[ORP] Midsummer Fair

[BlackFireKitsune]

Everyone

While the music continued from the DJ booth, a small precession of three maneuvered through the crowds and up on top of the slightly raised platform, and talked amongst themselves briefly. Some people there might've recognized Alder, while the two others with him seemed nondescript and unfamiliar. Once the current song reached its end, the music ceased entirely and a young man took up a microphone from the DJ, tested it, then spoke into it to gather attention from the fairgoers, "Good afternoon, everyone!" The central location of the DJ booth made it an excellent stage from which to make announcements, as the sound carried out in all directions. "We're going to be making the speech in just a few minutes! Anyone interested in listening should make their way towards the DJ booth in the center." As only a single speech had been advertised with the fair, it should've been obvious to anyone who'd seen any of the posters or information about it that it was indeed the speech by members of the Pokemon League.

With that said, the mic was turned off and returned to a stand, and the music was turned back on, as the trio began lightly discussing things amongst themselves.  

[Blood_Goddess]

The clopping of hooves against pavement, following steady after the dulled thudding of pink and white riding boots and the delicate patting of paws, each stride from the blue paws joined with a subtle jingle from the display of gold jewelry attached to the Vaporeon's fins.

Rosie knew she was late to the celebration, but in all honestly the only reason she had showed up at all was because of the rumors of a League speech. She wasn't entirely sure what they would be addressing, but either way, it was probably going to mean something if it was being spoken by the League.

The young trainer, with her hair pinned back to keep it out of her eyes, was joined closely by Pastin, the Large gray Rapidash holding his head high to avoid getting his horn in anyone's way. and Vahy'n, who's gate remained as elegant as ever as she kept up with her trainers stride.
The rest of the girl's team was at her belt, in a display of Love and heal balls, tucked neatly in two rows, visible only as the length of skirt behind her would flutter away from her hips.

Normally, she loved events like this, but Rosie had a lot to think about, and a lot of catching up to do for her poor team, not to mention getting to know a new member of her team, a surprise that she had received in her storage box.
But due to recent events the trainers she knew had not been nearly as thrilled about League events, the feel here was much different from times before. Though possibly due to biases or the knowledge she had that people were scared, and frustrated, something she hoped this speech would help with.

It would seem she had arrived just in time, as she heard the announcement about where the speech was going to be held. Glancing over to her two pokemon, the trainer smiled gently at them, before heading in the direction of the DJ booth.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Oh that was right, the League was going to be giving a speech. How boring. While he was a registered trainer he didn't really keep up with anything current, he had much better things to do to occupy his time. He supposed he could listen in on what was happening though, since he'd be here longer than he thought he would it wouldn't hurt to keep up with current affairs. Sighing softly, Andre nibbled on a soft, chocolate covered pastry as he took in the crowd. Everyone seemed to be quite excited to hear the speech, it would be wise to make his way over to the DJ booth before too much of a crowd gathered. He stuffed his goods back into their bag and then promptly settled that bag into the messenger bag he'd brought. Always come prepared to carry copious amounts of sweets.

Once everything was settled he started making his way to the booth, checking his phone for the time and noticing he'd received a text. 'Velencia has arrived at your hotel. -LS' Short and to the point, Andre grinned. With his Espeon here he could move on to another town and continue his search for Zacharie. Everything was coming together so nicely.  

[Gwennythe]

Being relatively unknown (except to other Rockets), Tambrey, interest piqued by something so intrinsically tied to the training, and contest, worlds that she'd long ago given up on being a part of, found herself gravitating from a stall she'd been browsing toward the DJ booth.

She'd rather tried to avoid it up until now- she did not consider herself a dancer, nor was a not-long-healed, but still pained, leg something that lent itself well to that sort of activity.
It was nice to be able to attend such an event -without- being expected to be on a mission, though she supposed she might still have to account for her whereabouts and thus make some report of what she might have heard...

