[X] My Assistant

[Umbrae Calamitas]

To: Chi-Chi, Fenrir, Grondir; Anyone in the general area
Location: Near the door; By the refreshment table

The strange girl's cries of "Daz! Daz! Daz!" took the majority of attention off of anything else in the vicinity for a few moments, but after an amusing few seconds of watching the girl's momentum spin her and Darryn around in circles, they alighted their eyes elsewhere.

Zorro, for his part, became quite concentrated on the pachirisu now situated in a sulking pout in the middle of the floor.

He thought that he had smelled something burning - a similar electrical scent clung to Tempest, the irate pikachu who made it her business to make Zorro's life difficult. He thought about this for a moment, and then shrugged it off with a flamboyant grin. Girls would be girls, and rats would be rats.

Snickering, Zorro dug through his bag, searching through the myriad of costumes that he had picked up during his adventure with Tuesday, a few of which he hadn't tried on yet. Grinning as he caught sight of what he wanted, he made a quick dash over to the pouting squirrel pokemon and, before she could even glance his way, he had slapped half a ballerina costume onto her, consisting of a pair of pink, glittering butterfly wings and a dreadfully pink skirt of a similar material.

He grinned when the pachirisu, startled, turned to look at him, and he held out the end of long pink wand, tipped with a golden star. "I think it suit you more than me, no?" he asked, grinning. He snickered, closing his eyes at the force of his mirth, before holding out a paw in greeting. "Me llamo Zorro. Y tu?"

~*~

"Small world," Tuesday noted softly to herself, as she watched the girl bound over to Darryn like an overeager puppy. She hadn't yet had the chance to reply to the girl's latest comment about working for a museum, though Tuesday had been about to say that she thought that was completely brilliant. It was also somewhat similar to what she did for Professor Oak, though she used a sketchbook rather than a camera.

Tuesday's eyes caught sight of Grondir and Cosette, both of whom were standing near and apparently speaking to (at least on Grondir's part) another bulbasaur. Also near them, sitting on a couch, was a growlithe with some silver hairs mixed in with his red, cream, and black coat.

Smiling, Tuesday glanced at Shadow, seeing him with a small smirk on his face and still the observant gaze, before she made her way over to the couch. Tempest had opted to leap to the floor to speak with Grondir and his new friend, while Tuesday knelt next to the couch and brought herself down to eye-level with the older growlithe, though she was careful not to lock eyes with him. That, of course, would have been a foolish move.

"Hey," she greeted softly, holding out her hand, palm up, to the growlithe. It sniffed at her experimentally and, when he didn't growl or make any other warning signals, Tuesday deduced that she was allowed to pet him. She ran her fingers along the smooth fur of his head, her hand slipping behind his right ear. She scratched his ear and grinned when his tongue lolled out of his mouth and he began to kick the cushion with his rear leg, grinning all the while. Tuesday giggled softly and decided that she really liked this dog.

~*~

Tempest had never been particularly fond of growlithe - big dogs with both fire-breath and a mouthful of teeth. Asides from that, they smelled like charcoal and burnt hair. Shaking herself, she'd leapt from Tuesday's shoulder to land near Grondir and, giving a small apology to Cosette for scaring the life out of her, moved over to sit near the two bulbasaur.

"Hello," she said, by way of inserting herself into the conversation. "I hope you don't mind, but my partner seems to feel it's necessary to pet every single thing on the planet with teeth."

~*~

Dante meandered through the crowd, careful to keep his tail away from the backsides of anyone he happened to be walking behind. That would no doubt come to a rather embarrassing end. He groaned at the thought. He was spending too much time around Zorro.

He had seen a lot of pokemon over here munching on marshmallows and, having no one readily to converse with, he opted to get some for himself. Standing before a table, he eyed a bowl close to the edge and reached in, snagging a marshmallow between two claws. Grinning, he stole an invention from Jaima's quilava, Ember, and held the marshmallow over his tail flame, watching as it slowly browned.

He licked his lips and, when it was to his perfection, plopped the treat into his mouth and let the outside melt off for a creamy center in his mouth. Grinning, he reaching for another marshmallow.

[Dragava]

To: Her pokemon
Location: Some distance away from the refreshments, alone

Charmander was feeling a little happier now, the treats must have helped. The problem was the presence of the other trainers in front of her. Lizzie always watched her actions when she was around people she did not know well, and refrained from comforting Charmander.

Riolu was starting to get used to her trainer's different behavior when around strangers. Riolu did not like this behavior and gave Lizzie one of its disapproving looks before comforting Charmander in its trainer's place. It seemed like Riolu could sympathize with Charmander's sadness. Lizzie, who was watching, wondered how much life experience Riolu had to be able to understand Charmander enough to send a few comforting words its way. Or at least, Lizzie hoped they were comforting words.

Charmander still seemed unhappy, so Riolu tugged at Lizzie's pants and pointed at a random trainer in the chatting group. One that it thought had experience in matters like this.

"Hmm," Lizzie replied, getting an angry grunt from Riolu. It would take some time for Lizzie to open up.

[Douken Sota]

To: Dante, Doc (can't follow the chara names ><)
Location: Snacks table, Sofa

Croagunk watched as a Charmeleon used a Quilava's flame to roast marshmallows and decided to walk up to him. "Hey man, you know if they got any sour food?" he asked him, his cheeks puffing up before continuing. "I mean, sure they got all of the sweets around, like the candy and the marshmallows, but couldn't they have outher things... some more sour?"

---

Douken watched as someone apparently named Zeke entered, being introduced by a butler... This honestly made him start laughing. He sighed, looking at the two and said to himself, "Are you serious? Someone seriously needs to carry around a butler with them everywhere they go? Man, that's weak..."

