The Hayle Region (IC)

[Regalus]

Adam snorts in amusement at Dominic's call before picking up the pace; Duke and him weaving through the cactus in it's trainer with ease, making them the first to catch the sight of Teller's abandoned post.

"Teller fell back! We'll have an ambush waiting for us soon," the lad reported to his companion, hoping the upper halls weren't too narrow for their sakes.

Spoiler

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Adam and Duke moves to P15 and Q16 respectfully.

[Jacior]

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Dominic - Health: 61/61; Initiative: 10; Evasions: ATK 1 SATK 1 ANY 2; Injuries: 0
Arlo - Health: 30/56; Intiative: 5; Evasions: ATK 5+1 SATK 3+1 ANY 1+1; Injuries: 2
Deadshot - Health: 60/60; Intiative: 9; Evasions: ATK 1+1 SATK 1+1 ANY 1+1; Injuries: 0

Buffs/Debuffs:
Deadshot:
-Focused Training: +1 to Accuracy, +2 to Skill Checks
-Inspired Training: +1 to Evasion, +2 to Save Checks
-Trained: +1 Attack Combat Stage
-Growth: +5 Attack & SpecAttack Combat Stage
-Momentum: 0
-Momentum (Start of Dominic's Turn): 0

"Well... We'll just have to face it head on!" Dominic says and keeps up his rushing, hopping over Duke as he heads out into the hall. Deadshot trundles by, pushing Duke instead of trying to hop over him.

Spoiler: Actions, Turn 14

Show

Dominic
Standard: Recall Arlo

Shift: Move to S18

Swift: None

Deadshot
Standard: Sprint

Shift: Move to R17

Free: None

[Regalus]

The pair easily speed up ahead of the pair, making their way towards the top; though stopping just short of it. In a moment of caution, the boy and his Dog peer along the hallway trying to get a good look at whatever might be waiting or hiding for them down this new corridor; along with any signs of their missing host.

Spoiler

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Adam uses Focused Training on Duke
Adam and Duke Move up to P and U19

Perception Checks
*Adam: (3d6+2)[13]
*Duke: (3d6+5)[14]

[CosmicOccurence]

At the top of the stairs was a carpet of small caltrops coated in a venomous looking liquid, meaning stepping in the wrong spot would leave you with a nasty status affliction. Beyond the spikes was a thick smoke, much thicker than Pokemon were normally able to produce on their own. Inside were two shadowy figures, what looked to be Teller and a Koffing, but targeting them would be incredibly difficult in the smoke.

[Regalus]

At the sight of what laid ahead of them, urgently gesturing to Dominic and Deadshot to make a full stop, "Toxic spikes blocking three meters down the hallw, and some weird smoke; Teller's in the back ready to snipe, with a Koffing playing tank a bit ahead of him," the young man reported succintly in a low voice, "Close enough for Deadshot to hit if you guide him, though he'd be close enough for Teller to hit'em,"

[Jacior]

Spoiler

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Dominic - Health: 61/61; Initiative: 10; Evasions: ATK 1 SATK 1 ANY 2; Injuries: 0
Arlo - Health: 30/56; Intiative: 5; Evasions: ATK 5+1 SATK 3+1 ANY 1+1; Injuries: 2
Deadshot - Health: 60/60; Intiative: 9; Evasions: ATK 1+1 SATK 1+1 ANY 1+1; Injuries: 0

Buffs/Debuffs:
Deadshot:
-Focused Training: +1 to Accuracy, +2 to Skill Checks
-Inspired Training: +1 to Evasion, +2 to Save Checks
-Trained: +1 Attack Combat Stage
-Growth: +5 Attack & +6 SpecAttack Combat Stage
-Momentum: 0
-Momentum (Start of Dominic's Turn): 0

Dominic quietly climbs up the stairs next to Adam and Duke, letting Deadshot lead the way. "So what're we gonna do?" Every step was just another hurdle in this. He peeks his head round the corner, stretching over the top of the cacnea to get a good look, the pointy pokemon doing the same. It almost looked like a cartoon.

