[color=chocolate][center][h1]Amber Pine[/h1] [h3]Mesalon Cave Complex[/h3][/center][/color] [@fer1323] [@Heckno12] [@AbysmalDemon] [@Dusksong] [@Noxx] [color=chocolate]"Ehh, don't worry... thanks to Rachel and her Tyranitar here, we're all ok,"[/color] Amber replied. [color=chocolate]"As for what we found, this cavern filled with odd purple flames. And several Pokemon set on guarding it."[/color] She glanced over her shoulder to make sure nothing was following, before allowing herself to relax a little at Oscar's question. [color=chocolate]"Well..."[/color] She gave Vivianne a slight, sad smile. [color=chocolate]"I'm guessing you're quite a way ahead."[/color] As she spoke, she cupped the green capsule at her belt. [color=chocolate]"Technically, I only just got my sixth, but this one's going to need a fair amount of discipline..."[/color] Proving her point, the Sableye burst out in a flash of light. "Sable! Sableye!" the imp cried, grinning up at her new trainer. [color=chocolate]"Uh, hello again,"[/color] Amber said, tensing as she let out Kyra, Chalcedony and Larimar to keep an eye on the little ghost. At least the Sableye wasn't mad that she'd been captured... and at least she hadn't popped out of the Pokeball further down in the cave. [color=chocolate]"I know this wasn't quite what either of us intended, but do you want to come along?"[/color] The Sableye's grin widened as she nodded, crystalline eyes gleaming. A trainer who could help her grow stronger, while collecting gemstones in the meantime? This was an opportunity she couldn't pass up. Amber smiled back, despite the earlier chaos the ghost had caused. [color=chocolate]"Then welcome to the team... Almandine. How's that? Like the garnet. You can be Alma for short."[/color] The gem-encrusted Pokemon gave a happy cry, glancing at the surrounding Pokemon, who still glared. [color=chocolate]"So..."[/color] Amber turned back to the woman she hadn't seen in almost two years. [color=chocolate]"Looks like that's two of us with Ghost types."[/color] She paused, eyes flicking from Vivianne, to the Rotom, to the ground. Making conversation used to be so much easier. [hider=Notes] [b]Pokemon Party:[/b] Kabuto "Chalcedony" lv10, Yanma "Aeshna" lv9, Rockruff "Kyra" lv12, Rowlet "Tacita" lv10, Anorith "Larimar" lv11, Sableye "Almandine" lv10 [b]Pokemon in PC:[/b] [b]Inventory:[/b] Pokeball x1, Potion x2, Dusk Ball x1[/hider] [hr] [color=lightsteelblue][center][h1]Vivianne Cypress[/h1] [h3]Mesalon Cave Complex[/h3][/center][/color] [@fer1323] [@Heckno12] [@AbysmalDemon] [@Dusksong] [@Noxx] Watching the Sableye's antics reminded Vivianne that things didn't always go as expected - sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. [color=lightsteelblue]"Indeed... They're certainly an interesting type."[/color] It sounded even to her as if she were chatting with a work colleague. No, not even that. A stranger. [color=lightsteelblue]"You could say they share characteristics with fossil Pokemon."[/color] They did. Both were proof of how remnants of the past could come back. [color=lightsteelblue]"Anyway..."[/color] She faced Amber's friends. [color=lightsteelblue]"I'm Vivianne. Researcher in training. And you are?"[/color] [hr] [color=orchid][center][h1]Sophia Danvers[/h1] [h3]Mesalon Cave Complex[/h3][/center][/color] [@fer1323] [@Heckno12] [@AbysmalDemon] [@Dusksong] [@Noxx] Sophia rolled her eyes as Oscar mentioned Pokemon count. Great. As if she hadn't just been humiliated enough, that jerk had to go and rub it in. [color=orchid]"Oh, and that means you can act like you're all that, does it? I'll have you remember I'm not far behind!"[/color] she commented. If the Bronzor wanted to go with her, that would put her at the same level, and then surely it wouldn't be difficult to get a sixth... As she listened to Amber's story of the haunted chamber, something else the other trainer said made Sophia's mouth drop open. Six Pokemon. Six Pokemon already... and by the sound of it, the researcher hadn't even been trying. [color=orchid]"W-WHAT?!? How in the name of the Tao trio...?!"[/color] A sudden feeling of calm settled over her, and her scowl disappeared. [color=orchid]"Congratulations,"[/color] she said before she could stop herself. The moment it slipped out, she gaped in shock, that resentment flooding back. A rather satisfied-looking Shuppet reappeared, chuckling. [color=orchid]"Hmph! Not everyone finds that quite so funny as you do!"[/color] Sophia glowered at the little scrap of cloth - which, now she thought about it, was actually oddly cute. Like a plush toy. Her glare softened... and then, knowing all too well what it was doing, she took a step back as it giggled again. [color=orchid]"And don't think you'll get away with it by pulling that on me!"[/color] She glanced at the Rotom, which hovered behind Vivianne, generating static to frizz up its trainer's neatly tied-back hair instead of keeping watch. What with Amber and Vivianne having some sort of catch-up, how much longer would the group be stuck here? Striding over to Rachel, she made one more attempt to redeem the situation. If that unnatural strength and sturdiness was some kind of psychic thing, and if her brother was who Sophia thought he was... well, this woman could do with a reminder that there were others like it around. [color=orchid]"Heh, I guess that's not a bad trick there,"[/color] she said, before doing her usual thing of making her Pokeballs spin around her. [color=orchid]"But as you can see, I've got a few of my own... Ugh..."[/color] The Pokeballs wobbled as she returned them to her belt. Sophia couldn't help but lean against a wall, surroundings lurching. She'd gone and done this yet again. By remaining on such high alert, she'd exhausted herself - and a haunted cavern wasn't exactly the best place to be exhausted. While Grimalkin and Arcturus rushed over to her, followed by the Bronzor, the Shuppet stayed behind, talking to Amber's Sableye instead. Right now, Sophia didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. All this bitterness was something she could do without. She dug her fingernails into her palms, shoulders drooping. Why was everyone here doing so, so much better than her? Still sensing for wild Pokemon against her better judgement, she looked up at an approaching chill. She yelped, stepping to the side as a blur of black cloth slipped through the shadows towards her. The next thing she knew, it had vanished into an empty Pokeball at her belt. The cackling of Amber's Sableye echoed through the cave. Sophia stared down at the newly-occupied Pokeball. Could she really complain? She'd wanted another Pokemon, hadn't she? Dang, this Shuppet was doing its utmost to get on her last nerve. [hider=Notes] [b]Pokemon Party:[/b] Gothita "Lacey" lv13, Purrloin "Grimalkin" lv12, Staryu "Arcturus" lv12, Darumaka "Lumas" lv11, Shuppet (currently unnamed) lv11 [b]Pokemon in PC:[/b] [b]Inventory:[/b] Pokeball x2, TM33 (Reflect)[/hider]