Hamlet, Past

Ear flicking as she followed the sound to the room, her thumb trailed to the top of the container.

The plan was simple - Throw it at her hard enough to shatter. It would cut her, the liquid would seep into her skin, and whatever it did to blood would happen to her, too.

But that would be a little messy. And didn't it say not to drink it? A number of ideas crossing her mind, a gentle flare formed betwixt her fingers, a Hypnosis flare she purred at, eager to use it.

Defiant Wing

Lamb leans back in her seat, idly. "Anyone and everyone we can. I'm honest- no, we can't ask the Rebels…" she reconsidered.

Vellumetal Temple

Idly, Kendall continued having his remote Night Slash fly around, striking what it could that would be of effect, concluding by attempting to embed it into its core.

Kamui is too busy using Extrasensory to try to keep Gale from flying too far.

Edited by AbsentCoder on May 23rd 2022 at 10:49:42 AM

School Safehouse

-Neodymium flinches-

-Didit gives her a hug, and she relaxes-

-while PEFE!Every digests-

PEFE!Every: Well...I think that sucks. So we're going to make sure she passes.

-Neodymium smiles slightly-

Neodymium: ~I thought it was clever. I'm a pretty good telepath, especially when it comes to talking. So I asked for help, while holding my focus on the pen.~

PEFE!Every: I am feeling like maybe your organization frowns on that.

Cytosol: <Yikers.>

Neodymium: ~I'm never going to be good at telekinesis, though.How did you pass, Molybdenum?~

-PEFE!Every looks curious herself-

Route 208

Adelinde: -still walking away- Ugh, Pokefutures. They had the drive, but no vision. Too concerned with marketing. I like your organization better, as it happens, but I get the impression you aren't interested in collaborating.

You. Think. Too. Small. These people you talk about, they don't matter— you don't matter, I don't matter.

-interesting-

-she doesn't quite, exactly, believe that-

-and there are things she doesn't like in her organization's structures either-

-she's just had twenty-plus years of practicing, nonstop, to hide it-

-but Tagg, you've given these speeches before-

-and the parts where those kinds of comments normally land and cling, that care about people, or see individual suffering as a thing to be avoided-

-aren't really there-

-Adelinde's worldview isn't the kind of thing that gets overturned with a speech, and maybe she's past the point where she could let go of the sunk costs-

-so she just feels quietly, privately nettled-

Adelinde: Uniqueness this, uniqueness that, who cares? You sound like a fucking NFT peddler. Everything and everyone has purpose, and if you can't push yourself to find yours...

-she lets the sentence hang-

...

-Adelinde stops in front of the wall of fire, as most reasonable people would-

Adelinde: -sigh-

As threats go, that's one of the better ones I've heard. I think the two of us could get along, if you ever wanted. We have what to teach each other, I'm sure.

-she turns around, smile faded-

I've been told not to engage with you, you know that? Apparently you scared someone higher-up. Me, I don't see it. But you live longer following orders, so. This is where we part, I suppose. Perhaps we'll see each other again.

-her eyes shimmer briefly-

-really briefly-

-as psychic murder goes, those twenty-plus years of ideological petrification have left her remarkably quick on the draw-

-she just wasn't aiming at you,/ Adelinde: Keep in touch, Dr. Tagg. Camazotz. /as she walks through the wall of fire-

-and she's gone-

Sinnoh, Safe House

-wow, who ever thought teaching by example could backfire in this way-

-no one notices a twinge of regret-

-there's nothing to notice-

Molybdenum: -exhaling- ~Okay, here's the thing. That was a very good, very clever bit of sneaky. They don't like sneaky.~

~Scientists and Templar don't like to be made a fool of. Either be capable of everything you're showcasing, or—~

-she snaps her fingers, and everyone in the room might lock in place-

Molybdenum: ~—be bold. Sell it as a strength—you don't need telekinesis, because you're just that good.~

-glancing at Cytosol- ~...no points for help. They never grant points for help.~

-if that word lingers, what of it-

-it's a point to be made, and then she can move on—-

-from

that

question-

Ramona: ...simple! I was the last one standing.

Ribot: ~...~

Ramona: Haha. Some Schoolkids had the idea to thin out the competition, if you can believe that. Luckily, none of them got to me.

-she grins, exuberant-

Ramona: And like, obviously I'm the best. Even in your Batch, there's like barely anyone who even comes close to me.

Sinnoh, Someone's Residence - Elsewhen

Sure, Let's Stick With "Molly": What a productive day.

-depending on who's listening, she's severely sarcastic or entirely sincere-

Molly: Mew-fucked J-Team and its disproportionately high concentration of hedge Aurics.

