victory_road | 004. Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy [CLOSED]

Current Location: Goldenrod City, Rocket HQ

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004. Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy [CLOSED]

Who: The Pokemon of Heather Mason and Walter Sullivan
Where: Team Rocket HQ
When: October 27th
Summary: The former starter of a cultist comes calling, and she brings friends!
Rating: G-PG (might change)
Log:

Pit-pat-pit-pat-pit-pat.

On the streets of Goldenrod City, the sight of a solitary Pokemon walking down the sidewalk by themselves isn't so unusual. There's urban wild Pokemon aplenty, after all, and trainers frequently send their own trusted Pokemon on errands or playdates without too much worry.

So the Vulpix by herself probably would not have drawn too many eyes.

But a Vulpix carrying a bright yellow Riolu whose fur glints in the sunlight, followed by a very uncertain-looking Hitmonchan and a Fletchling that swoops and dives over their heads, twittering the entire way? With no trainer in sight?

A little weirder.

Val Jr. rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably as passing trainers part ways around them, eyelessly aware that there's plenty of rubbernecking going on. He's never been particularly prone to guilty feelings, mostly because he's confident in the effort he puts in to being a reliable Pokemon to his trainer.

But it's exactly for those reasons that he's never done anything like this before.

"I'm... really not sure about this, Warden. Even if Trainer would have said yes-- which I know she wouldn't have!-- this doesn't seem like something we should be doing."

The Vulpix's step does not falter, and her reply is muffled by the young Riolu's scruff, but still unfazed.

"I don't see the problem. She lets us roam as we please with the understanding that we will return. We are not breaking any rules. Simply going further than most."

"The distance isn't what I was talking about." Val Jr. rarely had reason or inclination to sound frustrated, but he does. A little. Mostly out of worry. He lowers his voice a little, despite the fact that none of the passing humans could even understand them, and any Pokemon that might probably wouldn't have reason to care. "You've heard the humans talking. This is dangerous. We have no idea what we're walking into."

"Is that not why I requested you come along in the first place?" the Vulpix replies, easily. "You are strong, a trained battler. I am not, and neither are the children. If something were to happen, it would be safer to have... backup."

"Well, yes, but..." The Hitmonchan's voice fades into an uneasy grumble, and the Vulpix holds her head and tails high.

"Fear not. It's only a visit."

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Waiting for Warden was Assumption, glancing from left to right and wagging his tail. He had a friend visiting! He'd never had a friend come over to their place before or come to see him and his trainer without their trainer. He hoped Walter would like his friends. Above him Darkness was perched overhead, keeping a keen eye out for trouble. Upon seeing the group of Pokemon, he squawked and fluttered down to Assumption.

"It seems your guests are here. Were you expecting four Pokemon to come? I thought we would only be recieving a Vulpix." Assumption gasped.
"Warden brought more friends?" Upon seeing the group he gave an eager call, waving them over. "Hello!" Darkness didn't relax In his eyes they were outnumbered two-to-one, with more guests than had been expected. Regardless, he gave a polite bow.
"Welcome, friends of Assumption. I am Darkness. You are here to see our trainer, are you not?"

Well, if it made Darkness feel any better, at least one of them was very obviously a baby.

A picture of calm, Warden padded up to the Cubone and the Murkrow, stopping about five feet away before setting the golden Riolu down giving her own greeting.

"Hello, Darkness. My name is Warden. I hope it's all right that I brought my companions. We're here to see Assumption, actually, but as long as it is safe to do so, we would be happy to meet the rest of your team, trainer included."

At that, the Hitmonchan shifted uneasily.

He had no visible eyes, but it was obvious he was... well, sizing them up, a little. But he didn't look aggressive. Just uncertain. If there had been a chance of remaining unheard, he might have muttered 'You didn't say anything about meeting the trainer, too' out of the corner of his mouth, but he didn't want to raise the tension of this meeting even higher.

The Fletchling came to a landing next to the Riolu.

Neither spoke, but both were looking at Assumption and Darkness with barely-concealed curiosity.

Darkness noticed Valtiel and easily read his unease.

