The Rebel Treble

"TBD huh? Must stand for 'Totally Bogus Dancing."

Des laughed at his own joke.

"Big, Gay and Rich will wipe the floor with you before you get passed the prelims."

Rebel Treble

"Best advice I can really give is a snappy rhyme: 'experiment 'till something sticks,'" He offered weakly. "It's what we did, and I think we're halfway decent.

"Honestly, I don't want to turn you into another me, so I'm not going to teach you for fear you'll be influenced by our style.

"Besides, anyone can sing."

Rebel Treble

-Purple-name twin is silent for a few moments before sipping their glass of faintly blue wine (which they have now)-

???: I mean if you want us to knock you down to loser's bracket in the first round and take you out completely if you scramble up to the finals then Meloetta can arrange that for you.

Meloetta: <Actually the tournament bracket is randomized!>

-The other twin wanders over and picks up another glass of wine (which is there now)-

???: Hm. If you're swinging at TBD you should probably watch your back.

The Rebel Treble

Human!Christina: "Hmmph. Amateurs."

Elizabeth: "Well, uh, I was expecting more seasoned compet-"

Human!Olivia: "We'll wipe the floor with you!"

Gabrielle: "Quite. Sugar and Spice will triumph without breaking a sweat."

"And monsieur Desmond, stick to wrangling cattle and vulpines. Not stand-up."

Edited by SwiftSeraph on Feb 1st 2020 at 1:10:44 PM

Motostoke, Outside the Record Store

-Ian peels himself from the wall of the record store and shakes his head to clear himself of dizziness.-

Me: ow... Okay... Let's try this again.

-Ian steps through the doors of the record store.-

Motostoke Record Store

-Ian looks around upon entering the store.-

Me: This really IS the place!

Motostoke, Kamon

Jackie: W-wait, don't go!

Dave: -muttering to himself- Easy lady he's probably not worth it.

Mia: <Can I have a hot dog now?>

Motostoke

-Indeed it is a purple-haired, dark-skinned, red-eyed woman in all-white casual clothes and an umbrella-

Olivia: My my my, if it isn't really you Arthur. It HAS been a while...

-a Mimikyu peeks out from behind her-

"Only about 600 years, I was dead for most of that time. How about you? How are you still alive?" Arthur asked.

Ranger tilted his head at the Mimikyu, as Hayden leaned forward to inspect Olivia better.

<PEFE documentation notes that there are beings such as vampires. Perhaps->

"Oh you mean like Victor?"

Hayden stopped and stared at Arthur, <Pardon?>

"Victor Helstrand, knight then noble, he's a vampire. He and I met up recently, he's still a self centered jerk but at least he's not Livius," Arthur responded.

Motostoke Record Store

???: Oh- a customer!

A stocky man would run out of a nearby door, skidding agross the carpet and stopping near the counter to readjust his glasses. He then looked up at Ian, smiling as he turned on a record player.

Shopkeeper: Welcome! How may I help?

Edited by Routeferret on Feb 2nd 2020 at 4:47:22 PM

Motostoke, Arthur

Olivia: -bares her fangs- Yep.

Motostoke, Registration Office

Clerk: You three are all set for the league!

Julius: Thanks!

Neon: Thanks!

Jared: See ya!

-they walk off-

-flicker-

Motostoke Record Store

Me: Oh. Hello there.

-thinks to self- I hope this is what everyone would want...

-out loud- Do you have a drum kit, an electric guitar, no, actually, two electric guitars, one Pikachu-sized... Naturally, the Pikachu would use his electricity to generate the sound as he plays, now THAT would be cool... a violin, a flute, an amplifier and a trumpet for a Furret?

-take a frickin sip, babe-

Megan: -bright- Yes!! I would love to hang out more!

-bounce- I just remembered, I still haven't taken you swimming yet!

Pippy: <...it is kind of still winter.>

Megan: -blink- Yes?

Pippy: <...>

-to Rowan- <So yeah, if you'd like to sync itineraries, I'm sure we could arrange a date.>

Megan: -ghrfl?-

but also yes

Wedgehurst, Berry Stand: History Time

-Megan, Logan, and Hiro have pulled up chairs at a table by now, Abilene leaning impatiently on a nearby wall, waiting for-

-...something-

Hiro: -to Logan, sitting upright, with a foot drawn over one knee- From watching you, they had nowhere near the same sensitivity, though. Not if the rest of the Rangers had half your charm and twice your flaws.

Logan: -resting their cheek on their hand on their elbow on the table, dry- Thanks.

