ITT: We are all Pokémon Trainers

Sinnoh Underground

-Maria giggles lightly-

Maria:Really? He told me Iggy gave him permission.

=P

Route 209

EJ scowls, turning away.

"Fine, whatever. I don't know how to get there anyway." Babochka flutters over to Ralph, bowing cutely to him in thanks.

Not far away, beneath the Hallowed Tower...

The ground shakes from the stirring of... something. A single glowing blue sphere appears, a violent fireball in the absolute darkness.

"I CAN SMELL HIM..."

F!Blitz: "Oh? I think I missed that part"

-Blitz chuckles and grabs the pickaxe to start tap tapping again-

Sinnoh Underground

Maria:Ge, I wonder why~.

-She giggles-

-And resumes tapping-

I hope...wherever they are...they get back safely.

F!Blitz: "Heheh... "

-Tink-

"Well, Tori was always the more athletic one back home..."

-Tink-

"And she's got her team with her"

-Tink-

Sinnoh Underground

Maria:True.

-She smiles-

I'm sure they'll be fine.

-Ting!-

The GM House, Yesterday

-Ludmilla leans in close without actually touching the armband.-

Ludmilla: ... It feels... old...

-Dune and Deziree give each other a look. Deziree pulls out a pad and jots down the word, "psychometry?"-

Ludmilla: So... it turns me into a magnet-thing?

Deziree: As wonderful as that would be, I'm honestly not sure. It's different for everyone.

Dune: Here, I can demonstrate. Pent?

Yukikaze: <You know, what happened to your little sister anyway? Weren't you supposed to be taking care of her?>

Pianis: She's fine. I'm not sure where she is, but she's totally fine. She's a full-fledged trainer, she can take care of herself.

Yukikaze: <Shouldn't you look for her or something, though?>

Pianis: Yeah, maybe, but just one more mat— Oh come on! I totally ice blocked that! Ugh, I hate Bastions.

Yukikaze: <Whatever.>

GM House

-Pent nods and hands over the bracelet-

The effects are personal, usually based on what kind of person you are when you first feel the enchantment's effects...

The GM House, Yesterday

Dune: Thank you.

-He slips on the armband, and in the blink of an eye there is now a Drilbur sitting on the ground.-

Dune: <... Man, it's been a long time since I've done this.>

Ludmilla: =O

Deziree: Oh, that's right - we've never gotten the chance to have you do some training to get you evolved.

-Deziree leans down and picks Dune up before squeezing him into a hug.-

Deziree: You're still so cute, though!

-Dune doesn't protest as Ludmilla continues to stare in amazement.-

GM House

-Pent smiles a little and nods at the amazed child-

I'm unsure what era these things were made in or even whether it was Alakar or Metagross civilizations behind it if it's before human craft...

The GM House, Yesterday

-Dune hops out of Deziree's arms before slipping it back off and returning to human form.-

Dune: This is what lets up speak directly to Pokemon. Something about the first transformation just kinda... flips a switch.

-He holds it out to Ludmilla.-

Dune: Want to give it a try?

-Ludmilla blinks. Her hands trembles slightly as she takes it from Dune's hand. She tugs at it, testing it, feeling it, before closing her eyes and slipping it on.-

-...-

-...-

-...-

Deziree: Oh my gosh she's so adorable.

Dune: ... This makes so much sense I honestly didn't expect it.

Ludmilla: ... Smooch?

GM House

-Pent stares a little before laughing out loud a bit-

Very, very unexpected...

The GM House, Yesterday

-Boy, everything had gotten so much bigger.-

Dune: Here, lemme grab the mirror I expected we'd need.

-He pulls out a little stand mirror and places it in front of the much-shorter Ludmilla.-

-Her hair was blonde.-

-Her arms and legs were nubby.-

-Her lips puckered out like she'd eaten one of Deziree's experimental lemons.-

-Oh, also, her face was purple.-

Ludmilla: <Wooooooooah.>

Deziree: Eeeeeeeeee~

-Deziree picks up Ludmilla and starts snuggling her.-

Deziree: Oooooooo you're like a little bitty baby!

Ludmilla: <W-woah, hey, mommy, st-stop!>

Deziree: A-tickle tickle tickle! A-tickle tickle tickle!

Ludmilla: <Hehehe-n-no, please, s-stophhhhahahahaha!>

-She puts Ludmilla down after a while before grabbing Dune to trigger her own bracelet. The Magnezone then floats down, picks up the Smoochum, and puts her on her back.-

Galvani: <Grab onto my antenna, Millie!>

-Ludmilla does so.-

Galvani: <Adventuuuuuuuuuure!>

-Galvani goes flying out the window.-

Dune: ... They'll be back in a bit. I think.

