Entry #9: Team Notes #1

After some back and forth with Paul and a bit with Zoey, I've come to the conclusion that flying by the seat of my pants when it comes to training and team comp… maybe isn't the best idea. While I'm sure I can just force things to work, an outline to work off of makes things easier in the long run.

While I knew that this world wasn't going to be a 1:1 to the pokemon animeverse, Paul and Zoey are proving to me that there's more that can go into training pokemon than battling and struggling for dramatic effect, and I'd be stupid to not take advantage of it.

Naturally, the way me and my pokemon do things are going to be a bit different for obvious reasons, but incorporating more structure into our plans can't hurt. The first one I want to look at is our team composition and what roles need to be filled in both a practical and narrative sense. Now, I'm still willing to break my plans for a pokemon with real Main Character vibes, but no plan survives first contact and all that, right?

Lulu - Lulu is my faithful best friend and my co-hero. She's a jackal of all trades, master of none. In the sense of being a fighter, she has it all. Striking, defending, grappling, weapon-use, projectile attacks, and is both tough and evasive. She's got that special drive to be the best and the heart to soldier through tough times. Unless we happen across a Legendary pokemon or something, I see her keeping the spot of strongest and remaining in the role of The Leader. Damn, I really lucked out meeting her. She's irreplaceable.

Aniki - Aniki is well and truly a Gentle Giant. He excels at taking a fight slow and steady using a style reminiscent of typical boxing, but he's certainly not afraid to grapple when the situation calls for it. He's the friendly kind of guy who is the heart and soul of any team. Once we get him more comfortable with the idea of cutting his real power loose, he'll be an absolute terror in the field.

A few others I'm considering are:

Hitmonlee - A kicking counterpart to Aniki for the sake of a possible Rivalry. Also they're agile as all hell and learn a load of nice attacks.

Mienshao - A female Mienshao might fit the kung-fu Femme Fatale role. I considered Lulu here, but she's too proud to flaunt her feminine charms mid-fight. Mienshao are near-universally considered attractive, so one will fit the role easy. They're skill-based fighters first and foremost owing to their slight frames, and some people say they can even naturally manipulate Aura. If they can, then Mienshao is a priority.

Hawlucha - A dedicated grappler and luchador bird is just too Cool to pass up.

Sirfetch'd - How is this goofy fucker a Fighting-type? I love him. I'll make a place for him if we happen by one.

Poliwrath - I mostly want a Poliwrath for type coverage, but these guys are noted to have insane stamina and hit like a truck for their size. Easy pick.

Blaziken - The kickin' chicken is powerful, iconic, and has type coverage. Blaziken is a gimme of a pick.

Infernape - See above.

Toxicroak - Poison is a useful tool. A Toxicroak with the right personality would fit the Team Asshole role well. Is poison honorable? No. Will a Toxicroak likely clash with Lulu personality-wise? Yes. We'll make do somehow.

Gallade - Another gimmie. These guys are too good to pass up if the opportunity happens by. The Dawn stone cost… We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Chesnaught - I didn't consider Chesnaught at first, but a bulky, defense-based fighter started to sound nicer and nicer the more I thought about it. Also, type coverage.

Kommo-o - THERE BE DRAGONS. Kommo-o has five weaknesses, but seven resistances and is a pseudo. That's a lot of power. If I get one, I'll have to keep Lulu or a Toxicroak on standby to body any Fairies, though…

Like I said before, I'm not going to rule out any non-Fighting Pokémon if they happen by and are an absolutely perfect fit. Future Julian, take note.

Sighing and keeping a rude comment to himself, Julian starts again. "Okay, bud. Let's give it another go. After me. Knees bent…"

Julian bends his knees, lowering his center of gravity.

"Feet set…"

Both bare feet are shifted in the grass for a nice, hardy grounding.

"Back straight…"

His torso is straightened and turned just a bit, closing up glaring holes in his guard.

"Hands up…"

Finally, the teen's arms rise, his hands formed into loose 'half-palms' as he likes to call them, ready to strike or grapple. The remaining holes in his guard close. "See? Now you try."

