Welcome to Gaia! ::

This whole trip already felt like a waste of time. Estelle was lying in bed, Fossil lying at her side with its head at the crook of her neck. Every once in a while the trainer would run her arm down the Pokemon’s back as if to pet it while her eyes were focused on the ceiling, and the Amaura would coo lightly with a little ‘Amau’ every time her hand would reach its tail. Her thoughts were wandering back to Mahogany, back to Olivine where they’d departed from and she’d said her goodbyes from. Her parents hadn’t been able to see her off, and only her grandmother could get away from the day-care center for the day to come along with Pryce and see her onto the ship. They’d all been good about it, everyone had said their fair goodbyes and everything before they saw her last, but it still felt a little empty to think of how long she’d be away from everyone she loved.

“This is all Pryce’s fault.” She mumbled, looking down to her Pokemon who perked up at her words and turned its head. Usually it was Poseidon who’d be sitting around listening to her but she’d kept him up all night with her talking madness and she felt guilty so she’d left him in the pokeball to sleep. Instead it was Fossil who was cuddled up next to her, letting her rant off her aggressions like a child until she couldn’t come up with anything more to rant about. For the most part the Amaura had listened to her, except for that one or two hours when it had fallen asleep in the void of words Estelle had let pass while she was deep in thought. At the moment though Fossil was very much awake, and Estelle was very interested in complaining. ” You don’t like him either, right? After all, you would be Riddick’s if it weren’t for him.” The pokemon nodded slightly, staring at Estelle.

There was a moment of silence while the ice gym leader tried to consider how to word her distaste for Pryce, but before she could there was a voice that came on over the intercom. Fossil jumped up quickly at the voice, immediately understanding what was said and the implications of it. She and her trainer shared a look, one second, then two, before the Amaura quickly jumped off the bed and ran to the opposite side of the room. This was how they operated, as soon as there was a chance that anyone would see Fossil being friendly with Estelle it would immediately pretend to have no interest in her. Behind closed doors they were usually quite close, but if there was even a chance they’d be seen there was no chance the Amaura would be anywhere near her. The whole dynamic was exhausting, but it was also kind of their thing, and while it was annoying, Estelle didn’t really want to change it either. So, rather than complain, she swung her feet over the edge of the bed and slowly pulled herself to stand.

”Come on you fussy Fossy, we don’t want to be late.” she stated, watching the Amaura tilt its head slightly before it realized Estelle was slowly scooting her feet across the floor toward her. This initiated the next stage of their usual dynamic: the chase. In fact, it was a full blown run around the room when the knock came at the door and both pokemon and trainer stopped dead in their tracks and looked toward the solid block of wood between them and whoever was speaking. The voice sounded familiar, probably someone else from Johto whom she met on the dock and hadn’t seen since. She’d been too frustrated when they boarded to even speak to anyone else, now she was regretting it because she definitely couldn’t put a name to it.

“I’ll be out in a minute. I’ll meet you down on the dock.” It was the best response she could come up with, and both she and Fossil seemed concerned about continuing their usual run around with anyone else around. They both waited until they heard the footsteps echo off away from the door before they went back to running in circles. It was only for another minute or so, but it was enough to wear Estelle out. Finally, after perhaps twenty laps around the room trying to catch her little Amaura, she went for the pokeball and called it back. She’d really been hoping to keep Fossil out, walk about the docks with her Amaura tucked in her arms like she’d done with Poseidon all those years ago, but clearly her little blue dinosaur was not too fond of that idea. It did seem a little more cooperative about the ball so she settled for that and slipped the little orb of red and white into the pocket in her sleeve before grabbing her duffle off the end of the bed.

Out in the fresh air on the ship deck Estelle had her first real look at what Inheritance Island would be like. There were flocks of Wingull flying about the beach and staryu gathered in hordes where the sand met the waves. Further up the island, away from the crashing waves, she could make out what looked like cabins where they’d be staying. The island itself didn’t look so bad; she just didn’t really like to think of how she got there in the first place. This was supposed to be Riddick’s place, not hers. He was supposed to sleep next to an Amaura on the S.S. Destiny and wake up at this enchanting little port, he was supposed to be the future gym leader, not her.

