November rain drizzles down from the night skies of the twelfth of November, 2005. A smear of light leaks from the Ehqaj City gym's milky glass doors, filtered through the tank of water from the depths of a building. Rose Kaiki sits on a bench, checking her notes for the day. She had a lot of preparation training to do for the upcoming harbour festival - schedule was tight about that.

Disturbing the silence of the early morning is a firm knock on the locked glass doors, tone vibrating through them until it strikes the walls, ricochetting from them and reaching Rose as a subtly echoed, chaotic, but muffled medley. Her glance snaps up, glancing toward the double doors almost with confusion. There's not much to see from where she is - even if the huge aquarium was not in the way, the world outside is darker than the interior, making any view out of those milky doors fruitless.

Redwood, her Ivysaur, follows her gaze with natural curiosity, right forepaw raised in anticipation of following his trainer to the doors. Without letting her gaze slip down to the Ivysaur, Rose lets her left hand's fingers drift down through the air into its direction. “You can stay if you like,” she says, though her voice betrays that sliver of confusion that she has from having anyone want her attention this early in the day. Slightly perplexed, having risen to a stand, she makes her way along the thin, tiled path wound around the aquarium.

Redwood blinks very slowly then moves to follow his trainer, remaining silent as he moves, and that almost gracefully. Almost. His head turns slightly as he looks around but he still doesn't make a sound, not even to move.

Light from the back room becomes a scarce scatter as Rose, dressed in a bathing suit and a mere jacket as she is, reaches the door, seeing the hint of an outline outside. Her keys tinker as she raises them, and a moment later, her fingers push the door aside, revealing a figure of striking energy wrapped in the crinkles of a rain coat, arms wrapped about a rucksack that seems to have been a touch too large to fit under the thin layer of transparent plastic that the coat is made up of. “Mrs. Kaiki, I presume?” The voice is surprisingly driven, touched more by darkness than the landscape surrounding them, almost as if the person contained in that rain coat were oblivious to the rain, the discomfort of carrying a bag like that, and the time of day.

“…that would be me,” she responds, regarding him with slight incredulousness, and a fresh hint of wariness, right foot shifting to take a single step back as if expecting a dagger to leap up and strike her in the gut if she did not, though it's only a fleeting instinct. And then, common sense latching itself back into her mind, a phrase is shaken from her casually: “Why don't you come in?”

Redwood moves backwards then turns around as his trainer takes a step backwards, waiting till she starts to walk again. He turns his head slightly, watching the man intently, leaves rustling as he narrows his eyes a slight bit before rubbing his muzzle against one foreleg.

Dakarai nods his head in appreciating gesture as he steps through the open door and past Rose's shape. The doors are meant to be opened automatically rather than manually - going against the tension springs in the frame to keep them open requires her hands stay on the edge of the door. “I apologise for coming here this early,” the man remarks, setting the bag down on the tiles in graceful motion, only to straighten again, using that same motion to brush the hood of the raincoat back, revealing a multi-coloured sea of spikey flames for hair, framing coppery skin - though the light isn't bright enough for either to shine in its full beauty.

“I have,” he begins, only to break the sentence with a strange huff. Has he been on the move? A worrying thought touches Rose's conscience - perhaps he's only just arrived in Ehqaj. Was that possible? Walking all night, to most part through the rain? “A slightly tight schedule, but I could come back in two or three hours if you'd rather prepare, perhaps.” - Rose peers at him, head inclined, even as the door slides shut and the key tinkers as she locks it, though her gaze, perplexed, continues to rest on him. “For what?”

Redwood looks around as the man speaks, flicking a look upwards to his trainer before he shifts slightly, moving a couple of steps away before he looks back across to Rose, leaves rustling softly and at the same time, almost worried. The Ivysaur doesn't make a sound though.

Now it's Dakarai's turn to look slightly surprised. “I'm sorry,” he says, after a moment's halting hesitance, wondering if he meant to imply it or if he'd forgotten to mention it, giving himself a brief inner scold for the oversight, before fixing Rose with his slightly bewildered but nonetheless determined gaze. “A gym battle.”

Redwood blinks then, eyes widening before he moves to almost lean against Rose's shape all without that he makes a sound. He does glare up at Dakarai then, eyes narrowed before he looks away, suddenly thirsty. With a look to Rose he moves away again moving almost gracefully but definitely swiftly.

Rose's right hand touches the pane of the aquarium, tension settling on the features of her face. Silence. “…I see,” she remarks after a moment of letting the full implications of that request sink in. It's been a while since she last had to deal with the bite of moral quandary - she preferred having no part in all of this. “Well, no, right now is fine, if you just…” She exhales softly, left hand rising to touch her face with those fingertips, hiding, briefly, a grimace. “I'd like just a few minutes, please.”

