Villa, AD 20

Theodora: Well, the Macraul family has been around for this long. Don't ask me how I figured it out. Jacques Macraul was certainly one of my least favourite suitors. His brother and sister weren't too bad on the eyes, however. And you 21st Century folk with your overpurified water.

Ewan: ~Indeed, ma'am.~

Decimus and the Prefect gesture to the two to enter the banquet hall. The Villa of the Macrauls was exactly how you'd expect the Macrauls to have always been. Well-appointed, luxurious to the standards of the era, and filled to the brim with odd curios from the known world. Even then, the Macrauls loved to collect.

Notably, some of them wouldn't feel out of place as votive offerings at a temple. Which, given who owns them now, probably were.

Quintus: You'd love my aunt. She is quite the hostess. Do forgive us, though, we've not a lot to serve on short notice.

They enter a dining room with a lot of sumptuous, delicious-looking food. Slaves were around with fans. A corpulent man was also lounging in one of the day beds. He was dressed in a fine tunic. This was the Procurator.

Procurator: Ah, company! And just in time for the mid-afternoon light meal!

Quintus: Guests who wish to buy Silphium but have been left without a retinue.

Procurator: Ah, the Omegas, no doubt.

Quintus: Make yourselves comfortable. My aunt will be with us shortly. And madame—

Theodora: Theodora.

Quintus: Peculiar, I did not take you for a [Greek].

Theodora: My family had done business in Galar.

Quintus: Galar remains rather hostile to foreign incursion. Even Caesar could only make client nations of their barbarous people. I suppose your family had attempted to live there. Must be a challenge to live among fearful savages afraid of new things.

Theodora: Father knows it all too well.

Quintus: And your friend?

Theodora: A powerful druida from distant land. She doesn't speak Latin.

Quintus: Fascinating. You must regale us with tales of Galar.

Edited by MasterJayAM on Sep 8th 2020 at 8:50:08 PM

Glimwood Tangle (?), past

Toshiko: <¡ɥɔno ʎpoolB> -sweeps away at some Trevenants with Breaking Swipes while Jack uses Flame Charge on the ones near him-

Hale: -sharpening his elbows- <Canwenotteleportaway.Icannotforeseeanadequateopening.> -throws a Drain Punch at the Grimmsnarl-EX-

Channah: Wait, since when do you know that move?

Hale: <<BootlegTRs.TheFamilyisgoodforthatatleast.>

Channah: Ugh. Any ideas?

The Wall

Copy, sir.

The fist planted directly into Doug's face, his elastic body tanking the blow.

<Thaff all youf goff?>

Doug opened his mouth and let out some Strange Steam at point blank range.

Skysail

"That was a beautiful song, Gale..."

He looked up at the Tavern looking place.

"Yeah you'd think this would be the last place people would be drinking."

Edited by PhilosopherStones on Sep 7th 2020 at 3:11:48 AM

Wild Area

Evelyn and I: Yatta!

Piku-chan: <That's great!>

The Wild Area

Kim: (smiling) "Yes, it is." (She takes out her notebook.) "Now... I suppose I should write down at least something on Gilmour."

(With that said, she flips to a new page and writes down the following:)

NEW POKEMON CAUGHT: GILMOUR THE GALARIAN CORSOLA. IN A WORD, HE IS... VERY MYSTERIOUS. HE IS ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH HIS MORTALITY AND APPARENTLY HAS HAD PSYCHIC VISIONS— OF HIS OWN DEATH. I HOPE TO ARCEUS THAT HE IS NOT, IN FACT, ACTUALLY FORESEEING HIS DEATH, AS TO HAVE ONE OF MY POKEMON ACTUALLY DIE WOULD BE NOTHING IF NOT A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE. BESIDES, HE IS A GHOST-TYPE— AREN'T THEY PRACTICALLY IMMORTAL?

(She puts away her notebook and smiles with satisfaction.)

Kim: "Very well, then. I suppose I can get myself over to the Slumbering Weald now. My research into the Galarian Legendary Pokemon will soon be underway." (She takes out her PokeBalls.) "Alright, everyone, I assume you've had enough fun for today. Return."

