Delta let out a sigh as he looked to Josiah. "This is necessary?"

"Tech keeps getting better every year sir, our ECM is kind of necessary to keep updated."

He grumbled as he looked over everything. "Fine, kick up secondaries and begin the update."

Josiah smiled. "Not to worry sir, Sphinx sent this package straight from his devs. Best yet he says."

"Ma'at is good at what she does, that's the only reason I'm accepting it."

Josiah flipped a switch and began an installation. For just a microsecond, the old Supercarrier was visible... but nobody would have the chance to catch that microsecond... right?

Bishop was hard at work at his usual duties, organizing schedules, charting paths for cargo, sorting out the space needed for upgrades and modifications, and playing games of chess against himself.

He had tried tic tac toe, but he found it annoying as it was a game where the only winning move was not to play.

Here, away from meatspace, Bishop was capable of running calculations far faster than anything else. It made it useful for sorting out how best to help the family, how to plan contingencies, what upgrades to make to his IG shell.

Then, he noticed it. For anyone else a Microsecond wouldn't be enough time, but for him? It was more than enough, he gripped onto it, he recognized the signal frequency... this was Delta's... even better this was Delta's location.

Silas was of course, busy debating with Snakeye and Khan.

"Yes we get better range but if we choke the aperture we also get worse fuel economy."

<Ah but not if we strengthen the magnetic containment.>

<Khan that's just crazy, y'all don't need that much range on a shuttle. The idea is that tha Wing will be nearby ready fer anythin'.>

Khan stared at Snakeye. <And out of the two of us? Who has the genetically engineered superbrain?>

<That part's debatable partner,> Snakeye responded with a smirk.

Silas let out a sigh and shook his head, Khan while he had been accepted into the family, still had yet to really fit into the dynamic... of course with his backstory that wasn't surprising. He raised a hand to interrupt when all of a sudden-

"CAPTAIN!"

Silas nearly fell out of his chair as he looked over at Bishop who had just flew out of a wall.

"Captain, I have it!"

"Have what?"

"HIM! I HAVE HIM CAPTAIN!"

Silas blinked. "Wait do you mean-"

"Yes! Prep the crew! We have our chance!"

Silas sat there for a moment, and a frown crossed his face as his left eye ignited, he got up and prepped a message.

Hamlet, Crimson Manor

Oddly Jolly Man: Something that important? It's a safe bet that the Countess keeps the key on her person.

-He does chuckle and go quiet when shooshed and leans forward as though from his seat that'd help with listening. In terms of sounds of footprints, it's all coming from somewhere upstairs-

Meat Palace, Battle Complete

-Rakash rolls his shoulders back and hands the Bestiary off to Gulduar who promptly vanishes back into the mask-

Alright. Let's get out of here so we don't manifest trespassing on the real version of the factory... Just saying though, I don't want to leave too much time before visits so don't get too busy in the coming days.

Earth Vellumental Temple

-Gale looks fairly nonplussed as the origami Groudon shows up. She fetches her bag and spends a few moments searching it before extracting her favorite sword-

I'm sorely tempted to make origami puns, but they'd probably land better against the leader of this paper-clad invasion rather than a Vellumental...

-She shrugs and goes in for a strike-

Jubilife Contest Hall

-The Nightingale takes a moment to hesitate before grabbing a pair of Pokeballs from her belt-

Acoylte, you are called upon once more! But too, I call upon the power of that otherworldly Bond!

-She throws the Pokeballs out, Acolyte bursts forth from one in a cloud of black smoke but the other Pokeball sits there on the ground for a moment before in a flash of white light a large Tyrantrum that looks perhaps even more wild and untamed than a regular specimen is let out, custom Seals leaving crystal shards to hang suspended in the air around him before fading-

Tyrantanoth Rex, ravage! Acolyte, prepare!

-Acolyte swoops up and around the tournament area, Honing his Claws on the walls of the arena and letting off a few showers of short-lived sparks. Tyrantanoth however sees little purpose to theatrics and with one mighty stomp rocks the arena with an Earthquake-

Hearthome Contest Hall

-The Nightingale regards Xaster for a few more moments before backing off-

Well, at least its influence seems to have gone with the physical trinket.

-She glances momentarily at Neon-

Perhaps that would be wise. At least to keep them on the lookout for more of these feathers.

Fox's Wedding

-The Automata is flung by the toss, though in a shower of sparks she manages to brake her flight across the area using her sword-

The world may drown, but I am kin of shadow and flame. Shall I show you?

-She turned her head to regard Kendall, either that blindfold she got on was less opaque than it looked or she was really good at identifying the source of sounds-

Don't worry, me and Duck renegotiated the contract; I'm the one in control. Anyways where was I? Oh right, blasting!

-She snaps her attention back at Radon and points a finger gun at him while a black oblong manifests over her shoulder. She fakes 'shooting' and the oblong follows suit with a beam of crackling glitchscuric energy-

The Defiant Wing

-The Nightingale arrives almost immediately; shadow transportation and a lot of practice putting on her costume really trims the seconds from the response time-

Alright Captain, looking forward to seeing what this 'something' you have is.

It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.

Jubilife City

- After spending a long time getting to the city, Lux has arrived, hoping to find the person he's supposed to meet with. Mike, from atop Lux's shiny yet hairless head, looks around to see if he can find them. To his dismay, though, Mike couldn't find them. In fact, no matter where they looked, they couldn't find the individual they're looking for. Then it dawned on Lux: -

"We've been scammed, haven't we, Mike?"

- Mike nods in agreement and shame. They both decide that it would be best to just go back to the Storm chaser ship and admit to being conned. -

Why's this eggo angy all the time? | Current video game focus: Minecraft

Stormchaser, Maxime's Room

I'll be seeing you too!

Maxime got his things unpacked. He'd been planning to stay at various hotels as he went on his journey, but this airship was a very pleasant suprise for him. Despite being rather unfamiliar, it felt safer to Max somehow.

His parents were rather overprotective to an extent. This is his first time outside Unova, and it took a lot of convincing to let his parents go here. They warned him about "strange people" and "mental tricksters" in the outside world. Maxime didn't quite grasp what they meant. He's got a pokemon with him, and while he's inexperienced as a trainer, he's seen how his parents battled before and picked up a couple strategies from watching.

<You still lost in thought, there? What ya wanna do now?>

Maxime noticed Kliff standing right in front of him, looking a little impatient.

Oh! Um, Kliff, I guess we'll begin the Sinnoh gym challenge?

<Ya said it, I'm itching for a good battle. It felt like weeks since got to Jubilife!>

Wyndon Stadium, VS Hoops

Me: Alright, Piku-chan! Dance through the danger with Volt Tackle!

-Piku-chan then surrounds himself in electricity and charges at Led headlong, tanking wave after wave of Bug Buzz.-

Jubilife Contest Hall

-Maria's Aggron is struck by the mighty Earthquake attack from Tyrantanoth Rex's stomp and is felled by the attack.-

X


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╓────────────────╢ GALE'S POINTS ╟──────────────────────────╖ 
╠══╡ STAMINA ╞══════════════════════════════════════════════╣ 
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╓────────────────╢ MARIA'S POINTS ╟─────────────────────────╖ 
╠══╡ STAMINA ╞══════════════════════════════════════════════╣ 
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Marian: Oooh! A Battle Off in the first ten seconds! Aggron is unable to battle! AND GALE KNIGHT IS MOVING ON TO THE SEMI-FINALS!

-Maria calls her Aggron back to its Poké Ball. She then calls Qwilfish back to its Poké Ball.-

Maria: W-well, Ms. Knight... That was... something...

-Maria stifles her tears at not having gotten to do anything and moves to shake Gale Knight's hand.-

Saffron City, Training Montage

Training: Evelyn and Oskar the Mind Master

-Upon building up a sufficient rhythm, Simon's stomach glows with an orange glow as ambient energy is drawn towards him. He then looks up to the sky and opens his mouth, which glows with the same orange glow. He then fires a blast of draconic energy into the air, which splits into twelve energy meteors which come crashing down around Simon, even hitting Oskar's Hypno square on the head.-

Simon used Draco Meteor!^* Thanks to SergeySmirnov for suggesting this move.

-Simon then notices that Oskar the Mind Master's Hypno is unconscious and smiles nervously.-

Simon: <Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!>

Oskar's Hypno: <N-No worries... You did great, Simon...>

Oskar the Mind Master: -to Evelyn- I was not expecting your Hypno's first move called by Metronome to be Draco Meteor of all things! Congrats, Evelyn!

