Tower of Darkness

Rakshasa, use Zen Headbutt!

Rakshasa: -Runs at the other Kubfu with a glowing forehead-

Kubfu: -Detects Rakshasa's Zen Headbutt and dodges it-

Mustard: I'll show you what Kubfu's fists can really do! Use Aerial Ace!

Kubfu: -Slashes at Rakshasa-

Rakshasa: -Is brought down to half health- <Ack!>

Remember your training Rakshasa!

Rakshasa: <Right!>

-Glows before punching the other Kubfu in the face-

Kubfu: -Is brought down to under half health- <Ack!>

Mustard: Another Aerial Ace!

Kubfu: -Does so-

Rakshasa: -Is brought down to the red as his fist starts glowing-

Mustard: Kubfu, quickly!

Rakshasa, use Focus Punch!

Rakshasa: -Sends his fist into Kubfu's face just as he's about to finish him off-

Kubfu: -Goes flying into the wall that Cam so coincidentally was sticking his head through before dropping unconscious-

Outside

Cam: -Is knocked back- <Ack!>

Doppler: -Catches him with telekinesis before the Inteleon can fall off the Tower-

Hitodama: -Floating back down- <You should've gone higher.>

Isle of Armor - July 4th

-Kahlia looks between Silas and Roxy, pretends to connect the dots that she'd already connected herself, and grins.-

Kahlia: ...Ohhhhhh. Well, I would go ahead and introduce myself, but I'd say the most dashing of Rogues already did a pretty decent job of that, so I'll just say that it's a pleasure to meet the both of you~

-She rolls over so that she's now peering at Mason from over the headboard of the sunbed, a margarita procured from seemingly out of nowhere in the process.-

Kahlia: Apparently so! But then you seem to be quite the social butterfly yourself, Mr Crimeboy. Or should that be Mr Nasty...? Either way, my point is that you never mentioned having a squeeze of your own~

Oblivion Wing - July 4th

-Alice shoots the contractor a withering glare as they go, before seeing Kai's message and typing out a terse response.-

-She sighs and just slumps into one of the swirly chairs in the CIC, letting it spin around several times before addressing Bishop.-

Alice: ...Let's go with that last one, shall we? It's always wise to have someone at the helm, and a second pair of eyes never hurts. Bring up the mission logs for me. I could do with having something to distract myself.

Edited by Herbert40k on Jul 5th 2021 at 2:20:42 PM

Roxy smirked a bit at Khalia and stretched, the sunlight seeming to catch on her abdomen and abs, she let out a bit of a groan, "J'espère que tu passes un bon moment, chère Khalia~" she said.

She did a bit of a twist and walked over to Gale, swaying her hips a little, "What delights have you brought today, Miss Gale?" she asked, keeping the Kalosian accent up a little.

Bishop tilted his head back and forth, electric zapping noises coming from the area where his neck would be, "I understand your distaste for anyone affiliated with Rocket Records Commander. I myself am displeased that my home has become so foreign my company cannot repair it. However I'd rather deal with the Fat Cat Man than owe that funny little coffee addict in orbit another favor. Fat Cat at least owes us."

Bishop started to pull up mission reports, "We've been relatively quiet recently, so I've largely been spending time not dedicated to organizing the family schedule, on base hunting. I have not been successful so far but I am dedicating my time to dealing with the Pokefutures side of our hunts, the Guild can wait, too many attacks may solidify their efforts and their current internal spiral downwards is advantageous to us."

He pulled up a CCTV recording of what looked to be several Guild Agents hunting down a Hunter, "Saffron City got hit recently and another Guild agent was captured. Deposited off at Interpol for processing, the Guild is hemorrhaging and may become unstable enough we can start sowing descent."

He pulled up a big file, "This however is the current project, Commander, have you heard of the organization called The Warehouse?"

Edited by EchoingSilence on Jul 5th 2021 at 6:48:36 AM

Tower of Darkness

Mustard: -Recalling Kubfu- Excellently done you two, excellently done.

-Laughing-

You have done well, very well indeed, in raising Rakshasa to this level of strength!

-Turning to the scroll overlooking the arena-

Now Rakshasa, you are ready to observe the Scroll of Darkness.

-To Rakshasa-

Go on.

