Hammerlocke Banquet, Dreamers and Dragon

Me: Honestly, we never asked if you were.

Evelyn: As for the Orochi Group's involvement in the misfortunes of the other three bands, can it be assumed that seeking to invoke and control Meloetta is not out of the question?

Wyndon Stadium, Ian VS Daisuke

Me: Alright, here goes nothing! Yuki, come on out!

Daisuke: -confused- Yuki? That's the one Doppel hypnotized, wasn't she?

-The Poké Ball Ian threw opens, revealing Yuki, who's still asleep.-

Wyndon Stadium, Stands

Evelyn: Yuki?

Hatty: <Okay, I really should've seen this coming... but, why?>

Wyndon Stadium, Ian VS Daisuke

Me: -calmly- Yuki? Can you hear me?

Yuki: -mumbles sleepily- <Hai...>^note Yes.

Me: Good. Now, when I snap my fingers, you will awaken from your sleep.

Yuki: -mumbles in trance- <Wakarimashita...>^note I understand.

Me: Thanks, Yuki-sama.

-Ian snaps his fingers, causing Yuki to jolt awake and prepare herself for battle.-

Daisuke: Now I see what you were planning... But let's see how you fare against Matilda! USE BRUTAL SWING!!

Me: Yuki, use Hail!

-Yuki lets out a melodic screech that whips the winds, gathers the clouds above and summons a powerful hailstorm, while Matilda surrounds her long braid-arm in a dark aura of violence and swings it at Yuki, whilst also slamming it into Daisuke.-

Daisuke: -stunned- What was that for?

Matilda: -quietly- <You were too loud in giving that command, Daisuke-sama. I would advise that you not make such a mistake again...>

Daisuke: -Now in a Pose of Supplication- P-Please forgive me, Matilda. It won't happen again.

Me: 0_o

Yuki: 0_o

Wyndon Stadium, Stands

Evelyn: Well, that happened.

Wild Area, Bond or Break

Jagger:    <Guess ya know me better than ya thought! Now, another thing about me is that I love to battle! Though I'm not Peechee's level of battle-hungry, I am a fan of the thrill. But please, tell me, true or false: In battle, I need you to call moves for me to use.>   

Ballonlea Stadium Lobby (Past)

Me: You were simply amazing out there!

Evelyn: Your evolutions were ASTOUNDING!!

Piku-chan: <Yeah!>

Hatty: <And the power gained in your evolution was simply astonishing!>

Wyndon Stadium

Elton: <Ooh! That was an interesting strategy!>

Kim: "I would certainly say so. Now... to see what happens next..."

(and then Matilda hits Daisuke with Brutal Swing, and Elton and Kim burst out into laughter)

Kim: (laughing) "Okay... I'm not going to lie... that was pretty funny."

Elton: <Yeah, I'd say so!>

The Wild Area- Bond or Break

Kim: "False. You're the only one that's explicitly asked me to not give you commands in battle. If you feel like performing a move, you just do it."

(And Jagger suddenly pops up next to Kim.)

Jagger:    <Yeah, that's right! Jeez, it's only been a few months since I got caught, but you know me pretty well! Hehehehehe... betcha you'll nail the rest of these.>   

(He moves next to Dalt.)

Ballonlea Stadium Entrance Room

Ozzy: <Thank you both.>

Kim: "Indeed. And to add on to the excitement... I now have a Pokemon capable of Mega Evolving."

Ozzy: <Oh, yes, that's right! Grohl, Ampharos can Mega Evolve!>

Grohl: (eagerly turning to face Kim) <Really?! I'm going to Mega Evolve?!>

Kim: "Well... yes, but we still have to get the stone fir—"

(Kim doesn't get to finish her statement, as Grohl immediately runs up to hug her.)

Grohl: <YAY! This is going to be really cool!>

Kim: "H-hold on Grohl." (She chuckles, and pushes him away.) "We still need to go to Kalos to get the Mega Stone first."

Grohl: <Oh.>

Defiant Wing

Phineas: I can see why. It's a telling fact of my murderer's morals that she had no qualms in killing me and did it kind of gleefully. Pokefutures lived by a humanocentric philosophy, so that's saying something.

Shutter: I see.

Phineas: Point was, I'm in this weird space where I'm glad they killed their version of me but I also applaud them for feeling bad about it. The human taboo on murder is such that if the exception makes you feel bad, it's a good sign that you were never going to be anything like Tonio.