Evelyn: Ah, heheh... Thanks, Oskar.

Training: Evelyn and Sabrina

-Axon channels psychic energy through his spoons before swinging them at the wall. In one swift motion, the psychic energy channeled into the spoons is released as a razor-sharp blade of psychic power that slices through the air and disperses on impact with the wall.-

Fox's Wedding, VS Radon

-The beam of glitchscuric energy strikes true on Radon.-

╓────────────────╢ RADON ╟───────────────────────────────────────────────────────╖ 
╠══╡ STAMINA ╞═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ 
║██████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████        ║ 
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

-Ian recovers after being stunned by the toss, regains his bearings and jumps up into the air to meet his clone face to face.-

Me: So tell me, flamebrain. Why do you harbor such a grudge against us Magical girls? Didja get snubbed for a role in your [Sailor Moon] School play?

Radon:    Ḭ̸̛̬̳̺̰͔͌͐̚̕͜͝t̴͇̠̖̠͖͕͚̀́̈́ ̸̧͖̏̏̏m̶͉͍͙͌͒͋ä̷͔̺́̑͋͘͘͝t̶̹̯͈̲̜̎̃̊͝t̷̬͚̃̾̅͆è̵͍̮̌͝ř̶͈̥̹͓̥s̸̩̙̬̗̺̩̈̐̏͠ ̵̤̀́̀̓̈́̏n̷͈̖͚̏̊͊ͅo̷̻̫̫̅ţ̷̜͍̬̈́̑͐͑́́ ̴̣̝̣̤̪̘̮͐͠t̴̻̪̮̦̠̦̃́ó̵͙͍̰̙ ̸̛͉͚̞͕̀̔̾̚y̴̙̻̆̇̂͆͝ȯ̷̤͕͔̲̗̫̇̊͗̈̀ͅu̶̧̜͓̠͈̭̐̽̆͗́ ̸͍̩͎̝̥̞̱̅́̇́̈́̀t̶̨̨̳͚̉͛̅̈́̃̾h̵̗̳̠̞̪͎̣̑̑̍͑̾̾ẻ̷͕̝̟͙̗͑ ̸͓̽̉ͅr̶͙͉̙̤͓͌̍͝ȅ̷̲̠̣̝̼͉̋́̍̐͜ạ̸̡̦̺̜̽͜s̷͍͒́̈́͆͝͝ỡ̸̛͇̯̼͚̆͆n̷͍̩̝͙̎̆ ̶̖̠̦̿̉̀̿̊́f̸̗̩̗̩͒̇̈́͝o̴̧̖̞͔̗͓̣̓̊̕͝͝͝ṛ̸͉̘͆́̕̚ ̷̝̹̈́͆̃̌̐͝m̷̢̮͚̺̈̃y̶̢̗͕̜͂̄ ̷̛͕̞̿̊̋̚h̷̨̥̝̳̭́̔͑͂̈́͠a̸̢̤͎̟̗͉͈̋̏͌͝͠t̸̖̩̉͛e̵̢̥̳̙̠̫͐͝!̷͇͖͗̐͒̿͑̚ ̸̮͎͚̓͊͋̉͝Ţ̵̹̭̥̘̺͂̏ḣ̵̡̛̈́e̷̻͇͍̻͕̽͗̚ ̴̨̬͚̳͂̅̏̉̍̈́ͅd̷͎̩͈͇̆̓̈́͗͑͝͠ä̸̹̩̯̘̒͗r̵̻͊͠k̵̛̙̘̦͉̟̯̹̈́̅͝ṇ̷̨͈̣̪̻͎̂͂̈́͆ȅ̷͚̇͗ͅs̷̱̟͍̥̾s̷͈̜̩̣̊̾͝ ̸̬̫̎̍ͅs̵̛̹̳͔͎̟̊̆͒̄̋̈́͜h̵̪̯̣͚̖̅̈́́̏̔̚͠a̵̹͠l̷̛̯͇̹̰̻̤̯̃͗̈̈̕͝l̷̞͕̗̅̌̀̈̈́̈̋ ̴̛̤̣̖̜̺̿̋̌̑̎͘c̸͎͐̄͌ȯ̵̧̢̟̹͇̙̭̆̃ṋ̴̘͆̔͗s̴̢̛͎̭̹̠͙̀͑͆̓̈́ͅu̵͙̽̾̑͌̕͝m̷̢̀̅͑̓̚͝͝ȩ̶͚̱̏̊̐͒́̾͂ ̵̹̫͎̘̣͌͌̑̎͝a̷̡̹̔͂̾̿̉̇͐l̷̝͚̣̖̮͈͙̎̍͒̓l̵̗͚̞͇̎̃̍͝,̵͔̩̤̰̥̮̫́̆̒̂ ̴͉͎͔̝̽͌͝ͅâ̸̡̟̭̯̇̏̒̏̈́̍ņ̴͎͚̣̇́͌d̸͈͛ ̸̡̥͓͎̭̔̈́̃̐͝ȳ̸̧̦̺̪͓̽̌o̴̢̝̰̦̫͔̊̊́u̸̯̥̤̝̺̝̟̎͆̆̈́͝r̴̺͂̈̓̿̎ ̴̗͈̣̦̘̿͊̎̔̀p̷̹̐̆ͅr̵̛͍̝͍̗̀͂ę̷̼̰̜̩́͐̉̏c̵̨͈̮̻̈́ỉ̷̲̽͛̕͜o̶̦̜̒̔͆̑̈́̅u̸̝͇͂̐͠s̵͎̞̳̘̥͎̄̈͐̓̐̍̏ ̴̧̬͍͉͂͐̍̊̏͊͜p̶̺͚̬̣͇͍̾̐ǫ̶̝͙̰̐̄̍̄̓͛́ẃ̶̩͕̝̻̔̆͛e̶͍͈̙̲̽͑r̸̡͍̭͆ ̸͈͚̐̍͊͋ͅo̶̤̝͔̜̊͗͂͗͆͝f̵̰͍̘̦͂͋̀̉̈́ ̴̠̱̪̒͝l̸͖͖̽͋͆͋̚ờ̷̡̤̻̥v̴̜̥̙̬̪̆͋́̀e̶͔̱͍͂ ̶̨̘̉̽̈́́̀͛w̸̙̤̯̩͚̓͑̇̆̃͂̕ộ̶͕̯̯̫͓̓̉̎̕̚͜n̷̙̘̤̖̮͓̈́̌̅͗̾̊'̷͖̩̮͓̜̯͖̉̈͒̈́͛͝t̴̛̯̞̺͎͍̃͂̑͘ ̵̭͍̆͊b̴̻͓̫̔͐̃͆͘̕͠ë̵͇͍̝̭́́͊ ̷̢̝̫́̀̐̕͠ä̵̡̟̦̗͎́b̷̺̱̼̖̬̘͔̀͆̉l̴̢̧̫͚̬̥̈̄̄́̈́ę̸͓͙̩̙̭̖̽̐̅̑ ̶̰͐̀͌͘̕t̴̨̛͙̝̺̿̅̓̊̌̚ỏ̸̱͋̓͐ ̴̢͎̥̲̣̬̝̎̓͝ś̴̢̗̚à̸̲͌̈́v̶̦̘̻̀̉̍̏e̸̦͈̫͐̑̐̈́̇ ̴͉͐̈̇͛̕̚y̶̖̖̭̠̙̩̥͗͒͝ọ̸̢̩̙̌̇͂̆̌́͠u̶̮̒!̷͎͙̫͖̾̋̏́̈́   

Me: Now where have I heard that before?

