Gotta Catch Em' All: Platinum Version (Open!)

[Lychee]

Trainer Palila Rae
Location: Orebough City
Team: Rowlett (16/16) Starly (13/13) Piplup (15/15) Wingull (20/20)
Partner Pokemon: --
Items: 3x Pokeballs, Pokedex, Journal, Sketchpad, Poketch Plus
Points: 38 (-26 from levelling, +1 from posting) Posts: 16

As Palila chatted to Neith, she couldn't help smiling slightly. It was so validating to have someone else recognize how difficult it was to be torn away from everything. Almost every possession they had, and every person they knew. It was also a little funny to imagine Neith forgetting all of her supplies in a cab- it would have been a problem even if the wormhole HADN'T happened!
When the girl sincerely offered to help, Palila was touched. It didn't last very long though- Using the excuse that they were a team rather than anything like friends really drove the point home that Palila had no friends here. She kept the smile frozen on her face (albeit it looked a little forced in the corners) and nodded.
"Thats... nice of you."

Sharing a bunk bed was ok, and despite the glow of Neiths laptop Palila fell asleep into wild dreams as her brain tried to process the day she just had.

---------------------------------------------

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
Palila snoozed her way through the morning while her roommate did research.

Eventually, she groaned and rolled over, then nearly fell out of the unfamiliar bed. It was well into morning, and the Poketch that Nathan had given her was flashing (though the noise hadn't woken her up as it was muffled in her bag). She poked it curiously.
Gym will be open now. Let's try and get that finished by noon, and meet back at the Pokemon Center. Can somebody please pass this on to Palila and Amy if they see them? Sender: Sophie Reed
Palila dropped the poketch from the bed and groaned again. Maybe their grand leader hadn't noticed that she had been given one already. She lay there for a minute staring at the ceiling, wondering if she should reply, then wondering if she could even figure out how. She decided not to bother, in the end.
"Oh man, I had some epic dreams last night..." She started, then realised that Neith was no longer in the room. Clearly it was time to get up. Other people were probably out battling already.
"Uuuuugh."
She glanced at the door on the way out and took Neiths note down, stuffing it in her pocket.

Palila shuffled out to the Pokemon Centre foyer slowly, rubbing her eyes and taking a free piece of fruit from the bench. Nobody else she knew was there- they must have all been out at the gym. There was just the general bustle of an unfamiliar Pokecentre.
So I guess it's still all like this, then. Palila sighed, having still hoped that it was just some kind of crazy illusion.
"What a horrible day." She said aloud, shuffling out into the street in a bad mood.

The wingull that the Gemstone Grandma had told her to guide was sitting outside the building roosting, and Palila flapped her hands at it to try to make it go away.
"Rack off! I don't need responsibilities in bizarro-world Sinnoh!" She shouted at it, and took her own wingull out of its pokeball.
"Wingull, attack... the other wingull!"

Pokemon Levelling Up: Wingull
Level: 7 --> 20 (13 levels)
Points cost: 26
Points remaining: 12

What followed was a brisk morning brawl that did wonders for Palilas mood, as waterguns sprayed on people entering and exiting the Pokemon Centre. She chuckled to herself as the wingull became better and better at using watergun, but it remained a stalemate.
"Fine, fine, stop. You can stay, then." She told the two sopping wet wingull, who promptly fluffed their feathers and dried off. "You're too accurate now anyway- theres no more collateral damage!" She motioned around at the people nearby (who were managing to mostly stay dry). Actually, they didn't look too pleased.

"Uhhhhh....actually maybe we should nick off." She told the wingull, returning her own to its ball and scampering off down the street towards the gym. Even if it meant bumping into people she didn't like much, getting into a battle at the gym would probably be more of a challenge and less destructive than having a waterfight in the street.

[Lychee]

Trainer Palila Rae
Location: Orebough City Gym --> Orebough mines
Team: Rowlett (0/16) Starly (0/13) Piplup (0/15) Wingull (8/20)
Partner Pokemon: --
Items: 3x Pokeballs, Pokedex, Journal, Sketchpad, Poketch Plus
Points: 12 ( +1 from posting) Posts: 17

Palila finished her battle and lingered around, noticing that literally everyone had an easier time fighting the gym leader than she did. Despite winning, she still somehow felt like she had to prove herself.
As the gym leader approached Sophie and complimented her, Palila bristled from her seat on the side of the room, somewhat jealous of the accolades and attention. She was purposefully listening in, and her eyes widened when the gym leader explained that they were going the wrong way.
She really DOESN'T know where she is or where shes going! Palila thought to herself, fighting down the urge to stand up and start yelling. Instead, she jammed her hands down into her pockets really hard and pulled her hood up over her head, reminding herself she had no viable pokemon to stand by her side in a conflict and therefore shouldn't start one.

