As Kat was crying over the very injured Alex and not knowing what to do, she felt some massive energy be released from the Ptica's pokeball. The sky, which had been getting dark was suddenly filled with a bright, bright light. Kat hadn't seen that light except for when Ptica had first revealed itself in the cave. Her brown eyes turned to look as she saw a bright beam of light starting to form into the ancient and legendary Avantura Pokémon. Kat didn't understand why the Ptica was coming out of the pokeball especially with the Righteous grunts still around. But then she looked as Poe and Venus had knocked the Nidoking and the grunt out completely. All the other grunts, including Droes, were knocked out cold or chased off. So perhaps Ptica senses that someone needed help. The ancient bird Pokémon then appeared before Kat as she locked eyes with the creature. "Catherine, I sensed that you were in need of assistance. What is the matter?", his booming voice echoed. Kat didn't know if she should ask for help. What could the Ptica do? It couldn't heal humans, right? Kat then looked at the beating Alex and Melody. They needed attention or else they would die. She was very worried about Alex after he took the Earth Power attack. "I don't know if you can help.", her voice crakes. Her brown eyes could feel the golden gaze of the legendary Pokémon. Still Kat knew she had to be strong to help her friends. "My friends sacrificed themselves to try and protect you. If we don't help them they will die. Please they were trying to stop the Righteous from getting you. They need help."
The Ptica surveyed the scene. The legendary Pokémon could see the look on Kat's face and see that she was worried. Ptica usually did not help humans, he had seen the worst in them before, but had connected with Kat and saw that she was sincere with her intentions. He couldn't speak for her friend, but if they were friends of Catherine Kiner then Ptica would help them. "Fine, Catherine. I will help. However, this can be your last request of me.", Kat nodded. She accepted this compromise. She just wanted Alex and Melody to be ok. She wouldn't ask the legendary for anything else. The Ptica circled around the two injured bodies of Melody and Alex. The Ptica seemed to glow gold as it continued to circle around Melody and Alex. Finally both Melody and Alex started to glow gold too. Ptica circled faster and faster as the gold energy around the two limp bodies grew more intense. Finally Kat heard Melody cough as Alex made a growing sound. Kat looked and saw that the bruises and cuts that were on both of them were healed. Both Melody and Alex were starting to stir as Kat looked at the Ptica and whispered, "thank you." The psychic flying legendary returned to its pokeball. "Uhhhh Kat, what happened?", Alex said as he looked at his torn up clothes. She didn't answer as she just tackled/straddled him out of joy that he was ok.
Even Melody had checked her own wounds and saw they were gone. The sixteen year old knew that she should probably be dead. She had taken so much punishment from the Victrbeel, she knew she had been on the verge of death. Yet here she was alive and fine, she had been healed somehow. She looked at Kat who was crying with Alex. The Victreebel was looking at Melody with concern in his eyes. Even Twilight looked concerned at its trainer. Melody shook her head and put a hand in her butchered dyed black hair. "How am I alive? I should be dead. I remember Victreebel beating me and then turning on Dries. Then it went black.", she had thought that she had died to be honest. She took a deep breath, there was no pain. This was all odd for her. "Victree...", the poison grass type was pointing towards Kat and Alex. From what Melody understood from the Pokémon, he was saying that Kat had done something to heal them. Melody's blue eyes blinked at Kat and titled her head then back at the Victreebel. How could Kat possibly heal her? The Victreebel must have been wrong. Melody got up and dusted herself off as she recalled Twilight to its pokeball. It wasn't needed anymore. She could use bad dreams to torture the grunts, but they should get a move on. She walked over to Kat and Alex who apparently been in bad shape himself.
