Empathic Kid Hero-in-training
Hammerlocke Banquet, Backstage
-Ian and Piku-chan turn away from Evelyn, who nods at Hatty. Hatty nods back and hops off of Evelyn's head, burying her face in her braids. Evelyn then takes a deep breath and grabs the lower edges of her robe, as though to pull it up and take it off.-
-Evelyn finishes putting on the black gown.-
Evelyn: Honestly, Hatty... This is probably the first actual dress I have worn in a while.
Hatty: <Well, I think it looks good on you. Think you should show the others?>
Evelyn: Of course. I'm already done changing clothes. Everyone, you may look now.
Ballonlea Stadium, Gym Challenge Puzzle Room
Bede: Now, for this next question, neither of you are allowed to use your telepathy.
Evelyn and I: Challenge accepted.
Bede: Here we go.
QUESTION 7
Bede: I'm thinking of a number. The number in question is the difference between the number of origami cranes one would have to fold to have a wish granted and the highest number shown on an episode of [Sesame Street]. What number am I thinking of?
-Ian and Evelyn get to thinking about what the number might be...-
Evelyn: The number of origami cranes one would have to fold to have a wish granted...
Me: ...minus the highest number shown on an episode of [Sesame Street]...
Textspace
-reluctantRarity joined the chat.-
RR: Ammy-sensei's in Hammerlocke? Wish I could've been there to congratulate her!
Priest of the Temple of Syrinx
Hammerlocke Banquet
(Everyone promptly looks back— and gaze in awe at the dress.)
Sinatra: <Hey, look at you...!>
Kim: "That dress looks incredible, Evelyn."
Textspace
PI: ...oh, look. A new Pokemon.
TA: Hello there.
FS: hello~ my name is cuddles~
ZL: I'm Juless! Who are you? (beat) ZL: And who'ss Ammy-ssenssei?
PI: The Shiny Ninetales, I would assume.
ZL: Oh! Okay.
Edited by OPALGARNET16 on May 20th 2021 at 4:41:39 AM
Hi, I’m oghond, and I’m a Rushaholic. Sorry if I annoy you unintentionally. 😅
Empathic Kid Hero-in-training
Hammerlocke Banquet, Backstage
-Ian turns around and opens his eyes. One look at Evelyn in the black gown and he becomes almost mesmerized by her beauty. His face turns red like a ruby and he can't bring himself to look away.-
Evelyn: -to Ian- Don't get too entranced by it, it's still me.
Me: -a blushing mess- You look so pretty in that dress...
Evelyn: -smiling and blushing faintly- Thank you, Ian...
-Evelyn then snaps her fingers and Ian looks around almost frantically.-
Me: Huh?! Wha-what happened?
-Evelyn starts cracking up at how funny Ian is.-
Evelyn: You're funny, Ian. Anyways, I think you two should also get dressed and into position.
Me: Right. Also, before the performance, there's something I have to confess.
Ballonlea Stadium, Gym Challenge Puzzle Room
-As Ian and Evelyn think, the two numbers jump into their minds as they realize the key words...-
Evelyn: Origami Cranes...
Me: [Sesame Street]...
Evelyn and I: The answer is 960!
Piku-chan: <960?>
Hatty: <Beats me.>
Evelyn: It's simple, really. Those who have the patience to fold 1000 origami cranes will have any wish granted.
Me: And the highest number shown on [Sesame Street], not counting skip-counting, was 40.
Evelyn: 1000...
Me: ...minus 40...
Evelyn and I: ...equals 960!
CORRECT!
Bede: Y-You're all smarter than you look! Well... -thinks to himself- I don't think Opal has ever asked this question during her 70+ years as Gym Leader, but it looks like I'll have to use it...
Bede: This is it! Your final question!!
FINAL QUESTION!
Bede: What is it that women desire most, above all else?
Textspace
Priest of the Temple of Syrinx
Hammerlocke Banquet
Kim: "Oh? What is it?"
Textspace
ZL: Yay! Wait, then what about the Sstoutland?
TA: And the Samurott?
FS: and the galvantula~
Ballonlea Stadium
(Kim continues watching as Ian and Evelyn answer their questions.)
Kim: "Psychic and Chairman Rose, of course."
