Ersatz

-Iris removes the thing from Coil - it seems to be a scarf- and he goes back to normal-

Coil: WHAT IS THIS PLACE

Hammerlocke

Izana: <TELEPORT IT IS>

Robin: Wait Izana we gotta-

-ZAP-

Power Plant

-and everyone ends up here-

-To find they are surrounded-

Robin: ...prepare.

Sutur:

Metropolis Of Vanity

Flamel: <You all will have to fill me in on those evil folks later. Now if I were a cyborg AI idol man where would I hide...?>

Julius: We could try getting to that tower again. But how do we avoid detection...?

Hulbury

-Jackie is suddenly smacked in the face by a flying Arrowkuda-

Jackie: ACK

-looks around and sees the source is a Cramorant-

Why you...

Hammerlocke

"Oh, we're doing this?" Colton asked rhetorically.

Sunny and Roy nodded to each other, the former raising a Reflect for Roy to hide behind while Colton raised a hand to his headphones, Roy being enveloped in an orange flash of Mega Evolution.

"I am too, connected to you,"

<to slip away, to fade away!>

Metropolis Vanity

Rage and Love shrugged, looking around through his blindfold.

Stormchaser

"It's the increased size of the 4th Wall Manipulator's effective area. Step in it and when I give the signal to Tesse she'll activate it."

Tesse: "What's the signal?"

"Eh, you'll know it. Alright! Everyone in the circle!"

Hammerlocke Power Plant

Sutur, your time has come to an end! These heroes, united under the sign of the Emblem have come to bring a halt to your machinations! And I, the valiant Gale Knight, lead the charge!

-It seemed like Gale was pretty into that whole 'trick him into being a stereotypical villain' plan mostly because she was overacting so hard. Also there was a faint swell of music in the background, for some reason-

Any last words?

-A prompt, best to get the betrayal out of the way early-

The Polis At Vanity

Anthem: <We could go in smaller groups, draw less attention?>

Mmmmno, bad idea. We're not Cognitions so we'd draw attention anyway and it's a deadly mistake to split our forces between multiple fights.

Anthem: <Yeesh it was just a suggestion you don't have to give us a little Blazing Sigil tactical monologue. Now okay maybe we need to like, use our Performa? Out-idol the idol?>

-Something about those words causes Rakash to go silent and visibly shudder-

Stormchaser

I am in. I am hyped. I hope we end up in Ghirapur. Let's do this.

Turffield Stadium Gym Entrance Room, Pre-AFD

(Ozzy looks over at Ronin and smiles.)

Ozzy: <Oh, very well.> (He goes up to Ronin and picks him up in his talons.) <Dare I ask if you are ready?>

The Stormchaser

(Kim smiles.)

Kim: "Ah. Now I get it. Very well, then. Let me just do one thing first..."

(She takes out a PokeBall, and in an instant, Orwell emerges from it. He looks around in confusion at what is in front of him.)

Orwell: (confused) <Kimbond?> (He motions to the chalk circle.) <Why is there a whiterockcirc on the floor? I unbellyfeel...> ^note  "Kim? Why is there a chalk circle on the floor? I don't understand..."

Kim: "Oh, that? That's the transportation device."

(The second she says that, Orwell's eyes light up.)

Orwell: (now excited) <Ooh! This is the interportdev?! That truthwise bellyfeels interestful!> (He jumps up in the air with excitement.) <I can unwait for interporttrav...!> ^note  "Ooh! This is the transportation device?! That certainly seems interesting! I can't wait to go portal-hopping...!"

(Kim smiles, and she and Orwell proceed to step into the chalk circle together.)

Kim: "Alright, I am ready. And so is Orwell."

Hammerlocke

-Evelyn runs her hand against the brim of her witch's hat, tickling Hatty.-

Evelyn: Let's do this...

-Evelyn joins the Emblem Heroes in the Power Plant for the final fight with Surtr.-

Turffield Stadium Entrance, Pre-AFD

Me: Y'know... being carried by a bird Pokémon looks like an awful lot of fun.

Evelyn: It's been one of mankind's greatest dreams to fly... right?

Turffield, Standing Stone of Water

Sami nods at the compliment, but still gives Will and Zoomer a stern look.

Sami: <I'd be even more proud if two certain little boys had done what they were told to do in the first place.>

Will and Zoomer gulp... again. Sami lets out a sigh.

Sami: <You two are just how I remember Suzie and Nidori at that age. Like parent, like child, the pair of you. We'll go get some lunch, but I expect you to go right back to your studies once you're done. Am I clear?>

Will nods fervently.

Will: Yes'm.

Zoomer does the same, even though Sami's last sentence wasn't directed at him.