The news about some strangely dressed people causing trouble in a mine and some of the groups decision to go and help the miners seemed a little strange, but Palila shook it off. She did have a sense of civic duty somehow- plus, a fight in a mine might be good battle practice as well as somewhere to take out more of the anger she seemed to have.
She shot a look across at Amy, nodding when she requested time to heal her pokemon.

"I'll come too, but yeah I need to swing by the PC."

She looked over at Neith and Renny, who seemed hesitant.
"Dudes, we'll be with a gym leader, a bunch of miners who know their stuff, and you're all clearly mega strong too! Don't be a wimpy wismur! It'll be a breeze. What if there's some sick-as cave scenes? What if there's some, uh, interesting mining technology? Won't you feel bad if you miss out on something cool?" She grinned, trying to goad them into coming along too by poking at their clear interest niches. Being alone in the dark with Amy, Drake and Sophie gave her the feeling she might just get beaten up and left behind- she wanted backup but didn't want to ask outright.

Regardless of their answers, she had to take off quickly in order to get to the PC, heal, and catch up with the gym leader who was leading the way to the mines. She flipped the rest of the crew a shaka sign and with a squeak of sneakers she was out and dashing down the road.

[Lychee]

Trainer Palila Rae
Location: Orebough mines (Does anyone else update these as we are going?)
Team: Dartrix (17/17) Staravia (14/14) Prinlup (16/16) Wingull (20/20)
Partner Pokemon: --
Items: 3x Pokeballs, Pokedex, ID Card from Roark, Journal, Sketchpad, Poketch Plus
Points: 29 (+1 from posting, -47 for evolving, +58 levelup points back) = 41 Posts: 18

Palila accepted the ID card from Amy at the Pokecentre, inspecting it to see if it had any useful information on it. Not really knowing what it meant, she pocketed it after Neith had used it too. Since her own ID didn't work, at least having someones ID would mean she had a place to sleep at night.

As the three of them (or maybe more!) ran up to the entrance to the mines, Palila let out her Starly. It had been beaten very quickly during the gym battle, and she was a little worried that she had picked up a dud pokemon. She dropped back slightly.
"Starly, you OK? You got thrashed back there." She asked it, hands on hips.
The little bird seemed upset and looked down at the ground, tweeting sheepishly. Palila frowned and let out her other birds, who were all looking a little upset about being knocked out. Team morale was low.
"Aw hey, chin up! Get back on the board and try again! You gotta prove to me you are worth working with!" In a strange way, it was a pep talk for the smallest member of the team. Palila stuck out her forearms in a dance-like motion and then pretended to flap wings in a long smooth movement.
"You can probably do some epic stuff! Like this, right?"
Starly and Rowlet hopped up from their sitting position into the air, seeming to feel the energy Palila gave to them, and taking flight far up into the air. Piplup scooted over the ground, wiggling its wings. Their bodies glowed as they flew up and swooped around- almost copying their trainer with her silly wing movements.

Pokémon You're Evolving: Starly
Pokémon it Evolves Into: Staravia
Evolution Point Requirement: 14
Points On-Hand: 29
Points After Evolution: 15

Character: Palila Rae
Pokemon: Staravia
Level Ups purchased: 5->13 (16 points)
Links to Level Up Posts: Starly from level 5 to level 13
Link to stats: In header

------

Pokémon You're Evolving: Piplup
Pokémon it Evolves Into: Prinplup
Evolution Point Requirement: 16
Points On-Hand: 31
Points After Evolution: 15

Character: Palila Rae
Pokemon: Prinplup
Level Ups purchased: 5->15 (20 points)
Links to Level Up Posts: Piplup from level 5 to level 15
Link to stats: In header

-------

Pokémon You're Evolving: Rowlet
Pokémon it Evolves Into: Dartrix
Evolution Point Requirement: 17
Points On-Hand: 35
Points After Evolution: 18

Character: Palila Rae
Pokemon: Dartrix
Level Ups purchased: 5->16 (22 points)
Links to Level Up Posts: Rowlett from level 5 to level 16
Link to stats: In header

-------

As everyone in the team apart from the wingull (who wasn't knocked out during the gym battle anyway, so it wasn't really in need o a morale boost) evolved, Palila gradually stopped her silly dancing.
"Woah, cool!" She told them all in earnest, and then they all ran to catch up with the rest of the group.


