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Post by subtleAssiduities on May 31, 2015 19:16:59 GMT -5
A clap of thunder bid them adieu as they stepped into the quiet building. Thea squeaked in surprise and nearly wiggled out of Note's arms; he held her close, his grip on her as secure as it could be, and as the door closed he smoothed his hair out of his face. "That's better..." He looked slowly down at his girlfriend. "Is this your place for us to stay?"
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Post by Atticus on May 31, 2015 19:40:22 GMT -5
She offered the man a wan, apologetic smile. "I guess so," she shrugged, letting Ciara onto the floor. Just as she did so, the nurse at the desk looked at her computer screen, alarmed. Ellie caught the grimace out of her peripheral vision, and instinctively approached.
Without having to ask what was bothering her, the pink-haired woman looked up at Ellie with a tight frown pursed on her lips. "That storm's going to give us quite the fight before it leaves town," she explained solemnly.
Ellie passed a glance back at Note, rolling back her head exaggeratedly. Of course this would happen on vacation.
"Is there something I can help you with?" the nurse asked, and Ellie turned back to her, nodding her head.
"Yeah, about that storm... you have some kind of space in the basement, don't you? We don't want to take to the air in weather like this.... we're, uh... from Kantō."
Ellie could clearly recall the last time she had stayed the night at a Pokémon Center. Maybe that didn't mean that all Pokémon Centers had areas for housing guests, but she hoped so.
"Goodness, yes, don't even step outside. It's supposedly only going to get worse."
The Nurse stepped out from behind the desk, her trusty Chansey at her side, and addressed everyone in the lobby. There weren't all that many people around, of course. Most people in Lilycove lived there, and were safe at home. The town was not such a hotspot for tourists, other than the Contest Hall and bay.
"(Why are you guys so scared?)" Ciara piped up, genuinely curious. While the nurse began to guide the others downstairs, the Jolteon had situated herself by the glass doors, watching the lightning with round, lavender eyes while her fur prickled with excitement.
"Come on, Ciara!"
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Post by subtleAssiduities on May 31, 2015 19:47:45 GMT -5
Note cursed softly under his breath as he stared out the window. The rain was already beating against the windows, and the few trees that dotted the little blue town were bent sideways by the wind. "Don!"
"(Another thrilling night in a center,)" Don sighed. He caught sight of the jolteon by the window, and he approached slowly, his tail wagging apprehensively. "(Not all of us enjoy lightning like you do. Come on, it will be safer for the rest of us away from the windows.)" With that he turned and trotted toward his trainer again. Note's hand was fumbling nervously in one of the pockets of his cargo pants. Don'ts tail lashed. Of course, here of all places, where the boy needed absolutely no more distractions, it would storm.
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Post by Atticus on May 31, 2015 20:01:02 GMT -5
"(Oh,)" the canine replied simply, taking one last look at the door before following the Houndoom back to their trainers.
The group descended down the staircase into what appeared to be a large white room, lined with bunker beds all in rows. There were two PCs by the stairway and a fair amount of minifridges, but other than that, it was relatively void. Ellie had taken a moment to stare, but her attention was jostled as she blinked curiously, hand taken by the stubby paw of a Chansey and guided to one of the beds.
"Uh, thank you," the blonde stared at the round, pink Pokémon, baffled.
The Chansey trilled and waddled back to the nurse.
"We don't have much to offer, but we hope this will do until the storm passes." The woman gestured towards the minifridges. "If you get hungry, we do have snacks, but please ration, we don't know how long this storm will stick around."
With that, the woman bowed and headed back up the staircase.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on May 31, 2015 20:06:03 GMT -5
Note walked slowly into the room, trailed by Don. The rumble of the thunder wasn't as loud, but the building shook more here. It wasn't a pleasant tradeoff. He looked around before sitting on one of the cots, and he pulled his hands out of his pockets and cracked his knuckles. "This brings back memories, huh, babe?" he mused. "Looks like we might almost have this place to ourselves."
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Post by Atticus on May 31, 2015 20:13:02 GMT -5
"Sure does," Ellie agreed with a snort of laughter, resting her elbows on her lap. "And almost." She passed a glance at the trio of Pokémon, light grin settled on her lips.
