he mumbled. "Otherwise this attack may have gone unnoticed."

 

[Sinderella]

He drew in a shaky breath and looked down at Odette. A fellow Champion. He should warn her. Even a Champion's might was nothing in the face of this attacker.

Not a Champion's. His. He was nothing.

He withered under her stare. He couldn't bring himself do it.

"A...a fine coincidence. It's fortunate we decided to stay so late," he mumbled. "Otherwise this attack may have gone unnoticed."

Odette studied him, her eyes unwavering. Looking for a crack, a leak, something that would answer any of her questions before he had the chance to do so himself.

She wasn't expecting so many to appear at once. The stammer in his voice, his shaky inhales the way he now struggled to keep eye contact. When he did manage to look at her, she realized the pain in his eyes was something familiar. Extremely familiar.

Slowly buy very surely, her leer softened up into a sympathetic glare. One that wanted to be mad, but couldn't because she felt like she understood what was happening here.


"Merde, je ne peux pas faire cette merde réconfortante," she grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Sighing, she reached out and grabbed a firm hold of his wrist and began to pull him along as she walked toward the side of the building.

"Come with me. You need to sit down."

***
​

Odette found a couple of benches against the outside wall, among a neatly landscaped garden area that matched well with the building's overall landscape. Seemed private enough. Whatever he'd been running from hopefully wasn't a flower person.

As they neared it, she let him go and gestured. "Have at it, champ," she said. The edge in her tone insisted it wasn't an offer, but a demand. She let him sit before lowering herself into the spot next to him. She shrugged her backpack off her shoulders, unzipped it, and after some digging, she withdrew a full and unopened water bottle, which she handed to him.

"Here. You're probably dehydrated as shit going for a jog in a suit like that."

After that, they sat in silence for a while. All that filled the space between them was the distant buzz of the island bug types, and perhaps the occasional cry of a distant wild 'mon out for the hunt. The breeze swirled around, rustling Odette's bangs and forcing her to smooth them out every now and then.

After she'd worked up enough of a sweat, she finally sighed loudly. "Can I tell you a story?" she queried. "Not any 'once upon a time' shit, we don't have time for that. This is a true story. Because maybe I jumped a gun asking you to level with me first."


As Odette was talking, Odile came sauntering up, now holding a filthy looking rubber chicken. "̴H̷e̸y̶ ̷O̶d̷e̸t̶t̷e̵,̷ ̷I̷ ̵d̵i̶d̶n̶'̷t̸ ̴f̴i̵n̷d̷ ̵a̵n̴y̸ ̸g̸h̷o̴s̶t̷y̶ ̴r̶e̴s̵i̸d̸u̷e̷,̷ ̵b̵u̸t̷ ̴I̸ ̶f̵o̶u̵n̷d̵ ̷t̵h̷i̴s̶ ̶r̸u̸b̶b̶e̷r̷ ̸c̴h̵i̷c̴k̴e̶n̵ ̵a̸n̶d̵-̴-̵"̵


Odette whipped around to shoot a stern look at the demon 'mon. "Odile. Not now."


She squeezed the chicken again, letting the squeaking noise ring out without bothering to stop it. "̸W̷h̴y̵ ̸n̴o̴t̵?̵ ̸T̸h̶i̵s̶ ̴s̶e̷e̷m̴s̴ ̸l̷i̶k̵e̸ ̶t̴h̴e̷ ̵p̴e̸r̴f̴e̵c̴t̸ ̶t̶i̵m̴e̴ ̸t̷o̶ ̴s̷h̴o̸w̸ ̵t̷h̴i̷s̶-̷-̷"̷


"I am going to beam a fucking rock at you, go find Enora."


Odile stared at Odette for a while.

However, soon her eyes cut to Steven.

Then back to Odette.

Eventually, her eyes lit up in understanding. "̸O̴O̸O̶O̵O̸H̵H̸H̷H̷H̸ ̶I̵ ̴g̷e̸t̷ ̸i̵t̵,̸ ̴h̸e̶'̸s̷ ̷d̴e̷f̸i̷n̷i̴t̴e̵l̸y̴ ̸C̷l̴o̷v̶i̴s̷ ̸2̴.̶0̷,̶ ̶i̵s̸n̷'̴t̵ ̷h̴e̸?̶"̶


Without a moment's hesitation, Odette reached down into the dirt, picked up the first rock her fingers grazed, and lobbed it right at Odile's head.