"So what happened?", Alex had gotten up with the help of Kat. He too had been on the brink of death. Poe and Venus rubbed against him, though he was thankful that Poe's poison spikes hadn't embedded themselves into his skin. "I got hit by the attack and then blacked out.", his memory had been wiped. He thought he had said something to Kat, but he couldn't recall what. Everything was a blur at this point. Kat had a huge smile on her face, "you told me you were in love with me and then boom you were better." She laughed as Alex rolled his eyes. Melody walked over to them as she looked at Kat. Kat looked back at Melody and pulled her in for a hug which shocked the sixteen year old. She wasn't used to affection at all. She was used to being ignored by her parents or beaten by The Righteous. She hadn't felt true affection since Dexter. Never mind ever having friends. Melody had heard about the concept of friendship, but had never experienced it herself. She imagined that this was what it was. "You ok? I saw what that bastard was doing to you. I was so worried, Melody. I would have helped out, but I had other things to deal with.", Kat asked. Melody actually smiled, something she hadn't done in ages. "Yeah I'm good. You guys ok?", Kat nodded as Alex shrugged. He truly didn't know right now. He was still trying to piece everything together. The tender moment would be broken up.
The Hariyama and Nidoqueen that the Righteous had used approached Kat and Alex. Venus, Poe, and Gale got in front of their trainers. They were ready for another round of battles if they had to. They would protect their Pokémon trainers if necessary especially after the brutality of the fight between the trainers and The Righteous. Of course the Nidoqueen and the Hariyama did not seem to be in any condition to battle in fact both Pokémon held up their hands as they approached Alex, Melody, and Kat. Melody's new Victreebel hopped over to the two Righteous Pokémon. All three Pokémon seemed to be engaged in a rather intense conversation. The three trainers looked over and saw that the Hariyama/Nidoqueen were putting. The Victreebel seemed to nod along with the conversation as he hopped back over to Melody. "Victreebel Vic Victreebel!", the creature seemed to be pointing his leafs at Kat and Alex as he spoke. Venus, Gale, and Poe's eyes widened in shock as they looked over at their trainers then at the two Pokémon the Victreebel had been talking to. Melody nodded, she wasn't surprised with the request of the two Pokémon. She knew how these two Pokémon had been abused by their pathetic trainers so she knew what they wanted.
"Victreebel said that the Hariyama wants to come with you Alex and the Nidoqueen wants to come with you Kat.", the two trainers became slack jawed. They weren't expecting this from the two former Righteous pokemon. Sure those two Pokémon had clearly been manipulated and abused in ways they didn't want to think about. But there was a problem: neither knew how their Pokémon would react to adding a Pokémon that had been apart of the Righteous. Pokémon that had clearly done things that their Pokémon had not wanted or been able to. Alex rubbed his stubble on his chin and motioned for Poe and Venus to have a private meeting to the side where they were out of the listening distance from the Hariyama and the others. "Guys, I know you understood what the Victreebel said. So do you think that we should do it? Should I add it to the team?", Alex needed to get the approval of his two alpha Pokémon on his team. Venus was jumping up and down excitedly which clearly meant that she was saying yes. Poe narrowed his eyes and nodded, he knew Alex needed a fighting type on his team. Alex walked over to the Hariyama and excited his hand, "welcome to the team." Kat had already put the Nidoqueen in a pokeball on her belt.
"We should get going before they wake up.", sure it was dark and Arceus knew what they would have to encounter, but it was smart to get out before the Righteous grunts woke up. Melody motioned for the two to follow her, she would know how to get into the little city so they could get out of this area ASAP. A weird feeling of calm had taken over Melody, she finally felt at peace with her choice to ditch the Righteous. She had been so worried about what would have happened had she run into trainers or if the Righteous had caught her. Yet, she had run into the two best possible trainers that she could have. Kat seemed to be extremely cool and tender towards Melody. Alex, while Melody figures his ego would always be his downfall, seemed to be caring towards his Pokémon. He was also a good listener. He had been the one she had met last year and he seemed to take her advice. But that was besides the big point: they knew Dex! Melody could finally reunite with her big brother. She could actually be reunited with him. That was all she could think about as she led them away from where the Righteous grunts would be looking for them. Melody had walked these lands so many times that she knew the grounds like the back of her hand. They traveled for about 4 hours before they needed to rest at least Melody did. Everything had been taken out of her and she just needed to sleep. They found a area in the woods that would be good cover to hide their tracks and provide protection just in case.
