Circhester – Hotel Ionia

Niobium: Like, any shadows out of the corner of your eye? Or unusual sounds?

-Maybe she's forgetting a few minutes ago she saw the elevator open and go to the top floor without noticing anyone getting on or off? Maybe she wrote it off as children playing with the buttons? Maybe that's a good place to start looking? Maybe she should come along to help with the search and not leave a child unattended up there?-

Venice Hotel, Before Heist Time

While the rest of the group rubbed elbows, "Constance" and her business partner were out discussing matters of business. Her meetings with various shady figures involved finalizing the sale of various experimental kinetic weapons, the delivery of one shipment having arrived in [Genoa] rather recently, with several more due to arrive in the ports of Los Phiones and Fula City not long after.

Wilbur: Ms. Constance, on behalf of Mr. Voynich and Mr. Kincade, I thank you for your sizeable contribution. Finding new suppliers has been so difficult.

Constance: Believe me, the pleasure is all mine. And it is a joy to do business with you. You've helped me more than you could ever know.

Wilbur: Always good to see our business helping enterprises like yourself.

Constance hears a ding on her phone. It was the sound of the confirmation of a fund transfer amounting to 500 million pokédollars in payments from Pokefutures.

Constance: I do lament that you sadly wouldn't have time to immediately distribute them. Your personnel must be dying to use their new toys.

Wilbur: Mr. Kincade will have plenty of time to play with his new toys, I assure you.

Wilbur and Constance shake hands, then leave their common table.

Constance looked at her phone and saw a porygon doing a giratina emoji.

Under the Sea, a few days later

Murphy: Oh, come on. [Aquaman] is not useless. Saying so is downright outrageous!

Taipan, lurking in the sub the entire time: Can it, Murphy. Don't you have swindled blood money worth $500 million to deal with?

Murphy: I'm still searching for eligible places to donate that money to. There's a Los Phiones Soup Kitchen that does good work for the homeless.

Taipan: That's one. Find more. We need to break this big amount up into tiny bits.

Murphy: I still can't believe you used your cover to literally swindle Pokefutures out of a couple of million and get rid of those schlocky missiles.

Taipan: I just made our lives so much easier.

Murphy: Now if we can only sell a shipment to Sphinx and Delta.

Taipan: That's gonna be a no-go, Murph. They develop their tech in-house. We're better off stealing their stuff than offloading our defectives onto them. They'll know crappy technology when they see it. Pokefutures is desperate for resources now that the most trusted name in illegal arms dealing decided they were too evil to sell weapons to.

Murphy: And it's a pity that they won't get to arm themselves with the defective stuff.

Taipan: Is it my fault their distribution center is in [Genoa]?

Edited by MasterJayAM on Nov 30th 2021 at 6:38:30 PM

Snowslide Slope, sometime

-Glastrier peers at Hiro's phone-

Glastrier: Oh, delightful. I'll trade you some dragons for them, if you like.

-she tilts her head sideways, to lock eyes with Abilene, even if such is not very helpful for Abilene-

Does it surprise you that I keep up to date? Have you been talking to my sibling? They're terribly behind the times.

I happen to love this era. So many people placing themselves in chains and waiting to die. It's a smorgasbord and evening television wrapped into one ennui-rich package.

-she laughs, a sound a lot like a whinny-

...Present company excepted, I suppose. A little piece of advice, Hiro Alítheia, is not to suggest that I require a rider. My sibling has...been persuaded, but then they always were a romantic. I'm not so sentimental for the good old days.

Morata's Mansion

Avery: o_o

Heck yeah.

Crown Tundra, past

Channah: (transforms and sends out Liberty) Sunny Day!

Liberty: <Ohhh, feels good to stretch the ol' arms again!> (praises the sun, causing rays to shine down from on high)

Wyndon, September 16th

-To Gale-

Oh? Identity does seem to be kind of your "thing", I guess it comes with being a spy.

Snowslide Slope, November 26th

-Liberty's Sunny Day turns the ground from icy to slushy, but Glastrier continues going regardless, as their power makes it snowy again-

Muddy: -Erecting a barrier of earth along with some other mons- <We need to slow them down.>

Glastrier: <An interesting trick, but not enough.>

-Crashes through the hastily made barriers as if they weren't there-

Tyl: -Flies above, firing Flamethrowers at Glastrier- <Take this!>

Glastrier: -Looking up at Tyl, slightly irritated- <This is making me quite cross.>

-And a sudden gust sends the Altaria flying into a tree-

Tyl: -Dazed- <Oof...>

Glastrier: -Lets out a neigh that seems to chill to the very bone, as the area gets icier still-

Let's see, which fate would be worse, getting frozen to death, or getting trampled under this horse's ice hooves. I suppose if the latter stepped on my head it'd probably be quicker at least.

Glastrier: -Turning to Liberty, ominously- <I suppose I'll have to take it out on you next then.>

-And rushes towards them as if they were a high speed train, attacks fired failing to stop their stride as their hooves attempt to make a Magmortar shaped pancake in the snow-

Edited by rmctagg09 on Nov 30th 2021 at 10:54:40 AM

Morata's Mansion, Dining Room -> Kitchen

The nearest exit is through one of those doors you see in commercial kitchens. It leads into.. well, the kitchen. The various appliances have clearly seen use, but the kitchen is otherwise in pristine condition. Someone here takes their cleaning seriously.

Otherwise there's nothing much else of note. Unless you want to go through the fridge.

Morata's Mansion, Main Hall, Nov. 1

The backs of the indentations slide in with a satisfying click. Before she and Yoko leave the room Witch gives the air near Kappa a quizzical look.

...

...

...

...Nothing happens. Maybe something else is necessary?

Though, if anyone wants to do any more examining they might want to be quick. The sound of heels clicking against tile can be heard from upstairs.

Or not. Invisibility!

???

"... I've seen some history-worthy events in my day but it's always a little spooky when it happens again. Man there's probably some historians out there who'd kill to see this huh?"

July 8th

"Oh, that's surprisingly simple. Smash and.. well not grab, I guess just smash again is something I can do."

Hulbury

Vana: Sure, whatever you say. But I'll be keeping an eye on you.

The Hades, July 8th

Pippy: <So Thespi had fun but I was kind of on the verge of a panic attack the whole time—> ^v^;;

Vee: <'s okay, P. That plan sucked, we ain't letting ya out of our sight again...>

-despite paying attention, Suiko kinda startles at being addressed-

Suiko: !

-also despite...knowing she has a presentation to give, essentially-

-on schedule, with several days of foreknowledge-

-but she snickers-

Suiko: I dunno, we're mostly good at one thing. You literally called us in because it's our favored terrain—I'm not sure how much more 'Aquaman' I can get.

-but she, again, blinks blandly at the spot in front of the team, the stuff she's brought, the gun Jackal's loading…-

-she pretty clearly hypes herself up, a few moments before standing to address the party-

Suiko: -walking up- ...h-hi.

-she waves-

Suiko: I can openly blast us right into that moon pool, or drift around and inject people into separate parts of the base to wreak havoc…we've got options.

-...-

-...-

-...-

Pippy: -out of the corner of his beak- <Tell them how we're going to get that close.>

Suiko: -promptly- I'm going to eat the torpedoes faster than they can launch them.

-Beat-

Suiko: wait

Suiko: Eat—Pokémon! Move us up, deflect the weapons they use, eat the Pokémon they send,

Vee: <I'm not doing that.>

Suiko: We're not doing that. The last thing. Okay, uh…

-she runs both hands down her face...jogging them back up to keep from dislodging her mask-

Suiko: ...we have three options here. One, stealth...

-she nods at her partner- I—my Pokémon and I, just saying "I" so we're not confusing with the Aurabolts "we", uh—can dissipate sonar^* Vee: -flicks her head-fin, smug-. Infrared doesn't work underwater, I don't think they've got Aura vision or spectroscopy or anything more exotic, and—if my partn—my, my person's up for it—we can look like water for the last few meters. Get in, spread out, wreak havoc.

