Wild Area - Aurelia in Adversity

-Aurelia's gambit seems to catch Ferrum off-guard, and he stumbles and curses as he's hit by the Shadow Sneak from behind.-

Ferrum: Grngh... you're gonna pay for that, you little brat!

-He wheels around and attempts to stab Aurelia with the sharpened rod in his grip. His Steelix, having apparently suffered a sudden lack of coordination when Ferrum was struck, is also hit hard by Mothra's boosted Flamethrower - but it endures, and retaliates by slamming its tail into the ground, sending a wave of razor-sharp rock flying at Mothra.-

-Meanwhile, the Bronzong, having downed Florence, turns its attention to Loki and attempts to charge-slam him with its bulk.-

Isle of Armor, July 4

-The next box that finds itself in Silas's hands isn't so much a box as it is a thick padded envelope. Inside, he would find a sturdy, roughly fist-sized metal device resembling something half-way between a laser pointer and a camcorder, with a small screen and a note attached.-

Edited by Herbert40k on Jul 23rd 2021 at 12:27:30 PM

Stormchaser, Outside Megan's Room

Megan may or may not hear one of her traps going off. Followed by some hushed cursing, the sound of something being left at her doorstep, and then the footsteps of someone running away.

Wild Area, Of Fire and Metal

-The sharpened rod in Ferrum's grip runs clean through the illusory double of Aurelia behind him. The Aurelia double Disappears into Light the same way the one Steelix crunched did.-

Me: Piku-chan, assist Mothra with your Iron Tail!

Piku-chan: <On it!>

-Piku-chan jumps in between Mothra and the Stone Edge attack, making his tail glow with a metallic sheen as he strikes the stone edge, hoping to break it before it does serious damage to Mothra.-

Me: Mothra, use Signal Beam on Bronzong!

-Mothra points her fiery horns at Ferrum's Bronzong and fires a peculiar ray of light from her horns, which converge and strike the Bronze Bell Pokémon.-

Radon: Try this on for size!

-Radon raises his arms, bringing his hands together and surrounds them in fire. He then clenches his fists and moves to throw a punch at Ian.-

Defiant Wing, Past

Rosemaster: -blank- ...'Bolts included?

Rosemaster: ...coerced?

-she contemplates theming—the gear and tackle included among Suiko's equipment not brought to bear against her and her resources-

(-Rosa accepts the unfamiliar Aura from Rogue with a sigh-)

(Rosa: <...mmm, nougat.>)

-in lieu of proper comment on Rogue's plan—there's only so much brainpower she has to spare, in as much pain as she is—but the shape of it, the use of field moves in this way, strikes her as...-

Rosemaster: -clenching fists until the leather groans- ...Xerneas damn it all, Megan.-

-the transponder signal is utterly unhackable because they're plants!!!-

Rosemaster: -suddenly sharp, hearing Gaia—snaps fingers- Waluigi. Your endgame dose.

P!Poisoner: -splutter- W…Waluigi???

Alkahest: -preempting both the sibling retort and confession of losing it trying to stab Rogue, hands it over- <Here.>

Rosemaster: -accepting it—pulling out a white wood wand, which extends to proper cane length- I will...compensate you for its use...later. ...Now.

-the Obscura sprouting from her battered, bleeding arms soaks into the wood, spinning it about—drawing its tip to the junction where Castanea's control vanishes into the paneling-

-...she shudders and nearly falls, on the verge of dropping the syringe-

Castanea: -starting forward- <You're—beyond this, allow me—>

Rosemaster: Just. Sever your connection. Save yourself. Save these idiots.

Brace me.

Castanea: -detaching roots- <...>

-he does so, stifling his protests-

-...the vial darkens-

P!Poisoner: A...Rosemaster, what are you doing?

Rosemaster: -getting down on one knee- Hastening the process.