ZoroPark

The group of documentary filmmakers have spent the rest of the afternoon after filming trying to capture ninjasks, with very little success. Most of them fly away before even coming close. Only Shutter seems on the verge of catching something.

A nincada, to be specific. An exceptionally tough one who made it very clear that they didn't like to be moved.

Shutter: Wing attack!

Scout: <Had enough yet? You know, you look pretty tasty right about now, but that's not what I'm after.>

Nincada: <Oh, I'm just getting warmed up, birdie. Eat this.>

They attempt to defend themselves with dig. Scout barely misses the nincada as they hid, but gets struck in the gut for her trouble. She soars higher.

Shutter: Pretty tenacious for a bug. Scout, finish this with an air slash.

She complies, sending a powerful gust to the nincada. It stays motionless, unfazed, and starts to glow. That could only mean one thing. Shutter wastes no time. He tosses a net ball at the nincada. The bug disappears into the ball, which gives out a satisfying click.

He pumps his arms in triumph, barely keeping his excitement.

Lars: Alright, you caught one! Glad one of us finally had one. I usually bring out Damien for this sort of thing. But it's the wrong time of year to send a fletchinder out bug hunting.

Montalban: You know how protected areas are. At least we brought the other birds with us and it's already hard enough as it is. These ninjasks are extra skittish. I doubt even our fearows could take one at this rate.

Upton: Try looking on the ground for nincadas and strike at them before they evolve. God, I hope Ba'al kept the other zoroark at bay. This'd have been much easier if the park mascot didn't keep scaring off the nincadas.

Lars: And good timing, too. If you, like, waited a few more seconds, they'd have evolved and have flown off.

Shutter: Yeah. So, d'you think they evolved in the ball.

Lars: Probably. Let them out.

He picks up the net ball and releases the newly captured team member. And lo, they had evolved into a ninjask.

Lars: Wait. All of us bought a bunch of net balls with us. So if they evolved—

Shutter: Oh.

The group hears a clicking sound from Shutter's messenger bag.

Meanwhile, Montalban's and Lars' fearows prowled the skies in pursuit of very agile ninjasks. On the ground, Ba'al seemed to have made a new friend in the form of a shiny zoroark. The two have spent the entire time chatting and taking selfies of themselves in odd poses.

Edited by MasterJayAM on Sep 7th 2021 at 10:49:59 PM

<Well, I can't really blame her fer that,> Snakeye admitted, <The other you was... well he was unpleasant and threatened to wear my Hoss's skin as a new suit. Honestly tho I'm lookin' at it from a differn' perspective. In my world, ya live or ya die, circle of life an all. I'd be lyin' if I said I hadn' killed for food before.>

<Ignoring him. The fact is, we've had to make some hard choices,> Blackquill said plainly, <And you may need to make some yourself some day soon.>

Amber stepped in, <Yo! We landed, and we met with an... interesting bunch. They're inviting us for dinner and are gonna be improving the ship a little. We should go say hi.>

<Do not worry,> The Armorer said to Gale, <You may keep your armor on. Your shadow is rather... balanced... still discordant in some ways, but it sees you are in harmony with yourself. No matter who you are.>

There was a small campgrounds, numerous mons wearing similar armor all over the place. Silas wasn't sure what to feel, Roxy was a little weirded out.

"Okay I get the universe has a sense of humor but... this?" She asked.

"I think this might be a chance... I need to take it," Silas responded.

"Babe... are you seriously-"

<Welcome to the Commune,> The Armorer said with authority. The commune seemed to stop what they were doing and stare at the welcoming party.

"Uh... We brought Hot Sauce and some fresh food?" Silas offered.

The commune proceeded to bow to them, Roxy frowned harder, "What kind of wacky party did we walk into?"

The Armorer talked to a few others, and they rushed off towards the ship. <Please, sit, relax for a moment,> The Armor stated.

Silas sat down, Roxy sat next to him, Hacks stared, ~Quite the setup.~

<We Mandacarios work hard to ensure we are prepared. Our home is gone, we must find shelter where we can, this is the way.>

Roxy shot Silas a look, Silas tried his best to not look pleased.

Daniel sighed, his Persona laughed a bit, he looked over to the party before him. "The hell are you freaks? Really? Trying that whole bit, doesn't make you look intimidating, not the least dressed like that."

