The chain around Lucia tightened as it merged into her sheer will of wanting to break out of her prison by force. To rebel against the pokemon and strangers that had tried to imprison her in this dimension slash weird ass prison!

Others share this same sudden resurgence of confidence as everyone made a sudden break to the elevator for their lives. Lucia ran as fast as her legs could allow before joining the amassing group on the elevator lowering them down. She came just in time to see Eris Halla hugging Hideo Kino and other meeting up with their comrades once more. She smiled at the two of them. Her expression laid the non-physical wounds bare. Lucia hurt, but was determined to live another day.

"I was so worried..." she said, shoving her way into Eris and Hideo's hug. Although she wasn't as close enough to either, both had impacted her in pretty big ways. She'd have to start going over ideas on how to thank both later on. Maybe they'd like some delicious Paldea cuisine sometime? Things to ask them later, as the youngest in the group watched the other two kids focus their attention on something else unknown to her. She blinked, thoroughly lost.

"Wh-What are you guys talking about? I don't feel anything."

Thankfully, Hideo Kino had come forward to help her sort things out, until it left her more confused. Azelf? Down inside of this place?

"What? I don't...Mm." She frowned, shooting Hideo a look for a moment and turning back to Eris. Shouldn't they be trying to escape this place rather than search for one of the lake trio? If it was important to Hideo though, Lucia knew it must be important! "Okay." She gave a silent nod before following Eris Halla and Hideo Kino down the hole that the duo had climbed down.

Down, down, down they fell...

"Where are we going?" she shouted out to the other two kids. "Isn't Azelf supposed to be in a lake or something?"

Lucia flailed on the way down, spinning back up to see the group behind them shrinking ever so slightly. Somebody else had jumped into the hole after them. Though it was hard to discern who it could be given how far behind they were compared to them.

bSbfcnSF

TL;DR:
- Runs to the elevator platform and gets to safety
- Reunites with Eris Halla, Hideo Kino. John Sullivan and Yuina Higashi
- Watches the kids commune with something or other, then is told that they're saving Azelf?
- CHOICE: Lucia follows Eris and Hideo down the hole
- Hears somebody following after them, but isn't able to see who?

☉

While his presence was a reassurement that things were going to be okay, Doug’s words were anything but. Lucia stopped the waterworks for a moment while he gave his answer, even if it hurt her to hear so. How naive it was to believe that he was the skeleton key to any and all issues.

The child frowned in silence for a moment at the bad news. She looked at the ground for a moment before her entire being just collapsed entirely. Her arms tightened around Doug, legs shaking as she pressed into him more and began to launch herself into hysterics. The cool city winds brushed against her red, warm eyes while she could only speak after pausing to catch her breath.

”Augh-I wanna go home!”

She leaned into him more, the small trainer clutching onto Doug as if for dear life. Lucia only came back up from his shirt to speak again after a solid minute of sobbing.

”D-Did I do something wrong? Is that why we're here? Ah-I…” She pleaded with Doug, tears still flowing from the corners of her eyes. She knew the answer to that deep down in her soul, at what she had done back in Paldea. But how would they have known from all the way back then? Maybe it was some of their powers to judge them based on their background. And then the ones who had done the worst possible things were punished so severely. It made sense, to her, anyway.

That was why she was in the weakling ward. She had dealt with evil hands that had infested her very being.

”I deserve this…” She whined, tiring herself out of crying for the time being. Lucia faced away from Doug, and would look to the ground in defeat. ”I'm a horrible person for what I did, b-but I didn't know! Mom and Dad said we were just taking a trip! Ah-I didn't know…”

John Sullivan

☉

”Huh?” Lucia looked up at Shalin once she showed some aversion to her getting on top of the Type: Null. It wasn't until that pause when the child began to worry. The mysterious beast didn't seem to be against her riding it.

”Ah-I'm sorry! I didn't know! I just saw it kneel down and- But if it didn't- I don't know…”

She let out a soft whine but was thankful that the Pokémon wasn't really feeling like mauling her for the bad decision. In fact, it wasn't even reacting to any sort of petting or affection. Was it upset? It was hard to get a read on it like this, but hoped Shalin could provide some support.

She introduced her and the Persian that was called out in front of her. Lathiel the Type: Null and Serena. Both of which were nice names for them. Hero waddled up to the Persian, the snake-like buddy doing his best to investigate the newly called out Normal type.

”It's nice to meet you both!” Lucia said, smiling at the pair. ”Thank you for letting me ride you, Lathiel.” She said before looking up to Shalin.

