United One

[ The view suggests that Sephiroth is on top of a building in Opelucid city. The roof of the gym is visible behind him. ]

Is anyone near being prepared for the Opelucid City gym?

I find myself in need of a partner.

Sephiroth had been in denial for far too long. But his recent Gym challenge forced him to accept it. His Pokémon surpassed him in strength and that frustrated him. Extremely.

Something in this place had taken a great deal of his power away. He resented that.

It was unclear even to him whether he was just lashing out at his surroundings or trying to regain power.

Trees were felled by his sword, their remains burned by Fire.(good thing the area tends to be damp) Lightning and Ice were thrown at anything within range. He was tiring much more quickly than was right. But that only made him angrier and his attacks more ferocious.

If anyone saw him they'd probably think he'd gone mad but, he didn't care. He wasn't going to stop unless he was forced.

[ He's likely to attack anyone that gets in his way to try to stop him but, he'll have enough restraint to not go for a kill. And if found after he wears himself out he'll be collapsed next to a bunch of fallen trees with his sword still in his hand and his wing out and half covering him. ]

[ Sephiroth is walking away from the Mistralton City Gym. He has a satisfied looking Emolga sitting on his shoulder with the Jet Badge clenched in her little paws. It should be obvious enough that she saw plenty of action for that gym battle. She looks tired and Sephiroth looks unimpressed. ]

How disappointing. Leading with Minerva took much of the challenge out of that battle.

[ He does not think highly of the gym leaders' tendency of having only one type of Pokémon. And Minerva starts dozing and nearly falls off. He'll put a hand on her to make sure she doesn't fall though. Isn't that sweet? He's going to try to pretend it's not though. ]

[ Sephiroth looks angry but, mostly he is staring. What he is staring at is both odd and, at least for him, rage inducing. It is what looks like a zombie in a red leather coat... reciting poetry. Fair an Minerva do not have any clue what to do. It's a thing that has clearly upset their trainer but, they don't want to go near it at the moment. Between it and him is likely not a safe place to be. ]

What a mockery.

[ There is rage at the mockery of his guilt but, there is no target other than the fake zombie Genesis. If he could find the source of the illusion he'd rip it apart. He'll have to settle for ripping apart the thing in front of him. It gets to the end of the poem before Sephiroth raises his sword. Fair and Minerva decide to just stay out of the way and retreat to behind the spot the Xtransceiver is sitting. The illusion attacks first with a barrage of what looks like a bunch of small fire missiles. Sephiroth isn't phased and charges right through. A flurry of slashes knock the fake's hastily raised sword away. ]

Weak.

[ There seems little else the illusion can do. Another attempt at the barrage of flames has no notable effect. It's obvious to Sephiroth that they're not even real flames. His approach is slow and what is to follow will likely be quick and brutal. Fair steps on the Xtransceiver to turn it off before anything else happens. No one really needs to see this. ]

[ It's Striaton Gym.

The latest battle may have been a bit out of hand. There are some scorch marks on some of the walls.

Nope. No one gets to see the battle. It's been over for several minutes. Sephiroth is actually sitting down at one of the tables. He's got the badge in his hand... and his Emolga on his shoulder. ]

Such a seemingly simple thing.

[ Nothing odd really about his words but.... There is something almost unsettling about his expression. ]

The keys to returning us to where we belong.

[ He laughs but, there is no amusement in it. His Emolga actually cuddles against his head in an attempt to get him out of the strange mood he's in. ]

If you can call my existence on my world belonging.

[ Minerva does not like wherever his thoughts are going. The cuddling isn't having any effect and she's starting to give off some sparks because he's making her a bit nervous. He's finally going to acknowledge her since his hair is sparking now too. ]

Be calm, Minerva.

[ The mini lecture about how he shouldn't expect her to be calm when he's acting so weird would probably be more effective if he could understand what she was saying. It does distract him from his darker thoughts though. He'll just sigh and give her a soothing pat. Hard to argue when you don't know what the argument is. ]

[ There is a Phione playing with Sephiroth's Extranciever. It's holding it upside down and making silly faces at it.

It soon gets bored with that and tosses the device aside. There is now just a skewed view of a clearing in the forest. And perhaps unnoticed before is the sound of battle.

And then an Emolga dashes across the clearing, attacking something off-screen. There is the sound of an impact and the Pokémon is hurled back in the direction she came. She gets right back up and, sparking with electricity, goes to attack again.

This time a few seconds pass before there is another sound of an impact and she is hurled away from whatever she was attacking. It takes a second for her to get up this time. She almost goes back to attacking but, is interrupted. ]

Enough.

[ The owner of the voice comes into view. He's apparently decided to go shirtless for training. His hair is also quite wild from a fair bit of static. The expression on his face well... there isn't much of one but, it mostly resembles boredom. He casually picks up the Emolga and carries it towards and then behind the Extranciever where he does something that makes a strange sound. And then there is the sound of a Pokémon being returned to a Poké ball.

He soon notices that the C-gear is on and picks up the device. Instead of turning it off he starts talking. ]

A question.

I know people generally use Pokémon to fight here but, does anyone do so without them?

[ He misses trying to maimsparring with other people for fun perhaps. ]

[ It's another training session. This time Sephiroth is recording it to watch later to better adjust his methods. And broadcasting because he can. A curious Emolga is watching as well... and it apparently thinks the training looks like fun because it tries to join in.

Of course this results in Sephiroth stopping the training for the moment. Except the Emolga doesn't really get the hint. It kinda catches Sephiroth unprepared but, instead of really hitting him it just clings to the front of his coat.

Not that he understands it but, the happy little noise it makes at getting to him without being blocked translates to 'Got you~'. Sephiroth is not particularly amused. ]

Well, aren't you fast.

[ He carefully pries the cute thing off and sets it down on the ground. ]

Stay out of the way. This isn't a game.

[ He turns to walk away. Perhaps to find an area with less curious critters. He doesn't make it more than a few steps before the Emolga leaps to cling to the end of his hair. 'Don't go!'

He reaches back and pulls his hair up so that the Pokémon is hanging in front of his face.]

You are pushing your luck.

[ ...And it's giving him cute begging eyes. He pulls it out of his hair, drops it on the ground and turns to walk away again. It follows, of course. Yeah, it's going to eventually manage to make him take it with him whether he likes it or not. ]