It felt as though he were floating, suspended in the air for a time undeterminable. He could not see, and he wondered if some horrible accident had befallen him. Had he died somehow? Was this what it was like to lose your life? No. He remembered, somewhat, what had happened.

Celebi had revealed itself to him; of that he was certain. He had journeyed across the entire Orre Region to capture it; of that he was also sure. But what had happened when he found it? He remembered other people, people he had never met before, all discussing seeing the Celebi. He had approached them, began talking, then blackness. Nothing. Absolute disorientation.

And then, he was lying on the ground. Or, at least, it felt like the ground; there was certainly some substance beneath him. He decided there was no point in trying to discern his whereabouts with his eyes closed. He opened them.

He was in a forest. A forest? He certainly didn’t remember being in a forest before. In fact, he remembered being outside a large factory of sorts. Then what?

Looking around, he noticed he wasn’t alone. There were the four other Trainers all lying in a circle around him. Demetri Mason was trapped in a forest with which he was unfamiliar with four other people that he didn’t even know. Quietly, while the others were still unconscious, he began going over the details, trying to make sense of what was going on.

The journey back to full consciousness was a slow one for Valencia, but this gave her time to reflect over what had actually occurred. The trouble was, the memories were unclear, though it seemed to her as though they could not have been formed but a few moments ago, it was like trying to remember something a lifetime gone past.

What did present clearly were brief flashes of sensation. The bright green of a Celebi in the sky, hovering over her head as though bidding her follow. The Professor's daughter hadn't needed a second invitation; she remembered that much, and had set about following it. Capture was not really Valencia's first instinct, but nevertheless she had heeded the Pokemon's wish: a chance to see or perhaps meet a Celebi was motivation enough. There was the feel of Zeke's smooth scales on her neck even as the young Dratini with strangely purplish scales had wrapped himself, as he was fond of doing, several times about her shoulders and once around her waist, keeping her arms free for easy movement.

There was... a clearing, maybe a parking lot of some kind, with other people in it. They were talking about something... maybe the Celebi? Most of them looked older than her by a year or two, but that didn't really bother her, did it? Valencia couldn't remember. Then someone else showed up; a boy with blue hair, maybe. After that, virtually everything had gone blank, and she was left swimming in darkness impenetrable, still aware of some things external, but not really present in that realm of reality.

Slivers of amber-colored iris became visible as Valencia's eyelids cracked open, but swiftly disappeared again as she scrunched her lids shut against the light. Sensation returned slowly otherwise, and it took a few seconds before she was able to move enough to push herself upright, rubbing at her forehead. Whatever had happened had give her a killer headache. There was a moment of panic, and her eyes flew wide as she scanned the area for Zeke, but she relaxed visibly when he appeared at her side, humming softly in that musical tone he had. Slender fingers brushed the top of his head, and a small smile appeared when he leaned into the touch, like a Skitty might.

Glancing around, she noted that though everyone from earlier was here, only the blue-haired one appeared to have woken before she did. What was more, she was now surrounded not by industrial buildings or city lights, but trees and verdant plant life. What's going on... did Celebi do this? It didn't make a great deal of sense, but those particular Pokemon were known for having some command of time and space, and nothing else about what had happened really fit. Of course, if the assumption was true, that meant there was no way to know where or even when they were, a disquieting thought at best.

Standing and dusting off her black pants, Valencia felt that it might be best to say something, though what exactly was anyone's guess. Information was probably what they needed right now, and though she wasn't sure the other conscious individual had any more of it than she did, it was perhaps best to confirm, just in case. "What happened here?" she asked aloud, raising an eyebrow in query.

A voice. Someone had spoken, and it appeared the question was aimed in his direction. Glancing to his right, he noticed that a girl was sitting up and staring at him. Why was she staring at him? Had she been the one who had spoken? Taking a quick peek at the rest of the bunch, he noticed that they were all still out cold. Sighing and scrubbing his hand through his hair, Demetri spoke.

“I’m not quite sure what happened. I remember a large building, a factory of sorts, and seeing you and the rest of these people and a Celebi, but from there, nothing.” He told her. It was all true, of course, but that wasn’t the entire story.

