{"sf1_id":829333,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Tryouts","author":"Volcan MacAingeal","words":13676,"posted_at":"2015-03-11T13:16:00.000Z","tags":["Greninja","Swampert","Talonflame","arcanine","blastoise","blaziken","charmeleon","combat","grovyle","lucario","pokemon","samurott","tournament","vaporeon","zoroark"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/829333-tryouts","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/829333","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=829333\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nThe next day...\nLuke awoke early as usual, stretching and heading for the\nkitchen to prepare breakfast for his family and his guest. However, upon taking\na quick walk around the house he noticed Volcan was nowhere to be found.\n\"...Volcan?\" Luke called as he wandered the house.\nAs he stepped out into the kitchen and glanced over at the\ndoor, he noticed it had been left slightly ajar. Peering through, he saw\noutside, and glanced down the ramp to see Volcan, up bright and early, jogging\naround a copse of trees, taking a few running leaps and displaying remarkable\nacrobatics that seemed to surprise even himself, because after performing a\ntriple front flip and landing, the Blaziken was looking at his legs as if they\nwere not even his own.\n            Luke\nslowly walked through the door and toward Volcan after he was finished with his\nacrobatics. \"You're up bright and early today.\"\nThe Blaziken jumped slightly before turning to look at Luke,\ncalming the moment he saw him. \"Yeah... couldn't sleep,\" he said,\nbefore dropping to the ground, supporting himself on his hands and doing\npush-ups. \"Wanted to... give... myself... a real... test run...\" He\nsaid between each time he elevated himself. After about twenty, he pushed\nhimself back up to his feet. \"I already guessed most of this body's power\nis in its legs, but it can jump so incredibly high I'm able to do acrobatics I\nnever could as my old self.\" He rolled his shoulder. \"Yanno...\ndespite the situation, this isn't all bad; I like this body, even if I can't\nfly anymore.\"\nLuke nodded. \"Blaziken are well known for their\nacrobatic combat prowess...I wouldn't be surprised if you pulled off an air\ncombo with many strikes before landing...\"\n\"If I was going for an airborne opponent, I probably\ncould,\" the Blaziken admitted, confidently, before he dropped down onto\nhis rear, curling back one leg and resting his arm over it, grimacing as he\nslipped into thought. \"So... remember that conversation you and I were\nhaving, about those deities of Space and Time... Palkia and Dialga wasn't\nit?\"\n\"That's right...\" Luke returned, also sitting next\nto Volcan cross legged.\n\"Back on my world there are similar gods; people\ncontacted them by prayer, and though they'd hear them they'd never directly\nrespond,\" he said, and glanced at Luke. \"How is it here; is there any\nway we could contact them? Maybe... I could ask one of them why I'm here or how\nit happened?\"\n            Luke\nthought for a moment. \"....Perhaps...but we'd have to travel quite a ways\naway from here...Palkia and Dialga reside atop a mountain peak known as the\nSpear Pillar...\"\n            \"Is\nit visible from here?\" Volcan asked, glancing around.\n\"No....to get there would take quite a long time...just\nunder two weeks on foot.\" Luke returned.\nVolcan chuckled. \"I've made longer trips than\nthat,\" he said. \"I guess that's where I need to go, then.\" He\nstood up. \"One of those guys has to know how I got here and why I am at\nall... I have to try and contact one of them.\"\n            Luke\nlooked up to Volcan as he stood up. \"...You DO realize you're going to\nneed a LOT of supplies and fighting experience before you can venture out to\nthe Spear Pillar...\"\n            \"I\ndidn't mean today, buddy,\" he said. \"I don't even know where the\nplace is; I'll not only need supplies, I'll need a guide. Plus, I'd have to\ntake Serena with me; we both need answers.\"\n\"Well a guide won't be much a problem. My team and I\nwill escort you and Serena.\" Luke returned. \"As for supplies, there\nare plenty of berries and medical supplies my wife can gather for us.\"\n            Volcan\nlooked at Luke, a look of uncertainty on his face. \"Ever since I got here,\nyour entire life has been turned on its head; I'd have thought you'd want me\ngone after all this,\" he remarked. \"You sure you'd want to come with\nme? You've got a family to think about...\"\n            Luke\nclosed his eyes for a moment. \"Volcan...you need to understand something\nabout Rescue Teams.\" He began. \"It's our sworn duty to assist and\nprotect innocent Pokémon no matter what...My wife understands the risks\ninvolved in my line of work...\" He stated. \"I don't want you gone...I\nwant to help you return home....and my team and I will do what we can to help\nyou with that....\"\n            The\nBlaziken almost wanted to hug Luke for his kind words, but he settled for a\nsmile, not wanting to overstep and boundaries, and nodded gently to him.\n\"That means a lot, Luke... you're a true friend. I'm glad you were the\nfirst one I met when I arrived and not someone nastier.\"\nLuke nodded. \"I won't lie...our time together has been\nenjoyable....albeit eventful...\" He admitted, glancing away a bit.\nVolcan chuckled. \"If you ever get to come back to MY\nworld, you'll see things are no less eventful there,\" he said. \"I\ntell ya about the time one of my own best friends tried to kill me?\" His\nhead tilted and eyes shifted slightly. \"Actually now that I think about it\nthat's happened twice now...\" He muttered.\n            Luke's\nears perked. \"Wait hold up...one of your friends tried to KILL you??\"\nHe asked in astonishment.\nVolcan was about to reply when his stomach growled. After a\nbrief silence, the Blaziken laughed. \"Maybe a story better told another\ntime,\" he said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. \"Right\nnow, I could use some breakfast.\"\nLuke nodded. \"I was about to make some breakfast\nearlier.\" He returned. \"C'mon, I'll make us something filling.\"\n\"Sounds good to me.\"\n ~~~~~\nSerena woke up on a strange bed, shaking her unusually shaped\nhead as she gained her bearings, looking at her sleek, blue body that was\nnothing like her old self. She stood up and stretched much like a cat, wincing\nas she felt her tail hit something and checked to make sure she hadn't knocked\nover a lamp or something else breakable, but all she'd hit was just the wall.\nShe hopped down from the bed, instinctively trying to land on her hind-legs\nonly to drop to all fours, suppressing a whimper as she hit her sprained ankle.\n\"Now I remember,\" she said, frowning, and looked\naround for her host.\nKatsumoto was nowhere to be found within the shack, however\nthe sound of a tree falling and a loud grunt could be heard from outside.\nCuriously, she trotted -carefully- out of the shack, pushing\nher way through the door and glancing around outside as she sought him out.\nUpon glancing to her left, she could see the Samurott on his back, grasping a\nHUGE tree against his body and performing sittups, never once stopping for a\nbreak as he used the tree he cut down as a weight to train with. He then tossed\nthe tree up in the air and caught it in his paws, taking a moment to balance it\nas it wobbled a bit before he started to do some squats while lifting the tree\nover his head.\nSerena, noticing that he was exercising, decided not to\ndisturb him, and wandered over to the lake instead to get a drink, dipping her\nhead in the water and shutting her eyes as she gulped some of the lake water\ndown, letting the cool, soothing liquid flow down her throat.\nKatsu continued his workout for a few minutes longer before\nhurling the tree into the air as hard as he could, then he quickly hopped to\nhis feet and waited for the tree to fall again, in which he drew his blades and\nsliced rapidly at the tree as it fell, turning it into small disks of wood that\nscattered all over the place until he had sliced the last of the tree. He then\nsighed and slowly resheathed his blades before arching his back and cracking\nhis neck.\nIt was then he noticed Serena over by the lake, shaking her\nhead to get the water off of her mouth before she slowly and carefully stepped\ninto the water until it was up to her back, and began to gently paddle around\nwith her paws before testing her tail. To him, it seemed like she was trying to\nget a feel for her body, which, if it was true she was from another world, made\nsense.\nKatsu watched her silently from afar, not wanting to disturb\nher from testing out her body, but keeping ready in case she struggled and\nneeded help. Eventually, when she noticed Katsu had finished his exercise, she\nreturned to the shore and stepped out of the water, shaking herself dry before\nshe approached him. \"Good morning,\" she bade him.\n\"Good morning...\" He returned, lowering his head\nrespectfully as she approached him. \"Did you sleep well...?\"\n            She\nnodded. \"Yes, although... my awakening started off kind of roughly; I had\nforgotten where I was for a moment,\" she blushed. \"But I'm okay\nnow.\" She lifted her paw that she had sprained the day before. \"And\nafter that swim, this doesn't seem to hurt so much now.\"\nHe nodded, gently taking her paw into his. \"That's\ngood...I'm glad to see you're on the mend Serena...\" He returned with a\nsmall smile, though once again he had that blush on his cheeks as he spoke to\nher.\nShe was also blushing, uncertain of why she felt this way\nnear him, and, for the sake of changing the subject, she turned her gaze in the\ndirection of Luke's house. \"I suppose I should check in with Volcan today;\nwhen he stopped by last night he mentioned he was thinking of a way that might\nhelp us find our way home. I wonder if he came up with anything.\"\nKatsu nodded softly. \"Would you like me to escort\nyou...?\" He asked, slowly averting his eyes and blushing a little more.