Just a few yards away, Paul's Chimchar gulps and tries to emulate Julian as best he can. "O-Okay…" He bends his knees. "Knees bent…feet set…" He pauses, looking away as he bites his lip.

The little monkey is so nervous that his aura is a wavy mess. So nervous, in fact, that he forgot the next step again…

'Jeez, man. I'm not Paul. I'm not going to snap at you for needing help…' Julian keeps his irritation off of his face. "Back straight," he guides.

Chimchar follows through, albeit slowly.

Blowing a sigh through the side of his lips, Julian ruminates on the last few days as he goes through the motions with Chimchar.

Zoey slid into the group without much difficulty. Being naturally cool-headed and a conversationalist, she's been a much-welcome addition in Julian's opinion. She's even managed to get Paul to speak more than a few words in a row several times, which Julian had more than a little fun poking at. Zoey's also been a fount of information when it comes to pokemon care, and she's been more than happy to speak of her favorite subject, that being pokemon coordination and beautifying, to Julian.

Naturally, Lulu thought a lot of it was nonsense, but after Zoey offered to teach Julian how to massage muscle cramps out of pokemon, the Lucario didn't roll her eyes anymore.

Together, Julian, Lulu, Zoey, and Paul left Jubilife city towards Oreburgh city to the east. The group cut through a cave system leading through the mountains between the two cities. Letting Lulu take point, they quickly made tracks and crossed the cave system in only a day. Several times in the caves, pokemon approached them, mostly Zubat and Geodudes too weak to be of interest, but they were swiftly turned away by a burst of Killing Intent from either Julian or Lulu.

The repeated surges of Killing Intent obviously unnerved Zoey and Paul, as the entire trek through the caves was spent in silence, but things lightened back up once they all came back into the sunlight.

That was yesterday, and today they're just outside Oreburgh getting some morning training as Paul hunts for a Water-type in preparation for the Oreburgh Gym. Lulu, Aniki, and Julian, joined by Paul's Chimchar, went through some morning meditation and sparring while Zoey and her team went through some light training of their own.

Julian glances over his shoulder toward Zoey, Lulu, and Glameow. The rest of Zoey's pokemon are resting in their balls after their morning workout.

"Geez, sis…" Zoey clicks her tongue, running her hands down Lulu's back. "You've got less knots than I expected, but the ones that are here are pretty gnarly."

Sitting cross-legged in front of Zoey, Lulu shifts away from Zoey's probing fingers just a bit. "I've never noticed anything," she says. "They don't hurt, at least."

Off to the side, Glameow flicks her curly tail and smirks. "Don't be like that, Lulu. Zoey's an expert at what she does. She's the cat's meow." The cat pokemon titters at her own feline joke. "You'll feel great after a massage. Just relax." After a second, Glameow's smirk deepens. "I bet Zoey can teach Julian how to give a good massage, then you can get one from him!"

Lulu's muzzle wrinkles, a dusting of pink across her cheeks. "Must you?"

"Well, if you don't want tall, blonde, and handsome to give you a rubdown, then maybe I can take your place~?" Glameow purrs.

Lulu's blush deepens and her ears pin back. She bares her teeth at Glameow, a growl in her throat.

"Glameow, stop being a pest!" Zoey steps in with a frown. From the embarrassed frazzle in her aura, Julian can tell the girl has at least some idea of what Glameow is saying. "Cool it with the flirtiness, please."

Glameow lets out a long-suffering sigh, but obeys and lays down in the cool grass. "You never let me have any fun, Zoey…" she mewls dramatically as she rests her head on her paws.

"Mister Julian?"

Julian turns back to Chimchar, who is still frozen in his stance. "Is this okay?" he asks, looking down at his stance.

With a grunt, Julian eases out of his own stance. "That's a good starting point, kiddo. We'll call it for today, okay? You're not expected to get it down in one go."

Chimchar smiles unsurely at the praise, relaxing.

"C'mon, let's go see what the girls are doing and wait for Paul to show back up," Julian turns and starts off toward Zoey's little party, knowing Chimchar is following, feeling the cheerfully bobbing aura behind him.

