Private with anc

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    Chara grimaced but nodded in agreement before moving to set back all of the furniture back into their rightful places. Once everything was back where it should be, she opened the door fully for Sel, who rushed in with a belt of Pokeballs.

    "Your Pokemon are ridiculous!" She huffed, thrusting the belt at Chara before plopping down in a chair, "I went to your room to retrieve them, right? Sceptile answered the door, but then he slammed it in my face! Obviously I was a bit irritated, but then water started pouring out from under your door, so I opened it to see Milotic using Water Gun on Sceptile-I guess I should be praising her restraint, she could have been using a much worse move in your hotel room. Anyways, while I was trying to get those two to stop, Gengar was chasing Ditto-who, by the way, should be really have a 'no transforming unless told' rule. Ditto just kept changing into sooo many things to get away from Gengar, who licked everything trying to get that darn Pokemon! So I'm pretty sure you now have Gengar saliva on like, every single object and wall in that room. Poor Typhlosion was trying to calm everyone down, and they all ganged up on him until Blaze and I literally stepped between them. Seriously, Chara, your Pokemon are ridiculous." She repeated the last part after her explanation.

    Chara groaned, "You know... I'm not even surprised, honestly. That particular team is good at getting into trouble..."

    "That's a massive understatement if I have anything to say about that." Cobalt said flatly to Chara. He wasn't surprised at all at the eccentric behavior of his teammate's; they were the source of some of Chara's biggest headaches in her seven-year run as Champion. Cobalt had every right to claim himself as the sanest of them all, which wasn't a hard title to maintain...


    "Let's hope they didn't cause any permanent damage; I think your manager would grow a second head if the idiots broke something..."If there was any solace in Sel's vivid description of chaos, it was that any Plasma or Rocket Grunt would dare set foot in Chara's resort suite... Not without leaving in several pieces at least.

    Chara laughed, shaking her head, "I think you're right about that... Hopefully they didn't break too much and it's at least able to be cleaned by the room service... If not, well, I'll be paying for the repairs."

    Sel waved a hand, "No worries, I don't think anything is broken... Well, maybe some glass things depending on how, er, aggressive, Gengar's licking was. But mostly I think the room is just flooded and things knocked over."

    "Uh, sorry to interrupt your, uh, accounting of the damages, but we really need to get going to see the line up for today." Collin commented, "We can each leave one of our Pokemon here to protect Cobalt while we go, once we see the matches and determine our own times and such, we can coordinate protection detail on Cobalt."

    The girls nodded, each taking out a Pokeball. Sel let out Blaze, and Chara let out Sceptile.

    "I'll leave Sapphire here." Collin announced before heading to the door.

    Chara set a Pokeball on the bed next to Cobalt, "This is Metagross' ball, call on him if you need to, ok?"

    Cobalt smiled from his baggy hospital bed, brushing off the potential danger he was in with a paw. "I'll be fine Chara; don't let me stop you from doing what needs to be done. I'll be rooting for you!" He shooed her off with a wave, bidding her good luck for her trials ahead...


    Once they were gone, the Lucario allowed himself to relax and sink back against his bed, however uncomfortable it might've been. Somewhere in the back of his head, he knew that the days were going to be long and difficult for his beloved, and only more demanding as she continued to strive for the top. Her friends were still friends for now, but at some point, they would become rivals...


    (I kinda want to continue on for another day, but I'll defer to you: you wanna stick around or skip ahead to next week when the knockout bracket's announced?)

    ((Doesn't matter to me! We can go another day if you'd like))

    Leaving Cobalt was a bit nerve wracking for Chara as she walked towards the main lobby with Collin and Sel, especially after this morning. With Team Plasma and Team Rocket after Cobalt, she found it difficult to not be by his side and protect him every minute while he was recovering.

    "He'll be ok." Sel reassured Chara, seeing the look on her face and guessing where her anxiety was stemming from, "We each left our strongest Pokemon with him, they can take care of any grunts that show up."

    (Then for sake of moving the plot along, we'll skip ahead some days to prevent boredom from setting in!)


    Cobalt scrunched his nose as he quietly reread the news for the twelfth time that morning. The nervousness in his eyes weren't well hidden, but he did have that secret joy that his beloved Chara was one of the lucky few.


    The past week had been a challenge for Chara, one that she didn't quite realise she was getting herself into when she left Cobalt several mornings ago. A week battling the toughest Trainers had put her through the wringer, pushing the boundaries of what she could withstand without her Lucario by her side. Team Rocket only grew more bold and desperate with every failed capture attempt, which strained Chara's already tired team of Pokémon. She could've had it worse had it not for Sel and her brother Colin, who graciously helped keep Cobalt safe from harm.