-she gets one long-term thrall, who promptly gains two (2) girlfriends with brains soaked in the worse Obscura. Naturally.-

(-Percy's taken in the too-earnest, too-vulnerable dork category, it seems, so at least that count won't rise to three, she thinks-)

(-being able to take any of them in a fight doesn't mean she wants to...-)

(-...which behooves her to return to cruder means of persuasion-)

Molly: -eyeing the family within- Might as well introduce myself.

-she thinks curious Croagunk away, flicks a soggy lock of hair over her shoulder, and makes the expected and entirely welcome jaunt from the gate to the door-

Route 208, yesterday

-The fury is temporarily shorted out by the "NFT" comment-

NFT peddler?

-As Adelinde teleports off-

Shit.

Pugh: -Is visibly disappointed-

Luxray: <Should we Persue?>

-Shakes head-

No, don't want what happened with Kai happening to us, even if we probably have a better chance of succeeding with a running retreat.

-Annoyed-

Let's just get to Solaceon, and then we'll tell the rest of the J-Team what happened.

Safe House (not that one)

-Tellurium and Lutetium, who are playing some sort of complicated-looking board game on the floor, sit up straight when Adelinde arrives-

Adelinde: ...So who is "Pef"?

Tellurium: What?

Adelinde: Never mind. Carry on with...whatever it is you're doing. Don't let me interrupt you.

-she flops down on the couch, Camazotz floating to join the board game, Lotophage curling up in Adelinde's lap-

-she eyes her housemates-

-and the bit of dried blood she made a point of not cleaning up, the only remnant of the erstwhile housemate-

-this safe house belongs to the School. Not humans-

-it's nice, in its way-

-Adelinde closes her eyes, not quite dozing-

Safe House, yes that one

-PEFE!Every wriggles uncomfortable as she unfreezes. Neodymium, more used to it, just nods-

Neodymium: ~Well, that's a huge pain. Maybe Bela will try and kill me or something.~

PEFE!Every: :/

Neodymium: ~And how am I supposed to not use help when all I do is help?~

PEFE!Every: Blind the examiners with lasers and kick them in the shins while they're distracted?

Neodymium: ~Please, I don't kick shins. I bet I could beat you in a fight.~

PEFE!Every: I don't doubt it for a second. Hm.

Molybdenum, when you have a minute?

Wyndon Stadium, past

Hoops watches what Piku-chan is doing with a blank expression. "Kec, what do you think the odds are that he just forgot who he was supposed to be attacking?"

<Unfortunately quite low. I've heard whispers of this technique, but I thought it couldn't actually be done. Don't tell anyone on my blog about this.>

"You have a blog?"

<Well I have to do something in my off hours!>

Hoops sighs. "Whatever. In the meantime, go and use Shadow Claw on Hatty."

Kec nods and ignores Piku-chan completely to go and attack Hatty with his claws of darkness.

Veilstone City, today

Hoops and Xaster arrive in town by crawling out of a forest trail that is absolutely not the main road.

"That," gasps Hoops. "Is the last time you're going to navigate for us."

"I thought that book would teach me to navigate by the stars!" Xaster protests. "If you're going to blame anyone, blame the people who made the book."

"Just..." Hoops gives up arguing. "Anyway, we're finally here. Which means you can carry on with your gym challenge."

Xaster shakes his head. "Not so fast, my frumious enby," he says, wagging his finger. "There are more important things we need to do first."

Hoops frowns and pulls out a guide book. "Are you talking about a contest? There isn't one here for another week."

"Of course not!" Xaster holds up his hand and points down the street. "We have a place we need to visit."

Veilstone Department Store

"The Veilstone City Department Store!" Xaster says, spreading his arms. The store spreads out in front of the pair, half a dozen huge floors of shops and businesses. "This is one of the biggest stores in all of the world! I've been so excited to come here!"

Hoops looks around, confused. "How did we get here? Weren't we just at the town entrance?"

"Never mind that you beamish tove! We have a lot to do! First we drop off the pokémon on the roof garden - they have several acres of space for them to play in. Then we head down to the clothes shops and pick up some new outfits for me, and try and find something for you that doesn't look like it was an auctioned off costume from a zombie movie."

"Hang on."

"Then we'll go hunting for accessories, things we can use in contests and to glam ourselves up a bit. Then by that time it will be time for lunch, so we'll go to the food court. Then we can look at battle items I guess, and then once all the necessities are done we can spend the rest of the day browsing and seeing if anything takes our fancy. We only have thirteen hours before they close, so we'll have to move fast."

If it was at all possible for Hoops' face to go paler than it already was, it would have. "You mean... we have to spend thirteen hours doing nothing but shopping?"

Xaster nods. "And don't even think of trying to run away." His eyes flash. "I'll just find you and drag you back."

Sinnoh, A Certain Residence

Celeste is neither a guard nor a dog, but she didn't live this long by being uncautious. She rolls over onto her front and props up her upper half.

