Café, past

Channah continues to lounge, her relaxed posture belied by a slight twitch of her left hand.

Channah: Did I say I'm frightened, lady? 'm just sitting here, enjoying some delicious room temperature water. Uh. And. Isn't a syllabary a foamy dessert or something?

Café, past

Lydia: -To Channah- Oh no, Hannie, you don't have to say anything.

-Gesturing with her hands-

Syllabary. Noun, a system of written letters meant to represent the syllables of a given alphabet.

-Snorts, as some Unown make their presence known and float around her-

The writing of the world. "The Alphabet" would sound like some crappy children's television show, and I won't even get into "The Abugida".

-To Chiyo-

Don't you find non-Auric humans like Channah so amusing Chiyo? Minds like putty compared to us, but sometimes good for warming a bed. Maybe that's why that J-Team leader guy keeps Channah with him according to what little our spies can glean.

Chiyo: -Irritated- Don't compare me to you, Templar, I want to live amongst the world, not above it. We're not superior or inferior to born humans.

And keep Tagg's name out of your mouth...

Lydia: -Thinking pose- I'll admit I did try to probe you with the Unown when you came here, but something about yours and Channah's minds made that difficult... I've never encountered anything quite like it before.

Edited by rmctagg09 on Sep 22nd 2022 at 4:07:02 AM

Sholto: "Ooooh, vision?"

Ghostus: <Well, let's see what this is all about.>

Hearthome City Outskirts

"Wait, you already know about the School?" Hoops asks. They stare at Jess for a moment. "Well, saves me having to explain it to you. Anyway, I'm Hoops, of the J-Team. And unlike the media would have you believe, I don't have massive boobs."

Sud smiles at hearing her master make a joke for the first time in what feels like forever.

They extend their normal hand for Jess to shake. "I think that particular templar won't bother you again now, but you should watch out for others. You said you hang around the Stormchaser, you in the J-Team as well?"

Canalave City Gym

Xaster takes out his final pokéball. "Come on," he whispers. "I believe you can do it. ChiChi, I choose you!"

He sends out ChiChi, who immediately falls forwards and has to catch herself with one of her ropes. She's still looking pretty rough from the last battle.

"Can you battle?" Xaster asks. She turns around and gives him a somewhat uncertain answer.

"In that case, use Confusion!" ChiChi makes a bell noise, and sends a wave of psychic energy towards Bastiodon. It takes it on the chin, with it not seeming to do much damage.

"Didn't you already learn head on attacks won't work?" Byron asks. "Use Iron Head!" Bastiodon begins to charge forwards, slowly at first, but gradually picking up speed.

"Dodge!" Xaster yells. ChiChi leaps to the side, but she is tired. She tries to get behind Bastiodon, but it turns around and takes the next Confusion attack head on.

"Iron Head again!" Once again Bastiodon charges, and ChiChi has to scrabble out of the way to avoid being hit. On the third time, she isn't quick enough, and she takes a hit head on.

"ChiChi!" Xaster yells, as she is sent flying.

<Azu!> RiRi yells at the same time. ChiChi hits the ground in front of them, and begins to slowly get to her feet. She isn't getting up fast enough.

"You tried your best," Byron says. "But in the end, it just wasn't enough. Rock Tomb!"

Bastiodon stamps its feet, and the rocks around it begin to rise into the air. It takes careful aim and then launches them all towards ChiChi with the intent of burying her.

"ChiChi! ChiChi!" Xaster yells as loud as he can, his voice tearing from the intensity as the rocks speed towards his pokémon. Deep down, ChiChi feels a strength reserve that is as yet untapped. She grabs hold of it, and her eyes snap open.

The boulders stop in mid-air, and for a few seconds there is silence as everyone processes what just happened. ChiChi has gotten to her feet and is floating, her eyes glowing with blue energy. The boulders still hang in front of her.

"She learned Psychic," Byron says breathlessly.

Xaster watches, and smiles. "That's amazing, ChiChi! Now, send them back!" ChiChi nods, and the boulders as suddenly flying back towards Bastiodon. On hits it on the forehead, while the others seem to land harmlessly around it.

"What?" Byron asks, realising what has happened.

Xaster grins. "Looks like we've got you trapped." It's true, because Bastiodon is held in place by the rocks and can no longer move.

"Go!" Xaster yells. ChiChi flies forwards, circling around the helpless Bastiodon. Its back is exposed. "Now, Shadow Ball!"