Radon:    A̸̬̭̟̾̊͝͝l̸̠̄̾̌̂̽̕l̶̹͚̲̬͍̏͑̊̉̆̓ ̵̢͈̤͂͌̂͒̆w̶̢͎͍͉̎̕͠͝h̶̠̪̝̼͒͂̊̋́̚͝ơ̶̡̜͍̖̤̬͍̐́̈́͑ ̵̰͎͇̟̟͉̬̋͘ḑ̶̯̀̽̉̚͜à̴̫̣̼̱̲͖̽̈́̀́̕ͅr̴̢̧̰̦̙̗̋̍̃̕ẻ̸̱̣͊̐̂́͑͝s̴̙̖̈͜ ̶̢̢̗̱̗͍̑͑ͅt̵̡̛͍̼̤͍̹̂͗̃̉̃̕ͅo̷̢͚̘̜͂ ̸͇̗̻͉͆̄ö̷̡̮̭͍̞̝̥p̶̧̪̘̻͔̀p̵̳̞̓̉o̵̤̪̼̊s̷̭̬̣̲̪̻͛͊̒̃̔e̶̢̎̈́͊̕͘ ̸̤̀͆̊͊m̵̡͉̜̦͕̹̠͑͒ẹ̵̠͖͋̈͂͝ ̵̨̏͆̌̽̂͘͠s̵͈͎̱̈͜h̴͎̲̜̬̹̋̍a̶̢̙͎̣̋̽l̸̢̨͕̣͈̏l̴̝̣̤̹͓͋̎͑ ̴̼̥̎̂ḇ̶̗̹̗͎̹̀̆̎͘e̷̹̬͒͐̍͆ ̵̯̲̹̹̃̊͜ļ̵͕̰͓͙̉̈́͗͝ͅo̷͎͚̳̿̈́ş̷͉͇̙̥̥͔̓̏̊̂̔̈t̴̢̯̗̽͆͝ ̸̡̭̮̼̆̿͋̕͠ť̶͍͉͎̥̃̐õ̸̞̺͚͙̜̇̚ ̸̡̻̫̱̲̟͋t̴͇̹̖̫͖̮̮̆h̵̯̦̺́̋̅͋̓e̴̱͌̉͆̅̚ ̸̢̝͂͊́̉̀̋͑e̶͙͍̓̍̃̕t̷͇̘̻̗̗͙̥̃͒̍͗̕͝e̸̬̝̦̬̜͍̙͒̀̀̿͋̚r̵͈̦̈̏n̸͙͕͓̝̲͋ą̶͔͔̞̗̘̐ľ̸͓͘ ̶̰̘̺̎̓ṅ̵̳̹̺͈͈̱̾͝ͅi̸̘̯͍̿͆͐̽͠g̴̥̫̜̗̯͚̠̑͆͗͑̓̊̆ḣ̶̲̠̂̉̒̍͝t̵̡̛͈̱̺̣͍͎́́,̵̢̭̥̟̼̩̃ ̴͎̈́̊̑̈̽͜͝ç̸̢͉̙̘̺̈́̏̉ơ̶͓̺͍n̴̬̼̞̄͗͗̕͘͝͝ṣ̷̨̟̜̜͇̗͐́̇u̷̥̽m̷̜̥̌̈́͝ȩ̸̪̥̳̺̥̽̓͜ḍ̶̡̝̯̳̯̾́̐̔͑̕͝ ̶̝͖̖̘̬͒̑͝b̸͎̘̊̌̋͋̔̈͗ỳ̷̫̣̮̦̗̟͠ ̷̛͇̀͌͋̏͘͜ţ̶̪̀̋́̓h̶͓͍̱̃e̶̞̰̔̒ ̶̨͖̈́̉̍̐̎l̴̤̈́̽͝ã̴̛͓̙̟̺̑̀͐̍̈́k̷̟̱̮̠̈́̊ė̸̖͍̀̾̆͒̔͜͝ ̸̱͔̰͋͗͋o̶̭͆̊̽̂͑̏͠f̴̡̛͓̠͓̤̝͍̑̋̂͘ ̴̧̡̭̱̗͎̺̅̅͘͘b̵̛͒͗̓̓̕͜͠ú̵̦̝̈̔̾r̷̻̱̄n̷̨͕̝͙͐́̓͑̽ĭ̷̧̺̫̅̕ń̸͓̈̅͝g̷̈́͊̓̊͛̀ͅ ̷̙͚̝̿͂̓̇͝ͅv̵̧͕̝͈͔̾a̶̛̪̖̞n̷̗̫̈́̈́̂ṭ̵̨̜͙̞͕̒̒͌̕̚ǎ̶̛̪̦̥͇̔͐̃̊b̵̮̮̘̫̮͒l̸̨̠̝̜͙͊̅͛̽͘͠a̵̢̰͍͉̤̎͆̀͒̒͜͝c̸̞̥̼̼̙̈́̍̇̅k̵̪̱͈̼̜̫͊̏̄͗̊!̴̧̹̻̘̠̺̅̇́̇͘̕ ̶̻̖͚͗͆̊ͅA̴̻͓̅̔n̸̢̩̺͐̎̏͐͑͠ḑ̵̛̫̰̖̄̇͌̑̈́̆ ̸́̚ͅt̵̼͉̍̄͜ĥ̵̲̐̓̓̐́̽ͅi̴͕͉͇̺̖̱͠s̸͉͎͙̜͓̮͐̕͝ͅ ̷̱̼͉͆̈́̅̊͜s̶̘͕̪̭̬̓̅̏͂̉ͅh̴̛̥̭̝͕̋̾̋̃̋ả̶̬͚͙̞͔̂̎͜l̵̨̻͔̹̼͖͐̔̔l̷̥̞̦̞͌͌̀̓̍̉̒ ̸̝̌̒̈́͗͂͊b̴̛̜̪̲̯̳̩̔̿̇̆͗̕ȩ̷̠̻̱̩̲͆͂̑͂̀̐͗ ̴̢͎͙̘͔̺̈́̔̑̅ț̵̐͒͑ḧ̷̨̬̮͉͔́͝͝i̴̲̦̯̔̋n̷͖̞̋́̌̿̔͝e̴̹̲͇͊͆̃̓̈́̕ ̷̡̠̹̝̪̖̱̂͋̂̚s̶̮͉̥̈́͆̉́́̐̀e̷̛̫͗̐̇͗̊͝c̸̨͈͎͔͎̏͋̈́̓ö̸̡̰̣̉̆̊̕n̷̢̖̋͂d̵͓̻̹̲͔͈̃͆̕̕͜ ̵̯͎͙̠̩̞̎̇̒̓̽̌ḑ̶̧̛̪̙̖͇́̾̔ͅẹ̶̭̦̘͚̀͆̊́̿̒̄a̵͎̣̼̎̽t̶̛̛̜̖̘̫̳̠̓̂̑͑̕͜h̷̡̳̟͗͠!̷̝͉̼̤̪̻̓̎́̿^* Achievement Unlocked: Revelation 21:8   

Me: Okay... Not entirely sure where the "thine" comes from. I mean, last I checked, Oshawittle was my Pokémon.

Radon:    Ö̴͇͙̭͐̄̄͊͑͝k̶̡̛̳̺̃̀̈́͝å̴͇̞͇̽y̶͍̦̿̂͆̌̊̕͠,̸̩̈́ ̶̢͙̭̲͓̠͂͗̍͋̔͑͘͜ỷ̷̞̯͔̘̠͉̑o̴̮̦̠̝̝͐̽̐̒͜͠ù̶̻̘̽͒͑̑'̸̧̠̮̻̮̬̽̽̆̐ŕ̷̛̬̩̣̜̗̱̖̑̽͐e̶͎͓̘̞̰̺͠ ̴̩̰͓̊͋̇r̷̨̭̥̐̊͑e̶̗̰͈̮̤̩͖͊̽̉͋ḁ̵̘͖̯̈́̅̀ļ̴͕̭̠͕̊̊̚l̶͈̝̲̤̪̪̦͗͐̎̈́͐y̷̠̫̫̣̙̅̄͐͝͝ ̸̖̤̪̙̙̗̐̌̅̇̐͗͠g̶̠͇͎̪̃̈͝e̴̛̬͎̤͚̔̅͛̔̉͜͝t̶̢̘̘̪͍̣̎̿͋̽̋̕t̷̀̋͐́͂̍͝ͅḯ̸͇͍̩̞̪͋̏̍́͒͆ǹ̴̬̼̭͚̙̰̟̍̈́̌̇̎͝g̴͍̘̭̝̝̑̈̒̂͋ ̷͕̇̓̓ǫ̵̛̯́͗̑ǹ̴̩̜̪̳̎́̂̈́̇͝ ̶͔̰͈͇̀̌̾̌̊̒͘m̵̟̪̦̗͙̎͊̿̂͂̚͝ẏ̸̺̜̯̝̲̲͈ ̵̭̝͐̊n̶͉͚̼̰̋̐̔ͅe̷̢̢͉̲̮̊̄̀̕͠r̵̼͊̋͐v̸̳̫̑̓̈́͗̈́͗͘ę̴̢̼͖̻̥͋̓͠s̴̹̯̥̲͈̰͈̅́,̸̢̡͖͇̖̭̍̂̿ ̷͔̞̬̌̈́̓ņ̴̉̇̔̉͐̍̚ǫ̷̙͇̭̌̈̽ẁ̴̮͉̘͛́͒̍!̴͖͈̭̑ ̸̜̒J̶̧͍̻̙̙̍̅̇̏Ṷ̸͚͙͓͑S̵̢̧̢͓͎̥̕T̵̲̩̺͍͇̩̽͊̀̽ͅ ̵̫̱̟̠͉̆̉̊͝S̸͇͖̮̦̝͑͛̂̎͠H̸̢͈̬̗̗̳̺͐͌̀̀U̵̡̡͍̯͖̠͎̓̑̿͐̚T̴̨̥̞͇͈̯̱͠ ̷̳͓̼̍̔̓̊͝U̷̬̖͔̜͍̓̋͊P̵̙̘͒̈́͛͗ͅ ̴̨̗̤͓̖͇̈́Ä̵̭͙̅́̆N̸̦̮͊͜Ḋ̶͔̂̒̂ ̵̧̛͍͕̎D̵̛͕̜̼̰͈͍̺̚I̶̡̢̗̤̰͓͑̾͂͛͘͜͝͝Ę̶̢̙̩̤̆̀̔͝ͅ!̶̠̹̗̥͈̠̏̓͝͝͠ͅ!̵̢̺͖̲͕̟̏͆̍̿̂͒͆!̷͕̮̌͂   

