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 Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 7:51 pm
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Mission Text Micromission: Interview the People of Agate VillageI've come across an odd rumor in the Orre region. Something involving an outbreak of Shadow Pokemon a long time ago there, and something involving it being solved due to the help of a small hermit-esque place known as Agate village. There was nothing else other than rumors or vague wikipedia-esque legends talking about the event that I could find in public record. Go there and find out what you can find out, and come back to tell me about it. Objective: Interview the people of Agate Village. (As many as you can, though the elder of the town might be a good place to start. He is OLD though and will probably tough to talk to.) Adversaries: I doubt the people there are going to take too kindly to you snooping around their town, so you may run into some rough customers wanting to take you out. You can snag one Grass-type stage-one or stage-two available at your rank. They like Grass-types in Agate. Rewards Gained: 2 Snag Coins, 1 Hyper Potion
It hadn't been long after the events in Littleroot Town that Sol, as a matter of circumstance, explained things to Aden and Amaranth. It hadn't been the most pleasant of conversations either, at least not in any sort of recent memory he could recall. And that was with recalling some of his various odd events that happened in the past. It was hard to forget having a journey within his and his Pokemon's minds thanks to Unown, or to be sent into the past because a Celebi was really desperate for help towards a rather well-known trainer in Johto. It left him more than a little worried about his Pokemon too, especially if he ran into the kind of stuff his dad and the Mew he called an older sister did earlier.
Even now, the conversation rang through in his head. He had been in the HQ's kitchen, figuring he could find something to eat without somehow having the food come to life and challenge him to a battle to the death, leading to an epic struggle just to make a sandwich. Thankfully, it hadn't come to such a war of blood and ketchup stains, but his efforts would be put on hold when Sol came in and spoke up to get his attention.
"There you are. I had wondered if maybe the HQ suddenly had trap doors installed and monitored by GRAY," Sol had said shortly after his entrance, nearly causing Aden to hit his head on the refridgerator.
Luckily, he hadn't and instead backed up to close its door. "Uh huh, yeah, very funny," he replied, hardly amused at the comment, "Is something going on?"
"You... might say that. It's sort of a long story."
The two had sat down before a lengthy explanation followed, Sol being as thorough as he could about what happened. The sudden alerts about rent due, the job that most everyone was thrust into without much choice except to head there, and what sounded like a relatively easy job involving fieldwork turning into a discovery of something that could be a precursor to really bad things. A form of shadowification that spat in the face of the supposed information that existed prior, one that could spread... and quickly did just that.
"Oh great, it's like Christmas and my birthday rolled into one... if everything was handled by Claire or something."
"I've a feeling that would be a blessing by comparison."
"Don't tell me everyone sent out every Pokemon they had just to fight one enemy." It seemed that even Aden knew of the fabled Snagem Special.
"For once, no, everyone only sent out what was needed for the task at hand... though, not without soon learning the infection spread to them in short order. Birch told us that it wouldn't fully take hold until a day or two after the first signs, but it means using the Pokemon that were will prove dangerous. Yet, they may be our only immediate defense."
"...how many, exactly...?" Suddenly, Aden seemed a little apprehensive. Even the sheer multitude of oddities he had run into couldn't prepare him for something like this. At least the oddities weren't all bad.
"At the very least, one or two Pokemon from each one that was there. Reno's Volcarona and Cloyster and my Charizard, for starters. Darts' Empoleon, and a few others. A lot of the events happened fairly fast. That said, Cera was also caught up in the same stuff as we were."
At that moment, he went pale. He had some idea of the kind of power she could wield when she wasn't holding back, having had a crash course in it once. He hadn't been around for anything involving the Zhelat Comet, but if his father's recollection gave any indications, it quickly spelled out that this could get ugly in no time.
Sol waited a moment before he spoke again. "Oddly, she hasn't exhibited the same unruliness that we began to see before our return here, but that's sure to change at a moment's notice. When it reaches that point, her Master Ball's being kept alongside the team Claydol GRAY can summon. A prompt request should allow him to recall her into it, at which point she can be kept inside for her safety as well as ours."
"I'll just hope she doesn't decide to use GRAY for target practice, thanks."
"I'll have to let Amaranth know about all of this too, but in the meantime, there may be something you can do that should help us out. If you'll look on your SNAG, there should be a request concerning a rumor related to all of these events. They want someone to come to Agate Village and find out everything they can on the subject or, failing that, any information they can unearth. I figure if anyone would be suited, it'd be either of us or Cera, but Cera's a risk and someone has to be able to deal with that at any moment."
"Lemme guess, someone from the village that has an in, right?"
"Exactly. It'll be the best way for us to receive any information we can. They should be more willing to talk with someone they know rather than a random someone attempting to do the same. Elder aside, that is."
"He was hard to talk to even when I was a kid."
"Regardless, if you can do that, it should prove helpful. The sooner, the better. That said, be careful. If only for the... apparent family magnetism. Apart from our own Pokemon, whatever's causing this shadowification seems to be limited to Hoenn. I'd like to think there should be no worry about anything of the sort in Orre, but in the event anything like it shows up, you may have to make a tough choice."
"Right, right..." Aden wasn't liking the sound of any of this, but at the same time, the idea of getting out of the HQ for a bit sounded like a good idea. It was nice having a place to fall back on again, but staying still in one place still wasn't exactly his style. "I'll go. If I find anything out, I'll relay it as soon as I can. Maybe it won't lead to anything too weird."
"Can't be any worse than anything you've told me about."
"I- do you have any idea of the kind of stuff I've ran into!?"
"Yes, and that's why I can say it can't be any worse."
"It'll find a way..." Aden muttered, leaving the kitchen at once if only so he could have a chance to prepare. At this point, he had practically nothing in the way of items unlike his gym circuit in Johto, but he wasn't opposed to traveling light. Before he could get out of earshot, though, Sol would speak up one last time.
"Oh, and upon your return, there's something that should be addressed. You can worry about it later."
"...yay..."
He gave out a sigh, still hoping Sol hadn't heard that comment under his breath back there. He really had no easy way to travel from region to region, or even from town to town. He was used to often going on foot or, after some time, riding on Arcanine's back. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't sure if an Arcanine was fast enough to run on top of the water. If not, it was going to mean a hasty recall and removal of heavy clothing before finding the nearest port to hitch a ride at. Still, he was holding on for dear life as that very Arcanine was running at full speed. Maybe past that. He wasn't sure, and he wasn't about to question what Extreme Speed was truly capable of outside a battle.
All he knew was that he had made it a point to leave as soon as he could, and to get to Agate as fast as he could manage. But he was sorely wishing he had thought about getting a Pokemon that could fly sometime before now, if only to avoid windblown hair of the worst kind apart from flying and getting a crash course in physics... or maybe how physics failed to make sense as of now. He wasn't so sure of it at first, but the dex entries about Arcanine's speed weren't unfounded; the speed was barely enough to allow the dog Pokemon to run along the waves, probably making more than a few riding a ship turn heads in disbelief.
The ride could've been worse, he wagered as he arrived, but his dismount could use work. Instead of coming off his Arcanine's back, he slowly peeled and rolled off, hitting the ground with a light thud and nearly ending up in the water that ran through most of the village.
It was all enough to get the attention of someone just walking by, thinking they could make a quick trip to the mart to run an errand. Instead, they saw an Arcanine sitting and panting while some guy laying facefirst on the ground and wondering if he just died from a trip to hell. He at least had the common sense to check the odd hybrid, though for some reason, feared that maybe touching Aden would give him some kind of weird Poke-herps, so he hunted down a stick first and poked him with it instead.
Aden would soon look up, then push himself up with a groan. Already, he looked like he had seen arguably better days. Weirder days, but better days nonetheless. "You must be new here," he muttered, gauging the confused face of the person before him. He didn't look like anyone Aden would've known, at least. Probably someone that hung out around the port normally; Orre's people were known for being a little rough, but he didn't look as rough as anyone from Pyrite Town might.
"Tch, at least I don't look like something the Skitty dragged out of the trash," he remarked, poking again with the stick.
"Poke me again, and I snap the twig."
"Jeez, a real blast at parties, aren’t ya? Can you at least stand? I’m kinda busy."
"Give me a minute…"
It took a bit of effort, what with Aden feeling more than a little wiped from such a long and windy trip, but he managed to slowly get to his feet. Even if his hair was horribly windblown and he looked to be suffering from worse jet lag than any plane ride might’ve given. He had to speak up to get the guy that poked him to stop.
"Wait, before you go, are you from here?"
"What? No! I got here from Phenac. Wanted to get something if they still had it. Gonna meet someone," he replied before going on his way, muttering something about the pink-haired, winged freak as he gradually got out of earshot.
"Okay then… guess I was wrong entirely."
Already chalking up that one as a wash, he finally recalled Arcanine and decided he might still have the best luck bringing up the task at hand with the elder. Assuming he could manage to get anything out of him. But for now, he made his way to the huge tree that the elder long since made his home… after spending a while sitting on a bridge to rest and take in the sights. It had been a long time since he had gotten to be around here; last time he had been was right before all of that trouble with the Rangers, where showing his face might’ve gotten him caught all over again. Then there was the gym circuit in Johto, all of the unusual events within, and his own travels following it… it was a little odd coming back home after so long, and only long enough to do a little recon work at that. Maybe he’d have time to at least look around before he left, see what’s changed around here. He let another moment pass before he stood up again. He wasn’t far from the elder’s house, and it didn’t take him long to get there, gently knocking on the door and hoping the elder was available.
A few knocks. No response. A few more knocks. Still nothing. "Hellooooo?" A few more knocks after that, these ones harder and louder. At the very least, he knew the village largely remained the same when it came to how most preferred to live. The most technology was still limited to the Pokemon Center and what little bit the mart needed to get by. Still no apparent response, however, until a moment later when Aden thought he could hear footsteps. Or maybe it was the slight twinge of electrical chi. The doorknob suddenly turned before he had time to think any further, the door creaking as it slowly opened.
Before him was an elderly man, looking spritely as ever and still in the purple and green robe he was always known for. Even as a kid, Aden couldn’t recall the elder wearing anything different much. It was a little bit of an intimidating sight, but yet there was that hint of softness like a kind grandfather. The Pikachu that soon joined the elder at his ankles, though, looked like he had seen arguably better days and far past any sort of fighting prime.
"E-elder Eagun." Despite the fact that there was nothing to worry about, coming to the elder still wasn’t something he did much. And not because of any intimidation that came from it…
"Oh, if it isn't young Aden! What brings you here, sprout? But I suppose I can't call you a sprout anymore, can I?" The laugh that followed was enough to tell Aden that Eagun still remembered him. Then again, being the elder, knowing everyone was probably a really good idea.
"Oh good, maybe he doesn't remember that one incident when I was five and the whole village was gathered to celebrate at his house..." Aden thought to himself, hoping to never have that incident brought up again. He decided not to try and tempt fate by just speaking up. "I guess not... are you busy, elder? There's something I need to ask, and I don't think anyone else here will know a lot."
"Oh! Of course, come on in! I’ll have Beluh get the tea-“
“No no, that isn’t necessary at a-“
“But I insist. Stay a while. Surely you’re not busy enough to have to rush yourself.”
”That’s what I was afraid of…” Then again, maybe the old man DID remember and this was to be his punishment. A punishment that had some eighteen years coming. He had come here for recon. Now, he was going to wish he had come here with friends or something, but it was too late for that now and he couldn’t challenge what was said without at least disappointing the very person that might hold the key to what he was tasked with finding out.
He had no choice but to try and endure it, he guessed. “A-alright. Thanks,” he finally replied, keeping his tone as normal as possible to hide how his day seemed to be going. Walking inside without any further hesitation, he could tell even the inside of the house was just as frozen in time as the outside, let alone Eagun who he had trouble keeping pace with.
It was still a simple house, a couple of rooms being easily apparent as well as the stairway nearby leading up to the second floor. It was almost like he had stepped back into his childhood with how little everything changed; the most technology to exist In the house was still a single television with the regional news channel kept on, and a P*DA on the coffee table that could’ve been mistaken for new. Aden was led to the couch, Eagun’s Pikachu curling up to the side of it.
“Now then,” Eagun started as he sat in an isolated chair, “What do you want to know? What’s been going on for you?”
“I should probably just get to the point…”
“Nonsense! We’ve got time.”
“No, really, if I told you everything that’s gone on, we’ll be here a week-“
“Aden.” Eagun’s more serious tone was enough to demand his attention. “I know you’ve been a difficult child in the past, if not an adventurous one. But I figured your father or late mother would’ve taught you a little patience.”
“They didn’t- I mean, I didn’t…” Aden let out a small sigh, knowing he had just barked up the wrong tree without meaning to. “Sorry. I wasn’t meaning any disrespect.”
The silence that followed between the two seemed like it went on for an eternity, even as Beluh came into the room and set a tray down on the coffee table. Apparently, she had decided to get something ready for their guest, pouring herself a cup of tea and sitting on the side opposite to Aden on the couch while she let the drink cool. Then, all of a sudden, Eagun laughed.
“It’s not a problem, not any problem at all! Why, if you saw me when I was your age, I’d go right into the heart of Pyrite Town and battle every trainer there before going to their local Colosseum, and be rushing all the while. Up until the missus here finally got me to slow down a little.” Another laugh followed.
“You barely slowed down even then," Beluh added, before taking a cautious sip. A warm smile remained on her, but she seemed to be more interested in hearing where this conversation was going.
"Hey now, I did slow down that one time through the desert... you remember that one, don't you?"
Already, Aden had a bad feeling that this was actually going to take a lot longer than he expected. Especially if this was going to lead to one of Eagun's "famous" stories. To most, they were famous because of the legacy that the elder had managed to create both as a person and as a Pokemon Trainer. To Aden, they were "famous" because it meant it was going to be longwinded and chances are it'd be dark before he could even leave, meaning he wouldn't be able to ask anyone else for information in the village. "Uh..."
Unfortunately for him, Eagun started without a second thought, and it was a while before Aden even had a chance to get a word in edgewise. Specifically, when Eagun had finally finished some half hour later. And he was about to lead off into another one when the hybrid finally spoke up to try and salvage at least some part of this whole thing.
"Look, elder, before you start, maybe we could handle the task at hand? Yanno, what I came to ask you about. Please?"
"O-oh, my apologies. Please, go on."
“Right… do you know anything about Shadow Pokemon?”
What followed next was an awkward silence, Eagun having a surprised look on his face for a moment as he tried to recollect himself from a question like that popping up. The elder took that same moment to try and think of how to explain this, let alone how Aden would know anything like that or why he’d ask all of a sudden.
“How did you learn of that?” He finally asked after some time.
“I only just did, really,” Aden answered, “Dad, sis and some others were caught up in a big mess over in Hoenn. He was telling me how Birch had discovered something like the old rumors about Shadow Pokemon, but it’s… not so artificial anymore.”
“…go on.”
“Anyway, several of their Pokemon were caught up in it, including Dad’s Charizard and sis. In fact, he’s the one that asked me to come here. He said there were rumors around here about the subject.”
“Well… he is right. We’ve had an incident like it before, long ago. Before he had even come to the village.”
“Really? Can you tell me what you know about it?”
Eagun lowered his head ever so slightly as he begun. He was liable to be longwinded again, but this time for a reason more relevant to Aden.
“We had this young man come into the village once. A few years younger than you are now. He came in with our granddaughter and told us about what was going on. Unfortunately, I got a view of it myself. This one person had a Hitmontop, supposedly having an aura much like the other Pokemon those two encountered. I was defeated with ease, the age of my Pokemon starting to show. But, the shrine in the forest reacted to its presence, as if it knew of the Pokemon’s past before befalling such a horrible fate.”
“You mean that weird stone over in the Relic Forest, right?”
A nod followed. “I hear there’s a similar, but wooden shrine in Johto. But back to the story. With the forest’s shrine and an… unusual ability for the Pokemon’s aura to be seen, the two were able to eventually abate the threat and drive it away. That lasted for five years, until the incident tried to start again, though an even younger boy with a piece of technology that could see the auras for him had seen to it to eliminate it for good. Or, so we hoped if there’s something like it in Hoenn now.”
“It seems different, though. The affected Pokemon apparently don’t have an aura at all, and it isn’t isolated to whichever one has their heart closed. The way Dad made it sound, it’s like a virus that does the same thing but is harder to notice.”
“There’s still a root, isn’t there?”
“I guess…”
“Then this village may be of use again. If a chance shows, perhaps someone with a Pokemon affected by this can come to the village.”
“I guess I could tell Dad and the rest that…”
“Just mind the other villagers. Tell them to see me first. Otherwise, they might get one of the younger ones riled up. I wouldn’t bother asking anyone else either. There’s still others that know of the events I mentioned, but we chose not to bring it up. You understand.”
“R-right. Are you sure that’s all you know?”
“I’m afraid it is.”
A moment passed before Aden stood up, bowing his head out of respect… and getting a laugh in response.
“You don’t have to be so formal!” He said before looking to Aden. “You never were when you were barely coming up to your parents’ waists.”
The hybrid feeling a little embarrassed with himself now, he nodded and turned his head towards the door. “Still was taught better than that. Thanks, elder. I’ll let them know what you said, see if it helps at all.”
“And you should come more yourself. Even with everything that odd Pokemon talked about, they would have to come through us to get to anyone they wanted.”
“I… I will.”
Genuinely surprised, he hurried on out the door. He was a little bummed that the information he got seemed limited, and moreso that asking anyone else was unlikely to be of use even if he was in his hometown and birthplace. But he couldn’t hold that against them; it was probably a really sensitive topic or one they just care not to remember. He could notice the unease even from the elder and his wife. At the same time, it was a mild accomplishment for the task at hand, so maybe he could head on-
“Whaddya mean, I can’t go in! I’m expecting a date to meet me in the forest!”
Or, unfortunately, Aden could overhear the guy from before, below where he was now. He quickly went to the edge and peered his head over just enough to see, observing the guy in question and one of the villagers that guarded the way into the Relic Forest.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t like letting outsiders in here without the elder’s approval.”
“My date lives here! C’mon, can’t you cut a guy a break!?”
“I don’t know where you’re from or who your date is, but it’s out of my hands. I can’t just let you in there. The elder would frown upon letting our guard down so easily.”
“Arrrgh, first it’s that pink-haired alien-bird looking freak, then the mart guy not knowing what I was talking about at first, and now YOU!”
Aden almost lunged forward when he heard that comment, not taking kindly to it one bit. It was enough to make him want to speak up, but he opted not to and tried to just move back. If move back meant to slip, lose what footing he had, and start sliding before his eventual fall. All with a look on his face that inwardly asked why he had such luck sometimes.
“I have half a mind to let my Pokemon do the talking, if you’re not gonna listen to-“
“Aaaaah- oof!”
“Hey, can’t you go somewhere else!? We don’t need no eavesdroppers! And aren’t you that weird guy from the entrance earlier?”
“Oh, the pink-haired, alien-bird looking freak, right?” He remarked from the ground, slowly getting to his feet. “I have a name, you know. At least I’ve graduated from everyone thinking I was a girl.”
“Ya mean you’re not?”
“Could both of you take this somewhere else?” The guard finally spoke up, looking to Aden first. “I hope this isn’t someone you brought into the village.”
“No, we just met. And let’s see… my voice is deep, I’m not scrawnier than a Kalosian, and last I checked, I have something between my legs and it isn’t a tail. You tell me.”
“Then the lack of hair-“
“Would you want to live with pink hair all over your body?”
“Still doesn’t make you any less of a freak.”
“Hybrid, sir,” the guard spoke up again, “They’re an unusual sort, but they’re no less of a person. All the ones I’ve known were good people.”
Aden figured he was talking about him and his parents. They were still a rare sight in Orre, as far he remembered.
“I don’t care!”
And finally, a sigh as Aden opened his mouth and looked to the guard, “Look, can you just… uh, stay back? I don’t think you keep any Pokemon on you, do you?”
The guard shook his head.
“Then just stay back. I’ll see him out.”
“See me out?”
“You said you were going to let your Pokemon do the talking, didn’t you? Why aren’t they?”
“And what kind of Pokemon would you even have?”
“Why don’t you find out?”
Glaring, he took a ball out of his pocket and hurled it. “Fine then, ‘cause you’re pissing me off!” An Ivysaur emerged between him and Aden, the Pokemon’s leaves looking slightly tattered and battle-worn. It wasn’t unusual to see even in less rough areas of Orre, but it did make for an interesting intimidation factor. But not enough of one to deter much of anyone unless they were already easily intimidated.
Letting out a small sigh since even his attempts to get the guy to back off failed, Aden retrieved a single ball from his vest. He figured, if anything, he wouldn’t need more than the one for this. “Alright, Umbreon, let’s go!” He was a lot more decisive in sending his Pokemon out, watching her rub against his leg for a moment. He never did quite get her out of being the affectionate sort… even if it ultimately worked out in his favor.
“Is that the best you got?” By now, the guy was about to fall over laughing at the sight. “I doubt that mangy thing’s even good at battling! How about you-“
“Confuse Ray.”
“Confuse what?”
Before there was even a chance to react, Umbreon left Aden’s side at once, letting the rings on her body glow to let off a sinister flash, disorienting the other trainer for a second and throwing Ivysaur off its game even more. The Pokemon shook its head, trying to get its bearings straight, only to stumble and try to get back to its feet.
“Rrrrgh, shake it off!” Already, this guy seemed more annoyed than before, stomping a foot against the ground and glaring at Ivysaur. As soon as the Pokemon managed to get back on its feet, he wasted no time in furthering his demands. “Now, Seed Bomb!”