Jackal stepped forward, "We still outnumber you," he said pulling off his helmet, summoning Knight.

"Trust me pal, we're all just as fancy as you."

Daniel laughed, "Really now? Fancy guy ya got there. Mine here, Hetfield, he's got some tricks."

The Banette floated up and extended some hands, and a thick black ooze dripped from the ceiling.

"...Oh..." Jackal commented.

On Pink and Rakash's scanners, a large mass of Shadows was becoming very clear...

Ballonlea Stadium Lobby (Past)

Evelyn: You'll also need a Key Stone...

Me: And a strong bond with your Pokémon, yes.

Wyndon Stadium, Ian VS Daisuke

Daisuke: -quietly- Alright then! Matilda, use Psycho Cut!

Me: Use Blizzard!

-Matilda's eyes glow a radiant magenta, cloaking her braid-arm in a similarly colored psychic aura. She swings her braided claw-arm into the hailstorm, but the translucent figure of Yuki evades it with each and then calls forth a rush of wind and snow to strike Matilda with pinpoint accuracy!-

Me: How do you like that, Daisuke-sama? Yuki has the ability "Snow Cloak", which makes her harder to hit in a hailstorm.

Piku-chan: <Woo, alliteration!>

Daisuke: Most impressive.

-And then everyone who isn't Yuki gets pelted by hailstones.-

Daisuke: Ow ow ow ow, okay ow...

Me: Ow ow ow ow...

Matilda: -quiet pain-

Wild Area, Bond or Break

???: -voice distorted- Heeey, Kim... How have you been, dude? Me? I'm well... Just wanna say it's been swell chillin' with you this past year. Here's to many more adventures. So, who am I?

Studio Palace

"Look, we wanted to end this peacefully but here you are, being the aggressor. Now?" With little more than that Ahemait's Crunch fanned out onto the feather in his mouth, a blade of pitch forming that he threw at the pool, the shards having patterns not unlike a Crunch proper as the feather returned to his maw.

"Let it be written, let it be done."

Studio Palace

Joybringer: Guess you like doing things the hard way...

-Cu Chulainn unleashes a blast of psychic energy from the tip of his spear at the pool in a coordinated attack after Ahemait was done.-

Wyndon Stadium

(Kim promptly takes out an umbrella to shield herself and Elton from the raining hailstones. Elton eagerly looks out towards the battle.)

Elton: <Well, this looks fun! GO, YUKI!>

The Wild Area, Bond or Break

Kim: "Gallag, naturally. Surfer dude speak."

Ballonlea Stadium Entrance Room

Kim: "Indeed. Fortunately, however, I feel as though I have a strong enough bond with my Pokemon to achieve Mega Evolution. Of course, though... there is only one way to find out."

(She promptly returns Grohl, but leaves out Ozzy.)

Kim: "And that, of course, is to go to Kalos."

Studio Palace

(The Consultant turns to face Triton.)

The Consultant: "Well. Looks like they refuse to surrender."

Triton: Shall we?

The Consultant: "We shall." (She turns to face the Shadows.) "Very well, then. You asked for it." (then, to Triton) "Use Water Gun!"

(And with that said, Triton opens his mouth and releases a Water Gun attack directly at the Shadows.)

Palentos

-Snorts-

Azumi-no-isora: -Manifesting- <This, from someone who looks like some West Side Story reject!>

Pink: -Starts scanning-

Hammerlocke — May 11

-Kai smirks-

Kai: Of course I look alright. Why would anyone expect any less?

-And the smile softens again-

Kai: But seriously, though, it's good to hear that. Nice to not have anything hanging over our heads in general, honestly.

-They pause, briefly reflecting on certain events, before shaking their head and pushing it out of their mind.-

Stormchaser Training Room — More Recently

-Everest blinks at the sudden sprinkler rainfall. Kai furrows their brow somewhat-

Everest: <Aw come on, seriously?>

Kai: Hmmm. Funny how luck works, isn't it?

-Their hands twitch slightly, though they keep the Poke Ball that just slipped out of their sleeve hidden in their hand.-

Kai: Let's try to break that focus. Swagger should do the trick, yeah?

Everest: <Yeah, why don't you take those headphones off and pay attention to the fight, huh?>

-Everest stands up higher on their back legs so as to look like a bigger threat.-

Shadesden

Nazena: Indeed. Let's get down to it, then.

