Wedgehurst

Copper: <You could really do that?>

Violet: Wait, what's PEFE? How do I know this is legit?

Hammerlocke Power Plant, Sutur Base

Takumi: This is bad... They've got people we know in contracts...

Gaius: Do we double back? See if anyone's missing?

Metropolis Of Vanity

Royal: Let's put it to a vote: Kill more red Shadows, try to get famous some other way, or try to figure out where Owen even is?

Motostoke Gym

-Jim is now making Kabu's Arcanine chase a ball of psychic power like the dog it is-

-They're having fun I guess?-

Wedgehurst

Beck: PEFE's the scientific organization I work for. We do a buncha stuff for other scientists. Our biggest project in the field was updating pokédex entries that have since gotten out of date. Today, though, people know them for their involvement with the J-Team and their adventures, so they kinda think of us as a hero org as well.

Halis: <To be honest? Anything but the first option... again, for obvious reasons. Also because... well, if it's a matter of opinion causing the divide between red and blue, the first option is basically 'murder over different opinions' which isn't something I'm ok with.>

Metropolis Vanity

"Look, these Shadows technically don't even exist - they're just representative of an overall problem," Rage and Love conceded. "I'm not forcing anything here, I'm just saying that these Palaces have been pretty strange. You never shoot down someone's ego, you have to let them down easy or show that they can improve. Trust me, I know what that's like.

"All I'm going to say is that if we're going to solve this with violence, so be it. I get the feeling that what blues there are will become reds when we become infamous, but so be it."

Shadesden

-The residents of Shadesden don't seem to have any unusual physical features, except maybe a grayer complexion that one might initially interpret as a sickly paleness. No scales, no horns, nothing of the sort from what the party has seen so far.-

Haru: The "afterlife" thing is... a complicated question, that we don't quite have the answer to. As for magic, it's not quite as severe of an issue with those of us who have lived here our entire lives. But, uh... uncomfortably many newcomers have ended up here as victims of...

-He gestures vaguely as he tries to come up with relatively gentle terminology.-

Haru: ...Misunderstood rituals. Forces that certain individuals, be they from ill-intentioned cults or merely groups of cruel teenagers, never bothered to understand. It does not sit well with them, and frequently they are the most difficult to integrate into the community.

-They approach one of the clock towers, where a number of people are gazing quietly up at it. Some have their hands clasped behind them, some resting in front, and one light-skinned, brown-haired teen girl in a denim jacket has her arms crossed in front of her, almost defensively.-

Haru: Lauren?

-The girl recoils as her name is called, but turns toward Haru. She doesn't have the same dullness to her complexion as the rest of the town, though she does have significant bags under her eyes.-

Lauren: U-um, yes, Mr. Haru?

Haru: I have some visitors here, and I think you might be the best suited to understanding them. They're here to help with some problems.

Lauren: O-oh, um. Okay. But, I, um, just started my watch, and—

Haru: Worry not, child. I'll cover for you today.

-Lauren falls quiet, nodding. She looks at the assorted group nervously.-

Lauren: ...Hello.

Textspace

Distortion World, past

Guess what happened to them is different than what happened with Cyrus and Neptune... Similar differences to those of the Ultra Megalopolis.

-Cue Lauren-

So... how long do you estimate you've been stuck here?

Guess Giratina's... collection must be stored somewhere else.

Hammerlocke, past

...That's about what I figured. We could go back, but that risks them either being better prepared for us, including the possibility of more people getting contracted into their service.

Metropolis of Vanity

Remember that I'm Footpad while we're here...

The only other thing would be trying to change their cognition in the material world, but they seem a little too self-absorbed for that.

Edited by rmctagg09 on May 3rd 2020 at 12:53:54 PM

Textspace

Ardizzone Aparment, Rooftop

-Luca and Benedetta have finished arming themselves.-

-For Luca, his saber, grenades full of Spore Powder, grenades full of pepper spray, a stun shield, and an electric baton.-

-For Benedetta, her handgun, in an ankle holster. Her sawn-off shotgun, though only with electric slugs. Flashbangs. A cattle prod. And a combat knife.-

-They both have six Poké Balls, a gas mask at their waist, body armor,and some zip ties.-

Luca: "Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll surrender peacefully."

Benedetta: "Maybe. But I'm more prepared for human and mon resistance. Plus whatever projects they've come up with in there. That castle in Eddisburg was Pokefutures, you know."

Luca: "Hey."

Benedetta: "Yeah?"

Luca: "...it's roughly 3 and a half hours from here to Orre, if we don't land for refueling and go at max speed."

"Why did we put all our gear on now?"

Benedetta: "...I feel stupid."

As Clara continued cramming sourbread into her mouth, her mother was still petting the cup. Audnoi, frustrated with how the berries wouldn’t stick in her “hair”, tried hurrying the two along.

<Trainer, can we go already? I’m booooooored... plus, we aren’t even doing anything cool here!>

<We’ll go when we- mmph- finish lunch, alright?>

<...he... hello... can I.... have cup? I.... like cup...>

Wedgehurst, past

Violet: Cool. I think a couple people from the j-team gave us a hand a while back.

Copper: <You got any berries?>

distortion world, past

-Hazel waves at Laura.-

Hazel: Hi.

Edited by QuantumMelody29 on May 4th 2020 at 7:58:05 PM

Wedgehurst

Farmer Beckett comes back from his house with a large piece of [Tupperware] containing an absurd amount of berries.