Seel, however, was happy to see the two and hopped on over to the two and gave a friendly wave.

[LittleShadowPoke...]

To: Vincent, and whoever else wishes it
Location: In a Drifblim balloon --> Cliffside --> Mansion Foyer --> Common room with everyone else

The Drifblim balloon was a great idea; on paper. In reality, Joey was ill-equipped in his long-sleeve gray t-shirt topped by his black scrubs. He was huddling in a corner of the basket with Jet, his hyper-ish Seel in his lap, keeping his trainer's ungloved hands warm. Snow intermingled with Joey's hair, which he shook off occasionally.

"We should have taken the Dragonite Express." Joey cringed. Sure, that would have been a great experience, but Joey thought of the paltry amount left in his bag, and sulked. He never minded feeling poor when everyone else around him in Pyrite Town were destitute dumpster divers. But now, among people so rich, Vincent included, it reflected on his personal worth. I think I have an egoist growing inside me...Joey thought.

Vincent said something about a helicopter that brought his attention back, and he could feel the balloon start to descend.

"Well, better late than never," Joey commented.

Joey held up his Seel to peer over the edge of the basket, and released his other pokemon to see it, feeling that this experience was important for them. Claw, his Pidgey, stayed tucked close to his trainer, but marveled at the sight of the expansive mountain and mansion set atop it. Had it been a different, warmer environment, it would have made a perfect flying experience. After Claw signaled he had his fair share of an eyeful by tucking his head in, he was recalled to his pokeball.

The black-clad youth's third and final pokemon appeared to be unaffected by the cold and wind, probably thanks to her rubbery skin. Kimiko, the Igglybuff, twittered happily at seeing everything. She sat astride Jet's head, holding onto his horn and chattering. Joey continued to hold the clapping Seel, and walked back and forth, trying to shake the ice out of his muscles. They were closing in on their destination.

The castle certainly was impressive. It had the Victorian feel to it, but it must have been restored, or so Joey reasoned. He went through a list of architecture companies that could have worked on the building. He worked on memorizing the outside layout of the building in point-of-view orientation and North-compass orientation, down to the last brick and turret. When the Gold Ticket had arrived from Delibird, a brochure of the castle was included. Having read or scanned most of the information, Joey couldn't come to a sound conclusion on why such a successful man would want such two ordinary kids. Well, ordinary was the average between the prestigious rich kid Vincent appeared to be, and the raggedy dilapidation of Pyrite-born Joey. It was a good balance, but still....Joey eschewed his normal analytical mind and followed the unmistakable, and unexplainable draw towards Castle Vonmoto, effectively dragging Vincent along with him.

The balloon finally touched down roughly onto the frozen cliff side of the mountain and slid a few feet in one direction. What was meant to be a movement of grace and poise actually turned out to be Joey flopping over the side of the basket and flailing in the snow to get a good foothold. He quickly gained some composure with a slightly reddened complexion, hoping Vincent didn't happen to see that. A painfully stifled giggle told him otherwise. Shrugging it off, Joey grabbed on the side of the basket and held it firm and helped his pokemon out. The Seel and Igglybuff went crashing through the snow, with their concerned trainer yelling for them to stay away from the cliff edge. Turning back to the basket, Joey helped Vincent out, then thanked the obliging Drifblim who floated away.

Making sure they had everything, the two trainers surveyed their surroundings. Unfortunately, the Drifblim had touched down about 50 yards away from the building, and downhill. The cold cutting through Joey, he signaled to Vincent to follow. He tucked his nose and mouth into the neck of his shirt and jogged up the rocky and icy mountain, heading towards the mansion. Vincent followed behind, and Jet was carrying Kimiko on his back while he struggled up the mountain side. It was slow and painful moving, and while Joey may have started in the lead, Vincent easily caught up to him and began to surpass him. They finally reached the mansion door and knocked, after a journey of few slips and close-calls.

Even though he was feeling slightly delirious from the physical activity and sheering cold, Joey admired the ornately carved doors of the mansion. Those same doors were opened without hesitation to reveal a well-dressed young butler, exuding all the refinements expected of the very wealthy and high in status. Joey let Vincent walk in first and he called Jet and Kimiko to follow, who were lagging behind and reluctant to leave the snowy wonderland.

After having dried off in the foyer, and warmed up slightly, Joey felt so grateful at the warmth. It felt as if everything was melting off him, physically and emotionally. Vincent was drying and fussing over his hair and dress, while Joey hugged a towel around him. Having recovered from the cold for the most part, Joey picked up Kimiko and held her in his arms while Jet happily followed behind. The butler took the towels and lead them down a luxurious spiral staircase. Vincent followed, annoyed at the dim light so he couldn't fix his hair properly.

The staircase entered into a refulgent room, redolent of all the finer things in life. Joey could get used to this. Upon entering the room, he passed by a Lucario and Riolu exchanging one costume for another. This immediately brightened Joey's day. He knew these pokemon from books in the daycare at Agate Village, where he had once worked, so they weren't completely foreign to him.