Dakarai nods acknowledgingly, sliding out of his coat, shrugging it off, letting it crumple into a discarded heap beside his rucksack, revealing an all-black attire, making his lower arms and head seem to float in the darkness of the barely scattered light. Speaking of which, he's yet to request the light be switched on - but it reminds Rose it's really quite necessary. Silently, she turns to leave, still finding herself slightly in shock about the unexpected visitor.

Redwood looks over to Rose but remains silent, almost glaring at Dakarai before ambling over to Rose and attempting to nuzzle almost gently at her shape, without that he makes a sound, nose wrinkling slightly. An ear flicks and he shifts slightly before he is still again or almost so, leaves rustling.

The Ivysaur gets a nuzzle of Rose's ankle in, in passing, before she's passed the pokémon, heading through the narrow corridor winding its way around the aquarium to the light switch near the back.

Dakarai sinks to a crouch beside his bag, taking the opportunity to, even in what is mostly darkness, begin to fumble for the pokémon intended for this battle. Things had gone so smoothly thus far - while he was not worried, per se, each win was making him more anxious, as if he felt fate was preparing him for some ridiculously hard fall.

Neon lights flicker to life in the gym, illuminating the lazy swirls in the tank, and his squinting at labels becomes a considerably easier task. Spidery fingers find the first two of six pokéballs, migrating them from the bag to his pockets, silently brooding over the environment. Everything was as he'd been told - as far as the environment went. Would she be prepared for his plans, though?

Redwood moves to follow Rose, silently, leaves not making a sound now. He doesn't look back at the human male although he does look around a little. He knows the area though so he's not worried at all; if he even gets worried.

On her way back, Rose dips her left hand down to brush over that budding flower on Redwood's back. “I'll start with Whitewater and Camphora, don't worry,” she says in passing, tone soft, attempting to soothe what she perceived to be an anxious pokémon.

Redwood almost purrs at the gentle touch before he nods, turning to watch her before he shifts and crouches, watching intently, almost glaring at the human male. He remains silent though, eyes darkening.

“How would you want to battle?” she asks, knowing with a touch of guilt lancing through her gut that she should have a specific plan for gym battles. It's just so unusual, having this November morning shaken by this half-extinct practise. “I've got five pokémon,” she adds, informatively, brows furrowing.

Dakarai chuckles pleasantly. “In a fashion leading up to my success, of course,” he allows himself that joke, tip of his nose twitching briefly, before bowing his head respectfully and offering his idea of an interesting match with a twinkle in his eyes. “One on one, withdraws distinct from knock-outs, freeform?” Truly, he was wary - perhaps she was asking to know what not to do. He could work with other variants, but he was hoping for it.

Redwood shifts slightly, almost nervously. Almost. Flicking a look to his trainer, he blinks slowly and without that he says anything that can be interpreted as anything he whispers: “Saur.” He stares at Dakarai then, before his nose wrinkles and he looks away again.

“…five successive battles?” Rose huffs out a breath, regarding Dakarai in a manner hoping he'll give her a definitive answer to her question. - “If you wish,” he states, giving another of his acknowledging nods. “Three would be my ideal.” - That came as something of a relief. At least things would be over fairly quickly, then. A smile touches her lips, even as she crouches down to cast some attention onto Redwood, hands stroking his smooth skin.

Redwood lets his eyes roll closed and leans into the gentle touch of the woman, his shape relaxing slightly as he nuzzles at her fingers gently. He doesn't make a sound though he's clearly liking her touch. He blinks then but doesn't move away, if anything leaning closer to her.

With three agreed on after a further phrase, she explains the aquarium will be their battling ground. Dakarai, meanwhile, is paying most attention to what she isn't saying, smiling as if patiently, but instead out of a relaxed flavour of determination. And a while later, Redwood is sat in watch of the situation in the door frame to the back of the gym, eyes affixed to the tank, Rose letting herself sink into the water as she usually does for all aquarium activities, including sparring or actual battles.

The first creature to descend upon the playing field is Camphora, materialising from the red glow in the water, the Tangela's tangled vines lashing out to snag the edges of the tank, controlledly suspending itself near its centre. Just a fraction of a second later, the cannonball shape of a Magneton ripples into existence a few inches above the aquarium. “Break it!” Dakarai snaps up to the pokémon, which immediately, trained to instant obedience, twists about its axis, only to plummet down and sideways, crashing down into the water only to punch through the right wall of the glass tank a second later.