-Radon moves to punch Ian in the face, but Ian catches him and throws him to the ground, only to remember that Radon can fly. Radon then spits a blast of glitchy pitch-black fire at Ian.-

Me: SOARING ESPER SUNRISE BEAM!

-The orb on the tip of Ian's magic wand glows pink as he draws a circle in the sky over his head, then brings the wand down and points it at Radon, firing a pink beam of psychic energy which meets with Radon's Shadow Fire attack, creating a struggle between the two of them.-

Oreburgh City Gym, VS Roark

Tsubomi: <That Onix looks intimidating...>

Me: You don't have to battle it if you don't want to, Tsubomi.

Tsubomi: <Don't worry about me, Ian! I'll be able to hold my own!>

Me: Good to hear, Tsubomi! Now, use Mega Drain!

Roark: Onix, use Stone Edge!

-Roark's Onix surrounds itself in a glowing ring which transforms into jagged stones which it launches at Tsubomi, who fires a beam of green energy at Onix.-

Tsubomi used Mega Drain! It's Super Effective! Roark's Onix had its energy drained!

Roark: Now use Roar!

-Roark's Onix glares at Tsubomi and lets out a mighty roar at her, forcing her back into her Poké Ball and calling out Hanuman, Ian's Chimchar.-

Hanuman: <Eh!? Whatinthewhat?! How'd I get here?>

Oreburgh Gym Stands

Evelyn: Not good! Hanuman's a Fire type! He has a major disadvantage against Onix!

Hatty: <True, but Hanuman does have a trick up his sleeve...>

Edited by AnimeboyIanpower on May 17th 2022 at 11:10:37 AM

♪Show me the wisdom of the world... Tell me the secrets of the heart... and the sweet~ mysteries~ of love~...

Hamlet Past

"Sounds safe," Kamui decided, following the sound while feeling the bottle of "blood stuff" in her pocket.

Fox's Wedding

Kendall let out a contented sigh, Sylveon a bit lost but refusing to let it bother her, simply electing to point at Radon, ribbon from her wrist snaking up and extending to wrap around Radon's ankle and drag him back to the ground.

[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]

Nowhere In Particular

Daydre is lying in a field somewhere looking at the sky, with Rowan beside her.

"..."

Rowan: <...>

"Been a while since we just... talked, huh."

Rowan: <... Yeah.>

He frowns.

Rowan: <We haven't.>

<I haven't.. battled in a while, either.>

"Oh, huh. I didn't really think about that. I guess you haven't."

Rowan: <I don't hate it, I don't think. Though... I feel like I also haven't been there for you.>

Relying on others is a weakness

"What? No, don't think of it like that. I just..."

She trails off, not really sure how to continue that thought.

"You're... It wouldn't have been fair. For most of the Galar League."

Rowan: <You sent out EMPEROR in that last battle. I don't know who that would be fair to. Even then, again, we haven't really talked->

"You don't need to feel bad about that! I haven't initiated anything."

They both fall silent for a while, each trying to think of a way to shift the blame towards themself somehow whilst also continuing the conversation in a productive manner.

Eventually Daydre is the one who scrambles for a topic harder and pipes up.

"You know who else we haven't talked to in a while?"

Rowan: <Uh, most of the J-team members we're in close contact with?>

"No, Celeste!"

It's not really possible for somemon with fur to blanch, but Rowan manages it somehow.

Rowan: <Azelf themself could not give me the courage to speak to my mother after years of radio silence.>

"Well that's your own fault isn't it! Let's go visit her like right now!"

Daydre springs up and runs off.

Rowan, already defeated, follows after her.

off the shits

Wyndon Stadium, past

Hoops thought they were prepared for Piku-Chan's Volt Tackle, but they were unprepared for the fact that the Pikachu has increased its speed since the last time they battled it. As a result, they can't respond to the attack quick enough, and Led takes the hit dead on.

She falls to the ground, unconscious.

Hoops grimaces. "Led, return." The red light extends from their pokéball and collects Led. Hoops tucks the ball in their pocket. "Take a good rest. It's nearly over now."

They take a deep breath and look up at the scoreboard. Twelve of their pokémon have fought today, and twelve have lost. And so far they've managed to defeat ten of their opponents' pokémon.

They grab the final pokéball. "Kec, I'm leaving it all to you!"

The small green pokémon emerges onto the field with his eyes closed. He slowly opens them and takes in the field as the crowd roars. <Looks like we're in a pickle> he says.

Something passes between them, like a light that represents their bond.

Hoops doesn't wait for the others to act. "Kec, use Iron Tail on Mirai!" Kec turns silver as he races forwards, swinging his tail.

Hearthome Contest Hall

The others seem to be talking more amongst themselves, so Hoops turns to speak to Xaster. "Are you okay? Are you hurt at all? What do you remember?"

Xaster rubs his forehead. "I think I'm fine, physically. As for what I remember, I don't really know. There are flashes, you know? I think I heard your voice at one point."

Hoops' face turns from white to red in the space of roughly a quarter second. "Do you remember exactly what I said?"

Xaster frowns. "You shouting I think. The more I think about it, the more I can remember."

Hoops turns away to face the others. "So, uh, thanks for your help I suppose. I don't think we've met, I'm Hoops and this is Xaster." They extend the flesh arm, as that one tends to freak people out less.

Stormchaser, past

Vana nods. "I don't expect anything from you. But still thank you." She turns to face Chiyo. "I don't need to see people's memories to know when they're upset. Did I do something to upset you?"

Solaceon Town

The Snover unleashes another powerful Icy Wind attack that pushes Hoops and Vul back. Vul is breathing heavily, as the cold is making him have to keep moving more than usual to stay warm.

"We need to finish this quickly," Hoops realises, rubbing their chest to keep themself warm. "Vul, use Burning Jealousy!"

Vul grins and gets low to the ground, heat spreading through his body. His raises his tail, which bursts into flame that turns into a long whip structure. He bounds forwards, swinging his flames towards Snover.

Snover is thrown against the wall of the cave, and drops to the floor. Hoops grabs a pokéball and throws it. Snover is drawn into the ball, which falls to the floor and shakes. Once... twice...

The ball breaks open, revealing Snover once again. It dives forwards and uses Headbutt once again, knocking Vul back.

"Use Dark Pulse again!" Vul turns his head and fires the dark energy while still in the air. In the moment before it is hit, Snover recognises the balance that would be required for this and its eyes widen in surprise.

"Go, pokéball!" Hoops hits Snover hard on the side as it slumps backwards, and once again it is drawn in. Once... the ball breaks open, but this time Snover doesn't use an attack. Instead it walks slowly forwards with its arms raised, and speaks for the first time since it met Hoops yesterday.