Demetri remembered the void and the feeling of floating. Had she experienced anything along those lines? The question still remained as to what had caused the transformation from urban city to forest and shrubbery. Closing his eyes, Demetri began massaging his temples in an effort to clear his thoughts and rid him of the massive headache he felt.

As he rubbed, he decided to review the facts. What did he know about Celebi’s? He knew they were legendary, often heard of though rarely experienced. He knew that they were supposedly masters of time and space, and could reportedly transport themselves anywhere and anywhen. Had this occurred? Had Celebi transported this group of youngsters through time and space? If so, then why? Demetri decided to voice his concern.

“Are you familiar with Celebi lore?” He asked the girl, opening his eyes and staring at her expectantly.

He knew he should have just left well enough alone. Sure, Cipher had crossed a bunch of lines in the recent past, but that was why he'd left, right? There was no need to keep getting involved in whatever they were doing.

It seemed as though every time Mikhail almost had himself convinced that he didn't have a conscience, something happened to remind him very painfully that he was mistaken. When that Celebi had reappeared, he'd known immediately that it was the second one from the Cipher capture, the one he'd caught a glimpse of but chosen not to mention to his comrades or his grandfather. For whatever reason, he'd found himself compelled to follow it, maybe out of some stupid desire to... who knew what.

Lucario had seemed to think it was a good idea at any rate, and had actively encouraged his trainer in this response. Mikhail had learned long ago that arguing with the Pokemon was a pretty foolish idea; whatever the reason, Lucario won pretty much every time. So he'd trailed the flying green Pokemon to the parking lot behind some department store of another and been surprised to find that other people started filling in shortly after. He'd made some crack about not knowing there was a party, which had apparently started off a whole conversation about why each of these people were here, though only a few people participated. Some girl with a Dratini had arrived shortly after, trailed by a kid who looked like he barely knew the business end of a Pokeball. Seriously, what trainer in their right mind dressed like that, anyway?

He must have blinked too slowly or something, because the next thing Mikhail knew, he was laying on a bunch of pine needles, which were surprisingly comfortable, all things considered. He heard movement beside him, maybe one or two people, and a throaty Pokemon hum before he was contacted by his own companion. Ah. So you are awake. Why not get up and join the others?

Mikhail might have protested that that was about the last thing in the world he wanted to do, but he was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice. "What happened here?" Well, there's the question of the day, he thought dryly before his eyes snapped open and he wasted no time in clambering a bit less gracefully than he would have liked to his feet.

The two latecomers were awake, but the kid with the cape and the girl in the bandanna were apparently still out cold, so he guessed it must have been the brunette who'd asked the question. Mikhail spared a quick glance at the forest that he swore had not been there a few minutes ago and shrugged carelessly. It hardly made a difference to him where he was, but he had a fair idea of what might have happened. Then the kid next to her spoke too, and he almost knew it for sure.

Something was telling him that this all went back to Cipher, and if it did, they were in a whole lot more trouble than they realized.

Reeka Groaned and sat up Time Travel is not fun not at all Standing up she dusted herself off. "So this Is what Orre looked like before Technology advanced and stuff.... Well Whatever What Was I Supposed To Do Again." She Thought back to the Speech the boss gave and gave a triumphant 'Ah-Ha' "Right Aid The Evil Trainers so that they win the war and we can reshape the future in our image, sounds fun enough well Let's get to it, what do you think Clay, Roy?" Both Pokemon gave nods of approval. 'Wait How The Heck Am I Supposed to Know if There Evil Or Not?!?' Reeka sighed and turned to her pokemon.

"So which way Guys?" Roy and Clay Looked at each other before nodding in unison and heading East following the tree line Reeka Following along close behind. After ten minutes of walking and seeing nothing She snapped and Began to Scream at the lack of life. "Stupid Forest!!! This Is Not Fun at All!!!"

((sorry it's Short My Laptops about to die))

The one time she let's Shinx walk beside her with Luxray and the little devil runs off, Kata had chased down the little Pokemon finally catching up to it in some parking lot. The Shinx was excited, and Kata soon saw why, a Celebi hovered over the lot. She saw a few others standing around too, then something happened and she saw darkness.