Sitting under the tree Zoey set up shop under with Chimchar following suit quickly after, Julian smiles as he's treated to the sight of Lulu, now laid out on her front, melt into a blissful puddle.

At Lulu's side, Zoey is putting most of her weight into the ball of her left hand as she rubs a kink out of the Lucario's back. "You're tense here in the lower back, right above your hips, and in the shoulders, it looks like…" Zoey's careful eye scans Lulu's back, then lifts her palm and puts it right in the middle of Lulu's back, bracing one hand with the other. "This might tingle…" The coordinator sets her brow and pushes down with all her might.

POP!

Lulu's spine makes a cringe-inducing pop, one that actually makes Chimchar cringe. The little monkey's fingers curl into grossed-out claws.

Lulu herself stiffens, then lets out a low, appreciative moan as her whole body slackens. "Zoey, I apologize for belittling your methods…"

Zoey smiles. How much she understood Lulu, Julian isn't sure, but it was surely more than none. "No problem, sis. For how insightful Julian is, I'm surprised he didn't catch this." Zoey turns her eyes to Julian as she finds a new spot to massage. In those vermillion eyes is a playful sparkle. "An insightful meathead is still a meathead it seems."

Julian clicks his tongue and crosses his arms, only noticing Glameow crawling into his lap enough to pet her across her head. "No comment."

"No comment, he says. Boys and their fragile egos…" Zoey shakes her head, playful smile still in place as she rubs Lulu's back. "Have you really only been a trainer for a few weeks, Julian? You seem like you've been in sync with every pokemon around you since we met." She looks down at Glameow.

Almost unconsciously, Julian has been reading the cat pokemon's aura to try and gauge where to pet her, and quickly narrowed it down to an itchy spot behind her ear, earning him a rolling purr and a closed-eyed, content smile. Glameow then rolls onto her back, and he finds a spot on her sternum to scratch.

"Normally Glameow is so picky with who she likes, and she's warmed up to you in only a few days," Zoey continues, looking into Julian's eyes searchingly. Clearly, the opinion of her pokemon matters a lot to the girl. "So, what's the deal?"

Julian hesitates. 'I gave the necessary facts to Paul and let him in on the secret. Zoey can't be less trustworthy, right? She was always the understanding hero type in the anime.' He flickers his aura in a silent message, drawing Lulu's drowsy eyes to him.

Should I tell her? The teen's aura makes an uncertain twist, one he knows Lulu will understand.

Lulu's eyes sharpen. Subtly, she nods.

'Can't find a better endorsement for Zoey than that.'

"Well…" Julian hums. "Would you believe me if I said I managed to pull the curtain back on reality a little, and that I found out that Friendship is a real, tangible force in the universe?"

Zoey blinks, slowing Lulu's massage a bit. "That…" she pauses. "That's an interesting viewpoint. How did you find that out?" She asks, an eyebrow raised.

"A few ways…" Julian mulls over his words, keenly aware that both Chimchar and Glameow are paying attention as well. "First, by taking a look back into history I wondered why there has never been a corrupt dynasty or dictator in power long enough to cause worldwide damage. Surely, some psycho can go full evil genius and raise a team of ruthless, killing-machine pokemon for a rampage of the ages, right? But…it's never happened." Julian raises an upturned hand, as if silently saying 'what the hell?'. "Doesn't that seem statistically improbable that every time someone like that happens along in history, they're stopped by someone with virtues and respect for their pokemon?"

Zoey's frown deepens. "Isn't that just common sense that good beats evil?"

Julian opens his mouth to reply, but stops short, unsure how to come back from that one. On earth, evil is the norm. Here? In this near-utopian should-be-a-deathworld-but-isn't? Zoey's statement really is common sense.

"Y-Yes, I guess that is common sense…" Julian clears his throat, hoping Zoey doesn't realize how tripped up he was. "But from a logical, numbers standpoint is what I'm getting at here. Strictly statistically, the whole evil never winning thing seems off, right?"