Spoiler: Actions, Turn 15

Show

Dominic
Standard: None

Shift: Move to U18

Swift: Tag Koffing

Deadshot
Standard: Use Growth

Growth
+1 Attack & SpecAttack Combat Stages

Shift: Move to V18

Free: None

Gain 1 Momentum at the End of Turn

[CosmicOccurence]

You saw the shadowy figure shift, and Teller's voice commanded. Smaug, detonate.

The Koffing floated forwards quickly, pulsing softly with light. The red pulses quickened in frequency until it reached the area near you. Suddenly the pulses stopped, the light sucked inside.

Then it exploded.

Light and smoke went everywhere, and bits of star were thrown in all directions. It was like a bomb had been dropped in the middle of the battlefield, and you couldn't even hear Teller chuckle as your eardrums roared in anguish.

Spoiler

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Koffing Uses Self Destruct (1d20)[14] AC 2 vs Dominic, Deadshot, and Duke.
(6d12+54)[94] physical normal damage. IE: y'all be fainted.

[Jacior]

Spoiler

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Dominic - Health: 61/61; Initiative: 10; Evasions: ATK 1 SATK 1 ANY 2; Injuries: 0
Arlo - Health: 30/56; Intiative: 5; Evasions: ATK 5+1 SATK 3+1 ANY 1+1; Injuries: 2
Deadshot - Health: -29/60; Intiative: 9; Evasions: ATK 1+1 SATK 1+1 ANY 1+1; Injuries: 3

Buffs/Debuffs:
Deadshot:
-Focused Training: +1 to Accuracy, +2 to Skill Checks
-Inspired Training: +1 to Evasion, +2 to Save Checks
-Trained: +1 Defense Combat Stage
-Momentum: 0
-Momentum (Start of Dominic's Turn): 0

Deadshot reacts before Dominic could comprehend what was going on. The cacnea pushes his clumsy, inexperienced trainer back out of the way as the world explodes into light, sound and force. That was all Dominic's world was for a few moments. Then he saw the burnt, unconscious forms of Deadshot and Duke and the world turned a little red for the trainer. Wordlessly, he recalled the cacnea and stepped back up the stairs past the wall at the top. He turned to face Teller, switching the pokeball in his hand for Arlo's and throwing the pokemon into the smokey battlefield. "Arlo. Enemy downfield. Close and hit him with Magnitude." The sandslash seemed a little thrown by the cold tone in Dominic's voice, but complied readily, getting right up next to the Gym Leader and starting his rocking in the thick, ridiculous fog.

Spoiler: Actions, Turn 16

Show

Dominic
Standard: Switch Deadshot for Arlo (Release on W11)

Shift: Move to U18

Swift: Tag Teller

Deadshot
Full Round: Intercept Melee

Arlo
Standard: Use Magnitude

Magnitude
Attack vs AC 2: (1d20-5)[-3], (+1 from Focused Training, -6 from SUPER Smokescreen)
Damage: (2d8+27)[35] Physical Ground (DB 8: 2d8+10, +17 Attack)
If Crit: (2d8+10)[13]

Shift: Move to W9

Swift: None

Gain 1 Momentum at the End of Turn, Plus 1 if Magnitude hits.

[Regalus]

Adam's curse is drowned out in the aftermath of the explosion; as the dust settles three things become clear: Duke and Deadshot are down, He and Dominic were still standing by nothing short of dumb luck, and Teller was quite the bastard.

Had he taken a single step further Dominic would've been left to fend to himself; much like during his first day as a trainer, a healthy dose of caution had saved him from an ill fate. Now it was time to make the most of the opportunity.

"Keep'em busy for me Dom, gonna make a run for it, Adam told his companion in a low voice; taking advantage of the wall conceiling him form Teller's sight to get into position. A moment later the young lad took advantage of Arlo's distraction and moved; sprinting past Dominic, leaping over the field of poisonous spikes, rushing through the stinking cloud before it had a chance to cling to him, and dashing into the guard room.

Spoiler

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Adam sprinted to Y12

Also, rolling a Stealth check if it's needed to take advantage of Arlo's distraction via Magnitude and the distance between Teller and Adam filled with unnaturally thick smokescreen to try to pass by unnoticed by him. (3d6+2)[10]

[CosmicOccurence]

Teller dropped his bow as soon as Arlo closed, leaping out of the way to avoid the Magnitue attack, the Sandslash too close for him to effectively fire a bow at him. Instead he whipped out a knife and held it in front of him. However, the stance was awkward, much moreso than when he held his greatbow.

