Pokémon: Tipping Point [IC]

[DEStroyer of worlds!]

Garbit looks at the Cragmite, then the pokeball that pine threw, then froze, 'If it can do that, what could it do to us...'

 

Cowcow is somehow already down at Garbit's feat, pushing and pulling on his leg, when the little cow realizes that that isn't working, it just lits a small fire on the end of Garbit's shoe, "Ouch!"Garbit quickly stomps out the flames."What was that for!" Cowcow points it head at the Cragmite, "You're not just stubborn, your stupid too." The calf's head turns to point at the pokeball Laconda is in, then at Neos. "Okay, I think I understand enough, CowCow use tackle!" And so a new battle starts...

[Tesability Black]

"Yes. Well. It is as young Ashley explained it. Fairy-Type is a more recent discovery, notable in being a Type immune to the power of Dragon-Type moves, as well as strong against Dragon, Dark, and Fighting-Type Pokémon. It's also notably weak to Poison and Steel moves, which makes it all the more impressive that Cosdrake live here of all places."

 

"...I've never been to this Kalos region, which could explain why I haven't heard of it."

Peachy, a weakness I didn't know I have until now, he thought to himself as he clenched his teeth while keeping his mouth closed. Glad I've been warned now instead of in the heat of battle. That would have stung.

 

"Wait, the heck are you? When'd you get here, while I was wiping the floor just now? Sorry I didn't notice ya, too busy being awesome."

 

Neos just gave a sideways frown hearing the new voice before turning towards the source, an overconfident girl that probably won't survive for very long on her own as a trainer. "Awesome. Right. I'll believe that when I see it. If it wasn't for me, you would have been injured by the little mooer here at least once." Upon the last statement did he tilt his head slightly towards the Bessiemer.

He lifted his head upon hearing the faint sound of...was that digging? Yeah, that was definitely something digging underneath the building...and then his eyebrows rose to almost his hairline upon seeing the tiny Pokemon where he had turned his gaze to a couple of seconds before its appearance. "Holy Arceus, even Yoyo's bigger than that...and that Zigzagoon was tiny!"

"CowCow use Tackle!" That snapped him out of his stunned state before catching sight of the little mooer barrelling towards the little thing, clicking his tongue.

He was trying to figure out how to help out without revealing his real appearance. Then an idea came towards him and he looked towards the professor. "Do you know if the thing has a nest around here? Maybe I can find it and possibly flush out any others that might be nearby."

[Htamret]

Ashley was confused at Neos' negative response for a moment. She had forgotten that she was around strangers who didn't know about her odd sense of humor.

 

Well this sucks, he seems pretty cool and I butchered my first impression. Whatever, hope he isn't too uptight or we'll never get along. She thought to herself, mentally kicking herself.

 

"Sorry, that was a bit of a joke. A win that close wasn't really 'wiping the floor'. It was more the water that got sprayed everywhere, ya know, cleaning the lab? I guess 'cleaning' would've been better, but the phrase is 'wiping'." She tried to explain her joke, something she hadn't needed to do in a while, and it showed.

 

"Uh, I'm Ashley Hazen, nice to meet you, and thanks for stopping the kid's... 'mooer', you said? Getting hit by that during the battle would've sucked, so yeah, thanks." She offered Neos a handshake, half expecting him to refuse but hoping he wouldn't.

"Oh, and you should visit Kalos sometime, it's beau- er, pretty cool." She added, hoping that would help somehow.

 

"But you have to admit that battle was pretty good for first-timers. I guess to a veteran like you it wasn't all that, but Helena looked like she knew what she was doing and I was going to ask her for some tips and-" She was interrupted by the sound of digging, and the arrival of a small Pokémon.

 

"Holy Arceus, even Yoyo's bigger than that...and that Zigzagoon was tiny!"

 

"CowCow use Tackle!"

 

Ashley started to reach for her PokéBall, then remembered that her Laconda was still injured from battle. "Professor Pine, is there a Pokémon Center or somewhere in the lab I can heal Lacon-"

 

"Do you know if the thing has a nest around here? Maybe I can find it and possibly flush out any others that might be nearby."