Alex set up the tent and sleeping bag as Melody would go to sleep almost immediately. Kat brushed a hand the butchered black hair of Melody, "poor thing has been through so much. Hopefully we can get in touch with Dexter." Alex nodded and pulled out his Pokédex/phone. He sent a text message to JJ, he hadn't heard from her in a while and wanted to make sure she was ok. Plus now he wasn't in the cave and could get service. Alex sent on a little makeshift log outside the tent where Kat joined him. They sat in quiet silence as they let everything wash over them. This had been a hell of a few days and Kat hadn't even told Alex about the fact that she had gotten the legendary Pokémon and that it had saved his life. She wondered if Alex was thinking about the fact that he had nearly died. Or the fact that he had confessed that yes, he was indeed in love with Kat. She didn't want to bring it up unless he was going to. But they just sat in silence until Alex coughed to get her attention. Her brown eyes turned to look at him, he was red and uncomfortable which shocked her. Alex Knight never ever looked like this, but now he did and Kat knew exactly why he did.
"Uhhhh Kat, can we talk about what I told you earlier? You know.", oh this was great. Alex couldn't get the words out. She adored this, it also confirmed that he really did like her. This made her giddy, but Kat was going to make him squirm a bit. He did deserve it the way he had crushed her. Yes, Kat was so excited yet she was going to turn the screws to Alex. She tilted her head and blinked as a smirk crossed her lips, "about what Alex? I was too busy battling with Gale to notice what you said." Alex huffed as Kat just laughed. She shoved him as she continued to laugh. He knew he deserved this because of the way he had treated her. Now Alex understood what it was like for Kat. For her to be completely in love with him because he was in love with her. He couldn't live without Kat. She wasn't just his best friend, but everything he wanted from a companion. She was sweet, intelligent, funny, and could check him when he needed to be checked. Alex scooted towards her and he interlaced his right hand with Kat's left hand which caused the tough black haired twenty year old to gasp and for her to blush. "Kat, you've been my best friend, my mentor and everything in between. I know that I hurt you badly earlier this year and there isn't a day that I don't regret it. But ever since I found out about your feelings there's been a part of me that can't help thinking that I feel the same about you. I denied it for so long, but Kat I am in love with you too. And so if you want to maybe we could try going out on a real date once we get out of here?", Alex was actually nervous. He never got nervous asking females out until now.
Kat didn't say a single word. Instead she moved closer to Alex and kissed him. That was her answer. She then put her head on his chest. She liked this position. She didn't know how long she stayed there, but she was happy. The man she loved had finally admitted that he was in love with her. Plus, he was alive. She had been so worried about him when he had sacrificed himself for her. But now he was here and she was happy, Of course this gave her another idea that popped into her head. She could tell Alex the secret she had been keeping. "Alex", she said in a low tone that sounded like a whisper. He pulled back to look at her. She had a serious look on her face. "I found Ptica. It's on my pokebelt. I got its pokeball.", Alex nearly fell off the log they sat on. He rubbed his ears as he didn't believe what Kat had just said. She said that she had found Ptica and now had it on her belt? What was going on? "Did you just say you have Ptica's pokeball?", she nodded. He could not believe it. Kat had the legendary Pokémon on her pokebelt. There was a part of him that was glad that it wouldn't fall in The Righteous' hands, but he was worried about Kat especially if they were walking into a trap at the Institute. "Kat, what should we do with it? I mean I don't want you getting hurt because you have this thing.", Kat shot and stared at him, but it was a death stare.
