Misplaced Lens Cap
Today's Document
#extradirty
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$LAYYYTER
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we're not kids anymore.
noise dept.
Cosimo Galluzzi
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祝日 / Permanent Vacation
pixel skylines
Discoholic 🪩
wallacepolsom
Three Goblin Art
todays bird
Claire Keane
Cosmic Funnies
Kaledo Art
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seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from Greece
seen from Germany
seen from Germany
seen from Argentina
seen from Australia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Albania
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
@brainpuncher
“I’m surrounded by idiots. We have an exam for Contract Law tomorrow and I was asked if I wanted to join my peers and drink before the test.”
Natalie chuckled a bit. "People prepare in different ways. Some study and store all the info they can. Some try to blow off steam so they are relaxed and mentally prepared to take the test. Though inviting you means they find you interesting I bet."
brainpuncher:
“Gladion, take a deep breath.” She put a hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “I know that all this is pretty fresh. Your mother has one upped herself and we are left with quite a mess. And I’ll help you face her and make her face what she has done. But we can’t lose our heads now. We don’t have the time for that.”
Natalie was looking at her two canines. To anyone else, they were tracking and nothing else. But Natalie knew them better. They were tense. if it wasn’t for the built up trust and strength of their bond, they’d probably panic or run away. Natalie stayed calm to help them calm down. Just like she was trying for Gladion.
“This pokemon isn’t like any we have met. If it acts like this in an unusual environment without present dangers, imagine if it is in a battle. If we lose our heads, we get weaker. Channel that anger and frustration into focus at the task at hand. We are in danger… but if people like us don’t do this, others will be hurt. We have to stop that. I know I’m asking a lot, but I need someone that I can both trust to have my back and trust to be strong enough to help.”
She looked seriously right into Gladion’s eyes. “I trust you with no doubt in my mind Gladion. I promise when this is over that we will take care of your mother. Call it paying you back for helping me now. I have your back like you have mine.”
He only muttered how at least she seemed to get why he wanted the real culprit to take the responsibility instead of the Kahunas and local deities. Showing more emotions than he’d already done was a bad idea and would expose his biggest weakness. “You don’t say… she really thinks that she gets off the hook that easily. The joke will be on her when she’s getting her ass kicked by Selene and I refuse to change my last name back to what it was.“ His decision to distance himself from the abusive environments had been for the best after all.
Do you have any idea how I want tell Lillie to stay away from that bitch and tell her how she can die in a hole as much as I care? A part of me wants Mother to drop dead and pay for everything she’s done to me, but it’d be as harsh as what she did to Lillie. She can keep her Aether fame, I don’t want to be associated with that and would rather burn the former legacy down to rebuild it. Still trying to maintain some levels of calmness and not yelling to the direction UB had clearly headed towards he cursed under his breath and mentioned how they needed to at least do something about this.
“If she doesn’t bother to fix the mess she created, at least I’m the proper heir and can try to fix this shit.” His comment on him being probably the best pick amongst the people she knew spoke on confidence he had on Type: Null and his own skills he’d learnt by just surviving on his own. Like he had said, Null was originally created to eliminate Ultra Beasts so this job was perfect for it.
After her long speech of sorts he couldn’t help but scoff and comment mused how she’d have to be as dumb as a basic Dunsparce to think he’d leave her to deal with this on her own. “For Arceus’ sake, you’re the closest person to me after Nalani and have been good influence on me. I’m too stubborn to get killed by this. Ya have my word on this, and better help if Mother still is screwing things up big time.”
“You have put a rein on your emotions, good. I promise to not only face her, but also protect Lillie. This whole thing could have been avoided if I gave Guzma a good punch for doing this.” Gladion wasn’t the only one feeling responsible. Natalie felt she could have stopped Guzma at least. Swayed the team to not go after Lillie. Yet she didn’t.
A growl brought Natalie’s attention forward. Mightyena had found a scent. Eyes narrowed, she focused forward. “She has something. You might want your pokemon out just in case. I have these two ready to go. Null might be a good choice, but don’t let him wander too far up. We want to minimize injuries. We have your guys back. If you can, go for long distance attacks until we figure out more on the Ultra Beast.”
@multiplelivesinline
A Houndoom and Mightyena led forward on the path of Poni Island, followed by a tall woman with a Team Skull Emblem on the back of her coat. She wasn’t here to cause trouble. Quite the opposite. Ever since the incident with the Aether Foundation, Ultra Beasts were on rampage. The Kahunas could not handle it all. So Natalie was helping. She had heard of a big one out here. Her dogs were tracking a strange scent.