(With that said, Sinatra, Kaylan, Dalt, Orwell, Peechee, and Gallag all return to their respective PokeBalls. Geddy and Elton, however, stay outside of them.)

Kim: "Geddy, Elton, you two stay out."

Geddy: <Oh?>

Elton: <Why are you 'aving us stay out, Kim?>

Kim: "Simple." (She takes out another PokeBall.) "There's someone I haven't used in a long time, and I'm looking to get him a bit of experience before Motostoke. Figured this is the perfect opportunity for me to do so."

Elton: (immediately getting it) "Oh! Freddie!"

(Kim nods— and then throws the ball in the air.)

Kim: "Red alert, Freddie!"

(The ball lands on the ground, and in a flash, Freddie emerges from it. The moment he sees where he is, he immediately starts to panic.)

Freddie: (terrified) <AAAAAAHHHH—!> (he hides behind Elton) <E-Elton— w-we're back in the Wild Area— please don't tell me we're going to run into any scary Pokemon—>

Elton: (gently petting Freddie) <There, there, Freddie... we're only going to stay 'ere for a few seconds more, dontcha worry...>

Freddie: (relieved) <Oh, thank goodness—> (his eyes go wide) <Wait... where are we going after this?>

Geddy: <The Slumbering Weald.>

Freddie: (terrified) <T-THE SLUMBERING WEALD—?! I-isn't that— that's where— Zacian and Zamazenta— WHY ARE WE GOING THERE...?!>

Geddy: (gently) <It's to get you some battling experience for Motostoke. You'll be fine.>

Freddie: <BATTLING EXPERIENCE...?!>

Elton: <'Ey... 's alright, Freddie... battles are loads of fun, you'll see—>

Freddie: <FUN?! F-FUN?! B-battles aren't fun... n-not for me... and not for the opponent... I-I'm just going to watch Pokemon get hurt... a-and... and...>

(He bursts into sobs and starts shaking. Immediately, Elton reacts with shock.)

Elton: <GAH—!> (He starts patting Freddie on the back.) <I-it's alright... it's okay, Freddie... we'll be 'ere the 'ole time...>

Freddie: (sniff) <Y-you... you will?>

Geddy: (gently hugging him) <Shhhh... of course we will...>

Freddie: <W-well... that makes me feel a bit better... but still... Zacian and Zamazenta... are s-scary...>

Elton: (cheerfully) <Ah, come on now, Freddie! You 'aven't even seen 'em yet, 'ave ya?>

Freddie: <N-no...>

Elton: <Then what's there to be scared of? They could be friendly! They certainly seem friendly for all I know...>

Freddie: (sniff) <O-okay... I guess... I guess I'll come...>

Elton: <There ya are! Don't worry; it won't be so bad. You'll see!> (He turns to Kim.) <Right, then, shall we 'ead off?>

(Kim smiles.)

Kim: "We shall." (She turns to face Elton, Geddy, and Freddie.) "Come on, now."

Elton: (excitedly) <YES—!>

Geddy: <Zacian and Zamazenta, here we come!>

Freddie: (panicked) <Oh... I certainly hope they're not scary...>

(And with that said, the four of them head off to the Slumbering Weald.)

The Skysail City

(Both Geddy and Kim hear Gale singing from near them, and it seems to calm Kim down a bit, as she starts breathing less heavily while still holding on to Geddy's flipper. Geddy gently hugs his Trainer.)

Geddy: <You're okay now, Kim. I'm here.> (beat, he pauses) <Do you want to walk with me?>

Kim: (getting her breathing under control) "Y-yes... that would be helpful..."

Geddy: (smiles) <Okay, then. Pick me up.>

(Kim does so, then- still a bit reluctantly- enters the Skysail City. She pauses for a few moments, then pets Geddy.)

Kim: "Thank you, Geddy."

(She suddenly pauses again, sniffing.)

Kim: "Ah. Food... excellent... I am rather hungry..."

