Fandom Pokémon: Rise of Shadows

[Emperor Of Embers]

Serenity watched as the Gardevoir and Typhlosion fighting, she grew concerned, but not for the escalating fight. She grew concerned for them if Venin heard the loud shouting as he tried to sleep, but to dash her hopes, Venin heard, and growled as he got up.

Venin had the look that even an angry Mankey would fear, he gave off a growl as he stomped towards them, tired, irritated, and furious. His eyes bloodshot and his teeth bared. He got close, but not close enough before Alistair stopped him.

"Venin, breathe buddy. Take a deep breath." He instructed as he took a deep breath, with the raging Tyrantrum doing as he was told. "Good, now keep going until you are calm. You wanna go in your pokeball? Maybe you can get some sleep in there." Alistair asked the now calm Despot Pokemon, who simply nodded, and was recalled into his capsule. Alistair looked at Charise and Ceres, and shook his head disapprovingly. He then looked at Serenity, who had shuffled over to him, and looked at Venin's pokeball. "He is alright, Ma. He just needs a long nap, that's all." he said as he rubbed her head. Latios Minako Assailant Daisie

 

[Assailant]

April gently nuzzled Arcanus's arm. "Arc..." she said sympathetically. She gave him a gentle smile as she tried her hardest to appear comforting. "I wish it was that easy..." She chuckled a bit as things clicked in her head. "Think about it though: it takes a special kinda person to go on a journey like this. You have to be pretty stubborn. Makes sense that that kinda fighting spirit wouldn't be just limited to our enemies, huh?" She hesitated for a moment, quietly thinking to herself for a few moments before speaking up in a quiet voice.

"Arc... you can talk to me, you know?" She smiled weakly. "You do so much for me, I don't want to feel like I'm weighing you down." She shook her head solemnly. "I can tell you're frustrated and exhausted... I just... wish you'd let me help... even though... I seem to be making things worse, heh..." She looked down at the ground and awkwardly scraped the ground with her talon. "E-even still... y-you don't have to do things yourself... you know? I've opened myself to you... you can do the same." April blushed and lifted the pendulum around her neck. "I... I didn't put this thing on for nothing, you know?"

April jumped as the Legendary Pokemon spoke. "Geez, taking me by surprise..."

Daisie


Max yelped as Girantina said his piece. He grunted in annoyance. Without his sight, just about anything would take him by surprise. Anytime he found his frustration building, he just remembered that this was the punishment for his hubris.

Finishing off the last of the food, he slowly stood up with the aid of his stick. Even without his enhanced hearing, he could tell a fight was going on between Ceres and Charise. Was that his fault, or was he just the straw that broke the camels back? It didn't matter, he supposed, he was still the cause, and he would have to find some way to make it up to them.


Tyler nodded as Girantina spoke up and shook his head, shaking away all doubt and sorrow. He was ready to go. He had to be.

 

[Daisie]

Arcanus couldn't help but flinch at the giant Legendary's voice, as well. Though he was not nearly as startled as Max seemed to be, a short distance away... At least Arc was able to see Giratina coming. He had a lot of sympathy for the Lucario.

He sighed, however, thinking about April's words. "It is not that I feel unsafe opening up, love... I simply feel that it won't accomplish much. Of course, it is a minor stress relief, but in reality it is just that: minor. This... This is the end of the world, my gem." He smiled sadly, looking at the distortion realm around them. "Speech can be quite powerful, as we all know... But talking away all of my stress is a tad far-fetched. I'll be far more relieved when this is all done with... Yes, once this is over... Then I can rest..." He looked down at the ground, something about that last sentence not sitting right with him, though he didn't have the mental power to identify why.

"...Either way, we should be getting prepared. Giratina awaits, and we have a mission." Arcanus reminded before walking off towards the rest of the group.

Assailant

 

[Minako]

The embrace between the three lifted the Togekiss's spirits greatly, and it almost ebbed things between the Typhlosion and the Gardevoir... Though there was still clear hostility between the two.

When the two looked away from the Togekiss they were horrified to see the rest of their family was there, Ro watching them in terror and disappointment. Felicia was exhausted, as it seemed she rushed to them, but her face still clearly looked heartbroken and Cadence looked extremely annoyed at both them, clearly also not approving of their conduct, either. Charise was unsure if she loved or loathed Giratina's timing as he suddenly appeared.

