Circhester, a few days ago

Violet: Finally! It's nice to be back home.

-Violet is sitting on a bench reading her phone. There is someone lurking behind her.-

-They teleport closer...-

-And closer...-

-Someone taps Violet on the shoulder.-

Violet: Waaah!

-Violet turns around. It's just Jess and their Gallade.-

Violet: Jess!! Don't scare me like that!

Jess: It's good to see you too. Should we... Catch up?

Violet: Sure.

A chocolate house in Circhester, a few days ago

-Jess and Violet are sitting at a table. Jess has a hot chocolate while Violet has a marshmallow milkshake. They are browsing images on Jess' phone.-

Violet: What?! Someone really made hot demon boyfriend art of "you"?

Jess: Well, it was only a matter of time. You should see the fanfiction this person wrote. Oh, I forgot to mention. I finally got myself an ace pride ring.

-She shows Violet her black keystone ring.-

Violet: Wait, that's a keystone isn't it?

Jess: Well, I was taking a couple things back from a jewellery thief and happened to come across this thing, so I decided to take it. I also found a Galladite for Robin.

Violet: Nice.

Circhester, now

-Jess and Robin are here, existing.-

Circhester

A group of thugs has just made off with someone's string of pokéballs. The person they managed to steal it from is making chase, but they're on a getaway van.

And he trips. This isn't his day.

Circhester

-Jess notices the thugs. She sends out Dia, who follows them from a distance.-

Jess: You go help that guy.

Robin: ~Okay, fine.~

-Robin approaches the guy who just got robbed.-

Robin: ~Hey, you need a hand?~

Circhester

The fellow in question stands up with some difficulty, with a little help. He turns to Jess' companion.

Upton: I'll be fine, physically. Got into worse scrapes than this.

He stands up and winces in pain. The observant would notice that his shoulders were—somewhat distorted, like it's doing some sort of optical illusion. The shifting resembles pixels, or what could pass as them. They flickered.

Upton: I don't suppose you can run after a bunch of armed thugs with a van? Arceus, why did I think I could even try?

He winces again.

Circhester

Robin: ~I'm a Gallade, I can teleport. Wait... Are your shoulders ok?~

-Jess just watches from a distance.-

Circhester, Van Chase

Upton: Oh, that. It's very hard to explain. But if you can teleport, see if you can lock into that speeding van in the horizon. They took my phone and my string of Pokéballs.

Beat.

Upton: Are you sure you're up to it, though?

Circhester

Robin: ~Well, I guess we'll have to see. Maybe my trainer will finally decide to give mega evolution a go.~

-Robin gestures to the galladite on his armband. Jess gives Robin a stern look before seemingly poofing out of existance.-

Robin: ~Right. I guess I should go too.~

Edited by QuantumMelody29 on Aug 2nd 2020 at 9:29:40 AM

Hulbury Stadium, Gym Challenge Puzzle Room

-Ian dries himself off and points to the other red grate.-

Me: Well, it looks like that path's clear.

Evelyn: Let's keep going.

-The two Gym Challengers run across the red grate and up the path to another red switch.-

Evelyn: Another red switch? Should we press it?

Me: I think there's an order to how we should press these switches. I mean, look.

-Ian points over to a yellow switch.-

Evelyn: A yellow switch. I think you might be right. So far, the order of switches to press has been red, yellow, red...

Me: So for this part, we need to press them yellow, red...

Evelyn: If that's what we need to do, why are we just sitting around talking about it?

-Beat-

Me: Fair point.

-Ian pushes the yellow switch, followed by Evelyn pushing the red switch, changing the flow of the waterfalls.-

Me: Well, guess we can't go back that way.

Evelyn: Why would we want to? We're so close to completing our challenge! Let's go!

-Evelyn runs up the stairs next to the red grate, and Ian follows quickly after. The two challengers cross the center path and note the three blue pipes spawning waterfalls that block the path to the exit.-

Me: Whoa... get a load of this, Evelyn.

Evelyn: Yeah... It's pretty... and quite the barricade.

Me: I'd hate to be the guy going over this waterfall in a barrel.

Piku-chan: <Well, if there are blue pipes here, that means there should be a switch in that same color.>

Me: You make a good point, Piku-chan.

Evelyn: Well, Hatty? What do you say?

Hatty: <Let's do this!>

-Ian and Evelyn nod as they look around for the last few switches.-

Far Too Long Ago

Rikuo's grandpa then immediately takes him home

All the panic and fear and general bad feelings subside, leaving Rikuo with only... Determination? Determination to end everything, anyway. This has all gotten, maybe, possibly, a little out of hand? That's what he's thinking.