<What kind of trainer are youse?> it asks. <Are you one whose abandon their pokémon?>

Hoops winces. Snover shakes its head. <I won't be abandoned agains.>

<You won't be> Vul promises. <It happened, and it hurt all of us. But we all came to forgive them, and we know it won't happen again.>

<Ands the Drapion?> Snover asks. <I saws you left it behinds.>

<It was old and sick> Kec says. <And it was his choice.>

Snover nods. <Can youse teach me to fight betters?>

"Yeah," Hoops says. "I can. If you come with me."

The Snover hesitates. <I wills for nows. But if youse don't helps me get stronger, I's leaving.>

Hoops takes out a pokéball. "Of course. Welcome to the team, Sno."

The newly dubbed Sno touched the button on the pokéball and is sucked in. The ball doesn't even shake once before it flashes to signify that the capture is complete. Hoops presses the button again.

<So, what nows?> she asks.

Hoops smiles. "Come and meet the rest of the family."

From the mouth of the cave, a voice says, "Oh thank Arceus, we're done here."

"And the annoying hanger on," Hoops adds.

Outside Jublife Contest Hall

Justice: "Yes! That's why I've been hanging out with them in the first place!"

Hearthome Contest Hall

Coil: "I'm Coil."

Iris: "I'm Iris!"

Neon: "I'm uh, Neon. And yeah I'll look for more of those feathers."

-He is distracted typing out a text-

Meat Palace

Lead Monkey: <Oh don't worry, I'm free every day but Mad Science Mondays.>

Earth Vellumental Temple

-The origami Groudon shrugs off the attacks (including Air Slashes from Jackie and Chiroptera) and belches Fire Blasts at the group-

Defiant Wing

-There is a mysterious berry Porygon person here-

Edited by Umbramatic on May 19th 2022 at 12:02:25 PM

Contact Me!

Silas looked to Gale. "Good to have you on board. I won't mince words, what we have is what we've been preparing for. THE raid, Bishop finally found him."

Roxy walked up, the fox hood not on her head. "Who?"

"Delta. We've got Delta's location and we need to move fast."

Musical Theatre

-let's set the stage:-

-a veritable menagerie of Pokémon float, flit, or otherwise pose in an empty community theater, someplace in metropolitan Sinnoh-

-Bronzor twirl in place, angling the light of the moon

-the jockeying for position is vicious-

Thespi: -starry-eyed- The made-for-Nimbasa play of the novelization of the movie of the show of the adventuring-guild-slash-civilian's-militia-strike-squad known as the J-Team is soon to be a go…!

-the cast, aka her friend group, emits various volumes of <woo>; Pollen, holding a massive bouquet, stares between it and her, baffled-

Thespi: Rosa, you're the OLD MAN. Try for VENERABLE COMIC RELIEF before returning in the THIRD ACT for your UXIAN CHORUS ON OUR COSTARS' CHARACTERISTIC FAILINGS.

-the Shiny Roserade sprouts albino leaves on the underside of his face, wilting his stem into a stoop-

Rosa: -sprouting an orchid in the shape of a distressingly lifelike Caterpie- 🎶<Halt there, young trav'ler, I see you have—>

Thespi: More crotchety! Really feel like this entity's been around for ten too many anniversary celebrations and is down to clown it into everyone else's Routes.

Rosa: <When I was your a—> 🎶

Thespi: More—!! Rosa: <SPEAK UP, YOUNGSTER, I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY>

Thespi: EXCELLENT

-she patiently waits for the ringing to fade from everyone's ears-

Thespi: Tripod! Opening bars on "Life-Changing Field Trips with Tagg and Echo, Act 1''.

Tripod: -...-

Thespi: Good!

Ceal: -dressed up as the Stormchaser- <W-why am I the Magic Airbus??>

Thespi: We're avoiding typecasting today, bestie.

Tripod: -...-

Thespi: Don't you give the fourth wall that look! What happens in this house gets a yes, and or nothing.

Tripod: -...-

Thespi: Oh that gave me shivers.

Ceal: <R-really got the social aspect d-down there, b-bud.>

Tripod: -tweet-

Thespi: -pivot- Parfait! You're our opener.

Parfait: <..."   this story is based on the names, and several visual elements, of events.   ">

-Thespi bonks a nearby prop sign, which lights to a garish thumbs-up-

Pollen: <that's the worst sales pitch I've ever heard>

Parfait: <I absolutely cannot say more without giving myself a metaphysical wedgie-analogue.>

Thespi: -clapping her little orbs- Well, Tea's in physical therapy, so we need a historian to introduce the play's real world relevance.

Parfait: -waving the script- <She's not reading this word-for-word either, is she? That could literally kill all of us.>

Thespi: <no she just barks at the audience and that raises ratings>

Parfait: <Fair enough.>

Pollen: <What ratings?????>

Thespi: <I'm gunning for maximum critical acclaim.>

Pollen: <gods of light.>

-the choice of invective sparks a new round of silent squabbling amongst the Bronzor-

-Ceal slithers to the front and flips the "epilepsy warning" sign on the door

Pollen: <...I appreciate you putting the script in a form I can actually read.>

Thespi: Of course.

Pollen: <This is really poetic, actually, I didn't know you had it in you.>

Thespi: -bobbing midair- I do try.

Pollen: <But we know Silas. We've been to Silas's wedding. I don't see how—>

-she stares at the oversized bouquet in her palp before continuing-

Pollen: <...his eloping with a Team Galactic Admin and founding a sovereign nation on Mars with the wreckage of an alternate-universe Angela contributes to the narrative we're putting out.>

Thespi: Obviously we had to spice it up a little.

Pollen: <Salvador, Tindr-match-turned-fiancé to Death themself, half-embalms a late competitor for the League before, and I quote, "wacky hijinks happen"?>

Pollen: -waving a chrysanthemum- <You just mashed together the Pokédex depictions of Yveltal and Spectrier!>

Thespi: Blasphemy's all the rage these days!

Pollen: <Horses don't have wings, Thespi>

Thespi: It's called ACTING!

-they both emit inarticulate noises - Thespi's transitions to an aria; the whine of Pollen's wings departs the audible range-

Pollen: -bonking against Parfait's belly, sizzling- <how are you putting up with this>

Parfait: <It's honest about its exceeding dishonesty! I can be flexible.>

Pollen: <what role is Thespi even playing>

Thespi: -brisk- Hoops' half-embalmed prosthetic head.

Pollen: <wha> Thespi: -drifting past- Come on, people, we're burning moonlight! Places!

Edited by Asterisk395 on May 19th 2022 at 10:40:54 AM

No mind to think. No will to break.

Earth Vellumental Temple, far past

Lesia: -Is hit by the Fire Blast, but the nature of Petal Dance compels her to continue-

Stormchaser, past

Chiyo: -To Vana- You haven't, don't worry, I don't want you to think that.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Route 203

Maxime and Kliff have gotten directions to the first stage of the Sinnoh Gym challenge, Oreburgh Gym, led by Roark. The two were travelling there via Route 203, when suddenly a particular pokemon appeared in front of them.

<Beep!>

A marill. Just standing there, directly in front of the two.

Oh, hello there!

<Would ya mind if you were to move outta our way?!>

<... beep!>

The Marill didn't move. If anything, Kliff's remark made them more willing to stand in the two's way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_E5aMbNoug&ab_channel=AacroXtensions

Marill used Water Gun!

The Marill hit Kliff with a burst of water, knocking him back a bit! Maxime jumped back as well in suprise!

Gah! Um, I think we need to battle this pokemon, Kliff.

<Ya want a fight, blue ball? Ya got a fight!>

Kliff used Meteor Mash!

Kliff lunges right at the Marill and decks them in the face with a fist covered in metal, knocking the Marill on their back. It did significant damage, but it wasn't enough to faint.

This is my chance! Um, here goes!

Maxime nervously threw a pokeball right at the Marill. It was successfully caught!

<You serious? The first pokemon you catch is a thing that just sprayed us just to annoy us?>

Maxime didn't understand the entire specifics of Kliff's comment, but has learned to roughly grasp their mood and intent.

From that, I guess you didn't approve of the Marill. But I think it's got guts, and a good fighting spirit. Plus a water type may be useful to have against Roark.

<I can just break 'em with a Meteor Mash, but you do you.

Maxime brought the Marill out of its pokeball.

<Beep!>

<Can you say anything other than "beep"?!>

<Poopa stinka>

Kliff grew furious, while the Marill grinned with a mischievous expression.

Um, I think you'll get together just fine. I'm Maxime, and this here is Kliff. Who are you?