For what it was worth, Ivysaur was able to send off a flurry of somewhat large seeds out from the flower on its back. But, because of being so disoriented, the trajectory wasn’t so hot. A few of them went far enough to catch Umbreon off guard and hit her, but most of them just landed on top of Ivysaur and detonated on it instead. It didn’t hurt much, but it still wasn’t exactly pleasant. Umbreon took a moment to try and get a good look on things, though.
Anticipating that Ivysaur might end up being recalled before long, Aden figured to keep that from happening up front. “Mean Look!”
By now, the guy wasn’t sure what was really going on. First there was that flash, and now, Umbreon was giving off a surprisingly intimidating glare for someone that came into battle nuzzling her trainer’s leg. It was enough to make both him and Ivysaur more than a little wary about any notion of recalling, unsure what might happen if they did. After a second, though, he decided to fight fire with fire.
“Tch, fine. Sprinkle all the Poison Powder you can!”
Luckily, this one didn’t require much actual aiming. A spray of fine, poisonous dust swirled around the area, both trainers holding their breath to avoid being poisoned themselves. Umbreon, however, didn’t have too much of a choice. She was caught up in so much of it that she couldn’t hold her own breath long enough, inhaling a good bit of it in. As the poison began its slow course through her veins, she let the feeling of that influence the chi in the area. It would’ve been more impressive if Ivysaur wasn’t immune to its own poison, though.
As the cloud dissipated into the wind, eventually becoming a non-issue, Aden knew he’d need to act a bit quicker. He wasn’t especially worried, but he’d rather let his Raticate take the stuff like that than Umbreon. Stuff like this made him feel a little justified in that thought, at least. “Umbreon, you know what to do now!”
Sure enough, she did. Shrugging off the poison for the moment, she walked closer to Ivysaur and whispered into its ear. Said something about how that flower was compensating for something and walked back in front of Aden with the prissiest look she could muster. It was all in the name of seeing how quickly and how badly she could rile Ivysaur up, and judging by the reaction by both it and its trainer, it looked like it worked.
“W…what the hell did that thing tell my Ivysaur!?”
“I couldn’t make it all out, but something about big flowers and tiny everything else. Oh, and that she wasn’t just talking about your Pokemon.” Aden knew she didn’t say that other part. But by now, he wanted to make sure this guy left eventually. He figured making him as mad as possible might be the best way to do that.
“THAT’S IT! Rend those two to shreds! Razor Leaf!” Yep, he was mad. And so was Ivysaur, who had shaken off the confusion enough to not be bothered by it any longer and sent a flurry of razor-sharp leaves to try and slice the two into ribbons. Aden braced himself at the leaves cut into him, but not enough to leave any lasting damage. He’d be fine after a while. Umbreon, though, didn’t take so kindly, and she was hurting a bit between that and the poison slowly taking its toll. But an idea was forming.
“Umbreon, are you alright?” He asked, waiting to see if Umbreon was going to keep standing. Once he saw that she was, he nodded and decided to go through with the idea. “Good… alright, retaliate! Payback!”
Umbreon’s rings gave a fierce glow as her chi flared out, letting the pain from the attack she took fuel her own even further. She rushed at Ivysaur without a second thought, slamming into the Pokemon hard and making it tumble a bit before finally stopping on its stomach, legs spread out. It took a bit before Ivysaur could get back on its feet.
“The hell was… Ivysaur, finish it off!” Opting to keep its distance, Ivysaur revealed a pair of vines that had been circled around the flower on its back, using them like a couple of whips. One of them managed to be evaded, but only to lead Umbreon into taking the other one at full force. She flinched and braced herself to avoid being flung back, but it wasn’t something she cared for one bit. The poison was still proving to be an issue too, slowly and surely sapping her strength. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take at this rate, and truthfully, neither was Aden.
But, it still worked into the idea from before, and if it worked once… “Not. Even. Close. Umbreon, again!”
Before the guy could think about getting Ivysaur away, forgetting that he couldn’t in the first place, Umbreon panted and raced at Ivysaur again, slamming into it a second time with a Payback just as harsh as the last one. Payback soon proving to be not unlike any number of words people liked to call it, Ivysaur wasn’t able to keep up the fight, its flower drooping a little as it laid there and tried to just rest. It didn’t want to fight anymore, even if its trainer wanted it to “get up right now and don't let that freak win”.
Aden kept silent for a second, watching Ivysaur struggle to get up after the demands to get up. It was obvious that it wanted to keep fighting and do its trainer proud, but even more obvious that it just wasn't going to happen today. Umbreon stood ready, until being motioned to return to the hybrid's side.
"That's enough, Umbreon. Thanks," he said after what had to seem like an eternity, "and you should just return Ivysaur to their ball. It's not worth it to push this fight any more than it's gone."
"And if I don't?"
"I'm only battling because you were going to sic that Ivysaur on someone who couldn't readily deal with that. Already learned the hard way not to push things more than they need to be." For once, Aden might've sounded a little like his father. "Give it up, you're not going into the forest today. And if you want to keep challenging that, you'll be going through me before you go through him. Either way, there's no way your Ivysaur can keep fighting like this."
The two stood there, staring. Neither one seemed to have any desire to yield to the other. It seemed like another eternity to the guard as he finally stepped closer, seeing that things had at least quieted down from the earlier ruckus. Eventually, an angered huff escaped the guy's nose as he recalled Ivysaur and threw some odd bottle on the ground before storming away. Only after he had left did the guard decide it was okay to talk again.
"Thanks for that... should've taken Gloom with me this morning. Can't stand his smell, though..."
"It's fine, just thought I'd drop in," Aden replied, trying to make light of the predicament he got himself in. It got easier the more stuff like that happened. "I'm just glad you're okay. But what'd he drop before he left? I know he said about getting something here, but this doesn't look like anything I've seen sold here." He stepped over to the bottle on the ground and knelt down to get a better look at it, picking it up.
"Let me see it."
Before Aden had a chance to hand it over, the guard took it and examined it for himself. He was a lot more familiar with it, figuring out what it was in short order. "A Joy Scent? He was going to spray this on him for a date? He could've found better stuff in another town, I'm sure."
"I... don't think I follow."
"It's a cologne only sold in the village, but only if someone asks for it. Hardly anyone does, so the shop owner doesn't keep it out with everything else. I don't really know much else about it, sorry. But here," he gave it back to Aden without a second thought, "I don't have any use for it. Doubt you do either, but it looks like he already used a little of it and it can't be sold like that."
Whether he wanted to or not, Aden was now the proud owner of a bottle filled with a joyous scent. Maybe he could use it to show how much joy he has or something. Didn't seem all that exciting, though... but for now, he stashed it into his other vest pocket.
"Thanks, I guess..."
Nodding to the guard and leaving him to his duties, he finally dusted himself off and walked away. He took a quick trip to the Pokemon Center before he bothered to do anything else, wanting to get Umbreon healed up and the rest of his Pokemon checked out. Anything to give him a chance to mentally prepare for the return trip from hell that Arcanine would be bound to give. It gave him a chance to think and walk around the village too, but for now, he only had one place to go.
It took some time to get there, having to go over a nearby bridge from the Pokemon Center do a little walking aside, but he found himself stopping at a house kept mostly to itself at the base of a hill. A quick trek up would take one to the nearby mart, making it convenient for supplies, but otherwise it was a place rarely bothered. For Aden, it was also the place he called home and the place where he spent most of his childhood, adventuring bug issues aside. He spent a while just staring at the place, remembering the liveliness it had and how the door had far less moss on it then than it did now.
A moment of hesitation got the better of him before he finally decided to go inside, looking around. There were more than a few cobwebs around, but otherwise, the house remained almost entirely untouched since when he had ended up on extended leave and Sol eventually following suit based on the events going on. Even his own bedroom was similarly untouched, if a shade less tidy than the rest of the house. It was like a weird portal for him, briefly stepping back into the days when he was seventeen and barely knew much about the world at all. He decided to quickly step out so as to not become overwhelmed with the nostalgia and thoughts going through his head at this point. He noticed an old Pokeball laying on a table as soon as he stepped back into the main part of the house, tilted slightly on its side and looking slightly rusted. Perhaps time hadn't been quite so kind to it as everything else, especially compared to the family portrait next to it. He had only looked at the picture and ball for a couple of minutes, but to him, it felt like he had stayed in one spot for several hours.
Closing his eyes for a few seconds and opening them, he quietly walked out. He felt the visit needed to happen, if only to give him a chance to finally offer his goodbyes. At least for now; maybe one day, he could return to the village if he wanted, but now wasn't that time. There was still a lot more out there, more pressing matters to deal with before he'd truly feel comfortable staying any longer than he needed to. But it did give him more of a resolve to help see things through, even if doing so was likely going to mean attracting more weirdness than Sol or Cera could hope to do combined.
Returning to the Pokemon Center long enough to get his Pokemon back and making his way for the bridge that led out of the city, he sent out Arcanine for the second time that day and looked back for a second. A slow, assertive nod came from him before he climbed onto his Pokemon's back, taking a deep sigh. "Let's go back, Arcanine. Think you can use Extreme Speed again?"
Surely, the return trip was going to suck.
Summary:
-Came to Agate Village (Note: Arcanine is NOT an advisable way to travel if you value any sense of safety. Or if you want the laws of physics to continue making sense.)
-Spoke to an elder that probably has too many stories he could tell. Maybe look into something that'd allow staying up perpetually just to stay up if he becomes too talkative.
-Fought off a trainer apparently from Phenac City that was desperate for a romantic time in the Relic Forest. Hope whoever his date is isn't too upset they got stood up.
-Also, got a bottle of Joy Scent that he got rid of as he left. No idea what it'd even be useful for.
-Made a quick trip to the Pokemon Center, then to home for a bit before deciding to return to HQ. On Arcanine (OH ARCEUS WHY). |
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 10:00 pm
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Mission Text Micromission: Tossed Salads and Scrambled EggsWe need to know more about the Shadow Virus if we are going to have any hope of helping solve this currently contained crisis. One key piece of information that we still do not know is that whether or not the shadowified parents of a Pokemon Egg passes down the virus to its offspring. Get into the quarantine zone and steal a Pokemon Egg from one of the wild Pokemon there. Watch out for H.A.Z.A.R.D. goons though, the area is off-limits to non government personnel and they will not take too kindly to you being in the confines. Also remember all wild Pokemon you run into WILL be shadowified. Objectives - Sneak into the quarantine zone and secure a Pokemon Egg for analysis by GRAY. (You might get it back later. Mayyyybe.) Opposition - H.A.Z.A.R.D. personnel tend to use Poison-type Pokemon, you can snag a first or second rank available at your level. Rewards Gained: 3 Snag Coins, Odd Egg
It had been only a couple of minutes after Sol took off, Cera trying her hardest not to up and go after him in anger. She knew this wasn’t uncommon, and a lot of the times he did, it was never for long. A day or two at most. She was far from the only one it bothered for that matter, though Aden did usually take it in stride… at least he tried to limit such stuff with he was a kid. That much, she was glad for. She wondered if she would have benefitted from reading his mind beforehand, see if there was a reason or some kind of pattern to these leavings, to why he was being even less of a team player than usual. For now, however, she had more to worry about.
With Sol away, she figured she was the closest thing around to acting in his stead and if he hadn’t suggested the idea of going back to Littleroot Town in the meantime, there was a good chance of him asking her to go anyway. Even so, to say she was in a bad mood was to say the sky is blue, and she set out to fix up the kitchen. She hoped that by the time she finished, she’d be a little calmer. In reality, each pot, pan, and utensil she cleaned and put back away only served for her to wonder more and more. But he did have a point; someone needed to do requests like this, and while it was a hellacious way to find something out, she was lucky enough to not have been infected before.
But then, why go out to a place like that, she thought. Going there might as well have been having a neon sign tied to her tail saying ‘please infect me’. Maybe she could have Doc Owl check her again when she got back, give Aden the Master Ball if Sol left it behind just in case luck didn’t strike twice. She still wasn’t crazy about the idea, but as her thoughts finally moved more towards the task, the more she figured she’d be one of the better candidates. If she was actually safe, it’d be better than sending someone else out there and risking their Pokemon, let alone their safety. If she wasn’t, it would be more isolated by comparison. Maybe. As soon as she was done with everything, she headed off at once. There was hardly any preparation for her to do, and what she had to her name was minimal at best. On the bright side, it meant not having to hear GRAY and his usual smarminess for a while.
Apart from that small miracle, her flight was one without many events but her own thoughts and a heavy dose of nervousness. She always feared being seen as another wild Pokemon, and being a Mew only exacerbated the matter. As she started to approach Littleroot Town, she realized that being seen as wild would’ve been a good thing, especially with how fast H.A.Z.A.R.D. worked. The town and its neighboring route was put under a quickly put up dome to prevent anything or anyone from deciding to fly in or out, and the only reason it hadn’t been spread out over Oldale Town was because the virus managed to be quarantined before it could spread much further. Still, that town meant little choice but to stop there and figure out how to get in.
Cera started to lay low as soon as she got into Oldale Town, hiding behind a building. A couple of people were walking around, if a bit cautiously with the events going on. H.A.Z.A.R.D. personnel was around too, especially near the only way in and out of the dome. Remembering what had happened a week or so before, it went without saying that showing her face was a good way to be captured or reduced to a red smear on the tall grass. Though, as she watched and waited, an idea began to form. She figured that maybe if she transformed, she could pose as a stray wild Pokemon that managed to make its way out of the route. And, if she acted like she was going rabid with the virus… well, she hoped she wouldn’t be put down like Ol’ Growler. She weaved around buildings until she got to the outskirts of town before trying to put her plan into motion.
She started by dropping onto the ground and transforming, trying to go on memory to get Poochyena’s features down. Though the transformation itself turned out to be slightly easier than expected, she still had the ongoing issue of her form always retaining some part of it that looked like a Pokemon would if it had been made in a bubblegum factory. Hopefully a pink Poochyena wouldn’t be too weird, she hoped as she went on into part two. She expected the worst as she looked around, seeing one of the personnel standing idly by in case anyone got too close or too curious. It wasn’t long before she started after the dome, snarling and growling to the best of her ability. She tried to make like she was in a total frenzy, moving to bite the personnel’s leg.
On the one hand, she was fortunate that she didn’t have to actually bite anyone; human flesh probably tasted horrible, nevermind clothing, and the person did see her coming in time to avoid any needless harm. On the other, she didn’t like the idea that he had more than a few means to subdue her, taking out what looked like a cross between a taser and a cattle prod and striking her with all his might. The initial strike was bad enough, sending her a short distance and against the dome, but the shock that came with that hit was a lot more fierce to her by comparison. She yelped after the impact, trying to get up until she was grabbed by the scruff of her neck.
“Musta gotten out under my nose when I started my shift. Alright, mutt, they’re gonna have my head if they find out about this, so why don’t you just go on back to your pack in there and duke it out with them?” He commented as he unceremoniously opened the dome’s door and tossed her in, immediately closing and locking it back up before she could hope to get back out. Or worse, one of the actual infected Pokemon finding its way out and causing far worse havoc than a little acting might.
To slightly better fortune, at least she somewhat fit in with the wild Pokemon. Unfortunately, with every last one of them infected by the shadow virus and looking for blood as they rampaged, the route itself proved to be a terrible madhouse. Already, she was fearing for her life as she did the one thing she felt she could do. She ran. She ran as fast as her form’s stubby legs would allow, doing everything she could in an effort to avoid a nasty run-in or an assault simply because she happened to be nearby. She would’ve gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for a Zigzagoon tackling her as she went by. Even that much seemed to carry the kind of vileness as the viral chi itself did, and her body didn’t take kindly to the sudden introduction of such a thing. She reeled and yelped, shaking as she got up and watching as the Zigzagoon tried to go after her again. Hoping she was far enough in the route to avoid being seen so easily, she immediately reverted to normal and glared at her assailant.
”How about you get off,” she remarked as she suddenly levitated and hurled Zigzagoon back, ”And go after someone else? Ugh, this is bad… never heard of a rumor saying their moves hit harder.”
She chose not to make any further chances, staying in the air as she hurried down the route and into Littleroot… only to want to kick herself. ”Duh, Cera, why would any of those goons take an egg here? They’d probably just crush it in case there was an infection in it too,” she said to herself, immediately turning around and going back into the route. Remembering her task in full now, she wasn’t sure just how the infected Pokemon would breed in the first place, unless they did it mid-battle or something. Maybe they didn’t always act in a frenzy? She really wasn’t sure, this being her first real look into the topic. She hated her haste now, having to look through Route 101 with a fine-toothed comb and hope she can find an egg that hasn’t been destroyed for some reason or another.
The ordeal felt like an eternity, taking more than an hour as she went up and down the route so much that she was making herself a little dizzy. Try as she might, she couldn’t seem to find an egg anywhere in the route, and she really doubted that any personnel would’ve taken one instead of trying to further stem the virus’ growth. It would be by chance that she finally found some kind of lead, only to quickly wish she hadn’t. There were indeed eggs in the route, and she found three of them. Easily enough to secure one and find a way out. The problem was the Zigzagoon from before, apparently one of the parents. She kept her distance as she saw it return in a rush, stopping short of the eggs and moving to curl around them. It glared and looked around, expecting an attacker or one of those humans to come through.
”Why’d it have to be that one…?” She asked herself as she stayed above, wondering how she was going to do this. The delicate approach seemed unlikely at best, and more than likely, she was in for a fight at some point. Be it from a shadowified Zigzagoon protecting their young, or one of the personnel on the way out.
Eventually, the Zigzagoon’s watchful glares would cease, the Pokemon laying their head down to rest for a bit. Maybe there was a chance, Cera thought. She waited another moment to be sure the Pokemon was asleep before slowly lowering herself in the center, moving backwards after a second to get a better look at the eggs. She knew it probably wouldn’t matter which one she grabbed, just that she grabbed one and got away with it. Not wanting to risk moving it with her body, she decided to slowly levitate one of the eggs from the group, brushing against Zigzagoon as lightly as she could manage to avoid disturbing it. Eventually prying the egg free, she moved it over to herself, finally wrapping her arms and legs over it like a crane. ”Okay, got it… now how to get out of here,” she commented as she looked around. She had a good enough plan to get in, but getting out was a lot foggier.
In fact, she wasn’t sure if she could get out in the first place without causing some sort of hell. The dome was unlikely to go down easily, and even if it was, it meant a fairly large risk for the virus’ ability to spread. There was personnel all around, and her only way out meant the way she came in. Unsure of what to do, she found herself laying low again, rustling around in the grass as she got close to the exit before doing her best to hide in it. She ended up having to remain like that for several hours, paranoid and looking over her shoulder every few seconds. It wore her out quickly, her mind frazzled by the time her one, and possibly only, chance presented itself. The guy’s shift had ended, and he was going back into the quarantine zone.
He kept his wits about him as he opened the door just enough to get in, Cera perking up as she heard the sudden sounds. She tried to make a beeline out, which might’ve worked if she hadn’t gone out in his line of sight.
“And where do you think you’re going- wait a second…” He immediately locked the door and pointed at her. "You were with those criminals! I'm on to you, thinking your ilk can sneak on in and compromise our entire cause."
"At least criminals get a chance to speak for themselves before you decide to try and blast all of them dead with missiles." She shuddered as she thought back to that night, still having the occasional nightmare about it.
"And we're in position to ensure anyone like you never get to repeat your acts. So you can die by our hand or die by the sentence you'll all get, it'll be the smallest cost for what you did!"
"And what're you gonna do? Keep me in like a caged rat?"
"No," he said simply as he let out a Nidoking and Nidoqueen pair, both with the same vile feeling as any other Pokemon in the zone, "I'm bringing you down where you stand! Attack!"
Apparently, this guy was above giving orders unless necessary too, with one rushing at her and the other doing... something. She wasn't sure what, but all of a sudden, the chi around her felt constricting, restrictive. She couldn't really get herself to move before taking a shadow-infused shoulder charge from the Nidoking, being flung back and rolling against the ground, the egg she had breaking in the process. To make matters worse, more energy poured from the Nidoqueen in the distance, finding its way into the ground near where Cera landed and rapidly softening.
The Mew wasn't sure what to make of it. Was this the kind of power Shadow Pokemon actually had? Could they really do stuff like this? She barely had time to think as she started to sink into the ground, struggling and finding herself sinking more by the second. She finally ended up forcing herself out with her own levitation, looking around and trying to figure out some way out of this. Fighting one might not have been so bad, but she was outnumbered and vastly outgunned. Disabling them seemed to be easier said, to boot.
"Perfect... Rock Slide and Earthquake!"
She didn't have time to think as globs of the ground were flung by Nidoqueen instead of rocks, one hitting her and bringing her down. Nidoking followed with an Earthquake that cared little about who or what it hit, dealing immense damage to his ally and threatening to swallow Cera into the ground as it opened and jutted all over. Combined with the earlier softness, she found herself having to force herself out again.
What came next was a surprise to the H.A.Z.A.R.D. personnel trying to end things in a hurry, Cera immediately dropping back to the ground as she started pouring chi in a way not unlike the Earthquake she just took, having something to finally work with to fight back. Though Nidoking shrugged it off with relative ease, Nidoqueen wasn't able to take a second harsh attack so well. Though she continued to try and stay in the fight, she wasn't able to maintain the Shadow Hold over Cera. Still, the newfound freedom prompted her to take off away from the personnel and his Pokemon.
