[X] My Assistant

[Dragonwish2]

Rachel grimaced as the Houndour to spray an ember on Jaklyn. The grass type held strong, standing through it. As the attack ended, Jaklyn appeared covered in soot. She was entirely black, except for her glaring eyes that seemed to bore into the Houndour's soul. Rachel knew the Snivy was damaged more than she let show. Jasmine/Kanoa called his next attack, a headbutt and ember.

Rachel thought of the man's possible strategy. He was using ember the entire time, of course, for it's type advantage. Blake didn't have the ability Flash Fire, so he was unable to become stronger from the attacks, even if Jasmine was foolish enough to stop burning Jaklyn.

"Blake, meet the headbutt with scratch! Jaklyn, dodge the ember, then use tackle on the Houndour!" Rachel hoped Blake's scratch could match the headbutt and nullify both attacks. Jaklyn would have to dodge every move that came at her, or be knocked out the next time she was hit. Blake was a bit stronger, if some what fatigued and worn down by the poisoning.

The Torchic cried out and swung his claw up, the talons glowing in a four toed shield in front of him. The mushroom collided with him, sending him flying. He spun himself around in the air and landed upright, jolted by the impact of both the ground and the fungi Pokemon. The mushroom was generally unharmed, but the scratch had worked to lessen the hit of the Headbutt attack.

Jaklyn, meanwhile, zig-zagged across the ground, jumping when necessary to avoid the ember. Her creamy brown eyes almost glowed against her blackened skin. As she neared the Houndour, she pushed off with her tail and feet, throwing herself at the Houndour.

Jasmine took the time to excite the crowd by taunting Rachel.

"Where's your spunk now, Blorta!?" He laughed at his own joke, playing with her false name. Some members of the crowd laughed with him, mocking Rachel. Jasmine continued cockily, "You messed with the wrong awesome trainer today!"


Rachel decided to play along. "You're the one talking, Mrs. F. Jasmine." She laughed at the feminine middle name. "I have a sister named Jasmine! Mind you, she's a better battler. What does F stand for, Fartsalot?" The crowd snickered, excepting those bystanders who were strongly supporting him. Rachel smiled. She was earning the crowd's favor, even though it was pointless and had nothing to do with the battle.

Her Pokemon seemed to perk up at the encouragement, Jaklyn even hinting a smug smile. Blake turned around and swirled his hips at the other Pokemon, chirping maniacally in laughter. Rachel noted the odd behavior in him; Marcus, her prankster Poochyena, was rubbing off on him. She would have to seperate the two later.


Rachel motioned to the crowd and said, "So, are you ready to show me some real battling now, or should I take on someone else here?"

[Kamaitachi]

Kanoa had to admit that he was quite impressed with Jaklyn's staying power. She'd suffered through two embers (on of them powered up!), and was still raring to go. On top of it, at any moment her Overgrow ability could kick in (Kanoa didn't know this, of course). She expertly dodged the next ember and lay a big hit on Volgen, causing the pup to howl out in pain. Likewise, her Torchic met Benihana's stronger Headbutt attack head on, deflecting some of the damage with his own scratch attack.

Upon being called "Mrs." He dipped into a neat little curtsy with surprising grace. He pulled out of his effeminate pose and resumed his usual slouch, but since the battle had also turned into an 'audience pleaser', he had no problems tackling her in that department too.

He also had to admit that "Fartsalot" was a pretty funny name. Hearing it, he laughed along with the crowd with his own sincere guffaw. Kanoa had a hearty and contagious laugh, and it rarely came out as he tended to spend most of his mirth smiling, rather than laughing. Even though Rachel/Lora was winning some of the crowd over, Kanoa maintained his random and stalwart support. At the very least, people were being entertained, which meant hopefully Ares and Abraham were slipping about doing some actual work.

He grinned good-naturedly as Rachel's pokemon perked back up. Even on what felt like the verge of defeat, it looked like they were enjoying themselves. He couldn't suppress another laugh as Marco wiggled his behind at his pokemon in a rather lewd fashion. (Not to mention, Benihana's face grumpy face was quite possibly the perfect reaction to it.)

"You're sister's better than me, huh?" Kanoa grinned cheekily "Doesn't matter; I bet I'm prettier."

