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 Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 9:58 am
So he was a gloryhound who made no secret in hiding it. Instead, he embraced it. There's something new Alexa thought as she jotted down a disappointingly low set of notes. "Unofficially, my family wants to stay in Jullien Nostrad's good graces. They won't protect me from a backlash. Wouldn't be the first time. Hasn't stopped me yet." Alexa was very cavalier about that lack of safety net. She finished up her notes and frowned at them.
"So for the record, a very upset source told you where this oil field is. And you believe her. And that's it. Kid, you weren't kidding about the legwork." Alexa massaged her temples and looked at the clock. It wasn't even noon yet. Plenty of time left in the day, and it wasn't like she had anything else important planned. If this was really prank or turned out to be a dead end, well, she'd work out a way to get the time wasted back from Benedict later. "The only way to go forward is to find that oil field."
Off route travel was exceptionally dangerous. It wasn't well tread by trainers, and so not only was navigation difficult but the fauna grew more wild than ever, resulting in powerful Pokémon who didn't like intruders. This wasn't just a photo shoot, this was an expedition. Of course she wasn't going to suggest Benedict go alone. Years of experience gave her an eye for detail. She'd notice the best bits of evidence and how to weave them into a story.
"If you want to go on this hike then I'll go too. I hope you understand the risks, and I'm not just talking about bureaucratic wrath. I'm talking about between route travel. You and your Pokémon have to be ready for anything. If you're game, I can have a small team ready in an hour."
Sazerac gulped at the prospect of the trip. Alexa held out her hand to shake on it. "What do you say?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 3:22 pm
Shalour City - Farmer’s Market
Shalour City was of a modest size, built upon layers of grassy hills and cliffs that led down to a large cove and the seaside. It was windiest at the top, where Sal could feel the salty sea air in her nostrils. From here she could see an island with a single, castle like tower in the north. The Tower of Mastery was a place of study for trainers interested in ancient techniques. At high tide the tower was separated from Shalour by a mile of ocean, but at low tide it was possible to walk there on a sandbar. She had learned all this from a handy Trainer Tips sign.
Route 12 in the east was home to a few ranches and farms, and so once a week the farmers would set up shop for a day in the city to get their products out. Sal figured it was the best way to figure out what kind of food Oberon ate. Turns out, like most other Pokémon, the newly christened Cleffa would eat most things. Currently she sat on Sal’s shoulder, taking awed nibbles of a carrot in one hand and holding onto Sal’s ponytail with the other. Ever since they left the cave Oberon had become quiet, soaking in her environment. She was prone to flinching, but there was something about the way she took caution that didn’t quite seem like fear. Now that she was eating she was wide eyed with joyous surprise at Earth food.
“Are all Cleffas aliens?” Salieri asked Reynard while the three of them strolled through the market. She held up the camera on her Pokégear and posed with a peace sign, taking a selfie with the toddler caught on candid camera. Oberon’s ears quivered at the sound of the snapshot, and Sal sent the photo to Matheson with the caption ‘Newest team member’. “Wait, are all aliens Pokémon?”
[Ohmygod I don’t care,] grumbled Reynard. She had met Clefairys before, and alien or not every members of the family line was the same in one way: they were weird. Not that the meteor’s arrival phased the Vaporeon much. Now that she ate, she just wanted a good battle and maybe a nap.
“…yooo, are all Pokémon aliens? What’s up with that, huh? Think about it, Reynard.”
[I think you think we’re friends now, but we’re not really, so…]
“Cause creation myth says all Pokémom originated from Mew, right? It’s the common ancestor, but what if Mew came from space? How many Pokémon come from space?” Sal became distracted by a picture message from Matheson, a selfie where he looked like his face was melting from cuteness. His caption said ‘Mfw I see babies’.
When Sal looked up, Oberon was done with the whole carrot. Considering it was about her size, the Cleffa seemed full, yet groggily reached out at another stand for more carrots. “No way, little guy, one’s enough.” Salieri took a brand new Pokéball off of her belt and tapped it on Oberon’s forehead. She flinched as was enveloped in the red light. Three shakes and a ding later, Oberon was officially Salieri’s Pokémon.
And as soon as her Pokéball was clipped to Salieri’s belt, Lupin’s Pokéball disappeared.
“The hell?” Sal spun in place to make sure she didn’t just drop Lupin’s ball. Nope, she did not. She counted her party. “One, two, three, four, five…Ivan.” Sal tapped her Pokédex. “Ivan, where’d Lupin go?”
“Beepboop your party is full.”
“I only have five Pokémon.”