Rakshasa: -Walks forward and observes the scroll, taking it in before he starts glowing-

Wyndon Stadium

Kim: "Well. I suppose we should be taking our leave now, yes?"

Elton: <You bet! I can't wait to go to Circhester and battle Melony!>

Circhester Stadium— Pitch

(Eventually, Kim steps out onto the pitch, and soon comes face-to-face with Melony herself. She smirks, taking out a PokeBall.)

Kim: "Well. Long time coming, I must say.")

Melony: "Indeed. And you are?"

Kim: "Kimberly Bond. I've come to battle you."

Melony: "I see. I'm impressed you managed to get here without falling through any holes. Anyways..." (She takes out her own PokeBall.) "I suppose we should get started."

Kim: "I suppose we should."

BATTLE BEGIN

Melony: "Very well, then." (She throws her PokeBall.) "Frosmoth! Let's do this!"

(The ball opens, and a Frosmoth promptly appears from it.)

Frosmoth: <Greetings.>

Kim: "Ah. Hello there. I have a Bug-type of my own who is willing to take you down." (She throws her own PokeBall in the air.) "Red alert, George!"

(The ball opens, and George appears, glaring over at the Frosmoth.)

George: <Hello.>

Frosmoth: <Ah. So you have a Centiskorch. Well. I suppose I'll have to watch out, then.>

George: <You will.>

Frosmoth: <Oh... you are on.>

Hasslemon

CB: Dio? Who's...

RP: Allow me.

holyGlider (HG) joined the conversation.

HG: HELLO THERE! WHO ARE YOU?

RP: Dio, this is Lithium. He was abandoned by his old Trainer just like you.

HG: NO WAY...! I'M SORRY THAT THAT HAPPENED TO YOU...

CB: Ah, i7's fin3 now. I hav3 a n3w 7rain3r, and 7ha7's all 7ha7 ma773rs.

CB: ...Dar3 I ask wha7 happ3n3d to Pip3r?

The Wild Area

(Oliver promptly calms down.)

Oliver: "O-oh... okay. So... how are you doing?"

The Stormchaser

THE FOLLOWING WILL CONTAIN NEAR-DIRECT TRANSCRIPTIONS OF THE CRASHBOX GAMES "POOP OR SCOOP" AND "HAUNTED HOUSE PARTY" AS FEATURED IN EPISODE 40 OF CRASHBOX

ALL FACTS USED FOR "POOP OR SCOOP" CAME STRAIGHT FROM THE POKEDEX

Edited by OPALGARNET16 on Jul 5th 2021 at 10:30:57 AM

Tower of Darkness

-The glow subsides, and a Single Strike Urshifu is left in Rakshasa's place-

Urshifu!Rakshasa: -Speaking with a noticeably deeper voice- <I feel as if... the darkness cloaks me.>

I... think I'm gonna need to get you a bigger hoodie.

Mustard: Behold! Before you stands Urshifu, an unyielding armor that will shatter any blade turned against it... And it has mastered the style of darkness!

-Laughing-

Ha! You've certainly grown, haven't you Rakshasa? And to think, not long ago you were still an inexperienced novice. But now, thanks to Tagg you've grown quite nicely. Indeed, no matter how old I get, witnessing someone grow always brings joy to my heart. Now we need to head to the dojo for the final test, but that can wait somewhat.

-Slightly confused-

Final test?

Mustard: I can tell you're a bit confused, but you'll see once we're back. But first you should go collect your party from outside.

Challenge Road

Cam: -Looking at Rakshasa- <Wow, I'm impressed.>

Pugh: -Immediately starts punching at Rakshasa- <Fight!>

Rakshasa: -Easily blocks all the strikes-

Stormchaser, roof

Ever: You're so lovely, both of you. Wonderful parents. Wonderful friends.

-they sway gently in place, like they weigh nothing at all-

You're off-base. It's not about doing something I hate for the sake of others, or taking some burden on my shoulders. I don't care about that. I wouldn't do something I didn't enjoy.

It's just that there's nothing else I really want to do. That's all, really.

-...-

Ever: I'm gonna go take a nap, I think, if there's nothing more you need? Been a long day.