Trying not to dwell on it, Estelle let out a small sigh and started her decent from the ship deck and onto the dock where she was greeted by that same voice she’d heard outside the door before. This time, however, he gave her a name to go with the voice, and a face as well. Estelle pivoted on her heel to look at him and was surprised to be confronted by the face of Mr. Olivine himself. “Oh. It’s not ‘Mahogany’ by the way. Just because I’m replacing Pryce doesn’t make me a Maho native.” Her lips curled to the side slightly, as if confused while she tried to think of how to properly introduce herself. “It’s Estelle by the way, Estelle Caldwell. I usually go by Elle though, and I’m from Goldenrod.” Her tone came across a bit more gently than she would have liked, she really wanted to come across a little ice witch if she could for as long as she could, but already her voice seemed to be failing her. The only thing she really had going for her was the nonchalance of her facial expression as she looked back to the island. She gave his hand a nod but she didn’t reach her hand out to take it, deciding that would be too friendly and might ruin her image.

White hair waved through the wind of the sea as the S.S. Destiny sailed forward towards Inheritance Island. The place where he would finally earn his gym and be acknowledged by the sages as the true heir to the Blackthorne gym. Among all of the Johto gyms this was where trainers would test themselves to see if they were ready for the elite four. So he had to be ready and prove himself worthy of the honor.

The sages were hoping that sending him to obtain the Mark of Leadership would give him some people skills and some humility, two things we was in short supply of. Mikael wanted that too, he just always felt so awkward around people when dragons were so much easier to understand. Not in a cold way, but he never knew how to talk to people.

He sighed, looking out over the sea as his right hand rose up to play with the dragon tooth his father had given him. It was a nervous habit he had whenever something worried him. Those blue eyes looked out onto the vast island, his mind swirling with the various pokemon he'd find. His father had told him about all of the various dragons he'd seen there before he left. The man was a monster, using the sage's trust just to find new dragon's on his hunt for Giratina, turning down the mark of leadership. Mikael wasn't so petty.

They were getting close to the docks, and some of the other gym leaders were already coming up. He was already known around Johto as the announcement for the next Blackthorne gym leader, as well as all of the other selections going to Inheritance Island. He hadn't met any of them personally yet, so he figured he should probably introduce himself at some point. His bag was next to his right, which he picked up upon the boat landing.

Mikael had traveled the world, so this was just another island and so much more at the same time. This was where he would surpass his father, this island would be where he becomes a gym leader. A few hopefuls were already off of the boat, Mikael ready to explore the island he'd heard so much about.

Approaching the three other gym leaders, Mikael smiled at them softly, waving to the two from Johto and the one he didn't know. "Looks like everyone made it here alright." The Blackthorne Leader said calmly, looking towards the gym leader he didn't know. The man said he was from Dewford, a town in Hoenn. Mikael liked Hoenn well enough, there were some very interesting dragons there, he'd even thought about bringing his Salamence along with him.

"Hey there, I'm Mikael, the new leader for the Blacktorne gym." He said calmly, that smile still on his face. His hand went up to grab at the dragon tooth, he was so nervous speaking to the other leaders. He knew that they were all decent trainers, they had to be to get to this point, but in the back of his mind he knew he was the best, because his dragons were the best. That's all there was to it.

"Everyone have a nice ride?" He asked, trying to promote conversation between them, and learn as much as he could about the other gym leaders he'd be around.

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"A great man once threw a boulder and said,

What? It has nothing to do with Pokémon?... The man was spot on."

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Location:❝Inheritance Isle Dock❞
Company:❝A collection of young adults❞
Task:❝meeting and greeting❞
OoC:❝Forgot that guild forums screwed up coding.❞
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Vyn's property. Don't steal it b***h!

