Halis: "I'm sorry, but this 'thief' business has nothing to do with what I'm asking. I refuse to believe there isn't some way of having it work, and even if there are consequences, well guess what, I'm gonna deal with them as they come. It's better than the alternative of losing something, or everything, I care deeply about because I wasn't strong enough when it mattered... It's something I think about far too regularly these days."

They're getting fairly annoyed as well.

"Halis," Silas begins, "Strength has nothing to do with any of this. Doesn't matter how strong physically someone is, good skill still beats them out day by day. Why do you think I tend to avoid the J-Team's larger events, because my skills aren't meant for those and I'm always out of my depth."

He placed a hand on Halis's shoulder, "You want to get stronger right? Do you want to be physically stronger, mentally stronger, or emotionally stronger? That is the first question you should be asking before engaging in stuff like this."

Halis: "..."

They're processing this.

Halis: "..."

Still processing...

Halis: "...I j-just... I keep hearing all these things, and..."

...Aaaaand they're crying.

Halis: "...I-I just don't know anymore..."

Seems like their acting up to this point was just that, acting.

Silas doesn't know what to do, curse you emotions!

"Look, the first step is figuring out what you're good at," Silas explained, "Work from there, and become strong in that regard."

Glimwood Tangle, past

-To Zarude-

Then I guess we have a deal.

The Zarude nods and retreats into the trees.

Maggie: "Nice, okay! Now things should be easier, thanks for the-"

Scouter: <Watch out!>

Maggie suddenly slips on a berry casing that seemed to have been left positioned awkwardly.

"...Ngh... yeah, watch, where I'm going."

"But... yeah, thanks for helping work that out, Tagg."

Stow-on-Side

Logan: =)

Abilene: Excuse me, a wh

Logan: -uncharacteristically non-neutral Logan smile- I just think that on this turf, I can get more done via employing quid quo pro than—

Abilene: -flat- —than I can via judicious application of topiary force.

-gesturing at her suit- ...it's not as though I'm unfamiliar with contracts and the like by any means, I simply believe that what I have to back them is more than sufficient for anything, here. Forest beats fairy, in this instance.

Logan: -grin, slick- And I maintain having peoplemon on your side counts for quite a lot! What more do I need to offer, aside from my sparkling personality and a little therapeutic elbow grease?

Addie: -snicker- <To translate, whoever's more "at home" here, is what their contention. As for workable metrics...>

-shrug- <Whoever helps the most with finding or catching your new friend? You're the ref, boss, we're just the players.>

-the pair of them (hah) think for a long moment-

Abilene: Go.

-she sends out her Torterra—-

Sorbus: <Oh, what have we here?>

-who at her word digs (not Digs!) her roots/legs into a relatively clear patch of scrub (but not Ingraining!) and Withdraws (also withdraws) into the pit, leaving a hill with a weird tree among a bunch of other, weirder trees-

-Logan just flicks a finger, and Addie rushes off to try and find and Charm some of the local fae^* particularly the hypothetical anymon who knows anymon is messing with Ever, or anymon who would know anymon who would know anymon, or…-

-^* ...possibly somemon willing to sell out somemon else's tricks for one of the assorted weirdnesses a Ranger offers-

-^* they're flexible-

Logan: ...so what exactly's happened, so far?

Abilene: Do they "go for it" when there are witnesses present? Should we go climb up in a tree to leave you visibly helpless and lonely?

Logan: Abilene.

Abilene: Logan.

-in an intensely blue fluffpile in the bowels of the Stormchaser a hotel somewhere, one (22) Megan wakes ("mrrrrrp") to an eye staring over at her, on the next pillow-

-...-

Megan: -blearily- ...hey. c;

Vee: -chin on paws- <Hey. Happy birthday.> .3

-she baps her on the nose-

Megan: -smile- Happy birthday.

-return bap, lingering- ...got any plans?

