”Oh shit.” All the color drained from Sarai’s face (a rather impressive feat considering her skin tone) the moment she heard the sound made by the impact between the pichu and the wall. Things being what they were, and the wall being made of bricks and mortar to the little mouse’s flesh and bone, it was unmistakable which had won that exchange.
”Shit, shit, shit..” Sarai -ran- over to the little mouse, shedding a pair of flying pokemon and an umbrella as she went.
”Hoohoo! Hoo hoo hoohoohoo hooooo hoo hoo!” Augh! What the darkrai is going on here? What just happened?! Strabio let out, fluffing out his feathers as best the rain would let him and flapping furiously to recover his upset balance. It was narrow, but he managed to avoid running afowl of Cyclone’s wings as she too struggled to right herself in the wake of the purple-haired girl running out from under them.
Maloren just stood and stared in shock as Sarai crouched by the fallen form of the tiny mouse, quickly inspecting it to be sure she could move the poor creature without aggravating any of its injuries. All the while, a constant litany of
”shitshitshitshitshit” poured from her mouth, the young woman literally unable to think of anything else to say- all her thoughts were on the little yellow creature and what she could do about the misfortune she’d unwittingly heaped on it.
”Ile Ile! Iiile? Ile ile iiiiiile ile!”Whoa, hey! What’s going on? This isn’t a tasty way to travel, I’m getting all wet! Bilani complained, twisting her head this way and that to try and see what was going on- but her position only let her stare out into the rain. After a few moments, the croc gave up and pulled her head back, using one stubby limb to shift the immense mass of purple hair that was Sarai’s ponytail over herself, the thick, colorful strands affording her more than decent protection from the rain.
Cyclone fluttered a few more times, then hop-skipped a landing on the dirt next to the fallen mouse. She was quite startled by the goings on, and cocked her head to peer at the broken little creature for a few moments before she took to the air.
”Dgii dgii dgiiiii! Dgiiii! Dgiiii!”Someone’s hurt bad! Emergency! Emergency!” The pidgey called out, immediately rising in a spiral around her trainer.
”Dgiii dgooooo dgooooo!”Got to find a safe place! Got to find a safe place!By this time, though, Sarai was already on her feet, water streaking her face and bringing out a faint shine in her hair- and already soaking her clothing fairly well. Cradling the injured pichu to her chest, she ran full-out for the pokemon center.
”Sinsin! Sin! Riiiiit riiiit sin!”Stop it! Wake up! We’ve got to go, Maloren! Elinia shouted in the meowth’s face, slapping his cheek a few times for good measure. With a faint start, the cat pulled his paws apart, staring at the pads of his upper limbs with a kind of dismayed awe.
“Miuuu... miau...”That.... I didn’t mean to.... He half-stuttered out, then raised his head, looking around wildly.
”Niao! Mrauuuul!” I’ve got to do something about this, I’ll... I’ll help! Turning and still uncaring of the rain that was matting his fur down and making it an absolute mess, he immediately dropped to all fours and started running- in the wrong direction.
”Riiiit! Riiiiit!” This way! This way! Elinia exclaimed, darting in a curve past the meowth that got his attention and drew the half-addled cat around towards where Sarai had run off.
Sarai was briefly startled when she saw her own umbrella ahead of her, almost at the doors of the pokemon center, but paid it no further heet, darting through the already wide automatic doors. Water trailing everywhere, especially in the wake of her hair (which slapped a few arms and shoulders on her way past, leaving a trail of wet and complaining people), she practically crashed into the front desk of the public facility, stumbling to a halt with a dull thud, her shoulder against the bumpy plastic.
”Please... trying to catch... too hard.... medical...” She gasped out, slamming a pokeball down on top of the counter with the same hand she was using to leverage herself up to standing. A -very- tense, shaky motion- but a gentle one nonetheless, deposited the wet, unconscious body of the injured pichu next to the ball. The nurse on duty, a bit startled, almost stood there staring for a bit- but Sarai raised her head, a strange, wild look in her eyes.