ChiChi raises her hand and the ropes on her head, and begins to create a ball of darkness. It grows until it is as big as her, then twice as big, then four times as big.

"Use Metal Burst!" Byron screams. Silvery energy begins to pass along Bastiodon's body, forming into a singular point. ChiChi releases her Shadow Ball, and it slams into Bastiodon's back, creating a giant explosion.

When the smoke clears, Bastiodon is unconscious. The referee steps forwards. "Bastiodon is unable to battle! That means the winner of this battle is Xaster and Chingling!"

Xaster and ChiChi stare at each other for a second, then they both break into tears. ChiChi rushes forwards, and ChiChi to meet him, but she falls unconscious on the way and lands in his arms.

"I guess you're tired, huh?" he asks. RiRi starts cheering.

Byron walks over. "You're quite an impressive trainer," he says. "I hope you'll accept this Mine Badge." He hands to small pin over to Xaster, who cradles it.

"Yes," he breathes. "I won a gym badge without Hoops' help!"

J-Textspace

-it is several seconds between each message, and the chain concludes with a disproportionately peppy woo of automated animated confetti-

-animated, automated hearts-

Stormchaser, Aislinn's Room

-inside the box for her is a smaller box of chocolates and a card:-

Stormchaser, Storm Center

Logan: -chuckle- Technically, I know you from—no, maybe you didn't meet me in that timeline. But this me knows you from the study.

-they wink in a way that's historically endearing-

-and several dozen Joltik pop out of the walls, readying the Center to receive humans-

-a few start weaving fresh bandages from nonconductive silk-

Logan: -lowering the shields around their brain- Heh. I'm no fighter, don't worry. The Pokémon here will protect you from anyone, and—did you see the sparks? We've got weirder stuff.

-a Galvantula crawls out of a vent and offers its back as a gurney—Magnet Rise making for steady, comfortable transport-

Logan: -looking them over- I'd ask if you got mauled by an Ursaring, but from what I hear you can handle those, and well.

-they indicate one of their own amber eyes with a circular finger gesture-

Sinnoh, Safe House

-transfixed, she corrects herself-

Molybdenum: ~Everything I...have stood for...~

-everything she's done, everyone she's been-

-but this is a person for whom "dangerous" in her friend meant "can survive another day"-

Molybdenum: ~

(-her thoughts dissolve into noise, hearing that-)

-and all she's ever wanted was someone who could keep up with her-

-someone who she wouldn't outlive-

Molybdenum: ~Make me into someone who can win.~

-she's pleading-

 Hoenn, Once 

-two humans and a mess of Pokémon lie back and watch the stars-

Shaun: ...what will you do, if they catch up to you?

Rhodium: ~...when.~

Shaun: Do you think you'll win?

Hearthome Apartment

-the wheelchair's wheels lock at the exact instant the Sight resolves-

-Rhoda's third and final Pokémon emerges to her tumbling from her chair; to Haru ramming painfully against an immovable object and not yielding glass-

Lady: <I still—>

-Lady goes down, hard-

-Haru dives in front of the orb; Rhoda's Bisharp swipes his claws at it-

-but try as they might, the ending is inevitable-

-it strikes Rhoda squarely in her back, and she collapses, coughing up blood-

Haru: RHODA!

-this is what love is: someone's will to live escaping through their mouth-

-he gets down on the floor, taking her hand—fumbling for an Audino's ball as the optimist she loves-

Murkrow: <...you're going to go away now.>

-she tries blowing Thuban through the closed door with as much force as she can muster-

Hooty: -high-pitched- <You need to stop.>

-with increasing resolve, he rests his talons on Tellurium's throat, walling off his lovesick, fragile humans-

-and on the near side, Rhoda's Pokémon lowers his outstretched claw-

Bisharp: -swaying- <...I knew this day would come.>

<They all thought they were done, but I knew.>

-he turns, and in that desperate, relieved expression it's clear:-

-this one never stopped practicing at all-

Bisharp: -to Thuban, at Eltanin's throat- <I'll cut you limb from limb.>

Edited by Asterisk395 on Sep 22nd 2022 at 12:26:21 PM

Sinnoh, Safe House

-PEFE!Every's grin gets wider-

PEFE!Every: Nobody ever volunteers to be a test subject. This is a very exciting day for me.

-and wider-

Alright. Let's begin.