GM House

One would hope so.

-Pent shrugs and finds somewhere to sit-

The GM House, Today

-Galvani and Ludmilla fly in through the window. Dune jumps in surprise, nearly dropping his phone.-

Dune: Woah! I was about to call you, you were gone for so long.

Galvani: <Oh, you worry too much! We had a blast!>

Ludmilla: <Daddy, daddy!>

-The little Smoochum jumps down from the Magnezone's back and runs over, pulling on Dune's pant leg.-

Ludmilla: <We got to go see a funny Whooper at the o-o-oasis, and we got to see a bunch of Trapinch, and there was a funny floating leafy thing in the forest, and there were squishy, snuggly water fairy things near Grandpa Mountain's volcano, and it was awesome!>

-C'mon. You can't stay mad at that.-

Dune: Well, I'm happy you had a good time, Jaskier. But it's time to give Uncle Pent back his armband - it's technically not ours.

-Ludmilla looks legitimately disappointed. Dune sighs and boops her on the nose, eliciting a squeak.-

Dune: Don't worry. You'll get to use it again, no doubt.

GM

-Pent smiles and sighs a little-

You three are dang adorable together. ^_^

Hearthome City

-Maria is a-walking along-

Maria:Hmmmmmm...maybe...you know, I haven't given Sammy much time lately...

Hearthome City Center

-And Lane is semi-sulking in his room, holding a Flareon-

Hearthome

-Samantha is elsewhere in the city, seated next to her Meowstic, idly scritching him behind the ears-

Samantha: I ought to keep in touch with Maria more, right?

Clyde: ~Well, you've been busy training yourself!~

Hearthome, outside

(Both Samantha and Maria should be able to see a man, clad from head to toe in bright red with a grimacing mask concealing his face, steadily trotting down the streets on a Rapidash with a Team Magma logo emblazoned on its saddle.)

Hearthome, inside

(There is a barely audible *blip*, followed about 20 seconds later by a polite knock on Lane's door.)

Hearthome

-Maria blinks at the masked man-

Something about that guy...it's...unnerving...

Hearthome Center

-Lane grumbles, picks up Hugo and walks over to the door to open it-

Lane:Hello?

In favor of trying to get this plot done in a timely manner, I'll be trying to streamline my posts for at least a stage or two.

Bushlands (previously)

-Vvvwarp-

-Tori appears on a teleporter platform in a new cavern overrun with with grasses and shrubs to the point that were there not a grassy ceiling overhead one would think they were outdoors-

-Not far away, she finds another of the Mimiga clan buneary looking forlornly deeper into the cavern-

Tori: "Hey, what's up? I didn't know there were mimiga outside of the village"

Mimiga: <O-oh... Well. I dropped my key out there, and now I'm locked out of my house... So, I'm just standing here now>

-Headshake-

<Kinda pathetic, huh?>

Tori: "Why not go looking for it instead of just standing around?"

Mimiga: <Because there's a lot of cranky creatures out there. And I'm a pacifist. So... yeah>

Tori: =/

-She goes off-

......

-There the sound of her Polar Star being fired-

.....

-Tori returns, and hands the Mimiga a key-

"Is this yours?"

Mimiga: <Ah! Yes! I didn't think a human like you would be able to get past them all on your own>

-He turns and runs the short distance away to his house, the door is quickly opened. And he turns back-

<Oh, right. My name's Santa, I really owe you one, so thanks>

-With that, he enters the house-

Now Near Maria

-Samantha nods-

Samantha: Should we...stay away from him, then?

Hearthome, past

(The bright red man wheels around to face the two redheads.)

Hephaestus: Mmm? Do I hear pre-emptive murmurings of discontent?

Lane's Hotel Room, past

(Standing there in the doorway is a red-haired, purple-eyed man, dressed immaculately in a silver tuxedo. His mouth curls into a dark smirk at the sight of Lane.)

Wilhelm: Hello, cousin. How long has it been again?

Route 209

EJ trudged quietly past the pile of stones his guidebook identified as the Hallowed Tower, sparing it a glance before continuing. He had left that child behind- he had already been told the way to Solaceon and made sure to duck out when he had fallen asleep.

The night was unnervingly quiet as the shape of the Lost Tower began to come into view. EJ shone his flashlight on one of the many large craters pockmarking the route, and decided to slide down into it to make camp. After some prep time, EJ and Babochka cuddled into the dirt, the fire making it look like a recent impact site to any outside viewers. To the malevolent specters approaching, however, it merely looked like a target.