Ah ships. Vynessa was very familiar with ships. She did, after all, reside in a port town. Cianwood wasn't the port Captial of Johto, but it did have it's own merit. One would always hear the sailors in the harbour mutter something about Lugia, or how the seas were too rough that day, thus, having to change their route entirely. These stories had once inclined her to go explore the vast bay, even so much as finding a small series of islands, however no Lugia was ever discovered. When boarding the S.S.Destiny back in Olivine, Vyn had spent time staring at the sky, giving a partial good-by to her freedom. Did she regret going for her Mark of destiny? Of course not! It was a learning curve she was more than happy to take, but it would limit, should she succeed in obtaining, her ability to go off and explore. Oh well. Time to board the boat.

The journey was dreadful. Not the Voyage itself. The cruise was actually rather plain sailing. It was the wait that was agonizing. The first few hours were mediocre at best. Vynessa had the chance to roam about, passing a few of the other Leaders in training on certain decks but no one struck up conversation. She located an onboard gym which seemed rather practical. Herself, Brandy and Bourbon roughhoused a bit all in good spirit before she vacated the area as the ship broadcast their approach to Hoenn. Posterior to that however, it was like watching paint dry. Hoenn would be the third harbor the Destiny docked at, meaning there were still three more to go, each a greater distance away than the last; By Jove would this trip take forever.

Lounging on the bed that was designated as hers, Vynessa kicked her boots off onto the rug spread in the middle of the floor and began to just lie there. Well wasn't this was boring? The ceiling didn't hold any intricate design, so wasn't exactly suitable for taking one's mind off the long and tedious journey. Nothing was. Well, nothing in her room that was. Her Mushroom Kangaroo and Kickin' Chicken were both released in a red beam of light and coo'd and caw'd respectively. "Who want's to have a checkers tourney?" She declared, shifting her body so that she was now propped up on the edge of the bed. "Bla-Blaize!" Nodded Brandy eagerly, sitting her lean feathered body on the rug, moving the boots to the side of the room. Bourbon was more resilient, grumbling a bit before getting some 'words of encouragement' from Brandy; She pressed down on his mushroom cap so he would sit. With the three in more or less agreement, Vyn hopped over to her carry on (a rucksack that had seen better days) and pulled out a wooden half board that encased white and black marble pieces (enclosed in a bubble wrap bag). "Let the tourney begin!" She cheered, having set up the checkers pieces and pulling the complimentary notepad from the condiments table to keep score.

Despite the initial resistance, Bourbon was undoubtedly the winner. The fast paced 'action' got him hooked, (as per) and even though many matches took place, a further two hours was nothing in the grand scheme of things. Vyn concluded that there was only one thing for it: Sleep. Stripping off her jacket and cropped sweater, Vynessa lay her hands beneath her head and nodded towards Bourbon. The musroom-mon scooted towards his long time trainer and dusted her with Spore, Sending the blonde to sleep almost instantaneously.

".... Thank you and on behalf of the Captain and Crew of the S.S Destiny, enjoy your stay!" A yawn escaped the woman's mouth along with a distorted, "I'm awake." As she peeled herself upwards, the tail end of the announcement still ringing in her ears. Grazing her fingers through her tresses she lazily scratched a spot before snapping to attention and grinning. Leaping from the bed she bound her way across the floor into the bathroom, re-doing her long ponytail, running a comb through it, relieving any tangles that occurred during her pokemon induced sleep. Running the basin full of warm water and soap, she splashed it in her face, vigorously rubbing to leave a fresh pink on her cheeks. Towel drying her face she fluffed up her side bangs that had become sodden with water and let the basin run dry.

A lot of scrambling could be heard from within her room, but equally so she could hear footsteps outside, passing her room door and paying no attention to it. She pulled her head through the turtle neck, slipped on her boots and swung her jacket over her shoulders, arms shooting through the sleeve holes. Dressed and almost ready, Vyn made sure the room was left spotless, re-entering the bathroom to mop up some spills and hang the towel back onto the rack. Now she set about to do other small tasks.

Bed made. Checkers away. Rug Straight. Good. Sure, it meant her leaving the boat would be delayed but she wasn't about to leave a mess so that someone else had to clean it up. That was un-ethical. Now prepped to disembark, Her two trusty companions disappeared in a flash of red, and equally so, she bolted out of the door.

