Stormchaser, Chiyo Zone

Risky: "Could any of the folks from your School interfere with... Memories?"

Wyndon Stadium

-This time Catty sees the Torkoal coming and delivers an Earthquake-charged foot straight to its face-

Wedgehurst

Justice: ...Wow, that was good. Probably... Better than anything I could do.

-deep breath-

You can do this Justice.

-They step forward, as does their Mr. Rime-

-Said Mr. Rime creates a disco-ball-esqe structure of icy mirrors-

-Which she bounces psychic energy between-

-The psychic balls bounce and bounce until their is a (harmless) explosion-

-And there is a bolt of psychic and icy energy sent into the air-

-Which explodes into arcs of snow and ice, that resemble cold fireworks-

-That rain down as snow on the stage-

-Justice bows-

Wedgehurst, September 18th

Torkoal: -Is hit and sent sprawling on his back as he tries spinning rapidly towards Catty-

Stormchaser, past

Chiyo: -To Risky- Plenty of those, why do you ask?

Circhester Stadium, VS Melony and Gordie

Evelyn: NOW, MIRAI!

-Mirai releases her psychic grip on Ritchie, launching the Penguin Pokémon at the other Penguin Pokémon. As Ritchie flies at Melony's Eiscue, he begins to spin round and round like a football when it's thrown, and his Peck attack upgrades itself.-

Evelyn: ...And use Draining Kiss!

Me: Hey, wait a minute... Isn't that Drill Peck?

Evelyn: It is...

Me: Alright! Ritchie! You learned Drill Peck!

-Mirai skips across the battlefield and kisses Melony's Eiscue on the forehead. The ice cube on Eiscue's head glows a bright pinkish-red as a surge of energy emanates from her and is absorbed by Mirai. The blush becomes so warm that the ice cube on Eiscue's head melts off, revealing a very nervous, very adorable Noice Face Eiscue. Ritchie's Drill Peck then strikes the surprised Penguin Pokémon, knocking her unconscious.-

Ritchie: <Sorry, Eiscue.>

Eiscue: -with spiral eyes- <It's okay... It's all part of the battle.>

Referee: EISCUE IS UNABLE TO BATTLE!

-Melony calls Eiscue back to her Poké Ball. Gordie and Melony then prepare their next Poké Balls for battle. For once, it feels like Melony and Gordie are no longer at odds.-

Melony: These two are definitely tough...

Gordie: They sure are, Mom. Think we can take 'em still?

Melony: You know it. DARMANITAN!

Gordie: TYRANITAR!

-Melony and Gordie throw their Poké Balls into the air and from them jump a Galarian Darmanitan and a Tyranitar, both ready for battle.-

Gordie's Tyranitar: ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!!!

Me: Ritchie, return for now!

-Ian calls Ritchie back to his Poké Ball.-

Me: Hanuman, I choose you!

-Ian throws another Poké Ball into the air and out from it comes Hanuman.-

Hanuman: <Eeyyy! Let's show 'em a ting or two about battle!>

Mirai: <Hanuman! Nice to battle with you again!>

Hanuman: <Yeah, that was something else, wasn't it?>

Mirai: <Whaddya say we fight the way we did back in Turffield?>

Hanuman: <I'm all for it!>

Spikemuth Gym

Evelyn and I: That Scrafty has THUNDER PUNCH?!

Piku-chan: <Gotta watch out for that!>

Hatty: <Yeah...>

Hammerlocke Stadium, Changing Rooms

Me: You don't have to worry about that.

Evelyn: Yeah. We'll be cheering you on as long as we can!

Piku-chan: <Now let's get changed for the challenge. Don't wanna keep them waiting.>

Glimwood Tangle, Tent

-Evelyn notices the tent in the middle of the snowy road.-

Evelyn: Hey... A tent... Has it always been there?

-She then thinks to herself...-

Evelyn: -thinking to self- This seems like the perfect opportunity to convince Hoops that they need sleep. Wouldn't want my childhood friend's head to explode, after all...

Evelyn: Say, Hoops... Why don't we go into the tent?

Giant's Cap, Ian

-Ian looks around and sees Evelyn and Cof embracing Hoops, and runs over to them, curious about what happened while he was utterly clobbering Ferrum.-

Me: Cof! Long time, no see.