Many other pokemon filled the enormous room and added a liveliness. Some treats were scattered about the carpet, and looking for the culprit, he saw a Pachirisu skittering away from the bowl, and an upset Pichu on the refreshment table not too far away. Joey bent down and picked up a few treats, feeding one to Kimiko, who cooed happily. He let Claw out, who wasn't too fond of crowds. He perched himself on a hat rack and ate a treat offered to him by his trainer, and flew off to perch himself on the fireplace mantle to warm himself delightedly, watching two Ivysaur interact below. Jet had found his own treat, a female Seel which he left hurriedly to wave at and play with. Lastly, Joey held out a treat to Vincent, and looked around the room to take in the rest of the potential companions, not that he would believe in such social folly. It was all a facade he put on, quite effectively, he thought. What also caught his eye was Vulpix sitting next to two hugging people, a boy and girl. The boy looked familiar; perhaps he'd seen him on the motel magazine. Surely, it would be a mistake to be mixing the extreme ends of the social spectrum in one room.

Joey turned his attention back on Vincent, who had yet to take the treat offered to him. "What do you think of all this?" he asked him quietly.

[Master Houndoom]

To: quite a few beings, which won't all be evident until the post is finished being written, at which point I may update this, or may leave as is for the sake of a laugh:
Where: I can honestly say none of my characters have left the living room.

Jaima blinked. The boy he'd been talking to had wandered off while his back was turned. He shrugged, once again finding Darryn, Meiko, and Tuesday before moving on. Ember had been by his feet the entire night, which was fine. Grondir was at a couch near another ivysaur and Cosette, Fang was, somehow, sleeping near the fire, despite the noise and undisturbed, Shadow was at the door, standing sentry along with Ramhorn, Mercury and Zorro. A short haired girl had joined them, and Tuesday had struck up a conversation; something about which he was immensely proud. Tsunami was standing at the window, fascinated by the snow, something she shared with Chompwater, who was near her, and another trainer, who was not as close.

Jaima headed toward the door just as he was glomped fro the side. The giggle he heard was so familiar that he didn't even have the time to be startled.

"Thank you, Jai-chan," she breathed. "I rerally missed Chompwater."

Jaima smiled at her and put an arm around her shoulder, walking with her now to where the largest clump of his friends, people and pokemon, were gathered.

He had almost gotten there when the dark haired girl had detached herself from the group and launched heraelf into a spinning hug at Darryn. Jaima and Meiko both blinked as they joined Tuesday, Shadow, Ramhorn, Mercury, Zorro, and a small pachirisu who was soon to be dressed as a ballerina.

"Somehow, I get the feeling That girl knows Darryn," Meiko quipped dryly.

"Could be a fan," Jaima said, grinning. Meiko sputtered a laugh, then looked up at Jaima.

"Where are your fans, then, Badgeholder?"

Before Jaima could answer that his fans were at the door or being hugged by his own fan, a young boy and his butler came through the door, making his announcements pompously on the boys' behalf, and humbly on his own. Jaima blinked at Meiko.

"Johto has a Lord?"

Meiko's eyes were narrowed. "Not that I know of... They might be from those guys who've been attacking us," she growled, low enough not to be overheard.

No, sent Shadow calmly. He is not being truthful, but there is no malice in him.

Agreed, Mercury agreed. Meiko relaxed, but Jaima decided to keep an eye on them just the same.

* * * * *

<<M-my trainer?>> Cosette looked around, spotting her trainer. <<She's... Nice. All of them are, but she's the one I really thought was nice at first... At least, she hasn't tried to eat me...>>

At Turnip's confused look, Grondir explained. <<Cosette was abducted by three steelix, who wanted to eat her.>>

<<And mother always warned me I could get eaten! Anything might eat me!>>

<<As you can see, she has a concern about it,>> Grondir finished, amused. <<She is, however, becoming more trusting, and her trainer has had a lot to do with it.>>

Just then, a smallish yellow blur landed next to Cosette, causing her to squeak loudly and stumble against Grondir.

<<Sorry, sorry,>> Tempest murmured to Cosette, then turned to the Ivysaur. <<Hello. I hope you don't mind, but my partner seems to feel it's necessary to pet every single thing on the planet with teeth.>> Her eyes rolled.

<<The more the merrier. We were just discussing the similarities. Evidently, Turnip here's trainer must stick her head into any burrow that might have something interesting inside, despite the claws and fangs protecting it, and I was about to point out Jaima's having two of his companions taken from him, getting into a huge fight with a horde of ghost types, the big fight after Darryn's contests, the two skirmishes in the forest, not to mention his 'gym' battles.>> Grondir sighed. <<And most of that, he wasn't even looking for.>>

[Ganymede]

To: Daniel, Dante, and whomever else is now near the refreshment table
Location: Scooting around in that armchair, trying to find a nice, comfy spot


Pora looked at the offered marshmallow, then to the Nincada holding it. At least some Pokemon here have manners, she thought wryly; glancing back at her purple companion, she watched as he tried to jump onto the table, only to nearly tip it - and the Pokemon seated on it - over. "Azzy!" she barked, a little embarrassed. "You're not a Nidoran anymore, remember?" With an exaggerated sigh, she turned back to the Nincada and accepted the marshmallow, taking an experimental nibble. "Thank you. My name is Pora, and that idiot on the floor is Azzy. What is your name?"


Meanwhile, Waker began to smile as he listened to Daniel. Having someone talking to him - well, at him, really - calmed him down a little. Not feeling quite as nervous, he listened to Daniel's few questions and began to carefully write his answers down with the borrowed pen, stopping every once in a while to make sure the Nidos weren't causing much trouble. Sure, they had matured a little with their evolution, but Azzy was still a little hot-tempered, and Pora...well, she could probably cause a war with her little remarks. He winced as he remembered her fight with Locke - she may have been small and held no advantage, but she could sure pack a punch. He made a mental note to try and get the Nidos and Locke together again for a remedial 'what not to do' class before one of them ended up with a poison barb through the nose.

