[color=orchid][center][h1]Sophia Danvers[/h1]
[h3]Mesalon Gym[/h3][/center][/color]
[@fer1323] [@Heckno12] [@OtomostheCrazy]

[hider=Beneath the facade][youtube]https://youtu.be/YS-ZYZFf9a0[/youtube][/hider]
Retrieving her Pokeballs, Sophia turned around with a cold glare. Such an irritating, overbearing know-it-all... and yet showed so much compassion. Compassion she'd done nothing to deserve. Despite her ever-growing annoyance, she was sure something mellowed in her expression.

[color=orchid]"Why... Why do you even care so much, anyway?"[/color] The sound of her own words surprised her. She'd meant to make it clear it was none of his business, but her tone lacked its former sharp edge. Her soft, trembling voice made her sound vulnerable. She shuddered. This was far from the image she wanted to project.

[color=orchid]"I-I've got to go."[/color] With that, she turned and left down a hallway, her hurried footsteps echoing against the floorboards. She'd already let on too much, albeit unintentionally, and there was no way she wanted any of the others to see her do what she had no choice but to do.

Speaking through gritted teeth, she asked a student where she could find Lan. Once she'd been pointed in the right direction, she headed towards a hall, where the monk knelt, deep in meditation. At the sound of her footsteps, he opened his eyes and stood up.

Sophia clenched her hands by her sides as she approached. [color=orchid]"You like your preaching, don't you? Then tell me..."[/color] Standing before him, she fully realised what she'd been reduced to. She'd gone and resorted to asking a gym leader for help - again. First Ray, now this pretentious jerk who'd treated her like a child, and who thought he knew everything despite shutting himself away in a monastery.

She let her gaze drift away from him, towards the floor. The crack Oscar had opened up in her defenses widened, the facade breaking and falling away. [color=orchid]"Tell me how I can be more than this."[/color] The words came out in a mumble that made her cringe. [color=orchid]"I should be so much more than this."[/color]

[hider=Notes]
[b]Pokemon Party:[/b] Gothita "Lacey" lv13, Purrloin "Grimalkin" lv12, Staryu "Arcturus" lv11
[b]Pokemon in PC:[/b]
[b]Inventory:[/b] Pokeball x3, TM33 (Reflect)[/hider]
[hr]
[color=chocolate][center][h1]Amber Pine[/h1]
[h3]Mesalon Pokecentre[/h3][/center][/color]
[@Heckno12] [@AbysmalDemon] [@Dusksong]

Although Amber listened intently to Rachel's description of Qualeen, a pang of sadness tainted her fascination. The city sounded exactly like the kind of place somebody she'd once known would have loved. Of course, maybe it was a good thing said former friend hadn't come along to Kosei, what with the way things had turned out here - but that was another reason why her sister and parents would worry. She hadn't been meant to come here alone.

She wasn't alone, though. She'd met all these other trainers, all determined to grow, to improve along their way. That was what she could tell her family, to put their minds at ease. She could advise Coral to do the same. If she found people to team up with, train with, she'd be much safer.

Hoping Rachel hadn't noticed any hint of worry, she gave a smile she hoped looked genuine. [color=chocolate]"Well, hopefully by then I'll have some fossils to bring along,"[/color] she replied. [color=chocolate]"As as for a Grass type gym, that sounds like it'll be a bit of a challenge for me - I'll have to think up a strategy. The forest is going to be a great place to study wild Pokemon, though."[/color]

Study Pokemon - her original plan, that she'd hold on to as much as she could.

[hider=Notes]
[b]Pokemon Party:[/b] Kabuto "Chalcedony" lv10, Yanma "Aeshna" lv9, Rockruff "Kyra" lv12, Rowlet "Tacita" lv10, Anorith "Larimar" lv11
[b]Pokemon in PC:[/b]
[b]Inventory:[/b] Pokeball x2, Potion x3, Dusk Ball x2[/hider]
[hr]
[color=lightsteelblue][center][h1]???[/h1]
[h3]Towards Mesalon Gym[/h3][/center][/color]

[color=lightsteelblue]"Well, this isn't exactly what we expected..."[/color] a young woman muttered, a red and blue Pokemon resembling a computerised image of a bird following as she made her way through the streets of Mesalon. Such a quiet, peaceful-seeming place, it was jarring to think such an atrocity had happened anywhere nearby. Part of her wished she could let herself relax for once, enjoy the scenery, but there was work to be done. [color=lightsteelblue]"First more bizarre behaviour in wild Pokemon, now an out-of-control Aerodactyl... what next, eh, Pixel?"[/color]

Patting the Porygon Z on the head, she looked up with bleary eyes at the plain yet huge building ahead. A slight frown creased her face. Having received a report from Professor Bonsai - a rather late report, of course - of wild Pokemon around the area going into a frenzy, she'd headed right over to investigate, only to find out something rather unexpected.

By now, she really should be used to the unexpected - it was only because people she'd gotten into contact with had called her in that she'd resumed her abandoned goal of coming to Kosei, several months back. There were some odd phenomena that needed looking into. Things would have been so much simpler, the research assistant thought, if she'd just stuck to her plan of travelling to Hoenn and studying Castforms.

As she made her way towards the monastery, a sense of dread nagged at her. This was around the time a certain somebody had been planning to go to Kosei... What if she'd been caught up in the attack?

No, the woman scolded herself. She was a researcher in training, meant to think rationally, not imagine the worst from too little sleep and too much coffee. It was highly unlikely. For all she knew, her old friend's goal might have changed. It had been a while since they'd spoken, after all. And even if she was in Kosei, she could be anywhere in the huge region.

Trying to keep a laser focus on her task, the research assistant continued along her way. Apparently the gym leader had stepped in. He seemed like the best person to ask about this.