Pokemon: Keys of Anima! [IC/Accepting via OOC/Started]

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color="#FF8C00"]"PhatBoy, return!"[/color] Victor held out PhatBoy's Pokeball and shot a red beam that extracted the Hippowdon back inside. As soon as he did so, the sandstorm in Accumula Town terminated itself, and the buildings came into view. The people stopped panicking and slowly proceeded to move on to their normal lives. But why did it stop all of a sudden, as the populace asked amongst itself? Perhaps Victor had faintly heard Leona calling in to have it terminated anyway. Victor hardly cared whether or not Leona was impressed. In fact, he put together a fake applaud for her.

[color="#FF8C00"]"Real clever, Missy, way to make a good killjoy of yourself,"[/color] Victor retorted.

[Christian Exodia]

Zexion flew away, a few towns away, to Opelucid City. He said hello to the Gym Leaders, and leaned against the Pokemon Center, drink in hand. His Dragonite and Cofagrigus were enjoying a small snack; he rallied them in teams of two to eat. Once they eat, he would return them. "Go Christian and Rave!" The Abomasnow and Meinshao come out, and get their food. "Being an Elite Four member; sometimes good, every other time, either fans running us over or Team Anima trying to kidnap and or kill us. Crazy like their leader." The two finish their food, and he switches for the last two to eat.

[Two-Hundred And One]

Zach took a good look around. Mostly everyone had gone, but a few people stuck around - probably to talk to the police. "Well, Ninjask... To be honest, I don't really think we should stick around. Let's come back after the police have gone." Zach paused. "Yes, this means you get breakfast." Ninjask chirped happily. "All right... aha!" He noticed a shelf nearby, with a few maps on it - some of Nuvema, some of the whole region. "Sweet!" He looked at the map, and found a small diner nearby. "Okay, Ninjask, let's go get some breakfast!" Zach set out to the diner, putting the stress of the day behind him. Nevertheless, he still felt that this was only the beginning...

[~Demyx~]

Five minutes into his journey, and Kyle was already amused. Route 1 wasnt far from Nuvema Town, and he ran right past the sign that said so. He already had breakfest early, so he could start ahead. However, although he only brought some food in his backpack, a fishing rod, clothes, a water bottle, and some materials for a tent, he was a bit worried. However, this thought was pushed when he saw the peaceful lake near the coast of the route. Mizu and him had stopped, and as Mizu started swimming in the nearby lake, he unpacked his backpack, and he pulled his goggles down. He picked up his backpack and put it under a tree. Then, he took a few steps back and jumped into the water with Mizu. With a big splash, Kyle came back up to the surface and looked at Mizu. Mizu was already having fun in the lake on Route 1. "[b]Man, this water is making me relaxed after what happened at the lab. Good thing we managed to get out of there with te required supplies before the police came and interviewed us all,[/b]" said Kyle. Mizu nodded. Then, he dived down into the water and looked around. There werent that many Pokemon in the lake, but there were only a couple of Basculin here and there. Kyle rose back up and he was surprised when Mizu splashed him. "Osha!" said Mizu, laughing. "[b]Oh, that's how it is? Have this![/b]" he said, taking the splash in the face and splashing Mizu back. Soon, they were splashing eachother silly. He could enjoy this Pokemon journey.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

It wasn't until the sun started shining on the Glacier Cup itself that Emma was finally able to let go. She didn't care that it landed on the ground. She even seemed willing to just leave it there for someone else to take, as she was just glad that she got the artefact off her chest, literally, and that her arms were no longer frozen in place. But it was XmasTree that returned to collect the fallen artefact, before returning to Emma's side and pointing to a mountain range that was barely visible in the north-west yonder. 'Twas hard to tell exactly which mountain XmasTree was trying to point to.

[color="#800080"]'It belongs over there?'[/color] Emma signed the question, XmasTree nodding in reply, [color="#800080"]'OK, but you need to promise me that you'll leave it there and we never come back for it. I know it seems much, but that thing's really more trouble than it's worth.'[/color]

XmasTree shrugged its shoulders, which Emma took as a yes. And so they prepared to leave, but just around the corner, a Galvantula spied on them whilst hidden under a bush. It remained still, waiting for the two of them to make a move.