    Unfortunately, said help had to cost something, and that meant they didn't make the cut for the knockout rounds. Then again, only sixteen of the two-hundred-plus competitors could make it out...


    "Are you sure you're okay Chara?" Cobalt had to ask his nervous Trainer sitting next to his bed, but he'd be lying if he didn't admit to being anxious himself. "I'm happy you made it, but your first battle tomorrow's going to be a difficult one. You're facing another Champion from the get-go..." He said, pointing at the monitor that showed just what Chara was in for.



    Hoenn Champion Steven vs Hoenn Gym Leader Flannery


    Unova Gym Leader Elesa vs Kalos Gym Leader Korrina


    Johto Champion Lance vs Sinnoh Gym Leader Volkner


    Kalos Champion Diantha vs Unova Champion Charaphenelia


    Sinnoh Champion Cynthia vs Alola Champion Selene


    Johto Gym Leader Whitney vs Sinnoh Gym Leader Byron


    Kanto Gym Leader Koga vs Kanto Champion Red


    Galar Champion Leon vs Johto Gym Leader Claire


    Oh dear...

    Chara nodded, trying to contain her nervousness for Cobalt's sake, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't you worry, I'll give it my all and prevail, I'm sure of it. I'll have to be careful and strategic, Diantha will definitely be a tough one to beat. Should be a very interesting battle, for sure."

    "And don't forget we'll be here cheering you on the whole way!" Sel said seriously, fisting a hand, "All of us will be, and don't you worry about Cobalt, Collin and I will be here the whole time watching over him as well."

    Chara nodded in thanks, grateful to have such good friends and a great team by her side.

    Cobalt smiled and nodded ruefully from his bed. "Too bad I can't be there to fight alongside you; I wanted to be there during your big moments." He said, glancing at the other two humans and Lucario that were sharing the room with him. Sel and Colin were good friends to Chara, so that warranted some measure of respect. They weren't Chara though; they couldn't have the same intimate conversations she could have with him, and they were not the most familiar to him. That was not even going into the issue of communication. (Sapphire didn't know telepathy)

    ((Sorry for the late post! I didn't have time to hop on yesterday because my husband came back from a trip))

    Chara took Cobalt's paw in her hand, "I know, I wish you could be there too... But hey, no worries, we'll make it through and we'll do our best."

    Sel, guessing at what Chara was talking to Cobalt about, put in, "And you'll be able to watch the whole thing on TV, since it's broadcast live. As soon as she wins the Tournament, you'll be able to cheer for her. Maybe Nurse Joy will allow us to escort you in a wheel chair and take you out onto the sidelines."

    "I can only hope for the best..." Cobalt sighed, squeezing her hand to give himself a measure of peace. He didn't fancy the idea of being confined to a wheelchair when his legs worked perfectly fine; he understood the reason, but it was no substitute for the feeling of being in complete control of himself. "Well, don't let me being here stop you from getting any practice done. The knockouts start tomorrow, and you're gonna need all the time you have preparing."

    Chara gave a nod, knowing he was right. She would need to practice with her team as much as possible to get ready for the upcoming events, "Ok, but we'll be back as soon as possible, alright?" She turned towards her two friends, "So, which one of you is gonna help me practice, and which one is staying here with Cobalt?"

    Collin and Sel glanced at each other a moment before Sel held up her hands, "Don't look at me, last time we battled..." She trailed off, not needing to finish her sentence.

    Heaving a sigh, Chara looked to Collin, "Looks like you're up. Hope you can give my Pokemon a workout at least."

    Collin humphed, grumbling, "I'll show you a workout..."

    Cobalt made his displeasure very much known to the others in the same room, not hiding his offended fury at the human who gained his ire. He dared Colin to say something else in his presence; give Cobalt a reason to do something stupid like spit in Chara's face.


    Cobalt liked to think himself as being thick-skinned when it came to the insults and offenses. He could handle some heckling and harrassment; it came with the 'invincibility' he was famed for. However, even a faint slight against Chara could set him off, leading to several moments of Cobalt angrily calming down whenever they tried...

    Chara, seeing the look on Cobalt's face, chuckled before punching Collin in the shoulder, not lightly either, "You're a jerk. For that, I'm not going easy on you. And as soon as Cobalt's up and feeling back to his old self, he's gonna have a go at you as well."

    Collin quirked an eyebrow before grinning, "Cobalt against Sapphire, I'm down."

