[attr="class","jayden"] 'jayden.'

[break][break] a voice breaks through his train of thought, and he turns his head to the side to recognize a familiar face. "siobhan," he greets, with a slight dip of his head.

[break][break] he blinks, before flashing a smile. "of course."

[break][break] the two share a penchant for ghost-types, one that he now knows about having met her on more than one occassion. he starts to leak the trek down the path, pebbles rolling underfoot.

[break][break] "how have you been?"

[attr="class","noodles"]siobhan burke

"I cannot complain." much.

she drifts along with jayden cross as he goes, her eyes focusing on a Ralts a few steps away. it peeked out from behind a tombstone and she approached it. perhaps the Pokemon knew she meant it no harm, for the alien approached and took her hand gratefully.

quietly talking to the Feeling Pokemon, it trills also quietly as she procures a spare Pokeball. it taps the center and vanishes inside, only a faint wobbling accompanying the action.

"and you? how have you been since the Tournament?"

/capture on ralts

[attr="class","jayden"] the ralts is cute.

[break][break] he pays notice to it as siobhan draws it from it's hiding place with a gentle handhold. his head tilts. "you're a natural." though, it should not be surprising. in all the time that jayden had known her, she seemed like the type.

[break][break] a drifblim floats by in the distance, catching his attention. it seems like the kind of thing that giona ferrara might like, so he decides to capture it. his thievul runs out from behind him with claws and teeth, pulling the pokemon from the air with NIGHT SLASH. as it falls, a pokeball captures it in a gleam of light.

[break][break] his head turns towards the other.

[break][break] "fine." there is something clipped in the way he speaks, different from his general monotone, and he is eager to shift the topic to her. "i saw the leaderboard." his gaze is appraising. "you did well."

[break][break]

[attr="class","noodles"]siobhan burke / capturing drifblim

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD WOBBUFFET APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] SHADOW TAG
[attr="class","wildtabox"]DESTINY BOND	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]MIRROR COAT
[attr="class","wildtabox"]COUNTER	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SAFEGUARD
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]siobhan burke jayden cross

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD BANETTE APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] INSOMNIA
[attr="class","wildtabox"]FEINT ATTACK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]PHANTOM FORCE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]CURSE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SPITE
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]siobhan burke jayden cross

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

BOTH OF YOUR CAPTURE ATTEMPTS ARE SUCCESSFUL!

"some Pokémon require a gentle touch."

but others -

the Banette comes out to try and snatch the Pokeball from her hands. why was unclear; one could give plenty of reasons why. maybe the Banette was just a thief. it could be that simple.

"others do not."

as jayden cross captures his own Pokeball, Siobhan snatches her hand away from the ghost with a quick reflex. with her other hand, she takes out her Dusknoir, Gravedigger. he is quick to finish the weaker ghost off.

Siobhan tosses a spare Pokeball at the fallen Banette. "I could have done better" she remarks "but thank you." she notices his voice change, but she is not in the business of forcing information out.

[attr="class","jayden"] the change is swift. she releases her dusknoir to capture the banette in no time at all, just as jayden finds himself turning to her.

[break][break] "true."

[break][break] it is something that jayden knows well — something that has been taught to him well. he thinks of his mentors, THEO BECKETT and Cillian Quinn , and the sometimes ruthless treatment that mentors could sometimes instill for their students.

[break][break] not that siobhan burke would know that. she'd never felt the cruelty of old rocket.

[break][break] though, that was for the better.

[break][break] a female wobbuffet appears, and this time it's his rotom that appears to combat it. a crackle of electricity snaps forward as the rotom surfaces from within jayden's mobile device. it is just a flash of light, but a thunder wave cracks out to paralyze the exploring pokemon.

[break][break] "you're critical of yourself," jayden observes. a pause, before his head tilts. "or perhaps ambitious? did you want to rank in the championship cup?"

[break][break] personally, jayden's interests had lied elsewhere. and then, of course, there had been the fact of his distraction.

[break][break]

[attr="class","noodles"]siobhan burke / capturing wobbuffet

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD RUNERIGUS APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] WANDERING SPIRIT
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SHADOW CLAW	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]DISABLE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]BRUTAL SWING	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SLAM
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]siobhan burke jayden cross

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD ABRA APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] SYNCHRONIZE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]TELEPORT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]KINESIS
[attr="class","wildtabox"]DISABLE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]REFLECT
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]siobhan burke jayden cross

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

BOTH OF YOUR CAPTURE ATTEMPTS ARE SUCCESSFUL!

"we are always our worst critics."

