Some Rando
Pewter City
Colton snuck a glance at Halis and pinched the bridge of his nose. Maybe if eye contact was broken, the effect would wane?
He placed the stone in his inner jacket pocket. Out of sight, out of mind.
[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]
Empathic Kid Hero-in-training
Vermilion Public Square
Me: It's true. Milagros bought himself a human-to-Pokemon armband which turned him into a Pancham. Show 'em, Milagros!
♪Show me the wisdom of the world... Tell me the secrets of the heart... and the sweet~ mysteries~ of love~...
Misunderstood Mimiga
Halis snaps out of it... again. They look around, confused.
Halis: <...Why do I keep falling asleep? This is confusing. Also... what's a 'Mind of Crystal'? That sounds like a cultist's title or something.>
They seem to be oddly receptive to whatever Colton has to say, though.
Some Rando
Pewter City
"From what I could gather, a Mind of Crystal is a designation for someone able to understand Kyurem, as well as possess an ability to resist anything mind-altering. It's known as an Attribute, and there are two others.
Hearts of Gold and Souls of Silver. Not exactly clear on what they are," he added, only now noticing that Halis was probably still being influenced by the Spiral Stone. "I'm going to snap my fingers and wake you up. Upon waking up you'll recognize the stone I pocketed as the reason you keep falling asleep."
With that, he snapped his fingers and held the stone again, making certain that its pattern was not facing Halis. How Ammy found this fun, he had no clue.
[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]
Vermilion City
Milagros: Wait, in public?
Rourke: You never told me this! Show us!
Milagros paused to remember what Cecelia told him. "You could get confused with a weremon, and there are some terrible people out there."
However, wanting to do turn into a Pokemon again got the better of him.
Milagros: Okay then...
Milagros took out the Human to Pokemon armband and put it on, causing him to turn into a Pancham. Again.
Kanto Airport
Slaughter: <Wait, what?>
Salvage: <Don't moan about it, it's good for you.>
Slaughter and Salvage continued to argue while Caddy, who had second thoughts about walking too, tried to flag down a taxi.
Edited by Routeferret on Feb 22nd 2019 at 6:38:05 PM
Misunderstood Mimiga
This time, Halis fully wakes up.
Halis: <H-hey... stop doing that, uh, please. I can't tell what's going on anymore and I think I'm going a bit crazy from all of this...>
They seem disoriented and a bit intimidated, though.
Halis: <Uh, I mean... there's t-technically nothing I can do to stop you from doing it, but... just, maybe consider not doing that...?>
Some Rando
Pewter City
"Hey, man, I don't know what I'm doing with this thing either," he said, feeling it in his pocket, looking between said pocket and the pile of rocks. "Some part of me thinks it'd be better if we left it there, but another part of me says that we should seal it away somewhere. Just leaving it in a pile of rocks is not a good security system," he explained.
[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]
Misunderstood Mimiga
Halis: <Well... I am the one who found it, but I'm honestly not sure what we should do with it. Obviously I can't keep it out in the open, though, so for now maybe you should hold onto it? I can't think of any good uses for it, anyway... I'd probably just stare at it for hours.>
They think about this, contemplating what valid uses there could be for it...
Some Rando
Pewter City
"Good point. I'm unaffected, but at the same time I want to test if it works on others.
"I'd need to find Denali or Sandy or someone with experience with rocks or something, see what they can discern about this thing. I'm gonna start calling it the Spiral Stone," he decided. "Tell Lucius about it if and when you can," he decided.
[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]
Empathic Kid Hero-in-training
Vermilion City
Me: See? Milagros can change into a Pokemon. As can I.
-I put my Magical Scarf on-
♪Show me the wisdom of the world... Tell me the secrets of the heart... and the sweet~ mysteries~ of love~...
Misunderstood Mimiga
Halis: <Alright... but if I find out you start using it for evil stuff, I'm gonna learn how to fight with my eyes closed. Heckin... gonna hit you and stuff.>
They demonstrate a seemingly-nonexistent point by starting to use attacks like Pound on empty air... but they end up accidentally flying up a bit with it and hitting the stone out of Colton's pocket, sending it tumbling undamaged onto the ground nearby. Halis quickly stops, panicking.
Halis: <Oh nonono, I d-didn't mean to do that! S-sorry... I just, uh...>
They look around quickly, picking up the stone and holding it close.