Hearthome, apartment

-Eltanin fends off the Guillotine by a fraction of a second-

Eltanin: <That's your theory, is it?>

-unfortunately, in an apartment presumably not on the first story, Ground moves are impractical-

Tellurium: Oh this is such a cockup—

-she cautiously raises her hands-

-focusing her mind for a psychic attack-

-you didn't think Dragon moves were the only thing she had to pull out, did you?-

-Thuban raises an eyebrow at the Murkrow-

Thuban: <Hm. Alright.>

-and doesn't resist as he's blown backwards through the door and out into the hall-

-the shadows in the room relax-

Adelinde: -fist still held up, about to knock on a door that is no longer there- Good grief. Can nobody do anything right these days?

Agate Village

Retek: What is it?

Xavier: It looks like a bug, but...

-The Caterpie tilts its head at the pair.-

Retek: It kinda also looks like a plush toy?

Xavier: Yeah, that.

Peepa: Guys, I already told you, it's a Caterpie.

Retek: Yeah but why does it have that little red horn on its head?

Peepa: That's what all Caterpie have. It helps them detect danger.

Xavier: Is it poisonous?

Peepa: No, it is not poisonous.

Retek: Are you sure?

Peepa: Yes, I'm sure.

Xavier: It looks poisonous.

Peepa: I assure you, the Pokemon you're thinking of that's a bug with a poisonous horn is Weedle.

Retek: Are you sure that's not a Weedle?

Peepa: Yes, Weedle are tan and their horns are giant spikes, not little antenna.

Xavier: What if it's just faking, and it's actually a Weedle in disguise?

Peepa: Neither Weedle nor any other Bug-Type can mimic a Caterpie well enough to fool my scanner.

Retek: How do you know that?

Peepa: Okay, now the two of you are just messing with me.

Xavier: I'm not!

Retek: I am~

Angela: I should have brought Therephit to smack the both of you.

Striaton City- Outside of Pokemon Center (Kim)

The group looked on for a few moments in shock at Gilmour as his eyes continued to glow pink.

Gilmour's Vision

He could see a bunch of sillhouettes of Pokemon he didn't know yet. A Magnezone. A Primeape. A Slowking. A Venomoth.

He saw a message from someone in gold text that he couldn't read yet.

He saw himself, surrounded by a bunch of Pokemon— the ones from before, along with Ghostus and Gogie. There was also a Garchomp, and a Swampert, and a Sandslash.

He saw himself, exploring the Sinnoh region. And a multitude of other regions.

He saw Kim, with a Cacnea— and then her with a Cacturne, and then she saw them battling together and having fun together. He saw her introducing the Cacnea to the rest of the Pokemon. He saw the Cacnea having fun in particular with Gallag, Sinatra, Dio, Elton, and Orwell.

He decided not to spoil the evolution.

It all went by quickly, and then—

Striaton City- Outside of Pokemon Center

Seconds later, the light faded and Gilmour shut his eyes. When they opened up again, they were back to their usual black color. Everyone glanced at him in concern.

<Well, how'd it go?> asked Sinatra.

<What did you see?> asked Elton.

Gilmour, for a few moments, blinked, then stared up at them before smiling.

<I have... wonderful news...> he said.

"Really...?" asked Kim, grinning.

Gilmour nodded.

<Indeed... I saw a vision of myself... with the rest of Sholto's team... they all seemed to love me... and many adventures await us...>

Kim smiled. "Oh... that's great to hear. I'm sure that you'll do great as a member of Sholto's team."

<And as for you... Kimberly Bond...>

Kim glanced up. "Oh...?"

<The Cacnea you are about to recieve... will become a great friend of yours...> said Gilmour. <He will become a trusted... and valued member of your team... and I am sure... that you shall have lots of fun with him...>

Kim smiled. "Thank you, Gilmour."

She paused for a few moments, then turned to look down at Gilmour.

"Well..." she said. "I suppose it's time."

Gilmour nodded. <Indeed it is...>

Kim nodded, then glanced up at Sholto.

"So... how should we do this? Should we just give each other the Pokemon, or is there a trading machine, or...?"

The Underground- vs. Gwana (Owen)

Eventually, the Flamethrower faded, and Stipax, while battered, eventually pushed himself back up and glanced over at Gwana.

<Whoaa~!> he cried. <Where'd you learn how to do that?! I thought Cubone could only learn Flamethrower via TM!>

Gwana didn't respond, instead just glaring over at Stipax with a look of disdain. Stipax just tilted his head. Eventually, Gwana merely responded with:

<You don't want to know how. Just hit me.>

Stipax paused.