The magnolia clad Gardevoir quickly looked around to see if anyone else had caught their argument, unfortunately too late, as everyone had already focused their attention on the Renegade Pokemon. Charise looked down meekly, figuring it was for the best, and wordlessly agreed with the Giratinas command.

Following the Giratinas command out of pure fear, Rosie returned all of her Pokemon except Charise and Magnus, then running to the camp area to clean up the Camp. Charsie slowly helped Magnnus there so that they could be ready to leave as soon they were done packing. Their Trainer wasted no time shoving everything into the backpacks to be out of this realm as quickly as possible.

 

[Assailant]

"W-wai...-" April tried to call out to Arcanus, but he was already gone. She slowly lowered her head with a sigh. If what he said was true, then why did he bother hearing her out? Even Arcanus was fallible, she had to sometimes remind herself of that. Could it be? Was she really unable to help him?

April stared down at the pendulum that was still in her wings with a somber stare. Was she really just dead weight?

No. No, this pendulum meant something. Arc had persevered for her when she was much worse. If Arc could withstand even her blows and still be determined to help her, she could take him being a touch withdrawn. She loved him, and that had to mean something.

April smiled and watched Arc's receding form. It was her turn to help him. I'll get you to open up yet, Arc. I'm not letting you take this alone.

Daisie

 

[Latios]

As they descended from the towering rock, Giratina began leading them through the wrapped paths once more The farther they went the more surroundings changed. They had even reached an area where there was little land but instead large floating masses of water, signifying maybe an ocean of some kind back in the over world. However enough wrapped sea bed remained for the group to continue. Eventually with enough walking the scenery changed again to show land again starting with beaches. "We are in Hoenn now. Not much longer untill we reach your town." Said Giratina.
Assailant Daisie Minako Emperor Of Embers

 

[Daisie]

Arcanus walked on his own for a little bit, being sure to watch his step closely. Getting a bit used to the strangeness of the distortion world, he realized it was quite... Beautiful. It was no wonder why Giratina was so protective of it. He breathed easy here, knowing there wasn't any immediate danger - other than falling and cracking his head on the ceiling.

He looked around at all the members of the group... He did need to get to know a few of them, and the perfect time to do so was when nothing else was happening... A distraction wouldn't hurt, either. Eeny meeny miny...

Arcanus approached Kaine cheerfully. "Greetings! I don't believe we've talked. What was your name, if I might inquire?"

Minako

 

[Minako]

Kaine had carefully looked on at the fight, not hearing anything but glad that the young Togekiss was able to quell the escalating tension between the two, not deciding if this was more or less convenient for him. It seems as long as the Gardevoir wanted to remain with everyone the pesky Typhlosion wouldn't put a wrench in his plans... Possibly.

The blinded Lucario was probably the reason Charise wanted to stay, and she probably had a thing for the Lucario, though Kaine had no idea if he was as into her, and that was a darn shame because Kaine actually thought she was kinda cute.... Er, for a Psychic type...

He was shaken out of his thoughts when Giratina appeared, almost jumping out of his skin when the Renegade Pokemon appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"GAH! Freakin' legendary..." Kaine thought as Giratina gave them orders.

On cue, the Charizard helped clean up and was very cooperative to get a supply backpack on him. Kaine was still out and about as he was one of the more strapping flying types necessary to carry some supplies, was in the middle of having Ro shove pots and pans and ingredients into the backpack he was wearing when the yellow Pokemon he hadn't really seen before approached him.

"Oh! Hey, man! How's it going? I don't think I've seen a Pokemon like you be--"

"Hypno: The Hypnosis Pokemon. As a matter of course, it makes anyone it meets fall asleep and has a taste of their dreams. Anyone having a good dream, it carries off," A sudden robotic, emotionless voice a quick glance down at the human would reveal came from her Pokedex, the human smiling meekly at the both of them while adding just as shyly and bashfully, "I-I've never seen a Hypno up close before, haha...."

"...Psychic types... Why, oh why, is it always psychic types?!" Kaine thought, wincing and backing away slightly from the Hypno in extreme discomfort, glad he wasn't asleep and having good dreams!

Daisie

 

[Daisie]

Arcanus smiled, though a bit confused as he felt the jolt of fear emanating from Kaine. Instead, he looked over at the human with a smile. "Ah, that... Is an old myth, I believe. While it is true that some of us can 'taste' dreams... It's a practice that used to be quite popular, but in truth it is rarely used amongst us anymore. And we certainly do not take people away, I can assure you." Arcanus reassured both the human and the Charizard in a kind manner. It couldn't be the Charizard was afraid of him, right...? The beast was far larger than him and could throw him across the room without breaking a sweat, he was quite certain. "We - my family, at least - are a very peaceful and isolated kind."

