Running around in circles

[Rαccooη]

Ryu took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Today had given her so many opportunities to panic, and it had taken intense focus to avoid this outcome. She hadn't gotten in trouble; for once. And now she was free! Free to explore the wild areas that surrounded the high-tech treehouse that was the Ranger Center. Free to lose herself in the natural setting of the Latvion Forest. And perhaps free to find some Pokemon? Maybe even a dark- or dragon-type, though it was doubtful. Though, she could dream, could she not?

Ryu sighed happily, and went off the path and into the forest, hoping to find any Pokemon that she could love. She refrained from speaking, so as not to spook anything, or anyone, that was lurking about. Her eyes shone with curiosity, as they always did when she was in an area worth exploring, and she smiled openly. There was nothing to be embarrassed about here! No one was around to say anything.

But enough of that; the Pokemon hunt was on!

[Wolfy]

Baylee Wolfe, one of the Senior Top Rangers, was strolling around with a Lucario by her side; quite a rare sight, the Sinnoh Pokemon was. The two had just returned to the forest after helping a few Pokemon in Old Latvion find places for shelter and food. Being a Ranger meant to help every Pokemon, whether it be in a mission or not!

The Lucario's ear twitched at the sound of a twig snapping about twenty meters away. He looked to Baylee, who nodded, and jumped off after the sound, to see what Pokemon it was or if it was, possibly, an intruder on the island. If it was a Pokemon, it might be lost, but if it was an Intruder... Well, they didn't want to think about that.

The Lucario expertly ran through the many trees, avoiding twigs that snapped and easily jumping over a fallen log. He was just about to close his eyes, to search for the Aura of whatever it was, until he stopped suddenly, completely. Looking to his left, he saw a girl, who looked both surprised and thrilled at seeing such a rare Pokemon.

[/blockquote]

[Rαccooη]

Ryu's eyes went wide as the noise grew louder. Was she being attacked by someone? Would she never see the light of day again? Her nervousness died away, and excitement replaced it, when a Lucario, something she'd only heard about in books, jumped in front of her. He couldn't be wild, could he? He had to be someone's partner. But who cared? This was a rare find! And he had spotted her so easily, could it be an aura-seeing Lucario?! That would be even rarer!

Ryu looked to her left and right to see if this Pokemon's human partner was around, and found her by looking to her right. "Hello there!" she exclaimed toward the person. "Is this Lucario yours? He's amazing!" She smiled toward the Lucario. She suddenly had an urge to pet him, and instead she scratched behind his ears. "And so handsome!" She continued scratching behind his ears.

So it had been a good thing to get out of bed this morning!

[Wolfy]

Baylee, who was slightly disappointed in being found, but happy no less, came out from behind the tree she was "spying" from. She couldn't help but laugh at her Pokemon's unimpressed expression as he was scratched behind one of his ears. Her Pokemon's red eyes looked towards her, then narrowed slightly as the Top Ranger suddenly burst into a fit of laughs.

He exhaled through his nose, making that slight "snort" sound that most canine Pokemon make, and looked off to the left of Ryu. "Why must everyone have the urge to pet me?" Though his mouth did not move, his voice sounded clear through the power of his mind. Quite a rare find indeed.

At the further surprised look on Ryu's face, Baylee couldn't help but laugh and continue to explain. "Howdy, I'm Baylee Wolfe, one of the Senior Top Rangers 'round these parts." She grinned slightly as she continued, "Most jus' call me Wolfy. That's my Lucario, Auran. It's sort of a long story..."

Though, not waiting for a reply, she continued with the story, not really caring if Ryu wanted to hear it or not. "Y'see, I used ta' live on a Pokemon Ranch in the mountains near Mistralton, my Ma and Pa were real well-known by Professors and such. Ev'ry once in a while, we'd even get Pokemon from them! One day, Sinnoh's Pokemon Professor, Rowan, came over and gave us two Eggs! It was so cool!

"Now, since I was the youngest, I had many chores. An' one of those chores was ta' watch over those Eggs, help them hatch, y'know? Now, the first'un wasn't that hard; It was a Shinx, pretty common f'er Sinnoh, and I named him Charge. Have him with me right now, actu'lly." She patted her side, which held a belt with three Ranger Pokeballs on it. "But anyways, it took weeks just to hatch the other! And when it did, I was so surprised!