Aura flowing into him, Rikuo does his best to utilize it properly. Which is to say, he releases it all in one explosive burst of "please everyone go the fuck to sleep" energy. This isn't the kind of thing he's used to doing, but surely it'll do something.

Somewhere In Galar

"You were right," Colton admitted, finishing tightening things up on Curtis' drum kit. "I feel a little better. But just a little; I, uh... don't know if I can match performance energy quite yet."

"No shame," Julius admitted. "You don't need to perform. You just need need to play."

"Yeah, need," Curtis agreed, throwing up and catching his drumstick. "You’re the lead guitarist; you’re kinda the heart. Sure, we're all important but some are more so than others."

"Actually, he can take a backseat to this. Mae and I have been working on something." To prove his claim he handed off the guitar to the materializing and shapeshifting Luxray.

Colton hefted his own guitar. "Yeah, y’all feel free to play some fitting accompaniment, or just copy the song as best you can."

Somewhere in Galar

-Some guitar music starts playing from somewhere. Soon joined by a violin of all things-

-It seems to be the opening bars to, of all things, I Write Sins Not Tragedies-

Somewhere Specific in Galar (Ballonlea Gym)

-The Nightingale keeps her breathing steady as she wanders through the backstage area of the stadium. Compared to the other Gyms she'd undertaken this seemed... Odd, normally the puzzles were in big purpose-built rooms brightly lit and filled with type aesthetic but this was... Just a stadium's back corridors, utilitarian concrete and assorted industrial materials. As she wandered up to an area marked out for battling she glanced out to notice this was actually some kind of raised stage... But the rest of the area was still just utility corridor, odd-

-The PA system crackles on as a [generic] gym trainer approaches-

PA: Alright let's get this over with. Hello challenger, I am the leader of this gym. Your task is to defeat some trainers while answering questions. If you get them wrong your stats drop, if you get them right your stats increase. Go.

Wait what?

Gym Trainer: Yeah, even though we don't need to do auditions anymore our Gym Leader insists we still use the old space rather than creating a new Fairy puzzle.

-Gale looks perplexed (which isn't something that translates easily to her helmet) as the Gym Trainer sends out their first Pokemon-

Galar Jam Session

Shadow Cast pauses, letting the newcomers play. It's the polite thing to do, after all.

They didn't even start, anyway.

Galar Jam Session

Oh, well imagine, as we're roaming the wilds of this regional field and we can't help but to hear.
No we can't but to hear an exchanging of words; "What a wonderful meeting."
"What a wonderful meeting says a drummer to a bassist."
"Oh yes but what a shame, what a shame our lead singer is a-" Fox.

We chime in with a "haven't you people ever heard of closing the Light-damned door, no?"
It's much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of poisoned rationality.
We chime in with a "haven't you people ever heard of closing the Light-damned door, no?"
It's much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of.
-Presumably with the readers popping off, the twin dragons step in to view properly-

Takcorian: Sorry we've been away for a bit. Decided to take in some inspiration for a while. Have we won yet?

Luperian: 'Inspiration' doesn't really cover what we did. Most of that was at the resort, yaknow.

Takcorian: Shush shush, let us not blend continuitys.

Somewhere in Galar

Politely clapping, the band got into their own positions to counter with their own abridged performance.

Mae's fingers plucked the strings with precision, an ascending triplet prompting the melody to be played again a few bars higher before a descending triplet prompted Colton and Curtis.

The latter punctuated every other beat with a strike of his snare while Colton scraped his pick on the string, a sustained power chord playing and ascending in pitch and volume alike. The ascension increased, and the band exploded into a main riff, shrill notes from the guitar accompanying a low bass riff.

It repeated, both times ending with a high series of notes before the otherwise baritone Julius took the mic, a respectable tenor coming from him.

It's bugging me, grating me
And twisting me around
Yeah, I'm endlessly caving in
And turning inside out

Curtis went a little harder on the drums as the chorus began.

'cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
And I'm breaking out
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control

Colton and Julius both raised a fist, calling the performance to an abrupt end.

"You'd have to compete first," Mae refuted.

Edited by AbsentCoder on Aug 2nd 2020 at 8:17:28 AM

Galar Jam Session

Takcorian: We'd have to have competitors first.

Luperian: The choir's dropped out, no one's heard from the "Cool Squad", even the grand muse herself has been quiet.

Takcorian: Far as we can tell, the only ones still doing music are you, us and the NDD...

Luperian: Which, yaknow, kinda sucks.

Galar Jamming

"Hear you there," Ammy admitted, leaning forward onto her muted keyboard. "Doesn't help that when we competed with them, they ended up forfeiting in writing."