Caring a lot less about disturbing anyone, she hurried back to the nest she was at before, taking another egg at once and smacking Zigzagoon with her tail before ascending and trying to fly above her assailants. This did little to shake any of them off her, though Nidoqueen did have to be recalled on account of being too risky to continue battling with her. Nidoking and the wild Zigzagoon both went to blitz Cera at once, the Mew doing everything she could to avoid taking another hit.
She found herself at the door before long, cornered with no way out, Zigzagoon leading the charge. The constant attacks had already driven it into even more of a frenzy than it had been in before, to say nothing about the egg that had been stolen and in Cera's mitts. She managed to get out of the way, leaving the Pokemon to slam against the dome and fall as Nidoking was rushing again. This time with a Shadow Break as he too flung into a shadow-induced frenzy, caring about little more than seeing to it that the small pink thing wasn't to survive. She barely managed to evade him as well, panting and starting to feel worse for wear. If things kept up at this rate, she doubted she'd make it out of here even in a bodybag.
The only thing that came to mind was to fling herself at the H.A.Z.A.R.D. personnel, stopping just in front of him. Nidoking's rampage found the Pokemon turning to try and attack her all the same, catching the personnel off guard. He immediately went to recall Nidoking for his own safety, only for her to turn her back to him and tackle him to the ground that way. Anything to avoid breaking the egg she had to grab as a replacement. The confusion gave her a chance to swipe the guy's keys and hurry to the door once more, this time finally unlocking it and getting on out.
She closed the door the second she was on the other side, trying to keep it that way as she set the egg down locked the door. She barely managed to do so in time, with the personnel rushing to the door in an attempt to open it. Unable to open the now-locked door, Cera just left the keys where they were as she picked the egg back up and hightailed it back to HQ as quickly as she could, scared out of her wits all the while.
Summary:
-Went to the Quarantined Zone in Hoenn.
-Found a way in under H.A.Z.A.R.D.'s noses.
-Got an egg, but it broke.
-Barely managed to escape from one of their personnel; he had a Nidoking and Nidoqueen that seemed to be infected too...
-Got another egg during the chaos and left for HQ as soon as possible.
-Will be making sure to kick a certain turkey's feathery butt the second he's back. |
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 10:02 pm
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Mission Text Micromission: Performin' NormanNorman, the Petalburg City Gym Leader near the quarantine zone that has been established due to our latest set of adventures has managed to get a communique to us wanting to talk mano-a-mano, at least with one representative. It doesn't seem like a trap, and a Gym Leader could be a handy feather in our cap, at least with the local authorities. Go and talk to him, he'll probably want to battle you with a single Pokemon to prove your purity of heart (which we are, no matter what the news tells people). Get him to see we're not as evil as the media likes to portray us. Objective - Meet and battle to Petalburg Gym Leader Norman Opposition - Gym Leader Norman's one Normal Pokemon (Depends on what you have him use.) Rewards Gained: 3 Snag Coins, 1 Enigma Berry, 1 Great Ball
Amaranth had just returned from the safari hunt, knowing she hadn’t been able to continue after catching the Carbink she encountered. She kept a hand on the ball that held the new Pokemon even now, waiting for a message saying how everyone did and ready to go back to the Volcanic Tundra to release Carbink if she needed to. She was nearly taken by surprise when her SNAG finally went off, looking at the message it displayed. Sure enough, she found the results she was waiting for, being allowed to keep her catch and with a few Snag Coins deposited into an account Sol shared with her and Aden. She still wasn’t sure what the deal was with those and the couple of places just outside of HQ, but she figured it was far wiser compared to going to one of the marts, especially with the team being seen as international criminals.
She was about to put her SNAG away and see if she could get to know Carbink a little when an icon on its screen continued to blink, getting her to check it if only to dismiss whatever it was. At least, that was the intent before finding out what the request was. Norman wanted a representative to see him, but she wasn’t sure why. Maybe he wanted to see the team for himself or something. Or he wanted to make an example of them, show that the media was right after all. Regardless of the case, she had noticed that no one had taken up the request yet. Always being told by Sol and Cera about how she should try to assert herself a little more, she decided to take up the request and went to get what few belongings she had before heading outside. Sending out Breeze, her Togekiss, and climbing onto her back, the two took off fairly quickly.
If it hadn’t been for the map, however, the two would surely have been lost. Amaranth wasn’t versed in the regions much at all still, apart from Kalos. Having access to a map helped immensely, allowing her to instruct Breeze where to go. If it really came to it, it was likely that the Togekiss would know where to go anyway, but she didn’t want to butt in unless she needed to. So for now, she went by the hybrid’s instructions. It turned out to pay off after a while, managing to get into Hoenn’s airspace. Finding Petalburg City from there was relatively easy; just avoid the dome over the quarantine zone and go westward a little, she found out. Hoping not to get the attention of anyone from H.A.Z.A.R.D. and the like, especially with what she knew about recent events, she had Breeze land at the edge of the city and Route 102 before recalling her Pokemon and heading into the city.
Already, she could hear whispers from this person and that person. The city was as lively as ever, given that they were safe from this whole infection business. Some of the whispers were about that, other whispers concerned the whole idea of a hybrid walking around in the open with the news of a team of them with some humans being responsible for all sorts of hell. There were other comments, but she couldn’t really make them out as well. She didn’t really care either, making her way to the gym as quickly as she could. She figured the sooner she could take care of things with Norman, whoever he was, the sooner he could finalize his thoughts about the team. It took a while before she found the gym, only managing to thanks to the sign just outside. She got to the door and looked around cautiously, going to slowly open it before it opened on its own and quickly having to step back as a young trainer came out. Followed by the trainer was a man in a red and gray jacket, opened just enough to reveal a t-shirt underneath. Between that, the long, black pants and the unusual sandals he wore, she doubted he was native to the region. At least, he was certainly dressed differently than what she could see in the city.
“Not bad… it was a good battle,” the man spoke up.
“…thanks…” Obviously, the trainer was a little nervous. Not that Amaranth could blame her; is this guy was Norman, he did look a little intimidating.
“Come back and challenge me again anytime. I’ll be looking forward to it. But be careful and stay out of trouble.”
The trainer took off fairly quickly, Norman shaking his head after a few seconds. “With everything going on around here, at least it hasn’t completely stopped the few trainers that got to start before this whole mess… hm?”
Quickly, he turned around, seeing Amaranth nearby. "You must be the representative I asked to see."
"How do you...?"
"It isn't hard to make a guess. Hybrids aren't a typical sight in Hoenn, and everyone's on edge lately. You understand," he explained, "but, I guess we shouldn't stand out here talking. Come with me, we can talk more in the gym."
Norman went back inside without a word, motioning for Amaranth to follow. The two stopped before a pair of doors, reserved for those wishing to challenge the gym and serving as an obstacle to eventually reach the leader. But this time, there was no need for any such thing.
"Now... could you tell me about yourself? Before we move into the other reason I've asked for a representative to come."
"Um..." Suddenly, Amaranth herself was nervous. "I'm Amaranth... there really isn't a lot about me I can say. I've been with a couple that are part of the team for most of my life, and I've always been like this." None of it was a lie, but she wasn't about to try and explain that "most of her life" meant only a few years and that she was always in the form she had because of her being a clone. It also meant there really wasn't a lot she could say about herself.
"Not one for answering, are you?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Nothing, just an observation..." Norman put a hand to his chin, "There's no need for you to be tense. I didn't request for a representative to see if the media was right or wrong, but to see for myself what the lot of you are about."
"I'm sorry, perhaps another member would be better for this..."
"Well, you might be right. I left the request vague in hopes that you won't be the only representative I see. My hope is to see several of you, what your personal dreams are, what dream puts you all together. If you all aren't as sinister as I've heard from the media and statements by our government, you will show that just as clearly," he explained, before opening one of the doors.
"Come," he spoke up, "We'll move on to the second reason that you're here. I think you've explained the most you yourself is capable of explaining with words."
"Can I... ask what you mean?" Amaranth asked as she followed Norman through the door that had been marked with a kanji symbol, written in a way similar to many from Johto might. It wasn't something she was terribly familiar with, but below it was the word 'Speed'. Perhaps an easier way to explain for challengers that were aiming for badges and had to contend with his students.
Norman, however, didn't say a word as he went to another door. Amaranth could see that the symbols and words were an ongoing theme, the next door with a symbol meaning 'Defense'. A third door followed this, its symbol meaning 'Strength'. The fourth and final door, instead of having a single symbol, had a few characters in the same way. Below it were the words 'Gym Leader's Room'.
"Um..."
"Oh, the symbols? I made each of those plaques when I became a Gym Leader and left Olivine City with my wife and child," Norman explained, looking a little apprehensive. Though Amaranth thought of asking why, she decided against it and let him continue to speak. "I sought to make a balance between my past in Johto and my future here in Hoenn with their design. They've held up well, haven't they?"
Amaranth could only nod, her and the gym leader quiet as they entered into his room. It was easily twice the size of the rest of the rooms, sporting a battlefield just like them. A window on one of the walls, reinforced to handle stray Pokemon attacks, looked on outside with a single zabuton a short distance before it. To her surprise, however, Norman didn't stop walking until he was on the side opposite her on the battlefield.
"I apologize for not mentioning this in my request, but my second part is also an explanation, as well as a display."
"Display?"
"I'd like to have a battle, one of your Pokemon against one of mine, and I trust you won't use a Pokemon that's been around the area under quarantine. Many trainers express themselves not just through their actions, but how they and their Pokemon battle. I am no different, and I expect you to give your best shot. As a Gym Leader and as a trainer, I will do everything in my power to find the truth!"
As if to further prove his point, Norman took out a single Pokeball and looked down at it, nodding and tossing it at once. "Slaking, ready yourself!"
Startled at the sudden, hulking and towering form of the Pokemon sent out, Amaranth tossed a ball of her own without thinking about who or what was inside of it. To her misfortune, she ended up sending out her newly-caught Carbink, who had yet to recover from the safari.
Immediately noticing the slight fatigue, Norman made a T with his hands and walked over to Carbink and Amaranth. "Either you're inexperienced or I've made this request at a bad time. But here, give this to your Carbink before we start," he said before handing her a single Full Restore, "It'll help rejuvenate it."
Confused, she sprayed the Full Restore against Carbink, the medicine quickly working to heal any wounds it might've taken and that there wasn't anything else bothering it beforehand. Once Norman was satasfied with the results, he returned to his side of the field. "Alright, no more interruptions. Begin!"
Slaking would begin the battle by moving surprisingly fast for its form, catching Carbink off guard and striking it with a Feint Attack before returning and sitting down. Carbink found itself moving back a bit, hitting the ground for a second before starting to levitate a couple of inches from it as usual.
"Defend yourself...!"
Carbink would end up reacting to the command pretty similar to how it reacted to Amaranth's Yanma attacking it before, the crystal on its head glowing as a Reflect wall immeditely formed in front of it. However, despite the expectation that Slaking would attack again, it didn't. It continued to sit there, causing two more confused glances.
"Slaking isn't one to constantly act. He tires easily, so he limits his activity in bursts."
Taking advantage of the situation, Carbink began to hold still, Hardening to further bolster its defenses. Unfortunately, that was the kind of thing Norman was hoping for. "Now, Slaking! Give them an Encore for their fine effort!"
Slaking responded in kind, clapping and encouraging Carbink to Harden again and further give a new meaning to stone wall. Though Slaking would stop to rest again as Carbink Hardened for a third time, it still bought enough time for Norman to capitalize on it. He knew exactly how to counter anyone who decided to try a tactic like that.
"Time to see how they respond... Slaking, Chip Away. Show them that even a stone wall can fall!"
Carbink would Harden for a fourth time, finally bored of the Encore as the Reflect began to fade. Unfortunately for it, this was just in time for Slaking to come in and land a harsh punch to send it down. Despite how sturdy Carbink was, the attack seemed to ignore it entirely and hit hard. Though the Pokemon was able to recover from it without too much issue, it was still something it didn't expect at all.
It also told Amaranth that telling Carbink to defend might be foolish.
"How will you respond?" Norman asked as his Slaking went back to loafing around, crossing his arms. "What kind of resolve do you have? This Carbink might've had a life in the wild, but now it counts on you to make the right calls! The more you hide behind a wall hard as steel, the sooner it'll crumble. What will those around you see when that happens? Show me, here and now!"
His words rang clear to Amaranth, but she really didn't have the best idea of what Carbink was capable of apart from when she was battling it. How could she show what he wanted her to show when she wasn't sure how? She ended up finding out that her Pokemon was capable of giving a push when it came to it, the crystals on it glowing as it conjured something that hadn't been seen at the Safari. Slaking loafed around as it took the sudden Moonblast head on, not even bothering to brace itself.
Amaranth found herself looking down at Carbink as it seemingly decided enough was enough, and it was done with trying to keep defending itself until the threat went away. It made an odd sound as it glared at its opponent, ready to fight for once.
"I... see... what can you do to fight?"
"Again, Chip Away!"
Carbink tried to bring its defenses up again with a prompt Reflect, refreshing the wall that had since faded. Though the rest of its bolstering was just as meaningless as before, Slaking apparently couldn't fully fight through the wall.
It at least mitigated the damage Carbink took, who retaliated by making the crystal on its head glow, firing a beam of chi similar to what most other Rock moves would have. The Power Gem didn't hit any harder than the earlier Moonblast, the fact remained that Slaking had loafed around during it.
But, this wasn't the only trick Norman had in his sleeve. "Thunderbolt!"
Slaking didn't move, its body somehow charging enough electrcity to launch an attack at Carbink, hitting it fairly hard and rendering even the Reflect useless. It was struggling to keep fighting by now, but it wasn't about to quit so easily.
"Carbink...!" She wasn't liking how this fight was going. She wanted to recall Carbink at once and call it off, but she could see that was the last thing her Pokemon wanted. The two just had really only met, but she could see what Norman meant; sometimes, the best way to forge a path was to do so under fire. "...use those rocks."
Trying to further keep Slaking from trying too much, Carbink managed to somehow make rocks form all around Norman's side of the field. She knew Stealth Rock by itself was arguably defensive, but maybe Carbink knew more of how to make use of them. Neither it or Amaranth made a move, Slaking grunting at Norman.
"I'm afraid I don't understand either, not yet- brace yourself!"
Slaking took to the defensive as the rocks flung themselves at him, manipulated by Carbink's crystals into a makeshift Stone Edge.
Amaranth expected the worst as she looked to Norman with a worried glance, only for him to crack a smile. This was what he was waiting to see, this was the kind of battle he was hoping for.
"Now I'm beginning to see."
"See what?"
"It's already getting a feel for your personality. You seem like you've yet to learn much about the world, as has Carbink. You're both as impressionable as a child, so I imagine a lot of what you know comes from your group. I think I can figure out which part of your personality resonates with the rest of them. But as soon as that part ends," Norman explained, noticing that Carbink didn't seem sure of what to do next, "you're unsure of yourself."
"..."
"It's as I've said. A battle can reveal a lot more than simple asking. Now, shall we finish this?"
Amaranth eventually nodded. "Y...yeah."
"Good. Now, Slaking! Giga Impact!"
Finding the will to resume fighting, Slaking's body seemed to brighten from a sudden, intense outpouring of chi. Using the chi to give him vastly more might than he already had, he put everything he had into a harsh punch. Carbink's second Reflect wall had faded by the time everything happened, and while there was decent defense, it meant little to such power. There was enough force to leave a dust cloud, and Amaranth could only hope Carbink was alright.
She was glad, and a little shocked, to see that Carbink was hanging on by a thread, struggling to stay afloat and hold its ground. In doing so, it began to flail about, striking Slaking over and over with a surprising amount of power in its own right. It was enough to start getting to Slaking, but before the battle could go any further, Slaking would be recalled.
"Enough!"
Carbink looked exhausted, barely managing to stay afloat and prompting Amaranth to recall it. "Thanks..." She spoke up, pocketing the ball as Norman nodded.
"Okay, I see now... your road has barely begun, but you're only a single walk of life. A strand of a bigger web, a web of people with a common goal while avoiding becoming a hivemind. I can't say if your causes are just or not, but if you're representative of anyone else from your group, malice isn't within the agenda. At the same time, I can't help feeling as if I was sent a child rather than someone who can better explain things. But," Norman turned his back and mused, "perhaps that is itself the point. Send the one most likely to parrot, and you'll see their results in their personality... I will hope to see others before I choose to pull my request and make a final statement, but you've given me what I needed to know."
Finally, he turned again to face Amaranth. "For that, thank you. But I suggest you don't allow yourself to forget about your own road. Go down it, see where it takes you. Maybe one day, you can return and show what you've learned."
"I... I see. Thank you," Amaranth said at once, quickly taking her leave through the doors to make her way out.
Soon after she did, the gym leader let out a sigh. "An odd one, she is. But her heart's in the right place," he said to himself. "A Pokemon caught so recently usually tends to be more unruly until they're used to their trainer. Looks like the media may be as sensationalist as ever."
Meanwhile, Amaranth had been quiet all the way out, sending Breeze back out and having her fly off back to HQ. She needed a moment to try and sort out everything that just happened, let alone give Carbink some much needed rest.
Summary:
-Arrived at Petalburg City and met Norman.
-Talked with him, kind of.
-Battled with him too. I guess it was a draw? It gave him what he needed to know, apparently.
-Headed back to HQ soon afterward to gather thoughts. |
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 12:02 am
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MissionText Micromission: CozmonautProfessor Cozmo, located in Fallarbor Town, had recently become the talk of a lot of the Hoenn region pre-virus due to his breakthrough work in the study of astro-geology and his work in Meteor Falls. Recently, we received an odd garbled message saying that we might want to look into talking to him. We don't think it's a trap of some kind, but getting to know a famous scientific mind when we're facing an issue like the Shadow Virus is never a bad thing. He deals with a lot of the geology in the surrounding area, in addition to the meteorites that settle in the nearby Meteor Falls. Get him to like you and it may come in handy later on... Objective - Meet Professor Cozmo, get him to tell you about his work with meteorites. Opposition - Probably nothing, though if you feel scrappy you can throw in a battle. Rewards Gained: 3 Snag Coins, 1 Dusk Ball
"Why should I go alone? What are you gonna do?"
Cera and Aden were still outside, the door to HQ locked. They had seen the garbled message mentioning a professor the team should go and see, but with the recent events, Aden figured going to Hoenn at all was a good way to find his head detached from his shoulders. There was still the risk of Cera being crammed into another ball, but now that he thought about it, she was technically caught. Unless H.A.Z.A.R.D. somehow had access to Snagem's own tech, catching her with those means were out. But he feared what they might do now.
"Because you can at least transform and get around undetected," Aden answered. "At least, you have a better chance of meeting with him."
"Yeah, and if H.A.Z.A.R.D. sees me, they're probably going to sic worse on me than a Nidoking and Nidoqueen that were infected."
"Then what? Do we just stay here? I can't see any easy way for us to get around at all without either of us being killed the second we're seen, and that's if half the region doesn't decide to turn us in."
Before either of them could continue, however, a click could be heard as Amaranth came out. A book was in her hands, closed as she looked at the two. "Are you two done arguing? A few of us just heard about this abandoned power plant in Kalos, so we're checking it out for anything we could use."
"Uh..." Even that made Aden apprehensive.
"Um, Ammy, that probably isn't the best idea..."
"We should be fine... there shouldn't be anyone else there other than any Pokemon." Shrugging her shoulders, she made her way further out, sent out her Togekiss, and flew off.
Needless to say, Cera was a little stunned. She could tell that something was still getting to Amaranth, and yet she managed to get herself to take off to Kalos, a region that the team probably didn't want to do much in if they could help it. Or so she thought. A few seconds passed, all of them consisting of her feeling somewhat silly for fretting so much even if there were a lot of very good reasons to be.
"...we'll both go," she finally said, either going crazy or finally getting it through her head that being part of the solution was a better idea than causing a problem.
"Wait, what? What do you mean, both?"
"Did I stutter? We'll both go to see that professor. If we keep sitting here like this, we're through. We've got to do something, get at least one person on our side before the rest of the regions eventually buy into this stuff too."
"Fine, fine. Let's just go. I don't think we're gonna have the time to grab anything we don't already have."
"In that case..."
Before Aden had a chance to do much, he found himself suddenly levitated into the air and Cera perching herself on his shoulders. "H-hey, what the heck are you doing!?"
"Well, there isn't enough time to finally teach you to fly, and letting Arcanine get infected's a bad idea, so I'm gonna have to."
"Can't we have some kind of agreement or something, sis?"
"Nope!"
He didn't have time to say anything else, Cera taking off and effectively keeping Aden as a living missile as the two headed off. There was a method to her madness, however, in that being in a region's airspace meant unless they were searching the air, it would be hard to spot either of them. To her, it'd also be a major blessing, especially since it meant that hopefully there wouldn't be too many infected Pokemon that were also airborne. Though she did wish that Aden would've taken some initiative in his time away and could've flown himself, weighted clothes or not.
The flip side of it was that this all gave Aden time to think, though everything lately was still getting to him a lot more badly than he had shown. He still remembered how apprehensive he got about showing his face in Kalos after he became a wanted "criminal", fearing for his life if he didn't stay careful at all times and slept with one eye open. Seeing similar happen in Hoenn, especially with everything that was going on aside, had started making him wonder when or if he'd see the same in the rest of the regions and Ein knowing where the HQ was only made matters worse. It was easier to never say die when the odds weren't considerably stacked in the enemy's favor. He wanted to prove that he wasn't useless, and recent history wasn't painting a very good picture.