\nShe nodded. \"Yes... I fear I still don't know my way\naround and... well,\" she giggled. \"The way we came here before didn't\nexactly leave me time to learn the lay of the land.\"\n\"I understand...\" He returned. \"Come...We'll\ntake our time so that you may at least grasp the scope of the path to Luke's\nhome and back.\"\nShe nodded. \"A sound plan,\" she agreed, though her\neyes showed she was indeed troubled. The Vaporeon wondered if there really\n-was- a way for her and Volcan to return home. Although she knew she would\nadjust to this world eventually, the thought of never seeing her friends or kin\nagain made her heart sting, and caused her to lag somewhat behind Katsumoto as\nthey began walking, but she promptly caught up to him when she realized she\nwasn't walking fast enough.\nKatsu noticed her pained expression as she caught up, slowing\ndown a bit so that she could catch up. \"You seem troubled, Serena...\"\nHe said softly as she walked alongside him once more.\n\"I'm just...\" She paused, biting her lip.\n\"Honestly, I'm confused, and a little afraid. This body, this world, this\nplace... all of it is strange to me. I was only just adjusting to the surface\nworld and living with their civilizations after spending my entire life, living\nat the bottom of the ocean, only to be sent somewhere completely new before I\ntruly settled it.\" She shuddered. \"It's just a little strenuous; too\nmuch seems to be happening too soon.\"\nKatsu nodded a little in response, slowly stopping and gently\nplacing his paw along her back. \"I see...I am sorry for your distress\nSerena...I wish there was a way I could help ease your troubles at least until\nwe discover a way to help you return home....\"\nShe smiled at him. \"I appreciate your concern.\" she\nsaid. \"I'm glad we met you and your friends when we arrived...\" She\nfrowned. \"Though I fear troubles of our world have followed us here, from\nwhat Volcan was telling us about those corrupted Pokémon. I am lucky I was not\ntorn apart by them while I was unconscious.\"\n\"We can only do what we must to defend ourselves and the\ninnocent Pokémon of this world against this new threat...\" He returned,\nthen slowly stepped in front of her and placed both his paws on her shoulders.\n\"Regardless of what we face, I will be at your side no matter what...I\nswear to you I will help you and Volcan return home even if it costs me my life.\"\nHe said softly to her.\nShe blinked at him, her expression a mix of surprise and\ndisbelief at his sudden devotion to helping her. By the time they both realized\nhow long they had been looking at each other, their distance seemed a little\nuncomfortable, and both pulled back.\n\"Well... you are a golden hearted person, Katsu. I\nappreciate your concern for Volcan and I.\"\nKatsu nodded and averted his gaze a little. \"It is my\nsworn duty as the Mighty Blade of Team Valiant to serve the innocent in\nwhatever affairs they require assistance with.\" He returned.\nSomehow, Serena felt there was more to it than that, but did\nnot continue the subject, and voted they carried on.\nAfter a short walk, they arrived outside of Luke's house, and\nsaw the Lucario and Blaziken were sparring again, this time running through\nexercises where Volcan used his acrobatics and jumping abilities to evade enemy\nattacks. \"Good dodge!\" Luke commented after Volcan dodged his Sky\nUppercut, then he quickly fired a rapid succession of Aura Spheres at Volcan\nonce he landed, intrigued to see how he would react to the sudden barrage.\nVolcan had to clumsily avoid the first, only to backflip away\nfrom two of the others. However, the timing of his leap was slightly off, and\nthe last two Aura Spheres hit home, one landing on his back, the other on his\nleft shoulder, and he tumbled to the ground.\n\"Ouch,\" he grunted. \"Okay, messed up that\none.\"\nLuke trotted over and quickly helped him back up to his feet.\n\"You did well to evade most of them, though your timing was off when the\nlast two attacks hit you.\" Luke said to him. \"You'll get used to it\nwith repeated exercises though.\"\n\"Right. Although yanno, usually I'm only that quick in\nthe air; getting used to it on the ground has been a bit of a switch,\" he\nsaid, chuckling.\n\"I understand.\" Luke returned. \"But you're\nadapting quite quickly I must say; not even my brothers were this quick to\nlearn how to fight.\"\n\"Let's just say it ain't my first rodeo,\" remarked\nVolcan. \"I'm no stranger to fighting.\"\n\"Well that past experience will definitely make things\nmuch easier for you.\" Luke said with a smile and a nod. \"At this\nrate, you'll be able to properly fend for yourself in no time.\"\n\"That's good to hear,\" he said. \"Though I\ncertainly could use a bigger test...\"\nAt that moment, the two noticed Serena and Katsu approaching,\nthe two greeting them warmly as they arrived. \"Good morning, Volcan and\nLuke,\" said Serena.\n\"Hi, Serena,\" said Volcan, and then looked closely\nat her, noticing she was favoring a leg. \"Hey, what happened to your\nfoot?\"\n\"I sprained it while training,\" she replied. \"It's\nbetter today,though; a swim in a cold lake seemed to be all it took.\"\n            \"Good\nto see you're recovering well.\" Luke bade to Serena, and then looked to\nKatsu. \"I see you're taking good care of her.\"\nKatsu nodded. \"Of course.\" He returned. \"I was\nhonoured to have her stay over at my place.\"\n            Volcan\ngrinned at Katsu. \"I bet you were,\" he remarked, catching the\nSamurott off guard with his statement.\nHe blushed at that implication. \"I beg your\npardon...?\"\nThe Blaziken only snickered, and didn't add to the subject\nfurther.\nLuke seemed to catch on to what Volcan was hinting at and couldn't'\nhelp but chuckle a bit as well. Katsu blushed even further and turned his head\naway. \"I-I assure you nothing of the sort happened. I treated her injuries\nand helped her discover her abilities... that is all.\"\n\"Right... anyway,\" said Volcan. \"What do you\nsuppose we should do today?\"\nLuke shrugged. \"Well I suppose a break is in\norder...perhaps a stroll around town might help us relax some.\" He\noffered.\n\"Long as no more monsters come out of the sea,\"\nVolcan remarked.\nLuke laughed a little at that statement. \"No\npromises.\" He said, before he walked ahead and beckoned the others to\nfollow him toward town.\n~~~~~\nTheir time in town was mostly uneventful; most Pokemon were\nbusy with the reconstruction of the buildings destroyed by the Corrupted\nGyrados before, the body of which had been taken away from the town and burned\nby a pair of Charizard that lived locally, purging any of its taint that may\nhave lingered. Besides the reconstruction, the town seemed to be getting back\nto normal.\nHowever, on their way out, they came upon a small crowd\ngathered at the wall of the general store where Volcan, being the tallest, saw\nover their heads that they were looking at a poster on the wall of the store.\n\"Can't make out what it says,\" he remarked.\n\"Let's get a closer look.\" Luke offered, slowly\ninching his way into the crowd to see what all the commotion was about.\n            Once\nthey were able to get through the crowd to see the poster, they were able to\nread the contents of the poster:\n'Challenge\nto Local Rescue Teams and Fighters!'\nTest your\nstrength to prove who is the #1 fighting Pokémon Team or Individual in the\nregion!\nHosted by\nthe famous Rescue Team Warmachine\nPrize is\nFame, along with one of ten Mega Stones, and 20,000 Poke-Dollars!\nTeams of all\nsizes and types welcome!\nLuke rubbed his chin upon seeing what the poster displayed.\n\"...A challenge to Rescue teams huh...?\" He muttered softly.\nKatsu smirked, clearly enticed by the idea. \"This sounds\nlike something I could enjoy greatly...\"\n\"Sounds like a martial arts tournament back home,\"\nremarked Volcan. \"Some people make careers out of this sort of\nthing.\"\nAt the bottom, it said: 'Location: Mobile, aboard the\nKyogre's Rest cruise ship, landing in Westport City' and also included dates to\nhow long the ship would be there\n\"That's not too far from here...\" Luke stated as he\nread that last bit. \"We could make that journey in a day's time.\"\n\"Think of anyone else who might want to go?\" Volcan\nasked\n\"I can name a couple,\" Luke returned. \"Most of the\nteam will want to participate, as well as some others I know that I consider\npart time members.\"\n\"I get the feeling that brother of yours you told me\nabout -Rigel, wasn't it? I suspect he'll wanna check this out. Hell, he's\nprobably already heading there.\"\n\"Oh no doubt..\" Luke said with a bit of a sigh.\n\"His girlfriend might be joining him as well...I swear those two are quite\na pair of war mongrels...\"\n\"Well, if he fights anything like you he'll probably\nbeat me but... I think I'll get in on this too,\" said Volcan. \"Could\ngive me the experience I need. So how far away is Westport from here again?\"\n\"Like I said, it's about a day's walk from here. If we\nlet everyone know quickly, we should make it by tomorrow morning.\"\n\"Alrighty then; let's get started.\"\n~~~~~\nThe group was setting out by the next morning, gearing up\njust for a short trip before heading on their way. In attendance from Team\nValiant were Luke, Katsumoto, Hank, Eagle Eye, and Kage. Doug decided to opt\nout since he wasn't really a fighter for the team. \nSerena was coming along only to spectate, but Volcan seemed\nespecially pumped up for this contest, ready to finally see what his new body\ncould do. Whenever they stopped for a rest on the journey he'd spend some of\nthe time practicing by himself, making sure he had whatever moves he'd learned\nmastered; so far, he had Fire Punch, Blaze Kick, the Sky Uppercut Luke had\ntaught him, and the Flamethrower he'd discovered accidentally.\nAmong those that weren't part of the team were Kage's pupil,\nWade, and Luke's second eldest brother, Mikhail. Luke looked around at the\ngroup as they gathered around and nodded. \"Seems we're all here...