"Are you saying that I can't defend myself? I have a mega, Alex. Just cause you have battlebond.", he rolled his eyes. He was still in denial that he had battlebond with Venus. Sure he had felt a connection, but not the connection that Ava and Bunny had with their mons. No, Alex was convinced he didn't have battlebond. Kat huffed, her boyfriend or whatever Alex was now, was a complete and utter idiot some times. "You have battlebond. Accept it. Now you know I am stronger than you. So I can take care of myself. And I have a plan. There's a place in the house where air can stash this thing. I will be ok. I'll tell Ava about it and she will help me stash it. I just hope that the others won't freak out about this. Yes, I am going to tell them about it. But I won't tell them where it is.", Kat was taking a risk and hoped that it wouldn't backfire. There was another matter that they had to discuss and it was equally as important. One that was sleeping just a few feet away from them. "I think Melody should stay in my dorm. I can sneak her in and don't have a roommate plus Bunny is right next door to me to keep watch. I think we really need to protect her until Ava can get to Dex.", Kat nodded. That sounded like a good idea. They would spend a few more hours just hanging out and talking. They would do this until Melody was ready to go.
Two hours later the trio had made it to the airport. This was when Alex's Pokédex phone was starting to blow up with messages. They were all from JJ, Alex felt bad as he did like the girl. But they were just friends with benefits at this point and weren't in a relationship. She would understand about him and Kat. Alex excused himself to go and call JJ from the airport as Kat and "Erika" were booking the tickets for their next trip. As soon as Alex heard JJ answer his phone call, he knew she was drunk. "Wooooooooo Alex sup? I'm a bit horny not gonna lie. Wish you were here. Oh by the way, I caught myself a shiny sandcastle today. Where ya at?", oh yeah Alex knew when Jj was wasted. This was her wasted. The freshman with James and Jer had gone to one of the islands off of Avantura. They needed to get away for a bit which was understandable given what they had learned. It was clear that she was indulging herself in the finer things. "JJ, can you go get Nikki? I really need to talk to her. It's extremely important. It's about the man she thinks is her godfather.", there was music and Alex could hear drunken voices all around. JJ was at a bar and he hoped that Nikki was with her best friend. "Nikki's being fucking lame, Alex! Won't come do shots with me! Speaking of which...", Alex could hear the phone click off. This was going to be be more difficult than Alex thought.
Rajski Isle was known as the paradise of Avantura. The isle was home to so many parties and big events. It was where most of the Institute students went for October break. Sure it was colder at this time in other regions of Avantura, but the sun always shined on Rajski Isle. People in bikinis was a common place. This was why James and Jer had decided to bring the freshman here. They needed time to get away after the bombshells had been dropped on them all. Nikki and JJ needed this more than the others. Especially Nikki who had completely cut her family off after finding out everything. She didn't want to hear from them. James and Jer had tried to get her to come out with them since Nikki liked to be the life of the party. But she hadn't come out of her room at all. It was like the life and joy had been drained completely from the pink haired female. JJ had reported to them that Nikki would do nothing, but cry. JJ had taking the opposite approach, she had thrown herself into drinking and guys. They had been there three days and JJ had been with three different guys and had been drunk every night. She had masked her depression over the lies her uncle had told her. Both girls needed to be managed and watched as they were in tremendous amounts of pain.
Tillery's was the go to bar at Rajski Isle. The students had been there every night. JJ looked around as she stood in her red bikini top. She had hung up the phone to do a quick shot with some dude she was chatting with. He had no chance with the very attractive brunette, but the guy had no chance. Still she took a shot and downed it quickly. "Thanks!", JJ left the guy standing there as she would go track down James. James and Jer were each sitting in a booth. Jer was trying to flirt with the waitress to no avail. James was testing Ava, of course he was, he was madly in love with the cool girl. Of course she had t reciprocated it at all besides when she was drunk. When she wasn't then Ava pretended he didn't exist. It was clear that she wasn't drunk as she wasn't answering his text messages. JJ slid into the booth next to James, "I'm going to go get Nikki. She needs to c9me and spend some time with us!", the drunk JJ said. Of course Jer and James were indifferent. Andy and Royce were out fishing so they wouldn't care either. JJ skipped out of Tillery's. She was off to go and convince her best friend that she should come out with them.
