Inciting Incident [OPEN]

[RUTH IEGRIYEGA]

Ruth woke up choking on the raindrops that gathered in her mouth during her sleep. Everything was a dark gray haze; It might as well still be night. Drops pelting hard enough to be mistaken for hail, the sound of gushing floods rushing against distant-but-still-close rocks...

She sat up. This had to be a terrible dream. Like one chaotic dream to another, like one of those nights where you get several dreams in a row. The last one had whole lot of rubbish: up down a a a b start left right start anarchy HAIL HELIX democracy left left start b down up left and so on, so forth, with command strings so long it's impossible to carry even a fraction of those demands. Fortunately, the present dream had no such thing. At least, no where as loudly. It even had flowers growing in bunches around her. She reached around for her glasses, and called out for her aides. The power of lucid dreaming?

"Sinclair! Eriol! Bastien? Levi! Amanda! Zivilyn!!"

Only the sound of breaking waves answered her. What a dream... From the corner of her eye, a short red form limped towards her.

[ZIVILYN]: "Hawlucha."

"Zivilyn!"

She reached out to hug the small bird, while the bird took this opportunity to put her glasses on he face. They weren't clean, and some of it was scratched, but at least she could see. Ruth could almost cry.

"This is such a scary dream, Zivvy... I don't... See my berry trees anywhere... Have you?"

With a deep breath, the Pokemon shakes his head: No.
Ruth leans in various directions.

"Ah... Wow... Where are we... Am I dead?"

The Hawlucha reached out to keep Ruth from leaning too far in any direction, and even to cover her eyes at some points. Then stopped to shake his head.

"Where are the others?"

The two-foot tall Pokemon helped Ruth to her feet, and led her away from the sound of crashing waves, though a peeping glance caught sight of a massive waterfall to their left. A gulp of fear was sure to follow. The Hawlucha screeched, gesturing to his hips for Ruth to hold on to, and she did. She trusted all of her Pokemon, but this one especially with her life. With a bound into the air, Hawlucha latched onto the cliff side and struggled as it scaled with a trainer in tow. Slow, slow progress... A long, long view of the drop that awaited them if they failed. A view Ruth knew they wouldn't be able to survive from.

They made it to the top. Surely enough, all of Ruth's Pokemon were out of their Pokeballs, sprawled out in a pile in front of a Pokemon Center. They all looked too weak to move an inch further. She reached everywhere for her Pokeballs, only for Hawlucha to roll out the pile he hid in the bushes for safekeeping.

"Thanks Zivilyn... I owe you so many Pokepuffs and huggles after this..."

The Pokemon coolly crossed his cape-like arms while she returned the rest of her team.

"...If I had any--I don't have anything on me...! Where's my money? Where's my ID?! Hawlucha, my name is... Ruth, right? Ruth Iegriyega."

Hawlucha nods.

"I'm a berry farmer. From Kalos, not too far from Camphrier Town."

Another nod.

"We... Certainly aren't in Kalos anymore."

Hawlucha reached out to hug Ruth's leg, then guide her into the Pokecenter facing out over a waterfall. A Pokecenter that has seen better days, but instead hints of the days to come.

Others would better recognize this place as Ever Grande City.

[PEARL]

A deep sigh escaped his mouth.

Pearl adjusted the umbrella that had rested on his shoulder, frowning. Rainy days were never his favorite. He wasn't even sure why he'd wandered out here in the first place. His Buizel was at his side, mostly since it enjoyed the rain more than his trainer. Zelhiko had definitely mellowed out some, but the Pokemon's spunky attitude didn't seem to change much from when Pearl had first met him. Visiting Ever Grande City was one of the many highlights of the Hoenn region. Somehow Pearl found himself missing Sinnoh's cold weather atmosphere rather than the warm tropical weather of Hoenn.

That and all his friends were there.

