The Wanted Speech (Open)

[Lady Leaf]

It had been an extremely busy day. The morning started with a trip to the post office where Kero had hundreds of wanted posters mailed out almost every city and town in Era that could think of. He was hoping that the people in those town’s and cities would put the posters up to help increase the chances of the criminals listed on each poster being captured. He mailed posters to the towns and cities as well though those had been sent with a letter that explained the posters must go up. At least in the South he had the power to make sure they were displayed. Afterwards he took Charizard into Scorch City and began giving a motivational speech to the people.

He was actually quiet surprised on how many people had shown up to hear his speech. It seemed many of them were desperate for positive change. He didn’t blame them. Two of the most crime filled cities were located in the Southern Wastelands and it’s people were in desperate need of help. Kero was hoping that with these posters he would gain the respect and trust of his people. With both of those he knew he gained power. However, the downfall was the fact that his name would now be well known by every criminal with his or her head on the line. He understood the risk he was taking but refused to back down. Era needed a savoir and Kero was going to start showing them one. This was exactly what he had explained in his speech. He told the people his plains to clean up the streets. To help rid their lands of the crimes the rebels and criminals across Era. To help create a new and safe environment for people and pokemon to grown and live in. He explained his plains to help these issues and how the crime rate was his first step in doing so. It was a rather powerful and well thought out speech and when he had finished it, the people who had gathered gave him a loud applause. Though he did notice that a few hadn’t applause him. He had a feeling that those few people would be the very ones he would adding to the wanted list.

After the speech was given he found he had many people coming to him and asking questions. He had answered them all to the best of his abilities until finally the people continued on with their own business allowing him to finally get a breather. By then the sun was already starting to set. He would be needing to head home soon in order to make sure all of his preparation had gone well. He also needed to pack up some things for the trip he was going to be taking with Alvaro. Just the thought of traveling with the man excited him to no end. Alvaro… he was Kero’s first date and now… Yes, he could say it. Alvaro was his boyfriend. It sounded odd in his head but he liked the ring to it. This, and the events of the day had put Kero into an extremely good mood. Tired, but happy non the less.

There was a certain joy in his walk as he made his way down the street. Charizard was following him close behind.

((For more information on the wanted posters please look HERE. To have one made please post (in character) HERE.))

[Devin]

Never before had Devin seen a high ranking government official make such a long public appearance before today. Perhaps this was a testament to the amount of instability of the region, and the lack of control that any form of government appeared to exhibit, at least until now. The Count of the Southern Region, Kero Blackthorn had just made quite an impression upon him, speaking his desire to rid the land of the criminals who walked upon it. Obviously this was something Devin could respect, in spite of the possibility that the noble was merely using this for personal gain. It was something that Devin would simply have to overlook for now.

Having arrived late to the speech, Devin had left quickly afterward, and beat the crowd out in order to save time. He was now riding on the back of his Salamence above the buildings of the city. It was probably the easiest way to avoid the enormous crowd of locals that filled the streets, and save much needed time to get out of the city. However when Devin just happened to randomly look down and noticed something quite surprising. The Count that had given the speech was now walking through the streets with only a Charizard by his side. Devin would've thought that such an important government official would have a number of bodyguards by his side, especially if his words regarding the seriousness of criminals within the city were in fact true.

Devin decided to investigate this matter and maybe as the Count why he didn't have additional protection. However at the same time, he didn't want to intimidate the Count into thinking that he was one of the criminals that the count had alluded to. Having a fierce, intimidating Pokemon like Salamence land right in front of the Count would likely give that impression. Devin noticed that the pathway in front of the Count was relatively clear, and if he landed Salamence a good distance ahead of him, then it might not come off as intimidating. Acting on this belief, Devin said to the Dragon-type, "Salamence, I want you to land right down there, a good distance in front of the Count." As he said this Devin pointed towards Kero so Salamence would know who he was talking about. Salamence growled in affirmation and began its descent.

Once Salamence had landed, Devin quickly dismounted him, and walked up towards the Count with Salamence trailing closely behind him. Once Devin figured that he was within hearing range of the count, he began to speak, "That was quite an passionate speech that I saw you give earlier today. But I'm curious, why are you walking around out in public with so little protection. I mean you no disrespect, but I would think that someone of your stature would warrant additional security, especially in public like this."