The Marill looked as if it was about to speak, but then instead just drew on the dirt the word "Beepo"

"Beepo"? That's a pretty wierd name, but okay. Welcome to the team, Beepo!

Sinnoh, Lake Valor

Magikarp: karp

Magikarp: karp

Magikarp: <...dude>

Magikarp: -sidling away- karp

Magikarp: <I get the bit, but>

Magikarp: <it's getting a bit weird>

-the first Magikarp, whom we will refer to as "Magikarp A" in lieu of that name he doesn't have, gives his companion a look of affront-

Magikarp A: <It's not a bit, it's, like, the new thing in the deeps.>

Magikarp, henceforth Magikarp 1: <Is it??>

Magikarp A: <I call it 'freshwave'.>

Magikarp 1: <It's new because you made it up!>

Magikarp A: <Nah, man, it speaks to like…the natural beauty in all of us. The sounds we make without thinking.>

Magikarp A: karp

Magikarp 1: karp <, yeah. …I dunno, I'm, like, all for art…but do you ever think of the wider social ramifications of perpetuating the image of the dumb fish? Swim around, bubble, a—>

-a huge, sharp shape spears through the duo, skewering A-Magikarp and vanishing into the sky-

Magikarp 1, henceforth Magikarp: <...see! Stuff like that!>

-the spreading cloud has no retort-

Magikarp: -darting away- <...as far as I'm concerned, I got the last word.>

---

we interrupt character-status limbo to bring you dubiously canonical events

-an Empoleon surfaces, filleting a fresh kill-

Pippy: <Isn't it funny? We stayed up all night bucketing Magikarp in a bombed-out crater, and years later they've recovered enough so we can munch just fine.>

Vee: <mmmm.>

Pippy: <...something wrong? You've barely touched the lake.> :<

-the narrative lens drifts to a nearby rock, showing Ceal singing to an enraptured audience-

-their song thrives on the immense lung capacity of a Primarina, pausing very rarely, and then only long enough to scarf down an audience member-

Vee: <Is that like. Cool, tho?>

Pippy: <Hm?>

Vee: <Like!!>

Vee: <We saved them so now we get to eat them?>

Pippy: <You've gotten so much more concerned with the ethics of eating things since you turned. It's kind of cute.>

-Vee splutters, splattering-

Pippy: <And it's not that we get to, it's just we can!>

<...this perspective is weirdly human.>

Vee: <Maybe I'd stop thinkin' about it if you stopped asking me to drain you!!>

Pippy: <Vee, I did stop bringing it up.>

Vee: <i still smell it coming off you>

Pippy: <I…can't turn that off.>

Vee: -whimpers-

Pippy: <I can't help smelling delicious!!>

<Like, look. Sometimes you want a home-cooked meal in the company of someone you love.>

Vee: <aaaaa>

Pippy: <Sometimes you're full up on negativity! Or want to hang out over some common interests! Like obligate carnivory! I get it!!>

-a shadow blots out the sun-

Gyarados: <I always appreciate it.>

Pippy: <See? Vee, eat him, he's a stranger.>

Vee: -burbling- <maybe i don't feel like it.>

Pippy: <I'm getting worried about you.> :<

Vee: <maybe I'll eat the lake>

Pippy: -pats- <You're too physically active for filter-feeding.>

Vee: <maybe i'll evolve away my legs>

Pippy: <Primal Energy only diffuses so fast! Dead zones are worse for the ecosystem!>

Gyarados: <If it helps, I've eaten Eevee.>

Pippy: <Yeah!!>

Gyarados: <Small. Season well.>

Pippy: <Wait oh! That's what you meant!>

Vee: <Tha's just the circle of life. Y'know, the other part.>

Gyarados: <Isn't it more insulting to deny me a place in that? Vow aside, we do have needs.>

-three Pokémon sigh, musing on humanity osmosed-

Gyarados: <...to be clear, I will be eating you.>

Pippy: -patting his flank- <Oh, buddy.>

Vee: <Haha fine>

-the lake bubbles-

Gyarados: -baring teeth- <Our intimate acquaintance will be brief but memorable.>

Edited by Asterisk395 on May 19th 2022 at 1:27:05 PM

No mind to think. No will to break.

Mitchell takes a good, long, look at the entrance to the Gym before him. It had been over a month since he had claimed his first Sinnoh Gym badge, and now he feels it's high time that he properly resumed the Challenge circuit, now that his team had expanded to six members. Mustering his resolve, he passes through the doorway.

What Mitchell sees inside the Gym was something of a cross between a martial arts dojo and an obstacle course. He suspects that this

"Yo, champ in making!", the attendant near the entrance says to Mitchell. "You here for a late night booking?"

"Yes, sir," Mitchell replies semi-casually. "I'm all set for the trial ahead."

"Well said," the attendant replies, gesturing behind him. "Let me explain the rules," he continues. "Simply navigate through this course all the way to the back to get to our Gym Leader, Maylene. You'll have to knock down boards and battle Gym Trainers to get there." He then leans in and whispers conspiratorially to Mitchell. "You know the type specialty for this Gym, right?"

Mitchell, somewhat awkwardly, whispers back. "Fighting type, I'm guessing? The type that's superior to Normal and Dark types, but have problems with Psychic and Flying types?"

"Got it in one," the attendant whispers back. "Good luck, type advantage or no." Then, returning back to his prior post, he signals to Mitchell to begin the challenge. "Ready?"

"Go!", Mitchell responds.

---

Half an hour later, Mitchell finds himself standing before a bare-footed, pink-haired woman. He is sweating profusely from his exertion, but he pre-empts any questions with a thumbs-up and a strained smile. "Maylene, I presume?", he asks.

"Hello," the woman replies, very formally. "I'm pleased to meet you. Yes, my name is Maylene, and I am the Gym Leader."

Mitchell wipes his brow clear of sweat, and says "Ah. I'm also pleased to meet you. I'm Mitchell, a tourist from Castelia. I've bested your obstacle course and your disciples, and I am here to challenge you."

"I understand," Maylene replies, "but before I can accept your challenge, let me ask you something. Do you know what it means to be strong?"

This question catches Mitchell off guard. "Er, um, no I don't," he replies. "I never really thought about it. Why do you ask?"

Maylene smiles impishly, and says "Because I didn't really know what it means, even after becoming a Gym Leader. But, all I've been doing is the best I can as a Gym Leader." She then steps forward, at one edge of the mat separating her from Mitchell. "I accept your challenge, Mitchell of Castelia. First, tell me how many Sinnoh badges you have."

"Just one," Mitchell replies, stepping to the edge of the mat opposite Maylene. "The Forest Badge from Eterna City."

"I see. In that case," Maylene replies, "this team shall do the trick." With that, she snaps her fingers, summoning an acolyte who provides her with three Pokeballs. Another acolyte, standing at a third edge of the mat, announces the rules of the match.

"This battle," the acolyte announces, "will be a 3 versus 3 battle between the Gym Leader, Maylene, and the Challenger, Mitchell, under standard Sinnoh Pokemon League rules. If the Challenger wins, he will be awarded the Cobble Badge and any other rewards the Gym Leader sees fit. Trainers, prepare for battle!"

Maylene draws out one of her Pokeballs and assumed a fighting stance. "I take battling very seriously," she warns. "Whenever you're ready!"

Mitchell readies one of his Pokeballs and stares down Maylene. "Thanks for the warning," he says, "but I've been ready from the start."

"Begin!", the acolyte announces.

The Gym Leader and the Challenger throw their Pokeballs into the mat at the moment of the acolyte's announcement.

"Come forth, Meditite!"

"Arrive, Edmond!"

The two Pokemon emerge opposite each other on the mat. They lock eyes for a moment, then simultaneously bow to each other.

<How polite of you,>, the Meditite says, as she enters a focused battle stance, <to bow with me. Don't think I'll hold back just for that, though.>

<Please, don't,> Edmond replies, as he shifts to his own stance. <For Sensei's sake, and for my own, I want us both to fight our best.>

The Meditite smiles at Edmond's words. A moment later, the battle is joined.

Outside of Wyndon Stadium (Post-Spagpost)

"...I bet you can’t name one thing," said Kim.

Origamiplot- Vellumental Fight

Kim and Braker glanced up at the Vellumental in shock, before respectively turning to face Serkis and Peechee, who were standing beside them.

"Serkis, are you ready?" asked Braker.

<As I'll ever be,> said Serkis.

"Peechee?" asked Kim.