<Um... o...kay then?>

He shrugged for a bit, before he proceeded to jump on Gwana— and this time he successfully drained her HP, sighing in relief as his energy came back to him.

Gwana flinched back, groaning as her energy left her, while Stipax jumped off of her. She glanced over at Stipax with a pained look as she pushed herself back up.

<That was- heh. That was good,> she said.

Stipax smiled.

<Thanks!> he said.

Veilstone Gym Battle- vs. Maylene (Owen)

"Alright, Stipax!" said Owen. "Let's start this battle off! Use Bounce!"

<Will do!> cried Stipax.

Almost immediately, he jumped up into the air until he was nothing more than a twinkle in the sky. Maylene and the Hitmontop both watched in awe as Stipax practically disappeared before their eyes. After a bit, Maylene turned to face Owen, smirking.

"...Interesting," she said. "Using a Flying-type move to start things off. Well, we have a coverage move of our own! Use Stone E—"

She stopped.

"...oh wait that's not going to hit," she realized.

Owen smirked. "Aaaand now I know you have Stone Edge."

<And so do I!>

Stipax.

Instantly, Hitmontop looked up— and his eyes widened in horror as he realized that now, not only was Stipax able to avoid his one supereffective move, but he also was heading straight towards him from the sky. Seconds later, he found a Galvantula in his face as Stipax landed, eventually knocking him backwards.

And paralyzing him as he stood back up.

"Alright!" cried Owen. "Great work, Stipax!"

Maylene's Hitmontop flinched, then glared over at Stipax.

<Dang it...> he muttered. <I'm gonna get you for that...>

Edited by OPALGARNET16 on Sep 22nd 2022 at 2:35:03 PM

Gogie: <Well that's definitely a nice vision.>

Ghostus: <Yeah, can deal with a positive vision guy as long as it isn't ominous portents of doom too often or whatever.>

Sholto: "Oh, I was planning on just exchanging balls. Machines are a thing and they can help with trade stuff but since we're here and they're a formality..."

The trainer extends a Great Ball in offering to Kim.

Striaton City- outside of Pokemon Center

Kim nodded, staring over at the Great Ball— before ultimately nodding.

"Right."

She turned to face Gilmour.

"Alright, Gilmour... it's time," she said.

Gilmour nodded.

With that said, Kim promptly returned Gilmour to his PokeBall, before staring down at it for a few moments.

"Thank you, Gilmour," she said.

She promptly took hold of the Great Ball- her first mon ever captured in one- before handing Gilmour's ball over to Sholto.

"Take good care of him," she said.

Sholto: "Oh I will, don't worry!"

Sholto reaches out and takes Gilmour's ball.

Pastoria

Horatio: -notices the scientist- "Oh hello! You look science-y. Can you help me with something?"

Pyrite Town

-Retek looks around. He can't make heads or tails of these streets - at least in the City you could always follow the main roads, or follow the signs towards or away from the Backstreets... but this place was nothing but Backstreets. Well, that might be a bit of an extreme statement. This is nothing like the Backstreets he's familiar with. Which is probably a significant portion of his problem now that he's lost track of Xavier and Angela.-

-A hand rests on his shoulder.-

???: We have some questions for you, sir.

-Retek looks over his shoulder. A tall man with piercing purple eyes, barely holding them back from a contemptuous glare, with obvious body armor beneath his baggy clothes, looks back at him.-

Retek: Oh? Whatcha need?

???: We have questions as to your involvement with the Galvani-Mortons.

Retek: Who's asking?

???: Concerned citizens.

-Retek could feel the mental intrusion. It was not subtle, and was likely supposed to surprise him more than anything.-

Retek: Uh huh. And I was born yesterday. Don't you know better than harassing a minor?

-The obvious Templar-in-disguise is taken aback for a moment, and Retek takes the time to let his mental dam burst.-

—-thousands dead as the Smoke War tears apart L. Corp's Nest—-

—-the Blood-Red Night, and the rage he felt when Durandal put her down—-

—-The Pianist—-

—-Yun's Office...—-

—-The Zwei Association...—-

—-The Purple Tear...—-

—-Argalia—-

-The Templar reels, his faculties overwhelmed. Retek dons his black pair of gloves while his friends nearby approach.-

Retek: Hate to break it to you guys, but you're on the shortlist for "people I don't need to ask permission to kill".

Pyrite Pokemon Center

Xavier: Where did he go?

