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Nov 23, 2023 19:11:09 GMT
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Post by lichlord on Jul 7, 2018 0:38:57 GMT
Lia listens silently and is herded into the bed. She is still looking off into the distance.
"That 'fire' has been snuffed. Both you and Floyd beat me when we first met. I got back at you but it's already swung back into your direction. Floyd's two badges ahead now, and the sister he smashed I could only tie with now. And even you are a badge ahead of me and I 'know' you did better with Anastasia than I did. No amount of nice words will change that."
She looks off to the side, hurt that Kaeda has to see her this way.
"You and the two out there are the only reason I haven't just run back home to Johto."
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Post by oddeyes on Jul 7, 2018 1:08:36 GMT
Kaeda just sits there in silence with Lia. "Alright then. I'll be right back, hun." Kaeda gets off the bed, leaves the ranch on her Hydreigon, and heads straight for Nalkeya's residence. Like hell she wasn't about receive more abuse from a mega pissed off Kaeda.
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May 31, 2023 21:25:23 GMT
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Post by Raven on Jul 7, 2018 1:18:36 GMT
The Celadon Gym is marked as closed. They aren't accepting any visitors or challengers for the rest of the week.
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Post by oddeyes on Jul 7, 2018 1:20:14 GMT
Kaeda proceeds to bang, and kick the door. "Open up! You're getting a piece of my mind! Get out here, or I'll open the door myself!"
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May 31, 2023 21:25:23 GMT
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Post by Raven on Jul 7, 2018 1:24:45 GMT
The door remains shut, and the area quiet but for Kaeda's shouting, kicking, and screaming.
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Post by lichlord on Jul 7, 2018 3:52:01 GMT
When Kaeda says she'll be right back and at least an hour goes by, Lia sighs sadly. She has a 'feeling' what happened but isn't about in any mood to stop her. But... she's had something on her mind. For a long time. Something she's been avoiding for what feels like an age now. Her parents.
She finds the dex in her hand and before part of her mind can stop herself she's dialing the home number.
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May 31, 2023 21:25:23 GMT
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Post by Raven on Jul 7, 2018 4:07:26 GMT
The phone rings for what feels like an eternity. One ring. Two. Three... Six... just as Lia is about to give up or prepare to leave a message, someone picks up. An irritated male voice answers. "Hello? Who is this?"
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Post by lichlord on Jul 7, 2018 4:13:28 GMT
Lia pauses for a moment. Out of the two, this is the worse choice. She has to suck it up for a moment to conjure the energy to finally answer.
"It's... It's Lia."
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Post by Raven on Jul 7, 2018 4:19:03 GMT
There is a long pause on the other end of the line. For a moment, Lia almost believes that her father hung up on her, but then he speaks again. Slowly. Deliberately.
"Lia. It has... been some time. How are you?" He seems to be choosing his words very carefully. Whatever he may feel about that incident so long ago, there seems to be no desire to estrange his only daughter.
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Post by lichlord on Jul 7, 2018 4:41:07 GMT
"It has. Hi."
What was Lia thinking? He probably hates her for doing that and running. Why is she doing this?
"I have... not really been well. I'm in Kanto. I got here some time ago. I joined their league and today I... quit."
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Post by Raven on Jul 7, 2018 4:44:08 GMT
"I see." He says. After another awkward silence, he continues. "Why did you quit?"
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Post by lichlord on Jul 7, 2018 4:53:58 GMT
Lia wants to scream 'because you two set me up to fail' but can't bring herself to say that.
"Because I keep failing. And every fight I feel myself getting slower, and at the end I hurt more. And then every time I fail I look inward and blame myself and I want to try to improve, and change, and I've tried multiple times and seen some success only to slip back down. And ever loss I just hate myself and feel like shit."
She pauses and she tries to calm herself.
"And today I was tricked and saw an ending I didn't want. So I'm done."
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Post by Raven on Jul 7, 2018 4:59:58 GMT
"You fail, so you quit? You doubt yourself, and that is why you fail. You fear to fail, and when you do fail, you only reaffirm to yourself that this was 'meant' to happen. I have seen and heard it all before. You say you were 'tricked' and saw an ending you did not want, but you admit that this was a trick. Why do you let this stop you? Where is the headstrong young woman who is my daughter? Where did she go?"
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Post by lichlord on Jul 7, 2018 5:05:27 GMT
"Stop. I failed over and over and over and over again and am miserable because of it... so I quit. It's not one thing, it's everything. The trick was a wake up call when I was already on the fence."
Lia sighs.
"The headstrong girl you knew left and got her ass kicked over and over again by trainers, monsters, criminals, freaks with powers, everything. That's what happened."
