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Les Torbert

"Don't feel tha need tah shackl' mahself 'nywhere--th'outdoors suits us jus' fine."

0 · 639 views · located in Johto Region

a character in “Pokemon: A Slice of Life”, as played by BlackIceRocker

Description

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”Nothin’ but the world ahead-a me now—jus’ what I’m lookin’ forward tah.”



❝ More Than Just A Name ❞




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BASICS
“Not quite all that much tah tell, really…”


Full Name;;
William Lester Torbert

Nicknames;;
“Les”, “Lieutenant”

Age;;
30

Gender;;
Male

Sexuality;;
Heterosexual

Hometown;;
Mistralton City, Unova

Residence;;
Wanders between the regions, no real sense of home.

Classes;;
Survivalist, Martial Artist

Occupation(s);;
Ex-military, now wandering the land with no goals or thoughts of settling down any time soon.



❝ Beyond The Disguise ❞




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APPEARANCE
“What, y’blind or some’in’? Open yer eyes an' take a look, dammit!”


Basic Appearance;;
Les is slightly imposing at an above-average height of 6’5”. Despite his scrawny appearance, he is much stronger than he looks due to his military training. He keeps up his strength and endurance by training in the wilderness with his pokemon. His hair seems unnaturally kempt and styled for the amount of time he spends away from modern plumbing, and still manages to retain a pitch-black sheen. He has dark eyes that seem to scan people upon first meeting them, almost as if he’s searching for any potential threat to his or his pokemon’s well-being.

Distinct Markings;;
A few tattoos on his shoulders—one of a skull and crossbones, one of a unicursal hexagram (six-pointed star), and one of a lightning bolt on the back of his neck. There are also a few scars across his left arm from when he had first met one of his pokemon, an absol, scratched him in self-defense.

Style;;
Les wears things that will help him stay safe in the wild—thick jeans, some thermal gear, leather boots. The most noticeable thing he wears, however, is his trademark black trenchcoat, which normally he leaves open so the breeze causes it to flutter behind him.



❝ Behind The Mechanics ❞




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MENTALITY
“Life of a soldier ain’t easy, son—see too many things y’ain’t supposed tah.”


Likes;;
-The wilderness
-Keeping his knife clean
-Getting lost
-The smell of rain
-Getting lost staring up at the sky
-A drink every now and again—but not too often
-His pokemon

Dislikes;;
-Staying in crowded cities for extended periods of time
-Putting his pokemon into pokeballs
-People who think they know everything when they clearly do not
-Settling down
-People that make fun of his accent
-Needless violence
-Wet socks

Habits;;
>When bored, Les may find a stick and begin whittling it down. It’s something to pass the time for him.

>If he becomes stressed or agitated, Les may instinctively grab for his knife, which he keeps on his belt at all times.

>On clear nights, Les likes to sit outside and stare at the stars, especially away from the cities. Gives him time to think.

Weaknesses;;
>Les prefers to stay out in the wilderness when possible and becomes rather uncomfortable in big cities or around large crowds of people.

>He views his combat knife as a sort of lucky charm and feels that he cannot function without it. Should he ever lose it, he will turn all of hell over to find it before he concentrates on anything else.

>He does not like it when anyone mentions his father—he will get testy around people that ask him about the relationship between he and his father.

Personality;;
For the most part, Les is a carefree sort of character. He’s more aloof than most other people his age, partly because he’s not quite sure what he wants to do with himself at this point. Sort of mirroring this idea, he lets his mind wander at times, especially if something catches his eye.

Les really is a down-to-earth person. He is direct and to-the-point when his mind is not wandering around. If he needs to get serious, his military mindset takes over and he is able to work efficiently and effectively. He can be very driven and goal-oriented when the need arises, but he does not usually show this side unless it is necessary to do so.

Although he does not do this often, Les is a formidable fighter and is rather merciless when it comes to close-combat. Unfortunately, he’s been almost conditioned into reacting this way from his training and does not like to bring it out often if he does not have to. He never aims to kill but instead to disarm or disable, something that he is very good at doing.

Theme song;;
Between the Buried and Me—Mirrors



❝ Behind the Scenes ❞




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Special
“Tha’s what they call it nowadays? ‘Special’? E’ryone’s gotta be special now, righ’?”


Strengths and Special Attributes;;
Coming from the military, Les is trained in the use of close-combat weaponry; more specifically, this comes in the form of his combat knife. He also is an expert in surviving out in the wilderness—knowing how to make fires without the use of matches or fire-type pokemon, identifying safe-to-eat plants from poisonous ones, how to create shelter from the environment, etc. He is also knowledgeable in first-aid and is able to treat minor wounds as well as stabilize more major ones (such as a broken limb or a deep gash) so medical experts may take care of them in a hospital.

Equipment and Personal Artifacts;;
-1x Combat Knife from his army days
-1x Sleeping bag and pillow, attached to the top of his backpack
-5x Days worth of rations
-1x Field Manual (“Encyclopedia of Edible Plants”)
-1x First Aid Kit, just in case
-6x Pokeballs, four of which are filled
-4x Changes of clothes



❝Replaying The Past And Present ❞




History;;
Les grew up in Mistralton City in Unova, hoping that he would be able to become a master trainer like most kids. His parents, however, were rather conservative, and they did not approve of their only son running through the land and befriending strange people and pokemon before he was ready. Despite this, Les befriended a tynamo from the nearby Chargestone Cave and was determined to prove to both himself and his parents that he was able to take care of a pokemon on his own. For about a year, he was able to keep the small electric fish from detection; however, a freak electrical storm caused the tynamo to evolve prematurely, which finally alerted his parents and angered them to no end. Les was forced to release the newly-evolved eelektrik to the wild and his father shipped him off to the military in order to “build character”.

Les reluctantly stayed in the military for six years, learning what he could from his tenure—combat with guns and knives, first aid, wilderness survival, etc. As soon as he was actually called into combat, however, he deserted the army, not quite knowing how he would be able to kill another man if required to. He ran to the only place that he could feel somewhat at home—Mistralton. Unfortunately, his parents were no longer there, and the only place that he could find any solace was Chargestone Cave. Surprisingly, he ran into his eelektrik and they reunited only to realize that they had no purpose.

With nothing better to do, Les has been wandering the lands for the past six years or so, even travelling to Johto for a spell in order to get a change of scenery. He wanted to get away from Unova for a while, as the events of his life were rather… fresh, to say the very least. He follows the wind, going wherever his feet take him; no plan, no guides, just Les and his pokemon.

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Preferred Type;;
No real preferred type—Les sort of finds that pokemon gravitate toward him when they feel comfortable with him. He does not go out of his way to capture a particular type.

Starter Pokémon;;
Tynamo

Current Pokémon Team
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Name Nix
Species and Type Eelektross (Electric)
Gender Female
Ability Levitate
Personality Nix is normally calm, cool, and collected, but if anything happens to Les she will fly into an uncontrollable rage, demolishing everything in her path to get revenge on those that wronged her and her trainer. She acts as the unofficial matriarch of the team.
History Les' first ‘capture’, Nix was a lost tynamo that befriended the boy and was living inside his house. A freak electrical accident caused Nix to evolve into an eelektrik, something that Les was not expecting to happen for quite some time. Because of the rapid size change and the increased electrical activity coming from the cellar, his parents soon discovered the pokemon and threatened to evict their son for disobeying them for so long. It was at that time that Les joined the Army, sending Nix back into the wild to fend for herself once again. After Les deserted the army, he found Nix once more and came across a Thunderstone along their travels, letting Nix evolve.
Moves
Thunderbolt
Flamethrower
Acrobatics
Crunch
Brick Break

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Name Serenity (“Ren”)
Species and Type Vespiquen (Bug/Flying)
Gender Female
Ability Pressure
Personality With her evolution, Ren became somewhat of a hot-head, thinking herself to be above everyone else. Les and Nix, however, are quick to put her back in her place if she steps too far out of line.
History Serenity (also called Ren for short) was a small female Combee when Les and Nix came across her. She had been abandoned by her hive because she was one of two females born at the same time, and only one could be the next queen of the hive. Les brought her with them and she immediately proved her worth, evolving very quickly and even luring a group of loyal Combee followers to her side.
Moves
Attack Order
Defend Order
Heal Order
Toxic
Venoshock

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Name Doomsday
Species and Type Absol (Dark)
Gender Male
Ability Super Luck
Personality Doomsday is quiet to the point that Les forgets that he is tagging along with the party in the first place. Les is rather cautious with the absol; however, Doomsday is quick to jump into battle to prove his strength to the others.
History Doomsday actually followed Les and his pokemon from Unova, managing to get aboard a ship in Driftveil without anyone noticing him. When Les discovered the absol, he was initially disturbed by the fact that absol are portents of doom, but his hesitation and fear dissolved as he realized that Doomsday was a loyal companion. With nowhere else to go now, Doomsday follows Les and the others, the trainer more than aware that something disastrous could happen due to the absol’s presence.
Moves
Night Slash
Psycho Cut
Superpower
Stone Edge
Aerial Ace

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Name Namaste (“Nam”)
Species and Type Shellder (Water)
Gender Female
Ability Skill Link
Personality Because she is so young, Nam is extremely naive when it comes to world experience. She is also somewhat of a troublemaker, going to odds against Doomsday and Serenity at times just for a laugh. She does get scared easily, though, and Les sometimes finds himself carrying the bivalve from place to place.
History Namaste (also called Nam for short) was Les' first official capture in Johto. Nam is still young to the point that her naivety gets her in trouble, but Les believes that she will outgrow this phase and become a competent battler when she evolves.
Moves
Tackle
Icicle Spear
Rock Blast
Protect




PC Pokémon
None

So begins...

Les Torbert's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Les Torbert Character Portrait: Gemma Rhodes
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Ilex Forest, one of Johto’s natural wonders. The region was known for all sorts of grandiose landscapes that called all sorts of wanderers and nature lovers from across the globe. From the cliffs of Mount Silver to the depths of the Lake of Rage, and even the mysterious Ruins of Alph and the Whirl Islands between Olivine and Cianwood, almost every facet of nature could be found. It was here in the forest that one could really find a sense of what nature was all about—the trees were thick and lush, the area was teeming with wildlife and other pokemon that called the forest their home, and the people of Johto enjoyed walking through the flora and admiring the scenery that seemed to spring up effortlessly from the ground.