Everyone seemed to be standing around talking- no goons in sight. They had probably run off before she even arrived.
Sophie was shaking hands with some new guy who introduced himself as Cody, and Amy was standing there crossing her eyes and looking him up and down.
Palila chuckled to herself, memorizing how silly Amy looking for an artwork later on.
"Hey, Coh-deee, you wanna take Sophies place as leader of the team?" She snarkily called out "You made it out here on your own and probably won't lead us in the wrong direction like she did~"
As Matthias arrived at the group Palila gave him a wide smile, enjoying his battle comments.
"Oh no, we couldn't possibly take him on! He just beat two random untrained people in a pokemon battle where he had the advantage!" She was clearly enjoying herself, on a sassy high from the gym battle and her team evolving.

[Lychee]

Trainer Palila Rae
Location: Orebough mines entrance (Or, perhaps route 203? Who knows!)
Team: Dartrix (17/17) Staravia (14/14) Prinlup (16/16) Wingull (20/20)
Partner Pokemon: --
Items: 3x Pokeballs, Pokedex, Journal, Sketchpad, Poketch Plus
Points: 41 (+1 from posting) Posts: 19

"Ha! Fashion advice coming from someone who dresses like a lumberjack?"
Palila shrugged and took out Roarks ID card from her pocket as he walked over to her.
"Thanks for letting us use your card!" She stepped in close to hand it back over, making eye contact, her face and tone suddenly serious.
"Roark. You know how things work around here- please help me. I was arrived here yesterday and don't have an ID card of my own. The leader of this trainer group doesn't care- I nearly had to sleep on the street last night. If it wasn't for someone else sneaking me in to their room, I would be homeless. You're important. I need your help. I need an ID card of my own."

Not being able to go back to her family home and being in an unfamiliar land was an ongoing stress, and while battling and sniping at the other kids had helped relieve it, she knew she needed some help from a trustworthy adult. She needed a bed. She needed an ID card of her own. She completely ignored the camaraderie and conversations about food, knowing that this could be her one chance to talk to an adult and get serious assistance.
Still holding onto the gym leaders ID card, she was clearly waiting until he agreed to help before she passed it back to him.

[Lychee]

Trainer Palila Rae
Location: Orebough mines entrance (Or, perhaps route 203? Who knows!)
Team: Dartrix (17/17) Staravia (14/14) Prinlup (16/16) Wingull (20/20)
Partner Pokemon: --
Items: 3x Pokeballs, Pokedex, Journal, Sketchpad, Poketch Plus
Points: 41 (+1 from posting) Posts: 19

Palila handed over the card, brow furrowed.
"But..." She stepped away from him slightly, knowing that the conversation was probably over. At this stage she was processing and talking mostly to herself.
"... I don't have any of those." She finished, in a small voice.
The horrible realization that this world was probably going to brand her as a runaway and deny her shelter crashed down on her. She stood silent, eyes glazed. Fear crept up into her stomach and ate the last of her battle-high. She imagined sleeping in a tent every night, never feeling the comfort of her warm bed. Never feeling the warmth of returning home, or seeing the smiling faces of her family. She may have considered herself a big grown up girl compared to her brothers, but when it came down to it she wasn't ready for this kind of isolation.
"I...I don't..." Her voice cracked a little, and she couldn't remember what she was going to say.
Palila looked like she was about to cry.

And then she did.