-she exhales-

Suiko: Two...overwhelm.

-rubbing the back of her neck- ...the local Pokémon are not happy with these guys. We, uh...went into the deeps after we broke all the nodes the other day, and…

Vee: -...cough- <Kinda fought some of 'em t' establish dominance.>

Suiko: -nodnods- Yeah, that.

-...-

Pippy: -bemused- <...hah?> : >

Suiko: Long story short, I can call…some number of sea critters to make a mess of things. If they want. If you want, that mess can be confusion on entry...

-shrug- Three, we just ram the Hades into their base. You've got me, so water resistance is a non-issue.

-...-

Pippy: <...for all of those, we can move really goddamn fast when we feel like it, down here.>

Vee: -looking around- <'s a little tricky with so many, but we've got a mon who can blow up a Dive bubble big enough, or if y'all're chill with getting wet, we handed out the rebreathers. The second one's stealthier.>

Suiko: ...right! Yeah!

-just a bit excited- Equipment.

-she digs in her corner of the room, looking through boxes and bags-

-exhales-

Suiko: S-something to remember is that water's a tremendous radiation shield outside the visible spectrum; wireless communicators won't work if they pass through any amount of it.

-handing out odd devices with helmet plugins- I—have sonar-based communicators ready, but they work mostly only when you're in direct contact with a body of water, to someone else in the same, and the data transmission rate's pretty low. Because, you know, sound. So...here's a practical alternative.

-she pulls out thin belts with little sealed dispensers of-

-...moss...?-

Suiko: This is...a special variety of Luminous Moss. Get it wet, and we'll—

-gesturing between herself and her Pokémon- —"I'll"—be able to see it. Through walls, ships...

-indicating the different tinges to the wads- Yellow if you need an extraction; blue for an artillery strike or a new door opened; green for a piece of the distraction I have prepared; red if you want me to stop or start flooding in that section of the base. White if you need to talk. Anything but yellow, please get away from it after you activate it. Burn them all and—I'll assume you're dying and head there personally.

-she hesitates-

Suiko: ...

-then pushes two smaller cases across the table to the Aurabolts' leaders-

Suiko: Jackal, Gaia...ultraviolet if you want me to bring the base down.

-stepping back- I'm going to be drifting outside mostly, punching holes and controlling the exterior—I assume we're entering in person to recover data and give them a chance to, like…

-looking at that gun again- ...get to where they won't be immediately killed if the base collapses. Get any Pokémon out.

-folding her hands- Prepared, I can shear through steel and shatter about a block's worth of foundations at a time. I-I don't want to kill anyone, so...just to be clear.

-she fidgets like she has more prepared—maybe a lot more, knowing her—but wants to be sure the first bit's all sunk in-

Morata's Mansion

Odin:' <Shit, someone's coming.>

-dashes further into the left doorway as much as his sandy form can-

???

Regidraco: <Oh yeah they've trie->

-More green mist-

-A red flash-

-Chittering-

<...Run.>

Edited by Umbramatic on Dec 1st 2021 at 5:43:18 AM

Snowslide Slope, past

In the aftermath of the attack, Liberty is lying flat on his back, having indented an obese snow angel into the ground.

Liberty: @_@ <Holy moly...>

Channah: Oh. Forgot you aren't as sturdy as Jack. Hmm. Basil!

Basil: (lands in a deep snowdrift, which covers him entirely; from inside it a Thunder Wave arcs out toward Glastrier)

Turffield Stadium

(Milo nods.)

Milo: "Alright, then! Let's keep it going! Bellossom, use Solar Beam!"

Bellossom: <Hee-hee~! Time for me to defeat you~!>

(She proceeds to launch her flowers towards the sun. In an instant, they begin to glow with green energy. Bjorn is naturally unfazed.)

Bjorn: <Solar Beam? Interesting move choice. Would probably be wiser to use Sunny Day first. Allows you to use Solar Beam immediately. If Solar Beam used first, charging necessary.>

Bellossom: <Oh, that's right~! I didn't think of that. Thanks for the reminder~! I'll be sure to do that next time.>

Bjorn: <But... now have opportunity to use move of my own. Take this!>

(Seconds later, a shadowy purple ball forms in between his hands, and he throws it at Milo's Bellossom, knocking her back a bit.)

(Bjorn promptly creates another Shadow Ball and begins to play with it.)

Bjorn: <Like using Shadow Ball! Very fun and powerful move.> (He glances up at Milo's Bellossom.) <Would assume that your Solar Beam has finished charging.>

Bellossom: <Huh? Oh, that's right! Okay, then, here I go~!>

(And she unleashes a brilliant green beam of energy directly at Bjorn, knocking him back a bit.)

(Bjorn quickly gets back up, and Milo's Bellossom sinks a bit.)

Bellossom: <Awww... I thought that would do more damage...>

Bjorn: <It's okay! Still a great opening move!>

Bellossom: <Really?! YAY~!>

Ananpi: <Awwww... isn't that sweet? ^note  <It sure is, chuu~!> >

Bjorn: <My turn now! What to do...? Could use Teleport, but it wouldn't do anything. Could use Psybeam or Zen Headbutt, but it wouldn't do much. Could use... Wait! Of course!>

Ananpi: <Ooh~! I think I know what he's going to use, chuu~!>

(And sure enough, Bjorn holds up his hand, and the three dots on it begin glowing in orange, blue, and yellow. Three beams of light shoot out from them and hit Milo's Bellossom, knocking her backwards.)

(And Bellossom falls to the floor as a dust cloud goes up. Ingrid watches with intent, and when it fades, the Bellossom is still standing— but surrounded by fire, and wincing because of it.)

Bellossom: <Owie...>

(The flames flare up, and Milo's Bellossom squeaks in pain.)

Circhester Stadium Stands

(Kim and Braker stand up and turn to face each other.)

Kim: "Well. That was certainly invigorating, wasn't it?"

Braker: "Indeed it was."

Elton: <Alrigh', then! Let's get out of here!>

Kim: "Indeed."

(And with that said, the group exit— with Kim taking a glance over at Ian and Evelyn, before looking down with slight sadness on her face.)

Circhester Stadium Entrance Room

(The group enter— and Elton immediately runs to Ian and Evelyn.)

Elton: <That was excellent-! I don't think I've ever seen a ba'le like that one before!>

Braker: "Indeed, you were great."

(Kim walks over to Ian and Evelyn.)

Kim: "Well done, you two. That battle was as invigorating as always."

Spikemuth Entrance

(Kim, Braker, Walter, and Cuddles all stay behind.)

Kim: "Well. That takes care of that, I suppose."

Braker: "Indeed. I'm supposing we should just stay here for the time being." (then, to Kim) "Who are you going to send out to watch?"

Kim: "Probably Peechee, probably Joel... maybe Kaylan."

Braker: "I see."

Kim: "And I'm assuming that you're going to have Walter and Cuddles watching from the sidelines?"

Braker: "As always."

(And then all of a sudden, one of Braker's PokeBalls opens up. Kim, Walter, Cuddles, and Braker turn in confusion, and soon afterwards, the blue Klefki that Serkis had been chasing in the Wild Area emerges with a delighted grin on his face. Since that time, said Klefki, now named Caboose, has joined Braker's team as his eleventh member.)

Caboose: <Count me in, tooo~!>

Braker: "Caboose?"

Kim: "Y-you want to join in, too?"

Caboose: <Join in on what? The battle? I don't see a battle going on...>

Braker: "No, she means join in on watching Ian and Evelyn's battle."