Through the trees, one could see the form of a tall man in a trenchcoat accompanied by a pair of large pokemon—one appeared to be a long eel that hovered above the ground and crackled with electricity; the other was a large yellow insect that buzzed quite noisily behind him. Each carried in their arms a large basket filled with all sorts of berries of different sizes and colors. The man, however, had a large slab of meat in his hands, taken from a particularly large deer that had been wounded. Rather than let it suffer, he figured it would be best to put it out of its misery and put it to good use for his meal. Besides, a carcass like that would make good pickings for the flock of murkrow that seemed to inhabit the place during the night.

“Ren, Ah tol’ja tah leav’ th’b’rries alon’,” the man muttered as he caught the eyes of the yellowjacket staring down at the basket in her arms. “You’ll b’able t’eat when we git back tah th’camp…”

“Vesssspi…” the creature buzzed over the sound of her wings flapping hundreds of times per second. She looked rather hungry; the man saw that and smirked despite the weight of the meat in his arms.

“Y’know yer a spo’l’d bi’ch, righ’?” he chuckled. The eel next to him gurgled with a slight bit of approval as well, lighting up various yellow spots across its body. “Nix ‘ere seems tah think th’same…”

“Quen! Quen!” the wasp protested, a scowl growing across its mandibles. Her buzzing grew louder and fiercer, almost as if she was readying to attack her companions. The basket in her arms began to tremble violently as the berries inside rattled around within.

“No need tah git’cher pan’ies ‘nabunch, g’rl,” the man laughed, leading the others through the forest toward a glow off in the distance. “Doomsd’y pro’lly kep’ th’place cozy fer us, righ’? Git’cher head on stra’gh’, g’rl, we’re almos’ there…”

“Der! Shell Shellder!” a high-pitched voice chirped from the eel’s basket. The man looked inside to see a purple mollusk nestled atop the various berries that they had collected. Two wide eyes peered from the darkness within.

“Yeah, you too, li’l lady…” the man responded sweetly to the pokemon in the basket. “Ah’ll mak’ sure y’git some’in’ t’eat… ‘Swhy we lef’ camp in’th’firs’ place, yeah?”

“Tross…” the eel seemed to agree with what the man had said, even going so far as to nod along with him. The group came to a clearing soon enough—one with a raging campfire and a white dog-like creature almost sleeping next to it. The most striking feature, of course, was the large blue horn sticking up from the side of its head, along with a dark-blue face and razor-sharp claws. However, there were several others there as well…

There was a young woman sitting on a log near the fire, and with a few pokemon of her own staying rather close. A small deer with pink markings and a few flowers growing out of its fur stood right in front of her, and to her side was a small fox-like creature with brown fur and large ears with a bushy tail. Perched next to her on the other side of the log was a decent-sized bird with brown and white plumage with streaks of pink feathers closer to the head. In the woman’s lap was a satchel, and she played with a few mushrooms in her fingers as she stared into the flames.

“Some guard-dog y’are, Doomsd’y,” the man chuckled as he came to the clearing with his other pokemon, catching the woman off-guard. “Y’ain’t s’ppos’d tah be nappin’ on tha job, y’dum’ mutt…” He placed the meat on the log next to the woman as the other two placed their baskets down on the ground on the other side of the fire near the white-furred creature. The man walked over to the sleeping pokemon and scratched it on the neck. “Y’migh’ wanna wake up’n take a lookit th’intrud’rs y’let past yer guard,” he looked up at the woman and flashed a quick grin, trying to play off his ‘gruff’ tone as more of a joke than anything else. The creature lifted its head and yawned, showing off an impressive set of fangs.

“Shell?” an inquisitive voice chirped from inside the basket. The man chuckled and reached in, grabbing the mollusk and holding her up to give her a good view of the others that had taken a spot around the fire.

“See? Ah ain’t lyin’ to yah, g’rlie,” he said as he placed the shellfish down on the log next to the slab of meat. “Y’wanna say ‘h’lo’?” With that, he turned back toward the large yellow and black insect who was eyeing the contents of the basket greedily. The eel creature, however, was doing its best to give an intimidating look toward the insect.

“Aw, hell, dun go’n git’cherself fat on all th’food, Ren,” the man sighed, brushing back a lock of black hair that had fallen across his face. “Y’ain’t gon’ fly if yah do…”

The bug—Ren—ignored the man’s comment, grabbing a few plump fruits and beginning to chew on them with her mandibles. As she did, she felt herself lowering to the ground, content with the meal. The man reached into the basket and pulled out a few pink and blue berries before walking over to the mollusk and placing them on an outstretched tongue.

“…sol,” the dog grumbled, irritated that it was not being fed.

“Quit’cher whinin’, Doomsd’y,” the man grumbled as he pulled out an impressive looking knife from his belt. He cut off a large chunk and threw it toward the canine creature, which then began to take a few bites from the flesh. He repeated the process with the eel, although this pokemon was much more receptive of the meal and seemed to light up when it received its food. The man cut off two more pieces before looking over to his bag and pulling out a folding metal grate and placing it over the flames.

“Ain’t e’ry day Ah git som’on’ stumblin’ ‘cross mah camps,” the man commented, finally addressing the girl. “Y’hungry? Got more’n ‘nough food tah give away some if yer feelin’ a mite peck’sh.” Regardless whether she accepted his offer, he was looking forward to having a bit of meat to eat. It had been a while since he had indulged, and he was hoping that the venison was as good as he remembered it from the last time he had gotten his hands on it.

“What’cha doin’ all th’way out ‘ere, anyway?” he asked as the sound of sizzling meat filled the forest. “Lookin’ fer camps tah crash ‘r some’in’? Dun tell me y’got los’ ‘ere in tha woods… happens tah too many peopl’ tah try’n count…”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Les Torbert Character Portrait: Gemma Rhodes
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#, as written by Ion
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Johto, Ilex Forest




There was some noise off to her right, and Gemma paused momentarily in her motion to glance up, observing with some interest as a small party returned to what must have been the campsite. An Eelektross, a Vespiquen, and a—oh my, he’s a rather tall fellow, isn’t he? She blinked slowly as he scolded his Absol, a pokemon that she hadn’t even noticed on the other side of the fire. So much for the ever-observant photographer, it seemed. Nevertheless, she didn’t find herself particularly off-put by this fact, and instead returned the stranger’s smile with a grin of her own. The joke in the words was obvious, at least to her, and she was privately quite glad that she’d decided to risk camping here. It looked like she’d been more or less right to trust in the kindness of strangers.

Moreso, perhaps, when a shellder was placed on the log beside her, and Gemma set the satchel of berries on the other side of Emrys, who was peering curiously over her lap at the goings, on, the swishing of his tail betraying some measure of anxiety. “Hello,” Gemma greeted the pokemon named Nam, holding a free hand out to the little bivalve. The shellder chirped again, a nice little greeting in response to the newcomer's greeting.

The tall man offered to feed them as well, and any remaining tension that Gemma might have felt (insignificant as it was), bled away from her posture altogether. “I could use a bite to eat, yes, thank you,” she replied cheerfully, tossing him the satchel. “I can contribute mushrooms, nuts, rare berries, and lots of gratitude.” Grasping her knees with her hands, the photographer gave the question some thought. “S’pose I am lost, technically,” she said, pretty sure that she had interpreted the question correctly. The accent sounded vaguely familiar, maybe from her days in university. Castelia University got people from all over the world, though mostly Unova. She must have known at least a few people who sounded like that. Mistralton? Was that where they’d been from? “But Aderyn here can find a way out, just not while it’s dark and there’s a lot of walking to do.” She shrugged.

“Gemma Rhodes, humbly at your service,” she tipped an imaginary hat and flashed a broad smile. “Photographer, artist, wanderer, and occasional camp-raider. Mostly, getting lost goes part in parcel with the job. These are Aderyn, Celyn and Emrys.” She pointed out each of them in turn. “Can I ask whose generosity I am so ungraciously taking advantage of?”

The man chuckled as he poked at the meat on the grate. "Dun think've it as takin' advan'ge of th'sit'ati'n, Miss Rhod's--'sall good fortun', 'swhat it is." He looked through the satchel she tossed to him. "A few mushr'ms--ain't too shabby... A few Cheri b'rries... got'cherself a nice haul--not near as g'd as ours, b't 'spect'ble... Name's Les, by th' by."

He turned toward the pokemon he had been followed by. "Th'lektross is Nix, th'vespiq'n's Ren, y'met Doomsd'y alre'dy, an' th'shelld'r's Nam."

An easy chuckle escaped Gemma, and she nodded. "Wouldn't expect it to be quite as good, I don't think. Only things I know about forests I learned from biology textbooks. Still trying to get my feet wet in the real world." Stretching her arms above her head, she relished the satisfying series of pops as her back cracked, then dropped her limbs back into her lap.

"Then well met, all. I was just thinking I could use a little good fortune. Do you want any help? I'm not much of a survivalist, but even I can fetch wood or water or mind a cook-fire."

Les smiled. "Gemma, Ah got it alre'dy--'salre'dy som' extra fir'wood fr'm earli'r, an' Ah c'n cook some'in' good 'swell, so y'c'n jus' sit back an' make yerself comfy if y'wan'. Maybe play with Nam if y'feel so 'nclin'd." The shellder perked up at the sound of her name, turning toward Les and then almost expectantly back up at Gemma with big eyes.

She felt a little bad about not doing anything to help, but the adorable little shellder was far too cute to be resisted. "You drive a hard bargain, sir, but I think I'll take it." She leaned over and lifted Nam in both hands, holding the little pokemon above her head momentarily before lowering her onto a knee. Leaning back a bit, she fished around in her bag until she found what she was looking for: two magost berries. "Celyn," she said quietly, and the Deerling stirred himself from his seat in front of her, standing up and flicking his ears attentively.

He stood perfectly still while Gemma placed the round berry on his nose, adjusting it so that it would stay still. Holding up an index finger, she bid him stay just like that until she had turned Nam around to see. "Okay, Cel, go ahead." The shellder's eyes grew wide with anticipation as she stuck her tongue out once again. With a jerk of the deer pokemon's snout, the berry arced into the air, but as soon as it was level with his jaw, he snapped it up, the crunching sound audible in the more-or-less quiet atmosphere. Gemma gave him a half-smile and a pat on the head before turning back to Nam.