A MINUTE LATER
Kim: "No. What kind of question even is that?"
A MINUTE LATER
Kim: "None of them, unless they know Minimize."
A MINUTE LATER
Kim: "Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Pi, Sigma, Omega. Too easy."
A MINUTE LATER
Kim: "960. I need a harder one."
(And then she hears the last question and giggles.)
Kim: "Oh dear. That—" (she giggles) "—that is something I would not know the answer to."
Edited by OPALGARNET16 on May 20th 2021 at 4:42:09 AM
Hi, I’m oghond, and I’m a Rushaholic. Sorry if I annoy you unintentionally. 😅
Denali grinned, "Of course, I still have a business to run! Speaking of which-"
They snapped their fingers.
They were back in their store, Denali accepted the payment and handed over their goods.
"My gods that felt good to do! Been so long since I've done that, I've been so bu-" they stopped themselves and collected a bit.
"Ah not important for you two. Enjoy your mega items, use them responsibly, I've had a few complaints from previous customers about issues caused by these."
We're on it. Bastard Ex doesn't sound too difficult for us to handle. You can rest easy again.
Please do. Good luck on finding him, I hope to just sleep again without him in my thoughts.
The Wanderer
Isle of Armor
-Reading the Phantom Thief site-
...Arceusfuckingdammit.
I'm gonna have to insist on using proxies next time.
Edited by rmctagg09 on Apr 30th 2021 at 3:30:58 PM
Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.
Hammerlocke Banquet
Jane: Right on. We'll be there in a few moments.
She ends the call.
Jane: They're near the karaoke booth. Come on!
The two of them folded their spoons and forks and left a tip to the wait staff. They approached Agnes' and Star's table.
—
Star and Agnes would be greeted by a tall, beautiful woman and her milquetoast male companion. The woman was followed by a serious-looking gallade while the young man had a tiny little joltik perched on his scalp. They were orbited around by a smiling rotom in a smartphone. The young man also had a camera dangling from a shoulder strap.
Jane: Hello! My name is Jeanette Harvey. But you may call me Jane This is my partner Thomas Andrew Petersen.
Her companion waves.
Tommy: Call me Tommy.
She points to the gallade, and then to the joltik.
Jane: This is of course, my partner Fred. And one of Tommy's partners, Drake. And of course...
Gimbal: Stephania Ditkovic-Petersen a lifetime ago. Though you can call me Gimbal.
Jane: She's Tommy's mother. We're from the Unova division. Both of us write for the Geographer Weekly, though Tommy here's also field photographer and hosts one of our kid's webshows.
Tommy: She's also our head honcho's kid.
Jane: It's a pleasure to meet you both.
Edited by MasterJayAM on Apr 30th 2021 at 1:24:45 AM
Some Rando
Thieves Textspace
Thank you for letting us know. We'll deal with him as soon as we can.
Snowy
Banquet
Star: Lucy Glassman, of the Geographic Traveler's Sinnoh division. You you can call me Star, I guess. -she gestures to Agnes- This is my cousin Agnes.
Agnes: Nice to meet you. -she tilts her head- ...So your mom is your Rotom Phone Rotom?
-she pauses for a moment and smirks.- Rot-Mom. -she bursts into laughter, an improvement from her previous bad mood-
Star: -clears throat- Anyway... You guys said you were working on an article about the J-Team?
Hammerlocke Feast
Jane: Well met, Star. Yes, daddy dearest did tell me that the higher ups wanted something a bit more comprehensive than what Tom and I were planning to write. It's a good thing you're here, then. It'll save us from the trouble from being spread too thin.
Gimbal: Yep. And to think that he's actually not my trainer. I died when he was still young and came back to the mortal world a world away from where my family lived.
Tommy: Mom's trainer was a friend of mine back at the main office, and he only captured her when he ordered a haunted camera stabilizer off [Craigslist].
Gimbal: It was a serendipitous thing. If Gavin never chose this line of work, we would have never been reunited.
Jane: It's a sweet little family reunion.
Tommy: Yes, the editors caught wind of the J-Team and allies competing. And since they've been involved in a few events in the news recently, the head office really wants to seize the opportunity to go full in depth on it.