[Yorukin]

[OOC: I apologize for taking so long to post.]

Edmund dug through his bag to find the first-aid kit he had packed. Now that the excitement was over, he needed to stop the spot of bleeding in his shoulder. He pulled a box of band-aids out of his bag and opened one of the strips, applying it to his shoulder while the other new Trainers picked up their I.D.s and Pokedexes. He hurried over to get it, ending up in line right in front of the blond kid with the flute that he met earlier. He remarked over his shoulder, "So... are we still battling after this? I mean, both of our Pokemon are still in pretty good shape." Zorua walked up and jumped into Ed's arms as he stepped forward to get his Trainer gear from Juniper. "Well? What do you say?"

[scooterulez]

OoC: I'm sorry if this is a little long.

Aaron was surprised how big the route was, so big in fact that he could see about 30 feet ahead of him. Not only that, there was a lake on the left side of the route. "Man, way bigger than the one in Pallet Town for sure." They walked for about 2 to 3 minutes, then they stopped right in front of some tall grass. Aaron breathed in then out, "Ready to get some Pokemon Munchlax?" [b]"Munch!"[/b] replied Munchlax. "Alright here we go." Aaron stepped in the grass and walked through all of the way to the other side without running into any Pokemon. Aaron looked back at the grass scratching his head. "Huh. Isn't Pokemon suppose to be in the grass? Oh well, come on, there more grass up ahead." They continued ahead to the next patch of grass and walked through and didn't encounter any Pokemon again. "Awww, Come on!" Aaron dramatically drops on his knees and yelling in the air with his hands in the air, "WHERE ARE YOU FREAKIN' POKE-" Before he finished, something jumped out of the grass and tackled Aaron in the chest making him lay on the ground, groaning. "What the heck was that?" He looked up and surprised to see some type of dog Pokemon. "Finally, but what is it?" Aaron took out his Dex and it said:

[i]Lillipup - The Puppy Pokemon: The long hair around its face provides an amazing radar that lets it sense subtle changes in its surroundings, it also faces strong opponents with great courage. But when at a disadvantage in a fight, this intelligent Pokemon flees.[/i]

"Cool, but it won't flee from me." Aaron said getting back up. "Alright Munchlax." [b]"Munchlax!"[/b] "Use Tackle!" Munchlax charged at Lillipup faster than it did when running, but the Lillipup avoided the attack and came back with it's own Tackle attack hitting Munchlax in the back. Munchlax skidded across the ground then quickly got back up. "Try Tackle again" Munchlax ran back at Lillipup, but it dodged again and hit Munchlax again, but in the head this time. Munchlax looked back at Lillipup, but then the Pokemon went into a stance and used Leer on Munchlax. Munchlax felt the effect of the move, but tried to shake it off, but Lillipup came at Munchlax again with another Tackle. Hitting him in the gut. Munchlax groaned.

[i]*Shot shot shot. What do I do? If it keeps going like this, Munchlax will faint. What to do?*[/i] Then Aaron got an idea that had a 25 percent chance that it will work.

Aaron looked at Munchlax, seeing that he was tired already. "Ok Munchlax, use Oder Sleuth!" Munchlax sniffed the air and nodded when it caught it's scent. "Alright, now *I hope something good come from it* use Metronome." Just like last time, he raised his arms in the air and swayed them back and forth then stopped. Aaron was praying for something good, but nothing happened. Lillipup took this opportunity to strike Munchlax with another Tackle attack. *Come on Munchlax.* Lillipup hit Munchlax right in the chest, Munchlax let out a groan, but then grabbed Lillipup, pushed off the ground and into the air. Aaron was awed by what was happening. He noticed that Munchlax started to do back flips in the air. "I've seen that move before." Aaron exclaimed to himself, "it's Seismic Toss." Aaron kept watching the distance from them and the ground til they got at least 8 feet off the ground, then said, "Throw Lillipup to the ground now!!" [b]"MUNCHLAX!!"[/b] Munchlax obeyed and threw Lillipup to the ground. Lillipup hit the ground, face first, with rocks, grass, and dirt flying up in the air and in all directions, some even hitting Aaron, who was shielding his eyes from the debris.