    Chara shook her head, "Oh no, not Cobalt against one of your Pokemon, Cobalt against you. One on one, hand-to-hand combat only. What do you think about that, Cobalt?"

    Cobalt snorted derisively, looking at Colin with an unimpressed frown. "I'm not being held responsible if he ends up with anything broken; it's his funeral if he's stupid enough to have a go." He held nothing but contempt for Colin, and not just because he tried to swindle the public into believing Chara was his girlfriend. The situation with Sapphire was just more gasoline on an already uncontrollable dumpster-fire.


    "Alright, alright. You two should get going since it's nearly sunrise; get as much practice while we have time... Oh and Chara: if Colin tries anything funny..."

    Chara winked at Cobalt as she picked up her bag and nudged Collin towards the door, "I'll sick Gengar after him, see if he'll like his kisses."

    Collin, clearly confused, looked between the male Lucario and Chara, "What are you talking about? Who likes Gengar's kisses? I imagine that would cause nightmares, not be pleasant..."

    Laughing and shaking her head, Chara waved goodbye as she pushed the other Trainer out of the door, leaving Cobalt and Sel alone in the room.

    "So, anything in particular you would like to do to pass the time?"

    Looking to the only other human in the room with him, Cobalt gave an uncommitted shrug and a shake of his head. The main downside of being confined to a small room with little in the way of entertainment left a big problem concerning boredom: There was nothing to do. Watching the television wasn't a favorite pastime of his, and sleeping only worked when he was actually tired. Counting random objects in his room got old really quickly, and the rare conversation partner got hindered by the natural language barrier.


    Yup, Cobalt wished he could at least move around; it gave his limbs something to do, anything to do...

    Rummaging through the bag she'd brought, Sel began to set out a few items on the table next to Cobalt's bed for him to see, "I kind of figured this would happen, so I made sure to bring some things that might help pass the time until Chara gets back."

    On the table sat a deck of cards, a puzzle, a few board games, and a couple of handheld consoles to play some video games, "Take your pick!"

    When the heck did Sel find the time to grab all of that? Last he checked, Sel was in a rush to get the rest of Chara's team here, unless what she brought was what she usually brings wherever she went. The Lucario gave an appreciative nod before rummaging through the small collection of pastimes laid out in front of him, and thus began a comedic montage of Cobalt doing what every male did when they had no idea what they were doing: making a complete ass out of themselves.


    The little video game consoles were promptly put aside and forgotten when Cobalt brought up his lack of opposing digits. It was getting pretty annoying being reminded of all the things he couldn't do without thumbs, and it turned out video games was one of them.


    The board games were also shortly forgotten, but not due to a lack of effort on Cobalt's and Sel's parts. They tried really hard, but the uncomfortable one-sided conversations from both sides made the games hilariously awkward. They couldn't include Blaze or any of Sel's other Pokemon either, since learning the rules would've been more trouble than it was worth.


    To be fair, Cobalt did have some measure of success with the cards and puzzles. By that, I mean Cobalt tried coming up with ways to use the puzzle pieces and cards in ways that would've given anyone with OCD an aneurysm. Things like deliberately hiding pieces and letting Sel lose her head over why some puzzles were aggravatingly incomplete, or stacking cards in ways that would give architects heart attacks.

    ((I'm super sorry! Honestly I've just really been in a slump lately and haven't had the energy or will to do, well, anything really...))

    Sel ended up bent over in laughter, wiping tears from her eyes as she tried righting herself enough to speak, "Well... That was quite interesting I must say. I packed all of this last night before I went to bed, I'll do the same tonight, but I'll pack some different stuff now that I see what you like and you're capable of. Sound good? I'm sure Chara and Collin will be back soon, it's been a while, they'll likely at least take a break..."

    anc wrote:

    ((I'm super sorry! Honestly I've just really been in a slump lately and haven't had the energy or will to do, well, anything really...))

    (We've all had those days. Sometimes it's best to take a few days off!)


    Cobalt grunted in approval, thankful that Chara's friend had killed so many hours of what would've been an otherwise uneventful day. One check of the clock high on a wall told him it was well into the afternoon, which struck him surprised... Well, okay; the occasional disturbance by Nurse Joy or her Chansey to check his burns should've indicated how much time had elapsed, but he could be forgiven for that little oversight. He leaned back and let himself think and mull over everything that rolled around in his mind.


    He was still understandably disappointed at his inability to join Chara in the World Tournament. Such a crucial time when she would need him most, and he couldn't even move properly without feeling like his sides were split open. It was a shame that he would miss on sharing a big dream his Trainer had, and at a time when he considered himself at his prime...