Puri grins at the display... until Sami turns to her.

Sami: <And I expect you to eat your lunch, too. I don't want to hear about those Poke Puffs ruining your appetite.>

Puri looks smug.

Puri: <No worries there, I worked up a huge appetite.>

Sami narrows her eyes at the Jigglypuff. Will steps in.

Will: Oh yeah, when Puri's hungry she can really pack it in. It's because her body is so stretchy.

Puri gives her trainer a deadpanned look.

Puri: <I'm not sure that's actually helping...>

Turffield Stadium Gym Entrance Room, Pre-AFD

Ronin responds to Ozzy by holding his bone club high, his eyes shining, ready for Ozzy's talons.

Suzie's expression very suddenly lights up. In that moment she looks exactly like Fuka would at the sight of a Druddigon.

Suzie: You have no idea! The wind in your hair, the open skies, the freedom! The days where I'd soar on the back of my Fearow, the stunts we'd pull...

In Suzie's head is the memory of her jumping off the back of her Fearow, Nidori, and free-falling for several seconds before the Fearow catches her on his back.

The thought of it leaves a huge smile on her face.

Fuka watches her mother's display and is smiling, too.

Ersatz alliance

Eva: Yup. This confirms it. We're in the Ersatz alliance.

Evo: Yup, I'm pretty sure you just used a human to pokemon transformation scarf.

stow-on-side gym

-Violet walks in to challenge the gym.-

Violet: Hey, um, do you know who's the gym leader today?

Some random challenger: It's Bea. She's pretty tough.

Violet: Hmm....

-Violet decides to challenge the gym anyway despite the type mismatch.-

Forward Fronts, past

Ma'at: <Good. We've got plenty more obstacles to take down. Apparently, for all the shoddiness that Pokefutures has in biotech, they take their cybersecurity very seriously. Systems are hard for porygon-lines to breach, possibly because of their altercations with do-gooder crawlers from PEFE.>

Shutter's apartment, Unova, June 12,

Shutter was unboxing a couple of packages he received earlier that day. Edward was within him and Charger floated around, feeling a bit unnerved. He was also speaking in a hushed voice.

Edward: ~I don't remember us ordering anything. Did you get yourself something this year?~

Shutter: You're right, Ed. I didn't buy anything and set it up so that you can't without me being awake or conscious. But yes, I did get myself something. Besides the obvious package from mom and dad, there's these I got from grandpa.

Edward: ~You know what chocolate does to abs, right?~

Shutter: Shut up. You like 'em, too. And it's not just the chocolate we're getting.

Edward: ~Look, I'm trying to help you here, okay.~

Shutter grabs a box cutter and tears open one of the packages. Contained within are his old swimming and diving medals from high school and college. Also inside is a couple of pictures of a leaner, younger-looking Shutter posing in front of a pool with a bunch of medals.

Shutter: Behold. My stuff.

Edward: ~Finally. Though you can't possibly settle for that as a body goal. It's not superhero-ey enough. Heck you're still not as ripped as Petersen is, let alone Awesomeguy.~

Shutter: Screw you. You have any idea how hard it is to get to Henry Cavill levels of fitness?

Edward: ~With great power comes great responsibility, Gavin.~

Shutter: That's not even the right superhero franchise.

Edward: ~Well, I'm just saying there's plenty of room for improvement.~

Shutter: Well, sorry for younger me having one less pair of abs.

Charger: <Okay, if you two are finished arguing, I'm feeling a strange presence in this room.>

Shutter: Oh, that's nothing. I'm having people over.

They hear a buzzing sound from the door. Scout paces all-cutesy like and enters one of the empty boxes.

He opens the door and is promptly tackled, glomped, and growlithe-piled by two little brother figures. A rotom in a phone floats in as well.

Gimbal, via the phone: I heard that, you little bitch.

Charger: <Glad to see you too, Gimbal.>

Tommy: Hey Gavin. We're back.

Shutter: And speak of Giratina.

Galen, still pinning Shutter down, sees the trophies.

Galen: Still pining for your glory days, I see.

Shutter: Shut up.

Galen: And a happy birthday to you too, Gav.

Tommy: Happy to see us?

Gimbal: Aww, it's nice to see my three boys getting along. I don't see this often enough.

Shutter: Would you two get off of me!

Edward: ~See, this wouldn't be a problem if we were as buff as Henry Cavill.~

Edited by MasterJayAM on Jul 1st 2020 at 2:24:21 AM

Ersatz

Coil: A what?