”NOW!!!!” She shouted.
Immediately drawing the expected (if wrong) conclusion that the girl had brought in a beloved pet in critical condition, the nurse hit an emergency call button on the back of the counter, and a pair of additional nurses charged out of the back with a small stretcher. Again, there was a brief pause, but the purple-haired trainer didn’t have to shout again to get the two back into motion, running into the back with the pichu and pokeball carefully set on the stretcher between them.
Sarai slid down the side of the front desk, her back against the plastic, and tried to catch her breath- when suddenly she was surrounded by her friends again, a bird on either knee, a sentret in her lap and Fern, wonderful little creature that she was, sitting down next to her with a faintly wet noise from her muddied feet, and a clatter from the umbrella hitting the floor next to her.
Several feet away, Maloren lingered, ears back and up on all fours. [FFFF99]”.....mew....”
I’m sorry...[/color] was all he said, but Sarai gestured for him to come closer.
”No, it... it’s alright, Maloren. It’s not your fault. I should have remembered just how fragile the baby pokemon are..... that was my mistake. I just... I just hope he comes through it okay. Poor little thing....” For all that she was worried about the little mouse, Sarai wasn’t exactly looking the neatest herself now, mud splashes all over her lower legs and the thick fabric of her pants and vest soaked pretty cleanly through.
Outside, there was a brief flash. Sarai had just long enough to hope it wasn’t an omen before the thunder arrived with a dull boom.
PichuName: Zonde
Gender:
MaleLevel: 7
Attacks: Thundershock, Tailwhip, Charm
Ability: Static
Nature/Personality: Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. Zonde doesn’t have that protection, and his initial encounter with Sarai showed it. Apparently, the dangerous hit he took that knocked him clean out also knocked a bit of common sense into him- although his curiosity remains insatiable, he tempers it with a good deal of caution and a constant readiness to avoid an attack.
With a soft sigh, Sarai emerged from the bathroom, her wet clothes exchanged (somehow) for a new set- this time with a long black skirt instead of the pants, and the black corset/bustier had been replaced with a purple one, the dyed leather creaking with every movement. She’d also parted with the armbands and fighting gloves, in favor of a long-sleeved shrug, the flared sleeves of which came to her elbows in banded black and white while the portion over her shoulders was black. The vest was also missing, replaced by a large satchel under one arm, with an over-shoulder strap crossing her cleavage. Bilani, of course, was already riding in the satchel, and the moment she emerged Cyclone and Strabio took up their positions on her shoulders, Strabio left and Cyclone right.
Maloren and Elinia waited for her on a bench, the sentret perking up and the meowth drooping as the short young woman approached them. Fern sat beside the two, one forepaw possessively resting atop the folded umbrella, her burgundy eyes watchful for anything out of the ordinary- her trainer’s outfit certainly counted, she hadn’t seen that before and Sarai didn’t seem to have had anywhere to carry it...?
The meowth looked up at his trainer as she approached. [FFFF99]”Miao mia myaaaau....”
I guess I’m going away now, huh?[/color] He mewed disconsolately, Elinia gently patting him on the shoulder. Oddly, though, the purplette just smiled at him a moment, turning her attention to Fern.
”Fern, I already talked with you about this- I do care about you a lot, but by the rules I’m not allowed to have more than six of my friends with me. You know I’ll bring you back out soon, so I’ll have to ask that you let me send you back for a few days. Thank you very much, by the way, for getting my umbrella and the door for me.” As she spoke, Sarai pulled a pokeball from her hair, rolling the sphere around in her palm a little before pressing the trigger button and expanding the size of the container.