Still, he had come to visit this place. It was where the Elite Four and Champion resided after all. Pearl hadn't completed the Gym Badges like Platinum had, but he found himself still curious to see the building. Hey, he'd gotten here in the first place. Might as well check it out now. Though when Pearl had arrived he'd seen an... odd sight. A bunch of Pokemon laying on the ground right in front of the Pokemon center. Weird...

It wasn't long before someone appeared with a Hawlucha, easily returning all their Pokemon. Pearl almost wondered where they heck they had come from, since he hadn't really noticed and had been focused on the bunch of Pokemon laying in front of him. Whatever had happened, his interest was perked to say the least. Maybe it was a Knights problem...?

He had to investigate.

"Hey! Excuse me!" He called out to the girl who had just appeared, running up to her and her Hawlucha with his own Buizel following at his heels.

"Hey, those were your Pokemon right? What happened?" He asked quickly with his face growing serious. Something in his gut told him it had been the Knights to attack this girl, but now he'd get real answers.

[RUTH IEGRIYEGA]

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!"

To both those questions. Hawlucha gives Pearl a quick once-over before determining that he was safe, then tugs on Ruth's pant leg with a sharp, interrupting whistle.

Ruth jolts into a hard blink, and takes several deep breaths as she looks at the stranger herself. He looked concerned... And trustworthy enough... Maybe even responsible and in-the-know...

"Y-yeah, those were my Pokemon... I was hoping... You'd tell me what happened?"

[PEARL]

He flinched at the yell.

"Yeesh I'm not gonna attack you!" He found himself saying, grumbling something inaudible under his breath. Wow, what a weird girl. The look from her Hawlucha made him raise a brow and Zelhiko returned the glance, flicking his two tails. He gave a grimace at her... odd demeanor, especially answering his questions with a yell.

Pearl blinked back at her when she had asked him what had happened. He glanced away, frowning slightly.

"Uh, no. I just came by." He stated flatly, "Did you lose your memory or something? Nobody just leaves their Pokemon lying around without a reason." He crossed his arms, holding his umbrella in the crook of his arm. What a strange girl.

[RUTH IEGRIYEGA]

Hawlucha crosses his cape-like wings.

"Sorry!! Oh, no, I know who I am. I'm Ruth. Ruth Iegriyega. I'm from Kalos? And I have a family berry orchard there. But..."

She looks around, wiping raindrops from her glasses.

"M-Maybe I did lose my memory, because I'd think I would remember how my Pokemon got... Beat up... And how I even got here... Maybe this is a crazy dream. Because--"

She began pacing.

"I mean, I'm not great at battling, and I know people can faint from shock, but this is the first time I ended up somewhere REEEAALLLYYY different, like not at my house or at a Pokemon Center--"

Her Hawlucha keeps himself ahead of her, blocking her whenever it looks like she might walk off the cliff in thought.

"Or at least Camphrier Town! But this likely isn't Kalos, yeah, I already said that--The weather's nicer there, and this--This IS a dream!"

She stops, resting a fist to a palm! She swiftly turns to Pearl.

"Identify yourself, friendly dream being!"

Intense STAAAAARRRRRREEEE~~~

"I should get to the Pokemon Center so..."

[PEARL]

Another blink. Yeah, this girl is crazy. Pearl blinked as he realized she was probably getting rained on, carefully adjusting his umbrella to hold it above the two of them. It wasn't terribly big, but it'd be handy enough. Though the girl seemed to start getting more hysterical as she continued to remember stuff. At least she had her name... Pearl watched her being to pace, almost feeling sorry for the Hawlucha that was clearly guarding her.

Zelhiko gave a huff of annoyance.

"This has happened before?" Pearl tilted his head a little, "Maybe you should slow down a bit..." Pearl really wasn't one to talk there, but at least until he could figure something out from this girl it'd be easier. Before he knew it he was met with her intense stare, claiming him to be a 'dream being'. Yeah. Crazy.