Looking down at Lulu's back, then up to her head, Zoey's eyes meet Lulu's serious reds when Lulu turns her head to regard the teen girl. "I guess if you're looking only at numbers, that does seem a little strange," Zoey shifts uncomfortably.

Julian nods. "Right, so what exactly gave the heroes of those stories the guff needed to win the day against the most bloodthirsty sons-of-bitches ever seen? It is common sense that good wins, but what is the actual catalyst of that win? I'll tell you; it's Friendship. After observing the effect myself, I've come to the conclusion that the key to greater heights for both the trainer and pokemon is Friendship, and that it's a real, tangible force observable in the world. When you lose the capacity for Friendship, for example, becoming a psycho, you lose out on one of the greatest powers in the universe. I know it sounds like nonsense, but it's real."

Zoey's face remains impassive as she listens, and when Julian's explanation comes to an end, she slowly nods to herself as she digests what she's heard. "That's… interesting, Julian," she says, audibly trying to keep her skepticism from sounding rude.

"Maybe a practical demonstration will help things along?" Julian offers. "I did this one with Paul. As a side effect of my Friendship with Lulu, I'm able to understand pokemon one-to-one. That's why I seem so in-tune with them."

Lulu turns and gives Julian a disapproving stare for twisting the truth, but Zoey doesn't seem to notice. The girl takes her hands off of Lulu's back and sits back on her heels, an eyebrow raised.

"Have Glameow say something, something I can't randomly guess, and I'll repeat it," Julian nods and looks down at the curious cat in his lap.

Zoey thinks to herself, reaching to fix the drooping sunglasses on the top of her head as she does so. "Glameow…" The teen girl begins. "What day was it when we left Snowpoint to be coordinators?"

"The day?" Glameow blinks. "It was April 18th, early in the morning after the roads were cleared following a snowstorm."

"April 18th, in the morning, after the roads were cleaned of snow," Julian parrots with a smirk.

Both Zoey and Glameow stiffen. "Did you just…?" Zoey can't seem to believe what she just heard, blinking incredulously "How did you do that?!"

"Like I said, Friendship is a hell of a performance booster," Julian's smirk deepens as he looks down at Glameow.

"A-Ah… So you've understood me the whole time?" The cat asks in a small voice, a nervous smile in place.

"Yes," Julian scratches her sternum, looking down at her imperiously. "Yes, I have."

Glameow licks her lips, seemingly searching for something to say. "In that case…" Her smile returns, and she presses her paws to the hand rubbing her breast fur. "Lower."

'Are you for real?'

The cat pokemon cackles and lands squarely on her feet after a red-faced Julian throws her off of his lap.

Zoey buries her face in her hands, embarrassment turning her whole face pink. "Oh Arceus, Glameow… Why do you have to be like this? He was listening the whole time…"

Glameow says nothing, but her smug smirk says I'm not sorry.

"I don't get it," Chimchar complains, speaking up for the first time.

Glameow's smirk becomes brittle. "Don't worry about it, hun. It's grown-up talk."

The conversation comes to a lull as things sink in.

"Okay, so maybe you're onto something here," Zoey composes herself and banishes her mortified blush after a moment. She takes a deep breath. "Is that how you always knew what pokemon to pick before a battle in Jubilife?"

"It's tangentially related," Julian waves a hand in a 'so-so' gesture. He quickly thinks of an explanation that doesn't give away his ability to use aura, but stops short. He looks over to Lulu.

With Zoey's massage over, Julian's best friend has risen and is now sitting cross-legged with her forepaws folded in her lap. She stares back at Julian expectantly.

Julian knows she won't speak up if he lies, but he's already earned her disapproval once today, and once hurts enough. With that in mind, he revises his words and looks back to an expectant Zoey. "Lulu and I are close enough that she's been able to teach me some tricks, like how to think and observe like a Lucario," he says, tapping the side of his head with a finger.

Zoey's eyes widen as the meaning clicks. "So you can…?"

"In the interest of retaining some professional secrets, I won't confirm or deny anything," Julian stands up and brushes a few of Glameow's hairs off of his jeans as he feels Paul and Elekid's satisfied auras approaching. "Also, Paul is coming and should be here in a minute or so. We should get packed up and ready to move. Oreburgh is only two or so hours out."