Tambrey looked like any other trainer today; hair tucked behind her ears, eyes bright behind her glasses and a handful of pokéballs on her belt; 4 to be precise. Recent events had led her to be more selective on the pokémon she travelled with off base; Lasi, Neph and, the horror known as, Gauntlet had all been firmly, for one reason or another, 'grounded' temporarily with Palu left to 'keep an eye on the room', leaving her with Pygi, Ella, Treestar and Octavia.
Octavia, especially, needed socialization, yet posed 'low risk', and so, the Ponyta was allowed to wander alongside her as she moved toward the booth.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Everyone

Once the allotted several minutes had passed, and a sufficient crowd had gathered, the music ceased once more as the same young man picked up the microphone again to better address the crowd. "Welcome everyone! We hope you're enjoying the fair today," he began with a smile, his tones sincere. "PokeCon was cut short, as most of you know, due to the unfortunate appearance of Team Rocket. Investigations are still being made as to how they got in despite our security. On that note, those of you with access to recent news should know this, but for the benefit of those of you who haven't had such access, due to the level of security at PokeCon and the efforts of everyone in attendance, five Team Rocket members were arrested. They're currently still being held and the police are in an ongoing process of questioning them," he explained, "and they're confident that they'll be able to get information about the organization from them."

As he spoke, he moved across the pseudo-stage, endeavoring to address as much of the assembled audience as he could. While the previous topic ended on a positive note, the increased enthusiasm in his disposition hinted that the next topic was even more positive. "We've heard the concerns from quite a number of trainers, and while the Pokemon League still isn't going to institute a gym challenge here on Kodo, I'm happy to announce that Kodo will have something else instead - a facility that will be unique to this region. The Pokemon League is building a trainer's center - a large facility that will have an on-site Pokemon center, indoor and outdoor battling arenas, various types of training rooms, as well as the help and advice of the Pokemon League - just to name a few things. Security is obviously very important, though I can't reveal all the various levels of security we're going to utilize in the building just yet. Construction has already begun, and our goal is to have it finished before the year ends."

"Something else I can tell you," he added after a pause, "is that Alder, the previous Unova Pokemon League Champion, has transferred to Kodo to help in this endeavor." As he said this, he gestured to the named, who stepped forward with a microphone of his own.

"I recognize quite a few of you," he started with a broad grin as he looked around the assembled audience, "either from PokeCon, where I was invited to speak, or from my travels around Kodo after. What I've learned these past few weeks has encouraged me to stay and lend whatever aid I can give to help out not only this region as a whole, but all of the trainers and pokemon in it as well."

Alder then moved back as the young man from before stepped up again, and gestured out to all the attendees, "Thank you all for coming to the fair today, and for listening. We hope you enjoy the rest of your day here!" That said, he turned off his mic and retreated to the rest of the small group, and the DJ started the music back up again.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Jace/Dove and Hen

Yuri smirked at Dove, "If a giant pink whale is me, then I have to start changing my image." He then handed the gargantuan plush over to her, glancing at the strange Jigglypuff that they all then decided to focus on.

However it had been useful as a distraction, and so was the impending speech. Whether or not anyone followed him, Yuri slipped off to hear what the League had to say.

"Yuri, wait up," he heard Flynn calling out behind him. The long haired man slowing his pace through the crowd a bit so the blonde could catch up.

"Puuuuff," the moon-like Jigglypuff bellowed, looking between Dove and Henrietta. Unsure of how to handle all the attention he was getting all the sudden.

Yuri, with Flynn, listened quietly to the announcement that was given. The former keeping a rather flat and unimpressed expression on his face.

"That's it?" Flynn said, voicing Yuri's thoughts. Apparently both of them had expected something a bit more.  

[Tori Honoo]

(Yuri, Flynn, Hen)

With a grin at him as he spoke, Dove turned to Yuri, with widened eyes as he handed the plush to her, and accepted it, laughing, her cheeks still bright pink. "Nah, I think it's perfect. ...and thank you!"