He wasn't sure how meeting with any professor could help them. Sure, Birch had apparently requested their help before, and they seemed to have some semblance of a rapport with Norman let alone Devon Corp, but that was still a handful of people and a huge corporation versus the public. Needless to say, he favored being able to stay alive compared to the seemingly likely alternative. The trip was otherwise in near-total silence, the odd airborne Pokemon aside, until Aden found himself unceremoniously dropped on the ground within Route 113. Ashes were falling from the sky at all angles, coating the ground and Aden's clothes as he quickly got up and dusted himself off.
"Sis, you could've given a little warning," he remarked, wondering if something was bothering her too.
"Sorry, something seemed really up in the town..."
"What do you- whoa!"
Quickly diving into the tall grass and grabbing Cera alongside, he hid as a couple of people walked by. Recognizing the H.A.Z.A.R.D. uniforms they both wore, he had a feeling they were patrolling the area in response to what had happened before. He waited until the coast was clear before motioning to get out of the bushes.
"Great, they're around here too," Aden remarked, keeping his voice down for the moment. "Feel like I'm walking into a minefield here."
"We just need to be careful. They said the professor stays in that town, right?"
"I guess? I couldn't make anything out in that message either. Just to come here and find this guy. Look, let's just go on into the town and see if we can find this guy without H.A.Z.A.R.D. spotting us. Or be shown up again by some smug son of a-"
"Less talking, more walking!"
Wanting to make sure they weren't caught out, Cera hurried on into the town. Though Aden trailed behind her, she figured she could throw off some of the trail by transforming herself to look as close to his Umbreon as possible. It'd be flawless if it weren't for the pink markings on her, making Aden hang his head.
"Can I please not have an image of my Umbreon that involves being dipped in pink paint?"
Cera said nothing, though her body language suggested she was still working at it and couldn't seem to sort out why there was always some shade of pink in her transformations. Still, it worked decently enough as the two walked through the town, even if Aden really wished he wasn't hearing the constant whispers from the odd passerby. He could swear he could hear something about an alias he'd sooner want forgotten, other murmurs about how criminals like him could go around as if nothing was up, and he really hoped the one person that moved to grab their PokeNav Plus wasn't about to call the authorities. Laying low seemed to be a high priority, with the two doing everything they could to avoid much more than the glances and whispers they were already getting.
Unfortunately, they had no idea where this professor even stayed. There was the Pokemon Center and Mart as usual, as well as some odd other place, but housing looked similar all around. And neither one seemed to like the idea of what their options were. "We're gonna have to ask around, aren't we?" Seeing Cera's head go down was all the confirmation he needed, sighing and realizing just how badly this was liable to go. That is, until an idea came to him.
"Actually, wait... you can still transform into that kinda hybrid-looking form, right?"
This time, Cera reverted back, if only so she could speak without having to use her mouth. "Yeah...?"
"If you use that and ask around while I stay out of sight, we might be able to find where he is. Think you could do that?"
"Um, yeah, hold-"
"Stop right there!"
"Aden, it's fine, we're-" Cera's thoughts were cut off both by Aden pointing behind her, and her turning around to see what he was noticing. Her decision to suddenly revert back caught more attention than desired, and to make matters worse, part of the attention came from the H.A.Z.A.R.D. personnel they had managed to evade earlier. It would've been better if Cera had at least gotten out of sight before altering her form again, but now they were between a rock and a hard place. "...uh oh."
"You think!?" Quickly looking around, his mind racing to come up with some way to escape from their sudden predicament. Unfortunately, the only thing that came to mind was the window of the house they were near, closed to their dismay. "Gonna need some fast thinking... sis, follow my lead!"
"What!?"
Before there was a chance for her to respond further, Aden grabbed Cera's tail and reared his arm back, holding her more similarly to a spiked flail. "Stop the glass!" Her eyes would grow wide at the request she was given, finding herself flung into the window with as much force as Aden could give. She braced herself for impact as she hit the window, panicking as she crashed through and using her telekinesis to both stop herself and the shattered glass before both fell.
Quick to follow suit, Aden made a running jump to grab onto the newly formed opening, wincing as his hand dug into a jagged shard still attacked to the windowsill and removing it as he made his way in. The pair of H.A.Z.A.R.D. personnel continued their pursuit to the house, going for the same window until they heard a roar that shook both the house and their spines. Sand immediately pouring from the window only served to make the surprise bout of horror that much worse, enough for the two to decide they might need a bit of back up and to otherwise be on high alert. Back inside, the hybrid was using his glove to stop his hand's bleeding as well as he could. And keep any sand from getting into the wound.
"Ngh... you have NO IDEA how glad I am that you decided to give me Kiri when I returned," he commented, keeping a hand close to his chest long enough to recall the Tyranitar. "Though, I can't see how you find her adorable."
"She's cute when she roars like that! And besides, daddy has Joltie and Ammy renamed Blessing to Breeze. Kiri was usually good around you, so..."
"Your idea of cute's just.... ugh, forget it. Thanks. Though, now that I have a chance to look around, where are we?"
"Dunno... it's kinda dark in here, but I can see a lot of papers and a lot of rocks."
"Lesse, there should be a switch here... aha." Finding a switch and flipping it on to get the lights on, Aden nodded. "There, now we can see. And I kinda wish I hadn't." Seeing what Cera as talking about now, he could tell there was a lot of information around. Or at least a lot junk if nothing else. Seeing all of the rocks didn't set well with him, and he couldn't help wondering if it was a bad idea to still be in here. Yet, he also knew neither of them were exactly safe outside either. "I don't think anyone's home."
"Looks like it..." Cera remarked as she headed to the front of the house and saw that the door was locked so that no one could come in so long as they didn't decide to use the gaping hole that used to be a window. "Even the door's locked from the outside. This place seems stuffy, though. And I think I'm smelling really stale coffee that should've been dumped long ago."
"Maybe it's his lab? Or his house... I don't know. Like the telescope, though."
"Maybe, and that's all well and good, but what good is this if we're still here when H.A.Z.A.R.D. gets back!? Or when whoever lives here gets back home..."
The doorknob would suddenly jostle soon after she said that, leaving Aden to panic and look around. "Crap, they're back! We've gotta hide..."
"Hide where? There's a bed, a table..."
"Maybe we can get under the-"
"Wha-wha-who the hell are you two!?"
Busted. Not only was the house's resident back, but Aden and Cera were in plain sight and the bits of glass on the floor was enough to spell out that he had just been subject to a break-in, however unplanned. And with the surprise came a falling bag of stuff that had been bought from the nearby Mart.
"W-we can explain-"
"Explain what? That you wanted to barge in and take my research? I know you hazardy kin or whatever you are! Been trying to take everything ever since everything went belly up in Oldale Town, like they've got nothing better to do..."
"Uh, what?" Aden seemed a little confused. Did this guy think they were from H.A.Z.A.R.D.?
"Don't you play dumb with me! I'm not telling you or the rest of your force anything, and you can tell whoever you follow the same!"
"Um... we won't?"
"Like hell you won't, now get out before I call- wait." The resident adjusted his glasses, leaning in to get a closer look at Cera. "Is that a Mew?"
"That's not a Mew. That's a Rhydon," Aden remarked, though there was no way his lie would ever work.
"Hey!"
"Oh, this gets better then. First it's that special force, and now it's the criminals coming out of the woodwork. I should turn you both in."
Aden backed up a step, muttering to himself and fearing the worst.
"But before I do, I'm going to ask you one question. Who do you work for?"
"Uh..."
"You work for someone, and I hope you're not going to tell me that force has decided to use criminals for their dirty work."
"What, you mean H.A.Z.A.R.D.?"
"So you do work for-"
"Excuse me," Cera spoke up, a mental sigh being heard shortly after. "We got a message that we couldn't make out. It said to look into talking to a professor that lived around here. Our info said it was probably you, but the message mentioned the name Takao instead."
"I am him. Professor Takao Cozmo, meteoriticist for the local area. Do you two have rocks in your heads?"
"Do you?"
"Forgive my brother. Long story. But we're not with H.A.Z.A.R.D., and I can't tell you who we're with. It isn't important right now. We can't speak for the charges against us either, but there's... kind of a lot to it."
"...what she said. Sorry. I'm really on edge, you understand," Aden spoke up. "We haven't been too fond of them either, and anything you've heard about Oldale isn't quite what it sounds like. Mostly. But maybe we can take this conversation and save it for another time?"
"I'm not telling you anything. Most people use these things called 'a door' and 'waiting' for this sort of thing."
"About that. We didn't have a choice. H.A.Z.A.R.D. spotted us, and we needed to get away. Your window was kinda the closest thing we could get to, and the sand was to get them away. They're probably going to be coming back anytime-"
Aden's sentence would have to wait as the door was knocked, and rather hard at that. Immediately, the professor yelled to wait a second and moved to pull a few boxes out of the way. "Here, get into that corner and lay low. I'll deal with them." He'd put the boxes back as soon as Aden and Cera were in position, serving as a decent way to keep them hidden as he opened the door.
Though they would've been able to still see over the boxes, they didn't dare risk it, hearing everything that was going on anyway.
"Oh look, it's you again. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Apparently, even Professor Cozmo knew what sarcasm was.
"We pursued a couple of foreign criminals, the Geosenge Butcher and a Pokemon belonging to the Kalosian government that's been causing us trouble for some time. They were last seen entering your house."
"Were they?"
"Do you not notice the glass on the floor? The broken window?"
"I have odd assistants, and I don't know or care about some butcher of anything. It's such a nice try, but I'm still not giving my information to you."
"We're not here for that, we're here to apprehend-"
"I. Don't. Care. They aren't here, are they? Or have you gone blind and think you're seeing criminals everywhere like you've broadcast about at least once a day and remark that they're all on the loose? Leave me to my work already, I'll take care of my window myself."
Muttering something about stubborn professors and not wanting to contribute to the greater good, the personnel were left with little choice but to leave and resume their patrol. The two they were after couldn't have gone far, they thought. With them gone, however, Aden finally pushed the boxes out of the way, Cera poking her head over his shoulder.
"You're welcome, assistants," the good professor would remark afterward, just in case anyone from H.A.Z.A.R.D. was still able to hear.
"Yeah, thanks," Aden couldn't hold back the sigh of relief. "I still don't know how I got that stupid title back in Kalos. I mean, all I did there was try to research what I could when I decided to stay within the region."
"You know, I have a friend out there who's been helping my research, even spent a few years here in Hoenn before he moved back. You might know him."
"I... don't. The ones we're with do, though."
"Tell me about yourselves. Tell me what goes through a criminal's mind."
"I'm not sure if that's sarcasm or genuine."
"Not helping the thoughts..." Aden said, sighing and pulling up a chair while Cozmo did the same. "But for the sake of being brief, I'm an odd hybrid that's too curious for my own good, apparently. I've seen and been through a lot of things you wouldn't believe even if I mentioned them, I've spent about a year in Johto going around the gyms there, and I'm not exactly keen on being here not because of you, but because of a history that's decided to follow me and keeps haunting me."
"Do I have to? Is there anything I can really tell you that you can't figure out?"
Applying the palm of his hand to his face, Cozmo readjusted his glasses and looked to the two. "Or, you can tell me why you want the information I have instead of your life story."
"Oh, that." Suddenly, Aden felt a little dumb. "I don't know. Like we've said, the message only said about seeing you. The ones above us figured it was a good idea to take up the request what with the virus that's been going around."
"So three groups now."
"Excuse me?"
"The hazardy idiots," Cozmo started, disdain apparent in his voice and not because he refused to call them H.A.Z.A.R.D., "some other group that asked once and hasn't come back, and you two."
Aden would look over to Cera. "Do you think...?"
"Dunno, I doubt it. Maybe it was another H.A.Z.A.R.D. guy saying he definitely wasn't from them."
"Sorry. Anyway, that's our reason. And sorry about the window, we can fix that."
"Enough. Neither of you or your reasons make any sense."
"We can just play the message, see if you can make any sense of it."
A few seconds passed as Aden took the SNAG from his vest pocket and put it on the table, playing the garbled message that had been saved on it.
"T...ll... m... ...........meet.... .......in the lab... ask... Tak..."
The mostly staticy message ended shortly after, with the professor confused as ever and trying to make sense of it. "I sent that message some time ago while I was doing research in Meteor Falls, after the second group had asked about what I knew. I was busy and couldn't answer at the time, and he mentioned he could send someone else instead. So I said for him to tell them to meet me and I'll be in the lab, and to ask for Takao if he does so I'd know it's from the same group. Very respectful man, knew a lot himself and respected my work."
"So all of this grilling....?"
"The signal was so bad and it's been so long since then that I forgot."
If Aden could've fallen out of his chair, he would've right then. "You have to be kidding..."
"Well, we did break into his lab and he's been hounded since then..."
"My apologies," Cozmo finally said, standing up. "But I have a final question. Can I trust anything I tell you to remain in confidence? You don't tell those people patrolling anything, I'll forget any criminals have been around here and failed to use a door."
"You can. Anything we find out will go back to the rest of the group, and if the information can help with dealing with this virus, it'd be great."
"I'll just be happy not to be in captivity and shipped overseas. My lips and my thoughts are sealed."
"In that case, I'm afraid what I do know is very little. None of my research has brought light to anything concerning that dreadful plague yet, but it speaks volumes about what the meteorites around here might yield when it comes to other mysteries. Mega Evolution being one of those... I'm sorry."
"So we came here... for nothing." Aden wasn't exactly thrilled with this revelation.
"Far from it. If I do find anything, I know who I can contact, and I could find something out at any time. I know where to focus my research, and both of you seem the inquisitive sort, if... unconventional." Cozmo would look at the window as he said this, still hung up on that. "But if you'd like, I can tell you more about what I've done. How long do you two have?"
"However long it takes before H.A.Z.A.R.D. comes back to you."
"Hm..."
What followed was a surprising couple of hours where Professor Cozmo explained what he did, why he researched the area like he did, and what some of that research has shown him. Some parts of it, however, ended up being either somewhat cryptic or was flat out not explained at all, perhaps in an effort to be safe about what he said. Unfortunately, all of that time brought no information about his work linking to anything that could help with the Shadow Virus at all, only a promise that if he found anything or needed help, he'd be sure to contact them. The three, however, did seem to hit it off better after the first impression was soundly dealt with, but whether or not that it'd mean anything was debatable for the time.
The advantage of this all, however, was that it allowed Aden and Cera a chance to get back out of town without quite as much hassle, though the professor did make sure H.A.Z.A.R.D.'s patrol wasn't where they were. Neither of the two could deny that they felt the whole trip was a bit of a bust, and that it might've counted as a mild failure because they really didn't have any information to relay back. At least, not yet. As the two left, Cera hoisting Aden in the air again while he prepared a report, he looked up and sighed.
"So... does that count as a success or a failure because we couldn't find anything new out?"
"He isn't against us, at least. And he said he'd contact us if we found anything, so..."
"...close enough, I guess."
Still not too happy with the results, Aden finished up the summary and sent it off as the two returned to HQ. But not without Cera making a comment on the way.
"Also, whenever we get back and we get a chance, I'm doing to you what I did to daddy when he first became a hybrid."
"And that is...?"
"Oh, you'll see."
Something told him this wouldn't end well.
Summary:
-Went to Fallarbor Town, tried and failed to avoid H.A.Z.A.R.D. while they were on patrol. Cera had one job. One job.
-Managed to speak to Professor Cozmo, at the cost of having to replace a window. Unfortunately, he knew nothing that could help with the Shadow Virus currently.
-However, he has promised to relay any information to us if he finds anything, and he seemed to warm up to us enough that he won't turn us all in. Still wants us to replace his window, though. |
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Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 4:36 pm
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Mission Text Micromission: Route ReconThe Shadow Virus has spread across the region faster than anyone could have anticipated, as the Western half of the Hoenn continent is almost completely blanketed, with an 80-90% infection rate being reported in most wild Pokemon species, making all of the routes impassable without heavy-duty HAZARD or some kind of police backup. What we need to know is how fast it is spreading eastward, off towards the island chains that make up the eastern part of the region. Currently, those are almost uninfected which is a good thing with the seat of the government lying in Ever Grande City, but how long those islands can remain a stronghold is yet to be seen. Maybe the virus can't transmit through salt water, but flying-types migrating and Water-types moving about will no doubt move it in that direction. Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to scout the furthest reaches of the virus to the East. How long until it reaches Fortree City or Lilycove even? Anticipating what kind of timetable we're on will make it easier to plan our next move. Objective - Scout the edge of the infection and find out where it currently lies. It has at least progressed past route 118, that much has been reported. Opposition - Probably some wild Shadow Pokemon available at your rank from the surrounding area (Route 118 up to route 124, there is no infection on the islands yet you kind of have ala carte to pick from before there.) Rewards Gained: 5 Snag Coins, 1 Rank Up (Amaranth)
Amaranth's decision to head back into Hoenn so soon after the events at Meteor Falls would end up as a bit of a surprise to Aden and Cera. Moreso when their discovery of her decision came not from her mouth, but in a note she left before her departure. It didn't say much either, only that she felt finding out where the Shadow Virus' influence had spread to was important and a SNAG message only proved it all the more. She figured it was safest if only one went, plus a quote still rang in her head to this day:
"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you."
Trying to take it to heart ever since, she made sure her actions were certain and swift in her departure. Unfortunately, as soon as she managed to get into Hoenn, her travel was about to become a fair bit slower. She didn't want to risk her Togekiss being exposed to the Shadow Virus with its rapid spreading, and she was still afraid to send out her Butterfree at all after the events in the quarantine zone. This meant having to go on foot once she was in Hoenn's airspace, her journey starting in Slateport City. To her surprise, the city was still somewhat bustling but there was an air of tension all around. She tried her best to keep to herself and make her visit in the city short, fearful of anyone deciding to turn her into HAZARD or anything. Most wouldn't see much more of her apart from her arrival and quick departure.
To her fortune, there really wasn't a lot to note in the city otherwise, and she seemed to get out without much incident. Going into the route, however, was something she would come to regret. The cities were largely the only areas with relative safety in Hoenn now, with many of the routes riddled with infected Pokemon. One couldn't make too many steps in one without seeing one, and avoiding a fight with one wasn't an easy task. Trainers didn't dare stick around for any length of time either, with the cycling road being the only part that saw any real traffic from people. It made her suddenly wish she had a bicycle to avoid the Shadow Pokemon herself, apprehensive as she went down the route of her own accord. It was safe to say she all but bolted through the route at full speed in an effort to avoid any encounters, if only until the real scouting began. But what she saw wasn't the greatest, the arguably more brutal Pokemon giving all the indication she needed of what she could expect.
She would eventually get into Mauville City, finding herself winded as she reached the city's doors and slumped against the outer wall, panting and trying to catch her breath. She noticed that anyone coming in or out of the city was nearly non-existent despite what traffic she saw earlier, and thankfully, there weren't many Pokemon around either. It gave her a chance to recover before she countinued, though her efforts to stay out of the city led her to traveling along the outer wall and into the woods to find her way into Route 118. Only then did her scouting had a chance to happen, though she made an effort to go northward as soon as she could. The bit of water splitting the route wasn't an issue to her, and she was able to get across without hassle despite the infected Pokemon within. Trainers, it seemed, were still staying well out of the area, making the environment rather creepy.
That is, apart from the occasional glimpse of HAZARD personnel once she got into the second half of the route. Careful traveling allowed her to keep from being seen by the couple that were around, carefully approaching the northward Route 119 and ensuring any sort of escape by simply wandering into the taller grass there, though it made it hard for her to see. The grass was easily as tall as she was, cutting her visibility almost entirely, and the frequent rustles from wild Pokemon kept her uneasy. The information she had read mentioned that the infection had already passed Route 118 for sure, so she was sure she was still well within infected territory. She was doing well to avoid any problematic encounters, though her inexperience with Hoenn's climate meant she had no idea just how frequent the route saw rain nor any way to prepare for it. She figured her best option was to power through, keeping a note if she came across any infected Pokemon proper.
In this route's case, her note would be punctuated before she ever left the tall grass as the wind picked up, almost hurricane strength as grass and sharp leaves powered through her instead. The winds alone were enough to throw her off her feet and onto the ground the second she turned around, looking to the sky as she saw a shadow fly overhead. Before the shadow landed, however, it would prove its hostility by trying to ensure the sudden intruder wasn't one that would move or survive. Amaranth could feel the vile chi that was ever familiar with any other infected Pokemon welling around her, restricting her movements and keeping her from really getting up as her opponent finally revealed itself: a Tropius that looked like he could've been breathing out the viral chi and was poised to try and finish her off now.