-They glance back toward the direction Lauren ran off, briefly, before turning to head toward the mountain-

Studio Palace

-Has been quietly watching the proceedings-

Lioness: ...well here goes nothing.

-Her mask disintegrates, and Cerebrus manifests. The three headed Granbull charges forward, trying to bite an opposing shadow's leg.-

Edited by stargirl93 on May 23rd 2021 at 9:27:42 AM

Shadesden

-Logan makes to draw a Sign—-

-remembers where they are, considers the cases of stranding a summon in The Shadow Realm or spending battery and life trying to reach someone a literal universe away—sighs, and resigns themself to a long walk-

Stormchaser, Relativity (1953)

Hiro: -not-quite-deadpan- I did meet Ever, once. Met never again, Ever, thus far. ...what

-he observes the wriggle of mastery-

Hiro: -coming to a conclusion for the moment- ...note to self, check Megan for interesting prostheses. I've...been where she's been, Ever traded with me, maybe I—

-he stops and stares (   stares   ) at the forever explosion, functional though it may be-

Hiro: what is this airship

-and then at the bottle-

Hiro: …

Hiro: ...honestly, you can get me pretty far by being nice and holding out a good mystery, but. There is a limit to how irresponsible I can be right now.

-he looks tempted-

Hiro: I spent several weeks with Megan in an objectively horrendous fairy court. "Mysterious drinks offered suddenly are not to be trusted" is a truism that has held true thus far.

-very, very tempted-

Hiro: -strained- You have actually told me that this is made of poison.

-a cat looking for satisfaction-

Hiro: -hands to his face, quiet wheeze- ...maybe after we give your cousin a heads-up?

Inner Litwick: <Wow.>

Hiro: Look, I carry designated drivers with me wherever I go and it's been a very long few months.

Stormchaser, Megan Zone

-Scramble sees nothing, along with Diplo-

-so many eyes, so many tiny minds—half of those Translated from the heart-eaters, world-eaters—it's no wonder that nothing of note comes to their attention-

-oh look, something distracting-

Megan: -suddenly in a holographic wrestler's outfit- Oh!

Forgot to turn this on, haven't worn it in awhile, haha.

Fray D. -growls-

-falling just that bit off-tempo-

rolling…

-oops-

-she rolls with it—streams of silk spurt from Fray's fingertips, pulling taut into obstruction all across Daydre and Kai's side of the field—-

Megan: Hmmm.

-and Sylvie's beam locks right into that focus, taking the jarred ticking from stimulating to somnolent-

-her nictitating membranes, relaxed by drowsiness, fluttering open to reveal the burnished gold of her Inteleon irises—for the briefest instant before sleep takes her-

Fray D.: < . , . .>

Megan: Oooh, silent commands! ;D

-her outer eyelids slide shut, and she falls over facedown into the holographic floor—and that is that-

Megan: Aw.

-she considers—Pippy, unattended and beginning to vibrate, gathers water into an orb between his claws-

Megan: Cold water's supposed to startle you awake, right? Pippy, bear down.

-which chills-

-he breaches the sphere's surface at three points—[Arctic]-temperature fluid scythes through the battlefield, biting streams streaking for each of Sylvie and Everest and Fraidy-

Megan: Or wait, was that-was that a prank.

Megan: Hm.

-given that she has absolutely no way to consciously avoid it, it just bowls Fray over-

Megan: -mashing a button on her Pokédex- wake up wake up wake up

Isle of Armor

Abilene: Charmed.

-...-

Abilene: Well, isn't this nice.

-she says, with the air of someone weighing her conversational options-

-between "threaten", "infodump", "small talk"—haha are you kidding who would subject themselves to that-

Abilene: ...I don't suppose you're interested in purchasing high-quality supplements at unreasonable prices? The battling circuit is fierce.

-she makes to open a trench coat...that she is not wearing-

-hm-

-an Exeggcute -blips- in with it—she flips them off, and they vanish-

Edited by Asterisk395 on May 23rd 2021 at 10:05:15 AM

Oblivion Wing

Phineas: Boy, is he an asshole. Ech. Having said that. I assure you. I made hard decisions before. It cost me a lot. And I'm prepared to do it all over again, if I have to.

Shutter: An easy thing to say when you're already dead.

Phineas: Now, that's oversimplifying things. See, ghosts can't age but anything hard enough can send us back to Giratina and Yveltal. And Arceus knows they're not going to make round two easy.