"Ah, you have heard of our trainer perhaps? Then I trust you have also heard how he was attacked by Henry Townshend as well, or was that part omitted?" He asked, voice light and deceptively polite. "Even when Assumption threw himself onto our trainer's lap and began to cry...but that is not our business. For what it is will do to soothe your concerns he has no raised fist, hand nor voice against us, and I doubt he will react violently towards yourselves."

Assumption on the other hand, wasn't concerned about Valtiel's worries. He was busy saying hello to Warden, and to the golden Riolu and Fletching. "Warden! I'm so happy you could come! And bring friends! Hello!" He said brightly to them both, his tail thumping from side to side. "I'm Assumption. What're your names?"

The Hitmonchan's head turned in the Murkrow's direction, mouth curling into a slight frown.

Oh, he already did not like Darkness.

"No, it's been mentioned," he said, politely but definitely curtly. Ooh, the sooner they were out of here, the better...

Warden, meanwhile, proudly stood behind her two younger team-mates.

"The names they were given by our trainer are Kite and Wolf."

The Riolu lifted a paw to wave shyly, while the Fletchling puffed its plumage, declaring in its sweet, high-pitched twitter, "Miss Warden is teaching us how to be STRONG to protect Saint Alessa!"

Edited 2016-11-28 02:10 (UTC)

"Ah, good. From what I have heard, it seemed incredulous that Henry would lay a finger upon anyone, which opens the suggestion that my trainer somehow provoked him. It does well for us to be on the same page, as it seems not only does our trainer have an interest in one of your companions but so has Assumption."

Darkness didn't agree outright with Assumption regularly. Really the main things they had in common were being trained by Team Rocket and both belonging to Walter. But he still felt a sense of responsibility to the younger Pokemon, sheltering him under his wing at times. And if Assumption wished to be on good terms with Warden and her friends, so be it. He would support this little endeavour of his, especially as having good relationships with these Pokemon could only assist in his visits to his own jewel of the night.

Assumption nodded to them both, smiling under his skull. "My trainer's teaching me to be strong too! He says it's because the world can be a scary, mean place, so I have to be tough to handle it. It's why he drew this on me!" He lowered his head, showing off his halo. "It's a very important symbol, and means that my Mom can watch over me when I fight."

Somehow, despite Valtiel's lack of visible eyes, he managed to narrow them.

"I believe that it happened. That doesn't mean we're on the same page."

And then he fully intended to clam up, folding his sinewy arms and standing beside Warden, mouth set in a grim line. He was here as a body guard. And he would guard those bodies, dammit.

Ignoring the tension between boxer and bird, Warden nodded with a soft smile on her blunt muzzle.

"It can indeed. This is a lesson our trainers both know to be true. But it's always good to have more than one perspective. May we come inside?"

"I see." Darkness merely clicked his beak, keeping one eye on Valtiel. Assumption glanced over to Darkness, who gave a single nod of approval. He beamed and nodded eagerly to Warden.

"Yes! Please, come on in. My trainer can be very very shy, and sad, but he's always very careful with us." Assumption extended a hand to Wolf, to hold hands with him as they walked into the Rocket Base. Thankfully the Rockets they passed ignored them or simply didn't notice them. As they walked, Assumption tried to befriend Kite and Wolf more. "I really like your names. And I've never seen a Pokemon like you! Your fur is so bright!" He said brightly to Wolf. He almost seemed to shine!

Darkness flew loftily overhead, keeping a sharp eye out for danger and leading the way towards the various rooms used by the Grunts as their own.

The Riolu's paw was slightly damp from being sucked on more often than not, but he held hands willingly, even though he turned his head aside a little at the praise, cheeks turning slightly orange as the skin under his bright gold fur reddened.

"Wolf is a baby, so he doesn't talk very much yet," Kite chattered officiously, having taken to hopping along the ground on Assumption's other side rather than swooping around in the narrow hallway. Even if Wolf wasn't much of a talker, the Fletchling apparently was happy to talk for both of them. "Miss Warden says that our names are special, even in ways that Saint Alessa might not have meant. MINE is for a big, strong bird that slays its enemies! But Miss Warden also says that we shall have different names once we're strong enough, and have earned them!"

"That's right," Warden said from behind the trio, where she was padding quietly, tails swishing. "But you have much to learn, first. My first trainer always said that her greatest sins were impatience and hubris. We must learn from her, in order to not repeat her mistakes."