Holding the second berry between her thumb and forefinger, she tilted her head to one side. "Wanna give it a try, Nam?" The bivalve tried to extend her tongue out toward the berry between the woman's fingers but was coming up rather short. She strained to try and extend it as far as she could but risked falling off of Gemma's lap. Les saw this out of the corner of his eye and chuckled.

"Looks like she's takin' a likin' t'yah, Gemma," he smiled before flipping over the cooking pieces of meat. "Doomsd'y, y'still hungry?" The absol growled before finishing up the last scrap of his meat. The man in the trenchcoat stood up and walked back toward the slab of meat, cutting another chunk of flesh off with his knife before tossing the slab toward the canine. "Yeah, y'know y'dun des'rve it..." he smirked.

"Well, I think I'm taking a liking to her, too," Gemma said amicably, bypassing the searching tongue to set the berry carefully on the rim of the bivalve's shell, letting it rest in a little divot there. "Remember what Cel did?" she asked the pokemon. "Try it?"

Nam stared at the woman with wide eyes, not quite sure where the berry had disappeared to. She swiveled around on the woman's leg, trying to look around and see where it could have gone. When she finally felt a lump on her shell, she bent her tongue back and carefully scooped the berry up with the appendage, letting the fruit roll back into the shell. She chirped in triumph as a loud buzzing filled the air again. Ren, not one to let Gemma's generosity go unnoticed, flew over to the newcomer, an arm already aimed at the bag in order to search through it.

At the antics of the shellder, a cascading laugh issued from the photographer, and she shook her head. "Close enough. Can't fault you for ingenuity, can I?" At the approach of the Vespiquen, she took a second to study the queen bee pokemon before rifling around in her possessions. This time, the berry was a pinap, a much spicier variety, and this she offered simply on an extended palm, pretty sure that Ren would not enjoy being teased as much as Nam seemed to.

"So you know why I'm out here. What about yourself, Les?" she asked, admittedly rather curious.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Les Torbert Character Portrait: Gemma Rhodes
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He looked up toward Gemma: one eye on the young woman, the other on the meat to make sure that it did not burn from the flames. "T'tell th'truth, Ah got no ide' wha' Ah'm doin' ou' here... G'ess Ah lik' th'outdoors, 'sall. Some'in' 'bout th'way th'stars twi'kl' i'th'nigh' sky jus' 'ppeals t'me..." he looked toward the girl head-on now. "Y'ain't a nat're g'rl, Ah c'n tell..." he pointed to the camera near her side.

"That obvious, huh?" Gemma asked in reply, picking up the device in question. "Well, I guess not, at least not yet." Disassembling the camera with a few swift motions, she laid all the parts out on the log beside her and tugged her bag over, intent on putting everything away for the night. It was a rather expensive piece of equipment after all; the number of tables she'd had to wait to pay for the thing was truly staggering.

"I do like it out here, though. Ever since I was a kid, I've been sticking my nose in places it doesn't belong, as dad would put it. Never had much of a survival instinct, but I can't say it's ever prevented me from running off into the wild blue yonder anyway." She shrugged. "Aderyn keeps me honest about what I can and can't do, most of the time." The woman reached over and rubbed the bird pokemon's head affectionately, earning herself a low, trilling coo. Worked every time.

"Y'talk tah yer bird?" he asked incredulously before letting out a chuckle. "Can't s'y Ah'm s'pris'd--Ah do th'same w'th Nix an' Ren." Les took a look back at the vespiquen who was busy eating the pinap berry she was given. "Can'cha a'leas' thank th'lady fer tha gif'?"

The insect shot her trainer a dirty look before returning her attention back toward the yellow berry in her hands. Nam, on the other hand, chirped once again and rocked forward and backward across the length of the log in delight. "A'leas' th'li'l one's got a bi' o' mann'rs..." Les chided Ren from across the fire before flipping the meat on the grate. "A c'upl' min'tes more'n th'meat shou'd b'don'."

"Of course I do. I'd have undoubtedly accidentally killed myself by now if she wasn't around." Sadly, that was probably true. Gemma tended to have not-very-good ideas when in pursuit of a picture she had to have, and more often than not, Aderyn managed to talk her down from them. Otherwise, she wound up doing things like tumbling down hills or falling out of trees.

Casting a glance at the Vespiquen, she shook her head. "Heh, she's welcome to it; no worries." Nam's antics drew the attention of Emrys, who approached the shellder curiously, pawing gently at her blue-purple exterior. "She carries her home with her," Gemma informed the young eevee simply. "Convenient, no?"

The shellder turned toward the eevee, curious as well to see a creature about her size. With everyone else being so much larger than her, Nam was already excited to see Emrys and stuck her tongue out at him. Les chuckled once more as the smell of the meat wafted in the air. "Tha's jus' 'er way'f tellin' yah she lik's ya," he told the apprehensive pokemon. "Ah dun' g't 'er all tha' much eith'r, bu' 'swha' she does."

Emrys looked somewhat surprised at the sudden appearance of a tongue from the depths of the shell, but he took the stranger for his word and refrained from running away, which was rather something for him, tentative as he was. Gemma dissolved into snickers, though, when he returned the 'friendly' gesture, sticking out his own little pink tongue.

"Smells nice," his trainer commented, as indeed the scent of cooked food, something she had not been expecting this evening, wafted over to her side of the camp from the fire. Aderyn also appeared interested, though Celyn kept his distance, probably being distantly related to the deer that was about to get eaten.

Les stood up for a brief second, pulling out the knife once more and cutting off two more chunks of meat, keeping these ones raw. "Nix, y'hungry still?" he called to the eelektross. She responded with a few flickering lights across her skin--Les knew that this was a signal of approval; after spending so much time with the pokemon, he picked up a few cues about their communication. He tossed a slab of meat toward the eel, who grabbed it out of mid-air and began to chew on it with razor-sharp teeth.

"Th'bird eat meat'r b'rries?" he asked Gemma, brandishing the raw slab of venison in the direction of the pidgeotto. "Sh'c'n h'lp 'erself tah wha' we got if she's hungr'." At his invitation, the absol yawned and sauntered up to Les, laying down next to his trainer and looking up at the bird with an almost lazy look in his eye. There was, however, a little glint of something that Les saw in the pokemon's gaze--he realized that Doomsday was attempting to size up these intruders; now that he had something to eat and the human was back with his site, the absol was on some level of attentiveness and was watching the bird carefully.

"Dam' dog..." Les muttered as he scratched Doomsday on the neck. The man looked up toward Gemma once before checking the meat once more. "'Sjus' abou' don'... Y'min' ch'ckin' mah bag? Th'r's a few plat's 'n ther' fer tha meat." He went back to poking at the cooking slabs of venison on the fire--any longer and they would become dry.

"Both, really," Gemma replied with a shrug. Aderyn wasn't too picky about stuff like that. Neither was she, when it came down to it. She flashed the wary absol a smile and picked her way across the camp to the indicated bag, trying to gauge which of the pockets would be big enough to hold plates. She didn't want to snoop anymore than she had to, even if her unexpected host didn't mind.

Opening the largest part first, she found that she only had to dig a little before discovering the aformentioned tin plates, in relatively good condition for all they seemed a bit aged. They actually prodded at a memory she had, and she spent a second in aborted motion, trying to place it. Ah, that was it: dad had a set like this, along with silverware kept together on a ring made of the same metal. And a canteen. She'd gone searching through his old camping supplies at one point in her childhood. Well okay, more like several times.

"Military?" she ventured a guess, quirking an eyebrow in his general direction and approaching with a plate in each hand. It would make a certain kind of sense, she supposed: what with the survival gear and the total comfort in the wilderness and all.

"Yer p'rtty obs'rv'nt," Les remarked, grabbing the plates from Gemma and stabbing the cooked meat with a fork. The meat continued to sizzle against the tin plate as he put the venison on the tableware, offering the meal to the young woman. "Ah 'pologiz' fer not hav'n' salt'n'pepp'r--som' 'ssent'ls fer any 'spirin' chef, y'know?" he tried to make more small talk as he grabbed the other cutlet and placed it on the remaining plate. "B'yeah, Ah w's in th'army fer a spell, back'n Ah was a bit y'ung'r... Qui' som' time b'for' now..." he focused on cutting the meat and placed it in his mouth. "N't too dry--turn'd out well, if Ah say so m'self."

"Not that observant, just familiar," she demurred with a one-shoulder shrug. "My dad has the same supplies." She hooked a thumb under the chain that hung around her neck, pulling the dog tags from beneath her t-shirt. Still, she accepted the shift in topic without needing to linger, tilting her head to one side as if to speculate on the state of the meal.

"Well, if that's the case, then I suppose I'll have to give it a try myself." She held her plate forth, a good-natured smile turning her mouth up at the corners. Honestly, the entire situation was a bit strange-- having dinner in the woods with a stranger, but she'd never been a closed-off person and it didn't really seem that Les was either, so it was turning out to be rather enjoyable.

Nam chirped once more, almost in agreement with Gemma's optimism. The shellder turned back toward Emrys and extended her tongue out once more toward the eevee, hoping that she could get the brown pokemon to repeat her gesture again. Doomsday was rather content with turning his gaze between Gemma and Aderyn, still not quite sure what to make of this new group but not caring enough to do anything about their presence. Nix, after finishing her meal, floated over toward the deerling and attempted to make conversation with the somewhat-neglected pokemon. Only Ren was left alone, but she seemed content with playing and eating her special berry.

"So wha'sser plan now tha'cha got'cherself lost'n tha woods, Miss Rhod's?" Les asked between bites. "Y'ain't plannin' on gettin' lost ag'in so soon aft'r y'foun' mah camp, are yeh?"

Gemma set herself down on the ground this time, huffing a quiet laugh when Emrys indeed mimicked the shellder, only this time while hopping this way and that, apparently trying to entice her to chase after him, which would have been rather a sight to see had she the legs to do so. He seemed content in the end to jump playful circles around her, which had his trainer shaking her head.