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Post by Raven on Jul 7, 2018 5:14:30 GMT
"So?" He queries. "If you fail over and over and over again, you simply train until you are stronger and keep trying. Change your fighting style, try different tactics. You will tell me, I'm sure, that you tried this and that and everything in between, but clearly you have not tried the right way yet. You may give up if you wish, but know that to do so brings dishonor upon you, and our family." There is a brief pause here. "If you are planning to disgrace us in such a manner, I must ask that you never affiliate yourself with this household again."
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Post by headlesskoko on Jul 7, 2018 5:31:50 GMT
Hm... If Eve thought about it, she would be so. Incredibly. Stoked!
However, on the other hand, she wouldn't have felt comfortable running her Pokemon through training if they looked so unwilling, but that was her own personal training style, she supposed...
Still, she couldn't shake off the feeling of... feeling. She felt bad for the shy Umbreon human. Getting hit like that looked like it kind of hurt, too. On third thought, Eve figured that she actually wouldn't like that sort of training. Seeing things go BOOM was a very different thing from getting hit herself.
Anyways, Eve was escorted from this room to the next, led around as she's lost in her thoughts. The sound of a door opening and then closing on her is what snaps her out of her reverie. Perfect timing to be introduced a woman who is no doubt one of the scientists working on this project.
Suffice to say, Eve literally leapt at the chance to sake this woman's hand. "Oh. My. Gods!" Eve's excitement was palpable as she, if permitted to grab the hand of this lady, shook hands excitedly. "I just saw something amazing!" It was true. Despite her women's intuition telling her that something was off, something she figured was probably general unease with human experimentation, she was far more interested in the academic implications of such a breakthrough. "Professor? Scientist? Researcher? Whatever it is I'm permitted to call you, could I please work as an undergraduate assistant under you?! I'm currently taking a break from college for some hands-on experience with Pokemon in the Pokemon league, but I would love the chance to work with you if you don't mind! Oh, yes. The prospect of being a part of this experiment is certainly interesting, but I'd much rather be studying this!".
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Post by oddeyes on Jul 7, 2018 5:46:53 GMT
If Nalkeya isn't in her gym, then she's home. Some e-stalking might help...KAeda sees if she can check websites, fan pages, and forums for Nalkeya's home address.
Intuition check: 7CdC46Wv5d65d6
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Post by lichlord on Jul 7, 2018 5:53:25 GMT
That did it. No more Miss Nice Lia. There's a long pause and Lia's about to break her dex in her hand but manages to keep from destroying her own property.
"Look. If I want to quit I should have the FUCKING right to. But you and Mom wouldn't ever let me fail at all while training, so how was I supposed to be 'able' to deal with it? I've been miserable every time I lose. It 'hurts', you old fool. I was the 'teacher's daughter', stupid. You ever notice how 'easy' it was for me to win back home? They were all scared to beat me. So all I did was develop a huge ego with no ability to deal with failure, something you both never taught me! So when Kanto kicked my ass sideways all I did was get depressed and just go inward."
Lia stops.
"But if you are really going to kick your daughter to the curb like that... then fine. You can consider yourselves uninvited from the wedding."
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Post by Raven on Jul 7, 2018 5:54:27 GMT
Eve
The woman chuckles as Eve practically begins bouncing off the walls. "A young researcher, hm? What is your current field of study, Miss Lucian? I will also need a resume if you wish to become an intern. Oh, and you may call me Lillie for now. We can discuss more formal options if you end up joining us."
~~~
Kaeda
E-stalking of Nalkeya provides literally hundreds of results on places she's been, areas she was sighted in, stuff about her Gym, her social life... all sorts of things. The one thing she can't find is Nalkeya's actual home address. A quick check would reveal that it is the same for nearly all of the Gym Leaders. Some, like those who are from different regions, give a generalize location of where they are from (ex: Anastasia, Gym Leader in Fuschia is from Snowpoint City in Sinnoh).
~~~
Lia
"It is not our fault that you developed a big head, Lia. Admittedly, perhaps we could have prepared you better for the chance of failure, but if you have lost as often as you claim, then surely you should have found a healthy way to deal with it by now." He counters. "If you want to quit, then by all means, do so. You certainly don't need my approval for anything." After another long pause, he adds a bit more. "So, what will you do now, Lia? Let us say that you do quit. Let us say that I perhaps spoke from anger or shock and do not truly wish to disown you over such a trivial thing. What would you do?"
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Post by oddeyes on Jul 7, 2018 6:04:40 GMT
Kaeda sighs, and takes a note pad out of her bag. She writes down: Stop being a gym leader, and become a comedian. You are a joke. You FUCKING CLOWN. ~K. Starwood
Kaeda attaches her Celadon gym badge to the note, and slides it under the door. She would yell at her later then. She then hops on her Hydreigon, and starts back home.
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