"Excuse my rambling. My name is Arcanus. It is a pleasure to meet you two."

Minako

 

[Minako]

"Yeah, buddy, I don't care what you say, you're creepier than the kid, which I didn't think was possible, and I am DEFINITELY sleeping with one eye open tonight... and every night you're around!" Kaine thought to himself as Arcanus introduced himself and tried to explain away his creep factor to no avail.

"Yeah that sounds like it's a tall tale," The small human brunette almost giggled, still smiling at both of them however.

The Charizard couldn't help but feel uneasy at how friendly this Hypno was and how close it was towards the human, but he was trying to keep his thoughts empty just in case it went snooping in his head... Psychic-types were invasive like that...

"Now, now, Kaine, we just had this talk," Came Charises voice, approaching them, clearly no longer needing space since they started walking.

That didn't mean she was well, however, as even Kaine could tell her smile was forced and the sparkle in her eyes was gone.

"Y-yeah, b-but-h-he!" Kaine began, interrupted before he could finish.

"Kaine..." Charise sternly repeated in a motherly tone.

"Mmmmrmm... Alright," Kaine winced and agreed hesitantly, turning to Arcanus and adding, "Nice ta meet'cha too..."

Daisie

 

[Daisie]

Arcanus chuckled a little bit as his suspicions were confirmed. A Charizard frightened by him? He could scarcely believe it. He still hadn't worked out why, yet. "Ah... Kaine, is it? That sounds familiar to me..." He noted thoughtfully, out to the three others around him. Suddenly, he remembered, looking up at Kaine with excited, albeit red (And possibly eeeevil), eyes. "Ah, that's right. Human languages are interesting - it's Greek, is it not? We never learned much about Greek. It means.. Flame, correct? Or something of that caliber." Seemed like his interest was piqued.

Perhaps making conversation with the Pokemon who appeared to think he was the devil was an unwise idea, but Arc hoped that maybe they'd open up a little bit after some conversation. After all, if they were to fight side by side, mutual trust was something that had to be established...

Minako

 

[Minako]

Kaine's eye twitched a bit and his body subtly (and by subtly it was actually quite blatant) stiffened as he saw the increasingly creepy Hypno's ominous red eyes, not matching his tone that just sounded interested...

The large Flame Pokemon wasn't going to lie to himself, Arcanus was pretty high on a scale of one to NOPE.

He tried to be smooth about looking between the Hypno and Charise, but it was clear that anyone paying attention could see his glance go back and forth between the two. How could two Psychics be so different? One was green and pretty and elegant and the other was... a-a hypnotist kidnapper!

He shuddered a moment and tried to regain composure as Arcanus pretty much nailed guessing his trainers naming convention.

"E-er, yeah, th-that's what my t-- Er, I mean yeah that's why I'm called th-that!" Kaine explained as his "articulation" came from sheer fear of the Hypno and backpedalling from mentioning his trainer. He definitely didn't want to be thinking about them around the psychics. Good thing, too, Charise gave him a curious glance as he was beginning to say trainer.

"G-geez, as if I needed MORE reasons to be apprehensive around this guy...AUGH! Crap, stop thinking about it! Stop thinking about him dammit, don't blow it!" Kaine thought to himself uncomfortably, trying to rush those thoughts out of his head for fear of Arcanus' invasive ability.

To his surprise, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, surprised it was Charise's, and smiled when she did. He liked her smile. And her flower. And how her flower smelled. He liked a lot about this particular green psychic-type actually... and if most psychic-types were even a little like her...

"A-A-ANYWAY!" Kaine felt a slight blush while smiling, looking back at her and adding, "So... Y-you and Ceres were, uh... arguing pretty hard back there, huh?"

His heart sank as the smile faded from her face, to be replaced by a lost look with even emptier eyes. Kaine didn't know a lot of women, or about them, but if his time with Florina was any indication, it must be that women always wanna be told they're right!

"Don't worry, next time, I'll hold her, and YOU punch! Haha!" He joked, slamming his right fist into his left claw, hoping his message got across.

To his dismay however, this "charming" and "witty" joke did not have its desired effect: Charise, instead, looked angered and offended, perhaps even more so at his discrimination towards psychics this morning.

