ITT: We are all Pokémon Trainers

Hearthome City

Luicus and Alice notice Sarah waving through the window of the restaurant.

Alice: ...Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but is that Sarah?

Lucius: Oh wow, it is! I had no idea she was here in Sinnoh. Stay here and take care of the bill, would you?

Alice: Wait, hold o-

Before Alice can object, Lucius is up and out of the door, waving at Sarah.

Lucius: Hey, Sarah! Long time no see, huh?

Solaceon

Phosphora: Oh trust me, it's worst when it's both. Criminal archaeologists tend to have all sorts of random relics and knowledge that make them dangerous to deal with. If one of them pulls an ornate box that glows, run.

Hearthome

-After exiting the the Cathedral, Jacob turns the corner to see two people he's never met, Sarah, and is that Lucius?-

"Herbs- Er, Lucius?"

-He walks over to the assembly-

Veilstone Center

-Verax sits up- "... Suddenly I feel very sore, like a thousand memories just awoke. ... Probably nothing."

Solaceon

-Jastis dances over to Phosphora- "Did someone say my naaaaaaaaaaame~?"

Hearthome

All of sudden more people began gathering around Sarah.

"Oh, are these the friends you mentioned?" asked Diana.

"That's a pretty colorful group," commented Samson.

Hearthome City

Lucius nods at Jacob.

Lucius: Yup, that's me. Glad to see that the events of the last few months haven't rendered me completely unrecognisable. So, what brings you guys to Sinnoh? I sure wasn't expecting to meet you here.

He raises an eyebrow at Diana and Samson.

Lucius: New friends?

Hearthome

Jacob: -He nods to Lucius- "Good to see you. I'm here because... ah... business. Of the usual kind. Shenanigans and all."

-He regards Diana and Samson with an aside glance, then returns his focus to Lucius- "A lot has happened since we last saw each other. How have you been? You look... emaciated. But you sound alright."

=Eterna City Pokemon Center=

Zachary: "Aw man...he's out cold..."

Aurum: ~Well, we gotta remember if he said any clue...~

FLAAAASHHBAAAACKKK STAAAARRTT

"Yes... Please, find my Pidgey." As he passes out, he internally thinks that he should also find a hospital.

FLLLAAAASHHHBAAAAAACK EEENNDDD

Zachary: "Oh my Arceus we truly are the biggest idiots in the galaxy"

Aurum: ~Hey i'm pretty sure you're the only idiot here, I was stressed out from that fight with that Lucario~

Zachary: "Shut up, now let's run out and find that Pidgey!"

Zachary runs out of the Pokemon Center, with Aurum shaking his head and calmly following him...

=Eterna City=

...out of the building, finding Zachary and Bunby frantically looking for a spot in which to take off

Aurum: ~Don't take off, what if the bird returns? We should have someone stay here in Eterna~

Zachary: "Oh man, you're right...Bunby, you go look for the Pidgey in the sky! We'll look for the Pidgey here in Eterna!"

Zachary and Aurum decide to stay in Eterna and look for Wingtip there as Bunby takes off to the skies with great speed

edited 23rd May '16 4:00:14 PM by BarelyBodaciousBud

Hearthome City

Lucius lets out a long sigh.

Lucius: I'm... about as alright as I can be, given the circumstances. Though that might just be because decent food and fresh air seem practically divine compared to what they're replacing. If I appear to have lost weight, it's because I, uh... actually, here's probably not the best place to talk about it.

He too casts a glance over at Diana and Samson.

Lucius: Let's, erm... let's just say I went on a diet. An extremely rigorous diet. Anyway, shall I try to guess what kind of shenanigans are going on, or should I just take a roll on the "Weird Shit" table and see what I get?

Hearthome City

It was only upon mention that Diana noticed Lucius' current state.

"Oh my god were you starving?!" she asked, beginning to freak out, "You look half dead! You really need to eat more!"

"Yeah, dude, you're not looking very healthy right now," said Samson, looking a little worried himself

"<Diet, he says, yeah...>" said Aegir, clearly not buying the explanation

Hearthome

Jacob: -Raises an eyebrow at the slight explanation, but says nothing- "If you say so. Anyhow, if you manage to guess what's going, I'll buy you dinner all week."

Hearthome City

-Sarah's expression brightens at Lucius's approach...-

Sarah: Hey, Lucius, I, uh...

-Only for the brightness to fade when she notices his current appearance, to be replaced with a look of concern-

Sarah: ...Evidently haven't seen you in a while. I'll ask later, but for now, let's just say that no matter what roll you get on the Weird Shit table, you're probably accurate. Er, sorry, uh...

-She looks at Samson and Diana-

Sarah: Samson, Diana, these are Lucius and Jacob, a couple of my friends. Lucius, Jacob, these are Samson and Diana, not to be confused with Diane for obvious reasons. I just met them, meaning they're inevitably gonna get sucked into the aforementioned Weird Shit.

Canalave City

Lillianna: Trust me, I'm well aware of the dangers. Artifacts that spell doom are not foreign to me.

edited 23rd May '16 4:16:28 PM by BittersweetNSour

Hearthome City

Lucius rolls his eyes at Diana and Samson.

Lucius: Nice to meet you. The concern's appreciated, but in case the fact that I just walked out of a restaurant didn't make it obvious, I'm doing what I can to try and make myself look less like a walking corpse.

Maul: ~You are a walking corpse.~

Lucius: Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't look after my appearance.

He turns back to Sarah and Jacob, scratching his chin.