Azzy is the Nidorino and Pora is the Nidorina.
Locke is an Ekans but he has an illness so he cant come out right now
and Everest is a Vulpix but he's hurt too

Waker felt a little bad about lying to Daniel, especially so soon after they had met. But he knew that if even one person outside of his old traveling group knew the truth about Locke's condition, both he and the Ekans could get into deep trouble here in Furoh. He shuddered as he remembered that agent with the Magnemite in the Contest Hall at Barely - yes, it would be much better to have everyone think that Locke was simply sick and not a Shadow Pokemon. It had been enough of a risk to have him out at the Trainer School, after all. But here, at this party...


...Wait.


With only the briefest of pauses, Waker quickly added a sentence to his current entry.

do you know why this Vonmoto guy invited all of us here? is it just a big party?

Back at the refreshment table, Azzy glared at the plate of delicious-looking Lava Cookies just out of his reach. Sticking his tongue out at Pora while her back was turned, he tried leaping onto the table again, this time snagging a cookie before Pora could claw his face off. Triumphant, he padded away, his prize in his mouth, not looking where he was going until he nearly ran into a rather hot fire. Dropping his cookie (and his gloating) at the same time, he quickly backed up a little to give the flame some room.


"Hey, sorry about that! You alright?"

[Amissa]

To: Waker, Malcolm's Pichu
Location: Seats around the refreshments table

"Geb." the Nincada stated simply. As Pora's companion, Azzy, tipped the table, Geb skittered a little towards his end, colliding momentarily with a Pichu that was partaking of the candy dish. He was better off than most, however, thanks to being a bug. He had a grip on most surfaces that was hard to budge. Once the table was stable again, Geb continued to nonchalantly nibble on his marshmallow as though nothing had happened. "Sorry," he said to the Pichu. "Bad shake."

Daniel read Waker's note and his brow creased with concern. "That's really too bad about your other two. And I don't think there's any Pokemon Center nearby. I mean, I'm sure they'll be fine inside their pokeballs but it's a shame that they don't get to come out during the party. Aw well, if you're into contesting, I'm sure you'll get to go to plenty more parties. You could be really famous doing that. Like this guy here." Daniel picked up one of the pokemon magazines from the table. It was on top, somewhat aside from the rest as if someone had already picked it out before him. Daniel held it up to Waker, drawing attention to the cover photo of a co-ordinater with perfectly combed brown hair and flawless fashion sense. "I bet he gets invited to parties all the time."

"As for why we're here, I just figured it was to have fun. Now, I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself," Daniel said, lowering his voice and catching Waker's eyes meaningfully. "But I just started as a trainer. Haven't even started, sorta. Like, I've never battled before or made a capture. But don't tell anyone that! Anyway, I don't even know how this guy got my name. My family has some prestige in Gigarte but personally, I got nothin' to brag about. Hopefully, it wasn't an accident that I got invited. But hey, if it was an accident and they kick me out, I want you to know that it's been very cool meeting you. I wanna see you on a magazine cover one day with some prize ribbon wearing pokemon."

Daniel stopped talking and looked around, partially to catch his breath and also to make sure no one was near enough to overhear him. Apparently with Waker not being able to talk, something inside of Daniel insisted that he needed to talk enough for two people. He paused as his eyes fell upon one familiar face in the crowd of trainers, a face he'd been looking at just a moment ago on a magazine cover. I guess he really does get invited to a lot of parties. And Pan knows him! Then a man and his butler arrived, the man apparently being the Lord of Johto. His butler had more pokemon than Daniel did! The fear that he'd been invited by accident began to seem more and more likely, no longer just a casual joke. As his anxiety increased, he found he had to put more effort into appearing cheerful. Maybe if he just acted confident, no one would realize that he was out of place.

[Webbyness]

To: Woodrow, Douken's Seel
Location: Shuffling along nervously in the open space of the living room.

Feeling his body jerk as Woodrow began an introduction, Zeke couldn't help but stand open mouthed and positively shocked. He felt the need to clip his friend around the ear sharply to signal him to stand down from his non-existent duties, but with many eyes focused on him, Zeke could do nothing but bring his hands together in front of his chest, trying to distract everyone from his noticeable discomfort. He shuffled towards Woodrow without once lifting his feet, dragging them furiously, and faced his companion with a look of great displeasure.
"I don't like this whole thing, Woodrow... you may fit in as being a butler but I do not fit in as the sort who needs one, okay? I'd rather this be a story of inconvenience... because that's what it is. Imagine you're following me on orders from my parents, and I'll stick to being displeased about this whole situation."

How the golden ticket landed in his possession was beyond him, and although it seemed to be a great follow-up to his loss at the Arasam Contest, it now seemed more of a curse. Croagunk giggled curiously at the pair's behaviour, seeming to be the only person to see the funny side about the whole situation. At least Aipom was managing to stay put in her Pokéball - she would most likely be experiencing a panic attack around all these people, and the current situation would have her feeling more worried than usual. Stifling a giggle, Zeke turned to Woodrow with a now out of place smile.
"Well, hopefully we won't hear too many questions if we manage to get to the aquarium quickly, right?"

As he stepped forward aimlessly, Zeke felt something tugging at his jeans, forcing him to pull back and look to the source of Croagunk's concern - a lone Seel stood before the group, waving and smiling brightly. Croagunk stepped forward with glee, and began to shake the Seel's flipper as if they were old friends. Leaning down to their level, Zeke cocked his head to the side as he observed the unknown Pokémon.
"Hey there, where'd you come from? You seem far too friendly to be a wild Pokémon, so... where's your trainer?" asked Zeke, half expecting this Pokémon's trainer to be as friendly and enthusiastic as the cheery water type.