The magnolia clad Gardevoir, pained and indignant, walked off.

"Hey! For what it's worth--" Kaine began, pausing a moment and adding when she stopped in her tracks without turning back, "I-I... I think I can guess why you fought... a-and I think you're right... a-and that you're a great Gardevoir..."

He didn't know if his words had helped heal Charises heart, as she still didn't look back, but after freezing a moment she continued walking as if she heard nothing. Rosie, also concerned, almost called out to Charise and rushed after, but Kaine stopped the small brunette before she could. Then the girl looked upset at his gesture, he shook his head sternly and his body language seemed to exude "Give her space", which, and it took the human girl a while, she finally agreed to eventually.

"I-I... uhm..." He scratched the back of his head and looked stupefied at the Hypno, almost forgetting his fear of him, bumbling, "I-I imagined... she'd react differently to that joke... i-in my head... Women, amirite? Aha..."

Daisie

 

[Daisie]

Arcanus had a look of concern on his face as that entire turn of events went down, though he figured it would be best to not get directly involved... In fact, the reason he chose neither Ceres or Charise to chat with is because he specifically didn't want to get involved, and he knew the subject would turn up somehow... He breathed a bit of a quiet sigh, chuckling softly at Kaine's comment to him. The Charizard seemed quite smitten towards Charise. Not that he blamed him - she did seem very sweet. "In all honesty, I don't believe the fact that she is a lady had much to do with it."

"That argument only happened just recently... It is expected that she would still be sore. Simply give her time..." Arcanus assured calmly, with a bit of a smile. "That was her friend you were talking about, after all."

Minako

 

[Latios]

The Lati's kept their distance from the majority of the group being the only ones able to fly normally in this dimension without interference from the gravity shifts. As they passed through the ocean like area, Emlas marveled at the sights. All around the massive bubbles of floating water could be seen colorful warped coral reefs, however none of the land ever touched the water, as if the group itself repelled the liquid as it floated about, occasionally breaking apart and merging with other water bubbles. “Wow. This is... quite amazing.” Said Emlas. “It’s very... I don’t know how to describe it. It’s different, that’s for sure.”

“I believe the term your looking for is intriguing.” Said Latios with a chuckle.

“Yeah, maybe. That’s probably a good way to put it.”

“It also helps that we don’t have to conform to the strange gravitational laws here like other fliers when it comes to trying to enjoy this place.”

“Haha, yeah. Sucks to be April.” Emlas said with a laugh. However the laugh was short lived when she remembered her apology. She wanted to keep laughing at it as some kind of revenge but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. She also remembered that Aero, or Magnus, also had trouble flying here. Speaking of the young Togekiss, wasn’t there a fight around him between Ceres an Charise? How did that end up. Were things ok now? There was only one way to find out. Looking back at the group walking on the warped sea bed she saw that at lest Charise was still outside her pokeball. “Excuse me Latios, I need to check on something.” She told her brother before flying closer to the Snow White psychic. “Hey... so uh... this is a nice view huh.” Emlas started off saying to Charise.
Minako

 

[Minako]

Kaine stiffened and cringed at Arcanus' reminder: That was right, at the end of the day, those two have been together all their lives and cared for each other despite arguing.

"Aw, sh--" Kaine began, not thinking at all until he noticed that the young Togekiss was close by and immediately stopped his words and amended them to a more child appropriate choice, "I-I mean, aw, crap, you're right... Shoot... I really did screw up, huh? I-I didn't mean to offend her or anything, I-I just wanted to show I was on her side, ya know?"

He lowered his head as if he was guilty of committing high treason, both in guilt of being oblivious and sorta still being intimidated by Arcanus, and scratched his head again.

"...Mr. Kaine, are you scared of Mr. Arcanus?" Magnus, who was nearby but had remained quiet before, finally spoke up.

"WH-WHAT?! ME?! N-NO! WHERE'D YOU GET AN IDEA LIKE THAT KID?!" Kaine blurted, flustered, while answering the young Jubilee Pokemon.

"Well, it's just... You seem really nervous around them is all..." Maggie noted bluntly.

"...I'm sorry, Did you hear his Pokedex entry??" Kaine asked questioningly, forgetting Arcanus was close by for a second, then tried to joke it off, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... I didn't mean that... ahahha... Please don't eat my dreams..."