Hiro: -literally biting his tongue, smirk- Of course.

Logan: -tapping their cheek- We've got all sorts, really. I'll admit I don't think well of all my coworkers. But at the end of the day, there's a pretty hard line drawn between, uh, self-aggrandizement, and actual neglect. It's a pretty wide line, and it's one we've drawn ourselves.

-fiddling quietly with something beneath the table- What did they do?

Hiro: -splaying a hand's fingers, projecting an imaginary panorama with his sweeping palm- They proclaimed far and wide that the practice of Pokemon training was awful, and everyone should release all their Pokemon immediately.

This was followed by many attempts to "liberate" Pokemon, by force if necessary.

Logan: ...hm.

-fiddling further- Did they ask the Pokemon?

Hiro: In general? No, they did not.

Addie: <In general?>

Hiro: There were exceptions.

Logan: ...very common exceptions?

Hiro: Good question!

What have you seen, in your time among Trainers? You're very perceptive, even keeping in mind you've never been a Trainer yourself.

-his expression is less challenge and more...fervent curiosity-

-have I missed anything, it asks-

Logan: Honestly? Heh.

Hiro: Haaah. :P

Logan: -fiddling firmly- There's been abuses. I've rescued some. But they've been...few and far between.

Well actually, some run in similar circles, so maybe more like "few with less space between them than I'd like", but really it's...

Sometimes I worry about having one human stretched thin taking care of however many Pokemon they have—in some cases, it's a lot more than six. And really, it takes a village, there's more accountability, more workpower, more advice...

-admitting- Well, there's nothing that says communities can't also be toxic as hell, but that's what I'm trained to work against. There is a culture here that tries to see that young Trainers have what they need to get by, more or less. The number of times someone's handed me something helpful just walking down the street, is. Pretty remarkable, really.

Abilene: …that's mostly for kids, you know.

Logan: -gesture to face- I'm five foot two, and my brief experience with this was sufficiently illustrative to cite.

Megan: -weakly- Uh, I dunno—I've handed out loads of stuff to pretty much everyone? I-I dunno if it's just a kid thing…

Logan: -shaking their head, plowing past the distraction- Whether some people need ethics lessons is another thing entirely. But there's...a lot of happy Pokémon. Genuinely happy, free, fed and fulfilled. Everyone takes care of each other, mostly, and that stands for a lot.

Megan: ...

Hiro: -nod- I asked myself the same question, a lot. If you don't ask, how can you know?

Logan: -headtilt- How'd you go about doing that?

Hiro: I released all my Pokémon.

Megan: -sharp inhale-

Logan: -...blink-

Abilene: ...well.

<Oh I love that song!>

-blowing into view, warbling- 🎶<All the shine of a thousand spotlights, all the stars we steal from the night sky—>🎶

Thespi: <Hey!> ^_^

-this cloud winks the stars from the walls-

-falling in behind on either side of her, on beds of froth and magnetism respectively-

Ceal: -sealion smirk?- <Lovely weather we're having.>

Tripod: -cuts the background noise, whirr applause-

Thespi: <Well, tee-bee-dee, meet—>

-flashing a winged badge with a green gem set in it- <Hecate's Harbingers!>

Ceal: -likewise, wiggling a Golden Ticket- <Ooooh~>

Tripod: -to match, rock harp noises-

Thespi: -from the center of this group pose- <Arc villains, foils, frenemies all, the protagonists have arrived!>

-happy sniff- <Freely oppose us, and we'll see all your narrative arcs to completion~>

Motostoke

The man would quickly write down everything Ian needed.

Shopkeeper: Okay... that's a lot. I think I have everything you want though.

He opened the door again, bringing out all of the instruments.

Shopkeeper: That would be [reasonable price x6].

Edited by Routeferret on Feb 2nd 2020 at 5:27:47 PM

Motostoke Record Store

-Ian pays for the instruments.-

Me: Thank you so much, mister.

-Ian then gets a slight tingling feeling...-

Me: And, sir... If you see me rushing through those doors again, take note that it's because I think I may have forgotten something.

Abandoned Operations HQ

Paula: Unfortunately, if we fall back and recuperate, the chance is gone. We can totally just kill her, from the inside or outside, but it may destroy the Palace.

Rose: We have one shot at this. We can't let it fail. Now or never.

-She pulls up the Metanav, and says the keywords.-

Chateau d'Avarice

-As the team passes from the material world to the Metaverse, sand from a raging sandstorm whips against everyone. Through the cloud of dust, the mental construct of Mt. Battle appears active, with glowing red lava trailing down the sides of the mountain.-

Paula: All right, team! Time to storm in and tell 'em we're in charge now! Who wants to do the honors?