She then taunted him into battling more. Kanoa admired her spirit, even when faced with a 'tyrannical' magma agent, she still fought with everything she had. Sure, she was a novice (Hell, Kanoa was too), but he was now starting to enjoy the battle, rather than feel it part of the mission. That was probably the key to getting by in his profession; just don't think about the consequences and enjoy the moments you could. (This was the potential of a sociopath in the making, but Kanoa wasn't one to think too far into the future.)

"She wants real battling." Kanoa turned to the audience, all smiles. Sweeping his hand dramatically out, and fully enjoying the moment, he issued his next commands.

"Voot-Puppy, give me another Ember!" Kanoa didn't know any other attacks that Volgen had in his arsenal. He'd asked for an 'awesome fire move' and gotten Ember, so...that was all he needed.

"Benihana, Helping Hand!" Shuffling about in a notably cute way, Benihana worked up a glowing aura, which floated over to his partner Houndour before his flames shot out. The ember that appeared would be boosted even further after the Flash Fire had activated, producing an even brighter and bigger set of flames from before. It was a basic combo moves, but sometimes those were just as effective as the more complicated set ups.

[FirePower]

Volgen jumped backwards as he saw the Snivy running toward him. While the ember attack had strengthened him, it didn't heal him or make him tougher, and he wasn't at the top of his game anymore. He wasn't going to take any chances by letting the Snivy hit him again. While he jumped he sprayed an ember attack, in an attempt to take out the grass type before it could tackle him again.

While he was in the air, Volgen noticed he was leaning over to the right. Landing on his side had the potential to be even more harmful than being hit by the tackle, given the asphalt they were fighting on. With a sharp jerk the Houndour twisted in midair to right itself, the same way some feline pokemon did when they fell out of trees, windows, et-cetera. As he spun, the line of flames twisted with him. But instead of staying in place once he quit moving, they continued to rotate, spinning faster and faster. With a start, Volgen realized that he'd somehow pulled off an entirley different move, one he didn't even knew he could use. Perplexed, the Houndor tried to figure out what the move was called. Flame wheel? No, that was a different move. Spinny-flaming-vortex-thing? That wasn't right either, but a little closer. As he puzzled over the name of the moved, he completely forgot about the oncoming Snivy.

Wham! The Snivy (Volgen vaguely remembered its trainer calling it Jacklyn) landed it's tackled smack in the middle of Volgen's ribs, sending the wolf pokemon flying farther than it could have if Volgen was on the ground. V-Dawg (as Kanoa had called him) let out something between a yelp and a scream and he land on his side and slid along the ground to Kanoa's feet. His vision dimmed and flickered, threatening to go black entirley. The air was knocked out of him, and for a moment, he had trouble breathing. While Kanoa and Lora talked Volgen remained motionless, catching his breath.

'Just get this over with already!' Volgen thought. The battle seemed to be taking an eternity. At that moment, the Houndour just wanted to either be knocked out or hurry up and knock out Lora's pokemon so he could rest. If Ares were there, Volgen's trainer would have pulled him out by now. Either that or Hope, whom the fire type considered to be his best friend, would be at his side in an instant. But Ares had left to finish his job, trusting Kanoa to take care of Volgen.

Volgen got back up on shaky paws as Kanoa's conversation ended. At his temporary trainer's command, he sprayed another round of ember at the Snivy. As the barrage of flames made their way toward the snivy, Volgen noticed that he was glowing blue. He hoped it was Bennihana boosting power, and not his opponents trying to hinder him.

[Dragonwish2]

Rachel waited as the Houndour attacked with another blaze of fire, though this one differed from the first two. The dog Pokémon had spun in the air, and the fire had followed and formed a burning tornado. Rachel watched her Snivy turn around, staring her end in the face. She could see Jaklyn cringing as the fire enveloped her. The fire faded, leaving Jaklyn still kneeling and conscious, if only barely. As Rachel let out a deep breath, she realized she had forgotten Kanoa, and she turned back to him.

The opposing man seemed relatively calm at the teasing, even obliging to curtsy and mention how he was prettier than Rachel’s imaginary sister. He turned to the crowd.
“She wants real battling?” He swept his arm out and commanded his next move. "Voot-Puppy, give me another Ember! Benihana, Helping Hand!" The stat raising move was familiar to Rachel, boosting an ally’s own move. The Houndour glowed as it breathed a streak of flame towards Jaklyn. Rachel looked quickly to her Snivy in warning.