”I rode a Ponyta once back home, but I was with my Mom and I was four. I guess it's a little different from letting somebody else take charge. Do you just sit down in a saddle and let the Pokémon take over? Won't they know how to control themselves better than me?”

Shalin Nariya

☉

The name had caught Lucia's attention quick enough for it to be near impossible to not know exactly who had been in front of her. The declaration had caused her eyes to widen in shock. It all made sense now, only adding up once he slicked back his hair.

”Doug!” Her form slammed into his as the child wrapped her arms around Doug’s midsection. She squeezed with all of her might and looked up, her eyes overflowing with tears.

”IwasoscaredandIdontknowwhathappenedIwasinsomeweirdprisonandabunchofotherpeoplewerethereIwannagohomebutIdontknowhow.”

She babbled on, only pausing to catch her breath. Lucia's prayers had been answered! Now they could all go home! The child sniffled as her hands clutched the lining around Doug's top.

”B-But you know how to get us back in Hoenn, right? You can do anything!”

It was a lot to assume what she had thought Doug was capable of, but she was desperate. It had only been one day of agonizing torture and she wanted out in any shape or form possible.

John Sullivan

☉

The rest she had gotten that night was one of the deepest sleeps she ever had. Lucia had woken up in a stupor, as her brain had been lagging behind some of the other people that were being fed. The mask on her face felt almost as if it wasn't there until her hands rubbed at her eyes and became blocked by the feeling of cold metal.

”Wuh…” She mumbled under her breath, still half asleep from what had been happening. Her mochi tasted the same as yesterday though the comfort was diluted as a result of what she had been through.

Today’s docket wasn't that much better, judging by how she was suddenly pulled hard from her cell by the toxic chains. The force had caused her to stumble and trip, then dragged the rest of the way. She came across some other people in this same precarious little situation with her. One of whom was ever blackwell who she had talked to beforehand! If only their reunion wasn’t here of all places.

”Likewise.” She whispered to Ever.

There came one other person who had been unfortunate enough to be grouped in with everyone. @shredzepplin. Lucia's eyes followed the monkey while it dragged a rather strange looking man towards the platform by them. She couldn’t recognize him or say they had met, but the telltale signs of pain were there. Yet she didn't push her luck, knowing full well about what kind of punishments the group had in store for everybody present.

Their goal was pretty simple, just as the previous days. Pick up huge rocks and put them in crates. The task was simple enough in theory.

In practice, not so much.

These things were impossible to lift. Lucia had tried her absolute best to lift even one of the smaller pieces but was left without much of anything to show for it. She grunted and pulled at the chunks of ore and rock that refused to budge until her hands had become raw and red. The worst part wasn't the exhaustion or the pain that came of this, no. It was the laughter that followed from all around them. She paused to look all around her while they laughed at their misfortune, trying to cover her pairs in a vain attempt to shield from the noise.

”I'm sorry…” Lucia cried, tears streaming down her face inside of the mask. Their bellowing guffaws and cheery laughter continued uninterrupted. It only made her all the more pained to try and lift the damn rock. Still, nothing. She looked at her comrades, audibly sobbing in her helmet. ”I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't be here. I'm not strong enough.” Apologies repeated endlessly while the others didn't fare too well either.

It was only ever blackwell 's voice that had broken through with a plan that made Lucia pause her whining. It was a good plan, one that had made her nod her head in agreement. So far it was the best one they had so far.

”O-Okay…”

Lucia went on the other side of Ever and did her best to try and lift the rock with him and Kyrenai Black and maybe @shredzepplin

In1gFsGJ

TL;DR:
- Lucia wakes up from her dream and eats her mochi half awake.
- She's pulled out of her cell and dragged towards the middle of the platform with others
- Made to do a pointless and impossible task without much effort, another crying fit and apologizing
- Goes along with ever blackwell 's plan to lift the rock at the same time

☉

”Any sign of it, you guys?” Lucia asked, her eyes looking out at the wide open space of the safari area. There were a few other areas with some more Pokemon that she had already caught before. A group of Mimikyu wandered close to one of the natural berry trees that provided food for the inhabitants here.

But still no sign of their quarry.

Hero huffed out his answer, much the same as Vulcan. The latter of the two sounded more annoyed than any sort of fear or intrigue. Lucia did know about how competitive he could be and wanted to find a wild Riolu as quickly as possible so he could wear himself out. Maybe it would help with their bonding, like Eris Halla had mentioned.

Nearby Vulcan, one Pokémon did wander out of the brush unexpectedly, a medium sized Sheildon! It was still pretty young, considering how it still quaked at seeing eye to eye with Vulcan, who was considerably smaller. The Charmander let out a stream of fire in front of the poor Dino, sending it scrambling away in a flurry of yelps and chirps.