-She gestures toward the front door.-

Hayden blinked, <Fascinating.>

"So what have you been up to?" Arthur asked.

Silas stepped forward, cracked his knuckles and took off his mask, he practically seemed to be in full strut mode.

Knight appeared, and laughed in a deep rumble, before pulling back a fist, which started to glow, Knight shouted, "KOMBAT TIME!"

The fist flung forward right into the front door.

Chateau D'Avarice

Julius:

-Heads in after Silas-

Motostoke, Arthur

Olivia: A lot. Most recently found the J-Team. And the Aurabolts.

-The Mimikyu peeks out further-

Motostoke, Registration Office

Clerk: You three are all set for the league!

Julius: Thanks!

Neon: Thanks!

Jared: See ya!

-they walk off-

-then stop-

Julius: ...Something doesn't seem right.

Neon: Like... deja vu.

Jared: Chill dudes, it's probably nothing.

Edited by Umbramatic on Feb 2nd 2020 at 2:27:43 PM

Chateau d'Avarice^note which I just learned is Greed House

-Sorceress, Songstress, and Guardian follow Knight and Royal.-

Motostoke, the past and the furious

Channah: -sighs- ...Okay. I promise.

wild area, past

Violet: I can tell. Well, I need to get on with looking.

-She climbs on top of Antimony.-

Violet: Antimony, magnet rise! Let's go!

-The Metagross hovers a metre or so in the air and they float off somewhere else in the wild area.-

Motostoke, past

-Smiles while embracing Channah-

Great.

Cipher Chateau

-Rakash immediately summons Gulduar and goes into Navigator mode as Anthem rolls her shoulders and gets some stretches in for the running to happen-

Anthem: <Phantoms, let's rock!>

-And Shift is... Shift is currently looking like a younger copy of Director. That is... Strange-

Okay two things friend-currently-lacking-a-codename: A) I really need you to show you've got a Persona or Pokesona. B) Can you not look like that it's making my head spin?

Shift: Come on, who else could I be? Also maybe let's wait for an actual fight before popping Pokesonas, please?

-Before Rakash can actually rebutt that "during a fight is the worst time to discover your Ditto friend is lying about having a Persona", Shift and Anthem have already rushed in-

~Sigh~

Rebel Treble

Meloetta: <Well this is wonderful, everyone's getting along so well!>

???: McScuse? We're all sniping at each other.

Meloetta: <It's the spirit of friendly competition!>

???: Hostility like this, you'd think someone was trying to kill the other bands.

Meloetta: <... I forgot about that.>

Motostoke, past

Channah: -hugs back, staring into the air behind Tagg with a haggard expression-

Motostoke, today

Kamon: -turns off phone-

Rockstar: -looks up from his torchicken burger, mouth full-

Kamon: ...Finally. -sighs and flops back against the wall- Silas.

Rockstar: -cocks his head- <Whae?>

Kamon: So, remember that the co-producer called me back in June for that evil role, Martin? The script's been rewritten so now they want me for Silas, this main team member. His TV actor contracted exploding head syndrome, poor bastard. Anyway, blocking starts in a couple weeks and they're doing it in Wyndon. Charles's gonna email me the contract. -baffled- They didn't even ask to hear the accent.

Rockstar: <There goes our adventure. That's no much time tae prepare. Ye usually like at least a month.>

Kamon: -pushes himself away from the wall and starts walking and fiddling with his phone- And the Tribe is - temporarily - placated. As long as Filipp doesn't post any more stupid shit about me and Addy's ex-boyfriend on Chatter. I don't know what his problem is, spreading baseless rumors for no reason at all. -grumbles-

Rockstar: -shrugs- <When yer no there, they git bored. Wit happens wae nutters like thit.>

Kamon: I'll look this guy up first, then - Bugger. Hang on. -sighs and sends a text-

Motostoke Record Store

Shopkeeper: Any time.

Motostoke

-There is the sound of a very loud anime nosebleed-

Mia: -pupils dilate-

Dave: What the fuck Jackie?!

Motostoke, Registration Office

Clerk: You three are all set for the league!

Julius: Thanks!

Neon: Thanks!

Jared: See ya!

-they walk off-

-then stop-

Julius: Something's definitely weird.

Neon: We've definitely done this before.

Jared: But... how?

Edited by Umbramatic on Feb 2nd 2020 at 5:25:18 AM

Motostoke