Entering the city of confusion.

Hakudoshi narrowed his eyes, determined to not lose. "Karei, Teleport up to the ceiling with Abra and unleash another Thunderbolt" he ordered his Ralts. Karei only had two attack moves, and one of them Abra had a resistance to, so the only move he could spam would be Thunderbolt and hope for the best. Karei did as commanded and just barely got out of the way of the Energy Ball, teleporting up to Abra and unleashing another point-blank range Thunderbolt.

Clare entered the elevator going onto the other side of Kayla near the buttons. "Woah, there really are a hundred floors here!" Clare looked over at Kayla with a pleading expression in her eyes. "How high up are you going to take us?" clare asked, as long as she made it high up she was sure the view would be great, even if it was not from the top.

James sighed, and thanked whoever had designed the elevator that it was, in fact, large enough to give him some breathing room. Kayla began chattering away, clearly more at ease with Clare than she was with the people she normally guided. "112, actually. I'm taling you to floors 35, 47, 96, and possibly the tippy-top, but only if the boss wants to discuss anything with James before he goes and makes his report to the Head Ranger. Speaking of which," she continued, turning to James, "Where exactly is the Ranger HQ located?" James tapped his knuckle on the wall thoughtfully. "We don't really have a single base of operations. There's three in Kanto, but all of the Head Rangers, from every region, meet up in Johto once a year; At the top of Mt. Silver, if in-house guesses are true. The Head Ranger I work for, Mike, is stationed in Cinnabar at the moment. He's over-seeing the rebuilding of the Lab, or... something." The elevator *ding*ed, and the doors slid open, revealing a large array of medical tech. The reason for their visit, the multi-healing machine, was sitting proudly in the middle of the room. James walked around it, doing his best to compare it to the other models he'd seen. Kayla began explaining how they came up with the idea, but James was tuning her out completely; he'd picked up the paperwork for it, and was quickly scanning it for issues. James looked up at her, and rather abruptly interrupted. "There's something here I don't understand. Nearly half of the power it says it outputs just... appears out of nowhere. The amount it's pulling from a power grid doesn't add up to the total output." James began to walk around it again, waiting for an answer. One of the scientists came over, and began muttering with him about the numbers. Kayla looked at Clare, and whispered, "So, you guys... you're not, like, a couple, right? It doesn't really seem like it... meh, ignore me. Why did you come to Saffron? To see the sights, or did you plan on challenging the gym?"
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Sabrina smiled slightly. "Not twice. Abra, use Psyshock." Abra's eyes opened, glowing bright blue. Just before the Thunderbolt attack hit, he released a blast of psycho-kinetic energy, sending the Thunderbolt hurtling back, infused with Psychic energy. "Psychic attacks are excellent at redirecting ranged attacks by your opponent. It takes practice, but is an effective technique when executed correctly."

Clare's face turned a little red. "Wah, no, no. He's a friend, he's helping me get to Pewtor city to start challenging the gym leaders." Clare's voice kind of trailed off and her eyes floated over to Vixie and Swablu who were playing near the big machine and James. "I'm... Not so sure my Pokemon are strong enough yet though. Anyway, we were I wanted to see the city instead of going through some dark tunnel, I think we plan on staying the night while our friend Hakudoshi gets training from Sabrina." Clare looked over at some of the scientists all of them in white lab coats most with glasses on. Clare let out a sigh at the bland and repetitive look of the people, she turned back towards Kayla. "You have been to the top before right? What's the city look like from way up there?" Clare was talking fast, overly excited forgetting the fact that they most likly wouldn't get to see it.

Karei was blown back by the Psyshock, slamming into the wall and sliding down to the floor. Hakudoshi hissed, determined to not lose this one. 'Karei, don't give up yet. Fire up a Thunderbolt and then use your Teleport ability to teleport the bolt of lightning at Abra' Hakudoshi said to his trusty Ralts telepathically. It wouldn't do to speak the strategies out loud and give Sabrina a chance to counter. Karei did as commanded and fired off a Thunderbolt at Abra before using the Teleport ability to make it appear behind Abra and attempt to hit him from behind.

