Pewter City Pokemon Center

Falchion: <Life's pretty slow, and we get more of it than is honestly reasonable.>

-Lucius sighs, still trying to keep his eyes averted from the PDA's screen.-

Lucius: ...Okay, maybe the term "adblock" was too technical. Maybe I should back up a bit. How about "lie"? Is that a word-slash-concept you're familiar with? Falsehoods, untruths, stinking piles of Taurosshit, any of those ringing a bell?

Santalune City

Lissa: ...Oh. Okay. Sorry.

-She stands up after a few seconds of awkward silence.-

Lissa: I'll go, if you want me to go. Or we can just start again and talk about something else. Like, uh... stuff that trainers talk about.

Edited by Herbert40k on Jan 6th 2019 at 1:08:02 PM

Aran: <On the contrary, I'd say we don't have enough of it.>

Halis retracts the PDA, looking at it a bit more before looking back at Lucius.

Halis: "Lie? They wouldn't lie to me, though... they wouldn't get anything out of it. People only lie if they have something to gain."

Rose: ...Mmm.

-She sets her book on the bench pages-down, and curls her knees up to her chest, being quiet for a moment. She glances at Alice in the distance briefly.-

Rose: ...Isn't that goth chick the one Kai's always got their hands all over? She's your friend?

Ultra Desert

-To Channah-

I don't sense anyone inside the structure...

Helios: -To Hale- <That noise, I think it's the same as what the Pheromosa was talking about.>

Lucani: <I think we'll be sitting this one out.>

Pewter City Pokemon Center

Falchion: <Guess that's another point on which we'll just have to agree to disagree.>

-Lucius shuts his eyes and lets out a long exhale of breath, with a sound not unlike that of a balloon being deflated.-

Lucius: Hoo boy.

-He opens his eyes and lowers his arm to point at Halis.-

Lucius: So, the thing about the Internet is that people there lie all the time. They do that because a lot of the time, there's no way to tell if they're lying or not, and when they lie they can get you to tell them stuff or make you look at things. Thankfully, you can get things called "adblockers" and "antiviruses" which can tell if something's a lie and will then tell you whether it's a lie or not. Does that make sense so far?

Santalune City

-Lissa follows Rose's gaze to Alice, her lips forming a small smile that still manages to remain distinctly unreadable.-

Lissa: Heh, yeah. Friend and boss. She roped me into her outfit, and we hit it off from there. Her and Kai have been smooching for a while. I don't pry into the particulars, but... they seem happy.

Edited by Herbert40k on Jan 6th 2019 at 1:26:58 PM

Aran just stops trying to communicate with them entirely, getting a bit too frustrated.

Halis seems... confused, but trying to figure it out regardless.

Halis: "Maybe... but wait, I remember hearing about some sort of secret thing... I forget what it was, though, either a secret Pokemon or some sort of secret group, and when I tried to look at it, my PDA crashed, I think... that kinda seemed weird to me. Was that just my imagination or was it just another one of those lies? Nothing else I've seen since did that..."

Rose: Kai certainly seems happy, from what they've told me.

-She relaxes slightly.-

Rose: That means you guys are, like... J-Team-adjacent, then. That's a relief. Means you're slightly less of a stranger.

Ultra Desert

Hale: <...Suityourselves.> -walks forward a few steps and tests the wall of the structure with an elbow strike- <Whateverishappeningheremustbestrangeindeed.TodetertwoftheInterloper'sPokémon.>

Channah: <The noise might be irritating to Bug-types. If Pheromosa is a Bug-type and not, like, Fire or something else weird. D'you want me to uh, fly around and look for a way in?>

Pewter City Pokemon Center

-Lucius raises an eyebrow at Halis, his expression now tinted with a faint curiosity.-

Lucius: It's hard to tell sometimes. Mind if I take a look at it? I've been doing this stuff for a while, I promise not to break it. Although considering everything that PDA's endured I reckon it'd welcome the sweet release of death.

Santalune City

Lissa: Yeah, I guess you could say that.

-Her smile shifts into something harder to translate as she glances away from Rose and down at the ground.-

Lissa: My name's Lissa, by the way. Probably should've asked you what yours was before charging ahead with the charm offensive, huh?

Halis: "Uh, sure. Please be careful with it, though... I can buy another, but I'd rather not have to."