Daisie


The land at the bottom of the ocean would have almost unnerved the Gardevoir...Had she noticed. Despite the random "bubbles" of water above them, the heavy smell of salt lingered in the air, though it wasn't even registering to her. She walked steadily and quietly, as if in a trance to walk forward forever. Ceres' words were embedded in her mind.

Was she really neglecting Ro for Max?

She wanted to argue against that point to herself, but, a small part of her had to admit perhaps she did need time away from Ro in order to get over her...

She wasn't exactly with Ro now, either...

What was wrong with her? Now, more than ever, she should be glued to Ro's hip... Not needing time away...

Maybe Ceres was right.

It wasn't until the Red young Eon Pokemon approached her and began talking to her that Charise even knew she was walking on what would normally be the bottom of the sea... had it water.

"Hm? Wh-what?" She began, snapping out of it, adding when her mind finally processed what Emlas said, "O-oh, Emlas...Uhm... I-it's... well..."

She glanced beside her to see the distorted ocean, and sort of jumped upon seeing it. This was nothing like any ocean she had seen before! When Charise thought of oceans she thought of the ones back in Cherrygrove, to the first time her and Ro had gone to the beach when they were very little!

It almost reminded her of when, back then, Ro was afraid of the ocean because of a scary story Synne and Caesar had read to them the night before and didn't like how cold it was once Charise finally did manage to convince her to at least touch the water, so the girl would always run away from the water, but the prettiest seashells she wanted to collect were the ones buried underneath the waves, so when the water retracted to form more waves the small brunette ran as far into the wet sand as she could, dig as fast as humanly possible, and run back to Charise to deposit her findings in their bucket. Charise was willing to bet if beaches were like this back home, Ro would never go near them again!

The magnolia clad Gardevoir managed to paint a weak but pained smile across her face from the thought, but Ro was both hurtful and helpful to her heart, so there was still no sparkle in her eyes despite her.

"I-it's... It's really something...!" Charise managed to grit out in response, shocked back into reality from such a sight.

Latios

 

[Latios]

Emlas was almost relived to know that the Gardevoir seemed to be just as awkward as her when when it came to starting a conversation. Hopefully that would make things easier. However, Emlas had taken note of just how long it took to respond to her question, as if she had only just now noticed where they were. “I’m sorry, was I interrupting something? I’m guessing you were thinking to your self pretty hard.” Said the girl Lati now hopeing she hadn’t been rude. “I just uhh... wanted to see if you were ok...” Now that she felt somewhat rude, Emlas slowly became more awkward as the conversation went on. “What I mean to say is... uh.... well... I herd a lot of yelling this morning... so uh... I was hoping maybe things were alright? I just wanted to see if that was the cases since... well. I do kinda like you and your group... You know. Since you’ve all been nice to me, and there was also that food and all.” At this point the Red Lati has now taken on a second shade of red from being embarrasse by how akward this was becoming for her.
Minako

 

[Daisie]

Arcanus let out a hearty - though slightly awkward - laugh at Kaine's nervous response. Why a Charizard would be afraid of his abilities was beyond him, still... Though it seemed to have something to do with Arcanus's psychic powers. "I assure you, friend, you needn't fear," he tried to comfort, putting his hands up in an attempt to try and calm the Charizard down. "In truth, I'm not much different from your average Pokemon. I eat, breathe, talk, and feel all the same as you do. My abilities are as natural to me as the roaring flame on your tail." He desperately tried to salvage the situation.

"As I said, the practice of dream-eating is, for the most part, an extinct art. One my family never practiced, by any means, as it's seen as extremely invasive. Dreams are often rather personal experiences..." Talking about dreams, he started to look uncomfortable and disturbed again as his mind wandered back to his own nightmares. His gaze floated from place to place, and for a brief moment, he looked behind him at April with a furrowed brow, as if to make sure his gem was still alright.

He looked forward again, shaking his head slightly and taking a short breath, trying to get back on topic again. "... Ah, yes... We try to respect one another's privacy, especially for those who don't possess the same abilities..."

Arcanus made as friendly as a smile as he could, even if he was now slightly preoccupied with other thoughts. "No need to worry. Your dreams are safe."

Minako

 

[Minako]

Kaine couldn't help but smile when Arcanus reassured him his dreams were safe, and he felt a little bad when he saw Arcanus' perspective as well: The Hypno couldn't control having that ability anymore than Kaine could control having his fire-breathing ability. Luckily, his abilities COULD be more controlled than Kaine's flames (once he lit something on fire, it was on fire until water gets on it or it burns to ash, whereas a psychic can stop what they're doing at any moment). Plus, Arcanus was an adult, so he could definitely control his powers.