[Lady Leaf]

At first Kero thought nothing of Devin as he walked towards him with a Salamence following behind. He had planned on walking by the man and his pokemon without a second glance until he was addressed. Kero had to almost force himself to keep from sighing as Devin began talking about his speech. He was almost expecting Devin to start pounding him with question after question about it and honestly, Kero was tired of answering questions. Devin did ask a question, but it hadn’t been one he had been expecting to hear. It was enough to bring a small smirk to his lips.

“No offence taken,” Kero replied rather calmly, his pale brown eyes looking down on Devin, “and I thank you for your concern but I’m afraid with current state of this region the knights who would natural assist me as body guards are too few and too busy to be by my side.” The last time he could remember having official body guards was least a few years ago. Every now and than he would receive one to escort him but generally they were much too busy. It seemed any that were capable of escorting were too busy with the Duchess. Damn he hated her more and more everyday. “Besides, I’ve grown up in the South all my life and have had my share of experience with bandits, gangs and criminals. I’ve learned to protect myself.” Well… sort of. One of the very people he had listed on the posters, Nero, had just recently proven he wasn’t as strong as he would like to be. She had busted up his arm and part of his stomach area when they had gotten into a fight not too long ago. He still wore the bandages around both from that attack. This was something Devin didn’t need to know and Kero would defiantly not admit to.

“Tell me, whom is it I’m speaking to?” He asked raising an eyebrow. He didn’t recognize the man at all, and he didn’t look like a local. Charizard, who was still standing beside Kero, let out a loud snort after his trainer asked who Devin was. He didn’t think it was even worth their time finding out who this man was. He just wanted to go home. However Kero ignored Charizard and continued staring at Devin as he waited for the reply.

[Devin]

A reasonable enough explanation, Devin supposed. Perhaps it was even more notable that this Count even opted to defend himself at all. Based of what he knew and learned, many nobles of the past had often opted to have their guards, or cronies do all their fighting for them, while they themselves barely even raised a finger. Apparently this was not the case here. None of this really mattered in terms of actual end results, but it was still notable enough to think about.

Moving on, Devin felt it necessary to answer the Count's question, "My apologies, my name is Devin, I'm actually not from this region, I'm from Johto, in case you were wondering." Devin didn't want to bore the Count with other pointless information about himself. Devin then looked behind him and noticed that Salamence appeared to be somewhat bored by the this conversation and simply wanted to get out of what he saw as a dump of a city with too many people. Devin decided, it wasn't like he would need Salamence to defend himself against the Count since it didn't appear that he planned on attacking him. Even it he did, Devin had other Pokemon that he could call upon.

Devin decided to let Salamence fly around for a while rather than stay here and be bored to death. He said, "Salamence, go ahead and fly around for a little while if you want to. I'll meet you outside the city in an hour." A small grin appeared on Salamence's face as he flapped his mighty wings and rose up off the ground, and quickly flew off disappearing behind a building.

Turning back towards the Count, Devin said, "Sorry about that." He then paused for a few seconds before asking another question, "I'm not sure if you know this, but about the criminals you spoke of, do you think all of them are hiding in the south, or do you think that they could be anywhere?"

[Lady Leaf]

A man for the Johto regions. He had never been their before nor met anyone from the area. For a moment it made Kero wonder exactly why the man had traveled to Era. Than again, Kero wasn’t sure why anyone from another region would want to come to Era right now. The region was in such bad shape compared to the others. They didn’t even have Gym leaders or many events due to this. Though a few came here because of that.

Kero didn’t have time to ask Devin why he had come to Era. The man had turned to talk to his pokemon before turning back to Kero and asking him another question. As Kero had expected, he was yet another commoner who was going to drill him with questions about his speech. Ah well, he had expected this. After all, people would want to know as much as they could about the issue. “No, I don’t. I know many of them have been spotted here in the south but I guarantee many of them operate out of south as well. Black Jack for example is known for his illegal trades which is happening across Era. The common thief, Sen, or we think that’s his name. It seems to always change. Has been spotted mostly in the Central City but he’s been found in many all over Era. The ones in the gangs are also traveling all over. It just seems the bulk of them like to come here to the South.” Because that damn, lazy, self centered Duchess didn’t seem to care what kind of stat this region fell into. But that was fine with Kero. He’d gain the favour of the people and turn the tides around.