Caboose: <Ooh~! Ian and Evelyn are battling, too? That sounds fun~! Of course I'll watch them! They're my friends! And I love seeing my friends battle!>

Cuddles: <Yaaaay~! Me too~! I'm so happy you decided to join our team~>

Caboose: <Braker seems nice. I like him. He's good.>

Walter: <He certainly is.>

Kim: "Indeed."

Outside of the Lee House

(Cuddles glances up at Evelyn, worried, before glancing over to Braker. Braker says nothing, but gives him a smile and a nod. Walter, meanwhile, goes over to Cuddles.)

Walter: <...Kamui's going to be fine, Cuddles.>

(Cuddles looks over at where Kendall was— and then sees that he's gone. Saddened, Cuddles looks down with tears in his eyes.)

Cuddles: <...o-okay...>

Spooky House

Kim's Room

CW: mental trauma, torture, verbal abuse

(Kim shakes her head, trying to comprehend the UBese that is in front of her.)

Kim: (to herself) "This is impossible... there's no way I should be able to comprehend this. My father tried to do it, and he found it impossible..."

(She looks down.)

Kim: "Well... regardless of that, let's see what we have here."

(She reads over the messages that are in front of her:)

▼∞ √♠♫ ↨• ♥♠♀■♦:≥√ →Ω:∞√, ▓:∞é♠♫éé☣■√:≥▼! √♠♫ ↨☣ →Ω:∞√ ♥'♠■♦:≥√:≥▼ ♥♠♀■♦:≥√ éé§≈∞♫☣▓:≥♫√é•√:≥▼, ☣√ ☣▼■♦:≥√:≥▼ →Ω:∞√ ¶☣:≥ •∞≈:≥ √♠♫ ♥• •≥ √ééé•♦:≥▼.

☣◙☼é∞▼♣ ♫☣§: ∞ •♀ ♫∞♀▓☣♦é§ ▓♠◙≈ ∞ ☣◙Ω♠§ ☼♠é≈-▓≥☼ ▓§ ☣≈☼•♦ •éé☣◙ ■♠☣ √♣☣ •▓♠±☣ ¶•éé ♠♂ √☣♪√ ∞▼ •◙ •é■♣•é♠☼♠☼♦•■♣§ ♂♠♦ √♣☣ ≥▓☣▼☣ é•◙☼≥•☼☣

Kim: (to herself) "This seems very familiar... where have I seen something like this before? I'm seeing a lot of repeating symbols here..."

(But before she can think anything else, she looks over towards the computer and sees a pair of headphones.)

Kim: "Oh, thank Arceus. They provided me with music." (She puts them on.) "Hopefully now I'll be able to decipher this in peace."

(She looks back down at the symbols, and starts to count each individual symbol that she sees. Soon afterwards, she grabs a piece of paper and writes down:)

NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL SYMBOLS:

Kim: (to herself) "Alright, I'm already counting 13 unique symbols here... make that 15... 16... 18... 20..."

(She continues going through each symbol, until eventually, she comes to:)

Kim: (to herself) "...25... 26... 27... 28." (beat, she puts down her pencil and muses for a bit) "28 symbols... that's two more than there are in the Latin alphabet..."

(beat)

Kim: (to herself) "Let me see here..."

(She promptly begins to transcribe every single one of the symbols.)

▼:

∞:

√:

♠:

♫:

↨:

•:

(And then, seven symbols in, she hears a voice.)

You're worthless.

(Kim glances upwards for a second, chills running down her spine, before glancing around the room— only to see that nobody is there. She eventually shrugs it off, before returning back to her transcription.)

♥:

♀:

■:

♦:

≥:

→:

Ω:

▓:

(And nine symbols of transcription later, the voice comes in again.)

I can't believe I ever called you my friend.

(And at that line, Kim's eyes snap open as she recognizes the voice.)

Kim: (with horror) "B-Braker...?!" (She looks around.) "N-no... it can't be... h-he's not here right now. W-whoever's setting this up is probably just using this as an illusion against me..."

(She returns back to her transcription, starting to get nervous.)

Kim: "There's no way that he could possibly think that about m-me..."

é:

☣:

§:

≈:

(Symbol twenty— and Braker's voice comes in again.)

Honestly, you were nothing more than an annoyance to have around. I thought that you were going to learn from everything that Kendall and I taught you.

(At the mention of Kendall's name, Kim's writing gets faster.)

¶:

◙:

☼:

And yet here you are, months later, still the same incessant person you were months ago.

(Kim tries to ignore it.)

♣:

-:

±:

It's such a shame you haven't learned anything. You never learn anything. Even Walter and Cuddles have given up on you. For god's sakes, Kimberly, when are you going to learn ANYTHING?!

(Kimberly shakes her head, biting her lip.)

Kim: (frantically, glancing around.) "No... no... not Walter and Cuddles... there's no way... there's no way..."

♂:

♪:

(By that point, she's written down all twenty-eight symbols. She starts going through the translations, counting off how many times each symbol appears.)

Kim: (muttering to herself) "Just ignore them, Kimberly... t-there's no way they mean it... you have symbols to count off..."

Wyndon Stadium

(Kim glances down, going through the strongest team members in her head.)

Kim: (to herself) The strongest members of my team, huh? Well, in that regard I'll have to use Grohl— he's the only team member of mine who can Mega Evolve. Who else can I use, though...? Well, Geddy and Elton are practically givens, and Freddie needs more practice with his skills in battle... especially given his most recent move. But then there's also Dio and Ozzy and Peechee and Boseman and—

(beat, Kim glances upwards)

Kim: "Are we allowed to switch between Pokemon?"

The Stormchaser

(The episode continues.)

[[/folder]]

Morata's Kitchen, November 1st

Shamhat: -Jokingly as she points at the fridge- You think there's caviar in that fridge?

-Aura Sense pulsing the building-

Only the finest caviar taken from a freshly ovulating shiny Magikarp, of course.

Shamhat: What if she has, like, a preserved head in here?

Wouldn't surprise me, someone who wears a mask like that all the time is definitely more than a little kooky, and she's the sibling of the guy with the creepy taxidermy collection. ​

Shamhat: -Jokingly- You wound me, "Newt", you know about my day job.

-She then tries opening the fridge-

Snowslide Slope, past

Glastrier: -Lets out another bone-chilling neigh at Liberty's fainting, before getting hit by Basil's Thunder Wave- <...I don't think I like that.>

-And starts charging towards them-

<I think I will make you join your friend on the ground, Manectric.>

Guys!

Muddy: -Mega Evolved, grabbing onto Glastrier head-on, and barely managing to hold them back-

Magtail -Wrapping around their legs-

Hitodama: -Erects a ring of obscura-infused flame around Glastrier-

Glastrier: -Still managing to move somewhat despite everyone's efforts- <A noble effort, if futile.>

Muddy: <Tagg, now!>

This may be one of the dumbest things I've ever done but.

-Ducks under Glastrier's flailing hooves as Magtail continues to coil around them, before pulling out an odd pair of reins that seem partially made from Leavanny silk and getting them around Glastrier's neck-

Glastrier: -Angrily- <You think to    tame    me, like some common Mudbray? I am winter itself, home to this regions before the first of your ancestors even reached this place.>

-Barely holding on despite the numerous bindings-

If it'll get you to listen, sure!

Glastrier: <...I think not.>

-And lets out a pulse of cold that knocks everyone else away, except for a human still tenaciously holding on-

<Stubborn, aren't you?>

-To Glastrier-

I didn't get this far by giving up.

Glastrier: <...That wasn't a compliment.>

-The next pulse sends me flying off their back into a convenient snowbank from what would've been critical injury otherwise-

Urgh... not one of my brighter ideas.

Glastrier: -Right there- <Yhap-Waite, with your honeyed words, I'll have to remove you from the equation first.>

-Detects as Glastrier's hoof goes where my head would've been a few seconds ago-

Glastrier: <You have tenacity, I'll compliment you on that.>

-Instinctively raises a barrier, only for Glastrier's next hoof to crash through it like cheap glass-

Glastrier: <Please.>

Yeah, figured. Chiyo would probably have barely fared any better even with her barriers being better than mine.