Redwood actually snarls, pushing to his feet and rapidly backpedalling; glaring at the human male, his leaves rustling before he is still and silent, watching intently. The pokémon crouches again then, not looking away from the tank or the two humans, eyeing the Tangela almost worriedly.

With the sound of rushing water quick to drown out the sound of splintered glass, the mass within the aquarium tilts, flooding out of the shattered side, crashing against the wall, spilling Rose out back, and flooding toward Dakarai - his position, held in a corner, once more clung to his rucksack, is a sturdy one. “SUPERSONIC!” Dakarai's next command lances through the gym, only just barely reaching his Magneton; even as Rose watches Camphora's delicate hold cause the pokémon to be half-torn down into the new rapids, several vines snapping. “VINE WHIP and hold on to that Magneton!” she instructs, even as the mentioned pokémon is realigning. The water crashes and spills to seize Redwood, slamming the pokémon against the side of a bench without that it has much chance to react, and sweeping Rose off her feet again after her fingers sought to cling to the doorframe for support.

Redwood winces at the pain as he is slammed into the bench, whimpering raggedly but he's all right. He uses his own vines to hold himself to the bench but doesn't make much noise nor does he move very much, one of his vines looping around his trainer to hold her in place or to attempt to do so at any rate.

Camphora's vines lash to ensnare the Magneton, even as the creature's SUPERSONIC jars the remaining glass panes - fortunately not enough to break them. It suffices to confuse Camphora, though; but the vines grab a hold of the Magneton… only to moments later be attached to nothing as the pokémon is withdrawn from under that grip. Camphora crashes down into what remains of the pool of water, even as Dakarai's voice can be heard once more. “POWDER SNOW!”

Redwood almost ducks, but remains silent, becoming still as he watches. It's only when Dakarai speaks again that he actually ducks, shuddering hard, eyes closing, all without that he makes any sound.

Rose utters a cry, scrambling to raise her pokéball to retrieve Camphora before- like an abrupt crystal bomb, the fairly low level of water freezes over in a near-instant, Camphora's soaked shape becoming abruptly paralysed beneath a coat of ice. “Whitewater!” Rose summons, calling forth her Azumarill with worry, gaze finding the Jynx Dakarai is commanding. “ROLLOUT!”

Dakarai's lips a tugged into a concentrated smirk. As predicted, the complete change of environment stunned Whitewater into hesitance - and in that moment, he swaps his pokémon again, aiming for a certain line-up, though it's been subtly changed thanks to Rose's most recent order. Surviving the initial blow while dealing a vicious one himself was important now - his most faithful companion could wait.

“Static, THUNDER WAVE!” - The Magneton's shape re-materialises, lower this time, its hover generally adjusted to surfaces, liquid or otherwise; and the moment its shape hits the ground, tackled by the ROLLOUT, a THUNDER WAVE flashes out from it like an electro-magnetic pulse, spreading through the aquarium, held back by its three intact walls and the wall by the other, but certainly paralysing the unsuspecting Whitewater that very moment that it tries to adjust its course back to run toward the Magneton. “ZAP CANNON!” There was no way in hell that shot would miss, used against a creature that was momentarily unable to move.

Redwood cringes, but doesn't make a sound as he glares at Dakarai before flicking a silent look to his trainer then away again.he lets go of the bench then, flexing his paws as he rolls up on to them before he gives himself a shake. Staying quiet, he crouches once more, looking as worried as a pokemon can look.

This time, Rose is faster, ZAP CANNON dissipating in a glittering cascade of lightning crackles against the pane before her as she withdraws Whitewater first. “Redwood!” she instructs, knowing that both Runnel and Torrent would be a bad choice against a Magneton. “MUD-SLAP!”

Dakarai's inner thought click to an almost settled 'Bring it', finally seeing opportunity to bring in the pokémon he was keeping as an ace to clean up this entire mess with the ease of a professional - and a moment later, Salt's foreclaws clank against the frozen ground, the MUD-SLAP striking its form to… utterly no effect. “SPORE,” Dakarai instructs, some of the tense concentration leaving his voice. Not long now.

Redwood seems to roll his shoulders before he steps forwards, almost snarling. Exhaling, the pokémon attacks as fast as he can and as hard as he can, eyes narrowing as the mud flies across the space between the two pokémon. As the human male changes pokémon, the Ivysaur shifts a little, uneasily before narrowing his eyes further and snarling lowly. As the attack hits, he staggers then crumples, asleep before he hits the floor.

Jesus. It didn't matter which pokémon was on the field - with a Parasect and Spore, it was a sacrifice. She'd not even begun to put a dent into his pokémon - ROLLOUT and VINE WHIP both had left barely a scratch on his Magneton, and it hardly seemed like he was using it as a fighter, meaning those were all still unscathed on the playing field.