Jane: Interest ebbs and flows, as you'd expect. It seems as good a time as any to go "where are they now?"
Fwomph
Rebel Reef
Oh yeah don't worry the construction has gone along fine. Honestly I'm tempted to give you two the tour of the place but maybe we'll hold off on that until we have our Rebels ready, do one big tour.
Hammerlocke Banquet, Gale Group
Well, good to see you're lucid enough to figure out that you messed up. Thankfully you didn't manage to control me, because otherwise the only thing that would stop you would be the day changing over. It would not have been a pretty rampage of conquest.
Hammerlocke Banquet, Dragon Zone
-Takcorian is still curled up in a corner as Luperian grabs some pork and takes a seat near the stage-
Luperian: Man, this is a lot of prep time for karaoke. Did they need to set up a drum kit or somethin'?
Hammerlocke Banquet, Emer Area
You finish off the plate of mostly-meat that you've grabbed from the feasting table and sit there on the glass, looking at the others around you. At one point your eyes fixate on Tagg and you spend several moments just staring in awe of this founding member of the J-Team deigning to visit this little party. You somewhat realize that a bunch of other people around are more recent members. The thought of somehow stumbling onto the group you adore just right here and right now, it fills you with this cascade of happiness. It doesn't really matter much that no one has come to say hi, you're here and you and Pal are alive and all is right with the world.
Hammerlocke Hotel, Post-Banquet
-Gale takes a deep, shaking breath as she reads the text logs-
I shouldn't have recruited them. Turning up in the Metaverse should have been a big red flag that they'd do this. This is why I left the J-Team in the first place.
-She tries to calm down. There is no point in stewing on this until she hates the people involved. This needs to be corrected. She makes sure to properly set the group text status to group-only before composing-
Phantom Thieves Text Space
Subject: Reminder...
Hey there! Just a little PSA here from your friendly neighborhood Navigator, Rakash: We Are Not The J-Team.
Subject: Re: Reminder...
I have realized that I should clarify on that point.
The Phantom Thieves are not the J-Team. While many of our members are in fact J-Team members, not everyone on the Team has been informed about who we are and what we do. This is by design.
While our activities are not rules-as-written strictly illegal, they still constitute an unlicensed and in most cases unconsented alteration to the minds of civilian targets. Just because we do so by a downright Jungian means of revealing someone's malfeasance and doing combat to it does not mean that the authorities would be unable to prosecute us. If they were to do so, what you have done makes it much easier for them to do so successfully.
You have not only conducted extraneous communication with a client simply to say 'sure we're on it' thereby confirming that we are in fact culpable for any changes observed in the target but you have also contacted the client through multiple phones. I wish to ask you, how many of you remembered to use a separate phone and/or a sufficiently untraceable proxy for Phantom Thief communications?
I do not wish for anyone here to end up in jail because of what we do. We get enough of that from the Velvet Room, we don't need it in reality too.
Now then, we have a target. I am going to scout their Mementos zone and once I am done we can organize a team.
Hammerlocke Hotel, Post-Banquet
-Trying to keep herself calm, Gale Knight set down her P-Thieves burner phone and went back to her usual one, the one upon which was installed the Metaverse Navigator-
Daniel Clayton. Sinnoh. Mementos.
-The phone made a dull bleep-
No Shadow found.
... Daniel Clayton. Mementos. Sinnoh.
-Again, a bleep-
No Shadow found.
-Gale took a deep breath and walked back over to her P-Thieves phone-
Phantom Thieves Textspace
Subject: Small Problem
The Nav's saying it can't find a Shadow. There's three possibilities here that I'm seeing:
A) Daniel Clayton is in fact a false name that he used with the client and we need to investigate more to find his real name.
B) Daniel Clayton has a Palace and we need to investigate more to figure out more precise keywords.
C) Daniel Clayton's Shadow has already been either overcome by others with our skillset or has been turned into a Persona.
I do not know which of these options is true and I have no idea how to test. Anyone got any suggestions for our next move?
Priest of the Temple of Syrinx
Megavonne
(Kim smiles and takes the items while handing over her money.)
Kim: "Thank you very much. I really enjoyed the game." (She walks away, before muttering to herself under her breath:) "Matter of fact, it was so much fun I kind of want to play it again."