Ciara returned the look, sitting down curtly. Her fur was still bristling, but she had calmed down quite a bit, as she was unable to actually see what was happening outside. She could only feel minor quakes beneath her paws. At the very least, it was keeping her from being sleepy, which in turn was getting her antsy.
Ellie caught the look in her Jolteon's eyes, and turned towards the PC with a contemplative squint. "Should we...?"
It hadn't gone down so well last time they'd released their Pokémon in the Center Shelter, but... they were more mature now... right?
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Post by subtleAssiduities on May 31, 2015 20:20:19 GMT -5
Note chuckled. "All of them? I don't know. Maybe a few." He stood and walked to the PC, and he pulled up his box. On top of his good old team, he now had four vulpixes and one quirky little growlpix in his box. They weren't going out, they acted up without their parents, and Elliot was always a bit cramped in places like this. That left Vivian and...
Elsa had only left the ranch once. In that time, she had set Note's backpack on fire, cow kicked his friend, and caused a small but impressive amount of chaos in a little town who needed none of it. But she hadn't ever been in a closed in area. Was it a risk he was willing to take?
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Post by Atticus on May 31, 2015 21:10:01 GMT -5
"Of course not all of them!" Ellie huffed, pretending to be offended. She had learned her lesson last time... maybe.
She followed Note to the other PC, punching in her password until two Pokeballs dispensed themselves from the drive. From them came a bright light, and the forms of Angelo and Brooke.
While the two Dark Types adjusted to discovering where the hell they were, Ellie returned to the bed she had been sitting on earlier and collapsed onto her back. "So, we got time to kill," she huffed, staring at the bottom of the upper bunk. "Wish they had like... a TV or video games or something."
"(Hey!)" Ciara yipped, leaping over to her comrades. She was mildly disappointed that none of her teammates had been released, as she didn't know these two so well, but they would have to do.
Brooke blinked mildly in response. The Jolteon only had a fraction of her attention, as her maroon eyes settled on the Houndoom, instead.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on May 31, 2015 21:17:45 GMT -5
"I think I might have my Gameboy in my bag," Note chuckled, plucking up a single Pokéball. Elsa was a challenge he didn't want to face today. He released Vivian beside him; the canine was barely released from the intangible red light of the ball before she was trotting around to investigate, and seemingly without knowing she gravitated toward Austin. She had not been to the ranch in a month or two; Tunes had been traveling with her. Even as an adult Chance was still more well-behaved with Vivian. He had only gotten her returned to his box a few days ago. As Viv trotted off he sat down next to Elli and lied across her legs. He pulled his backpack into his lap and stuck his arm into it.
Don's tail went up as he saw the familiar silhouette of the mightyena appear in the light. He returned her look amiably, and he trotted forward to meet her, stopping only when his nose gently touched hers in greeting.
Thea's tails wiggled slowly as she watched the new Pokémon join them. Disappointed, she trotted to Ciara; even the friendly jolteon was more familiar company than her parents' friends. Frankly, these Pokémon intimidated her.
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Post by Atticus on May 31, 2015 21:31:19 GMT -5
"Ooh," Ellie cooed, propping herself onto her elbows as Note released Vivian and sat down to search for the device.
"(Hello?)" Angelo chuckled, watching Vivian trot around the room. His tail swayed gently behind him, as he had established by the smell alone that they were in the shelter of a Pokémon Center. "(Brings back some memories, doesn't it?)" the black fox asked with a toothy smile. They had been young the last time they had been in a shelter... they'd made a mess of a few Pokedolls, too...
Ciara's ears flattened as the two Dark Types more or less ignored her, trotting to their respective partner. So much for company. She was just about to lay down when she noticed Thea approaching, and she turned her head, delighted. "(Dark types, huh?)" she joked quietly, harmless grin spread across her golden muzzle.
Brooke closed her eyes as Don greeted her with the gentle touch of his nose. It had been years now, but it felt a little strange to be on good terms again... well... for the first time ever, really. A good portion of it could be contributed to the fact that the Mightyena had mellowed out since her "prime". Her fiery attitude, it seemed, had been more or less taken off her shoulders and bestowed upon her daughter. She playfully nosed his cheek before taking a moment to look around the room. "(What is this place?)"
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Post by subtleAssiduities on May 31, 2015 21:39:00 GMT -5
"Ta-da!" Note held out an old Nintendo Gameboy Advance, and he handed it reverently to Ellie. "You'll have to plug it in though," he chuckled, and he pulled out the bulky charger cord that came with it.
"(There's no toys to chew on here,)" Vivian replied, feigning disappointment as she headbutted her mate's shoulder affectionately. "(What are we supposed to do, <I> sleep</I>?"
Thea's tails went up, and she grinned back at her. She didn't realize that she had been afraid of being rejected until she was relieved when it didn't happen. "(Yeah! At least we have each other.)
"(We're in the Lilycove Pokémon center,)" Donetello told his mate. He smiled, a bit amused, and added, "(You have been to a place like this before.)"
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Post by Atticus on May 31, 2015 21:57:33 GMT -5
"Thank youu," Ellie all but purred, leaning up to kiss his cheek before taking the GBA. One look at the bulky charger and she was beginning to regret her decision. Did this place even have open outlets? In one glance they all seemed to be taken up by some minifridge. "But I can't leave you to make up your own fun, can I?" the woman said suddenly, offering him a cheeky smile.
"(Bummer,)" the Umbreon smirked as his mate headbutt him gently. At the mention of sleeping, the dark Pokémon crinkled his nose and snorted. "(Sleep? I'm nocturnal!)" There seemed to be little to do other than retire, however.
"(Have I?)" the Mightyena blinked, furrowing her brows. "(I feel like I haven't been out of the ranch since Relebrity,)" she grunted, shaking out her long, black mane. "(So what are we doing here? I'm out of the loop.)"
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Jun 1, 2015 10:35:01 GMT -5
Note smiled and leaned toward her. "You're right. I could get into trouble," he said ominously. "You'd better stay close."
Vivian snickered and looked around again. She had already come to the same conclusion. And there wasn't even anyone to toy with. But she had no desire to sleep; Pokémon centers always offered some sort of entertainment.
"(Note and Ellie are on vacation, but a storm started,)" Don explained. "(So we're waiting it out here.)" He looked around, his pelt twitching at the sound of the rain.
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Post by Atticus on Jun 1, 2015 11:41:57 GMT -5
"You could," she agreed, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to lay next to her.
Angelo's nose twitched as stared about the shelter. The humans had released very few Pokémon this time, and while Angelo liked the peace and quiet, he missed his son. He glanced back at the PC, and then to his trainer. Maybe when they fell asleep...
"(Ah,)" Brooke mumbled in acknowledgement. She sat in silence for a few moments before her gaze began to lose focus. "(It's kind of funny to think that years ago, I'd be out with my Clan, trying to protect them from this storm.)" The Mightyena turned to the canine, ear twitching. If she and her brother hadn't been caught, she would have been the Matriarch of her Clan. But betrothed to Erol. She wrinkled her nose at the thought.
"(We do,)" Ciara agreed, her purple gaze straying to the two pairs of Pokémon. If she had Thea... she just had to think of what they could do together to keep from getting bored, or even just intimidated by the four older Pokémon.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Jun 1, 2015 12:00:20 GMT -5
Thunder clapped violently outside the building, and the walls shook before the loss of power was precluded by a loud hum. The lights went out, the mini fridges went silent. The only sound left was the sound of the Pokémon and the dull ticking of the battery-powered clocks on the walls. Note laid down next to Ellie and looked around the pitch black room; slowly, Vivian's eyes and markings took on a dull red tint, but without the power of the moon to light them they were no brighter than a light under a blanket. "Well... guess it's good that we didn't drag our feet at the contest hall..."
Thea let out a squeak and hopped a little closer to Ciara. "(What happened?)" she peeped, dumbfounded.
Vivian's eyes narrowed lackadaisically, but hid an amused satisfaction. Finally, something went wrong. She was starting to fear this might be monotonous. It was so much easier to have fun in the dark.
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