Halis hands it over. There are a metric ton of emails and other various messages, but there is indeed a couple messages referring to things like a secret group that exist outside the public eye, but they seem mostly to be hyperbole aside from a couple specific details, the foremost of which being that they don't exist in just one location. As for "secret pokemon" it's just some nonsense about something called a Pikablu.

Rose: I guess. I don't really matter all that much, but if it makes you happy, my name's Rose.

Pewter City Pokemon Center

-Lucius tilts his head, then archives the weirder messages before running an antivirus scan and installing an adblocker. He also signs Halis up for a service that sends them motivational quotes and weird trivia facts every morning, because might as well give the kid something. He then hands the PDA back to Halis, the whole process having taken about two minutes tops.-

Lucius: There ya go. I don't think those messages are anything to worry about, but if you get any more, you can call me. I've put my number in there under the name "Lucius", since... well, that's my name. One of my least embarrassing names, anyway.

Santalune City

-Lissa looks as though she's about to sling an arm over Rose's shoulder, before deciding against it at the last minute.-

Lissa: Hey, don't say that. Did I come up to you to try and get your autograph? Course not. I came up 'cause you looked worth talking to. 'Sides, you're a friend of Kai's, which means you matter to them, which means you matter to Alice, which means you matter to me. Sorry, but that's just how it works. I don't make the rules.

Edited by Herbert40k on Jan 6th 2019 at 2:06:58 PM

Halis takes it back, looking through everything before putting it away.

"I just hope those people don't get too mad about deleting all of their messages like that... but thanks. What'd you mean by one of your "least embarrassing" names, anyway? You have more names? I didn't even know people could have more than one name-"

As if on queue, another message pops up on the PDA, and Halis looks at it. Their face, or at least what you can see of it, turns pale.

"...Oh dear."

-Rose chuckles mirthlessly, in the sort of way that seems like she wants to find something funny, but it's just not coming.-

Rose: Heh. I guess.

-She sighs.-

Rose: ...Sorry for being kind of a downer. I'm not exactly someone fun to flirt with.

Kalosvania

Isbrand: "Listen, I just want to relax for a week, and I wanna make sure I don't have to deal with anything from you."

Kaiiseii: "Why are you subtly threatening him"

Oblivion Wing

-Shaun shakes his head.-

Pewter City Pokemon Center

-Lucius tilts his head curiously at Halis.-

Lucius: ...Most people have more than one name. There's your family name that tells people who your parents are, and your middle names, that tell people how your parents wanted to embarrass you. I've got a few more than that, though I don't know if that's a Cain thing, or a fae thing, or what. Anyway, just call me Lucius.

-He looks faintly concerned at the colour draining from Halis's face.-

Lucius: What? What's up?

Santalune City

Lissa: Don't beat yourself up about it. Flirting takes practice. I mean, not for me, of course. I'm a natural. But you'll get there eventually.

-She smirks in a way that seems to mirror Rose's own mirthlessness.-

Lissa: And hey, no need to apologise. I'm still here. Misery loves company, right?

Edited by Herbert40k on Jan 6th 2019 at 2:22:42 PM

-Rose is quiet for a few seconds.-

Rose: ...I suppose I am appreciating having someone to talk to for a bit.

-Her lips curl into the slightest smile.-

Rose: So thanks.

Halis: "This m-message says that I have to pay someone a bunch of money otherwise they're going to delete everything I have... including the mysterious ones from before, which they know about, apparently..."

Halis looks at Lucius.

Halis: "Also, you said, uh, something about a fae? Are you not a normal person...?"

Pewter City Pokemon Center

-Lucius's face relaxes into a smile.-

Lucius: Oh, that's probably just another lie. It's worth making backups just in case, but these kinds of people will say anything to try and make you pay up.

-His smile slips slightly as he realises that he might've said a little too much.-

Lucius: Eeeehhh... I mean, what is "normal", anyway? Normal's bullshit. Normal's a box we put people in because we're afraid of what's different. Am I not "normal" because I've got one less arm than most people? Maybe, but then you could say that I'm not normal because I like guys more than most guys, or because I like Malamar more than most everyone. So yeah, I guess I'm not a normal person, whatever a normal person is.

Santalune City

-Lissa smiles back.-

Lissa: Heh, don't mention it. Chatting to cute girls is its own reward.