Celyn, a little more reserved than the other two, nevertheless rumbled a soft note in his throat, apparently quite interested in the flashing lights on the eelektross. Gemma pondered the question; her plans rarely ever extended far beyond a few days, and honestly she didn't really have any besides 'go to interesting places and take lots of pictures.' She kind of preferred being blown about by chance and circumstance-- it felt much more natural to her than regimenting every detail, something her parents had never really been able to understand.

"Well, I rarely ever plan to get lost. ...I rarely plan at all. But you know, I'm not sure. All I really want is to travel. Explore, stuff like that. Eventually leave Johto, maybe. But who knows? I'm pretty much okay with wherever I end up." Chewing the thought over (along with her food), she decided it was basically true, though perhaps a bit more underwhelming than it sounded in her head.

Les nodded as he watched the eevee run circles around the mollusk. "Y'know," he started, trying not to laugh at the sight of Nam trying to rock back and forth in order to chase Emrys to no avail. "G'ttin' los' ain't necessar'ly a bad thin', Miss Rhod's... Hell, tha's been wha' Ah've done fer tha pas' six ye'rs'r so... jus' wand'rin..." he took another bite of the meat. "Yer E'vee's pr'tty hyp'r, ain't 'e?"

"Not usually, really, but he's just a little one; I guess other kids bring out the energy. Normally he's just a worrywort," she replied. "And of course you're right; I've taken some of my best photos at times when I had no idea where I was. This is really good, by the way; thanks again." She gestured at the food with her fork. It was simple stuff, but really sometimes that was the best kind.

The fire was beginning to die down slightly. "Nix, git s'more'tha fir'wood, darl'n'," he called to the eelektross. "Camp's startin' tah die down a bit."

"Tross." The reply was simple and direct as Nix turned away from Celyn for a brief moment to grab some of the dry wood placed off to the side of the camp. With a bit of a light toss, Nix threw some of the fuel onto the flames, reigniting the fire and sending a surge of warmth across the campsite.

"M'ch 'blig'd, Nix," the man nodded before turning his attention back toward Gemma. "Y'n'yer pokem'n'r more'n welc'm' tah spen' tha nigh' here if yer 'ncomf'tabl' wit' trav'lin' in th'dark--promis' Ren ain't gon' git'cha'r nothin," he added with a sly grin.

"Ves..." the insect muttered, fluttering her wings to make a dull buzzing noise as she finished the berry.

"She ain't gon' do no harm t'yah'r th'others, Miss Rhod's," Les offered once again. "Got'n extr' bedroll if yah need'un."

"I think I will, thank you. That's very kind," Gemma said with a nod. "I'd feel pretty guilty if I didn't do something, though, so breakfast tomorrow morning is on me, okay?"

Les nodded. "So'nds lik'a plan," he replied, a grin on his face. "Now le's git'cha tha' bedroll..."

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Character Portrait: Les Torbert Character Portrait: Gemma Rhodes
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Johto, Ilex Forest



The sun was barely a sliver on the horizon the next morning when Gemma first stirred. A slanting ray of light fell over her eyes, a cue for the army brat to get moving, lest dad trudge up the steps to pound loudly on her door with all the force of a small earthquake, shouting things about work and indolence. The memory turned her mouth up at the corners, and she inhaled deeply, infusing her lungs with fresh oxygen and the lovely scent of Celyn’s fur. The deerling made an excellent pillow, and one she always seemed to end up using regardless of whether she had an actual one or not.

Cracking open her eyes, the woman sat up, patting her sleeping pokemon’s flank and then stretching both arms up and over her head, yawing unselfconsciously and cracking her neck both ways as she peered around the camp. She huffed a slight chuckle as she noticed Emrys curled up beside his new friend Nam, the eevee’s bushy tail draped over the top of the bivalve’s shell like a furry blanket of some kind. Aderyn, far more accustomed to Gemma’s usual waking times and an early bird herself, was already awake, perched in the same tree she’d roosted in, looking down at the campsite with a rustling of feathers.

“Morning, Sunshine,” Gemma greeted her, as she had every morning for years. Aderyn’s reply was also the same, the trilling croon originating from somewhere in her chest. Nix was also here, though both Les and his other two pokemon seemed to be absent. Perhaps he simply rose even earlier than she did. She wasn’t too concerned either way—it wasn’t like he was going to leave his pokemon here if he didn’t plan on coming back, and she had promised breakfast.

Actually, she should probably get to that. Sliding out of the borrowed bedroll, Gemma pulled her boots one and laced them up snugly, flowing to her feet and bundling up the thermal sleeping gear with a respectable amount of efficiency. Dusting off her knees, she straightened and turned to the eelektross. “Morning, Nix. Aderyn and I are going to go looking for breakfast, if you don’t mind keeping an eye on things?” She figured that was probably why she was here at all, but she’d feel bad just assuming that.

The eelektross nodded slightly, flashing an assortment of lights across her body. Despite Gemma's activity, Nam was still very much asleep, as was the eevee at her side. Nix looked back at the campsite, embers still burning slightly. Taking it upon herself, she threw a bit of the leftover firewood on the fire pit and exhaled a small stream of flame, causing it to catch fire. The eelektross then contented herself with stretching out and floating around the camp, performing random odds and ends in preperation for Gemma's departure and arrival.

Celyn, meanwhile, drifted over to Nix, still apparently quite curious about the electric type's flashing lights, stopping occasionally to help her with this or that task. He was rather used to maintaining Gemma's sorry excuses for camps mostly on his own, as he knew a significant amount about forests, and, curious as he was, had seen many humans camping in them before.

Gesturing to Aderyn, the Gemma grabbed a small pot from Les’ things, assuming he probably wouldn’t mind, and headed off into the woods, satchel back in hand. She had half a loaf of bread left in her bag from when she set out the previous morning, and she made a mean berry jam. That would, however, require more berries than she presently had, and perhaps something to go with would be useful as well. Hm, that looked leafy and green… but she knew better than to assume now.

“Ryn?” she asked, pointing at the plant in question. She bird shook her head, protesting stringently, and so Gem nodded and kept going. She could hear the distinctive gurgle of a small body of water nearby, perhaps a creek or something, and continued heading towards it, stopping to gather this or that berry or plant when her Pidgeotto voiced her approval. The creek itself was lovely and clear, and she was tempted to linger by the spot, enjoying it and waiting patiently for pokemon to come to drink. Of course, saying that reminded her of the incident at Lake of Rage…

Shaking her head at her own impossible thoughts, Gem knelt by the riverbank and dipped the pot into the water there, rising steadily to her feet and picking her way back to the camp, where she re-stoked the fire with dry kindling, rigging the pot to hang above the flames so the water could boil. Into this, she threw an assortment of berries, aiming for something on the sweet and spicy side with her choices, as suited toast. The grate from last night, she also set up again, slicing into her loaf of bread and placing these down in it to toast in noticeable stripe-patterns. The rest of the edibles she’d gathered, she sort of stared at for a while, then shrugged and skewered them on sufficiently thin sticks, which she then stuck in the ground and tilted over the fire to cook properly. It wasn’t the fanciest thing in the world, but it should taste pretty good.

A buzzing sound overtook the campsite as Les and the other two pokemon returned from Arceus-knows-where, somewhat dirtier than the night before but no worse for the wear. Ren took a seat near the half-filled baskets from the previous evening while Doomsday lazily curled up near the fire once again.

"Some'in' sm'lls good, Miss Rhod's--di'n' fig'r' y'fer a cook," the man in the trenchcoat chuckled as he brought over a bit of firewood to help Nix manage it. "Y'nee' 'ny'elp?"

"Nah, I should be fine," she replied, stirring the contents of the pot. It was beginning to have the right consistency now-- a few more minutes should get it to where it needed to be. Turning the bread over to toast the other side, a thought occurred to her. It was one that had initially struck her the evening before, but it was looking a little more feasible now. She decided to broach the topic and see what happened.

"Have you ever heard of a pokemon called Suicune, Les?"

"Y'me'n th'one f'om'th stori's?" Les replied, dropping some more kindling into the fire. "Ah me'n, Ah've he'rd'f it b'for'... Jus' f'om'th leg'n's 'n's'ch..." The eelektross was content on moving the pile of firewood toward her trainer. "Tha's good, Nix darl'n'--y'ain't gotta do tha' 'nymor'f y'dun' feel good."

Nix nodded slowly before settling down between Les and Celyn, content on amusing the deerling with the flashing lights across her body. It was at this point that the little bivalve, noticing the activity around her, began to yawn, sticking out her tongue in the process. "An' g'mornin' t'yah too, li'l' lady--bre'kf'as' sm'lls good th's mornin', don' it?" Les patted the shellder a few times before turning his attention back to the woman cooking breakfast. "Why y'ask'n', Miss Rhod's?"

Gemma cleared her throat. She wasn't exactly the self-conscious sort, but even she felt some measure of trepidation at really explaining this. "Well... I'm asking because I'm looking for it. I saw it once, maybe a year ago, and I was a big idiot who didn't even have my camera with me at the time, and well... I really just want to find it again." The experience had been a bit overwhelming, honestly, but it had felt so important, like it really meant something to her. She'd been disquiet since, unsatsified with something, and the observer and artist within her both demanded that she rectify this.

Taking the pot off the fire, she set it aside to cool down, fetching the plates from where they lay on the end of the log. Onto these, she placed the toasted bread and a few of the skewers, leaving the rest aside for the pokemon. Emrys took this as his cue to wake up, or maybe that was just Nam moving around next to him. Either way, she tossed one to Celyn, who swiftly snapped it out of the air with his mouth, though a bit late due to his distraction with the pretty shiny lights. Silly thing. Another went to Aderyn, who swooped into the clearing and caught it up in a talon before returning to her tree.

The others, she was more careful with, taking one each over for Emrys and Nam once she was certain the shellder wouldn't burn her tongue upon attempting to eat it. "I'm not sure if Nix and Doomsday would eat vegetables," she confessed, "but there's leftover venison if they don't." She offered another to Ren, unsure if the vespiquen would be interested.

At that point, the jam had cooled sufficiently, and she handed Les his plate before using a spoon to coat her toast in the stuff. This was best with spicy torchic eggs, but of course, there was nothing quite so homey out here in the middle of nowhere.

Ren stared at the berries being offered to her by Gemma and quickly snatched the skewer from her, buzzing in delight as she nibbled away at the meal. Doomsday felt completely disinclined to join the others in their toast and jam, but he did find the meat sitting on the log from the night before to be a nice substitute. The shellder rolled the berries along the ground with her tongue, using the muscle to pick them up and subsequently roll them into her shell for consumption.