Piku-chan: -to Kec- <Might I ask what's going on here?>

Me: And what's Evelyn doing? More importantly, what did I miss while I was beating up Ferrum?

-Evelyn's eyes continue to glow pink as her mind is concentrated on Hoops.-

Kalos Forest

-Ian and Evelyn look at the Trevenant-y stump and both kneel down to try and communicate with the stump.-

Circhester's Castle

Dr. Azala: I see. And Oganesson inherited those legendary powers. Interesting. And, please, Cassander. Remind me to have my Schoolkids take cooking lessons from Oganesson.

-Dr. Azala continues eating their meal.-

Lee House

Me: Wait for us!

-Ian grabs Evelyn's hand, then telekinetically picks the card up off the ground. He then follows Gale and Kendall through the door with Evelyn in tow.-

Stormchaser, Chiyo Zone

Risky: ...I figured. Engineering powerful Psychics and all. The reason I ask was... In the murder I'm investigating, everyone thought it was an accident. but I noticed something, and the results I got back from that one girl here confirmed it. It was about as far from an accident as it gets. The disparity is severe enough I suspect memory tampering, and if one of your Psychics can do it...

Jade: ...Murder huh. Don't have. Great experiences with that...

Wyndon Stadium

-Catty attempts to slam back with a Bulldoze-

Kalos Forest

-The stump gives vaugely irritated vibes at Ian and Evelyn-

-Additionally those who attempt to leave just find themselves back where they started-

Olivia: <Um, does it feel like we're not really getting anywhere? Sometimes when the folding gets tough I like to take a break and clear my head...>

-looks over to the stump-

<You know, just sit down somewhere nice and flat with perfect lighting... Like that tree stump!>

Kalos Forest, past

Glokkpod: <   Coward!   >

Kamon: Pods, stop trying to peck the poor tree. You want us to -

Big Savings: < dis gon be gud > (plops down on the stump)

Ersatz Alliance, past

Channah and Ersatz!Channah snicker at the same time.

Ersatz!Channah: Nah, it's like. Aehhh. A few thousand or something. I dunno, just throw some cash my way. Not like I'm gonna see any of it.

Channah: That's specific.

Ersatz!Channah: Just because my gimmick is working at Ersatz doesn't mean I'm suddenly motivated to give a shit about professional integrity.

Edited by Metanoia on Oct 3rd 2021 at 11:11:21 AM

Wyndon

Ever might find a pair of yellow tinted glasses lying on the side of the road somewhere.

Wyndon

-Ever is wandering, accompanied by Misery-

Misery: (Hatterene) <I sense that you're perturbed.>

Ever: Misery, I think Scramble could sense that I'm perturbed right now.

Misery: <You should bring me to these little events of yours. I could have talked to the swordswoman, or kept Molybdenum off your back.>

Ever: I feel somehow you wouldn't find them comfortable. The other guy's useful in his own way against Schoolkids, but he's not a countermeasure the way you are. Unfortunately, if he's the only one I can get on short notice...

Misery: <...>

Ever: And now I sense that you're perturbed.

Misery: <Watch your feet.>

Ever: What about— ack!

-they narrowly avoid stepping on the glasses-

Ever: Oh, snazzy.

-they pick them up, and look around for a stand that the glasses may have fallen from-

Uh.

Misery: <How peculiar.>

Ever: This is a city. It's not that peculiar for someone to lose their glasses.

Misery: <It's cold and foggy. Someone wearing sunglasses here needs them, and it is strange if they've simply left them here.>

Ever: You may be generating conspiracy where none exists.

Misery: <You've been trying to teach me empathy, haven't you?>

Wyndon

Speaking of Schoolkids, Misery will notice someone nearby is very agitated right now. Some guy with black hair, who is squinting at the ground as if looking for something. He also seems to be very pointedly avoiding the gaze of anyone passing by.

Wyndon

Misery: <Ah.>

-she winces slightly-

Ever: Something got your braid?

Misery: <Over there. I think I've found the owner of our mystery shades.>

Ever: ...Huh. Yeah, maybe? Do you need me to recall you?

Misery: <No, I'll...manage.>

Ever: You know, if you considered a dialogue with the other guy, you might have better luck controlling your respective transformations.

Misery: <Yeah, well, same to you.>

-they approach the guy with black hair-

Ever: Hey, uh, did you drop your sunglasses?