<Ohhh...> Peechee cackled. <THAT PAPER GROUDON IS GETTING SHIVED ^note  cut DOWN BY MY NOZH-!!!>

"Alright, then," she said. "You know what to do."

Peechee nodded, his claw glowing black with dark energy— and then seconds later he ran forward towards the Vellumental.

<SNUFF IT—!!>

Soon afterwards, Serkis promptly followed, glancing up at the Origami Groudon and letting loose multiple shurikens of water from his hands.

Hi, I’m oghond, and I’m a Rushaholic. Sorry if I annoy you unintentionally. 😅

Sinnoh, Oreburgh Gate

Just outside the tunnel's entrance, Maxime is checking a map of Sinnoh on his phone. Beepo is trying to take a look by climbing on Max, while Kliff is trying to keep him off.

According to the map, apparently the way to Oreburgh City is through here.

<A strong pokemon started to squat there a few days ago. Can't wait to f*** up their face for intruding on our turf \w/.>

<(You're not one to talk here...)>

Um... I can't quite grasp what Beepo's saying. Can you roughly translate, Kliff?

The new meat's fight happy. (Probably referring to a trainer or somethin stupid like that)

Well, at least the little one's eager.

Inside the tunnel, Max saw that the exit was about a stone's throw away. He went forward, when suddenly...

<OH YEAH!>

...a jigglypuff burst through the floor! This Jigglypuff appeared to have some vaguely tribal face markings, and was a little big for its kind, being about a foot and a half tall.

<This is him! Let me at 'im! Let me at 'im!>

<Wait for the trainer's orders, rookie!>

Beepo assumed a fighting stance, holding their tail in one hand such that it is like a microphone.

I'll see how Beepo handles this. Get back, Kliff!

Maxime brought up Kliff's pokeball, and Kliff begrudgingly entered in a burst of light.

<Let's do this, challenger!>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_E5aMbNoug&t=579s&ab_channel=AacroXtensions

Jigglypuff used Rollout!

The Jigglypuff began rolling at high speeds towards Beepo!

Beepo, use Water Gun!

Before Beepo could react, the Jigglypuff rolled straight into the Marill!

It wasn't very effective...

Beepo wasn't hurt that much by the attack, and saw the Jigglypuff roll past him, readying another Rollout.

Beepo used Water Gun!

Beepo launched a small stream of high-pressure water at the jigglypuff, knocking them off-balance and dealing damage.

<Admirable blow. But that's not the best I can do!>

Jigglypuff used Work Up into Pound!

The Jigglypuff appeared to surge with energy, even doubling in size!

Eat this!

And then they lunged at Beepo, fist-er-hand first.

(A chain attack?) Beepo, uh, use Tackle!

Beepo evaded the jigglypuff's attack, and...

Beepo used Tackle!

...countered with a shoulder tackle!

<Wha? How?>

<skill issue >:3

The Jigglypuff was severely weakened by this blow, and deflated to their normal size. Seizing this opportunity, Maxime threw a pokeball at the weakened foe.

Wild Jigglypuff was caught!

Maxime brought Kliff and the newly-caught Jigglypuff out of their pokeballs.

<Hm... fine work your trainer did. I suppose he's worthy of a 'mon of my status' aid.

<Status? You just popped outta the ground in some cosplay!>

Um, uh, before you start, what is your name, Jigglypuff?

<I suppose you're worthy of knowing my name, child. I am called Magnus the Magnificent!>

Maxime did not understand what the Jigglypuff said.

I think I'll just call you Puffy.

<An alias to protect the name of my noble people? A wise decision. I shall go by "Puffy" in your company from now on, then!>

<He doesn't undastand Jigglypuff, you know. What makes you special anyhow?>

<I'm a descendant of an ancient tribe of pokemon, known for such power that they towered over mere human settlements. I lack their power, but their blood flows through my veins.>

<What he's saying is that he's missing a fedora >:3>

Um... let's go to Oreburgh then.

Maxime brought Beepo and Puffy into their Pokeballs, and exited the tunnel, entering Oreburgh city.

Wyndon Stadium, VS Hoops

-Mirai takes the full force of Kec's Iron Tail and is knocked unconscious.-

Mirai: <At least... I did my best, right?>

Evelyn: You sure did, Mirai. You deserve a nice long rest.

-Evelyn calls Mirai back to her Poké Ball.-

Evelyn and I: Guess it's come down to this, huh?

Evelyn: Hatty...

Hatty: <Yes, Evelyn?>

Evelyn: Work your magic!

-Hatty jumps off of Evelyn's head and gets ready for battle!-

Saffron City, Training Montage

-In the meditations of Evelyn's Pokémon, the tip of Hatty's hair-hat glows pink and blue, slowly lifting the other Pokémon into the air.-

Jubilife Contest Hall, Main Stage

Marian: And now it's time for our next round of Contest Battles!

-The crowd cheers as two more coordinators take the stage.-

Marian: On the left, hailing from Lavender Town in the Kanto Region, is that mysterious Coordinator, FAE!

-Fae, dressed in fortune teller garb with a mysterious veil covering her face, waves to the audience as she sets foot on the battlefield.-

Marian: And on the right, hailing from...

-Awkward Beat as she reads the card again.-

Marian: Uuuuhh... Hop... Hop... Hop Town? Are-Are you sure that's right?

-Mr. Contesta steps away from his judging booth and moves in to help Marian clear things up.-

Mr. Contesta: Now let's see... HopHopHop Town... It's in the Kanto Region, near Celadon City. There's a branch of the Pokémon Fan Club there.

Marian: Oh. That makes a lot more sense. Thank you, Mr. Contesta.

Mr. Contesta: You're welcome, Marian. Any time there's an issue in a Contest, leave resolving it to the Judges.

Marian: Very well. Now, where was I...? Oh, yes!

Marian: And on the right, hailing from HopHopHop Town, ALSO in the Kanto Region, ELI!!

-Eli steps up to the battlefield, waving to the audience.-

Eli: Fae, is it? I'm looking forward to our battle today.

Fae: I predict that neither of us will be holding anything back in our battle...

Jubilife Contest Hall, Backstage

Me: Wow... Fae reminds me so much of Evelyn... I wonder how they'd get along...

Outside the Jubilife Contest Hall

Evelyn: So you want to be a member of the J-Team? I think it's something that comes with just hanging out with them and getting swept into whatever chaos they come across. My friend once said that once you're unofficially a member of the J-Team, you're officially a member of the J-Team...

-Beat-

Evelyn: ...if that makes any sense to you.

Jubilife Contest Hall, Main Stage

Marian: You have five minutes on the clock...

╓────────────────╢ FAE'S POINTS ╟──────────────────────────╖ 
╠══╡ STAMINA ╞══════════════════════════════════════════════╣ 
║████████████████████████████████████████████               ║ 
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

╓────────────────╢ ELI'S POINTS ╟─────────────────────────╖ 
╠══╡ STAMINA ╞══════════════════════════════════════════════╣ 
║████████████████████████████████████████████               ║ 
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Marian: ...AND BEGIN!

Eli: Audino, Vileplume! Go!

-Eli throws his Poké Balls and from a flurry of flower petals and a flash of sparkling light appear an Audino and a Vileplume.-

Fae: Mismagius, Hypno... Manifest and show your might!

-With a flick of her wrist, Fae throws her Poké Balls out to the battlefield, cloaking it in smoke and an etheral violet glow. Rising from the smoke is a Hypno. But where's Mismagius?-

Oreburgh Stadium, VS Roark

Me: Hanuman, be careful! You were forced out by Onix's Roar! Watch out for Onix's Rock-type moves!

Hanuman: <Way ahead o' ya!>

Roark: Onix! Use Slam!

Me: Hanuman, dodge and use Flame Wheel!

-Roark's Onix slams his body into the ground, which Hanuman evades before cloaking himself in scarlet fire and rolls headlong at the Rock Snake Pokémon!-

Battle Against the Earth Vellumental

Me: Piku-chan! Use Iron Tail!

Evelyn: Hatty! Use Magical Leaf!

-Piku-chan's tail glows with a metallic sheen as he swings it at the Earth Vellumental. Hatty surrounds herself in a flurry of magical, rainbow-colored leaves which she launches at the divine origami entity.-

Outside Wyndon Stadium

Evelyn: A chance to have fun at the Battle of the Bands.

Me: Yeah! If you hadn't noticed the Golden Ticket that Meloetta left on that bulletin board...