Celeste: <Hmm. We weren't expecting visitors today.>

<Are you one of those door to door salespeople?>

To Molly, all this will probably look like is a Ninetales giving her a piercing stare and making a couple gruff noises but hopefully that gets the point across.

Solaceon Town, today

-Texting-

Wyndon Stadium, VS Hoops

-The lightning striking Piku-chan recharges him and causes him to glow with a golden color.-

-Piku-chan absorbs the last of the electricity from the bolt that hit him and is surrounded in a golden armor made of pure electricity, bolstering his Attack and Speed to rival those of Kec.-

Oreburgh Gym, VS Roark

Me: Ritchie, use Bubble Beam!

Roark: Aerodactyl, use Aerial Ace!

-Ritchie fires a stream of bubbles from his beak at the Aerodactyl, who rushes at the tiny penguin at blistering speeds, sending Ritchie flying.-

Roark: Now, Aerodactyl! Use Dragon Claw!

Me: Ritchie! Use Bide!

-Ritchie braces himself, glowing in a faint bluish-white aura as Aerodactyl slashes at him with claws surrounded in draconic energy.-

Jubilife Contest, Maria VS Gale

-Maria shakes Gale's hand. When the handshake is done, she walks off the battlefield, crying.-

Jubilife Contest, Fae VS Eli

Fae: So... What do you say we finish this Contest battle in style?

Eli: Hahaha! I couldn't agree more!

Fae: Hypno, use Future Sight. Mismagius, Mystical Fire.

Eli: Audino, use Flamethrower! Vileplume, use Moonblast!

-Fae's Hypno, sitting in the lotus position while maintaining a psychic control over the gravity around him and the other Pokémon, spins his pendulum around in circles, spinning it faster and faster with each revolution, until it forms a complete circle. Then, Hypno foresees future events, reflecting them in the spinning pendulum like a mirror. Mismagius surrounds herself in red, orange, blue and violet flames, along with the magical leaves. Eli's Vileplume gathers energy from the moonlight and glows with a silver aura as Audino glows with a crimson light. Vileplume then fires a blast of moonlight energy while Audino spits out a 大-shaped blast of fire. Fae's Mismagius retaliates by unleashing the magical leaves interspersed with Mystical Fire, and the two attacks meet in the middle, exploding into rainbow sparkles which shimmer over the battlefield before fading.-

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

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

Marian: SIMPLY INCREDIBLE! EVEN WHEN GRAVITY HAS NO POWER OVER THEM, ELI'S POKéMON ARE FIGHTING AS FLAWLESSLY AS FAE'S!!

Meat Palace, The Escape

Joybringer: Exit stage left, m'lady.

Evelyn: -giggles- I go where you go, Joybringer.

-Joybringer and Evelyn follow Rakash out of the factory through the door they entered from.-

Stormchaser, Miraculous Ledyba Watch Party

-Ian and Evelyn start watch Miraculous Ledyba, in the hopes that they can find the connection between it and the strange purple feather found at the supervillain attack they received a text about.-

Fox's Wedding, VS Radon

-Radon feels the ribbon wrapping around his ankle and his concentration breaks.-

Radon:    W̷̛̛͖̯͖͕̿͘̚͝H̶͙̳͓̋̂͂Ã̸̡̙̜̹̜̤̟͊̈͑̽T̷̰̀̂ ̷̧̛͙̅͛̊͛͑͘T̷̨͕͎͍̣̓Ḥ̸̳͈͉̪̞͊͗̓É̴̢̩̠̼͕̭̈́̈́̚͜͝-̷̝͈͙̽͛̆̈́́?̵̢͎̘̘́̐́̇̈́̇̚!̵̡̼̰̞̤̝̥̀̊̂͊͝͠   

-Radon is dragged suddenly by the ribbon and slammed into the ground, with the Soaring Esper Sunrise Beam and the Automata's Blade striking him.-

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

Me: I think we're actually making a dent in... uh... me? Him? It's complicated, I know...

-Radon lies on the ground, temporarily stunned.-

Me: By the way, Pirika. What moves can you use?

Pirika: <Check your 'Dex, kid. I believe the answer you seek is in there.>

-Ian scans Pirika with his Pokédex to see what moves she knows.-

Ian's Pokédex: This Floette knows the following moves: Moonblast, Fairy Wind, Vine Whip, Grassy Terrain, Wish, Razor Leaf, Magical Leaf, Calm Mind, Psychic, Solarbeam.

Me: Holy flower power, Pirika!

Pirika: <Well, kid. Now ya know. And knowing is half the battle.>

Me: Yeah... and the other half is applying that knowledge! Pirika, use Calm Mind!

