Caleb: The Dark Wonder
Age: 23
Occupation: Trainer
Affinity: Ghost/Dark
Partner Pokemon: Gengar(Nick: Prankster)
Chapter ~ A New Plan and a New Game
Emie, Wallis, and Pine sat in the professor's office, discussing their plan of attack.
Wallis tossed a pencil up into the air, catching it each time it came down, while Emie rocked back and forth in a giddy fashion, her hair having returned to it's normal silver color.
Pine held his hand to his head, tapping on it as we spoke. "Now.. our old friend will want nothing to do with you two, and Caleb is with him as well, so brute strength itself is also out of the question." He explained to the two. He turned towards the window, overlooking the quite city.
"So, how would you recommend we take care of this problem?" The old professor quizzed, picking at the young adults brains.
Wallis stood up, placing his hands on his knees. "Well, considering what you and Oak just pulled, we can't do that again, or else suspicion will grow. So he needs to go silently." The bushy-haired trainer determined.
This caused a smack to the head from Emie, her hair having turned red in the process. "Out of the question! I refuse to let either of you kill him!" Emie declared, rage in her eyes.
Pine shot a hand towards her, as if to drive a point with her statement. "Ah, but we couldn't make him go 'silently' like that anyhow. Neither of you have the power to do that with Caleb around. My pokemon might could deal the damage needed, but they're currently too injured for battle, and Oak won't kill someone right now unless he can use it to further his plans." Pine exclaimed.
Pine tossed the two trainers a bottle of water each, before holding out a pokeball. "So, it would seem we have only one option. Force him to make a decision." Pine declared.
Wallis and Emie only looked on in confusion, before Pine held that pokeball out. "We make a bet with him. Offer him something that he can't refuse to decline." Pine explained, hopping into his chair, and pulling up a laptop. "After that, we take away everything he could consider an advantage, and then you demolish him." Pine explained, he turned the laptop around, showing the screen to Emie and Wallis.
It read: Justin & N/A vs Emie & Wallis
The two looked up at Pine, getting the picture.
Pine smirked at the two, as the idea came to fruition. "Get me that Mew, you two." He looked towards Pine. "As before, you can have his pokemon, I'm sure you've been waiting for that Gallade to complete your collection." He declared. Wallis' eyes widened, as his own plan hatched within his head.
Pine turned his attention to Emie. "And you... urgh, your hair speaks for you." Pine groaned, turning the computer screen back around.
Emie took a lock of her hair in her hands, giggling when she noticed it was pink again.
Pine began typing profusely, no longer giving the two before him the time of day. "Track him down, and get the plan moving. I'm counting on you." He demanded.
Emie and Wallis both nodded, before they exited the room, closing it behind them.
Once they were gone, Pine pulled up a screen, bringing forth an array of data and other files. He grinned at it, before putting them away.
"Finally, after all these years.. the perfect pokemon will become mine.."
X.x.X
"I know it may seem like only psychics can do it, but truth be told, all it really takes to battle with the mind is a strong connection to your pokemon." Anabel explained, sitting across from Aubree, who was taking constant notes. The two girls, as well as Justin and Caleb, who had tagged along, sat at a table in front of a cafe, drinking early morning coffee as they watched Anabel explain the powers of telepathy in battle.
"A strong connection?" Aubree questioned, flipping a page in her notebook.
Justin set down his coffee, looking towards the Psychic trainer. "That doesn't seem accurate. Plenty of trainers have strong connections with their pokemon, especially their starters." He argued.
Anabel held her finger up, as if to silence him. "Hush, I haven't gotten to that part yet. Having a strong connection with your pokemon is merely the base. After that, it does take practice. During my training, I found that the best tactic is to mediate in a serene area with your pokemon. Think about the same things, and try to feel what your pokemon is feeling." She explained.
Aubree sighed, slumping in her chair as she felt the cool winter breeze pierce her skin. "Then that's not an option for me. I can't sit still like that; I never could." She explained.
Caleb pat the teens shoulder to make her feel better. "It'll be fine. There are tons of ways to communicate with your pokemon in battle. Thanks to my experience with Dark types, I've found my own way to secretly communicate with my pokemon, granted I don't do it often." He assured with a chuckle.
Anabel frowned towards her telepathic counterpart. "I wouldn't recommend using the dark ways. They can mess with your mind." She warned.
Caleb glared at Anabel, turning towards her. "I'll have you know my mind has always been this way." He declared.