Thankfully it seemed like he missed Adam's movements, as he didn't even so much as glance at the door to the guard room.

Spoiler

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Teller spends the round changing weapons

[Jacior]

Spoiler

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Dominic - Health: 61/61; Initiative: 10; Evasions: ATK 1 SATK 1 ANY 2; Injuries: 0
Arlo - Health: 30/56; Intiative: 5; Evasions: ATK 5+1 SATK 3+1 ANY 1+1; Injuries: 2
Deadshot - Health: -29/60; Intiative: 9; Evasions: ATK 1+1 SATK 1+1 ANY 1+1; Injuries: 3

Buffs/Debuffs:
Arlo:
-Focused Training: +1 to Accuracy, +2 to Skill Checks
-Inspired Training: +1 to Evasion, +2 to Save Checks
-Trained: +1 Defense Combat Stage
-Momentum: +1 to To-Hit & Evasion
-Momentum (Start of Dominic's Turn): 1

Dominic let out a 'tsk' when he saw the cloud was bothering Arlo's ability to hit anything. "Come on Arlo, hit him with bulldoze!" If he couldn't get the gym leader to focus on him, Adam wouldn't be able to get the crown. Dominic wasn't happy that Adam was going to get all the glory, but at least they were going to win.

Spoiler: Actions, Turn 17

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Dominic
Standard: Use Focused Orders: +1 to Accuracy, +2 to Skill Checks

Shift: None

Swift: None

Arlo
Standard: Use Bulldoze

Bulldoze
Attack vs AC 2: (1d20-4)[9], (+1 from Focused Training, +1 from Focused Orders, +1 from Momentum, -6 from SUPER Smokescreen, -1 from Sticky Smoke)
Damage: (2d8+27)[41] Physical Ground (DB 8: 2d8+10, +17 Attack)
If Crit: (2d8+10)[17]
Special: All Legal Targets are lowered 1 Speed Combat Stage.

Shift: None

Swift: None

Gain 1 Momentum at the End of Turn, Plus 1 if Bulldoze hits.

[Regalus]

Taking the constant trembling coming form the otherside of the wall as a good sign, Adam hustles across the guard room. Once on the other side he releases Thistle in the treasure room to save time, telling him to bring the crown over quickly.

The echidna wastes little time grabbing the crown and rushing back into the guardroom to meet with Adam, passing it back to him.

Spoiler

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Adam
*Shift Action move to Y7
*Shift Action to swap in Thistle at AB2

Thistle
*Shift to pick up the crown
*Shift to move to Z7.

With their prize in hand Adam and Thistle kick it into gear; they'd made it through so far, but the boy didn't want to risk any other surprises or desperation cards Teller might've kept in reserve. Only a few seconds after he'd disappeared into the room the pair burst through the smoke; Adam leaping over the speaks as THistle swung over to the other side, landing besides Dominic.

"Got the thing; ending this 'fore Teller pulls something else out of his sleeve," the red head reported, showing Dominic the crown as he took a brief smoke free breather.

"See you in the real world," he said in parting, saluting to the other boy before completing his part of their plan; running as fast as his legs could take him. Rushing down the stairs with Thistle only to pause at the door to the Throne room, a cursory glance proving it was just as they'd left it; much to his relief. A quiet brisk pace saw the boy and his echidna lightly jogged down the hall, cautious for traps but eager to end it all. So once before the Throne he did just that; placing the crown on hsi head before taking a seat, unsure what to expect next.

[Jacior]

Dominic gestures grandly, fully relishing his first victory over a gym leader, his technically second step on his way to becoming Champion. This first of course being getting Arlo. It wasn't the perfect, flawless victory he'd wanted, but who was he to complain about winning? "Arlo, finish this with Magnitude!" The quake started quickly, building up on the continuous flow and ebb of the rumbling that the sandslash had been causing since Dominic had released him again. The flagstones cracked and buckled as the force of the quaking shattered them into the rubble and into the air. With a final stomp of his foot, Arlo finished the quake explosively. Even the thick, clinging smog blew away from the desert pokemon.