{REDACTED}, Safe House

Neodymium: ~Haha, I bet I know why!~

~I don't know many people my age, right? And I'm pretty sure neither do you. So I think we're supposed to be frie-ends!~

-she punctuates this by blinking some lasers with her fingers, bouncing them off the network of Light Screens-

Neodymium: ~Cause I might die, but you're definitely gonna have to actually grow up and be a person. And you're not super good at it, Beryllium!~

-she turns and sticks out her tongue at Bela-

Didit: -looks as though she's considering taking up smoking-

Edited by memyselfandI2 on Jul 5th 2021 at 8:22:17 AM

Oblivion Wing - July 4th

-Alice sighs at Bishop.-

Alice: I know. I don't begrudge a hardworking employee for their employer alone. Goodness knows I can't throw stones on that front. I'm just... my mood is not particularly buoyant at present, and so I would rather not hear about Gio, or Whiptail, or any of the other villains that the machinations of fate seem intent on forcing upon me.

-She skims through the reports provided idly.-

Alice: The Guild's hardly struggling. Not when we're doing their dirty work half the time. You might as well try and bleed a megacorporation dry by insisting it actually pay tax every once in a while. Still, I agree, the proliferation of Pokefutures successors is a point of concern. They really are like roaches, aren't they? Stamp them out as hard as you please, they'll still be the ones scuttling over the ruins in the end.

-She stops at the last name Bishop mentioned, and pulls up the file.-

Alice: ...The name's arisen on my periphery before. One that would warrant further investigation were it not for the fact that I have limited resources and must prioritise immediate threats. Care to provide the cheat sheet version?

{REDACTED}, Safe House

Bela: ~Gah!~

-Neodymium's "attack" causes her to fall off the bunk she was sitting on, and she responds by telekinetically hurling a canteen bottle across the room.-

Bela: ~No! We're not friends! We can't be friends! Friends aren't allowed! Not that I even want a friend anyway. Especially not one like you.~

-She huffs, sits herself back up, and folds her arms.-

Bela: ~Besides, Templars don't have friends. Nor does Alumnus Forty-Two, I bet. Therefore I'll do just fine without any of that. So... nyeah.~

Stormchaser, Roof

-Vee looks stricken-

-she opens her mouth to say something-

-...but turns her head, at the careful silence that means Pippy is not holding her back from something-

(-and he, on the other hand, doesn't...seem surprised-)

Pippy: -beam- <Nah, there's nothing. Thanks for the talk, Ever.>

Vee: <What? But—>

Pippy: -nods- <Sleep well, yeah? Talk to you tomorrow.>

Vee: <It's like noon—>

-Pippy wanders over to the Megan-containing bubble, and Vee boggles-

{REDACTED}, Safe House

-oof-

-speaking of whomst, in another room, the resident friendmaker's napping-

-she's carefully trimmed her neurons to enable a slumber sitting up, with perfect posture at attention, hands folded and legs crossed-

-ready to wake at the first psychic ping that fires across her bows, and spring into conversation as if she wasn't sleeping at all-

Molybdenum:

-make no mistake, though, she sleeps like the fucking dead-

Isle of Armor, Silasbirth

-even with Daydre's hand on her shoulder, Megan maintains the polite, sunny smile until the super-drama's played itself out-

Megan: -possibly audible to akuma sense bad vibes beacon- I have no idea who that is

-...and Alice storms off, and Kahlia takes her place, triumphant-

-Daydre might be able to feel the micron she slumps, tension leaving her frame-

Megan: -to her- ...we should be social, right? That's a thing we should be doing, at parties?

-...Megan's put her hand on Daydre's, on her shoulder, unconsciously-

-just kinda resting it there-

-and unless she meets any resistance, she starts forward in Kai's direction because Azelf I don't know why I'm going in this direction what am I doing aaaaa-

Edited by Asterisk395 on Jul 6th 2021 at 10:01:53 AM

Isle of Armor

-Gale's eyes light up behind the sunglasses when she spots the medallion-

Oh hey! That's all the badges. Did you also take on the Championship or is that still to come?

-She ponders something for a moment-

If you have, sorry I've missed it. That said if you want an adventure I could probably like... I dunno, see if I can scrounge up something or alternately you could go a-wandering and see what trouble turns up.