♪Show me the wisdom of the world... Tell me the secrets of the heart... and the sweet~ mysteries~ of love~...

Wyndon Stadium, past

"Okay, Kec, we've gotta be on top of this one," Hoops says. "Be ready for anything they can throw at us."

Kec stretches. <Don't worry. I've been waiting for a rematch with both of these two, I'm not about to lose it.>

Hoops nods. "Okay. So we have four types to play with, so let's test them. Start off by using Slash!"

Kec reverts to his normal colouring as he rushes towards Piku-chan, claws outstretched.

Hearthome Contest Hall

"Well, thanks for the help, all of you," Hoops says. "I guess, would you like us to buy you a drink or something to say thank you?"

"When you say us..."

"Yeah, I mean me."

Stormchaser, past

"Then is there anything I can do?" she asks. "Everyone on this ship is being very kind to me, and the book on manners that I found says that I should do nice things in return. The examples it gave were things like cooking them a meal or helping them with a task, but I warn you I don't know how to cook."

She pauses, then says in a slightly quieter voice. "Honestly I've just been stealing people's leftovers since I got here."

Wyndon Stadium, VS Hoops

Me: Parry with Iron Tail!

-Piku-chan's tail glows a metallic silver as he swings it to meet Kec's claws.-

Evelyn: Watch closely, Hatty!

♪Show me the wisdom of the world... Tell me the secrets of the heart... and the sweet~ mysteries~ of love~...

Wyndon Stadium, past

Kec's Slash meets Piku-chan's Iron Tail. The clash lasts for a few seconds before breaking - it seems that for now the two pokémon are about equal in strength.

"Shadow Claw!" Hoops yells. Kec turns a dark grey as spectral claws emerge from the ends of his hands. He swings them at Piku-chan in a scissor manoeuvre.

Hearthome Contest Hall

-Neon realizes he forgot to hit send on the text and sends it-

Iris: "Sounds good by me!"

Coil: "Where should we get it?"

Outside Jublife Contest Hall

Justice: "...It. Kind of. Makes sense. I guess."

Defiant Wing

Mysterious Porygon Oran Berry Person: "Remind me, who is this Delta guy?"

Earth Elemental Temple

-The origami Groudon still doesn't seem phased by the attacks and swings pointed stones at the party with its tail in a Stone Edge-

-The party may notice its limbs and tail are more crumpled than the rest of its body-

Edited by Umbramatic on May 20th 2022 at 6:33:28 AM

Contact Me!

Textspace, One Point In Time

Textspace, Another Point In Time

Defiant Wing

"Very ruthless, very efficient, very illegal Pokemon Hunter," a voice summarized in response to the Pory's question.

Lamb appeared soon after, evidently ready to get to work as evidenced by the fire forming around her clenched, gloved fist.

"Hey love," she quickly said, looking at Gale.

Earth Elemental Temple

"Sorry I'm late!" He apologized, sizing up the paper Ground-type, alongside Roy.

In a heated burst of flame, Roy kicked up a column of fire to spread from its crumpled arm, while Kendall pointed a wisp of firescura to ignite the other.

Edited by AbsentCoder on May 20th 2022 at 5:51:21 AM

[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]

Somewhere

Pastoria

Daydre pointedly approaches her parents' house from the backyard.

A Ninetales sits on the porch. Her fur is a little darker than Rowan's, though the two carry themselves similarly. She perks up her ears when Daydre steps on a stick by accident.

Celeste: <Hm?>

<Who's sneaking around over there?>

Rowan: <Shit she spotted us>

<Wait, why are you sneaking in? You're not trying to hide from anyone.>

"What you think you're the only one avoiding an awkward situation with your parents?"

Rowan: <You're the one who suggested this???>

"I wasn't thinking about the consequences!!"

Celeste: <You know I'm not old enough for my hearing to have gone bad, right?>

Daydre and Rowan stare at each other, before Rowan bodily tackles her out of the bush they're both hiding in. Daydre quickly shoves Rowan off of her, gets up and dusts herself off.

"Hiiiii Celeste!"

Celeste: <Oh... Ama! It's been a while!>

Daydre looks over her shoulder in a panic.

"... Wait yeah that's my name. Hi."

Celeste: <Ah yes, you did go by Daydre around your friends. And...>

It takes her a second to see Rowan, who is hiding behind Daydre.

Celeste: -beaming, doting and genuine- <My baby boy!>

She bounds over and starts nuzzling Rowan, to which he responds by just sitting there a little embarrassed.

Rowan: <Moooom you're embarrassing me in front of my trainer!>

Celeste: <Oh hush, I'm sure she's seen you in worse situations. You've been together for 17 years. For most people that's long enough to see some shit.>

Rowan: <Yeah, says the one who's been with the same family for like 200 years.>

Celeste: <Don't sell the time you've spent with Daydre short! You'll look back on these years fondly when you're my age...>

Rowan: <...>

"..."

"... Wait, you're 200 years old? Why didn't either of you think to tell me that?"

In Unison: <You never asked?>

Celeste: <I'm surprised your mother never mentioned it.>

"The only thing she mentioned was that you've been around since before I was born."

Celeste: <Oh right, she might not know. Can't exactly tell her to her face. When you came home that one time able to understand me that gave me quite a shock!>

<Well, I'm 200, give or take! Stopped keeping track around 100. Don't go around calling me an old fart, though, I'm still quite sprightly by Ninetales standards.>

"Wouldn't think of it."

"..."

"You probably... know a lot of stuff we don't, huh?"

Celeste: <Hm? I suppose so. Is there something you need to ask me?>

"Er... Maybe later."

Daydre turns around and walks back into the bushes without another word, effectively marking the conversation over.

Rowan and Celeste just kinda look at each other.

Edited by Daydre on May 20th 2022 at 7:53:07 AM

off the shits

Outside of Wyndon Stadium

Kim glanced down.

"That’s true..." she said. "But besides that..."

She grimaced a bit.

"I don't know if you heard what Ringo, Paul, and Elton told me, and what I told them, but I'm assuming you did because of psychic powers. Regardless, their points still stand. I don't know 9-Volt as well as I think I do; I don't know what he needs that he doesn't already have, and while I do genuinely like him and do want to be his friend..."

<But it's like I said before,> said Ringo. <You already 'ave friends. You don't need to worry about 9-Volt right now. Or e'er, really.>

<Honestly, if you ask me, Kendall did bring up a good point,> said Paul. <You... don't know exactly what you want to do with your life, do you?>

"O-of course I do!" Kim cried. "I-I’m a linguist, you know that!"

<Tha's wot you want to be!> cried Ringo.

"Well... yes, but-"

"What have you actually accomplished in terms of your lingual career?"

Braker.

Kim, Ringo, Elton, and Paul turned to face him as he approached her.

"Let's start with that," he said.

"Well... I was a teacher at the Striaton Trainer's School... I taught French for 4 years... I wanted to learn Monese and teach Monese, but now I have a Sliding Scale Choker, so that point is moot..."

"What do you mean, it's moot? You can understand your Pokemon, can't you?"

"Well, yes, but I still don't know exactly how," Kim admitted. "I don't know all of the ins and outs of Monese. Just because I can understand my Pokemon doesn't mean I'm suddenly an expert on the Monese language, but I feel like it's not worth it anymore."

<Doesn't mean you can't still do research on it,> said Paul.

<Exactly!> said Elton. <You've spent so much time figuring out where and if you 'belong' as a J-Team member; but you've always belonged as a J-Team member! The meeting didn't make you realize you suddenly belonged; it made you realize that->

"I felt like I belonged," said Kim.

Braker nodded. "There's nothing wrong with going out and blazing your own trail, and as Kendall said, you have always had the potential to do that."

Vellumental Battle

The Stone Edge projectiles hit Peechee and Serkis, but as they were both Water-type, it didn't really do much of anything to them.

Kim looked on for a moment at the Vellumental— and then noticed the tail.

"Of course..." she muttered.

And then—

"Peechee! Use Night Slash again on its tail!"

Peechee nodded, his pincer once again turning black as he aimed his next attack at the Vellumental's tail.

<OOBIVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!>

[[quoteblock] Peechee used Night Slash! [[/quoteblock]]

Textspace

Edited by OPALGARNET16 on May 20th 2022 at 8:59:22 AM

Hi, I’m oghond, and I’m a Rushaholic. Sorry if I annoy you unintentionally. 😅