She was still able to at least reach for a Pokeball even if she couldn't hope to escape otherwise, sending out her Butterfree and hoping for the best. The best is not what she would get, the frenzied bug scattering a cloud of shadowy dust around and catching the Tropius in it, serving little more than to drive it completely crazy and immediately ram the bug, sending him to the ground only for him to eventually get back up and letting out a cry that sounded both pained and angered at the same time. None of this served to help the hybrid exactly feel any better about what Shadow Pokemon could do, especially seeing what the "help" from her own making things infinitely worse. [Butterfree: 7/10, Tropius: Hyper Mode]
It was safe to say she wasn't exactly giving any orders, practically watching the fight in horror as she struggled to break free from the Shadow Hold Tropius put her under earlier. If things got even more pear shaped than they already were, she knew she'd need a way out or else there was a good chance she'd be left to the sort of wolves that not even one's worst enemies deserved. Try as she might, however, she wasn't able to do anything about it just yet, fearing that it may come down to the Tropius falling before the hold would. To make matters worse, Butterfree's anger bubbled into the rain, starting to carry the same vile chi as the Shadow Sky poured down and just working itself into as much of a frenzied rampage as Tropius was in, ramming into Butterfree again and planting a foot on one of his wings to try and make sure he wouldn't be getting away unless he wanted to rip a wing off. [Butterfree and Tropius: Hyper Mode]
Amaranth would call out to Butterfree in a hope of getting him to snap out of it as he too struggled to get out, but he wasn't having any of it. She even threw one of the Dusk Balls she had on hand to try and stop Tropius with more immediate means, but the crazed state it was in meant the ball was completely useless; it opened up, did nothing at all, and was subsequently crushed when Tropius moved his foot from Butterfree to the ball that was thrown in a futile effort to capture it. The ball wouldn't be in total vain, however, as Butterfree was able to get back up and made use of the shadowy rain as he whipped up a Shadow Storm to throw Tropius off balance. The Pokemon would make a thud on the ground, having more trouble getting up as it flailed about and giving Butterfree a chance to follow up and slam into it, sending it rolling a short distance... and onto its feet. More of the vile chi from it would well up, this time around Butterfree to keep him from going too far as it rushed over and bit the Pokemon's wing, swinging the poor bug around before flinging him to the ground.
Whatever fight he had was waning, but he'd still try and get up, determined to be the one left standing between the two and whipping up another Shadow Storm to try and throw Tropius back off balance. Prepared for it unlike the time before, the Pokemon braced itself and managed to hold its ground, despite how weakened it had become from the constant attacks. It wanted to come forth again, rip the Butterfree to shreds and assert that it dealing with it was a bad idea, but exhaustion was beginning to get the better of it and the earlier frenzy it was in was beginning to calm for a brief moment. Wondering if maybe now she'd have a chance of ending this fight, Amaranth threw a second Dusk Ball at the weakened Tropius and lamented she didn't have something better to use instead. Its exhaustion gave the ball an easier time of doing what it was designed to do, thankfully able to ensnare the Pokemon and contain it within. Furious wobbling commenced all the same as it obviously wanted out and continue fighting, but the exhaustion was too much. The wobbling would eventually cease, the ball clicking and the hold on both her and her Pokemon finally letting up.
Butterfree would try to ram the ball despite this, only to fall flat on his face in mid flight and kiss the dirt instead when a sudden Will-o-Wisp caught him from behind and finished him off, knocking out the bug. "I'm sorry," Amarnath spoke up, putting her hand down and sighing. She didn't want to do what she just did, but she knew if he kept up, the matters would only worsen. She only hoped she'd be able to do something for both of them, pocketing the ball holding the now captured Tropius and recalling her Butterfree. She stayed completely silent afterward, walking through the rain and hoping she wouldn't have another hellacious fight like that anytime soon. She made it a point to make her time in the grass as brief as possible, let alone around it for fear of being jumped on by something else as she made her way through the route.
Reaching the Weather Institute finally gave her a chance to stop and rest, reflecting on what she had seen already and wondering how far this would end up stretching. Was this the most of it, or would it end up within Hoenn's oceans? If it did, she wasn't sure what could be done at that point. She really hoped she wouldn't find much more. The infected Tropius she had encountered was bad enough, and another fight would mean putting the rest of her Pokemon into danger. Both from whatever the wild Pokemon would do and her own becoming infected in no time. Fifteen minutes had passed before she finally got to her feet again, continuing on through what was left of the route and eventually seeing Fortree City in the distance. Unfortunately, things didn't look a lot better there, noting that some of the treetop houses had apparently seen some damages.
As she finally reached the city, she could also see one of its bridges had been destroyed. The city's open nature was meant as one where people and Pokemon often lived in a more natural fashion, but with the Shadow Virus' growing influence, infected Pokemon had all too easy a means of damaging the city should their rampage go beyond the routes. The only truly safe area looked to be the Pokemon Center and maybe the gym further in, but she didn't dare enter. Even if she wanted a chance for her Pokemon to recover, she knew that the less she did within the city, the better off she'd be. She couldn't stop now, no matter how badly she wanted to. Navigating the city would prove to be tricky because of its damages, but she would finally find a way across and make her way out. Part of her really hoped that maybe that was it, that maybe she could report back, but her hunch proved to be unfortunately correct as a rainstorm started up again.
Entering Route 120 showed her a lot of what she had already seen, seeing a pair of infected Linoone locked in a harsh fight within the grass. She would've thought nothing of it had it not been for the chi she was still feeling. It had yet to cease aside from when she was in Slateport, figuring the only way she would know if the virus hadn't gone any further would be if she didn't feel such chi in the area. While it meant a slightly easier job, there was still the fact there were Shadow Pokemon all over, meaning she didn't stay in one place for any length of time and tried her best to keep her distance. It wasn't long before she got into Route 121, and though she felt like the chi wasn't as present, it was still around. An Aipom would come out swinging from the taller grass within the area, prompting her to immediately start running for her own safety. Adrenaline proved to be more than a little useful, jumping over the fences that were within the route as she swiftly made her escape and finally got into another city that felt arguably safer, Lilycove.
She still didn't stop just yet, deciding to go through the city and get into Route 124 for a moment. To her luck, she didn't feel much of the chi at all. Maybe it was safer here, with whatever she was feeling either being from the region itself. Or, worse, the infection was on the verge of getting the Pokemon here too, meaning it was only a matter of time before it did happen. She froze for a moment at the realization, slowly backing out of the route and heading back into Lilycove. She would finally enter the Pokemon Center there, deciding that the safety of her and her Pokemon were more important now that her scouting was seemingly done. As soon as she stepped in, she would overhear the news playing within.
"...several other regions have declared Hoenn a crisis-level disaster zone of a higher caliber than they had before. Immigration to the region has ceased on all levels, as has emigration. According to officials, the stance is 'no one gets in and no one leaves' until the situation is well in hand. Any individual or group of individuals found entering Hoenn without permission is to be considered a threat to not only national but global security."
Her heart sank at the news she got, slinking back and deciding that maybe she should still keep her distance. Let her Pokemon recover over time. Sitting outside and moving out of sight, she took out her SNAG and proceeded to summarize her findings.
Summary:
-Scouted the routes past Route 118. The infection's spread as far as Route 121, tapering off within Lilycove City. I could feel traces of the infected chi in Route 124 as well, but I'm hoping I was only feeling things.
-Encountered and captured an infected Tropius, losing two Dusk Balls for it. Butterfree's still recovering.
-Am unable to leave the region due to the ban on immigration and emigration. Sending Claydol's probably too risky... I'll stay in Hoenn and group up with the rest of you when I can. |
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Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 3:54 pm
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Mission Text Micromission: Steel for Combat!The more and more you put together the picture, Ein's angling to make a move sooner or later... there's some scheme he's been working towards this entire time, and this is going to erupt in open warfare with Cipher sooner or later. I think we can all sympathize with the rage our leader showed in the latest encounter with that Koffing hybrid and Dull... whatever he is. There's no time like the present to prepare for the future, and with that future being uncertain other than a head on collision between the two teams of Cipher and Snagem... why not ready yourself now? We face odds unlike any we have faced before, as every single member of this opposing team possesses power equaling if not trebling ours. Sub's return should serve as a battle cry to all of us to ready ourselves to face this brave new world, uncertain though it may be. With that in mind, this Micromission is going to be story in pure form from yourself. Prepare your character however they decide fit. If your character would train, have them train. If your character would tinker about in a lab, have them do that. There is one possible pillar of story to construct your mission around, should you so choose. And that is a battle, either with another trainer, or against a wild Shadow Pokemon from one of the infected routes in Hoenn. (Pretty much the entire mainland continent now.) I will be rewarding evo points for these battles, and if you battle the trainer you can earn up to a maximum of fifteen evo points for the singular Pokemon you choose. The evo points will be very carefully rationed, and so it will be very difficult to get above ten unless you absolutely blow me away. If you choose to battle the wild Shadow Pokemon, you have the option of capturing them, unlike the battle against a random adversary of your choice. This option will also give you evo points, but a lot less in the range of one to five depending on the battle. Keep in mind this also technically breaks an international quarantine and so you may end up running into HAZARD, though following what we found out in the desert we may not be on the top of their hit list any more... In either case, you don't need to battle as they are optional, you can still do a stint of your character preparing for the coming fight and cash in on some rewards, determined as always by story. Objective - prepare for the upcoming conflict with Team Cipher however your character would. Opposition - An optional Pokemon battle against an adversary of your choice either a battle against a trainer for more Evo Points and no option of a Pokemon capture, or a battle against a wild Shadow Pokemon in Hoenn that you can capture and get evo points for, but a lot less. Note that you can use Shadow Pokemon against the wild Pokemon for purification points. Otherwise, no opposition is necessary if it's not in character. This is your time to add layers of caramel to your character's crunchy wafer flavor so to speak. Rewards: 5 Snag Coins, 1 Nugget, 5 Purification Points (Aden's Scyther)
Cera had decided to just distance herself from the stuff that was going on around the others, carrying the pink balloon and sudoku book into her room. She couldn't help thinking that maybe she ought to prepare for the worst, that the likely fight she found herself fearing wouldn't be one many would survive. For that matter, much as she thought of suggesting Amaranth to do the same, she wasn't sure if it would be the best idea. Her chi felt oddly weak, like there was barely much more than a human would produce. It wasn't like there wasn't a difference between her chi and Sol's; there was, but she always figured it was from lack of experience or perhaps a result of her being a clone and simply not quite as powerful as the original. But after this long, she didn't expect her chi to be weaker... maybe she had died or something before she was found again, she wasn't sure and she wasn't in any position to ask at the moment. For now, she made her way into the medlab, if only to see how Aden was doing.
Once she arrived in there, she found that he was still unconscious, but he seemed alright enough. Surprisingly, it wasn't long before he finally stirred, groaning as he slowly sat up. She'd watch as he looked around, take one look at her, and lay back down with a look of shame on his face when he apparently realized he was back at HQ.
"Great, we failed, didn't we?" Aden asked upfront with a sigh.
"Dunno... sounded like there was some success. Something about you all making off with a Regi in the ruins, HAZARD was at least slightly convinced, and Devon was able to finally make a cure for this whole virus."
"Wait, what? That's what happened while we were busy being ransacked by infected bats and nearly drowning? And Aile was able to get it... good." Another sigh would escape him, with much more relief in its tone than the earlier one of annoyance with himself. "Last I saw was that barrier coming up before being tossed aside like a piece of trash and blacking out."
"Well, I... I wouldn't relax just yet. I get the feeling the next thing we end up doing if we end up helping Devon distribute that stuff's gonna have us really butting heads with Cipher. And Miror B. escaped again."
"WHAT!? Oh, for... ugh... we can barely deal with one of them, and two just overwhelm us completely. Anything more than that, hell, just that crazy cyborg looking thing would have us all killed instantly. We'd be lucky to slow them down."
"Still better than nothing... I'm scared too, okay? I'm scared that if and when we see them again, it might end with a lot of us dead. Or that if we do survive, we'll be left so useless that we might as well be. We've gotta do something, though... I'd have come to Ammy instead, but her chi seems really weak."
"What, did everyone find her and she die or something? I know in the rare times dad's gotten killed, his chi's a bit weaker for a bit and then it'll be back to normal afterward."
"Yeah, but it's usually not so weak that you'd almost think it was a human letting off the chi instead of a hybrid. I really dun want to tax her, not now. How're you feeling, though?"
"Alright, I guess. Head hurts from what went down back in Hoenn... should be able to get around, though."
"Good, because I'm gonna need you for some training. It'll do you good, it'll do your Pokemon good, and I can stand to get better with my transforming. Might be one of the only things that can help... come on, I know where we can go for this."
Cera would take off only seconds later, keeping herself slow enough that Aden could follow her when he got up and walked out. Her pace would become quicker once she knew he was able to go about without issue, and he'd watch as they walked right on past the Super Training Room. It was enough to make him speak up. "We're... not going in there?"
"It takes so much to run it even for a short while that if anyone else has the same idea, they'll be able to make better use of it. I know we've got a battlefield somewhere around here too, so we'll just use that instead."
Aden would shrug as he continued following, him and Cera continuing and finding theirselves into a lower level in the HQ. It wasn't much longer before they would find theirselves in a large arena of sorts. It was designed to be a lot like the kinds of fields that a Pokemon Gym would use, surrounded by stands. It looked like it hadn't seen use in some time, the field having a dusty feel to it and the air stale. While the Pokeball insignia looked generic, it did have its points of extravagance. He'd look around more as he stopped on one side of it, finally turning to look to Cera.
"You know, I saw this place on the HQ's map before, but I figured it was restricted or something."
"I think it's more that it's just not used much... thought it'd work just as well to use this for what we're doing."
"Fair enough... but what exactly do you want me to do here?"
"Send out one of your Pokemon. I want to learn how they fight, so I'll transform into them and try to mimic what they're able to do."
"And this all will help me how?"
"Well, you're the one that'll be trying to fight back. You know your Pokemon better than anyone, so it shouldn't be anything you can't handle."
Aden's eyes would widen at this point. Cera wanted him to be target practice for her and his own Pokemon? Was she crazy? Perhaps not a question worth answering. He was silent for a good minute before he gulped and nodded, grabbing a single Pokeball from his vest. "Alright... I swear, sis, I think you've gone crazier than you think you have." He'd quickly throw the ball to release his Ampharos, only for him to quickly regret that choice and for Cera to move back in a hurry.
Not only was his Pokemon giving off an awful lot of the ever-common chi a Shadow Pokemon would give off, but her usual demeanor was completely absent, replaced by a harsh glare as she looked at Cera and started to summon a Shadow Bolt. Had it not been for Aden's extremely prompt recall, extra crispy Mew might've been the next menu item for the team's kitchen. The grimace that followed as Aden stared at the ball said all that needed to be said about his feelings on the apparent development. "I was fearing that... I was really hoping she'd somehow get away from it. Guess I was too hopeful with so many infected bats and Aile's Flygon being out in such close vicinity," he said, sighing. "Suddenly glad I had to recall her when part of the ruins were flooded. If her Greninja's fine, that might be the only reason."
"At least now there'll be a cure for it... look, um, just let one of your other ones out."
"Right.... ugh, Nidoking's going to be so pissed when he finds out about Ampharos. Here, let's try this." He'd send out Poliwrath instead, knowing it'd be safer than Scyther by far. Or, now, his Ampharos.
"He'll work... here, I'll explain what's going on."
What followed next would be relative silence, but really, Cera had decided to just tell Poliwrath what was going on through a more local telepathy compared to the usual broadcasts she did normally. After a moment, Aden would watch as his Pokemon took to the same side as the Mew, followed by watching her transform. It appeared to mostly go off without a hitch, save for a pink spiral on her stomach rather than black; the sign of a still somewhat imperfect transformation if it wasn't personal choice at this point. Either way, it would allow for a way to tell them apart. He wouldn't get much more time to think before Cera suddenly blasted his face with a Water Gun.
"(So it works like that... gonna be an adjust, though. This body's slimier than Kayvaan's.)" Cera remarked afterward, her telepathy gone entirely. Luckily, Aden and his Poliwrath would be able to understand her just fine.
"(No hard feelings, but I suppose you're the one I'll have to be the rough customer to this time,)" Poliwrath added, before adding his own Water Gun. The water facials wouldn't hurt Aden too much, but the force of them were enough to push him back both times and send him off his feet.
"Could've given a bit more warning," he spoke up as he quickly got to his feet, mentally preparing himself. "Any tips here?"
"(Start dodging,)" Cera spoke up, trying to get more of a feel for her current form as she rushed at Aden and managed to spring up, quickly coming back down into a Body Slam. Needless to say, the hybrid made sure he was well out of the way of that one, causing Cera to crash into the floor instead.
"Really, that's it, nothing else? C'mon, it's two on one!"
"(Hmmmm.... nope! Besides, you think we're gonna be any better numbered in the worst case?)"
"I really should've weighed my options better- whoa!" This time, it was his Poliwrath attacking, firing a Hydro Pump. Though Aden managed to avoid the worst of the attack, the water left the floor slick. He still wasn't sure what the exact point of this was, or at least how he'd benefit from it. He figured it would've been easier for Cera to simply fight his Pokemon rather than this kind of method.
Before long, he found himself avoiding another Hydro Pump, only to slip on the water already on the ground and fall backwards into it. Unlike the Water Guns at the beginning of all of this, the pressure sent him much further, throwing him off to the side and utterly drenched as he rolled into the wall. Considering everything back in the ruins, he was amazed that he was still conscious. "Okay, I get it, I could use practice again.... ugh," he groaned, rolling onto his back. "And I thought Blizz could give a few hard knocks."
It'd be at this point that Cera reverted back, though she seemed to be just fine. "Oh, trust me, this isn't the only thing I had in mind. Here, let's try your Raticate instead. Or maybe your Umbreon..."
"Hey, at least let me choose!" Aden spoke up, starting to dislike his apparent role as a guinea pig and moving target as he recalled Poliwrath. He thought for a second and, deciding not to let out either of those two, let out the only other one he had on hand. Namely, his Arcanine. "Here, how about him?"
"Maybe… could be good speed training. Might wanna brace yourself.”
“Why…?”
Aden’s answer would come quicker than he realized, watching his Arcanine walk over to Cera. Probably another quick explanation kept between the two, given how after a moment, he watched Cera float around before finally transforming. He could tell that the form might’ve used some work, what with the pink fur and actually being slightly smaller. “Guess you really do need the practice.”
“(Kinda… but there’s a method to all of this. Just… bear with me,)” Cera spoke up, taking a few cautious steps in her new form, trying to get her bearings. She’d walk a few circles around at a slow gait before going from one end of the field to the other, moving a bit faster as she got more used to the balance she’d need. Once she was done, she returned to where Aden and Arcanine were. “(Alright, I think I got it. Arcy, how do you do your Extreme Speed attack?)”
“Uh oh.” Aden was quick to brace himself, fairly certain he wouldn’t be dodging this if he wanted to. He’d find that he made a good call as Arcanine rushed into him all of a sudden, too fast to dodge if he wanted to. Too fast to defend against either, if he hadn’t already been doing so. The only good fortune was that Arcanine tried to hold back, meaning the hybrid didn’t find himself skidding into a wall. “Okay, ow. Should be fine, though-“
“(Ooooh, like that. Thanks.)”
And then, hope went out the window as Cera attempted to copy the move, trying to get the sheer speed of it down. To her, it felt more like an extremely fast Tackle, but she simply lacked the same strength or capability of Arcanine. The impact, however, was enough to knock Aden over, leaving her on top of him before she quickly stepped back. He’d be able to get up after a moment, noting that Cera seemed to be better with other bipedal forms. On the flip side, she wasn’t too bad with figuring out attacks; he found himself having to move to avoid a Flamethrower being spat from her mouth, only to see the transformed Mew cough.
“(Ugh, okay, never doing that one again unless I have to. I swear, Arcy, I dunno how you live with that on a daily basis. Let’s… let’s keep practicing.)” What followed next was Aden figuring out he’d either have to dodge or defend, though he was grateful that there wasn’t any attempts at the likes of Crunch or Fire Fang in the process. Unfortunately, there was one case where he had to take two Flare Blitzes back to back, and he found himself hitting the wall yet again because he simply couldn’t endure so much force at once. By now, he was looking worse for wear, but he wasn’t about to go down if he could help it. Not like that explosion in the ruins managed to do all too easily.
After that, however, he watched Cera revert back and Arcanine move back to his side. “What, that’s it? You’re done?” He asked as he recalled his Pokemon.
”Not quite… just need to recover a little. Trying to hold those forms and attack takes a lot more chi than a hybridish form that can’t attack at all. In a few minutes, though, I have an idea you’re really not gonna like. But I’m gonna need you to fight this time.” The tone in her voice suggested that she wasn’t so sure if she was going to like the idea either.
“Yeah?” Aden wasn’t about to complain a short break after everything so far. Besides, he doubted it’d be too bad.
”I want you to send out your Scyther.”
“Wait a second, what!?”
”You remember that information Devon gave us? About how to get the infection into stasis? Well… one of the only ways we can really do that is if they fight. It’s the most dangerous since they can fly off the handle, but if you’re wanting to see him or Ampharos back to normal… you’re kinda not gonna have a choice. The more you leave them in their balls, the longer they’ll be like they are now.”
Aden backed up a step and sighed. He really didn’t like that fact, even though he knew she was right. He didn’t like the idea that there was a good chance he could risk his life and others’, risk Scyther’s life too. “……what’s your plan?” He finally asked, resigning to whatever fate that came.
”I want to transform into him, and we fight him. I want to see if the corrupted chi factors into any transformations, since I’m sure I can’t copy that. That, and… I know Scyther’s one of your better Pokemon. Really strong and really fast. So it might actually take both of us to really handle him, especially if he gets too agitated.”
Cera was right, Aden really didn’t like the idea at all. Still, he steeled himself and took another Pokeball from his vest. “Alright, stay at my side then. I doubt he’s gonna listen too well to either of us,” he said before tossing the ball, the area being filled with vile chi as his Scyther came out. Though he always looked to be sharp, ready-to-strike sort, the sheer malice in his eyes, the burning desire to take a foe and rip them to shreds left both of them unnerved. To make it worse, the chi made it difficult for Cera to get the feel she needed for Scyther’s chi signature to pull off a transform.