This post has been edited by Webbyness: Dec 19 2009, 06:36 PM

[Douken Sota]

To: Zeke, Jet
Location: Doorway (Seel), Sofa (Douken)

Seel gasped at the sight of another Croagunk and shook his hand back, saying (a bit fast), "Hey, you look just like my older brother! Yeah, you seem him over there?" the Seel said, pointing over at the table where Douken's Croagunk stood. "I don't know what he is up to. Maybe he is hungry! He could be looking for something sour. Who knows..."

When Zeke came down to ask Seel his question, she turned her head over to him and stuck out her tongue as she listened. "You mean Daddy? He is over there on the couch!" she replied, pointing, but being a pokemon, all the human could here was, "Seel."

It was at this time a male Seel came over and she turned to him and wave. "Wow! You look just like me! I wonder why that is... Are you a mirror?"

Douken looked at the excited Seel and laughed. "She is certainly happy today. Glad she knows not to give out her hugs..." He didn't want to be responsible for her tackling everyone to the floor.

[Protoman]

To: Grondir, Turnip, etc.
Location: Living Room

Blaze and Hydro had wandered towards the small group of Pokemon, noticing that a couple of them looked rather...well...odd to say in the least. One Pokemon had a flower on its back that wouldn't bloom, which struck curiosity into Blaze. Due to this, he tried to touch Turnip's bulb, trying to see what would happen if he did.

"Don't touch that!" Hydro yelled to his young friend, "That Ivysaur will cut you with his Razor Leaf technique!" Hydro went into complete panic mode at the sight of his friend and battling partner about to touch a part of the Ivysaur.

"Oh relax, Hydro," Blaze told his opposite companion, "I'm sure he'll understand my curiosity.

"You dunce!" Hydro yelled at the young and curious Cyndaquil. He folded his arms and looked at Grondir. "Excuse me, do you have to deal with a partner that tries to do EVERYTHING wrong?"

[Troy Bolton]

To: Zeke, Jaima, (Ariana @ Sawyer)
Location: Living room

After the lukewarm reception (that laughing youth would surely get his, oh yes), Woodrow had to admit to himself that his companion was at least partially right. He had overdone his stewardly duties, especially re:introduction. He'd been regarding Zeke too much as the little brother he'd never had, adopting a big-brother knows best mentality. The not-butler would let his friend have a little slack. He leaned over to his friend, under the pretense of fixing his collar, and murmured into his air.

"Come now, Zeke. These fancy-do mixers are easy, once one gets used to them. You usually don't even need to make the first move. Merely remain in one place, and..." The Seel waddled over to him. "See? You're a magnet, young master." He patted the lad's back with one gloved hand. Croagunk stepped forward to interact with the Seel, and with a small smile, Woodrow stepped back, removing a Pokedex from his pocket.


OTARIA - Pokémon Otarie
OTARIA chasse ses proies dans l'eau gelée, sous la couche de glace. Lorsqu'il cherche à respirer, il perce un trou en frappant la glace avec la partie saillante de sa tête.

Thanks for putting it in simple terms, Dexter. Keeping the Dex in hand, Woodrow waved in the figure skulking in the doorway to the room. Valjean entered as quietly as he could, but his unnatural seven feet height made a smooth entrance impossible. The Punching Pokemon stood at Woodrow's back, and the trainer was pleased to note that he had swapped his boxing gloves for matching silk gloves. Well, when the master's away, the servant will play...

"Ariana," and the Igglybuff twirled around his feet, "be good, okay? I don't want you to be roasted by a Growlithe or beaten up by a Machop or anything." She pouted, her expression stating that she knew what to do already, mom, gosh. Woodrow smiled wanly. She was as bad as one of those minimum-age trainers, gallivanting off with their Squirtles and Cyndaquils and whatnot.

Valjean tapped Woodrow's back lightly, the force enough to make the trainer stumble. His belligerent about-face revealed the Hitmonchan's notion- he was being ogled. Well, not ogled, [!] but carefully watched, by none other than Mr. Two-badge himself, and a lovely lass beside him.

A glance at Zeke- he was entertaining himself well enough with a lad about his age- soothed his guilty conscience, and Woodrow strode to the observers, released partners in tow. He touched his gloved fingers to his lips, bowing. Behind him, Ariana and Valjean mimicked the technique.

"Hail, trainers. I trust you're doing well upon this blustery day? The young master and I had quite an excursion, as the wild Steelix seemed to regard it a fine sport to hurl rocks at our helicopter. Mayhaps some trainers were stirring mischief there." He shrugged it off, as if attempts upon his life were no more important than appointments to the dentist. "Thankfully, Aegis and I were able to quell them without too much strife." It was lucky that Woodrow had seen fit to keep the Gyrados with him as a last-resort sort of thing, as it already paid its cost in Poke. "Ah, but I'm forgetting my manners. Woodrow Spencer, of Arasam." He held out a gloved hand to shake.

It was impolite to ask direct questions of strangers, in the polite company Woodrow was used to keeping. Such questions that were out of the question included 'can I have your autograph' and 'what's your third favorite colour.' Nay, Woodrow would wait, and the more cynical part of his mind added, never get the autograph.

Meanwhile, Ariana had diverged from her trainer, pirouetting through the forest of legs, to the window, where she ogled the snow appreciatively. She'd never seen snow before, and according to the Vocalist, it was like the water she drank to help her voice. A large man was appreciating the same thing, and Ariana waved her stubby arms at him, hoping to get some attention and praise.

(CosettexValjean OTP.)

[Gearbits]

To: Ariana, the adorable igglybuff
Location: Still by the window.