"It was a Riolu! Now, if ya' didn't know, Riolu and Lucario alike are real rare, no matter what region! My, I was so surprised, I called Professor Rowan right away to see if there was a mistake! But, naw, it wasn't. I was so happy, you wouldn't believe it!" The laughed as she moved her hands around frantically, almost talking with them, in a way, "He told me that the Riolu was an Egg found when he left a Lucario of his, specially trained in Aura and Telepathy usage, in the daycare! I was so excited, maybe my Riolu could be an Aura-Seer, too!

"And, after a bunch'a trainin' my little Riolu, which named Auran, evolved into a full Lucario right when we had a log shootin' towards him, and even with the blindfold on, he shot a full Aura Sphere at it!"

Suddenly, the Southern-Accented girl stopped talking and laughed a little, nervous chuckle. "Oh, look'et me, ramblin'..."

[Rαccooη]

Ryu's eyes widened. She had just heard a voice that seemed to be coming from the Lucario! So he is an Aura-Seer... She thought, her excitement building. The ranger that Ryu had spotted quickly came out of her tree, and welcomed her with happiness. Wolfy? Sounded like a fine nickname to Ryu, but she wasn't one to judge anyway. Wolfy looked positively overjoyed, and she began telling her story.

Ryu's emotions flashed over and over again at Wolfy's story. Surprise at her predicament at hatching eggs for a living. A tiny bit of envy at the same predicament. Lucky... And then, of course, embarrassment at her own envy. As the story went on, Ryu could only sit back in the leaf-strewn floor of the forest and stare up at Wolfy in awe. Her eyes were huge and bug-like, her mind straining to keep her jaw from dropping.

An Aura-Seeing Lucario! So rare, and so loyal! And it knows Aura Sphere? Amazing! When the story finally ended, Wolfy chuckled nervously and stopped. "Oh, look'et me, ramblin'..." She seemed so nervous, and Ryu wanted to hear so much more!

"No, no!" Ryu blurted happily. "Your story is amazing! Please continue!" She smiled hopefully, then realized that she had forgotten to say her name! "Oh, and um...my name's Ryu Hunter. I'm a Student Ranger here. Just finished my first class; Pokemon History." She hadn't meant to spill that much, but being impolite wasn't exactly the best first impression.

And she was so curious about this Wolfy character! But, then again, she was curious about everything.

[Wolfy]

Baylee's eyebrows went up in slight surprised that this student wanted to hear so much more. She grinned slightly as she found a rock to sit on, crossing one foot over the other, as her Lucario sat on the ground in front of her, Indian style. Auran's eyes closed as the black, teardrop-like appendages attached to the back of his head rose silently. Baylee sighed, enjoying her nostalgia, as her Pokemon was encased in an invisible, blue Aura.

"Hm... More of my story?" The Top Ranger laughed, looking up at the sky. "Well... I can tell you about how long it took to Train Charge. And then, how I found Ciris, too!" She laughed, grinning with her eyes closed. "Now, Charge was the Hardest ta' train. Not only was he from a whole different region, but he was so stubborn! And still is!" She laughed slightly, "Oh, boy. There's no tellin' how long it took for me to get him to use Spark! He would jus' tilt up his little Shinx nose and say flat out no!

"Well, not that he could actu'lly say no..." She laughed nervously once more, "More like some kinda syllable from his name... But yeah! Anyways... It took us forever just to learn to like each other! Hahah!" She sighed happily, bouncing her legs a little, "Oh, that was so long ago... I remember how, when he evolved into a Luxio, I was so happy I hugged him and got bit with a Thunder Fang! But, hen he became a Luxray...

"I dunno, it's sorta like... he realized something. I hugged him that time, too, and he actu'lly purred. And, and he..." She suddenly laugh out loud, holding her stomach, "He wouldn't let any other Pokemon besides Auran near me! It was... oh, it was funny!" Her laugh soon died down, though, as she wiped her eye. "It's like he... he noticed how hard we trained that day. How hard I card for him, and how, secretly, how much he cared for me... It was jus' funny."

She laughed a little again, then sighed as she put her hands behind her on the rock, leaning on them slightly. "An' Ciris, she was a rare find. Charge an' I were just sitting outside one day, after all of our trainin' an' junk, when this little Zorua ran up to the ranch. Boy, the little thing was so scarred, and was even sayin' "Help me! Help me!" as she ran up to the two of us. After recovering from the shock that such a little Pokemon could talk, I was tackled by her, and my shirt was soon soaked with tears. Poor thing, all she said was "I'm scared, they're gonna take me away!"

"'Course, I d no idea what that meant. I tried askin' her, but nothin' came out 'cept bawls. Though, my question was son answered. As I gave the little Zorua to Ma, these fella's came by, with nets an' dressed in these weird clothes, askin' if we had seen her. I could hear that the others' behind 'em where speaking about something for their "King" or whatever, but I didn't care. I said, in complete monotone, "No", and slammed the door in their faces." She laughed again "Boy, I bet they were mad!"

She unhooked two Ranger Pokeballs from her belt, clicking the button in the middle to make them magically become larger. She looked at them fondly, and then back at the Student. "Ryu, eh? Well, Ryu, would you like to see 'em? Charge an' Ciris?"

[Rαccooη]

Ryu ceased scratching Auran's blue ears when he had began meditating, knowing from books that this meant that he was using his aura, and Ryu also knew from her own intuition that he wouldn't want to be bothered at this time. She merely stared up at Wolfy, who seemed surprised, but she continued her story. When she got to the part when her little Shinx had refused to be trained, she couldn't help but let loose a childish giggle. Her giggle turned to a full-on laugh when Wolfy talked about him saying 'no' to being trained. She was a bit embarrassed at it, and shut herself up soon after. When she continued with Charge's journey through evolution, from Shinx to Luxio, to the Luxray she had now, Ryu smiled in a friendly sort of way. "Wow...Charge seems like he's a great friend!" she said, as if she was talking to an equal rather than a higher-up, which was the usual way she saw everyone.

When she talked about Ciris, Ryu's smile faded. The poor Zorua! It was scarred and crying and...a sob caught in her throat. She couldn't stand it when Pokemon were abused, especially when they were so young! She got a bit scared when she talked about the men with nets; she was acting like a toddler, might as well continue the trend; and wondered if they were this Team Shadow Heart that she kept hearing about in the news. Her childish fear turned to a happy laugh when Wolfy continued, speaking of slamming the door in their faces. Yeah, I bet they were mad! I thought, smiling happily again.

She had been curious about those Pokeballs on her belt, and now she knew that they contained Charge and Ciris, who was surely a fully grown Zoroark by now. She unhooked them from her belt and enlarged them using the Pokeball technology that Ryu had been researching a while ago, and still didn't fully understand. Wolfy took a fond glance at them, proving Ryu's theory about Charge and Ciris being inside them, and then looked back at me.

"Ryu, eh? Well, Ryu, would you like to see 'em? Charge an' Ciris?" Wolfy asked. My eyes went wide, and my jaw dropped a bit in an open-mouthed smile. "You mean it?" she attempted to ask, but all that came out was a high-pitched whisper. "I'd love to see them! They seem like wonderful friends!" She seemed to regain her voice with this last exclamation, and it came out in a sound that wasn't a high-pitched squealy noise.

She was so excited that she was jittery, and she looked a bit like she was trying hard not to explode.

[Wolfy]

Baylee chuckled a little at all of the childish reactions the Student Ranger made. It tickled her, in a way, and she envied how this girl seemed as if she was still a young child. As she spoke of Charge and Ciris being "Wonderful Friends", she couldn't help but laugh out loud, very loud...

"Well, they're pretty loyal, yeah. But... Ah, well, I'll just let you see 'em f'er y'erself!" She laughed as she threw the two Ranger Pokeballs in the air, and then as they opened with a click, having crimson light shoot out of them. The beams smashed onto the ground, forming into two rather large shapes, and then disappeared as the Pokemon's fur and skin became apparent.

The two that sat there was a Luxray, the Gleam-Eyes Pokemon, around the height of Baylee's shoulders (if you count his mane). He seemed rather stern, with red-and-gold eyes sharp and cat-like face stern. His stared tail thrashed behind him, making his appearance seem only more intimidating. Beside him, was a tiny, little Pidove, with oddly-colored teal eyes.

The Top Ranger's brow furrowed, then a single eyebrow rose. Shaking her head, she let out a small chuckle, then pushed a small bit of hair out from her face. "I suggest not trying to pet Charge, unless you wanna feel like one of Zekrom's Thunderstorm Clouds are over your head." She yawned, then moved her shoulders in a circular motion, trying to relieve them of tense muscles. "And it looks like we have a little prankster, here!" She laughed, and then poked the little Pidove with her boot, making it's face turn to her with a stern glance, which in turn, only made her laugh more.

[/blockquote]

[Rαccooη]

Ryu smiled, a bit embarrassed, when Wolfy laughed at her comment. Then, she threw the Pokeballs up, releasing the reddish beams that transformed into a stern-looking Luxray (which Ryu really wanted to pet, but stayed away after Wolfy's warning) and a...Pidove? Wolfy chuckled a bit, and poked the Pidove with her boot. She noticed its oddly colored eyes, and laughed along with Wolfy.