Zoey doesn't push any further, but Julian can feel her eyes on his back as everyone stands up and gets ready to move. Julian puts his boots back on and dons his backpack, Lulu wipes the dirt from her chest spike, and Zoey recalls Glameow into her pokeball (but not before the cat can wink at Julian).

Just as Julian predicted, Paul emerges from the brush to the north with Elekid at his side. In Paul's left hand, a pokeball is clutched. In his right, his open pokedex. As he approaches, the dour teen shrinks the pokeball, clipping it to his belt as he shuts his 'dex and drops it into his pocket.

"Successful hunt, I presume?" Julian asks, already knowing the answer.

"Azumarill. Captured with minimal injury. Should be a decent addition against Roark." Paul's answer is short, but not outright hostile. He glares down at Chimchar, who is standing at Julian's side nervously. "How did Chimchar's crosstraining fare?"

"The little guy is a natural," Julian smiles and plays up the little Fire-type's hesitant foray into the world of a proper fighting style. "He's got the stance down, and now it's just a matter of making it into muscle memory. Then we can move into the starter forms. It'll be a huge help once he evolves and has more muscle and reach to work with."

Paul stares down at Chimchar for the entire explanation, and Chimchar shyly peers back up at Paul. Finally, Paul sniffs and takes both Chimchar and Elekid's pokeballs from his belt. "Acceptable. Keep it up," he mumbles. "Return."

Chimchar beams as he and Elekid are sucked back into their pokeballs.

"Well, ladies and gent," Julian turns to the beaten dirt road to Oreburgh. "Onward. Oreburgh awaits."

"Thank goodness," Zoey mutters, lifting her sunglasses and running her fingers through her short hair. She grimaces when a few flecks of dirt come loose "Euh… Let's take the long way next time. The cave route was filthy."

"It's a cave," Paul harrumphs. "Of course it's going to be dirty."

Zoey crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow. "Act tough all you want, Paul. I know you don't get hair as shiny as yours without taking care of it."

Lulu snickers behind a paw.

Paul says nothing, but from his grunt and how aggressively he starts his march on the road, Zoey has to have been close to the mark.

The walk to Oreburgh is spent quietly. Zoey is obviously still getting used to what she just learned from Julian and sends him more than one glance as they walk. Paul, as per his standard, doesn't speak unless spoken to. Julian and Lulu talk quietly about several things, like what the pack might be doing, or what sounds pleasant for dinner, but eventually the topic shifts to the upcoming Gym battle.

"How do Gym battles work, exactly?" Lulu asks, tilting her head. "Are there rules that don't apply to other battles?

"It's more or less the same as a regular battle, just higher stakes, I guess," Julian shrugs. "I'd like to keep our usual modus operandi going. I'll give you and Aniki some pointers at the start, let you go at it, and if need be, I'll make a call mid-battle. Roark, the Gym Leader of Oreburgh uses Rock-types, so this should be-" Julian stops himself short and sucks in a breath. 'Don't say it'll be easy and Tempt Fate, stupid.' He clears his throat. "This should be a good match."

Lulu smiles and nods. "I won't let you down!" she says, lifting her gauntlet-clad paw and clenching her fist.

Julian grins. Both her enthusiasm and the beautiful confidence in her aura warms him from the inside out. "I know you won't." Looking at her gauntlet, Julian suddenly feels as if he forgot something. He looks down at his keystone necklace, seeing it safe and sound in its usual place. 'Damn. Was I supposed to do something?' Then it hits him. 'Fuck! I still haven't called that number that Rowan gave me! I'll do that as soon as we get to Ore-'

"Hrm…" Paul suddenly speaks up, breaking Julian's train of thought. He sends a sidelong glare at Julian and Lulu. "Save the tough talk for the Gym. Also, I get first dibs."

"Says who?" Julian glares right back. "Don't you want to do the tactical thing and watch us first? Gather all that juicy intel on Roark in person?"

Paul scoffs. "Nice try, but this Gym is going to be a cakewalk. I'm going first."