-Pirika, even though Ian is not her trainer, nods and closes her eyes, taking a deep breath, calming herself down, which increases her Special stats.-

Me: PSYCHIC "I LOVE YOU" PULSE!

-Ian fires a heart-shaped blast of psychic energy, mixed with The Power of Love at the stunned Radon.-

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

Outside Wyndon Stadium

Me: Well, when you find the path that's true, you'll know that's the one for you.

Evelyn: You'll find something interesting to do. I believe in you.

Textspace

Campus Palace

-The Floral Healing helps a bit-

-but mostly it just adds more fuel to the fire-

-their cape is on fire now, incidentally-

-They hiss at the pain, doubling over as the smoke rises.-

Rogue: ...keep your Aura Sense to yourself, then.

-They pat out the flames, the smoke subsides, and they stand back up.-

Rogue: Real lovely welcome.

Wyndon Stadium, past

Hoops stares at the Thunder Armour. "That... makes absolutely no sense on pretty much every conceivable level."

This distraction causes Kec to be hit by the Mystical Fire attack, which deals some damage.

<I was worried about this> Kec says.

"Okay, new plan," Hoops says. "Keep Piku-chan at a distance and stay close to Hatty. That will limit both of their effectiveness."

<Right.>

"Now, use Slash!" Hoops yells. Kec reverts to the normal type of again as he dives towards Hatty.

Kec's blog, posted at an indeterminate time

Greetings, my friends. I know that it has been a few days since I last posted here, but we have been training hard for some upcoming battles. I know that you often like to hear the details, so let me say that I am very impressed at the rate with which Tot and Vul in particular have grown in the past few days. We strive to be able to stand proudly amongst the more famous members of the J-Team.

As for our travelling companion, the rather upbeat Xaster, his skills have been improving as well. In my last practice battle against RiRi I could really feel how much he has gotten stronger in just the few months that we have been training together, and I'll make sure to bring you all the details moving forwards.

Okay, now that all the updates are out of the way, let's move onto today's topic of discussion - I think that evolution stones are overpriced. Now I know what the response to this will be. In doing research for this blog, I have come across many of these arguments, which is why I feel confident now in refuting them.

To begin with, the common misconception that the price of evolution stones is driven by scarcity. I know why people believe this, because until recently it seemed to be true. However, the exposé from a couple of years ago about evolution stone mining practices in regions like Alola dispel this issue. We now know that if one knows where to look, evolution stones can be mined in great quantities, several a day from a single mine. And outside of mining, evolution stones have been theorised to be created as a biological offshoot of pokémon with a corresponding type - however, I do know that more research needs to be conducted on this theory, so I won't state it as fact. Even so, just the mining practices show that we are actually dealing with an artificial scarcity.

The second major argument that I often see is that evolution stones have a high price in order to prevent them from being too easy to attain. These people argue that making it too easy to get access to more powerful pokémon should be discouraged, especially amongst younger trainers. This is a blatantly classist idea, as it means that people in lower economic situations cannot afford to evolve their pokémon, even though they clearly possess the maturity to do so. And of course, many stronger pokémon can be obtained without the use of a stone, so al that this does is create an artificial barrier to trainers obtaining the pokémon that they want.

Of course, I didn't just want an outsiders perspective on this, so I had a conversation with Pol. Pol, of course, was able to evolve into her final form due to the use of a Water Stone, so I felt that she was more than qualified to talk about this. For some pokémon, she said, not evolving is perfectly fine, but she was not one of those pokémon - however, she feared for much of her life that she would never be able to reach her final form due to how expensive it is to get the necessary stone. She said that for pokémon with this point of view, mental health issues can become a problem. If anyone is interested in hearing the full conversation, I'll attach the audio file to the bottom of this blog post.

So to recap, this artificial scarcity not only makes it difficult for trainers to get the pokémon they want on their team, but it can also have negative effects on the pokémon as well. So while I'm not saying that evolution stones should be free, I do feel that they should cost a price that is more reflective of their supply, and of the actual costs of labour - though I'll save talking about fair compensation for worker pokémon in my next post.

Now, before I go I want to address something that I have frequently seen in my comments and private messages. For those new readers, I have often spoken negatively of the 2019 reboot of the cult classic superhero picture "Kecleonman" in comparison to the original 2003 movie. I have received many messages telling me that my defending of the original is based solely on nostalgia, and that it is not as good as I remember.

Well, first of all, I have never said that the original was good - the effects were poor, it was rather a poor reflection of the Kecleon species as a whole, and the performances are what one would expect from a television series that toddlers watch in the morning. Nevertheless, I rewatched the film with my friends Led and Sal in order to get their fresh perspectives, and my opinion remains unchanged. "Kecleonman (2003)" is not trying to be a good film - it is trying to be fun. The filmmakers knew that they had no budget, and so leant into it to create as much of a stylistic suck as they could. Though I will admit that the cultural aspects age worse every year. Led and Sal also enjoyed the experience of watching the film and making fun of its cornier aspects, and they like me agree it is not supposed to be a good movie.