”Balbalbal. Balbal balbal balba balbalbalbal. Zorrr?”No, I understand. I’ll see everyone agaoin before long at all, and I trust you. Just... try to keep your head a bit better. Okay? Fern croaked a few times before letting out something somewhere between a growl and a purr. Sarai nodded in response, and triggered the ball’s recall mechanism, shifting the squat creature into a beam of light that vanished within the sphere. Gently kissing the pokeball once, she stuck it to the odd object (which resembled nothing else so much as a deactivated lightsaber) and then pressed a button, causing the ball to vanish.
Maloren had watched all this in slack-jawed shock, and remained still as his trainer picked him up in both arms, holding the much fluffier and drier cat close alongside the long-tailed furret he called partner.
”C’mon, you two... let’s go see how that pichu is doing.... if we’re really lucky, he’ll agree to travel with us. I just hope he’s okay....”
Sitting on a bench near the door of the center, Sarai let the two furry pokemon out of her lap, though Elinia quickly darted up on top of her head, curling up there with her tail concealed by the young woman’s purple locks. Apparently, though the pichu was perfectly healthy now, there had been a few... cosmetic... issues, and his tail would forever be short one bend.
Sarai set the new pokeball down on the bench, and poked the recall button, allowing the tiny mouse inside out. The little yellow-and-black creature shook his head a few times, and wiped at his eyes. Looking up he saw- oh, that was the same trainer! Okay, yes, she’d changed her fur almost entirely, but the tail on her head was the same and she was just -covered- in pokemon. Waddling towards her on his hind legs, the electrical rodent made the cutest face he could muster up at her.
”Pipipi p’chuuuuu? Pi? Pi?”I’m really really sorry, please don’t be mad anymore? Okay? Okay? He offered, rubbing his forepaws together.
The trainer, for her part, blinked a few times, doing her best to keep from just melting to pieces on the spot.
”Uh... look, I.... I need to apologize...”The pichu stared blankly at the trainer, quite frankly baffled.
”I just, okay, yes, I kind of meant to hurt you, but nothing like that. I wanted Maloren to stun you so I could try to catch you, and that just... well, I didn’t mean for you to get... get anything broken. I’m... I’m really sorry.” Sarai sniffed a few times, she wasn’t really trying not to -cry-, per se, just... just... her eyes were kind of tearing up a bit..... Okay, yes, she was crying a little.
Then she cried a -lot-, because the pichu simply walked up onto her lap and held up his forelegs towards her, offering a hug in universal language.
With a heavy sigh, Sarai stepped out of the pokemon center, once more be-umbrella’d and positively festooned with pokemon. Elinia remained atop her head, the birds on her shoulders, and Bilani happily stayed in the satchel, chewing on what appeared to be a chunk of plastic bench.
Maloren, though... completely of his own choice, the feline was wandering about in the rain, looking for interesting things for his trainer. She’d spoken of sandshrew, and magnemite, and also ekans, diglett and skitty. He was kind of hoping for a sandshrew or magnemite, both were fairly tough and maybe he could practice not overdoing it on his attacks? But really, any would be good.. Right?
The newly-named Zonde, however, was enjoying one big long hug from the purple-haired trainer, who cuddled him close as she walked, carefully maintaining her umbrella cover so as not to get her ankle-length skirt -too- wet. At least it was a fairly water-resistant material.
OOC: I’d like Maloren’s personality entry updated, please. It should now read:
For the Shinies! But carefully..... Maloren is a pretty laid back kitty outside of combat, and would much rather get his food from a packet or can than from eating something he can talk to. Once in combat, though, he acts with precision, carefully measuring his attacks. As a technician, he is aware that while his instincts scream for him to hit as hard as possible, there are times when that’s just -too- hard, and he’s very wary of the damage he can do without consciously thinking about it. The rest of the time, though, he’s just in it for the shiny objects. If it glimmers or gleams, he wants it (or a piece of it), especially so if it’s round. He looks to his partner Elinia for guidance, trusting the sentret every bit as much as he trusts Sarai- who he looks up to immensely, very glad that she was willing to keep him around after he massively overpowered an attack against a prospective teammate.