Zigs was rolling her little ball of tin foil that Sawyer had made for her from the remnants of the candy she'd eaten when another Pokemon pirouetted her way over. Zigs thought nothing of it and continuing her weaving between her trainer's legs as Sawyer continued to stare out the window. It was a wonderful thing, snow. For someone who'd lived in the vivid colors of the islands, the paleness of snow was just amazing. He shifted and a heavy thud and skittering of claws made him look under his shoe to find the ribbon, this time white in honor of the snow, that was usually tied around the base of Zig's tail. He'd caught it and she'd tumbled over.

It was when he knelt to retie it that he noticed the little igglybuff attempting to catch his attention. "Oh hello there. And where have you come from?" He smiled kindly at the little Pokemon and sat fully on his knees, Zigs crawling in his lap to get him to retie the ribbon into the cute little bow she liked so much. It was a simple matter to retie it, having done so many times and he briefly looked away from the igglybuff to do so. A quick tie and a brief tug to assure it was secure, then a fluff of the bow and Zigs was back to batting her little tin foil ball with her little claws. "Now, aren't you a cutie," Sawyer smiled, directing his attention back to the round, pink Pokemon.

If any of his studying had taught him anything, it had taught him that most igglybuff were lovers of attention. "Wonder what you're doing away from your trainer. Enjoying the snow as well?" Sawyer thought any sort of Pokemon that wasn't wild wandering off from their trainer was strange. Zigs stayed close to his heels, or on his shoulders, and Crono tended to enjoy perching in the mess of white hair of his in order to feel tall. Even Lola kept close.

((Pfft. Short reply is short. I'm sorry, this is just sad for me.))

This post has been edited by Gearbits: Dec 19 2009, 08:22 PM

[Umbrae Calamitas]

To: Croagunk (Douken Sota), Azzy; Hydro and Blaze; Jaima and company
Location: By the refreshment table; Near the door

"Hey man, you know if they got any sour food?"

Dante paused in popping another roasted marshmallow into his mouth, turning instead to see a croagunk standing near.

"I mean, sure they got all of the sweets around, like the candy and the marshmallows," the croagunk continued, "but couldn't they have other things... some more sour?"

Dante plopped the marshmallow into his mouth and chewed while he cast his mind about for other treats that he had seen. When he swallowed, he shook his head gently. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I don't recall seeing any sort of sour treat about. But then, I wasn't particularly paying attention." He smiled somewhat guiltily. "I've always had a particular fondness for marshmallows." He licked a sticky claw. "You might try on the far side of the room, however. As I said, I wasn't paying a great deal of attention, but not even I can miss the scent of so much sugar, and I know how human children do adore those... Sour Patch Kids?" He made a face, hoping he had spoken the name right.

He was about to go on, when he heard a small cry from behind him.

"Hey, sorry about that! You alright?"

Dante turned quickly to see a wide-eyed Nidorino standing behind him, and a lonely shattered cookie on the ground. "Quite," he replied tersely, "but I don't imagine that I would have been the one injured." He made sure his tail was distanced from anything (or anyone) flammable as he faced the poison-pin pokemon fully. "And you, my friend? I hope I didn't burn you."

~*~

"Excuse me, do you have to deal with a partner that tries to do EVERYTHING wrong?"

Tempest gave a miraculously unladylike snort at this, drawing the group's attention. "Oh, I know someone like that," she assured him, her eyes narrowing. "He's about twice my height, has blue and black fur, golden eyes, and a level of stupidity to rival a slowbro!"

For a moment, the pikachu simply grinned to herself at getting a one-up on the riolu. The next second, however, stole that lead from her, as a shoe came flying out of seemingly nowhere and kicked Tempest squarely in the back of the head, sending her sprawling.

A loud cackle of laughter from across the room caused the pikachu's ears to flatten and her fur to puff out, as she and the others turned to see the pokemon Tempest had been referring to.

Zorro the riolu had traded in his cowboy outfit during Tempest's one-sided description of his character. He was now dressed in an outfit they had not previously seen him wear - a black top-hat, white gloves, and a long, glittering magician's cape. As they looked at him, he gave a flamboyant grin and swept his top-hat off of his head as he bowed dramatically.

"I'm going to kill him," Tempest noted.

~*~

Having been walking back to where Jaima, Meiko, and a number of their pokemon were standing during Zorro's athletic shoe-throwing, Tuesday stopped by the group just as they were all recovering from the rather odd spectacle of seeing Zorro in a magician's outfit.

"Does anyone else wonder where he keeps getting this outfits from?" Meiko asked, still watching Zorro with the rest of them, as he dug through the bag slung across his shoulder.

"I decided a long time ago," Tuesday noted rather unhelpfully, "that's it's simply much safer to not wonder." She looked at Meiko. "I've tried keeping an eye on him, but... well, let's just say that he's aptly named."

Meiko snorted in amusement, but turned when Jaima made a confused and somewhat startled sound. "What is it?" she asked, seeing him staring at the floor with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Where's my shoe?"

[knil1]

Koryu walked along the dirt path. He sang happily, walking in a way that had a certain skip to it. The sound of Koryu's melodic voice covered the dirt road in a fine layer of grass and small flowers. Chiki was more excited than her trainer was and the little Chikorita ran circles around him. Kakyoku walked humbly, but at a speed matched to his Trainers, and Viera flew overhead, keeping an eye on the road before them.