"As if," Julian crosses his arms. "Do your pals Julian and Lulu a solid here and let us go first."

"No."

"C'mon!"

"No. I'm getting the first match."

"Someone cool would let their friend go first."

"We aren't friends."

"Wow. Asshole. Okay, someone cool would let their traveling partner go first. Is that better?"

"Aren't you the oldest of us all? Why are you such a whiner?"

Zoey sighs. "Boys… I should have known this is what I was signing up for," she shakes her head. "Maybe draw straws? Rock-paper-scissors? Something other than bickering like five-year-olds?" She suggests.

Julian grumbles and looks forward, seeing the city of Oreburgh growing larger and larger in the distance as they crest a large hill in the road. The city looks closer to a small town by his standards, and is nestled up by a mountain where the town runs a huge coal mine. To the south of the town, a large, red bridge extends over a deep valley where Julian spies mining equipment and construction equipment moving to and fro. From a distance, they look like toys.

For a city that prides itself on industry and mining, Oreburgh looks so… quaint, and the air is rich despite the smokestacks rising from a number of buildings in the city. The surrounding hills and trees are all a vibrant green free of pollution. 'Should I be surprised at this point? Everything here in this world is just better.'

An idea strikes Julian, and he smiles. He turns and winks mischievously at Lulu, then turns to Paul. "You want the first match at the Gym?" He asks. "Okay, fine. Beat me there!"

Julian's boots pound the dirt as he and Lulu take off at a speed most people would call a dead sprint. To someone with aura? It's a moderate jog.

At Julian's side, Lulu keeps pace with ease, not even breathing deeply. "Such a start is hardly fair, Julian," Lulu chides, though she makes no attempt to hide the amusement in her aura, or even the little smile on her muzzle.

"How is that fair, moron!?" Paul yells, unintentionally mirroring Lulu. He sprints after Julian, leaving an exasperated Zoey behind. "It's not a race without a start signal!"

"Oh please!" Julian laughs, loving the feeling of the wind through his hair. "C'mon, step it up!"

Paul, huffing and slowly growing red in the face from exertion, growls and forces himself to keep running. He pumps his arms and legs so fast that he catches up to Julian and Lulu, racing neck and neck.

With such a breakneck pace, Oreburgh quickly approaches, and within a minute, they pass a sign on the road declaring the city limits. The humble, outer residential district is little more than a blur that is passed in just another minute, and before long, downtown comes into view, forcing the trio to dodge around startled pedestrians on the road.

As surprisingly fit as he is, Paul is just a teenager and begins to fall behind, gasping for breath. Mustering enough air to growl, Paul paws at his belt. "To hell with this…" he huffs, taking a pokeball and throwing it high. "Lairon! Standby!"

In a flash of light, Paul's Lairon appears on the street, already running. The heavy steps of the Steel-type shake the ground, and without any prompting needed, she crouches and lets Paul hop into her back. "Lairon! To the Gym!"

"I'm on it, Paul," Lairon's voice, normally gentle and matronly, has a hard edge. She narrows her blue eyes and shoots forward in a run faster than any human can hope to match, barreling down the street like a locomotive.

"Wha?" Julian blinks and Lairon and Paul shoot past himself and Lulu, who are still sprinting.

Face still red and chest heaving, Paul finds enough energy to turn his head and smirk at the pair of aura users. Lairon turns the corner down another street, one leading to a high wall of gray rock sitting on the edge of the city. 'The Gym?' Julian wonders. 'The rock looks too smooth to be natural, and I wouldn't be surprised if they built the place underground.'

"Julian!" He turns and looks at Lulu, who stares back with a competitive fire in her eyes. "Give me your bag!"

"What?" He blinks.

"Just do it!"

Still running, Julian slips off his backpack as best he can and tosses it to Lulu, who quickly puts it on her own back. "Okay?"

"Now hang on!"

"Hang on to whAAHAHAT!?" The blonde teen can't help but yelp when Lulu scoops him up into her arms in a bridal carry before redoubling her speed. He's so shocked he can't help but wrap his arms around the Lucario's neck.

