Wayward Souls

₊˚⊹ ㅤa collection of character analysis/headcanon questions to learn more about your character and your partners'! writing/headcanon prompts requested by anonymous. feel free to edit these as you see fit.

At least this one was mutually agreed upon as something fun for their pokemon ~

Was Stefan really attempting to jump over the tidal surf that was incoming toward him? Hold on...the seed bomb! It was indeed a risky yet clever idea to use to force behind it's explosion in order to successfully vault over Ariadne's attack.

Lynn watched carefully as the breloom would make his falling descent toward the sharpedo. She waited until it was near inches away from Ariadne's face, who hadn't quite 'spoken' at all but nevertheless knew exactly what her trainer wanted.

"Ari, attack now!" the vague command was given in hopes to catch the breloom off guard. If successful, immediately the sharpoedo's jaw would gape open and would use her sharp, poison secreted fangs to chomp down on the breloom's arm.

Thing was this wouldn't be a simple bite. Ariadne had the tendency to drag her prey down in those salt watery depths once she got a hold of them. Not that she considered Stefan to be prey. But it was a habit nevertheless.

As the shark's jagged maw opened up to get a taste of mushroom, Stefan wiggled in the air, raising his arm away from those fangs to avoid getting pinned down. But the last-minute surprise wasn't enough for Stefan to avoid the attack fully, and instead of an arm, Stefan was being dragged underwater by his tail...

But Ariadne's attempt to fully force the fight far from the fresh air above was interrupted as one of Stefan's surprisingly-stretchy arms reached over to the stalagmite he had kicked up from his stone edge, wrappin around and holding firm, keeping the Breloom's head and upper waist above the surface.

"It seem your bite much worse than bark, da?" He casually commented to Ariadne, despite knowing she had a mouth full of 'shroom tail. "But would be sad if fight end now!"

"Oh for sure, I might not be as passionate as Robin about competitive battling, but I got a trick or two up my sleeve... Like pretending Stefan is a long-range fighter.

Drain Punch!"

alt form(s) under the cut, beware of potential spoilers

Lafayette let out an exhausted laugh, nodding. Thank Arceus the other had stopped him, lest he continue to say more nonsense and make a fool of himself. "Agreeable terms," he concluded as the other adjusted his glasses, "and, overall just good life advice," he added with another laugh.

Following his eyes to the wild zone, Fay let out a sigh, watching the pokemon within it's confines go about their day, a couple of them ganging up on one lone trainer and his chikorita. It was so easy for someting to go wrong in those damned zones. It was one thing to travel normally, coming accross pokemon in their natural habitats -- but to walk into an enclosed area with a concentration of wild pokemon practically being held captive -- something about it just didn't sit right with him. For both the pokemon's sake and the trainers who kept stumbling in through his emergency room doors. How did he even end up doing this, anyway? Years of cancer research to save his mother led him to... this? Grunting, he rubbed the back of his head. Those were thoughts for another day.

"It's never ending," he replied simply, prying his eyes off the trainer and his chikorita. Not his business to worry about them. "Ah, but, I apologize for keeping you, or making you late, or... or whatever it is you may be doing." Truthfully, he couldn't quite pinpoint what it may be. On the way to work, maybe? He seemed like he could be a businessman of some sort... he didn't seem to be a z-a royale battler, but, he'd been wrong before, so it was worth offering up his services.

"There isn't anything for me to be late for any more, so don't worry on that note." Dante responded, but unlike Fay, his eyes remains glued on the youngster and his Chikorita. Eyes darted toward the nearest holographic entrance to the wild area, one hand tensing, ready to reach something on his person, a pokeball perhaps? But as the young boy and his Pokémon escaped their situation, Dante's entire body slackened and relaxed, the hand returning to his side and then he turned over to face the blonde, seeing the card offered to him.

"Good~" Lynn retorted back "I would hate to see you holding back just because I said this was all for fun". While Lynn was conflict avoidant, it didn't mean she was going to be a push over in battle. And it was only fair she return the same sentiment, since was the one who requested for this in the first place.

One thing was for sure. Neither Lynn or Ariadne were losing focus. The environment was still to their advantage. The ground shook still below the coordinator's feet as the stone edge erupted in a jagged path toward the sharpedo.

There was one trick up her sleeve. Though it wasn't too often she used this. And the breloom had the type advantage.

Still.

"Ari! Dodge and get in front of those rocks," she said gesturing toward the 'island' like remants from the stone edge. It was a close one though. The attack nearly coming in contact with one of the shark pokemons fins. Maybe all that time ride training her pokemon was proving worth it after all.

Once the Ariadne wss situated the next command was given. "Now use surf~!" The water near the coast swelled back, as if gathering up its energy toward the sharpedo. It was only a matter of moments that the surge was come bellowing forward, even gaining height with its crest. A contingency in case the grass type attempted to jump.

If caught the breloom would notice something strange with this surf. This one had a terribly strong under current. Meaning there would be an inevitable tug back into the sea. As if it was meant to drag the sharpedo's opponents down into the water. Bring them closer to them.

"Da, is good skill at dodge you have there." Stefan Poké-spoke to the similarly-speedy shark, the grin remaining as the surge of water grew. The mushroom broke eye contact only to look over his shoulder "Young Lady, we have plan for this, yes?"

"I see that confidence isn't just bravado, Lynnie~" Amber grinned as she assessed her options. It was becoming very clear that while she had the type advantage, she certainly did not have the arena advantage. Maybe Melody would have had better look after all.

But still, Stefan wasn't going to back down now and Amber wasn't gonna ask him. They were just going to be extra creative. Amber already had an idea, but not enough time to decide if it was worth it.

"Go for the double jump!"

Once again, the impressive muscles in Stefan's legs pushed him up in the air, but as the tidal wave approached (Amber mentally noted to step to the side to be safe) it was clear that even his strong legs wouldn't be enough to vault the incoming surf...

But as he reached the peak of his jump, a glowing seed bomb dropped from his hand, exploding right below Stefan.

Sure, the seed bomb blowing up in his face sucked, but the concussive blast was enough for him to barely cover the distance needed to vault the surf...

Fay, on the other hand, probably looked a bit ragged from the night of unrest, and worried if the other thought him to be some kind of hooligan -- or worse, one of those royale battlers awake until dawn.

"How about we split the different and say both of us should be more aware of our surroundings?" Dante offered a compromise before the blame game turned too ridiculous. He finished adjusting his glasses and retained his superficial appearance of a refined, well-adjusted man that only comes from practising in front of a mirror in utmost secrecy.

(You are logical in thinking this man is 'put together' Fay, but just like a diamond, the right angle and a gentle tap and he falls to pieces).

His glasses readjusted on his face, Dante stared at the man as he splurged out excuses and explanations. Unlike his sister and her extended family, Dante was not good at reading people. The idea that this man could be attempting to mug him never crossed his mind... Partly because the sun was just rising and it was too early, mostly because -after everything he'd endured- a common mugger would almost be laughable.

Whatever the case, the coordinator knew she was the one who requested for a friendly skirmish with Amber. And her sharpedo knew this as well. Picking up bits and pieces of the previous conversation about that.

"I suppose it's in my nature to be nice~" she replied with a soft quip. It was right around that time that her rotom phone got the idea to add some music. Or maybe it was Amber's when she wasn't looking. Who knew. But girlypop wasn't complaining.

Oh!?

"Starting off strong, aren't we?" The seed bomb command was given to her breloom. Could tell it was taking careful aim. Even with Ariadne still below the water's surface. Stefan's stubborn charge meant that the sharpedo would have two attacks to deal with.

"Ari, use dark pulse on that seed bomb!"

As soon as the request was made the misnomered 'bully of the sea' pokemon surfaced to spit out a sphere of dark aura at the abnormally large seed dropping down at it. Fortunately giving enough energy to push it back until it landed in the water with loud splash.

