Cloudy Sky

The caw of Wingull overhead was clear as a bell. The screeching of the feathered fiends as they swooped down onto the beach and fought with Krabby over scraps tossed aside by humans. The waves crashed inland, tide rising. The sea seemed angry from the storm in the distance, the winds around Trovita reflecting it. It seemed to be upsetting the local Pokémon as well.

However, as Alice pondered and glanced around, a aight to be held was off in the distance. A trainer with a Lucario and several Riolu, training. The trainer was a young woman, probably in her late teens or early twenties. She had relatively short cropped hair, a brownish auburn in color. She was dressed comfortably in exercise clothes, sweat shorts and a sports bra. Her body was tiny, yet toned as she clearly exercised often, which left her a bit flat in the chest.

She was practicing punches and kicks, sparring with her Lucario while the Riolu partnered off with each other. It was impressive to watch, even though it was obvious the Lucario was holding back. Humans just didn't have the same potential power that Pokémon did, no matter how much physical conditioning. One Riolu seemed to be having a harder time than the others, and kept becoming easily subdued by its partner.

The training kept getting halted, the Lucario standing there stoically while the trainer tried fruitlessly to correct the child. The other Riolu tended to roll their eyes, and cross their paws whenever this would happen. Their training was being interrupted and slowed because of him, and they weren't very happy with it.

As Deino charged, Lucario swiftly moved between the trainees and himself. In a moment's notice, a blue swirling sphere appeared between his paws, ready to fire. Luckily for Deino, Alice managed to recall the beast before she got her arse handed to her by the fighting type. The aura sphere dissipated, and Lucario resigned its fight stance as the trainer stepped forward.

"Hmph," the fighting girl huffed, giving Alice a once over and crossing her arms. Sweat glistened across her body where skin could be seen. Her eyes were an enchantingly deep forest green. "You should really work on keeping your Pokémon under control. It's seen as a serious weakness when the Pokémon controls its trainer," she said sternly. It was obvious she took Pokémon training very seriously.

"As for him, I doubt it. He was born at the same time as his siblings, but hasn't grown any. He's scrawny while his brothers and sister bulked up. I'm about ready to give up on him," she said flatly, glancing back to the tiny male who puffed out his chest to look bigger. From the closer view, he was clearly smaller than his siblings. By a long shot. They probably all had ten levels on him by now, at least.

"But people don't keep Pokémon where you're from? What kind of a freaky place is that? I heard there are even trainers in places that no longer have wild Pokémon like Orre. Either way, your Deino is way too strong to be let out if you aren't ready to subdue it right away." She looked to her team of blue aura Pokémon when alice mentioned them. "Yeah, Lucario are pretty special. These guys are all related, though."

"You're obviously dense," the girl replied sharply. "I said if you can't control it, then keep it in its ball. So your little excuse doesn't cut it. If I had an aggressive Pokémon and wasn't physically able to restrain it, I sure as hell wouldn't be letting it walk around like that," her words were sharp, but held some truth to it. Unfortunately, that probably just made them hurt worse, and could potentially make Alice less willing to accept them as such.

"I only look down on those who earn it," she then said, glaring at Alice as if to say 'like some blonde I just met'. "Riolu has had all the same opportunities that the others have had. Some Pokémon just don't have the same potential as others," she said, somewhat smugly as she crossed her arms again. Shockingly enough, the Riolu didn't seem much phased by these words. On the outside, at least, as he still stood tall as he could, chest puffed out.

"Maybe if you don't like my training regiment, you don't watch, yeah? It's not like I'm abusing my Pokémon, after all. And they are my Pokémon. So bud out," the girl was really abrasive, but the same could be said for Alice at times. It was hard to say whether they had rubbed each other the wrong way, perhaps she had a not too pleasant experience herself recently? Then again, she could just be calling things like she sees them. Or she could genuinely just be rude.

No matter the circumstance, she turned her back to Alice, and went right back to training. With a few simple commands, the Pokémon were back on track. The Riolu paired off, the trainer again sparring with her Lucario as a lead example. She could definitely take Alice on in a fight where Pokémon weren't involved. Heck, with Alice's damsel in distress syndrome going on, it might even be a good idea to try making friends! Maybe she could teach her a little self defense, after all.

The entire island was very small in comparison to some of the others. To add to it, there wasn't much beach front. Aside from the docks, the entire island was surrounded by large rocks protruding from the water. It could be dangerous for ships to approach in rough weather.

