Stepping Stones [open/mod]

[Elegant Petal]

Species: Chimchar
Nickname: Zaru
Level: 5
Abilities: Iron Fist
Gender: Male
Nature: Lonely
Move Set: Scratch, Leer, ThunderPunch

"So.. uhh.. how DOES this thing work." Xanthe muttered to herself as she tapped the PDA twice; she knew what it does, but it's a whole other thing when actually having one for the first time. The breeze was flowing back and forth, leaving the Petilil to be lucky and catch a loop y wind.

"Oops, you ok there?" She glanced towards Chu, who in turn grinned foolishly and hopped on an incoming draft towards the girl.

"Yeah, I'm fine~ It's a miracle, THE AIR IS A MIRACLE!" Chu chirped, doing various acrobatic spins in the gusts of wind.

"Air is not a mira--- YOU CAN TALK." She nearly shouted, looking at the PDA. What in the hell had she done?

"And THAT is a miracle, Xan!! YOU UNDERSTAND ME!" Xanthe rolled her eyes at this and decided to release the newest addition to the team; she won't get anywhere with talking to Chu, it'll only be just a stupid miracle. She got the ball and pressed the button, a red light bursting out and formed the ape silhouette, until Zaru had appeared, ready for action. Once the two Pokemon were acquainted, they kept walking, hoping to find a Pokemon in the area.

"So when will we do something?" Zaru yawned, looking at some patches of grass. Xanthe shrugged, leaving Chu to answer him.

"Well... soon, I guess? When XAN here tries to do something." Chu giggled, floating just near the Chimchar as they chatted together.

"Ok, the idiot gets a time out and shuts up for a second." Xanthe looked at the giggling grass type, "That's you." True, she should do something. But what? Eventually, a gust of wind came from behind, lifting the Petilil straight up and directly ahead, unable to control where she was going.

Xanthe instinctively ran, motioning Zaru to follow her as she followed her friend, not bothering to look at her environment, nor any bushes whatsoever. Chu was strictly top priority.

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[Gaius Sollux [Lucifer]]

"The wind is getting ridiculously strong," Patron groaned as he floated in the air, fighting against the powerful breeze that wriggled across the pathway, "My flame is flickering and it annoys me..."

"It happens...Zaen's weather is rather unstable," replied his trainer with a yawn, "Come join me on this tree branch then. I don't mind."

The poor Litwick nodded and closed his eyes, struggling against the currents as he floated higher into the air, "Hecarim said he wanna look around; he doesn't like resting that much."

As the candle Pokemon landed by the Pokemorph's side on top of a low tree branch, an interesting scene caught their attention. A...cotton...thing floated across the air and crashed right into the Shadow Riolu, knocking him onto the ground. With a surprised wail, Patron hovered towards his new partner, "Hecarim! You're alright...right?"

Gaius, on the other hand, was less worried about his pokemon; Hecarim wasn't a Pokemon that would faint just because of a tiny bump from a piece of flying cotton. He leaped from the tree and landed on his legs, approaching the cotton and the Riolu with his hands in his pocket. With a swish of his star-shaped tail, Gaius' eyes glowed golden yellow for a second before returning to its original brightness, "I suggest you to be more careful, Cottonee. Are you a stray?" he asked before reaching in and scooping it up. His voice had a certain threatening vibe to it and his sharp, hunter-like eyes only made it worse, "You could... get into trouble."

[Elegant Petal]

Once Xanthe and Zaru had caught up to Chu, she noticed that it had bumped into a Riolu, and it's trainer was up in a tree. After a few seconds, however, he jumped from the tree, landing on his feet perfectly and began to approach Chu.

"I suggest you to be more careful, Cottonee. Are you a stray?" he asked before reaching in and scooping it up. His voice had a certain threatening vibe to it and his sharp, hunter-like eyes only made it worse, "You could... get into trouble."

"Hey. Dude, she's not a stray." Xanthe ran towards the guy, hopefully getting his attention, even a little bit. He looked like he was ready to kill, but she didn't really care. However, Zaru stayed back a little bit, a few distance from them. "How dare you call my Chu a Cottonee when it is obviously a Petilil. Can't you spot the damn differences?" She sighed, motioning Chu to get back here. The Petilil instantly complied, and rested on her shoulders.

"He DID kinda help me stop, Xan." Petilil said, abit scared of the Pokemorph. "He looks nice and all~"

Xanthe said nothing as she eyed his star-shaped tail, "Thanks anyway, I guess. I'm Xanthe... And you are?" She asked; little questions can go a long way.