The first thing she heard upon coming two was the sound of people talking, she opened her eyes to see the green canopy of trees, she slowly pushed herself up and looked around. Three other people were standing a few feet away from her talking, another lay on the ground not to far from where she was. Everything seemed to be ok, no immediate threat. Her Luxray sat on the ground beside her, Kata gently rubbed his head. Standing up she brushed the pine needles off her clothes and walked to where the others stood, the Luxray following at her heels.

"What just happened?" she asked rubbing the back of her neck, "I saw a Celebi and now I'm here.." she glanced around at the forest again, it defiantly wasn't a parking lot, nothing looked familiar. She knew the Legendary Pokemon had something to do with this, that and the over curious Shinx who likes to run off.

Ven landed on the ground with a soft "thud!". The ground was covered in thick foliage and detretus from the plants around him, making his landing very gentle, although a little disoreinting. Ven may be the Master of Illusion, but time travel was one thing he would never be able to get the hang of.
He had been sent back in time with one purpose only. He recalled his last conversation before the jump:

Ven stood in a dark room, in a room of a three story warehouse. He had been summoned there to receive his new mission. A screen in front of him flickered to life, and the dark shdow that was Team Cipher's leader appeared. Ven bowed his head slightly in recognition. "Sir, an honur to see you again."
"Enough frivolity, Ven. I have an important mission for you. It seems one of the Celebi we had intended for our project has escaped and has formed a team of trainers to try and stop us."
Ven was taken a back by this. "But, surely you don't mean it's sent them back in time?"
"I'm afraid so," said the shadow. "The five of them have already landed in the past. I'm sending you back in time early, to proceed with our mission. If you should encounter one of these young ones, deal with them immediatly."
Ven bowed again. "You can count on me, sir."
"Oh, and one more thing, Ven. I have sent back others to help you. Be sure to help them as well." And with that, the screen flickered into lifelessness again.

A few short hours later, he had been whisked back through time. Ven glanced around now, looking at the forest he had landed in, unsure where to start. He reached in side his coat and pulled out a Pokeball. He opened it, the bright flash of light welcoming his longest and most trusted companion. The small symbol Pokemon, Unown, greeted him with it's sing-song like cry. This creature, an Unown of the "U" variety, was his first catch. He had since caught one of every variety of the mystrious creatures, but this one stayed by his side always. "Wel, old chum, shall we begin?" The Symbol cried again as they moved into the trees.

In the time it took Valencia to formulate her answer to the question about Celebi lore, two of the other three had gotten up and about as well. One of them, a guy with shaggy hair and a Lucario, looked as if he knew more than he was letting on, which probably wouldn't be that hard since he had yet to speak. The girl looked about as confused as Valencia felt.

"Well..." she began, then shook her head. Articulate. "Celebi are supposed to be able to manipulate time and space; they are fundamentally shy creatures but have been known to contact humans. Rumor has it that somewhere in Orre there was once a stone that contained the same power, but nobody knows what happened to it. If I had to hazard a guess..." here she hesitated, unsure whether or not they would think her crazy. In the end, Valencia came to the conclusion that it probably didn't matter anyway. "I'd say we've been moved in time, to a point either in the past or the future where the city was or has become a forest. Either that, or the Celebi simply teleported us to an actual forest, but it doesn't look like any I've been to, and I've... traveled a fair bit, I guess you could say."

She scanned the faces around her for any sign of comprehension, or, more likely, that sort of 'I'm going to back away slowly now' look that people had when in the presence of someone they had just discovered was completely nuts. Either way, she figured she'd said enough for now; better to let everyone else work out the rest.

Zeke hummed in her ear, the reverberations on the lower register, and she absently pet those scales crossed over her torso like some kind of odd sash. It was a bit unconventional of an arrangement, perhaps, but Dratini were long, and hers enjoyed being carried, infant that he still was. The others seemed to have Pokemon either immediately with them or at least several visible Pokeballs, so they'd probably understand. The one that still hadn't woken worried her a bit; hopefully he'd be okay.

"Why are we here then?" Kara asked looking around, "And where did the Celebi run off too?" her Luxray nudged her leg then nervously glanced around, she petted his head, knowing he was uneasy about something, who wouldn't be, they ha just been thrown back in time. The Pokemon kept nudging her leg, his growls more persistent now, "What is it boy?" she asked looming down, Luxray nodded towards the trees around where the group stood.