Pippy: -buried beneath seafriend, murmur- <say the line. say it>

Vee: <Absolutely bumfuck nothin'> ~w

Megan: heck yessss X)

presents later. cuddle now

-she snuggles further into semimetallic fluff, tugging a dynamically hydrostatic sac of surface tension closer to slip back into the dreamy expanse of whatever narrative captured her-

-her eyes shoot open- Megan: wAIT,

-she nearly hurls Vee across the room, eliciting a yowl and a classic spring-and-stick to the wall-

Pippy: -suddenly very awake- <What? Where's the fire??>

Megan: It is someone else's else's birthday today!! :D

Pippy: <...OH.>

Vee: -oozing down- <Izzat today?? I remember it bein' kinda temporally ambiguous, what w/the alternate dimension giant lava monster thin',>

-drying-off shake- <Doesn' matter. Matters a lot, actually, but it's, y'know, cute. Oh golly. Oh gosh,>

Pippy: <I want in on the big family birthday…> @v@

Megan: Do we…know your birthday, actually? Meeting-day aside, for all anyone knows it could bE

Vee: -now hauling them bodily out of their warm friend pile- <C'mon c'mon we've been set for weeks>

-wherever Arc is, something floaty bumps against an outside window, or a tree, or possibly his head-

-gently, but insistently-

Edited by Asterisk395 on Jul 23rd 2020 at 10:53:56 AM

Scott's Office

Scott was in his office, looking at his collection of hats. His wooloo is napping as always.

Assistant, via intercom: Mr. McSweeney. The sponsored competitor has arrived.

Scott: Great! Send them in.

Edited by MasterJayAM on Jul 24th 2020 at 3:10:58 AM

Kwan Industries, Scott's Office

-Ian steps into the office wearing his new outfit which consisted of a gray T-shirt with a printed image of a Luxury Ball and an Alola-esque vacation spot, pink, plaid trousers, A Fairy-type tracksuit jacket, An Electric-type travel bag, and pastel sneakers with a Gengar pattern on them.-

Evelyn: -tilts her head slightly- Do I know you?

Me: So, Mr. McSweeney, how do I look?

Scott's Office

Scott looked at Ian from top to bottom. He looked completely unrecognizable on first glance. He wonders if it worked too well.

Scott: Like a new man, actually.

But then again, this wasn't something he should worry about. He tried out several fashions over the course of his teens. And Ian looked the part of a league competitor in everyday streetwear. He'd certainly fit in on the streets. But Scott couldn't help but wonder that something was missing.

Scott: The new look's alright I guess. I can't help but think that yar missin' somethin'.

He sees one of his hats and gets an idea. He takes a pink scally cap and hands it to the young man.

Edited by MasterJayAM on Jul 24th 2020 at 3:25:33 AM

Scott's Office

Me: For me? Thank you so much!

-Ian accepts the pink scally cap and puts it on his head.-

Drannith

Des watched Gale's presentation in silence as he ate his bun. He finished and kept quiet for a few seconds.

"...sigh Things are hardly ever easy. We don't even know if we can influence the events of the story. This doesn't bode well for opponents of determinism."

"I hope Tesse gets here soon..."

Elsewhere in the Multiverse

Tesse and R. Mika are unceremoniously spat out onto an unknown world. Tesse slowly picked herself up off the ground and found herself in a world of rolling green hills.

Tesse: "...What."

She gave Mika a gentle poke and the Pikachu picked herself up and shook herself off.

R. Mika: <Ok, what gives? Where are the others?>

Tesse: ".. Oh this isn't good. We'll have to jump aga-."

???: Hiiii~

Tesse and Mika jumped at the sound of a voice behind them. They slowly turned around to see an adorable pink puff ball smiling at them.

Kirby: Hiiii~ :)

Tesse: "...Mika run."

Drannith

If... If we can't change the story, then I feel like we should stay out of it entirely. But if we can then I would never pass up the opportunity to make things better...

-Gale pauses in her thoughts and sighs-

That sounds bad doesn't it? Coming into a world and then just saying that I'm going to fix everything. I just... There's moments here, moments of great pain for people that aren't going to deserve it and I just want to save them. But if it's useless, if it's impossible to save people that fate has taken claim of then I just want to— I want to remove myself from the situation and find our own tale to make our own...

Vain Sewage

-Rakash and Anthem of course get to work following along. Though Rakash is being pretty careful in case the team needs to descend back down quickly-

[A Streaming Platform]

-Gale looks... Tired. A lot of her fashion sense and happy energy is lackluster today as she sits laying out toppings on a clearly homemade pizza base-

Alright. So it's been a long month. Let's recap.

The Recap

So after that trip to kaiju mutant fun zone I that I'll get around to storytiming later, I got home and was just like... Drained. What happened there was I guess the way to say it is 'stressful' but I'll get to that later. And before I could really recover I had to jet over to Orre for a sponsor booth at a historical reenactment thing. I got to make this big pot of chilli and I think with a few tweaks it'd be nice to add to the ol' recipe binder. But then that was over and I was like... Unanchored. There's the big goal of getting back to Galar and completing the gym challenge but after all the adventure I more than anything needed to just... Get away from it all.

