The clack of powerful footsteps and even taller heels announce her arrival before Katherine’s revealed in full.
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Frankly, she didn’t know why she was here nor did she care to find out. All she wanted to do was get it over with. Whatever obligation this was, the sooner she’ll be done with it, the faster she’ll go back to doing what she wants. She was most certainly her own boss, but it wasn’t too rare for the League to ask of her to do things on their behalf.
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Missions, publicity stunts, and even private meetings such as this one were all the same.
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”Don’t worry about it, I don’t really mind.” She lies through her teeth. She does mind and she’s already judging him for bringing her here. This didn’t feel urgent-- so what was it about?
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He wasn’t some creep with really rich parents, was he?
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“So… What can I do for you?”

[attr="class","ooc"] Xander Belmont [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

A quirked eyebrow is all Xander receives in response.
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At first.
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What follows suit is a thorough stare, Katherine finally gracing him with a full examination, allowing her eyes to trail from the crown of his head to his very shoes. She definitely cared about first impressions, and Xander’s already wasn’t impressive. The lack of confidence is viewed to be his achilles’ heel in this quick rundown, but she continues to judge and criticize silently.
[break][break]
“Really?”
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It didn’t sound like a joke, to be fair.
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”Why? What do you think I can teach you?”

[attr="class","ooc"] Xander Belmont [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

“okay.”
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was it really that easy?
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”sure, why not. i’ll let you convince me.” oh. she wasn’t going to just… accept it. she needed to be convinced. words alone were empty. she needed to see why xander should be her student, and why no one else could take his spot.
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why it was his.
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“beyond working hard, what else do you have to offer to me?” it’s no different than a business deal, after all. if he got something out of it, then she wanted something in return. “will i have your undying loyalty? will you get me freshly-brewed pumpkin spice lattes every morning?”
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she’s only half joking.
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no. actually, she’s not joking at all.
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she could get used to having a student if she could also treat them like an assistant.

[attr="class","ooc"] Xander Belmont [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

In reality, she’s already convinced.
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All she needed was the assurance that his undying loyalty would be hers. It wasn’t hers just yet, no, such a delicate and powerful commitment needed to be raised and nourished. She’d have to feed the fire without snuffing it too early. And what better way to do just that than to have him study under her?
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The mention of his dad and his speciality almost elicits a grimace from the elite four. Katherine had been trying to avoid having certain memories resurface, and this is enough to cause that. Fuck Adrian Malcolm and fuck Raziel Beckett. The fact the ranger was hired by FERNANDO SILPH only made her feel more bitter.
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“Well, count me convinced.”
[break][break]
Save for his reluctance to bring her coffee (which can and will be worked on), Xander seemed promising. She had no idea if he was truly talented as a trainer, but… In her eyes, it was just another skill they could work on. If he needs polishing, then she’ll take care of that too.
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The Commissioner herself said it was an acquired skill or whatever, and that Kyle and Katherine both possessed the talent in its highest form and caliber.
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“And now… To the finer details. I assume you have a couple of pokemon already, yes?” was he a fellow ghost-enthusiast? “Tell me about them, how you’ve trained them, and what else would you like from them.”
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Much like Xander, Pokemon were tools.
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Weapons and shields that could always use further reforging, and not unlike him, polishing.

[attr="class","ooc"] Xander Belmont [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

“Hm, hm.”
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The humming masks the fact that she wasn’t very familiar with any of his pokemon. She knew of them, battled against and alongside them, but not one of Xander’s six belonged to a species that Katherine herself raised.
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But surely, her expertise would apply to these pokemon just as well as it did with her ghosts and her pack of ultra beasts.
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“Volcarona is an interesting choice. Was it passed down to you or did you catch it yourself?” A short pause, and then her questions continue. “I assume you were the one to train it, right?”
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The bug’s dual typing was quite the special one. Theories flowed in the elite’s mind as she continued to weigh the pros and the cons.
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“How have you been dealing with its main weakness?”
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She’s not keen on spelling out which weakness she was referring to.

[attr="class","ooc"] Xander Belmont [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

The short background, although touching, is mostly disregarded by Katherine. He could have nursed his pokemon back to health from the most grievous wounds and she would’ve still spared no more than a blink as a reaction.
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Ultimately, it matters not.
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“That’s a good answer for hard-hitting moves, or mitigating damage from a z-move or a mega-evolved pokemon’s attack.” But for your average fight, before the grand finale, it’d achieve little to nothing. The blowback would be too harsh to endure, and a Sunny Day was never guaranteed.
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“It’s fine, I don’t need to see your dog.”
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Her attention shifts elsewhere as her Rotom-Phone reveals itself, retrieved from her bag. The pokedex application is examined thoroughly as the pokemon’s learnable moves are judged.
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Two catch her attention.
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”What about these? FLY and ACROBATICS. SOLAR BEAM can’t be your answer for everything, especially when the weather is against you. I haven’t seen you in action but these two fit different styles.”
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The former would grant both Xander and his pokemon some breathing-time, and the latter denies their opponent of such.
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“Can you afford TMs or do you need some cash?”
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Renowned archaeologist dad aside, Kat had no intent to assume if Xander had the luxury of money on his side or not.

[attr="class","ooc"] Xander Belmont [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

“Hrm, I’ve never had to explain this to someone before… It’s weird to describe, mostly because I don’t think anyone knows the exact way they work. Well, except for the part where the Pokemon must eat a passho berry. That's the only known way for pokemon to learn how to use z-moves.”
[break][break]
Or rather, how they came to be. Passho berries granted pokemon the ability to exercise z-moves, sure, but as far as Katherine was concerned, no one knew what z-moves were exactly. It was just as weird as mega evolution, almost.
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“But in short, they’re special moves that some pokemon are capable of using. They can be stronger, bigger or even faster than the average attack. In a sense, they’re almost absolute, but they’re also much more taxing on the pokemon."[break][break]
"I imagine that happens because the pokemon exerts more of its power– but I digress.”
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She wasn’t a scientist, and her speculation wouldn’t really teach Xander anything.
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“More and more trainers in our region seem to get their hands on Passho berries these days. It’s only a matter of time before you and your team experience one in battle.”

[attr="class","ooc"] Xander Belmont [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]