Shutter: What are you talking about?

Phineas: I'll explain some other time.

Suddenly, they hear Amber.

Upton: Good. I'm starving.

The human and the humanoid glitch put on their scarves and transform.

ZoroPark

All around the forest floor were the shed husks cast by the ninjasks as they evolved. The sight of evolving nincadas have, today, largely been replaced by general emptiness save for the husks, though the ninjasks are still clearly there, unseen. Their droning cacophony resonated throughout the forests. On occasion, the sound of a pok´ball capturing one can be heard from a distance.

The crew look at Shutter's new acquisitions in curiosity. They still find it weird that Shutter didn't need to go out of his way to catch the Shedinja himself. It's as if, by some poorly understood mechanism, the ball transferred the emptied shell that's cast during evolution and the ghost that now possessed it to a nearby empty ball.

And now where was once one pokémon, now there were two.

The two don't seem to be taking to each other well. They stare each other down.

Shedinja: <What are you looking at?>

Ninjask: <What do you think? The empty shell of my former self. Wait... why can you think?>

Shedinja: <So, that's what this is? Well, I got news for you, bub? I'm not your sloppy seconds.>

Ninjask: <I'm pretty sure you are, bud. I was literally just underneath that. How are you alive? I'm pretty sure I'm still me.>

Shedinja: <Well, to be frank, I used to be dead. Memory's a blur, but the next I remember was I'm... wait a minute, you're a bug.>

Ninjask: <In all the literal ways, yes.>

Shedinja: <That means I'm a bug. Shit.>

Ninjask: <What? Did you eat bugs for a living in your past life?>

Scout: <Ahem.>

Ninjask: <Oh. Damn it. We were caught.>

Shedinja: <Caught? But I didn't.>

Scout: <Once you start conversing with your new trainers, they'll explain everything. But you know the rules.>

Ninjask: <I dunno what you just said, but I still won't let you eat me. Not without a fight!>

The Ninjask feebly approaches and glowers at a puzzled Scout. A rotom in a mobile device floats in.

Phineas: I'm afraid they do not speak domestic, Scout. But, given time, they will learn.

Lars: So, Gavin. What are you gonna call 'em?

Shutter: Lemme think. Ninjasks are incredibly swift and stealthy. I can probably get him to carry things that won't attract attention. That'll come in handy in field assignments. Ruffle up a few leaves for better lighting without getting in the way of the wildlife. Hmmm. I wonder.

Montalban: Better use of natural lighting without disturbing nature. Ingenious. Fits our paradigm of less-intrusive nature programming. Beats getting it all to happen in a set like the GBC does.

Lars: You're gonna make 'em your gaffer?

Shutter: Yeah, that's what I'll call 'em. Gaffer.

Ninjask: <Is that babbling large mammal talking about us?>

Upton: And the other one looks like an empty carbon copy of a ninjask, with the little ripped bits looking like badly drawn wings.

Montalban: Like a ninjask from a low-ink printer.

Shutter: Or a Xerox machine that's out of toner.

Beat.

The Geo-Soc Team: Xerox.

Edited by MasterJayAM on May 25th 2021 at 6:44:37 PM

Prector III

Discordant but harmonized shadows, interesting.

-Gale lets off a soft sound, probably a 'hm' before taking a seat on the ground-

Just remember, we've got places we need to be going Cap. Can't just run off to join the locals...

Hammerlocke Banquet, Dragons

Takcorian: I mean I guess they could be doing that. Seems a little odd that they'd do that when they don't even have a band in the competition.

-Meanwhile the other dragon has been approached by the electro-spider-

Luperian: Oh hey, sure I don't mind a hug from a big buggo.

Hammerlocke Banquet, Gale

Well, if you're willing to have me along I'd like to tag along.

-She shrugs-

But if you'd prefer to go it alone that's fine.

Galar Mountains

You give a little laugh and quickly retrieve a thermos from one of the ample pockets of your bulky coat.

"I'm not exactly unprepared myself. I just kinda distribute my baggage so it's all over rather than just on my back. That said, I am so ready to do this climb."

You don't really give a verbal reply to the Cubone, instead puffing your own chest out in mimicry before relaxing with a soft giggle.

Studio Palace

Aaaaaaah crap. Dude's got backup incoming.