Assumption didn't mind at all. His trainer was the shy type too so he was used to looking for expressions and body language to see how someone was feeling.

At the mention of names being important, Assumption's tail wagged happily. "That's why my trainer named me Assumption! It means 'to take on responsibility and power', so he calls me that because it's what I will do someday." Someday he would make his trainer proud and evolve and become a Pokemon fitting of such a great name. "I know I'll get there, so long as I train and practice everyday."

Darkness landed in front of one of the doors and knocked on it with his beak, before calling in English. A grey ghost peeked out, eyeing them all silently. "Our guests are here. Have you ensured Chaos is preoccupied?" The ghost nodded, then vanished as the door clicked open, swinging slightly ajar.

"It's a very admirable name," Warden commented with a nod of the head as they followed. This Walter's naming decisions were similar to Claudia's-- Warden had grown weary of being surrounded by other Pokemon with silly names like 'Godzilla' or 'Burger' or-- ugh-- 'Froot Loops'. "I have faith that you will come to embody it."

Then she stopped, waiting politely for the others to enter before following.

Val, looking increasingly uneasy with it all, had to stifle a groan at the sight of the ghost beyond the door. Great, ghost-types. As a fighting-type, he had never been fond of anything his punches couldn't connect with.

He reminded himself that if worst came to worst, his fists could hold several elements that would work just as well, then stepped inside as well.

Once the door opened, Darkness took wing and cawed to the inhabitants, flying over to the bed. Following him in would reveal a small, tidy room and on the bed was the man himself; Walter Sullivan. He was in the midst of patching up some torn clothing of his, a Drifloon was hovering by him who shifted to float behind him when the strangers appeared at the door. Darkness landed on his shoulder, whispering to him and giving his hair a brief preen. Assumption's tail wagged and he waved to Walter with a cheerful cry.

Walter hadn't been expecting his Pokemon to bring over guests. As he turned his head to the doorway he froze. The little bird was not an issue. The two canine Pokemon made him tense and draw back slightly. Seeing the Hitmonchan however made his eyes widen in shock. He knew it. Everyone had told him he could run away here, like it was any different to Pleasant River or Ashfield Heights. But he was here too. Valtiel would always find him.

"Valtiel..." His tone was clearly awed and respectful. His Pokemon all drew in a breath and looked at Val with stunned surprise.

The motley crew at the door stops once it opens, in no small part because coming face to face with the trainer that their household has been in a tizzy over for weeks is... well, worthy of pause.

But it's when he utters the word Valtiel that all three of the others turn their heads to look up at the Hitmonchan, themselves. Kite and Wolf in surprise, just like Walter's Pokemon... but Warden, if anything, looks a little bit smug.

Val is a picture of surprise, himself.

He expected plenty of things upon meeting this fabled man, but not that.

He steps back, awkwardly, and mutters out of the corner of his mouth: "... How does he know my name?"

Assumption gasped when Valtiel said that was his name. "That's the name of the Angel! The Angel who blessed our trainer with his powers, so he could awaken God! That's your name?"

Darkness couldn't help croaking a laugh, now the initial shock was gone. "So...you are what Valtiel looked like! Oh, if I had known I would be bringing a proxy of our trainer's most Holy ally!"

But Walter lowered his head, clasping his hands together as if in prayer before shifting slightly to take a closer look at Val, without getting too much closer to the other Pokemon. He was...small. Much smaller than the angel who had haunted him throughout his life. The gloves on his hands were red but they were too smooth, too round. And his Angel had never stepped away from him before when spoken to. He'd always approached, always stopping short of touching him. He looked so much like him, but he didn't get the same feeling he did when Valtiel was close by.

"You're not him...do you herald his arrival? Is he coming here?"

Poor Val was looking more uncertain by the minute. He looked back and forth between them-- Assumption, Darkness, and Walter, but didn't say anything at first. Just shifted on his feet, nervously. Heather had never talked extensively about his namesake-- she always referred to him as 'Val', maybe 'Junior' as she clapped him on the shoulder, if they had just finished a hard training session or tough battle.

He'd gathered that it was significant somehow, but never thought it could be something like this...