-We see the cabin in the Glimwood as Gale wanders to it and sets her backpack down just inside the door. In her hand is the rock that thrums with the warmth of a fireplace and feels like home-

It's far weaker than the obvious comparison, but the stone from the hearth in that place did lead me back to where I found it. It's too simple to say I've been there this whole time, but most of the past month has been spent there just... Recuperating.

-A couple days have passed, Gale is making sitting on the floor of the forest just outside the cabin eating a shared dinner with her team on a mild summer night. We pan out and a montage of days pass by as Gale establishes a small garden and brings in some more modern equipment to help make the cabin more comfortable. At one point an array of solar panels is on the roof, but the fact that the Glimwood has a dense canopy that turns even the brightest day to night means such a thing is not really useful-

Had my birthday out there. Wasn't really like I have many friends outside of you lot anyways so it was a pretty lax affair. I did open one gift though.

-Inside the cabin, she sits on the side of a recently-refurbished bed and turns over an iron flask between her hands. It had been here when she first discovered this place months ago and in that time she had never opened it. There was a kind of uneasy pit in her stomach every time she got tempted, worried that it might be the prison of some dangerous... Well a dangerous Pokemon she supposed. But now, on her birthday and with a sense of calm from the start of her self-imposed isolation, she opened the flask-

-At first, nothing happened and when Gale took a peek inside she could see only a pale fluid in a milky tan and purple gradient... But then unbidden the fluid moved, poking just a little bit out of the flask with a face of simple lines-

Oh. Hello.

Iron Flask Sinistea: <Greetings... Oath-breaker..? No...>

So with a new member of the team, I decided to get back on track for the gym challenge. I also took up some gardening, though because I didn't want to tread on the heels of my free spices from my sponsors I ended up growing some more esoteric herbs. I'll be honest, being in a dense and mythical fairy-connected forest made it easy for me to lean in and just kind of... Embrace at least a little bit the idea of being a hedge alchemist out here in the woodlands with my garden full of healing herbs. James evolved at this time, it wasn't really anything special though the whole team and I spent a lot of time sparring with the local wildlife and he ended up strong enough to evolve into his final form. Unfortunately, the rainbow Ponyta continue to elude me...

-More time passes. It's about the 15th of July now in this flashback as Gale carefully tries to don the costume for which she first created this identity; the bold heroic garb of the Aurabolt's own Nightingale. When the helmet finally clicks on and the eyes light once more she picks up a belt of Pokeballs and heads out the door-

And of course you fans all know that I challenged the Stow-On-Side gym too.

-Flashes from the battle against the leader of the Gym: The Sinistea in the iron flask Astonishes the ruin-dwelling Yamask to great effect but in turn falls victim to the Ghost/Ghost type matchup. A still yet unnamed Litwick emits a happy tone as it waggles it's way on top of a fainted Mimikyu cloth. The Corsola wipes out the Litwick and then Acolyte in a double knockout, leaving the battle down to James and the Gigantamaxed Gengar. The last move of the battle involves a somewhat battered James Dynamaxing and with the crowd cheering and Gale mimicking the movement, unleashes a powered-up snipe shot of water to defeat the leader's last Pokemon. And finally, a nod of masked solidarity between Nightingale and Allister as the badge is handed over-

Every gym win kinda feels like cause for a bit of celebration and relaxation so that and getting a generator, water tank and internet working out here took up the rest of the time. The cabin's kinda like a home now. All the amenities I care for are here and yeah it feels like this place is going to be where I'll be when I'm not working on the Gym Challenge. So that's how I handled my month, I hope you guys didn't miss me too badly but I just needed the break honestly.

[Streaming Platform]

-Gale sighs and checks on the pizza currently cooking away on a flat ceramic disk placed over the cabin's fire. Millie is snoozing on top of the bed, Maxwell is mixing some cordial to go with the night's meal, Snom's just vibing, the still-unnamed Vulpix is tending to the fire and the rest of Gale's team is just kinda milling about or resting while the pizza is being cooked. A single Pokeball of an unusual make sits in Gale's lap...-

And this? Well, when I get around to telling you all about my trip to Ikoria you'll know who's in this ball.

-She gives that enigmatic smile as we close out this glimpse. The stream continues, but it's not important for our post-

Glimwood Tangle

Ever: Oh man, I've always wanted to set a rule.

...I'll probably just hand out the victory arbitrarily.

-Just curls up around them to provide a light-

Ever: Careful of the trees.

Oh! Hello, Torterra!