Her bolt slowed to a power walk as up ahead a winch of some sort was lowering, someone? Onto the boardwalk. Due to the Destiny's arrival, she was content in waiting for the person needing aid to disembark thoroughly before she charged through. There was actually something to look at this time, other than water. Gazing up a the island, a whistle left her lips as what she could only imagine paradise looked like unfurled before her. "That. Is one nice island." She muttered, approaching the end of the deck.

Hopping down, to boardwalk level, she eyed the fellow in the wheel chair who had darted for land it would seem, now discussing something with a smeargle. He evidently didn't like the journey either. Returning her focus to the small gathering, Vynessa stood there for a few seconds, then blurting out "Hi." So far they were mostly young men. "So, you guys are my new peers 'ey?" She stated, rather than asked (for what else reason would they be here). "Seems Johto is ruling this boardwalk, wouldn't you agree?" She further stated, noting that she had spied most of them when boarding at Olivine. "Anywho, I'm Vyn, the new Chuck of Cianwood... And, a certified mechanic! Fancy that."

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The Changing of the Tide

After the long journey from Humilau City to Castelia City's port and the long sea voyage he had endured, the S.S. Destiny was final reaching the port at Inheritance! Caspian quite liked trips on boats as he had spent most of his childhood on them with his parents. But he definitely felt he would have much preferred riding along side the boat with his Pokemon, or even dare be towed behind the cruise ship whilst standing on his surfboard.

With a few short blasts on the fog horn the Captain had signalled they had almost arrived just moments ago. Caspian lept out of his cabin to see his new home and basked in the fresh ocean air as he sighed with delight at the sight of the white sandy beaches that gently laced the island.

There had been alot of Pokemon out on the top deck of the boat earlier that day and so Caspian thought it would be best not to add to the crowdedness by letting Duke walkaround and thought it would be to let only Navi walk freely. Caspian also figured they would be too restless anyway and so he promised he would take them surfing in the sea as soon as he had unpacked and settled down.

The climate here was even warmer than that of Humilau City which would make surfing all the more enjoyable. As Caspian leaned against the railings of the ship he gazed out at the island. With every second his excitement grew as the anticipation of meeting new people and making new friends overwhelmed him. The sound of the waves hitting the boat lulled him into a peaceful daydream...

It just struck him that he hadn't even spoken to anybody on the boat yet, except "Excuse me" or "Where is my room?" to one of the stewards. How would he make new friends if he didn't make any effort on the whole journey to Inheritance? As he went in search of people to talk to, a tannoy announcement by the Captain interrupted his thought.

Duke and Navi were already resting in their Pokeballs but Caspian needed to backup his belongings in his cabin before disembarking from the boat. With no time to socialise he made his way back to his room. Eventually Caspian decided Navi could help pack, as she had helped before.

"Azuu..?"

Navi looked confused as she was released from her Pokeball, as if she had expected to be released on the island."I need your help finishing the packing Navi." As soon as Navi caught glimpse of the half filled suitcase and clothes flung on the bed she huffed, grabbed her blue bag with white polka dots and then stomped out the room with nothing more than a"Aazuuma!"Before Caspian could call her back, she had already slammed the door shut.

Navi went and found a deckchair just her size and pulled a pair of sunglasses from her bag. She assertively huffed again to herself and then collapsed into the chair with a fruity mocktail.



Frantically cramming the rest of his belongings into his suitcase Caspian forced it shut and wedged the cabin door open with it. He then grabbed his surfboard and Duke's small rucksack from the other side of the room and scrambled out the door.

Surfboards were by far one of the least impractical items to take travelling, especially when you had no help and you were chasing after a missing Pokemon. Caspian made his way back on to the top deck of the ship where people had already started disembarking. He struggled his way through a small crowd that was leaving the ship and when he emerged, he saw Navi sat in a deckchair basking in the sun. All the other deckchairs had been packed away in anticipation of arriving at their destination, but Navi seemed to have fended off any stewards because her deckchair was the only one not packed away. Before she could distinguish him from the crowd from behind her sunglasses, he dropped his belongings and returned her to her Pokeball.