"So I guess it's just us two?" Curtis asked. "It's been months. And we have been working on a lot of different covers."

"Maybe," Julius allowed. "But should we ask Meloetta?"

"No, that's a little unfair. We should send out a PSA to the bands; a reminder is probably all they need," Mae said hopefully. "Kim was really looking forward to competing at least twice; she deserves that much at least."

Edited by AbsentCoder on Aug 2nd 2020 at 8:58:11 AM

Stow-On-Side Gym - In The Sunlight

-The puzzle here is so easy it doesn't even need to be mentioned.-

-Anyway, the raven has shed her feathers and stands in just her uniform and jacket, the wind whistling as she stares down the other buff woman on the field.-

Bea: "I'll shake you to your very soul."

-Isbrand offers a toothy grin, fangs glinting in the light.-

Isbrand: "I lost that a long time ago."

Stow-On-Side Gym - In The Moonlight

-The air in the stadium grows cold as Shaun and Allister face each other down.-

Allister: "D-do you feel them? The lost souls, seeking to drag you with them?"

-Shaun throws his coat back for dramatic flair.-

Shaun: "The only one getting dragged away is you."

The Skies Above Galar Route 5

High above the route, a Corviknight taxi flies two passengers between the cities of Turffield and Hulbury. The first, a Garchomp, is enjoying the view. The second, a human woman in a wheelchair, has her arms crossed and is pouting... though she would insist she's scowling. A W-shaped Unown sits in her lap.

Suzie: I just don't see why I couldn't tag along. It's a straight shot from one city to the other! The only danger would be uneven cobblestones. I could have crutched it, fine!

Sami: <You agreed to the conditions when you got cleared for the trip to Galar.>

Suzie: I know I did but-

Sami: <Conditions that were put in place precisely because everybody knew you would do something reckless if given the slightest opportunity.>

Suzie: So I'm not getting that opportunity, is that it? (mutters) Who made you my mother...

Sami: <Your mate and children.>

Suzie sticks her tongue out at Sami.

Galar, Route 5, Ground Level

Fuka: Come on, Tizzy, you can get it! Come on!

Fuka is running around a campsite holding a stick with a tassel on the end of it. Playfully waving it before her Mewoth who is leaping and clawing at it.

Fuka: That's it, use your Scratch attack!

Tizzy: <That's my prey!!>

Tizzy the Meowth leaps at the tassel, missing it by millimeters as Fuka moves it at the last moment. Instead his scratches land on a tree, leaving large gashes in it from how ferociously he attacked.

Fuka: Hee-Hee! I love how playful you are.

The rest of her Pokemon, Goosey the Zangoose, Lucy the Seviper, and Elanor the Binacle, are lounging in shade offered by the immense Gyari the Gyarados and watching their trainer and new companion run around.

Will is stirring a curry pot. He's staring at it with much more serious intent than one would expect of an eleven year-old boy. On his shoulder is pearched a small Spearow.

Zoomer: <You promise?>

Will: For the eighth time, yes. I swear, there is nothing spicy in this, whatsoever. I wouldn't feed you anything spicy after Mum let you try those noodles.

Zoomer's ruffled feathers smooth, but Will knows it's only a brief respite before he asks again.

Will's Jigglypuff, Puri, is dozing under a tree. His Nuzleaf and Monferno, Dart and Moka, are seated on a lug, nuzzling. Will's Cubone, Ronin, is practicing bone strikes like a kendo artist.

Up the hill from the campsite, a pair of young trainers, a boy and girl wearing what look like private school uniforms, watch the Rubens siblings. Despite how naturally attention-grabbing Fuka is—nearly every other trainer is watching her play with her Meowth—these two are focused on Will.

Schoolboy: Well, well, well... look what we have 'ere.

Schoolgirl (scowling): The Fairy Prince has a lot of nerve to show himself anywhere in Galar after what he pulled in Johto.

Schoolboy: Well then, what do you say we give him a warm welcome home.

The girl smirks.

Schoolgirl: Best idea I've heard all day.

Circhester

Upton was dumbfounded by what he just saw, but just shrugged, flickering a bit in the process. He limped forward as fast as he can before ending up sitting in a nearby bench.

Meanwhile, in the van...

Henchgal: Alright boyos. What have we managed to finagle outta the creep?

Henchman 1: Sphinx's tips were right. I'm pretty sure this is a beast ball. Just dannae what's in it.

Henchenby: Boy is Sphinx gonna be in for a surprise. How much is this gonna cost in the auction?

Henchman 2: Damned if I know. Low billions at most. All that matters is we get our share.

Henchenby: Oi, you know the rules. We get this done and we'll have all the cash we need. You're free to walk away but there's plenty more where this comes from.