Judging by what info she did have, this would not be easy. That was why she called for backup. She asked for Gladion to meet her out here. Hopeful they could work together to stop whatever was out here from causing more damage. Apparently it ate everything and anything put in front of it. You couldn’t let that one stay loose.
The whole thing was directly from a worst case scemario movie if you asked him. His mother had ordered a crime gang to get one Pokemon back, just so she could fulfill her pet project he hadn’t wanted to think about for years for a good reason: right after she’d succeeded in it she’d gone to the precious Ultra Wormhole and ignored the mess she’d made. The God-knows-how-many Ultra Beasts were trying to destroy the nearby flora and fauna and he was just irritated about the whole thing.
If Gladion could’ve prevented the whole thing in advance he would’ve just done that. At least his suspicion on Lusamine Aether not listening to any reasoning, even from her own children, was confirmed and that “what if” thought had been killed in that spot. It had been too naive to have that belief, but in the eyes of a 13-year-old kid who had been forced to grow up it had been fully reasonable. As he was staring at the Ultra Beast in question he was unable to hide how shocked and aggravated he was from all this.
“I assume that whatever that thing did is is why you called me here. A good call, it looks worse to deal with than Guzma’s team in its entirety.” He was pointing at the carnage the Ultra Beast had caused For the love of Tapus, Mother really fucked up with her UB obsession. She probably has no idea how she’s in the wrong here and then probably dares to say she wasn’t that bad in the end. Fuck off, this is why I changed my last name to Mohn.
He muttered how he had now a good reason to leave Lillie and Selene on their own to get find the other legendary-related flute and somehow access Ultra Wormhole so they could battle some sense to the bitch of her mother. “Do you have any clue where the fuck it’s right now?”
“Gladion, take a deep breath.” She put a hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “I know that all this is pretty fresh. Your mother has one upped herself and we are left with quite a mess. And I’ll help you face her and make her face what she has done. But we can’t lose our heads now. We don’t have the time for that.”
Natalie was looking at her two canines. To anyone else, they were tracking and nothing else. But Natalie knew them better. They were tense. if it wasn’t for the built up trust and strength of their bond, they’d probably panic or run away. Natalie stayed calm to help them calm down. Just like she was trying for Gladion.
“This pokemon isn’t like any we have met. If it acts like this in an unusual environment without present dangers, imagine if it is in a battle. If we lose our heads, we get weaker. Channel that anger and frustration into focus at the task at hand. We are in danger... but if people like us don’t do this, others will be hurt. We have to stop that. I know I’m asking a lot, but I need someone that I can both trust to have my back and trust to be strong enough to help.”
She looked seriously right into Gladion’s eyes. “I trust you with no doubt in my mind Gladion. I promise when this is over that we will take care of your mother. Call it paying you back for helping me now. I have your back like you have mine.”
@multiplelivesinline
A Houndoom and Mightyena led forward on the path of Poni Island, followed by a tall woman with a Team Skull Emblem on the back of her coat. She wasn’t here to cause trouble. Quite the opposite. Ever since the incident with the Aether Foundation, Ultra Beasts were on rampage. The Kahunas could not handle it all. So Natalie was helping. She had heard of a big one out here. Her dogs were tracking a strange scent.
Judging by what info she did have, this would not be easy. That was why she called for backup. She asked for Gladion to meet her out here. Hopeful they could work together to stop whatever was out here from causing more damage. Apparently it ate everything and anything put in front of it. You couldn’t let that one stay loose.
brainpuncher:
To: Naoto Of course you can join me. I actually wanted to work on my speed so it will be nice to have encouragement with you there. We start bright an early at the usual time! Don’t eat til after!
To: Nat THX IN ADVANCE & FOR THE TIPS. IS THE TIMING THE SAME AS PREV. TIME?
To: Nat R U PLANNING 2 USE UR SPEED @ THE MATCHES?
To: Naoto
Yeah, gotta keep my routine on that. Same time.
Oh yes, definitely. Coach felt I could work on closing distance by getting faster. Take less hits getting into the strike kill zone. Can’t blame him, I take heavy hits even with turtling up.