Zaru inched a little towards the Riolu, feeling a certain black aura. "I-I don't like this Xanthe.." He muttered, his voice falling on deaf ears.

(OOC: Chu is a Petilil. :3)

[Gaius Sollux [Lucifer]]

(guess I'll just go with the flow xD)

"Hey. Dude, she's not a stray," said a girl who barged in from nowhere, "How dare you call my Chu a Cottonee when it is obviously a Petilil. Can't you spot the damn differences?"

"They all look the same to me," replied the Pokemorph with a casual shrug. Not like he cared about what species the Pokemon was, "Also, the name of a species won't change its personality; names don't matter the slightest...Xanthe, is that right? Well, since i'm pressured to introduce myself, you can call me by the name Gaius."

Hecarim rubbed his head and sat upwards, looking at the Petilil in the eyes. The Riolu's eyes were definitely more emotionless than the ordinary Pokemon, but thankfully they weren't completely soulless. It was fortunate that Heca hadn't been hurt by that previous crash...because if he had, things would had been much worse.

"You have to keep an eye on your...Petilil, trainer," Gaius added in a cold (yet somehow caring regarding the fact that he was warning her) fashion, "You wouldn't want people to be mad about being knocked onto the ground."

[Elegant Petal]

"Pfft, spare me." Xanthe retorted, rolling her eyes at this. ANY being could differentiate a Pokemon. Especially Cottonee and Petilil; Petilil doesn't have any specks of cotton anywhere! "Names do matter, stupid. If it doesn't, then why do Pokemon have names in the first place." She stuck a tongue out, smiling slightly. :Gaius, huh? I guess that's a nice name.. for a Pokemorph like you. Can you transform, or something?"

"I.. I'm sorry for crashing into you.." Chu said, drifting slowly to the Riolu. His eyes were almost soulless like a shadow, making the Petilil shudder, tho hardly noticeable. "I could usually control myself in these sorta breezes but... it's a weird miracle." It was probably better that she had apologized anyway; hopefully she could make friends with him, and make the biggest miracle ever.

"You have to keep an eye on your...Petilil, trainer," Gaius added in a cold fashion, "You wouldn't want people to be mad about being knocked onto the ground."

"She's usually adept in air currents, so I don't often check on her. Sheesh, and wow. An emphasis on trainer. Gosh, I'm scared. No really, I am." She said in a cold, yet mocking way. Zaru was gently tugging her legwarmers at the bottom, trying to get her to knock it off, but Xanthe didn't really listen-- like always. "So what can you do about it then~?"

(lol random.)

[Gaius Sollux [Lucifer]]

"Pokemon have names for easy classification so they don't have to describe it every time they want to mention one. For cases like this, it is useless, trainer," replied the Pokemorph without even wincing at her words; he really wanted to electrocute her though. It wasn't like he couldn't, "Yes I can transform, but I wouldn't do it just for a little request."

Hecarim stared at the Petilil and gave him a little nod; he had already forgiven the Pokemon, but apparently Gaius' itch for shocking someone had been holding the Pokemorph back. With a roll of his eyes, Hecarim smirked and looked away, knowing what would happen next.

"What can I do about it...what can I do about it..." Gaius murmured without even actually thinking about it, "I'm not really sure. I can't really do much since I'm as weak as a bug."

With a quick swish of his star-shaped tail, the Pokemorph kept his emotionless composure and focused his energy to the tip of the golden star. Then a bright bolt of lightning arced up into the sky from the tail and bolted downward, striking the trainer before her. The power of the attack couldn't kill her, but it was going to either paralyze her or make her too weak to stand up. He wasn't sure himself.

"...or not...oops."
(for other viewers, this is planned so don't panic xD)

[Elegant Petal]

Before Xanthe could even bite back, a bolt of lightning had managed to strike her from behind; she was finally grasping what he could do to her. "S-shit.." She stuttered, dropping to her knees, unable to move. She tried to stand up, but she only felt numbness; hopefully it would only be temporary. It was Xanthe's lucky day, she guessed. The first route and she got shocked, an illuminating experience. She could see Zaru also taking a small spark but shrugged it off as he looked at her with worried eyes. "Heh.. My newest Pokemon is worried about me so quickly.."

"You shouldn't have done that!!" Zaru said, taking a quick glance at the Pokemorph looming above them, "You KNEW he's more powerful than you--"

"Shut it," She grit through her teeth, glaring at his emotionless eyes, yet unable to say anything to him. Damn, why was she so weak?