Odile caught the rock effortlessly, her expression unchanging. "̶F̵i̵n̶e̵,̷ ̵m̸a̶k̶e̸ ̴o̵u̸t̴ ̸w̵i̶t̵h̴ ̵y̵o̸u̵r̸ ̴b̴a̶c̶k̵u̷p̵,̴ ̸s̷e̸e̷ ̸i̷f̴ ̷I̴ ̵g̷i̴v̵e̴ ̷a̵ ̵f̴u̶c̵k̸.̸ ̸I̶'̷m̶ ̸g̶o̶n̶n̶a̴ ̴g̷o̷ ̶h̴i̷t̸ ̶s̷o̶m̷e̷b̸o̵d̶y̸ ̴w̶i̴t̸h̵ ̷t̸h̶i̵s̶.̵"̴

She tossed the rock into her mouth and bit down on it. The crunch it made was audible, even with her mouth closed. She turned heel and sprinted off, squeezing the rubber chicken once more as a parting word.



"Dieux, cette putain de douleur dans mon cul absolu, j'ai besoin d'une putain de batte en métal ou quelque chose, putain de putain de merde ..."

She quickly sat back down and pushed her fingers through her bangs, allowing herself to calm down some more before she attempted to steer this conversation back on track. When she was sure she didn't feel as hot anymore, she folded her hands in her lap. "Anyway. As I was saying. Quick storytime."


She focused on a hibscus flower growing on the bush just in front of them. "About three years ago...I think I'd just turned twenty-two...Kalos was dealing with a drug epidemic. Lots of people, the wealthy and their Pokemon, namely the shinies, were overdosing and dying on it. Cops couldn't find anything about it because the group distributing it was slippery. Just some backstory."

Another sigh. "My grandpa was the chief of the Lumiose City police force. He was tired from all the drug shit happening. A lot of the 'mon dying were shiny 'mon, and having a shiny partner myself, it hit close to home. Even more so because Kalos fostered this institution that allowed the rich to buy and sell shinies like stocks, so with that happening in tandem...I was aggravated about it. My best friend was something of an internet sleuth at the time, so with his finesse, we got involved in finding out what the fuck was going on with it. My team was 50/50 on it, but they all eventually got on board. With my coaxing, of course."

She clenched her fingers around some of the fabric on her pants before she even realized what she was doing. "Without going into the gross details, I..." The words hung for a second. She had to build up the courage to say it. "I pretended to date my stalker for about three months. Because we were sure he had something to do with the drug and he was blatantly apart of that trade, so I made myself deal with the act of dating him to get some answers. I didn't know he was stalking me at the time, of course. By the time I did, the shit had already hit the fan."

Her eyes remained on that hibiscus, but her mind had wandered elsewhere. It took a few seconds for her to speak again.

"I got hurt. Third degree Houndoom bite to my prominent arm. My team got also hurt. And I was...a fucking mess."

Rolling her eyes, she began to shake her head ever so slightly. "I went through the motions of grief, of-of...wallowing in my self pity. How could I be so stupid? Why wasn't I strong enough to handle what was thrown at me? I was only trying to look out for the ones I cared about, so why wasn't I able to protect them in the end? All of it. I'm still fighting with it every now and then. I know better now, but it's...it's heavy shit."

That was when she finally looked at him. "No matter how tough you think you are, there's always going to be a chance you face something that is just...way fucking more than you can chew. And it'll take your ass out. Champ or not." She allowed the words to run laps around Steven for a few seconds, before eyeing one of the overhead palm trees.

"I still fight with it, but I've come to terms with what happened. My team came to terms with it. I guess I found solace in the fact that there was a chance that everything that had happened would have happened even if I didn't stick my nose where it didn't belong, but...we're so much closer than we were to begin with because of it. I'm stronger because of it. I grew from it, weirdly enough. Even if it did traumatize me."

She held out her left hand and began to flex it, cringing at the way she had to somewhat push herself to touch her fingertips to her palm.

"I'm going to struggle to grasp things with my left hand for the rest of my life, but best believe I have something to show for it. I never took any shit before, but now?" She scoffed and rolled her eyes, sending Steven a half smile. "No shot. I put a man twice my size on his ass for catcalling me. I'm fucking unstoppable now."

She paused. "PTSD aside. That's why therapy exists. It's a good thing, you know. Nothing wrong with admitting you need it, and it will never make you any less of a hard ass. If you want to be. You don't strike me as the hard ass type, but you get what I mean." She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself of that.

Now she was rambling, and she held up her hands as if to silence herself.