A river ran through the island, off to one side while the station-like gym sat propped on the hill. It was reminiscent of a Police Station, though much larger. Inside the main doors is a large waiting room with a front desk, a telephone, snack vendors and soda machines, and a table and bench booth. Registration was being taken at the front desk, where Alice could register her Pokémon. They would ask her what type of Pokémon she would be using for the challenge, that way Rudy could prepare his Pokémon of matching types. She was allowed to sign up three Pokémon for the match.

Meanwhile, music could be heard from other rooms. On one floor, Rudy used a dance studio to help train his Pokémon. In fact, all Rudy's Pokémon were trained in various dance styles to give them an edge in battle. Other trainers seemed to be scattered about the room. A female and male trainer loitered about the drink machine, chatting away. Another male slept hard on the bench seat, apparently beat after some training or other. Others came and went, the traffic steady though hardly bustling. It was more likely that people were fearing the storm coming their way.

Thunder rolled, loudly rattling even where they were now. A few trainers stopped and looked upward, though they could hardly see the sky from inside. It was especially treacherous considering Trovita's quirk of often times having whirlpools around the island. Paired with the rocks and a storm, it was a recipe for disaster.

Given that the pending storm drew more people into the building than usual, it had a rather detrimental effect on Alice's hopes. More trainers who had lackluster interest in collecting Gym Badges than ever signed up for the hell of it. An announcement came on over the loudspeaker.

"Due to dangerous weather conditions and the nature of this Gym's challenges, all matches will be postponed until further notice. Thank you for understanding," the voice clicked off. An audible groan was heard through the room, as several of those who had been waiting for their challenge were now forced to wait longer.

"Attention, attention everybody!" An Officer Jenny stood on a nearby table to gather the crowd. "The oncoming storm is really severe. This building isn't made to act as a shelter for this many. If I could ask for everyone to please make their way to the Pokémon Center as soon as possible-" several rushed around, rocking the table and throwing her off balance. She knelt down, placing her hands on the table to catch her balance.

The door to the Gym opened, a familiar face walking in. Thunder crashed, though still no rain fell. The sky was darkening quickly, though. The girl laughed audaciously, "Dude, have you guys been out there? It's intense," she claimed. She was seemingly brushing off the storm as though it were nothing. Her Lucario stood beside her impressively.

"Vivi~" one trainer cooed, as a small gathering surrounded the Lucario trainer. A few guys and one girl to be specific, who appeared to be some sort of fan club. They walked into the room, the scrawny fighter easily taking the drink machine spot from the couple. There was no confrontation, she just had a reputation around there, apparently.

Alice followed the group outside, where the wind tore at people's clothes. Those with light jackets on to protect from the rain fought to keep them on, clutching tightly to them. The sky was darkening more as the storm encroached on them. Viviette followed the group out, though tailing behind with her lackeys.

"I don't know what all the fuss is about, honestly. It's perfect training weather," she beamed, speaking rather loudly to her cohorts that others might also hear her. She shrugged in an exaggerated manner, "My Lucario is already stronger than most people here, so I don't need to myself. Some of these weaklings should really be taking advantage of the situation though," she gloated, as they all walked on to the Pokémon Center.

Before anyone was assigned rooms or allowed to check in, the Nurses and Officer Jenny made an announcement. "Due to the requirement of sheltering so many from the storm, we have some rules which need to be followed. Pokémon other than those belonging to licensed officials are to be kept in their pokéballs to preserve space. Rooms will be shared by two to three people each, and there will be no co-ed rooms. We thank you for your understanding. Please sign in at the desk, and await your assigned boarding."

The gathering of trainers was moved to the cafeteria while lists were made. It was at least somewhat more spacious in there compared to the lobby. The fan club hovered around Viviette and her table, as if to add fuel to Alice's fire. Other groupings seemed to catch on, like cliques back in school would.

A young pair of adults approached Alice's table, setting their bags in chairs. "Mind if we sit here?" The first asked. She was a young woman, clearly in her early to mid twenties. Her hair was a dark brown, messily put up with bangs hanging down and framing her face. Her eyes were brown as well, hidden behind the glare from her rectangular glasses, with the thicker frames. Her body was lean, lacking too many curves, and she was dressed for adventure.