"Er, I'm no 'dream' but I'm Pearl." Getting her to a Pokemon Center would be best, "Listen, if it helps I'll... 'escort' you to the Pokemon Center. I just have a few things I wanna clear up, if that's fine?" This could be worth getting some information on the Knights. After all, Dia and Platinum were working hard figuring out about them. Pearl would give it his all too.

[RUTH IEGRIYEGA]

"Okay, Pearl!"

Her eyes lit up, and a smile gradually followed.

"Well... I suppose a dream wouldn't call themselves a dream, but thank you, thank you, thank you so much for offering to escort me!"

She looked like she was about to tackle-hug him, but had just a shred of self-control to not do so. Yet. Hawlucha patiently sighed.

"Oh! And thanks for blocking the rain, heheh... Man, now that I think about it, I don't know how long I've been in the rain, huh... Hahaha, I'm soaked..."

That's what she said.

"Oh, but don't worry, I'm not gonna ask you for a change of clothes or anything. That'd be WEIRD, and I would be VERY disturbed if you actually had any for girls... Oh yeah! No, no I. Well--Yeah, I lose in a lot of battles, but no, no I've never... Gotten... Super lost like... This... Before..."

This is her idea of slowing down.

[PEARL]

Pearl wasn't even sure if he had patience for this. He guessed he'd either have to deal with someone who was so slow Pearl couldn't do anything or someone so fast he couldn't keep up. Odd how that worked. He tried to give a smile but it came out as just a small sigh. How'd did he get himself into this sort of situation. Though, being thanked was nice. She did look awful wet now that she mentioned it.

"Well we'd better go then." He began walking, continuing to hold out the umbrella for her. The Pokemon Center wasn't that far from them after all, so at least there was that.

"I've got an extra jacket packed but that's really it." He said, glancing at her. She definitely was interesting to say the least.

"So you're from Kalos, right? Maybe your Hawlucha flew you here." He shrugged.

[RUTH IEGRIYEGA]

Ruth happily followed beneath Pearl's umbrella.

"Yeah, I'm from Kalos. I have nooooooo idea where I am right now though--"

She looks down to Zivilyn in shock.

"You can fly?! When'd you learn how to do that?!! Aside from that one move you do where you jump really high and--"

The Hawlucha lets out a curt shriek and raises an arm to cut that train of thought short, then shakes his head.

"You can't fly? Or still can't fly? Or--"

Another curt shriek. He shakes his head again, and also shakes his claw to further drive the point home. The Pokemon skips ahead, looking for the spare jacket Pearl mentioned, briefly regarding the other trainer's traveling companion.

[PEARL]

The girl didn't even know Hawlucha could fly? Strange. It wasn't like he was an expert at Pokemon, but it was a bird Pokemon. The Pokemon looked strong, so it wouldn't be too unreasonable to assume it could fly. His Chatot probably couldn't lift him very far, but he at least knew a bird when he saw one. Zelhiko gave his dual tails a twitch in annoyance at the two's banter. He scampered ahead of the three, briefly glaring back at the Hawlucha when he was regarded.

"I dunno if Hawlucha can, but it looks like a bird so I'd assume it could fly." Pearl said, shifting his umbrella a little higher above the two. Pearl blinked before he'd even realized they'd walked into the Pokemon Center. Thankfully that was quick.

"Well we're here." He stopped just before the doors to close his umbrella, "You can get your Pokemon back to normal... maybe you should call your family if they dunno you're out here." She looked fairly young, even though Pearl himself had left home at a young age. Still, that was because he'd won what he thought was an expense trip around Sinnoh and his mother did know where he was. His Buizel scampered inside, shaking himself free of the water on his fur even though the Water-type enjoyed it.

[RUTH IEGRIYEGA]

"That is a reasonable assumption... I always figured he'd be too tiny to do that, like his wings being used more for throwing things around than flapping..."

Zivilyn sighed at Zelhiko. It wasn't his intent to be annoying, but he was used to this reaction. Regardless, looks like there was no need to borrow Pearl's jacket, since they were already in the Pokemon Center.