Kata then realized what ment, "Anyone see a Shinx running around?" she asked, her face worried. The baby Pokemon was still learning basic moves, and couldn't even fight really well. She quickly turned around, nor seeing the little guy she bit her lip, "Look I know we are trying to figure out why we are here, but I need to find Shinx, he could get hurt out here,"

Mikhail blinked slowly; the girl with the Dratini was surprisingly close to the mark. he made a mental note to remember this, and also that one of them appeared to have lost track of her Pokemon. Great.

Glancing down at Lucario, he raised an eyebrow in inquiry. He was constantly surprised by how well his Pokemon knew him; though they were known to be able to communicate telepathically across the board, not all of them ever picked up on human body language, for instance, but his partner had managed it quite well.

The infant she describes is located approximately thirty meters to the Southwest, Lucario responded, and for a moment Mikhail wished the lupine creature could have simply made that a general statement for the benefit of everyone instead of forcing him to play messenger. Nevertheless... he was not so unkind as to want someone to stew in the anxiety of having a missing Pokemon, so he spoke up.

"Lucario says your Shinx is that way," Mikhail offered, pointing what he judged to be Southwest. "If there was a problem, he would have done something by now, so I'd go get it before something happens." Crossing his arms over his chest, the young man leaned back against a tree. He might have even offered to go, but it was only a little ways off, and there was still an unconscious guy here besides, which could potentially be worse. With any luck, one of the others would go too, and that way everything would be covered and he could forget about the whole thing and try to figure out how to get back to his own time period.

Are you sure it will be as easy as that? Lucario asked, an amused tone coloring the thought.

I'm not entirely sure of anything, Mik replied honestly, and closed his eyes for a long second before opening them again. Nope. Still there. Except maybe for the part where we're screwed.

AS he regained his consciousness the first thing he noticed were the branches and leaves below his body, then the scent of fresh grass and water. *Where am I...? And who am I...?*
He soon realized he was lying on the floor of a forest. As he recovered his consciousness his memories came back.
*Right... I'm Rance Blackthorn, a Pokemon Trainer... and I'm here because of that Celebi...* He barely remembered the meeting with the legendary little Pokemon. It had been somewhere in a deserted road, as he was traveling with his bike. It had asked him to help in the past... he had accepted... and now he was here.
He stood up and patted the dirt and leaves off his clothes with his hands while looking around. It obviously was a forest, and not a small one. He also noticed his partner, Dragonite, lying in the grass in a short distance. It was recovering from the time traveling, making efforts to stand up.
"So... let's see where we should go", he said aloud, knowing that his friend could hear him. "Do you also have the sensation to hear voices nearby?"
"Dra." Dragonite nodded, pointing towards somewhere in the forest.
"Yeah, they come from there", agreed Rance. "Let's see who this is." He began to walk alongside of his friend, making his way through the forest of the past, towards where they heard someone.

Demetri absently fingered the PokeBalls at his belt. There were only three, for he had had a hard time deciding which of the three Pokemon inside of them he was going to use in the Pokemon contest he had entered. The Pokemon contest! In his zeal towards capturing the Celebi, he had totally forgotten that he had entered. Well, it was too late to worry about that now. Or too early, he guessed, considering they had been whisked back into the past.

“I agree.” Demetri said to the girl in the red and black. She was far more intelligent and learned than Demetri had thought, having such extensive knowledge of legendary Pokemon. Demetri himself had been tutored by some of the most brilliant of Pokemon researchers, and he still barely knew the histories and lore behind the legendaries.

“Where did you learn all of that?” He asked, voicing his thoughts. He wanted to know how a girl of – what was she? Sixteen? He wanted to know how a girl of her age could know so much.