Angela: Probably looking for trouble, whether he knows it or not.

Xavier: Huh?

Angela: He always had the bad habit of running into some of the worst the world has to offer.

Xavier: What could possibly be that bad in Pyrite, though? Mister Duking's cleaned the town up pretty well, from what I hear!

-Retek strolls into the Center.-

Retek: Hey guys~ Sorry I disappeared. Went down the wrong side street.

Angela: Weren't you the one supposed to guide me?

Retek: S-sorry, Angela. This isn't exactly my normal stomping grounds.

Xavier: Whatever! We need you!

Retek: W-woah, what for?!

Angela: I have no money.

Retek: Uh...?

Xavier: And Dosey forgot to give me my allowance, and I'm huuuuuuuungryyyyyyy...

Retek: ... Oh. Definitely giving him shit when we get back for that. Yeah, lemme get my wallet.

-As Xavier groans in self-pitying hunger, Angela slides up next to Roland.-

Angela: You smell like blood.

Retek: You can't taste anything, and now suddenly you can smell blood on me?

Angela: You know what I mean.

Retek: Templars. They know we're working with Sparky and Dusty.

Angela: So you peeled off to handle them away from innocent eyes.

Retek: Uuuuuuh... yeah. Let's go with that.

Angela: ... You're incorrigible.

Retek: Oh c'mon, you know that's half my charm.

Angela: If you say so.

-Retek pulls out a little metal wallet filled with cards.-

Retek: Here we go! Who wants burgers?

Xavier: YAAAAAY!

Angela: Yay.

Retek: Yay!

Striaton City

Kim nodded. "That's good."

And with that said, she took the Great Ball and held it in the air.

"Alright, then!" she said. "Let's see what this new mon can do! Red alert, Debussy!"

The ball promptly opened up, and in a flash, Debussy the Cacnea was released from it. The rest of the mons promptly responded.

<Awww~!> cried Elton. <'E's so cute~! 'Ello, Debussy!>

Debussy blinked, looking around as he found himself surrounded by thousands of other Pokemon— and then he glanced up at his new Trainer.

<...eep!>

In a few seconds, he returned himself back to his Great Ball. Everyone on Kim's team stared at each other.

"...huh?" asked Kim. "Debussy?"

<Is he okay?> asked Gallag.

<It appears that we might have scared him,> Ozzy said. <Either that, or something must have happened to make him scared of you.>

Kim blanched.

"Me...?"

The pink-haired scientist blinks at first at the acknowledgement then gets more relaxed on hearing that er expertise was asked for.

Scientist: "Oh, yeah, sure, might be able to. What's up?"

[attractiveGlobe (AG) began hassling psychedelicMortality (PM)]

AG: Hell0!~ Welc0me t0 the team!~

PM: oh... ▲ hello ▲ there... ▲ you ▲ must ▲ be ▲ feso₄...

AG: Yup!~ That's me!~

AG: And wh0a that's s0me funky text~!

AG: Y0u must be an adept user 0f Hasslem0n, huh?~

PM: the ▲ whole ▲ team ▲ is ▲ really...

PM: or ▲ well...

PM: former ▲ team... ▲ at ▲ this ▲ point...

AG: Hey!~ They're y0ur team as l0ng as y0u want them t0 be y0ur team in my b00k!~

AG: Plus always l00king t0 expand the pe0plem0ns I talk t0!~

PM: oh... ▲ well, ▲ i ▲ could... ▲ give ▲ you ▲ their ▲ handles...

AG: All g00d by me! N0w I'm guessing Sh0lt0's g0nna let y0u 0ut s00n s0 talk to y0u later!~

[attractiveGlobe (AG) ceased hassling psychedelicMortality (PM)]

PM: talk ▲ to ▲ you...

And Sholto sends out the Cursola.

Sholto: "Welcome to the team, Gilmour! Hope that we have a nice time together."

Gilmour: <Thank you...>

<Uh... I met FeSO₄ too...>

Ghostus: <Told ya. They're relentless.>

Gilmour: <Actually, they were rather nice...>

Ghostus: -scoffs- <If you like that kind of overly peppy stuff I suppose.>

Gilmour: <I do in fact...>

Sholto: "Then you're in the right place! I like being peppy!"