Then in order to compare we decided to watch the 2019 reboot. We all had the same response, which was that while a technically very well made film, the reboot suffers from the same curse of so many recent remakes in that the fun has been completely stripped of all aspects of the story and character. I do not want to see Kecleonman brooding for fifteen minutes about the consequences of the decisions he makes, I want to see him punching criminals in the face while making terrible jokes and chatting with his villains. The original had an excellent dynamic with its villain The Squirtacular, but now the Squirtacular has been reduced to yet another boring villain who is positioned as the dark mirror to Kecleonman that he was never supposed to be. The Squirtacular is an inherently silly villain, but that's why he works; trying to force these characters to fit a mould that was not made for them was the downfall of this film.

Anyway, that's all for this post. Make sure to keep checking this space for my next update, which hopefully won't take so long to post ha ha. Goodbye.

Edited by theoncominghoop on May 24th 2022 at 9:30:04 AM

Solaceon

Edited by rmctagg09 on May 24th 2022 at 4:43:22 AM

Kec's blog, comments section

Edited by QuantumMelody29 on May 24th 2022 at 10:51:42 AM

Kec's Blog, Comment Section

Haptain Cook: Dis kecleon gets it. followed

Rilla Boomer 64902910201: What the heck did you just hecking say about me, you little mon? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Ace Trainer School, and I've been involved in numerous secret raids on Team Rocket, and I have over 300 confirmed kos. I am trained in rillaboom warfare and I'm the top monotyper in the entire Uonva armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the heck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my hecking words. You think you can get away with saying that stuff to me over the Internet? Think again, blogger. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across UNOVA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, lizard. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You're hecking dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can ko you in over seven hundred ways, and that's just with my bear hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the Unovan Trainer Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable arse off the face of the continent, you little mon. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little "clever" comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your hecking tongue. But you couldn't, you didn't, and now you're paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will unleash fury all over you and you will drown in it. You're hecking ko'd, kiddo.

Kec's Blog, Comment Section

"We simply don't have enough time. Anyone and everyone who is here, right now, are who we're marching in with. We won't get another major chance," Silas stated.

"Course is plotted Captain," Bishop said calmly.

"Good, we have less than an hour, everyone get yourselves armed and prepped. Teams at the ready."

Roxy put a hand up. "Uh yeah, what's the plan exactly?"

"Blitzkrieg, we're smashing right into Delta's vessel, boarding. I'll handle the big man himself, everyone else get marching to his server bay and get Bishop in there. We take his ship, we take his resources, we take him."

Silas's left eye seemed to start to glow as a wispy trail of flame came from it. "We're taking this chance and taking him down now."

November 2, 2020. NVU-Max Lair

"Fae contracts. Tricky little things they are. Only the upper echelons of the Fae courts can truly parse their legalese." The Justicar began his lecture. He paced back and forth, eyeing Des through his brows. "I know you had a little talk with your mother. You don't need the whole thing, unless you'd like a refresher?"

Des, still recovering on the hospital bed, just gave his captor a deathglare. His heart raced and his lungs laboured for breath.

"I'll assume you already know what she did." The Justicar continued. "Oh the follies of young love. You promise yourself to someone-the only one you think will ever matter in your life-and then they are ripped from you. How tragic. Such tragedy at such a young age would drive someone to do something really stupid."

"Shut up! I don't need a recap!" Des roared, finding a little bit of strength. His counterpart only chuckled in response.

"Hit a nerve, I see. Have you forgotten I was talking about my mother as well? They are pretty much one-in-the-same, though there are a few minor differences." He walked over to his console and pulled up some images. One had a large stone in a forest clearing. Carved into it looked like a depiction of Xerneas and Yveltal, presiding over a host of Pokemon. "The Masters of Life and Death, together making the cycle of beginnings and endings. One brings souls into the world, the other drags them back into the Distortion. Some souls, however, are a little more stubborn." He gestured to various historical depictions of Ghost Pokemon before swapping them out with photos and videos. "Some are permitted to remain on earth in their ghostly form, others are cursed.

"I don't need a recap on how ghosts work either. Get to the point." Des interrupted with a raspy croak.

"The stubborn ones don't go so easily. For whatever reason, they refuse to pass on from this world. But, for reasons only known to the Gods of our world, some must part from the material plane, never to return. And so, an accord was struck between the Masters of Life and Death." The stone carving appeared on the screen again, accompanied by footage of Xerneas and Yveltal inside some kind of containment unit. "A fraction, a sliver, of Death's domain was handed to Life. In exchange, Death would be delivered the souls who refused their fate. Thus the many portents of death, harbingers of the end, were created." On the screen psychopomps from various cultures across the world and multiverse appeared. Fanciful depictions of real Pokemon, humans tasked with ferrying souls in boats, and entities that appeared to be neither human nor Pokemon. The painting of the dullahan was present amongst them.