@linklewinklewoman ♥’d for a Naoto-Quality text message (for Natalie, @brainpuncher )
To: Nat DO U MIND IF JOINED IN TO UR MORNING JOG AGAIN TMRW? IT WAS OK & I WANT TO SPEND TIME W/ U
To: Naoto Of course you can join me. I actually wanted to work on my speed so it will be nice to have encouragement with you there. We start bright an early at the usual time! Don’t eat til after!
"Hey, Nat... thanks for the birthday surprise you organized with Grampa. It means a lot to me that you saw the effort and - you know, managed to surprise me in a good way." Naoto was quick to hug Natalie during the movie night Netflix movie binge watching date and mutter how anyone who dared to doubt their relationship was "only a phase" were wrong.
"I just... I love you more than anyone else. Thank you for giving this a shot and being as idiotic as I was at first."
Natalie smiled as she hugged the shorter girl back, glad she enjoyed the birthday. "It was easy. While you do go along with the group hijinks, you seem more content with the low key moments. Obviously a small relaxed party would be best. Spending it with loved ones like your grandfather was a given." She chuckled lightly. "Maybe I should become a detective when I retire as a pro boxer? I'm pretty good at figuring things out."
@brainpuncher (during X/Y)
The male Trainer was glancing enthusiastically at his next possible target he’d conquer. The Fairy Badge would be his and he would finish the battle hours before Serena, his true rival starting from the fight he’d only describe as the failure of getting the Mega Ring and the privilege of investigating Mega Evolutions. He was pretty sure he was now good enough to wield the item in question and Serena choosing deliberately to not use was a waste for such a gift. He would definitely use it all the time if he owned that - which was why he was determined to be better than every Trainer in this region.
Maybe after that he’d be able to impress Sycamore, who seemed to hail Serena as the future Champion and the next Cynthia and get a savior of Kalos, and redeem his loss over minor mistakes such as sidestepping the wrong way at crucial moments. He only needed to train his Absol so it would be able to take one or more hits from Valerie’s team filled with Fairy types and then take on the Psychic Gym and Ice Gym as soon as possible. Of course he wanted to fight regularly after Serena had beaten all gyms to have a fair shake and a point of comparison. It was how his parents had handled battles, an aspect which was worked at most cases and the only thing he’d do in this journey.
After grinning he looked around him to find a Poke Center to heal his team so they could return to practising with the pokemon from the swamp. He was fairly sure the others were still listening that lunatic tell the ghost story and wasn’t regretting his decision to skip that. Yes, Shauna had looked confused but she’d surely understand later, right? At least he hoped so, he was still worried on her thinking he’d abandon others just because he wanted to defeat his rival.
Natalie nodded. “Guess we both have some bad parents. We have more alike than you’d think... Calem, you are a smart kid. I know you can find your way and find a way to co-exist with other people. She lightly hit the top of his head with the flat end of her notebook. “It will take hard work, so i don’t wanna see you slacking. I’m putting some high hopes on you.”
Putting her notebook away, Natalie sighed. “You will have to fix that first impression you made if you wanna study mega evolution at the tower. You might want to remember that. You got some apologies and head bowing to do. But I think in the end you can do it.”
@thedetectiveofinaba
It had been a casual trip to the TV world. Both to get a little clue or two for the investigation and keep on their toes skills wise. It was Yu, Yukiko, Natalie, and Naoto this time, helped by Rise of course. Natalie had relented and let them train in the dungeon her shadow made... only because the enemies there were tough enough to add challenge. Honestly it gave motivation for Natalie to try harder. Nerio was doing a lot of the physical attacking, other Persona’s covering her weakness of spells. It was always comforting to have big guns on your side, no?
Natalie gently took Naoto’s hands, just as gently pulling her to sit with her as she spoke. “I’m sorry I said that you were over worrying. To be honest, I’d probably react the same way as you if our situation was reversed. I’m also sorry for taking the hit and causing a problem in the first place. I just saw you in danger and... reacted.”
She knew Naoto disliked anyone who generalized her in any way. In her attempt to get her to not worry, she had done just that. She gave Naoto’s hands a little squeeze. “It was no one’s fault other than the shadow. What matters is I’ll heal and you are safe.” Her gaze was focused on Naoto’s eyes. “You and I are safe. We will stay safe. And next time, we’ll be more prepared to not make mistakes.”