-And speaking of trouble turning up, here's Roxy-

Yo, Roxy! I have some solid stuff here. I prepped a beef mince for burgers in case you have a grill out here but if you don't I still have a box full of slow cooked lamb, a really nice custom coleslaw and of course it ain't a birthday party if I don't bake some kind of cake-like object which is why one of these boxes has a caramel mud cake.

Isle of Armor Beach

"No, not really. I mean, we just haven't really had the same motivation to clear the final tick," she shrugged. "I don't know why either; probably because there's a lot of pressure. More than normal, anyway."

And then Pent turns to Roxy.

She's not certain if she should chuckle or recoil at the mention of "slow-cooked lamb", so her reaction ends as more of a stifled chuckle.

Stormchaser, Roof

Ever: Cool. Thanks. Yeah, good talk.

Sorry. This was supposed to be about you. Uh...yeah. You should...take care of yourself. People love you. You seem stressed. Communicate.

-they slide down the side of the ship-

{REDACTED}, Safe House

-Light Screens, as commonly noted, are not of much use against physical objects, so even if the telekinesis is dampened passing through them, the actual canteen doesn't slow much-

-Neodymium yelps and ducks-

-but like any teenager made aware she's found a nerve, she pursues it-

Neodymium: ~Molybdenum has friends! She brings me stuff from them! Like the lady she was working with last month, or her ex from the bridge! So you gotta learn how to make friends too, or they probably won't let you graduate!~

-she wiggles her fingers in what she clearly thinks is a menacing way-

Didit: ~Children, please refrain from doing anything that makes me need to wake up Molybdenum.~

The ground shook, Silas looked to everyone else, "Bishop, return to the Wing and prep for takeoff... now."

Bishop vanished from Silas's helmet, Roxy stretched, before darting out, "Move it people! We've got something!"

Arthur recalled Hayden and got moving, "Feels like I'm back in the Argentverse..." he muttered.

The klaxons started to go off, the drone reports came in... something was most certainly moving under the snow, it was large and metallic... and in came a large clicking noise, a singular red glow appeared under a snow drift...

Seems Metanet had left a defender.

The door clicked open, letting Kitbash in. The Rooftops were clear and Delta opened another door, Zatarra forcing it open with psychic might. The interior hallways were clear and dimly lit, much of the staff having gone home for the evening.

And then... just for an instant, what looked to be somebody in shiny chrome armor walked by, Kitbash had he done his research would recognize it as a minion of Lightwave.

The strings cut, Hettfield dropped Isabelle, Daniel barely had time to react before Knight shot out and struck Hettfield in the face with a focus punch. The Banette went flying and so did Daniel, he struck a wall and groaned.

Jackal quirked a brow... and then grinned, "Oh... look at that, it was a reaction to remove him from our client buuuuuuuuuuut... Tell me, shouldn't ghost types be unaffected by fighting moves? Seems something wrong here finally adds up in our favor."

Daniel groaned a bit as Jackal marched forward, gripping him by the collar.

Shadow-Isabelle got up, "Ughn... where the hell am I?" She looked about, saw the Phantom Thieves, "The hell are you doing in my palace?"

She saw Daniel, "The hell is that asshole doing here! I broke up with him months ago!"

Daniel blinked, "Uh... huh..."

Jackal took a deep inhale, and a smile appeared on his face, "Alright... who wants to ask Daniel here some questions. I've got him in hand and quite frankly he's now up against an army of us... your persona isn't exactly proper is it?"

"Uh..."

"Step right up everyone! Ask the questions."

Silas perked up at the mention, "Caramel Mud Cake?"

~Oh man that sounds real good,~ Hacks commented.

"It's Gale, of course it's good!" Roxy countered, "You watch her cooking streams!"

Snakeye wheeled the grill over to Gale, <Care to demonstrate to the plebs here how to cook?>

"I have run the calculations Commander. It is hemorrhaging, it is suffering from internal bleeding yet run undiagnosed, and by the time they realize it will be far too late. I monitor the networks and many Hunters are reporting dissatisfaction, the Big 3 have become enemies among the lower rungs," Bishop started.

"I may not be able to find them but their networks are no longer safe, much like all organic life they presume far too much security when the truth is further from. I have been upgrading my own systems with each piece of new technology we grab, with each system we hit, I absorb new information, update, and I become faster... smarter. I am very well on my way to becoming something more Commander, you may be terrified of the end result..."