He saw Munchlax land in front, panting from the spinning it did. Aaron uncovered his eyes to see what became of Lillipup. Lillipup, laying on the ground, was in a daze from the spinning. "Ha ha! How do you- Oh wait, my Pokeball." Aaron quickly got out a ball, threw it at Lillipup, hitting it square in the head before being engulfed in red, then it went into the Pokeball. Aaron kept his eye on the ball as it shook, knowing that Lillipup was trying to get out. For what seemed to be hours to Aaron, the Pokeball stopped shaking, then a ding with little stars coming from the ball. Aaron caught his first Pokemon. Aaron and Munchlax shouted for joy, then ran up to the newly caught Lillipup. He looked at it in amazement then lifted the ball into the air and shouted out so the whole world could hear him. "YES!! I CAUGHT A LILLIPUP!!" [b]"MUNCHLAX!!"[/b] "And that's only the beginning! Better watch, because here I come Pokemon League Champion Title!!" Aaron looked at the Pokeball which held the Lillipup, "I'm going to call you 'Puppy.'" Aaron put the Pokeball on his belt and continued to the next town, Accumula Town.

[Dementuo]

Kurow opened his eyes again, and stopped playing. Everyone else was gone. He sighed. "Looks like I waited a little too long..." Kurow thought, standing up. After recieving his Pokedex, he proceeded outside. He walked to the edge of the town, leaning on the railing again, staring out at the ocean once more. "This may be the last time I'll be able to see the ocean so well, for a while... You ready for this, boy?" He asked his partner, who had moved to sleeping on his head. "...I'll take that as a yes, then." Kurow said quietly. He turned around, and moved off towards Route 1.

[~Demyx~]

"[b]Huh, huh, let's go on Mizu. We've had our fun, now we better start travelling,[/b]" said Kyle, getting out of the lake with Mizu. They definately had fun swimming, but it was time for them to get back on the road. Putting on his backpack and shaking to get off the soaking water, he pulled his goggles back to his forehead and got back on the main trail. Mizu waddled behind him, like a lost puppy. Walking along, he saw a couple of kids already on the route. "[b]We gotta hurry. The other trainers are catching up,[/b]" said Kyle, looking back. "Osha!" replied Mizu. So, they took off at a run, and ran through the long grass. Halfway through, something jumped at him. "[b]Ahh![/b]" he screamed, and he fell back as the Pokemon jumped back up into sight. He landed on the ground with a thud, then got right back up and saw that a Patrat had startled him. Pulling out his Pokedex with his dry hand, the Pokedex popped out and began to speak.

"[i]Patrat, the Scout Pokemon. Using food stored in cheek pouches, they can keep watch for days. They use their tails to communicate with others,[/i]" said the Pokedex.

"Osha!" said Mizu, jumping in front to battle this Patrat The Patrat immediatly took the challenge, and started with a Tackle. "[b]Mizu, use Water Gun![/b]" said Kyle. He realized that this was actually his first battle against a wild Pokemon. He was going to win this!

[Hydra of Ages]

[b](OOC: Wait, Plasma wasn't a vigilante group. It was a Pokemon Rights group- similar I [i]guess[/i], but they weren't doing much crimefighting...)[/b]

"Yes," said Lumia with a toothy grin, "Yes we are registered, of course."

Oh, how Lumia loved having fluid communications. True, she'd locked her fellow lieutenants out of the loop -briefly-; but there was a method to her madness. Every person you spoke to on official channels built up more official policy against you- you became defensive, reacting to the wants of every other ranked Anima, instead of [i]offensive[/i], and paving a new path for them to follow. Tread forward at all speeds, no matter what was in your way- [i]that[/i] was what a juggernaut was.