Holding the stuffed Wailord, which proved to be almost as be as she, she watched as the budew on her shoulder turned to smile at Henrietta, then look curiously at the jigglypuff on the counter as Gummy approached. Dove laughed at Gummy's 'excitement', then nodded at Henrietta. "He is awesome, hm?"

Jace relaxed a little more, then nodded, until the announcement came over the fair, at which he started a bit. "Hey! The league is gonna do that speech thing! We should go!" he announced, already pulling Chester in what he assumed was the right direction, after Yuri and Flynn.

With a smile to both Moonpuff and Hen, Dove nodded towards them, seemingly agreeing with Jace. "Come on guys, lets go!" and with that, made her way into the gathering crowds.

Once in the crowds, both Jace and Dove listened closely to the announcements made. Jace's reaction was much, much livelier than the woman's, as he applauded enthusiastically along with some of the others as they announced the training facility. Dove simply stood and watched the group on stage over the head of her wailord, her reaction muted and her poise tall and calm. Hm.

Jace immediately turned to the others, even as Yuri and Flynn seemed disappointed. "They're gonna let us battle all in one place! That's so awesome! Man, Chester will be a charizard before we know it!"

The little Charmander only raised a brow, then grinned his agreement with the boy.

Lovey stayed at Dove's feet, her head tilted in curiosity.  

[Gwennythe]

Moonpuff, Dove, Jace, Yuri, Flynn
"He is! I didn't know Jigglypuffs could at all look like that!" The young trainer nodded, grinning at the lunar-faced creature.
"Oh man! I've totally been looking forward to this!" Henrietta agreed, as the speech was announced, Jace pulled Chester along, and then Dove suggested they all go to listen.

Gummy was still staring at the Moonpuff as he was suddenly lifted into Henrietta's arms, carried along with her to listen to the speech.
He seemed to 'aim' a very low powered Water Gun over his shoulder as a goodbye to the strange pokémon. Or perhaps for no reason at all.