P!Poisoner: -urgent- What…chemical is that? Don't mess with my concoctions, you—shouldn't crack that open no matter what those gloves are made of, it'll kill you quick—

Rosemaster: -out of breath- What is my field of research?

-that venomous violet's now entirely opaque, and dark as night-

P!Poisoner: ...vampires?

-she jabs the needle into the wood-

-all the raw power instilled in the vines—Belly Drum-incited, Overgrown—turns on itself, drawing the vial's contents into the root network in one great systolic thump-

-with a gardener's expertise, the chemical permeates the system from heartwood to bark-

-and the whole network of vines and explosives crumbles to ash-

Rosemaster: -...collapsing, on both knees, now- -Your...move…..

(-Castanea supports her more fully—she coughs some blood onto the back of her hand-)

Heracross: -twitching- <I—!>

-and the vines just coming out of the woodwork all wither and die in the span of half a second-

Heracross: <—>

Heracross: -getting down, quiet- <...okay.>

Wisp: -haunting Rogue's comms…?- <I'm excited to find out~>

Wisp: -from outside, looking at the horizon, still Rising- <It better be quick, too! Logan's gonna be here any minute!>

Isle of Armor, Battle Court: Slightly Earlier to Now

Vee: -hisses at the Sun, shading the entire half of her body she can see from it-

Sun!Thespi: <Ooooh, things are heating up~> ^_^

Vee: -hisses at the somewhat smaller Sun Thespi is-

Megan: hweh

Vee: -recalls herself-

Pippy: -at Tendril- <...golly, but that victory screech is terrifying.>

Megan: -pointing- Aura plant! Aura plant!!

Pippy: <You know they've got skill when that move lands solidly.>

Megan: -waves- Oh, hi Channah!

Thespi: <You remembered her name> :o

Megan: -smile going a bit stiff- I may or may not have had it written into my brain in purple

Thespi: <...moving on!> :D

-...-

Megan: -to Ever- ...oh yeah, like mana trades in card games

-musing- I don't like those moves, but dang if they aren't effective

(Pippy: -contemplates Ever's battling style- :>)

Vee's Head: -pokes an eye out of the Ball, peeking- <I love that little Clobbopus.>

Thespi: -staring at the Kommo-O, enraptured- <Ooooooh, musical!> :D

Vee: <Fight thin's much bigger than you, kid. It only ever gets better.>

Pippy: <Awww, she ate a rock.>

-...-

Pippy: -shouting- <Cam be nimble!!>

Megan: ...even beyond the type stuff, there's a nice response pattern with what...body type? Fighting style, gets put into play next, huh?

Thespi: <Scrappy underdogs take on the masters!> >:D

Megan: I was thinking more like the uh

nimble long range against the heavy armored thing? close range slugger to get inside the long claws' grip…

-...-

-...-

-...-

Megan: ...o-oh.

Megan: Divine fury.

Vee: -as Dynamax clouds blot out the sun- <I wanna do that>

Galar!Thespi: <I want you to do that>

Vee: <Meg can you alter the Dynamax band to give me arms>

Pippy: <I know I'm supposed to chime in as the longsuffering voice of reason but I also want you to do that>

-the shockwave from the elemental punches rakes over the battlefield into the sidelines, wind ruffling hair/feathers/wings/etc. and nearly blasting their entire little blue huddle right over-

Vee: <Meg I want to do that>

Megan: -eyes wide- I am thinking about it

Pippy: -openly cackling-

-and it's over-

-...-

Megan: oh

Vee: -eye shimmering- secret mission, huh

Galar!Thespi: -giggling giddily-

Stormchaser, Megan's Room, Today

Megan: -lying in bed- Happy birthday.

Vee: -basking in the glow of stolen milestones, even now- <Happy birthday.>

-Vee shoots another "happy birthday" message to Arc via Hasslemon, including within the code for a virtual gift card for his favorite seafood establishment in Galar-

Pippy: -rolling over- <Let's not trap ourselves (and Ever) in a forest for months and months, yeah?> :>

Megan: -laughing weakly- Yeah…

-and lo! a Trap triggers-

Megan & Pippy & Vee: !!!