Glastrier: -Erecting an ice wall- <Any last words before you become part of my garden?>

-To Glastrier-

Horrifically maim me perhaps, but until the promised day, you can't actually kill me.

Glastrier: <Eh, humans.>

-Is about to try killing me again when they feel a tackle against the back of their leg-

<Hmm?>

Ginny: -Glaring up at them, legs trembling as it appears they're the only other mon close enough-

Glastrier: -Forgetting about everyone else for a second as the other mons attempt breaking through the wall- <I have no time for foals.>

Ginny: <You'll make time for me, Frozen Lord of the Tundra!>

Glastrier: -Oddly amused, and not entirely paying attention- <You smell of this land, and still you and the Altaria choose to stand against me? You've got spunk, little one, but you're centuries too early for this fight.>

Edited by rmctagg09 on Dec 1st 2021 at 11:48:32 AM

Snowslide Slope, past

Channah and Basil get knocked away by the cold pulse into the snow.

Channah: (sees Tagg get thrown and reaches out) Tagg! (tries to get up, but Basil lands on her and gives her a massive static shock) y e e p

She rolls out from under him, gesturing silently for Basil to Charge while Ginny distracts Glastrier. Basil gathers static into a squirming cloud of electricity around him and Wild Charges at Glastrier from behind.

Sinnoh Region, Jubilife City, Generic Hotel:

In the same manner he always did whenever he traveled, Travis Renault wasted no time in setting up his laptop in the living room that was quickly being converted into a temporary workstation. While her trainer got to work making sure his tool bag was inventoried and the internet actually worked at least somewhat reliably, Tricky the Manectric would casually wander about, exploring her new surroundings. The hotel room Travis managed to get was definitely larger than usual with separate bedroom, dining, and living areas that made it seem more like a small apartment than anything...and it was at a surprising discount...not that a mon like Tricky would care about pricing or money in general.

No instead, what fascinated the Manectric was the couch next to a sliding glass door and balcony overlooking the largest city in all of Sinnoh.

"Hard to believe so many humans would want to live in a place as crowded and tall as this...the lights sure are pretty though." She thought to herself while watching life in the cityscape unfold.

Meanwhile Travis would finally get the internet working after multiple attempts and was able to sign into his in-universe equivalent of Steam. While he was initially just going to play video games to pass the time, Travis would notice an unexpected invite from an old friend.

"Wait, is that the Mark I'm thinking of?" He would ask aloud before looking into his profile info. "Yeah it is, !!The!! Marky Mark himself!" After accepting his friend request, Travis would initiate a voice call that connected shortly after.

"Dude, are you the Mark Stroud I used to hang out with sometimes back in High School?"

"Depends, are you the Travis Renault who went off to college for Poke-tech?"

"You know it! How the f**k have you been old buddy?!"

"To put it shortly: I've been through a lot, but it's all been for the better. How far along are you in college?"

"Like, a little over halfway there. Been learning lots about poke-tech, but I'm almost at the point where I have to pick a focus and—hold on..."

The conversation would be interrupted by Tricky yipping at her trainer for attention, sitting at attention and starring at Travis like a dog demanding to be heard.

Travis would mute the mic before asking, "Alright Tricky what do need this ti—-oh, right, TV's not on." At this point, Tricky had grown bored with nothing happening, and while she actually wanted to spend time playing catch or going on a walk with Travis, she would resign herself to watching TV...at least for now while Travis and Mark would catch up on old times for a while.

(Continued in a future post due to length)

Snowslide Slope, past

Glastrier: -Is hit by Basil's Wild Charge, and is moved about an inch or so- <Hmph.>

-Moves to try stomping Basil into the dirt next, only to find the paralysis isn't fully agreeing with them, so the attack misses-

<How irritating.>

-Turning to Ginny as her trainer starts getting back up-

<You still wish to stand against me?>

Ginny: -Glaring, still trembling- <You bet.>

Glastrier: -As the air becomes even chillier, and they devour a frozen Lum - <Youth is often wasted on the dumb, so let me allow you to join my counterpart's herd early.>

-While Glastrier is certainly not be the fastest of equine mons in a run, its blows on the other hand are lightning quick, and they move to smush Ginny flat with a hoof-

Ginny: -Frozen in place, whether by the cold or fear

Ginny!

-Immediately dives to knock Ginny aside as Glastrier's hoof comes down-

Ginny: -Struggling out of my grip- <What are you doing, you're the trainer, I'm supposed to be protecting you!>

-To Ginny-

Most of the time, this team structure's pretty flat.

Ginny: -Glaring up at Glastrier- <I need... to be stronger...>

Glastrier: -Intrigued- <I've seen many a Pokémon willing to die for a human. I've never seen a human willing to risk their life for their Pokémon before. I might keep you around for a bit longer then.>

Ginny: -To Glastrier, the trembling gone- <Yeah well, like Tagg said, we're full of surprises. Time to show you what we mean!>

-Starts glowing-

Edited by rmctagg09 on Oct 22nd 2022 at 5:33:01 AM

Outside Wedgehurst

The livestream begins with Xaster up close to the camera.

Xaster: Is this on? ToTo, is it on?

ToTo: To?

Xaster: Alright, alright, fine. Let's get this going then.

He backs up, allowing the viewers, the number of which is rising to a respectable number, to see this location: a picturesque field outside of Wedgehurst, filled with flowers and a couple of Miltank watching with some interest from the other side of a fence. In the background, a train moves past, carrying a few hundred people to other parts of the region.

Xaster: Hi guys. I know it's been a while since I last went live, but thanks to everyone who liked and reposted the videos from the Wedgehurst contest. As you can see, I'm still in the area, since I think it'll be a good place for me to train until there's another contest in Galar.

They look around furtively, as though checking for eavesdroppers.

Xaster: Hey, can I tell you guys a secret. I actually have a new member of my team of performers. I know, exciting right? Do you want to meet them?

He waits for a few seconds, and sees a few comments of interest pop up on the live chat.

Xaster: Well, ask and ye shall receive everyone. Come out, ChiChi!

He pulls out a pokeball and throws it into the air. As it opens, the stickers that cover it activate, playing a relaxing piano melody as ChiChi forms from the energy inside the ball. He chirps happily, and the bell in his body rings.

The live chat lights up with comments of how cute he is.

Xaster: They love you, kid.

ChiChi jumps happily at the compliments. Xaster makes a mental note to teach him not to become dependent on social media for validation, lest that lead to mental health issues later in his life. He then momentarily considers if he's technically a family vlogger, a thought that troubles him until he pushes it aside.

Xaster: So, I know you're all looking forward to seeing what ChiChi can do (internally: and so am I) but I'll have to keep that one to myself. Can't be giving away all of our secrets, after all.

He then continues the stream talking about the stickers that sponsor him, and finishes off by promising big things to come. The screen goes dark as the live ends, and he falls to his knees, utterly exhausted.

Xaster: Well, that went well, right?

BuBu and RiRi glance over the number for the stream and nod. ToTo pats Xaster on the head in a vain attempt to give him energy.

Xaster: You know, it's a nice day. We could just nap here for a while.

RiRi: Azu!

Xaster: I don't care. I can wash it out eventually.

RiRi: Ril.

Xaster: Well, I can afford it. I need new clothes anyway. I've worn most of my clothes on more than one stream at this point.

The pokemon, except for ToTo and ChiChi, who are too young to understand fully what's going on, exchange worried glances.

Sinnoh Region, Jubilife City, Generic Hotel:

While Tricky would resign herself to watching whatever programming happened to be on TV, Travis would boot up a spaceship simulator to pass the time during voice chat.

"Sorry about the interruption, Tricky was bored and wanted attention, so I had to distract her a bit."