Macraul Villa, 20AD

-Of course as with most things in this little adventure, Gale tried to keep her emotions in check and simply take a seat while the time traveler talked it out. The food on offer though, that was tempting because she was pretty sure that the hosts were neither fae nor the dead so really was there any harm in sating her mild hunger with a little bit of food?-

-Of course initially she recoiled a bit as the piece of fish she grabbed ended up being just a little under expectations-

Okay friend you're gonna need some salt real quick...

-She tried, as subtly as she could to retrieve a small grinder-lid shaker from her bag and season her portion of food before going in to eat some more-

Skysail

-Gale nods and ducks inside. The tavern-or-whatever-it-is is very rustic in it's utilitarianism; copious amounts of crates and barrels are simply stacked against the walls, seating is plentiful but only affords the minimum walking space between and the clientele are mostly eating and drinking from wooden tablewear as they chat boisterously in their own groups. For some reason, the floor here inside the building is exceptionally (almost suspiciously) stable, as though this tavern were perched on solid ground rather than hanging from a balloon-

Alright. Let's grab something to eat, find a corner so we're somewhat secluded and I'll lay out what I kinda want to go for next so you two can approve it.

Circhester Streets

Hmph, alright then. Well, at least it's some kind of warning, thank you.

Vain Dancefloor

-With the scanning done, Rakash swaps from his main Navigator Persona to Orpheus so he can sling out healing-

Anthem: <Hey Eris, let's pick up the tempo!>

-Her Pokesona obliges, chaining an Agility into a Headbutt-

The Wall

-With the battle beginning, the Nightingale keeps clear of the area where the Pokemon are going to punch up for a bit and ponders something-

So, how do you treat your Pokemon? This is mainly directed at our foes honestly, I'd like to know if you're at least good trainers.

-She gives a little shrug, beginning to pace about and mess a little with the pockets of her belt... There was a little bit of purpose there, a conflicted little spark she was pondering-

Wild Area

Evelyn: Kim, Wait!

The Wild Area

(Kim, Freddie, Elton, and Geddy all turn to face her.)

Kim: "Oh? What is it?"

Wild Area

Evelyn: It's about the Slumbering Weald... Though Zacian and Zamazenta can be resting there, it won't be easy to traverse. The ground of the Weald is coated in fog and it will be easy to get lost... Not only that, but there are Pokémon in those woods with powers that are known to have a soporific effect on unwary trainers.

The Wild Area

Kim: "Ah. I see. Well, then." (She turns to Ian and Evelyn.) "You do not have a Pokemon who knows Defog, do you?"

Elton: <Sopo-what now?>

Kim: "Soporific. Sleep-inducing."

Circhester A

-Mog's eyes sparkle-

Mog: Yes please!

Howard: <Here we go...>

New Circhester 1

Merlin: -in a perfect impression of [Maui]- What can I say except you're welcome!

Fou: <Don't DO that with your voice.>

Merlin: Though I guess this counts as a favor...

Ersatz Gameshow

Justice: We're on a gameshow! This is perfect!

Jigsaw: <Oh no oh no this is bad...>

Justice: It's great actua- wait who said that?

Ancient Villa

???: Well well, who do we have here?

-A green-haired woman in black enters-

Resuming from previous solopost.

Johto, Goldenrod City, Past

At a small stadium, Will is getting ready to enter the corridor that will take him to the pitch, Puri on his shoulder. He's alone, as Fuka is in the stands ready to watch the match. As he moves to step inside, he hears a Galarian accented voice.

"So you're actually going to fight? Good."

Will scowls and turns to the source of the voice. Standing there is a woman with green eyes and brown hair much like Will's own. However, the eyes seem devoid of warmth, despite the smile on her face. At the sight of her, Puri lets out a low growl.

"If I'd known all it would take to make you grow a spine was a pretty face, I would have arranged something myself."

Will: Professor Laurel.

The woman's smile never wavers.

Victoria Laurel: Now, now... that is no way to speak to your mother, William. (she shrugs) No harm letting it pass, this time. We all have our rebellious phases.