“Jaklyn, jump out of there quickly!” Rachel held her breath. The Snivy stood, shaking, and held out her small arms, crossing them as though to shield herself from the oncoming inferno. As it struck, Jaklyn let out a wail like that of a grieving woman. Rachel gasped in horror. Her leading Pokémon had never screamed, not even when her tail was stepped on, not even when Rachel had used the Pokémon as a weapon to smack someone. The cry sounded like a banshee’s, ominous and foreboding evil, and telling of horrible pain and misfortune. The fire blew Jaklyn back like a dead leaf in a windstorm, sending the grass-type flying into Rachel’s open arms.

Rachel cradled her Pokémon, returning the Snivy to her pokéball. She looked back at Kanoa with burning anger, though her face softened as the passion turned from hate into… pity. She pitied the man, for having to experience Magma firsthand, and for having to deal out such cruelty. She turned to her Torchic, who was still waiting.

“Blake, use scratch on the Houndour.” One last time, she thought. The Torchic cawed meekly and ran at the Houndour, swinging one talon up to strike. The move stopped short a mere hair from the dog’s snout, as Blake took another blow from his poisoning. He dropped onto the asphalt, unconscious. Rachel called him back to his pokéball and nodded at Kanoa. “You won, then, fair and square.” She placed the two pokéballs onto her belt and walked into the crowd, only speeding up when she was out of their sight. She ran to the dojo and stepped inside, her body cold and sweaty.

Against Magma, she had lost twice now. She rubbed her head in tension, thinking. In both encounters a friend of hers had been hurt, whether Pokémon or human. She stepped slowly into the dojo’s battlefield, where a familiar voice greeted her.

“You’re still here. Hey, are you alright?” Rachel’s eyes blurred with tears as she shook her head, and she fell against Chris’ chest sobbing. He held her, pulling the hair from her face as he murmured kind words.

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Abraham called out from atop a nearby ramp, somewhat disappointed that the girl, apparently Lora, disappeared into the crowd. She was part of his plan, but he could do it without her. Luckily, as the losing party in the battle, the attention was on Kanoa.

"This was just the beginning of a turnover in the way things are going to be done around here. As of today, Shady Acres is sponsored by Team Magma, and we plan on having many more of these 'Battles in the Park.' Every week, we will have two trainers face off against each other, and the winner will be treated to various prizes! Afterwards, consider the entire park a battling event! Anyone can challenge anyone and we encourage you to use all you have! In the near future, we intend on having mobile pokemon centers stationed all around the park so you even if you lose, you can get back in there and battle.

"As this is now a Team Magma property, we also intend on bringing it up to the full standards of our organization. What that means is that all the facilities currently in the park will be improved drastically. We intend on employing much more staff to keep the park up to these standards. We think you will all be pleased with the improvements we will be making to the park.

"Until then, I encourage all of you to challenge each other to battles, all in good fun, of course. All I ask of you in return is to leave the park as it was when you got here. Thank you! Everyone please give a warm congratulations to the winner of the battle." Abraham was not around when Kanoa gave his fake name to Lora, but he did hear Lora's. "And of course, a well fought battle to our challenger, Lora. As this was simply an exhibition match, neither will be receiving a prize, but in the future, even the losing combatant will receive a consolation prize. Thank you! Enjoy!"

Abraham climbed down from the ramp as the crowd dispersed. He noticed mostly excitement from the crowd, though there were a few nonbelievers among them, and rightfully so. He made his way back to Kanoa and noticed Ares, who was more visible now that the crowd had dispersed. Abraham did get a small sense of pride as he saw some trainers begin to battle after his speech, which they could have easily done before he gave it. Somehow, the concept of a sponsored battle event just seemed more exciting.

Kanoa was his superior and Abraham had gone over his head with the announcement, but his concern was hardly with Kanoa. It was with Kanoa's superiors, but he figured he could convince them that this was a good idea. First, he needed to see how Kaipo reacted.

"Well?" Abraham asked with a shrug. "It'll cost some money, but we'll gain a lot of followers if we start to help out communities. It's what real governments have been doing for centuries, and it seems to work out for them."