Les remained silent, trying to digest the information that the girl had just given him. "...s'yer lookin' fer a leg'ndary pokem'n 'caus' y'f'rgot yer cam'ra..."

"When you put it that way, I kind of sound like an idiot," Gemma commented offhandedly. "But yes, that's more or less it, stupid or no." Actually, it probably was pretty stupid, since she expected that wherever Suicune was, it wasn't in the middle of a city, which meant that she was ill-equipped for this whimsical little lark she was on here. Naturally, this brought her to the point of the discussion.

"So. You mentioned that you have no place in particular to be, whereas I have a lot of places to potentially be, only probably not without disaster if I try to get there by myself. Ignore me if this comes way too far out of left field, but... would you mind coming with? I could use the company... and the help, if I'm being honest." She grinned sheepishly, rubbing a tad awkwardly at the back of her neck as she settled down to eat.

Les swallowed the bit of toast and jam presently in his mouth, reaching for a water bottle from his pack to take a swig. "Th'jam's qui' tasty, Miss Rhod's," he nodded before coughing quietly. "T'be hones', Ah think y'cou'd do rath'r well withou' me--y'know how t'cook, an' with yer luck, y'd pro'lly stumbl' 'cross anoth'r camp like y'did with me an' th'crew..." Nam turned suddenly toward Les, eyes wide as she looked between her trainer and Gemma and her new eevee friend.

Gemma chewed this over, giving it the thought it was due. Actually, she was kind of surprised that he'd even taken the question seriously-- she'd been known to throw people off with things of this nature before, strange ideas that seemed to come from nowhere or openly flout the implicit rules of politeness. "Hm," she pronounced, swallowing and tilting her head to the side. "You might be right. But something tells me that the next time this happens, the results may not be so amicable. I know I'm asking a lot, and if you'd rather not, I completely understand. But.... I don't know, it just seems like a good idea to me, so I thought 'why not ask?'" She shrugged, though Nam caught her attention after that, and she smiled, shaking her head a bit.

"I guess I do a lot of things because I can't think of a good reason not to," she murmured, more to herself than him, though perhaps it was audible all the same.

"Fr'm wha' Ah un'erstan' 'bou' th'leg'n's, Miss Rhod's," Les cleared his throat after an uncomfortable silence between the two, filled only by the sounds of the absol chewing on the raw meat. "This 'Su'c'ne' pokem'n c'n run's fas's th'win' an' ev'n ov'r th'surf'ce'f th'water... Wher'yah ev'n think'n' 'bou' startin' yer li'l' hunt?"

"Well, the whole incident happened at Lake of Rage," she said. "I guess I was thinking of going back to the beginning. Otherwise, there are people who profess to know about legendary pokemon back home in Ecruteak, so I might have to pay 'em a visit and see what I can learn. Beyond that, who knows? Have I mentioned I'm pretty bad at plans?" She seemed to take any lingering awkwardness with good grace, and she was back to amusement at her own expense in little time. She had no desire to press an unfavorable point, nor to convince anyone to do things they didn't want to do. If this conversation was all the human contact she had for a while, she was going to enjoy it.

The man in the trenchcoat chuckled. "So, lemme ge'this straigh'... Yer lookin' fer someon' who's gon' make sure y'dun' g't los'n th'wild'rn'ss, 's'at righ'?"

"Well, cooking delicious food and actually talking to me would be a bonus, but I'm not going to require it," she joked, nodding even so.

Nam looked back toward Emrys, chirping as she wriggled in place and watched the eevee continue to run around the mollusk playfully. Nix also seemed to have caught the interest of Celyn as well, who continued to stare in amazement at the flashing lights that danced across her serpentine body. Ren finished one skewer of berries and flew in to grab another, seemingly satisfied at the meal she had been given earlier. In fact, the only one that seemed apathetic about the whole deal was Doomsday, who continued to gnaw away at the flesh draped over the log--Les knew, though, that he was always apathetic and did not care much for interacting with others.

Les sighed and shook his head, a half-smile forming at the corner of his mouth. "...Ah g'ess th'pokem'n've made th'dec's'on fer us alre'dy..." he took a look around the camp. "Dun' think Ah'd hear th'en'f it if Ah took Nam's new fri'nd aw'y fr'm'er." He chuckled.

"Heh, s'pose not," Gemma replied, tone laced with amusement, glancing over at the pokemon before returning her attention to the conversation at hand. "Thank you; I do appreciate it. And don't worry-- I'm sure it'll be fun!" How many misguided 'adventures' had she started with that particular thought in mind? Probably far too many. But she was rarely wrong.

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Character Portrait: Les Torbert Character Portrait: Gemma Rhodes
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"Yer think'n' tha' th'scav'ng'r hunt fer some'in' tha'may'r'may not exis's gon' be all sor's'f fun?" Les chuckled as he finished off the last of his toast and grabbed a skewer of the roasted berries before the vespiquen could grab the rest. "If y'think tha', why y'nee' me 't'all? F'n's stay'n' in on'f'thos' fancy-schmancy c'ty-slick'r hot'ls with room serv'ce." Nix seemed to even 'chuckle'--if one could call it that--at the man's remark, her body lighting up slightly in response.

Gemma rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "If I thought that was fun, I wouldn't be here at all," she shot back with a smile. "Most fun has a little bit of risk, too-- I'm just interested in remaining around long enough to actually get to the fun part."

Up in the tree, Aderyn trilled somesomething that sounded suspiciously like exasperation. Gemma shot her a glance and chuckled. "I've always been like that-- just ask her. Fell face-first into her nest when I was what, seven?" Another trill, this one carrying a distinct note of agreement. "Something like that, yeah. I've been lost in dark caves, fallen off... two ships?" A sharp squawk. "That last one doesn't count, and you know it. If that fellow hadn't lost control of his furret, I'd never have tripped over it."

The bird glowered, but remained silent. Gem shook her head. "Anyway, two ships, and well... I've lost track of how many times I've come out of a forest in a completely different place than I'd planned to. All well and good when you've got nothing else to be doing with your time, but a bit troublesome when trying to find someone. Er... something? No, I like someone better." Her eyebrows drew together as she gave it a moment's more consideration, but then she shrugged and let it drop.

"'S'no wond'r yer lookin' fer som'on' t'help yah--yer so dam' accid'n'pron', 's'a mir'cl' tha'cha ain't kick'd th'bucke' yet," Les chuckled as he bent down toward the ground and began to pack up his things, paying the dirty grate and the pot filled with jam residue on the inside. "Nam, yer on clean'n' duty ag'in," he instructed the shellder. To Emrys' surprise, the bivalve sprayed a jet of water into the pot, the leftover jelly sliding effortlessly off of the sides of the metal. The eelektross 'swam' through the air toward the occupied shellder and held out the metal plates that needed to be cleaned as Nam practiced her aim.

"Y'min' handin' me th'bedroll, Miss Rhod's?" Les asked, extending a hand to catch the bag from the young woman. "Wh'n Ah've pack'd ev'rythin', Ah g'ess we'c'n g't goin'... Y'got a place'n min' y'think w'shou'd check firs'?"

"Lake of Rage," she said, sounding relatively certain. "If there's a clue to be found still, it'll be there. Otherwise, I'll have to pay a visit to the old Sages in the Tin Tower, and the way they phrase things usually makes my head hurt a bit," she joked with an easy grin. Actually, she'd gotten pretty used to that sort of thing over the years; the Sages were kind of a fixture in Ecruteak, and she'd basically grown up with Morty the Gym Leader. If that didn't get you used to obscurity, little would.

Tossing the sleeping bag, she decided it would also be a good idea to stop somewhere so that she could contribute a bit to the supplies. She might be more than willing to request the generosity of others, but that didn't mean she expected a free ride. She'd pull her weight, too, in whatever ways she could. It wasn't lost on her that she'd probably be an inconvenience, after all.

"W'll... Firs' w'gotta git throu' Gol'enr'd'n th' Nati'n'l Park t'git tah Ecrute'k," Les caught the bag in mid-air, fixing it to his pack before pulling out a cloth and drying the dishes that Nam had sprayed with water moments before. He placed them back in a neat stack before stowing them away in yet another compartment on his bag. "'N'th'n y'gotta git t'Mou't Mort'r b'for' Mahog'ny Town--'S'all a coupl'a days aw'y yet. Y'up fer all th'walkin'?"

The absol rolled his head around his neck before standing up and stretching out his legs. He seemed bored, apathetic to the whole thing until Les mentioned moving around, at which point Doomsday lazily walked over toward the man in the trenchcoat and stood by his side, a focused but distant look across his face. Les tousled the absol's fur atop his head before hefting the pack onto his back and picking up the shellder from the ground.

"Al'righ', li'l' lady, y'know wha' t'do," he pointed the bivalve toward the fire pit. The group watched as the shellder sprayed the campfire with another jet of water, extinguishing the flames until nothing remained except for soaked firewood.

"Walking's never been the trouble," Gemma replied simply, popping the last of the berries from yesterday's satchel into her mouth and handing the empty sack to Celyn, who took it obligingly in his mouth. He liked to range relatively far away from the others while they travelled, and would from time to time pick up berries and other edible items. Aderyn shifted on her perch, more than ready to be moving again.

Digging about in her own bag, Gemma assembled her camera in a few seconds, placing the strap over her neck to accompany the several chains and cords already there. Shouldering her bag, she settled everything so it wouldn't jostle too badly, then turned to Emrys, who'd been caught in the crossfire of Nam's last water jet, and was now amusingly soaked on one side. He looked more than a little ridiculous, and she chuckled at his expense.

"Well?" she asked him, hands on hips. "You walking or riding, Em?" The eevee looked over at the shellder for a moment, then appeared to recognize that she wouldn't be walking, so naturally, he wouldn't either. Pawing at her pant leg, he mewled softly until, with a sigh, Gemma crouched to pick him up and settle him on her shoulder.

"Looks like we're ready to go whenever you are," she declared with a smile.