-they hold them out-

Wyndon

He looks up at Ever reflexively before looking right back down. Ever gets a brief flash of his purple eyes.

"Oh, yes those are mine. Thank you." He quickly mutters and takes the glasses back.

As soon as he gets the glasses back on his face he picks his head up and looks Ever in the eyes. There's a moment of silence before he turns around and hurriedly walks away, promptly crosses the road without looking, and gets hit by a car.

Wyndon

Ever: Oh, that's—

-eyes-

-Ever freezes briefly, eyes widening-

-but the interaction passes without incident-

Ever: I. Uh. Yeah. No problem.

Misery: <...>

-as Ynos walks away, Ever unfreezes, and takes out their ph—-

-car-

Ever: ().()

-they also don't look both ways before rushing over to help, but Misery does, bringing a car to a halt with telekinesis-

Ever: Hey, uh, can you hear me? I'm gonna try and help you out, my Hatterene knows Life Dew—

Kalos Forest, August 31st

Ann: -Sits on the stump-

Wyndon Stadium, September 18th

Torkoal: -Faints-

Raihan: -Recalling Torkoal- Okay, you're up now Goodra!

Goodra: -Appears-

Raihan: Let's make it rain!

Goodra: -Uses Rain Dance-

Stormchaser, past

Chiyo: -To Risky- You think the School killed them to silence them huh?

-There's a feeling of familiarity to Chiyo's words as she states them-

Stormchaser, today

Chiyo: -Lying down in her bed- ...So Louise was actually listening huh?

-Smiling slightly-

I'm glad.

Dactyl: <What do you plan on doing?>

Chiyo: That's what I'm trying to figure out, I don't plan on leaving them to their fate if nothing else.

-Serious-

I want to meet with them, directly, once it's safe.

Edited by rmctagg09 on Oct 3rd 2021 at 11:54:58 AM

Wyndon

(Mildly disappointed) "The last time this happened the person who did it at least stopped after hitting me and checked to see if I was okay"

"I can hear you. I'm fine, I just need to walk it off."

He stands with difficulty, clutching his ribs.

"Oh. Um. Forget you saw this, I guess? For your own safety."

A little red aura leaks off of him.

Wyndon

Ever: .

.

.

Ever: Ah.

-they back up a bit, out of the range of the aura-

Ever: I'm not...great at forgetting things, I'm afraid. And it being a matter of my safety isn't as much of an incentive as you might think. Can I, uh, give you my number? Just in case of any more weird accidents or if you maybe feel like doing something different than...whatever it is that risks people's safety if they see you do it?

Misery: <Hm. I am not sure this is a good plan.>

Ever: Ssh. I know it isn't.

Wyndon

Safety not being a priority earns a curious look from Ynos.

He seems to run through something in his head before he responds.

".. For my benefactor's sake and my own, I don't really want to make a scene. I'm curious what you know, but we're in public so I won't ask."

"..."

"I'll.. take your number, I guess. Just in case."

Wyndon

Ever: Uh.

Misery: <Benefactor, huh.>

Ever: Alright, yeah, no scenes being made.

-they provide their number-

Just...you know, text me if you've got any questions, I guess? Or if you need a hand with anything.

-they wiggle their prosthetic-

...So to speak.

Wyndon

Ynos takes the number and types it into a phone with a concerning amount of cracks in the screen protector.

"..."

He emits a very small, almost inaudible snort at the joke.

"I will... be sure to do that." It's hard to tell whether he's being sincere or not.

Wyndon

Ever: Great! See you around, then!

-they make their exit-

-it's not. Quite fleeing-

-but that's only due to a great deal of practice at looking unflappable-

Wyndon

Ynos watches them leave for a while before remembering he's in a road. He turns and just kinda... Walks away. He moves stiffly for a bit before another gout of red aura comes out of him and he starts walking like he wasn't just hit by a car.

Stormchaser, Chiyo Zone

Risky: "...It happened to you too?"

Jade: -Seems to be lost in thought and not in a good way-

Wyndon Stadium

-Catty is on her last legs, and confused by the rain, but also uses another Earthquake-

Wedgehurst

-After a moment of silence the judges answer Justice-

Mary: "That was pretty, but not as pretty as the other one."

MC: "It was well done, well-executed, but a little on the short side."