\"\nSerena glanced around. \"Hey... Luke, didn't you mention\nyou had another brother coming with us?\" She inquired. \"Did he run\nahead?\"\nLuke sighed a little in annoyance. \"He must have run off\nahead of us...\"\n\"He's always been headstrong and impatient...\"\nMikhail said as he adjusted his glasses. \"Dammit Rigel...\"\n\"Well, let's try and catch up to him,\" said Volcan.\n\"Agreed.\" Luke returned, then looked ahead.\n\"Everyone stay close, and move at a pace that's comfortable for you.\"\nHe said before he took off, with the rest of the group following behind him.\n\"Comfortable he says, and he's off like a shot!\"\nVolcan remarked before sprinting after them. Serena jumped into the nearby\nriver, choosing to travel by swimming instead. Both Wade and Katsumoto\ntravelled using Aqua Jet, while Hank and Kage leapt along the trees above.\nEagle Eye soared high above, acting as the eyes in the sky.\nVolcan eventually caught up to Luke and ran alongside him.\n\"Dayum! This body's a natural sprinter!\" He remarked.\n\"Of course. I thought I made it clear that Blaziken were\nknown for striking hard and fast. Granted they're not quite up in a Sceptile's\nleague in the speed department, but they're still fast enough to deal a hard\nblow.\" Luke returned.\n\"Hey, it's still a learning curb, alright?\" Volcan\nsaid, poking him in jest. \"I'm still getting used to travelling on foot at\nall.\"\n\"I understand.\" Luke returned as they continued to\ntravel. \"....What's your world like anyway...?\"\n\"Well that's a hard question without something specific;\nwhat do you want to know?\" Volcan asked.          \n\"Well...is it anything like our world?\" Luke asked.\n\"You mentioned you were used to flying...are there a lot like you in your\nold self?\"\nVolcan grimaced. \"Some... although my species is on the\nverge of extinction,\" he said. But shook his head. \"Although if you\nmean avians in general, there are millions of them; humanoid birds who can fly\nand see great distances, some with special powers like mine, and all with lives\nof their own. Most prefer to live in places with lots of altitude or plenty of\nopen space.\"\n\"I see...I'm...sorry if I brought up some sour\nmemories...\" Luke returned, reffering to that quip about his species\nVolcan shrugged. \"It's something that happened long\nbefore my time,\" he said. \"But my species is still alive and\nprospering. And those of us alive have plenty of time; my uncle in Scotland is\nover 3,000 years old already.\"\n            \"3,000???\"\nLuke echoed, looking at Volcan in shock. \"How long do your species live\nexactly???\"\n\"I'm not sure,\" replied Volcan. \"Most of us\ndon't always get to see the end of our lifespan but it's been said we can live\nbetween five to eight thousand years.\"\nLuke shuddered at that notion. \"I don't think I'd ever\nWANT to live that long...\" Luke returned, flattening his ears a little\n\"Yeah... there are downsides to it,\" said Volcan.\n\"My Uncle could tell you all about that. Anyway, I shouldn't talk about\nsuch a depressing thing. What else do you want to know?\"\n            \"What\nare your friends like?\" Luke asked. \"Aside from Serena, you never exactly\nwent into much about them.\"\n\"Well let's see...\" Volcan began. \"I'll start\nwith Pavan; I've known him the longest. He's a Wind Phoenix, so while I control\nFire, he manipulates the Air itself. He's a hyperactive sunovagun; hates\nstanding still for more than a few seconds, always on the go, but he's\ndependable, and never boring to be around if nothing else.\"\n            \"Sounds\na lot like Rigel.\" Luke said with a chuckle. \"Always on the move and\ncocky as always...he probably gets it frwom Nido...\" Luke returned.\nVolcan chuckled. \"Yeah; watching paint dry wouldn't be\nboring with Pavan around. His only drawback is with his hyper activeness he has\nthe patience of the wind; he can't stop for a moment and really really hates\nwaiting. Worse than even me. He's damn quick too; found a way to manipulate his\nWind powers to let him run or fly incredibly fast.\"\n\"Again, much like Rigel...only he can use his Aura to\ncreate fire based attacks instead of wind...\" Luke returned\n\"Neat,\" said Volcan. \"So, there's Pavan...\nnext I suppose is my friend Tsume; she's an Earth Phoenix, and quite a spirited\ngal. Although she's born into a rich family, she's no princess; she thrives on\nthrills, loves to compete and really likes adventure. But she's gentle when she\nneeds to be, good-natured and really loves the environment and plants,\nespecially flowers.\"\n\"A tomboy I see.\" Luke returned. \"She'd get\nalong with Wade's girlfriend pretty well...she's also an outgoing spirit who\ndoesn't take any kind of bullshit.\"\n\"Heh, sounds like a good match. She's a damn beautiful\ngirl too but, she's spoken for so, I'm not laying a hand on her,\" he said,\nthough not in a jealous manner. \"Which brings me to my buddy Korban; he's\nthe one I mentioned before that I originally met when he was sent by an enemy\nof mine to kill me.\"\n            \"That\nyou did mention before...It's a shame you two met on such rough grounds, but\nfrom what you told me, you made him sound like he was one of your closest\nallies...\"\n\"He is, and almost like another brother to me,\"\nsaid Volcan. \"Once I helped him get set on the right path, he helped us go\nafter the very same man who hired him to kill me, who eleven years before had\nalso kidnapped the father of my friend Vinge. I'll get to that later, but\nthanks to Korban, we defeated that bastard, reunited Vinge with his father, and\nended one of the largest criminal factions in the world. Since then, he hooked\nup with Tsume, and is at our back in a lot of ventures; he was even part of the\ngroup that saved me from Kalo'Temir.\"\n            Luke\nflattened his ears. \"Right yes...that demon that nearly killed\nyou...Sorry.\" Luke returned. \nVolcan waved it off. \"No issue,\" he said.\n\"Anyway, yeah; since then, Korban's been at my back, along with his\npartner Kieran who... honestly, I don't know what to say about him. He's a good\nguy and all but I confess I haven't taken much time to get to know him.\nAlthough, he's good with a blade and equally good with magic; a spellsword, to\nbe exact, and a tough kitty.\"\n\"So he's a Psychic type then?\" Luke asked, confused\nabout the term 'Magic.' \"Sorry I'm not sure I understand the magic\npart...\"\n\"No, Kodaku would be the Psychic,\" said Volcan.\n\"See, in my world, Psychic refers to abilities such as Telepathy,\nTelekinesis and the ability to read minds, but Magic is an otherworldly force,\nfueled by an energy called Mana which exists in all life, in the air, and in\nthe cosmos. It's not like your Aura, which in our world we call 'Chi' as it\ncomes from other sources and is a supernatural essence. Kieran can use this\nenergy to do things such as make his sword sharper, create a shield around him,\nincrease his speed and so on.\"\n            \"I\nsee.\" Luke returned. \"Fascinating. I hope I get to meet him\nsomeday...\"\nVolcan nodded. \"Next on the list is Vinge, who I\nmentioned before. The smartest damn bird I ever met in my life; guy has a\nridiculously high IQ, and is a brilliant strategist. He's damn good in a fight\nbecause the longer the battle drags on the more easily he learns how to beat\nyou, until eventually, when he starts reciting passages from Sun Tzu's 'The Art\nof War', you're going down, and in pain.\"\nLuke nodded. \"Someone like Ray, Luna or even Tech might\nlike him...they're incredibly smart themselves. Hell I bet even Mikhail would\nget along with someone like him. He's rather smart himself.\"\n\"That's not all; Vinge is also an Ice Phoenix, a young\nand rare species, born as a hybrid of Wind and Aqua Phoenixes, resulting in the\ncreation of another elemental,\" Volcan went on. \"He's found a way to\nuse his powers like a one-man army; me, Pavan or Tsume have to concentrate on a\nfew projectiles at once but Vinge can conjure a thousand chunks of ice and hit\nyou with... ALL of them at the same time; he has perfect focus.\" He\nsmiled. \"To top that off, he's an amazing friend; always at my side when I\nneed him and great for a game of chess...\" He chuckled. \"Although he\nbeats me every damn time.\"\n            \"Let's\nsee him try and beat my brother in chess...\" Luke returned in a bit of a\nchallenging manner.\n            \"Alright...\nnext one is Buniq,\" Volcan carried on. \"She's Kieran's girlfriend as\nof recently but of everyone I know back home she's got quite the story. She was\norphaned as an infant; has no idea who she really is or who her parents are,\nand was raised by the Inuit; she's a hell of a survivor and tracker, and is a\ngifted leader, but beyond that being around her just inspires strength; you\nfeel safe with her, and feel ready to take on the world with her at your side.\nAnd you could certainly make your mark; as a Werecat she's got supernatural\npower, and all the proportionate strength of a mountain lion.\"\n            \"A\nwerecat? I can't say I've ever seen one before...\" Luke admitted.\n\"What do they look like?\"\n            \"Like\na really humongous cat that can stand up on its hind legs,\" replied\nVolcan. \"Anthro's like me are basically the halfway point between a human\nan animal, leaning more towards the former as we're sentient, intelligent, and\nshare anatomical similarities. A werecat -or other Therianthropes- are sort of\nthat as well, but much more feral and monstrous in appearance. Standing on her\nhind legs Buniq would be almost seven feet tall, but she can still drop down on\nall fours and run really damn fast.\"\n\"That...sounds quite scary actually...\" Luke\nadmitted then looked ahead. \"And I thought Luna was ridiculously fast...\"\n\"Pavan's still quicker but, let's just say if Buniq is\nchasing you, you better be able to move like hell,\" said Volcan.\n\"Well thing is, the Zangoose I keep mentioning, Luna...He's...literally\nlike a lightning bolt when he moves. He's even faster than I am.