After collecting himself, Caspian made his way towards the ramp exiting the ship. Most people had made their way straight towards the buildings away from the port, but a few had remained to socialise it seemed. "This looked like a good a time as any to try and make some new friends" Caspian thought to himself.

As he stepped on land he had to pause a minute. He felt like he was still rocking from the boat which surprised him having been at sea alot. He shrugged it off and proceeded to the closest group of people: four guys and two ladies. Considering the events preceding walking up to this group of people, Caspian was actually very excited. He was about to burst out a greeting in his usual enthusiastic manner but Caspian sensed there was a little contrast in personalities in this group of people.

Caspian restrained himself and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Caspian. I'm from Humilau City in the Unova region."

The response he got was mixed. It varied from a blank-faced nod, to one of them practically screaming a welcome at him. Overall they seemed friendly enough. They introduced themselves and then fell mostly silent again."Anyone else from Unova? Not that it matters a great deal, but apparently we all share a cabin." Kentaron gave a little wave to which Caspian acknowledged likewise. "At least I will know someone where I'm staying" thought Caspian to himself.

Where: Coming into Port
Company: Himself and Sora, Estelle and Jericho are the first people he meets, and then the entirety of Johto followed
Thoughts:
Jericho sounds like a total dork. Hasn't even made it off the boat and he's already declaring himself the best. Sure Johto sounds beautiful, but nothing beats the surf in Hoenn.
Mikael sounds tough, and he would be a great challenge.
Man I am so stoked to fight Vyn!

First thing Azlano noticed when more and more of the future Gym Leaders got off the boat: most of them came from Johto. At least according to Jericho anyway. When he laughed at his way of talking, Azlano honestly was a bit offended, even behind the smile. But when you wipeout while surfing, you can't afford to just sit there and get angry at yourself. You got to just get back on your board and paddle out there again. That was what Brawly taught him. So in response to Jericho laughing at the way he talked, he merely replied without skipping a beat, "Nah bro, we don't all call ourselves that. My mentor and main surfing dude Brawly was known as 'A Big Wave in Fighting', so it is only natural that his disciple refers to himself as 'The Next Big Wave'."

Azlano honestly could understand Jericho's attitude. It was natural for a Pokemon Trainer to want to be the best. Azlano himself wants to show everyone he's not just some idiot who talks like a surfer, that he was just as capable as any of them are. But he hasn't even got off the boat and already this Jericho guy was making more enemies than friends. That was Azlano's observation at least.

When Vyn showed herself and referred to herself as the new Chuck, Azlano smiled to himself. Even though he never left Dewford except for a vacation to Slateport at the age of 8, Brawly at least made sure Azlano knew about other Gym Leaders. Chuck of CIanwood City was another Fighting Type Specialist, and someone Azlano hoped to meet someday to test his skills against him. This was the same with other Fighting Type Gym Leaders. So when Vyn announced herself as Chuck's disciple, Azlano instantly wanted to face her.

And he could feel Sora's Pokeball shake a little while it was on his belt. And he knew what that meant: the little Pokemon was about to burst out of his Pokeball to make himself known. He hoped that Sora would be able to keep himself contained enough that they can get off the boardwalk before he decides to show himself. But not before he looked over and Vyn and said, "You sound awesome Vyn! We so have to train or fight against each other sometime, it would be totally radical!"

With that declaration, he jumped off the boardwalk and landed on the warm sand on Inheritance Island. Azlano was already getting pumped and so was Sora, who leaped out of his Pokebal in a small flash of white light, a small bird of red and white who held it's little hands high in the air and flopped on the sand, laughing.

Where: Inheritance Island Pier
With: Estelle, Azlano, Mikael, Caspien and Vynessa. TWINS!?
What: Pfft, Big Wave. Riiiight. Nommy, Twins, the things I'd get up to with those two are just... Yeah, tasty. But first, gotta lay the smackdown on Scales over here.

