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The overcast sky was not ideal for a walk through the wilds of this region-- but Mt. PYRE was not known for being a more welcoming area. The ground was dried up from the winter. The sky dark and little sunlight was out-- much to a certain Fox Pokemon's liking. Still, the trainer and his trusty Delphox continued along the terrain. Despite the gloomy conditions, Zachary was determined to venture in this unknown location. It was rumored to be filled with supernatural pokemon, ranging from psychic types to ghosts... Even as the trees drooped and the wind howled in an eerie fashion, Zachary was determined to face its dangers. [break][break]

A late bloomer as a trainer, Zachary had finished school before starting his journey. As a result his trusty Finniken at the time grew into the now matured Delphox. But his desire to become a trainer had never wavered. His parents insisted on continuing his education, and he was glad he did. He was more experienced now in how to be a trainer, than he would of been if he started at 10 as others did. He knew more about the league, the challenges, and in the end, how to effectively battle and care for his Pokemon. Much has happened in the past couple weeks, him finding a very willful Abra, an odd-ball Natu, and a funny little joyous Mime Jr-- all who he had begun to care for. [break][break]

Now, he searched to complete his team more... and to learn about Psychic Pokemon further. [break][break]

"Drat... are any Pokemon out in this gloomy weather?" Zachary thought aloud as he looked around, finding the steep hills that led to the cemetery and the old buildings to dot the landscape. He was not aware of anyone else in the area. As far as he knew, they were alone...[break][break]

"Br-rrraaaaack!" Dizzy yawned, the fox sleepily looking around as he carried his flaming stick to illuminate the area, and provide some comfort from the cold breeze. It would only grow darker as the weather brewed to be more hazardous. Hopefully, it wouldn't rain-- for the fox's sake.

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Truth was more overcast weather was soothing for Zachary, at least majority of the time. Still he didn't scare easily. The only thing that got under his skin was bugs. Tons, and tons, of bugs. Bug types were the worst for him. Bad movies he seen of bugs that crawled all over and infested a person... enough said. So ghosts or creepy places didn't scare him easily. Dizzy, however, was a bit more on guard. As a psychic and supernatural type Pokemon, the fox didn't get scared by such places. But still, certain things did make the prickly fox's fur stand on end. So it kept his torch up to light the surrounding area. [break][break]

"I wonder if there are ruins here? Perhaps the Psychic types like to take shelter there, " Zachary thought aloud to Dizzy, as the fox kept him company. [break][break]
It was then that he heard the voice of someone. Dizzy outright jumped, his ears going high in the air, and soon saw the lovely woman in violet and the ghostly witch pokemon in toe. As she gave a soft comment of surprise herself, she approached. Zachary blinked. She was beautiful. It was an out of place thing to see a regal-looking woman among the hills and graves of this place. But he also was thrilled to see an amazing Pokemon-- Mismaegus. A Pokemon on his wish list to find someday. [break][break] Zachary gave a kind smile and nod of his head. "Well I find places like this tranquil too, but I did hear this is the place where Psychic Pokemon like to gather. Me, I'd imagine they'd be more at home at mysterious ruins or starry hilltops " Zachary commented with a smile. "Hi. I'm Zachary. Nice to meet you. I'm a new trainer and a psychic trainer by interest. "[break][break] "Bruuff-Ruff!" The Delphox barked, the flame of his stick growing brither, as if anticipating trouble. [break][break] Zachary sighed as he gave Dizzy a safe pat on the head-- between his overly hot ears. "And this fiery furball is my best friend Dizzy. He can be a bit overprotective but he is as sweet as he was as a Finniken" he explained. [break][break] Dizzy nosed a bit closer to the ghostly witch, curious about her as he looked the ghost over. [break][break]