In the center of the cloud cleared out, Teller was buried under a pile of rubble not unlike the nidoking was downstairs.

Dominic smiled wide and happily as Arlo walked over and curled up, spinning in a circle and blowing the poisoned spikes away with the windy force. Dominic crouched down and picked up the heavy pokemon and put him on his back. "You did good buddy." Looking towards the throne he'd walk up to the seated Adam. He puts his hands behind his head and winks at the firey boy. "Not bad for a first gym match huh?"

[CosmicOccurence]

As Teller fell in the collapsing hallway and Adam sat on the throne, the world began to pixelize once more. As small squares of color began to swirl, you felt dizzy, consumed by a growing tornado of light and color that surrounded you.

Then you eyes opened.

You were back in the gym, and attendants were removing the electrodes from your foreheads. Teller was waking up from a similar terminal. The announcer, seeing a slightly delayed feed, was finishing up his commentary for the television streaming. You felt ... normal. None of the stimulation from the battle seemed to carry over into real life and, if you were to guess, you Pokemon likely hadn't even sustained wounds in the battle.

Once his own electrodes were removed, Teller stood, slipped his lab coat back on over his shirt, and walked over to you. A camera swiveled to focus on the man as he approached you.

Congratulations Adam and Dominic, he said, cyborg eye still swiveling disconcertingly. A splendid battle. Of course, with the victory comes your first badges as trainers, The Metro Badge. He handed you a small platinum badge, round with a silver city skyline etched into a black background. And a TM of Thunder Wave, a rather useful TM for incapacitating your opponents.

But before all the post-production interviews happen, I have to ask ... did you enjoy the game? His human eye suddenly lit up. It's rather new technology, so I'm curious how it seemed to those without extensive experience with it. Did it feel realistic? What about the rendering of the walls? Somehow during the time from when he started talking to now, another cup of instant coffee had found its ways into his hands, no doubt brought by one of the gym trainers.

Spoiler

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10 Trainer Exp for each of you! Your teams each gain a total of 102 experience, split between the pokemon that participated however you like.

Additionally you both gain the Metro Badge, 4,000 money, and TM of Thunder Wave

[Jacior]

Dominic hops out of the seat, practically bouncing. "Oh my Arceus that was so freaking cool!" He took the badge with a sort of glee reserved commonly for 8-year-olds and hurriedly pinned it to the strap of his backpack. "I totally forgot it was just a game about when we took the wall down. That was super flipping amazing how did you make something like that I totally have to come back here to play again when I'm Champion that's just too freaking sweet." Maybe he was gushing a little bit but that was totally awesome.

[Regalus]

Adam grins, letting Dominic's excitement wash over him for a bit as the excitable lad spoke for both of them, "It was definitely a lot more realistic than I was expecting. Honestly wasn't sure if a lot of the stuff we talked about would work right, or if we'd be dealing with videogame physics in their," the boy began, showing more reserve then his partner as he accepted the reward of their efforts reverently; though it could've been him taking his sweet time 'waking up' as it were.

"The rubble seemed about right for the kind of shenanigan's I've seen Arlo pull. The reflections were't distorted, and seemed about right considering I was spying using non-flat surfaces, and all of the weight seemed to be pretty spot on. Also, when I was running and jumping around nothing felt off or off balance about my movements; all in all everything seemed to work like it would out here," he explained more thoroughly as he finally hopped to his feet, giving a brief stretch to warm himself up after sitting down so spaced out for a while.

"Thistle and Duke didn't seem to have any issues either, and I'm pretty Duke's pretty happy about not having to wake up from an _actually_ selfdestruct. All in all, I'd love to see where you and your team take this tech; it could really open up whole new doors for the league," the lad commented approvingly, though certain Teller knew all that already. From simply making new arenas and allowing mon to battle without either getting seriously injured, to creating completely unique scenarios that could serve that could equal tournaments in terms of scope of excitement. It was mind bogglign to be honest.

"Can you guys whip up NPCs in their too?" he suddenly asked from sparked curiousity, if they could make decent ones that just mind the possibilities all the grander.

[CosmicOccurence]

Well, I'm glad to hear that the two of you enjoyed my little game. Teller replied. NPCs are certainly possible. In fact, they're actually much easier, as we do not need to replicate the individual abilities of trainers and their Pokemon. Our Gym Trainers regularly spar with these NPCs, although we haven't rolled out the program publicly yet.