“Stop,” she barks across the playing field, scrambling for some sense of calm, shock still settled on her bones that he would break her aquarium like that. Anger coursed through her veins. Her 'Stop' had sounded across his ordering Salt to SLASH the sleeping pokémon - the word's sentiment is echoed in a “Hold,” though his eyes narrow as he glances over to her.

Inhale. Exhale. “…it's over, okay? You win.” - 'You drove that point home well enough,' a more vicious part of her mind seeks to sling after those breathless phrases. 'Shaking; I'm shaking,' she tells herself, trying to will herself to stop. - “You still have pokémon standing,” Dakarai informs, voice sceptical. - “Yes… yes, I do, and I'd like to keep it that way,” she calls across, a note of tension in that voice, her gaze fixed on Camphora's shape, seeming more like a modern art sculpture than a living creature.

Slowly, Rose picks herself up, peering down her side - a myriad of shallow cuts litter her right arm. She looks a right mess, her hair in disarray, slight ache spreading across her skin, having been at odd angles repeatedly during this ordeal. Quietly, she straightens, seeing herself through the broken pane carefully, silently, gaze freshly locked on her pokémon, before she sidles over to Redwood, gaze still on Camphora, horrified by that sight, but focussing on his sleep first. “Redwood, hey… wake up,” she says, voice nearly a whisper, crouched.

Redwood shifts a little, starting to wake up. “Saurrrrr,” he says, without saying anything, his voice sleepy before he opens both eyes, blinking up at his trainer and nuzzling at her gently as he pulls himself to his feet. Giving himself a full body shake he wakens fully and sees the Tangela over her shoulder, his eyes widening.

It took strength not to try and blast Camphora out of there. Their best bet was to wait for her to thaw out by herself, pure and simple. It was psychological torture watching her in that state, but anything else was far more likely to end lethally than letting her recover on her own. A tremble touches Rose's shoulders, though it's nothing like a restrained sob - simply result of a touch of fear, however fleeting. “Well, if you want the Haze badge,” she remarks, voice oddly level, ensnared by rational control and held in line by it. “It's yours.” - 'Maybe you should stop now, rather than later.' Wasn't she obligated to saying something like that, albeit less obviously? Somehow, such words refused to form, her gaze latched on Redwood, stroking across his skin.

Redwood leans into the touch of his trainer, almost glaring at Dakarai without that he says anything, even as a shiver runs through him. He presses closer, silently before his eyes roll closed again, actually terrified of the human male.

Dakarai nods, peeling himself out of the corner, staying clung to his rucksack in a way that might be likened to the cuddling of a teddybear… were he someone else. Slowly, gradually, he walks over to where Rose is, even as the lady continues to soothe Redwood with a steady caress. “Aside from the Haze badge,” he begins, making Rose set her jaw, suspecting a request of some form; only to be slightly jolted by the actual words. “There's nothing I need. Please keep whatever you usually give trainers.” - 'I think you might need it,' goes unstated.

Redwood quivers and cringes against Rose even as his eyes open when Dakarai approaches. He doesn't make a sound though, not even as his tongue flicks across his lips before his eyes drift closed again.

Rose twitches, not finding it in herself to see the humanity of that response, not even wanting to begin to use it to begin to counterbalance her impression. Ironically, her shock and fear is not personal as much as it is the result of not having had to deal with this for a time nearing a full year. “I'll get you one later,” she remarks, voice tense, stolidly continuing to pay attention to her Ivysaur.

Redwood swallows silently, trembling a little more even as his eyes open and he looks up at Dakarai and he exhales, breath shaky. A soft whimper slips from him and he buries his face into Rose's side, eyes closing again before his shaking stills and he relaxes against the woman, silent and almost still.

Dakarai frowns lightly. “If you so wish.” He pauses, watching her for a moment of silence. “You would, though, do me a big favour by giving it to me rather sooner than later. I do need to be on my way.” Perhaps implied by those words was 'the sooner you give me the badge, the sooner I'll be out of your hair'. Rose, seeing Redwood's reaction, closes her arms around the pokémon in a hug. “Fine,” she mutters, still not looking up at him. “Head back to the doors, I'll be with you in a moment.” A name. She didn't even know his name. She'd have to know for the records. Grimacing, she lets the inquiry slide for now, instead whispering a soothing “Shhh,” to her pokémon.

Redwood twitches as the human male speaks before calming further as he is hugged and by the soothing tone in his trainer's voice. He makes not a sound though and he doesn't even attempt to look around, his eyes tightly closed although his ears twitch. A soft exhale later, he looks up to Rose, blinking a couple of times before looking away and through the doors at the back of the Gym.