 

((Assuming the Professor says yes about the nest, this is Ashley's question to Neos))

"You mind if I tag along? Laconda's a bit busted up, but I might be able to help. I'm used to dealing with Pokémon on my own, family of Trainers and all." This could be her chance to prove to Neos that she wasn't just talk. It would probably be really risky and very stupid, but she didn't care.

[Draconus297]

The young, scattered Professor shrugs at Neos's question. "Swarms don't often form in the forest, due to how much competition they face from other Pokémon, but sometimes they dig tunnels that go outside the forest. This one Cragmite in particular apparently has a collapsed tunnel or two, because every time I scare it off it comes back."

 

He then regards Ashley's question with a grin. "There's a Center right at the edge of town, to help with Trainers who had to get through clusters of Cragmite. I'd recommend you head there before starting on your journey . . . but honestly, traveling with an experienced trainer like Neos here is likely the best idea. You could give him pointers on local Pokémon- for example, you have seen Furmine and know what deceitful little things they are; Mr. Rivetter has not- and he could give you help surviving through some more . . . difficult patches of wilderness."

 

The Cragmite noticed the Bessiemer charging, and while it couldn't get out of the way in time, it immediately dived underground for safety.

 

<<Move identified: Dig.>>

[DEStroyer of worlds!]

Garbit looked at the hole left by the peddle-sized poke. 'If only it was bigger, then maybe I could've flushed it out with an ember, but now we have to wait, escially if I want the Pokémon to be safe enough.But maybe I can do this strategically, think, look around, maybe just maybe...' Garbit looks around the room, at the hole, at the fallen bookcase, at Ashley.

 

"That's it! Cowcow climb on the bookcase that Isn't knocked down," Garbit suddenly burst, referring to the previous battle, having not really noticed Helena's disappearance. "wait for the cragmite to came out, and use ember." The little calf started jumping up to climb up, Garbit hoping he reacted quickly enough.

[Tesability Black]

(Busy me is busy.)

 

Well, that's a miss, Neos thought to himself upon hearing Professor Pine's words, purposely ignoring the sudden spike of his heart rate when one of the other humans volunteered to 'help'. Though her reasons were valid, unfortunately, it would still leave him in the same boat that he was in right now.

 

"...but honestly, traveling with an experienced trainer like Neos here is likely the best idea. You could give him pointers on local Pokémon- for example, you have seen Furmine and know what deceitful little things they are; Mr. Rivetter has not- and he could give you help surviving through some more..." The words of another broke his panicked train of thought, thought he wasn't showing it on his face, causing him to pay more attention to the conversations around him. "...difficult patches of wilderness."

 

"It's more than just wilderness they'd have to worry about, unfortunately," Neos stated with a sadly-experienced tone. "There are plenty of people out there that make the human race look very bad." His ears almost missed the sounds of digging, causing him to look away slightly and focus more on listening in for where the little digger was most-likely going to pop up instead of on his next words. "Folks like them make you humans look bad."

[Htamret]

Ashley gave a slightly pained look when the Professor told her that the nearest Center was so far away.

 

That's not ideal, but it's better than nothing... Ashley thought, wondering if there was even any point in trying to make a mad dash and still be able to help. Hearing his suggestion that she travel with Neos filled her with a quiet excitement, especially the fact that he thought her knowledge would be useful to such an apparently experienced Trainer as Neos.

She couldn't help but give him a hopeful look, but she collected herself when she heard his somber response.

 

"It's more than just wilderness they'd have to worry about, unfortunately,"

Ashley tilted her head and slightly squinted her eyes.

"There are plenty of people out there that make the human race look very bad."

"Well, yeah, but-" She began while lowering her head, her voice barely a whisper, but was cut short as Neos continued. He seemed to be focusing on something else, since he didn't seem to be paying attention to his next words.

"Folks like them make you humans look bad."

 

Ashley's head snapped up, zeroing in on his words.

"What do you mean 'you hu'-" She blurted, then stopped. She walked closer to Neos, stopping just at arm's length. She looked him dead in the eyes, considering the implications of his words.

 

She shook her head a bit, reconsidering confronting him about it. this was not the time to be talking about this.