”…uh oh.”
“What do you mean, uh oh? Uh oh kinda isn’t good here!”
”It’s gonna take a bit longer to transform, his chi’s meshing with the rest of this stuff and making it hard for me to get it down enough to mimic!”
Already, he could see Scyther was glaring at Cera, figuring she was his opponent and immediately racing at her with a Shadow Blitz. That is, before Aden shoved her out of the way and took the attack instead. “Agh, that didn’t take long…” He remarked as he hit the ground, quickly getting back up and watching as Scyther put both of his arms together as if sharpening them. “Sis, I’d try to be really quick on that transformation!”
[Scyther: 3/10]
”Sorry, just give me a little longer!”
Even as he readied himself, Aden really didn’t want to be fighting his own Pokemon like this. It was one thing to spar with them, or to be target practice. It was another when the fight could very well be a life or death situation. He tried to avoid having to attack more than he needed to, moving to the side as Scyther raced in and tried to slash him with one of his arms, then another, only to get shoved down as his Pokemon let out a terrifying battle cry and went for another Shadow Blitz, only to get tripped by a fast sweep as Aden got back up and reclaimed his distance. “C’mon, you’ve usually been better about listening than this!” He spoke up, trying to talk some sense into Scyther, though it appeared to be to no avail.
[Scyther: 6/10]
”Almost…”
“Dunno how much longer you’re getting- AGH!” Before Aden knew it, he found himself blindsided by a third Shadow Blitz and learned that Scyther could do more than a crude tackle with it. He could also do a bunch of slashes, all of them fueled by the same vile chi and one of them hitting its mark rather deeply. Right as the hybrid clutched the now-bloodied tear in his shirt and vest, he found himself taking another such slash and then getting kicked down as one of Scyther’s arms pointed itself at his neck before it moved back and both were ready to become a guillotine. And judging by how agitated the chi around him felt, Hyper Mode had to be coming at any moment… and with it, his potential demise.
“C-crap…”
[Scyther: 9/10]
Everything seemed to move in slow motion at that point, with Scyther reading its fourth Shadow Blitz in a row and potentially in its most deadly form, both scythes moving to do Aden in without a second thought as the hybrid readied the best defense he could muster in such a scenario. He was ready to try and blast him back, fire chi welling around him. It looked like he wouldn’t be able to get the move off in time, however, and so he tried to brace himself for the worst. That is, until Cera finally rushed in front of him, transformed and looking like an unusual pink Scyther, her arms held out to clash with the arms trying to go for a kill.
“(You might be his Pokemon, but get your bloody scythes off my brother!)” She yelled before shoving as hard as she could to force Scyther back for a brief moment. “(Aden, whatever you’re doing, do it now! Don’t worry if it hits me, I’m pretty sure he’s already in Hyper Mode and we can’t afford to hold anything back now!)”
“R…right!” Aden gave a quick nod, letting off a Heat Wave where he stood and catching both Cera and Scyther in it. Both of them would recoil, neither of them apparently liking the attack. But while the transformed Mew simply got herself out of range, Scyther tried to otherwise ignore it after a second and went to attack Cera. She had to think fast and keep moving back, evading slash after slash as the frenzied attack seemed to be endless. She barely got away when both arms went down to try and get her that way, allowing Aden a chance to try and calm himself. Not because of the matter at hand, but he had an idea to do something that could actually deal with Scyther as he was now.
“Hey, Scyther,” he spoke up, eyes closed and his head down as if he was prepared to take one for the team, “you want to finish this job? Do it, come on!” Scyther would turn around in an instant, only for Cera to land a Slash while the Pokemon was unaware and start racing back. Aden opened his eyes just in time to see Scyther’s course change yet again to go after Cera once more. The Calm Mind seemed to have it uses and amplified the chi around him, and between the Heat Wave and whatever Cera did, combined with Scyther’s overall lack of defense, he figured there was a good way to knock him out.
He continued to bide his time as Cera wound up getting herself stuck in a corner, still keeping herself ready to parry whatever Scyther tried to do. As he went for the attack, however, Aden managed to get close and threw a harsh, Psychic-fueled punch in the back of Scyther’s head. The sudden impact a lot harder than it looked, and though there wouldn’t be any lasting damage, it was hard enough hit that it became Scyther’s turn to meet the wall and Cera’s turn to get out of the way just in time for it. The two watched as the Pokemon ultimately slumped to the floor, apparently knocked out cold. Panting, Aden would finally be able to recall Scyther, something he had far fewer qualms about.
“Are… are you alright?” He asked, dropping to a seated position.
“(Y-yeah.)” Cera replied before promptly reverting to normal to get a better look at the wounds Scyther managed to land on Aden. She regretted that she forgot how to use Recover after all of that mess with the Zhelat Comet. ”We should get you to the medlab again, now. Those cuts look really deep.”
“Yeah, don’t worry, I’m going to. I think that’s enough training for now, especially after that.”
”Agreed… I think I have something safer in mind after we’re done in the medlab.”
“Good…” Slowly, he’d get to his feet, using his clothing as well as he could to try and keep any bleeding at bay while he and Cera made their way to the medlab. It was sorely going to be needed after all of that, even if neither of them truly felt all that ready except for some preparation in any other life or death situations. After a while, once both of them got a chance to recover and be dealt with in the medlab, Aden would discover exactly what that “safer thing” she had in mind really was. For whatever reason, it involved being on top of Mount Silver.
“Sis, c-can’t we just talk this over!”
”But learning to fly is a lot safer. Come on, you should be able to just fine by now. Or am I gonna have to do with you what I did to help daddy learn how to fly?”
“Wait, what did you do to help him learn-“ Suddenly, he’d find himself being shoved off the summit and in a freefall down quite a distance, screaming in panic as he started his rapid descent. “SIS, ARE YOU CRAZY!? I’M GONNA DIE!!!”
”Daddy said that too! You’ll be fine, trust me!” In the meantime, Cera took out the sudoku book she found earlier and looked at one of the pages that wasn’t filled. Aden would be back up eventually, she figured. Plus the drop was going to be in snow anyway, so she was sure he’d be fine. Hopefully.
Summary:
-Aden and I trained for a bit, though I dunno how much more ready we really are for it. The session went awry while experimenting trying to transform into an infected Pokemon, and it took a lot longer to sort their normal chi out to transform at all.
-Managed to somehow survive fighting Aden’s Shadow Scyther, though I think I made a mistake in having him send out one of his Pokemon. At least we’re still alive.
-I’m teaching Aden how to fly! Kinda… he’s really kinda falling with style, actually. I think we’re as ready as we’re gonna be, though. |
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Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 10:14 pm
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Mission Text Halloween Mission: Who You Gonna Call? A special group of ghost fighters has assembled together this year to help stem the flow of hostile spirits from the other world and they want you to help them! Introducing the Pokebusters! The Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town, the Old Chateau in Eterna Forest, Mt. Pyre in Hoenn, and the Celestial Tower in Unova are all overwhelmed with hostile spirits and the Pokebusters need your help in fighting them. Gear up in one of their signature jump suits and strap on one of their special proton packs and set off to one of the four locations list. At each of these locations the wild Ghost Pokemon are plentiful and violent, having been roused by a powerful Ghost Pokemon that has crossed over to our side. Fight your way through the hordes of Ghost Pokemon and find the "Boss Ghost" and capture it with the proton pack. You'll have to weaken the ghost in battle before the proton pack can suck it up though, so good luck. -Objective: ---Join the Pokebusters and set off to either the Pokemon Tower, Old Chateau, Mt. Pyre or Celestial Tower and take out the Boss Ghost causing all the trouble there. -Opposition: ---Pokemon Tower: Gastly and Haunter mainly, may encounter some Cubone. -----Boss Ghost: Momma Marowak, the departed spirit of a Marowak killed by Team Rocket. Now twisted from her extended stay in the spirit world Momma Marowak is now an Alolan Marowak of tremendous strength. Can use any move a Marowak usually learns as well as Will-o-Wisp, Shadow Ball, and Flamethrower. ---You may encounter some possessed humans. -Pokemon: ---You may capture any wild Pokemon except for the Boss Ghosts, they must be captured in the proton pack. Rewards: Yet to be given.
During the Snagems' excursion to the Lost Hotel, trying to keep a barrier separating the realms of the living and deceased, it was safe to say that Cera had gotten lost. She and the Drifloon following her had gotten in just after the others, only to lose track of them and wander the hotel's halls for far longer than expected. It felt like several days had passed before she found her way again, let alone reuniting with the others. In a way, perhaps it was for reasons they weren't willing to talk about to most.
It all started when they went inside, going down one of the halls to start their search. The Lost Hotel was always known for having an eerie air to it, the place having been abandoned for many a year. One was more likely to find a ghost Pokemon rather than anything or anyone that was actually alive. At least, that was the case by night. By day, it was more likely to find the local punks skating around and using the place as a second home without rules. Now, with the spiritual barrier weakened, the only people crazy enough to think exploring it was a fun night was... well, one could easily look to exhibits A through Z: Team Snagem itself, job or no job. Especially as the spiritual energies from the other world were slowly transforming this one, starting with the hotel itself.
What once were halls sporting dusty, torn up carpets and general disrepair were now vast pockets of spiritual unrest. They were all stirring, ready to come forth at Jack's command. The various rooms, one could hope, would still go to their proper place in this world. But no one could be certain of that. Cera and Drifloon had gone through one of them, thinking to check inside and see if they could find anything. Unknown to either of them, however, was that there were other plans for them. Neither one had any idea of them, until the team's Claydol appeared behind them and suddenly teleported them out of the hotel entirely. To Celadon City of all places, too. It was safe to say that there was a really confused Mew and Drifloon wondering what this was all about.
"Huh, what- GRAY!" Cera yelled after getting her bearings straight, noticing the Claydol next to her before it teleported back to HQ.
"Oh, did you want to leave the mortal plane already? I can send you back and tell our clients to bust you instead. Unlike me, they do accept that ghosts exist and in the clients' words..." GRAY trailed off, pausing to sigh. "...'Ain't afraid of no ghost.'"
"Then maybe explain!? There's others."
"I thought the lazier sorts exploring the hotel would appreciate it if their pet ABC gum didn't wander off into the other plane. I'd prefer to forget about their task, and the team bus is transportation, not our front line. You were the only one expen- that I could send as the need arises. Or did you decide to forget that Sub transferred ownership to me after having to save you in Kalos?"
"And you're just now doing this... why?"
"The need never arose before," GRAY stated.
"...fair enough. So I'm not left in the dark, then, what's going on?" By now, the Drifloon next to her was more than a little confused. All it could hear of the conversation was Cera's end of it.
"The clients call themselves the Pokebusters. They're a crack team of self-proclaimed channelers that assembled in response to the barrier between planes weakening. More powerful spirits have begun to emerge from the other side to enact their revenge upon this one, and they're equipped to deal with them. I know no further details than that. Their request simply states a few places they'll be going to and that they could use an extra set of hands."
"That's it? Really?"
"I know no other details about them. Now clean the gum from your ears, including the mental ones, and get going. The request came from somewhere within the city."
It was safe to say that this sudden mission made little sense to Cera as she started wandering around the streets of Celadon, Drifloon staying at her side and trying not to reveal how nervous it felt. Being in this plane was one thing, but feeling like it was so far away from the rest of its group wasn't something it was used to. But if it was going to be their emissary, then getting used to it was going to be needed.
None of this changed the fact that they had no idea of where to find these guys. She could transform and ask around, but she had a feeling that the residents wouldn't know much about them. Likewise, most of the housing and landmarks of the city were pretty well populated. The only place that really came to mind was the city's hotel... it usually wasn't used much. It wasn't any lead to speak of, but a guess was all there was to go on. They'd end up going down a few alleyways to get through the city as quickly as possible.
It wouldn't take too long at all for Cera or Drifloon to get near the hotel, or through its doors. Surprisingly enough, it still looked as luxurious as she always heard of. People were, in fact, around and going about their day-to-day lives.
The receptionist, however, looked like she came straight of an older era. She was an older woman, her brown hair cut as short to be as unflappable as she looked. A pair of large-framed glasses rested on her face, with a red strap on each side. Her clothing was similarly departed from modern fashion, but yet, it wasn't totally out of place in the hotel. She'd lift her head after a moment, taking notice of the Mew and Drifloon that had come through the door.
"Whaddya want?" She spoke up, somehow unfazed at seeing a Pokemon so often considered a mirage. "Don't tell me you're here for those louts that haven't paid up."
"I'm sorry, who?"
"You're something I haven't seen and there's a ghost following you like a lost Growlithe. I don't think you're here to check for vacancies."
"Fine, you've got me on that one," Cera admitted, shaking her head. "Who are you talking about, though?"
"We've had a few guests. Say they're some sort of crew "fighting an influx of paranormal activity." Their words, not mine. If that thing's haunting you, go upstairs to Room 184 and they'll deal with it. Just tell them to pay for their stay already!"
Deciding that it was best to not poke the crabby lady any further, Cera quietly took herself and Drifloon upstairs. They'd go down one of the halls to look for the room in question, knocking the door as they arrived. "...hello?" Judging by the shouts that followed, it was unlikely that any of the room's residents expected to hear a voice not from behind the door, but right in their minds. These were the clients GRAY mentioned, right? "Can I come in?"
There was no response as the group inside recollected theirselves. A couple minutes of silence passed before one of them finally spoke up.
"What's the code?"
"...code?"
"If you want our help, give the code."
"Um... I'm here to help you. You sent a request asking for an extra set of hands?"
"...Egon, what kind of mercs did you call for!?"
"You said to contact the most qualified people to help us. A group that got headlines about saving Hoenn wasn't qualified? I'm shocked."
"Wait, we can use this," a third person spoke up. "Let them in."
Without waiting for a response, one of them would open the door to let Cera in. Drifloon, on the other hand, would see a trio of wands aimed at it alongside the sight of a Shuppet, Duskull, and Gastly. It was enough to make the Mew speak up.
"It's fine, they're friendly."
Slowly, they would lower the odd wands and remove the devices from their backs as their Pokemon relaxed. "Sorry about that. We're all on edge here. You're with the group we requested for?"
Cera would give a nod, only for another of them to speak up. "Wonder why they'd just send a Pokemon." Judging by the voice, that must've been the one called Egon. Out of the trio before her, he looked to be the stuffiest one. He had arguably more of a scientist vibe to him, though not so much that he was insufferable for it.
"The rest are kinda busy where the barrier actually is," Cera remarked. "I was all that could be sent on short notice."
"This better not be a joke."
"Don't worry about Egon there, he's always serious like that." Whoever he was, he sounded like the first one that had spoke up about the whole code thing. He seemed a bit more upbeat, and was polishing some odd backpack-looking device. "The name's Ray. You've already met Egon," he said, moving a hand towards the person in question. "And the one lounging over there's Peter. He's smarter than he comes off."
Cera would turn towards the third member of their group, sitting on the bed and otherwise relaxing. He only waved, seemingly disinterested with what was going on at the moment. "I... see..."
"We're all doctors of parapsychology and the studies related to it," Egon chimed in. "We're also able to do a few things most people can't, but I'll explain that later. The PKEs and our Pokemon were detecting sudden surges and unrest, with five that stand out above the rest. Your explanations tell us one of those is being handled as we speak. The rest, we're about to set out to handle ourselves. But tell me this... how much do you know about harnessing a Pokemon's energy?"
"I... what? What, do you mean channeling? Those things do look like a sort of artifact..."
"That's what you call it?" Egon adjusted his glasses. "I see. Anyway, those things are what we've called a Proton Pack. It takes energy from us and our Pokemon and charges it in a way to handle the entities that escaped here."
"So it's an artifact and you channel through it with those Pokemon of yours."
"I suppose that would be an accurate assessment, yes."
"You, um, do realize that in asking us for help, nearly all of us wouldn't be able to use that and the help you did get is a Mew? I'm basically a psychic cat."
Egon went silent at that one, looking to Ray, who looked to Peter, and finally back to Egon again.
Only now did Peter speak up. "We didn't think this one through, did we?"
"But without the stuff Egon's invented, we wouldn't be able to do that much. Not even notice what's going on."
Now it was Cera's turn to be quiet and confused. This didn't sound like it made sense. Channelers that didn't know what channeling was, she could understand. Sometimes people just had that sort of affinity and never knew it or what to call it. But to have equipment that acted similar to artifacts, even needing a Pokemon to help power it, and think anyone could use it? Something didn't seem right.
Eventually, she spoke up. "Look, we can still help. We just probably won't be able to use those shiny toys of-"
"The Proton Pack is not a toy," Egon interrupted at once, the remark sounding like it struck a nerve.
"...sorry. Anyway, we can help, just don't expect us to be able to use those. Where's our target?"
"This one's all me," Ray spoke up. "I'm sure you've heard about the mother Marowak that Team Rocket killed years ago, and how a trainer managed to quell its spirit. Apparently... he wasn't as successful as everyone thought. She's broken through and come back to her original haunting place, and a lot stronger too. No one tries entering the Pokemon Tower now, though the few that have say it looks nothing like a normal Marowak. Reports of flames around it, its skin much darker... I think you'll agree with us that we need to bust her and convince her to continue resting."
"I've heard of that story, yeah... I imagine we'll want to move fast. What about your bill, though?"
"She'll have to wait. We might have a proposition for her anyway," Peter chimed in, finally getting up.
"He's right. Let's go."
The three would each strap one of the Proton Packs again, securing them on their backs as they walked out of the room and recalled their Pokemon. Egon would trail behind Peter and Ray, holding another device in one of his hands. There was a distinct lack of cares about the woman screaming about how they didn't pay, only for a comment that they would after they got paid. Once they were outside, Cera would speak up.
"So... how're we getting there? Going on foot's gonna take a bit if we're cutting through Saffron."
"We aren't going on foot," Ray commented, before taking a keyfob from his pocket. The lights of a white hearse would come to life as its doors unlocked, enough to make the Mew and Drifloon wonder what the heck was up with these guys. "We're going in this."
"Is... is that a hearse?"
"Needed something for the equipment! Wasn't too expensive to fix up, either."
"Uh..."
Watching as all three piled in, she decided not to question it further. This whole thing was getting weird in a hurry, and it was dawning on her that she might want to just go with it for now. Slowly, she and Drifloon went inside as well, Cera holding onto the balloon Pokemon's strings to keep it in place. The group was soon off for Lavender Town, though it was hard to shake the unease that riding in such a vehicle gave. For what it's worth, the hearse did provide a smooth ride.
Eventually, the ride would come to an end, much faster than it ever would've been if they walked. The hearse was parked in the outskirts of Lavender Town, kept somewhat out of sight as they all got out. The trio of 'busters would give their equipment another check to be certain there wouldn't be any problems, heading into the town shortly after. Things were eeriely quiet once they did, being even more of a ghost town than it was renowned for. Getting to the Pokemon Tower was easy enough as a result, and for the moment, no one appeared to be inside of it either.
Cera tried to ignore the chill she felt as the trio she had followed stopped near the stairs, seeing Egon turn around.
"Alright. Ray, Peter, you two go on up and scout ahead. If you find something and can't handle it alone, look for me. As for you," he said, looking towards Cera as his colleagues head upstairs. "I would normally ask for your name, but given the nature of this sort of work, I'd prefer we didn't become attached."
"Interesting. He and I agree on something," GRAY commented.
"Shut up, GRAY."
"Excuse me?"
"Sorry, sudden contact with the team. You were saying?"
"Ahem, yes. Anyway, you and that wisp of yours will be coming with me. Here." Wasting no more time, Egon took the spare Proton Pack he was holding and gave it to Cera, watching as she nearly fell to the ground from the sudden weight. "Be careful with it."
"Strictly business..." Cera said to herself, keeping the pack close and levitating it as she and Drifloon followed Egon upstairs. Gastly and Haunter were ever present after they went up the first couple of floors, and it was easy to tell that they were more aggressive. Luckily, Ray and Peter were able to keep them at bay, but how they did it blew the Mew away.
Whatever those Proton Packs were, it didn't seem entirely like a normal artifact. But seeing it in action made her wonder if they really were a sort of manmade one. Ray and Peter were putting their respective Shuppet and Gastly's energy to good use, the rifle-like wands sending concentrated beams of ghostly energy at the wild ghost Pokemon. The Packs weren't being used to contain anything, but they were keeping the ghosts from doing too much.
"You two go on ahead! We'll keep them from chasing!"
"But..."
"He's right, let's go. Duskull, you're feeling it, right?" Egon asked, his Duskull showing itself with a light cry and nodding. "As I thought. Any longer, and she might come further down. Or worse, leave the tower. We might have to fight her."
If anything was sending chills down Cera's spine before, that comment nearly froze her in place. "Wait, fight? We don't even know anything about her!"
"Wrong, we do. We know that she's the departed spirit of Marowak and has come back for revenge. Ghost or not, she must still follow most of this world's rules or otherwise be sent back."
"I guess..."
Their trek would continue further up, where things became quieter. Darker. As if the Pokemon they had seen were trying to get away from something, willing to fight their way out if they needed to. The chills began to fade as they got close to the tower's summit, seeing the stairs that led there and feeling a sudden warmth as a voice howled.
"GET OUT!... LEAVE..."
"W-who's there!?" Cera asked as she spun around, unable to see anything with the naked eye. She could feel that something- no, someone- was nearby. Or at least upstairs. Drifloon was already rushing ahead, leaving her torn between following it or staying with Egon. That is, before Egon and his Duskull readied theirselves.