Sabrina's eyes drew to slits - she wasn't expecting him to begin using his telepathy so soon. Abra was hit with the attack, and knocked down towards the ground. Abra made a slight sighing sound, then began glowing - no, shining with a multi-colored aura. Suddenly, Arba Teleported a foot away from Karei, and released a powerful Signal Beam attack. "I'm impressed with your quick learning, but I'm afraid you're just not experienced enough yet..." Sabrina said this in a dry tone, as though she was just stating a fact.

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Kayla nodded. "Once or twice, to deliver The Boss's coffee while I was an intern. Although, the view is much better from this hillside, just outside of town. If you go there just as the sun is going down... absolutely beautiful." James had just finished with the scientists, walking over with his paperwork, as Kayla spoke, and James sighed. "I had been planning on taking them there, actually. It used to be a pretty well-kept secret, or so I thought." Kayla laughed as she led them back to the elevator. "I hate to break this to you, but it became a pretty popular date spot about 6 months ago. If you two go, you'll probably draw some attention..." James started blushing again. "Well, our friend Haku was going to come with us. Besides, I... I don't have any intention of getting into a relationship any time soon. Too much drama, and I don't want anything to ruin my job as a Ranger, which is kind of tenuous until I turn 17. Which is stupid, because I've been a Ranger for almost a year now, but..." He trailed off, hoping the elevator woud just hurry up and get to the next floor.

"Ah, um. I agree, I'm to busy trying to become a good trainer, besides... My mom said I cant date anybody she doesn't know, which is unlikely seeing as she never leaves the house..." The elevator made a ding and the metal doors slid ajar. Clare walked in, to the far side near the buttons. She looked over at Kayla. "Where are we going?" Clare asked, kind of excited to press an elevator button.

Kayla checked her notes. "Floor 47. The hyper-effiecient generator is our next stop. As for becoming a better Trainer, you might not want to run straight to Pewter City. The areas around Saffron have a very wide variety of Pokémon, perhaps the widest in Kanto, since Saffron breaks up so many different environments. But it's entirely up to you on what you want to do." James shrugged non-committedly. "I told you I'd make sure you got to Pewter safely. If a few detours are made along the way... it's not a big deal. She is right about the Pokémon, by the way. Saffron is rather unique, in that way."

Hakudoshi grit his teeth in anger, starting to come to the realization that he might not win this. Abra was shrugging off his attacks like they were nothing, and since he's revealed that accursed Signal Beam of his, his attempt to beat it just got harder. He wasn't going to give up though as he felt he had something to prove. 'Karei, don't give up just yet. Fire a Confusion at the Signal Beam and send it back at the Abra' he telepathically ordered his trusty Ralts. Karei noiselessly fired a Confusion at the Signal Beam, struggling to keep it locked in place and just barely managing to send it back as she started to tire out.

Clare pressed the button excitedly, resisting the buckling of her legs as the elevator began to rise. "I guess if you dont mind James it would be good practice." Clare muttered almost unsure of herself. She looked down at her Pokemon who were happily waiting in the elevator. "I'm sure they can take some training!" She said happily lifting her head towards the other two.

The pulse of the Confusion, combined with Signal beam, was enough to seriously hurt Abra. Send flying backward, he slammed into the wall, and struggled to his feet. Sabrina once again broadcast her thoughts telepathically to Haku (as well as Abra & Karei), this time, calling the match off. You adapt quickly, and I have no doubt you will learn many techniques in this way over your journey. It takes such ability to become truly great, and you have that potential. See to it that you do not waste any of it. With that, she recalled Abra, and the door swung open behind Haku. She made it rather clear that he was dismissed.

Karei levels up! But wait, there's more! Karei levels up AGAIN! She is now level 14. Nice RPing, you earned that.

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James nodded, knowing that it wouldn't hurt to let Blaze get some training in, as well. When the doors opened, he was staring at a generator, which judging by the output readings, was in fact nearly 55% more efficient than their last model, not just 43%. While that 12% didn't sound like much, James knew it to be enough to power several homes, or a large office building. He stepped out, grabbed the paperwork off of a workbench, and stepped back into the elevator. He reached past Clare and Kayla, pushing the button for the 96th floor, which he remembered from earlier. He scanned the paperwork briefly, then looked at the other two. "I can't seem to find a single thing wrong with this; it should begin shipping as soon as HQ gives the go-ahead, in the next few days. Oh, and... I love this part." As they passed the 60th floor, the back of the elevator suddenly seemed much brighter; it had been clear the whole time, and now the shaft had opened up to give a view of the city beneath them.