"Aheh... R-right, sorry man," Kaine sort of bashfully apologized to the well-meaning Hypno, "And you're right, you're too polite to get so personal without permission..."

He knew Arcanus really was just trying to be nice. Besides, it wasn't just Arcanus who could read minds, it was Charise and the kid as well. The Charizard more than knew it would be "Game Over" were they to read his thoughts, so he made a mental note to be extra cautious of them, and make it extremely clear they were not welcome in his mind. At all.

Especially Charise.

...For some reason, his heart sank upon the thought of her reading his thoughts.

"Gotta be extra careful from now on..." He thought to himself, certainly thinking now, more than ever, he definitely signed up for more than he bargained for.

Guess he'd just have to make do. He knew what to do should things go... south.

"Yeah, Mr. Kaine! Mr. Arcanus wouldn't do that! That stuffs private-y and should wait for when you're ready and want to tell it! That's connect! Er, consent! It's the polite thing to do!" Maggie informed confidently, even after correcting himself, now casually interjecting.

"...Heh, you're a pretty smart boy, aren't ya?" Kaine smirked, almost teasing the young Togekiss.

"It's what Charise taught me!" He answered back happily.

"Naturally," He snickered while rolling his eyes.

"Besides, we trust you, Mr. Kaine, it's not like you're thinking bad thoughts or anything! There's no need to read your mind, cause you wear your heart on your sleeve!" Magnus cheered while giving the Charizard an innocent smile.

For a moment (and perhaps a bit longer than that, the Charizard just didn't notice), Kaine sort of just gaped at Magnus, lifting his brows as high as possible and not quite knowing what to say. He then shook his head afterwards, shaking off... whatever that was.

"...Right. Thanks, Kiddo," Kaine nodded, smiling back.

Daisie


Charise's heart sank. Her suspicions about Emlas approaching her were correct.

"O-oh... You, u-uh... heard.. all that... did you, now...?" Charise meekly and awkwardly managed to squeak, rubbing her upper arm with her other hand and biting her lip.

She didn't really know what to say, because on the one hand, she didn't want to tell Emlas sensitive information about her situation and feelings, for fear of her perspective turning others against Ceres and wind of her true feelings for Ro and Max reaching them, but on the other hand Charise desperately needed an outlet to vent and not bottle up her feelings (Ro obviously not being someone she could turn to for this). The magnolia-clad Gardevoir then reminded herself it was Emlas inquiring... And even if she trusted or wanted Emlas as a confidant, the Embrace Pokemon knew the Red Lati was far too young to be exposed to her problems...

She opted to reassure the young, Red Eon Pokemon everything was fine.

"I-It's fine, sweetheart, Ceres and I were just... Being stubborn... H-Having different point of views, b-but don't you fret, it's nothing we won't get over soon," Charise stated, feeling as if she was lying while saying this.

"I hope..." She thought to herself, looking away from the Lati.

Latios

 

[Latios]

The second shade of red faded from her face once she was told that everything was alright. Thank Arceus she thought for not having been rude in the first place. “Stubborn? Is there... anything I can do?” She said wanting to help. “I mean... it’s the lest I can do since my brother is being such a meanie to you all.”
Minako

 

[Assailant]

Max's ears twitched as he looked over in the general direction of Kaine. They weren't far away, one could not afford to be in this environment, so naturally he had heard the conversation. His eyes narrowed a tad before another thought passed through his head.

April had offered to lead Max as they walked until they made it to the normal world. Though Max initially inquired about this, April ignored him and the two walked in silence for some time. As the distortion realm passed without event, Max thought to himself on the current situation for some time before finally speaking up.

"You did not lead me out of the kindness of your heart, did you?" April opened her mouth, but closed it and looked down in silence. "You have something on your mind, do you not?" April's face appeared uncomfortable, and while Max could not see it, he could sense it.

"When... when you first went to see Felix's parents after his death... what were you feeling?" Max stopped dead in his tracks as this question came up, seemingly frozen in place with his grey eyes frozen staring at the floor. April stopped too and turned back to look at him. Max's fists clenched tightly.