Lulu flies across the asphalt-covered street like a phantom, her hind paws making contact for a bare instant before she rushes forward in an impossibly fast bound. She comes to the turn that Lairon and Paul made, flinging herself and her panicking load towards the brick wall of a small shop feet-first. She lands on the wall paws-first like a ninja, crouching to bleed off enough Gs to make Julian's head swim. Before gravity can drag her and Julian down, she bounds down to the street and resumes her pursuit, heedless of the amazed and startled bystanders on the road.

Even with Julian's bag and Julian himself weighing her down, Lulu barely seems to notice. No, her red eyes are locked onto Lairon and Paul's backs. She leans forward, cutting through the air as best she can. At such speeds, the world is little more than a smear to Julian's eyes, but as Lulu catches up to Lairon, he turns his head just in time to see Paul's disbelieving face as time seems to slow to a crawl.

Julian gives the younger boy a smirk, then time snaps back to full speed and Lulu overtakes Lairon.

Down at the end of the road is a high wall of stone with a set of red, metallic doors set into them. The brutalist building is unmarked, but it's unmistakably the Gym.

Lulu digs her heels into the ground as the road transitions into dirt, sliding and dragging trenches behind her until she comes to a stop just feet away from the Gym door.

A few seconds later, a despondent Lairon and still incredulous Paul skid to a stop beside Julian and Lulu.

Gently, Julian pulls himself from Lulu's grasp, standing on shaky legs as Lulu takes deep breaths that push her chest spike out. "Snrk…" Julian grins when he looks at the shock on Paul's face, then he throws his head back and laughs. "Wooo! Holy shit, that was cool!" He pulls a surprised Lulu into an enthusiastic hug from behind, then twirls her around by her shoulders. "Hot damn, Lulu! You smoked 'em!"

"It was nothing, really…" With the race over and her adrenaline fading, Lulu pins an ear back and looks away with an embarrassed smile.

Releasing his blushing pokemon, Julian turns to Paul, whose expression is dropped into something even more sour than usual. "I think I'll be taking my spot first, thanks," Julian smugly declares.

"No, you won't."

Paul, Julian, Lulu, and Lairon look up as the Gym doors slide open, and out walks… Zoey? It certainly looks like her, but…

"Zoey?" Julian's brows furrow. "How did you get here so fast? And what do you mean no you won't?"

The coordinator smiles and raises a travel-sized pokeball in her hand, expertly rolling it between her fingers "Misdreavus teleported me here."

"Since when can Misdreavus learn Teleport?" Paul grumbles.

"You'd be surprised by how much overlap Ghost and Psychic have," Zoey stows away Misdreavus' ball and plants her fists on her hips. "Anyway, I went inside and checked, and the Gym is booked all day today and tomorrow. They're not accepting reservations right now, either. Something about Roark's mine foreman schedule conflicting with his Gym Leader schedule." Zoey shrugs without a care. "Oh darn, looks like we get to relax at the hotel room I kindly went ahead and rented on the way here," she says, not at all sounding upset.

Julian and Paul share a look.

This isn't over.

No. No, it is not.

"Fine…" Julian sighs. "Lead the way…"

With a smile, Zoey gladly marches past the boys and their pokemon, taking point back into town.

Paul recalls Lairon into her ball in a flash of light, thankfully without a disparaging remark on her performance. With Lairon's ball secured, Paul shoves his hands into his pockets and stiffly walks after Zoey.

'Whatever, that's fine…' Julian frowns and follows along a few steps behind Paul and Zoey, a still embarrassed Lulu trailing him. 'I needed to… What did I need to do again?' The blonde scratches his head and hums, wondering where his sudden brain fog came from. 'I needed to… Needed to…' He looks at Lulu, remembering that doing so jogged his memory last time. His eyes land on her gauntlet and its gemstone. 'Ah, right. Call the number Rowan gave me for the keystone and the gauntlet, that's what I keep forgetting…' Julian's hand reaches into his pocket for his phone. 'No time like the pres-'

A loud whistle cuts through the air, and the trio of teens stop as Lulu stiffens and raises her fists.