As he continued talking with you, Mint approached and stood on her tiptoes, whispering in Teller's ear. He blinked, at least his human eye did. I'm afraid something came up that I must attend to. Mint will walk you through the post-battle interviews and make sure that you're on your way safely.

And without even a time to bid your goodbyes, he was walking away, fingers tapping frantically at his smartphone. Mint stepped into his place. If you two will just follow me, there are some interviewers from Atlantis Radio and The TAO Network. These were the largest radio and and television networks in Hayle, each popular among wide portions of the population.

The interviews themselves were preceded by another application of makeup, especially for the television interview. The interviewers seemed to focus on your role as novice trainers, asking you about your role models, what kind of trainer you wanted to be, and what your goals and aspirations were. It was all rather comprehensive and, when it was over, they informed you that the interviews would be going live later that night along with a reshowing of the battle.

After everything was over, Mint thanked you again, gave you gift cards to a local cafe with five stars, and invited you to stop back anytime. Then the doors to the Gym closed, and you were left in the courtyard of the technological masterpiece of a battling facility.

Spoiler

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Go ahead and RP the interviews if you like. The two of you will have one final conversation, and then we're going to timeskip to chapter 2

[Jacior]

Dominic strode out onto the stage for the television interview with a confidence and repose normally reserved for those much older or much more used to being on TV. He was relaxed and as calm as he ever really got, which was saying something considering exactly how wired he felt. He took a seat down across from the interviewer and smiled as the prompter told him to. "And now we welcome a new up-and-coming young trainer! Fresh off his first Gym victory, let's give him a hand folks!" The interviewer grinned at the audience as they applauded politely for the trainer. "Why don't you introduce yourself and give us a little backstory, hmm?"

Dominic waves to the camera and grins a matching smile to the interviewer. "My name is Dominic Cypress. I've been a trainer for about a week? Yeah, about a week and I'm from Hidden Oasis. My dad is Alabaster Cypress, he's an archaeologist." "Oooh, only been a trainer a week and already got your first badge, how exciting! What are your plans from here on? Do you think you'll be able to breeze through the next gym so quickly?" "Well, I think I'm gonna spend a couple more days here in Central, see the sights, maybe catch some pokemon and then I'm probably gonna head out to Stormwrack Harbor or Thousand Acres Ranch, I haven't decided yet. But my stop after that is definitely going to be getting my third badge at the Academy. And yeah, I'm totally just going to blow through my gym battles and I'll going to be back in Hidden Oasis for my fourth badge before the end of the year. Or maybe my fifth. Haven't decided that yet either." The crowd made a sound that either expressed them being impressed by the declaration or shrugging it off as the boastfulness of youth.

The interviewer chuckled. "You seem awful confident about that, young man. Do you have any heroes?" "Well yeah! Chronos! He's kinda my hero and kind of my rival too." "Oh? Why's that?" "I'm going the be the League's next Champion of course!" "Oh ho! Well now that's a boast I've heard before... But what makes you so confident about that?" Dominic takes a moment to think before looking the man right in the eyes. "No one else wants it as much as I does. That's why." There wasn't any prideful boasting in what he said, just a simple statement of fact that was somehow unnerving as he looked into the interviewer's eyes.

The man cleared his throat, looking away from Dominic's gaze and towards the audience. "Well then! Why don't you tell us more about what it's like being a new trainer these days? I'm sure lot's of people would be interested in hearing some of the challenges you've had to go through." The man pressed on with his interview steering the topics around a whole host of subjects, mostly focused around being a newly minted trainer and the life therewithin. It was really a spectacular interview for someone so young.

================================================== ===========================

Getting shoved out into the courtyard was entirely different. Having been treated like a celebrity and then rushed out made Dominic's head spin. "I uh... did that really just happen?" Arlo was hanging from his shoulders again, he hadn't let the pokemon out for the interview but it seemed fair game to him now.

[Regalus]

Compared to the eternity spent goign through make-up and stylists, and the intensity of the gym battle; the interview themselves were a walk in the park... so long as he didn't think too much on just how many people might've been watching him. Part of him kept saying that as newbie there wouldn't be too many interested in hearing his story, yet another reminded him just how much gusto Mint had put into this whole event. Adam faced the interviews more subdued than his companion, holding himself up with the kind of amiable professionalism he'd seen his father use often enough.

