Joshua Tamashii

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

"Saying Amelia has an affinity for Ghost-Types is like saying I like black. It's a pretty massive understatement." Joshua said, indicating his completely black outfit. Odd for someone spending time in the desert, but whatever suited him. "As for seats, I got us some outside. So follow me."

Leading them out to the section of outdoor seating, he took them towards their table, taking his own seat, relaxing back into it.
"So, I guess you're not gonna specialize based on what you say Dawkin. Nothing wrong with that, it can make you rather adaptable. So long as you catch the pokemon you need to get you through the situation." He said, addressing the young man. "Specializing gives you limited options, but you know you're strengths and weaknesses and are forced to adapt with a limited set of tools. Not specializing gives you a lot more tools, but you're strengths can be so varied that they end up not becoming as strong as someone who specializes in a certain type or a certain strategy. You just gotta pick what works for you. Follow what you think is right."

"As for you little lady." He said, turning to address Amelia, who suddenly looked a bit worried. "Care to show me what you've caught so far?"

"Oh... sure." Amelia said, sounding relieved. She grabbed her pokeballs and released her pokemon, letting Dawkin see the rest of her team alongside Phantump.

"Shup?" Shuppet said, looking around.

"Pumpka!" Pumpkaboo said excitedly.

"Litwick!" Litwick said, his flame burning brightly.

"Loooon." Driffloon said, sounding like it was waking up for some odd reason.

"Tump!" Phantump said before snickering when she spotted Dawkin, remembering his reaction to being scared.

Joshua examined them all for a second before letting out a laugh.
"You said you'd catch a shiny Phantump. I should not have doubted you given your..." He paused, glancing Dawkin's way briefly. "Particularly strong affinity for Ghost-types."

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

Amelia looked up at Dawkin when he began talking and asked about how she had met Joshua and become his student. She was silent for a minute, debating on how to answer his question without revealing too much. She honestly wasn't sure how he would take her revealing her gift with Ghost-Types, given how serious and realistic he was.
"Well, I guess the simple version is, he caught be being somewhere my parents didn't want me to be and turned me in. However, he found out about my circumstances shortly after and decided to teach me about pokemon to make up for it. He also helped me get to the Professor's place by letting me ride on his Honchkrow." She said, finishing just as Joshua returned.

"Whatcha talking about?" He asked.

"How we met and why you began teaching me."

"You mean by turning you in and as a result, causing every ghost in the cemetery to go into town at night to look for you because you stopped showing up?" Joshua said, causing Amelia's face to go a bit red.

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

Joshua listened as Dawkin spoke, smiling in amusement at the boy's admission to not minding a free meal, if only because he was hungry due to spending too much time for information gathering. At the boy's questions though, he raised an eyebrow, though again, this was more in amusement then anything else.
"Yes, I exclusively use Dark-Type pokemon. However, as a result, I use a lot of others. For example, I have Greninja as one of my three Water-Types, Bisharp as a Steel-Type, Honchkrow as a Flying-Type, Cacturne as one of my two Grass-Types, and so on and so forth. So while I specialize in one type of pokemon, it has many secondary types that I can use to cover my bases.

As for why... well, like most other trainers who choose what kind of pokemon to use, I just like them. They're kinda like me when I was your age or younger, misunderstood. On top of that, they tend to be fast, aggressive, and adaptable attackers, something that mixes well with my battle style, as I enjoy keeping the offensive with some mix-ups and tricky moves to make things harder on my opponent.

And now for your last question, that right there is a very special stone. Took me two years, combing the Kalos region to find this and the other one I needed. Even with the help of anyone I met along the way. I won't tell you much more then that, not till you're a little stronger at least. If you earn three gym badges, I'll tell ya about it. Sound like a deal?"

Regardless of his response, once Amelia returned, Joshua led the way to the pokemon center in town to get his Geninja taken care of. While it was in their care, he asked some of the locals about the local eateries that were open at this hour before hearing of one that sounded decent and that wouldn't be too rowdy. Once he knew where it was at, he led the younger two over to it's location before going to see about seating.

"So, what do you think of my mentor?" Amelia asked Dawkin as they waited.