Ruth jolted out of her own thoughts and the mind-blowing revelation that Hawlucha could possibly fly.

"O-oh! Right! That's a great idea, Pearl! Thanks!"

And almost slipping from her soaked shoes, Ruth bolted to the counter to get her Pokemon healed. She bent down to pick up her Hawlucha, and the bird seemed almost worried to be apart from the girl for just a moment. It seemed to squirm a little in her grasp.

"There there, Zivilyn. You need to rest too! Pearl is a good person, and really smart, so I'm gonna get some answers while you're getting back into tip-top shape! Okay?"

The Hawlucha turned to Pearl and Zelhiko and gave them a look of desperate trust. Or, pity, depending on how well they've been tolerating Ruth so far. And into the Pokeball he goes. And there Ruth goes to the nearest phone. She dialed the number to her orchard--She didn't forget that number. A sign of hope for her yet.

Connecting... Connecting... Connect--Sorry, the number she is calling is is not receiving calls at this time. The number she is trying to reach is disconnected.

"W-what!?"

She dials again.

"I mean, sure, if no one's there, no one's there, but at least let it go to the answering machine!"

Sorry, the number she is calling is is not receiving calls at this time. The number she is trying to reach is disconnected.

"No!"

She tries this a few more times in succession. By this time, her Pokemon have been healed. She takes some deep breaths, and pries herself away from the phone to get her companions. Hawlucha practically lets himself out of his Pokeball to see what he missed, which wasn't much... Ruth paces, as if in her own little world, muttering to herself.

"Okay, there are freak storms and power outages and stuff... The least I can do is call my brother! He's abroad, battling gym leaders and stuff! I have his number!"

And she calls it.

And waits...

And waits...

No one picked up. No message left behind. Why wasn't it even going to voice mail? Did they need a better provider or--

She tries again. And again. And again, both her home number and her brother's number.

Hawlucha looked more anxious with each attempt. But shakily looks around for a map Ruth could use. Someone here had to keep it together. He looks to see if Pearl and Zelhiko abandoned them. He wouldn't be surprised if they did... But he hoped they didn't.

[PEARL]

"I've got a Chatot so I have a little experience with Flying types." Pearl mentioned, though at the same time he did do some research for Manzai routine jokes. He gave a simply nod as Ruth wandered off to heal her Pokemon and such. He hadn't really run into any battles recently, so there wasn't much reason for him to follow her. He glanced around the Pokemon center, finding it surprisingly quiet despite being on the island where the Elite Four were. Then again, with the Knights influence, he highly doubted many trainers would be taking the Gym Challenge. Still, he found himself curious to just who exactly this girl was. He could've probably left by now, but he had to know if the Knights were possibly involved. It definitely smelled fishy.

Something in him wondered if Platinum might know. She seemed to know lots of people, but then again this odd girl probably wasn't anyone too important. He found himself lost in thought, before realizing the girl's Hawlucha was staring at him. That Pokemon seemed more sensible than its trainer, now that he thought about it. Zelhiko watched curiously, but still lingered by his trainer's side. Now that his thoughts weren't clouded, he found himself eying Ruth from the from the edge of the Pokemon center. He occasionally wandered closer, but he didn't exactly want to seem like he was eavesdropping on her conversation.

However, from what he could tell she wasn't getting any reception. Even more curious. Maybe something had happened at her home? Pearl wasn't sure if it was his place to ask, but his interest was peaked. She hadn't exactly mentioned where in Kalos she lived, and it was likely that the Knights were behind any storms in the recent area. He remembered his spare jacket and tugged it out of his bag, slinging it over his shoulder as he approached her.

"Any luck?" He found himself asking her, "Oh, here's my jacket too." Zelhiko blinked back at Zivilyn curiously tilting his head at the Pokemon's distressed manner.

[RUTH IEGRIYEGA]

Ruth looked at Pearl, too shocked and confused to process what he said at first, until Hawlucha took the jacket and draped it over her on her behalf.