Simon Hoode: "Hackneyed. Too simple. And with only one Pokemon? Step up the effort."

Justice: "R-Right..."

Kalos Forest

=As soon as Ann sits on the stump...-

???: <HEY! WHO'S THERE?>

-Three large Trevenant emerge from the woods-

Trevenant 1: <You can't sit on ol' Grandsappy's head, miss!>

Trevenant 2: <That's right! Show some respect! He's got twigs older than you!>

Trevenant 3: <So what if he got logged by those nasty other humans? He's still the man, honey.>

Edited by Umbramatic on Oct 4th 2021 at 1:03:37 PM

Kalos Forest, Ol' Grandsappy's Domain

-Ian and Evelyn jump back in surprise as the stump radiates irritated vibes in their direction.-

Evelyn: -telepathically to Ian- ~Leave this to me, Ian.~

Me: -telepathically to Evelyn- ~As you wish, Evelyn. After all, you're in your element here.~

-Evelyn bows to the stump that the Trevenants referred to as "Ol' Grandsappy".-

Evelyn: Please excuse my allies, Mr. Grandsappy...

Me: -whispering- Are you even allowed to call him that?!

Evelyn: It's just... We've had quite a rough day involving a purple Origami Togekiss throwing us out of Parfum Palace, wrapping it up with colored streamers and carrying it away, and we needed a place to rest. We mean no disrespect.

Edited by AnimeboyIanpower on Oct 4th 2021 at 6:45:40 AM

Stormchaser, Percyplace

-Stein makes an odd sort of squawk, like lungs the size of bellows fed into a small, happy raptor's larynx-

Stein: <I never do! I crush them beneath my heels and laugh all the while.>

Logan: -to the side, nodding- They've got a pretty good laugh. Also ow.

Dr. Ironspine: -bland- <All the better to confuse and awe, Percy. All the better also pockets.>

-and at Percy's injunction she bristles-

-...which on most humans amounts to flushing-

Dr. Ironspine: -grimace- <That was...not entirely of my own volition.>

Logan: -pausing translation- Ah...that Molybdenum I keep putting alerts in the chat about. Her test run.

Dr. Ironspine: -sniff, jab- <I do try to limit my damage to this sugar bean these days.>

Logan: -jabbed, swaying; saccharine- I'm so proud.

Dr. Ironspine: -eyeroll, spineroll- <Yes, yes, I have independently decided it's hard to show them all or finagle peer review with an inappropriate ratio of "run from the science" to "tremble before me".>

-those airquotes are nearly invisible on her little digits-

-nose-wrinkle- <Or if the community is coerced into existing. Between Cipher and your School, we've got our paws full.>

Stein: <Fah! Shadows and humans. Compared to one such as I, uh…>

-for the first time in their life, Stein is torn between self-aggrandizement over everyone around them and deference to the existence of someone they respect-

Stein: <...er. That is to say, Pokémon are better-suited to so many things. The School...does its best! And I am sure several of its creations are in the top percentile of humanity. Yes.>

Dr. Ironspine: -sigh- <Stein, sweetie, humans' annoying persistence and occasional drive to innovate inconvenienced us into a belt.>

Stein: -spark-ling- <Flukes! Outliers, not to be counted. We'll get them next time, Doctor.>

-the moment passes quickly, but such is life-

Addie: -mutters something about the inherent utility-independent value of people-

Dr. Ironspine: -squirm- <Look, I don't know what you expect of me. Their impetus donor skipped town and left me with the bag.>

Addie: -softer mutterings, comforting…?-

Dr. Ironspine: -hiss- <I can't and won't reach into their skull to excise the ten billion life lessons Ramona decided to impart before she went!>

Addie: -the flattest squeak-

Dr. Ironspine: <uggghh, talking is what I tolerate you for.>

Addie: -squirrel frown-

Logan: -smile, pointedly awkward- (...want us to get out of your hair? We can leave y'all to your rest.)

[Venice], July 7th - Deep Canal

-nice-

-Ironspine gives not!Daydre the spiky, spiky grin of someone who's about to dump a rampaging Pokémon on a frenemesis who isn't even on the right side of the continent-

-Suiko smiles, fluid, and settles in for the ride-

Sapinda: -...frown- <Tropius were not grown for swimming.>

Suit!Vee: <Hey, I gotcha.>

Sapinda: -flat- <This is what you asserted last time.>

Suit!Vee: <And we ended up fine!>

Dr. Ironspine: -frown, at her gun which is apparently also a scanner- <These readings are...concerning.>

Suiko: -pulling out her phone, which is definitely the place for securely storing data- I have this information already, actually.

