Welcome to Gaia! ::

Emily finally found the line for the coordinator sign ups and hurried into line. Ling Ling chimed beside her, as Emily bent over huffing, legs trembling in a nervous excitement.

She tried to regain composure as she stood in line, looking wide eyed at all the other people around. Most of them were way older then herself.

Rosie took her number with a thrill of excitement, so ready to get in there and do the best she can, with her team.

She looked over at Guy, blinking when he acted clearly in discomfort, knowing exactly why to.
She wished she could help, but being a girl herself, trying to give the badge number to him wouldn't be any better.

She did have an idea though, reaching out to take the number from the lady, and placing it on a nearby counter table so that Guy could get it himself without having to get close to a girl for it.
She held her own number. looking it over before her cheeks flushed a little pink.
"I'll need to get changed." She looked over at Guy "do you have an outfit your changing into as well?"

((OOC: Okay, so its about time to wrap things up for the night. Sao and I are pretty tired so I think we'll have to crash. You guys can feel free to do some casual RP between now and tomorrow night though. But there will not be any raid progress in the mean time. Also, those that are in the contests, if you want to go ahead and send your character into the waiting area to hang out, feel free. Its just a large room with a TV screen overseeing the stage in the stadium... with free accessories and snacks, and couches and such. Just a lounge pretty much. See you guys tomorrow! The contest starts then! ))

Celty replied suddenly, a slight note of panic in her otherwise calm voice. She continued to look about, frowning. Was she to stay with Viktor until he returned? But how long would that take? The Spiritomb let out what must have been a ghost pokemon's equivalent of a sigh.

she asked timidly.

Meanwhile, Grunt Nakura had taken a certain interest in the young lady Xander appeared to have offended. Lola-Belle Monibee... he repeated to himself mentally. What a name. Upon turning around, though, he spotted his pokemon alongside the spotted Espeon who had perched on top of the massive Russian. Realizing Asch had left, the grunt took the opportunity to greet the enormous stranger.

"Привет! Извините, Вы можете мне помочь?" he spoke up, waving a casual hand with his usual smile as he approached Dith. "Я заблудился." Inclining his head ever so slightly, the informant motioned his Spiritomb to his side. Celty, not understanding his words but catching his gestures, immediately levitated back down to his level. Though Dith's accent was a big giveaway, Nakura had also taken notice of the evident Russian tattoo on the trainer's bicep and decided to use that little detail to his maximum advantage.

Casting Viktor and Dith a grateful smile, the quiet Spiritomb remained silent as she hovered just behind Nakura's shoulder. She didn't know what he was up to, but she certainly hoped he had no harmful intentions toward the pair, who seemed very close, and very friendly besides.

"Спасибо! Семен Брежнева, мой друг, меня учил." the shorter Japanese replied to the tall Russian, sheepishly scratching the back of his head with a laugh. " Японский мой первый язык. Мне нужно практиковаться в русском. Я заметил, тату на бицепс и я не мог сопротивляться," he added, gesturing lightly toward Dith's left arm.

Clearing his throat, Izaya extended a hand. It had been a while since he had used his Russian and it seemed to be pretty rusty. He'd almost gotten tongue-tied for a minute over a few simple sentences. "Очень приятно! Меня зовут Nakura."

Glancing around with a forlorn sort of smile, he exlained, "Ищу моего друга. Я собирался встретиться с ними здесь, так что я не знаю, как они выглядят. Мы говорим в интернет, чтобы я никогда не встречался с ним лично." With a foolish smile, he shrugged. "Они сказали, что они будут соревноваться в координации конкурсе, но я не могу даже вспомнить, что покемон."

Beaming up at the massive man, Nakura felt more at ease as he got more used to the words of the language as they rolled off his tounge. "Я думаю, что просто заставляет меня зритель пока не найду их. Я вижу, вы нашли один из моих друзей, все же. Спасибо Вам за это."

"Dmitry Konstantinovich Vladamirin," Izaya repeated slowly, committing the name to memory. "Это большая честь встретиться с вами. Вы правы, конечно. Так многие глупые люди получают татуировки на языках, они не говорят. Я подумал, что стоило бы выстрел, все же." He hesitated after hearing the man mention English.

"You speak English?" Nakura asked innocently, as if he hadn't just minutes before been eavesdropping on the conversation between Asch and Dith. "That's nice to know. I like to practice my Russian, but I'm afraid it takes me a lot longer to converse." Furrowing his brows with a concerned smile, he tilted his head, hands still casually in his pockets. "Is something the matter? You looked troubled for a moment."