"We're bringing a revolution. In response to the great powers of the villains -Team Rocket, Galactic- we're a force for good."

She saved the best answer for last, though.

"Also, I have a problem with my pituitary gland, so I'd appreciate it if you'd watch who you called young," she added with an undercurrent of danger. Questioning her team was fine, and she expected that- but her age was a far more sensitive issue.

She said her goodbyes after that, paying special attention to Juniper- she'd be a very useful ally, one that they'd make good use of in the future. Even if it was just an off-mention, a favorable sentence from a famous and well-respected figure could paint an infinity of good impressions.

Her two grunts -she'd forgotten their names at the moment, they were really two of the lowest ranking she had available to her- returned and saluted. After Lumia made a big show about having lost their arch-enemies yet again, she made her leave, walking out of the town and a fair distance down the road before opening communications again.

"I'd call that a success, wouldn't you?" she said nonchalantly on the Lieutenant Channels. The gears in her head were working again, crunching out the next step in the tango of her plan.

-


Gere, once again, wasn't sure what he was doing.

He'd lost interest in the lab after everyone had left it -though he came out of it with a few fancy keepsakes, a piece of plastic and a small computer-type thing that he was fascinated by- and begun his wandering around again.

He wasn't sure exactly where he was. There was a brook trickling around somewhere, and Neutral beside him was still turning like usual. All was right with the world.

On an impulse, he decided to stop by the stream for a second, laying down a bit and letting his air flow in the breeze.

[Hotaru987]

Yoko followed everyone else and quickly retireved her Pokedex and I.D, before leaving her brother in tow. She didn't really chare to stick around, and after the unusual things happening in there she was eager to get out. Kain was walking silently behind her, arms folded and in deep thought. He couldn't seem to get over the fact that this Team Anima's appearance was almost too perfect.

"Kain how long are you staying?" Yoko asked turning to her brother.

Kain looked up, "Not very long. I was actually planning on leaving today." He smiled slightly at his younger sister. "Though I'll check my mail to make sure there aren't any challengers for me at the Elite 4's building." Yoko nodded. She knew her brother was busy, but she kind of hoped that he would come with her for a while. Just to make sure she was doing everything ok, but then again...She wanted to be able to make the mistakes and correct them on her own. That was all apart of being a trainer.

"I see..."

Kain almost chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll run into each other again. Especially at the gyms." He placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'll be there cheering you on." Yoko grinned widely. With him there maybe she wouldn't be so nervous. "You better not be late like you were today!" She joked before giving him a hug. "I guess I'll see you later..."

"Yeah-Oh, if you ever find out anything about that weird object, make sure you mail me. Or better yet, just call me." Kain said leaning down to whisper it in her ear. Yoko nodded, "Sure thing. I'll let you know the moment I find out anything about it, and vise verca." With one final hug, and goodbye the two siblings parted ways. Yoko hopped onto her skateboard, and rolled away while shoving her hands in her pockets. Meanwhile, Kain didn't get far before being pestered to yet again sign more autographs.

[Supreme Gamesmaster]

"I couldn't have done better myself," Leona agreed, though her voice was as emotionless as usual. The new girl had surprised her; she'd assumed that Lumia would be rather more reserved than her current gambit suggested, given her background. Instead, she'd gotten this daring, brilliant plan. However, that genius plan could fall apart at a moment's notice if a single unnecessary move was made.

"The problem will be maintaining this façade long enough to put the artifacts under our control."

"The best way to lie, I find, is to tell the truth. I've taken the liberty of getting us certified by a number of vigilante evaluation teams." She'd pulled some strings with the fellows at Interpol; a small Water team was en route to the Interpol headquarters as she spoke. For such a respected force, they were terribly corruptible.