"Oh... Thanks Zivilyn, Pearl."

She searched for her words, especially for the ones that'd worry him the least. With a deep breath, she finally speaks up.

"No... None of my calls went through to my orchard, or to my brother."

She sighed.

"Now, see, typically, the smart thing to do would be to sit in one place until your family finds you when you're lost, but... If I can't contact them, I can't really do that, can I? Oh man..."

Her Hawlucha chirps as he holds up a map he acquired, since surely, most Pokemon Centers probably would have at least a brochure featuring the area--Ruth skims the map of Hoenn.

"This... Is definitely not Kalos... Zivilyn, this is a map of... Hoenn?"

Zivilyn nods, then shrugs trying to signify that it was the only map it could find.

"Pearl... Where am I...? I can't possibly have ended up all the way in Hoenn...! This has to be some crazy dream--Am I here?"

She points at a random city along the coast. Lilycove City. She hesitates... Slateport City? No... Now she's just dragging her finger all over the coast.

[PEARL]

Pearl frowned at her words, brows furrowing in thought. That surely wasn't good. Her family would probably be pretty worried about her, especially if a storm had hit where she lived. That would explain why her calls hadn't gone through. He found himself crossing his arms a little while staring at her. He did feel the need to help her out now, especially since she seemed like she couldn't find the glasses in front of her face without a little bit of help. Maybe he was being too sympathetic, but Pearl couldn't really help it.

"They might just be out... or something," He found himself struggling to come up with a good excuse, not really wanting to flat out lie that the worst could've happened to her family. Nonetheless, her Hawlucha pulled out a map brochure of the area. Pearl guessed it would make sense she didn't know where she was, her Pokemon were lying around just outside of a Pokemon Center after all and she didn't even know how she got there. He watched her finger trail across the map before grabbing her wrist carefully. There, he pulled her wrist slowly so her finger rest over the spot of Ever Grande City.

"We're in Ever Grande City... in Hoenn. Yeah, definitely not Kalos." He sighed, "It's true Kalos is pretty far from Hoenn... but this isn't a dream. If it was, I'm pretty sure you'd be seeing crazier stuff." Pearl gave a half-smile, in some kind of reassurance though it probably didn't really work in his favor.

"I know this is pretty... 'new', but are you sure you don't remember anything before you passed out? Does the word 'Knights' ring a bell to you at all?" Wouldn't hurt to bring it up now would it? After all, it was strange for this girl to be here especially when she said she lived in Kalos.

[[ SO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE ]]

[RUTH IEGRIYEGA]

((OOC: No worries!))

Ruth paled. The map... Where Pearl helped her point at, there was an awful lot of water on this map. An awful lot of water too deep for anyone, let alone Ruth, to be able swim across to get all the way here.

"And this isn't a dream..."

She repeated, to confirm what he said. Though, mostly to herself as it's dawning on her even more that she's essentially stranded out here. She struggled to smile, then thought deeply to herself. Maybe she wasn't concentrating enough. Maybe that's why she couldn't remember much.

"Well, let's see... Hmmm... Uhhh... Well, before all this I mean, I would think the most recent thing I remember is... Doing my chores! My daily routine around the orchard, see. Water all the trees, pick the berries--The Aspears and Pechas were ready, and the Lum berries were blooming--Shoo away the Pokemon from the trees, rake up the leaves and fallen berries to turn into mulch, rinse and clean the berries, make and bottle some jam, check the mail, that sort of stuff. It was like any other day. I even went to bed around the time I usually go to bed too! Yesterday even! Maybe even last night. I think. This night? I don't know..."

Ruth sighs. The Hawlucha nodded along to all the different things she mentioned, going over the details in his own head, then chirped to remind her of Pearl's question that was yet to be answered.

"Oh, right! The Knights! Um... Maybe? I mean, I've sometimes heard OF them from what few customers who do stop by, but... I don't really pay attention to politics... Do you think they could... Help me?"

Sheltered doesn't even begin to describe--