Justin butted in, "Yea, just as crazy as ever." He smirked, causing the group to laugh together.
It had been three days since the incident with Abel and the attack on his life. It had been the talk of the town ever since; it seemed like no matter where the group went, someone was talking or fretting about Abel.
The group had seen nothing of Omni since then. When they visited Abel at the hospital, they were greeted with Iris, and the occasional visitor, who claimed to know Abel on a more personal level. When they went to his house, they were met with silence.
In order to distract themselves from the gloomy atmosphere, Justin, Caleb, and Aubree had increased their training schedules, often training together for long periods in the day. Others, such as Max and Bonnie, spent time doing the same or relaxing. Clemont had spent the past three days crafting machines, while Dawn and Brock trained together.
Ash himself had gone on a trip, saying he would be back soon.
In order to keep an eye on him, Serena trailed behind. All together, the group had split to take their minds off of recent events.
A small buzz rang from the tournament participants X-Transceivers. Taking them out, the group was greeted by Omni.
The young professor was suited in his normal attire. However, he looked drained of energy; his eyes were drooping, and his jacket looked a tad dirty. Nonetheless, the professor held a smile, addressing the three before him.
"Hey there! Just calling to let you know that I got word back from my friend, and the Round three matches have been set! The first match begins in three days, giving you time to prepare a possible strategy going in." Omni explained, pressing a button on his own X-Transceiver. In a flash, a list showing off all the matches appeared before everyone. There were 256 in total.
"Oh, that reminds me! Justin, there's a reason I called you specifically." Omni said, addressing the adult.
"Hm, what's up?" Justin quizzed, averting his attention away from the matches.
"One of the participants dropped from the tournament after Round two, leaving us one short. As it happens to be, you were the one stuck without an official teammate." Omni explained. At this, Justin paled slightly.
"Oh, don't worry! You're not going to have to fight alone. You get to pick your teammate for this round, it's only fair of course. Do you think you have any idea of who you would want to team up with? Keep in mind it can't be someone already in the tournament." Omni assured.
Justin relaxed a little, releasing the tense figure he previously held. "Well, that's a tough one. The only people I can think of are Bonnie and Serena, the latter of which is trailing Ash. I could ask Bonnie, but.. she's not exactly the greatest battler." He put his hand behind his head, sighing. "This could still be problematic."
Anabel's eyes lit up, an idea sparking in her head. "Hey, I can be your teammate!" She declared.
Justin's eyes immediately darted to Anabel, the young adult smiling. "Hey, yea that could work! And you're an exceptional battler, so that's a bonus!" Justin proclaimed, jumping up from his seat.
Anabel chuckled, sticking our her arm. "So, we team for this round?"
Justin's hand met hers, the two shaking. "It's a deal!"
Aubree and Caleb sat in silence, smiling at the two new teammates.
The silence was broken by Omni. "Wonderful! In that case, I'll add Anabel to the team. Here, search up your names and see if it went through. This will show you your opponents as well."
Justin nodded, searching for his name on the X-Transceiver, with Caleb looking over his friend's shoulder.
Anabel lit up, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "Oh, this will be so exciting! I haven't been in a tag team battle in what feels like forever." She said out loud, sending a text to someone, supposedly Scott, on her phone.
Aubree leaned over, excitement in her eyes. "Oh, are you gonna practice? I haven't got an opportunity to see your full team yet, and I've been dying to see your team!" The young teen asked in excitement.
Anabel giggled, putting her phone away. "Hm, I don't suppose why not. I only have a few pokemon with me, but Scott will be sending me the remainder of my pokemon shortly. What do you think, Justin? Feel like getting some practice in?" She inquired, looking towards her teammate.
She was met with Silence, her and Aubree looking over to the two in confusion.
Both Justin and Caleb were silent, shock and fear evident in their eyes.
X.x.X
Caleb stood still, frozen in time. His eyes continued to graze over the opponents Micheal and Anabel were set to face. Once more, as if to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, he read the screen one last time, as slow as he could manage.
Justin & Anabel vs Wallis & Emie
Caleb began to feel the rage and pain from eight years ago swell up inside him again. As much as he wanted to lash out, he needed to check on Micheal. His eyes slowly transitioned to his friend, who sat in silence.
One look at him, and Caleb could tell Micheal was already reliving the events that haunted him in his sleep. Acting quickly, Caleb gripped his friend's shoulder, attempting to calm him.