\" Luke\nexplained.\n\"Wait, wait... Luna?\" Volcan asked. \"That's\na... guy... named Luna?\"\n\"Yes, don't even get me started...\" Luke returned.\n\"It was his late mother's choice...he was teased a LOT by his brother and\nhis friends for it.\"\n\"Well I can see why; back where I come from, Luna is a\ngirl's name too,\" said Volcan. \"Moving on... after Buniq would be\nKodaku, who I mentioned before; our resident psionic. She's a naga -another\nspecies you don't see often, really long body -drop dead gorgeous too. But\nbeyond that, she's got a mother's heart; treats just about everybody like\nfamily, and whenever one of us loses our way she always sets us back on the\nright path again.\"\n\"Sounds like my wife.\" Luke returned. \"She\nalways has that maternal nature within her...in fact she's the reason Ben lives\nwith us. She found him, treated him, and offered him our home. Since then he's\nbeen like a third son to us, and he and Jin get along exceptionally well.\"\n\"Well that's good to know,\" said Volcan. \"If\nthey ever meet I bet they'll get along great. I mean, Kodaku and your\nwife.\"\n\"I'm sure they would. They already sound like they have\na lot in common.\"\nVolcan chuckled. \"Seems so. Alright, let's see... next\nis Brent. He's kinda the... underdog of my group; the one you don't expect much\nfrom but still manages to keep surprising you.\" The phoenix explained.\n\"Short, weak, cowardly, but brilliant and a heck of an engineer; created\nhis own combat suit to help us fight, losing his cowardice while inside of the\narmour. He designs all kind of gizmo's that always prove useful. He's also the\ndrummer for my band and... I guess kind of the manager so, guy of many\ntalents.\"\n\"He designs his own gizmos?\" Luke asked. \"And\na suit of armour to help him fight...how smart is this Brent?\"\n\"I don't know his exact IQ but where Vinge is the\nstrategist, Brent is the invetor,\" said Volcan. \"The guy has even\ndeveloped a new self-renewing power source; has even talked about starting his\nown energy company with it.\"\n\"Hmm...he could learn a few things from Rick Wave in\nthat regard...He's in the energy business himself.\" Luke returned.\n\"Nice,\" said Volcan. \"Next one is...\nTristan.\" Volcan rolled his eyes. \"Ah, Tristan... strongest son of a\nbitch I ever met but, about as smart as a potato.\"\n\"So he's the all brawn, no brain type....?\" Luke\nasked, narrowing his eyes a bit.\n\"Absolutely NO brain,\" said Volcan. \"We were\non a mission once; came up to this locked door. Korban tried to hack it to\navoid setting off the alarm; Tristan decided it was faster just to knock it\ndown. Blew our cover completely.\"\n            Even\nLuke face pawed upon just thinking about it, groaning audibly. \"I've seen\nenough of those kinds of Pokémon... it's hard to believe they exist in other\ndimensions too...\"\n            \"And\nyou'd think a dragon would be smarter,\" said Volcan. \"But not\nTristan; don't get me wrong, in a fight he's the best to have at your back. Guy\ncan take a rocket right to the face and just get back up pissed off instead of\nreally hurt, but give him a crossword puzzle he'll take hours to do it and have\nevery answer wrong.\"\n            \"The\nway you describe him, it makes Ben sound like a genius compared to your\nfriend...\"\n            \"It\nwould not surprise me,\" said Volcan. \"Still, Tristan has his good\nparts; he's really, really good with kids. They love him and he loves them\n-maybe because he's not much brighter than a child but hey, he's very popular\nwith them.\"\n            \"Well\nthere's THAT going for him at least....I wonder how he would handle Jin\nthough...He's pretty hyperactive for an Ekans...\" Luke commented.\n            \"Oh\nI think he'd love Jin,\" said Volcan. \"Like I said, Tristan's good\nwith all kids. Someone like Jin, he'd be like a super-sized teddy bear.\nEmphasis on super-sized; the guy is almost 7 feet tall.\"\n\"I see. Well I'll take your word for it.\" Luke\nreturned. \"Anyone else in particular you'd like to add to your list of\nallies?\"\n            \"Well\namong my team there's only one guy left,\" said Volcan. \"Kyle O'Hare;\nthe only human member of our team, and our resident pilot.\"\n            Luke's\nbody visibly tensed upon hearing the word human. His eyes lighting up a bit in\nanger. \"...I see...\"\n            This\ndid not go unnoticed by Volcan. \"Something wrong?\"\n            \"It's\nnothing...\" Luke returned rather abruptly, trying to calm himself down.\n\"Well, if you say so,\" said Volcan. \"Anyway,\nas I mentioned, Kyle's our pilot; he flies us wherever we need to go and acts\nas our long range support; damn good with a rifle. The guy's in a lot of\nconflict with himself over a somewhat troubled past, but I trust him. He's\nearned it in the two years he's been helping us.\"\nLuke only nodded a little in acknowledgement, though his eyes\nstill showed clear signs of both distress and anger.\n            Volcan\ncould see that anger; he recognized it well. For a moment, an image of Vinge\nappeared over Luke, showing those same eyes; he had seen his friend with that\nlook once before. Volcan dropped the subject. \"Well that covers everyone\non my team,\" he said. \"Of course there's still my brother but I think\nI already mentioned him.\"\n\"Yes you did...\" Luke returned, slowly calming\ndown. \"Quite the list of allies you have...\"\nVolcan nodded. \"There are others, but they're more like\npart-time members, like Rikyuu, Ayane, and Obsidian.\" Luke could sense\nsome affection in Volcan's voice as he mentioned the third name.\n\"A bit of an attraction to the third individual...?\"\nLuke asked with a bit of a smirk.\nVolcan perked up at that, and blushed brightly. \"Er no!\nI mean, well, she's really pretty and all but she couldn't be interested in a\nguy like me. I mean I'm a -WHOA!\" He suddenly dropped out of sight as he\nstepped off of the road and over a ditch, tumbling down the short hill towards\nthe river. \"SHIIIIIIIIIT!\" He called as he plummeted.\nSerena popped out of the water at that second, putting up her\npaws and stopping him from going into the river. Volcan grunted as he turned\nhimself back over, glancing at her. \"Thanks.\"\n\"You should be more careful,\" she said, giggling\nbefore she ducked back into the water.\n\"Yeah...\" Volcan pushed himself back up to his\nfeet.\nThe group were chuckling a little from Volcan's comical act.\n\"You alright down there ya klutz?\" Hank called from a tree branch\nabove.\n            Volcan\nglared up at Hank. \"I'm fine,\" he said, before making a mighty leap\nback up the hill and landing back on the road. \"Just... wandered off a bit\nit seems.\"\n\"Yea, way to lose yer footing with grace bud.\" Hank\nsaid with a snicker.\n\"Keep it up and you'll get a foot to the face,\"\nVolcan warned.\n\"Doubt you'd be able to hit me.\" Hank returned,\nflashing a grin at Volcan.\n            As\nif to prove him wrong, Volcan kicked a rock up towards him, only to see that\nthe rock actually passe THROUGH Hank, making the Zoroark shimmer a bit before\nfading into nothingness. \"Told ya!\" His voice echoed as he faded.\n            \"What\nthe hell???\" Volcan asked. \"A projection?\"\n            \"No,\nan Illusion.\" Luke explained. \"Hank's species are the only one to\npossess the Illusion ability, which allows him to project images of anything\nhis mind can conjure.\"\n            \"Right...\nI forgot about that; as if I didn't deal with that enough with Hakam and\nKumori,\" Volcan muttered. \"Alright... let's keep going.\"\n            Luke\nnodded and led the way once more, with the rest of the group in tow.\n            \"So\nVolcan...are you nervous at all?\" Luke asked as they continued you on\ntheir way\n            \"About\nwhat?\" Volcan asked.\n            \"The\ncompetition.\"\n            Volcan\nchuckled. \"Not hardly,\" he said. \"It won't be my first\ncompetition to be part of, and I'm getting the hang of this body. I've got more\nto worry about than that.\"\n            \"Like\nhow your comrades are faring without you...?\" Luke asked.\n            That\nquestion made Volcan tense, his gaze never leaving the road ahead, but the\nquestion clearly finding a sensitive spot within him. His answer to the\nquestion was delayed, but honest. \"Yes... like that,\" he said.\n\"It's not like the group is leaderless... Vinge and Buniq probably have\nthat covered... but...\" He frowned. \"They don't know what's happened\nto me... I'm worried what they might do to find out.\"\nLuke sighed. \"I'm sorry for bringing that up...but I'm\nsure they won't do anything rash...\"\n\"They have before,\" said Volcan. \"When I was\ntaken by Kalo'Temir, and they learned of it, despite knowing the risks of\nentering his realm, they did, and went to hell and back to find me... I don't\nwant them to do that again. We barely got out of the Realm of Destruction\nalive, but here, if they enter this world, they'll take on new forms and be\nstuck here like Serena and I are...\" He scowled. \"That's why I have\nto find Palkia and Dialga; if they can tell me why I'm here, even send me home,\nit's worth the risk. This tournament will give me the fighting experience I\nneed, and then... I'll be heading right for Spear Pillar.\"\n            Luke\nnodded. \"And we'll be right behind you...\" Luke returned with a\nsmile.\n            Volcan\nnodded back to him. \"I'm glad I met you first when I came here...\" he\nsaid, though he expression soured into a frown. \"But...\"\n            \"You're\nwondering that if you return, you might not see me again, correct...?\"\n            Volcan\nnodded again. \"Yes... the longer I stay here... the harder it'll be to\nleave,\" he said, sadly.\n            \"I\nunderstand...\" Luke returned. \"It'll be hard on me as well to see you\nleave... but... somehow I get the feeling we'll meet again someday after you\nreturn home...\"\n            \"Perhaps,\"\nsaid Volcan. \"But for now... let's make sure this time together is\nmemorable, eh?\"\n            \"Indeed.