Welcome to Gaia! ::

When Faleen had gotten the E-mail, there was no doubt in her mind that she would be going to this class, she knew that when it came to Pokemon, there was a lot she needed to learn, or even understand.
Training what difficult, at times confusing and tedious, and not just for herself, her lack of knowledge affected her Pokemon as well.

The dark blond, in usual grunt uniform, stepped into the training gym that had been instructed, glancing around quietly before her gaze found a woman, dressed in Elite uniform standing in the middle of the room… Faleen had seen her once before, but couldn’t say she knew much else about her.
Taking a slow breath, folding her hands behind her back and strengthening her posture, Faleen continued into the room. Three pokeball’s attached to the strap around her thigh.
“Good evening ma’am” Faleen spoke, respectfully once she drew close enough to speak. The dull thudding of her boots drawing to a stop at an appropriate distance from the instructing elite.

"Big brooother, let me GOOO! Let me go, let me go, let me goooo!"

Into the training gym walked Mister Sorano Dinkley in all his fit and prime form. However, he was joined with some extra company. His sister Lennyka was thrown carelessly over his shoulder as if she was some sort of hand bag. She was busy punching at her brother's back in hopes he would just put her down. Yet, the blows to his middle felt more like a keen massage than horrifying pain.

"Such yer lil' arse!" he cursed to her as he walked in, his little Flareon companion walking and twining between his feet. "Ya need this class, ya 'ear? Ya dun' even know how ta train Elly 'ight!"

"That is because she is yours!" replied Lennyka with a huff. She had worn herself out with all that punching. "You just gave her to me."

"Yea, I gave 'er ta ya 'cause all ya had was that lil' Chuchu that don' do squat! Ya didn' 'ven 'volve it! At least Elvis be 'volved an' ten times more powerful than that lil' piece o' junk!"

Lennyka was dropped to her feet and she hastily pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her older brother really was ticking her off.

"Leave Max out of this!" she bellowed. "He doesn't want to evolve! So just leave him be!"

The two continued to bicker like the clashing siblings they were. Never cocked an ear and looked for the nearest corner. It would be hard to sleep with them constantly screaming at each other like that.

Nadja looked up at the sound of footsteps and figures in her peripheral vision, causing the pearl drops in her ears to swing and sway, cupped by the curtain of her red hair. As the first arrival drew close, the elite's expression was thoughtful - a silent inquiry of 'have I seen you before?' until memory placed her as the Wailord victim at the beach. "Ah."

"Good evening," she returned in kind with a cordial smile, extending its brief duration to Emilie as she came alongside. The hat-wearing Pikachu was given a cursory evaluation.

That smile disappeared when the next grunt was fireman carried in by.. come to think of it, Nadja had never learned the name of that lanky, perpetually squinting grunt, but it was probably less important than what she did know about him, which involved lime green speedos and sloppy crossdressing. From the way they were squabbling, they were either lovers or siblings, and the hair ruled out the former.

The elite clipped her Rocket Dex back on her belt and took note of the pale-haired grunt that had just arrived with a slight nod, then turned her cool gray gaze on the bickering pair and cleared her throat, expression disapproving at best. Once it hit the top of the hour, they would be wasting everyone's time.

When Nyx received the email in her inbox, she almost ignored it. But then she remembered her promotion, and how Nadja suggested she show up to the training class. It seemed the little Agent couldn't outrun this issue forever. She sucked at battling, and anyone could tell.

So, a little before five pm, Nyx creeped into the specified gym. The pokemon that was following her, however, was not creeping. It was difficult for a five foot tall cannon turtle was hard to miss. "Blaaas..." Beaker grumbled at her trainer, who was trying her best not to be seen. Pathetic. The albino pokemon stomped over, grabbed Nyx, and carried her out towards the front of the gathering rockets.

"B-Beaker no! Put me down! Oh dear..." Nyx sighed. How embarrassing...

Leo's fur bristled slightly as the massive turtle pokemon shuffled in, but his eyes quickly picked out Nyx and he instantly relaxed. "Chu! Chu!" It was his friend, the one who threw the rubber band ball! He hadn't seen her in while. Emilie saw Leo's target and tried to scoop the pikachu up, but missed as he tore off in the white haired agent's direction.

Instead, the Dinkleys were treated to a smile when they met Nadja's gaze. It wasn't open-heartedly friendly, but it was pleased and pleasant. I have your attention. Good.

It faded at the sight of Nyx's disobedient Blastoise, Emilie's runaway Pikachu and Jen's reluctant Charmeleon. The redhead reached down to her low-slung belt; there was a click, a bright flash of light, and then a large Arcanine stood alert and foursquare before the half-circle of grunts. Nadja began her lecture, flanked by a dog as tall as a very tall man.

"Pokemon are tools to advance Team Rocket's goals." It was a firm statement, directed at the grunts whose creatures lazily milled about. "The first mistake of the novice is to assume this absolves them of responsibility. It does not. Any tool, be it a hammer or a Hariyama, must be properly selected, carefully maintained, and effectively used. With Pokemon, this translates to breeding, training, and strategy. To demonstrate the first two.." The elite weighed the Arcanine's Pokeball in her gloved hand before a half turn and a graceful extension of her arm sent it sailing into the pool. "Moloch. Retrieve."

The fire type's ears flattened and his head lowered at the prospect of the pool, but his hesitation lasted only a moment before he loped forward. Water surged over the sides when he splashed in and paddled toward the floating sphere, snagging it carefully in his teeth when he was close enough.

"Several of you were at some point exposed to the opinion that any Pokemon can flourish under the care of a diligent trainer," Nadja continued over the slap-slap of giant paws making waves, "And this is true. A well-trained weakling can hold its own." Her mouth curved in a sly smile as the Arcanine approached her again, water streaming from his fur. "But a well-trained prodigy can be overpowering. Good." This last was to the dog, whose sodden ears pricked forward and muzzle met his trainer's treat-filled palm with a noise approximating 'snorf.'

"You should consider your source material and invest your time wisely. But for now, we'll focus on modifying behavior. Tell me, or show me - up until now, how have you gotten your Pokemon to do something?" The question was directed at all of them, a general sampling.

As Lennyka went screaming for the exit, she would see Seth, who would lift a brow as she went running past him. That was interesting.

The tall elite gave a smirk as he turned his attention to the class at hand, particularly the instructor.

"Hm. Generally the running and screaming happens at the end of my classes, not the beginning."

The man, with his arms folded across his chest, entered the room and stood some paces away. He looked over the gathered grunts, trainees, and... agent. Then looked back to Nadja. "Don't mind me. I'm just here to observe."