The announcement- or, rather, the restatement- that the League wouldn't be installing a Gym challenge got a rather disappointed groan from the young trainer despite the fact that it was something they'd already said.
"Man, but that would be totally awesome..."
The announcement of a 'Trainer Center' piqued her interest though; the way it was described had some small similarity, she thought, to centers she'd heard about, but never visited, in Johto.
"Huh... Cool!" She agreed with Jace; it gave young trainers, like her, a place to aim for and revisit- something to train for and get better and better at, before, perhaps, attempting to take on a League of another region.
"Man! We should totally go there as soon as it's open and battle to the top!"

~~~

"Well, don't wish his youth away too soon." A slightly amused voice, that might have been familar to Jace, was accompanied by a soft snort from the grey Ponyta that stood alongside her.
Tambrey and Octavia had been stood just a little way back, behind the boy and his Charmander and had moved forward upon recognizing his voice, and seeing the pair in the crowd.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Jace/Dove, Hen/Tambrey?

"Puuuuuff" the Jigglypuff called to Gummy's departing gesture. Left there to just look around and then jump off the counter to just waddle through the crowd. Causing a few terrified screams and people to back away from the strange looking Pokemon as it went.

Placing a hand on his hip and looking over to Jace, Yuri gave him a little bit of an odd look. "You guys couldn't train in the same place before?" Well that seemed kinda dumb that they would need a building and permission to do that from the League.

"I don't think that's what he meant, Yuri," Flynn replied. "It will just be more convenient with a building."

Yuri then looked over at his best friend. "Hey, shouldn't you be able to find out more about these Rockets?"

Flynn just laughed, "It doesn't really work that way. The Rockets are Kodo's business, not Grande Ile's."

That answer hardly seemed to satisfy Yuri.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Rosie wasn't sure what to expect from the announcement at all, but as it progressed, and they took a moment to address what happened at the Convention, informing everyone what they had arrested some Rockets and were trying to get information out of them.
Rosie had every confidence that they would be able to get something helpful in bringing Rocket to justice, they would have to wait and see though, she couldn't imagine that would be information that they would openly share with the public just yet.

This helped little with the disappointment in the continued insistence that Kodo was not going to get a gym challenge, and from the muttering around the crowed she could tell this was displeasing and frustrating to some of the trainers.
Rosie glanced around at her fellow trainers before turning her attention back to the stage.
the news of getting a trainer center was a little surprising, her first though was that they had already had places like that, but when they confirmed that it would be a League run facility she had to admit, she curious.
Deciding that she should probably learn more about what this center was going to be like and what it would be used for. It would be nice to have a place to go.

The announcement about Alder transferring to Kodo is what brought a smile to the girl's lips. Seeing the older man step up and take the microphone.
This was probably the most encouraging news they could have been given, the fact that a League champion, had taken an interest in the island and had reason to want to stay and help. the blond liked Alder, he was kind and he seemed like he really wanted to help people.

The crowd began to disperse, as the announcement ended, Rosie herself stood for a couple more seconds as people moved past her and her pokemon, before turning as well, placing a hand on Pastin's shoulder, sliding it along his back as she started heading back toward the outskirts of the fair.
the Rapidash let out a pleasant, calm nicker, his head lowering closer to Vahy'n who cooed back calmly, holding a small conversation before Vahy'n let out a sigh and rose to her feet, trotting to catch up to Rosie.

Andre
Unsure of what to do now, not really seeing anything she needed here, and not feeling too particularly in a mindset to celebrate, and not needing anything in particular from the fair, she had assumed she would return to training, maybe teach Ballet a few things before the evening wore on.

Placing a hand on her side, as one of her deeper breaths reminded her that she was still sore, she paused when she nearly stepped into someone's way, stopping and looking up at a man with purple hair "Oh, Excuse me." she apologized, but paused here, looking over the outfit he had on, there was no mistaking that style.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Rosie

Andre...did not care.
Not that that was particularly new or anything.

He clapped appropriately when the League left the stage and turned to watch the crowd. There appeared to be mixed reactions to the news and the confusion, irritation, eagerness, and excitement exhibited from each person was pleasant to watch. He was brought out of his musings by the sudden appearance of a short, blonde female. "Oh, don't worry yourself." He said with a dismissive wave of his hand and a warm smile. "We were both rather distracted." It wasn't like him to get that distracted when he was in such a large crowd and the fact that he had been disturbed him. "Oh!" He gasped in exaggerated awe, "What a beautiful Rapidash."  

[Tori Honoo]

(Henrietta, Flynn, Yuri, Tambrey)

Dove continued to stay quiet, her eyes falling to the pokemon on her shoulder for a moment, before she turned to look for Jace's reply to Yuri, though her gaze, too, flicked to Flynn, before falling away. It seemed she had hoped for more as well, though she supposed she understood...

News of a training facility was interesting, but she wasn't sure how much good it would do for her, personally. For younger trainers like Jace and Henrietta, or those like Rosie who would love the sport of it, she was sure the new installment would be lovely...

Jace, however, seemed just as excited as Henrietta, and nodded, immediately agreeing with her suggestion. "Dude, we have to!!!"

Chester sighed, and shook his head, a smile plastered to his face.

Yuri's question earned him a scowl, and a confused look. "Yeah, I guess so, but real battles that you have to beat to keep going! It'll be so hard!"

The boy's attention was again drawn to someone else, and his eyes lit up brightly as the woman fell into his line of sight, his gaze flying to the pokemon with her as he turned. "Oh, hey!!! Is that Ponyta yours!? Look at it, it's so cool!!!" he exclaimed, running up to her.

Chester now chuckled, looking to the woman, with an almost childish <>  

[Gwennythe]

Dove, Yuri, Flynn, Jace

"Yeah!" Henrietta agreed with Jace, nodding as he explained about the importance of repeated battles to Yuri.
"We could totally train together and stuff but this will mean other trainers get to see each other get better and have official League help and a pokécenter! It's gonna be so awesome! We'll all get super tough!"

She was a little confused by why Yuri thought Flynn could find out about Rockets but couldn't deny the sudden suggestion made her curious, and she looked between the two, even as Jace and Chester suddenly seemed to be dashing off to see someone else they knew.