She reached up to brush so hair out of Naoto’s eyes and put a hand on her cheek. She was smiling to her. “But if you need to feel your guilt, about I decide your atonement. I say... spending time with me and at least one meal from you. Fair?”
@brainpuncher (pre-Sun/Moon)
It wasn't that big of a change for Gladion to hear there was a new grunt at the gang of misfits who chose not to participate in the Trial Tradition or were kicked out from them. As far as everyone knew, he was one of those poor souls who had tried the Trials or gotten late in starting them and had both dropped out and started a thug life to feed himself and his two Pokemon.
Even though he had left his previous life behind the Skull way of living wasn't that bad. Even though he'd wanted to try the Trials himself the cracks in the system were really clear to him and a glaring problem in the Alolan society. After seeing so many fall out and actually befriending some of the people like Plumeria had opened his eyes on how it needed to be fixed someday to suit everyone. He'd try to do that later when he'd saved Lillie and gotten enough money and sanity to face Lusamine the Bitch again.
"There's a new kid in the circles, huh?" He mused nonchalantly how seeing a foreigner join their side was odd but Guzma let people in if they showed enough distaint and talent, so she had to be good.
"Yep. She joined a day or two ago when you were hibernating with your Arceus-lookin' dog. She's really nice, you oughta talk with her if you got time." One grunt added how she also kicked ass with her Slaking and Mightyena and was as good as Plumeria in battles. "I wouldn't pick a fight with her, she's a perfect fit with her wit and energy." He scoffed and mused how he was definitely now interested if she really was as good as Plumeria was among Skull hierarchy ranks.
"As good as Plumeria, huh? Now I have to see her battling skills in action."
"Gladion, you gotta be insane. Bushida will wipe the floor with her team and she could've defeated any Trial better than any of us. I don't have any idea why she joined but I'm not whining."
"We'll have to see on that. I don't have the most 'loyal' hierarchy here but I have to defend the little reputation and life I have left. Is she now at Po Town?" He mused how he'd tell them if he lost or not - just to give a better representation of himself than what he'd initially had. After getting the information how she was last seen at the main building's hall he thanked them briefly and was strolling towards the location pointed to him.
"Hey, you. You must be the new recruit of Skull who could wiped Plumeria's team out if you wanted to." She seemed way older than he was and had a similar vibe what Plumeria had in her way of just being in the room. Either way, he wanted to both talk to the newcomer and battle her. He'd assumedly win, because Null was prepared to be a UB killer machine and had never failed on him.
Oh Natalie knew how Guzma could be. When they first met, he was not shy about getting all up in her face. She never flinched though. He respected that attitude. Hence why he let her in the group. Plus all the grunts already liked her after she helped them a bit earlier. Her rank just came with strength.
As the other trainer made to attack, Natalie smirked. “Get ready to dish out some Payback.” Dark energy began storing in Mightyena, but it got slammed into the gate. It did decent damage. But Natalie wasn’t warried. She planned for this. “Hey Gladion, last tip. Payback is a dark type move where a pokemon stores energy and releases it to attack. If it’s attacked while storing... the power is doubled.” She pointed forward just as Mightyena howled and exploded out in dark energy as an attack. It was powerful, like a wave. Even the iron fence bent back from the explosion source a little.
“Null might be your trump card, but Mightyena is the pokemon I can count on most in the world.”
@brainpuncher (during X/Y)
The male Trainer was glancing enthusiastically at his next possible target he’d conquer. The Fairy Badge would be his and he would finish the battle hours before Serena, his true rival starting from the fight he’d only describe as the failure of getting the Mega Ring and the privilege of investigating Mega Evolutions. He was pretty sure he was now good enough to wield the item in question and Serena choosing deliberately to not use was a waste for such a gift. He would definitely use it all the time if he owned that - which was why he was determined to be better than every Trainer in this region.
Maybe after that he’d be able to impress Sycamore, who seemed to hail Serena as the future Champion and the next Cynthia and get a savior of Kalos, and redeem his loss over minor mistakes such as sidestepping the wrong way at crucial moments. He only needed to train his Absol so it would be able to take one or more hits from Valerie’s team filled with Fairy types and then take on the Psychic Gym and Ice Gym as soon as possible. Of course he wanted to fight regularly after Serena had beaten all gyms to have a fair shake and a point of comparison. It was how his parents had handled battles, an aspect which was worked at most cases and the only thing he’d do in this journey.
