Fluttery wings and one single googly eye startles her. At first, she focuses on just the eyeball, convinced for half a second that it might be what she's looking for.

But upon further inspection and a deep breath, she realizes it isn't. It's one of those bizarre Sigilyph Pokemon that looks like something out of an ancient ruin. Somewhat similar, yes, but not the same. It conjures a WHIRLWIND and quickly flies away to jump-scare someone else.

Stormy exhales and continues.

psychic incense

Stormy Silph

☉

What with the holidays, her Unown hunt had halted slightly. But with the new year either here or fast-approaching, she found some time to squirrel away into the wilderness and climb through Meteor Falls again.

Even if she came home empty-handed, the fresh air and the drive she had to succeed and keep moving kept her blood warm.

psychic incense

Stormy Silph

☉

Boink. Stormy furrows her brow. Boink. There the noise comes again, this time louder and faster. A wild Spoink springs into view, bouncing higher and higher into the air with every advance.

It springs directly into the shield of Stormy's waiting Aegislash, startling the Pokemon awake. But the force of the impact causes the Spoink to spill backward and drop its jewel. It begins to snore in its unconscious state, and Stormy swoops down with a Pokeball to capture it.

capture attempt on spoink

Stormy Silph

☉

Stormy frowns, unconvinced. Although shhe probably thought of herself as more of a child than anyone else ever had, the notion still stood. Her own opinion of herself outweighed anything anyone said about her. It always had.

The tension is wiped away, however, with Xander's insistence on a portrait. She glances back at his paint supplies, then back up to his face. She appears confused, maybe a little flattered, and a lot overwhelmed.

"Uhh.. nope. Can't say I have. Seems a bit.. weird and.... intimate. Where would I even put it? Who keeps paintings of themselves?"

And if they didn't keep it, who did they give it to?

Xander removes his foot from the door and she lets it gently swing open, as by now she's decided to let go of her iron grip on closing it. The woman tilts her head, unsure what to do or say. His enthusiasm and eagerness outweigh her nerves, however, and she eventually relents.

"Fine. Just don't make it weird."

She steps away from the door and makes her way past the living room.

Xander Belmont

☉

She hits the ground hard, her tailbone aching. With a gasp, she leans forward to hold her head in the palm of her hand, groaning at the wooziness she's experiencing. Fortunately, the Gardevoir is no longer a threat.

Matias is quick to come to her aid, reaching out for her. The subtle rays of a heal pulse take away her headache and nausea and gives her a chance to catch her breath. The woman leans into her brothers touch, using him to help her stable herself.

"I'm fine. Just a slip. My ass got the worst of it."

As if to rub salt in the wound, a Mareanie hopes to kick the woman while she's down. Fortunately, Wadjet is quicker this time in defending her trainer, swooping past to flip the poisonous creature on its back before it had a chance to injure the woman. One puff of fire leaves it roasted, and Stormy would ultimately catch it, too, when she caught her breath.

capture attempt on mareanie

MATIAS SILPH

☉

Lashing out at him was wrong, and it left a bitter taste in her mouth as soon as she'd opened her mouth. They walk in silence, shoulders brushing from time to time as they weave through the crowd. He makes her nervous in a way he hasn't before.

Maybe it's because he doesn't leave, or snap back at her with his own fire. She knew he had it in him, even in spite of his kind smile and his casual, laid-back personality he put on display.

"You will, don't lie."

She doesn't know a damn thing about fish, so there would be plenty of stuff to judge her on. Stormy looks away from him, masking her awkwardness with feigned confidence. She peruses the options even if she has no idea what she's doing.

"Not a damn thing. What do you recommend?"

The woman glances back up, catching him watching her. It makes her uncomfortable, briefly, given the change in the colour of her eyes. She blinks, looks at the ground and then away.

"They.. changed colour when Moltres disappeared. My fire went out."

angelo vestri

☉

Stormy's eyes widen in surprise at the confirmation. It shouldn't surprise her, really, but it does. He had been one of Alex's gym trainers, and a really good one at that.

It reminds her quite painfully of how long it's been, really, since she's last spoken to Cian. They had been fairly close once upon a time.

Familiarity sets in in the form of his smile, revealed behind the menu he sets down on the table. In some ways, it makes her nervous.

"Ana.. I hope she's doing well."

Stormy smiles slightly at the mention of Alex, but sadness reflects there too.

"I'm sure he would. You two were good friends."

She picks at the lifted edge of the menu to distract herself from the overwhelming grief that threatens to swallow her.

CIAN MAHER

☉

She wants to believe her, that these Pokemon involve themselves for a reason. But it's difficult to grasp, like a leap of faith.

Stormy swallows, memories flooding back in which she had performed one of her own. Diving recklessly into the heart of the volcano on a hunch. On a blind belief that Moltres would show up and that everything would be okay.

If she could do that, why couldn't she believe now?

"Yes."

She retrieves a Pokeball containing Wadjet, but doesn't open it inside. The woman catches the Golurk's friendly wave and she returns it with her own.

"Lead the way, Illie."

illeana reyes

☉

Stormy laughs and doesn't further press the question. He seems uncomfortable and awkward, given the patting of his head and the mention of his significant other.

His person. Once upon a time, she'd had one, too.

Stormy watches him out of the corner of her eye as he pets his Pokemon. But his offer makes her nose crinkle and her expression to grow cold.

"I don't want one, Greyson. I just want the information they offer. They're dangerous and shouldn't be trusted."

Further ahead, the woman's Arcanine has stumbled across a clutch of battered eggs. Upon closer inspection, it appears that they are a band of Exeggcute that have been horrifically manhandled by clumsy paws and dog slobber. To save them the hassle of being scrambled further, Stormy catches them.

Arcanine whines in protest.

capture attempt on exeggcute

Greyson Connors

☉

"Nah."

Nothing further than public appearances, perhaps, at a few Christmas parties. Brief check-ins to convince people she hadn't jumped off a cliff somewhere. It was the right thing to do.

"You? Any family to visit for the holidays?"

Stormy glances over her shoulder to see him stumble backward with a Zorua now curled up in his arms. She smiles and zips her own coat up tighter to keep out the cold.

Greyson Connors

☉

"Right."

It didn't really make her feel better, but that was mostly because so far she had been useless in the hunt for Unown. She had fallen violently ill during that cafe baking shift work thing that the League had called her in for, so she hadn't been there to receive her goodies. Wherever else people had retrieved those mysterious Unown deciphering devices, Stormy didn't have one.

And she didn't have one of the mysterious Pokemon, either.

She was grasping at straws, running her fingers under the tap trying to hold onto something physical.

"Give yourself more credit, Derek."

Stormy doesn't have the heart to answer his questions. Conspiracy or not, something had to be done. She could only hope that they found real answers instead of more questions and more dead-ends.

While Derek takes care of and captures a Spiritomb, Stormy sizes up a Kadabra. It was bigger than the Abra she had caught the other day, and less susceptible to merely teleporting away before she had a chance to attack it.

However, when she does release her hellhound to take care of the wild Pokemon, the Kadabra does teleport away, but it doesn't go far. It appears behind the Houndoom to perform a TELEKINESIS and throw her mutt to the ground. Fortunately, the hound recovers quickly and retaliates by latching onto the Kadabra's leg with sharp teeth and relentless strength.

It does not take long before the Kadabra is out of commission and Stormy can capture it.

capture attempt on kadabra

DEREK HOFFMAN

☉