"Later. You wouldn't tell me now, anyway. Probably not my place to know, at least until you want to." She her voice quiet but intense, hoping Professor Pine wouldn't hear. "Listen, I want to be friends so I won't tell the others, but it'll be hard to trust you until you tell me. We all have secrets. Yours might be bigger than mine, but we both have secrets."

 

She stepped away from him, hoping that she wasn't too forward. She wanted to show him that she wasn't just some cocky airhead, but didn't want to destroy her relationship with him, however small it might be.

 

She rushed over to Garbit, remembering that there was a bit of an emergency going on.

"Hey, kid, what's going on? Need any help?"

[Draconus297]

The tiny Bug-Type comes up far more quickly than expected, hitting the Bessiemer in the gut with its strong Ground-Type attack. However, the little calf is bulky enough to mostly shrug off the attack, and now the Cragmite is stuck in midair, free falling to the floor.

 

Scatterbrained Pine doesn't notice Neos's slip of the tongue, and instead is busy watching Garbit attempt to beat the little bug. "Knocking it out won't do, young man- toss a Pokéball! At least attempt to catch it!"

 

Meanwhile, the News Alert is going off on Ashley's and Garbit's Pokédexes. <<Be careful, Trainers! Hordes of KAKUNA are being spotted on Route 401!>>

[DEStroyer of worlds!]

The calf got about half way up the self when the bug jumped up and hit their gut, and even though it was super effective, Cowcow's defence was enough to shrug it off, and Cragmite is stuck in mid-air, "Now Cowcow, here's our chance, use tack..."
 
"Knocking it out won't do, young man-" pine interrupted "toss a Pokéball! At least attempt to catch it!"

"Sorry, got a bit carried away," Garbit said, with a cute child like smirk,"Pokéball Go!" The ball hit the bug only ichnes off the ground, one shake, two shakes,'Came on stay in..."
 
"Hey, kid, what's going on? Need any help?"

"Wow! Ashly, no, I really,don't think their is anything you can do,"Garbit's voice becoming quiet before picking back up again,"Anyway, we wouldn't want your Laconda, what did you called it again, squirt?, to get seriously hurt now would we?" Garbit looks behind him to see if the Cragmite is captured.

[Tesability Black]

"What do you mean 'you hu'-"

Unlike the others, Neos did hear the short little blurp that came out of Ashley's mouth before suddenly feeling a piercing gaze on his skin. He turned his head just in time to catch her trying to stare him dead in the eyes before shaking her head a moment later. "Later. You wouldn't tell me now, anyway. Probably not my place to know, at least until you want to." It was at that moment that he realized that she was talking quietly, too quietly.

Could she even hear herself, he wondered before hearing her continue to whisper.

"Listen, I want to be friends so I won't tell the others, but it'll be hard to trust you until you tell me. We all have secrets. Yours might be bigger than mine, but we both have secrets."

Wondering what the blazes caused this scene, Neos ran the past minute through his head...

...then proceeded to slap himself absolutely silly mentally once he realized what came out of his mouth.

"Hey, kid, what's going on? Need any help?"

Oh, Rattatas, he completely forgot what was happening around him for a moment because of that!

It was then that he saw the shaking Pokeball on the ground, possibly containing the fighting little bug within. He couldn't help but cross his fingers upon the sight, though he knew it wouldn't really help anything. Plus that, if the capture helps the Pokemon avoid a potentially nasty end, he can deal with it. He did plan on having a conversation with it after this, though...if the chance ever came up to be unseen while doing so.

[Htamret]

"Wow! Ashley, no, I really,don't think there is anything you can do,"

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Ashley looked at her feet and mumbled her response. Truth be told, she only asked Garbit so that she could get away from Neos before he had a chance to react.

 

That'll be a fun conversation... She grimaced in anticipation of the inevitable exchange.

 

"Anyway, we wouldn't want your Laconda, what did you called it again, squirt?, to get seriously hurt now would we?"

 

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Looks like you got it, nice job!" She gave him a light pat on the back, then chuckled.

"Well, not quite. My siblings have their fair share of stories about Pokémon breaking out at the last second."