-whether by Stormchaser's grace or sheer luck, it's therefore one of the Hurl Traps to Alert Traps and not, like...one of the Rockfall Traps she also set up in that hallway-

-or Pitfall-

-or Reverse-

-or in the area closest to her door, Bubble-

-...suffice to say Vee tosses an eye or few into the pipes, peeking through carefully-placed lenses into the entryway-

(-rather than, for instance, lunging out trident blazing-)

(-they're skittish these days-)

Wyndon Hospital, Today(?)

Logan: Happy birthday.

Hiro: -in return- Happy birthday.

Abilene: -heavily bandaged, seething- Happy fucking birthday.

Logan: How did this not come up until now?

Hiro: -hands and eyes glowing- Probably the whims of the "oracles" that put us in contact.

Abilene: Are you done yet?

Hiro: You are...mental-compulsion free. Skin's getting a bit dry.

Logan: -tweaking her nose- I'm afraid that miscommunication station's terminal, though. Doctor prescribes talks, foresight, and slightly better-targeted mayhem.

Abilene: -groan- Shut up. For my gift, please go away.

Logan: -leaning on the wall- Sorry, already bought my sparkling company as your present. No regifting.

Hiro: -murmur- Is it "gauche" if I got you the same thing?

Abilene: -without heat- I hate you both. How did you even get in?

Logan: I am performing an investigation on the injuries you've received. It's even true, which I'm sure makes Mister Honest over there happy. -thumb-

Abilene: Typical. And you, Hero?

Hiro: Oh, I broke in.

Abilene:

Logan:

Hiro: -singing- Happy birthday to me...

Sitting on the table is a helmet, with a little tag attached that says,

The helmet has the stylings of a Vaporeon attached to it, as well as an ever present T-Visor. The Lens of which is corrective thankfully.

Stormchaser

-Vee receives a message in return-

Wyndon Hospital

???: Happy birthday, all of you.

-yeah, it's Ever, perched on the edge of the bed like a vulture-

Ever: (to Abilene) It's my pleasure to inform you that we have decided to offer you a position collecting the wandering souls of the dying. Act now, and we'll give you a cute keychain for your scythe and free drinks for the first kalpa.

-they look themself like they might be dead, but that's probably fine-

Stormchaser, Outside Megan's Room

The hall outside is devoid of people, though the sprung trap suggests that was not true a second ago.

There definitely isn't a Daydre, just out of sight, who twisted something after being launched by the trap and crawled away around a corner.

Other than that, Vee will see a poster tube placed neatly on the ground outside the door, wrapped with a little bow.

Wild area, Aurelia in trouble

Loki: (to Aurelia) <They'll be fine, hopefully. There are plenty of pokemon centers near here.>

Loki notices the Bronzong flying at him and darts out of the way last minute. He then starts dancing.

Loki used quiver dance!

With his speed boosted, Loki buzzes rapidly around the area.

Stormchaser, Megan's Room - Yesterday

Megan: -holding helmet- Awww, Silas. c:

...this probably has some cultural significance, huh.

Pipe!Vee: <Awww, kiddo.> c•

-calling back into the room- <False alarm, smells like Daydre!>

-Megan literally kicks the door down-

Megan: ...huh?

-she looks left, right...gaze falls on the triggered Traps-

Megan: -...wince- ...do...foxes land on their feet?

Vee: -lying- <We do! Open it open it—> .D

Megan: Open wh—

-and she sees the tube-

Megan: ...owo what's this

-rather delicately, she picks it up and undoes the bow, popping the tube open (pointing it away from her face, just in case)-

Wyndon Hospital

-Logan startles, and so does Abilene, mostly in the form of gardening implement to Memito throat-

(-since hospital staff likely would (and did) object to weapons in the treatment room, it did not exist a moment prior-)

Logan: ...huh.