[Devin]

Devin's previous question was a matter of narrowing down every option, regarding these criminals, if he could discover the areas in which they generally operated, it would obviously be easier to find them. The Count's response was goof enough for him and did clear things up a little on the matter, and helped him narrow down the potential location of these criminals. He could obviously tell that the Count was somewhat agitated by these questions. Devin wasn't surprised. He had probably been fielding answers to these exact questions all day long.

Devin decided that it would be best to let the Count be on his way. He was probably boring him to death. Deciding to wrap this conversation up quickly he said to the Count, "Well, thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer my question. I'll be sure to take action if I happen to come across any of these criminals, but I must be on my way." Devin then turned around and began to walk off down the street away from the Count.

[Ryder]

JASMINE ROSE

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Up high in the sky with the boy's Salamence another dragon pokemon was flying. Only it didn't seem to look normal in fact in the sun's rays its scales sparkled. Not only that but the scales were not red but they were blue. It was in fact Jasmine's shiny flygon Perseus that had taken to the skies. Seeing the other dragon he smirked to himself noting that in height he was larger then him, but in weight he was clearly tiny next to the Salamence. He wasn't worried at all about the other dragon striking seeing as he had a greater speed and was sure he could get out of the way. Heh clearly Perseus had an ego that was for sure. However as he eyed the Salamence another pokemon caught his eye and he dropped down quickly, waiting until he was almost touching the ground until he pulled up a bit. His interest was now fully on the Charizard as his wings beat and he was just high as to where they didn't hit the ground on the down stroke. "Gon!" Voicing his own name as he noticed the two men walking and assumed the Charizard was owned by one of them.

Not far away from them another person was fighting her way through the crowd. Though she hadn't come to the city to listen to Kero speak about the trouble in the Era. She really didn't give a damn since she worked for the duchess and was well taken care of in the shadow lab. The problems of the rest of the era didn't really effect her as much any more. Though she still liked to see who was trying to take power seeing as she was a count of the south and some extreme person might try to get rid of anyone who had power here. Now her attention was turned away from her own thoughts when she saw a guy talking to Kero and then saw her flygon drop out of the sky and almost land on the two men and the Charizard. Swearing under her breath she took up a quick run with a yellow spiked dog pokemon behind her. It took her some time to reach the two men but she finally did and she felt out of breath for a few seconds. As she heard her Flygon speak she broke into Kero's and Devin's conversation rather loudly, "Damn it Perseus knock it off!" She addressed her dragon but also kept a gaze on the Charizard, and was aware that Hades was glaring at the men to make sure they didn't do anything. However Hades already noticed one of them walking away and simply shrugged it off. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/sup]

[Lady Leaf]

This Devin guy, he really was a polite man, wasn’t he? At least that was the impression Kero was getting from him. Though it may be just because he was talking to someone with much more power and wealth than himself. Kero had met people before who acted politely around him and behind his back was a completely different person. Yet for some reason Kero doubted this was the case for Devin.

“It was a pleasure talking to you.” Kero replied though it was far from the truth. The only commoner Kero had ever enjoyed talking to was Alvaro. Alvaro was… well… different somehow. He couldn’t explain why because in all honesty it made no sense what so ever. He had a feeling he would need to learn how to show commoners a bit of respect now that he had started to date Avlaro. After all, Alvaro would most likely flick him for being rude with no real cause.

It had only been seconds after he spoke that the Flygon appeared and addressed Charizard. Flygon’s weren’t common in the area… were they? No, Kero was pretty sure they weren’t. But that didn’t explain why this one was here. It was actually pretty cool looking. Charizard on the other hand seemed less than impressed with the appearance of the dragon pokemon. After the Flygon voiced his name, Charizard simply let out a low growl and narrowed his eyes. He wanted nothing to do the over grown dragon. “Huh…” was all that managed to leave Kero’s mouth before the girl interrupted by yelling at the Flygon. At least that explained why the Flygon was in the city. It wasn’t a wild pokemon. For a short moment Kero’s eyes shifted back to where Devin had been to see if the man was still leaving or not. His gaze didn’t stay on Devin for long before he turned back to the girl and her two pokemon. He had a strong desire to snap at the girl and comment on how it’s rude to interrupt others but he held his tongue.

“It’s ok, he hasn’t caused any harm.” Kero spoke up calmly despite what he really wanted to say. The Charizard simply snorted again before looking way and holding his head up high rather snobbishly.