Lucius: Hmm... I'll order a "resurrection of evil team" with a side of "mindscape shenanery", please. Oh, and I'll have a large "mad science gone wrong" to drink.

edited 23rd May '16 4:24:04 PM by Herbert40k

Hearthome

Jacob: "Wrong on all counts, except maybe the last one."

-He looks Sarah- "Do you think that counts?"

Hearthome City

Sarah: Actually, in order of mention...

-She gestures with her fingers as she counts them off-

Sarah: First is "possibly imminent but unconfirmed", second is "I had to spend several days recovering in the hospital because of it", and finally, "I'm like 99% sure that's the main problem we're facing".

-She looks over at the newcomers-

Sarah: Just a heads up, you two, no, it doesn't usually make sense. We just sorta roll with these things.

edited 23rd May '16 4:34:37 PM by BittersweetNSour

Hearthome

The duo is struck silent and exchange looks with each other

"I guess you three are busy with your... things. We're gonna leave you alone then," said Diana

"Yeah, we still have to take a look around the city anyway," said Samson, with a small smile

"See you, Sarah," said Diana, going ahead

"Good luck with your Battle Frontier stuff!" said Samson

They wave and starts going further into the city with their mons following behind.

Hearthome City

Lucius watches Diana and Samson go.

Lucius: ...Looks like I scared them off. I suppose that's one of the benefits of being a ghost. Woooooooooooo~

He makes spooky hand gestures before turning back to Sarah and Jacob with a faint look of concern.

Lucius: Huh. Usually it's a pretty solid bet that all three of those are going on somewhere. And wait, you were in the hospital? What happened? Are you alright?

edited 23rd May '16 4:42:39 PM by Herbert40k

Hearthome

-Jacob waits until the two are gone, before returning a look to Lucius-

"Well, technically the last one is right, so I guess dinner is on me. The answer is we're fighting reality warping eldritch abominations. Glitches in the fabric of reality. Most of the major ones were dealt with but Eterna a few weeks ago... it looked awful."

"And oh right I never heard the hospital story."

Hearthome City

-Sarah waves to Samson and Diana as they leave-

Sarah: See you, and good luck, you two.

-She looks back at Jacob and Lucius-

Sarah: Anyway... killer aspect escaped my head and tried to... er, kill me. She got me in the arm and leg, poison and all, although it's definitely not the worst injury I've ever had for obvious reasons.

-She rolls up her coat sleeve to reveal a long scar on her arm.-

Sarah: Just adding to the collection, I guess. Scar on my leg's probably worse but we're in public and I'm not taking my pants off to show it.

edited 23rd May '16 4:48:16 PM by BittersweetNSour

Hearthome City

Lucius nods at Jacob.

Lucius: Ah, right. Reality-warping glitches. And here I was hoping that things were getting more sensible.

He looks at Sarah's scar with a grimace.

Lucius: Sheesh. You're putting together quite the collection. Speaking of scars, those tubes probably left some nasty marks on my back... I should probably ask Alice to take a look later tonight. Anywho, I'm hoping that said killer aspect is taken care of?

edited 23rd May '16 4:54:56 PM by Herbert40k

Hearthome

Jacob: "Yeah, is that taken care o-"

""Tubes"?? Lucius what the hell did you get yourself into?"

Hearthome City

-Sarah frowns-

Sarah: To answer your question, yes. No more questions until you tell us what's happened.

-She looks up and down at Lucius-

Sarah: Dear Ho-oh, you're even more skeletal than Skye is. Maybe Diane should drag you along with her in the whole "malnourishment recovery" thing they've got going on...

Fire Below

-Shadow Lane roars again, flames glowing about him before he curls into a ball and rolls at the group-

Hearthome City

Lucius rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

Lucius: Ah, right. I figured I'd have to explain sooner or later. Maul, can you put up a SEP field?

Maul: ~Yes.~

He remains motionless.

Lucius: ...Maul, put up a SEP field.

Maul: ~Alright.~

He starts projecting a field of psychic energy. As he does so, Lucius pulls down the back of his sweater to reveal two fresh, circular scars situated just beneath his shoulder blades.

Lucius: About five or six months back - I kinda lost track of time after a while - I got jumped by this chick in a visor and silver suit. She knocked me out, and when I woke up, I was in this kinda corporate-looking facility getting plugged into what some guy called Smith called an "Obscura Generator". Basically they stuck a bunch of tubes in my back and used them to suck the Ghost Obscura outta my body for... something. I dunno what they were doing with it. Needless to say, the whole process hurt like hell. Thankfully, Alice twigged that something was up, so she and Titan broke into the facility and then Smith let us all go because a creepy phone stalker told him to.

He pauses to ruminate on what he just said.

Lucius: ...That's the cliff notes version, but thinking about it, the full explanation doesn't make a great deal more sense.

Hearthome

Jacob: "I..."

-He blinks- "Okay, that is a pretty far out there story. I'm glad you got out alive, though. ... Though, we should probably shut down whatever they were doing. That makes this Smith guy, Flare, Zrone... I don't know if I'm missing anyone else. But we have a lot of cleaning up to do."

"... Also I just realized aside from that thing a while back with facing the personified and mosterified version of all the things I hate about myself I have not had a single near death experience since coming to Sinnoh. My luck must finally be turning around."

Hearthome City

-Sarah grimaces as she sees Lucius's scars-

Sarah: Geez... were they, like, Illusion-style silver suits? Because I think we might be able to check off "evil team resurrection" on the list after all. Also, can you turn around real quick so I can see your face again? Pretty please?