In no time, he had finally reached the Helicopter. He climbed into the sleek black Helicopter and watched as the earth below him grew farther and farther away as he sat on the luxurious leather seats.

~~~

Shortly after, Koryu stumbled out the door. The pilot handed him a bucket and Koryu played his part as the sickly child who, at the last moment, realized he doesn't enjoy being so far from Earth. He took the bucket and thanked the pilot. He had the decency to dispose of his own messes, and didn't really expect anyone to be eager to take it either.

Koryu walked to the large door. A man in a tuxedo tumbled out of the door. "Your bucket, sir." Koryu was too awestruck to care who had his vomit. He gave it to the man who shortly after, led him into the building.

During the flight, an opposing wind had made his flight a little late, and this was proven once he entered the building. There were hundreds of trainers conversing about the room below him.

Other Trainers meandered about, going this way and that, conversing, eating and drinking. There were pokemon everywhere. Koryu walked down the grand staircase and could sense his eyes turn their shimmering blue as the bright light hit his face.

Chiki found a table of food for pokemon and made her way to get as much as she could. The remainder of Koryu's pokemon stayed near Koryu as he maneuvered through the crowd. Koryu eventually wanderd back to the table where Chiki was feasting. Koryu reluctantly picked her up to keep her from eating all of the food and held on to her squirming body as tightly as possible. He found a seat and sat down.

This post has been edited by knil1: Dec 20 2009, 01:01 AM

[Webbyness]

To: Douken and his Pokémon
Location: Living Room

Following the direction in which the young Seel was pointing, Zeke straightened up to see a young man nestled in the sofa's comfort, glancing over to keep an eye on his Seel. Noticing Woodrow had since departed, obviously to mingle, Zeke had little choice but to do the same. At least his social skills were mildly acceptable... he'd managed to jump straight into Matt's group of travellers en route to Arasam with little trouble, and having travelled all the way to Arasam with Xiao, he was not without experience in blending into tough social situations. Plucking up the courage he needed, he approached the Seel's trainer with Croagunk in tow, catching wind of his mention of hugs; a jumping hug from a Seel, needless to say, would end up being quite painful. Stopping a short distance from the sofa, but close enough to be able to speak to him comfortably, Zeke proceeded to continue a non-existent conversation.
"It's nice to see such a friendly Pokémon... especially one who seems to have some kind of restraint." Thoughts of hitting the ground surrounded by oily flippers swam throughout Zeke's mind, but he managed to shake them off with a well placed smile. "I'm Zeke by the way. Nice to meet you!"

Extending his hand, Zeke produced a welcoming smile, which had been mimicked by his Croagunk, who had managed to hop onto the sofa's arm, balancing comfortably. However, his smile was a little less welcoming, due to the almost insane sounding croaking, but the smile was definitely a friendly one... we hope. Noticing his Croagunk had managed to break the comfort space between Zeke and the other trainer, he felt obligated to introduce his closest friend; Croagunk would end up being a little unhappy and would end up cornering him later for a stern, yet unintelligible word.
"And this... is my partner, Croagunk."

Croagunk responded by extending his own hand for a shake, something Zeke had never seen him do. Hopefully this wouldn't become a regular thing... one Zeke is bad enough, but having a Pokémon mimic him might get on a few nerves.

[Captain Combuske...]

Alex Slasher was not having a very nice day.

He was currently practically wading his way through snow, about waist height. And of course, he only had shorts and a small t-shirt on.
"So tell me Blaze," he said to his Torchic, his best buddy and his first Pokemon "why didn't I accept the offer to come here by helicopter? Or even a train. Or one of those ski-lift things. Yeah. That would have been quite cool."
"Torch-torch!" replied Blaze. If only he could understand me... I could tell him why... thought the little chick Pokemon.
"Yeah that's right, I had to get my first gym badge. I had to. And so I missed the chance to get here quicker, and to not be walking in the freezing cold..."

Blaze sighed. All Alex did was blame himself, or pretty much anyway. And Blaze was getting really bored of it.
---
Over in Castle Vonmoto, Tom Hawk was having a much better experience. He was in a warm, toasty room, eating some lovely warm chestnuts. It is also important to mention that he was sitting in a very large armchair. Presently, he was talking to Rose and Rai, his Roselia and Pikachu.
"So, Rai, How are you enjoying all the nice catering in this place?"
"Pika-Pika!" replied Rai, cheerfully.
"And you, Rose?"
"Lia-lia..." cried the flower Pokemon.
"Hey, do ya think that we'll see Alex here? It's just that, well, you know, he is a very good trainer and all..."
"Pika..." said Rai, sighing.
"Oh yeah! I can call him! I almost forgot!"
Rai the Pikachu rolled his eyes.
---
Alex was quite startled when suddenly, out of nowhere, an annoying ring tone sounded. It took him a few minutes to realize that it was his. He scrambled in his bag, almost ripping out the Phone.
"Hello? Is that a rescue party?" he answered.
"Hey Alex it's me, Tom. Tom Hawk, remember me. Wait a minute, RESCUE PARTY? Are you OK?"
"Erm... to tell you the truth, Tom, it is pretty freezing outside. Anyway, where are you?"
"I'm at Castle Vonmoto. How about you?"
"I'm almost at the very same place. At least, I hope so..."
"Come and find me when you do get here, then. I'm in the main room."
"OK. Bye then."
Alex hung up. As he did, he at last saw what he wanted to see. Castle Vonmoto.

[Toogee]

To: Zorro/Shadow, Tuesday, whoever is near Turnip
From: Still haven’t moved