Ghostus: <And the rest of us learn to live with it.>

Gogie: <Uh, anyway, welcome. Just lemme know if you need anything and I'll help when I can.>

Ghostus: <Or if he's too busy with his job I can help I suppose.>

Gogie: <Yeah, you have been pretty good with that. Thanks, Ghostus.>

Ghostus: <Yeah yeah, don't mention it.>

-Omicron looks at the reaction to Debussy-

Omicron: <Oooh, fear! That's a good emotion! It'll be helpful when you need to feed off of that!>

Gogie: <She's not a ghost, Omicron.>

Omicron: <She's not a ghost yet! Never too early to start learning!>

Gilmour: <I'd... rather not think of my trai-... I mean, Kim... as a ghost, if you don't mind...>

Omicron: <Oh, okay, okay. I'll lay off that material for now. Got plenty of other stuff to work with!>

Ghostus: <If you don't mind hearing him beat a dead Ponyta...>

Omicron: <Dead Ponyta are perfect candidates for becoming Litwick!>

He looks at Gilmour's somewhat distressed expression at the topic continuing.

Omicron: <Right, sorry, sorry.>

Edited by CorvusAtrox on Sep 22nd 2022 at 3:53:29 AM

Snowpoint Temple

Daydre pokes around, making sure not to touch anything she doesn't intend to. It takes her a bit to get to the strange etching, but she does find it eventually.

"Hm?"

Stormchaser, Daydre's Room

Daydre finds herself giggling slightly at the pauses between the words.

Daydre smiles. Then her brain bombards her with ways that could possibly maybe be considered too forward and she sends a followup.

Stormchaser, Aislinn's Room

Aislinn reads the card. For a second, Aislinn feels rage rise in the back of her throat.

... Then the rational part of her realizes that no, a package from that Macraul would've never made its way here. Much less would that one in particular express remorse.

Aislinn: Then again it could be some kind of sick joke to her.

She's not exactly familiar enough with Abilene to be able to identify it's from her, but she's rational enough (she hopes) to think it's from one of the less terrible Macrauls. Those exist, right?

Stormchaser

Ama picks up Strontium and sets her on the Galvantula, pointedly staying standing herself.

... She, notably, still has knives in her back, but it's fine she's fine.

Logan will probably feel the mental equivalent of delicate little fingers probing around their surface thoughts- not intrusive enough to be a problem, but not subtle enough to go unnoticed. The motions are practiced, like someone who's used to doing this but is not especially talented at it.

Ama: "All things considered, it probably should've been worse. Fucker probably thought he was going after easy prey or something, he withdrew... relatively easily."

Strontium: ~ He got me too easily...~

Ama: "I wouldn't blame yourself too much."

Hearthome outskirts

Jess shakes Hoops' hand.

Jess: Yeah, I guess you could say that. And I'm fine dealing with stuff, just got caught off guard there. At least now I know they're gunning for me for some reason, so I'll be a bit more on the lookout for them.

Robin: <I mean I didn't see the guy in person, but he didn't seem to represent the majority of the school there.>

A school safehouse somewhere in Galar, later

Chase teleports in. Dr Coleman is writing an email.

Dr Coleman: Ah, you're finally here. I was starting to wonder where you went. Your usual fast food runs don't normally take this long.

Chase: I'm so sorry! I was attacked on my way back!

Dr Coleman: Oh really?

Chase: Yes! There was this crazy person with bandages for an arm who trapped me with their Cofagrigus and tried to kill me! They also had an escapee with them.

Dr Coleman: Where were they?

Chase: We were outside Hearthome city.

Dr Coleman: What were you doing over there? Anyway, did you get either of their names?

Chase: Yes, I read both of their minds.

Micro, still hiding in Chase's hood winks at no-one in particular.

Chase: The crazy bandage demon person was called Hoops and the escapee was called Jess.

Dr Coleman's eyes widen.

Dr Coleman: So, she's still using that name. That is, if she's the "Jess" I'm thinking about. What did she look like?

Chase: Sort of like me, but shorter and more girl looking. I even saw her teleport.

Dr Coleman sighs.

Dr Coleman: It seems she is indeed Rose. I know her, but she's not an escapee. You would know this if you'd actually been ordered to go after escapees, which you have not. I think with this incident you've quite aptly demonstrated the fact that you definitely won't be sent on those kinds of missions any time soon. In the time you've been gone I've recieved five more delivery requests from all around the globe, so you'd better get moving.

Chase: Yes ma'am!

Phenac City

Xavier: Wooooooah... there's so much fresh water here!

Retek: Wow. Yeah. Don't think I've ever seen any place like this.

Angela: It is remarkably bright here, as well.