Spoiler:

Her partner seemed to be a tall, scrawny man. It was hard to tell if he was still in his teens or not, but he at least seemed to be an adult. His beady red eyes were shockingly entrancing, given the offset of his short, messily cropped white hair. However, based on his pigmentation it was unlikely that he was a true albino. He said nothing, standing off awkwardly as she did all the talking.

Spoiler:

"Oh I'm sorry," the woman said, laughing a bit. "I didn't introduce us. This is Jason," she began, the other seeming to mutter the word 'accelerator' under his breath. "I'm Zoe. And you are?" She asked, blinking and tilting her head at Alice. Her eyes were surprisingly bold and bright behind the thick glasses.

"Oh, so you're another one after the badge?" Zoe asked, though it was said more as a statement than anything. She laughed a bit. "Yeah, it seems everyone got screwed out of that one," she then remarked, turning slightly to look at the room filled to the brim with trainers. She then turned back to Alice, "So what kind of Pokémon do you have? I'm always intrigued about other people's Pokémon..."

"She's a PokéManiac..." Jason muttered, sitting at the table head facing down. His eyes darted up to meet Alice, though his head didn't even flinch. "She's obsessed with Pokémon, especially rare ones." His voice was somewhat monotonous, but in an eerie manner rather than boring. He fiddled with a piece of paper, folding it in origami style as they all sat and chatted. So much for 'normal' anyway.

"Absol is uneasy..." Jason muttered, looking to his pokéball as Zoe swooned over Alice's Pokémon list. He was a genuinely odd fellow, quiet, unnerving. He didn't seem to give off the same high strung energy that Zoe had, especially as she cooed and went on about wanting to meet Alice's Pokémon.

"Oh I love Deino, they're so majestic! And a real Tyrunt, wow!" The young adult went on fancifully. "Oh my Pokémon? Well, I started with a-" she was cut off by a loud beep as a loudspeaker came on. She halted her sentence, shifting to look back where an Officer Jenny was standing atop a chair holding the receiver.

"Attention trainers, all room assignments have been designated. Lists have been posted, please file into an orderly-" the poor officer was again cut off as trainers rushed by. She held onto the back of the chair, which wobbled as inconsiderate adolescents practically trampled her to find their rooms.

"Well, looks like we have boarding," Zoe smiled, standing up once most of the room had crowded back into the lobby. She slung her pack over her shoulder giving a nod and dragging Jason off as he muttered to himself. When Alice went to check her charting...no, this can't be... Viviette Adams, clear as day listed as her room mate!

Poor Alice, tossed into a world of untold danger and mystery as if on a whim. Childhood fantasies gone awry. Be careful what you wish for? It seemed to fit, at least, in this situation. Nobody would blame her for succumbing to the overwhelming emotions. The depression that would surely ensue, should she fail to pick herself out of this rut. Well, anybody who knew her past anyway.

Still, as the young woman walked outside, it had begun to sprinkle. The wind was strong, and the sea was angry. From raised positions on the island, several whirlpools could be seen around in addition to the spike like protrusions surrounding the land. Though the rain was currently light, the wind whipped it around with such force that each drop stung just a bit.

Just ahead, a cove could be spotted. It wasn't very large, and was dangerously low grounded, but would suffice as a temporary shelter. It would keep out most of the rain, at least. It was disturbingly close to the edge of the island, so much so that just looking out the mouth would give Alice a clear view of the torrential waters and the approaching thunderhead.

Alice hadn't quite gotten to the tree line when something would catch her eye. In the distance, a low hanging cliff. Something small and blue was atop it, seeming to practice fighting moves and agility. A closer look would reveal it to be a Riolu! Could this be Viviette's Riolu?!

Thunder crashed, lightning striking a tree inland. Even now, just standing out in the open could make the female quite a good conductor. And not the kind one would want to be, at that! Rather than be a lightning rod, she would need to get somewhere low or sheltered, and fast.

The Riolu seemed really into its training. It kept performing a series of tasks over and over in the worsening weather, trying to perfect them. As if telling himself the steps in his head, he would reach forward, grabbing his invisible foe with both paws. He swiftly attempted to roll back onto his back, but would keep falling rather than have a fluid motion.

When Alice called out, the pup turned sharply, taking a defensive stance. It quickly realized Alice was not a threat, and instead barked his name at her. "Ri-Riolu!" He returned to his fighting stance, practicing a few punches before again trying his mystery move. Any time Alice tried to approach, he merely growled before returning to his training. Stubborn little thing.