(Beat. She looks up at Ian and Evelyn and turns to them as she gets an idea.)
Kim: "Actually... let's take the train back to the Wild Area. I kind of want to do something."
Hi, I’m oghond, and I’m a Rushaholic. Sorry if I annoy you unintentionally. 😅
Empathic Kid Hero-in-training
Hammerlocke Banquet
-Ian steps out onto the stage, with a microphone in hand. He gingerly taps the top of it to test if it's on.-
Me: Um... hi. May I have your attention, please?
Megavonne
-Ian and Evelyn pay for their Mega Evolution sets.-
Evelyn: Thank you again!
Me: That sure was fun!
Ballonlea Stadium, Gym Challenge Puzzle Room
Me: What a woman desires most?
Evelyn: That's quite the quandary... Do you know what it is, Ian?
Me: Me? I was going to ask you if you knew the answer.
Evelyn: And how's that working out for you?
Me: Not well... I mean, I was going to let you answer the question once you have an answer.
Evelyn: Y-You really mean it?
Me: Of course... If you want to.
Evelyn: Thank you, Ian. And I do want to.
-In that moment, the answer hits them.-
Me: What women desire most, above all else...
Evelyn: ...is to have their way.
CORRECT!!!
-Bede is left in absolute shock. He didn't think anyone would've gotten that answer... But since the quiz was over and Ian and Evelyn got the answers correct, it would only be fair that he gave them their Gym Battle with the added strength bonuses.-
Bede: ...Congratulations, you two. You have answered every answer correct. Now, if you'll follow me, we shall have our Gym Battle. It will be a double battle, you two against I... If those terms are fair with you...
Me: Evelyn?
Evelyn: They are most fair, Bede.
Bede: Very well. Now, there's no time to waste. It's off to the pitch.
-Bede exits the puzzle room with Ian and Evelyn following close behind.-
Ballonlea Stadium, Pitch
-Bede, Ian and Evelyn walk out onto the pitch, prepared for a battle.-
Phantom Thief Textspace
From: Joybringer
RE: Reminder
Honestly, how was I supposed to know that? Also, can you recommend any good proxies so we can ensure that that never happens again?
From: Joybringer
RE: Small Problem
If it's the Persona thing, then this Daniel Clayton is more trouble than he's worth.
Regular Textspace
EC: As for Colton, well, he's as mysterious as a shadow.
PK: But once you get to know him, he's a nice guy.
Priest of the Temple of Syrinx
Hammerlocke Banquet— Backstage
(Kim promptly sits behind a giant pipe organ.)
Megavonne
(Kim nods, then heads towards the train back to Galar.)
ONE TRAIN RIDE LATER...
The Wild Area
(By this point, Kim has reached the Wild Area, and turns to face Ian and Evelyn.)
Kim: "Alright. Do you know why I decided to come here? And no, the answer is not 'to catch Pokemon'."
Ballonlea
(As soon as she sees Ian and Evelyn enter the pitch, Kim immediately turns her attention to the field.)
Kim: "Well. This should be fun."
Textspace
ZL: He ssoundss fun!
RP: Well... I beg to differ. A bit. Also would you mind telling them about the Pokemon they saw in battle? And about Kamui?
Edited by OPALGARNET16 on May 20th 2021 at 4:42:43 AM
Hi, I’m oghond, and I’m a Rushaholic. Sorry if I annoy you unintentionally. 😅
Some Rando
Phantom Textspace
If their Shadow were a Persona, they probably would have become a better person and apologized to her.
Maybe search for her name? We can see if she's shifting blame or something. If not, well, ready to sniff things out when you are.
Hammerlocke Heckin Wimdy Gale
"Well, not to dismiss you, but that Obscuric Kamui calls her trainer - Colton - definitely would have been able to keep things under control until then. You saw how he was able to distort the lantern beyond usability.
"And that Mind of Crystal aspect he told me of, he's not alone, is he not? Those with aspects tend to congregate subconsciously, after all. A powerful enough rebellion and things would have been no different.
"Furthermore, Kamui told me of what happened with Suture or whatever his name was. She would not have hesitated to do whatever was needed to save you from me."