Les chuckled at the sight of the half-soaked eevee crying out for the woman to pick him up in her arms. "'Ey, li'l lady, y'bes' 'pologiz' t'yer new fri'nd 'bou' squir'in' 'im--Ah dun' think 'e'w's prepar'd fer some'in' lik' tha' t'happ'n, an' Ah dun' think 'e's gonna play wi'cha ag'in 'nless y'say yer sorry..."

The shellder squeaked in response before sticking her tongue out toward Emrys once again. The man in the trenchcoat merely shook his head and sighed at the sight. "Ye'h, she's a q'irky on', ain't she?"

"Sol," Doomsday cut in with a low growl, facing to the north as if to signify what their new purpose was--much to his chagrin, if he could articulate that particular thought. Ren even seemed to be growing antsy and irritable, plucking nearby flowers from the ground and tearing them apart petal by petal as the buzzing grew more intense.

"Q'it'cher buzz'n', Ren!" Les' demeanor suddenly grew cold and stern, as if repremanding a child. "Y'know we alw'ys gotta bre'k camp 'fore we le've..." He turned back toward Gemma, a bit of a sheepish look to his face. "Ah 'pologiz' fer all th'c'mmoti'n, Miss Rhod's--w'shou'd b'r'dy t'git mov'n' now... Now if yer think'n' tha' y'wanna head t'th'Lake o'Rage, tha's all th'way t'th'north... Ah'm r'peat'n' m'self ag'in, ain't Ah?" He blushed slightly, not quite used to directing someone like this.

Emrys, apparently satisfied with this form of apology, stuck his own tongue out in response, causing Gemma to snort. Apparently that was to be their form of communication now. Glancing back to the only other human being in this ragtag little band, she grinned. "Oh, no worries," she said waving a hand dismissively, "I don't mind. And you really don't have to call me 'Miss Rhodes,' you know. My name is Gemma, Gem if you're so inclined, and I really won't be offended if you use it."

North it was, then. Only... "Which one's north, exactly?"

"Well, Miss Rhod's, Ah'nly call yeh tha' out'f r'spec'--call it'a ba'hab't, Ah g'ess. F'rgiv' me'f Ah take a bit'f time t'git used'tah callin' y'by yer firs' name..." he blushed again before looking through the trees and spotting something above them.

"Li'l surviv'l trick'f y'git los' ag'in--n'matt'r wher' y'are'n th'world, th'sun's alw'ys risin' t'th'eas' an' settin' t'the'wes. If th'sun's t'yer righ'n th'mornin' or t'yer lef'n th'ev'n'n', yer head'n' north."

The embarrassment was just a little bit endearing, really. Seriously, how many people had trouble calling a person by their first name anymore? She'd never met any. Well, if he was really that much more comfortable with it, she wouldn't press the point. It wasn't like she hated her last name or anything. Tipping her head back to glance at the sky, she cocked a brow.

"Okay, but what if I can't see the sun? Like... if it's dark out, or raining or something?" It was a question that could be answered in transit, however, and so she did the figuring and struck off northwards, more than happy to be back on the road.

"Moon foll'ws th'same path's th'sun, altho'gh' Ah gotta ask why y'd b'fool 'nough t'feel th'urge tah wand'r a'nigh' when y'got th'stars t'look up tah," Les answered, his boots crunching through the undergrowth with his pokemon at his side. "If y'fin' yerself'n rain, jus' stop'n fin' some sort'f shelt'r or y'make some'in'. 'Swhy Ah've alw'ys got'n extr' canopy'r two'n mah bag."

Gemma nodded, accepting the advice if not precisely sure she'd always be able to follow it. She tended to get caught up on larks, and honestly if she was chasing a photo she really wanted, she was liable to forget to notice her surroundings at all. That was the fundamental problem, really: she wasn't an idiot, just... easily-distracted. "Fair enough," she said, "though it sounds like I might need to make a list of things I'm missing and should have."

Les cradled the shellder in one arm as he used his free hand to rub the back of his neck. "Ah'm sure y'c'n fin' some suppli's'n Gol'enr'd--city's big 'nough fer thous'n's'f peopl', gotta be som'on' who 'njoys campin'..." he flashed a quick grin toward the woman, although it was sort of tentative. "...Y'think w'could be... q'ick in Gol'enr'd? Big cit'es'r good a'makin' me fe'l out'a place, 'sall..." His sheepish side was coming through rather blatantly--could it just have been because he did not think through this whole thing before agreeing to help this woman--Gemma, he had to remember she was Gemma!--with her chase?

Sensing his rather blatant discomfort, she agreed quickly. "Of course. Truth be told, I like the outdoors a little better, myself. Too many people, and things start to smell funny." She wrinkled her nose in (partially) feigned distaste, but made a mental note to buy her supplies as swiftly as possible.

The setting changes from Ilex Forest to Johto Region

Setting

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Character Portrait: Les Torbert Character Portrait: Gemma Rhodes
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Johto, Goldenrod City



A few hours of travel put them within reach of Goldenrod City, and even here, on a route (she had no idea which one) to the south, the tall buildings of the shining metropolis were visible on the horizon. Well, it gave them something obvious to walk toward, and that was about all the Gemma could say for it. Ecruteak might be a city, too, but there were trees everywhere and so much history it didn't feel like one. All the bright steel and glass reminded her of Castelia, and she'd always felt a little... out-of-sorts there. Sometimes, she thought she would have done better to be born a century ago, before all of this... urban had happened.

Still, the chances of her being less comfortable here than less were pretty much zero, and as they drew closer, she considered just leaving him at the edge and going it alone. But, well... that was probably impolite, and she didn't want to be rude.

Sighing, she recalled both Aderyn and Celyn, as it wasn't exactly completely kosher to wander around such busy streets with too many pokemon in tow. Emrys was small enough that nobody would care, and she was carrying him besides. "Uh..." she managed articulately as soon as their feet actually hit pavement, "the Department Store's thataway, I think." She nodded northwards and slightly... east? Yeah, east. Sun rose on that side, and was still a little more in that direction.

She felt a little dirty for even suggesting they go there, given that people like her parents ran local businesses that often got shut out but such major outlets as that one, but honestly, she was more likely to find what she needed there at a rate she could actually afford, and it would minimize their time here for Les's sake.

"Y'me'n th'big buil'n' ov'r there?" the man in the trenchcoat pointed out a multi-storied building with advertisements draping over the sides for all sorts of products and inventions and merchandise for a pink-haired girl hugging a rather large miltank. "Ah'm sure y'c'n fig'r' ou' wha'cha think yer gon' need i'th'wil'rness, Miss--" he caught himself in time before he finished off the rest of his thought, knowing full well that he had been not only given permission to address the strange woman by her first name but also encouraged to do so. Why was it so hard for him to remember that she was just Gemma?

"Y'min' jus' goin'n there y'rself? Ah'm... Ah'll b'waitin' fer yeh a'th'north gate wh'n yer finish'd, if y'dun' min'..." Les walked straght through the city, his... exotic pokemon at his side as he ellicted some strange looks from the locals as he passed through.

Gemma huffed a chuckle, but nodded anyway. He was clearly out-of-place here, just as much as she was in the middle of the wilderness, with one key difference: she liked it. So she hoofed it to the department store and tried not to think about how easy it was going to be to get lost in there.

After about an hour and a half, an unfortunate incident with a display of pokedolls, Emrys almost accidentally setting off an alarm, and more missed turns than she cared to think about, she was at last able to emerge, hair slightly askew but otherwise undamaged. More to the point, she was sporting new stuff. Her wallet was crying for the emptiness of its innermost parts, but at the very least she had a proper set of survival gear now. She'd mostly modeled her choices after a combination of her dad's stuff and what she'd seen Les carrying, so she was mostly sure she had what she needed, and probably quite a few things she didn't besides.

Oh well.

It took her a few more moments to arrange everything properly so that she wouldn't tip to one side carrying it all, but eventually she managed to get everything squared away and her new bedroll lashed to the top of her bag via bungee cord, and she felt quite pleased with herself. Of course, that was when she looked at her watch and blanched. Had it really taken that long?! She'd never been good with deadlines, but she was probably bordering on rude here; though in her defense she'd gone as fast as she could, given the ridiculous expanse of merchandise to be found in the place. She'd always known there was a reason she hated shopping.

Booking it to the north exit of the city, she pulled up just short of the doors to the small way-station and nudged one open with her foot. Given that her arms were currently occupied by a napping eevee, it wasn't the easiest thing in the world, but she stepped through, casting her eyes around to see if he was even still here.

"Oh, are you a 'Miss Rhodes', by chance?" a woman asked from behind a desk. "Your friend wanted me to let you know that he's just out to the north--he said he wanted to let his shellder go for a swim in the nearby pond." She flashed the woman with the eevee a quick smile before going back to the work at her desk.

Gemma let out a small breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Well, how about that? She hadn't chased him off yet-- she wasn't sure which one of them was the stranger one, given that. Passing her thanks to the woman behind the desk, she headed out in the direction indicated, pausing a moment to release her other two pokemon now that they were outside of the city. Aderyn took to the sky immediately, but she wouldn't range too far away. Celyn contented himself with exploring anything and everything at the side of the road, sticking closer than he normally would.

As promised, the pond was close, and she spotted her fellow traveller's tall profile from a distance. Approaching the water feature, she could see the little shellder swimming around and smiled. "Would you look at that, Em? I bet she could chase you around in circles now." Crouching, she let the eevee down, and he approached the shore curiously. Straightening back up, Gemma placed her hands loosely at her hips and spoke off-handedly.

"At this rate, he'll be searching beaches and caves for water stones in no time."

"Heh, 'd'ja see, li'l lady? Yer fri'nd's back lookin' t'play wi'cha'g'in," Les flashed a grin to the shellder, who responded by diving below the surface and spinning under the water, hoping that the eevee would take note of her skill in her environment much like she did of him back in the forest. Doomsday sat idly nearby, his white fur almost giving off an unnatural glow in the sunlight as he stared at Gemma as she approached. Ren and Nix, however, were nowhere to be found at this point, but the man in the trenchcoat did not seem too concerned with their absence.

"So'd'ja git e'rythin' y'wan'ed?" he asked, turning his attention to the tattooed woman behind him. "Y'think yer bett'r prepar'd t'spen' a li'l time i'th'wild now?"