"Heh... heheheheh... I cannot say that I expected that questions..." Max stared at the ground with lifeless eyes as he thought back to that time. "Arceus, I can still feel it all now... it was a cocktail of emotions. On some level, I was happy to see a friendly face again. After all, they were almost as much my parents as they were his. They were a source of comfort after the pain and trauma... yet, I suppose, more than anything else... it was fear that I felt." He held his face in his paw, covering up his own shame. "It was I, after all, that they had entrusted their son's safety to. I was supposed to keep him safe... I could barely face my own guilt, and I was terrified of having to see the looks of pain and anger on their faces. Because I knew that I would deserve it."

April waited for Max to continue, but after some time it became apparent that he had no intention to. She thought to herself for a moment before looking back over to him. "...So... what happened? When you saw them, I mean?" Max chuckled weakly.

"His mother embraced me and cried. She... did not seem to blame me at all. She just cried into me. His father, though... he retreated into the bedroom... and the emotions I sensed on him were not ones of sadness or anger, but shame. That is when I knew..." Max awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "...Why? Why do you ask?" April hung her head in silence, refusing to answer, but it did not take long for Max to put the pieces together. "It is Nathan, is it not?"

"...What am I going to do?!" April exclaimed in frustration. "How can I face her? Mom... mom is dead because I failed. How can I look her in the eyes?" Max hummed quietly to himself. "I've been anxious to see her all this time, but now that it's almost here, I..." her words faltered, though her meaning was clear.

"April... whatever guilt you are feeling, I assure you that Nathan feels it ten times over and then-some. I greatly doubt that she has any bitterness towards you. She will be happy to see you." April appeared unsure.

"Sure, but..."

"You will see. In time. Waiting is all you can do."

 

[Minako]

Charise didn't know if she should laugh or cry at how grossly oversimplified and vastly understated Emlas stated Edron and Ahlamos' (arguably quite lethal) aggression towards humans. She wasn't going to deny she was just emotional in general however, and she certainly wasn't going to take her frustrations out on the poor Lati, especially when Emlas was just trying to help her.

The magnolia-clad Gardevoir ended up almost looking like she was about to do both, but luckily all that really managed to escape her mouth was a "hearty" (if not over enthusiastic) chuckle while she said, "Emlas, love... I think the best you can do right now is to keep advocating for us when your brothers scorn us... or, well, more specifically, our trainers kind..."

The Embrace Pokemon said this as she took a good look at Rosie and Alistair, uneasy. It was then she was reminded of yesterday, and that smile that was far too close to being Ro's last smile ever she shot a Charise as they all would have fallen to their deaths had it not been for this Lati.

"Also, th-thank you, for saving my human when I couldn't...I-if she had actually died then I-I... I don't know what I'd have done without them..." Charise began this as a compliment towards Emlas, but slowly hung her head as it ended up embedding her own uselessness in the process.

She felt bad for travelling to this horrid land of "what if" where Ro had tragically died, again reminding herself that her nightmare is Max's (and April's) reality... Irritably, a part of her wanted to go to Max right now, but the last two things her heart needed at the moment were to prove Ceres right (which, not being at Ro's side, she was already doing) and to tease her heart by being with another someone she clearly couldn't have.

Does the heart usually want what's so far out of it's reach, or is it just her own heart? Why was Arceus so cruel as to have the only other Pokemon she could trust and turn to about her feelings for Ro be captivated by another, and not only that but if Max had reciprocated her possible budding feelings for him the blind Lucario might have been able to comfort her in more ways than one regarding her romantic feelings... Let's not forget HE was the one who kissed HER on the cheek last-- Gah! What is she thinking?!

Charise lightly smacked her head as these thoughts crept their way into her mind, hating how her heart constantly yearned for whatever, or whoever, was bad for it like she was a child who didn't know better. Perhaps this is why Synne occasionally still treats her like a child as well...

She realized she had done this while still walking with Emlas, and bashfully explained, "Er, s-sorry, bad train of thought, haha..."

Latios

 

[Daisie]

Arcanus felt something... Odd. It was emanating off of Kaine for a few moments after the Togekiss finished speaking. He couldn't quite place his finger on what the emotion was, but it sort of rubbed him the wrong way. Nonetheless, he simply took note of the feeling and moved on from it. He smiled. "Of course. You are a part of our pack, and therefore a part of our family. We cherish every soul that has come along our path to assist us, despite any arguments you've witnessed... We value each other greatly. For without each other, how would we survive?" He continued in a speech-like manner, as Arcanus was prone to doing. Though after a moment, he looked up at Kaine and Magnus, doing an embarrassed chuckle. "... Ah, excuse my rambling once more. That happens... Often."

