Coumarine City
-Herbert wheels around to face Ryu, clearly holding back a growl.-
Herbert: If you had any idea what I've been through, you'd think twice before making a smart-ass comment like that.
-He turns back to Human!Teishi, managing to keep himself somewhat more composed.-
Herbert: And did it ever occur to you that having fun at other people's expense might not be so much fun for said other people? Think twice about that next time before you cause some harmless old pensioner to choke on his own false teeth.
edited 20th Feb '14 2:54:22 PM by Herbert40k
Near Teishi
Tiana: <He was just pulling a prank!>
Near Finn
George: <You may have bested me while I was in the clutches of CIPHER, but now I have the edge!>
Contact Me!Hotel Coumarine
-Ever has finally been awoken by Letter's face-poking-
Ever: Mmph, what is it...?
Cuseinga: -tackles Ever from a rafter- <ADVENTURE AWAITS!>
Ever: Augh!
Cuseinga: <We have to move on! The clouds are leaving us behind!>
Ever: What are you talking about...?
Dunsparce didn't stop being a thing or anything.Courmarine Gym
A shortcake entered the gym, looking around. ...It looked like a grass gym, not that she hadn't done her research beforehand. And—Were those ropes?! Was she expected to swing from those?!
Valorie internally sighed. Y'see, exercise wasn't really her thing...
After a long moment of debating whether her mauled arms and back could take this she moved on. A very long series of swinging, climbing, scraped knees and resting later Valorie finally arrived at the top of the gym.
This gym sucked. Everything about it sucked. Climbing /sucked/ when you could barely lift your own weight. ...Valorie hated this gym.
"Hehe—yeh look like yeh had a rough time making it up here, whippersnapper." an old man remarked in amusement, seeing the incredibly unamused look on Valorie's face. "Did yeh enjoy the playground I made?" he then asked rhetorically with a chuckle.
"...Not really." Valorie replied, doing her best to restrain herself. She had to respect her elders, even if they were being a bit obnoxious.
Ramos abruptly grew serious. "Their strength is kin to my strength as a gardener and a Gym Leader! Yeh sure yer up to facing all that?" he asked, raising a brow at Valorie's scraped knees. She'd fell on her knees and buttocks far more times than she'd care to admit.
A burst of white light from her satchel drew Valorie's attention and Charizard emerged. Valorie reached for another pokeball, ready to scold the pseudo dragon for her insolence and defend herself if need be.
<Battle with me.> Charizard said in a matter-o-fact tone.
Valorie stopped, her brows furrowing. Who did Charizard think she was? She didn't want to battle with her..! She didn't want to do anything with her! Valorie remained silent, crossing her arms at Charizard expectantly.
Ramos looked back and forth for a moment. "Looks like yer Pokemon wants to battle." he remarked.
"I know." Valorie responded. It was weird, interacting with people who had no reason to believe she understood pokemon. Was this how other people felt talking to her?
<This is what you want. This is what I want. Don't let your emotions get in the way of victory.> Charizard lectured.
Valorie just sort of glared at Chariard. The pain in her eyes was reminiscent of the night Charizard had attacked her, full of massive betrayal and even a little bit of hatred.
"...Say, is that a hearing aid?" a semi-oblivious Ramos asked, possibly attempting to break the tension. "Yer a bit young to look this weather, missy..." he continued broodingly. Valorie snapped to attention. Had he just said she looked... old?
<Listen to me! ...You want to be the strongest trainer in the world and I want to be the pokemon that gets you there. I will be there for you... even when that means giving you a harsh dose of reality .> Chaizard continued, putting a great deal of emphasis on that last part.
Valoirie's eyes widened and she whipped her head away to face Ramos. "Enough!" she called out, removing her hand from the pokeball she'd been priming. The old man knew nothing of the troubles she'd seen and she wasn't about to sit there talking about them with him. "I challenge you Ramos, Courmarine City Gym Leader!" she announced.
...
The battle was rather onesided. Charizard was clearly the stronger mon, and with a hell of a type advantage that not even Ramos' Gogoat could compensate for it only took three pokemon before the gym leader raised a hand in surrender.
"Yeh've clearly got the strength to best me young sprout. For that I grant you the Plant Badge." he admitted, a pleased smile taking over Valorie's face at the compliment. The old man proceeded forward, not even he could make Valorie feel tall, and planted the badge in Valorie's outstretched palm.
"I worry, though." Ramos was quick to continue. "Yer bond with your pokemon appears strained; yeh might have a hard time gettin' away with that if yeh try for the elite four." he warned speculatively, not letting go of the plant badge until he finished. Valorie furrowed her bros at the thought and glanced at Charizard.
Could she forgive her? Horrible memories came back to her.
No; no she could not.
I dropped out of school to become a pokemon master, but then they pulled me right back in to get my doctorate!Shalour
I just wanted to make clear to her that I was never planning on leaving her, that I'm not her boyfriend just because I feel obligated to.
edited 20th Feb '14 3:04:28 PM by rmctagg09
Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.Coumarine City
"<If you actually knew us, you'd think twice before calling us ruffians. So I guess we're even.>" said Ryu
"Hey! I took a good look at you before setting this up to see if it would be a good idea. You seemed fine so I went for it! I wouldn't do anything like this to say, old people, because I don't wanna make anyone faint or worse; and if anyone started choking I'd help them with it and apologize!" said Teishi.
Coumarine City
-Herbert gives Ryu a glare before turning back to Human!Teishi.-
Herbert: Still doesn't change the fact that it's reckless and irresponsible. Here's a tip - maybe next time you should try it on somebody you actually know, rather than some random stranger who could have some kind of congenital heart defect? Or better yet, don't try it at all. I'll be expecting you to give Duke his armband back soon, and if you don't, then I'm going to have some words with Sakura about keeping her Pokemon in line. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go try and calm my shredded nerves.
-He turns and starts to walk away.-
edited 20th Feb '14 3:10:28 PM by Herbert40k
Coumarine City
Teishi sighs and actually seems rather pensive for a while
"You know, maybe he's right, let's do this with just people we know, at least for now." said Teishi.
"<Eh? Why?>" asked Sub-Zero
Teishi looks somewhat dispirited "Because all this managed to do was make me feel upset. At least with friend they'd laugh with us."
"<Fair enough, but I guess we just had bad luck to meet up with that guy.>" said Ryu
"He seemed nice when I first met him. I wonder if something happened." said Teishi, looking mildly concerned.

Shalour City
Godot and Sonny Jim are blipped into the city.
Sonny Jim: <OH-KAY~ Now to head to the hotel!>
Godot: <It's best if we take this slowly. Step by Step. Any suddeness at this point might end up aggravating the situation.>
Sonny Jim: <SO! What were you thinking of saying to the commanding officer, private?>
I'm having to learn to pay the price