[Ryder]

JASMINE ROSE

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Perseus didn't flinch when the other pokemon growled at him, but simply flicked his tail which thank to being so low to the ground, actually smacked the ground. Normally he wasn't this hyper but being in the city was making him a little bit on edge. Or perhaps it had to deal with the fact that he thought he deserved to be treated more important then any other pokemon thanks to his scales. Either way it was clear that Jasmine wasn't too happy about this. Though she was stern with her pokemon she cared for them, unless they were simply caught to be shadows.

Hades snorted as he looked at the people around them then at Perseus and the Charizard. "Well I can see those two have something in common. Big egos." He flicked one of his ears to the two large pokemon and gave himself a shake. It was odd to hear pokemon talk, none the less a jolteon.

Jasmine turned to look at Kero when he spoke, "Not yet. But he might, since Perseus tends to enjoy fighting with others around his size or bigger." Like Hades has said it was an ego, and her shiny Flygon had gotten a big one in the last few months. She sighed out word before moving some of her hair that was in her face out of the way. Her blue hair darker then the scales on her flygon and her blue eyes just as deep as her hair. She was a bit caught up in the stress of the chance that Perseus might want to start a fight that she forget that she should introduce herself.


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[Lady Leaf]

Kero almost jumped a bit when he heard the Jolteon use the human tongue. He had defiantly never heard a Jolteon speak English before let along heard any pokemon speak English before. It was true that he heard rumours that pokemon could learn to speak English as they understood the langue well enough but… It was kind of, well, weird. Charizard on the other hand had a completely different reaction. He could care less about the electric pokemon speaking English. Instead he let out a small growl as if to say he didn’t have a big ego. He was just simply better than most pokemon naturally. With that statement he stood himself up rather proudly and opened his wings slightly to show off. As far as he was concerned he was much cooler looking than some shiny scaled Flygon.

“I do need Charizard in one piece to get home tonight.” Kero stated in reply to the girls explanation. It had caused Charizard to look over to Kero with a look of disbelief. He let out a rather defensive growl making Kero laugh a bit in response. “Believe it or not, I have seen you lose a battle before.” Kero responded to his fire pokemon. Charizard simply lifted his head up to the sky again and closed his eyes with a look of disgust and disbelief. The thing was, Kero knew Charizard would have a disadvantage fighting a Flygon. Especially if it was well trained. Fire pokemon just weren’t great against ground types. Not to mention that his fire moves wouldn’t be that effective against a dragon. Charizard did have a few dragon type moves as well but it wasn’t worth the risk of losing. Perhaps if Kero didn’t need Charizard to fly him home he’d be fine with a battle.

[Ryder]

JASMINE ROSE

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Perseus sneered when the fire pokemon stood up taller and opened his wings up. Being the type that took almost anything as a challenge Perseus wings started to beat a little fast kicking up the dirt and sand on the ground. It started to form a small cloud angled at the Charizard. However since this was sand he didn't have complete control over it and it started to form around him as well. But he was far from worried about that the lens over his eyes kept his eyes safe from the dirt.

Hades scoffed when he saw Perseus kick up the sand and narrowed his eyes. To most pokemon it would simply annoy them, but with these two have egos like this he wasn't sure how they would react. His fur bristled a bit in case he was called upon to give a warning to either Perseus or the Charizard to stay away from a fight. And if he was annoyed by the attitude of the Charizard he surely didn't show it. When he heard Kero say that the Charizard had lost a battle before he flicked an ear. "Nothing to be ashamed of. If anything its a good way to learn and get stronger." He offered a small smile to the fire beast.

Jasmine like Hades was aware of Perseus actions and very much annoyed with it. She simply shrugged her shoulders at his first comment and watched how the Charizard reacted. After a little bit of the passed she finally remembered that she hadn't even said her name. "Sorry I forget, the names Jasmine Rose I'm one of the countess of the south."