-Ever waves excitedly at Sorbus, and turns between her and Abilene-

I saw you two during your Turffield battle. Very impressive stuff.

Just: <Hm.>

Ever: Stand down. What is it with my Pokemon and picking fights they won't win?

-As Addie runs off, Ever frowns-

Ever: Are you sure that's a good call? It's easy to get lost in here. I spent three hours going in a circle twenty feet wide.

Just: <In fairness, there was neither fog nor darkness at the time, and you were mostly just pacing in circles.>

Ever: Exactly. Imagine how bad it would've been if I'd been trying to go anywhere.

-Misery seems to have wandered away to investigate something-

Meanwhile

-in Addie's path is a Horse-

-of course, of course-

Galarian Ponyta: (brightly) <Avaunt, stranger! I prithee you, how'st thou?>

-would Addie like to talk to the Horse?-

Meanmeanwhilewhile

-Arc is hanging out near the others, keeping an eye out for trouble, when he is bumped in the head by an object-

Arc: <Oracle? Is that you?>

Stormchaser, Room 713, July 25

The empty pizza boxes had been disposed of properly, the sign out front had been removed and the only sound from within was the bed as its occupant tried to get comfortable.

His jacket lay on the floor, his headphones on a side table. He wasn't even napping, he was just staring at the ceiling.

The door was unlocked, barely having been touched since the Unovan's birthday.

Elsewhere

<I wonder how Lilina took the letter,> Roy considered, sitting across from Sunny. <I'll never get to see her reaction, but those were parting words that I needed to share.>

<Finally processed everything?> Sunny asked.

<Yeah. I kinda had two years to do so but I never really thought about it all. I guess there was just so much more I needed to process. I think I've processed it all but I'm uncertain.>

Edited by AbsentCoder on Jul 25th 2020 at 8:11:50 AM

Abilene: …

Logan:' … :3

Abilene: You know, I would very much like to argue the point, but I doubt that would earn me any.

Logan: -snicker, shooting a big wink at Ever- That's arbitration.

Abilene: I'm familiar, yes,

Sorbus: -under about a meter of soil- <Oh hellooo, dearie—>

-buried wink-sounds- <Hehe, thank ye. Sometimes, ye can't help wanting a piece of something impressive. Have a Leppa.>

-there's a branches-rustling, and a Cornn berry falls from her boughs-

(-the grass starts knotting up in a large radius around her hill, also-)

Abilene: -snort- Something something "the circles you run in."

Logan: I'm very familiar with running in circles. Eyyy.

-they make fingerguns, and Abilene does not react-

Logan: -cough- ...daily practice aside, no, wait, it's relevant.

-wink- We carry our breadcrumbs wherever we go.

-they extend a pinky, and for the briefest, barest instant, a thread gossamer-thin and glowing gold flickers into visibility around it, trailing into the dark-

-it's a lovely commentary on the social role they play,

Abilene: That's a lovely commentary

Logan: What? No. I mean yes, but I'm being literal.

Mostly literal. Fairy-tale literal—literal enough.

Abilene: -pff- Whatever, Theseus.

Logan: -cocks head- I've fancied myself more of an Ariadne. -shrug- But if that's the role I'm playing, does that make you Minos?

-cheeky- Ever trapped a monster-son in a giant hedge maze to whom passersby-sacrifice might be fed?

Abilene: ...

Logan: ...

-looking for something to do with their face, they raise an eyebrow at Misery wandering off on her own, like Addie-

-...then lower it, remembering she probably lived here before joining up-

-they think no more of old stomping grounds, sinking into a nostalgic haze—oh gosh dang it-

-kindwile-

-in the course of the Horse!-

-Addie steps from the gorse, without remorse plotting common recourse-

Addie: <Forsooth! Strange I may be, yet strange to thee I'd like not!>

-small talk-

<Prithee and pleas'nt morrow, ungulate! The day is fine, its glow-spores swift—I hope thou art well as well?>

-glowy hair to glowy hair, she flickers a bit by way of greeting-

-childwhile-

-Oracle it is not-

-"it" is a bubble, three feet across, opaque food-coloring swirls tracing star-patterned wrapping across its surface-

(-behind a tree several feet back, something large and blue fails to conceal itself-)

-it's got a bow on top, and hovers invitingly-

Silas sat down in the folding chair, "Thanks for coming out," he said to a man sitting next to him.

The man had curled light brown hair and a pair of glasses, "Not a problem, I had to take mandatory vacation anyways, Galar's not a bad place to visit," he said, "Besides always nice to see family."