Dr. Ironspine: <Oh good, I love wasted effort.>

Suiko: The two spoof nodes we recently corrupted were modern constructs, hidden in plain sight and nearly undetectable...without whatever eldritch nightmare coded Bishop. Centralized, tiny—convenient to move and maintain. The last node's signal seems disjointed and distributed because it is.

-she pulls up a map, expanding its hologram to fill the bubble—dozens of blips light up across [Venice]-

Suiko: Concealment in noise rather than tidiness. Its antennae are scattered around town. In storefronts, people's houses—an old attempt at rewiring the city, or so I'm told. Someone thinks half a dozen illicit organizations could be using it, independent of each other. And probably some teens who found it useful for sneaking messages to each other. Sorry, teens.

HUD!Vee: <I...really hope we don't end up strandin' some lonely child today from their internet friends.>

Suiko: The connections are strongly one-way and often redundant—as with the city's defunct defense system, no one wants the central processor at risk from its branched auxiliary network.

Suit!Vee: <So...we'll be pulling wires all over the place until the team's done with the raid?>

Suiko: Hah! No.

(Courage: <...s-shouldn't you know this already? You're always with her…> o-o)

(Suit!Vee: -mutter- <I nap sometimes, sue me.>)

Suiko: The Warehouse's main access point for the network is here -she indicates a building- and heavily guarded, and without those backups they will need to defend it or scramble to relocate broadcasting equipment to another site. We could try to fight all of them or -nodding to someone who isn't Daydre- sneak through them, but either way is far too dangerous for my liking. Instead, we may strike—

-she indicates a point off the coast, deep in the bay-

Suiko: —here. Where the city would have been wired to submerged inter-Region communication lines had the system been completed.

-zoom in—a circular construct built into the coastal shelf-

Suiko: Officially, the site is inactive and host to a colony of Lanturn. Unofficially, those Lanturn and others are the collective agents of [Venice]'s underbelly—in a standoff permitting each side unrestricted access to the system.

Sapinda: <Oh I adore mutually assured destruction.>

Suiko: -nod, ignoring how Sapinda's head in the direction of flight and not the group- No one wants to be the one to wreck the whole thing. The "wild" Pokémon here are noted to be territorial—no one comes close, from tourists to researchers to coast guard. Anything they see, they attack.

HUD!Vee: -giggle- <But we've got specialists on our side!>

Suiko: -smile, proud- One way or another, we'll pass through and wipe the Warehouse's final defense—through corrosion or outright destruction.

Dr. Ironspine: <I. Hate. Swimming.>

Suiko: ...we'll devote a bubble to you! Please do not pop it.

Dr. Ironspine: -ugggggh-

 Phantom Textspace 

Kalos Forest, August 31st

Ann: -Getting up- Oops, sorry.

Wyndon Stadium, September 18th

Goodra: -Loses about a quarter of their health- <Oof!>

Raihan: Alright Goodra, let's wash 'em away with a Hydro Pump!

Goodra: -Takes a deep breath before firing water at Catty, its strength boosted by the rain-

Stormchaser, past

Chiyo: -To Risky- I wasn't careful enough is all I'll say.

Phantom Thieves Textspace

Kalos Forest

-Gale hums and does a little bow at the trees-

Ah, my deepest condolences then at the loss of your beloved Grandsappy.

-Something about her tone of voice is almost... Performative?-

Wyndon Stadium

-The missiles hit just as the Dynamax is wearing off and Gale doesn't even wait for Tyrantanoth Rex to hit the ground before recalling him-

I'm sorry... If you are going to call upon the spirits than so shall I.

-Gale pulls a Pokeball from her belt but doesn't throw it, instead it releases a metal bottle into her hand-

Come forth, spirit of the flask!

-She throws the bottle out and the lid pops open to reveal a Sinistea's spectral arm-

Shadow Ball!

Kalos Forest

"Knew it!" Kamui said, a mixture of pride and fear.

"Look," Kendall started. "It has just been a very long day, given the aforementioned papercraft baddie. And… now we're lost here, so…" he shrugged.