Will: You're not going to win.

The smile flickers for a moment before reasserting itself

Victoria: Young man, Pokemon Centers are not miracle workers. I'm sure your Pokemon are better than they were last night, but they aren't up to fighting shape and we both know it. You will not succeed. That said, I'm nonetheless pleased by your determination; at least you aren't a quitter.

Will: I didn't say I wouldn't lose. I just said you won't win.

Puri nods furiously.

Victoria: Whatever happens, the credit of this battle's outcome becomes mine. If one of my best and brightest doesn't walk over another stepping stone, my very own son does his mother proud, overcomes all odds, and wins.

Will clenches his fists.

Will: You attacked your 'very own son'! If you want to see me win why would you even do that?!

Victoria: Because it's not about you winning, it's about Wyndon Academy winning. You know the academy's creed. You've known it since you could speak, I made sure of it.

Will: Victory at any cost... I'm going to make you eat those words!

Victoria: My, my. What a thing to say to your mother.

Will is shaking, but his head is bowed and looking at the ground.

Will: You... you aren't my mum!

Now the smile fades.

Victoria: And just who is, then? A useless cripple in Sinnoh?

Will's eyes widen.

Victoria: You think I didn't keep up on who you associated with? Or do even a little research on your little girlfriend? You can say and do whatever you like, William Laurel, but once this tournament is done, you will return to Wyndon with me.

Will manages to stand up straight and look Victoria in the eyes

Will: I won't be going back there, ever again.

Victoria: You will. You will, and we will raise your talent properly, with no further interference (eyes Puri) and with proper Pokemon. Now that you've proven capable there is no excuse to do otherwise.

She gives Will another icy smile.

Victoria: You will be a great Pokemon trainer, you will be a winner; one that stops at nothing to achieve their goal.

With that Victoria turns and leaves. After a few deep breaths, Will's fists unclench.

Will: Yeah. That I will do.

Galar, Route 5; Corviknight Taxi Service

From the Corviknight air taxi, Suzie is watching the battle below unfold with a pair of binoculars. She's waving her free hand vigorously and shouting. Sami is struggling to keep her still.

Suzie: That's right kids! You got this!

Corviknight: <Hey, keep still down there!>

Sami: (to the Corviknight) <Sorry!> (to Suzie) <Calm down, will you!>

Suzie: Oh, come on! They're kicking a-(looks at binoculars again and frowns)-uh-oh...

Galar, Route 5; Will & Fuka vs Curtis & Annabelle

Will: This isn't good. (Will looks at the Braixen and narrows his eyes) Just maybe. Dart! Brace yourself! This is gonna hurt!

The Nuzleaf crosses his arms and his expression becomes almost contemplative.

Fuka: What's wrong? Fire is bad for our Pokemon, but Grass-

Will: It's both of them combined that's the problem!

Before Will can explain further, Servine and Braixen both call up pillars of leaves and flames respectively, the Braixen appearing to conjure them with the stick it has been using throughout the battle.

The leaves blow through Dart and Tizzy. Their type resistances protecting them from any serious damage. The fire, however, is a different story, ans it ignites the Grass Pledge leaves that have settled on the ground creating a seeming lake of fire around Will and Fuka's Pokemon as flames blaze around them.

Fuka: Tizzy!

Will looks less worried, he even grins.

Will: It's not as bad as it looks. I think Tizzy saved our necks.

The flames subside, and Dart and Tizzy are definitely battered, but neither are beaten.

Annabelle: What?! How? They're Grass and Steel, it should have finished them both!

Curtis (looks to Annabelle's Braixen): Your Braixen's stick.

Both look at the Pokemon's stick. The ends broken by Tizzy look even more frayed. Fuka notices this, too, and looks to Will.

Will: Normally, when paired with Grass Pledge, Fire Pledge hits almost twice as hard, but Tizzy's attack damaged the stick Braixen uses to channel its fire. Using Fire Pledge like that probably damaged it even more.