"Nothing I haven't heard of before. If there is going to be a test at the end, kill me now. If there isn't, kill me anyways." Des mockingly demanded.

"Keep making your jokes. Stall all you want. No one is coming for you. I'm only explaining this to you because I have a single ounce of mercy. I prefer it when my victims know why I do things the things I do. Anyways, back to the lesson." The painting shrunk into a corner of the screen and the rest of the space was taken up by old pieces of paper covered in runes. "In most universes, the dullahan is a rather boring fate for a mortal. Corpses of unfortunate souls, bound to a steed and puppeted by dark magics, tasked with patrolling the Galarian and Kalosian countryside, warning foolhardy mortals of their impending doom. Candidates are selected from those who ran afoul of fairy trickery, signing away themselves or parts of themselves in exchange for favours or money or whatever their heart desires at the time. Foolish wishes made in haste."

The Justicar produced a simple wooden box, covered in runes that resembled those in the fae contracts on-screen. From it he retrieved what looked like an old silver coin. As he held it, runes appeared on his hand, traveling down his wrist. They appeared on his neck, crawling over his face and glowing a brighter and brighter purple. He flicked the coin using his thumb, the runes disappearing just as quick as they appeared. The coin traveled through the air and landed in Des's lap. He looked up at his evil self expectantly, only getting a nod in response. He picked up the coin and the same runes appeared over his body. Quickly, he dropped the coin, fearing holding onto it would bring unwanted pain or some other consequence.

"Bargaining away your first born child is a staple of fairy lore. Some unconscionable decision that no would-be parent would make." Justicar psychically retrieved the coin and returned it to the box. "A moral meant to keep unruly children in line and thankful of their parents' sacrifice. At the end of such stories, the hero finds a way to circumvent the contract, turn the fae trickery back on their contractors. But such things only exist in fairy tales. In reality, unless you are looking for something simple, these contracts are not to be messed with. And if you are only wanting for something simple, it would be easier to just work for it. That is why fairies prey on the young and the impressionable. A young woman, falling in love with a sailor, only to lose that love to the sea. That right there is a prime mark. In her passion and grief the mark throws away something that at the time might not seem important to her, but as she matures she realizes it's something she has always wanted. Sadly, it's too little too late. The fae delivers on their end of the bargain, with caveats, obviously. Her love was returned to her. A bloated corpse in a closed casket."

There was a lengthy pause. All of this was familiar to Des, just conveyed in a different way. It lacked the guilt or emotional depth of his mother's own words. But it was all true. Undeniably true. He had been traded away for a body. He wasn't taken right away though. He got to enjoy a few harsh years of living below the poverty line with his biological mother. He vaguely remembered their last night together. He had awoken late at night in their halfway house in Lumiose. His mother was talking to someone, though he could not understand what their visitor was saying. Deep down, he knew it was a Pokemon in the guise of a human. The next day the School had found him. They promised his mother he would be taken care of for a few years while attending a school halfway around the world. He would be able to visit her every year. Seemed to be a good deal. He had been whisked away to Kanto and was kicked out into the streets of Vermillion almost immediately when he failed to 'progress' quickly enough for the School's liking. Des looked back at his evil other self. He found his own eyes staring back at him. He wondered if everything that had happened to himself had happened to the Justicar as well. Maybe not exactly as he had experienced it, but close enough that he went through the same story he did, almost beat for beat. Des wondered whether he had the capacity to become as monstrous as the Justicar had become. Finally, he spoke.

"Can I have some water?" without comment or protest, the Justicar obliged. He retrieved a bottle of water from a cooler, opened it, and handed it to Des, who sipped at it gingerly. "You know more than me." Des continued after wetting his lips. "Why were we chosen to become dullahans? And why is escaping that fate such a fixation of yours?"

"In your world, the dullahan is a simple fae bureaucrat. Think like a repoman, but for people's souls. It is not a romantic job to have. It's not even a good route to an extended life. Your corpse will rot away. Your limbs and your head will fall off your torso as it continues to ride your steed into the ground. It's a position with a turnover rate. Here, in my world, it is a much more potent entity. The fae courts like humans staying in their lane. The dullahan is the auditor of human ascension, possessing a function that keeps humanity bound to the earth and under the watchful eye of the so-called Gods. This world was stagnant, and surely would have collapsed in on itself if it wasn't for my grand vision. But, as I said, fae contracts are tricky. Even rendering their initial drafters inert could not remove the fate etched onto my soul. All my works would have been for naught and I would forever be a puppet of the Gods."