Ven no sooner entered the trees when something was already making it's way toward him. He stopped in his tracks and looked up at his companion. "Unown, be ready for anything!" The Symbol let out a doft cry, floating next to his master's shoulder. Ven turned and looked at the bush to his left, where the movement had been. He inched forward, not sure what to expect. Ven was about to call out to his Unown to attack when the being made itself known.
A young Pokemon, a Shinx to be exact, emerged from the bush. It was small for Shinx, but then again, it could be a new-born. Ven smiled. This young one must of just hatched. That means it's owner must be near by. Quite possibly those trainers the Celebi brought back.
Leaning down, he offered his hand out for the small Pokemon. "Easy fella. I'm not going to hurt you." He petted the Shinx, feeling the electric energy flowing through it's body. He gentley lifted the Pokemon into his arms, petting it to calm it down. "What say we find your trainer? Get you home, okay?" He set off at a brisk pace, turning back to his floating companion. "Unown, keep your eye out for anything. Warn me if you detect anu one near by, alright?" Unown gave another of it's trilling sound as the made their way through the underbrush once again.

Legendary Pokemon had always been just that to Kata. Legendary. Parts of old stories her grandmother use to tell her, yea she had seen one or two before but she had thought they were flickers of light or something. Nothing like the Celebi, who interacted with her and the others.When the guy with the Lucario told her where Shinx had gone off to the nodded, and turned in the direction, ready to go find it. But then a thought popped in her head, what if she got lost? Kata had been lost in the woods before, she knew what to do, but not knowing the area or where any towns where if there were any towns. She bit her lip and turned back to the group, "We shouldn't separate.." she said aloud. Luxray suddenly turned to face a section a brush, a loud rustling could be heard, someone was obvious coming thru. The fur on the Pokemon's back stood straight up and small sparks could be dancing from tip to tip, "Is it Shinx?" she asked the Pokemon, he kept looking towards where the rustling was coming from, Luxray wouldn't be acting that way if it was, so she guess it was someone or something else.

Two humans approach the present location, Lucario informed him in a mildly-interested tone. One of them carries the Shinx.

Mikahil swore under his breath. Just what they needed; more people. Chances were, if Cipher had captured a Celebi as well, they had already made it into a shadow Pokemon, which meant they had free and clear access to now or any other point in time.

The girl who'd lost her Pokemon said something about staying together, and for once, he found himself nodding in agreement. "There are two people coming," he articulated, "as is your Shinx." The Luxray tensed, and he knew that Pokemin had sensed what Lucario had as well. There was a pause, and then he threw in a warning, almost as an afterthought. "Be careful by the way. I doubt we're the only ones who got transported here." More than that, he was not yet willing to say.

What do you think? he asked of his partner. Is it Cipher?

Ven walked a few yards before he heard the distinct sound of voices, just beyond a clump of bushes. The Shinx in his arms started to get restless, as did his Unown, who alerted him with a soft chirp. "I can hear them. I know." He began to walk towards the the voices when a voice broke through the brushes, loud enough for him to catch.

"Be careful by the way. I doubt we're the only ones who got transported here."

Ven stopped for a second, this comment taking him aback. Dang. It seems I have been detected, and they already suspect me. No other choice. He threw on his best smile and breached the bushes, gazing around at those who were there. Five trainers, an even balance of boys and girls, all appearing to be younger than himself. There were also three Pokemon in attendance: a Lucario, a Dratini, who seemed attached to his master, and a Luxray, who seemed very on edge at his presence.
Ven looked around, then smiled at them all. "I'm sorry, didn't know I was interrupting something. I found this little guy a ways out there and thought he might belong to someone." He let the Shinx down onto the ground before continuing. "When Unown," At this, his little partner appeared at his shoulder "Heard your voices, we figured we'd try here first. Seems my hunch was right." He looked around at them all. "The name is Ven, by the way."

Valencia looked between the other girl and the guy with the Lucario, slightly concerned. She had no idea what she'd do if she lost Zeke; it must be an awful feeling. She was about to offer to go along, just to be safe, but that soon became unnecessary.

Several things happened in quick succession. First, the blue-haired one asked her about how she knew things about Celebi, and she colored slightly under her tan. Right. Sometimes she forgot not everyone was a professor's kid, and it was actually kind of strange to know things like this. Smiling a tad tightly, she brought one hand to the back of her head. "Ah... er- well, my mother-"

She was cut off when the other young man began to speak again, and her eyes went wide at his words. More people? Based on the number that had been around when she got to the parking lot, one more made some sense, but two? Unless she was really, really bad at math (which she was pretty sure she wasn't), that left them with someone unfamiliar. She frowned a bit at the warning; what did this person know that the rest of them did not?