“Your party is full.”
Salieri growled and dialed up Gotengo’s PC. No one answered. She was about to all Mia reflexively, then remembered she couldn’t. She was still waiting on that call. “Damnit, Ivan, I’m blaming this on you.”
“As a computer program I am indifferent to your feelings. Will that be all?”
Salieri shut off her Pokédex and looked out at the layers of Shalour City before her. There was no sign of Ska’s ship on the ocean, but she knew that it could hide in the clouds. The easiest way to find it would be to fly up there, but that could take hours and she didn’t want to take on the whole ship by herself. She decided she’d ask around town. What am I gonna do if I fin him, anyway?
That, and she wanted to check out the Gym while she searched for Ska and waited for Mia. It was a Fighting Type Gym, and Salieri could train against the opponents it had to offer before facing off against Korrina herself. In Reflection Cave she noticed Biz Marquis wasn’t used to being a Fighting Type yet. Maybe he could learn a thing or two. “Reynard, let’s get to kung fu fighting.”
Lumiose City – Jaune Plaza Mall
None of the refurbished phones in the little electronics store appealed to Mia, but the good ones were out of her price range. There were affordable phones she could work with, and after some tinkering they’d match their superior successors. She decided not to splurge and picked up something moderate, an original model Pokégear.
Mia palmed it, absentmindedly feeling out its weight. The phone in her hand snapped her back to last, night, when Ratio shattered her phone with a well thrown pencil. The sudden memory of his mask sent a jolt through her, causing her to drop the Pokégear.
Bass the Noibat flew off hr shoulder to pick it up. “Thanks,” she mumbled. A pencil. That was what broke her phone. She wondered, if it was a needle or a knife, would it have been as bad? Sure they were deadlier, but that was just it. Ratio broke her phone with a pencil. What could he do with that sword he carried?
“Stop it,” she whispered to herself. Dwelling on such details was useless. Mia was one to step back and see the big picture. This level of useless focus born out of anxiety was only making her more anxious. Per usual, she didn’t let it show, being the epitome of chill on the outside. But that persona was cracking.
Mia approached the counter. As the clerk rang up the Pokégear, she saw a bin on the counter with cheap puzzles and brain teasers. One of them was a puzzle shapped like a strange cube with square holes. The point seemed to be to slide the smaller cubes that made up the whole structure in a way that opened up the box inside. Mia recognized the shape as a Menger Sponge. “One of those too, please.”
She paid and stepped out into the sleepy mall, the back of her nose assaulted by the smell of cleaning supplies. Mia wanted nothing more than to smoke a spliff and fall asleep in a stupor. It wasn’t going to happen. She was too wound up to just snooze.
Mia looked at the phone in her hand, contemplating calling Salieri like she said she would. Then she thought about calling Moze. Finally she decided to open up the puzzle and get lost in the distraction, fiddling with it on the way to Gotengo.
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Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 11:28 pm
Ben found a smile slipping onto his face. If she was serious, if she could be trusted, she might also be someone he could turn to to connect dots for him in the future. One step at a time, though. A future connection might be good, but for now she was still potentially tricking him.
"I know the risks. I looked them up last night when I had time. If I thought it would be easy, I wouldn't be here." He reached his hand out to take hers and shake it. "Yes. If you're willing to go with me, I'm definitely in."
Of course, that meant he needed to plan for any betrayals. But that was always the risk, and frankly he was already pretty much completely screwed if she betrayed him normally. Betraying him out between routes would mean he was going to die. "I'll meet you in an hour."
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Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 8:14 am
Lumiose Press
Alexa shook his hand. It didn't feel like a trap but it reeked of peril. She hoped this kid wasn't all talk when it came to Pokémon training. "Meet me on Route 14, just outside the gate."
And then she picked up her phone and began to make calls. She wanted someone behind a videocamera, someone to do lighting, another person to pick up sound and as much security as she could find. There were a few freelance trainers that she was used to hiring, trainers who offered their services escorting people or with other tasks for a reasonable fee. The fee still wasn't cheap. Fortunately an ad went up yesterday for one desperate seeming fellow named 'Roy Hunter'. "Sazerac, I'll tell ya, this is not how I planned to spend the afternoon."
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 10:19 am
Route 19 - Grande Vallée Way
The bark splintered away like shrapnel, accompanied by the crack of the tree breaking in half. As it fell, Ecarlate watched the Raichu - Raijin - stare him down. He knew where he'd be headed next, to the Audino off to the side that was healing Helena's defeated Pokemon.