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Calcifet? Zachary felt he knew that name from somewhere before-- but he wasn't the best at social studies let alone politics. But the woman did present herself as a regal, and important figure. The fact she said she came to pay her respects, alone did justify her being here after all. Galarian Ambassador? That alone got his attention and his eyes widened. "Ambassador? So you are an important figure? But why are you here alone? I mean, the present company accepted." he said, gesturing to her Mismageus. [break][break]
All the while, Dizzy sniffed around Mismageus-- his way of getting to know a stranger. While that happened, Elice soon took notice of another person. Zachary was confused, not seeing or hearing anyone. Curious himself, Dizzy also turned away-- soon looking into the face of a scary Bannett. "KRIIIP!!" Dizzy barked, alarmed as he jumped back, scared of the scary doll. [break][break] While the Fox was indeed startled, Elice was not even scared as she approached it and was nothing short of friendly with it. Zachary watched in amazement as she spoke to it calmly, and it listened. She even produced a poppet to play with, much to its enjoyment. If Zachary recalled, such Pokemon were lonely and sought compassion rather than vengeful things. The fact she gave it friendship was all the more impressive despite how scary it looked. In the end, he watched as she not only won the little creature over-- but even won its favor to become her Pokemon. He freely entered the Pokeball, and became hers. [break][break] "Wow... That was ... very impressive," Zachary said, almost speechless at how easily it was for her to win over Bannette, a Pokemon who would have been far more difficult to catch. "I never seen anyone that able to communicate to a Pokemon like that, let alone get them to join you. At least one of that caliber." he said to her, almost thinking aloud. [break][break] In truth, Zachary desired the same kind of communication ability she had. While may have been a Soothsayer, she could commune with ghosts. A similar reason why Zachary desired to be a Psychic trainer-- was for the rare trait that those grown with their pokemon. A bond that was almost a psychic sense to communicate with his Pokemon, if he knew how. As close as he was to Dizzy, it didn't always guarantee he could understand the fox. In the end, it came down to intuition and listening, like anything else. [break][break]
Just then, as they were talking-- the distant rumble of thunder occurred. A small splatter of water dropped onto Dizzy's nose, making the poor fox flinch. As he looked up, he soon began to see droplets of water falling from the sky. The fox looked grumpy as he soon tugged Zachary's sleeve-- grasping his attention to the weather. [break][break] "Uh oh... We may want to find shelter or something." Zachary suggested. [break][break] As luck would have it, at the bottom of the hill, there was a rather convenient cluster of trees-- almost like a hut of branches. It was well enough for them to not get hit by any torrents of rain if it decided to come down hard. [break][break] Seeing the shelter-- Dizzy didn't hesitate as he scampered down the hill with his flaming stick-- and turned to beckon the others to follow him. [break][break] Zachary hoped that Elice would follow too as he reached the bottom. Dizzy was already inside, but as Zachary approached-- he found out they were not alone. Dizzy had stopped, a bit puzzled on his face as he looked at someone across the small natural hut. [break][break]
Sitting there, over a cut-down tree stump of a 'table', was a strange-looking Pokemon. It was pink, wearing a strange scarf or neck warmer of some kind. It had a soft underbelly and had a round, soft face to it. Most noticeable was the massive shell it wore on its head, marked by a red gem. [break][break]
"Sllllllooooooooowwwww.... It yawned, as if to extend some kind of greeting, that lasted for more than five seconds... [break][break] Zachary blinked at the odd creature, unsure what it was. "What in the world...?" Zachary thought aloud as he took out his Pokedex-- a custom one based on the Ronphone, but more mixing in old features. It was blue and opened up to reveal the scan feature, soon showing the picture of the same Pokemon as a female voice spoke over it. [break][break] [break][break] [break][break]
As they all gathered under the hut and the rain began to fall outside, they could see the inside of the hut looking like some 'witchdoctor's' home, or soothsayers. Elice may of very well gotten along with this one too. The Slowking sat there, using her tail as a cushion almost as it met them with a friendly face. [break][break]
"Um... hello there. I'm Zachary, and this is Dizzy. Sorry if we rudely intruded," Zachary said, concerned that they broke into its home. [break][break] Slowking gave a soft shake of its head and raised its arms in a welcoming gesture. Despite its seemingly simple face, it was clear its focus was on them-- happy to see them. [break][break] Zachary looked at Elise, unsure of what it was doing. "I'm a bit confused. Even for intelligent pokemon, do you think it really understands us? I was always told at best, they can pick up on gestures and feelings. But i didn't think any pokemon was THAT smart. Even for a psychic type." he whispered to Elise, wondering just how intelligent Slowking was.