Warden, on the other hand, was more than happy to step forward, tails swishing.

"He was named by our trainer, Saint Alessa, after the archangel Valtiel. She may not be completely accepting of her heritage, but clearly, through some of her Pokemon, she has kept some ties bound."

That got him to speak up, in an angry-but-forcibly-polite-because-there's-children-about mutter.

"Is THIS the real reason you brought me along?"

The Vulpix blinked back up at him innocently.

"Surely we would be safest with an already-friendly face as our ambassador, would we not?"

Poor Walter's question unfortunately went unanswered. Instead he got what was clearly an uncomfortable sigh from the eyeless Hitmonchan, even as the other Pokemon-- including Kite and Wolf-- looked up at him with starry eyes. The revelation was, at least for the immediate moment, enough to distract them from the fact that they were in the same room as the infamous Walter Sullivan.

Walter observed the Pokemon and saw with clarity the hitmonchan's discomfort. He sat back, reaching for his gear and flipped to the Pokedex function. He let it speak to him, describing the 'Punching Pokemon', Hitmonchan. Not a messenger or a spirit, or a being with ties to other worlds and Gods. But the resemblence was still eerie, still making Walter nervous. He notably peered at Val's shoulders - but there were no symbols on him. Not an agent of Valtiel then. Just a Pokemon that greatly resembled him, just as Assumption had strongly reminded Walter of the orphans beside him in the Wish House. Maybe there was some meaning to this?

"Valtiel is the attendant of God." Said Cubone was explaining eagerly, glad to teach his new friends about it as Walter was consulting his Pokedex. "He's meant to look after Her. And our trainer was given to him by the priests, so he could act as his 'agent on Earth' and revive God from Her sleep. And he keeps a picture of St. Alessa on a necklace!"

"Darkness? Did you bring them here...?" Walter asked quietly. Darkness shook his head. "Asumption!" The bird cawed, redirecting Walter's direction to Assumption and Assumption's to his trainer. Assumption hurried over to Walter, with big innocent eyes.

"Assumption. Did you invite them?" Assumption nodded. Walter glanced between them again, before aksing in a soft tone. "They are not Henry's Pokemon, are they?" Assumption quickly shook his head. Walter closed his eyes in relief. He didn't want to draw Henry's anger by having his Pokemon in his custody.

At last, the other Pokemon looked up at Walter.

Kite's plumage puffed, making her twice as large-- not that she was particularly big even at full poof.

Wolf stepped back slightly, staying close to Val's leg and stuffing his paw in his mouth again.

They weren't afraid, exactly-- but wary, in the same way that Heather's Eevee had shrunk into her sleeve when Walter stood next to her at the O-Bon festival.

Warden, too, looked the tall, dishevled man up and down with piercing eyes, her nose twitching. Her confidence in the decision to bring them all here hadn't faltered, but of course she did have to keep the safety of her students in mind.

There was certainly something... off, about this trainer.

She had been hoping for a presence like Claudia's, and in that respect, she was disappointed.

But he hadn't raised his voice or moved to harm them.

So she stepped forward, tails lifting again, and chirped quietly in greeting.

Having strange, nervous Pokemon walk into your room was not a good sign. Walter hesitated, drawing his legs up close to him. What did they want? They looked as uneasy as he was. Assumption pat his arm and murmured softly, to try and relax him with his friends. He knew Walter was very skittish around other people and Pokemon but he wanted him to like his friends. It was too difficult to go and get into the Shark House to visit them, so this was the easier and safer option in Assumption's opinion.

When Warden approached, Walter didn't immediately ease up. He slowly lowered his hand, fingers shakily hovering several inches away from her. He didn't want to touch her, she might bite, but she hadn't attacked him from the get-go. And Assumption was the one who'd brought them here. He wouldn't bring threats to their room.

"...Don't bite." He murmured, ready to flinch at any sudden movements. Assumption patted his side. He could feel the tension in the room, thick and unavoidable like a thick fog.
"He gets very scared with new people and Pokemon..."

If it was possible for a Vulpix to give someone an exasperated look, Warden did.

Please, human. Does she look like she was raised in a barn?