Retek: Well, we already knew that was gonna be a factor. But the white buildings sure don't help the glare...

Xavier: I told you two to bring sunglasses!

Retek: Hey, give us a break, we didn't have any immediately available.

Angela: It doesn't bother me.

Xavier: Oh! I know! We should get you two sunglasses!

Retek: Woah, wait, I just paid for the meal...

Angela: No, really, it doesn't bother me.

Xavier: Let's head to the store! There's gotta be one around here somewhere!

Retek: Just so long as they're cheap...

Angela: Why does nobody believe me when I say I'm not bothered by things...?

Straiton City- Outside of Pokemon Center

<There 'e is~!> cried Elton happily, waving to Gilmour.

Kim smiled. "Well, it certainly seems like he's having fun. Now... I just need to find some way to talk to Debussy. I wonder what's going on with him."

<M-me too...> muttered Freddie.

<Hold on a minute,> said Geddy. <I'll go talk to him and see if I can't get him out.>

<Mind if I join you, dude?> asked Gallag.

Geddy nodded. <Sure thing.>

And with that said, the two of them returned themselves.

THE HASSLEMON INTERWEBS

modestPinniped (MP) and radicalPacifist (RP) joined the chat.

MP: (Hello there.)<

RP: 'Sup, dude?

HASSLEMON HANDLE LOADING

HASSLEMON HANDLE DECIDED

pricklyPeach (PP) joined the chat.

PP: ...

PP: ...whô...

PP: ...whô ârê yôû?...

MP: (I'm Geddy. I'm one of Kimberly Bond's Pokemon. It's nice to meet you.)<

PP: ...whô îs thât?...

RP: Kim? She's y()ur ϡew Traiϡer, man!

PP: ...t-trâînêrê? J'ai une......

MP: (Yep. You were traded to Kim for Gilmour.)<

RP: Waϡϡa, like... meet the rest of the team, dude?

PP: N-non! Nononononononon...!

pricklyPeach (PP) left the chat.

MP: (...)<

RP: ...

MP: (Should we... try it again?)<

RP: ϡaah. Give him s()me space, dude; he just got here.

The Underground:

Mark and Travis simply watched the fight, ready to provide support in the extremely unlikely event that it would be necessary.

“Now that's what I'm talking about!” Mark shouted in support once Stipax got his rebound and recovered via Giga Drain. Travis would add with subdued investment, “Huh, not only did the cubone let themselves get it, they somehow didn't get one-punched? Might actually be tougher than we thought,”.

<I'm confused Mark, why did the cubone not follow-through with another attack? Are they going to use revenge or counter?> Chopper would ask, still bewildered from the flamethrower attack.

<I doubt it since they wouldn't have attacked first. I'm guessing they're confident in their own strength or subscribe to the idea of turn-based attacks that some people believe there's honor in.> Mark would explain, awaiting the wild pokemon's next move.

Veilstone City Gym:

<Holy shit, Stipax can fly?!> Chopper gasped in surprise at Stipax leaping in the air, prompting a facepalm from Mark who didn't even bother responding in Monese as he sarcastically muttered, “Yeah, the wingless, flightless electric spider unlocked the power of flight just by channeling his ki—Of course not you fucking goofball!”

“Hey don't give him too much flak now, flying's not that hard. Ya just gotta throw yourself at the ground and miss,” Travis facetiously chimed in before devouring another handful of popcorn, only to spit it out and groan, “Damn, this popcorn sucks! I should have bought some pretzels or something,”

Mark would only facepalm himself again, almost hard enough to accidentally induce a bruise, contusion, and effect that could be mistaken for using Calm Mind as he would later say, “Fucking amateur, this is why you don't pull your punches! You end up revealing your hand, and when your moves end up telegraphed, the battle's already over,”

“Whose side are you on? I thought we were cheering for Owen,” Travis asked, kicking his feet up on the wall without having to worry about getting in the way of anyone else due to the fact that the group were sitting at front row seats. Mark would explain in response, “Oh I'm not worried about whether Owen will win or not, because we know he will. I'm just worried that most of the fights he's in he only has to put in minimal effort. I know what he's actually capable of, I've seen it whenever we've had to fight Team Lightning, and I'm pretty sure he's beaten a league as well. I'm worried if he keeps having to settle for these simple fights he's going to get weaker from not having to try as hard,”

“I see where you're coming from, but like the fight's barely started dude. We might have some twists and surprises in store ya know?” Travis pointed out before Mark simply grumbled in agreement, “You've got a point, but if Owen starts wiping the floor with this gym leader I'm just gonna pass the time with the punching bags.