-Rakash took a deep breath and started flicking through the bestiary for any information on this Hetfield Persona-

Hammerlocke Banquet

Cuddles: <Yay~! Thank you~!>

(He jumps onto Luperian and hugs them, before happily nuzzling and snuggling them.)

"I'm not running off," Silas told Gale.

A cook set down some food, it seemed to be a stew of sorts, Hacks picked it up and sniffed it, ~It's good.~

Silas took the meal, "Thank you,"

<Thank you, for the fuel and the supplies. Do you have any questions?> The Armorer asked.

Roxy sighed, "Silas are you sure about this?"

"Am I that easy to read."

She smiled, "Yes, what is the armor made of?"

<Our armor is made of Beskar. A durable material but not one that is very common, we have the means to detect it out in asteroids and the Commune has quite the stash on hand. Our armor is us, we are it. It protects us from many things, including the threats of the void.>

Silas would be doing star eyes right now if it was in character for him, but a grin had formed on his face. "And... what would it cost us to get some Beskar?"

<You could easily make a trade materially yes... but Beskar belongs with the Mandacarios and for that we cannot trade.>

"Can't trade? What if I was a Mandacario?" Silas asked.

<A bit more likely... but we cannot accept you,> The armorer answered.

Mercury groaned a bit as he sat under some shade, a lemonade in his one good hand.

"We need a van," he muttered.

<Foolishness, we just need the ability to teleport,> Vergil commented.

<Vergil... shut up,> Dante responded, <Merc... the hell do we need a van for?>

"I'd have some form of mobile transport and we could set it up so I could live in there."

<Oh right we're technically homeless...> Dante said in realization.

Mercury looked about, "Haven't seen any templars... think we're safe?"

The Oasis

"Lemonade" muttered a hushed adolescent girl's voice. Other muffled voices chime in. That of a young man and woman. "What are they doing here?" "This is our oasis!" "Maybe he's a Templar?" "I dunno, can you read him?" "Relax, not everyone who comes by here is a Templar." "How can we be sure?!"

Of course, soon enough, these voices are deadened by some mysterious force, if they were heard at all.

From the bushes came a seemingly unassuming looking park ranger.

Park Ranger: Sir, may I ask what you happened to be doing round these parts? This is a protected area.

He seems normal enough a Park Ranger, though not one who seems to be good at his job. There appears to be from the horizon a minuscule column of smoke, likely from a campfire.

He briefly takes notice and mutters an "oh shit" under his breath, then proceeds to make stern eye contact with the stranger and his pokémon. Meanwhile, he begins scanning the intruder. What secrets does this man hold? As he probed, he finds out things that bring a chill down his spine.

The "ranger" manages to muster enough fortitude to keep his mutterings internal. He was dealing with someone from the Phantom Class. Fortunately, he though, he was unreadable by anyone who could sense that, and his illusions were usually quite convincing. There was one problem, though.

Whether his companions were in his effective range.

Edited by MasterJayAM on May 23rd 2021 at 11:24:17 PM

Shadesen

-Follows-

Hammerlocke Banquet, May 11

-To Gale-

Anyone who wants to come can come, really.

Stormchaser, far past

-Eyebrow raise-

Isle of Armor, past

-To Abilene-

Er, drugs aren't really my thing, even at reasonable prices.

Wyndon Stadium Stands

-Hatty jumps off her head to try and avoid getting pummeled by hailstones. Evelyn covers her head.-

Evelyn: Ow ow ow ow...

Wyndon Stadium, Ian VS Daisuke

Me: Yuki, use Blizzard again!

Daisuke: -quietly- Matilda, use Mystical Fire!

-Yuki swirls a powerful surge of frigid wind and snow around her body and launches the swirling snowy storm at Matilda, who chants something silently and surrounds herself in a crimson aura. She makes gestures with her braided claw-arm and draws out a glowing red magic circle in the air in front of her.-

-A pulse is emitted by the magic circle, followed by an arcane blast of fire colored crimson, orange, blue and purple which intercepts the Blizzard attack.-

-The two attacks meet in the middle and explode in a beautiful display of red and blue sparkles. Then the hailstones bring the pain again.-

Daisuke, Piku-chan, Matilda and I: Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.

Me: Yuki! Use -ow- Shadow Ball!

Daisuke: Matilda, -ow- use -ow- Shadow Claw!