Down the road and turning the corner is a huge orange and black striped dog pokemon; an Arcanine, Julian realizes. On the dog's back, angrily blowing her shiny chrome whistle is none other than Officer Jenny… or the Officer Jenny who lives in Oreburgh, rather.

Officer Jenny looks like many of the other women from the extensive clan of law enforcers, with a trim form, a neat blue police uniform, and deep blue hair. She's unmistakable in a crowd.

Despite Jenny's furious expression and the shrill scream of her whistle, her Arcanine mount pads towards the group leisurely, not at all bothered by the noise or Jenny's heels spurring him to go faster. Taking a look at Arcanine's dopy, tongue-lolling face, Julian wonders if the overgrown mutt is actually fit for police work.

Once Officer Jenny is close enough that the noise of her whistle begins to hurt, she finally relents and drops it, letting it hang from her lanyard. "Do you kids know how fast you were going?!" She shouts, glaring down at Julian and Paul.

"Uh…Fast?" Julian snarks on reflex.

Jenny's scowl deepens. "Watch the lip, buster. Not only did you two break the posted speed limit several times over, mounted pokemon racing at all is illegal in city limits! Especially when you're hopping around and off of buildings!" She directs that last part at Julian and Lulu. "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"I… apologize, officer," Paul grounds out between clenched teeth as if in physical pain. He turns and levels Julian with a glare so potent that the blonde feels the uncomfortable prickle of Killing Intent. "It won't happen again…"

Julian, ready to spit an insult about nosey cops and inbred police dogs, stops when he looks at his friends.

Paul is giving him the stinkeye. 'You're the one who escalated, dipshit. Don't get mad at me. Take your loss like a man next time.'

Zoey is silently pleading with him to not say something stupid. 'Zoey, you're about to learn some new words and terms, some that this world might have never heard before.'

And Lulu…

Julian's vitriol fizzles out in his mouth.

Lulu looks like she just had the life sucked out of her learning that she just broke the law, standing there with her shoulders slumped and her head bowed. Her aura is dipped low into a valley of self-disappointment. "I can't believe I let myself go like that…" she growls quietly to herself.

Looking at her like that hurts.

Julian bites his tongue. "I'm sorry, Officer Jenny," he says as politely as he can. "We were eager to get to the Gym is all. We won't do it again." He crosses his arms and looks away.

Jenny holds her stare for one, five, ten seconds, then nods and lets her scowl fall. "I'm sorry if I come off as mean, kids, but the laws are there for a reason. You could have hurt someone or yourselves. I'll let you go with just a warning, okay? Stay safe." With that, Jenny taps Arcanine's sides with her heels. "Okay, boy. Back to our usual route."

Zoey breathes out a sigh of relief and Lulu raises her head as Jenny and her Arcanine trot away. "No more scrapes with the law, please?" The orange-haired coordinator begs as she starts walking again.

Paul clicks his tongue and remains silent, following her.

Julian trails a bit behind with Lulu, hating how her aura is still in that valley of disappointment. "Hey, Lu…" Julian wraps an arm around her shoulder and pulls her into a one-armed hug. "You okay?" he asks quietly.

She sighs. "I'm fine, Julian. I'm not a pup who needs to be consoled after being scolded." Despite her words, she doesn't pull out of the hug. If anything, she leans into him. The Lucario's red eyes meet his greens. "I'm sorry for letting myself get carried away. I didn't mean to cause trouble, especially trouble with law enforcement."

Julian holds her a little tighter. "Hey, no harm, no foul. We didn't know about that little law, and now we do. Don't be upset on my account, either. It takes more than a pissy cop to upset me." He releases the hug and gives Lulu a bit of space, giving her a radiant smile and putting his Friendship and affection for her forefront in his aura. "Friends forever, yeah?"

Lulu smiles thinly, her own aura rising and returning to its beautiful azure. "Friends forever."

Taking a deep breath, Julian tries to recall what he was doing before Jenny crashed the party. 'Huh. It probably wasn't important if I can't remember.' He shrugs to himself. 'Or was it? Hmmm…'