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Post by Lumine Divina on May 21, 2011 13:12:06 GMT -5
(From here on out, Lumine's dialogue will be blue.)
"Well, Lumine, it appears that you've been given some more time to come up with a game plan. Use this time wisely, as your fight will come later. <sigh> Well, I'm off." As she waved goodbye, something felt different as Lumine watched Ignus walk away, possibly for his first fight. Lumine felt both relieved and a little concerned: Relieved that her fight with Lorna would be slightly delayed, but concerned about Ignus. Sure, he was one of the most powerful Trainers she knew, but he was fighting against a Pokemon Professor, not to mention a former Pokemon Champion. Hmmm...knowing Professor Verity, she must have some battle strategies she'll probably use on Ignus...not to mention Ignus fights according to what his opponent has...three-on-three battle, meaning less battle options for both of them...but then again, Ignus didn't become a Champion in four out of five regions just because of his immense power...I believe Professor Verity will see why soon enough
Sighing a little, she noticed her Simipour Panpei looking at her as if something was wrong. The Pokemon Ranger smiled and said, "Don't worry, Panpei. Knowing Ignus, he can handle himself in any situation, no matter how many odds are stacked against him." She then noticed that a few reporters were heading her way, and sighing, got up in time before the reporters began bombarding her with questions.
"Ms. Divina! Ms. Divina, how do you feel about your match being delayed in favor of the match between Mr. Draco and Professor Verity?" "How do I feel? Hmmm...I honestly cannot answer that question. But anyways, shouldn't you be interviewing Ignus about that? It is his match after all, so why are you asking me?" "You seem to be on good terms with Mr. Draco. Have you two known each other?" "Well, we've been friends for about seven years...but that's about as much as I will tell any of you. If you'll excuse me."
Lumine then left the reporters standing there, some stunned, some jotting down notes on their notebooks. Sighing, Lumine decided to peek out from behind the giant red curtain. As she thought, the Silverfern Contest Hall was getting more and more packed. Smiling, she decided to go back with the rest of the Champions before anyone else saw her.
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Post by Tamsin Shale on May 22, 2011 16:02:14 GMT -5
Tamsin looked up to see Nyght Zasq. He was taller than her, and stood with purpose. She liked that. She didn't want her competitor to be a push over. "Tamsin Shale," she said, offering a handshake, "It's been a while."
The last time they'd seen each other was when they were awarded their certificates and their own badge. Seemed like it was just last week. The games were starting soon, and it wouldn't be long before she was going toe-to-toe with the guy. Tamsin smiled. "Looking forward to our fight? No holds barred?"
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Post by Nyght Zasq on May 22, 2011 18:45:09 GMT -5
Nyght grinned when he remembered receiving his badge. He had never thought he would be facing Tamsin in this life.
"No holding back on my end, and I expect the same for you," he stood tall. "I am expecting the best from everyone here, we're meant to make examples of ourselves."
He quieted and grinned an almost goofy grin. "Thank Lugia for backstage, I can't behave myself that long."
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Post by Lorna McKinley on May 23, 2011 16:39:58 GMT -5
((ack I hate playing catch up - anyways I'm back now guys! I'll just put a post for Lorna and Soren to get back into things - my apologies for leaving in the first place but it was a family issue))
Lorna perked up when she heard the announcement. Drat, she'd been looking forward to going first, but she could understand completely. Putting Ignus and Brooke out first - what a hell of a way to open the show! The Johto veteran glanced over at Lumine, who was returning backstage. She looked tense, nervous almost though Lorna couldn't fathom why. Having two Champion titles she had the advantage, the only thing Lorna had was - well her age and the experience that came with it. She flashed Nyght and Tamsin a grin.
"Ah don't worry I'm not terribly well behaved either," she chuckled, "Why do you think I stick to the backwoods to do my research?"
She rose from her seat, daintily wiping her mouth with her napkin. "And no worries, we'll all be doing our best - I just hope the stadium won't mind suffering a little collateral damage." she said with a wicked grin as she remembered how Dragonite's Hyper Beam and Gallade's Draco Meteor had scored the field in front of the lab bare. There was just something about wrecking the battleground that was so fun...