 

She looked over at Neos, who was also staring at the gently wobbling ball. She hoped he wasn't too mad about her outburst. Either way, it looked like they would all be stuck together for a while, so she at least had some chance to smooth things over.

[Draconus297]

The little red-and-white ball wobbles, stabilizes, and emits a satisfying click as it successfully contains the wild Cragmite. On Garbit's Pokédex, he sees a little pop-up indicating what his newly-caught team member is capable of:

 

<<CRAGMITE

Male

Ability: Sturdy

Moves: Rock Tomb, Dig, Bug Bite

 

Register nickname? Y/N>>

 

"Ah, yes, that feature," Professor Pine explains, "due to Pokémon League rules, if you challenge the League tournament on Cropos Island, you need the nicknames of your Pokémon officially registered in the system, if you use any," He says dismissively. "In any case, you three! I suggest you get going. A proper journey can't begin if you never leave my lab! I'll even give my generous donor a call so that you can meet the man who got your starters for you . . . he lives in Moplye City, so you could even start challenging a Pokémon Gym or two along the way."

 

At mention of Moplye City, Ashley's Pokédex helpfully provides a quick and easy route there: <<Goto Moplye City-- Head north on Route 401. Break Northeast into Emerald Meadows. Arrive in Napleton. Cut past Corundum Quarry. Head east on Route 403. Head south on Route 404. Arrive at Moplye City.>>

 

The Professor laughs. "I need to go places often, but I get terribly lost. So, I programmed in a Route Finder. You'll need the goto command, but it is programmed on my voice because I forgot how to get back home after a brief excursion outside town."

[DEStroyer of worlds!]

*Click* Garbit's face lit up like a light bulb as he started running, "Hey, Cowcow! We caught it! We caught it!" As Garbit swings Cowcow around, making it dizzy, Garbit's pokédex starts blinking, 'huh!', Grabit puts the calf down, who then stumbles and bumps into Neos.

 

<<CRAGMITE

 

Male

 

Ability: Sturdy

 

Moves: Rock Tomb, Dig, Bug Bite

 

Register nickname? Y/N>>

 

"Register... nickname?" Garbit questioned himself.

 

"Ah, yes, that feature," Professor Pine explains, "due to Pokémon League rules, if you challenge the League tournament on Cropos Island, you need the nicknames of your Pokémon officially registered in the system, if you use any," He says dismissively.

 

"I guess that makes sense" Grabit pressed the "N" on the Pokédex.

 

"In any case, you three! I suggest you get going. A proper journey can't begin if you never leave my lab! I'll even give my generous donor a call so that you can meet the man who got your starters for you . . . he lives in Moplye City, so you could even start challenging a Pokémon Gym or two along the way."

 

Ashly's Pokédex goes off upon hearing Moplye City's name. <<Goto Moplye City-- Head north on Route 401. Break Northeast into Emerald Meadows. Arrive in Napleton. Cut past Corundum Quarry. Head east on Route 403. Head south on Route 404. Arrive at Moplye City.>>

 

 

"Well with that cleared up, let's go adventuring!" Garbit said cheerfully, "Well what are we waiting for..., Wait! What happened to Helena!"

[Tesability Black]

A bump connected to his leg, prompting him to look down towards the source and giving the little cow Pokemon a petting on top of the head after kneeling down next to it, giving a slight giggle in pity after seeing the spirals in its eyes.

 

"Well what are we waiting for..." He looked up towards Garbit just in time to see the young new trainer look about in all directions. "Wait! What happened to Helena!"

 

"She went to let her...Rapthistle, was it?" The false human gained a questioning look to his face as he glanced up towards the ceiling while standing back up proper. "Yeah, she went back to her home to let 'im rest." He lowered his gaze to look upon the young lad and the new Pokemon within the Pokeball, giving a slight grin while managing to suppress a shudder that threatened to go up his back.

 

He never did like being inside a Pokeball...

 

Then a red flag popped up in his head, which had him turning his gaze towards the Professor, sliding a hand in a pant pocket as he did. "Wait, does that mean I have to register any nicknames I have for Pokemon I already have on me? That's admittedly a rule I've never heard of outside of this region."