Chi-Chi quickly turned around, confused about what just happened. She turned to see the young riolu introducing himself and gasped. She spoke really fast; whether that was the way she normally talked or a side effect from gorging herself on peanut butter cups, that was not clear.

“OMGAreyouthewolfman?IsawthismoviewhilePanwasasleepandtherewasthiswolfmanwhohowledatthemoonandatepeop
e!Doyoueatpeople?Whydoyoutalkgibberish?” The pachirisu gave another gasp; she knew who this riolu really was. “That’snotgibberish!That’sSpanish!Isawacommercialanditsounded
likethat.AreyoutheTacoBelldog?DoyoueatTacoBellallthetime?That’snotveryhealthyyouknow.” Chi-Chi then got a good look at her new outfit, giving yet another gasp at her new look.
“Ilookpretty!” She started prancing around in circles, singing out the syllables of her name (“Pa-Chi, Pa-Chi, Ri-Ri-Ri-Ri-su”). The dress was a little big for the pachirisu, gradually falling off Chi-Chi as she danced. It was then that she realized that Zorro had grown much taller! Mistaking Shadow for Zorro, Chi-Chi continued the conversation.
“Yougotreallybigreallyfast,TacoBelldog!”
---------------------------------------------------------------

Seeing that Pan seemed to be all right with what appeared to be an old friend, Fenrir moved back to the couch. He looked over all the humans and pokemon around the room. It started to occur to him that he might be the oldest living thing in the room, with the possible exception of the ancient-looking baltoy Pivot. He was about to settle down for a nap when a young blonde girl came up to him. Fenrir’s worries about age disappeared as he sniffed Tuesday’s palm. In addition to faint scents of pokemon, humans, and food items, Fenrir’s advanced nostrils also sensed emotion. This girl seemed to have a growing happiness around the growlithe, with a hint of uneasiness quickly fading.

She ran her fingers through his fur; the growlithe stood still for the free massage. As she moved for his right ear, Fenrir’s attitude changed dramatically. His tongue rolled out, his leg thumped away, and he even started panting excitedly. Fenrir’s tongue moved towards Tuesday’s cheek, attempting to drench her in dog drool.
----------------------------------------------------------

“They’re always nice,” Turnip replied to Cosette, going back to his rant. “ They feed you good food, talk to you, love you. Then its ‘Hey Turnip, let’s leave home and go to an unknown land!’ and ‘Hey, I want to get a better look at that beedril colony!’ Of course, you follow them around because they’re so stubborn, they’ll go off without you. Pan did that once when she was little; broke her arm. Now I have to go.”

Turnip then turned to the cyndaquil touching his back. “Actually, with that bonfire on your back, I’d prefer you not to touch me.”

[Douken Sota]

To: Zeke
Location: Sofa

Douken watched as the butler figure soon came up to him with his Croagunk and heard the compliment, explaining, "Have you ever heard of cases where people or Pokemon are a little too friendly? Well, Seel is one of them... Usually before he acts up, I give her a small bop on her horn to tell her to behave, and she understands that."

When he introduced himself, he smiled and shook his hand, saying, "Douken Sota." He heard the familiar croaking before Zeke could introduce his Croagunk and shook his hand. "Its hard to tell at times what they are thinking, isn't it? Their facial expression is so blank, like mine," he said, pointing at the Croagunk who hopped off the table and headed for them. "Nothing you are interested in there?" he asked his Croagunk. Knowing his love for sour food, he pulled out a Nomel berry and gave it to him, who began munching on it. "One of the most sour berries out there, and he can eat 3 with ease."

Once his Croagunk was satisfied with the snack, he turned to Zeke and had to ask, "I don't get why a trainer needs a butler. I have seen it before. Those who have butlers do all the work of training and fighting, so they never get a bond with their Pokemon..."

[Protoman]

To: Turnip
Location: Same spot

Blaze paused for a brief moment and looked at the Ivysaur.

"But I can put mine away, mister." Young Blaze said to Turnip. "Watch." In a flash, the flames that were on the Cyndaquil's back disappeared, making him more approachable. "Is that any better?" Blaze asked the Ivysaur.

This post has been edited by Protoman: Dec 20 2009, 03:40 PM

[kingbirdy]

To: Zeke and Douken
Location: Common Area

Nova pried apart the wrapper on his candy, and popped it in his mouth. Not bad, he thought. He looked around and saw that Flare and Giga weren't having a problem with the candies, either. Oshi was, though. Nova walked over and said, "need some help, Oshi?"
"Yeah," she admitted. Nova reached out and pried open the wrapper for her.
"Here you go."
"Thanks." At this, Nova nodded and walked off. Hew spied some little puffy white things on the table, which he had seen other people roasting on the fire and eating. He walked up to them and picked a few up. Then he used Ember on them, and tossed them in his mouth. Pretty good. He repeated this on some more balls, but instead of eating them, he went over toward Iko. He looked like he could use a treat. He thrust out his paw and waited.

~~~~~

Iko quietly sat back and watched his pokemons' antics. He saw Nova helping Oshi out with some candies, and them watched him attack some marshmallows. When he saw him put the marshmallows in his mouth, though, he realized, he's just roasting them. He saw Nova start to do this again, but, instead of eating them himself, he brought them over to Iko. Iko reached out and took them from Nova. "Thanks, Nova," he said, and picked him up onto his back. "Wanna go meet some people?"
"Char!" Nova replied, letting his tail blaze up as extra confirmation.
"Alright then." Iko stood up and told his other pokemon, "Behave, unless you want to spend the rest of the adventure in a pokeball." He knew they probably understood all of two words from that, but he figured his tone made it clear what he meant. He headed of toward a small group consisting of the newest arrival, the one with the butler, and some other kid, and said, "hey, I'm Iko. Who are you guys?" He saw no reason not to be blunt.