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

Joshua smiled at the little interaction between Amelia and Dawkin, seeing that his apprentice had made at least one human friend. At Dawkin's words though, he frowned.
"Well, even if you didn't do much, you did more then some people around here did, despite seeing the scene in front of them." He said, nonchalantly attacking the girl and her group. "So, even if was only a little, it meant something in the long run. You caused them to pause long enough for my pokemon to reach the scene and take over. Speaking of my pokemon, I should get Greninja to a Pokémon Center ASAP. She aint knocked out but that Energy Ball hit her rather hard. If you two are willing the accompany me, I wouldn't mind buying you both a meal. Hopefully there are places still open at this hour though."

"I wouldn't mind a meal." Amelia said.

"Alright, but if that little guy in your arms isn't yours, I suggest you return it to the gardens."

"O-oh. you're right." Amelia said, sounding a bit embarrassed. She rushed back to the gardens and entered them before turning Shedinja around and letting go of it. She then kneeled down to the pokemon's level. "Well, I guess this is good-bye. I'm sorry for bothering you, please don't hold it against me. But take care and be good. Maybe we'll meet again."

With that, she returned to Joshua and Dawkin, though it was definitely possible for Shedinja to follow her if it wanted to accompany her.

While she was dropping the Shedinja off, Joshua turned back to Dawkin.
"Well, even though she already did so, I guess I'll introduce myself again. Joshua, of Ecruteak City in the Johto region. A pleasure to meet ya. And this here is my partner Absol." He said. Absol looked up at Dawkin before huffing and turning away, the grey gem attached to his horn swinging around with the movement. Joshua laughed at the Disaster pokemon's demeanor. "Don't mind him, he doesn't like strangers. He'll warm up to ya. By the way, don't be afraid to ask questions."

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

Joshua turned towards the women when she addressed him, only to shrug in response.
"Nope, nothing other then exchange a few words." He said dismissively, obviously not concerned by what had happened during the encounter. He then turned to Amelia and Dawkin and smiled as his apprentice and her companion as both of them seemed to be unharmed. He watched the boy, who was either tense or distracted, it was hard to tell. But when the boy turned to leave, Joshua grabbed his shoulder to stop him, but didn't put enough force to stop Dawkin if the boy really wanted to leave. "Just because you can't be useful, doesn't mean you can't stick around. You tried to help out Ame here, so I would like to thank you, if you would give me the opportunity."

Amelia also turned to Dawkin and gave him a kind smile.
"Yeah, thank you for helping out. I guess it's a good thing you came along when you did." She said.

Night School *Looking for more players*

Still alive... I think.

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

Amelia looked at Dawkin in surprise for a second before turning back to the confrontation going on down the street.
"I don't really know the woman, I just encountered her a few years ago. She was bullying my friends so I don't really have that good of an impression of her, so when she came to likely do the same to the pokemon here, I figured I would try to stop her. She was likely after pokemon like this little one." She said, looking down at the Shedinja still in her arms at the last sentence before looking back up. "the man's name is Joshua. He taught me about pokemon and how to battle before I went to the Professor. He even helped me get to her. He's a veteran trainer and a Dark-type specialist."

Just as she finished, she felt the change in energy around the battle sight and gasped at the explosion caused by the Dark Pulse, her expression growing worried.

Meanwhile, Joshua was rather shocked when his hand passed through Angelique and he quickly withdrew is and jumped back a bit. Something was wrong here, very wrong indeed. Not a second later, a powerful Dark Pulse flew out of the girl and his eyes narrowed as he saw a Spiritomb from around her.
"Well, aren't you being a troublemaker." He said to the pokemon, his tone no longer amused and rather serious. After a second or nothing, he relaxed his stance and stared at the pokemon until he was sure it wouldn't act hostilely again. At the girl's words, he turned his attention back to her before returning to his more casual, friendly tone. "Ah, so you can speak modern English. That's good to know. Try speaking it more often, it'll be easier to make friends. That goes for your... many other associates as well."