"I'm also feeding some rumours about the artifacts to Team Goldtooth, some Rock- and Steel-Type treasure fanatics based near Wellspring Cave. They don't know the meaning of 'strategy,' and they aren't even near our league; you and yours can crush them easily. They'll probably move before the week is up." It would be killing two birds with one stone: establishing Anima's credibility as an anti-criminal organisation and putting the artifacts in danger, allowing Lumia to take them "for safekeeping" without any conflict with the trainers or the Elite Four. Meanwhile, there was no risk of the connection to Anima being discovered by the absurdly nosy Elite Four, as there would be no connection. She was, essentially, eliminating the risks in Lumia's plan -- turning her lies into truths.

"I've studied Goldtooth's past exploits; they're very brute-force, and the way I twisted the rumours, the trainers were laughably weak. I guarantee you they'll just attack the trainers. We can set ourselves to tracking them. I'll send you the profiles I've collected shortly, once my analysis team draws up their census data and whatnot -- it'll be cake to track them."

It would be easy to let Lumia handle Team Juggernaut -- how to dispose of them, how to erase Anima's ties with them, et cetera. She was feeling something oddly like trust for the new girl. It was the other lieutenants she had to worry about. Derome was outright hasty, and Stills and Encandero were unreliable on the best of days. Getting them to sit back and let someone else do the work would mean directing them to do something else.

Thankfully, thanks to Him, she had something to occupy them with.

"Derome, if you're still online, my team will rendezvous with you shortly. Also, the sandstorm -- not funny. If you've been following our conversation, you'll know we have a ruse to maintain, and I'd rather you didn't blow it."

She took a deep breath. No, he was her equal, and he certainly did have his moment. He was simply far too boisterous to be involved in Lumia's plan -- directly, anyway. [i]Now, then, make it sound like he's in charge...[/i]

"We'll have to leave you in charge of the base. My local forces will rendezvous with you; you should be hearing from one Felicia Caldwell soon."

Leona had enough grunts that remembering all their names was impossible, but certain grunts simply stood out enough that she had to remember their names. Commissioner Salazar had once fallen into that category. The stars of the day were Nanette Hull and Felicia Caldwell, leaders of the Wood and Water teams currently stationed at Accumula -- the former was nigh-indomitable in battle, and the latter was so enormously resourceful and tricky that Leona fully expected her to rise to Lieutenant-dom if Anima lasted long enough.

"Make it flashy; we don't have anything to hide. Involve local construction crews and get the thing built legally if you can. We'll want to look philanthropic." Good, good -- turning a weakness into a strength. Leona wasn't about to call this or any plan airtight, but Anima's chances of victory were looking surprisingly good. [i]Well done, Lumia... well done...[/i]

"And what have you been up to, Selene?" she added. It would be best to clear up any conflicting plans here and now, as well as to prevent Selene from overreaching. As much as she'd assumed Lumia would be cautious, Leona knew that she herself was very cautious indeed -- and in a plan like this, caution and patience would win the day.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color="#FF8C00"]"Yeah, yeah, yeah,"[/color] Victor waved that whole conversation off. The hell did he care if this so called ruse was blown? And he already knew of the convo with the Water Team, although he never heard of this Felicia Caldwell person before. Suddenly, he received a phone call, which would soon be revealed to be from his trusted pilot.

[color="#FF8C00"]"What is it now?"[/color] Victor asked, in a tone that implied that he was a little pissed off. No answer in terms of voice. But instead, a visual display unit came up in front of eyes, showing him what a camera that was placed on top of the lone Galvantula's head had viewed. Emma was in full view of the camera, followed by XmasTree which happened to be carrying the Glacier Cup. The two of them appeared to be walking towards Accumula Town, with Galvantula following.

[color="#FF8C00"]"Let them through for now,"[/color] Victor ordered, [color="#FF8C00"]"I'll tell you when to engage, but in the meantime, keep the stealth thing going, ya hear me?"[/color] Switching the call off, Victor looked up to Leona, who was likely listening the whole time.