"I'm guessing that's your electrike starter you got since I last saw you?"

"Yeah dude, but she's a Manectric now. She evolved...I wanna say a year and a half ago?"

"Good for her, my little bro Chopper finally became a Machoke a couple weeks ago. If I would have known all it would take for him to finally evolve was an extended stay at The Machastery, I would have brought him back here years ago...then again I only found out about it this year."

"Uhh Machastery, don't you mean Monastery dude...and since when were you a monastic?"

"It's a Machop Monastery, as in a literal Monastery built for pokemon across the whole Machop Evolutionary Line. Chopper and I stumbled across it while looking for a new secret base to call home, and it's worked out for both of us pretty well. I'll talk about it later, but I didn't just add you to my friends list for the sake of catching up on old times."

"And here I was thinking it was all by chance, you mean you didn't just happen to remember one of your old friends out of the blue?"

"The Machastery was attacked the other day. We get challengers every now and again trying to test their strength, but these weirdos were dressed like the pokemon they brought, played insanely loud music, and desecrated some of the buildings with electric-looking graffiti. They picked a stupid place to fight though considering that's what we do best, but these were no ordinary challengers. Looked like a gang or even a team."

"That's insane dude, like unheard of! What does this have to do with me though?"

"I saw on your activity feed you were visiting Sinnoh, and I've got a lead on whoever these guys are that sounds like they came from that region. We chased those f*****s out, but they got away in a submarine that looked kinda like a wailord."

"A Wailord submarine...these dudes sounds like serious pokemaniacs. Was their music any good at least?"

"Gee I don't know Trav, I didn't really get a chance to listen to it seeing as to how I was too busy kicking ass and taking names! Seriously though, keep your eyes open while you're out there."

"Will do old buddy...say, there's this sick Pokemon Tech Expo being hosted by the Poketch Company at Jubilife City in a couple days, and I won a couple tickets in a raffle if you want to be my plus one. I'd be a shame if it were to go to waste, plus we could hang out like the old days and catch up on lost time!"

"You know what? I'll take you up on that offer. I want to see what kind of new hardware's coming out by The Holidays, plus I was planning to follow up on that lead I had earlier and figure out who the hell these punks think they are desecrating a training monastery! Just send me the details and I'll be there. Don't worry about how, I'll have that covered."

Crown Tundra, past

-The glow subsides, and a Galarian Rapidash is left in Ginny's place-

Ginny: -Checking out her new body- <I could get used to this.>

-To Glastrier-

Since you can see we're willing to walk the walk, will you hear us out?

Glastrier: <Me, joining that Council like the pretender and my counterpart?>

-To Glastrier-

What do you say?

Glastrier: <Perhaps, if you can catch me.>

-Starts running off-

Gonna have to move quick. Ginny!

Ginny: -Running up- <Right!>

-To Channah, as I get on Ginny's back and recall most of my mons-

You might want to morph for this.

-Adjusting-

Okay Ginny, let's go!

Ginny: -Rears up as we follow after Glastrier-

Spooky House

Kim's Room

CW: mental torture, verbal abuse, gaslighting

All of "Hoops"' dialogue was written by theoncominghoop, and all of "Kendall"'s, "Kamui"'s, and "9-Volt"'s dialogue was written by the Absent Coder. Spoiler: all of it is just Jigsaw messing with her mind.

(Kim shakes her head, attempting to ignore Braker's voice coming through her headphones. She frantically begins to count the symbols, noting how many of them appear, and writes a few of them down:)

▼: 9

∞: 11

√: 19

♠: 14

(And then— another voice, this one in a clear [Galarian] accent.)

Special? You?

(And then Kim's eyes widen.)

Kim: (shaking her head) "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. Not Hoops. Not them, too. They helped me to realize the truth about myself— you can't possibly—"

You want to be special, to actually be important?

(Kim does her best to ignore "them.")

Kim: (trying to maintain her composure, focusing on the symbols) "Don't... try to taunt me with this, Jigsaw. It's not going to work. I've already realized that-"

Forget it, you're a nobody in a world of nobodies, destined to live a life that's not important.

(Kim falters.)

Kim: "...Am I really...?" (and then she shakes her head) "No, no, no— ignore them—"

(She writes down a few more symbol counts:)

♫: 7

↨: 2

•: 14

♥: 4

(And then, the voices come in again.)

If I were you, I'd just give up trying.

Why would you even want to be in the J-Team, when those guys are actually cool.

Kim: (thinking to herself) "Simple, Jigsaw. They may be cooler than me, but they've stuck by me for years."

♀: 4

■: 8

♦: 8

≥: 12

:- 17

→: 3

Ω: 4

(And Kim starts to grow more confident, ignoring most of what "Hoops" is saying to her.)

All you do is get excited over the things that other people do because you know you'll never measure up to them.

(And then that line happens. Instantly, Kim stops writing, as all of her past mistakes come back to haunt her.)

Kim: (muttering to herself) "No... t-that's... that's still true... isn't it...?"

(She writes down the next symbol, but is noticeably more on edge than before.)

▓: 8

Kim: (thinking, to herself) "...have I really changed as much as I think I have? I-if my actions at the meeting were any indication..."

(She shakes her head, gaining her confidence back.)

Kim: (thinking to herself) "No. I-I'm okay. I belong here..." (then, faltering again) "I think."

é: 18

☣: 19

§: 5

≈: 5

¶: 2

◙: 5

(And then, Braker comes in:)

If I'm being perfectly honest? No. No, you don't belong here.

(And Kim shoots up out of her seat.)

Kim: "No... how... how were you able to read my thoughts, Jigsaw?!"

(She glances around the room.)

Kim: "W-where... where is Braker's voice even coming from?!"

You never did.

Kim: "No... t-that... t-that can't be..."

☼: 8

♣: 5

-: 1

(Kim suddenly pauses.)

Kim: (to herself) "Wait... that symbol only appears one time? Huh. M-maybe it's not a seperate letter at all; maybe that's just a regular hyphen..."

(And then she continues.)

±: 1

♂: 2

(By now, Kim is on the final symbol, and just as she's looking through the text, for any instance of the final symbol, "Hoops" comes in and drops the bombshell:)

I only put up with you to be polite since you're always with Ian and Evelyn.

(Literally as soon as Kim hears that, her eyes widen again, and she writes down:)

♪: 1

(She takes a breath, staring down at her handiwork, and then...)

Kim: "...i-is that... is that really what they think of me? I mean... I am always seen with Ian and Evelyn... b-but I thought I had gotten over my jealousy towards them..."

(beat, as the realization starts to set in)

Kim: "D-don't tell me... t-that because I'm always hanging out with them... a-am I neglecting everyone else...?! A-am I..."

(beat, she attempts to focus)

Kim: (in a small voice) "...actually relapsing again...?"

(Beat. She sighs, looking over her work, and then...)

Kim: (to herself) "...as I thought. The danger symbol must be the letter "e"; it occurs the most frequently."

(She promptly does the following:)

▼∞ √♠♫ ↨• ♥♠♀■♦:≥√ →Ω:∞√, ▓:∞é♠♫ééE■√:≥▼! √♠♫ ↨E →Ω:∞√ ♥'♠■♦:≥√:≥▼ ♥♠♀■♦:≥√ éé§≈∞♫E▓:≥♫√é•√:≥▼, E√ E▼■♦:≥√:≥▼ →Ω:∞√ ¶E:≥ •∞≈:≥ √♠♫ ♥• •≥ √ééé•♦:≥▼.

E◙☼é∞▼♣ ♫E§: ∞ •♀ ♫∞♀▓E♦é§ ▓♠◙≈ ∞ E◙Ω♠§ ☼♠é≈-▓≥☼ ▓§ E≈☼•♦ •éé☣◙ ■♠E √♣E •▓♠±E ¶•éé ♠♂ √E♪√ ∞▼ •◙ •é■♣•é♠☼♠☼♦•■♣§ ♂♠♦ √♣E ≥▓E▼E é•◙☼≥•☼E

(Kim counts all the E's, and then nods.)