-She leans back.-

Lissa: Plus, it's not like I couldn't use the company myself. Don't get me wrong, Alice is great, but everything's so serious with her, y'know? It's just work, work, work, all the time. I gotta cut loose where I can.

Edited by Herbert40k on Jan 6th 2019 at 2:42:11 PM

Halis stares at him with a squint.

Halis: "Hm... What if you're lying about your lying, though? Then what? Ooh, maybe you have a bunch of other secrets and we can go on a bizarre adventure together... That sounds like fun to me. Does it sound fun to you? It does to me, at least, but I'm not sure."

Aran: <Oh dear... they're fantasizing again.>

Halis is letting their imagination run rampant.

-Rose can't help but snicker.-

Rose: Oof. That bad, huh? What kind of job is it, anyway?

Pewter City Pokemon Center

-Lucius looks as though he wishes he had a drink in hand at this point.-

Lucius: Trust me, kid, I've had some pretty bizarre adventures. Gods, I can't believe I'm calling a teenager "kid" like I'm an old man. They always sound like fun, until they result in something like this.

-He holds up the stump of his right arm, then leans back and smiles.-

Lucius: Then again, you have a point. Everything I've told you so far could just be a total lie. We fae are notoriously mercurial, after all~

Santalune City

-This time, it's Lissa's turn to look nervous.-

Lissa: We, uh... I guess you could say we're problem solvers. Someone's lost their Pokemon, we find 'em, get them back to their owner. That kinda problem. I mostly handle the administrative stuff, matching police reports to missing mons, but... it's still a hard field to work in, sometimes.

Edited by Herbert40k on Jan 6th 2019 at 3:00:37 PM

Halis winces a bit at the stump, but still seems fairly excited about the potential of things to come.

Halis: "But you just admitted you're a fae, regardless, right? I wonder what else I've been missing... maybe you could tell me? It's not like I'd tell anyone, anyway..."

Victor sits upright and eyes Isbrand, "Really now? I suggest you listen to your poorly dressed friend before you make a mistake."

Alucard sighed, <Why did you think it was a good idea?>

Victor stands and steps over, eyeing Isbrand, "I see you also fancy yourself ready for the symphony of the night ey?"

Victor then turned to the others, "Neighbors? Are you like me in some ways?"

"Let's just hope I'm being overtly paranoid," Silas responded, "Still, at least we have rooms to house others in case of a adventure, and I'm fairly certain Ziltoid would be willing to help if it threatened his favourite coffee shop."

Roxy grinned, "Hey at least we know how to get him invested."

Silas shrugged, "So, forgot to ask, what are you two gonna call your mechs?"

Hacks blinked, ~What are you calling yours?~

"Horizon, either that or Lancelot, or Avalon, or Solaire..."

~A few of those are cause Arthur aren't they?~

"Yes."

Silas and Hacks sat at the side of a old train tunnel leading into the mountains, Roxy was off with the others so it was just the two at the moment, Silas stretched, and smiled a bit, "Good to get away from everything."

~Ain't that the truth.~

"Feels good to just... unwind."

~Yeah, not do anything... though I do have something in mind.~

Silas blinked, "What?"

~We both know extreme speed, so who's faster?~

Silas gave it some thought, "Well... I'd have to say me."

~Oh come on!~

Silas grinned, "Hey I've got extra weight so when I get moving I really get moving, plus I'm generally just faster and more reactive."

~Oh come on! I've been a Lucario way longer than you have and we've spent time maxing out my stats, I'm faster!~

Silas dug his scarf out of the bag, "Wanna test that theory?"

Hacks grinned as Silas pulled it on, ~Keep up slowpoke!~

The two took off, rushing down the tunnel.

Edited by EchoingSilence on Jan 6th 2019 at 9:05:27 AM

Pewter City Pokemon Center

-Lucius frowns slightly.-

Lucius: Uh, if I'm being 100% honest, "faetouched" is probably a better word. And I can't claim to know all the secrets of the universe either. Most of the ones I do know are kinda underwhelming, like the fact that Bigfoot is probably just an antisocial weremon. Or that Xerneas has a great-

-He pauses, and then narrows his eyes at Halis.-

Lucius: ...Hang on. Just why are you so curious, anyway? How do I know I can trust you?