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Marianne smiled back just as brightly and Caleb felt suddenly energized. Maybe when this was all said and done, he'd ask her out for a drink.[break][break]
A rather innocent-looking Klefki floated into view, and Caleb eyed it curiously, once more trying to remind himself not to go into this battle with any preconceived biases. After all, Melody Miro was a cute girl who could absolutely kick his ass in any Pokemon battle. Marianne might have some tricks up her oversized sweater sleeves.[break][break]
"Allright, sure," Caleb laughed, releasing Lyra. The Lapras appeared in a flash of brilliant blue light. Caleb waved a hand at the Klefki, indicating that she could attack. She trilled in response, then summoned a HYDRO PUMP, hoping to engulf the smaller Pokemon in a torrent of powerful water.[break][break]

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The Klefki was agile! Lyra keened in frustration, dark eyes narrowing.[break][break]
Caleb regarded the two Pokemon thoughtfully, then reached for the Tera Orb at his hip. As its power was activated, Lyra began to glow a deep fiery red, carnelian crystal forming all across her body. Steel types were weak to fire, which meant transforming the Lapras into a fire type ought to give the aquatic Pokemon an edge.[break][break]
"Her name is Lyra," Caleb answered with an obvious fondness for his partner Pokemon. Then he blinked, realizing that he had not, in fact, introduced himself. Idiot, he chastised. "Oh, uh, sorry about that - I'm Caleb. Caleb Harcourt."[break][break]

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Like the what?[break][break]
"No, uh," he began, feeling stupid. How was he going to impress a woman if he had no idea what she was talking about? He wasn't very experienced with astrology. "Actually, it's because of the instrument. When I first met her, the sounds she made reminded me of music."[break][break]
A slight blush colored his cheeks. Marianne would probably find that silly, but at least it was truthful. He'd been ten years old when he'd met Lyra, just a kid venturing beyond the confines of the small town he'd called home. The lake where he'd found her had been something of a comfort: especially when the mist rolled in and blanketed the area.[break][break]
"What about your Klefki? Does she have a name?"[break][break]
Not every trainer named their Pokemon, but Marianne struck him as the sort that would.[break][break]
The dark energy of the Klefki's attack bounced off Lyra's shell as she summoned another FIRE TERA BLAST, swirls of purple-orange flame surrounding her and shooting out towards her adversary.[break][break]

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Much to Caleb's relief, Marianne didn't seem put off by his explanation. In fact, she validated his comparison with a genuine thoughtfulness, then moved on to chatting fondly about her Klefki.[break][break]
"Cute," he chuckled in response to her story. "Klefki do sound like useful Pokemon. I could probably benefit from befriending one eventually." Constantly losing things was perhaps a trait she ought to be embarrassed about, but she simply talked about it as if it were just a neutral fact of life. Her life, to be exact.[break][break]
Lyra hissed in pain, receiving a taste of her own medicine. In retaliation, she summoned a boiling hot HYDRO PUMP, super-charged by the fire energy churning within her.[break][break]

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