Fuka: So the attack wasn't as strong as normal!

Will: Yep. But it was still a hard hit. Fuka, Dart's going to need to bide his time before he can do anything. You think Tizzy can hang on long enough?

Fuka: Bide his-ohh... I get you.

Fuka looks to Tizzy. The Meowth has his hackles up and is hissing loudly at the opponent's Pokemon. She shakes her head.

Fuka: I don't think he'll take another hit from that Braixen, but I think we can still make his next move count. I worked out which moves he knows already and turns out his daddy must have known just the one to use here. (turns to Tizzy) Tizzy! Flail on the Servine!

With a roar of fury Tizzy leaps forward, his claws flailing, but with far more control than his previous random pounces. The Servine, caught as off-guard because of the less-effective Pledge-combo, doesn't see the angry Meowth coming at it until it's too late.

Annabelle: Braixen! Don't risk your baton any more than you can help. Use Flame Charge!

The Braixen charges Tizzy and its with its Flame Charge, sending Tizzy flying. The bad news is Tizzy was on his last legs, and that was plenty enough to finish him off. The good news is the Flail was more powerful than expected and was enough to knock out the Servine. Effectively a double knock-out.

Curtis: I can't believe this! How did you lose?! (Curtis recalls the Pokemon to its Poke Ball)

Annabelle: It's time to wrap this up. Braixen, finish that Nuzleaf!

Braixen waves its broken baton and prepares another fire attack towards Dart.

Throughout all this, Dart has been in the fire caused by the Pledge combo. Through gritted teeth he's been enduring the heat and fire. Like Tizzy, he's on his last legs, but now he's ready and, to show as much, his body has begun to glow white.

Will: Dart, Bide!

Wild Area

Evelyn and I: Unfortunately, no.

Villa, AD 20

Quintus: Everyone, my Aunt Sylvestra, the master of the house.

Procurator: A pleasure to meet you again, madam.

Quintus: You of course know the procurator. Our new guests wished to purchase part of the Silphium that grows on our land. Sadly their retinue of slaves were absconded, no doubt by the dastardly Omegas.

He points to the duo.

Quintus: Theodora of Galar and her companion the Druida.

Macraul Villa, 20AD

-Some of the words flying about caused Gale to glance up from her snacktime and pay attention. Sylvestra, was Gale familiar with that name? Perhaps it was just a coincidence... However the black outfit was interesting, a mark of status perhaps?-

Does she look familiar..?

-She shrugged and looked down again but perked up when Theodora's name and Galar was mentioned, introductions perhaps?-

Is the druid me?

Villa Sylvestra AD 20

Theodora: A pleasure to meet you, madame.

Theodora: Mistress of the house. Could have sworn there's been someone like her still waltzing about in the Chateau many years from now. Strong family resemblance. Though I didn't take them to be [Italian].

Quintus: I notice that your [Celtic] has a lot of [Latin]-like words in it.

Theodora: A consequence of our upbringing. My sworn sister never learned the language but can pick up words.

Quintus: Do tell us if you need condiments. We have the best Garum in [Cyrene] made from the finest magikarp.

Edited by MasterJayAM on Sep 8th 2020 at 9:45:17 PM

Macraul Villa

Well the druid label fits. If need be I can do some magic I suppose.

-Oh, Gale recognized that term, and the tone of voice that implied a question? She couldn't resist giving it a try-

Garum? Mhm.

-She gave a small nod and smiled-

Metropolis of Vanity

"Right, no dancing. Uh..... I guess keep doing what you're doing?" Daydre looks at Kaguya and shrugs.

Kaguya leaps in with another Iron Tail.

Villa Sylvestra, AD 20

The Macrauls preferred their stews on the mild side, which might explain the blandness. Quintus gestures to one of the slaves, who comes back with a foul-smelling fish sauce. The slave woman wordlessly offers to pour the substance into the dish. Theodora likewise agreed. She seemed to have consumed this before.

If Gale would taste the food, it might be saltier and more savoury, though it ought to be piquant but isn't. Theodora notices this lack of desirable spiciness as well, but says nothing of it.