Minako

 

[Latios]

“Well, It’s only really Edron who’s being the meanie. Sure, Latios is a bit mistrusting, but he doesn’t hate you. I can’t really blame him for being mistrusting either given what he’s gone through. He’s just... cautious is all.” Emlas tried to explain to Charise's first statement. However, when Charise began to thank Emlas the Red Lati had a tough time thinking of how to react to that.

Not only was Charise sort of making herself sound useless simultaneously, but it was clear to see the Gardevoir almost didn't expect it from the Lati's... Emlas could understand why, given how rude they were to them when they met, but to think them so heartless as to let an innocent human fall to their death???

“Well, I... I mean I couldn’t just let her fall!! I just happened to have been close by enough to catch her!" The Lati explained while defending her brother at the same time, "I even bet even Latios would have done the same if he had been close by. He’s not heartless after all....”
Minako

 

[Minako]

"Hee hee, that's ok, Mr. Arcanus, I wouldn't call it 'rambling' when you're only saying true stuff!" Maggie peeped after Arcanus apologized without needing to.

"Heh... I-I only just joined, I-I wouldn't go so far a-as to call myself family or anything like that, ahaha..." Kaine bashfully stated, a tinge of fear and uncertainty still lingering within the Charizard, no question...

But his shy hesitance, this time, came from another emotion entirely.

The Charizard looked away from the both of them, slightly hanging his head, looking as if he did something wrong.

"Mr. Kaine? Are you ok? Did we say something wrong?" Maggie asked, noticing his anxiety.

"O-oh, no! Not at all! I-it's just....W-well you know...I-I--" Kaine was back-pedaling, a slight look of annoyance for a moment betraying Maggie's noticing his emotions was inconvenient.

"I already know..." Magnus interrupted Kaine sadly.

"Wa- Wha-- Y-you... do??" Kaine asked, surprised but still slow, almost as if he didn't believe he had heard right. His shock was not hidden well.

"Yeah... You already have a family, huh? With your real trainer... That's why you don't wanna think of us replacing them..." The Togekiss confirmed with concern.

A look of relief flashed in Kaine's eyes, followed by a gentle smile towards the Togekiss.

"A-ah ha, w-well, while that is true..." Kaine began, "I don't think I could ever NOT be fond of you guys, kiddo. You guys are irreplaceable too."

Magnus beamed at both the Charizard and Hypno, happy to hear Kaine's reassurance.

"Did you hear that, Mr. Arcanus?! He thinks we're irreplaceable!" The young Jubilee Pokemon cheered, feeling as if he could fly to the moon and back and return in half an hour.

Daisie


Charise looked at Emlas a moment, surprised, and then smiled sympathetically, placing a gentle hand on her small shoulder.

"Heh, I'm sure he would..." Charise agreed, "I'm sorry... It's just, when we first met your brothers, they seemed like they wanted to kill my human simply because they were a human...I sensed near lethal hostility back then... A-and well, I love my trainer--"

Charise paused for a moment, widened her eyes, mareepishly smiled, adding, "Er, platonically, of course-- A-anyway, needless to say, it's been stressful for me to have someone I care so much about near Pokemon much more powerful than me who... well, see my human less than kindly... But I realize I owe your brothers an apology, you're weary, not without reason, but you all wouldn't straight murder someone innocent. I'm sorry my over-protective nature dubbed your brothers something they weren't."

"Think you can forgive me?" The magnolia clad Gardevoir shyly asked the Red Lati.

Latios

 

[Latios]

“Of course I can. I completely understand. My brother is a little over protective too. As we lived together back in Sinnoh he makes sure I stay clear of the human town. Truth be told I’ve always been a little curious about humans seeing as they live so different than us. But Latios’s past experiences tell him humans can be very dangerous and it’s best to stay far away from them. I’ve never argued with him about as much as I dislike him keeping me away because his reasoning were sound. I mean... I never even got to meet my own mother and father because of humans. I know they aren’t all bad... but I can’t imagine what would happen if I ran into a bad one.” Emlas then realized that she was kinda rambling at this point and maybe Charise didn’t exactly want to here her life story.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to go on for so long. In all seriousness though. I’d stay far away from Edron though. I forgive you, and I don’t believe Latios holds any grudges or whatever, but Edron I know for sure absolutely hates all of your guts. I can’t say much about him since I’ve only just recently met him since my family was split apart before I was born, but I can say he’s a very powerful Lati. So yeah... just try to stay away from him.”
Minako