After grinning he looked around him to find a Poke Center to heal his team so they could return to practising with the pokemon from the swamp. He was fairly sure the others were still listening that lunatic tell the ghost story and wasn’t regretting his decision to skip that. Yes, Shauna had looked confused but she’d surely understand later, right? At least he hoped so, he was still worried on her thinking he’d abandon others just because he wanted to defeat his rival.
That question brought a smile to Natalie’s face. “Oh it took a lot of hard work. Travelling, learning. and plenty of growing in more ways than one. I guess I could tell you how I got here...”
You ever run away from home? Like a spur of the moment thing? That was what little Natalie was doing now. She had a pack full of stuff on her bag, the card her parents gave her to buy necessities, and her little Poochyena. Currently she was in Mauville. She didn’t have any destination in mind. She just... didn’t want to stay alone in her house anymore.
With no focus on a destination, Natalie found herself in front of the Mauville gym. Of course she knew about the league and badge gathering. Who didn’t? Gyms weren’t just for challengers. People could take seats off to the side to watch battles. With nothing better to do, Natalie went in to take a seat, Poochyena hopping onto her lap once she did. She held onto him as they waited for something to happen.
Soon a challengers faced Wattson. As Natalie watched, she noticed something. The jolly gym leader always had a smile, enjoying the losing just as much as the winning. Even at the end when he ultimately lost, Wattson was still so cheery as he gave out the badge. He seemed to have so much fun. There wasn’t anything particularly great about it. It just looked like fun to Natalie.
After the battle, Natalie went up to speak to Wattson. “Sir?” The old man turn to her and grinned, asking what he could do for her. “Why do you have so much fun battling even if you lose?” His next words were some she remembered well.
“The battle is secondary. When you and your pokemon work toward something together... how could you not enjoy it? Two friends working toward something greater. I couldn’t imagine a bigger joy! Win or lose, we still do our best and enjoy every moment. I live for that happiness.”
Natalie wanted to be happy... why not try battling? It started simple enough, trying against wild pokemon and eventually trainers. They were terrible at first. Natalie tried her best to get better just as Poochyena did! She read books, watched videos, asked others for tips and tricks, and much more. She even got a notebook and started filling it with important notes she learned. Bit by bit, the two grew in size and bond. It wasn’t long til they decided together to try to be the best team they could be. The best in the world! But they needed to see and learn more in other places...
Natalie looked down at the notebook she had taken out. It was beat up, the binding held together with duct tape in many places. Most the pages were filled with so many notes she had figured out with her pokemon. Looking to Calem, she smirked. “Something as simple as thinking ‘That looks cool’ can lead to big stuff. But if you don’t enjoy what you do... what is the point? If there is no joy, try something else. You’ll find something that clicks right.”
@brainpuncher (pre-Sun/Moon)
It wasn't that big of a change for Gladion to hear there was a new grunt at the gang of misfits who chose not to participate in the Trial Tradition or were kicked out from them. As far as everyone knew, he was one of those poor souls who had tried the Trials or gotten late in starting them and had both dropped out and started a thug life to feed himself and his two Pokemon.
Even though he had left his previous life behind the Skull way of living wasn't that bad. Even though he'd wanted to try the Trials himself the cracks in the system were really clear to him and a glaring problem in the Alolan society. After seeing so many fall out and actually befriending some of the people like Plumeria had opened his eyes on how it needed to be fixed someday to suit everyone. He'd try to do that later when he'd saved Lillie and gotten enough money and sanity to face Lusamine the Bitch again.
"There's a new kid in the circles, huh?" He mused nonchalantly how seeing a foreigner join their side was odd but Guzma let people in if they showed enough distaint and talent, so she had to be good.
"Yep. She joined a day or two ago when you were hibernating with your Arceus-lookin' dog. She's really nice, you oughta talk with her if you got time." One grunt added how she also kicked ass with her Slaking and Mightyena and was as good as Plumeria in battles. "I wouldn't pick a fight with her, she's a perfect fit with her wit and energy." He scoffed and mused how he was definitely now interested if she really was as good as Plumeria was among Skull hierarchy ranks.
"As good as Plumeria, huh? Now I have to see her battling skills in action."
"Gladion, you gotta be insane. Bushida will wipe the floor with her team and she could've defeated any Trial better than any of us. I don't have any idea why she joined but I'm not whining."