\"\nLuke returned. \"We're almost there.\"\n ~~~~~\nThe group finally arrived at Westport City. The sign-up for\nthe tournament was easy to find; there was a lineup leading to it stretching\nthe length of a block, but it was going quickly, and each step of the way, the\nline had posters or standing boards that displayed the rules of the tournament\nand conditions for entering.\n            \"Jeez,\nquite a lot of Pokémon competing today...\" Hank muttered as he looked\naround at all the others in the lineup. \"Kinda unsettling...\"\n \"Who is this Team\nWarmachine anyway; they famous?\" Volcan asked.\n \"To be honest,\nI'm not sure.\" Luke admitted. \"I've never really heard of them before\nuntil today.\"\n            A\nGrovyle in front of them turned when he heard Luke say that, eyeing him with\nbafflement. \"What? You haven't heard of Team Warmachine?\" He asked.\n\"Where do you live, a hole in the ground?\"\nVolcan grunted at that, and held back a laugh.\n            \"Actually\nyes.\" Luke returned calmly.\n \"...Oh...\"\nThe grovyle cleared his throat. \"Sorry... anyway, they're from all over\nthe place, really; they're one of the top-ranked Rescue Teams in the whole\nregion, and are known celebrities themselves. Their whole team consists of some\nreally tough customers, not the least of which their boss, a big Swampert\ncalled Torolf.\"\n            \"I\nsee...well it's no wonder I haven't heard of them...\" Luke returned.\n\"I head a Rescue Team stationed in a small town a fair distance away from\nhere. Not many big name celebrities stop by.\"\n \"Ah, that makes\nsense then,\" he said. \"Sorry for assuming; no hard feelings?\" He\noffered a hand.\n \"None\ntaken.\" Luke returned, grasping his hand and shaking it firmly.\n            \"Slammin'.\nMy name's Sickle by the way; you?\"\n            \"I'm\nLuke. Leader of Rescue Team Valiant.\" Luke returned.\n \"Ah, I think I've\nheard about you guys before... only a mention but, you've made a name for\nyourselves,\" he said.\n            \"Well\nwe don't exactly work for the fame...more for the public safety.\" Luke\nreturned.\n            \"Good\non ya,\" said Sickle. \"Warmachine is in it for both; they do a good\njob but I think this tournament being held on a yacht makes it clear some of\nthe praise has gone to their heads.\"\n            \"You\ngot that right!\" Eagle Eye said from behind Luke, making him sigh and rub\nhis forehead.\n            \"Still,\nthe guys are not all show,\" said Sickle. \"I've seen them in action,\nnot the least of which a tag team that call themselves the Garde-Twins; a\nGallade and a Gardevoir. These guys were sent to deal with this punk Rhyperior\nnear my hometown; they beat him so freaking fast I think my head spun.\"\n            \"Sounds\na bit excessive.\" Luke returned. \"I hope they didn't kill him.\"\n            \"No,\nthey didn't kill him, but he went down fast, even when my toughest comrade here\ncouldn't take him,\" he gestured to a Blastoise standing in front of them.\nThe said Blastoise glared back. \"Are you going to tell\neveryone about that?\" He asked Sickle.\n\"Hey, it's why we formed this team, isn't it?\"\nSickle asked the Blastoise. \"Now we're ready to test our mettle.\"\nThe Blastoise grunted and looked at Luke. \"So, you guys\ndecided who's going to be your opener?\" He asked.\n            Before\nLuke could give an answer, Katsu stepped up. \"Perhaps I'll go\nfirst...\" The rather large, muscular Samurott stated, giving off a rather\nintimidating, yet calm precense.\n            The\nBlastoise looked him over. \"A good choice,\" he said. \"If you\ncan't get through the qualifying round, you and your whole team are\nhistory.\"\n\"What's it take to qualify?\" Volcan asked.\n\"You have to pass a test first, one that a member of\nWarmachine assigns to you,\" he explained. \"The member in question is\ndecided at random but each one has their own tests they'll give you; pass it,\nyour team qualifies. Fail, you're off the boat, and left behind when it sets\nsail.\"\n            \"Then\nI will make sure I do not fail...for my team's sake as well as my own.\"\nKatsu returned.\n \"Then for your\nsake I hope you're an all-arounder,\" said Blastoise. \"Each team is\ntested one at a time and a new member tests each one. You better hope it's not\nTorolf who does so.\"\n\"Why, what is his test?\" Volcan asked.\n\"You gotta beat him in a wrestling match,\" said the\nBlastoise. \"And nobody outmuscles Torolf.\"\n Katsu smirked.\n\"Oh really....? Then he clearly has not faced the Mighty Blade of Team\nValiant....\"\n            \"Hold\non, Katsu,\" said Volcan. \"Just how big is this Torolf guy? And how\nstrong?\"\n\"He's famous for when he took on a rogue Whailord,\"\nreplied the Blastoise. \"He knocked the big guy out with a single punch to\nthe head and then dragged him out of the water onto the beach, left him there\nuntil the guy nearly dried up.\"\n Katsu narrowed his eyes.\n\"....How cruel...\"\n\"You can say that again...\" Hank added in.\n \"Torolf does not\nscrew around,\" said the Blastoise. \"I'm not saying that Whailord\ndidn't deserve it, considering the guy sank a cruise ship just for the fun of\nit, but to nearly let him die on a beach, I'd save that kind of punishment for\na murderer, not just some big bully.\"\n            \"I\nagree...he went too far with that act.\" Luke agreed. \"It would seem\nthey really DO let their fame get to their heads...\"\n            \"Right...\nbut that makes them all the more dangerous, and is why everyone here wants a\npiece of them,\" said Sickle. \"Blaster and I, along with our third,\nHowler, are here to test ourselves but take my word; the rest are here because\nthey want to take Warmachine's fame themselves, since it'll bring them more\ncontracts and, in turn, more money.\"\n\"Well like I stated before, We don't really fight for\nfame or money...the public safety is foremost on our minds...\" Luke\nstated. \n\"Indeed...\" Wade added in. \"I personally have\nno use for money aside from the bare necessities...\"\n            \"Then\nwhat're you guys here for if not fame or to prove your strength?\" Blaster\nasked.\n            \"For\nthe challenge...\" Katsu returned.\n            \"And\nsome experience,\" Volcan added.\n\"Well, you'd be the only ones then,\" said Blaster,\nsmiling. \"I look forward to taking you guys on, but don't think I'm going\nto hold back on ya.\" He grinned.\n            \"We\nwon't expect any less.\" Luke grinned back at him. \"Best of luck to\nyou.\"\n            Blaster\nand Sickle both nodded. \"You as well,\" the Grovyle said. \"So,\nhow you guys doing it; you all going onto the Team Rounds or the Elimination\nRounds?\"\n            \"Well\nthe part-timers will most likely go into the emilination rounds. The main\nmembers of my team will compete in the team rounds.\" Luke said.\n            \"Does\nthat include me?\" Volcan asked.\n            \"Well\nthat's your choice to make.\" Luke returned. \"Would you like to\ncompete as a team or individually?\"\n\"Considering I'm still on a learning curve, might be\nbetter if I go team,\" he said. \"Would kinda be embarassing if I lost\nin the first round.\"\nLuke nodded. \"Fair enough. Would be nice to fight\nalongside you and see how far you'ce come.\"\nVolcan\nagreed. \n\"If it's alright with all of you, I'd rather\nspectate,\" said Serena. \"Fighting is not really something I like to\ndo.\"\n\"That's alright, Serena,\" said Volcan. \"Heh...\nimagine if we were still at home with you lugging around that big shield,\neh?\"\nThe Vaporeon giggled. \"Yes; that'd be\nadvantageous.\"\n            \"You\nhave a shield??\" Eagle Eye poked hsi head up and looked down at Serena.\n\"How the hell would you even CARRY it??\"\n            \"Well,\nin my true form... I had hands,\" she replied, looking at her paws.\n\"But now... I'd probably just have it on my back.\"\n            \"Oh...\nOoooh. RIght....not from here. Got it.\" Eagle Eye returned.\n            \"Right,\"\nreturned Volcan.\nSickle and Blaster looked blank.\n\"Trust me; you guys wouldn't get it,\" Volcan\nassured them. \"Let's just say my friend and I are not from around here and\nleave it at that.\"\n\"Maybe best,\" agreed Blaster.\nThe group finally reached the booths where the sign up was\nbeing done; Wade was the only one in the group who signed on for the singular\nElimination battles, while Luke, Volcan, Katsu, Kage, Eagle Eye and Hank signed\nup as a team for the Team Battles. As soon as their names were filled in to the,\nthe\nThe Kyogre's Rest, as it was called, was -huge-. It utterly\ndwarfed the entire town Luke lived near, at least twice over, and though he saw\nhundreds of Pokemon boarding, it did not look like the ship would be at maximum\ncapacity -especially not when those who failed to pass the qualifying rounds\nwere sent back off again. Nonetheless though, it looked very luxurious, moreso\nas they climbed the gangplank, stepping onto newly varnished floor planks.\n            \"Fuckin\neh...\" Hank muttered when he saw the sheer size of the ship. \"....Can\nwe live on that thing fer like...ever?\"\n\"No!\" the entire team said sternly back at him in\nunison.\n\"Well jeez fine....funkillers...\"\n\"I'm with you Hank; that's one beauty of a yacht,\"\nsaid Volcan. \"And I can't even live near the ocean so that's saying\nsomething.\"\n\"I wonder how long it takes to build something like\nthat?\" Serena asked.\n            \"SEE?\nSOMEONE here actually agrees with me!\" Hank protested but his teammates\nignored him. \"...Well fuck you all too.\" He grumbled, flipping them\nthe bird.\n            Once\nthey were aboard, they were met by the ship Security, who directed them to the\nleft, while spectators were sent the other way. They crossed the ship's deck\nuntil they came to the bow, to a massive, wide-open area where a fighting ring\nhad been set up. Already, there was a brawl about to start; a big Beartic was\nstepping into the ring, clapping his paws together in anticipation \nThe group spotted Blaster, Sickle and an Arcanine they hadn't\nseen before seated together at the edge of the ring where the other competitors\nwere, and so made their way over. Blaster looked at them as they approached.