[Lychee]

Trainer Palila Rae
Location: Orebough mines entrance (Or, perhaps route 203? Who knows!)
Team: Dartrix (17/17) Staravia (14/14) Prinlup (16/16) Wingull (20/20)
Partner Pokemon: --
Items: 3x Pokeballs, Pokedex, Journal, Sketchpad, Poketch Plus
Points: 43 (+1 from posting) Posts: 21

Palila was pulled aside slightly by Kinnie, but it didn't stop other people in the group noticing her little breakdown. Tears leaked down her face, and she made a few pathetic hiccup-sob noises, eyes reddening. Kinnie offering her what was basically a tissue made Palila realize that she should feel ashamed to be crying in public, so she took the tissue and nodded when Kinnie told her they needed to talk. Talking things through could only help, right?

Well, maybe that was wrong.

As Matthias marched towards Roark and backed her up, Palila tried to pull herself together. If she was going to try to make a case, it was worth being able to form sentences instead of just choking out sobs. As Roark gave the same dismissive response, her tears were almost under control.
It hurt, hearing it a second time, but somehow she'd gone a little numb- It was like everything was blurrily going wrong scene by scene, and she had just become an observer.

When Matthias turned towards Sophie, Palila held her breath. It felt like someone cared about her plight- or like someone understood- which was bizzare because logically they all should have. This wasn't just a snide remark- Matthias seemed serious about putting the pressure on their leader to take action.

It did not go well.

Sophie pushed herself right up into Matthias's face, calling him a thief and talking about things Palila didn't understand.
Was any of that even relevant? Something about a coat and Matthias deserving to get beaten to a pulp? Palila was baffled and a little scared at the amount of venom Sophie showed- she hadn't noticed those two interact much at all before this point, and it began to make sense as to why.
When Sophie's gaze shifted back over to Palila, she took an involuntary step backwards, her face still wet with tears.

There was no way in hell she was going to room with that girl.
"I- no." She squeaked out, finding her voice as Sophie rounded on Matthias again. "I don't- I. don't. want to bunk with you, Sophie Reed."
That was probably the first time so far Palila had used someones full name since introductions the day before, and it put a strange weight at the end of her sentence.

"Can one of you just... help me call the professor and sort it out?"

[Lychee]

Trainer Palila Rae
Location: Orebough City restaurant
Team: Dartrix (17/17) Staravia (14/14) Prinlup (16/16) Wingull (20/20)
Partner Pokemon: --
Items: 3x Pokeballs, Pokedex, Journal, Sketchpad, Poketch Plus
Points: 44 (+1 from posting) Posts: 22

Palila sniffled when Kinnie dabbed her cheek and told her no, again. Somehow, this time, it was reassuring to be told no, so she didn't fight back. She sighed, and let Kinnie dab at her face. Being told she would have a bed was helpful, and yet somehow she still felt sad. It wasn't her /own/ bed, at home.

When Drake piped up (a little too late) she eyed him off. Being given his trainer card wouldn't be appropriate- she was pretty sure the bathrooms and dorms were gender separated for all trainers under 18, and there was no way the staff would believe her if she pretended to be Drake when they caught her with his card. He did look like the only person in the group with camping supplies, though.

There was nothing else that desperately needed to be said and Palila felt as if her plea had been heard, so she quietly followed the group to a fine dining restaurant.

----------

Palila felt entirely out of place. Having a single parent and a couple of siblings had meant that going out for Masala at the local fast food place had been the most 'fine dining' she had experienced in her life. Gloomily thinking about how far away home was, and how much she would love some alolan food, she tried to sit near the even-tempered Neith and Kinnie- away from Amy, Sophie or Drake. It also looked like Renny was there, by pure coincidence? He made idle chit-chat, and Palila didn't bother introducing herself.

"I'll just have whatever she's having." Palila mumbled her order, not recognizing much on the menu. She let out her Dartrix, whose dapper look meant he fit into the fine dining atmosphere much better than she did, and she placed her hand on his feathery back to feel comforted. He gave a low hoot, looking solemn.

It was going to be a rather awkward and quiet meal.

"Do you think our parents know we're missing, by now?" She asked those sitting nearest to her, quietly, when Sophie went off to make the phone call. One hand was picking at her meal, and the other idly preening Dartrix.

As Sophie got back, she gave a weak smile and nodded. "Thanks for trying."

Drake making a toast made her feel a little bit sick. This didn't feel like the time to toast. She glared at him.
"Dude! What the psyduck! We aren't here to have a fruitful journey! We are here because we are lost and wanna go home! Right??" She looked directly over at Sophie, expecting to be backed up.