He watched the girl leave as Absol and Bisharp watch Cofigrigus. After she was far enough away, he turned to the floating Ghost.
"Hey, gold leaf. You can relax now, I aint gonna bother her, assume that's the one you're actually loyal to. If I were you though, I'd go back to her side before someone else disturbs that Spiritomb." He said before returning Bisharp to her pokeball and walking away, Absol glancing at the floating coffin one more time before following.

Joshua walked over to where Amelia and Dawkin where standing, giving the other trainers a glance but otherwise paying them no mind.
"You two okay?" He asked.

"Yes... thank you Sensei." Amelia replied, smiling at him.

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

The young man's smirk only grew as Angelique approached him, clearly having struck some sort of nerve within a woman. As she gave her speech, he watched as Drifblim was knocked out before Cofagrigus released it's Trick Room. His smirk never faltered, even when Greninja was almost knocked out and sent flying towards Absol, who dodged using Quick Attack to negate the effects of the Trick Room. Apparently both Trainer and Pokémon had some experience fighting in this environment.

"Cheap tricks are only as good as the fools who fall for them. Sadly, no such fools here." He said to her calmly before she turned to leave. He returned Greninja to her pokeball before closing the distance between himself and Angelique, grabbing the neck of her shirt and holding her in place. He then spoke to her in a tone one might use while gently chiding a child. "Hey, you owe me some money. Cause while I knocked out one of your tools, you didn't manage to knock out a single one of my partners. Now, pay up and I'll let you leave. Come on now, be a good little girl."

---

Meanwhile, Amelia stopped where Dawkin did, looking back in the direction of the two battling trainers. She was a little out of breathe but otherwise fine.
"It seems he stopped the Explosion." She said after a few seconds of waiting. It was only after she relaxed that she finally registered the presence of others around them. She quickly moved closer to Dawkin, her expression nervous as she watched the individuals around them, unsure if they were friend or foe.

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink To be fair, they use French in Kalos, as it is inspired by France. And Double Team is often used in conjunction with another move in the anime.

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

Am I now find myself in an old school play. Someone needs to get out more often. The young man thought to himself as he calmly watched Angelique's actions and listened to her words. He could hazard a guess as to what they meant, but putting form the effort hardly seemed worth it. Instead, he grabbed another pokeball from his belt and laughed as he watched the Drifblim begin swelling up.

"Sensei?" Amelia asked behind him.

"Follow your friend but stay nearby. I wanna talk to him after I'm done here." The man replied calmly, never taking his eyes off Angelique.. Amelia nodded and ran off after Dawkin, after which, the man decided to have some fun. "Ho, a she-devil who speaketh in tongues! Begone I say, your foul presence shant taint these peaceful lands. Crawl back to your pit from whence you came, ye demoness, corrupter of souls, and bringer of chaos. Leave the people and creatures be, so that ye may crawl and suffer among thine own kind. If thou does not retreat, ye have naught to blame but thineself for the defeat that awaits you."

Cringe worthy? Very possible. Worth it? If he got any sort of annoyed or angered reaction from her, most definitely. Otherwise, a good bit of practice incase he encountered this woman again. Without further delay, he released his third pokemon, this one taking the from of what appeared to be some sort of armored humanoid.

Pokedex Entry #625 - Bisharp, the Sword Blade Pokémon. Bisharp hunt together with Pawniard, hounding their prey together until they are immobile before finishing them off. A prideful pokemon, the leader of the pack will retire if the blade on it's head is chipped in any way, regardless of their power.

"You three should know what to do." He said calmly. All three responded positively, which Greninja running towards their opponent while Absol and Bisharp remained behind. Bisharp moved in front of the man and crossed it's arms while using Iron Defense to raised it's... well, defenses, to protect her master incase the explosion went off. In the meantime, Absol charged up and fired an Ice Beam at the Blimp, hoping to either freeze it or, it they got lucky, flat out knock the thing unconscious. Greninja took the most offensive approach, using Double Team to create a dozen clones of itself. Half the clones attacked Drifblim while the other half attacked Cofagrigus. The real Greninja got above Drifblim though, aiming to hit it with a point blank Dark Pulse, the same move it's clones would be using, at the same time Ice Beam hit for a double whammy.