-Yuki conjures an orb of shadowy energy between the palms of her hands, as Matilda surrounds her hair-hand in a similar shadowy aura. Matilda throws herself at Yuki and tries to claw at her, who throws the Shadow Ball at Matilda. Matilda's Shadow Claw grazes Yuki's snow-cloaked form (556 points are added to Ian's score) as Yuki's Shadow Ball nails Matilda right in the face.-

Hammerlocke Banquet

Me: Odd, yes... But not impossible...

-Ian then thinks to himself-

Me: -thinks to self- And under normal circumstances, I'd be on the floor crying, devastated that my chances of making new friends were ruined by forces beyond my control...

-He then looks at his reflection in the screen of his Xtransceiver, and sees Joybringer looking back at him.-

Me/Joybringer: -thinks to self- Ever since I obtained this mysterious power, I feel like I'm fully capable of doing something about it...

Evelyn: Ian? Is something the matter?

-Ian snaps out of his reverie and falls backwards.-

Evelyn: On second thought... Maybe it's better I not ask...

Me: So anyways, anything you two like to eat?

Wild Area, Bond or Break

Gallag: <Whoa, you, like, totally found me out! Well, I suppose I have to test you and all that. Well, here's something that you should know... Do I like fighting?>

Ballonlea Stadium Lobby (Past)

Evelyn and I: TO KALOS!

Prector III

-Gale tries her best to hide how much she wants to suggest just leaving these guys with a decent share of supplies and leaving. She knew they probably weren't going to mean any harm but there was a vibe going on that unsettled her a little. Eventually, however, she pushed past with a fairly important question-

What precisely disqualifies my Captain and I presume the rest of this crew? Is it just like, outsider status or..?

Hammerlocke Banquet, Dragons

-The Luperian dragon/person lets out a fairly audible squeak as they are beset upon by big snuggly spider that they proceed to snuggle and hug against. If one were listening closely they might notice an almost purr-like sound emanating from Luperian. Takcorian sure notices and rolls their eyes... With a soft smile-

Takcorian: Oh I am quite the culinary fan. Personally me and Lulu prefer meat but it's probably not a species thing because our dear mom was an absolute fiend for sweets. I had a love of cooking instilled from a young age and when I say 'prefer' I don't mean it's exclusively what I enjoy, I make some incredibly baller macaroons from time to time.

Hammerlocke Banquet, Gale

Very well. I shall await the call to action. As well as our match, of course.

-Gale shoots a wink-

I should be getting back on-camera to wrap up. Talk to ya later.

Arthur and his team followed.

<It has nothing to do with the crew, many of you would be allowed to join if you so wished. Your captain however he is... very discordant, being a Mandacario involves knowing the path you walk and who you are. His shadow is very distorted, I see several versions of him walking the same line,> The Armorer explained.

Silas blinked, "What?"

<Your partner could join for instance, her shadow is very much harmonized. She knows who she is, the path she walks, and the confidence it carries.>

Silas looked to Roxy, who shrugged, "I'm Roxanne Ribeon-Grant. I was once a Sylveon just called Ribbon, I had to make my own path in life after being abandoned as a runt. I'm an adventurer and no matter what, I am Roxy."

Silas looked to the Armorer, "Knowing who you are?"

The armorer nodded, <Tell me, what is the name you go by?>

"Silas."

<And the other you?>

Silas frowned, "He is also Silas."

<No he is not, that... is a lie,> The Armorer stated.

Silas frowned, Roxy sighed, "He goes by Stylus. That was the name he had when I first met him."

Silas frowned, "I'm guessing that's not the only other shadow there."

<I do see multiple, you are discordant... an issue with masks it seems. I could not grant you pathway as a Mandacario, for another mask would just render you further split.>

Silas leaned back, Roxy blinked, "What about Gale here?"

<She may be discordant but she may be able to sort through her... unusual shadow.>

"Aura sight to see who we are" Silas muttered before eating a bit of the food.

Hacks frowned as well, ~Well... is there something we could do?~

The Armorer tilted her head a bit, <Perhaps... would you be interested in doing so?>

"Just relaxing and staying out of the sun," Mercury answered, waving his stump at the 'Ranger'.

"I'll be gone in a bit, just waiting for the next bus to run through."

Dante and Vergil however stared at the Ranger, Vergil closing his book, <An unusual fellow.>

<Yeah doesn't exactly seem quite real does he?>

Shadesden

-Hazel follows on.-

Hammerlocke Feast

Jane: You know, for all the time you spent down in the Stormchaser, I still find it weird that you've never met Dr. Tagg.