"That must be her... you! You hold your own against her while I get the others here. Hold the thrower in both hands so the blast doesn't go everywhere. And once we catch up, don't cross the streams."
"If I can use it... why the stream thing, though? Isn't it just energy from your ghosts?"
"It is, but one of the best ways to deal with a ghost is its own energy. But coming from the packs, crossing them might kill us all and eradicate the ghost we're busting. If not more... just be careful."
Realizing that she didn't have a choice in the matter, Cera sighed and followed her Drifloon upstairs. Even now, nothing appeared to be around, though it seemed like Drifloon could see something that she couldn't. Hearing whatever was around was easier by comparison.
"GET OUT!... LEAVE THIS PLACE!"
The entire floor became deathly cold as a pair of spectral flames spun around, starting around Cera and spiraling closer and closer to her before suddenly moving to the other side of the room. Both flames stopped on opposite sides before a bone formed, followed by what looked like a Marowak. If, that is, the Marowak had clawed its way from the depths of hell. She looked like she had been through years of fiery torment, her skin blackened and an obvious black mark on her head. The sharp glance she gave was enough to strike fear into not only Cera, but the Drifloon that would've maybe been familiar with residents from its original world.
"L-l-look, we're not here to hurt you. We're not your enemies-"
"GET OUT..."
The flames on her bone would go out as it became charged with ghostly energies, tossing it to form a hellish Shadow Ball. Cera was able to dodge it initially, but the return trip saw a hit that left her flying to the ground. The Proton Pack she was holding would fall to the ground with a loud thud, a groan heard as the Mew tried to get back up.
"Ugh... what kind of Marowak is this? She looks like nothing I've ever seen before," she said to herself, watching as the bone's tips reignited before being flung again. "I'm beginning to think Egon's wrong about his assessment!" She quickly moved to evade the attack, Drifloon moving to strike back with its own Shadow Ball. Despite the attack hitting, Marowak didn't look fazed at all.
"Wait... idea. You use it like that, right?"
Drifloon just gave a confused look, watching as Cera quickly worked to get a feel for the attack it had just used. Eventually, she'd be able to Mimic a smaller version of it, the shadowy orb floating nearby. "Yeah, I think I've got it... come on!"
Marowak braced herself as two more Shadow Balls- one from Cera, one from Drifloon- slammed into her, still doing just fine and holding the bone to her face. A harsh blowing would create a sudden Flamethrower, trying to roast both of her attackers with impunity. The spectral flames didn't set well for either of them, though they'd manage.
"LEAVE THIS PLACE..."
Obviously, this Marowak wasn't having any of this. Spinning her bone to continue her relentless assault, flames would split and fly off from it before going towards Cera and Drifloon. Though the two would start flying around the room to get away from it, they'd find that it wasn't working. The flames were instead chasing them, seemingly tracking their very soul. It took a bit before Cera finally stopped the attack, moving behind the Proton Pack and letting it take the hit instead.
The Mew was already panting, looking around to find anything that could help. The room itself wasn't providing anything, and she still doubted that she'd be using that pack in any conventional sense. "Urgh, calm down already!" She yelled before levitating the Proton Pack and tossing it right at Marowak. It'd simply pass through and crash on the opposite wall.
"...oh, right. Ghost. Duh."
She'd watch as Marowak charged at her, flaming bone raised and ready to strike with a harsh Bone Rush. She was close to landing the hits, too, before Drifloon managed to throw her off her feet with a gust of Ominous Wind. "Th...thanks..." Cera commented as she started floating again. "You think she's in a state they can hand-"
Her thought would be cut short as she suddenly yanked Drifloon away, barely dodging a sudden lunge from Marowak and moving to the other side of the room. "Oh, come on! How much more of a hint do you need!?"
"GET OUT..."
"Leave this place, I know-"
"OR DIE!"
Marowak's rage had finally hit the boiling point, rushing to Cera and prepared to Thrash with all her might. Her words were no longer a warning or a threat. They were a promise that if they weren't leaving, then she wouldn't relent until they did leave. Be it in this world or the one she escaped from. Cera had braced herself for what was to come, knowing she was cornered. Her assailant had jumped into the air, ready to come down with all her fury...
Only then did things finally start turning around, with a trio of charged, ghostly beams catching Marowak in midair and making her hit the wall instead.
"Get out of the way!" Egon yelled, tossing yet another odd box onto the ground.
Cera didn't say a word, immediately moving to their side while Drifloon followed suit. The spare Proton Pack was in tow, though she wasn't sure why she bothered to stop for it.
"It's not weak enough!" Ray added. "How powerful did she become!?"
"I don't know! She's relentless!"
"We can only do so much!" Peter finally spoke up. "We might need that fourth one!"
By now, Cera was looking at that Proton Pack while Marowak was slowly managing to get up. The most channeling she knew of was back when she did it jointly with Sub. It wasn't like she could do anything like that on demand, if she could even do it without him. She doubted that she was going to be able to use that pack even at a time like this, though a different thought came to mind.
"Hey, Wisp," she spoke up, deciding that she kinda like what Egon had called Drifloon. "Hope you're fine with that name. Think you can show me how to do that wind attack again? Maybe we can weaken her a bit more."
Drifloon would give a glance around, then at Cera, and figured she must've had an idea here. It wasn't sure how she had managed to copy Shadow Ball earlier, but it'd let out another gust of Ominous Wind to start battering at Marowak. Eventually, Cera would figure out how the attack was being done, giving a sigh.
"Well... won't have to worry about us crossing the streams. Let's try this!" Managing to Mimic the attack, she figured that she might want go for it now. At least, while she was able to copy the move. Spinning and making her own gust of Ominous Wind, the two winds would make it all the harder for Marowak to keep her footing as the ghostly attacks didn't set any better than the trio of beams were. Once Marowak finally lost her footing, the beams had an easier time of forcing her around. Slowly, she'd be directed towards the box on the ground as it opened, revealing what it really was: a trap not unlike a Pokeball. Maybe it was designed more for ghosts like this one?
Whatever the case, she'd end up being caught in the trap, thrashing about for a while before the trap stopped. The entire crew would stay in place, braced and ready for a second round before a collective sigh of relief left them.
"Is... is it over?"
"Must be," Peter spoke up. "Someone got that trap?"
Ray wouldn't say anything, but he did grab the odd box and nod. "Yeah. I don't think she's going anywhere. Curious about her, though..."
"Don't hold your hopes up. Come on, let's get out of here before anything else comes around."
Their departure was swift and quiet, the four ready to relax a bit. They'd get out of the tower after a bit, piling into the car to get back to Celadon City and the hotel that was bailed on. However, when they arrived, they wouldn't go back in there right away. Except for Peter, at any rate. He hurried in, maybe to smooth things over with the receptionist inside.
"That could've gone worse," Egon said, breaking the silence. "Things were close back there."
"Are you sure it was the best idea to let the hired hand fight THAT?" Ray asked, making sure that the trap wasn't going to open.
"It was our best bet. If anything, we may want to call upon them again if we need the help. If one of their Pokemon are able to perform like this, one of their other members may be even more of a help."
"Again..."
"Don't worry. Even if we work together again, it'll be a while before that time would come. However... I'm afraid we have an angry receptionist to deal with. We'll make sure your cut's sent when we get our own. For now, I'd suggest you take your leave and relax."
"Right... in that case, I'll just get the report sent off and-"
"No need. I've already gotten the details, don't ask how. Besides, you don't have time to file it. The energy in the Lost Hotel's escalating fast, and I hear a bit of gum's useful in plugging certain holes."
Almost on cue, Claydol would show up behind Cera and Drifloon yet again.
"GRAY, a little warning!?"
"Oh, that's the heads up."
Before she knew it, she and Drifloon had been sent straight back to the Lost Hotel. They weren't sure about what part they were in now, only that they needed to find the others. Suffice to say, they were even more lost than they had been at first, and she couldn't focus on the others thanks to the spiritual energy being like it was. It looked like they'd have to look for them again. A while later, a certain line would finally be uttered.
"Feels like I've been going through here for days..."
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Summary:
"I have sent the bubblegum cat to assist the so-called Pokebusters in the beginning of their tasks. According to discoveries after briefing her on her mission, they would meet and leave for the Pokemon Tower. I have yet to yield any findings about the unusual Marowak they fought and captured, though I suppose the help from the Mew and the Drifloon with her gave them modest success in the meantime. As requested, they were returned to the Lost Hotel as soon as her mission was completed. She should find the rest of you sooner or later." -GRAY |
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2022 9:56 pm
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Mission Text Special Urgent Mission
Wishing Star CollectingSub has urgent need for as many Wishing Stars as you can possibly find, his reasons for requiring so many unknown at the moment. If you don’t know already, Wishing Stars can only be found in the Galar region, primarily in three locations; the Wild Area, Isle of Armor, and the Crown Tundra. You will need to travel to one of those three locations and gather as many as you possibly can as soon as possible, whatever Sub is planning for them he needs them quickly. You can find them laying around sometimes, or even buy them off people, maybe even ‘borrow’ some, but mostly they are located in Raid Dens where powerful Dynamaxing Pokemon dwell. If you’re careful enough you may be able to sneak away with a star but oftentimes you’ll get caught in a Dynamax Storm and forced to battle and if you don’t have other trainers with you then you might have to use four of your own Pokemon (the storm prevents more than that). So head on over to Galar prompt-o and go start up a rock collection for the Dark One! -Objective: —Collect Wishing Stars. -Opposition —Any wild Pokemon found in the Wild Area, Isle of Armor, or Crown Tundra, depending on where you go. -Pokemon: —You may capture one wild, non-legendary Pokemon that is up to stage two (eg. Thievul, Dottler, etc.) -Rewards: 1 Snag Emblem, 10 Snag Coins, 1 Max Mushroom, 7 Evo Points (Scorbunny, Dratini, Quilava) -Special Reward: Dyna Beacon (Snag Machine Upgrade: Allows Wishing Pieces to be used to temporarily generate Power Spots and allow the use of Dynamax or Gigantamax)
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"Remind me why I signed up for this again?" Sol asked himself, for roughly the third time now by his estimate. The whole thing seemed weird, even by Sub's standards, and it was like he was being secretive about it. This certainly wasn't the first time he'd found himself subject to some odd request of Sub's, and he was pretty sure it'd be far from the last, but Wishing Stars? "I know how important they were during the World Championship Cup. But you'd think we'd probably be in a position to simply ask their government or the Pokemon League for some and not have much hassle from either." He kept his voice down, talking to himself in a hushed tone as he looked out the train he was on. The supposed urgency of the matter meant Claydol took care of taking him to Galar, having been rushed along before he could press the subject concerning whatever had caused his SNAG to be unreachable and to end up in the medlab. But it, apparently, also meant that Claydol couldn't be bothered taking him directly to any of the areas that'd actually have a Wishing Star or its fragments, instead ending up in Wedgehurst. He had to assume it was either done in haste, or to give a sort of choice into the matter. There were many parts of Galar the team hadn't had the chance to explore or take in. Hell, they hadn't had the chance to fully take in the Wild Area, the part Sol elected to take a train to- even if some of the other areas sounded interesting. Another day, perhaps.
Looking around in the car, he did get a few looks from the other passengers and a lot of hushed whispers. Some of them because of the odd sight of a hybrid that should be able to fly taking the train like a normal person, some of them because by now, it'd be harder to find someone who hadn't heard of the team after the world war and if one didn't outright hate their guts, they were probably starstruck... and also wondering why a Ho-oh hybrid wasn't just flying to their destination. To his credit, Sol didn't find it hard to tune them all out and wasn't a stranger to having to do so even before the team had come to enjoy some degree of fame.
"Raios me fodam..." he remarked under his breath, still hoping he wasn't heard as he looked out the train window again. The train ride would continue on without incident, and it'd arrive at the Wild Area before long. He was slow about getting off, making it a point to be one of the last ones to disembark. Much as he wasn't into the idea, the chance of one of the passengers being a trainer and having a Wishing Star on them wasn't zero. If they dropped it, he might be able to nick it and leave the scene before it's ever noticed. Luck wouldn't shine on him here, however, and the most anyone seemed to drop was a few Pokedollars. "...right."
Then it dawned on him that perhaps this wasn't the best idea when those same Wishing Stars were often refined into a bracelet for said trainers, something he only remembered after seeing several trainers with one. Unless they took it off, they weren't dropping those, and even if they did, they wouldn't be suitable for Sub's needs- they needed to be unrefined. Conceding that it wouldn't have sat well with him anyway, he simply continued onward into the vastness of the Wild Area. Unlike the tournament, he'd have free reign to explore and see what all the areas were like. And maybe free reign to get a little bit of training in in the meantime, give his Pokemon a chance to stretch. Whatever the case, it all started in the Rolling Fields.
Rather, it started before he even got into that area, with one of the passengers waving him down. Had he been that suspicious?
"...yes?"
"Seemed like you were looking for something! I caught you looking at the trainers' bracelets."
Crap. He was that suspicious.
"Hey, don't worry about it. Still new to the region?"
"You could say that."
"Wait... you were part of that one extra team in the tournament, right? So you know what those are."
"I do. What are you getting at?"
"Well, what if I said you could still get your hands on one of those?" The person asked, giving a smirk.
"...go on."
Unfortunately, they then took out a bracelet, to which Sol held out a hand to stop them.
"Perhaps it'd be worth adding context. I'm not looking for the bracelet. Need them unrefined."
"Unrefined? Why'd you need them like that?"
"I have my reasons. Can you help?"
They shook their head. "Afraid not. Best of luck, you hear?"
Giving a small nod, Sol took his leave and went into the Wild Area proper. "Even if taking the bracelet would work, too many flaws from the ones the trainers wore," he said to himself once he was sure he was out of earshot and fairly sure they were trying to sell him a fake. A couple of botched attempts wouldn't be enough to deter him, though. It just meant more of the Wild Area to explore. And maybe a few dens; if anywhere was likely to bear fruit, it was those. Not having a Dynamax Band meant he wouldn't be able to do much else with the dens beyond trying to explore inside them and hope he doesn't have to fight. The first one he found didn't have much to speak of, and what energy he did feel could be best described as a trickle.
"May need to find one with more energy," he mused to himself. "Last time we were here, a number of them had visible energy pouring out. Maybe those would have Wishing Stars inside." During his musing, though, a Pancham would let out a cry and glare at him. Despite their attempt to look intimidating, it looked a lot like a child's attempt at imitating a Charizard. Still, he'd honor the attempt by letting out his Scorbunny. Unlike Sol, Inigo would be sufficiently intimidated by the glare and took a step back.
"It's alright, Inigo, you've got this," he spoke up, trying to keep him at ease. That is, until Pancham decided to Taunt the Scorbunny with a laugh. Upset about this, Inigo yelled back and jumped, ready to attack. "Don't let them get to you, relax."
Inigo was not into relaxing right now, making that known with another yell.
"Fine, fine. How about you channel that into your attack? Show them your Flame Charge."
This idea sounded a lot more like Inigo's speed, sparking flames with his feet as he rushed headlong into Pancham, knocking them back and starting to build up speed. Caught off guard, Pancham tried to make the best of their situation by rushing back with a Tackle and closing the gap between them.
"Need to keep some distance... Inigo, back off! Pepper them with Ember!" Inigo's increased speed meant backing up and widening the gap all over again was an easy task, firing Embers as he hopped backwards. Pancham was forced to take a defensive stance, unable to approach until the attacks stopped. Once they did, though, they shouted and glared at him and Sol with Leer. Though this still did nothing to make Sol any more intimidated than he was before, Inigo was still intimidated by it... and also still fired up from the Taunt.
"Inigo, Quick-" Before Sol could finish, his Scorbunny raced in to slam into Pancham with Quick Attack, knocking them back again and leaving them unwilling to keep up with the battle. "...Attack..." Sometimes, Inigo got a little impatient. With Pancham unable to give much of a threat, Sol knelt down and gave a little nod to them.
"You put up a good attempt. Give yourself time to recover and keep at it." He doubted a wild Pokemon would care that much, but he saw no reason to continue the fight when Pancham was already down. He motioned for Inigo to follow him as he pressed on.
He kept on until he got into the Dappled Grove, noting that it was much more sunny than he expected. The Wild Area seemed to be weird like that, and he couldn't figure out why. Still, the sunlight had its uses, allowing him to see in the grove's forest a little easier. It didn't take long for him to find another den, and it was hard to miss with the beam of energy shooting upwards from its location. He could see a few other trainers too, seemingly talking. Based on what he heard as he got closer, it sounded like they were talking strategy.
"Hey there," he spoke up, to get their attention. "Are you thinking to jump in there too?"
"Uh, yeah?" The first of them replied, shrugging before she continued. "We do a lot of these together."
"Want to join?" The second added, crossing his arms. "We usually have to wait for a fourth anyway."
"If you'll have me. I would've wanted to explore it anyway."
"Wha- alone? Are you that much of a barmy git?" Came the last of them, carrying an accent that added emphasis to her insult. Must've been another Galarian dialect.
"I, no?" Surely these dens couldn't be that dangerous, right?
"Whatever, come on!" As the second trainer jumped into the den, the other two would follow suit. Sol would take a glance down, but because of the energy, couldn't see anything. He doubted they'd just jump if it wasn't safe, so he and Inigo moved to join them.
He'd be the last to land, bracing himself for the landing and taking a second to look up. "Right, so about these-" He wanted to ask more about the dens, but he was fairly sure he wouldn't need to when he saw a giant Vulpix staring them down and quite capable of crushing the lot of them just by deciding to play. Even the roar they gave was enough to trigger a flight or fight response, deep and booming and barely recognizable. Barely noticeable underneath them was some rock; was that one of the Wishing Stars? "Never mind, I think I have enough of an answer. Shall we?"
Inigo would rush in front of Sol despite being unsure of how to even fight something like this, and a bit of relief came when he was joined by a Lombre, Dubwool and Riolu. Probably still relatively newish trainers, but considering the opponent, it probably would be manageable.
"We'll handle our own thing!" It was the first trainer again. "You handle yours! Just focus them down!"
It seemed like the trio had their own strategies in mind, opting to work off the odd one out. Lombre would be ordered to spray the area in Mist, followed by Riolu darting in to soften Vulpix up a little with Rock Smash. Dubwool wouldn't get a chance to do anything just yet, Vulpix managing to get the jump by firing an Ember. Except judging by the size, it was less an Ember and more firing the sun at the party, and Dubwool didn't have a chance. Their fluffy wool meant it went ablaze nicely and took the poor sheep out in a single hit.
Looking up after Sol felt it safe to stop bracing himself, he noticed the storm that was brewing in the den had gotten a little stronger and the sunlight had intensified.
"Nch, sorry! Thought I'd get enough time for Headbutt!" The second trainer didn't seem thrilled about this development.
"You're fine! Give it a bit and get back in there!"
"There is a lot of energy here..." Sol said to himself. "Guess that explains why Inigo seems revitalized himself. Anyway. Inigo, Double Kick!" The lowered defenses meant Inigo's kicks would be a bit more potent, picking up the slack and getting a decent amount of damage for it. In response, a barrier began to form and it seemed like Vulpix's defenses had been bolstered considerably.
"Already? Alright, let's push through!"
"Yeaaaaaah! We're still in these, keep going!" Unable to send his Dubwool back out, the second trainer took to cheering the rest of his group and Sol on. The energy of the den seemed to react to it, gathering around the barrier Vulpix had erected and forcing it to crack. In a stroke of luck, the barrier shattered just as the band on Lombre's trainer let out a burst of energy, and Vulpix's defenses were compromised.
Figuring the time to strike was now, Sol spoke up and figured he had the right idea. "Assuming they have the same idea I do... now, Quick Attack!" Inigo would rush back in to get another quick hit on Vulpix while they were reeling, and it seemed like Riolu's trainer was on a similar wavelength, adding another Quick Attack while Lombre was recalled. What followed next was the burst of energy going into Lombre's ball, glowing and increasing in size to resemble something closer to a medicine ball before being tossed to let Lombre back out.
This time, though, it was just as gargantuan as the Vulpix, letting out an equally loud, distorted cry.
"Ha ha, now we're on equal footing! Let's go, Lombre! Max Geyser!"
"I'm sorry, max what?"
If an Ember looked like a sun, Sol was certain that what was probably a Water Gun looked like something that a Blastoise should be firing instead. Though diminished slightly by the sunlight, the attack crashed hard into Vulpix and started up a rainstorm inside the den. Not that this mattered too much, as Vulpix couldn't take much more after that and the den's energy reacted in an explosion that made them recoil again.
The third trainer, deciding to take her chance, used her own band to make an empty Pokeball bigger and tossed it to try catching the Vulpix. Despite the size difference, it still worked like any other ball, just with a noticeable crater on the ground from its impact. It still wobbled and rolled all the same, eventually shrinking back down before it clicked to indicate a successful catch.
"That's... that's it?" Sol expected a bit more of a fight, but then again, it was still a Vulpix...
Dubwool's trainer, slightly dejected at his poor luck, left the den without another word. Turns out it's fairly easy to climb back out.
"He'll be alright, don't worry," Lombre's trainer spoke up, recalling them to force an end to their dynamaxed state. "You did fine. Maybe we'll run into each other again!"
"Yeah, thanks for the help!" Finally, Riolu's trainer extended her own thanks, both of them taking their leave too.