Chu, however, was absolutely surprised, and shocked of Gaius' actions. She thought about running to Xanthe, but then, "He.. He'd do that to me too..." She said to herself, and flew. She flew away, hoping to escape him; maybe try to find help too.

(TSK. /lol.)

[Lucifer]

"So what can you do about it then... asked Gaius with the same emotionless tone he had used earlier, scratching his chin as if he actually cared, "I have to admit - you're not a total weakling. You will stay in that position for the next five hours, then the paralysis would slowly start to lose its effect. May we meet again, trainer."

The fleeing Petilil then caught the Pokemorph's attention. Trying to flee instead of being with her trainer...tsk. Gaius turned and glanced at his Pokemon, letting out a quick yet effective command, "Hecarim. Fetch."

The Riolu quickly narrowed his eyes and launched himself forward, leaping into the air and grabbing the Pokemon with his paws. With no chance of letting the Petilil escape, Hecarim tightened his grasp and made it struggle. The Shadow Pokemon then turned around and approached his trainer, showing a soulful smile for the first time, "Will you electrocute it or turn into your true form and eat it with Crunch?"

It was half true that Luxray was his 'true form', but Gaius preferred to stay human most of the time. With a small, amused chuckle, he wrapped his tail around the Petilil, pulling it up until the Pokemon was up to his eye level, "Do take care of your trainer, and don't let that happen again. But at least it won't happen in a few hours."

Gaius loosened his grasp, allowing the Petilil to float onto the ground. His face contained no emotions as he walked away with his Pokemon, "But if you want to, I don't mind."

[Elegant Petal]

"Next five hours?" Xanthe sighed, trying to force her body to move, to at least stand up-- she can't just wait that long! However, her only progress were a few twitch of her fingers. Why did things have to be this way? Damn shitty luck. No, damn shitty karma, that's what it is.

Making things worse, Chu was caught, struggling in the RIolu's grasp. He had a particularly evil smile as he asked if Gaius was to electrecute, or to eat the Petilil. For that one small moment, her heart stopped. EAT CHU? That was completely ABSOLUTELY unacceptable! ANYTHING, but that. She had been too awfully close to Chu for her to get hurt, killed, let alone eaten! She was quite thankful when he did not do itl at least Gaius still does have some kindness, even if he doesn't show it in a 'normal' way. Kind of like herself, in a word. Only, much more soulless, strange, and sorta... cool.

"Do take care of your trainer and don't let that happen again. But at least it won't happen in a few hours." He loosened his grip, making Chu able to float back to the ground and went straight to Xanthe. His face still having no emotion even as he walked away with his Pokemon, "But if you want to, I don't mind."

"Hmph. I do hope we meet again, GAIUS." Xandra growled, looking at the figure slowly shrinking at the distance, "And maybe you could call me by my NAME too." She really wanted to do something, a payback for electrecuting her. Maybe next time, when she is stronger. Currently, all she could do is wait until the paralysis wears off.

"Xan?" Chu whimpered, a sad frown on her face, "Sorry for running away like that, I was--"

Xanthe cut her off, a slight smile to show that she was alright, "Don't be sorry. Besides, I deserved this, didn't I... Maybe as the minutes pass, a wild Pokemon might also pass by and we can battle it, yeah?" She was unusually silent after that; she knew what she wanted to do, printed in clear ink inside her head. She HAD to get stronger. But for now, she would have to wait a while for the minutes to pass. Then after so, begin the route again, looking for Pokemon this time, and not a stupid shithead. But even with a crystal clear thought of what to do, his emotionless demeanor still pops in her head.

Damn Gaius.

[Lucifer]

Four hours had passed since the annoying paralysis attack, but the numbness seemed to be lasting for days. After a Vanipeti vanilla ice cream cone for a snack, Gaius reentered the route, curious to see if the girl was still there. Then he rethought about the question and chuckled - of course she was! Hecarim had walked away for some 'chill-time', but the Riolu was always on standby; one single shout from his trainer and he'll be there in a jiffy. Right now, Gaius was on his own.

And there she was.

...What was her name again? Ah, Xanthe. Same pose, same location...poor girl. Hopefully she'll be smart enough this time...another five hours would just be a total killjoy for both of them. Before he entered her sight, the Pokemorph closed his eyes and lifted his tail, causing it to glow yellow. A bright ring of energy surged over his fur from head to bottom, changing the boy that was trapped within. In a matter of seconds, Gaius had already turned into an ordinary-looking Luxray. With a yawn, the electric Pokemon padded towards the paralyzed girl, glaring at her with hungry and sadistic eyes. Who said Gaius was bad at acting?

...Nobody.