[Htamret]

Ashley smiled at Garbit's celebration, hoping that she would be able to experience catching her first Pokémon herself soon.

"Great job, kid." She said to Garbit who was too busy swinging his Pokémon around to notice.

The small cow stumbled into Neos, who gave a giggle at its dizziness. Ashley almost smiled at Neos, but looked away before she caught his eye.

She was dying to know what he was hiding despite her worry at the nature of his secret. Whatever it was, it would have to wait. The Professor was explaining to Garbit that he would have to register the nicknames of any Pokémon that he caught.

Weird rule. Ashley thought to herself. She had never heard of anything like that in other regions.

 

"In any case, you three! I suggest you get going. A proper journey can't begin if you never leave my lab! I'll even give my generous donor a call so that you can meet the man who got your starters for you . . . he lives in Moplye City, so you could even start challenging a Pokémon Gym or two along the way."

 

At the mention of Moplye City, Ashley's Pokédex went off, causing her to jump in surprise.

 

<<Goto Moplye City-- Head north on Route 401. Break Northeast into Emerald Meadows. Arrive in Napleton. Cut past Corundum Quarry. Head east on Route 403. Head south on Route 404. Arrive at Moplye City.>>

 

"Well with that cleared up, let's go adventuring!" Garbit said cheerfully, "Well what are we waiting for..., Wait! What happened to Helena!"

 

Ashley looked at him, wondering how he hadn't noticed her departure... Right, he was fighting the Cragmite.

 

She went to address her Pokédex to see what other features it had. She wasn't paying attention to what Neos was saying, though it seemed that it didn't really concern her.

[Draconus297]

The Professor shrugs. "It's an easy way of tracking the numbers of Pokémon getting caught, and apparently it's also somehow an anti-cheating mechanism. I wouldn't pay it much mind- I'm not much for tournament battling, and I doubt you are either, Mr. Rivetter."

 

As Garbit hurriedly opens the door, he's met with sunlight diffused by the tall, strong tree in front of the little laboratory/school.

 

From the menu options Ashley can apparently access, there is a camera (both for identifying Pokémon and apparently taking up to 50 pictures), an "UpLink Trainer System" (whatever that is), a general news app that can be muted if Ashley chooses, a reminder alarm system that can trigger at a defined time or upon reaching a specified location, and a simplified version of the well-known "type chart" that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of each Pokémon Type. It seems Pine spared no expense in making sure his version of the Pokédex was useful in every sense.

[DEStroyer of worlds!]

"She went to let her...Rapthistle, was it? Yeah, she went back to her home to let 'im rest."

 

"Does that mean she's not coming with us," Garbit asked openly to all 3 lf them, "I'd hate for her to miss out on meeting that resercher, mind you, being her uncle you could always tell her to meet us there, isn't that right Professor?" Garbit's intension now completely on the Pine as he waited for an answer, before marching off though the trees.

[Tesability Black]

"For all we know, she may just be getting a later start," Neos shrugged before the professor could answer, then watched as Garbit marched off towards the hopeful start of his adventure.

 

"...okay, so when did I agree to play babysitter for them," Neos asked after Garbit left, blinking his eyes a couple of times while still looking in the general direction of the door before glancing up towards the professor. "Good thing catching up will be a snap. The little mooer, though..." Crossing one arm around himself while resting the elbow on the other on it, he brought a hand to his chin in thought. "That kid might have a hard time keeping up with a potentially-literally combat monster at the start." Snapping the same hand after pulling it away from his chin, he pointed towards the door Garbit left through. "Probably should make sure the kid can handle 'im alright," he remarked.

 

As soon as he left, he turned towards one direction and took advantage of the fact that there was a wall now between him and both the professor and the remaining new trainer before scrambling up the tree next to him with haste. Once completely hidden from view by foliage, he kept the light-bluish glow of his transformation as close to himself as possible as he took on the familiar form of a Pidgeot that seemed to be oddly becoming more and more grey where color should be among the feathers. Stretching his wings, Neos flapped as he flew out of the tree, neon-green eyes scanning for Garbit below. Once spotting the young trainer, he perched onto a nearby roof and watched him from a distance.