"Well, about as prepared as I can be," she said with a touch of ruefulness. "At any rate, I shouldn't have to borrow your stuff anymore." She watched with amusement as Emrys scooted as close to the bank as he could get without actually touching the water, looking a bit confused by the presence of such a large, still body of it. Now that she got to thinking about it, he'd seen rivers and an ocean, once, but never a lake in the middle of land like this. Maybe that had something to do with it.

Suddenly, the shellder rocketed up toward the surface, emerging and literally leaping out of the water and flipping in the air before landing next to the eevee. She stuck her tongue out in greeting with a quick trill of amusement following shortly afterward. Les chuckled before rolling his neck around his shoulders, getting the muscles to relax slightly.

"Ah dun' min' sharin' m'stuff, Miss Rhod--Ah, mean... Gemma..." the man in the trenchcoat tasted the name on his tongue, still not quite used to the texture it produced.

Gem cocked her head to the side, a slow grin forming on her face. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Ma'am, wher' Ah com' fr'm, it's norm'l t'trea' th'ladi's with r'spect," Les slowly explained, feeling the blood flow to his face. "'S'not of'n Ah git t'call strang'rs--" he stopped, shaking his head as he was trying to find the right words to say. "Sorry, new 'qain'enc's..." he paused again before letting out another chuckle. "Y'c'n tell Ah ain't th'bes' 'roun' peopl'..." he finally finished rather sheepishly.

Gemma raised a hand to her mouth in an effort to stifle the obvious evidence of her amusement. I didn't know they even made people like this anymore. Smoothing her face out as best she could (and utterly failing to stop the mirthful glint in her eye), she shook her head. "Well, then I'll help: it's easier if you stop thinking in terms like 'lady' and 'new acquaintance' and start thinking like..." she paused, looking for the right phrase. "Future friend, or something like that. Nobody's perfect at this stuff-- all you need is a bit of practice."

She shot a glance at Emrys and Nam, the former of whom was now making his best effort to test the water with a paw, as if to see if he might join his new friend on her turf for once. "They certainly seem to be getting the hang of it."

"Y'see, they'r'jus' kids..." Les smirked slightly before letting it fade.

Her face turned pensive in response, and she frowned slightly. "Why does it have to be any different for adults?" she asked quietly. "You spend time with someone else, you teach and learn, you trust them with time... isn't it the same?"

Les sighed , tightening his lips before looking over the water of the pond. "Ol' habi's die har', Miss--" he caught himself again. "...Gemma..." he shook his head. "Damn, still ain't use' t'tha' qui' yet..."

"It's all right," she reassured. "I really don't mind, you know. And there's always time, besides. Arceus knows that if we all had to know exactly who we wanted to be right now and what we had to do to get there, I'd be the first one to fail." She shook her head with a bit of consternation. Maybe she wanted things to be as simple as they had been in childhood because she wasn't ready to leave that part of herself behind yet. Maybe she was the one who needed to change more, to grow the hell up.

A splash cut the silence of the group as Nam fell into the water once again before sticking her eyes out above the surface and wiggling her tongue at the eevee. "Li'l lady, y'bes' not think 'bou' try'n' t'git yer fri'nd'n tr'ubl' 'caus'e can' swim..."

But that was a depressing thought, and she'd much rather do something else. Toeing off her boots and socks, she padded up behind Emrys and nudged him with a toe, tipping his precarious balance over the edge and sending him into the water. "That's okay-- Nam can help him learn!" Wading into the lake after the eevee, she held him above the surface of the water with both hands.

"Wanna show him how it's done, sweetheart?" she asked of the shellder.

Nam responded with a chirp followed by a quick spray of water to Emrys. She dove underneath the water for a brief second before resurfacing off to the side and slowly "swimming" toward Gemma and the eevee, hoping that her new friend could see and understand how to play with her in the water despite the obvious differences in physiology.

Emrys kicked his legs experimentally, continuing the practice when Gemma gave a hum of approval. Within a few moments, he was managing well enough on his own, and she released him, straightening to her usual height again. The water here wasn't any deeper than her knees, and he was swimming in small circles soon thereafter.

Suddenly, Doomsday perked up, staring up the path to the north as a buzzing sound filled the air. Les followed the absol's gaze to find the vespiquen being chased by two young boys with nets and wide-brimmed hats. They were red-faced and out of breath, but they were intent on chasing the bug.

"She's mine! I saw her first!" one of the boys yelled, trying to shove the other off-balance so he had a clear advantage to get to the insect.

"Nuh-uh! You're not able to take care of an insect like that!" the other shot back as the vespiquen flew back toward the group.

"Wha' y'think y'boys'r doin' with m'Ren?" Les stood up, towering over the young bug catchers. "Y'ain't thinkin' 'bou' runnin' off w'her now, wou'd'ja?"

There was a small silence, during which something occurred to Gemma. "Oh! It's Saturday today, isn't it?" Realizing that this might require further explanation, she continued: "the National Park holds bug-catching contests on Saturdays-- they probably thought she was wild." Stepping back out onto the dry ground, she looked between the boys, Ren, and Les, hoping that was enough to diffuse the situation.

"Well, you normally don't find vespiquen in Johto, so we figured that she was in the Park and she was fair game--" one of the boys spoke up.

"I'th'park? Y'see a 'lektross with'er? Tha' should'a been clue enough t'not try'n ca'ch'er..." he shook his head. "Speak'n'f, y'see th'lektross with'er?"

"Uh... was that the big blue thing that tried to zap electricity at us?" the other boy asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Because... Well..."

"If y'don' anyth'n' t'm'Nix..." Les' demeanor suddenly shifted to something rather cold and slightly threatening. Despite the fact that they were boys and their curiosity had gotten the better of them, he was never amused if anything happened to his pokemon out in the wild.

"No no no! It, uh... it's sort of hanging out in the park, and everyone's wondering what it's doing there..." the first boy cut in, offering a sheepish grin.

"Ah hope f'yer sake she's OK..." Les grimaced before throwing the pack on his back. "C'mon, y'all, we're head'n' t'th'Park t'fin' Nix..." Nam, hearing that it was now time to move on, launched herself out of the water and onto the shore once again. The man bent down and picked the bivalve off the ground before beckoning for the absol and vespiquen to follow.

Any traces of cheerfulness had vanished from Gemma's face, and she simply followed, scooping up Emrys and wrapping him in her sweatshirt, since she didn't have anything else to use. Shrugging on her bag, she picked her boots up in the other hand and treaded lightly after the retreating figures. She'd never have thought that the National Park would be a problematic place for a pokemon to be, but then maybe she should have at least said something.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Les Torbert Character Portrait: Gemma Rhodes
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"Boys, y'bes' not b'lyin' t'me now, y'hear?" Les' voice was now cold and stern as he followed the two bug-catchers north along the trail from where they had come. Ren and Doomsday followed close behind their trainer, who was walking at a pretty quick pace just to make sure that he would get to the National Park as quickly as his legs could carry him. The shellder in his arms did not seem to mind the wind blowing into her shell, but Nam retracted her tongue to make sure that it did not dry out--she did not like that feeling very much, from what Les understood.

"I promise, mister, we're not lying to you!" one of the boys called back to the man in the trenchcoat. "It's over here!"

Over another hill and the group came across a breathtaking sight: a massive field area fenced off from the wilderness. Half of this area was covered in wild grasses and colorful flowers, while the other was completely darkened by thick trees. All sorts of people were running around inside the enclosure, searching through the grasses and trees for potential new pokemon to find.

"...Th's th'place, kid?" Les asked, his voice low.

"Y-yes, sir..." the second boy piped up, a cold sweat running across his brow.

"...G'd." Les' only response before walking toward the park. "Y'see th'lektross ou'ere, y'bring'er t'me, un'rstan'?" Both boys nodded before searching around the immediate area.

"C'm'n, y'all--le's fin'er 'fore som'in' hap'ns t'make m'lose m'temp'r..."

Gemma had taken advantage of the short pause in movement to actually pull her socks and shoes back on, though there was little mistaking that the soles of her feet were probably going to bruise a bit from all the stones and so on. She didn't bother too much with the laces, instead nodding firmly and taking a few extra, quick strides to catch up with the others. Aderyn was by now flying near them, and Gemma turned to her.

"Ryn, get up in the air and tell us if you see Nix anywhere, okay?" With a cry, the pidgeotto ascended, flying rapidly ahead of them. Celyn took off to the right, heading for the trees, to carry out a ground-level search and find anything Aderyn's eyes couldn't see from the air.

Les took off ahead of the others, running through the gate that allowed passersby into the park. Despite almost being stopped by a ticket collector in a booth that mistook him for a competitor in the bug-catching competition held every Saturday, the man in the trenchcoat pushed his way through the crowds of people and into the wilderness of the park. Grasses and flowers greeted him, along with sounds of dozens of buzzing insects and the unparalleled cutting of laughter and--

The sound of electricity caught his ear. Quick as he could move, Les whirled around to find a blue serpentine creature hurling thunderbolts at two blue bat-like pokemon with long tongues hanging from open maws. One after the other, they fell to the ground after taking a direct hit from a bolt of lightning, landing at the feet of two men wearing heavy jackets and combat boots. The smirks across their faces faded as the pokemon slammed against the grass.

"Now, Ah kno'a fair figh' wh'n Ah see'un', an' this ain't no fair figh', y'cowar's," the man spoke up to the men who had sent pokemon to attack the eelektross who appeared rather worn down. "Y'bes' back'way now b'for'yeh regr't it when's too late..."

The first man, clearly the leader of the duo, narrowed his eyes and reached to his belt for another pokeball. This one cracked open to release an arbok, which immediately lunged for Nix with a poison fang attack. "What's it to you, buddy?" He hissed, glancing to his companion just as Gemma caught up with Les, the rest of the pokemon trailing behind. This prompted the second man to release a raticate, and Gemma frowned upon noting the little red R on one man's wrist.

"Team Rocket? They disbanded years ago!" But sure enough, these men wore the uniform. Of all the things she could possibly have encountered on her journey, this had to rank right up there with a swarm of angry beedrill and stampeding tauros. But what on earth were they doing here?

Les smirked as the purple cobra sunk its fangs right into the eelektross' body. "Nix, y'know wha't'do..." Almost immediately after his little order, a massive discharge of electricity surged across the serpents' skins, harmlessly coursing over Nix while simultaneously frying the arbok. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the absol ready himself to get in on the action.