[color="#FF8C00"]"Not sure about the rest of 'em, but one of those trainers is on her way here as we speak."[/color] Victor reported, [color="#FF8C00"]"I assume you don't mind if we let her slide for now?"[/color]

[evilfusion]

Midna was more than happy to leave the lab behind her. She hadn't really wanted to go there in the first place, even if she got some rather important things from the visit. The fact she and everyone else had been almost robbed at Pokemon-point normally would have terrified her to her core, but as no harm had been done this time, she resolved to make sure that she did not allow herself to be a victim. Step one was to train so Ampere would be hold off possible thieves in the future. Normally, an Eelektrik itself would give enough of an illusion of strength that it wouldn't be challenged by low-key opponents, but Ampere had yet to adjust to her new power, and Midna was all but clueless about competitive battling and training. Wild Pokemon were one thing, but other trainers?

She sighed, checking her map for the fifth time. Even though she knew where she was going, she had a compulsion to check the map every so often. Part of her wondered if it was to dissuade Ampere from eating it when her back was turned.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

Somewhere ahead, Emma saw Minda, along with her Eelektrik that she happened to nickname Ampere. Emma slowly and silently approached, and she eventually saw what she needed... a map. Peering over Minda's shoulder, Emma tried to figure out where she was going, unaware that XmasTree continued forward on its own. It didn't manage to get far though, before Emma called it over and telling it, via sign language, that it shouldn't just wander off like that.

She then picked XmasTree up and had it try to point, on Minda's map, where the two of them were supposed to be going. It merely scratched its head though, as it struggled to make sense of the thing.

[evilfusion]

As Midna studied the map, Ampere abruptly tensed from her position at Midna's shoulders, and moments later, the girl was uncomfortably aware that someone had walked up behind her with the seeming intention of looking over her shoulder. Midna frowned slightly and turned around, looking the other person up and down, absently folding the map in her hand. "Yes? Can I help you?" she asked, a little more guardedly than she normally might have, but the manners of the other girl were...simply lacking.

She did not recognize the girl standing before her, nor the Pokemon, but it seemed to be an ice type of some kind, but she imagined that considering the size of the group before, she had simply overlooked her.

[scooterulez]

After for what seemed like hours since he left Nuvema Town, and battling a Lillipup, he saw the first building of Accumula Town. "Finally we made it. Let's hurry to the Pokemon Center and get you, and Puppy, healed Munchlax." Aaron picked up Munchlax and started to jog to the town. The closer he got to town, he noticed there was some little dabs of sand. Aaron thought some kid collected some from the lake, but dropped some along the way. But his thought started to sound stupid to him, because as soon as he reached the town, there was sand piles about two inches high everywhere. On the grass, sidewalk, even roofs.He stopped to look at the scene. "What the heck happened here?" He noticed there were some people out and about, cleaning up the sand from there houses and some of the sidewalks. Aaron put the thought away and went to the Poke Center and approached Nurse Joy at the counter. "Hey Nurse Joy. I need my Pokemon healed." Aaron said while handing her Puppy's ball and Munchlax. "Hey uh... what happened outside?"

[b]"Oh, there was a frightening sandstorm here about half an hour ago. No ones knows who or what caused it, but the authorities are looking into it. Now if you would excuse, I need to tend to your Pokemon."[/b] Nurse Joy took his Pokemon and left Aaron standing at the counter. Aaron went to the nearest table near a window, sat down and looked out the glass, watching the citizens clean up the sand from the storm that befell their quiet little town. Aaron was still puzzled on why there was a sandstorm in the first place. He took out his map and looked to see where it could of originated. The nearest place was Route 4, which is 2 Towns, 3 routes, a huge bridge, and a city away. "Someone must of caused this." Aaron said putting down the map on the table.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color="#4B0082"]"Snover, snow... verrrrr,"[/color] XmasTree finally figured where Emma had to the artefact to, but before it could tell her, Minda had already folded the map in her hand, which seemed to piss XmasTree off. It jumped Emma's shoulders, and acted as if to give her a piece of its mind, by challenging her Eelektrik to a fight.

[color="#800080"]"Sorry about that..."[/color] Emma winced, [color="#800080"]"It's just that I don't have map on me and um... I'm... kinda not... used to..."[/color] She stopped short, unable to continue any further for some reason.