Rather than confirm his fears, she leaned forward to lightly sniff at his fingers. She did not lick them. Just sniffed. Unlike Heather's rambunctious oaf of a starter, Warden had been calm and competent from the moment she entered Claudia's care. Naturally.

"Don't worry, Assumption. We will give him no reason to fear us."

Walter eased when no attack came, drawing back his hand. He turned to Assumption again, reaching down to rest his hand atop his head, idly stroking with his thumb. Assumption beamed, tail thumping from side to side. See, his trainer was nice! And so were his friends! "You brought them here to play with you. So, go play. Remember, we have our lesson later."
"He's gonna teach us more about the Scriptures and God, and say our prayers." Assumption explained, nodding up to Walter with adoring eyes.

Darkness began to preen himself, one eye on the uncomfortable group for any movements. Especially Val. Walter's other Pokemon greeted the outsiders, clearly a little wary themselves of strangers who'd come to their domain and acted so uncertain. Assumption was goodnatured and wouldn't intentionally bring trouble but was still young. Mistakes could be made. Regardless, Assumption hopped over to them.

Warden blinked her piercing eyes slowly up at Walter once, then turned to step back over to the rest.

"That went as well as could be expected," she said primly, clearly pleased that their first contact with this human that everyone in the house seemed to revile had gone without incident. "Now, Assumption... this is your home. Would you like to show us more about how you and your team-mates live? My pupils have only my secondhand knowledge to build from."

Val continued to stand over them with folded arms, not interrupting but clearly ill at ease.

Her pupils?

God, he'd known the Vulpix generally kept to herself outside of talking with the two kids, but... this was just too much.

Darkness picked up on the unease between Warden and Val. He watched them closely. They had enough to deal with Walter's...problems. It was plain to all that their trainer was an awkward, shy person, but behind closed doors was a desparate, unloved man who kept trying to hurt himself. The philosophy he taught and the marks on his body gave Darkness some glimmers as to why that was and it was simply sad to witness in his trainer, who had yet to express anything more severe than tiredness or sternness towards his Pokemon, show such hate towards himself. Darkness was not going to be dealing with other Pokemon's squabbles in his 'nest'. He settled on Walter's shoulder, clicking his beak before turning his attention to what Walter had been drawing in his notepad.

Assumption, so young and simply happy he could be with friends, didn't notice the issue at hand between his guests and nodded. "Sometimes we all go for walks together in the woods to play in the grass, or to train! Sometimes we play with our trainer and sometimes he reads and writes stuff, or even draws little pictures of things. When the sun sets, he sits with us and teaches us about God, and we say a prayer. If we're bad or we have to travel far, we have to go into our Pokeballs."

Walter glanced over to them occasionally, returning to his notepad. He stayed curled up on the bed, not fully relaxing, doodling little pictures of these strange Pokemon so he could look them up later.

Fortunately for Darkness, neither Val nor Warden were classless enough to start an actual argument in someone else's abode. And they both knew it.

So Warden simply sat down on her haunches by the Hitmonchan's ankles, tails curling around her feet, and watched the three younger Pokemon proudly.

Wolf was listening with rapt attention, although he did, briefly, remove his paw from his mouth to softly echo "Walk." Because he liked walks!

Kite, meanwhile, seemed loathe to stay still, and hopped in widening circles around the Cubone.

"I don't like going into Pokeballs! You can't even fly in there!" she tweeted, still puffed, although she seemed to have lost interest in Walter once he sat down with his notes. "But Miss Warden says that we'll have to, if we want Saint Alessa to take us with her when she travels to battle other trainers!"

"Whenever we go for our walks, Walter will let us out in this secret little clearing, off the path! No other trainer goes there, unless they're one of our friends, so he always lets us out to play." Assumption whispered to Wolf and Kite brightly. At the mention of Saint Alessa, the Cubone hugged his bone. "You're so lucky to have a special trainer! My trainer has a pendant of St. Alessa that he wears. Walter's very special to me too, but he's not a saint. Although...he lived after dying as a ghost so he could awaken the Holy Mother? I don't know what makes someone a saint or not."

As the pokemon talked Walter busied himself with his own team, petting or drawing them to focus his attention. It helped him relax, made him feel...safer. It helped that he was completely unaware of their conversation.

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004. Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy [CLOSED]

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wrap it up here? IDK