She wasn't left with much time to ponder, for one of the two came through the treeline, apparently carrying the missing Shinx. Her smile crept back onto her face; that was awfully kind of him, whomever he was. The Unown (a "U," she thought) popped over his shoulder like some kind of jack-in-the-box, and she offered the Pokemon a small wave. From her shoulder, Zeke cocked his head sideways; the little creature had never seen one of these Pokemon before, and was naturally a bit curious. She scratched his head with the hand on the same side, and nodded politely to the stranger.

His introduction caused her to belatedly realize that she had not offered her own name to the general audience, and she sighed internally. She'd never been much good at this sort of thing, truth be told, and groups as large as this one made her a bit uncomfortable. Nevertheless, that was no excuse not to be polite. "Valencia," she replied, extending a hand slightly awkwardly. The Dratini made a slightly huffy noise, and she grinned. "Oh, and this is Zeke."

Demetri hadn’t been around the parking lot for very long before the transportation, so he didn’t quite remember the number of people that had been moved with him. He thought the number was around five – maybe six – which meant that there was either one more missing, or this meant that all of the members of Celebi’s party were present and accounted for. Perhaps this was a good thing. Perhaps now they would get to the bottom of all of this.

Still, Demetri was a more than a little curious as to why this guy had come from someplace other than them. Hadn’t they all appeared in the same spot? He, the girl Valencia, the girl with the missing Shinx and the guy with the Lucario had all been transported to the same spot. Why hadn’t he? The question was provocative, almost an accusation, which meant that Demetri couldn’t ask it. He wasn’t about to start trouble with someone he did not know.

“Thanks for finding her Shinx,” Demetri said, stepping forward; he wasn’t about to allow himself a position in the background. In fact, in his opinion, he and Valencia were the only two to establish themselves as potential leaders. Why not be the first two to introduce themselves, then? “And interesting choice of Pokemon; not many people would choose to use an Unown.”

Mikhail stiffened, and stood straight from where he'd been leaning against the tree, eyes narrowed. Unlike the other two, he'd been one of the first to reach the parking lot, and this guy had definitely not been there. In fact, Mikhail was pretty sure he recognized him from somehwere else, which meant he was probably Cipher.

He could not say for certain who this guy was, since Mikhail spent most of his time in covert operations outside of normal activities, meaning he did not know much about most of the other agents. On the other hand, that reduced the chance of him being recognized either, which was a good thing. Nevertheless, he did not join in the thanks and greetings, though he did take note of the relevant introductions. Rather, his hand surreptitiously crept to the Pokeballs at his belt, and he sent a quick message for Lucario to be careful.

Deciding to take the risk, he went ahead and spoke. "So tell me," Mikhail began in a deadpan, "since when do members of Cipher return Pokemon rather than stealing them?"

As soon as Ven put Shinx on the ground the little guy ran over to Kata, he rubbed against her leg before going to standing beside Luxray. The larger Pokemon was watching Ven with a careful eye, Shinx stood behind Kata, he seemed to sense the tension in the air and it made him nervous. When the guy who had the Lucario mention Team Cipher she glanced to her Shinx then back to the man who had returned him. Cipher is where she had rescued the egg that he came from, she knew they stole Pokemon for their own use, so why did this one return Shinx?

"Thinks for finding him, he has a habit of being curious," she nodded to Ven.

Ven took the hand he was offered. "A pleasure, I'm sure." One of the other's, one of the boys stepped forward, commenting on his choice of partner. Ven smiled and glanced up at the Unown. "Yes, that is normally true. but this little fellow was my first capture." The Symbol floated down near him and Ven placed a reassuring hand on him. "I'm not sure what it is about these curious little creatures, but something just draws me to them."
The Shinx he had returned had seemed to have found it's way back to it's owner. The Luxray still seemed to be eyeing him. Ah. The protective partner. Ven turned and smiled to his owner. "It was no problem. Can't have someone so small wandering off. Never know what could happen out there. Someone might try to take the fellow." He pulled back his coat and fingered the Pokeballs on his belt. "Not sure what I'd do if someone try to take one of my babies. Especially my Unown." The Pokemon chirpped in reply.
Another boy approached, and his comment caught him off guard. Uh, oh! This one seems a little to well informed. est play the innocent act. Ven raised a questioning brow. "Cipher? What's a Cipher? That some brand of cereal? Or a new Pokemon? Sounds powerful." Ven eyed the boy. Now that he was a little closer, the boy did seem familiar to Ven, but he wasn't sure how. he raised his hands, showing a sign of resign. "I assure you, I mean you no harm."