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It was pleasant that Elise understood that Pokemon too. They were in good company as both trainers had a mutual respect for their Pokemon. Zachary favored Psychic Types as those who trained with them developed strong bonds beyond just friendship alone. It was intuitive-- as if they could read one another's thoughts. Become one in mind and form a symbiotic connection through it. While some may be simple rumor, it was even said that those who trained and learned from them, could develop Psychic Power themselves to an extent. But that is just a rumor. [break][break]
At the mention of "Pokemon don't have the same kind of intelligence to comprehend human speech", Dizzy cast his gaze over to Elise with a smug, sarcastic leer and growl of disapproval. He clearly understood that one. For a Pokemon, Zachary's Delphox was quite clever and sharp. Dizzy was Zachary's first pokemon. While he didn't officially take on his journey as a trainer till later than most, he spent his years in school and family with this Pokemon. The two grew up together, played together, and consoled one another. They had formed a tight bond and Dizzy evolved from that alone than anything a battle could muster. But even still, the powerful Fox had much to learn. He clearly voiced his disapproval to Elice, hoping she would correct herself for his sake. "Krrrrrr... Rup! " The fox barked to voice his opinion. [break][break] Zachary smiled but rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. Dizzy is rather... unique, even for psychic types." he explained. [break][break] As they talked, The Slowking (Slowqueen) was eager to welcome them in. Even outside, other Pokemon-- a fiery reptile like one kept out of the rain while one that looked like a tumbleweed kept near the shade and soaked in the mist from the rain. As long as the fire type didn't burn anything, he was welcomed there too. [break][break]
As they talked, The Slowking raised a hand, offering to hand something over from Zachary. "King. King-slow-slow!it gestured, trying to get something. Zachary blinked at it, but soon it began to gesture as if it was spreading, or shuffling something-- like cards and placing them on the log table. [break][break] "What are you asking for-- Wait?" Zachary said as he dug through his jacket pocket. He dug in to find his most favorite possession-- a collection of beautiful Pokemon Tarot Cards. The cards were slick and glossed, reflecting beautiful embroidery-- and each one featured amazing-looking Pokemon. The artist was skilled as they had made this. "Do you want these?" [break][break]
Slowking eagerly requested to hand over the cards. While Zachary had a bad luck of certain Pokemon like his Abra and other tricksters stealing his cards, it was nice that this one seemed to 'ask.' Taking a chance to trust this Pokemon, he handed over the deck of cards to the wise sea-sage. The Slowking nodded his head in thanks and began to 'wash' the cards out. It would be hard for the creature to 'shuffle' when it had no thumbs. IT began to spread them out, regather, then smoosh them back together-- trying to shuffle them. If it had been confusion, it probably would of helped. It finished shuffling and pushed the cards out, gesturing Elise to draw a card on it. [break][break] [break][break]

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Dizzy wasn't that offended, and gave a grateful bark at Elise, expressing thanks for her correction. He would of liked it if the pretty girl had petted him too so he hoped his foxy charm would convince her eventually. As she did tend to the plant Pokemon suffering from wounds, Zachary's attention was torn-- as Slowking continued to read his cards. Seems more and More pokemon were showing up, even a strange little ghost that looked like an ornament in the oriental shop that floated around. They appeared to be drawn to the cards. [break][break]
All the while, Zachary was unaware to a certain presence hovering above him. It looked in interest, taking the sight of the young blue haired boy as he got his cards read. IT almost resembled a bug as it floated there in the air. [break][break] Slowbro began to flip the cards-- showing one for Zachary, and for Elise, reading her fortune too.[break][break] [break][break] Zachary blinked as Slowking, pointed to the Fool-- and to Zachary, and then the High Priestess, to Elise. He would of figured she was more of an Empress, but she did speak more to wisdom, not just royalty. There were qualities to both between the both, as sacred feminine cards. Zachary was a good reader of the cards himself, but it was refreshing to see someone else, even a Pokemon read his fortune than him his own... [break][break] Slowly, Slowking revealed more cards, pointing to Zachary and flipped two cards-- showing The Six of Swords-- Representing fear and anxiety, and soon, he flipped open the next card-- showing something equally important next to it. [break][break] [break][break] The Sun-- representing happiness and joy, a force of positivity. That part baffled Zachary as he tried to understand the meaning."UM... are you saying that I'm afraid of something that will make me happy? Not sure that is an accurate reading..." Zachary thought aloud in question to the reading. All the while, Slowking didn't blink or flinch at all as she soon saw the floating scarab-spider-like pokemon hover down behind Zachary's shoulder. The bug looked to Zachary with interest, and soon greeted him with an upbeat 'skitter' sound. It got closer to Zachary, and soon the clicking sound started to irritate his ears. "Hey what--" [break][break] Zachary saw the floating scarrab in the air before him-- looking right into its beetle like face, that seemed to 'smile' at him and gave a friendly wave. [break][break] "AAAAAAAAUUUUGHHH!!!" Zachary screamed, startled and falling backwards. He fell flat on his butt-- barely missing Dizzy's tail, and causing a ruckus among the other Pokemon who some choose to scatter. Clear fear was shown on Zachary's face, and the poor bug Pokemon hovered there-- equally surprised. It seemed to like Zachary, but the human trainer was in shock to be so close to it. [break][break] What neither of them, especially Elise knew-- was that Zachary was TERRIFIED of bugs, and bug type Pokemon were not exactly an easy type for him to adapt to! He seen movies of scenarios where the heroes were terrorized by room full of bugs (Temple of Doom) or swarms of bugs ate their victims alive (The Mummy). Those movies stuck with him and he knew how scary those bugs in mass could be... And that one just slowly appeared right next to him. [break][break] While fear was on Zachary's face, sadness was on the Rabsca's as it was hurt by the rather scared reaction. Though not intentional, it was gut instinct to Zachary. [break][break] All the while, Slowking just shook her head as if it was just ... predictable. [break][break]