"We'll have to see on that. I don't have the most 'loyal' hierarchy here but I have to defend the little reputation and life I have left. Is she now at Po Town?" He mused how he'd tell them if he lost or not - just to give a better representation of himself than what he'd initially had. After getting the information how she was last seen at the main building's hall he thanked them briefly and was strolling towards the location pointed to him.
"Hey, you. You must be the new recruit of Skull who could wiped Plumeria's team out if you wanted to." She seemed way older than he was and had a similar vibe what Plumeria had in her way of just being in the room. Either way, he wanted to both talk to the newcomer and battle her. He'd assumedly win, because Null was prepared to be a UB killer machine and had never failed on him.
As easy a cheap shot that was, Natalie did not take it. For one, she was above that. But secondly, the pokemon was nearer to Gladion. She wasn’t gonna put him in the crossfire. This was a fun battle. Not a violent fight. Mightyena backed off to stand in front of Natalie, not even needing a command to understand what she wanted.
Once the mud was cleared, Natalie nodded. “Not perfect, but not terrible choice making. At worst a C+. Your pokemon trusts your judgement in a situation it can’t be sure. Rookie trainers typically would tend to have panicking pokemon who can’t hear orders. But trust is a two way street. You panicked because you weren’t sure he could get past it. Don’t think he can make it. Know, have faith. Who knows him better than you after all?”
Natalie narrowed her eyes, Mightyena adopting a more intimidating stance as well. “Enough of the lecture though. I think it’s time I show you why people around here respect my abilities. If I let you doubt my skill without answering, what kind of leader would I be?” She pointed forward. “Snarl!” The pokemon let out a terrifying a loud snarl, the sound making an impact. It seemed to do more mentally, making Null less able to do more damage with certain attacks.
@brainpuncher (during X/Y)
The male Trainer was glancing enthusiastically at his next possible target he’d conquer. The Fairy Badge would be his and he would finish the battle hours before Serena, his true rival starting from the fight he’d only describe as the failure of getting the Mega Ring and the privilege of investigating Mega Evolutions. He was pretty sure he was now good enough to wield the item in question and Serena choosing deliberately to not use was a waste for such a gift. He would definitely use it all the time if he owned that - which was why he was determined to be better than every Trainer in this region.
Maybe after that he’d be able to impress Sycamore, who seemed to hail Serena as the future Champion and the next Cynthia and get a savior of Kalos, and redeem his loss over minor mistakes such as sidestepping the wrong way at crucial moments. He only needed to train his Absol so it would be able to take one or more hits from Valerie’s team filled with Fairy types and then take on the Psychic Gym and Ice Gym as soon as possible. Of course he wanted to fight regularly after Serena had beaten all gyms to have a fair shake and a point of comparison. It was how his parents had handled battles, an aspect which was worked at most cases and the only thing he’d do in this journey.
After grinning he looked around him to find a Poke Center to heal his team so they could return to practising with the pokemon from the swamp. He was fairly sure the others were still listening that lunatic tell the ghost story and wasn’t regretting his decision to skip that. Yes, Shauna had looked confused but she’d surely understand later, right? At least he hoped so, he was still worried on her thinking he’d abandon others just because he wanted to defeat his rival.
“You gotta look past your assumptions. For example, would a punk care about how Serena felt and try to help her?” Natalie crossed her arms and looked out to the distance. “My goal is to hit the world stage. The league here is nice, but not my goal at all. I came here to train myself. My pokemon... they never let me down. I have to get better to match their dedication. You care about your pokemon. You just need some self reflection.”
Natalie looked back at Calem. “Like I said before, you still can fix things. It won’t be easy. But despite how things are, I do not believe Serena sees you as a truly lost cause. It’s gonna be uncomfortable. it will take time. But... nothing in life worth it is easy.” She gave Calem a light slap on the back. “When you find out what it means to be a trainer for yourself, come find me. I’ll show you how a battle can be exciting and fun.” She looked to the Charizard. “I can tell from looking at you that you don’t want to leave it like this. You want a rematch.” She looked back to Calem. “My advice is to work on bonds. Strength and knowledge only take you so far.”
@thedetectiveofinaba
It had been a casual trip to the TV world. Both to get a little clue or two for the investigation and keep on their toes skills wise. It was Yu, Yukiko, Natalie, and Naoto this time, helped by Rise of course. Natalie had relented and let them train in the dungeon her shadow made... only because the enemies there were tough enough to add challenge. Honestly it gave motivation for Natalie to try harder. Nerio was doing a lot of the physical attacking, other Persona’s covering her weakness of spells. It was always comforting to have big guns on your side, no?