The teen herself was tired, running after the match to keep track of it. Raijin's trainer was no where to be seen, but the Scizor knew he was watching. The early morning dew was no doubt cold, but Ecarlate couldn't feel it. Blast after blast of electricity kept his body between warm and numb.
They had been training like this all night, each of them - even Tyrant - trying to take down the Raichu. The Pokemon has slowed down considerably as the night had gone on, but he was still too much for Helena's team. Too well trained, too used to these harsh environments. Ecarlate was used to it, too, but not to the same extent.
So when the ball of Thunder fired down the massive blast from above, the Scizor managed to fling himself away from it. He was wounded and tired, but not out of the game yet.
Somewhere he could hear Helena's words, like a dull noise. Her voice had originally been loud and clear to him, each order direct and meaningful. She had grown tired as the night had gone on, her voice had grown weaker, but the Scizor could still hear it. He had learned to break it down to intention, as she saw openings, moments when to dodge, moments when to strike. Like how Ecarlate had hidden a Flash Cannon in the light of Thunder.
Ecarlate hid Agility into the next move, as Raijin recovered from the Flash Cannon, and approached the Raijin faster than he'd anticipated. Raijin countered with another blast of electricity, but Ecarlate was faster. He pounded the bullet punches into the Raichu as the blast tore through him, and when the light faded and both trainers could see the results they'd know - Helena had finally won.
***
"Great job!" Grant shouted as he approached Helena, her hands on her knees as she caught a breath she hadn't realized that she'd been holding.
"You're seriously too strong," Helena said.
"Not strong enough, apparently. I was going to call it once your Scizor was defeated, but you managed to take Raijin down with you." Grant recalled the electric mouse and turned toward the teen. "getting badges is going to be difficult, but I think you can do it a lot better now. I can tell - your Pokemon are a lot more in sync with you since this all started."
"Thanks," Helena said, too tired to add anything else. "I should take a nap."
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 11:28 am
Lumiose City – Hotel Richissime
It wasn't Ratio. Jean-Pierre knew this the moment he entered the hotel. The guards had been taken down by an expert, but it was full of wasted movements. Their positions, the state they were all in, it was something else. Torture, purposeful movements done to hurt them - to show them the perpetrators power.
Mostly it didn't feel of Ratio. Jean knew it well, Ratio's Aura. It was like a familiar scent to him, intoxicating and peaceful. Jean-Pierre had called it The Hollow, it's cold, apathetic presence burned fear into people. The more sensitive one was to Aura, the more Ratio's presence could bring fear into their hearts.
The room had the same signs of torture. The door stuck closed, a sticky mess where he was sure Horton had been held before his capture. Coins littered the floor, and the presence of someone else stunk up the room.
"What do you think?" asked one of police officers who had marked off the crime scene. Their investigation had been set aside when Jean had been brought in to investigate.
Jean smiled. "I have a son."
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 4:54 pm
(("That's great but you can't bring your son to a crime scene, sir"))
Shalour Gym
Mental log, day one. I have crash landed on the planet known as 'Earth'. I am surrounded by a myriad of strange species.
Atomicka, warrior princess of the planet Glacknor, held tight to the dead follicles stuck on the head of the talkative meatsack that found her in the cave. The meatsack, designated as 'Salieri' by other earthlings, was her best source of food and shelter on this potentially hazardous planet. The atmosphere is breathable. The gravity is less intense on Earth than Glacknor. I am able to make long jumps here. My cosmic form has been compressed into that of a small pink being. All other species are much larger than me. They do not view me as prey, or as sovereign ruler of all I see, but as an adorable toy. It is excruciating.
Meatsack Salieri had taken them into an area -Shalour City- populated with other meatsacks that looked like her but with caveats. From what she gathered, these meatsacks lived in tandem with 'Pokémon', a seemingly catch all term for any species that wasn't the same kind of meatsack as them. They either owned these Pokémon akin to the slave shmooples of the gas fields of Glacknor, battled with them in mutually accepted watered down gladiatorial matches, or both. This could be a planet of warriors.
Currently, Salieri had taken Atomicka into a large building filled with 'Pokémon Trainers' doing battle with one another. It was home to a system of elevated rails low to the ground on which meatsacks could use shoes with wheel attachments to ride in a fashion quicker than walking. The intersections of these rails were on turnstiles that adjusted to create a smoother flow of travel. At the center of the floor was an elevated platform where a single blonde meatsack stood, presumably to wait for challengers.