"And this must be Ciris." Ryu said, staring at the odd-eyed Pidove that had to be a Zoroark in disguise. She stared back up at Wolfy, a 'friendly understanding' sort of expression on her face. "Have to agree with you on the prankster thing." She looked back at the transformed Zoroark, and smiled happily at it. She laughed at the prank Ciris had pulled on her, and since she didn't hear a warning from Wolfy about Ciris, she began stroking the feathers along her transformed little Pidove head. She closed her eyes, wondering if this patch of feathers was going to randomly turn into fur, and if this little Pidove was going to get a lot taller.

Though, she couldn't help the slight twinge of envy at the fact that Wolfy seemed to have such wonderful Pokemon, and Ryu still didn't have any. But, her natural curiosity covered it well, and she could deal with this unwanted feeling later.

[Wolfy]

"Aww, you're no fun..." The Pidove spoke in a gruff, feminine voice. Indeed, the feathers morphed from feathers to dark-brown fur as the little Pokemon glowed with white sparkles. Not a minute later, stood a tall, red-maned Fox-Pokemon, with a slight smirk on her triangled face as she crossed her furred arms.

"Name's Ciris, as you already know." Her mouth didn't open as she spoke in the same manner as Auran. "And, by what I heard in that stupid Pokeball, was that you're Ryu." She leaned down slightly, claws going to her tiny waist as her snout was nearly an inch away from Ryu's nose. "You're alright, I guess."

Suddenly, the Pokemon was on the ground, rubbing her head as Auran, who was standing behin her, patted his paws together. "Really, Ciris, you would think that you would be less..." He looked the scowling Pokemon up and down, "Obnoxious..."

"Obnoxious!?" The female nearly yelled, standing back up again and slightly looking down at the Lucario, a growl emitting from her throat. "If anyone's obnoxious, it's you!"

Baylee, on the other hand, was laughing nervously and rubbing the back of her neck apologetically as her two Partners argued. Ciris spat back with random retorts while Auran remained calm and all smart-aleck like. "Sorry..."


(Oh, and a tiny note; I've always imagined Ciris' voice to be like Wendy Powell's, or Envy :3 Auran's would probably be J. Michael Tatum, or Sebastian Michaelis, Kyouya Ootori, Komui Lee, and... Sadly... Scar...)

[Rαccooη]

Ryu's eyes didn't go as wide as they had when Lucario mentally spoke. Zoroarks were meant to do so, and Ryu had read many times about why. She didn't believe any of those scientific theories, just thinking that Zoroarks could talk because...they could. She nodded her thanks when Ciris looked her over and judged her, then removed her hand in respect. When Auran insulted Ciris, Ryu took the shapeshifting Pokemon's side and yelled out a "Hey!", agreeing with Ciris's retort. She then realized how childish this probably looked, and sweatdropped nervously.

When the fight started to get repetitive, and it was no longer entertaining to watch, Ryu stepped in between the warring Pokemon. "All right, you two. Stop fighting." She demanded with almost a motherly tone. "You are both wonderful and amazing Pokemon. There's no need to yell at each other! Now, can we all be friends?" Ryu, thinking this over, replaced this with another statement. "Or at the very least, can we not try to kill each other?" She looked at them with a stern expression, but kind eyes. Her next words were like a pleading almost-whisper. "Please?"

These two were feisty and both had powerful spirits, but, as Ryu had said, they were both wonderful and amazing Pokemon!

[Wolfy]

"Yeah, yeah!" Ciris spoke, not even really noticing what all Ryu had said. And, for the moment, she honestly didn't care. She bared her teeth at the blue jackal Pokemon, who gazed at Ryu with a slightly bored look in his eyes.

"Sorry about this." He replied, folding his arms as the Zoroark continued to rant, "She's a bit stubborn, and sadly, extremely hard-headed."

"Hardheaded!?" Ciris growled, her claws clenching into red fists. Her yes glowed a firery red as her mouth gaped wide open, "I'll show you Hardheaded...!" Darkness swirled around in front of her pink tongue as she prepared herself for a shadow ball.

"Now, now, Ciris. You wouldn't want to scare Ms. Ryu away, would you?" Auran mocked slightly in an arrogant tone. "It'd be horrible if one of our first Student Rangers, and possible Friend, to be scared of by the likes of you."