-Iris, curious, tries it on-

-There is now a Slugma there-

Slugma!Iris: <...Huh.>

Coil: -screams-

Hammerlocke Power Plant

-Give the author a sec, will ya?-

-This next post for this plot is a big one and he's low on spoons-

-Next time, probably-

Metropolis Of Vanity

Julius: I'm afraid if we out-idol him he'll just sic more Shadows on us.

Flamel: <Does this place have metaphysical sewers we could sneak through?>

Hulbury

-Jackie stomps over to the Cramorant-

Cramorant: <Could you get my fish back?>

Jackie: YOU SPAT IT IN MY FACE

Cramorant: <Dreadfully sorry, ma'am, I did not know it would affect you so.>

Jackie: ...Wait what?

Cramorant: <I know! I shall pledge my services to you to make up for this grave insult.>

Jackie: ...Huh?

Metropolis Vanity

"You say that, but I get the suspicion that the more shadows we take from him via 'out-idoling', the more power we can turn against him, even if he has an infinite supply," Rage and Love shrugged.

"But if I'm mistaken, I'll throw as many hands as I need to."

The guard starts to stammer, "I-I-I I don't know! M-maybe it has something to do with the Mechs??"

Delta tilted his head a bit, "Alright then. Do you know where it is?"

The guard nodded furiously, eyeing the blade.

Delta grinned and dropped the Guard, "Alright. Get moving."

The guard weakly lead everyone forward, Delta turned to the others, "So for many of you, this is something a little different, take notes, what advantage is there to threatening someone?

Forward Fronts Hallways

-Salem raises his hand, still carrying a weakened Marion.-

Salem: Interrogations are made easier?

Turffield Stadium Entrance Room, Pre-AFD

Me: So, Evelyn... What do we do now? Should we head for Hulbury, or...

Evelyn: Maybe we should take a well-deserved break. How about a picnic?

Me: That sounds like a great plan, Evelyn! Kim, what do you think?

Metropolis of Vanity

"Maybe if we split up some of us could distract him and some of us could sneak around and find him? Then again, splitting our firepower could end badly..."

Metro-lo-vanity-a

Outlaw: Lessee... how'd he find y'all last time? His methods might hive a clue how to find him.

Forward Fronts

Kitbash: They start talking, start trying to make themselves of use.

-He flinches, remembering something-

Kitbash: But they ain't beholden to actually tell the truth or advance your goals as long as they think you're gonna believe they are. Anyone will admit to anything under enough stress.

City At The Center Of Vanity

Anthem: <While I'd prefer the plan where I get to bust out my pop starlet skills, I guess we can crawl through a gross old sewer...>

If my knowledge of how Palaces work is accurate, the existence of a sewer would probably depend on how much the Shadow in charge thinks 'a big cyber city' ought to have a sewer and also whether the Shadow thinks their domain, the power plant and such, contains something that can be syncretized to a sewer.

Metropolis of Vanity

Well, if this place is like a computer, I'd imagine what we'd need to find is the equivalent to the Recycle Bin, so I figure it has to have a waste processing plant.

Turffield, Standing Stone of Water

Alyesha simply silently stood ther, a small smirk on her face as Sami continued to be the team mom.

Alyesha: "Don't worry, Sami, I'll promise that I won't occupy you all further after the break." ;^_^

She looked down to Puri with a smile

Alyesha: "And don't worry there, Puri, you won't come away hungry."

Having said that, Alyesha went over to the food cart, opening everything up and getting inside

Alyesha: "Alright, what can I get you all?"

Outside the cart, the rest would find a menu with both Pokémon and human food. They'd notice that many of Alyesha's meals were [[RUSSIAN]] but she also had some [[ITALIAN]] and [[ASIAN]] options - a definite focus on comparatively simple but very hearthy food.

Alyesha: "If you want something not on there, just tell me, I can't guarantee I'll be able to make it but I'll try, alright~?"

ersatz

Eva: It's a human to pokemon transformation scarf. I have no idea how it works but it turns people into pokemon when you put it on.

-She pulls out her own scarf.-

Evo: Fascinating. I never realised these scarves could withstand such a high level of heat.

Stow-On-Side, yesterday

-Violet rushes out of the gym to the pokemon centre.-

Violet: I really should've seen that coming. I'll need to try again later.

Edited by QuantumMelody29 on Jun 15th 2020 at 7:04:51 PM

Forward Fronts Hallway

"Threatening something is you showing your might off in the hopes that threats you aren't prepared to deal with leave you alone with your true quarry."

Cotton: <Yeah, invasive species are a headache."

Stormchaser

"Alright, we're ready. Everyone in the circle!"

Des and Tesse stepped in alongside everyone else. R. Mika began charging electricity in her cheeks. Tesse punched some commands into the 4WM.

The air in the room began to smell like copper as the particles around them began to ionize. Arcs of electricity sparked and jumped along the chaulk outline. A small vortex started up around the group.