"At some point, my dear other self, our contracts were defaulted. Something had happened to the drafter that sent our contracts into limbo. It took years for the bureaucrats to determine who we 'belonged' to. You can imagine how much of a tangle the fae legal system must be. I do not have a perfect understanding of what exactly happened, but with the few pieces of info I do have I gathered that at some point in time our contracts were auctioned off in a bulk set and found their way to a department where we were selected as dullahan candidates based off of our region of origin, auric potential and affinity for horse-mons."

Des blinked. "You're joking?"

"I know. Funny how fate works. Or, at least, that's how it used to work. Once my plan comes to fruition, man will be in-charge of his own destiny."

"I see we are finally getting to the big plan of yours you have been hyping to me in-between bouts of unconsciousness." Des took another sip of water and rolled his eyes in annoyance. "It seems you're getting a better deal than I am. I don't see how my involvement could change that."

"The position is different. The names are the same."

This caused Des to pause for a second. "I'm sorry?"

"The names, as written in both of our contracts, are the exact same. They are both literally called the fae equivalent of 'dullahan'. The language used in my contract and yours is an exact match."

Sinnoh, Safe House

Molybdenum: That's possible.

-she rubs the locket around her neck with a normal expression-

Molybdenum: ~Good thing you're so helpful, huh? Bet she saves you for last if it ever comes down to it.~

~she's mostly joking-

Molybdenum: -brightly- ~Not "don't use help"! Don't rely on help. Get in control and stay there, so if they take that help away they'll see you're still golden. Brainstorm.~

Ribot: -approvingly- ~Mhm.~

-she gives Neo a professional nod, an unprofessional hair-ruffle^* -indicating the pen-~Go get 'em, slugger.~, and turns to PEFE!Every, subject-attentive-

Molybdenum: -inclining her head, deferential- ~Of course. This way?~

-and, by her leave, angles for the stairwell-

Sinnoh, Normal House - elsewhen

Molly: !

-well, Molly's neither an interloper nor a thief, and hasn't befriended this long by being unfriendly-

Molly: -through her mask- Ahaha, down, girl. I'm friendly.

-she squints very clearly (and uncomprehendingly) at the Ninetales giving her the glare-

Molly: …oh, you're a good girl, aren't you? Watching out for your owners. Want a treat?

-she fishes a piece of meat out of her pocket that smells appetizing-

Textspace

Sinnoh, Safe House

-Neodymium nods slowly, and returns to her work under Didit's supervision, while PEFE!Every waits for Molybdenum out of earshot-

PEFE!Every: You know that she isn't going to pass, right?

Outside of Wyndon Stadium

Kim glanced down for a few moments.

"...thanks for that," she said.

A beat.

"But... after all that's done, what about Kendall? And 9-Volt? A-and all the other people I've hurt?"

<You 'aven't 'urt anyone!> Ringo cried.

<Yeah, you're fine,> said Paul. <Like I said before, you should probably just get your mind off of them and move on.>

Braker nodded.

<They'll come to you when they wanna,> said Elton. <In the meantime, start thinkin' about what you wanna do in the meantime, alright?>

Kim looked up at her friends and mons for a few moments.

"...You'll all support me?" she asked.

<Why wouldn't we?> asked Elton.

"We certainly will," said Braker.

Comments Section of Kec's Blog

yampyampdoggo: Oooh! This is neat!

ikhandela: As someone who has never seen the original version or the remake of Kecleon Man, I was particularly intrigued by this review. I look forward to seeing more of your writing in the future.

rocketbun: Kec! I didn't know you did a blog! That's really cool!

DirkSeal21: Interesting take. I have to agree with you about the evolution stones, sadly. They're far too expensive. To be fair, though, only one of Kim's team members evolved with one, and said stone was found on the ground, so...

waterungoodlobsterpoke: This blogpost was doubleplusgood!

krabsat: Horrorshow, my droog! And yes, Kecleon Orange is a very dobby movie.

Textspace, Neon

Textspace, Tagg

Outside Jublife Contest Hall

Justice: "Yeah..."

Defiant Wing

Oran Obliterator: "Ooh, airship boarding, excellent! Question, will hacking the airship help or should I stick to my physical abilities and Pokemon?"

Meat Palace

-Flamel skeedadles with the others-

Earth Vellumental Temple

-The origami Groudon's limbs all retract-

-It then starts charging what looks like a VERY powerful Precipice Blades-

November 2, 2020. NVU-Max Lair

The gravity of what the Justicar had just said dawned on Des. His heart sank lower as Captain Reedus had returned, accompanying a large cart being pulled by a team of Tauros. The Justicar instructed him to leave it in the center of the room then vacate immediately. Reedus only gave a salute in response and left them alone once again. Upon the cart was a rectangular shape under a green tarp. Wordlessly, the Justicar unveiled what lay underneath. It was a containment chamber of some kind. Inside, chained up and wearing some kind of device over its face, was a dark, spectral horse-like Pokemon. A Spectrier.

