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Unmindful of the others, Gardenia produced a small set of keys out of her pocket and approached the large circular building. "It's been a while since I used the back gates," she said wonderingly. Pulling back a wall of vines out of the way, a set of large, metallic doors revealed themselves, into which, Gardenia twisted a key into. It clicked open and she grunted as she pulled the heavy doors back. They creaked with an echoing, rusty moan, and the gym leader hurriedly ushered the group of Pokémon and the sleeping nurse inside. They quickly entered and upon closing the door and locking it again, the place looked eerily quiet and dark. Somewhere off in the dimness, Gardenia clapped her hands twice.

Instantly, the place became alit as overhead lights flickered on. And immediately, the group could've sworn they were back outside again. The building was collosal. The entire first floor seemed to be a thick woodland, with immense trees sprouting all the way up to a branching canopy that seemed to continue on and thicken further into the building. Though the floor felt solid and concrete, it was littered with leaves and a furry coat of soft grass. But what was most impressive, was that upon Gardenia's clapping, the whole ceiling mechanically split open and withdrew to allow natural sunlight to come flooding in through another ceiling of glass. As the gym's systems came online, more lights turned on and it was also noted that many lanterns dangling from the tree branches flickered to life. Even an artificial waterfall at the other end of the gym sputtered to life.

Gardenia smiled as she continued on, keeping close to the wall, and not entering the middle section of the immense building. "This gym is actually a giant greenhouse," she explained. "The woods section is meant to confuse trainers, though the lanterns eventually guide them to the center of the arena, where I wait in a clearing to battle with them. But that's not where we're going, unless some of you want to." She looked back and saw the group engrossed with the interior. Proudly, she walked on. "There's a resting room upstairs, but if some of you prefer to retire out here -- or rather, in here (she giggled), feel free to. I'm honored enough such renown legendaries would visit Eterna City, much less seek to crash in my gym."

Gardenia gestured for at least the Latias carrying a sleeping Kyrene to follow her as she approach a metal staircase against the wall that led up to the second floor, which appeared nothing more than a long piece of railing that hugged the entire interior of the building before stretching out into a scaffold that overlooked the entire arena. Here, everyone could clearly see the field Gardenia spoke of in the center of the gym where she did her battles. It was spacious, brightly-lit, and... green. Very green.

It was a long flight, but upon reaching the top, Gardenia led the group to a single door in the wall marked "Resting Room." Pulling out her ring of keys again, she unlocked it and held the door open as she flicked on the lights. Inside was a modest company of a large desk, bed, and closet. Surprisingly, this was the only room that wasn't furnished with exceeding grass-type themes. It looked comfortingly homely and looked as if it hadn't been used in a long time.

"I do hope it's satisfactory," Gardenia said, a hint of worry in her voice.

[I know I'm bad with descriptions. So here's another picture of the layout I envisioned to be Gardenia's gym. Note that I have no idea if it actually looks like this. I just made it up.]

OoC||
I hope it's alright if Thomas grows a little during the night, like he grows to full size. It's mainly to give me soemthing to type since my muse is running low at the moment. D:


Thomas waited patiently as Kyrene slid off his back and stoos unstable on the earth. He had asked her what their main objective was now that they had finally reached the city, and he watched as she fought with herself to stay on two feet. She rose a heavy hand before she began to reply.

"Now, now... I go to sleep."

He watched as she collapsed onto the sodden earth. He didn't recall hearing her wince in pain, so he figured she must have passed out before hitting the ground. The young legendary shook his head with a light smirk before he moved closer to her cautiously and sheilded her from the dwindling rain and weakening winds with an extended wing. In the few moments of silence, Thomas looked around for any signs of life that they all could benefit from, but to his disappointment there wasn't anyone wondering about the outside fo the city. The thought of risking his safety by going into the city to look for help was beyond him and he dismissed any second thoughts about it. When it deemed useless in continuing to keep look-out, Thomas lay his lazy gaze back down on Kyrene as she slept.

"Well, if I ever did live to see the day!!"

Thomas flinched violently when the spontaneous voice rang about the quiet group and his dark aburn optics locked on an unfamiliar face. He stared blankly at her, debating if he should scoop up the young nurse and flee or stand and ward the newcomer off. She was bold to stride up to the group of Pokemon without anyone to protect her, whether the group just decided to grow extremely defensive, and the young Lugia instinctively tensed.