Lucia winced at the display. Hopefully they could get some kind of challenge for him before he got bored and started to find his own way to provide some “entertainment” for the group.

”Keep looking! It's gotta be out here somewhere…”

{skipping}

☉

And just like that, Ranger Shalin to save the day! Lucia was happy to see that somebody could find their way back home to civilization instead of just getting lost in the woods all day. It was lucky considering that Lucia didn't have a phone, on the count of technically being homeless.

”Northeast of Oldale? But that means that we passed right by it!” Lucia groaned.

Hero tried to offer some sympathy for her plight by bumping into her leg and letting out a soft noise. Although not enough to push aside her frustration, the sentiment was appreciated

”Riding a Pokémon? You can do that?” Lucia asked. It was a pretty dumb question considering what Shalin had been on top of, but maybe she was part of an ancient family that could ride Pokémon like that. ”I don't really have anything.”

She was covered, as a strange Pokémon she had never seen before would be called out by Shalin. Lucia's eyes went across the surface as her eyes widened at the mysterious creature. ”Who is this?” She asked Shalin, carefully attempting to pull herself on the saddle while keeping hold of the incubator in the same hand.

One aboard, the trailer offered some small signs of affection to the Pokémon. ”She looks cool.”

Shalin Nariya

☉

With the Mimikyu caught in full, Lucia pumped her fist and ran over to collect her prize. The captured Mimikyu was stuffed into her bag just in time to catch the Charmander gloating about its win. The fire on his tail burned bright while he continued to stomp about.

”You did amazing, Vulcan! Thanks for the help!” Lucia praised the fire-type.

The Charmander let out a fierce growl that made Lucia flinch. Yet it wasn't directed at her. Behind the girl was a Seedot who had wandered too close. The noise had scared it off so that only a dust trail remained, but she only discovered that after turning a corner to check around her back. Vulcan let out a sated "humph" and continued to wander off in search of more Pokemon to battle against.

"H-Hey, wait up!"

Lucia called out and trailed after him. Hero squiggled off behind her though kept his distance from the Charmander, lest he be the next target of his fiery rage. Once walking beside the Charmander, Lucia smiled down and tried to engage him a little bit more.

"D-Do you want to find more Pokemon to battle?" A long period of intense staring at her passed. For a brief moment, Lucia prepared for another torrent of fire before Vulcan nodded in agreement. Finally, something that they could come to terms about.

"Alright, there's actually one Pokemon in specific I think would be a good challenge for you!"

{skipping}

☉

The man Lucia had approached didn't appear to be too caring about who he was speaking with. His masked head tilted up until the two of them met mask-to-mask with one another. The lack of any sort of energy or movement had caused the child to back away out of habit. Needles dug into every part of her body as his response back to her was short and lacked explanation.

His head tilted and off came the mask with his hand. The movement had really surprised her given exactly how long she had been wearing this thing. Something about its embrace just felt as if it had been locked that way for the rest of her life. Yet it was the name the man spoke that made her pause.

"Sophy?" she repeated, shaking her head. "Sorry, I'm not her."

Copying the movements that the man had made, Lucia had tried to quietly pry the mask off of her face. The display was awkward for a long couple of seconds but after an audible click, the mask was raised. Lucia was able to take her first breath of fresh air in a day.

"I'm Lucia. I just woke up here and I don't know where I am."

John Sullivan

☉

Lucia looked up at the giant Arbok as it was staring straight at her, or was it the egg inside of its warm home that it had been eyeing? Either case, it definitely wouldn't be too filling for the snake.

”Nice to meet you, Rumble.” Lucia said with a muted wave. She was much too on edge from the intense stare of the snake Pokémon to really calm herself down. ”You're, u-uh, cool.”

Luckily, Shalin had agreed to assist her in delivering the egg just in time for the festival. That was one problem down, but the force preventing the mission was still ever present in front of the child and ranger.

”Really? We could use the help! Do you know the way out of here?”

Hero puffed himself up at the Arbok, I flaring himself to bulk up and not appear so much as a snack. His trainer noticed this and quietly put a hand onto his head to help him calm down.

”I really don't even know if we're close to Oldale anymore…”

Shalin Nariya

☉

Hideo Kino had at least tried to keep her safe, as the masked Pokemon would come back and lash at the two. Lucia had received some marks of pain. A scratch here and there and maybe a small cut, but otherwise was in overall good health minus the mental torture that she was weathering. Just as fast as it had come, the Pokemon rampaged off onto something more interesting, leaving the two to themselves.