^ Exactly my point. Plus, Luxray were pretty common in the woods; it was nothing special if Xanthe had mistaken him as a wild, hungry lion. The Luxray walked around her in circles, observing his new 'prey' with a pair of sharp, bloodthirsty eyes....

[Elegant Petal]

How long has it been already? Xanthe thought, pretty bored and wishing for something to do. She could feel some blood pumping again, thank goodness for that, but she still can't move for a while. Hopefully it would be soon. Chu and Zaru were also there with her, sometimes looking out for some Pokemon which they could have battled with. But then, she still had shitty karma. What a hell of a day for the poor girl.

Which had gotten worse.

A wild Luxray had arrived, eyeing her with sharp, bloodthirsty eyes. Great. JUST GREAT. An electric Pokemon to remind her of Gaius. She wasn't totally scared, even with the obvious disadvantage. She was stuck there, while the Luxray could just suddenly jump in and eat her, and maybe her Pokemon while it's at it. No wait, she IS scared. Again, she only realized how slow she can be. She just stayed there (like she could even move), watching the black lion circle her like a sadist.

"G-go away.." She said, stuttering at the first word. What she didn't notice however, was Zaru's intimidating glare towards the Luxray, like it had gotten some sort of courage from what had happened earlier. She shook her head; this Pokemon seemed to strong still for them, and they're just starting out their journey.

Hopefully, the lion would understand, if that was somehow possible. If not... then she'll just have to do something-- fast.

[Gaius Sollux [Lucifer]]

The lion Pokemon said nothing as he trailed around her, staring at her from top to bottom. Now that he had time to do whatever he wanted, Gaius decided to look and remember more detailed stuff - her coat, her hair, her eyes etc etc. Xanthe's Pokemon were probably here to protect her, but Hecarim and Patron were both there as well so he didn't really have to worry. With a snort of fake sympathy, the Luxray stood before her, face to face. Then...

He spoke.

"I see the blood circulation's recovering quite a bit. I also see that you aren't really the brightest bulb out there," spoke the Lion before shutting his eyes, returning to his human form with a flash of golden, "Still...what fun is there if you aren't afraid of anything? Wise decision fearing a Pokemon that can bite your head off."

Gaius stepped back and put his hands into his pocket, staring at the girl in front of him, "Judging by the paralysis currents inside you...you will fully recover in forty minutes. Enjoy the paralysis when you still can, because when someone decides to hit you with a crowbar, a dagger or even a fatal electric current..."

The Luxray Pokemorph swished his tail to a side, charging his body with power until electrical sparks bounced off the boy's body, "You won't feel a single thing, Xanthe."

[Elegant Petal]

He spoke. The lion has spoken in an awfully familiar voice, one that Xanthe instantly recognized. Why couldn't she have realized it sooner! "I see the blood circulation's recovering quite a bit. I also see that you aren't the brightest bulb out there," spoke the Luxray before he shut his eyes and returned to his stupid human form with a flash of a golden ring encasing him. Xanthe basically looked in awe; she'd never seen a Pokemorph morph into a human before. "Still.. what fun is there is you aren't afraid of anything? Wise decision fearing a Pokemon that can bite your head off."

"Hmph, I'm not that stupid." Xan flushed slightly, rolling her eyes, "I know my limits when it comes to Pokemon; after all. I've only just started. And I've got to say.." She smiled a bit, but but instantly dropped it before one could have seen anything, "..That transformation was awesome..." She looked away, "...for someone that has no emotions." She was about to sya shithead, but considering the environment, she knew it wouldn't end well.

Gaius had stepped back and put his hands into his pockets, staring at Xanthe, who was glaring back in return, "Judging by the paralysis currents inside you... you will fully recovver in forty minutes. Enjoy the paralysis when you still can, because when someone decides to hit you with a crowbar, a dagger or even a fatal electric current..."

Xanthe noticed him swishing his tail to the side, and that electric sparks had bounced off his body. She assumed he was charging himself for yet another hit at her. Was he some kind of murderer, or something? That was probably the case. "You won't feel a single thing, Xanthe."

She smirked, "Well, I'm glad you know my name, at least I have progress." Forty minutes? Again, that was too long! Was there anything to do in forty minutes? None. She may at least talk to Gaius anyway, maybe challenge him to a battle? Ohohohoh, but she wondered if it'll be a fail, or a win. Speaking of Gaius, she was still curious about what's he going to do to her now that she's stuck. "...What cha gonna do to me then, hm?" She asked, not in a mocking tone, but just out of plain curiosity.

She knew curiosity killed the cat, but it was worth a shot.