[Kamaitachi]

Jaklyn's anguished wail pierced through the air, rather unexpectedly. Up until that moment, they'd been having a very basic, but very fun battle. Yet upon hearing her cry, all enjoyment drained out of Kanoa's being. The battle had evolved from the semi-friendly competition into something all too real for the skateboarder.

He watched numbly as Blake the Torchic drummed up the last of his energy to attack Vobgoblin. The attack struck dead on, and both pokemon fell to the ground, defeated. The drawback to Ares' assistance turned out that Kanoa couldn't recall the Dark Dog to a pokeball, as it wasn't truly his to command. He reached down and scooped it up, nodding solemnly to Benihana. The Pink Shroomish retained his ever-grumpy face, and simply waddled to a position next to Kanoa.

Then Abraham, in quite possibly one of the smoothest moves Kanoa could ever have imagined, turned the battle in their favour. By switching from forcible routing of enemies, he actually sought to win popular support.

And it worked.

A few people rushed up to challenge Kanoa, or rather, F. Jasmine Adams. Uncharacteristically, he gently declined each one. He had wanted to become a stronger trainer in Noverus, but had resorted to simply relying on the strength of his pokemon. His victory had only been attained because his pokemon were stronger than Lora the Great's. This, coupled with the look on her face, had made the victory seem hollow at best.

"It was brilliant." The teen forced a smile at Abraham, unable to summon his usual lackadaisical cheer. "I'm glad you're on our side; I'd never have been able to think of something like that."

And it struck him. "Our side". What did that even mean anymore? Anyone he'd remotely met in Magma couldn't even have been considered a friend. The only people he'd even slightly liked were Spider, and of course Johnny Winston. Both of whom were in the same apartment building as him, in the very large city. He really, truly felt alone.

"You did really well. I'll let my boss know that you were phenomenal." A glint of his usual attitude appeared as he added: "Besides, he'd never believe me if I said I did it."

Spotting Ares, Kanoa moved over, still holding Volgen cradled in his arms.

"Veedramon here did an awesome job...but, Lora only seemed to be targeting him. M'really sorry." Kanoa stared at the ground, a bit embarassed that he'd so utterly failed in a battle that not only put his pokemon at stake, but his allied pokemon as well.

"So...Shady Acres is ours." Kanoa looked around at all the people now battling in the park. "I guess that means 'Mission Accomplished'".

[FirePower]

Volgen didn't even have the strength to cry out as he was defeated. He simply fell to the ground, knocked out. For the moment, he didn't care that he was losing consciousness, or even whether he died. It just seemed like a much needed rest from the turmoil of the waking world.

As soon as they heard Volgen's scream, Hope and Ares started to rush towards the scene of the battle. The battle ended before they could get there, though. He stopped as he saw Kanoa heading in his direction, carrying Volgen in his arms. He simply nodded- not even bothering to correct Kanoa's name for Volgen- as Kanoa apologized and took the Houndour from his senior's arms. He ran off in the direction of the pokemon center, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

'Don't die. Please don't die' Ares silently pleaded as he ran. Volgen's head was limp in his arms and, while breathing, the rising and falling of the Houndour's chest was faint and felt like it could stop completely at any moment. The people parted as Ares rushed past, allowing to go as fast as he could.

"What on Earth?" Nurse joy exclaimed as Ares rushed into the Pokemon center and laid Volgen on the counter. "What happened to your pokemon?" Ares simply shrugged. It wasn't like he actually knew anyways, since he had left Volgen with Kanoa. The Nurse Joy looked like she wanted to question him further, but instead she gently picked up the Houndour and carried him into a back room. As she left, she motioned with her head for Ares to sit in one of the cushioned in the hospital waiting room.

Ares sat, holding his head in his hands. While Nurse Joy and her assistants (namely a mob of Chansey) worked tirelessly to save Volgen's life, Ares found himself with nothing to do but sit and nurse his grudges, so nurse his grudges he did. He hated team Magma, and the whole conflict in Noverus. If not for Magma, his family might have been able to get proper medical care. If not for Magma, he never would have been forced to join them, and if not for Magma, Volgen might not have been in the situation he was. he did't blame Kanoa, or the girl he had been fighting. He was sure Kanoa had been doing his best to keep the Houndor safe, and that the girl (he never caught her name) hadn't meant to hurt the puppy.