Siobhan was quiet as she spoke as per usual, but clear enough to be heard by the young man.

"I did rank in a way" she adds, glancing to the Abra as it appears "but I was aiming for higher."

the losses were felt even now, but she dismissed them easily. Gravedigger would go to subdue the wild Pokémon.

"seeing the Legendries take interest in the winners... I felt like I had been robbed of chance."

the Abra was gently placed at her feet by the Dusknoir, fainted. she threw a Pokeball at it, capturing.

[attr="class","jayden"] "yes," jayden agrees. "but i suppose the championship cup would have been better." personally, jayden could not say he was upset about his own results. after all, he'd had much to think about back then. it was surprising that he'd been able to get through as many battles as he had.

[break][break] then again, perhaps, different people had different ways of coping with things.

[break][break] as siobhan's pokemon make easy work of the abra, jayden's own find themselves at head-to-head combat with an ancient clay beast. such an appearance reminds him of Raphael Pryde, so jayden seeks to capture it. this time, vila appears out of thin air and races forward with ice shard. frost cracks onto the pokemon's rocky surface, as it retaliates with a brutal swing. the move comes a second too late, however, as the frost sweeps across the runigerus, making it the perfect stage for capture.

[break][break] "disappointment is only as severe as we let it," jayden says, turning. though, he couldn't say he too was not curious at the swords of justice that had appeared at the festival, nor tapu lele. all legendaries brought an element of it with them.

[break][break] "i'm not surprised legendaries would look for stronger trainers," he says with a bit of whimsy.

[break][break] he wonders how many other requirements - unspoken, unheard - that such pokemon required of their human counterparts. was it really so easy as placing first in a competition? he doubted it.

[break][break]

[attr="class","noodles"]siobhan burke / capturing runerigus

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD LAMPENT APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] FLASH FIRE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]CONFUSE RAY	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]EMBER
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SMOG	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]CURSE
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]siobhan burke jayden cross

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD KIRLIA APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] TRACE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]DRAINING KISS	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]TELEPORT
[attr="class","wildtabox"]CONFUSION	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]GROWL
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]siobhan burke jayden cross

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

BOTH OF YOUR CAPTURE ATTEMPTS ARE SUCCESSFUL!

to be passed over was something she was used to.

in the world of children, anyone abnormal or 'weird' were picked last or not at all. she hadn't many friends back then, in Galar. she found 'her people' during college. the pursuit of knowledge all brought them together. but even then, after the studies were completed...

they left too.

Jayden had been not a constant, but he had been appreciated. yes, she remembered the boy who found her once in the Tangle. she hadn't needed saving, but he had been thoughtful enough to offer it. and it needn't be said that another Legendary for Rocket...

well, it would be helpful.

I need to get stronger Siobhan's lingering thought played again. but she did not say it to Jayden. "do you want to be an Avatar?" she asked instead. she recalled having the same conversation with Remiel.

and while they spoke, she ignored the other Pokemon that appeared.

[attr="class","jayden"] if jayden had been privy to her thoughts, perhaps he would have something more to say. his memories of the glimwood tangle were faraway yet fond, especially since it was one of his first interactions with the ghost types that he held so dear.

[break][break] a kirlia came twirling out of the brush. it's unfortunate timing, that a psychic type found themselves at the mercy of two experience ghost-specialists. both his mimikyu come rushing out of thin air with shadow claw, cornering the poor pokemon. it's only fate that it ends up blinded by the red light that consumes it once jayden throws the pokeball.

[break][break] 'do you want to be an avatar?'

[break][break] the question startles jayden, if only because he had been paying attention to his pokemon.

[break][break] however, there was another reason too. uncertainty - for once - flickers in his gaze.

[break][break] he thinks of his own mentor Cillian Quinn and his own bond with the great white whale. he thinks of the other pokemon he's witnisses, thinks of how Zac Ramsay and his jet propulsion seminars.

[break][break] to be tethered to a single being is not something new to jayden, not when he's lived a life chained both by rocket and his own father.

[break][break] he paused.

[break][break] "sometimes, i think," he says. "we are not responsible for our own fates."

[break][break] power and greed were not things that jayden was unfamiliar with, and yet it was not something that often called to him. for his place in rocket was something that had always been considered an absolute, he had not bothered thinking of anything else.

[break][break] "but," he said, his gaze shifting. there was something unreadable in his eyes, as if thinking of something he was not entirely willing to share - not even with her. "should it help me protect the ones i love, then perhaps i would desire it."

[break][break]

[attr="class","noodles"]siobhan burke / capturing kirlia