Hakudoshi smirked in pride when Sabrina complimented him and quickly left the Gym, his precious Ralts Karei cradled in his arms protectively.

(Exit Topic)

Clare let out a gasp, her mouth open in awe cheeks turning slightly red. "Wow, that's amazing." Clare struggled to get her mouth to work and her words to flow out, she looked out over the city. The sun was getting closer to the land by the second, the sunset would most likely be in less than an hour. The city filled with small ant like people walking the streets, tops of buildings shrinking under them. "So... where- where are we going now?" Clare asked eyes glued to the city falling away below them.

Kayla and James said simultaneously, "The quiet drill." Kayla looked at James in surprise, while he barely looked up from the paperwork. Kayla's Pokenav began beeping, and when she checked it, she whispered to herself, "I had a feeling that might happen." She put it away, and said to the both of them, "We'll be headed to the top floor after this, the Chairman would like to speak with you, James." He nodded, and it became clear that he was trying to keep himself focused on the papers, instead of Kayla. "Did he say what for?" She shook her head. "Why would he? It's not my business." The number continued to climb, now going past 78.

Clare with her forehead now pressed against the glass stared out the window, the city shrinking floor by floor. "What is the quiet drill?" Clare asked half mesmerized by the view. The words from Kayla finally hit her. "Wait! you mean we get to go to the top floor?" Clare took her face off the glass staring at their guide with a red mark on her head from her head being on the window.

Kayla waited for James to answer, but he remained quiet. "It's a drill that will allow us to expand tunnels and mining operations without disturbing local Pokemon. The most famous case is the Rusturf Tunnel in Hoenn, but it happens more than you'd think." James shrugged. "Hand mining is quiet, and it works just fine." Kayla pursed her lips, and tapped a finger on them. "Well... that's true, but our job is to make things easier, right?" She didn't seem to have the smoothed over responses that James was used to. Which was good, that meant she wasn't sure what they were doing was entirely right. "Let me tell you, that drill is going to cause problems, no matter what. The jobs it will displace, the overmining it will cause..." James trailed off, as the numbers crept closer to 90. "Yes, we're going to the tippu top after this." Kayla chose to ignore James altogether at this point.

Clare listened to the two bicker back and forth with eachother. She rubbed her head just before the elevator dinged telling them they had reached the desired destination. Clare looked at Kayla and James ignoring the slight awkwardness in the air. "So are we going to go?" She asked timidly

The doors slid open, and behind them, was a drill of intricate design. James picked up the paperwork, scanned through it, walked around the machine, and even crawled under it at one point. Walking over to Kayla and Clare, he had a mischievous look on his face. "Start it up." Kayla's eyes widened. "You're insane!" James shook his head. "You said this machine was quiet enough to mine without startling Pokémon. If anyone outside of this floor notices it, you can bet that many of the Pokémon in caves, who rely on sound, will be able to. So, have them start it up." Kayla couldn't even get the word "No," out of her mouth completely beore he turned around and began fiddling with it. Suddenly, a roar cut through the air - the machine was active. Shouting over the din, James looked extremely upset. "Oh, yeah, this won't bother anyone, right?" One of the scientists shouldered past him and disconnected the wires he'd used to hot-wire the thing. "Are you happy now?" Kayla looked extremely upset, and nearly to tears. "The Chairman's going to kill me for this..." James snorted, and walked back into the elevator. "No, he won't. I've met him before, he expects me to pull this stuff. I do it every time, just to make a point. Half of the Rangers come in here, grab the papers, barely pay attention, and then leave. I actually try to understand whether the machines here are actually beneficial, something the Chairman seems to enjoy. After all, it means he knows the verdict on the machines before I even get back to HQ." He was doing his best to calm her down, but she seemed to have trouble pulling herself together.