"So what I'm really trying to say is...if something happened to you last night. Or Aggron. And you're beating yourself up because you got hurt or because Aggron got hurt, because you-you...you think that as a Champion you need to be stronger...I'm just telling you that you need to take a good, long moment to consider the fact that we are in some deep shit right now. And that there is absolutely," she made an 'O' with her fingers, "zero chance of you fighting this thing alone. It speaks wonders of your character for attempting to your own. You bet your ass I'd have attempted the same thing because while I'm stronger now, there's no hiding the fact I'm a risky reckless bitch and have learned nothing and will still run head first into a fire to protect my friends," she said, leaning back against the backrest and crossing her arms.

"But don't sit here and wallow in pity because you think you're weak. You're not. Aggron's not. This thing is just bigger than all of us. You'll find your strength in helping the group collectively take it down."

The breeze blew around them again. This time, it felt much less...tense.

"I know it's easier said than done, but...don't be so hard on yourself, Steven. Your heart was in the right place. If there’s somebody who knows that for certain, it’s me.”

 

[HelloYellow17]

“Spiiii??”

Neo sprinted through the front doors of the training arena, looking for his distressed friend. Why had he run away so suddenly? He knew sometimes people saw Wes as scary, but he wasn’t that scary. Something was wrong, and if it was something important, they needed to know, and maybe Neo could help, if the Fancy Guy would only let them…

He was so focused on following the trail that he didn’t even pause to admire the training arena. They could worry about that later. Fortunately, Fancy Guy’s emotions were strong enough that finding him was very easy. Neo spotted him sitting along an outside wall, next to that Short Girl they’d met the first day—oh, was Enora here, too? Novo would like that.

Neo bounded right up to Fancy Guy with a delighted yap, then rubbed against his legs and purred loudly. There! Found him! Now he could fix him!

“Brrrr?” Neo raised his head at the sound of his brother’s trill. Novo bounded over, panting from exertion and the afternoon heat, then lightly touched noses with Neo before addressing both of the trainers with a chirp. Neo noticed his very deliberate attempts at friendly body language and flicked his tail in amusement, but was quickly distracted by something else…where was Wes?

---

Wes made it to the arena’s front doors before slumping against the wall, breathing hard. His side still burned with each gasp, and this godsforsaken humid heat wasn’t helping things. High temperatures were no stranger to him, but this damn humidity…in his current state, the air felt almost too thick to breathe in at all.

After a moment, he pushed himself upright and staggered inside, trying to ignore how dizzy he was. Running through a tropical forest was probably not on the list of things a recovering poisoning victim ought to be doing, but he hadn’t been about to just walk, not with Neo and Novo running ahead on their own. At this point he didn’t care about the dandy, he just wanted to catch up to his Pokémon. His stupid, stubborn, too friendly for their own damn good Pokémon.

He let out a shaky breath of relief once he saw them along an outer wall. He dimly registered that there were two trainers with them, but he hardly cared. Wes almost made it all the way to the bench when his knees gave out and he fell to the ground right beside Novo, who immediately began sniffing him all over and chattering with worry.

“Hey…you ran…way too fast…” He fell forward on his hands and fought the sudden urge to throw up. Or pass out. Neither one was on his to-do list today, that was for damn sure.

 

[Sinderella]

“Brrrr?” Neo raised his head at the sound of his brother’s trill. Novo bounded over, panting from exertion and the afternoon heat, then lightly touched noses with Neo before addressing both of the trainers with a chirp. Neo noticed his very deliberate attempts at friendly body language and flicked his tail in amusement, but was quickly distracted by something else…where was Wes?

Odette's ears perked at the sound of the chirping, and it wasn't long before an Espeon came bounding into view. She briefly thought it was Olivia, but no. This one looked a little different. However, he was followed by an Umbreon, and for a small moment, her fight senses shot through her head.

However, she recognized the demeanors of these two. Much more friendly. The Espeon appeared very interested in Steven. So it must have been Neo and Novo.

But then where was...?

He let out a shaky breath of relief once he saw them along an outer wall. He dimly registered that there were two trainers with them, but he hardly cared. Wes almost made it all the way to the bench when his knees gave out and he fell to the ground right beside Novo, who immediately became sniffing him all over and chattering with worry.

“Hey…you ran…way too fast…” He fell forward on his hands and fought the sudden urge to throw up. Or pass out. Neither one was on his to-do list today, that was for damn sure.