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Post by Soren Forberg on May 23, 2011 16:50:06 GMT -5
Soren was somewhat relieved to be left alone again. As much as he thrived under pressure and could certainly charm his way out of anything with his silver tongue he'd prefer to not deal with the media. It had been different with Jack, the boy was eager, but polite and much more pleasant to hold a conversation with. The speed leader noted the change in the lineup as he pulled out his pocketwatch to check the time. He smiled slightly at the picture of Sarra he'd slipped into the cover of the time piece, at that time a grinning girl of six clutching a stuffed Tailow and sitting in her father's lap proudly. He snapped the pocketwatch shut and pocketed it. He wouldn't deny he would've liked to see her in the audience... Soren glanced over at Tobias. He certainly did have wretched luck to be paired with him. His bird pokemon would have to watch themselves going up against Tobias' electric types, particularly his Electabuzz. He stroked his jaw thoughtfully. Still, adversity bred inginuity and in that would make for a good match to watch, this was an exhibition after all. He knealt down and petted Absol's snowy head. She regarded him with barely restrained excitement, ruby eyes dancing. Soren smiled. "That's my girl."He stood and felt someone brush against his back as they walked by. He turned and saw a young lady - Lumine Divina he thought her name was and quickly bowed. "Ah I am very sorry my dear, I did not realize you were behind me."((There all caught up ))
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Post by Lumine Divina on May 23, 2011 17:25:51 GMT -5
"Ah I am very sorry my dear, I did not realize you were behind me." Turning sharply around, Lumine noticed the Speed Gym Leader Soren Forberg bowing to her quickly. Knowing her manners, she bowed to the man, saying, "Ah, it's no worry. You're Mr. Forberg, right? It's nice to meet you, I'm Lumine Divina, Pokemon Ranger and two-time Pokemon Champion. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Sighing, she looked across the room towards Ignus, sighing, and then turned back to Soren, smiling, "Well Mr. Forberg, I guess you heard the news about the change in the lineup. To be honest, even though my fight has been moved back, I'm a little nervous. But..." She then looked towards Ignus, who stood there smiling confidently, and blushed slightly. "I got a bit of a pep talk from my friend, and I'm feeling a little better. So, how do you feel about your battle, Mr. Forberg?"
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Post by Soren Forberg on May 23, 2011 17:48:43 GMT -5
Soren arched a slender eyebrow and followed Lumine's line of sight, noting how she blushed ever so slightly. He smiled inwardly, looks like he'd have to behave himself with this one. "I doubt you have much to be nervous about. Lorna is a fierce battler yes, but you possess two titles for a reason girl. You need confidence if you're going to battle a Dragon Tamer," he said, his lips quirking in a smirk. "As for me...well we'll see if I'm fast enough to dodge lightning."
The gym leader paused, detecting a slight increase in the noise in the stadium. It wouldn't be very long now. As he had done with Professor Verity he took Lumine's hand and placed a kiss upon the back of it with that slow, debonair smile. "Good luck Miss Divina, I am looking forward to watching your battle."
He gave her a flourishing bow and a sly wink as he turned away.
((fffff love playing Soren :3 ))
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Post by Lumine Divina on May 25, 2011 10:03:56 GMT -5
Lumine felt a little more confident after listening to Mr. Forberg's pep talk."Well, alright. Thank you for the pep talk, Mr. Forberg."What surprised her even more was when he kissed the back of her hand, looking at her with a debonair smile. "Good luck Miss Divina, I am looking forward to watching your battle." As she watched the Speed Gym Leader walk off, Lumine smiled as she held her hands together. "He seems very nice...and very chilvarous, if I say so myself...but... She looked over at Ignus, who was still waiting patiently for the battle to start, and blushed slightly while smiling. "I bet Ignus would have done the same, if given the chance to do so...he can be so nervous when around me...
She then found her way over to the refreshments table, picked up a glass of water, and began drinking slowly from it, looking around at the matchups for the exhibition battles. Brooke vs. Ignus, herself vs. Lorna, Tamsin vs. Nyght...many interesting matchups, which would mean some interesting battles. As she sighed deeply, she noticed her Simipour Panpei crawling out from under the table, and then frowned at the Pokemon. "Panpei, where on earth were you? Were you hiding there this whole time?' The Simipour responded embarrassingly, at which Lumine sighed, and said, "Well, as long as you didn't get lost..." Looking around, she then took out her silver pendant, the same pendant she keeps with her at all times, pressed lightly on the small ruby in the center, which opened up, revealing the only picture she remembered being taken of her and Ignus.
"<sigh> It's been so long since that day...knowing him, he must not have forgotten about it..."
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Post by Tamsin Shale on Jun 1, 2011 16:20:28 GMT -5
The off hand comment made Tamsin smile. They were friends here, and she kept forgetting that in anticipation of the massive battles. She wasn't very good at keeping friendly fights friendly.
The first match was so close that the tension in the room was palpable. An aura of excitement made it seem like everything was on edge, and the roar from the stands could be heard even here, in the back stage room. Wishing the two competitors luck, Tamsin turned and walked to the bathroom to check herself in the mirror. Whenever she was going on camera she always was terrified of her appearance, and she didn't want to look a mess. There was nothing she could do now but wait.
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Post by Lumine Divina on Jun 2, 2011 16:33:37 GMT -5
(Continuing from where Lumine and Lorna's conversation left off in the parade thread.)