"No...I don't know her name. Not her real name, anyway." With a heavy sigh, the black-haired man continued to look over the heads of the crowd as if he would know what he was looking for once he spotted it. "Я знаю, я глупая, да?" he chuckled, turning his attention back to Dith. "I was just so sure I would know her when I saw her - like love at first sight or something. My head wasn't really where it should have been when I left this morning to come here. I even forgot my phone."

Adopting a tragically love-struck countenance, Izaya allowed his dreamy-eyed gaze to refocus upon the Espeon as Dith introduced him as Viktor. "Viktor! Thank you so much for keeping my precious Celty company. I thought she was following right behind me, but I guess she got distracted by your dazzling good looks." At this, the Spritiomb threw Izaya a distinctly incredulous look, but he merely laughed aloud and 'pat' her awkwardly. "No need to pretend you weren't gawking, Celty. He's pretty, I agree, but he probably already has a girlfriend." Celty made a motion that almost appeared as if she were rolling her eyes, but it was difficult to tell with her limited features.

He grinned as he returned his attention to his human aquaintance. "I'd keep looking around here for my online friend, but I think everyone seems to be heading in about now. She's probably already getting ready." Placing his hand on his hips, he asked, "Are you waiting for anyone, Dith-san? If not, I'd be very appreciative if you would accompany me inside. It's pretty lonely wandering around here on my own, with no one but Celty being familiar to me."

"Of course you have an excuse! It's not your first language, is it? English is supposedly one of the most difficult languages to learn next to Chinese, but it's ironic that most of the world seems to know how to speak it." He laughed.

"A worrier, ne?" he mused. "Maybe that's why I felt somewhat drawn to you since I got lost. You seem like excellent company to keep, what with your kind and generous nature." He craned his neck up to meet Dith's gaze with a warm smile.

"A Spiritomb and an Espeon...interesting, but I wonder if that might be stepping into the boundaries of necrophilia," Nakura chuckled. "What do you think, Celty?" The pokemon gave him a flat look, causing him to giggle. "I'm just teasing! No need to show me such a stern face." Joking manner aside, however, Izaya managed to spot a mannerism of the Espeon that reminded him strongly of a certain platinum blond, blue-eyed Rocket Agent back at the base.

Celty replied, glad she wasn't the only one feeling at least slightly humiliated or embarrassed by their trainer. At Viktor's mention of her trainer's 'date', though, she appeared perplexed.

Nakura had begun to get an uneasy feeling about Celty and Viktor's conversation. Though he didn't truly believe that Dith could converse any better with his pokemon than he could with his, his concern that Celty would blow their cover increased every second. Perhaps it was Viktor's likeness to Frost that heightened his anxiety, but suddenly Izaya was eager to get a move-on.

"Ну, мой друг - мы пойдем на трибуны?" he asked Dith, turning to go. Although subtle, his lack of a remark to Celty hinted to the pokemon that her trainer was irritated with her and she had no doubt he would leave her behind again - as he had just demonstrated - if she continued to waste time chatting away. If he couldn't shut her up or keep her from being so openly honest about what they were doing there, then the least he could do was carry on and force her to keep up instead of talk.

(( And now the raid continues! :3 If you are planning to join in the contest, then please say so in your next post OOCly! ))

Once Guy and Rosie had gotten their tags and were sent on their way, Asch quietly watched them go from a safe distance. Once they were out of sight, he then approached the counter with the very odd lady, who gave him the exact same spiel. He gave her a slightly odd look before registering himself and his two Pokemon for the contest.

"We are pleased to be of service to you! Good luck and have a nice day!"

Asch simply groaned in annoyance and took his tag, before quickly retreating towards the contestant lounge. He would just have to -try- to avoid the pair of blondes, but he doubted he would avoid their notice forever.

---

As spectators filled the stadium, there was a massive throng of people. The place looked even bigger inside than from the outside! Bleachers that were able to hold thousands of people were lined up along the thick wooden walls of the old tree that rose high above them. The wood gradually ending in broken, jagged spires where the top of the tree had come off in ages past. Large, high beam lights were stationed up there as well, but sense it was daytime, they were not in use. However, the sun came through without obstruction and lit up the stage in the center of the stadium.

"WELCOME TO SEQUOIA STADIUM! THE POKEMON CONTEST WILL BEGIN SHORTLY! PLEASE FIND YOUR SEATS AND BE SURE TO VISIT OUR CONSESSIONS STANDS LOCATED IN THE LOBBY!"

The voice of the cheery announcer piercing through the dull roar of people who were excitedly chattering through out the massive place. One could easily get lost in this crowd if they weren't careful.