Eventually the nurse joy came out into the lobby. Ares looked up, anxious to see whether or not Volgen would be okay.

"Your pokemon will be fine," she said. "He will need to stay here for a couple of days while he recovers, though." Ares let out a relieved sigh, as did Hope. Volgen was going to live. Ares noticed his hands were shaking. He took a deep breath and steadied them. With a nod of thanks to Nurse Joy, he left the pokemon center to rejoin Kanoa and Abraham.

[Dragonwish2]

Rachel pulled back from Chris’ arms and composed herself, wiping her eyes. She had not had such a huge outbreak since she had left for Noverus, and even then she had managed to keep her nose from turning red as it did. She felt somewhat humiliated to be crying so publicly, but she had good reason to. Her grief and anger had welled up in her, and she couldn’t keep it from overflowing. She breathed deeply until she could speak calmly.

“I… I lost a battle, one which really meant a lot to me.” Rachel sniffed, wishing she could flee to the restroom for tissues. Her voice shook, to where Rachel couldn’t understand half of what she said. Chris frowned in sympathy.

“Battling is like puberty, sometimes; it has its high and exhilarating peaks, and it’s terrifying and nerve-wracking drops. You’ll get through it. Every trainer does.” He rubbed her arm comfortingly. “You had one victory today, against me. Think of that, and don’t let the down times make you not ride.” He smiled at her then, and she smiled back. Rachel dabbed away the last of her tears, and then nodded firmly.

“I’m going to improve, with my Pokémon. I’ll get better, and next time, he won’t win.” Rachel had a burning determination. She would be stronger, and if she should meet him again, she would win. Loss had come too often for her now. She would not accept it any longer. Rachel hungered for revenge for her Pokémon and friends, even though a pained sympathy formed the core of her hurt. Chris seemed almost taken aback by her passion for a moment, but he grinned merrily and took her hand firmly.

“You do that, and if you ever need help, just call me.” He let go of her and rummaged through his pockets until he had procured a PokéNav. He motioned for Rachel’s Pokétch, and she handed it over. He tapped the Pokétch’s screen until both devices beeped. Chris handed back the Pokétch and Rachel strapped it to her wrist again. “I sent over each other’s numbers, so when you go to here,” he said as he tapped the app image on the screen, “you can call me.” His name appeared on a small list, with a green call button next to it. Rachel looked up and smiled into his face.

“Thank you. I’ll call you, I promise.” She hugged him good-bye and turned to leave. She turned back to wave, and he gave her thumbs up in return. Rachel left the dojo, aiming for the Pokémon Center containing the Sanctuary.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris glanced around warily after she left and turned, exiting into the dojo’s restroom. Once he had safely locked himself in a stall, he silenced his PokéNav and looked through it. Two new numbers appeared on his call list, one Rachel’s, the other…

“Hmm, the CO. Interesting. Looks like that little Magma's got nothing on her.” He muttered to himself, a scheme forming in his mind.

A knock on the wall interrupted him, and Chris flushed the empty toilet and exited, smiling at his friend waiting outside the door.

"Dave, buddy, we need to talk. You have to see what I found..."

[Kamaitachi]

"How's Wolfy?" Kanoa asked solemnly. He had watched hopelessly as the boy had run off to the pokemon center, and wondered why Magma had bothered to recruit such a young boy into their ranks in the first place. The whole thing seemed rather cruel.

Looking around, it was abundantly clear that they had gained Shady Acres for Team Magma. In all honesty, all Kanoa Kaipo wanted to do was skateboard around the park a bit. The little skateboarding course seemed just perfect, even if he preferred street-skating. He felt free while skating, with the wind whipping through his slightly too long hair. Yet, even the thought of indulging in his favourite past-time didn't seem like much fun.

He realized he just wanted to go home and lay down, and maybe get to meet his new pokemon friend. These Magma missions had started cramping in on his spirit a bit, and he didn't like the way he felt after completing them.

Maybe he just didn't like being the villain.