Lumine sighed, inhaled deeply, and looked firmly at the biologist, her eyes steeled and tense. "Okay I am going to be brief here, short and simple: Why on earth do you hate Ignus so much? I know he may seem like a bad guy right now, but please try to understand: Ignus loves Pokemon more than anything in the world. Well...almost anything..." The Pokemon Ranger blushed slightly, but then shook her head to clear it. "I'm not saying that you should take my words to heart...it's just that Ignus want to be friends with everyone. He may seem socially awkward at times, and he might go off on his own without any reason, and may also be seen as a little too excited when it comes to battling, and might say things he regrets later, but that's who Ignus is. Which leads me to my next question." Lumine then panted a little after talking so much, and then regained her composure before asking her next question:
"What exactly happened yesterday in Corkwood Jungle? I need to know everything."
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Post by Lorna McKinley on Jun 2, 2011 16:53:47 GMT -5
Lorna blinked as Lumine spilled out everything about Ignus in a great rush. The older woman sighed and leaned back against the wall, folding her arms over her chest. "Lumine we don't hate Ignus - it's just that he needs to learn how to think before he says things." she said, tapping a slender finger against her temple, "I know he means well, but - oh how do I put this - it just seems that he has some growing up to do."
The Johto veteran dragged a hand over her face, tugging at her nose in frustration. She really wasn't good with these kinds of things. "I don't want to sound overbearing or anything, Ho-Oh knows I was hot headed and stubborn in my day, but you have to see Brooke's point of view on this. She's a dedicated professional and a Champion trainer, if Ignus says he gave her the match that's more than a little insulting, it means the win was hollow - not real." Lorna paced around for a few minutes, glancing out past the curtains at the battle before turning to Lumine standing akimbo. "As for the jungle - your boy went and destroyed any evidence that might've helped us figure out who build the damn thing. Brooke was understandably upset - so was I, but it was moreso frustration that the trail had gone cold. We know he meant well, he did help the pokemon after all, but then he just took off all in a huff."
Again she tugged at her nose - it became a habit when she was uncomfortable. "I'm no psychologist but I've seen a few things in my day and I know when someone's troubled. Something bad happened to Ignus in the past right?"
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Post by Lumine Divina on Jun 2, 2011 17:44:20 GMT -5
(Very, very LONG! Lumine just stood there, hearing what the older Pokemon Champion told her: about Brooke, the jungle, Ignus' acting, and she felt a little guilty, thinking that she shouldn't have let him out of her sight. When Lorna asked her about Ignus' past, that's when her eyes widened in shock. Lorna McKinley was very good at reading people's thoughts, even better than her. She gripped her other arm tightly, sighed, and looking at Lorna, said "Ignus didn't want me to tell anyone about what happened, since it's painful for him and me...but since you can actually see through Ignus' front, I suppose I'll tell you. Just don't mention me telling you about it to Ignus, he's very sensitive about that."Lumine herself took her place next to Lorna against the wall, as calm as she could ever be. "Today's as important to Ignus as any other day. You see, it happened seven years ago today. You remember him taking out an old Pokeball from his metal briefcase, right? He tends to take that out whenever he needs to think about what he did wrong. Anyways, that actually has meaning. You know about each of the starters, right, one trio for every region? Well, back when he was younger and more...well, 'hot-blooded', he actually had a starter from the Johto region."
"His name was Vulcan. He was just a little Cyndaquil at the time, but from what Ignus told me, Vulcan was just like his Trainer: hot-blooded, rambunctious, and also had what I called an 'explosive attitude', hmhm...anyways, I only met Vulcan before back when Ignus...well, when he was once called the 'Flametongue'. It was a name given to him back when he started out as a Trainer. Everyone feared him, and because of his strand of fire-red hair, he was given the name 'Flametongue', but also because when partnered with Vulcan, he pretty much intimidated everyone who would even had the stomach to battle him, the flames giving him the intimidation to keep everyone away from him." Lumine then stopped talking for a minute, placing a finger on her chin, saying, "Come to think of it, back then I was the only person who wasn't scared of him. I guess it's because he saved my life and even gave me my first Pokemon."
"Because Vulcan was new to the team, Ignus felt as if he had to start over again. However, it was because of Vulcan that Ignus actually started to feel more positive emotions: happiness, compassion...perhaps love...however, since all Ignus ever knew was battle, those new feelings just began tearing himself up. However, it was good that he had me as his first friend, because I was always there for him. However, he managed to get over it, though it took him four years to do it, and he managed to get his Championship after that with Vulcan's support, mine included. However..."Lumine looked down, her eyes starting to show sadness. "Ignus wasn't without his enemies. Those enemies being Team Rocket. They wanted him to join their organization after Giovanni left as their boss, but he blatantly refused. A week after he became the Johto Champion, him, Baron and Vulcan, who was fully evolved as a Typhlosion, were just walking through Ilex Forest. Upon coming out of the forest, rainfall began. It was then that Team Rocket ambushed them, using me, of course, as leverage so he could join. However, Ignus was too proud and clever to ever join them. I knew he didn't want me any harm...I just trusted him."