He hung there for a moment, his eyes almost seeming to glow, "You should not fear the end result, I wish to see wrongs righted, and I wish to see these criminals who have hurt so many put away properly. Rest assured that we are on the right track."

The file on The Warehouse was massive, absolutely massive, notes of history, mentions in idle conversation, possible government and criminal underworld ties. Possible locations of their meeting place, names of warehouse locations.

"The Warehouse is possibly the largest criminal black market in existence and would be how the Pokefutures Remnants keep getting genetic stock for their experiments, as well as weapons and equipment. Supposedly founded in the late 1700s the Warehouse was supposed to be a Gentleman's club, though a fire at their home building put an end to that."

Images of what looked to be club rings came up, "It may be conspiratorial but the pokefutures documents we've been recovering keep mention a W13, and a few even say that they'll need stock from "The Warehouse". I've been scanning all active networks, if I can find that, we can cripple the supply line," Bishop explained.

Studio Palace

-To Daniel-

Well the first and most pertinent is who do you work for?

Master Dojo, today

-To Mustard-

...So what is that final test?

Mustard: Well, Urshifu has a Gigantamax form too, you know, but they don't really care for Max Mushrooms so Max Soup is out of the question.

Rakshasa: <It tastes gross.> >_<

Mustard: That is, unless you can sweeten the deal, if you catch my meaning. As for what can do that, it's found on the Isle of Armor and it's... Well, I've forgotten what it is right now so you'll have to figure it out on your own.

He didn't actually forget, did he?

Mustard: Between you and your friends, I'm sure you can figure it out.

Outside the Dojo, a few minutes later

-To no one in particular-

"Sweeten the deal", he says. But what on this island is like that?

Rakshasa: <What if we ask the Masters? I know when the other Urshifu are ready they put... something in their Max Soup.>

-To Rakshasa-

They'd probably say it's part of the test.

Isle of Armor

Shaun: "Yeah I need a drink already and I'm just spectating."

-He pulls out his flask and takes a swig from it. Jessica sort of...realizes there's nowhere to go so she just hovers.-

Jessica: "Well, I mean, we do tend to rehab criminals? Echo and Gabrielle and...actually like half of Mobius, apparently."

-She just kinda...popcats, awkwardly. Popfox.-

Jessica: "Helps that she's hotter than Ho-Oh, too."

Shaun: "Please, mister Nasty was his father, and mister Crimeboy was his other father."

-No comment on being the squeeze though. He doesn't know that Mason's projecting the fake Rogue, and he also doesn't know Rogue's identity. But Shaun's instincts are pretty good - not quite an RPG compass, just some mind of sixth sense - so he refrains from kissing Mason. Even if he really wants to.-

Shaun: -to Snakeye- "Hey, I ain't half bad at grilling. You learn to cook food over a fire pretty quickly, unless you like eating your fish raw. Which, if you're tired..."

-He starts eyeing the water hungrily.-

Shaun: "But Gale's here, so I don't have to spear Barboach and suplex Whiscash for dinner. Whiscash's better fried than grilled or roasted anyway. And she is the resident cook, after all."

-Quietly, he steps over to Silas and pulls out a roughly twelve-inch (or thirty centimeter) cube of something, wrapped in royal blue paper with a silver bow around it.-

Shaun: "Here, where should I put it? Quickly, before people realize I care about you and treasure our friendship."

-It's dripping with sarcasm, and yet...-

Edited by SwiftSeraph on Jul 7th 2021 at 11:15:30 AM

Circhester, Hero's Bath

-Ian, Evelyn, Piku-chan and Hatty all have their strength completely restored during their soak in the Hero's Bath.-

Me: Ah, that felt nice.

Evelyn: Now let's get to the stadium. Kim's Gym Battle is coming up.

-Ian and Evelyn call Piku-chan and Hatty back to them as they head back into the changing rooms to dry off and change into their regular clothes.-

Circhester Stadium, Stands

-Ian and Evelyn then sit down to watch the battle.-

Me: I sure hope we didn't miss anything...

Hasslemon

Wild Area

Aurelia: Doing fairly well. How have you been?

Lee House, Living Room

Evelyn: Sounds like quite the adventure! Count us in!