No sooner had the thought occurred to her, the less problematic Wes collapsed in front of him. The suddenness of his arrival jolted her, but she calmed down as she registered what she was looking at. If Steven had sprinted a mile, this guy had sprinted ten. He was absolutely drenched, and looked like he was going to throw up.


She eyed Steven quizzically. "Is this who you were running from?"

Nonetheless, her hand dipped back into her bag, where she found her personal pink-colored water bottle. Only a couple sips had been taken out of it since the day started, so there was plenty left. Steven got her spare, so this guy would have to settle for her germs if he was desperate enough for a drink. He definitely looked like he was.

"Hey," she called, screwing the top off of it, "Usain Boltund." She leaned down and sat the bottle next to Wes's head. "Drink slowly. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. You're gonna hyperventilate like that."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Sighing, she reached out and grabbed a firm hold of his wrist and began to pull him along as she walked toward the side of the building.

"Come with me. You need to sit down."

Odette saw right through him, he knew that the second he opened his mouth. Steven braced for the inevitable scolding like Violet had given him, or maybe the crushing disappointment he'd seen in Hazel's eyes. But what he wasn't expecting was to be suddenly grabbed and whisked away to a nearby bench and handed a bottle of water. (He'd almost tried to protest, almost, but Odette's grip told him he shouldn't bother.)

He sat in silence, listening as Odette bared her soul to him for the second time since they'd met. Everything that she'd been through, that she'd faced and overcome, it was ten times anything he'd ever encountered. His grip on the now-empty water bottle tightened around it until the plastic snapped and crumpled.

He was being childish. Throwing a tantrum over something so insignificant. Digging a hole of lies over what? Over something so--

"I went through the motions of grief, of-of...wallowing in my self pity. How could I be so stupid? Why wasn't I strong enough to handle what was thrown at me? I was only trying to look out for the ones I cared about, so why wasn't I able to protect them in the end? All of it. I'm still fighting with it every now and then. I know better now, but it's...it's heavy shit."

He drew in a sharp breath, his gaze snapping to find hers. The water bottle stood no chance as the tightness in his throat intensified.

"So what I'm really trying to say is...if something happened to you last night. Or Aggron. And you're beating yourself up because you got hurt or because Aggron got hurt, because you-you...you think that as a Champion you need to be stronger...I'm just telling you that you need to take a good, long moment to consider the fact that we are in some deep shit right now. And that there is absolutely," she made an 'O' with her fingers, "zero chance of you fighting this thing alone.

Suddenly the ground was the most interesting thing to look at. He focused on the indent left behind from the rock Odette had thrown at Odile. Something about it felt very... fitting. A hollow left from where a heavy object once rested.


"I never thought I would be fighting it alone," he said finally, half-whisper, half-croak. "I didn't want to fight at all. But... I thought... If it came to it... It was better if it were me, instead of someone else."

He stared hard at the water bottle, squeezed tight in his hands. He relaxed his grip, letting the plastic crinkle back to some semblance of its former shape.

"I made a mistake. A mistake that didn't just cost me. What if the Latis hadn't found me in time? Found us? I knew exactly the kind of danger we were up against, and I still chose to go there last night."

He shook his head. The look on Hazel's face when he told her... On Aggron's that night when he stalked out the door. It wasn't about strength. It was about trust, and he'd betrayed theirs. What kind of an apology could mend that? "Thank you, Odette, you're very kind, but I'm not sure--"

“Spiiii??”

Neo bounded right up to Fancy Guy with a delighted yap, then rubbed against his legs and purred loudly. There! Found him! Now he could fix him!

The space where he'd been staring was suddenly full of pink fur and eyes that looked like they could hold a galaxy. Steven started in surprise. The Espeon, and--

Wes almost made it all the way to the bench when his knees gave out and he fell to the ground right beside Novo, who immediately became sniffing him all over and chattering with worry.

“Hey…you ran…way too fast…” He fell forward on his hands and fought the sudden urge to throw up. Or pass out. Neither one was on his to-do list today, that was for damn sure.

Well, the trenchcoat-wearing trainer certainly didn't look like he was going to be able to go after anyone in that state. That, and Odette didn't seem bothered by him in the least. She even had another water bottle for the poor guy.

She eyed Steven quizzically. "Is this who you were running from?"

"Well now I feel a bit foolish," said Steven, his gaze drifting back and forth between the eons, their trainer, and Odette. Aggron still wasn't here, but if Odette wasn't worried, then perhaps he didn't need to either. "Do you, uh, know him by chance?" he asked, nervously.