One of Salieri's Pokémon, a hulking but clumsy flora and fauna combination dubbed 'Biz Marquis', was trading punches to another hulking Pokémon known as a 'Machoke'. Biz rolled under a backhanded Fire Punch and delivered a Needle Arm uppercut into the jaws of his enemy, knocking the Machoke out cold. [Suck it!] said Biz in a language the meatsacks could not understand as he put a foot on the defeated Machoke and flexed his muscles. Seeing as this pose had been adopted by him everytime he was victorious, it must have been a warrior's tradition.
"Now this is a Gym," said Salieri as she absorbed Biz Marquis into a mysterious red light that broke him down into particles fit for travel inside a small sphere. Sal put a hand up to Atomicka to make sure the Cleffa was still secure. "How are you doin', Oberon?"
Ah yes. Oberon. The name Salieri had decided was fit for a monarch such as herself. The technology here is primitive, the culture even moreso. For now I must play along with the rest of this planet until I can find a way to transmit my plight to the mothership. Until then...I am completely and utterly alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Fi fi!" Oberon chirped to Salieri. Sal took that to mean that everything was a-okay, because that's how she was feeling as well. A Gym that was a skate park? Best Gym ever.
Salieri clicked her rollerblades on as she ground a rail to get across the room. Training against the Gym's trainers was way more fun and efficient than doing horde battles in the wild. Biz was getting more inclined to his new typing but she still wanted to do more training before taking on the Gym leader. And she needed to find Ska too. For every trainer she battled, she asked if they had seen a big ship in the sea or in the air around Kalos. When they said no, she asked if they had seen a roll cloud, something uncommon to the country's skylines. That was how Skarada's ship camouflaged itself. Again, she got nowhere with that.
As she dismounted with a 360, she toppled into the trainer getting off the main platform and both of them fell to the ground. Oberon yelped as she was launched off of Sal's shoulder. "Oberon!" She growled at the other girl. "Hey, watch it!"
The blonde trainer dusted herself off. Her red and white skates matched her skirt, shirt and helmet. She growled right back. "Me? Watch where you're going!"
"My spin was on point, yo! Stuff it!" Sal scooped the spooked Cleffa back onto her shoulder.
"If you weren't so sloppy it would've been clean!"
Salieri put a hand on her bicep and stepped forward. "You here to battle or just to talk smack?"
The girl scoffed. "If you wanna battle me, get in line like everyone else."
Sal finally realized who she was talking to. "So you're Korrina?"
"Yuh-huh. And you must be...Salieri Soledad?"
On instinct, Sal scanned the room. No signs she was being watched, not by a person or Nicolette's liason or a sniper scope. "How do you know my name?"
"I saw you beat Grant on TV with his own waterfall. He'll be crying about that one for a month." Korrina put a hand on her hip. "I thought you'd be more coordinated."
"Right back at you. Yet here we are."
"Here we are." Korrina grinned, bearing a pronounced canine tooth. "Now if you wanna really test your mettle, get on line with the rest of them."
"Ohhhhh it's on. My mettle is metal. I promise you, I will kick your a** today." Salieri flicked her ponytail back into place and mellowed out. "But I'm not gonna rush. I'll be back. Don't close up without me."
"Hmph. Chicken."
"Yeah we'll see about that."
And Salieri skated out to the exit of the Gym so she could get her Pokémon into shape and search for a lead Skarada before actually having a showdown. Korrina watched her leave. "Not bad, not bad."
Shalour Pokémon Center
While Sal waited for her Pokémon to get healed up, she used a PC to check for sighting of Ska's ship or the roll clouds it would hide in. The constant meteor showers took up much of the weather feeds. No sign of roll clouds or the ship. Either Skarada was hiding it under water or much farther off the coast of Kalos. Or somewhere else entirely.
So I'm going nowhere fast. Salieri didn't know how to find Skarada's ship. The best thing to do would be to talk to Mia, but Mia was still M.I.A. Heh, how have I never thought of that one before? And then she deflated when she thought about their last talk. Mia without a phone was like Mia without oxygen. It just didn't work.
Then she remembered she had spent a better part of last night sucking face with a guy who was a professional tracker. "Oh duh." She called up Math.
"Hey."
"Hi." Salieri instantly couldn't help smiling as she paced into an empty hallway. "How's the arm?"
"Still attached to the rest of me. The doctor said I should take it easy and they wanna keep me to make sure everything's cool. I am so stir crazy right now urrrrraggggh how are you?"
Now that she thought about it, she was still aching from yesterday. Sal was lucky to get away with not breaking anything. "I'm okay. Hey, when you get out, can you do me a favor?"
"Is it another favor where I have to stitch you up?"