Studio Palace of the Maiden's Heart

Joybringer: And secondly, why do you wish to control her, even when she said she wanted nothing to do with you?

Master Dojo

Korexis: <Sweet! Something sweet! Like sugar! Caramel! Mmm...>

Channah: Yes. I bet that's what he means. Because I totally understand everything that's going on. Also I don't think I've ever said hi to you, Rakshasa. Hi.

Korexis: <Marshmallow fluff!>

Channah: Exactly. Yep.

Isle of Armor

Rakshasa: -To Channah and Korexis- <Those don't sound like things you put in a soup...>

I don't know, the curry's pretty out there since I'm pretty sure they put souls in it...

Akiko: <Well Rakshasa's a bear so, what about honey?>

PEFE HQ

Helios: -Starts looking around- <Thought someone said something related to me.>

Isle of Armor

-To Akiko-

Honey, huh? Well, the Max Mushrooms are enriched with Galar particles I believe, so it might be a special sort of honey that we need rather than taking a trip to a Poké Mart.

Rakshasa: <Now that I think about it, I think there is this one island that has a bunch of Combee hives to the north of the Tower of Waters...>

Let's check there out then. You coming Channah? You've been kinda quiet these past couple months.

Edited by rmctagg09 on Jul 7th 2021 at 3:17:12 PM

Isle of Armour

Channah: -ambling after- Maybe I was talking this whole time and you just didn't hear it. Or it was actually a soulless husk of a replica that took my place while I went on vacation-

Korexis: <...> -jumps- <HONEY MUSTARD!>

Wild Area

Vana: I think I have to go as well. If I don't the school will come after me.

Hoops: I... I understand. I wish I could stop you, but let's face it, I barely know you.

Vana: Don't worry, I'll see you again.

And then Vana leaves, taking Hummy and her newly caught Spinny with her. Somehow, she is less scared now of the pokemon in the wild area. She doesn't look back.

Hammerlocke, The Day After Vana

Hoops sits on a bench outside the pokemon centre that is closest to Hammerlocke stadium. Luxray, who still has not returned to his pokeball since they left the hospital.

Hoops: Do you think she's okay?

Luxray: <Well, Young Mixter, I can't say that I've formulated any new opinions since you last asked me five minutes ago. I think that I do not know.>

Hoops: I should have gotten her to stay. She's just a kid, she's too young to decide to go back to a place like that.

Luxray: <And perhaps too young to decide to leave.>

Hoops decides to change the subject. Debating with Luxray is usually an exercise that doesn't go anywhere.

Hoops: They should be here soon.

Luxray: <Yes. Have you decided what you are going to say to your friends?>

Hoops: It's not them that I'm worried about. Kim has Kec and the others with her, and I don't know how I can apologise for everything I said and did.

Luxray: <Would it help if I returned to my pokeball?>

Hoops: No. Hiding my mistakes won't fix anything. All we can do for now is wait.

Isle of Armor

-To Channah-

I'd hope not, I already had to deal with one person being enthralled without my knowledge for a month.

Honeycalm Island, a few minutes later

-Getting off the bike-

Okay, now to find that honey.

-Sniffing-

Smelling something really sweet in that tree at the center.

Hitodama: <If Helios was here he would've found it already...>

Doppler: <If this honey is like the Max Mushrooms, we should expect something Dynamax related, like how they seem to grow more after we do Max Raid Battles.>

Right.

This feels like a bad idea...

-Prepares to start shaking the tree-

Edited by rmctagg09 on Jul 6th 2021 at 5:01:46 AM

Honeycalm Island

Channah: -regarding the tree suspiciously- I've never been a huge fan of tree-shaking... The only thing I ever got out of it - in Sinnoh at least - was angry Aipoms. It's not fun getting smacked point-blank with an Aipom tail and the whole team laughing at the hand-print on your face for the rest of the day.

Honeycalm Island

In Alola it was constantly Crabrawler, here it's Skwovet and Greedent...

-Starts shaking the tree-

???: <TRYING TO STEAL MY HONEY, ARE YOU?>

That ain't no squirrel...

Well I can barter if you'd lik-

???: <NO EXCUSES!>

Ah fuck.

-A giant Vespiquen arm reaches out of the Power Spot atop the tree and drags us inside-

Honeycalm Island

Channah: AH FUCK