Halis: <I just wanted to seem like I was p-prepared...>
Some Rando
Pewter City
Colton's Mindscape
"Does he really have so little faith in us?" Ambition, Programmer, Smartass, Talbain and Realism chorused.
"Does he really have so much faith in himself?" Insecurity, Otaku and Strategist added.
Reality
Colton facepalmed.
The pile of rocks slammed against the back of the Pokemon Center, the trees bent in the wind, and Halis himself would be snapped out of his trance.
The Spiral Stone was brought to a halt by an illusory hand that caught it flat.
[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]
Misunderstood Mimiga
Halis also gets knocked over by this sudden force.
Halis: <...I, uh...>
They look around, nervously.
Halis: <W-wait, but I... where did it...>
They notice the illusory hand.
Halis: <Did that really happen...?>
They seem extremely confused now.
Some Rando
Pewter City
"Oh yeah, I can also make illusions," Colton recalled, the hand floating over to him and dropping the Spiral Stone in his real left hand, which he swiftly pocketed.
Not his right hand, that was injured from his Legendary Facepalm. "I've also perfected facepalms to an art form."
[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]
Illumis Auction House (Formerly Salthebys), Lumiose City
After a vigorous bidding for Hal's painting, a buyer emerges victorious. It was, predictably, Lowell Macraul.
Auctioneer: And sold to the Vicomte Macraul for 10 million.
Edited by MasterJayAM on Feb 22nd 2019 at 9:58:11 PM
Misunderstood Mimiga
Halis seems frightened by Colton now.
Halis: <...>
They don't say a word, instead just staring at him. It's pretty obvious that Colton has become an intimidating force to them by this point.
Some Rando
Pewter City
"What? Evil can't pay bills. I'm not evil, just chaotic," he explained. "If I wanted to hurt you - which I don't - I would have by now.
"Wow that was poorly worded. Look, I've got no malicious intent, okay?"
[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]
Misunderstood Mimiga
Halis: <...T-then what are you going to do?>
Malicious thoughts of what could happen run through Halis's mind, which naturally only solidifies their fears.
Halis: <M-maybe I should have the stone instead, since you don't need it...>
Some Rando
Pewter City
"I don't know," Colton considered. "We both know what would happen if you had it. You'd just stare at until some other Mind of Crystal rescued you from it. I can study and contain it without having to worry," he comforted.
[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]
Misunderstood Mimiga
Halis: <If you're going to be using it, then shouldn't I be around for that, too? It is the one I found... besides, I don't want anyone else getting hurt by it if something goes wrong, and even b-besides that, are you saying that I'm useless? I'm not...>
They're obviously upset to some degree.
Edited by MetamorphicHalis on Feb 22nd 2019 at 2:17:05 PM
Some Rando
Pewter City
"You're not useless," Colton comforted, attempting to kneel beside the Buneary and pet the back of their head. "It's just that, when you look at it, you become... incapacitated, shall we say," he decided. "It's in the J-Team's nature for something to go belly-up every time someone blinks, so we're just better suited for dealing with it.
"Maybe tell Lucius about it. If he gives you the go-ahead to research it with me, then by all means," he allowed.
[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]
Misunderstood Mimiga
Halis: <Well... fine, then, but you're still gonna have to meet Lucius so he can get your number and stuff first. That means no running off or anything like that. Before you say anything, though, I might've wandered off, myself, but I still didn't go that far away from him, I'm pretty sure.>
They calm down a bit, looking around at the city.
Halis: <...I do wonder where he went. He's probably fine without me, but... hm.>
Some Rando
Pewter City
"Eh, he'll turn up eventually. Maybe wait in the center rather than behind it? I'll wait with ya," he offered.
[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]
Misunderstood Mimiga
Halis: <Alright. It is cold out here, anyway, even if it is supposed to start getting warmer soon... but yeah, let's go inside.>
They readjust the scarf a bit before heading towards the nearby Pokecenter.
Halis: <...I still feel a bit weird, though. Not sure why. Probably isn't important.>
Halis: <Ohhh... so it is useful, then. Good to... know...>
They ended up staring at it too long again, falling for the same trick as before. They are evidentally not very good at not looking at it. It's so shiny, though, so you can't blame them too much... yet.