[evilfusion]

Ampere seemed to regard the Snover's behavior with curiosity more than anything else, and Midna herself raised an eyebrow at the other girl's Pokemon. "Well, for the record, it's considered standard manners to at least be invited into someone's personal space before trying to read over their shoulder," she said.

"Since that hurdle's been tripped over, we may as well compensate with names. I'm [i]Midna[/i]," she said, placing an unusual amount of emphasis on the pronunciation, as if concerned her name's spelling would be indiscernable if casually stated. "This is Ampere, my Eelektrik," she added, gesturing to the electric type draped on her shoulders.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color="#800080"]"Sorry again... I'm not used to asking... I'm Emma, but I'd rather be called Emly."[/color] Emma held out her hand as if preparing for a handshake, [color="#800080"]"And this little guy is XmasTree, my Snover."[/color]

Back in Accumula Town, not really waiting for Leona's answer, Victor picked up a cigar, shaking the dust off it before lighting it with the heater inside his mechanical arm and smoking it. He didn't seem to concerned about the sand on his coat. After all, it wasn't like he would obtain the taste of dust, unlike if he were to leave it on the cigar.

Victor looked around to see the people still cleaning up after the sandstorm, some of them still speculating on what caused it and spreading rumors of a trained Hippowdon or Tyranitar being the cause. Taking advantage of this, Victor arranged a call with someone in Nacrene City, which was north-west of Accumula Town.

[color="#FF8C00"]"Have everyone move in on the Museum,"[/color] he ordered.

[Quiksilver]

[b]OOC: Pertaining to Hydra, I guess that's what I get for listening to secondhand information. I don't have B/W myself, and my friend who has Black told me that Plasma was pretending to be a vigilante group. I didn't check what he said was correct or not, and I knew Plasma fought for Pokemon Rights, so it was simply oversight on my part. Sorry.[/b]

Selene sighed; she was obviously weary. "I've been sitting in this chair for the last three hours watching a bunch of scientists fiddle around on a security monitor, if that's what you're asking. However, rest assured, I have managed to find the time to assign one of my own operatives to the group. He's one of the best; he just finished cleaning up some gangs that have been treading on our toes up in Opelucid. I'll send him a message telling him to get down to Accumula in order to, how shall we say, assist things." Without waiting for an answer, Selene ended the communication and turned back to her computer, in which an image of about a dozen scientists were milling around and typing things on laptops, could be seen. Selene spend a moment looking at the image. She wasn't really intently watching the image, rather mulling over this scheme in her mind.

It was complicated and convoluted, that was for sure. Lumia was currently establishing themselves as good guys, while Leona set up a base in Accumula, all the while they manipulated another Gang into doing their dirty work for them. But it was this subtle tugging of strings, these layers of secrecy upon secrecy that Anima thrived on. Team Rocket, Galactic, even the much-feared Plasma- they had all failed because they had announced their plots to the world in one way or another. This had allowed for opponents to gather, consolidate power, and fight back against an enemy, something that united the group. A common foe was a more powerful uniter than any other force on the world...but remaining behind the scenes, moving through back channels as they did, hidden behind a facade? It hid their true motives, which simple men saw as evil, when in truth, what they were doing was so much better. The time for peacetalks and diplomacy was past- Anima was actively trying to work towards a better future, and while their methods might be a little, well, brutish, it was needed. Selene believed this, believed it with all her heart- ever since her parents were killed, the sole goal in Selene's life had been the purging of all pain, all hardship, from this planet. Not just for her, but for everyone else as well. Selene did truly believe this was what Anima was aiming to do, but she was not so naive to believe that her fellow Lieutenants had ulterior motives as well.