Valencia's smile faltered at the mention of Team Cipher. Her mother had told her much about them, and she thought she might have had a few encounters with them, too, but the worst bit was the stuff she'd heard about shadow Pokemon. What kind of person could willingly close off a Pokemon's heart? It was a horrible thought, and never failed to make her shudder.

The suspicion of the shaggy-haired youth unsettled her; he seemed very much the sort to know what he was talking about before he spoke. Still, the person in question was doing a fair bit to alleviate that, even if she didn't quite believe that there was anyone who hadn't heard in some way of Cipher. Maybe he wasn't from Orre? It was possible Celebi had teleported someone from another region, after all; there were many fine trainers in Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, or any of the other numerous areas she'd visited before.

Which brought to mind another question: why them? Why her? It wasn't as though she were a gym leader or champion or expert coordinator or anything. She was, to her knowledge, just an ordinary trainer with a love for her Pokemon. She glanced between the other faces present, waiting for someone to make a move or something, deciding to err on the side of caution for the moment.

Demetri's friendly air deflated at the mention of Team Cipher. He had heard of these culprits, the ones who forcibly closed off a Pokemon's heart. Who would do that to such innocent creatures? Frowning, he took a look at the shaggy-haired boy, who seemed to know a lot more than he was willing to let on. How did he know that guy was from Cipher? Why would he just accuse him of something so severe without knowledge or provocation? Something was amiss.

"What the hell is going on here?" Demetri asked, voicing the question he was sure was on everyone's mind. "How would you know this guy was Cipher? Why would you accuse him of something like that?"

He knew it was wrong of him to just interrogate the boy like that, but if he didn't, he wasn't sure anyone else would. The guy who had returned the Shinx was playing it off well if he was from Cipher, but Cipher peons typically didn't return Pokemon, let alone rescue them. Perhaps this guy was not who Shaggy-hair believed him to be. Perhaps Shaggy-hair was not who they believed him to be.

"And even if he was Cipher, how would you know? Is there something you want to tell us?"

There. The question had been posed.

"Ah, this is leading nowhere..."
The voices did not seem to be closer than when they had started walking. Dragonite curiously looked at Rance. Its eyes were asking "what do you want to do then?"
"Dragonite, fly up and search for people. If you can't see anyone, fire your Hyper Beam or Flamethrower upwards, and watch out not to destroy stuff. I really don't know what consequences it can have in the future, but we need to find people as soon as possible, and get information on the Ciphers."
Dragonite nodded and flew upwards, floating in the air for some minutes. "Draaaa", it shouted down. Then it lift its head to the sky, and fired a Flamethrower.
*Hmm, that should do. If anyone is here, they will see it*, thought Rance as the blazing flames were shining on his face.

Mikhail's eyes narrowed; he did not enjoy being interrogated, and just who did this guy think he was, anyway? Running a hand through his already disheveled hair, he contemplated just telling them all that they could go right ahead and trust this guy if they wanted; at least it wouldn't be his Pokemon that wound up stolen. Instead, he caught Lucario's meaningful look and shook his head.

"Look, you can believe me on this or you can choose not to. To tell you the truth, I don't care either way, and I'm not going to explain myself to you. Just ask yourself what good it does me to make random accusations for no reason." He shot a look at each of them in turn, and might have said something to the suspected Cipher member himself, but at that moment, he spotted a large column of flame above the tree canopies.

Well, there was something you didn't see unless someone meant you to. Raising an eyebrow, he wondered if perhaps this might be the other guy that had been around at the parking lot. If so, it might help prove his point about the Ven person. It wasn't as though he had anything better to do. Shrugging, Mikhail set off in the direction of the flames. If these people didn't care to take his advice, well... that was no skin off his teeth.