(Pidgeot Neos is go. And it's almost fitting that Neos is calling the Bessemier 'Mooer' when I do the same thing with the OG CowCow. XD)

[Htamret]

Ashley looked up as she heard Neos leaving.

 

"Hey, wait for me!" She ran outside, giving the professor a hasty goodbye. She looked around for Neos but he was nowhere to be found.

 

Where did he go? I swear he just left...

 

Suddenly a tree near her erupted a small shower of leaves as a bird Pokémon flew into the air. From the quick view she got it seemed to be a Pidgotto or Pidegot. Judging by the size it was probably the latter. It looked quite old with some gray feathers here and there. She had read up on the species native to Teno and she was sure that the Pidgey family wasn't native.

 

Must be Neos' Pokémon. He's had it for a while judging, by how old it looks.

 

After continuing to follow its path through the sky she turned her attention to her surroundings. Neos wasn't anywhere to be found, how odd. It was a stretch, but maybe he told his companion to stay and wait for her while he went ahead with the boy, Garbit right? He seemed a bit immature, so it would make sense that he went to make sure he was safe. It was uncanny how quickly Neos had left since there was no trace of him anywhere. Realizing that she would have to be quick if she was going to catch up, she ran in the direction of where it looked like the bird had flown.

 

"Come on, you have wings and I don't! Slow down a bit!"

[Draconus297]

[[brightwood Town]]

It's frankly quite beautiful, if you look at it properly. Hemmed in between a mountain range and a forest, this small town isn't well-developed, and generally doesn't occupy much of an important place in the grand scheme of things. A few random homes, all needing some paint, a bunker of a half-school/half-laboratory, and a single "Hollow Tree", as they're called. There's a narrow pass up to one of the mountains, but it's unfortunately blocked by heavy boulders and several thin waterfalls. There's a tiny bay that leads out to the ocean, but you'd need to ride a surfing Pokémon, as it's too thin and rocky for any boat. The only real way to leave Brightwood . . . is Route 401, a dense forest full of life.

 

Ashley's and Garbit's Pokédexes chirp: [unregistered Pokémon wild on this Route: 4.] Neos's tells a different tale: [You can find: Magikarp, Carvanha. Unregistered Pokémon here: 2]

 

Far ahead, the little group can see Helena rushing into Route 401, Pokéballs in hand. Nothing seems to be stopping her, not even an amicable neighbor asking for a chat.

[Tesability Black]

"Come on, you have wings and I don't! Slow down a bit!"

The outburst from below after he hopped off from the rooftop he was perched on to follow after Garbit had the false bird turn his head towards the source, spotting something that was would have made him cringe if in his usual form.

Ashley was following him, looking right at him while chasing after him.

Shiiiiiit, not her.

He ended up speeding up his flight a little bit, taking a dive into one small set of trees momentarily out of her view before remorphing and keeping the glow of such close to himself as he did. He didn't leave the branches of the tree until she was right underneath the tree he was in, jumping down in front of her to possibly spook her. Might as well get this over with, he thought to himself after doing so.

Making sure that Garbit was still in his sight, even if only in the corner of his gaze, his focus was upon the girl in front him, hands on hips as he effectively towered over her. "Now, ya mind telling what in the Distortion were you in my face for earlier?"

 

No, he was not happy with the moment of panic he ended up dealing with back then. He had a good idea of the 'why', but he wanted to see what she really figured out or knew first before jumping to any possible conclusions.

[Htamret]

Ashley took a small step back as a figure suddenly dropped almost on top of her. When she realized who it was, she relaxed, seeing it was Neos, then tensed up as soon as she saw that he clearly wasn't happy.

 

"Now, ya mind telling what in the Distortion were you in my face for earlier?"

 

She had to look up to meet his eyes, but her gaze didn't falter, balling her fists to dissipate any traces of nervousness. She was used to confrontation as she had gotten into quite a few fights when she was younger. Even so, he did have almost a full foot of height against her and had surprised her with his tree dropping stunt.

 

"Tsk. You sh-should know yourself." Her response was well-used and almost automatic, giving Ashley some time to measure her next words.