“Hey now, I can take hits better than Kanji. I would prove that if he wasn’t so against a fight with me since I’m a girl.” Despite Natalie being someone who literally worked her entire life to take hits and dish it out, people still tended to think tough boy Kanji was tougher. That understandably frustrated her. Hell, part of her training was repeated strikes on the stomach to work her ability to keep strength in her legs when punched there. And she was very sure she had more skill and strength than Kanji did.
“In any case, this shouldn’t be too bad. Keeping off it, some rest, ice for swelling, should be back to normal. Like a bad trip to be honest.” Yu helped Naoto support Natalie as they headed back to the entrance. Of course everyone was worried, but Natalie assured them she was fine and would bounce back in no time. Luckily no one bothered them too much at Junes and Natalie could get a ride on another’s scooter home.
Of course Naoto came with her to get her inside. She didn’t exactly have anyone home to do so. Once sat down, she gave Naoto a light tap with her fist on the dectective’s arm. “Hey now, I’m okay. And don’t you dare blame yourself. I chose to do that and what happened is my responsibility.”
@brainpuncher (pre-Sun/Moon)
It wasn't that big of a change for Gladion to hear there was a new grunt at the gang of misfits who chose not to participate in the Trial Tradition or were kicked out from them. As far as everyone knew, he was one of those poor souls who had tried the Trials or gotten late in starting them and had both dropped out and started a thug life to feed himself and his two Pokemon.
Even though he had left his previous life behind the Skull way of living wasn't that bad. Even though he'd wanted to try the Trials himself the cracks in the system were really clear to him and a glaring problem in the Alolan society. After seeing so many fall out and actually befriending some of the people like Plumeria had opened his eyes on how it needed to be fixed someday to suit everyone. He'd try to do that later when he'd saved Lillie and gotten enough money and sanity to face Lusamine the Bitch again.
"There's a new kid in the circles, huh?" He mused nonchalantly how seeing a foreigner join their side was odd but Guzma let people in if they showed enough distaint and talent, so she had to be good.
"Yep. She joined a day or two ago when you were hibernating with your Arceus-lookin' dog. She's really nice, you oughta talk with her if you got time." One grunt added how she also kicked ass with her Slaking and Mightyena and was as good as Plumeria in battles. "I wouldn't pick a fight with her, she's a perfect fit with her wit and energy." He scoffed and mused how he was definitely now interested if she really was as good as Plumeria was among Skull hierarchy ranks.
"As good as Plumeria, huh? Now I have to see her battling skills in action."
"Gladion, you gotta be insane. Bushida will wipe the floor with her team and she could've defeated any Trial better than any of us. I don't have any idea why she joined but I'm not whining."
"We'll have to see on that. I don't have the most 'loyal' hierarchy here but I have to defend the little reputation and life I have left. Is she now at Po Town?" He mused how he'd tell them if he lost or not - just to give a better representation of himself than what he'd initially had. After getting the information how she was last seen at the main building's hall he thanked them briefly and was strolling towards the location pointed to him.
"Hey, you. You must be the new recruit of Skull who could wiped Plumeria's team out if you wanted to." She seemed way older than he was and had a similar vibe what Plumeria had in her way of just being in the room. Either way, he wanted to both talk to the newcomer and battle her. He'd assumedly win, because Null was prepared to be a UB killer machine and had never failed on him.
Gladion was a fast thinker, taking the disadvantage and trying to make up for it with clear commands. Though Natalie personally would have had her pokemon face up after dodging and continue to dodge until the rain cleared the mud. Time for her to keep pressing her advantage.
“Mightyena, get in there and use Crunch.” The wolf like pokemon trotted forward at the blinded opponent, Null undoubtedly trying to gauge when it was close enough to slam into. It had some weight to it from the looks of it. But thanks to Mightyena going forward at a more medium speed, it was able to dodge to the side and sink it’s teeth into the side. The bite delivered, it hopped back. Get in and get out. Mightyena was strong, but dark types weren’t built for taking heavy hits. It’s agility made up for it though.
brainpuncher:
“If you think I’ll let you have a second to get back momentum, you are a fool! I’m gonna give you what you have asked for!” She held up her fist, the Mega Stone set in her glove starting to sparkle. That’s right! She was holding nothing back. Steelix’s body was covered in an energy dome as the stone grew brighter. “When it comes to an unwavering will, our’s is harder than steel! Now, Mega Evolution!” With a burst, the Steelix got out the energy dome. It was definitely bigger and more impressive in it’s Mega Form!