Gilmour gives a smile in return to Elton.

Gilmour: <Yeah... this is... fun.... I do hope you manage to get through to Debussy, Kim...>

Edited by CorvusAtrox on Sep 22nd 2022 at 7:48:55 AM

The Underground- vs. Gwana

Gwana shook the damage off for a bit, then turned back to face Stipax.

<Your little friend with the Manectric's right about that,> she said. <Honestly, you got a good move off with the Giga Drain, but... it's gonna take a lot to defeat me. So while I'm willing to take this risk... you'd better watch out.>

She promptly laid down on the floor and- to the shock of Stipax and Owen- began hitting her belly multiple times. Seconds later, she flared up with an orange aura.

Stipax blinked in shock.

<She knows Belly Drum?!> he cried.

"Oh no..." muttered Owen. "She just used Belly Drum, meaning that while her HP's gone down... her Attack's been maxed! Look out, Stipax!"

Stipax nodded, preparing himself for her next attack, and immediately launching out an Energy Ball at Gwana... which Gwana promptly crushed to bits with her bone.

<You thought you could defeat me that easily?!> she cried. <Here's the thing— I know both your weaknesses! And I'm not afraid to use them!>

Almost as if on cue, she raised her bone to the sky and waved it around a few times— sending down a torrent of rocks on Stipax.

Said rocks hit— for maximum damage output.

"Stipax!" cried Owen.

Stipax was thrown backwards, now even more battered by the Rock Slide. Even so, though, he managed to push himself back up.

<Dang... Belly Drum, Flamethrower, and Rock Slide? You are good!> he cried. <Something tells me you're gonna do great against Maylene!>

<...if you even get me,> Gwana retorted.

Veilstone Gym- vs. Maylene

Maylene grimaced.

"Well," she said. "I wasn't expecting the paralysis, that's for sure."

And then— she smirked.

"Of course, I wouldn't be a Gym Leader if I didn't account for weaknesses as much as possible," she said. "Hitmontop! Use Rock Slide!"

Hitmontop nodded, then started spinning around. In an instant, he began to glow a sickly green color, and instantly shot multiple rocks at Stipax, knocking him backwards.

"Oh no! Stipax!" cried Owen.

He ran over to Stipax as a cloud of dust went up from his side. When it faded, Stipax was on his feet, though very much battered.

"Phew..." said Owen, breathing a sigh of relief.

And then he noticed the Expert Belt around Hitmontop's waist.

"Oh crap... she's got an Expert Belt..." Owen muttered. "No wonder that Rock Slide was so strong, then..."

A glance over at Stipax. His face suddenly grew with determination.

"We can't let him use that move again!" cried Owen. "Stipax! Use Electroweb!"

<Alright!> said Stipax.

Seconds later, he promptly shot out a burst of electricity-laden webbing from his mouth, which succeeded in trapping Maylene's Hitmontop.

Owen nodded. "Got him."

Straiton City- Outside of the Pokemon Center

"Yes," said Kim simply. "We can only hope. It'll probably take a bit of coaxing, though, considering he was so afraid of me."

A glance at Sholto.

"Do you have any idea as to why he might be afraid of me?" she asked.

Edited by OPALGARNET16 on Sep 22nd 2022 at 9:24:55 AM

Snowpoint Temple

-The etching just lays there on the wall. Menacingly. It doesn't glow or anything but it sort of beckons-

-On closer inspection it is a large dot, below which is five dots flanked by... two draconic figures?-

Pastoria

Horatio: -fidgets with the Luxury Ball more- "Well... How much do you know about the local Pokemon?"

Sholto: "Hmmm, I mean, I suppose he didn't seem the most welcoming of me either, didn't really put up much of a fight when I tried to catch him."

Ghostus: <Kinda pathetic from what I heard, really.>

Scientist: "Well, that's kinda why I'm here... I've been here before, it's how I got my Gyarados."

Gyarados: <And you could certainly say *I'm* familiar with the locals, given I'm from here.>

Scientist: "But I'm uh, kinda here to do a population study/census of the local Pokemon. And hopefully they updated the recordings this time..."

Cafe, past

Channah: (rolls her eyes at the demeaning remarks) Oh yeah, I'm real spec- Wait, Hannie? Hannie? (sits up) Listen, you're gonna wanna walk that back.