Tommy: I know right? I kinda hoped that we'd get to interview him directly but Gavin only got to him through a questionnaire sheet he distributed. That said, they were pretty busy. But wouldn't it have been neat to meet him in person.

Jane: We're in the same building right now. We'll get that chance soon enough.

An oricorio lands near Jane and Tommy. She seems quite happy.

Jane: And right on cue.

Fetch: ~You'll never guess who's free right now? That's right. Doc Richard himself. He's over yonder. I know you two are just psyched to seem him.~

Jane: Show us the way.

Tommy started making gaping noises before lapsing into a cartoonish state of catatonia. Jane would've joined him, but she managed to keep her cool at the last minute.

Jane: Oooh, Tom, we should get our picture taken with him.

Tommy did affirmative gaping noises. She took this as a sign to walk toward wherever Tagg is. On his end, Tagg would meet a short, dorky looking young man with a joltik on his head, a statuesque young woman with a pa'u-style oricorio on her left shoulder, a gallade, and a floating rotom phone. The male is waving awkwardly while having a frozen, star-struck look on his face.

Jane: Oh, my God. Dr. Richard, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Big fans of your work, by the way. We're Geographic Society correspondents. Jeanette Harvey, and this is my friend Thomas Andrew Petersen.

Tommy: Hi.

Jane: We're not after an interview today, though. We were just hoping to take a picture.

Orren Oasis

Ranger: Fine. Be on your way. But I'll be keeping an eye on you until then. Wouldn't want anything to happen to a civilian, after all.

The "ranger" kept his eyes fixed on the intruder and his companions. No one intrudes on their oasis. The fewer people know about this place, the safer he and his two companions would be be. Havens like this aren't especially common in Orre, and fewer have been so fortuitous as to be abandoned. He's not about to let a Phantom alumnus lead the Templars back to their only refuge.

An oasis that was uninhabited was rare. Most oases in the Orren desert become towns. And true enough, there was an abandoned town of adobe brick where he and his two companions decided to live. It even had a functional bus stop so they can sneak into town to buy supplies and sell the bits of scrap metal they've been salvaging from the place with the mummies.

It was a tough existence, but it saved them the trouble of turning to crime and kept them well supplied. More importantly, it kept them out of anyone's radar.

Right now, though, that bus stop seemed more of a liability than an asset now.

He could keep the intruder convinced. Months ago, he was able to read every minute detail of an actual ranger who escorted them out of the last oasis they were in. (How was he supposed to know that hunting pokémon for food was restricted to specific months in a national park!?) His powers of illusion could keep the charade well. They felt real, and very convincing.

The only bit of perception he couldn't alter well was smell. He had been hoping the smoke from his companions' bonfire would blow away from them, but it seems that the wind was not on their side.

The intruder may very well smell not only mesquite smoke, but also the odor of roasting ampharos mutton.

Stormchaser, Training Bay

Daydre's not observant enough to catch the brief flash. She does, however, frown again as Fray is hit.

... I know it was my command to put her to sleep but that still doesn't feel right. Sylvie, how're you doing?

Sylvie is in the middle of being stuck in webbing and taking another Surf.

Sylvie: ~I can... still fight!~

.. Okay, coming from you I know that means you're almost at your limit. Can you hold on one more round and leave our opponents a surprise?

Sylvie: ~Of course!~

While still trying to maneuver herself through the sticky silk surrounding her, Sylvie sees a vision of the future involving Pippy.

Studio Palace

"... Oh boy. Of course this can't be easy."

Daze summons Huli-jing, who hangs back and plots what to do next.

Isle of Armor, Sometime

Abilene: What? No, these aren't—

-she pinches the bridge of her nose-

Abilene: -shoving her coat into her Bag- It's just...herbal medicine and leafy Vitamins. Certain individuals whose spending habits I shall not disparage to their faces pay quite a bit for the "organic" and "GMO-free" tags attached to the product.

-demonstratively, she pops one in Castanea's mouth—he shudders, involuntarily-

-but look at the rosy sheen to that grimace-

(-to wash it down, he dismembers another Skorupi and drinks it, venom-first-)

Abilene: -retrieving a Pecha Berry- It pays the bills. And so does the image, typically. The weed is in my other coat.