Kim: (to herself) "Alright... now to find any instances of the word 'the'..."

(She scans through the text, trying to find the most common combination of three letters ending in an "E" that there is... and then she hears another voice, one that truly causes her guilt to shoot through the roof.)

I hope you understand how pleasant our first impression was of you.

Kim: (shocked) "R-REVER?!"

(In an instant, she drops the pen that she had been using to scan through the text. Her eyes are focused on the paper, but her thoughts are on anything but translation.)

Kim: (thinking, to herself) Oh dear sweet Arceus, I... I really must have gone too far in our first meeting... i-is this... t-this can't be...

(Then, aloud:)

Kim: (muttering to herself) "This... t-this can't be what they think of me... i-it just can't..."

(Her eyes dart back down to the paper, and after a few moments of reading, a combination of symbols sticks out to her: √♣E. Kim sees it and immediately grabs the pen, having realized that since it appears twice it must be the word "the", and goes about filling in all the T's and H's that she can find:)

▼∞ T♠♫ ↨• ♥♠♀■♦:≥T →Ω:∞T, ▓:∞é♠♫ééE■T:≥▼! T♠♫ ↨E →Ω:∞T ♥'♠■♦:≥T:≥▼ ♥♠♀■♦:≥T éé§≈∞♫E▓:≥♫Té•T:≥▼, ET E▼■♦:≥T:≥▼ →Ω:∞√ ¶E:≥ •∞≈:≥ T♠♫ ♥• •≥ Tééé•♦:≥▼.

E◙☼é∞▼H ♫E§: ∞ •♀ ♫∞♀▓E♦é§ ▓♠◙≈ ∞ E◙Ω♠§ ☼♠é≈-▓≥☼ ▓§ E≈☼•♦ •éé☣◙ ■♠E THE •▓♠±E ¶•éé ♠♂ TE♪T ∞▼ •◙ •é■H•é♠☼♠☼♦•■H§ ♂♠♦ THE ≥▓E▼E é•◙☼≥•☼E

(But just as she's done filling the last one in...)

You definitely made the kind of person you are known.

(Kendall's voice again. Frantically, Kim tries to ignore it, searching through the text for any words she might be able to figure out— until she comes across "TE-T", "—E-E", and, most importantly, "ET".)

Kim: (confused) "E-ET...? I-is that... is that FRENCH?!" (She shakes her head.) "L-let's see what that 'TE-T' might have to offer..."

(She glances over at the symbol standing in for the blank, and seeing how rare it is, the answer comes to her naturally.)

Kim: (realizing it) "Oh, that's TEXT!"

(She fills in the symbol with an X and turns her concentration to the —E-E word, but then...)

The kind of person to follow in the footsteps on someone who doesn’t want followers, the kind of person to carve a niche that does not, cannot exist.

(And the second she hears that, Kim feels the sins of her first meeting with Kendall crawl up her back. Everything she's done, all of her incessance towards Kendall and Kamui, coming back to haunt her as she glances over the words on the page. She begins to shake with fear and slight anger, and mutters something under her breath:)

Kim: (to Jigsaw) "H-how dare y-you... b-bring that up... I... I've changed... I-I'm not... I-I'm not who I once was... t-trust me..."

(She turns her attention back to the symbols, specifically the —E-E word.)

Kim: (muttering to herself) "I-it can't be 'these' or 'there', I know that... well, maybe that triangle could be an 'S', but there's so far nothing I've really seen here to confirm it..."

(She writes down:)

THE —E-E ———-E

(And then:)

You remind me of myself back in the start of my journeys.

Kim: "I... I do...? W-were you... w-was Rever t-that incessant too...?"

(She shakes her head, trying to focus on the writing in front of her— and then the bombshell.)

Arceus' unholy flank, I Hate Past Me.

(And Kim looks up, horrified— with her mind now completely off of the paper in front of her.)

Kim: (numb) "W-what...?"

(She can do nothing else but stare at the wall for a couple of seconds, before she eventually blurting out:)

Kim: (muttering to herself, numb) "H-he hates his past self... and I remind him of that... t-then that must mean...!"

(Another beat.)

Kim: (horrified) "I... I was right..."

(She glances down at the paper.)

Kim: "I said too much... I was too much... w-why did 9-Volt ever believe in me...? A-am I too much for him, too? A-am I... I... I can't be too much for ... them... c-can I...?"

(Another glance at the wall. Then at the paper. Then at the wall. Then at the paper. Then a head shake.)

Kim: (to herself) "N-no, Kim. Y-you... you need to fight through this. Y-you can't let him get to you..." (beat) "J-just... just focus on the UBese and everything will be fine..."

(And then she realizes it.)

Kim: "Wait a minute! M-maybe that's...!"

(She goes back and fills it in: UBESE, before filling in any spot where she thinks a U, B, and S are. The end result:)

S∞ T♠♫ ↨• ♥♠♀■♦:UT →Ω:∞T, B:∞é♠♫ééE■T:US! T♠♫ ↨E →Ω:∞T ♥'♠■♦:UT:US ♥♠♀■♦:UT éé§≈∞♫EB:U♫Té•T:US, ET ES■♦:UT:US →Ω:∞T ¶E:U •∞≈:U T♠♫ ♥• •U Tééé•♦:US.

E◙☼é∞SH ♫E§: ∞ •♀ ♫∞♀BE♦é§ B♠◙≈ ∞ E◙Ω♠§ ☼♠é≈-BU☼ B§ E≈☼•♦ •ééE◙ ■♠E THE •B♠±E ¶•éé ♠♂ TEXT ∞S •◙ •é■H•é♠☼♠☼♦•■H§ ♂♠♦ THE UBESE é•◙☼U•☼E

(Kim breaths a sigh of relief.)

Kim: "O-okay. T-that's good. It's easier for me to read now... a-at least a bit." (beat) "I-I'm going to assume that that first word is ENGLISH... which means..."

(She starts filling more in.)

SI T♠♫ ↨• ♥♠♀■♦:UT →Ω:IT, B:IL♠♫LLE■T:US! T♠♫ ↨E →Ω:IT ♥'♠■♦:UT:US ♥♠♀■♦:UT LL§≈I♫EB:U♫TL•T:US-

(But no sooner has she started than another voice comes in:)

The degree of your dedication is only mired by being on completely useless pursuits.

(Kim shakes her head, horrified.)

Kim: "O-oh no... nononononono... n-not Hikari... not Kamui... m-my pursuits a-aren't useless; t-they must mean something! I... I need to be good for at least something... right...? T-this— w-what I'm doing right now could change e-everything...! I..."

(She glances down at what she's written so far and continues with it:)

ET ES■♦:UT:US →Ω:IT ¶E:U •I≈:U T♠♫ ♥• •U TLLL•♦:US.

ENGLISH ♫E§: I •♀ ♫I♀BE♦L§ B♠N≈ I ENΩ♠§ G♠L≈-BU☼ B§ E≈G•♦ •LLEN ■♠E THE •B♠±E ¶•LL ♠♂ TEXT IS •N •L■H•L♠G♠G♦•■H§ ♂♠♦ THE UBESE L•NGU•GE

(But the fact that the word "language" has made itself evident by this point ends up evading Kim entirely, as her thoughts are starting to go mad. After she finishes writing, she stares up at the wall of her room in utter shock.)

Kim: (muttering to herself) "...I... I haven't changed... I-I haven't changed at all..."

(She starts giggling.)

Kim:(through her laughter)"But— but my pursuits a-aren't— t-they're not pointless, are they...? T-they're going to change the world... L-languages are important! Communication is important! W-without it, well..."