~~~

"Hello there." Tambrey nodded and reached to pet the back of Octavia's neck. "She certainly is; this is Octavia, one of my youngest. She's starting out too, a bit like you and Chester so I thought she'd like the fair." The woman smiled to the others that Jace was standing with too, hoping to be polite enough. It was probably fortunate for her peace of mind that she hadn't quite caught the initial talk of Rockets between Yuri and Flynn.
"How about you two? Having fun so far?"
Octavia regarded the people that they'd approached, and the pokémon; she found the people to be interesting but the pokémon were more so. The Ponyta had found that she rather enjoyed meeting other pokémon. She snorted a gentle greeting at the other fire type as she found the Charmander and his boy approaching them closer.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Andre

"I guess we were." She admitted bashfully, though giving the stranger a kind smile. She opened her mouth to say something else when his comment about her Rapidash changed her thought process, looking instead to the fire type that was drawing up next to her.

The Rapidash lifted his head up a small smile playing on his lips as he snorted heavily in a soft of reply to the man.

"Thank you very much, Pastin's been my partner for a long time. If you think he's pretty now, you should see him in a battle~" A hand reached up to rest on the fire horse's shoulder.
The interest in Rapidash also lead evidence to her assumption, seeing as she understood that Rapidash were one of the new pokemon that populated Grand Ile.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but your clothes look like they are from Grand Ile, are you visiting from there?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

Ray certainly didn't expect a lot from the League, then again that wasn't anything new at all, she tended to have a much different understanding of the organization than other trainers did. But either way, it was clear from the little smirk across her lips that for whatever reason, the League's attempts amused her.

Though this was not an announcement for her, she scanned the crowed before her as they passed, the hair draped over her left eye giving her only partial vision, at the mixed faces of the dispersing crowed.
What do you think of you're league kids? What do you think of them? are you're opinions still high? Are you as lost as they are? Do you think they can do any more for you in this situation? Do you think they can do anything? Anything that the rockets can and will do?
their faces were telling, and there were many who seemed to be unsure of what even thing. People who let the League do the thinking for them.
While others wore pride in their eyes, though she could not help but notice the increase of fear within the youth.

The wide smile spread along her wide lips remained, while her mossy eye moved from the faces of the trainers, toward the stage.
Retired Champion Alder.
Her eyes narrowed lightly in deep thought, as Double Stripe drew up his own head and flicked a tongue out at the stage.
Unova, from her own home region, a man she once looked up to. What was it that he saw in this island, she wondered, so much so that he would stay and want to help. To what extent did his intentions reach?

"HEY!"
Her thought process was cut short at a sudden call, she didn't expect anything of it, but gave a small surprised blink what she noticed a group wearing anger on their face walking toward her.
She might have stepped out of their way to move past her had she not noticed that their eyes were on her.
Ray arched an eyebrow, keeping her lazy stance and crossed arm as she wanted the young trainers step up to stand around her in a half circle.

"Well now," Ray stated, looking from each of their faces toward the one directly in front of her. "Sorry kids? can I help you?"
She was playing stupid of course, she knew the trainer in front of her, and she knew why he was here.
Double Stripe knew him as well, as the Snake let out a huff of a breath and slipped up next to Rayan.

"You stole my pokemon!" The trainer yelled at her, enough to draw the alarmed attention of people around.

"Oh dear, and the paranoia begins." She commented letting her glance shift toward the other trainers who seemed to intent to gang up on her, seeing as this unskilled piece of garbage in front of her didn't have the balls to confront her directly.
She looked over at Double Stripe "I believe that he is also implying that pokemon are subject to ownership? someone's property."

Double Stripe rolled his eyes.

"Shut up! You took him from me! you didn't have the right to do that! you're a thief and a bully!" It was obvious the kid was beside himself with how upset he was, clearly having let this fester inside of him for some time. Ray said nothing to him, not arguing or denying, but watching him with a calm expectancy for him to get to his point.