Farmer Beckett: Freshly picked Beckett brand all-natural berries. There are none fresher in all Galar unless ya pick it yourself. Which can be arranged; some of my grafted trees are nearing harvest and if you're lucky some of them are ripe.

Beck: Oh, the cups? Well, they're my mum's. She probably won't—

Suddenly, he receives a text message.

Beck: "Sterling, throw out that crummy old tea set. My friends and I found the most delightful blue porcelain and we're buying it. Love, mum."

Beat.

Beck: Keep it. I'll have the truck ready once you're all done eatin'.

Wedgehurst

Copper: <Yum!>

-Copper eagerly starts taking some of the berries. Violet eats a piece of her cake.-

Not knowing much English at all, Mama took the response as a “yes” anyway. Holding the cup in her delicate hands, she gently put it beside Clara so she could store it safely.

Speaking of Clara, she was leaning heavily on the table, looking rather sick from eating entirely too much sourbread. Sending the cup to her PC, she slowly got up from her chair.

“Alright... I think we’re just... about ready to... ready to go now. I... have made some mistakes, definitely...”

<Finally! I wanted us to get going about half an hour ago! Can we hurry up now?>

Hammerlocke Power Plant

No, I'm apologizing for something that's yet to happen.

-Gale bows and backs into the shadows fully, the eyes of her helmet switching off-

I'm forbidden from helping you, but he can't force me to fight you without the codephrase. Do what you need to do and leave before he finds you.

Sin [Vanity] City

Anthem: <Voting for rocking out this Palace.>

Shift: I think we should actually be yaknow, thieves and go looking for the secret places where he's stowed away his Treasure.

Old Ruins

That sounds terrible. We should probably focus down other sources of such mental stress going forward.

Silas sighed, "The issue with that Shift is this, this is an electronic city run by a AI supercomputer that's apparently advanced enough to have a soul. What if the treasure we're looking for isn't something physical?"

Samuel just muttered a bemused "fascinating" and left the people be.

"I apologize for Hayden, when I met him he was already bent on this kind of stuff," Arthur stated, deciding to leave out the fact that all of his team had rather extreme personalities.

Clutch looked about, <Shouldn't we ask these meat creatures if they have seen a unusual creature come by here? They don't know what a Glitch is but they should know if something doesn't look like it belongs here.>

Silas nodded, "Jeez Des... Okay so there are things down here that can induce mental stress. Fun."

Hacks just shook his head, ~We're in a lot of trouble... Are you sure we should do this?~

"In a word? No. But we have to press on," Silas answered, "We're J-Teamers, and a actor, we've got plenty of experience in these kinds of situations."

Hacks just stared at Silas, ~But all the things you've gone through, are you-~

"Hacks, I'm getting help. We're down here, and I don't intend to leave until we've cleaved whatever dark monstrosity rests in this place out," he flipped the visor down, "Come. We have work to do."

Silas lead the party on marching, through a few empty rooms as it seemed, a lot of the place was just empty.

Silas stopped the marching when he heard his stomach growl, "Ok... we got food stocks right?"

Wedgehurst

The engine for the truck fired up again.

Beck: Everybody saddle up. We'll be driving to the Stormchaser soon.

Old Ruins

Des followed the group, looking down at the floor most of the time. Some of his bravado had disappeared. Sniper gave him a poke.

<C'mon,cheer up. Tell us a joke!>

Des blinked and looked around.

"...Silas your great-grandfather had poor taste in interior decor."

He stopped and heard his own stomach growl.

Would I be a jerk if I looked expectantly at Gale?

Too late, he was already looking expectantly at Gale.

Dammit brain, be quicker on the uptake.

"I could go for a bite to eat, honestly."

Hammerlocke

Hubert: <I believe out best option is to make a tactical retreat.>

Niles: <Scouting around more isn't gonna do much good.>

wedgehurst

Violet: Wait, the stormchaser? Isn't that the j-team's airship?

Copper: <Can we come?>

Turffield Stadium Entrance Room, Pre-AFD

Kim: (nods) "Ah. I see." (then, after a pause) "I presume that move was Iron Tail?"

Returning her two companions to their Pokéballs, Clara took a seat in the truck again, feeling somewhat ill.

“I, uhhhh...... ugh......... I feel a bit siiiiick..... could you go s- slowlier? I think I...”

Turffield Stadium Entrance Room, Pre-AFD

Me: Yep. I was trying to find out how to make it work like the move Double-Iron Bash. I think that's a Mythical Pokémon's signature move...?

Turffield Stadium, Entrance Room, Pre-AFD

Kim: "Double Iron-Bash... wait, that's the signature move of Melmetal, is it not?"

Turffield Stadium Entrance Room, Pre-AFD

Me: Melmetal? That's the Pokémon's name?

Distortion World

Medea: Ohoho, what kind of cults?

Huginn: I'm curious too.

Duolis: Don't

Hammelocke Cavern

Gaius: Listen it's either we get out of here now and avoid them snatching us or we get added to their ranks automatically. Or end up dead.

Metropolis Of Vanity

-The group is interrupted by a blue light shining from the tallest tower in the city-

-It is also at the farthest reaches of the city-

Flamel: <Goodness, is that where he went?>

Motostoke Gym

-Kabu is down to his Centiskorch-

-Which EMBIGGENS-

Jim: <LISTEN HERE YOU OVERSIZED SPICY NOO->

-Max Flutterby-

-Jim crumples like a, well, noodle-

Edited by Umbramatic on May 4th 2020 at 10:02:21 AM