This was Bartholomew Paige, Cousin Barty.

"And it was nice of him to invite me along as well!" Martin said sitting in another chair next to the other two.

Silas sighed and whispered, "Did you really need to invite Martin along? You know he's a pain in the ass."

Barty shrugged and cracked open a beer, "You said you had something big to announce."

Silas sighed and sipped from his beer can, looking out at the lake. So this was it, shame that his cousin Kathrine couldn't make it out, Kathy was always fun to be around, though word has it she was busy forming a Metal Band with a Geosoc employee named Thorpe.

"So," Silas started, "I'm getting married."

Martin started to choke on his beer, after a few coughs he said, "I'm sorry what?"

"Yeah, my girlfriend proposed and we're planning it out, it'll happen in September, I got a venue in mind," Silas explained taking a sip from his beer.

Barty smirked, "Well then, you like this girl?"

Silas furrowed his brow, "Keep in mind the kind of person I am. To sum it up as best as I can, I have trouble sleeping if she's not there, I see her every day and everything in my world feels right, I keep thinking of the future and she's there."

Barty smiled and took another swig of his beer, "Told anyone else yet?"

"No, and Martin if you dare tell anyone before I can I will break you," Silas responded.

Martin looked at his cousin, then to the phone in his hand, then back to the intense glare from a man who Martin knew at this point was the Jackal, and quietly put the phone away, "Sorry."

"I'll break the news to everyone else in a bit," Silas explained, "Roxy just wants to tell one of her friends first before we make the bigger announcement."

"So the Venue?" Martin asked, "Where is it?"

Silas had a unsettling grin as he looked up to the sky.

Martin looked up, Barty started laughing, "No... noooooo... Silas Adam Grant there is no fucking way your boss would let that happen," Martin said in disbelief.

"He would, it'd be a big event for Asimov and really help sell the idea of the future. Also it is Doctor Silas Adam Grant. I got my Doctorate of Engineering, remember?"

"And I'm Doctor Martin Kent Grant, dentist at practice."

"Doctor Bartholomew Delilah Paige, doctorate of medicine."

The three laughed a bit, "Doctor," "Doctor," "Doctor."

"It'll be invite only, gonna keep it limited due to the size issues of the station, but they'll be getting the spin going soon, so gravity will be there," Silas said.

~Hey you guys left me out!~ Hacks said walking up.

"Hacks you can't drink beer... you don't even like it," Silas responded.

Glimwood Tangle

Ever: Ah. You're a dear.

-they nibble the Cornn berry, chewing each bite carefully and idly listening to the banter-

Ever: You can't prove that's what I'm doing.

...

Though it occurs that you probably meant "ever" as in the adverb, not as in my name. Whoops.

Ponyta: -blink, blink-

<Uh, peradventurily so, thinketh I?>

<Whatst busineth haseth you here?>

-Arc, who apparently never got the speech about not taking gifts in a fairy wood, pokes at the bubble-

Drannith

(Kim and Ozzy glance over at each other, unsure of what they want to do and at the same time concerned with regards to the story.)

Ozzy: <Oh dear.>

Kim: "Oh dear is right, Ozzy... what are we to do? At any rate, the idea of exploring around Ikoria certainly seems exciting, and assuming that we, in fact, cannot change the fate of the people here, it does seem like the best option for us to stay out of it entirely."

Ozzy: <And yet if we can change the fate of the people here... then by all means, we should do it as soon as we can!> (then, with his voice dripping with determination) <There is no way I am letting these people suffer any longer!>

Kim: "Yes, but we know that either way, this 'Ozone' crystal will be destroyed and the mutant Pokemon will be stopped." (She turns to Gail.) "I suppose we should leave it up to you to make a decision?"

Edited by OPALGARNET16 on Jul 25th 2020 at 8:50:31 AM

Scott's Office

Scott: You're welcome, lad. If you ever find yaself in a pinch. Just give me a call. Would you and Ms. Evelyn like a carriage ride to your next destination?

Scott's Office

Evelyn and I: Yes please!

Scott's Office

Scott: Righto. Go downstairs. Ms. Worthington and Charles would be ready for you down below.

Scott's Office

Evelyn and I: Will do!

-Ian and Evelyn wave to Mr. McSweeney as they exit his office and head out to where the carriage awaits them.-

Textspace

Reality

The Unovan shut off his phone and let his arms fall to his bed. He sighed and picked himself up, deciding to walk around a little.

He couldn't recover from the Surtr fight alone forever.