"Calm down, Justin, there are tons of people with those names, it's probably pure coincidence." Caleb assured, calling his friend by his name of choice. As much as he wanted to believe his own words, however, Caleb highly doubted the odds were in their favor.
Micheal said nothing, as the air around the two began to grow colder, chilling Caleb to his core.
"Pine is here, and it's both of them, the odds are too great." Micheal said flatly, refusing to show the fear that radiated from him.
"Uh, Justin, is everything alright?" Omni quizzed, looking onward with worry.
Caleb averted his eyes, looking towards Anabel and Aubree, who held the same expression of concern that Omni held.
Taking a deep breath, Caleb spoke out. "Professor, if you don't mind me asking, who was the friend that made the matches?"
The Genzu professor turned his attention towards Caleb, confused by the question. "A good friend of mine.. William Pine, a professor of Laneno.. why?" He quizzed.
In that brisk moment, all matter of hope Caleb had left in him was shattered. He looked back at Micheal, who was slowly but surely starting to lose it.
"No reason, look professor we have to go, I'll be getting back to you." Caleb said, not pausing to explain. He turned off Micheal's X-Transceiver before the Professor could get a question in. Quickly, he turned towards his friend.
Caleb began to think of a solution to calm his old friend inside his head. Any option he took would look bad without explaining why Micheal was so distressed. He stood up, looking around him for possible solutions. In his own worry, he had failed to notice a stern looking Anabel stand from her seat.
He finally recognized her presence when his eyes detected her head fall on Micheal's head. His eyes widened in panic, before he felt a calm way of energy flow through him. He took his hand off of Micheal's shoulder, only to feel that wave of energy leave his system.
He looked towards Anabel. While he was unsure as to what she was doing, he mouthed 'thank you' towards the psychic, grateful for her help in calming Micheal.
The Salon Maiden said nothing, keeping her focus on Caleb's friend. She did, however, nod in response.
X.x.X
Justin felt his whole body tremble in fear, a million questions running through his head.
'How is this possible? What are the chances? Is this really just coincidence? If not, what are they planning?' His mind ran rampant, feeling the need to run away, where nobody could find him.
Just before he could burst up from his seat and dash off, he felt a hand rest itself on his head. In an instant, all that fear and worry left his conscious, replaced by a calming sensation.
He felt his body slow down to a normal pace, before he slowly began to slump into his seat. He looked up, seeing Anabel, who was staring at him, as if focusing.
"I'm going to take my hand off your head now. Promise to stay calm?" Anabel asked slowly, as well as quietly.
Slowly taking in his surroundings once again, Justin let himself think rationally, before nodding.
"Alright." Anabel said flatly. She lifted her hand slowly, letting Justin reclaim his original emotions.
As soon as Anabel relinquished hold of Justin's emotions, the fear from earlier began to pierce his body once more; however, this time Justin was able to control his fear and breath.
He looked up towards Anabel. "Thank you.. what was that just now?" Justin quizzed, thankful for the help he had received.
Anabel sighed quietly, before stretching. "It's a power I mastered a few years ago. If I'm touching someone, I can help them control their emotions, by filling them with a calming presence. It was very helpful back in my International Police days. However, that's not important right now. What was it that got you call shook up like that?"
Justin looked towards the ground, unsure as to if he should tell the truth.
Making a quick decision, Justin looked towards Anabel, with a smile. "It was nothing, just a small flashback to someone who I was scared of back when I was a child." He explained.
One look from Anabel's eyes showed that she wasn't buying it. However, for the time being, she decided to respect his decision. "If you say so.."
Justin quickly stood up from his seat, looking towards a small field on the opposite side of the road. "Well, we should begin training anyway. Come on, it'll clear my mind of that little rut." He declared, before setting off towards the field.
From behind him, both Caleb and Anabel looked on in worry for their friend.
Caleb took a deep sigh, letting the cool air flow through him. "Wait up, dude!" Caleb called out, taking off after his friend.
Not long after the Ghost type trainer took off after his friend, Aubree soon followed, leaving only Anabel at the table, pondering what had just occurred before her.
She shook her head, believing the the answers would soon come to her, before she followed after the three tournament participants.
Chapter End~
Anabel: The Salon Maiden
Age: 20
Occupation: Frontier Brain/Psychic
Affinity: Psychic Type
Pokemon Partner: Espeon