(-because it's a Construct-)

(-indeed, in fact, in the form of a scythe-)

Hiro: -blink- Is that a yes?

Logan: -poke- ...should we be concerned you still have that juice in your system?

-at that slight disturbance, the scythe withers away, the Obscura seeping back into the...tattoos? she's...using as a medium??-

Abilene: -hands to her face- Obscura is fed by negative emotion and I am still in a lot of pain. Yvetal's graveside baby down, what the fuck did she hit me with...?

Hiro: -to Ever- You don't look okay.

Logan: Still impolite.

-to Ever- Are you okay? :c

Addie: <Where...? Where did they come from...??>

Hiro: -shrug- A good portion of the time, psychopomps aren't expected to look okay. You give me the impression that you're interested in being a kindly usher to the afterlife, though.

Abilene: -hands to face, still- Why the fuck not. Sure. I come from the land of life and death, where the midnight sun—wait. We learned this lesson.

What is the contract. Are there benefits. Do I get sick days. Is there—

Logan: Why are you considering this

Abilene: I have a newfound need to get an edge over a really irritating unquiet spirit. Shut up.

Stormchaser, Megan's Room

Luckily Daydre did not spring for a tube-based glitter bomb and nothing much happens when it's opened.

Inside is a rolled up canvas. If removed, two pieces of paper will fall out with it- one a scrap of looseleaf and the other a much nicer piece of cardstock.

"If the money is handled right, we can trace it," Jackal commented, "Now. How did you get it?"

Bishop popped out, "I can trace any and all electric transactions, it may take some time but I can-"

Daniel coughed and said weakly, "I was paid up front in cash. Anonymous transaction..."

"...Oh..." Bishop noted.

Jackal let go of Daniel and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "So... you're useless to us then. We got any way to permanently remove his Persona?"

Jackal straightened himself out, he was still sore, but he had a job to do "Alright, with the bombs out. Bishop, divert all non-critical power to the Magneto-lift. The Nacelles are a lost cause. Are there any inertial plates that still work?"

"A few Captain. I can probably take a Gee or two off," Bishop noted, "But that won't solve the problem of the sudden stop."

"You said we had solid fuel right? Activate verniers and begin emergency descent, that should help slow our fall."

Bishop nodded and reentered the ship, Jackal took a deep inhale, "Everyone prepare, you're about to feel some major pull."

There was a sudden shudder as the blare of rocket engines roared, the maneuvering thrusters began to roar. Everyone would feel some major pull against their bodies, Jackal stood strong, "I have not, come this far, to die now."

~Well put,~ Hayon noted.

Fox spoke, "If anyone has any psychic types, let them out now, telekinesis can ignore G-Forces!"

Silas looked over the widget, and just... smiled, he also looked forward to many more years knowing her. Roxy grinned, "Aawwww..."

Silas sighed, "Only a few more, then cake. Then campfire... sun only has another hour at best."

"Then tomorrow you got a job to run."

Silas exhaled in disappointment, "Yep. Always."

Silas picked up the last present and looked it over, slowly opening it.

Defiant Wing - With Roguemaster, far past

-As the vines are destroyed, Gaia heaves a sigh of relief and slumps against the wall as the strength in her legs finally gives out.-

Gaia: ...Finally. Victory. That was all... far harder... than necessary.

-With a grunt of pain, she reaches for her belt and retrieves a Pokeball, sending out an Exeggutor.-

Gaia: Bella... assist Rogue's team. Set up... Trick Rooms... throughout ship, use telekinesis... to slow descent. Brace us for landing.

Belladonna: ~Are you sure? You seem to be in a great deal of-~

Gaia: Just do it, Bella.

-Belladonna nods nervously with all three heads, and waddles off to go do as ordered. Gaia's gaze turns back to Rosemaster, glaring intensely at her as she collapses to her knees - then she sighs again, and looks to the Pernicious Poisoner instead.-

Gaia: ...Go. Take her... and go. Before I... change my mind.