"W-What you said back in the lab 'You humans'. Mind telling me what you are, then?" Her eyes flickered from place to place as she said, "My guess is you're a... a... Zoroark or something." She couldn't help but stutter once or twice since the novelty of getting into a heated conversation with a Pokémon was something she had little, if any experience with and the potential for added danger was something she couldn't avoid. She involuntarily moved her hand closer to her Pokéball, as if the already weakened Laconda was in any state to offer protection.

 

"And was that Pidgeot you too, or did you make a deal with it, or... catch it? Or... something? Here I thought you were watching out for me while you went ahead for the kid." As she said the last bit she looked away, trying to hide her disappointment that Neos didn't seem to care about her other than if she knew about his secret.

[Tesability Black]

(Out of order, I know, but this is needed. Probably best if TND responds after this.)

 

A heavy silence fell between the pair as two differing sets of green eyes stared down at one another, though the taller of the pair looked more alien with the dark-green pupils of his eyes instead of the traditional black.

 

Suddenly, however, Neos just doubled over, laughing hard as the hat fell off his head. It wound up falling onto Ashley and lightly bounced off her before falling to a ground with a muted thud. With the way he was laughing with his arms crossed over his stomach, he threatened to either fall forward onto Ashley if she didn't move out of the way or backwards onto his ass. "I'm sorry, but that's the most-hilarious accusation I've ever heard of in my time traveling. Me? A Zoroark? Mistress would have gotten a kick out of that."

 

Collecting himself after a good minute of laughing, though it hadn't occurred to him what flew out of his mouth just then, he fully straightened back up to look back at Ashley before placing a firm hand on her shoulder. If he was a Zoroark, it wouldn't feel like a human hand was on her shoulder now. The shift in stance caused by this momentarily flashed the single Premier Ball on his belt into her view as well. "Something you should remember about that family, young one. They use illusions to disguise themselves. I'm just as solid as you." Lowering his hand, he moved it to his waist as the other hung by his side. "Plus that, there's only one Pokemon I have on hand and that's a Ditto. If the Pidgeot you saw was greying, that was possibly him."

 

It was after this statement that he blinked randomly a couple of times before placing the hand not on his hip on his head, realizing that there was something from it. "Dammit, not again."

[Htamret]

Ashley didn't miss a beat, though she was quite relieved at Neo's sudden outburst. She adopted a more relaxed posture.

"So... you're a Ditto?" She tilted her head to the side, taking in the new information. "I was close, but I've never actually touched a Zoroark, so I didn't think about that thing about the illusions." She chuckled a bit, partially at her forgetting something that basic, but mainly at his reaction.

"Sorry, but you can't get out of it this time. You dropped this." She picked up his hat and tried it on before handing it back to him.

"So your clothes are real, or at least this hat is. What about..." She decided to change the subject before she thought too much about that. "Eh, never mind."

"It's a lot to process, but I'm dying to know: Who is this 'Mistress' exactly?"

[DEStroyer of worlds!]

By the time Garbit has gotten around the Humongous piece of nature the locals called a 'tree' he had already stopped marching thinking it quicker and less excusing to walk, and he was almost glad he did too when he saw Helena, although no amount of shouting and yelling could get her attention meaning that Garbit couldn't make sure that her Pokémon was alright. 'Speaking of Pokémon being alright , where is that Pokémon Center," Garbit thought to himself while surveillancing the area, 'The professor said it was right at the edge of town but I can't see it any... there it is.' "How about we get you and our new friend here healed up," Garbit said to Cowcow as he made him return,  before doing a light run to the center, but just as Garbit was about to enter, something caught the edge of his eye, Neos and Ashley talking, 'This is my chance, maybe if I'm quick enough I can get in and out without  those two idiots noticing, I hate when people get in my way, and I hate that stupid ruse even more.'
 
When Garbit did finally enter he was straight and to the point with the nurse, "I'm here to heal up the two Pokémon I have on hand, once that's done I'll be on my way." Then Garbit started mentally kicking himself while sarcastically thinking 'yeah, becurse that tottaly sounds like a newbie twelve year old trainer with delusions of grandeur.'