"Wooow, a legendary!! Two of them. Oh, this is so cool!!"

He was confused; why wasn't this trainer reacting like all the others? Did she already posess a legendary and just refuse to collect more? Or was she the type to leave rare Pokemon alone? Whatever the case, Thomas refused to let his guard down. His eyes matched her every movement, and in whichever direction this human bounced to, the young Lugia would turn his head in order to keep a watchful eye on her. It was nothing against the girl personally, it was just instinct.

"Welcome to Eterna City, I'm Gardenia, the grass-type gym leader of this town. And... Kyrene?"

Oh, so she wasn't a trainer. Thomas mentally sighed with relief when this human, now known as Gardenia, introduced herself. It provided closure for his thoughts that he could possibly lead them to a trap of some sort, but judging by her bubbly personality and how embarassed she looked when she seemd to be too uppity, she seemed as though she wouldn't harm a fly. It wasn't until Gardenia noticed Kyrene on the ground curled in a tight ball that Thomas thought she couldn't be any louder. The gym leader burst in hysteria after staring down at the young nurse. After straightening herself up and rubbing teh tears from her eyes, Gardenia explained why the city looked so lifeless. Upon hearing about the gym and concerning the lack of trainers sparked interest in the young Lugia, and he listened intently when she invited the group to follow. She had pointed to a dome-like structure just a few meters away, and judging by the size from the distance they were currently from it, it was huge. Just as they were about to make their way to the gym, Thomas stopped when he heard Bayblade volunteer to take the male Pikachu to a Pokemon Center. The young legendary couldn only nod before the Septile darted off in another direction. He waited until Gemini picked up Kyrene and the others to gather before he followed.


Gardenia lead them all to the back of the gym, which had been covered in greenery. She made quick work of ripping the vines from the doors before opening them and genstuing for everyone to go inside. Thomas made sure he was the last to enter the building, before Gardenia of course, before looking anxiously around the dark building. Suddenly, the emptiness was drowned with two rapid claps, and in that moment the inside of the gym exploded with light. He was astonished to see the interior of such a large building, such greenery! There were so many things to look at, but what caught his attention first was the clearing in which was marked with white lines. 'This must be where humans fight their Pokemon.' He told himself before his attention was stolen, once again, by the gym leader.

She explained everythign their was to know about her gym, and most of what she had to say answered most of the young legendary's questions. When she was finished speaking, and after she asked Gemini to bring Kyrene to the second floor room, Thomas broke from the group and decided to wonder around. He walked casually through the thickest section of the forested area before he found himself by the makeshift waterfall. The sound of running water soothed him, and slowly he lowered himself into the large pool below the crashing water and plunged into its depths, or as far down as it was made. This, he figured, would be the best place for him to catch up on his sleep and restore his energy.

[Ode to noes!! D: Pecario, we NEEEED you!!]

Gardenia's cheery countenance was spoiled at the Riolu's mental projection. The corners of her mouth upturned and she held a hand to the side of her head while taking a few troubled steps back. "I..." she started, but she suddenly lost her words. Shaking her head, she started over. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, "but I wouldn't know the first thing about this virus. Or how to stop it." She turned her head at the sleeping nurse. "If anyone here can do something about it, it's probably Kyrene. She's a very intelligent person. I'm only sure that in time, she'll find the answer." Turning back to the small Riolu, she continued. "In the mean time, you and the others had best get some rest. I don't know what you've all been through, but I can tell it's been a hard day for everyone. Just set Kyrene down on the bed there... as for myself, I'm going to do a little more digging on the matter. My place is here, but I'll try to help in what ways I can."

As she spoke, she was heading towards the door, but as she was about to exit, she turned around with her hand still on the doorknob. "I already know it won't do me much good to tell you not to pursue such a dangerous matter... so I'll just leave it where I tell you all to be extremely careful. As vile as this disease and the people who created it is, I bet the extent of its true power remains undiscovered. And hopefully, it'll stay that way. I just hope you all know what you're getting yourselves -- and me -- into."

She left the group of Pokémon to ponder her words as she softly shut the door behind her and walked quietly away.