Clare walked over to Kayla patting her on the back and trying to usher some reassuring words. These were the times she really wished she had better social skills. "Um, dont worry. It will all be okay, I'm sure the big boss wont mind... In fact I bet he will be happy uh, the drill will be more successful this way and sell to more people." Clare glared over at James. "Right?" She asked urging him to assist her.

James wrinkled his nose. "Well, he knows what he needs to work on before the big debut, so... yeah. This'll keep him from looking bad later. Trust me, he's probably just going to make a joke, and then forget about it." Kayla seemed more comforted by Clare than James, but to be fair, he had been kind of rude. Kayla led them into the elevator, pushing the button for the top floor. "If I lose this job, kid..." James cut her off quickly. "You won't, but if by some stroke of misfortune you do, then I'll try to get you a job at the Ranger HQ. One of them, anyway." When the number hit 112, the doors didn't open at first, and the chime didn't sound. Kayla fumbled with her keycard for a second, then slid it across the button for the top floor. The doors opened, and the Chairman stood before them, facing towards the cieling to floor window. "That was some ruckus you caused, Ranger James. Tell me, what did you mean to prove?" James stepped forward. "Simply that the drill's engine compartment was in no way sound-proofed. The drill itself may be silent, but that engine could wake the dead." The Chairman snorted, then turned to face them. "Girl, I believe you wantes to see the view with your Pokemon?" He had a kind face,if a bit wrinkled. He slid a few notes over towards James, looked curiously at Kayla, and awaited a response. "It's quite alright, I suppose I can do James this one favor after he saved me with this drill, and the generator last time..."

Clare gave a slight bow to the president, she walked up snatched his hand and gave him a hasty shake. Ignoring the talking or comments of the other she hastily walked up to the window, her Swablu, thinking there was no window he tried flying out of the building only to slam into it. "Ah!" Clare snatched up Swablu clutching him in both arms she plopped onto her shin's and stared out the window. without her noticing Vixie had wondered over to the Chairman and rubbed against his leg. "Its beautiful..." Clare said gasping for a breath. She watched the small specks walk along the sidewalk. "The people look like little ants..."

The Chairman absentmindedly scratched Vulpix's head, keeping his eyes on James. "How much longer until they fully certify you?" James sat down, and put his feet up on the other chair. "About two and a half years. I think, anyway. I won't know for sure until it happens, but supposedly, they have to wait for my 18th birthday. Which would seriously suck." The chairman nodded, understanding his plight. He heard Clare's murmuring about the people, and chuckled. "Yes, sometimes I have to go down to the lobby, to remind myself that they're real people, and that I look just as small from such a distance.

Vixie, thinking it was a game gave the Chairmans finger a small nip. "Vul!" She called out happily. Clare turned around to see Vulpix standing near him happily. She stood up, giving the outside a final longing look. "I didn't expect anything remotely deep from you James." Clare said with a smile, she twisted sideways to stretch her back a little. "I'm sorry sir, I dont think I properly introduced myself, I was a just so excited to see the view from up here. My name is Clarise Tempest, but you can call me Clare." She gave a little wave to Swablu who was still trying to push his way through the window. "I see you've already met Vixie, and that's my Swablu." Clare said with enthusiasm.

((It might not have been clear, the Chairman had said the last bit. :P ))

James shrugged a little, ignoring the quip. The Chairman smiled, and stood. "I'm the Head Chairman of Silph Co, my name is Charles Gidderling. Most simply call me The Chairman, or The Boss. It's a pleasure to meet you all." He smiled a bit, then pulled a Pokeball from a desk drawer. "Ninetails, be a darling..." she was released in a burst of light, and stood impressively in the room. "This is my only Pokemon, and I'm quite fond of her. I've raised her from a Vulpix, and personally, I recommend waiting to evolve her for awhile. Some young Trainers are in such a rush to evolve their Pokemon, they lose much of their potential.. ignore me, I'm a rambling old man." Ninetails showed some interest in Vixie, and absolutely none in James or Swablu. Clare grabbed her attention for a brief moment, but that was all.

"Ahhhh!" Clare let out a small squeal of adornment. "She is so pretty" Clare slowely put her hand up near Ninetail's face to let her smell it. "Can I pet her?" Clare asked, much like a seven year old would ask for candy.