Henchman 1: I'm still waiting on my performance review. Not gonna knock on Sphinx's benefits system, but until you're managing warehouses you're not getting much other than basic health insurance and dental.

Henchenby: Yeah. Sphinx has a so-so dental, but Delta's is way better. You get orthodontic and maxillofacial surgical benefits. Harder to get into, though, but worth the effort to prove yourself worthy of a lateral transfer. And I hear he has a stock plan. And it has King Industries in it.

Henchgal: Oooh, is it tax advantaged?

Henchenby: They're all risk-adjusted offshore accounts in the Sevii islands. What taxes?

Henchgal: Of course it is. Hahahahaha.

Henchman 1: Sweet. And given how apparently difficult it is to actually sell ultra beasts for astronomic prices, it makes better sense to just have Sphinx or Delta work on all those iffy details. The 50 mil tax free we're getting each is worth it.

Henchman 2: Crime does pay.

One of the mightyenas starts to yelp. There are intruders afoot.

Henchgal: What in blazes is that?

Edited by MasterJayAM on Aug 24th 2020 at 8:57:39 PM

Circhester

-Jess and Robin are just about keeping up with the van by teleporting alongside it. Dia is flying behind the van. Jess has put on a mask and some sunglasses to hide their identity.-

Jess: Thanks for keeping track of the van, Dia.

-Dia nods in acknowledgement.-

Jess: We can't keep this up forever, we need to stop that van. Wait, I know! Dia, use quiver dance and fly in front of it, then use blizzard!

-Dia uses quiver dance, gaining the necessary speed to fly some distance in front of the van, and prepares to unleash a blizzard on the van and the road in front of it.-

Edited by QuantumMelody29 on Aug 3rd 2020 at 11:43:49 AM

Circhester

The van screeched to a halt.

Henchgal: Oi, what is wrong?!

Getaway Driver: Someone's in the way. Get your arses outta there and deal with it. I'll have the GPS pory find us an new route.

Porygon, using an annoying synthesized voice: I'm on it!

Henchgal: What's stopping us.

Henchenby: A flying snom.

Henchgal: We know just how to deal with bugs on our windshields. Boys.

Henchguys: On it.

One of the Henchmen climbs up the van and releases a Charizard.

Henchman 2: Burn it.

The charizard looms over and prepares a flamethrower. To Jess' right, conveniently, is a fire hydrant located some distance away.

Circhester

Jess: Frick. Okay, change of plan. Robin, psycho cut on that fire hydrant!

-Robin attacks the fire hydrant with Psycho Cut. Dia meanwhile flees back towards Jess.-

Galar Jam Sesh

Luperian: Perhaps it would be worth seeking out the muse. We put a lot of effort into getting where we are in this contest.

Takcorian: It took a lot of planning to not fall into the same pitfall as the other teams.

Ballonlea Gym

-The battle's going decently well. Not really by any spectacular strategies or hard type counters, mostly just because Gale's got more Pokemon and has been training very hard over the past month-

PA: Alright challenger. How many fingers am I holding up?

What?

PA: I didn't stutter. How many fingers am I holding up. I know you can't see me, guess.

T... Three?

-A sigh crackles through the loudspeaker as Gale's current active team member looks empowered-

PA: For a one in five chance, that seems to go not-my-way more often than it should.

Okay? Okay!

Circhester

The hydrant bursts out a massive torrent of high-pressure water. The Charizard gets grazed by the oncoming wall, just narrowly dodging to preserve the flame on their tail. The amount of water droplets splattering around is giving its attackers some protection.

Getaway Driver: The ice is cleared from the windshield but that water isn't doing us any favours.

Henchgal: Well, whaddya waitin' for ya cretins. Go out there and dispatch them.

The henchenby and henchman responded, taking two more pokéballs and the mightyenas with them.

Henchman 1: Suppose we make this one trip like we did with the guy who tried to chase us.

Henchenby: Aye. Let the terrain do the fightin' for us.

Jess is now facing down two henchpeople and their mightyenas. They release one of their other Pokémon: an alolan sandslash and a thievul.

Sandslash: <Oi, what else da ya want?>

Thievul: <Oh, look. That thing snoms turn into. Peculiar.>

Sandslash: <It's called science, ya dingus.>

Henchenby: Take 'em out a the sky.

Circhester

-Jess and Robin teleport back a bit because of the water. Dia is still airborne but has definitely been slowed down by it.-

Jess: (Hmm, there are probably still henchpeople in the van, so we can't do that just yet. At least we've got a better chance against these guys.) Okay. Dia, use Bug Buzz!

-Jess and Robin cover their ears while Dia makes a hellish noise.-