"Meet your new associate for the next millennia or so." The Justicar patted the glass. The Spectrier did not do anything in response. It just stood in its prison, motionless. The Justicar turned and flashed an evil grin at Des. "Together, you two are going to kill the Gods."

"...You're crazy."

"They said Christopher Columbus was crazy. The Earth round? Hah! What nonsense! Look at what he did. He discovered Unova."

"That is not historically accurate."

The Justicar's grin only widened. "It is in at least five alternate universes."

Des felt some strength return to him, but without any gear or his partners he couldn't do anything. He just sat there, shaking his head, not believing anything that was happening around him. The Justicar asked him if he was scared. He replied 'yes'. The Justicar reassured him that he would have to be insane to not be scared.

"Ok, so you want me to take the fall for your own fate. How are you going to ensure I do what you want? Wouldn't I just be subject to the initial conditions of the contract?"

The Justicar began rolling up his sleeves, his eyes crackled with psychic energy. Des felt a sudden weightlessness come over him as he was floated off his bed and into the center of the cavern.

"The lecture is over. 'God' is a relative term. By the end of this you will be dead, and yet you will live on as my executioner across the blind eternities. Soon, I will be the only one worthy of Godhood. Even Lord Arceus, every Lord Arceus will be unable to resist me." He brought his right arm up, psychic energy coiling and surging down like bright pink chains. "Now hold still. This won't hurt a bit."

He curved his arm slightly, bringing it up above his head. Des screamed in pain as he felt invasive psychic tendrils pierce through his mind. He tried to do anything to resist. He tried to summon up a little bit of Ghost aura. He was not attuned with that part of himself to do anything significant. He fell back on his anti-psychic training to calm his mind and put up defenses, but the pain made it too hard to concentrate. In desperation he reached out for the eludha, he found the crystal shard in his mind's eye. Through the rapid images coursing through his brain, he managed to guide a spark of light from that crystal and project out into the room. Nothing came of it.

He felt his mind being torn apart and stapled back together. Like taking a loose thread in a rug and unraveling it, then trying to sew the rug back together. Memories, sensations, images, altered before him.

"Jovi…"

It was during one of his loneliest times when he met Jovi. The stubborn horse. He could never get a word out of her. Her whit-no-black coat shone brilliantly in the su-no-moon light as he fiery-wait ''ghostly' mane seemed to go on forever and ever. Yes. All was well. Jovi was right there. Right beside him the entire time. And she would continue to be there for always and eternity. Right there in the room was Pria's ball. He hoped she could come to. He wasn't sure who was in the ball next to hers, but he hoped whoever it was was friendly. Maybe they could join his journey as well?

The air in the cavern became saturated with psychic energy, the screens on the nearby console flickered with static as the Justicar's psychic might influenced his surroundings. The ritual was only half complete yet. He brought his left arm down, curving it upwards and completing the circle his right arm had started. It glowed with ghostly obscuric power. At the center of his body, where the two powers met, an orb formed, shifting between hot pink and faded purple. From within it emerged a ghostly hand. It shot forward, interfacing itself onto the same psychic anchors that tore through Des's brain.

From Des's perspective it felt like his eyes were being ripped out of his…eyes? He could see himself being ripped out of himself. And then, it was over. Des opened his eyes. He felt…nothing. His headache had subsided. He was lying on his back in the cavern he had been in before, only on the ground instead of on the bed. He looked to his right and smiled. There was Jovi. She was being released from her unit. Good thing too, she would need to stretch her legs. He never paid much mind to the person who guided the horse to him. He seemed trustworthy.

"Hey Jovi, you stubborn horse." Des beamed as he gently patted the undead horsemon. Content settled within him.

"Hard part is over." The other person in the room got his attention. As he looked up he heard a weird squelching sound. In front of him stood the Justicar, levitating an empty scabbard by his side. Des felt a warmness in his chest, followed by a dampness in his clothes. He slowly looked down and saw a sword hilt sticking out of his chest. Then the world went black.

 J-Textspace 

Sinnoh, Safe House

-there's a flashbulb-brief moment where everything's going to be okay-

-it's fine-

-she'll definitely-

Molybdenum: I know.

-die-

-a mask trickles away in dribs and drabs, and what's left is an oddly dressed woman in a shabby safe house with a child she expects to outlive-

-no tears-

-no fearful grimace-

Molybdenum: I'm glad we're on the same page.

-just a familiar sucking numbness-

Edited by Asterisk395 on May 24th 2022 at 8:54:56 AM