It's Always Philadelphia In Sunnyshore (William)

[Cain Stanok]

So much walking. It was finally time for Cain to lay his weary head to rest.

After so many warzones, it was nice to finally be behind the walls of a true stronghold. Sunnyshore was a juggernaut of League authority, even in the face of the chaos exploding through the Sinnoh region, and Cain knew once he set foot into its gates he'd finally be safe. No more scavenging just to have something to eat. No more constant fleeing between assaults. No more smoke clogging the air, and with it his lungs. Finally just peace and quiet.

Or it would be, if he wasn't forced to sit and wait at the border while they checked his credentials. Apparently being a runaway with almost no history, documentation, or official allegiance wasn't doing him any favors for getting behind the secure city's borders, and his rash protest of "I'm fourteen goddamn years old! Give me a break!" did little to change the minds of the stalwart border patrol. In fact, it just made them angrier!

And that's why Cain found himself just slumping against a wall, letting out a deep-seated sigh of frustration as he roughly sat down. He squeezed on a Pokeball, his massive Aggron bursting out and obediently turning toward him.

"Screw this, I need some sleep. If this guy's gonna give me any more trouble, can you just headbutt him or something?" He squeezed his eyes shut before the Aggron could give any response, the beast simply rolling its eyes and sitting protectively in front of her trainer. She wasn't going to be headbutting any innocent citizens, but it was still important nobody mugged or harmed the boy while he was crumpled over in exhaustion.

[william]

every region is different; william knows this. every region has its own air, its own soil, its own customs, people, presence -- everything. it still doesn't make the first assault on the senses from the region any more surprising, or jolting, from his first. and when he appears via teleport with anne to the very edge of the city for a customs check, it still doesn't seem any different from his last visit. zemina still has control, and security is still stringent. with his long history of traveling to other regions -- boure- and kopec-dominated towns included -- william is asked to step to the side while they process more throughly. by chance he and anne ends up near a wall where, curiously enough, a trainer and his aggron are as well. the sight of a pokemon out isn't that uncommon -- they're everywhere, rather -- but the fact that the -- boy? -- has collapsed against the wall is a little... worrisome. "is he asleep?" he wonders quietly, "or collapsed?" anne shrugs. the gardevoir isn't too concerned with him, since he has a pokemon of his own and under the watchful eyes of the aggron there really isn't much anyone can do against him. it isn't her duty to watch him; she has her own trainer to take care of. the customs officer who's still hovering over the boy and his aggron is getting more and more flustered, and while william has to give him points for tenacity, his doctor instincts are gnawing on him to check. he ignores it, and leans against the wall next to the aggron instead. the zemina officer is sent away with a wave of his hand and anne's finger pressed to her lips. he'll be back soon, probably, but until then -- <is he alright?> anne asks the aggron directly, her psychic voice projected only to the pokemon and william. she doesn't want to disturb the boy; he looks like he needs his rest, at the very least, and far be it from her to take it from him. Cain Stanok

[Cain Stanok]

Kiryu stood obediently by her trainer's side, eyes darting back and forth as she tried to be sure nobody would give the sleeping boy any future troubles. Fortunately, it seemed like nobody was stepping up to the plate in that regard. Instead, some other man approached, waving away that pesky border patrol official. Why, Kiryu wasn't sure, but she hunkered down into a guarded stance anyway. Gardevoir were typically gentle Pokemon, but Kiryu had seen the dangers of psychic-types firsthand and knew better than to drop her guard.

Of course, when it decided to speak instead of fight, Kiryu found herself thrown a little off guard. How did this work again? Did she just kinda think at it or something? She paused for a bit, trying to figure out how to respond to the psychic type, before trying to awkwardly think right back at it. <As alright as he can be. We've come a very far distance, and my human is quite irritable slipping at this final hurdle.>

Irritable indeed, but that wasn't the only thing keeping the boy down. He tossed and turned in his sleep, voices and images not there when waking plaguing his dreams. The far journey hadn't left Cain unscarred, and nightmares made the few moments available for rest into times that Cain dreaded. Noticing her trainer's vulnerable state, Kiryu stood a bit more firmly in front of him. She wasn't about to let anyone see an innocent ripe for the snatching.

<And why are you here?> the Aggron responded, a little curious as to seeing someone so composed at the Sunnyshore border. Usually desperate refugees flung themselves at these gates, with not a bit of serenity in sight. And most would consider them blessed to have something as powerful as a Gardevoir serving as their escort. Surely this man had some other purpose for his presence, beyond the usual fight or flight that seemed to be taking the Sinnoh region by storm.

[william]

psychic types are curious sorts that tend to have as much personality as any other type of pokemon -- with the added ability to make their thoughts and their voice known, like ghost types are able to. anne, herself, is one of the calmer psychics, with a long history of seeing almost everything that the world has to offer and experience. it means that she almost expects it when the aggron attempts to think at her instead of thinking normally. she's opened the psychic connection to william before -- they are both in such a state most times when outside a city, in fact, or even inside of one that it is second nature for them and all in their team to have one another's thoughts running along parallel to their own -- so she knows that her trainer hears the words. it's just not apparent in the way that his eyes flick around everyone else at the customs station, hands in pockets and shoulders deceptively relaxed. and being his longest partner, she doesn't miss the way that his eyes constantly come back to the boy on the ground with his nightmares, although he doesn't move. anne attempts to draw all of their attentions back to her. <it is the best place by far to see for ourselves what zemina has done,> she says back softly, even though the entire conversation has been spoken in the realm of the mind and not of the hearing. and it is true: sunnyshore is a prime example of the league changing environments and establishing military power in order to keep hold of at least one city. even if it is riddled with more factories than actual homes, it is a reminder of what the entire world has come to. <and you? what is a young man and his aggron doing in sunnyshore -- looking for protection under its military might?> the words are equally as soft, and anne's voice is merely curious, nonjudgemental. william doesn't move outwardly, but he is paying attention to any answer that the steel type can give him. it is unusual to see a young person traveling these days, since they tend to stay in one city for their own protection. it is odd by far, and curiosity has always served them well, enough to indulge once in a while. Cain Stanok

[Cain Stanok]

<To get away.>

That was all the Aggron had to say about such a matter. After all, its not like the Gardevoir would have known about the home life Cain had made its escape from. Its not like it had followed them over the peaks and valleys of Mt. Coronet, watching as the trainer and his trusty Pokemon fought for their lives against all manners of threat. Its not like it had argued until it was breathless about why Cain should be allowed entry into Sunyshore City, and been forced to sleep against the walls simply so it would have a chance to rest its head.

The Gardevoir wouldn't know why they run. It might have its own reasons, but it was highly unlikely those reasons would overlap.

Of course, the duo wasn't alone for long. As the boy tossed and turn he must have pressed his belt a bit too tightly against the wall, because a flash of light heralded a new addition to the group. A Hydreigon emerged from the flash, stretching out its necks and letting out a trio of menacing hisses. Immediately it began looking around in all directions, wondering what fight was going on and how he could best join in.

Unfortunately, he found nothing. The central head, however, did locate the Gardevoir. It glided forward, heads twisting and turning in each direction to get a good look at the creature. It leered hungrily, just waiting to see what kind of reaction the little psychic would have. Of course, Kiryu quickly put a stop to its nonsense, a firm hand grasping the Hydreigon's shoulder region and pulling it back. The two locked eyes, tension thickening in the air before the Hydreigon snorted dismissively and elected to lazily hover above the group.

The Aggron sighed. <My . . . associate. Ghidorah.> Clearly, Kiryu wasn't very happy about the sudden interruption.