Post Three: First Impressions.
Being true to form, Jericho was beginning to make a few people rather annoyed. His outbursts and his ignorance/ arrogance were already beginning to rub people the wrong way and wiping what tears of laughter remained at the bottom of his eyes; Jericho looked towards Azlano and shrugged. Sure, that was a nice title and stuff but who got carried away with titles nowadays? Being a Gym Leader was about proving yourself and whether or not you could prove yourself was all that should have mattered. You didn't want to be making waves as a Gym Leader but Tsunamis. That was a Gym Leader's prerogative in Jericho's eyes and all he had ever really done was make tsunamis. He trained physically with his Pokemon using his spear, he trained Scizor when no one else believed he could, he did everything he possibly could to make a name for himself and that is why he was stood there on the dock, waiting to obtain the Mark of Leadership.

Aslano though, well, he apparently couldn't even take a joke. "Oh please, don't get your knickers in a twist Dewford. It was a joke." Part of him couldn't quite be bothered with the difficulties of having to deal with upsetting someone so early on in their trip. He was tired from travelling and what was more pressing was that he really couldn't give a damn. It was just how he was, he may have liked Azlano for being a bit of a character but in all honesty, if he was going to be a little b***h about everything what was the point? It was no fun poking fun if no one could take it.

But then something interesting started to unfold. Looking at Mikael with a cheeky grin on his face, Jericho unhooked a pokeball from his belt and clicked the middle button to enlarge it. "Why not? I see no one here to meet us and I'd rather assert my dominance as soon as possible if you know what I'm saying. So, please, offer yourself up as a sacrificial lamb because I'm about to make my dreams a-" Jericho was cut short by the interjection of Caspian the Humilau City Gym leader from Unova and lowering his Pokeball, looked towards the new arrival with curious eyes. Marlon, the former Gym Leader, had actually been quite a big deal in Johto thanks to his rock hard abs and beautifully tanned skin; there weren't many girls who could say no to such an exotic specimen. However, Caspian didn't seem anything like his predecessor. In fact, he was a bit pasty for someone who live in such an exotic location and obviously, this would be something Jericho would not think before sharing with the group. "I imagined you to be a bit more tanned..."

Jericho waited for a second for a reply from Caspian; some sort of explanation as to why someone from a place filled with heat waves and palm trees was whiter than the guy who lived on the coastline of Johto. But before poor Caspian could even open his mouth, Jericho dropped his bag on the hard wood of the pier, shifted his Pokeball into the hand that was grasping the spear, rested the spear in the crook of his elbow and put a finger to the Humilau Leader's lips and promptly told him to: Jericho's eyes thinned as he checked out the two, yin-yang twins that were making their way off of the ramp and onto the pier. He smiled at them and with a confident nod, and his finger still pressed against Caspian's mouth, shrugged his shoulders towards the two beauties and prepared his counter argument. It was actually quite a good counter argument when you thought about it but, well, when you accompanied it with the fact Jericho was thinking more lewder things as he presented it; you couldn't help but admire Jericho's tenacity and focus on one, his pride and two, his perverted way. "Last time I checked, Johto still had 8 Gyms. The same as anyone else. What you could also say was that more of our Leaders feel as though their disciples are ready enough to all retire around the same time, y'know? I mean, I don't know about you but if I didn't have someone good enough to pick up my legacy I sure as hell wouldn't retire. So, yeah, the Johto crop are good but I suppose you guys are equally as good. And that's not even taking into account how beautiful you both are." He signed off his argument with a grin and his thoughts were enough for a person to need bleach after seeing them, if you could read kinds of course, and simply spun his Pokeball on the end of his finger as he raised an eyebrow and dropped his hand away from Caspian's mouth. It had always been a fantasy of his to date twins... at the same time. "Jericho. Jericho Northstar. In case you were wondering. And if you want me to prove myself I was about to take Scales over there..." He pointed towards Mikael "... Up on his offer of a battle. However, your perfect visages stunned me with their radiance so I had to introduce myself. What do you think? Should I be somewhat impressive and take on our friend from Blackthorne, would it win me the ability to take you two lovely ladies out for dinner tonight? We could get to know each other."

It was classic Jericho at its finest.