Reluctantly, the Dark-Fox Pokemon's mouth closed as the Dark Ball dispersed into tiny, flame-like shadows. She growled an unheard profanity, then folded her arms in a slight pout. "I hate you..."

"The feeling is mutua-"

Suddenly, there was a bright golden flash, a loud "BZZT!", and the two Pokemon where on the ground, scorched and twitching. Baylee was holding her bridge of her nose with her left hand, the other around her stomach, while her mouth twitched, eyes shadowed, and a large red vein was apparent on her forehead. Beside her, Charge seemed rather happy, for once, as he sat proudly beside his Ranger, tail curled over his paws a small, slight purr emitted from his throat.

[Rαccooη]

Ryu frowned at her failure to calm the two rival Pokemon. She was a bit ticked herself when Auran suggested that she'd be scared of a shadow ball, and resisted glaring at the Lucario with a look fit to kill. She covered her eyes when the bright golden flash covered the air, and looked back at two scorched Pokemon. The Luxray that had emitted the blast seemed to be pretty happy about it, and purred quietly. Ryu didn't know whether to help the fallen or congratulate the mediator. Wolfy looked very angry about her Pokemon's childish fighting, and Ryu couldn't blame her.

Ryu sighed, a bit frustrated herself. She let this go quickly, and helped the two slightly charred Pokemon to their feet, er, paws. She dusted the ashes off their fur, wiping away a defiant ash smudge from Ciris's face by licking her thumb and rubbing it off. This probably wouldn't bode well with the stubborn creature in front of her, but ash smudges weren't too becoming. "You two okay?" She asked softly towards the two telepathic Pokemon. "You need any help walking?" She found herself hoping that they did need help, just for the purpose of helping them.

They were such beautiful Pokemon, and she hated to see them hurt, no matter how much they deserved it. She really liked them both, and found herself wondering what kind of Pokemon she'd partner up with in the future, when she finally became a full-on Ranger.

She looked at them with loving eyes. "Anything you two need, I'd be glad to help out." She found her voice to be little more than a whisper, but she didn't know why. She could understand why Wolfy loved these two so much...she was beginning to like them quite a bit too.

But she liked all Pokemon. She hadn't met any like these two, but she loved all of those strange creatures that populated this strange planet she lived on.

[Wolfy]

"Fine. I'm perfectly... fine!" Ciris grumbled as she stood, rising her knee and using it as support to bring herself up on her feet. She then took a clawed hand and ran it through her mane, freeing it of a few ashes. Auran stood and dusted his blue shorts-like legs, grumbling softly to himself.

"No, I don't think we do..." He spoke calmly, standing up straight and facing Ryu. "I think we're perfectly fine, besides a few scratches and- Ah!" He exclaimed as he took a step, then promptly fell onto his knee. Baylee jerked up from her previous expression and came up to him, petting his shoulder slightly while Charge came up behind her, seeming utterly indifferent. "Or maybe not..." The Lucario spoke in a slightly strained voice, "Seems like I have a twisted ankle..."

[Rαccooη]

Ryu nodded to Ciris. The dark-type Monster Fox seemed to be too stubborn for her own good, but Ryu respected her decision. She ran a reddish claw through her mane, and it came back dusted with a few ashes that Ryu had somehow missed. She turned to the Lucario, who was neatly dusting off his legs, much like Ryu herself would if she had some breakfast crumbs on her pants. She was just about to nod to the Lucario at his healing, when he exclaimed and fell to his knee. A twisted ankle, according to the million healing and medicinal books she had read, and Auran proved this by restating her thoughts.

She rushed towards the blue canine Pokemon, putting her arm around its shoulder in a supportive gesture. "Oh, I'm sorry. Let me help you up." She said, as if it was somehow her fault. "And don't you dare try to walk on your own, okay?" Her voice suddenly turned slightly strict and sharp, like someone scolding another person. She gently pulled the aura-seeing Pokemon's shoulder up, bringing him off of his knees. She pulled him off so that his injured leg would lift off of the ground ever so slightly. "You're gonna be okay, Auran." She soothed. Her head turned to the Zoroark standing beside her. "Can you help me, too?" She wasn't sure if the stubborn Ciris would help her with Auran, whom Ryu assumed was her rival.

She also wasn't sure why she had asked a Pokemon over another Ranger. She just...trusted the creatures more...? They were all so pure of heart, and Ryu loved this about them. Perhaps this was why she loved all Pokemon. Or perhaps, it was just in her own heart to do so.