He supposed that his few weeks as a trainer had gone fairly well compared to most trainers; between growing up in Wyrstone, and his own Father's lessons (a fairly skilled Ranger), he was pretty used to roughing it in the woods. Though traveling so far from home on his own had certainly been an experience so far, and he'd even managed to do some good along the way. This of course spurred on the obvious question: Was he planning on following his father's footsteps and joining the rangers?

His answer had seemed to surprise his interviewer a bit, as it had most of the people he'd told it to; he most certainly did want to become a Ranger, but contrary to popular convention, he wasn't heading straight to Stormwrack after this. In the end being a Ranger isn't just a dangerous one, it's an important one; their choices and actions affect the lives of a lot of people. In Adam's case, he wants to make sure he's ready for that responsability; instead of being too gung-ho about it, just because his dad is one. So with that in mind he planned to keep traveling the region for a while longer, and continue the gym challenge; however even that wasn't going to be following conventional path either.

It wasn't enough for him to just beat a leader with his mon and get the badge; he wanted to earn it, have it mean a bit more than as proof of how strong his pokemon were. If he had his way, he'd be taking on each Gym Leader's personal challenge along the way; that way even if he comes up short, he was sure to learn something from the experience. Not that he planned on letting them enjoy the victory for long afterwards. Then once he was satisfied, he'd go to Stormwrack and try to join; though that was still a ways away, and between then and now he found his plans were fairly flexible. That said, after being on the road for so long he was planning on enjoying Central for a while before heading to his next stop. Afterwards the interview drifted along several topics, some personal others just to get his opinion on them as a new trainer, and eventually the interview came to an end, and they parted ways.

Once all was said and done, the boy's relief was palpable upon exiting the gym, feeling more harrowed after the interviews and make-up procedures than he had after the gym battle itself.

"Yeah... that was definitely a thing that happened," Adam comfirmed with a tired smile, hoping his next few gym battles weren't quite as invovled mediawise as this one. It had been an interesting experience, but one he didn't want to repeat too soon. "But hey, we kicked ass in there; so that's what really matters,"

"So, what'cha gonna do now that we odn't have to plan for a rematch agaisnt Teller?"

[Jacior]

Dominic hesitates at the question, then shrugs. "I have some... things to take care of around here and then I'm heading back on the road. I want at least 6 badges before the end of my first year at minimum. So I've got a... rather immense amount of training to do!" He grins at this but you can feel that Arlo would rather eat than think about that right now.

[Regalus]

"Don't push yourself too hard now; rest is important for a future champ to, don't wnat you or your mon to burn out after all,"Adam chided the other boy good naturedly before smiling, "Still, I'm probably gonna do the same; Milo's and THistle have never been in a city this big before so I wanna show'em the sights,"

"Any way did you, uh, find out about anything about what happened the other day?" the boy asked, studying the oter boy intently as he started down the road, "Never got a chance to ask you before all this went down,"

[Jacior]

"Nah. I went sight-seeing after we split up." Dominic grins at that. "I guess it doesn't really matter all that much to me? If it's something important than I suppose the world will tell me that the hard way, you know? Maybe not the smartest way to go about things but I have other more important things to worry about right now."

[Regalus]

Adam pauses at that, momentarily staring at the boy with surprise before chuckling good naturedly, "I guess you do; still, nice to see you know when to take a break," he commented agreably, a toothy grin on his face. Honestly he shouldn't have been surprised; Dominic was probably the most determined guy he'd ever met. IN his eyes the only thing he could fathom stoppign the boy from reaching the Champion's doorstep was if something distracted him enough; though what could possibly do that was beyond him.

"Well there's a little tip then; if you ever feel a weird itch in the back of your mind, keep your eyes peeled and play it safe okay?" Adam offered kindly to the laissez faire trainer, "Any way, victory pizza?

[Jacior]

Dominic raised an eyebrow about the break comment but brushes it off. If Adam thought he was taking a break, all the better. He raises his arms above his head in a cheer. "Woo! Victory Pizza!"