(A beat. The laughter subsides, replaced once again with horror.)

Kim: (realizing it) "Oh no... no...nononononono--!"

Here you are, choking up on your passions simply by being put in the hot seat. It’s as sad as it is fitting; all that passion but none of the determination.

Kim: "F-fitting?! H-how in the world is it fitting...?! T-this is horrifying...! I... I thought I was better than this... I thought I had changed... T-this can't be how Rever and Hikari actually think of me... a-and what they've been holding back f-for months now..."

(Beat.)

Kim: (now starting to choke up for real) "B-but... but it is... isn't it...?"

(A few tears start dripping down her face, and she starts to laugh again. She glances down at the paper, and notices the word LANGUAGE making itself very much evident— but as she adds in all the A's, her tears fall onto the paper:)

SI T♠♫ ↨A ♥♠♀■♦:UT →Ω:IT, B:IL♠♫LLE■T:US! T♠♫ ↨E →Ω:IT ♥'♠■♦:UT:US ♥♠♀■♦:UT LL§≈I♫EB:U♫TLAT:US, ET ES■♦:UT:US →Ω:IT ¶E:U •I≈:U T♠♫ ♥A AU TLLLA♦:US.

ENGLISH ♫E§: I A♀ ♫I♀BE♦L§ B♠N≈ I ENΩ♠§ G♠L≈-BU☼ B§ E≈GA♦ ALLEN ■♠E THE AB♠±E ¶ALL ♠♂ TEXT IS AN AL■HAL♠G♠G♦A■H§ ♂♠♦ THE UBESE LANGUAGE

(Like before, she seems to not even register the fact that the words EDGAR ALLEN POE and ALPHALOGOGRAPHY have made themselves evident. She glances over at the paper, still in tears, starting to be broken, and notices the words, filling in letters without fully registering what she's reading or what she's doing. All of her focus is on Kamui's words, which continue to echo into her ears.)

Entitlement, anticipation to be good at something simply because you want to be.

Kim: (in tears, writing letters down) "S-she's right..."

SI TO♫ ↨A ♥O♀P♦:UT →Ω:IT, B:ILO♫LLEPT:US! TO♫ ↨E →Ω:IT ♥'OP♦:UT:US ♥O♀P♦:UT LL§≈I♫EB:U♫TLAT:US, ET ESP♦:UT:US →Ω:IT ¶E:U AI≈:U TO♫ ♥A AU TLLLA♦:US.

ENGLISH ♫E§: I A♀ ♫I♀BE♦L§ BON≈ I ENΩO§ GOL≈-BU☼ B§ E≈GA♦ ALLEN POE THE ABO±E ¶ALL O♂ TEXT IS AN ALPHALOGOG♦A■H§ ♂O♦ THE UBESE LANGUAGE

It took us ten years to be where we are now.

Kim: (her tears continuing) "I know..."

SI TO♫ ↨A ♥O♀PR:UT →Ω:IT, B:ILO♫LLEPT:US! TO♫ ↨E →Ω:IT ♥'OPR:UT:US ♥O♀PR:UT LLY≈I♫EB:U♫TLAT:US, ET ESPR:UT:US →Ω:IT ¶E:U AI≈:U TO♫ ♥A AU TLLLAR:US.

ENGLISH ♫EY: I A♀ ♫I♀BERLY BON≈ I ENΩOY GOL≈-BU☼ BY E≈GAR ALLEN POE THE ABO±E ¶ALL O♂ TEXT IS AN ALPHALOGOGRAPHY ♂OR THE UBESE LANGUAGE

(By this point, most of the English text has been filled out to completion— but Kim's eyes are too filled up with tears to fully realize it. Kamui's words echo again in her ears:)

Why did you ever expect to lead a team anywhere near as experienced after as few as three?

(Kim shakes her head.)

Kim: (now starting to get thoroughly broken) "I... I don't know...! I don't know why I ever expected that I was going to do anything special with my life; I don't know why I ever thought that I was a good J-Team member; I don't know why I ever thought I belonged here...! P-please don't tell me that 9-Volt feels the same way; please don't...!"

(She's stopped laughing by this point. All she does is take a few breaths, glancing down at the paper and seeming to recognize her own name— and the fact that most of the bottom is filled in. Before she has a chance to add in all the remaining letters, however, another voice echoes in her ears.)

We both know you can be better than you are.

(And upon hearing that, Kim smiles a bit, getting slightly more relieved.)

Kim: (through her tears) "9-Volt... t-thank Arceus, s-someone who... w-who actually believes in me... I—"

(And then:)

How have you taken so long to realize that potential?

(The sting of dissappointment. 9-Volt's voice doesn't need to say anything more than that— Kim's face instantly falls, and her mind becomes frantic.)

Kim: (to herself) "...h-he... he does... t-this is how they feel... t-this must be how they feel— t-this must be how all of them feel— t-this must be how they've felt ever since I met them— t-they don't believe in me— t-they never have— n-none of them do... a-and I... I don't know why I've taken so long..."

(She pauses.)

Kim: (to herself, tears streaming down her face, utterly broken) "...b-but... I... I can't do it... I can't get better... I-I'm sorry... t-that I've... t-that I've...!"

(A breath. She sobs for a bit.)

Kim: (sobbing) "O-oh well... a-at least... at least Evelyn and Ian w-will admit that I've changed... r-right...?"

(beat)

Kim: (now broken) "...right...?"

Circhester Stadium Lobby

Me: Thanks! We never fail to entertain!

Evelyn: So that makes 6 badges now.

Spikemuth

-Ian and Evelyn step out of the changing room, dressed in a custom designed Kwan Industries Gym Challenger uniform with a little red and gold cape, and a Psychic Kimono respectively.-

Me: Ready when you are, Evelyn.

-Ian then bows.-

Me: Ladies first.

Evelyn: -giggles- You're too kind.

-Ian and Evelyn step out into the path to the Gym.-

Turffield Stadium Lobby

-Emilie watches the battle carefully, planning out what she is going to do.-

Hulbury

-Platinum laughs.-

Platinum: I wouldn't have it any other way.

White Forest, Melodious Meeting

Me: Well, the thing is... she wasn't supposed to see us in those uniforms. In that other world, tied to the Collective Unconscious... The "Metaverse", if you will... We need those uniforms to maintain anonymity so those with corrupted hearts cannot link us to what we do. And what we do... isn't exactly within the confines of human law...

Wyndon Stadium

Just a Hoops finishes explaining, the stadium comes alive with cheers.

Announcer: And it's time, everyone, for this one of a kind final battle to begin! Trainers, please make your way to the field.

Hoops looks at their friends.

Hoops: You guys had better get changed quick. It's showtime.

They turn to leave, but something occurs to them at the last second.

Hoops: Oh, and guys? Thanks for being my friends.

Wyndon Stadium, Pitch

At the edge of the tunnel, Hoops stops and takes a deep breath.

Announcer: Here they are, everyone. The challenger from Galar who everyone is watching. Challenger 352, Hoops!

Hoops walks out to the centre of the field and waves nervously to the crowd. They go to stand at one end.

Announcer: And in a unique case, their three simultaneous opponents: Ian, Evelyn, Kim!

Snowslide Slope

Hiro: Something about this being a "free"-to-play feels fitting.

-Hiro trades various friends, foes, and nonindicatively-named concepts in effigy to Glastrier for some sweet dragons-

Abilene: This is fucked up, you do realize.

Hiro: -mild- False.

Abilene: -to Glastrier, indeed unmoved by a traditional Trainer challenge- The first I heard the Legend I swear by most was an actual creature, a fascist was using him to wipe out my country's mainland. Forgive me for assuming—setting aside your hooves—you slumbered with the rest of this island's storied ones. Until that damn fool chairman woke those three, but I've heard only rumours of any since. Barring the end of the multiverse fiasco.