\n\"You guys arrived just in time,\" he said.\n            \"Why?\nIs Torolf gonna give his big welcoming speech?\" Hank asked in jest.\n\"No; better than that. He's the one that Beartic is\nfighting,\" stated Blaster. \"Team Frostmane were the unlucky ones to\nhave him as their tester.\"\n\"Ah...well this should be fun to watch.\" Hank\nreturned as the rest of the team leaned over to watch the impending fight.\n            \"Trust\nme, it'll be over quickly,\" said Blaster, grimly.\nAt that moment, the deck seemed to shake as across the\nfighting ring, opposite to where the Beartic stood, a -huge- Swampert stepped\ninto the ring. The Pokemon was so big it was ridiculous; the members of Valiant\nhad NEVER seen one so large. He was easily the size of a Tyranitar, and had the\nmuscles to match, not to mention a very stern expression on his face as he\nregarded the Beartic.\nVolcan gawked. \"THAT'S Torolf?!\" He asked.\n\"The one and only,\" replied Blaster.\n            \"H-h-he's\nHUGE!\" Hank sputtered.\n\"Indeed...\" Kage added, crossing his arms and\nremaining calm.\n\"How in the fuck can you remain so damn\nstonefaced?\" Hank asked, to which he got no answer.\nThe bell rang, the Beartic unleashed an ice beam at Torolf,\nwho simply took it as he stormed up to the Ice pokemon, barely even reacting to\nit even though Swamperts having a ground sub-type should've made it hurt, yet\nhe did not even flinch. The Beartic, in response, drew back his arm and attacked\nwith a Slash of his claws, which Torolf blocked with his hand; some blood was\ndrawn, but he seemed unfaced by it, while the Beartic gawked in horror.\nThe huge Swampert grabbed him, and with only one arm, hurled\nthe poor Beartic right towards the rail; over her went, falling several dozen\nfeet before they heard him splash into the water below. The Swampert reared up\non his hind legs and held up his arms, bellowing with a very powerful voice,\n\"Such a weak entry has no place on my ship; Frostmane, get your sorry\nkeesters out of here, for you do not belong!\"\n\"He just heartlessly threw that guy over the rail!\"\nVolcan exclaimed as a group of Pigeot and Poliwrath went over the side to check\non the Beartic, make certain he was not knocked unconscious by the fall.\n\"He could've killed him!\"\nBlaster looked over. \"Told you; Torolf does not mess\naround. Just hope you don't go up against him or you're next to go over that\nrail.\"\nKage narrowed his eyes as he silently studied Torolf, his\ntongue scarf flicking idly from side to side as he stared at the Swampert\nbelow.\nFor a while, the qualifying rounds carried on; each time, a\nnew member of Warmachine would test the entries; more than half of the\nregistered teams were sent off of the ship, but still a good number of them\nremained; sixteen independent entries for the Elimination rounds, eight teams,\nincluding Volcan and Luke's.\nSickle was the representative for his own team when their\nturn came; he was pit up against Warmachine's Haxorous, who tested Sickle by\nwearing a red scarf, and said Sickle had to take it from him before the\ndragon-type could knock him out of the fighting ring. Sickle showed impressive\nspeed as he outmaneuvered the large dragon-type, eventually jumping onto his back\nand snatching the scarf away, ensuring his team would qualify. \nNow, it was team Valiant's turn.\nVolcan looked at Katsu. \"So, still want to do\nthis?\"\n            \"It's\ntoo late for second thoughts, my friend...\" Katsu returned, still keeping\nhis sights on the arena below. \"I promise you that I will emerge\nvictorious...\"\n \"Long as you\naren't up against that Torolf guy,\" muttered Volcan.\nSerena looked at Katsu. \"Please be careful; whatever the\ntest is, try not to get hurt.\"\n            Katsu\nblushed a little and glanced at Serena. \"...I'll try...\" He said in a\nsofter tone, looking into her eyes for a moment, then he sighed and turned\naway, heading for the arena below.\n            Once\nthere, team Warmmachine once again mixed their member. This time, it was a\nCharmeleon who came down from the stand, a satchel on his back, which he pulled\noff and set down in front of him, pulling it open and pulling out a... tennis\nball?\n Katsu looked at the\ntennis ball inquisitively, then back at the Charmeleon, narrowing his eyes a\nlittle.\n\"This is a test of reflexes,\" the Charmeleon said.\n\"You either dodge or deflect 20 of these balls; if a single one hits your\ntorso, face, or leg, you're out. And I warn you, I've got quite the arm.\"\n            Katsu\nscoffed. \"....That's it...?\" He said, quickly drawing his right Seamitar\nand holding it at the ready. \"A simple matter...\"\n            \"You\nsay that,\" said the Charmeleon, as he took out a second one, tossing it\ninto his mouth before giving a big grin. \"Try dis,\" he said through\nthe ball as he picked out a third one. He threw the first with an overhand,\nlaunching quite the fast ball, but followed it up immediately with a spinning\nthrow of the second one he held ---\nKatsu waited until the last possible moment before his eyes\nwidened, then he quickly swung his blade twice and cleaved through each ball\nwith surprising speed and reflex, and using only one of his blades as well.\nKatsu continued to stare at the charmeleon, waiting for him to toss the rest.\n\"For your sake...you better throw everything you have at me....\"\n            He\nhad barely noticed the third one coming, but this one was ablaze, and coming\nlike a rocket.\n Katsu flinched for a\nmoment, then quickly swung hsi blade up and sliced through that ball as well,\nfeeling the heat through his long whiskers as the ball whizzed past him.\n            \"Whoa,\nthat was a close one,\" Volcan said from his place up in the stands.\n\"That red lizard's got a few tricks of his own.\"\n            \"It's\nstill a simple matter for Katsumoto-san.\" Wade returned, watching the\nelder Samurott with keen interest. \"Though to be fair, he and I could\nperform this task with our eyes closed...\"\n            \"Oh\nyeah? How about that?\" Volcan asked as the Charmeleon suddenly launched\nten of the balls into the air, leapt up, and struck them with incredible speed,\nslapping each one down at Katsu; half of them bounced off of the ground and\nangled towards him, the rest came straight at him.\nKatsu was unfazed however, and sliced at each ball that came\nat him in the order they approached him, sometimes even cleaving two balls with\none stroke of his blade. He cleaved through each of the balls, never once\nlosing his focus nor moving from his spot. He quickly returned to his stance,\nwaiting for the rest of the balls to come.\nThe Charmeleon had pulled another fast one though; there had\nbeen an eleventh curled up in his tail, which he launched at him as he\nfront-flipped back to the ground. This time though, Katsu pulled off a rather\nunorthodox, yet extraordinary trick. He coated his blade with water and held\nthe tip of his blade out toward the ball. When it connected, the water around\nhis blade cooled the flames off the ball and Katsu quickly tilted his blade up,\nspinning the ball on the point of his blade, drilling a hole through it and\nmaking it hollow before it stuck onto his blade. \n\"I believe this is yours...\" He said as he hurled\nthe ball back at the Charmeleon.\nThe surprisingly quick lizard caught the ball. \"Hehe...\npretty quick for a water boy,\" he said. \"Alright then, speedy.\"\nHe lifted the last seven out, holding four in his claws and three in his mouth,\nthe latter which he spat towards Katsu, once more ablaze, before launching the\nother four one at a time in... the wrong directions?\nKatsu noticed the balls heading in the wrong direction, this\ntime dodging the three flaming balls coming at him, keeping his eyes on the\nfour that went the wrong way. Each one was bouncing off of a random object,\nseemingly none of them even coming close to hitting Katsu, until one bounced\noff of Blaster's shell, into a camera pole, and then came at Katsu from the\nside!\n\"...Like something out of a movie,\" muttered\nVolcan.\n            Katsu's\near twitched and he turned and quickly sliced at the ball coming at him,\ndousing it in water as he sliced through it.\nImmediately, the second one bounced off of another pole,\nhitting the ground in front of him before heading towards his leg. Katsu looked\ntoward the ball and quickly sidestepped, letting it whiz past him as he leaned\nto the side. Ironically, the ball actually flew up towards Volcan as it missed\nhim; the Blaziken ducked under the oncoming ball, letting go over his head and\ndisppearing. \"Hey!\" He barked.\nNow were coming the last two; one from the left, one from the\nright, only a second apart from one another.\n            Katsu\nglanced to hsi left and right quickly, then with a grunt he hopped up into the\nair, waiting for them to meet in the middle before letting out a roar and\nslicing through both of them before they could pass by each other, again\nsplitting two balls wiith one swing. He landed with a thud and held his\nposition before slowly leering up at the Charmeleon with that infamous glare\nall Samurott were know for. One that could silence an entire quarrel with just\na glance.\n            The\nCharmeleon still had one left; the same one Katsu had thrown back to him\nearlier. He looked at the ball in his claw absently before he shrugged.\n\"Not even a point to it,\" he said before tossing it aside. \"Team\nValiant passes!\"\nKatsu slowly straightened up and swung his sword to the side\nonce before twirling it into a reverse grip, sliding it along his arm scabbard\nbefore sheathing it quickly, then slowly he lowered back onto all fours and\nstrode past the Charmeleon. \"....For the record...I passed your test using\nmy left blade....I am usually right pawed...\" he muttered before he headed\nback up to meet with the rest of his team.\n            The\nCharmeleon's face went blank at his remark.\n\"Well, that was impressive; Katsu could even give Vinge\na run for his money in reflexes,\" said Volcan.\n\"He's trained long and hard his whole life.\" Wade\nreturned. \"He's arguably the greatest swordsman in the world...honing his\nreflexes and skills to their absolute peak...\" Wade them smirked.\n\"Hard to believe he's only in his late 20's....\"\n            \"A\nreal Musashi Miyamoto,\" said Volcan\n            \"...Who\nis that?\" Wade asked, glancing to Volcan.\n            \"Uh...\nnevermind,\" said Volcan, knowing the subject would only confuse Wade if he\ntried to tell him about it.\nKatsu made his way back up to the rest of his team, letting\nout a small sigh as he rejoined the group. \"You seemed a little out of\nbreath...\" Kage stated as he returned.\n\"That test did push my concentration rather far...but\nother than that it was child's play...\"\n            \"That\nred lizard was pretty ambitious, and tricky,\" remarked Serena. \"But\nhe was also quite fast; how did he do all that?\"\n\"He must have trained his reflexes and his speed as far\nas he could...\" Katsu returned. \"I'll give him credit for that...but\nin the end it still wasn't enough...\"\n            \"I\nwonder what he will be like when we have to fight him,\" remarked Volcan.\n\"But either way, thanks to Katsu, we're in.\"\n\"True, but that only means the competition will only get\nharder...\" Luke returned. \"We'll have to really stay on our\ntoes.\"\n            Serena\nsuddenly looked past Katsu, rearing up on her hind legs to peer over the\nrailing. \"Luke; there's another of your kind down on the arena. Is that\nyour brother?\"\nLuke turned over to the direction where she was pointing at,\nand sure enough he saw a Lucario he recognized all too well, standing with a\nfemale Blaziken. \"So he did make it after all...\"\n            Volcan\nlooked at the other Blaziken. \"And another of my kind. Who's that?\"\nHe asked.\n            \"That's\nTrish, my brother Rigel's mate.\" Luke returned.\n            \"Ah...\"\nVolcan smiled.  \"Good pick.\" He\nwhispered, but Luke caught it.\n\"Next up is today's one and only tag team to apply;\nRigel and Trish!\" The announcer called, catching their attention.\n\"It's only appropriate that Warmachine's own tag team specialists should\ntest them! Please welcome brother/sister combo of Gall and Sage!\"\nAs the names were spoken, a Gallade and Gardevoir walked onto\nthe fighting ring, their steps in almost perfect sync with one another, but\nunexpectedly, a third stepped onto the ring as well, or rather slithered; this\none was a Milotic, who was introduced later as Oceana.\nRigel crossed his arms a little. \"So what's this, a\nthree on two match or somethin?\" He asked. \"Kinda seems a little\nunfair for a test.\"\n            \"Your\nobjective will be to reach me through my attacks,\" said Oceana, flicking\nher tail. \"Whoever reaches me with the quicker time passes; you and your\nmate pass, you're in the tournament. But if you cannot beat Gall and Sage's\ntime, you are leaving.\"\n            Trish\ncracked her neck a little and flexed her taloned fingers into fists. \"And\nwhat makes you think we'll fail?\" She returned in a cocky manner.\n\"Because this is also a test of your teamwork,\"\nstated Oceana, eyeing Trish sternly. \"If you cannot work in sync, you will\nnever lay a paw on me.\"\n            This\ntime Rigel let out a laugh. \"Lady, you obviously dunno who we are...\"\nHe said as he stood close to Trish.\n            \"Then\nallow Gall and Sage to demonstrate just what it will take.\"\n            \"Fair\nenough.\" Trish returned, looking to the two next to them. \"Go ahead, set\nyour time.\"\nThe twins nodded, and glanced at one another briefly; no\nwords were shared, just a meeting of eyes, before they faced Oceana. It then\ncaught the attention of spectators that some of the deck was being cleared,\nparticularly those close to the rail, were being moved behind where Oceana lay\ncoiled up, preparing herself for the test.\n\"Why are they ushering everyone over there?\" Serena\nasked.\nVolcan narrowed his eyes. \"Maybe she's like me... a\ncrowd-control type, using widespread attacks.\"\n            \"Only\none way to find out.\" Hank said as he leaned on the railing to watch the\nfight more closely.\n            Gall\nstood at the front, with Sage behind him, her hands raised as Oceana made the\nfirst move. Water surged up fron the ocean around them, coming up in torrents\nand angling towards the Milotic as she cast Surf towards the twins. Sage cast\nLight Screen over herself and Gall as the water formed a tsunami; a powerful\none at that, as it forced the water apart as they connected, sending it away\nfrom the two, and as soon as it subsided, Gall was heading straight for Oceana.\n\nShe reared up and exhaled a storm of snow and ice -Blizzard-\nat the Gallade as he charged, but once more, Sage cast a Light Screen around\nhim that protected him from the blast. He leapt into the air, elbow-blade\nextending as he dropped at Oceana with a Fury Cutter attack only for her to\nlunge out of the way and then counter attack with Aqua Tail, which launched him\nback. He corrected himself in midair, but the strike had knocked the wind out\nof him.\n\"Whoa!\nThat sea snake's pretty quick,\" Volcan exclaimed, looking at Luke.\n\"Is her species normally that fast?\"\n\"They can be...though their agility mostly comes from\ntheir movement in the water...Her speed on land is very impressive.\" Luke\ncommented.\nThen, Sage cast something else towards her brother; a pulse\nof pink energy erupted all around her, bathing the deck in a soothing glow. The\nlight even reached Team Valiant, ushering a comforting sensation over them,\nwhich left the inexperienced Volcan and Serena confused, but for Gall, it left\nhim looking better than ever, and once more he rushed at Oceana, who was about\nto attack again, only for an unexpected light to come flying onto the ship from\nout of nowhere, striking the ground at her side and startling her. With that,\nGall got close enough to land a held-back but effective kick on her side, which\nknocked her off balance. A bell was rung, signalling the end of the test.\n\"Wait, I'm lost; where did that attack come from?\"\nVolcan asked, scratching his head. \"I was watching Sage after she healed\nher brother; she didn't do anything, just stood there.\"\n            \"I\nsecond that. The lady just...did absolutely nothing ta indicate she was\nattacking..\" Hank returned.\n\"Future Sight...\" Wade muttered softly.\n            \"Sorry?\"\nSerena asked, looking at Wade.\n            \"It's\na Psychic type attack that allows the user to predict a future attack, then a\nshort while later, that attack becomes a reality, striking from nowhere.\"\nWade explained.\n\"But when did she cast it?\" Volcan asked. \"It\ncouldn't have been before the fight started, could it?\"\n\"It wasn't,\" Sickle's voice called, catching their\nattention. \"That's the trick with this tag team; when you think you've\nforced them on the defensive, they're really setting you up. When Oceana hit\nthem with that Surf earlier, Sage cast that Future Sight while hidden behind\nthat rush of water, preventing Oceana from seeing her use it. For the moment\nthey were biding their time until that attack came, startling Oceana and\nletting Gall land the blow they needed.\"\n\"Wait, but if Oceana didn't see it, how did you?\"\nVolcan asked.\n\"I didn't,\" he admitted, jerking his thumb over to\nthe Arcanine between him and Blaster. \"Howler here did; he sensed her use\nit. Kind of a gift he has.\"\n\"Time set?\" Oceana called to the Charmeleon who had\ntested Katsu before.\n\"31 seconds,\" he replied.\n            Trish\nlooked at the Gallade and Gardevoir team as they took their leave, then looked\nto her mate and shrugged her shoulders. \"31 seconds huh...?\"\nRigel smirked even more and pounded his paws together.\n\"Easy.\" \n            \"Think\nthey can do it?\" Volcan asked Luke. \"31 seconds is a long time with\nattacks that wide-spread coming their way.\"\n            \"I\nhave confidence in Rigel's abilities...I just hope his massive overconfidence\ndoesn't slow him down.\" He returned while shaking his head.\n            \"Rigel's,\nmaybe... but is he a good team player, even with his own girlfriend? Or is he\nthe hot-headed, impulsive glory hound type?\" Volcan inquired further.\n\"Remember, this is a test of teamwork; Gall only landed that kick because\nhis sister was backing him up, but can Trish do the same for Rigel or vice\nversa?\"\n \"They're like two\npeas in a pod...they were MADE for each other...\" Luke returned.\n            \"Well...\nfor his sake I hope so,\" said Volcan.\nOceana, after being healed by Sage, prepared herself to face\nRigel and Trish. \"Remember my warning, and this is not an idle claim. If\nyou cannot work in sync, you will never reach me,\" she reminded them.\n            \"Just\nshut yer trap and bring it already...\" Rigel said as he hopped on the spot\na bit before assuming a stance. Trish also assumed her stance as well,\nbalancing on on leg while holding her hands up, ready to strike.\n\"Your overconfidence is going to cost you greatly,\"\nshe called as the wind around them began to stir, picking up violently, before\nshe spun in place, and a whirling void of wind rushed towards the two of them,\nforming a powerful Twister.\nRigel quickly leaned back and grabbed Trish's arm, then began\nto spin on the spot and hurl her around him like a ragdoll before he released\nher and threw her at the Twister. Trish had already corrected herself and stuck\nher leg out, slamming into the Twister with a powerful Blaze Kick, slowly\npushing THROUGH the Twister before finally appearing behind it and aiming her\nfoot at Oceana's face.\n Oceana was caught off\nguard by the bold move, but not too much to react. She swerved out of the path\nof Trish's kick, but was already expecting an attack from Rigel to follow up;\nshe turned in his direction, ready to blast him with a blizzard. However, he hadn't\nmoved from his spot when she launched the Blizzard at him. Instead he reared\nhis leg back a bit, then it started to spontaneously combust before he grinned\nand started moving forward, spinning rapidly to create a torrent of flames\naround him with his leg, easily passing through the blizzard with hardly any\ndamage, since the fire around him kept most of the attack at bay. When he got\nclose he was already winding up for an attack, launching himself up toward\nOceana's jaw with another fire infused fist.\nOnce more, she was caught off guard by the unconventional\ntactoc, but was still quick enough to evade, although this time felt the heat\nof the attack. \"You're still working separately,\" she informed.\n\"One person cannot beat me; that is why I was chosen to test you.\"\nRigel only flashed a grin at her, then pointed downward as he\nsoared into the air. When Oceana looked down she saw Trish below her, her left\neye glowing vibrantly before she crouched low and spun on her hands, kicking at\nOceana with a rising spin kick to send her into the air. She then angled\nherself so she smacked Oceana back down to the ground, then darted past her and\nlanded in a crouch, rearing back and slamming her foot into the Milotic's back\nin such a flexible position. \nShe reached up and gently stroked the Milotic's cheek.\n\"That felt good huh...?\" She said before flashing a grin and spinning\na bit so she could slam her to the ground, pinning her under her leg.\n            \"...I\ntake it back,\" Oceana groaned.\nThe Charmeleon looked at the watch in his hands. \"22\nseconds,\" he called. \"They pass.\"\nVolcan nodded. \"That was actually pretty clever,\"\nhe said. \"Oceana thought that when Trish attacked first, Rigel would be\ncoming in immediately after. Somehow they predicted that, but Trish was the\nprimary attacker the whole time; Rigel was the distraction.\"\n\"For once, Rigel thought with his head and not his\nego...\" Mikhail muttered, rubbing his chin and adjusting his glasses.\n\"That was pretty clever indeed...\"\n\"The last of the tournament contestants has cleared the\ntrial,\" Torolf called, rearing up on his hind legs so everyone could see\nhim. \"Everyone, welcome aboard the Kyogre's rest! Now that the tryouts\nhave ended we shall be putting to sea within the hour. All contestants of the\nsingle division, line up on the port side by the rail, while all contestants of\nthe Team division, pick one among you to stand at the starboard side; you shall\nbe assigned a random letter that decides who your opponents will be\ntomorrow.\"\nVolcan looked at Luke. \"Well you're team leader; I'd say\nyou should be down there.\"\nLuke nodded. \"You should take this time to explore the\nship and find somewhere to spend the night. My team will accompany you if you\nwant.\"\n\"We'll probably be assigned cabins; I'll have to\nask,\" said Volcan. \"Which, in that case, better we all go together so\nwe all know where to find one another.\"\n\"I agree with Volcan,\" said Serena. \"Until we\nknow more about everything here I don't think any of us should wander\napart.\"\n            Luke\nnodded. \"Then it'll be best for you two to stay with everyone here. I'll\nreturn in a moment.\" He returned as he headed off to be assigned a number\nfor the next round tomorrow.\n            The\nteams had all picked their members shortly. Luke found himself standing by\nSickle as they waited, the Grovyle casting a glance at him. \"I look\nforward to seeing you guys in action some more,\" he said to Luke.\n\"You've got a good team assembled; should be quite a spectacle.\" He\nwinked. \"But when you come up against me, don't think I'll go easy on ya.\"\nLuke nodded. \"I'll expect no less.\" He returned.\n\"Just promise me you'll give it all you got...it'll make the competition\nmore enjoyable for both of us...\"\n\"Oh you'll get it,\" he promised. \"I know one\nof the mega stones being offered is a Sceptilite, so I've got my eyes on a prize.\nBut just as much, I want to test my limits, to see if I'm worthy to take that\nstone for when I evolve. So, I'll be giving it everything I have, even if I\nhave to fight Torolf himself.\"\n            \"Just\nbe careful...from what you told me, he's not one who messes around...\" He\nreturned.\n\"We saw that first hand when he threw that poor Beartic\noverboard,\" Sickle reminded, frowning. \"All the glory has gone to his\nhead; thinks he can do whatever he wants. I honestly hope at least someone\nhumbles him; he needs it.\"\n            \"Leave\nthat to me...\" Luke returned. \"If I'm lucky to face him, I'll make\nsure he understands being in a Rescue Team isn't ALL about the fame or the\nmoney...\"\n            \"Then\nbest of luck, 'cuz honestly I'll pay to see that,\" said Sickle.\nAt that moment, the Charmeleon that had tested Katsu arrived,\npassing pieces of paper to the team representatives. He reached Luke, picking\nout another slip. \"Which team?\" He inquired.\n            \"Rescue\nTeam Valiant.\" Luke returned.\n            \"Alrighty,\"\nhe said, and passed Luke a paper that listed 'D' on it, with several numbers on\nthe bottom. \"Those are your cabin numbers; if you need directions I'll be\nshowing the teams there shortly. I made sure all the teams would be accomodated\nin close proximity to one another.\" He then flashed a grin at Luke.\n\"That Samurott on your team is one in a million; I really hope I get the\nchance to really have a go with him later. You've got quite a warrior\nthere.\"\n\"He's trained all his life since his childhood.\"\nLuke returned. \"His swordsmanship, as well as his humility and honour, are\nsecond to none. If you're impressed now, wait until you see how he fights a\nliving pokemon and not some tennis balls.\"\n\"Eh,\" The Charmeleon looked over his shoulder\nbefore turning back to Luke. \"To be honest, I think Torolf and Maggie just\nmake those tests to show off; mine may be legit but really, if I were calling\nthe shots I wouldn't have bothered with something so time consuming.\"\nMaggie... that was a name Luke hadn't heard yet. Luke tilted\nhis head a little at that name, though still retained his composure. \"Well\nit's nice to see SOMEONE on Team Warmachine isn't so concerned with fame and\nfortune...\" He whispered back to him. \n\"I like the attention, but all the flash is just\nnonsense,\" stated the Charmeleon.\n\"And...Maggie....?\"\n\"Maggie, she's the real brains of our operation; you've\nseen for yourself, Torolf thinks only with his muscles. He may be our boss but\nshe's the one who sets up the jobs and these events. A real flare for drama,\nthat one.\"\n \"I...\nSee...\" Luke returned. \"Is she competing as well, or is she running\nfrom behind the scenes...?\"\n            \"She's\nhere, but she's not competing,\" replied the Charmeleon. Turning back to\nhis team, he pointed towards Torolf. \"See that Mismagius floating near the\nboss? That's her.\"\n\"...A Ghost paired with a Water/Ground...\" Luke\nwhispered softly. \"...Here I thought I've seen it all...\"\n            \"She's\nnot his squeeze, if that's what you're suggesting,\" the Charmeleon\nnotified him. \"She was actually the second member of Team Warmachine; his\nfirst partner, but never his mate. She's really not all that powerful; she's\nsmart but really more of a trickster, which is why they made such a good combo\nback in the day. \nAs their fame grew though, she came up with all these events\nto spread our 'glory' all over, which so far has worked; last time we had one\nof these contests we got a dozen contracts; that's about when I joined as well,\nafter winning one of their events. Been about two contests since I joined, but\nit's just a spectacle. Still, after this we usually end up getting a slew of\njobs, so her trick's working so far.\"\n Luke narrowed his eyes\na bit. \"It's still not right...\" He returned, glancing to the\nCharmeleon. \"All he's after is the money and the fame...there's a lot more\nto being in a Rescue Team, but clearly they don't see it...\"\n            \"Don't\nget me wrong; these guys do some good stuff,\" assured the Charmeleon.\n\"I mean, I got the chance to save some people in the aftermath of a nasty\nlandslide; we worked together on that. But I do agree with you about it; it\nshouldn't be our main focus.\" He sighed. \"I do like being popular,\nbut I like being helpful too. Heck, the more I talk about it the more I wonder\nif maybe I'd have been better off just starting my own team.\" He shrugged.\n\"But, leaving now wouldn't get me anywhere, and I'm just rambling at this\npoint.\" He stepped over to Sickle, giving him his assigned letter as well.\n\"I'll show you guys where the cabins are after I hand these out,\na'ight?\" And with that, he continued up the deck.\nSickle turned to Luke. \"And here I thought none of those\nguys cared about anything but glory; seems Kaen there sure does.\"\n\"That's his name is it?\" He returned. \"Yes it\nwould seem he does have the right mind...being famous to me has always been an\nadded bonus I never cared about...he wants to be famous, but at least he\nunderstands it's not the MAIN focus...\" He returned. \"If he started\nhis own team, he might actually make it on his own...\"\n\"Yeah. But far as I know, nobody ever leaves\nWarmachine,\" stated Sickle. \"Don't know if it's because they don't\nwant to or because there's something that draws them to the group, but nobody\nhas ever left it.\"\n\"There's always a first time for everything...\"\nLuke returned.\n\"I guess we'll see how it goes,\" said Sickle,\nlooking at his letter. \"Huh; my group's 'G'; guess you and I won't be\nfighting first round.\" He chuckled. \"Maybe I'm lucky about\nthat.\"\n\"Perhaps.\" Luke returned. \"Either way, we'll\nmeet eventually in the arena...I look forward to then.\" He returned.\n\"Best of luck to you Sickle.\" He bade him as he turned to head back\nto his team.\n            \"You\ntoo,\" he bade, before heading to rejoin his own as well.\n"}