Gardenia was glad that one of her best friends and a few renown legendaries were taking shelter in her gym. Her mind was still sort of stunned from the surprise of how abruptly this came her way. It was the last thing she suspected. Despite her usual cheery persona, her countenance changed to one of troubled doubt as she made her way through the folliage of her gym. Her face was upturned in a serious frown as she passed the artificial waterfall, wherein she knew the young Lugia decided to retire. And yet the water looked so still, no one would hardly guess there was a Pokémon inside.

Treading quietly, she passed the waterfall and continued onto the main entrance of her gym. Since it was locked from the inside, she had no trouble pushing the doors open and stepping out into the now bright sunlight.

Shielding her eyes for a moment, it was one of the rare instances a bright day was not enough to alleviate her worries. What was all of this about a Pokémon virus that caused them to turn against their trainers? What sort of group would have no shame in manipulating them for their own uses? Thinking back, now that she thought about it, she DID hear a few reports about such things happening. She just brushed them off... being the first gym leader, she was accustomed to hearing the far-fetched stories of overzealous beginning trainers.

Onward she walked. Kyrene wasn't the best trainer, she'll admit, but when she was onto some new medical lead or had a difficult problem to solve, she was adamant on finding an answer. Gardenia admired her determination. She was also one of the most rational people she knew. If she believed this was such a big problem, then it was time to take take the matter more seriously. Before she knew it, the sliding doors to the local Pokémon Center hissed open, and she emptily walked in, paying no heed to a chirping trainer to the side with his Wortortle that boasting about having taken on a Sceptile and won.

There was a line of trainers waiting to get their Pokémon healed, but she cut to the front and walked right up the desk, where a pink-haired nurse was busy taking in Heal Forms. She looked up and instantly recognized the gym leader. "Gardenia!! What can I do for you?"

"Hello, Joy. I'm gonna need to borrow some equipment."

The nurse's face slightly scrunched into an expression of confusion, but knowing Gardenia, she nodded and gestured towards the back.

"Thank you."

Gardenia had a large box in her arms, which she shifted around uncomfortably when a really random Ninetales came bounding up to her from behind. Slightly bemused, she looked down at it over the rim of her cargo. "Ohh... hello there," she said, stiffing a puzzled tone. Had the Pokémon been a grass-type, perhaps she'd have been a little more excited. Despite the fact that wild Ninetales were an uncommon sight around these parts, she had to remind herself that there were two legendaries currently retired in her gym. She stopped for a moment, then looked around, trying to identify any trainers that might want to claim the Ninetales.

"I'm sorry," she finally said down to it. "But I'm currently in the middle of something very important. I need to get these supplies back as soon as possible."

Even though it was a fire-type, Gardenia felt a small wave of guilt sweep over her as she entered her gym with the Ninetales outside. It was odd, having all these Pokémon suddenly attracted to her. Since Kyrene's arrival, everything just seemed so out of place.

It had been a couple hours since Gardenia left Kyrene alone in the room while she went off to gather some equipment for her; by the time she had entered the resting room again, Kyrene stirred and slowly began to come back to her senses. "Well look who woke up," Gardenia chuckled as she placed the large box on a nearby desk.

"W-What's that?" Kyrene asked, rubbing groggily at her eyes.

"Equipment. Pokémon Centers are a little of a hotspot for attention. If you had to leave your other town, it's likely any officials will be trying to look for you here. So I brought you a few things to help you look more into that Pokémon virus you're no doubt here about."

"What!" Kyrene was instantly awake. "How did you know about that?"

Gardenia laughed. "Don't worry. The Pokémon told me... Miki, I think it was. The Riolu. Anyway, you ought to freshen up a little before you begin work. I can have the gym closed down for the rest of the day while we both do a little more digging. Nothing's sure to disturb you."

Kyrene blinked as Gardenia began to walk out. "Thank you," she said.

"Hey, anyone who can work against some creep developing this new virus against Pokémon has MY support. Now you clean up a little and get to work. I'll be in town, trying to get more answers." And with that, she shut the door, leaving Kyrene alone yet again to set up her temporary base of operations.

There was much work to be done, indeed.

OOC;;
Yall can skip my turn again if yall want, I can't muster up a good post at the moment. D: I'll jump back in when I have more to reply to~

And once everyone sees this message, Dr. Rex can delete it (if you're able to). ;D

So, bump c: