Ballonlea

Daydre picks up the belt and examines it a bit.

"It's good to hear it was easy, I'd feel a bit bad if I had you do something like, really hard for free. Now to figure out how to actually use it..."

"Hard was figuring out how to get this thing to work," Silas responded with a smirk, holding up his left hand and wiggling the fingers a bit, "I'm lucky Diane's a brilliant engineer however."

Hacks leaned over, ~Well, it's a medium tool. That means you need to control powers to use it. This future you, you got it from? What was she? Auric? Obscuric? Psychic?~

Circhester — Apex's Warehouse

-Reaver's next Pokemon to take the field is a Centiskorch-

Aegaeon: <—is the day that I, Aegaeon, finally— oh wait there's something going on ah-HA!>

Reaver: Aegaeon, just— do everything you can to give this bug hell!

Aegaeon: <And give him hell I shall! Rest assured, champion, that I will strike this armored arthropod with the flames of justice!>

-Aegaeon spits a stream of fire, that almost seems to coalesce into a whip that strikes at Apex. The Shadow Genesect twitches, eyes burning.-

XD: APEX: "When you see my face, hope it gives y— gives you h— hope it— face—"

-Once again, it lunges, grabbing Aegaeon. While it's focused, though, a wave of toxic fluids washes over the pair. The corroded parts of Apex's exoskeleton seem to spark and burn in a chemical reaction with the fluid.-

XD: APEX: Mechanical malfunction. Repair immediately.

Aegaeon: <Hah! Not so scary, are you, machine?>

XD: APEX: "<machine?>"

-It slams Aegaeon against the ground.-

-And again, and again.-

XD: APEX: "<machine?><machine?><machine?>"

Aegaeon: <Gah! I get it, you don't like being called a machine!>

-Aegaeon squirms and curls up, letting out a burst of heat around himself to make Apex release its grip and let him roll away.-

Pun-Pun: <Not forgetting about me, are ya?>

-A stream of flame redirects Apex's attention toward Pun-Pun.-

XD: APEX: "<forgetting>"

-Apex twitches more, but some of the mindless rage seems to subside.-

XD: APEX: Mechanical malfunction. Exoskeleton degrading. Repair immediately. <No, destroy the lizard that poisoned you. Destroy— poison— >

-Apex's eyes glow faintly violet, and suddenly Pun-Pun is taken by surprise and blasted back by an unseen force, catapulting into one of the storage containers.-

Pun-Pun: <Hrk—!!>

-Pun-Pun bounces from the collision and goes sprawling against the ground.-

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Apr 14th 2021 at 7:10:33 AM

Ballonlea

"Huh, that's the formal term for it? She told me it helps with constructs, if that's what that means."

"She's an Obscuric, and I know I am too because I've released some before. I've been working on trying to use it on command but it's uh... It's only kind of working. It's not enough to do anything with."

"I tend to find myself around obscurics often," Silas noted, furrowing his brow.

~Quite frequently,~ Hacks noted.

"Well I don't really know much about that stuff, my pokemon form can use it but I sure can't. So a lot of my relevant knowledge isn't exactly useful," Silas said shrugging.

~There are so many obscurics on the J-Team, maybe they know how to awaken?~

Ballonlea

"I got some.. Would tips be the word? I dunno. I got some advice from the other me so I know a little but maybe asking around would be a good idea." She shrugs. "I was kinda worried I'd be bothering people..."

"Trust me it wouldn't hurt. I can name at least one person who'd probably love having an apprentice to tutor," Silas commented.

Hacks nodded, ~And really if you don't ask, you're stifling your ability to learn. You have an entire network on hand, ask around.~

Ballonlea

"I guess that's true too. ...To tell the truth I was kinda nervous sending the message asking for help with the belt, but I guess I'll never know if I don't ask."

"Hey it's not an easy lesson to learn," Silas said, "How do you think I lost the arm?" he commented with a slight smirk.

Hacks scoffed, ~So, how about we get a location set up to test this out with what you do know?~

Ballonlea

"Mm. Yeah actually that would be a good wouldn't it? The belt's supposed to make things easier so maybe I shouldn't talk until I actually see if it works."

Silas nodded, "Alright then. There's a community center, I can rent out a gym zone for some trials and such, Hacks?"

Hacks nodded and ran off, Silas pulled out his phone, "Bishop if you would?"

"Already booked Captain."

Silas smirked once more, and gave a thumbs up to Daydre, "Any techniques you know or want to try? There's an entire book on obscuric stuff."

CW for dark themes

Circhester — Apex's Warehouse

Scarlette: All right, Gus, clock's ticking for the bug. Your turn.

-Gus steps forward, snarling.-

Reaver: I hope you know what you're doing! Aegaeon, don't chicken out now, keep burning it!

Aegaeon: <Buh— chicken out?! As if I would dare give up so easily!>

-Aegaeon flares up, bounding forward and crashing into Apex.-

-Apex chitters in aggravation, smoke starting to rise out of its exoskeleton's seams.-

XD: APEX: Warning: Internal Temperature Rising

-Using its heat to its advantage, it starts charging another blast from its cannon, aiming at Aegaeon-

XD: APEX: "Burn, baby, burn!"

Aegaeon: <uh.>

-Aegaeon is blasted back, hissing, but as the cannon fire fades, he manages to hang in.-

Aegaeon: <...heh... I'm not done yet—!>

-Scarlette frowns, clenching a fist.-

Scarlette: He's not going to take another hit.

Gus: <I can make it count in our favor.>

-Gus starts storming forward, each step seeming to quake the warehouse.-

Gus: <Stay down so you don't get yourself killed!>

-As he crashes into Apex, he kicks Aegaeon aside, out of the fray. The impact is just enough to make Aegaeon topple over.-

Aegaeon: <okay.> @X@

Reaver: Wha— hey! What the hell was...

-He trails off as he witnesses the glow around Gus, signaling the activation of his Battle Bond. The dust around him picks up.-

Reaver: ...Oh.

-Apex halts as well as it watches the transformation take place.-

XD: APEX: <Unfamiliar phenomenon. New form of evolution? No. This is different.>

-It suddenly shudders, feeling its joints beginning to buckle.-

XD: APEX: Corrosion affecting system at critical. Escape and repair immediately.

-It starts to shift form, attempting to fly out toward the doors of the warehouse-

Scarlette: I don't think so, Genesect. Chantey, keep it from getting away!

Chantey: <Aye, you didn't forget about me, did ye?>

-Out of the shadows, a rusty chain intercepts Apex's flight path, slamming it to the ground.-

-The screech that Apex emits is blood-curdling.-

Reaver: What the hell—?!

Scarlette: I told you, we can't just let it escape and keep destroying things! We have to put an end to it here!

Chantey: <Yer not feelin' pity for the bug that threatened yer life, are ye?>

Reaver: ...Tch.

Scarlette: Genesect is a deadly hunter. From before the Vow. Even if it wasn't a Shadow Pokemon, it's a threat.

-Reaver watches as Gus lunges at Apex with a Fire Fang. Apex's response is somewhere between an agonized scream and a dialup tone.-

Reaver: ...I guess you're right. Buddy, you take this.

-He sends out the Typhlosion, who pauses to look at Apex, then at Reaver.-

Buddy: <...Is this what we're doing?>

Reaver: What's necessary isn't pretty.

-Apex thrashes at the two Pokemon attacking it.-

Buddy: <...Very well.>

-Buddy releases a stream of flame at Apex.-

XD: APEX: Emergency— Escape— Emergency— Escape—

-Its cannon charges up, but instead of aiming it, Apex claws at the corrosion around where it's mounted.-

-The cannon breaks off, Apex staggers back, and it detonates.-

Ballonlea

"Probably just gonna stick with the constructs, for now. There's another thing other me mentioned but I don't think that really needs space or the belt. And also she's being infuriatingly vague about it so I don't know how it works-"

"The alternate selves are always annoyingly cryptic. I meant an alt version of myself who vaguely threatened me, my family, and the rest of the J-Team," Silas commented, "Jackass is also apparently capable of teleportation somehow."

He ran his metal hand through his hair, and sighed, "What about yours? Also vaguely threatening?"

Ballonlea

Daydre traces a hand across her neck.

".. Yeah, you could say that." She clears her throat. "I'd.. prefer not to go any further than that." She claps her hands together. "But anyway, practice?"

Silas nodded and lead Daydre off.

In they stepped, several training dummies set up, Hacks sitting on a chair grinning, ~So, who is going first?~

Silas blinked, "What do you mean?"

~Daydre, wanna see what Silas here can do in pokeform?~

Silas frowned, "Haaaaacks..."

~Oh don't be so sour!~

Circhester — Apex's Warehouse

-The dust clears from the explosion, revealing an unconscious Gus, a heavily wounded Buddy, and a whole lot of shrapnel. Chantey, being a ghost, is unharmed, but the chain that once held Apex is merely embedded in a large piece of the destroyed cannon now.-

Chantey: <...It got away. It was lookin' real bad, but it got away.>

Scarlette: ...Fuck.

-Scarlette exhales, closing her eyes and forcing herself to calm down.-

Scarlette: Okay. It got away. On the plus side, no more cannon. So there's plenty of time to prepare.

Reaver: ...Gonna be honest, when you said it was a Shadow Pokemon, I was kind of expecting you to use a Snag Machine.

Scarlette: I don't have one. You picked the wrong J-Teamer to try catching it.

Reaver: Mmm. I guess so.

-He looks at the aftermath.-

Reaver: ...Yeah. You're... scary sometimes.

Scarlette: Yeah, I know. Not always proud of it.

Reaver: Nonono, I— I respect it. You get shit done, power of friendship or not.

Scarlette: ...Mhm. Anyway, uh, we saved your Pupitar. Where is he, anyway?

Igneous: <Er, I'm here! I'm here. Just... just was hiding.>

-He scoots out of one of the open storage containers.-

Igneous: <Hi. Thanks for saving my jets.>

Reaver: Oh, good. Now, er, let's get out of here.

-A bit of one of the walls caves in, damaged by the explosion.-

Scarlette: Right, that's our cue!

-They hurry out.-

Ballonlea, Evelyn's House

Agnes: Good heavens! Your Pokémon are a lively bunch. Especially your Drizzile.

Evelyn: That's Freddie... He's a nervous wreck.

Agnes: -giggles- Anyways, after your long trek through the Tangle, I bet you must be hungry...

Evelyn: That sounds like an understatement.

Me: Yeah... -thinks to self- Especially with the day I've had...

Galarian Museum

Evelyn: I suppose that's true... -to Dave- Last April Fools' Day, I was accidentally hypnotized by Raru... Took a couple of weeks to get rid of all the post-hypnotic suggestions implanted on me by accident.

Ballonlea

Daydre snickers.

"You know what, sure."

Ballonlea

Kim: "Indeed they are." (She turns to face her Pokemon.) "Come on, everyone. Let's go inside."

Elton: <YAY! Isn't this great, Freddie?!>

Freddie: <I- I don't know...>

Peechee: <Hello~! My eemya is Peechee! Do you have a peecheen with you?>

(beat)

Kaylan: <He's asking if you have a cookie. Also, do you have any marshmallows?>

Joel: <Knew you were gonna say that.>

(The Pokemon enter the house. Kim, meanwhile, turns to face Ian and Evelyn.)

Kim: "So... I would like to ask something of you..."

(Beat, then:)

Kim: "Do you think you two should get Hasslemon handles? If so... I already was thinking about some ideas."

Galarian Museum

Strummer: <Whoa... dude... is that true?>

Kim: "Indeed it is. And I can assure you that they have faded by now. Allow me to demonstrate." (She clears her throat, and then says, very matter-of-factly:) "Arceus' unholy flank."

Boseman: <...Arceus' what now?>

Circhester

(Kim promptly takes out her phone.)

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Galarian Museum

Evelyn: -facepalms- That one only affected Dio...

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Hacks looked to Silas, smug as all hell, Silas frowning harder than usual. He let out a sigh and then pulled his coat off, tossing it into his messenger bag and pulling out his poncho and his scarf from the bag, tossing on the emerald scarf.

Before Daydre stood a Lucario, who rolled his metal left arm, <This is the fancy trick of it...> he commented, <Diane does good work. Took a few tries to figure out the automatic mechanism.>

Silas hopped up and down, giving his body a bit of a stretch, tossing a few punches and kicks before looking to Daydre, <What kind of demonstration do you want? General rundown of what I can do or should I just skip to the show stopper?>

~I say general run, you're not bad with aura at this point,~ Hacks commented.

Galarian Museum

Kim: "Ah. Of course. My apologies. Regardless... it's been a year; I assume all of your triggers have worn off."

Boseman: <...I don't think I've ever heard the phrase "Arceus' unholy flank" before...>

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Galarian Museum

Evelyn: I thought you already knew that...

Hatty: <You'd think the time we met Jagger, Raru's Hypnosis affected Kim's memory...>

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Galarian Museum

Kim: "Allow me." (She facepalms.) "Derp."

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