"...Sic'm, Doomsd'y..." Les almost sounded bored as he watched the white canine slam into the raticate with an unnatural amount of force, sending the rodent sprawling across the grassy plain. A crowd began to gather around the battle scene, watching and cheering on the man taking on two combatants at the same time.

"Y'up fer roun' three? Ah g't th'bug'f y'wan' t'feel th'pain..."

"Dammit man, it's not worth it-- let's get the hell out of here," the smaller of the two trainers, and obviously the one with more sense, suggested, and turned to flee the scene. His companion looked less than pleased with the suggestion, but in the end decided to take it. Thinking quickly, Gemma bounded into the first man's path, sticking out a foot to trip him up. It actually worked with surprising magnificence, and he stumbled spectacularly, faceplanting into the ground.

Pressing her knee into his back, Gemma smiled down at him. "Y'know, I don't think you're gonna be going anywhere anytime soon."

"B-but the boss ain't gonna be pleased to hear we're coming back empty-handed..." the second, taller man replied.

"...S'yer plannin'n steal'n' m'pokem'n, then, y'two bi' crook?" Les quirked an eyebrow as he placed the shellder on the ground by his feet. After a brief moment, he began to charge the man who had confessed to their potential crime. The second man ran, fear wide in his eyes as the man in the trenchcoat followed in hot pursuit. With a leap, Les tackled the other man to the ground, rolling a bit before pinning his arms to his side with his knees, leaving his hands free to grab his collar and pull him up slightly off of the ground.

"'N'cas' Ah di'n't make m'self clear th'firs' time..." Les' voice was cold and sterile, something that he did not often like resorting to but felt that it was more than acceptable and necessary in this case. "Yer jus'a b'nch'a thugs'n fis's, lack'n' disc'plin'... Whaddya think yer doin', try'n' t'ste'l m'pokem'n anyw'y?"

"..." the taller man did not respond, keeping a fierce look in his eye the entire time in an attempt to intimidate the man pinning him to the ground.

Les sighed and threw the man to the ground. "Y'kno'... Ah dun' like resor'in' t'this..." he reached to his belt and pulled out his combat knife, which sparkled in the sunlight and glinted into the Rocket's eyes. "Twelv'nch's, mil'tary-grade soli' skarm'ry steel, jus' sharp'n'd i'this mornin'... jus'n case..."

"Y-you wouldn't...!" the grunt gasped, not wanting to believe that the man straddling him at this point would hurt him with the weapon.

"Righ... an' y'won' lay anoth'r damn fing'r on m'pokem'n--y'n'yer oth'r lacki's... righ'?" Les brought the blade close to the man's throat to bring a bit more intimidation to the scene. "'F'Ah s'm'ch's c'tch'a glim's'a y' or yer pokem'n foll'w'n me'r th'lady wit'cher fri'n' ov'r there..."

"N-n-n-no, sir!" the lackey's face was entirely drained of color.

Note to self: try harder not to piss Les off... Gemma thought to herself, eyes half-comically round at the appearance of the combat knife. The guy underneath her knee was apparently afraid that she was of a similar disposition, because he'd started shaking. It was a bit silly, but she almost wanted to pat his head and tell him she had no intentions of even looking like she was going to slice him to bits. But, well... this all seemed kind of important, and if they were in a mood to chat anyway...

"Right, so, while you're both being so nice and cooperative, please do explain why Team Rocket is back in action after almost a dozen years under the radar?" She quirked an eyebrow, but honestly she was half-focused on getting her Xtranciever to dial the local authorities. She really didn't want Les to end up doing that guy serious damage-- they sent people to prison for things like that. Probably better if some officers could come by, arrest the would-be thieves, and the two of them just washed their hands of the whole situation.

The communication clicked in, and she knew she'd been patched through to the Goldenrod Police. "Hi there," she began brightly, "I'm out just beyond the National Park, and there are a couple of thugs out here that would have very interesting stories to tell if you were inclined to take out the garbage today. Gotta keep our parks clean and all." The operator appeared to puzzle over this statement for a moment, and the grunt underneath her squirmed with additional effort, trying to get free. Sighing, she shifted so that all of her weight was on the knee pressing into his mid-back.

The voice on the other end at last spoke, and she nodded. "Excellent." Clicking the device shut, Gemma ventured a statement directed at her apparently quite angry companion. "Police are on their way, just so you know."

Les looked down to the man's wrist after Gemma's little announcement and subsequent phone call, spotting a crimson R tattooed to the man's wrist. The woman had been right after all--why was Rocket coming back after all of these years?

"...yer gon' rot'n pris'n, y'damn thief bas--" he caught himself as he saw a glimpse of a few children staring down at him. "...Ah m'n... y'petty crim'n'l..."

"Guys! He's just like Crobat-Man!" one of the boys cried out in surprise. "He caught the bad guy and everything!" A few of the kids took a step closer with eyes wide in wonder as the man in the trenchcoat put the knife back in its sheath and chuckled, blushing in the process.

"Kid, Ah'd lov' t'tell yeh that I was, but..." Another chuckle escaped his lips as Nix placed one claw on his shoulder, looking somewhat worse for the wear but still floating in midair. "...d'yeh happ'n t'have a spar' an'ido'e? Ah think she mi'b'pois'n'd..."

"I've got one, sir--thank you so much for your help." A man stepped forth with a small bottle of anti-venom in his hands. "I'm sorry about your pokemon..."

"Nah, 'snoth'n'... Nix's b'n through worse..." another chuckle along with a bit of blushing.

Watching the exchange, Gemma grinned and addressed the children. "Oh, don't listen to him," she said in a conspiratorial stage-whisper. "He's totally Crobat-Man. But you can't tell anyone, okay? He's got to protect his secret identity." She winked at the children, who all nodded their little heads with wide-eyed solemnity. She figured it was probably better they remembered this incident as the time they saw a superhero take down the bad guys than as an instance of the terrifying reappearance of Team Rocket or something like that.

It was at about that time that the police arrived, and she waved them over with perhaps somewhat misplaced cheerfulness, though it was largely for the benefit of the audience at this point. "Ah, officers! How nice of you to join us! We're just over here, thanks!" At the approach of the uniformed man and woman, she took the wrist of her captive and turned it so that the tattoo was visible to the law enforcement duo. "Familiar to either of you?"

The man sucked in a breath, apparently resisting the urge to let it out in a low whistle. "That's a problem," he stated oh-so-helpfully, and his partner rolled her eyes.

"All right, we've got them from here. You lot--" she said, gesturing to the audience-- "please stay for questioning. We need everyone's testimony to figure out what happened here. She bet to catch hold of the man Gemma was holding, and her partner did the same for the other, rotating both to face the parked police vehicle, which meant away from Les and Gemma. At this, the woman shot her traveling partner a look, jerking her head towards the nearby treeline. Unless you want to go back into town, now would be a good chance to get lost, no? she thought at him, but she was willing to bet the gesture was enough.

Inwardly, she smiled at how many of the 'eyewitness' accounts would include references to a superhero and wicked villains.

Seeing the opportunity arise, Les took a quick look up toward his companion and nodded, beckoning to the others to follow them off to the side and toward the east. With a bit of a grab, he managed to pick up the shellder and wrap the bivalve in his arms before sprinting off into the forest. He hoped that all of the attention he received for his little stunt would not come back to karmically hurt him later. For the time being, he was content with running off with his pokemon all at once, hoping that the group was too distracted with the events of the police officers to notice his disappearance before it was too late.

When he felt that they were far enough away from the crowd that had gathered around the police and the Rocket thugs, he took a seat on a fallen log and motioned for his eelektross to take the medicine. The unknown man's charity was rather welcome, considering Les had no idea where he was going to find the next cheri bush in the area. A few of those red berries would have done the job, but he'd settle for the medicine all the same.

"'S'gon' sting a bi', g'rl..." the man wheezed, trying to catch his breath as he applied the medicine to the bite mark near Nix's "neck". The eelektross winced a bit as the spray travelled into her wounds, but almost immediately after, she seemed to look better. The color came back to her skin as she sparked in content.

"Ther's th'g'rl Ah know..." Les smirked as he rubbed a hand across her body when electricity did not course across her skin. "...e'ryon' alrigh'?" His face was red and he was attempting to catch his breath in the forest. "Whew... Ain't ha't'do tha' sort'a runn'n'n a lon' time... Y'hol'in up OK, Miss Rhod's? Er... Ah mean... Gemma?" Les spat onto the ground. "E'ry time... An'ere Ah though' tha'i'd b'easy jus' say'n' yer Arc'usdam' name..." he could feel the blood rush to his face agan as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Gemma, who'd fallen a few strides behind, managed to catch up just as the question was being tossed in her direction. Still jogging into the clearing with the log, she smiled. "Oh, I'm f-eep!" The sentence was aborted, ending in a strangled little cry as one of her feet came down on the untiled laces of a boot and sent the rest of her crashing into the forest floor. As she was holding Emrys at the time, she devoted the precious few seconds she had before faceplanting to tossing him clear of the fall.

He landed, a bit startled but on his feet, and whirled around just in time to catch his trainer's nose hitting the dirt. "...owww..." she muttered, pushing herself into a seated position and holding her nose with one hand. "Dhat huwrt." Given her present state, her voice came out quite nasally, and she would have laughed if she didn't think it would hurt more. "Dhat'll teach be naht to tie by shoes..."

Taking her hand away from her nose, she sighed when she noted the sheen of blood on her palm. "Bluh..." Rummaging around in her bag, she came back with a clean handkerchief and held it to her face. "But anyway," she said, voice more or less normal. "I'm, uh... okay, actually." She waved a hand as if to dismiss his worries about the name thing-- if she'd known it would bother him so much, she probably wouldn't have asked.

"...wher' t'now, th'n? W'still head'n' t'Ecrut'ek?" Les asked after Gemma found a handkerchief to hold up to her nose. "Y'sure yer gon' be alrigh'? Yer bleed'n' pr'tty fierce there..."

"I'm good," she said, standing to prove it, though not before she'd tied her laces this time. "This sort of thing happens surprisingly often to me, honest." She grinned past the awkwardness of holding a bunch of linen to her face, then nodded. "Sounds good-- hope you don't mind dropping in on the folks, though. They'd blow a gasket if they found out I'd walked right past home without dropping in to say hello."