"So guys...that's wrap. I say we head home. I'll report everything to Lennox." He looked to Abraham and gave a slow smile. The older, snappier dressed man was much more suited for the Magma life than he was, or so it seemed. Abraham was smarter, and probably a better fighter too. Ares, on the other hand, seemed unhappy at the entire affair. "Good job guys. Uh, dismissed."

It sounded leaderly, even if he didn't quite feel convicted in his tiny speech. Abraham had been the one to take charge, and had probably doubted Kanoa's ability the entire time. Rank meant nothing when it came to talent. In fact, rank meant nothing at all to Kanoa.

Not sure what else to say to the other two, Kanoa flipped his skateboard down and slowly rode his way back home.

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

Abraham stood in silence as Kanoa awkwardly fumbled around the words he wanted to use to dismiss the team. Clearly, they had succeeded in their mission, but neither Kanoa nor Ares seemed particularly joyed by the occasion, and Abraham wasn't one to show pride in something like this.

It had been a long day, and when the team leader finally dismissed them, he began his walk straight home, to his increasingly affordable motel room (he'd been getting paid more and more as his debt was getting paid off). The disadvantage, of course, to dressing as he did, was the nearly unbearable heat. Looking cool is great, but it's hard to do that while drenched in sweat.

As soon as he got back to the room, he released all of his pokemon. He grew up with Gaia as a pet, and so he saw them more as animals than as battlers. "Gaia, Tartarus. This is Chaos, our new Shellder. You guys get acquainted, tell him a little about me, and I'm going to take a forty five minute shower. Then, we'll eat.

There was something exciting about not knowing what tomorrow would bring, he thought, as the water came down on him. His life back in Mauville was exciting and unpredictable, and Noverus, until joining Magma, had been quite dull. But since joining, he'd gotten the opportunity to meet many different types of people. Admittedly, it was hard to see these people as his partners or allies. All his life, he'd grown up looking to get the edge over somebody.

But then there were Kanoa and Ares. Both young and naive, neither looking to take advantage of him. Normally, he'd see that naivety as something he could abuse for his own gain, but something about that just felt wrong this time. He wasn't sure why.

[FirePower]

"He-he'll be fine," Ares said quietly. He was feel rather worn down and depressed after the hectic events of his first real mission. He was in no mood to talk to anybody. He just wanted to climb. Nothing calmed him down more than being up high, where he could observe without being observed. It seemed when he was off the ground the worries of the world seemed to fade away, as though his troubles lacked his ability to climb.

As soon as Kanoa dismissed him, Ares was walking briskly out of the park. Hope glided above him, where there weren't as many people to get through. As soon as the park was behind him, Ares broke into a full-out run, and he kept running until he reached the poor district. He wanted to get away from that Arceus-forsaken skate park as fast as he could.

Once Ares got to his own apartment he jumped, grabbing the fire escape as he did. With a grunt, he pulled himself up, to where his feet were on the lowest rung. From there, he climbed. Up the several flights of ladders he went, not bothering to stop when he reached his own room. When he reached the top, he plopped himself down, stretching out into a relaxing position. Hope glided down and landed net to him, snuggling against her trainer's thigh.

For a moment the two remained silent, simply enjoying each others company. These were Ares' favorite moments. Noise always seemed to be a distraction to Ares. Peace and quiet was what Ares preferred. It wasn't much different than every other time they'd hung out at the top of the fire escape, but without Volgen there, it seemed so much different. Volgen hadn't left Ares' side for seven years.

With a sigh Ares decided to turn in for the day. He felt to worn out- both physically and emotionally- and there wasn't anything else he wanted to do. He got up and went down to his apartment, Hope following not far behind.

"I'm going to bed," Ares said flatly after he released his pokemon, now back in his apartment room. "Can you guys introduce Orbis and show... it... around?" Cadou simply nodded and fell asleep on the chair, which was surprising since he had done almost nothing at all since the day before. Hope nodded, grumbling a bit as Cadou fell asleep, and began talking to Orbis, giving him a "grand tour" of the tiny apartment.

Ares curled up in the corner of his bed, hiding out under his thin blanket. The day's events kept running through his mind, keeping him awake. The image of Kanoa carrying a half-dead Volgen to him stuck in his head in particular. He tossed and turned, trying to get to sleep. Finally, his exhaustion overtook him and he fell into a fitful sleep.