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[Lady Leaf]

After the Jolteon spoke, Chairzard let out a rather high pitched growl that almost sounded like ‘Yah’. So what if he had lost a battle before. It was due to minor mistakes and he clearly become stronger because of those lost battles. Kero on the other hand simply let out a sigh. It seemed Jolteon’s words, as innocent as they may have been, wasn’t helping with Charizards already over sized ego. Ah well, Kero was use to it. Besides, most of Charizards personality had rubbed off from Kero while they grew up together. Kero also had a rather big ego. He believed he was better than most people in the world. Though his ego wasn’t as large as Charizards. The past few days his ego had taken a beating. First when he had met Nero, who was now one of the people listed on the wanted posters and second with Nathan. Nathan hadn’t hurt him, insulted him or anything of the likes. He just simply stated that Kero was a middle man. Someone who didn’t believe he was strong enough to stand in front and lead but eager enough to try and make a stand. It was Nathan who was wondering just when Kero would finally bring himself to the front. Someday. Someday he would. He just… needed to learn a bit more first.

A count? “Ah, my apologizes,” Kero quickly gave a small bow, setting a hand over his chest in respect to the girl before him. They were of the same rank but she deserved the same respect he would give any noble. “I am Kero Blackthorne, also a Count of the south.” He stood upright again after introducing himself as well. His pale brown eyes seemed to grow a bit more serious than they had been before. “It’s been a long time since I’ve met with any of the other nobles from the south that I’m afraid I didn’t recognize your face.” He had met most of them, or rather their parents, whenever his father had meetings with them. But he had never spoken to any of them. He had always been forced to go about other things while his father had visitors. Now that his was father was gone… Well it was up to him to start putting faces to names.

[Ryder]

[atrb=style,height:500px;width:579px][atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/10z3bsx.jpg,bTable] [scrolly:h(324),w(325),sy,as(margin-top:90px;margin-left:120px;)] Hades sighed out and gave a nod to the large fire pokemon before he noticed that Perseus was gone now. He looked up in the sky to see that the flygon had once again taken to the skies bored with the Charizard now. Well that was a good thing, and Hades felt his fur relax. Jasmine had been a bit startled by the gesture by Kero, but she was able to keep that fact hidden. "Nice to meet you." She chuckled a bit at his last comment, honestly sometimes Jasmine even forgot she was a count. Her life was now in the lab and didn't have much time to go out and meet with other counts. "I wouldn't expect you would. I just came back to the era about a year ago." She didn't mention why she had left or where she had gone, or further more why she came back. Those to her were private and only something the people she worked with could know.

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[Lady Leaf]

Kero paid no attention to the absence of the Flygon. His attention stayed with the girl as she spoke. Charizard noticed the dragon pokemon leave but didn’t say a word. Kero didn’t want him fighting today and so he would respect that. Even if he really, really wanted to show that damn dragon who was boss. Ugh! It was so irritating!

“Ah, about the time I took the title from my father.” Kero replied after she explained that she had only been back in Era for about a year. He really didn’t care why she had left Era or why she was back. Other counts could do what they pleased without him sticking his nose into it as long as he didn’t find them a threat. As for his title… well his father had died around a year ago and he received his title simply due to it being passed down. He still had a lot to learn but he was trying hard and had a lot of plans to fulfill. He would not allow his fathers hard work to crumble even if he didn’t realize just how much Kero had been left in the dark.

“I sincerely hope you’re travels were successful,” He lied giving her a soft smile. “And I also apologize. The streets in the cities here haven’t been getting any cleaner since you’re absence.” She probably didn’t care about that, but it was on his mind. On top of that, he was trying his best to keep his true feelings from this woman. The more allies he gained amongst the nobles the stronger he would become day by day.

[Ryder]

[atrb=style,height:500px;width:579px][atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/10z3bsx.jpg,bTable] [scrolly:h(324),w(325),sy,as(margin-top:90px;margin-left:120px;)] Jasmine simply shrugged her shoulders at his statement about the streets. It was something she never thought about, or cared about. Though she was glad he didn't ask why she had left the region for sometime. She was used to people always asking why, when she didn't want to tell them why and had to make something up. "They were." She blinked and took a glance at Hades before stating, "I don't think the streets will ever really change 100% so don't worry about it."

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[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] Kero hated to admit that but she was right. The streets would never fully change . There would always be crime even if people were watched like hawks. But, “It could be significantly better. We have the highest crime rate of all the regions and I feel it’s time to change that. People deserve to live out their lives without the constant fear of even walking outside.” Yes, he was determined to make a change. To keep others from feeling the pain of losing a parent like he had. Or even the vice versa. He could never imagine the pain it could cause a parent to watch their own child’s life being taken before the parents. It should never happen. [/scrolly] [bg=brown]