Wild Area - Aurelia in Adversity

-Ferrum snarls in frustration as his weapon once again hits empty air.-

Ferrum: Rrrgh... you can't run forever, you little bitch! We're always gonna find you, no matter where you try to hide!

-He focuses his telepathy in an attempt to zero in on Aurelia's thoughts and pinpoint her location. Meanwhile, Piku-chan's Iron Tail does succeed in dulling the impact of Steelix's attack, but in response it just slams its tail against the ground again in an attempt to catch Piku-chan in the shockwave.-

-At the same time, the Signal Beam is enough to take Bronzong down before it can hit Loki - only for Ferrum's Corviknight to come swooping down a second later, trying to knock Loki to the ground with its wing.-

Edited by Herbert40k on Jul 24th 2021 at 5:16:19 PM

J-Con '21

"My Shiny Goodra," Kamui summarized.

Studio Palace, Past

"I don't know if that's even possible," Rn'L considered. "Personas are, after all, their users, if that whole "I am thou" thing is to believed. How does one remove someone... from themselves?"

Edited by AbsentCoder on Jul 24th 2021 at 12:01:14 PM

J-Con 2021

Kim: "Oh. I was... unaware..."

(She pauses for a few moments, then looks over at Kendall, then Kamui, then Sunny, then Roy, and then- breaks down in front of them with relief.)

Wyndon Hospital

-Ever, weirdly, doesn't so much as flinch at having a scythe swung at them-

Ever: It's a bit. I'm doing a bit. You are far too eager for a new job right now.

-they step down from the end of the bed-

I'm fine, Hiro. Logan. I'm not the one in the hospital right now.

-they blink at Addie-

Well, you know. I check the patient information on the regional hospitals to make sure nobody I know is there. Sometimes someone is so I pay a visit.

How are you holding up, Abilene?

Wild Area, Battle for Aurelia

Aurelia: I can help them heal until we get them to the Pokémon Center. Hikari, come on out, please?

-Aurelia presses the button on a Poké Ball which opens, revealing a Kirlia with silver hair and blue eyes.-

Hikari: <H-Hi... How may I assist you?>

Aurelia: Please use Heal Pulse on Florence...

Hikari: <Leave it to me.>

-Hikari focuses her mind and sends a silver and pink wave of soothing psychic light in Florence's direction.-

-Ian summons a shield of light to protect himself against Radon's fiery fist. He then surrounds his fist in a Reflect boxing glove and punches Radon right in the face.-

Me: Take this!

Radon: Argh!

-Radon is pushed backwards by the punch, surprised by his adversary's strength. Radon then raises one hand to the sky, as if to call something or someone down.-

Radon: TO ME, MY RAVAGER OF THE HEAVENS!

-With Radon's shout, Ravager, a mighty Aerodactyl descends from the heavens at high speeds towards Ian.-

Me: Piku-chan, use Thunderbolt! Mothra, use Psychic on Piku-chan!

-Mothra's eyes glow a gentle blue as she enshrouds Piku-chan in a psychic wave, keeping him off of the ground, so the Earthquake attack only hits Mothra. Piku-chan then surrounds himself in electricity and blasts the tactical Fossil Pokémon with lightning.-

Radon: How inconvenient! Ravager, use your Thunderbolt!

-Ravager recovers from Piku-chan's attack and surrounds himself in blue electricity which he then fires at Piku-chan!-

Me: Piku-chan, tails up!

-Piku-chan twists his body so his tail is pointing straight into the air like a lightning rod. When Ravager's Thunderbolt attack hits Piku-chan, Piku-chan absorbs the electrical energy with ease.-

Isle of Armor

-Rakshasa and I are looking out towards the sea-

Rakshasa: <So what will you do now? I have to stay on the Isle, of course.>

Well, next place I'd be visiting would be the Crown Tundra, Uxie said there's far more legendaries there, but also there's a bit of a family connection too. You can keep your Ball, makes things easier for you I'd imagine, unless someone came here with a Snag Machine or something.