Tesse: "Hang on everybody!"

The Stormchaser

(Kim, true to her nature, smirks, completely unfazed— but the same cannot be said for poor Orwell, who immediately freaks out and grabs on to Kim for dear life.)

Orwell: <Okay, I know I speaked that this willed be plusfunful... BUT IT IS UNBELLYFEELING THAT WAY...! KIMBOND! PLEASE HOLD ME—!> ^note  "Okay, I know I said that this would be really fun... but it's not seeming that way! Kim! Please hold me—!"

(Kim immediately does so, picking up Orwell and holding him in her arms, while he continues to grab on to her for dear life.)

Stow-on-Side Stadium, past

-A few turns later-

Corvus: -Manages to faint Hitmontop with a lucky crit Drill Peck-

Bea: Go Pangoro!

Pangoro: -Appears- <Alright, time to make crow pies out of you.>

Bea: Use Stone Edge!

Pangoro: -Sends out stone shards at Corvus-

Corvus: @_@

Edited by rmctagg09 on Jun 16th 2020 at 5:12:54 AM

Hammerlocke Power Plant

Sutur: -to Gale-    <Your betrayal is... noted...>   

-As the team takes in their surroundings they will notice various familiar familiar faces around them-

-Like Steven Stone-

Steven: I shouldn't have asked that guy for those weird Emblian stones...

-And Leon-

Leon: I just wandered in the wrong dimension again no biggie.

-And Diantha-

Diantha: I thought this was a movie shoot!

-And Red-

Red: ...

-Sutur's daughters and also Helbindi are here too-

-And...-

Julius: D-dad?!

Deidre: <Sigurd!>

Arvis: He got us...

Sigurd: I am sorry, everyone...

Sutur:    <See? You cannot beat my army. You have nor the strength or the emotional aptitude to do so.>   

Robin: We'll stop you! We'll find a way!

Sutur:    <Your childish determination will just make you burn faster. Starting...>   

-he snaps his Darmanitan fingers-

   <...Now.>   

-the army charges-

-Sutur lunges for Gale-

Ersatz

Coil: Is this Pokefutures tech?! Please tell me this isn't Pokefutures tech!

Iris: -pushes the scarf off- It doesn't seem like it...

Metropolis Of Vanity

Flamel: The Recycle Bin! That's it!

Royal: How do we get to this recycle bin?

Hulbury

Cramorant: Yes! I can help you! I'm a helpful bird!

Jackie: Wait no no no no no n-

-The Cramorant pulls a ball from her bag and swallows it-

-it activates from the inside and sucks her in-

Jackie: ...

Edited by Umbramatic on Jun 16th 2020 at 6:57:14 AM

Computer(?) Vanity

"The Recycle Bin's not a repository of deleted files, it's where a user would put irrelevant files," Rage and Love explained. "Only equivalent I can think of would be a jail or prison cell hiding doubts."

Hammerlocke Plant

"Oh, you think just because you have power under your thrall you can defeat us?" Colton asked, shadows forming on the wall.

"Gonna have to find us first," his voiced echoed as he, Roy and Sunny faded to black, before splitting with an artificial Double Team. The Unovan himself took in a few copies to strengthen his reserves, using it to restrain the enemy's charge via tripwires that vanished the moment someone stumbled over them.

Edited by AbsentCoder on Jun 16th 2020 at 4:09:36 AM

City Like Vain Circuits

Anthem: <We get ourselves deleted! Somehow...>

I'm not comfortable with the idea that we poke the Shadow specifically to get sent to the recycle bin. For all we know they might be meticulous enough to clear it just to make sure we're gone.

Hammerlocke Power Plant

Yes! I rebel against the contract you stole, and while I am still beholden to it I fight against you regardless!

-Ah well, there was no harm drawing her sword and trying to deal a bit of damage to Sutur before the inevitable yanking across the friend-foe border-

There is nothing you can say that could convince me to join you!

-A brief and terrible thought flashed through her head: What if he didn't actually read the contract he stole? What if he didn't know how to invoke her loyalty and instead ordered someone else, especially another innocent in all this, into the fire?-

Stormchaser

-As the wind picked up, true to her name Gale was loving this. Though perhaps it was less the vortex and more the entire experience-

-Lightning flashing across the space, copper in the air, the sensation of falling out of one place towards another. It's the feeling of being at the heart of the storm. If she has the presence of mind to do much more than laugh on the border of happy and maniacal, she might of noted how intensely 'Izzet' this was. But for now, she was just happy to revel in the feeling and the anticipation of where in the worlds she would go-

-Raise curtains on the Slip. The play begins-