Hiro: I've met mine.

Abilene: I am unsurprised.

Hiro: From a distance, mostly. She kept the School away from our family while I was stuck with you. I offered some light—she's very strong.

Abilene: Well, that's quite nice. I don't suppose—

Hiro: Dated a human.

Abilene: —if you have an avenue for petition, she'd be willing to...

-Beat-

Abilene: dated a what

Hiro: A human.

-...-

Abilene: Whom?

Hiro: Reshiram.

Abilene: The...the dragon.

Hiro: A dragon.

Abilene: -...foot tapping, suspicious- ...a non-metaphorical, non-allegorical dragon—to which you often refer, not one for whom that dragon is her namesake—is the subject of the sentence you initiated a—

Hiro:    My Legendary Dragon, Reshiram, dated a human.   

Abilene: Sweet—suffering Shedinja that was unnecessary!

Hiro: Yes.

Abilene: Fuck!

-he stays perfectly silent, which is how Abilene knows he's laughing-

Abilene: Oooh, and I suppose you're just waiting to spring upon me—Tornadus and Thundurus flew across the [Atlantic] to tee-pee my house! You're [Facedex] friends with the Vermillion Truck Cryptid!    Xerneas himself fornicates with a thrice-blasted J-Teamer of all things, what a surprise!   

-...-

Abilene: ,

-...-

Hiro: If I knew, I would tell you.

Abilene: ...moving on.

Hiro: Well, the last one.

Abilene: Moving on.

Hiro: Pack a couple Rawst Berries.

Abilene: Shut up.

-the exasperation may be an affect, and the stare left her unaffected, but Glastrier's appreciation for the trappings of the society around them visibly fills Abilene with legitimate, slow-creeping dread-

Abilene: Ah.

-says a cog to the machine-

Abilene: Capitalism horse.

Hiro: ...no, I shouldn't expect the processes you favor to require such drivers, hm? Nor you, personally—I apologize for stating otherwise.

-he inclines his head-

Abilene: Medicine has—improved, over an eon. Infrastructure expands, systems entrench, battle becomes sport—

Hiro: -deliberately- There is so much light you can hardly see the stars, some places.

Abilene: But there is always you.

-Hiro tilts his head, mulling over his next words-

Morata's Mansion, Main Hall - November 1st

-Kappa meeps and takes a few quick steps back-

Vee: !!!

-rather than clatter noisily against the linoleum (or marble, or...Atrium Material), though, her boots kind of-

-sink-

-just an inch or so, sending little ripples through the floor before it settles-

Vee: -hisses-

Kappa: -whimpers-

-and she slides...quietly, literally slides, away from the statue-

Vee: -writing, again, on her own flank- (...wanna see what she does?)

-Kappa, meanwhile, is inching for the door- -she seems to be reminding herself of her own invisibility-

 Campus Palace - Revy 

Shadow?Revy: I've plundered finer Palaces than this.

Shadow?Revy: -grinning, to Knight- I've killed cockier warriors than you.

"Cloud": -grinding her mandibles- <You're just an echo of a memory.>

-giving the charge command- <You're nothi—!>

-and all the eyes of the Legion open-

-amethyst set in steel—the sheer murderous intent freezes Lê Lợi, Hecate, and—for some reason, charging with them—Tinkerbell,

Shadow?Revy: -tsks- You know my face.

-the paralytic fear washes out through the wreckage of the Library, rebounding off its reflection in the water-

Shadow?Revy: -stepping down- Don't you know? I live as long as my descendants live—

-Daze's Obscura hits him across the face, and he pauses-

Shadow?Revy: -raising a hand to his jaw- ...ah.

What a familiar power.

-he turns his gaze on Daze, the Legion staring down Huli-Jung as one-

"Cloud": -grits her jaw-

Shadow?Revy: -to Daze- ...well, you're not her behind that mask.

(-distantly, there's a snap like another mask clicking into place-)

Shadow?Revy: Shame. I'd love to rip her memory apart in person. She's here somewhere, isn't she?

-"Cloud" roars—Tinkerbell's Aromatherapy sprays outward, stinging shut the eyes of the Legion—everyone can move again-

-a dozen Myrmekes joined into a tail strike through her, her little light going out—"Cloud" collapses on the spot, her Persona shattered-

Disc!Thespi: !!!!

-and the turns his swarm toward Huli-Jung-

-to say he hits like a truck would be trite, and false-

-he hits like a hushed tone in a seaside bar after the fifth ale, deep in a gut too drowned to process-

-he hits like horror the instant it transmutes to terror-

-he strikes like cold realization—the slither of steel the moment you turn your back-

-like a fucking Memito—the fucking Memito, famed and feared-

Shadow?Revy: -starts forward, a Myrmexsparce revving on each arm-

-and yes, like many a history student's imaginings of what it must have been like to be smashed by a serpent the size of a building-

-he's laser-focused on Daze for the moment!-

Edited by Asterisk395 on Dec 4th 2021 at 3:16:04 PM

Sector Five, Metanet Round 2

-The Nightingale took a deep breath as she wandered back to the teleporter bay from her brief snack break-

Alright, we jumping across again? I'm really wanting to fry that AI's circuits, even if just to shut it up...

Hades Submarine, Team Briefing

Alright. Hopefully there will be a minimal amount of staff, not like they'd be expecting intruders for an underwater warehouse...

-The Nightingale took a moment to make sure all her pockets and gadget pouches were properly sealed up-

I'll inventory anything that ends up... Salvaged. A little less stealthy than the usual, but offerings are offerings.

-Her preparations for the dive are set a little off kilter by Suiko's explanation of the possible routes-

Okay. That is some really solid planning Suiko and I agree that we need to evacuate that place as a priority; We're still fundamentally the good guys here, we don't need blood on our hands.

Outside Wyndon Stadium

Yeah... I built Gale because well, I needed to not be seen as being 'with' the J-Team for a while. Turns out that while has become two years and I'm not sure if I'm ready to be Pent again and rejoin the Team... But people are gonna talk if Gale Knight turns up where Tagg himself alluded to and I don't think I have it in me for another League run...

-She sighs and puts the wings away-

But I have to be there in Sinnoh if you take the Team over. I'd get bored otherwise. Gotta stay close to the inevitable storm that airship's always chasing...

White Forest, Melodious Meeting

Meloetta: Oh, so she called the cops?

-She does a little spin-

Meloetta: Guess you got away if she did so that's good?

Hamlet Outskirts, The Hag

While 'the hill' really seems to refer to the general upward trend of the landscape and thus host to any number of distant buildings barely visible through the wild, there does appear to be a house on the upper end of the village that appears well-kept. The hag nods and hands over the box.

"Hm... Bad luck to open this in front of whoever gave you it, but you should open it soon."

Without explaining further, the hag starts walking away.

"You should get to Luiza's quick, before the Lycans return!"

The hag rounds the corner of a building and slips out of sight.

White Forest, Melodious Meeting

Me: Actually, Meloetta... That's the funny part. She didn't. She was just as shocked as I was. I had to princess carry her out of there, but I'm still worried. She knows my secret regarding the cognito-magical underpinnings of reality, as well as the secrets of two others.

-Ian looks around before sighing.-

Me: I know you can keep a secret, but for some reason, I don't feel safe in disclosing the names of the other two people whose secrets were exposed to her.

Then Ms. Gale Knight disappeared through a portal to who-knows-where.

Wyndon Stadium

Evelyn and I: You are most welcome, Hoops.

-Ian and Evelyn head into the changing rooms to get ready for their battle with Hoops.-

Hamlet Trek Finishing

Following her advice, carrying the box handed off to her with both arms so as to not disturb the contents, but keeping up a pace that was fast enough for her comfort considering the advice she was given.

She opens the box once comfortably close, speed slowing down enough for her to be able to look at its contents while walking to what was - she guessed - Luiza's front door.