"Mmm no, BUT I wouldn't be opposed to getting stitched up," she whispered in her best sexy voice.
"Haha, uh what?"
Her face flushed red. "I was trying to be...nevermind, no, no booboo's. I need help tracking somebody."
"Tracking who now?"
"He's a, uh, pirate. The pirate king, kind of."
Salieri was unaware of how big of a pirate fan Matheson was, because the exclamation he made was so loud that Sal had to take the phone away from her ear. She gave it a few seconds, then brought it close. "-OHHHHHHHHHHH DAMN A REAL PIRATE ARE YOU SERIOUUUUUUUS?"
"Math, my ears," Sal protested, chuckling. "You're going to kill me."
"Sorry sorry, but pirates. ********. Pirates. That's awesome. Why are you looking for pirates? Is this a treasure thing? Should I wear my hat?"
"It's a long story. You'll see. Can I meet you later?"
"Yeah, I'll call you when I get out of this place."
"Okay, I'll be in Shalour City." Before she said goodbye, she had to ask: "What hat are you talking about?"
"It's a long story. You'll see."
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 5:37 pm
Snowbelle City
Helena felt loads better after a shower and two cups of coffee. She sipped her third as she watched the snowfall from the window. It wasn't the season for it, but Grant had told her that the city was in a perpetually frozen state courtesy of the local gym.
"You ready to head out?" Grant asked. She hadn't slept yet, but that was fine. There was too much on her mind for it.
"She's probably going to want to fight," Helena said.
"That's fine, that's what you want, isn't it?" Grant asked as he poured himself some coffee.
Their room was in a hotel, bought for later that night, but for now it was just a place to shower and get ready for the day to come. Helena enjoyed the freedom that Grant had brought her. One of the first things they had done was take Loki around to the different cities, giving her the freedom to teleport to any one of them without traversing the routes. Zack, she thought, would be disappointed but she found the similarity between them. Both of the Redgrave siblings had a habit of forcing the world to work the way they wanted it to. For an introvert like Helena, that meant finding a way around having to be outdoorsy and in the wild.
"I mean like, with her fists."
"I don't think you'd entirely hate that, either," Grant said and Helena frowned at him.
"I'm not a fighter. Besides, she'd kick my butt. But yes, I'm ready."
"Alright, make the call," Grant said as he sat down on one of the two beds and turned the television on, watching the local Kalosian news.
Helena picked her phone up from the night stand and called Salieri.
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 5:42 pm
Without checking the caller ID, Salieri hastily picked up the phone. "Mia?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 5:43 pm
"I don't know who that is, it's Helena. Can we talk?" Helena anxiously looked at Grant who gave her a thumbs up and looked back to the television.
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 6:09 pm
Excitement rapidly turned to irritation. "Oh." Salieri rolled her eyes and sat on a couch in the lobby. "So? Talk."
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 6:13 pm
Helena sighed.
"Keep going," Grant said, his words meant to be an encouragement, but he was more into the television.
"I'm going to win the Pokemon League. I don't want to put my life on the line, and I have no idea what to do about Ratio, but I'm learning to defend myself, so that I can survive to make it to the tournament and win it. I figure you want at least somebody to, and in that case, I'm your girl." Helena's face was red and flustered. It was a humiliating process, but she had practiced the speech over and over again, to make it sound as civil as possible.
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 6:37 pm
"Uh. Okay..." That was not what Salieri expected. She thought she was going to get chewed out, in which case she was going to hang up the phone. "Soooo what you're saying is now you want to stick around. You don't want to kill me anymore, right?" She checked her nails. "Cause you wouldn't be the first to try. It doesn't really work on me."
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 6:39 pm
"My threat still stands. If my brother dies, I'm coming after you. I'm trusting you with him, only because he actually listens to you or he wouldn't be following this stupid conspiracy crap."
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 7:04 pm
Salieri tried not to laugh at that. It was difficult but she managed. Helena seemed earnest but Sal still didn't buy her as someone to worry about, whether it was as a threat to her life or her trainer career. "Suuuure Helena. Here's the thing, I'm kind of deep into my own stuff but everyone wants to join me. Zack is going to make his own decisions, trust me, from one sister to another. Kill me if you gotta but I'm no one's babysitter, just remember that and we're cool," she said as a Nurse popped in to tell her that her baby Cleffa's checkup went well. Sal gave her a thumbs up and curled her legs up on the couch.
"So you think you can be champ?" Sal's toes tapped the leather. She was getting giddy at her own proposal. "Then that means Loki is ready to battle Durendal, if you catch my drift."
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