While Ariadne did deflect the first attack she wasn't able to avoid the breloom's melee attack. At last minute it ducked part of its head below the water enduring whatever Stefan had in store for it.

Unfortunately for Stefan, the charging melee attack was just a feint. Both trainer and Pokémon were well aware of how dangerous Ariadne's Rough Skin could be, so when she decided to deal with the incoming seed bomb and not Stefan, his bluff had been called and he skidded to a stop, kicking against the damp sand to jump backwards and regain some distance.

"Starting strong is what Stefan does, babe~" Amber winked playfully... Even as inside her mind, gears spun and schemes were incubated.

So Lynnie had a counter for Seed Bomb? Makes sense, but it did limit their options.. They'd need to catch the duo off-guard or shut down the Dark Pulse if they were to succeed. Unfortunately, Stefan was trained in raw power, doing as much damage as possible except for one move that -in a 1v1- felt way too cheap for Amber's taste...

... But then again, they could just get creative with some moves.

"Go for a Stone Edge!" Amber called out, a plan hatching in her head.

It had been a long night.

Fay stumbled out of the hospital doors, eyes squinting up at the morning sun. So, it had already risen. Using his hand to sheild his eyes from the glaring light, he stalked his way down the streets of the bustling Lumiose. Depsite how early it was, the city had already come to life -- businessmen rushing to work, pokemon trainers warming up in the wild zones, women shopping the market stalls. For some reason, he felt irritated by it all. This was rare. The long hours must really have been getting to him.

Why were so many people getting injured by rogue pokemon lately? What were those strange portals people kept talking about popping up all over the city? And!!! Why were the z-a royale trainers so irresponsible, staying up all night long, multiple nights in a row, getting dehydrated, forgetting to eat, fainting, and ending up in his ER?

Maybe he needed a vacation. When was the last time he took a break, anyway? He couldn't remember. The only thing he could remember was her, and the endless questions, the closure he would never get. How long could he keep up the facade?

Lost in the depths of his thoughts, he turned a corner and slammed straight into someone, causing them to go falling toward the ground. Quick hands grabbed the other, holding them upright, apologies quickly flying out of his mouth.

Regardless, Lynn did form a strong bond with them. Not only training her as a ride pokemon, but one for battle, too. Just in case as she always told herself.

The coordinator was aware of brelooms. Encountering a few during trips to contest halls around Hoenn. The were also a dual fighting type giving Stefan even twice as much advantage with the sharpedo.

"Ahh, I see that that one is your choice. Gotta say I've only seen them perform on stage," she remarked. Was she giving a little bit of false hope that she would be unprepared for this small battle? Naaah.

She did raise an eyebrow at the odd low sounding chirp that bellowed from the breloom. "Have they always sounded like that?" she asked inclining her head. Not that it mattered. Maybe the bipedal mushroom pokemon was trying to intimidate their soon to be opponent?

With that she went to stood up fully. There was s remote spot nearby on the beach. Still close to the waters edge. The sand bar was a mix of washed up seaweed and tall grass, along with a scattering of shells. The water would be calm for now. Only bring up small waves with a bubblinig foamed crest up to the shore then retreating back.

Eventually the two would make it to that very spot. "A one on one battle should be more than enough for now, yeah?" she asked as behind her one could see Ariadne's iconic dorsal fin stalking back and forth just above the water's surface.

"Would you believe me if I said he sounded deeper as a Shroomish?" Amber quipped back, as her bipedal kanga-mushroom did some on-the-spot hopping and shadow-boxing, ready for a fight. With a small chuckle at his eagerness, Amber followed Lynn's lead to a more open and empty battlefield, Stefan and Azura a step or two behind.

The pinkette gave the battlefield a quick once-over, eyes flashing over and trying to see any tactical advantage she could get. Unfortunately, her 'trainer' style was instinctive and improvisational, rather then foresight and preparation, so she'll roll with the punches. But at Lynn's teasing about going first... Amber just smirked back.

"Well, if you're going to be so nice about it...

♫♪♪

Stefan, Seed Bomb!"