Theodora: We send our thanks to you, mistress Sylvestra, for accommodating us.

Quintus: Alas, our dishes are usually the most well-spiced among the villas, but we ran out of spices and the market ships do not arrive. Oh, cruel fate is it to endure such hardship.

Procurator: Gens Macraul shall manage. The gods will it.

Quintus: Of course, it is fortunate that one spice remains in relative abundance in our own land.

The slaves return with a slab of wooloo ribs garnished with what was clearly silphium. It smelled unbelievably good.

Quintus: I believe this is the spice you came to buy. Let us talk business.

Edited by MasterJayAM on Sep 9th 2020 at 2:11:26 AM

The Wild Area

Kim: "Oh. Well. I do not have any Pokemon that know Defog, unfortunately. Hopefully, however, there are other people in the Slumbering Weald with at least one Pokemon that does know Defog."

(She turns to face Ian and Evelyn.)

Kim: "With that said, shall we?"

Wild Area

Me: I'm ready whenever you and Evelyn are.

Evelyn: This should go smoothly, barring any unforseen Orbeetle attacks.

Piku-chan: <...and by "unforseen", I assume she means "completely forseen".>

The Wild Area

Kim: "Oh, don't worry about those. I have Elton; we should be able to take out all the Orbeetles that are in the field."

(She turns to Geddy, Elton, and Freddie.)

Kim: "Alright, then. Are you three ready?"

Geddy: <Yep.>

Elton: <Oh, you BET we are~!>

Freddie: (nervously) <U-uh-huh...>

Kim: "Alright, then."

(And with that said, Kim, Geddy, Elton, and Freddie head off to the Slumbering Weald.)

Maggie: "Clear a path... We got any Pokemon that are good at charging or... disrupting them in some way?"

Titanium: <This'd be easier if we could get Hyp on it too but he's probably busy in the Glitz Pit or something.>

She gets ready to charge with an Iron Head, Maggie ready to use that cover to run through unless someone comes up with a better idea.

Glimwood (?) Tangle, past

-To Hale-

I'd rather not have to go through this a potential second time!

Grimmsnarl-EX: -Gets hit by Hale's Drain Punch, and jumps up into the tree with a smirk-

-As mons start getting bowled over by Titanium's Iron Head

Clear a path!

Cam: -Uses Surf to wash away some more mons, assisted by Anthracite using Heat Wave on the other end, further opening the path-

Now, before they can form up again!

-Starts running through the gap-

???

-The next area is what appears to be some old ruins in the middle of a forest clearing, decayed to the point that there are only some pillars and a stone pedestal in the middle, covered by some sort of rune. By said pedestal, the Galarian Rapidash-EX waits-

You know, you really play hard to get, I assume the Hatterene and Grimmsnarl are your allies?

Edited by rmctagg09 on Sep 8th 2020 at 11:00:13 AM

Slumbering Weald

At the entrance to the Slumbering Weald, a young trainer sits on a rock, carefully examining a checklist. They wear clothing similar to the uniform of the Galar pokemon league, designed to look like the Kecleon that sits on their head, also examining the list carefully.

"Okay, Kec. We have potions, berries, status items, and we've taught Tot to use Defog. That's nearly all the preparations ready."

Kec shakes his head and points at the bottom of the list, where the word "witnesses" is written.

"Yeah, I know. We need someone there to witness us defeating Zacian or Zamazenta, otherwise there's no point doing it. But everyone in this town is too scared of this place, and we didn't meet any more trainers on the way here, so it looks like we're stuck."

Kec crawls over his trainer's face, and holds up one claw in front of their eye. The trainer sighs.

"Fine, we can wait one more day. I suppose it'd be best for us to rest a bit more, at least."

The trainer pulls a tent out of their bag and erects it next to the path. Kec runs off and returns with some berries and other plants, which they make into a curry.

"One day," the trainer insists.

Edited by theoncominghoop on Sep 9th 2020 at 7:27:01 PM