SOMETHING IS DEEP ASLEEP... [break]

[attr="class","setting"]

someone grabs him on the arm and jayden's reflexive reaction is to flinch — instinctively, he wants to wretch the other one away and twist his arm. but he is in a crowd, he reminds himself. today, he is playing the role of not a team rocket agent but a vulnerable citizen of the public.

[break][break] he forces himself to calm down.

[break][break] instead, he forces himself to look into the other's gaze — the other's panic grounds him, somehow, and he finds himself responding. "i - " technically, what the other said was true. he wasn't doing anything. should he have been?

[break][break] "okay," he says, eventually, relenting. he pulls away gently from the other as he reaches to a pokeball on his side and releases his hakamo-o. "ziva."

[break][break] his eyes flick over to the snoring snorlax, and the pokemon understands. she trots forwards and the opens her arms in a NOBLE ROAR aimed to make the other pokemon wake up.

[break][break] it does...

[break][break]absolutely nothing.

[break][break]

Greyson Connors

SOMETHING IS DEEP ASLEEP... [break]

[attr="class","setting"]

Greyson Connors isn't the only one who deflates a little bit like a balloon. jayden is also disappointed — more than that, though, he is confused. deeply. the noble roar was definitely loud enough to awaken a normal beast — at least jayden thought, since he was the type of person to wake up at the sound of someone creeping across his bedroom floor.

[break][break] the stranger, though, didn't seem the type to give up. the opposite, actually.

[break][break] he released a blastoise and gently decided to wake up the snorlax. or, at least, attempt to. jayden watched in quite curiosity as the other's pokemon released and explosion of water to douse the beast from it's slumber. the result?

[break][break] everyone just got a little bit wet.

[break][break] jayden flinched slightly as the water splashed against his face. somewhere from the crowd, a few girls let out a squeal as they too were splashed in the aftermath. looking down at his torso, the boy pulled his now soaked shirt away from his body — it snapped back. jayden sighed.

[break][break] tilting his head, he considered his options.

[break][break] decisively, jayden returned the dragon type back to it's ball and instead retrieved another pokeball. this time, aurelus' form materialized into view. "shock him."

[break][break] the eelectross' form crackled with light as it used a SPARK to shock the pokemon awake.

[break][break] at least, he attempted to.

[break][break]

Greyson Connors

SOMETHING IS DEEP ASLEEP... [break]

[attr="class","setting"]

he takes the words right out of his mouth. "it is," jayden agrees.

[break][break] he wonders if this counts as disobeying orders. it isn't a mission — jayden had never intended it to be one. yet, somehow, this whole ordeal is taking a lot longer than intended.

[break][break] maybe a mission would've been easier.

[break][break] the boy watches as his pokemon's electricity doesn't do so much as dent the dozing pokemon. if anything, it seems to only fuel the other's sleep more — it scratches its stomach and the rolls over on it's side.

[break][break] jayden turns to the other. he blinks. "what did you have in mind?"

[break][break]

Greyson Connors

SOMETHING IS DEEP ASLEEP... [break]

[attr="class","setting"]

they are, jayden thinks, very different people.

[break][break] rocket has taught him that such actions would be ineffiecient. simply not hurting a pokemon because it was sleeping, or because it had not done anything wrong. he thinks back to the rocket motto. all pokemon existed for the glory of team rocket.

[break][break] "okay, yeah," he says. "that sounds like a good idea."

[break][break] a lie. inefficient. wrong. useless. the words, imbedded in his mind, from years and years of abuse — it nearly makes jayden turn his shoulder, expecting his shuppet to be somewhere in sight.

[break][break] veles is nowhere to be found.

[break][break] instead, jayden tells the other, "ready?"

[break][break] lights spark along aurelus' scales, prepared for the command, eyes sharp.

Greyson Connors

HOW COULD IT FALL ASLEEP NOW OF ALL TIMES...[break]

[attr="class","setting"]

[break]
"awesome. i'm ready."
[break][break]
blastoise tenses.
[break][break]

"3."
[break][break]

blatoise lowers his cannons.
[break][break]

"2."
[break][break]

water pressure builds inside of them.
[break][break]

"1."
[break][break]

he centers his body of gravity.
[break][break]

"go!"
[break][break]

a HYDRO PUMP is pushed out with such a force that the blastoise's heels dig in, and he slides backwards in the sand.

SOMETHING IS DEEP ASLEEP... [break]

[attr="class","setting"]

the crowd watches. tenses.

[break][break] the eelektrik surges forward, light crackling along it's scales as floats through the air. his eyes are bright with excitement, following his new "partner". he listens to the movements of his trainer, of the words of the stranger.

[break][break] "go!"

[break][break] the shout mingles with the pokemon's cry, as the water explodes from the turtle's back. the electric type surges forward just in time, an explosive burst of power as the electricity surges around the water and crashes into the dozing creatures.

[break][break] everyone watches. tense. did it work? did it —

[break][break] something flashes in jayden's eyes. familiar. he shouts, "watch out!"

[break][break] without thinking about it, jayden leaps forward and tries to wrap his arm around Greyson Connors as he dives. the snorlax had suddenly awoke, standing up, aiming to swipe at the man's form.

[break][break] had jayden gotten there in time?

Greyson Connors

HOW COULD IT FALL ASLEEP NOW OF ALL TIMES...[break]

[attr="class","setting"]

[break]
the wind is knocked out of greyson, as jayden tackle him. they both hit the asphalt with a heavy thump.
[break][break]
the snorlax's attack misses, the weight of his groggy body causing him to stumble. blastoise responds by a heavy-headed SKULL BASH directly to the normal-type's forehead.
[break][break]


dazed, and confused, the snorlax begins to stumble off.
[break][break]


greyson looks at the man that tackled him.
[break][break]


"hey, thanks. you good?"

SOMETHING IS DEEP ASLEEP... [break]

[attr="class","setting"]

it's an impulse.

[break][break] but as soon as jayden moved, he knew he shouldn't have done it. he knew — there was a stab of pain in lower torso, something feeling like it had tore - and his vision briefly went blurry from the pain. they hit the ground with an oof and at least Greyson Connors seems no worse for wear.

[break][break] jayden... not so much.

[break][break] the snorlax stumbles off, and jayden finds himself looking down at his torso. blood seeps through the fabric of his t-shirt, and as he touches his stomach, he finds blood pooling in his fingers. "ah," he says.

[break][break] greyson asks if he's good — jayden doesn't answer.

Greyson Connors

HOW COULD IT FALL ASLEEP NOW OF ALL TIMES...[break]

[attr="class","setting"]

[break]
greyson turns his attention to the wandering snorlax, ensuring it safely moves on, before looking back down at the stranger for an answer to his previous question. the air smelled faintly of iron, and in moments, he knew why.
[break][break]
"what the hell."
[break][break]

quickly, greyson calls out his comfey, who quickly wraps herself around his wrist.
[break][break]

"a little help, ellie."
[break][break]

taking on a faint glow, she summons what appears to be ethereal flowers that slowly move to wrap around his abdomen and chest. FLORAL HEALING worked better with real flora, but, that was limited due to their scenario.
[break][break]

"don't sweat it man. you'll be fine."
[break][break]

probably.[break][break]