"You know, you did alright too, Inigo." Sol added afterward, kneeling to lightly rub Inigo's head. As he did, he noticed the weird rock from before. "...hm?" He'd stand back up to walk over to where Vulpix was before, inspecting the rock further. What he actually found were two of them, both of them with a lot of red lines and several jagged areas. Not terribly sharp or anything, but they definitely felt like the same energy overflowing in the den. "Oh yeah, these would be it, wouldn't they?" Taking out a small bag, he'd pick both of them up and put them away. "Guess that gives two, then. Still... probably a ways to go. It wouldn't hurt to get a few more. It'll be a start and I imagine I won't have been the only one sent off to gather these."
Picking up an exciteable Inigo, Sol would start climbing out of the den himself, soon greeted by the sunlight filtered through the grove's trees. The other three had already departed. "That was... oddly fun. Need a more efficient method, though..." He elected to continue exploring and searching around, soon seeing there were even more trainers around.
One of them happened to be taking a break under a berry tree, and unlike many of the others, this one didn't have one of those bands yet. They did, however, have a Wishing Star on hand, likely to have it refined as soon as they got the chance. Morals be damned, Sol felt maybe he had a chance of "borrowing" a quick third one and hightailing it before he was spotted. He recalled Inigo and tried to be as quiet as he could, making it a point to stay behind the trainer until he briefly lost his footing, accidentally hitting the tree in the process and causing it to shake. This also made the trainer take notice of the sudden jostle, looking up and around just in time for a Skwovet to get knocked out of the tree and land on their face.
"Wha- no! Bad! Get off!" Both trainer and Pokemon panicked, the trainer wanting their sudden assailant to get off and the Pokemon thinking they were responsible for making them fall out. Whatever the case, it was safe to say they were distracted and stealing the Wishing Star would be even easier than expected.
"O...kay then," Sol said to himself, deciding not to press his luck by watching, taking and stashing the Wishing Star before casually taking his leave. That way, if he did end up being seen, maybe he wouldn't raise any suspicions. "Can't say I'm proud of this one, but I'm sure they'll find another."
He didn't stop moving until he was well out of the grove, and close to a decrepit watchtower. He recognized this area easily, back during the tournament and how the team did what they could to secure the area. "You know? Probably still the best area to use as a sort of camp," he said to himself, letting Inigo back out and sitting next to one of the tower's walls. Though there were wild Pokemon around, most of them didn't seem inclined to bother him since they weren't being provoked. There was also a den nearby, but the energy there also felt weak. It was slowly intensifying, though, unlike the last weak den he encountered. But he felt it could wait a few minutes, digging around in some supplies he brought along and getting out a few berries he grabbed from the HQ on his way out.
He himself wasn't worried about food, but he figured Inigo would appreciate it, letting him have a few as a quick snack. "You know, you really do remind me a lot of Xipil when he was a Charmander."
This made the Scorbunny perk up, giving a curious glance mid-nibble.
"He did a lot like you do, sitting and practically bouncing while nibbling away at whatever's being eaten. Like you can't wait to finish and continue on," he explained, chuckling a little and taking another Pokeball out. "You'll meet him one day." He stared at it as he made the remark, though, and quickly put it away to ensure he didn't accidentally let his Charizard out. Up to now, he'd still yet to purify it; during the world war, one of the best defenses against a Shadow Pokemon- let alone the likes of XD002- was to use one yourself. At the time, there wasn't a Pokemon he'd trust more even with the risks of not seeking purification. But there were increasingly alarming drawbacks.
Over time, he'd noticed just being around Charizard could be enough to infect a Pokemon and over time, he also looked more and more normal. He wasn't sure as to why, figuring it was related to so many run-ins with other infected Pokemon. He could've dealt with that if it wasn't for Charizard becoming less and less likely to listen to him, Wes or anyone else. As it was, he could barely control him anymore, and didn't want to put anyone else at risk. He wasn't sure if purification was even still possible now. He remained lost in thought for a few minutes, deciding that maybe it was time to finally bring this sort of development up with Sub once he got back.
It'd been a good ten minutes before he finally figured the break could end, and Inigo seemed to get his fill of berries. He looked to the den again, noticing its energy was still intensifying slowly. Something might show up soon, but perhaps he'd have enough time to search within before that became an issue. Picking up Inigo again to keep him close, he jumped down into the den, seeing nothing once he landed. That is, short of a glowing stone and the occasional footstep of someone attracted to it.
"Another Wishing Star?" He asked himself, stepping closer himself. "No wonder this den's been building up. There's our culprit right there." He picked it up despite the potential dangers, but it didn't seem to react any differently otherwise. He could still hear footsteps. "Hm. Best take our leave now. There isn't a storm yet, but I feel like this'll cause one soon. Or whatever's approaching will once it's close enough." Quickly, he hurried back out of the den. Luck was on his side, it seemed like, now having four stars in rather quick succession. Maybe amassing these wouldn't be as difficult as it first seemed.
He looked around again, thinking of potential places to go to find more of them. As vast as the wild area was, it made choosing difficult. He noticed the lake in the distance, wondering if any might be there. He wasn't exactly equipped to go swimming, but this was a good time to try using another of his Pokemon. So he sent out Swampert and Dratini, taking one of the Wishing Stars out soon after.
"I want you both to take a decent look at this," he remarked, setting the stone on the ground so they could inspect it. "I'm trying to find more of these, and I think there may be some in the water. Think you two could swim around and seek any out? Swampert, I'll also be trusting you to keep Dratini safe." A nod would come from Swampert before jumping in immediately, followed by Dratini slowly slithering to the water and finally getting in after a bit of effort. As Sol saw it after they couldn't be seen, the most he or Inigo could do was wait.
So, he figured to help Inigo get a little training in without having to fight a wild Pokemon for a change. A lot of it was simple stuff, mainly speed training since he noted it to be a strong suit for his Scorbunny. It was also the sort of training he noticed him really take to, taking a lot of stock into his agility. It provided an interesting contrast to Charizard's preference for stronger attacks over faster, weaker ones that might be able to land more often. Even without his shadowfication, though, Sol knew that there'd be a time when his Charizard wouldn't be able to keep up anymore. He wanted to be ready for that day, with someone who could take up the torch and allow Xipil to get the rest he'd earned multiple times over.
After taking what had to have been the tenth series of kicks from Inigo, using his arms as a means to brace and provide an easy target to hit, Sol would finally hold his hands out as a signal to stop. "That's enough for now! You're doing good, but let's take a breather. Surely those two should've found something by now." As if on cue, a rock would come flying out of the water, followed by Dratini. He'd manage to catch Dratini before she hit the ground, breaking her fall as the stone landed at his feet.
"Are you alright? What happened?" He asked, letting her back down just in time for Swampert and a Whiscash to emerge from the water in the middle of a fight, both going back down as Swampert smashed them back underwater with Hammer Arm and chased after them. "...I see. Excuse me." He took back to the water's edge in case Swampert needed help too, leaving Inigo and Dratini where they were. Unsure of how to help, the Scorbunny would dig around Sol's stuff again, procuring another berry and offering it to Dratini.
In the meantime, Swampert and Whishcash were duking it out about as well as a fish and something with arms reasonably could. But with it all happening underwater, Sol could only see so much. The occasional wave made him think that the Hammer Arm he saw wasn't the only one that was used in the fight and eventually, he swore he could see a little bit of ice forming along the top of the water. Underwater, Whiscash's thrashing and slams finally got repaid in the form of an Ice Punch, managing to freeze some of the water and a bit of Whiscash too to finally make it give up the fight and run. After that, Swampert finally came out of the water, shaking his arms afterward.
"Let me guess," Sol spoke up afterward. "They tried to attack?"
Swampert gave a nod. He wasn't fast enough to keep Dratini from taking a hit, but he was able to step in after the fact. Given the stone that came out with Dratini, Sol had a feeling he knew why the fight broke out. "In that case, let's stop the search there for now and try somewhere else. Here, let me recall all of you so you can rest."
Inigo, Dratini and Swampert would all be recalled before he went off to another part of the Wild Area, looking back at the stone. Sure enough, it was yet another Wishing Star- the fifth one now. Stashing it, he wondered if he should just try to get a couple more and hope others might come through, or to try and see if he could amass fifteen of them. A lofty goal, but one that could spread a little luck Sub's way, he felt. One he'd have to see about depending on how the search went from here. Seeing a bridge in the distance, well away from the lake and- assuming he remembered the city right- Motostoke, he felt maybe it was time to see what the other side of the Wild Area was like.
He thought about just flying there for a moment, but he shrugged and decided to walk. No need to be in as much of a hurry, plus maybe he'd get lucky and find another Wishing Star along the way. As he walked, he took in the nearby sights. Various wild Pokemon, going about their day. Trainers, having battles, conversing with one another, with varying degrees of experience. He opted to look away for a bit, at other sights. More red lights dotted the field, likely other dens overflowing with energy, but far enough out of the way for his current destination. It felt like a certainty it'd be the case on the other side and, upon reaching the bridge connecting two, saw that he was right to guess that. If anything, that part of the Wild Area stretched out even further than the first half did and looked even more varied.
"...I have got to come here on something that isn't business," Sol said to himself. Something about the Wild Area spoke out to him and if he had the time for it, he'd like to explore it more thoroughly. Looking up again, he saw just how dark it was getting. There wasn't much daylight left, and it'd be wiser not to continue traveling during the night when there wasn't a need to.
Just past the bridge was as good a place as any to set up camp for the night, he felt. Not much in the way of wild Pokemon, and being near water was among the best spots to have access to. Finding a bit of wood wouldn't be difficult in the area either and once he had enough for his needs, he'd finish settings things up. A weak flame from his hands was more than enough to get a campfire going, and he'd finally let out most of the Pokemon he had on him- Scorbunny, Swampert, Dratini, Gallade, and Quilava. The last one, still holding Charizard, he didn't dare open. Not now. Scorbunny and Dratini were slightly intimidated by the two that weren't Swampert, and only because they at least saw him before.
"Relax," he chimed in, trying to ease Inigo and Dratini's nervousness. "Both of you might be newer ones, but I assure you, they're safe. Lucan, Aletta, why don't you introduce yourselves? Though, old as those names are, perhaps I could think of better ones... are either of you opposed to this?" His Gallade and Quilava gave him a confused look, finding the whole thing sudden after having responded to those names for many a year. They looked at each other, than at Sol, but without an answer to give. "If it helps, I have my reasons if you'll bear with me. But..."
Sitting down near the campfire, he looked up at the still-darkening sky. "Perhaps it's time I stop trying to obfuscate where I came from."
This would still be confusing to them and Swampert, as Sol had a habit of not disclosing more than he needed to. Inigo and Dratini were confused too, but because they lacked context. "I'll explain more to you all in a bit, but I'd like a chance to give something more fitting. For you and for myself."
A moment passed as the two looked at each other again, deciding that if he was going to explain, the context would be the deciding factor. But the one who spoke up was Swampert; if they were being given new nicknames, then he wanted in on it too.
"Alright, alright, fine," Sol said, laughing. "You'll get one too. Think I already have one in mind. Dratini, I'll extend the offer to you too, if you'd like. Don't feel like you have to answer right away. This will be a long one..." The explanation and context that followed would continue a decent ways into the night, shedding a lot of light into details that Sol had elected to keep hidden but, without the threat of Ein anymore, saw less and less of a reason to keep doing so. One day, he figured he'd disclose it all to the rest of the team. Apart from a choice few, that is. As he finished, he added another piece of wood to keep the campfire going a little bit longer.
"So there you go. One very longwinded explanation, as promised. I can answer other questions too, but to the current point, what are your thoughts? I feel like I should've just gone with different names in the first place."
Gallade, after a moment, knelt down and nodded, keeping his head lowered. Even now, he still had a tendency to do that. Quilava would shake her head at the Pokemon next to her and look over at Sol instead. She seemed to be willing to go with it, at least.
"Alright... I think I've got it. Calida," Sol commented, looking to Quilava. "You've always had a little bit of a fiery nature. Type aside, of course. The name doesn't have any special meaning past that, but I feel like it fits. What do you think?"
She wanted to growl at the remark about her disposition, but all she'd manage to do would be to prove him right. Looking away, she conceded that it did fit- for what it was worth- and nodded.
"Good, good. Gallade, how about Arnau? The older name was always meant to sound somewhat knightly, so nothing's different there beyond the basis of the name. I'm willing to just go back to the old names if either of you prefer, or find another that might be received better."
Gallade gave it some thought, and foreign as it sounded, he'd at least give it time first.
"Alright. And Swampert, I didn't forget about you. As I said, I already had one in mind. Rio. Keeps to the theme and simply means river. A bit basic, I'll admit, but it would fit for a water-type. Like it?"
Swampert thought about it for a bit, unsure despite personally asking for this. He'd need to get used to it too. Dratini, to her credit, didn't opt to answer. But that was okay.
"Then we'll try that out for a bit. Thanks. And Dratini, when you're ready- if you are- we'll look into one for you."
The group would continue conversing a bit longer afterward, getting a light meal in before turning in for the remainder of the night and putting out the campfire. Day would come almost too soon, recalling each of the Pokemon after they were as good to go as he was. Sleeping on other thoughts allowed him to give some thought to how he wanted to go about more Wishing Stars, and figured to only get a couple more. He could trust others in the team to get more elsewhere.
Finally ready to travel again, he resumed traveling through Bridge Field and into the Stony Wilderness. The rock formations around the area made for an interesting sight, but they didn't look like the sort to have anything in the way of Wishing Stars. Like everywhere else in the Wild Area, though, there were plenty of dens littering the area that might hold one. But if he didn't have to run the risk of going one alone again, he didn't want to press his luck with the idea.
"You know, if you toss a Wishing Piece in there, those dens usually have someone show up."
Sol perked up and looked behind him, seeing someone donning shades and a white ball cap alongside his uniform. He recognized it as that of the Galarian Pokemon League, remembering the others like him he'd seen during the team's earlier stay. "Excuse me?"
"Oh, sorry. I'm one of the League's vendors. Several of us stay around the Wild Area to help trainers out with various items. If you're willing to part with some Watts, that is."
"Oh, right. Saw a bunch of you during the tournament. I appreciate the gesture, but as you can see," Sol raises his arm to show that it was devoid of any sort of Dynamax Band. "Watts aren't something I can give you. So, I'm afraid I'll have to turn down your offer."
"Didn't you...? No matter. Look, normally the League doesn't do this sort of thing, but here." Opening up a ball to reveal his wares, the vendor would take a few Wishing Pieces- three in all- and handed them to Sol. "We know things didn't go well during the world cup, but we're glad to see more visitors to the region. So, try using one of them sometime."
Sol was perplexed, but grateful for the generosity all the same. The pieces wouldn't be as useful on their own, but if he remembered correctly, three of them could work about as well as a single Wishing Star. "Right... thanks."
"Of course, mate! Hopefully you'll have a band next time." He'd back off to leave Sol to what he was doing before, watching as he traveled onward and started leaving the area. A short trek found him at another part of the Wild Area, with the map on his SNAG reading "Giant's Mirror."
"Hm. What of this place..." This place was a lot less lush than the others, with a desert in the distance. The grass here was likewise a lot less greener, and he found a ring of rocks with a den in the middle. The rocks were tall enough to nearly match him, but being near a den like that made him think. If these Wishing Pieces and Stars were formed from the energy around the dens, then maybe he could simply mine one or something. Or if not that, doing that and then tossing it in to bathe it in the den's energy could be of use. As he drew near, he could tell the energy around the den was welling up, but at a faster rate than the last time. It would mean another solo excursion into a den, though.
He decided to inspect the rocks. He couldn't feel anything from them, suggesting that maybe they wouldn't work. But maybe it was worth a try anyway. Unsheathing his sword, he took the hilt in both of his hands and took a deep breath. He slammed the hilt into the rock with as much force as he could, managing to break off a small piece. It wasn't much, but Sol figured it'd be enough for a test. "Doubt this will do anything, but..." He picked up the rock before tossing it in, looking down to see if there'd be any results. Nothing happened after a couple of minutes, but the energy was still building up.
Looking down again, he decided to jump down... and right into the start of a storm. To anyone outside, a beam of light would shine from the den as its energies overflowed, but Sol quickly realized things were dangerous. "Bad time... there's probably a Wishing Star here anyway, I'll just grab it and go before the storm worsens." Unfortunately, he hadn't managed to look up yet, and when he did, he learned just how deeply in trouble he was. Another giant Pokemon, but not one he recognized. It reminded him a little of a Farfetch'd, but this one was white and looked like it had a sword and shield. Or maybe a lance and shield. The details didn't matter, he knew this was going to get rough fast.
With its loud cry and the storm growing intense enough to prevent escape, Sol was left with no other choice but to handle it on his own.
"...fine. We can handle this," he said to himself, shoring up his lack of strength with numbers. He'd toss four Pokeballs at once, letting out his Scorbunny, Dratini, Gallade and Quilava. "Look lively, we're not getting out without a fight!" He was quick to take out his SNAG too, but the den's energy was effective at jamming its signal. He couldn't get any information on his opponent. "Mierda! Alright, we do this the old fashioned way."
"Spread the attack types apart. Inigo, Double Kick! Dratini, Twister! Arnau, Psycho Cut! Calida, Flamethrower!" Process of elimination was a terrible way of discerning types, but it was all he had right now. Mild confusion aside from Calida and Arnau, the Quilava's Flamethrower managed to come out first and hit the giant Pokemon, and though they weren't fond of the attack, they seemed to handle it quite well. Not good. Thankfully, Arnau would also get the jump on the opponent, attacking from range with a burst of Psychic energy cutting deep. This one seemed to leave the Pokemon reeling a bit, like a weakness had been hit.
"Didn't like that one... so are we looking at Fighting? Poison? Some mix with one of those?" He asked, energy welling up all at once as the opponent unleashed an attack. The energy came crashing down in an appearance not unlike a giant fist, hitting Dratini and taking her out right away. As he recalled her and the storm intensified, he also noted that the Pokemon felt like it had more energy. Those hits were only going to get stronger.
Inigo would be able to get his attack out afterward, the Double Kick landing a couple of decent hits, but otherwise it was shrugged off.
"Feels stronger too... can't tell what kind of attack that was. If we can get a burn, though... Inigo, Calida! Use Ember and Flamethrower! Luc- er, Arnau! Psycho Cut seemed to be effective, so keep to using that!" He thought about just swapping Swampert in, but remembering the last fight he had in a den, the energy seemed to help Pokemon recover quickly. He might be able to send Dratini back out, though if he did, he hoped she wouldn't go down again so soon.
As before, Quilava and Gallade got their attacks out first, the combination of Flamethrower and Psycho Cut being as effective as last time. This time, Inigo would be able to fire a few Embers before the opponent could attack, managing to singe and burn them. But then the barrier came up. And no amount of cheering would help this time. Unlike last time, they took a swing of their giant leek, forcing Sol to duck and try to keep more of his from falling.
"Get down, now!"
The Brutal Swing would miss him, but slammed hard into the rest. Unlike the previous attack, this one didn't seem to be as empowered. But their heightened Attack meant Inigo and Calida barely took the hit. Arnau would be fine for now, but the Gallade wasn't terribly fond of it either. With the den's energy building up around Dratini's ball, he tried to send her out again, seeing her able to fight all over again.
"Really can't take another of those..."
He watched as the giant Pokemon reared back for another swing, forcing a bit of fast thinking. "Not again! Now, Wide Guard!" Taking to the front, Arnau would release a protective burst of energy to form a shield around the group. For a brief moment, they were safe as the second swing crashed against the shield, but that'd be all it could take. He definitely needed to bring a stop to this.
"While we have a chance! Inigo, Quick Attack! Calida, let's go for a bunch of hits with Swift! Dratini, try Twister again!"
Inigo would rush and kick the barrier, but it'd weather the attack without an issue. The series of rays from Swift would yield better results, having a harder time dealing with it. Dratini's Twister would end up meshing into the Swift to cause a few more hits... and finally, Sol built up a Psychic burst in a last ditch effort. "Should've done this from the start." The concentrated attacks would become too much for the barrier, making it shatter and leave the opponent taking the brunt of the attacks afterward. The whole time, the storm had gotten dangerous, but with the energy having an explosive reaction, it seemed like it'd die down a bit. Furthermore, the Pokemon was fairly weak, the energy dissipating fast as the giant body shrunk back down to a more normal size.
"That... that was too close. Not sure what you are, but," Sol remarked, taking out a Great Ball, "I think you're coming with me and I'm looking you up after I'm out of here." He tossed the ball at once, seeing the rock from earlier as he did and noting there was no change. There was, however, another Wishing Star where the giant opponent was before. By the time he grabbed it, the ball's wobbling had stopped and it clicked. The storm had passed, too. They could escape.
"Come on, we're not staying here a second longer." He was quick to recall his Pokemon and leave, panting and sitting down afterward. "I think... I think I need to get one of those bands before next time. Cut the losses, these should be enough of a start." Only six stars- assuming the pieces were worth using. It wasn't bad, but trying to get more would be too dangerous if it meant more dens. As he took a moment to regain his composure, he'd look at his SNAG to discern the Pokemon he'd just caught. Apparently, they were called a Sirfetch'd and an evolution of Farfetch'd of all things. But he did note the image he was was different from any he knew of; probably a regional variant that happened to evolve.
Putting his SNAG away and getting up, he'd start his return trip to HQ.
Mission Results:
-Got five Wishing Stars, and three Wishing Pieces. So Six...?
-Caught a Sirfetch'd in a den, alone. Worst idea ever. |
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