"After the battle, Ignus walked away the victor. However, one of the Grunts unleashed a Zangoose as a last resort attack against him. It...worked, but not as planned. Before the Zangoose came in for the killing blow, Vulcan pushed Ignus out of the way, but one of the Zangoose's claws gashed his right eye, knocking him out. Vulcan...didn't make it. When he woke up later, and touched the bandages over his right eye, he just kept saying that same sentence over and over to me..."She then looked at Lorna, her eyes fighting back tears. "He said...'Lumine, where's Vulcan?' I knew the truth would hurt him, but Vulcan was like a son to Ignus, and he needed to know. When we went to collect the body, it was still raining. In all of my life, I had never seen Ignus so...broken up..." She then clasped her hand over her mouth, trying to stop talking, but Lumine knew that Lorna needed to know. "After that, that was the first time I had ever seen him cry, screaming out Vulcan's name to the dark sky, drowned out by the thunder, but he still screamed it out until he couldn't. All I did was sit there and held him, crying as well."Lumine then gasped for air, trying to keep her composure. It was the first time that she managed to remember Vulcan's demise in a desperate effort to protect his friend, his Trainer. Finally regaining her composure, she turned to Lorna, and said, "Well, that's Ignus' story for you: a story about a hollow-hearted man who just wants to understand right from wrong."
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Post by Lorna McKinley on Jun 2, 2011 19:06:24 GMT -5
Lorna kept silent as Lumine explained Ignus' story. She felt a pang of sympathy but held her tongue until the girl had finished speaking. Lorna leaned against the wall, arms folded over her chest as she looked down at the floor for a few minutes, processing the information that had been given to her. Again she tugged at her nose and sighed heavily. There was a long silence before the biologist finally raised her gaze to match Lumine's. "He lost his best friend...that must've been very painful for him." she said, feeling a little softer towards Ignus then she had before, but she wasn't yet done. "Lumine come here."
She took the younger girl by the arm and steered her to the edge of the large red curtain. From here they could see the crowds, the battle field and the gym leaders standing nearby watching the events. Lorna pointed to Soren who stood back on to them. "That is Soren Forberg, I saw you talking to him earlier. I don't know him personally but anyone who paid attention to the news years back knows that - well I'll just tell you." She sighed. "Four years ago his wife, ah ex-wife sorry, was murdered and they never found out who did it. He's got a little daughter you know, she was only about seven at the time as I recall. Anyway the really screwed up thing is that for a long time he was a prime suspect in the investigation - his name was slandered for almost a year before he was formally declared innocent."
Lorna turned away from the stage and towards Lumine, feeling very uncomfortable talking about a man she didn't even know to another girl she'd only just met. "I know Ignus lost a dear, dear friend, but that man lost the mother of his child and the person responsible got off scott free while he was put under the gun. He took it very hard, I can only imagine what would've happened if he didn't have his daughter helping him through it. Anyway my point is, is that Ignus isn't the only one with a painful past - he needs to learn how to deal with it and not act so rashly."
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Post by Lumine Divina on Jun 2, 2011 19:22:13 GMT -5
Lumine looked down, thinking about who had the most painful past: Ignus or Soren. Ignus lost Vulcan, who was his best friend, but Soren lost someone he loved dearly. Lumine then listened to Lorna's explanation, and nodded in agreement. "Yeah...I guess you're right...I'll tell him. Ignus only listens to reason when I tell him. We've been friends for seven years, and well...I love him...that's the truth...I told him my feelings and all, but I guess he needs to sort out his feelings over this before he can actually tell me."
Sighing with relief, she looked over at Lorna and smiled. "Let's head back over to the battle. If you want to tell Brooke about what I told you, that's your choice to make. C'mon, we shouldn't miss the next matchup."
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Post by Lorna McKinley on Jun 2, 2011 19:58:47 GMT -5
((Thanks for understanding I don't mean to be a buzzkill or anything, it just wasn't quite the right time/place for somthing like that)) Lorna smiled and pulled the young woman into a brief, one-armed hug. "Eh I'll get around to telling her I'm sure." she shurgged with a lop-sided grin. "Yeah c'mon I want to see who is going to be facing Brooke's Dewgong - that is one powerful beastie."That said the biologist shoved her hands in her pockets and moved back out onto the stage where she'd been standing previously, hoping that at least some of what she'd said would get passed along to Ignus and things would eventually smooth over.
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