Edited by AbsentCoder on Apr 30th 2021 at 12:29:33 PM
[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]
That's just how it is on this bitch of an earth
Phantom Thieves Textspace
@Joybringer personally i think if this guy has a persona that means we should definitely get involved. yeah it might be a pain in the ass but the alternative is like. telling this woman "oh you're on your own with this guy who has powers beyond your understanding, good luck"
i dont think we can really rule out A or C since how would she have known if she were fed a fake name and accepting the bad parts of yourself doesn't always mean growth. wallowing in self-pity and w/e
whichever it is it's investigation time ig
Empathic Kid Hero-in-training
Phantom Thieves Textspace
But yeah, it is investigation time.
The Wanderer
Isle of Armor
From: Kingfish
That poor display of opsec besides (Trojan has their work cut out for them)...
For those of our number who were around from the last time stuff like this happened, they'd know all about how having a Persona or Pokésona doesn't necessarily mean you'll use it for good reasons.
If it turns out that we do have an enemy Persona user on our hands our main objectives should be:
1) Neutralizing the threat.
2) Figuring out if they're a lone agent who somehow managed to gain access to the Metaverse or part of a greater group, and of this group, who else has Personas? (I would suggest that those of us who aren't going to be facing them directly should stay on standby in case we need the extra muscle, but it's best that we try to avoid tipping our hands too much by revealing too much of our roster.)
Edited by rmctagg09 on Apr 30th 2021 at 4:57:26 AM
Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.
Snowy
Banquet
Agnes: Huh, that's pretty lucky.
Star: Well, it has been around 10 years since they first popped up, so now would be a good time for that. And there's definitely J-team here. Though I've heard they're kinda...scattered right now? Not sure.
Phantom Thief Textspace
From: Currently Codenameless Newbie
Uh...whoops. I know I didn't actually post anything, just a vague ![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
but I'd like some proxy suggestions as well.
...and maybe a better rundown of how all this works in general. Though I guess that can happen when we start investigating?
pain peko
From: Sorceress
Understood. I'll send Songstress and Guardian to a trusted friend of mine...near the area. Unfortunately I will not be able to make it, but I don't necessarily think my absence will doom you all, if it's only one person.
Don't worry on my end, my associate Obelisk has experience spoofing details and hiding things that should not be said. As for proxies, I'll look into setting up some for us, I'll at least get them vetted.
ISTA that the opsec that I operate under is usually better.
Silas stepped into the Metaverse and shivered a bit, he still wasn't over the feeling of his outfit changing like that. He inspected it a bit and tapped at the helmet/mask covering his face, "Could use something like this. There was a battle of the bands, maybe I should go into electronic music."
"Captain, the robot thing is a bit on the nose," Bishop stated.
Silas rolled his eyes and waited for the others to show up, scrolling through his phone's feed when he saw that the helmet came with bluetooth. He smirked a bit and put some music on as he considered what was going on.
The target cannot be located by the metanav, target may be untraceable.
Suggests that target may be hidden in some way, or a persona user like self. Dangerous if true.
Want to avoid complications, will need to reign self in.
Feel like there is a detail we are missing, investigation hopefully will reveal more.
Of course, we might not be looking at it from the right angle... what is the right angle though... I dunno I got your brain so I'm stuck with your line of thinking.
Silas exhaled, the voice of Knight returned, well... he was on a job. Best put on the guise of Jackal as he waited for the others to appear.
Hammerlocke Dinner
Tommy: It is.
Jane: Ten years, huh. Has it really been that long since they first sprung up?
Tommy: It was all a blur for me, really. J-Team mania really didn't hit it off until I was in my teens last I could remember
Jane: Same.
Tommy: I knew the people behind PEFE, though, especially the ones who tag along with the J-Team. Dr. Tagg was with them.
Gimbal: Pffft. Fanboy.
Jane: Dad never did like the J-Team much. I'm not sure if it was his dislike for vigilanteeism or if it was because PEFE usually kept their research to themselves.
Tommy: They didn't exactly let our main magazine in on their activities until 2018 last I recall.
Jane: How many do you reckon are participating?
Tommy: I mean, I saw a few of the younger members here and there. The ones involved in a lot of the building takeovers going on in Wyndon. I lost count. I do recall Dr. Tagg finishing the league.