Before everyone could breathe, a torrent of cold, wet water splashed down upon them. The sheer difference in temperature was enough to have the child shiver a bit, though thankful for the shower to get the sweat off of them.

"Y-Yeah, thanks." Lucia said again, smiling up at Hideo behind her mask. He was able to introduce himself as an audible gasp escaped her lips. "Wait, Hideo?! Like, THE Hideo!?" That little bit of childlike wonder had sprung forward again as the younger trainer gushed over Hideo. To think that she'd be able to meet one of the gym challengers here of all places! "Thank you so much for protecting me. It's such an honor to meet one of the gym leaders. I just...wish it wasn't here."

One quick conversation later, everybody had gone and gotten new clothing from the prison guards here. There was a small little comfort in new clothing, and the mochi was still peach flavored. A small comfort in these trying times. But Lucia returned to her cell alongside Atreyu Hargrave and slowly falling asleep, whatever position that the two would come to terms with.

TL;DR:
- Thanks Hideo for protecting her then fangirls over him being a gym leader
- Finishes her shower and new clothes! Yay!
- Mochi is good, nom nom nom
- She heads back to her cell and falls asleep quickly

☉

Where was she? Was this some dream or something? She had been inside of the prison and now, this was someplace else...

Lucia woke up on the streets of the city, face down in the middle of the sidewalk. Still dressed in the same clothing that she had been wearing in the strange jail thing. She looked all around her at the strange sights and cityscape that lied around her. Bright, towering screens of neon lights and more.

All muted behind the black visor over the mask still on her face.

"Where am I?" she asked herself, tapping her foot on the concrete and beginning to wander around this strange city. It was clearly like some of the capitals of regions she had visited before, but...it was oddly different. Maybe it was the way some buildings warped around or didn't look like they fit in reality.

A lone figure stood in the middle of a town square that stood before her. Lucia paused and debated about what she should do, though their clothing suggested that they had come from the same place they have. The child had slowly began to walk over towards the squatting person and trying to look down at whatever they were staring at.

"Excuse me," she said in a shaky voice, "D-Do you know where we are?"

John Sullivan

☉

Lucia looked up at the next Pokemon who had stumbled out in front of her, and boy was it even cuter than the last! She recognized it as a Mimikyu, one of the more popular Pokemon that roamed around back home in Paldea.

"Oh, another strong Pokemon! This'll be easy Hero!" she said, looking down at Dunsparce before something popped back into her head. "Wait a minute, I just remembered..."

Normal attacks weren't going to work here, since this was a Ghost-type. Lucia frowned and looked down to her buddy, who was eyeballing her, waiting for her to come up with a solution. Lucia looked down at the available team, crossing her arms in thought.

"Darn it, who should I call out next?"

Her hands rumbled around on her belt at her options. Pinky and Muck could be strong fighters, as well as her father's...Pokemon. But she didn't want to call him out. Not after what she wanted to avoid once more. But there was one other pokeball with her. One that she hadn't used since talking to Eris Halla . Lucia pursed her lips in thought as the echoes of Eris run through her head.

"Whether they want to test their limits. Whether they're happy with how quickly they're progressing...They're more likely to listen if you know what they want."

After a moment of reflection, Lucia grabbed the pokeball and in a sudden flash of white, the Charmander was called out. He let out a threatening growl and turned to face Lucia again as she flinched and held her hands up in remembrance of the last time she had talked to him. Her coat was still a little charred from the last time.

"I know, I know! You wanna get stronger, right? But we need to practice if you want to push farther. But I need your help..."

The Mimikyu had overheard their discussion and chirped out a ghastly cry to intimidate the two of them. Vulcan faced the offending Pokemon and let out a fearsome streak of fire, not one to run from a fight. Lucia looked over at their opponent and smiled a bit as her Charmander at least seemed to be allowing her to help it.

"Fire Spin, Vulcan!"

The Charmander reared his head back and blew out twirling embers that settled around the Mimikyu. Harsh flames licked the sides of its body and continued to prevent it from charging in. The ghost-type's head drooped form the attack, though it was still being dealt slight damage from the attack. Vulcan charged forward and was ready to attack as she belted out the next command.

"Finish it off with a Fire Fang!"

Vulcan chomped down on the Mimikyu with burning teeth, sending the ghost-type with a shuddering blow. Mimikyu pushed back to try and free itself as it had then suffered a burn, though had been overpowered by the sudden attack. Lucia fetched another Safari Ball out and tossed the empty capsule at the wounded Mimikyu.

☉