Speaking of her other Lieutenants...she had better keep an eye on them, as well. Each had their own strengths, but, if not properly controlled, they could bring down this entire organization. Lumina was savvy and audacious, but too brash; Leona had a knack for plotting, which was both good and bad; Victor, well, he was far too unpredictable. His strength only complicated the situation. The others were, unfortunately, unknown quandaries; Selene had spent little time with them. However, small groups of freelancers she had hired where digging up everything they could on them. Selene often believed that partially the reason He had brought her into the organization had been her ability to bring these disparate elements together and create an efficient machine that carried out their motives swiftly and cleverly. Part of this had to do with subsidizing her fellow Lieutenants' weaknesses, which Selene's natural paranoia only helped out with. In this case, Selene felt as though she needed to keep an eye on Lumina. This plot was probably one of the biggest ones ever planned by Anima, and with Lumina taking control, it might give her enough power and confidence enough that she might start doing whatever she wanted, which was not a good thing. There was also a good chance she would not, but Selene had not gotten to where she was now by giving out trust easily.

In one fluid motion, Selene brought open a instant messaging service on her computer, momentarily blocking out the image of the scientists. Encoding it with a cypher, she rapidly sent a message to her agent, explaining what needed to be explained and telling him to pack up and go over to Accumula. Thinking back on what she had thought about Lumina, she attached a short note telling her agent to keep an eye on the Lieutenants, then signed off and returned, with a sigh, to her former task.

[evilfusion]

"Emly?" Midna repeated, noting the seeming lack of a vowel. She accepted the handshake with relative enthusiasm, but let go before long. She looked down at the Snover. "XMasTree?" she repeated that name as well. "How...appropriate." Actually, she thought that was hilariously inane, as the name lacked any sort of flow to it, making it sound choppy and forced. She wasn't immune to giving her own Pokemon a pun-like nickname, but she was glad she hadn't resigned herself to names that could scarcely be spoken without feeling stupid. Maybe it was just something she'd have to get used to.

Ampere let herself slide off Midna's shoulders and hovered in the air, moving closer to Emly and studying her with obvious curiosity. "Don't try to eat anything," Midna warned. Ampere seemed to wince, and eventually withdrew from the other girl without action.

"So where are you going?" Midna wondered.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color="#800080"]"I'm trying to get to that mountain range over there..."[/color] Emma answered, pointing over to the north-west and expecting Minda to be at least familiar with the landscape. Whether she actually was was another story.

At Narcene City, another group of thugs that were to claim they were from Team Goldtooth amassed around the entrance to the museum. Their objective? Raid the museum and grab all the fossils they could. Their plan? Have a Tyranitar activate Sand Stream nearby, and sneak in whilst undercover from the sandstorm created. And if anyone tried to stop them? Send out some powerful Rock-type Pokemon, whose resistance to special attacks would increase while inside the sandstorm.

In truth, Victor wanted this heist to fail miserably. After all, it wasn't only there to bolster Team Anima's reputation as the good guys, but it was also meant as some form of 'training exercise' for the trainers holding the artefacts, which he'd end by sending in his trusted WhackAMole to defeat the Rock-type Pokemon. For this reason, he wanted to time this heist to begin as soon as these trainers, or at least enough of them, began entering Narcene City, if only to allow them to see it in action.

[evilfusion]

Midna followed Emly's hand. "Really? Any particular reason why?" she wondered, her surprise evident. Having grown up in Mistralton, she was no stranger to the mountainous areas of the region, although she had always preferred Chargestone Cave as her main hangout. That was where she had found Ampere, after all.

The Eelektrik hovered around XmasTree, prodding it with her head curiously, tiny sparks of electricity bouncing from her body as she examined the Snover.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

XmasTree didn't like being prodded in the head. After one prod too many, it turned around immediately and jumped up and down, flailing its arms in order to try to scare Ampere off. Perhaps an Avalanche would teach her a lesson not to mess with this Snover. But at the moment, this would hopefully suffice. Then again, XmasTree was significantly smaller.

The more Emma tried to think why the two of them would want to go to this mountain range, the less certain she was that going there was such a good idea after all. But she had to answer the other girl somehow...

[color="#800080"]"Cause I... heard that there were lots of... Cubchoo there?"[/color] Emma hesitantly answered.