Rakshasa: -Nods- <This whole training thing was... nice.>

Doc: <It was only for a couple months, but you really did feel like one of us.>

Akiko: -Nods- <We're gonna miss you.>

Edited by rmctagg09 on Jul 25th 2021 at 4:58:40 AM

Wild area, Aurelia in trouble

Florence stirs and sits up.

Florence: <...?>

Loki is slammed into the ground with the steel wing. He looks rattled but picks himself back up.

Florence: <Loki, I just had the best idea. Get me over to that Bronzong!>

Loki: <The Bronzong went down?>

Florence: <Get me near someone then!>

Loki: <Erm, okay?>

Loki used Ally Switch!

Florence and Loki swap places again. Florence flings an odd spell looking thing at the Corviknight.

Florence used Endeavour!

J-con

Radium pulls Kal out of seemingly nowhere.

Kal: Hey! What was that for?

Radium: <Cmon, you can't keep doing that! It's bad for you!>

Kal: It's safe in there, though.

Radium: <It's safe out here too! Come on, didn't you hear about all the stuff this group has done?>

Kal: I forgot.

Radium: <What I'm trying to say is there are plenty of people here who can deal with trouble if it comes. Now come on, we're getting something to eat!>

Someone may notice a Frillish dragging her trainer along through the con.

J-Con '21

While Kamui, Roy and Sunny looked on in confusion, Kendall had walked away, looking back with a face of equal parts concern, confusion, and consternation.

J-Con, Somewhere with Food

A certain Unovan looked up, noticing a Frillish dragging her trainer. Chuckling, he stood up and approached, curious.

"You let your Pokemon drag you around like that, too?"

Edited by AbsentCoder on Jul 24th 2021 at 2:02:24 AM

J-con, somewhere with food

Kal seems slightly panicked.

Kal: Um... Yeah. Rad- I mean my Frillish really wanted some food so, yeah, here we are.

Radium: <Sorry about them, my trainer's not much of a people person.>

J-Con- Kim's Section

Kim: (in tears) "I- I didn't think any of you were willing to forgive me... even most of the ones that aren't out right now... e-especially..."

(She trails off and sobs before she can say "DC.")

J-Con 2021, Somewhere with Food

-A blonde-haired girl with purple eyes and bright-colored clothes matching her personality skips merrily through the convention center. She notices the kid and their Frillish and decides to pay them a visit.-

Aurelia: Hi hi. Mind if I sit with you?

J-Con, Somewhere with Food

"Yeah, that makes two of us," he chuckled, pounding half of a can of lemonade as quickly as he drew it. "Wonder what a Ghost-type eats, actually. Since, y'know..." he trailed off. "Dead. No needs."

And then Aurelia. Silently, he extends his hand over the table, offering the seats across from him so they can be seated beside each other.

J-Con, Somewhere with Tears

"Forgive? I mean, it's more accurate to say "forgot"," Kamui chuckled. "We were never really mad at you."

J-Con- Kim's Section

Kim: (sniffles) "You... you weren't? But... what about DC and Shunner and Kiloana and Strider?"

J-con, somewhere with food

Radium: <Just about anything that isn't nutrient paste! I dunno if I still get hungry but I love eating stuff still!>

Kal takes a seat. Radium turns to Kal briefly.

Radium: <Heey, you know, since we're here and I'm pretty sure Professor Yew isn't, no one's stopping us from eating a bunch of cake and junk food! Maybe you should eat some?>

Kal: I'm not hungry. (to Aurelia) Sure, you can sit with us.

Kal notices Aurelia's purple eyes and gives her a curious look.

Edited by QuantumMelody29 on Jul 24th 2021 at 10:52:52 AM