The hotel was quite nice. Davis, out of guilt, had sprung for penthouses for the students in the resort. Each penthouse had a view of the ocean, a rather nice bathtub, a full bar, a common area, a kitchen with new appliances, and two separate bedrooms. JJ appreciated the later part since she had brought a few dudes back and had not wanted to disturb Nikki as she was depressed. Of course JJ was depressed too, but she wouldn't admit it to anyone or herself. JJ walked into the penthouse and walked over to Nikki's door and swung it open. Nikki was just a lump on the bed as the covers were pulled up over her whole body and head. Her pillow was stained with tears as she had done nothing, but cry. No one could talk to her as she had intentionally broken her Pokédex phone. Nikki didn't want any contact with the outside world. JJ would jump on the bed as she landed on top of Nikki, "weeeee.", the drunk JJ said as she heard a gruff noise from underneath her. JJ laughed as Nikki shoved her off. "Fuck off JJ. Leave me alone. Go fuck some other dude you don't know like you have been doing.", Nikki had been cold since she found out about her family. She had been especially rude to JJ. This was because Nikki wanted to push JJ away, Nikki couldn't have someone else break her. She had become so close to JJ and Nikki didn't want JJ to break her heart too.
JJ just snickered, "no sex for me today! I wanted to come and get you to come out. I got myself a shiny Palossand! Come on I want to show you." JJ pulled at Nikki who pulled away. The pink haired girl tried to pull away, but JJ's strong grip was tight. JJ pulled Nikki out of the bed, "come on Nikki you have to get out. You'll die if you stay in here.", JJ dragged Nikki towards the bathroom to freshen her pink haired best friend up. Nikki did smell a little so JJ wanted to help her. Nikki pulled her hand away as she stopped in her tracks, "just let me die JJ. Let me stop being a burden to everyone. I saw how everyone looks at me now! Like I am some sort of freak! You even look at me like that! So would it be so bad if I died? That way I would not be a burden to anyone else. So just leave me the fuck alone!" Nikki huffed. She was sick about how everyone was looking at her since they found out about her family. That was why she was hiding in her penthouse suite because she didn't want to see how everyone looked at her. No one understood what she had been going through. So she just wanted to curl up and die. JJ slapped Nikki several times as tears poured from her eyes. "You selfish bitch, I nearly died for you! I gave you a second chance and now you do this. How fucking dare you say this to me. Maybe I should have just let that scrap hit you if you wanted to die!", JJ gasped as she covered her mouth as the words left her mouth. She shook her head, "Nikki I didn't mean-"
It was too late. The damage had been utterly done. Nikki stood there shaking from the words. This was what she was afford of. That JJ would break her heart and now she had. "So you do think I would be better off dead! Then fine I will just leave you all. Don't come looking for me.", Nikki started to run out of the room. JJ tried to grab her best friend, but Nikki would shove JJ on her ass as the pink haired female just ran. She ran out of the hotel much to the surprise of the other guests. Nikki passes the returning Andy and Royce who were smiling as each held up a dive ball with smiles on their face. They went to stop Nikki, but she ran past them. She just wanted to get away. She wished she had never known this about herself or her family. She missed living in blind ignorance about everything. If she had a Pokémon that could go back in time she would have made sure not to have come here. That way she couldn't be hurt by anyone especially after what JJ had just said. She was crying.
Nikki's blinded vision caused her not to notice that she had just run into some man on the beach. Nikki fell square on her ass as she looked up. The man was standing next to a giant bug Pokémon who stood on two feet. The man was wearing a black tracksuit, a white shirt, and a gold chain with a skull on it. The man had white hair and yellow goggles, he looked concerned, "hey kid you ok?"
OOC: Ah so we shift from the woods to the beach! Anyone want to guess who Nikki just ran into? I'll give you a hint: this character is one of the most beloved characters from a Pokémon game and anime though his anime character sucked. As for an earlier comment, I am thinking about doing a Dex for the Avantura region so I will have inspiration and better description of the Pokémon in there.