Empathic Kid Hero-in-training
Ballonlea Stadium Pitch
-Ian, Evelyn and Bede step out onto the pitch and Bede turns around.-
Bede: I must say, you two are more than impressive.
Evelyn: Thank you.
Me: You're not too shabby yourself.
Bede: So I suppose I should give you your Gym Battle. However...
Me: However?
Bede: ...since you got every question right, you get all the stat buffs you've earned. Behold.
-Bede snaps his fingers and a faint magical light shines down on Ian and Evelyn. The Pokémon exposed to this magical light shine with the same magical light as their bodies strengthen and their energies magnify. Even Piku-chan and Hatty feel the boon of this light.-
Ian and Evelyn's Pokémon's Auras flare to life! All stats increase!
Bede: Now that your Pokémon are strengthened, I'll actually have to work twice as hard for once.
-Bede takes two Poké Balls off his belt and prepares them. Ian and Evelyn follow suit and prepare their Poké Balls.-
Referee: The Gym Battle between Bede, the Gym Leader and Challenger 556, Ian and Evelyn will now begin! The match will be decided when all the Pokémon of one side can no longer continue! Furthermore, only the Challengers may substitute if needed!
Bede: Let us begin, darlings...
Evelyn: Ready when you are, Ian!
Me: Ladies first.
Evelyn: Axon!
Me: Yuki!
Evelyn and I: I CHOOSE YOU!
-Ian and Evelyn throw their Poké Balls into the air and out come Yuki, Ian's Froslass and Axon, Evelyn's Alakazam, looking more than ready for battle!-
Axon: <Hail and well met.>
Yuki: <I can say the same for you, Axon.>
Bede: This should be a no-brainer. Rapidash! Mawile! Present!
-Bede throws his Poké Balls into the air and in a burst of light from them appear his Galarian Rapidash and Mawile, both of which are well rested from their previous battles. The Galarian Rapidash scoffs at her apparent foes.-
Galarian Rapidash: <Another challenger? I thought they would've cowered in fear after seeing what happened to their friend.>
Mawile: <Judge them not for their appearance, lest ye be judged for thine.>
-Bede's Galarian Rapidash... um... face-hoofs?-
Galarian Rapidash: <Mawile, please, now is not the time to be quoting Scripture...>
Axon: <Um...>
Yuki: <Nani datte?>*
Referee: And now, without further ado...
Metaverse
-Ian arrives in the Metaverse and immediately changes into Joybringer, does a quick little dance to show off his energy levels to no one in particular and goes to meet up with the other Phantom Thieves.-
Wild Area
Me: Can't say we do.
Evelyn: But I assume it's going to be fun.
Textspace
Edited by AnimeboyIanpower on May 1st 2021 at 11:24:33 AM
♪Show me the wisdom of the world... Tell me the secrets of the heart... and the sweet~ mysteries~ of love~...
Some Rando
Metaverse
A track-suited someone tracked down Silas, more accurately the Lycanroc he was riding on the back of was. Upon finding his way to where he stood, he stepped down and put on his blindfold, still able to see but returning the Lycanroc to his place in his head.
"This is a mite problematic," he observed simply. "I mean, being down here's neat and all but without knowing where our target can be found..."
[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]
Hammerlocke Banquet
Kim: "I won't look either."
(The rest of Kim's Pokemon all turn away.)
Textspace
FS: they won~~ it was amazing~ they didn't just have a galvantula, though~ they had a sylveon, and a stoutland, and this... really weird samurott that just popped out of his pokeball for no apparent reason...~
TA: I will admit it was rather odd.
ZL: Did they have a Zzangoosse, too?!
PI: No, Jules. They did not. Those four Pokemon were all we saw. And apparently, based on what I saw at the banquet, they have a Shiny Ninetales too. I think.
ZL: A SSHINY?! That'ss awessome!
RP: Were they wearing a gray jacket?
PI: Come to think of it, I believe they were.
RP: Then there's only one person you could have seen.
PI: I know. They were the ones that performed that extremely long song at the banquet.
Edited by OPALGARNET16 on May 20th 2021 at 4:40:44 AM
Hi, I’m oghond, and I’m a Rushaholic. Sorry if I annoy you unintentionally. 😅