Natalie pointed forward. “Press forward our advantage! Use Smack Down!” The steel type roared as it’s tail slapped big rocks right at Charizard. This move was made to bring fliers down to the ground! Worst yet, Calem had to know a rock type move like that would hurt Charizard more thanks to it being half flying type! Combine it with the Sandstorm damage and Mega Evolution power up and his pokemon was definitely in trouble!
If her intention was to rile him up and confuse every fiber in him, Natalie had definitely succeeded in it. Calem yelled loudly out of trying to look like he knew what he was doing and irritation how she better bring up her best since he was going to get rid of this sand obstacle and proceed to burn her Steelix to ashes. Why are you so mean to me? I literally just met you and if your reason is Serena, sheesh you’re really her best friend.
The Mega Evolution he saw was both breathtaking and intimidating for him to see in person. Finally he had a chance to see one in person and be privileged in this way, yet he felt it wasn’t the scenario he had wanted his first experience. In an ideal case it would’ve been in a battle with Serena and not in a match which was this heated. The tension in this moment was way too much and straight-up unpleasant.
He needed to come up with something fast before his Fire-type Dragon would be hit with big rocks coming from above him. “Charizard, dodge all rocks to… uh, right! Try to not get hit!” He was currently trying to multitask on ensuring his Meowstick wasn’t getting hurt by the rocks and yelled it to stop looking for his hat.
“Return to the Poke Ball now, it’s not safe! I can look for my hat after this battle.” The Psychic cat returned to the safe haven from the Sandstorm and the fire dragon was trying to only avoid obstacles with Calem’s clumsy guidance. It went with a zig-zagging motion curve and while it did work for the most time, its tail received a bit of damage and caused it to roar out loud on how it stung.
Natalie stared at the panicking Calem. Perhaps she had made her point. He clearly was starting to feel it. The sandstorm started dying down as she spoke. “You can’t think straight. You are panicking. You clearly hate all this. Now imagine you had to go through this several times. You knew it was gonna happen. You keep telling me to stop but I won’t because I’m too focused on proving I’m better than you in some sort of fantasy I made up for myself.” Her Steelix glowed as it went back to normal, bending down as Natalie went over to pat it’s face. “Calem, what you felt is what you made Serena feel. She isn’t enjoying it. She was pushed to fulfill a role and instead of making the best of her journey, you make her stick to that role. You aren’t being a friend.” She pointed right at Calem. “The core of Mega Evolution is understanding the feelings of your pokemon. If you can’t empathize with another human, you can’t do it with a pokemon.” Returning her Steelix, Natalie placed it on her belt and retrieved a Super Potion from her bag/ She offered it to Calem. “Apologize to Serena for making her feel like that. Think on why you are out here in the first place. Take some time to stop and spend time with your pokemon.” She looked back to the Charizard. “Sorry I was so rough in making my point. But... I know what it is like for people to ignore what you want... what you need. The difference is it isn’t too late for you to make up.”
@thedetectiveofinaba
It had been a casual trip to the TV world. Both to get a little clue or two for the investigation and keep on their toes skills wise. It was Yu, Yukiko, Natalie, and Naoto this time, helped by Rise of course. Natalie had relented and let them train in the dungeon her shadow made... only because the enemies there were tough enough to add challenge. Honestly it gave motivation for Natalie to try harder. Nerio was doing a lot of the physical attacking, other Persona’s covering her weakness of spells. It was always comforting to have big guns on your side, no?
“Hey now, we both know I can take a hit way better than anyone here. It could have been worse.” Natalie tried standing, but stopped when pain shot up her leg. “Feels like a slight sprain... but hey, no broken bones or blood. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s a good idea I fight anymore. Help me up?” Natalie grabbed Naoto’s hand as the other two rushed over, making sure to lean on her good leg.
“This is why we bring supplies. I left some stuff to help with the sprain at the entrance with the others. Luckily we got that item that will take us out instantly. Sorry I cut this trip short guys.” Of course Yu and Yukiko responded with no blame, just worry for her. Natalie was bummed she was the one bringing the trip down, but she didn’t want to worry anyone by letting it show.
