ITT: We are all Pokémon Trainers

Memitospace

Kai: Hmmmmm.

-They smile up at Ever.-

Kai: I spy, with my Heart-of-Gold eyes, an important emotion buried deep down. I'm looking forward to you finding it.

-grin- But I do enjoy a nice story.

Memitospace

Ever: Hahaha. Good.

Once upon a time, a few weeks ago, I battled a rather interesting trainer named Ariel. They had a Purugly, Dustox, Beautifly, Bronzong, Drifblim, and Honchkrow. No nicknames. I have battled them three times now and lost all three battles, which is somewhat unusual, obviously.

They have a remarkably precise style of battling. Very micromanaged, but they pull it off well. Like myself, somewhat reserved, unlike myself, not a big talker. Very calm, very difficult to deceive.

What do you make of this person?

Memitospace

Kai: Hmm.

-They ponder the info they're given-

Kai: Different Trainers have different bonds with their Pokemon. Sometimes it's simple drift compatibility, other times it's a supernatural or spiritual connection, such as a psychic link or the Bond Phenomenon. Someone like that... hmm. Could you offer an example, of what you mean by micromanaging in this context?

Memitospace

Ever: Specific coordinates for motion and offense. Similar to Brie's style, but less...acrobatic, and with structured codes as opposed to loose commands.

I don't think the training itself was supernatural, for what it's worth. Pure skill. Does that help at all?

Memitospace

-Kai nods.-

Kai: Sounds very regimented. Someone with a very... military mind. A commander of some sort.

Memitospace

-Ever winces at the use of the word commander-

Ever: Something like that, yes. And if you put the information together?

Memitospace

-Kai pauses, and frowns.-

Kai: ...I never quite learned all the moons in the solar system, or whatever other celestial bodies have gotten names. I'm guessing Ariel happens to be one such name?

Memitospace

Ever: I looked it up later, it's a moon of Uranus. The timeline doesn't match for her to have been a member of the original group, but she clearly has some connection. She might have been Neo-Galactic, or had family in the Team.

Have you visited the library in Canalave? Their section on myths and legends is extensive, I imagine it's up your alley.

Maniac Tunnel → Solaceon Ruins:

The fight against the Geodude Swarm would continue with Rookie delivering a Force Palm right between the eyes of his next target, knocking them out instantly, only to be the recipient of multiple Rock Throw attacks that didn't deal much damage to the Riolu, but none of the attacks would miss.

“Dammit Rookie, LEARN TO DODGE!” Mark would shout, noticing the Riolu's complete lack of evasiveness before Chopper would step in to provide support, using a Brick Break attack to knock out one of the geodudes who attacked Rookie. <Hey I was handling myself just fine, I don't need your help!> The Riolu would complain before delivering a Bullet Punch against another Geodude, resulting in another successful one-move fight. <I know you can fight little buddy, I'm just trying to finish this battle quickly so we can get out of here!> Chopper would explain, surprised that the Riolu was more offended than grateful.

In a matter of moments, the rest of the Geodude swarm would be defeated and reduced to a pile of KO'd rock mons all complaining about how much they hurt or how unfair life was. Regardless, the party would be able to make their escape westward towards the Solaceon Ruins, which Mark and Travis wasted no time capitalizing on.

“Nice job boys, now let's get the fuck outta here let's go!” Mark would direct, opting to run with Chopper and Rookie following behind him. “Hey don't forget about us!” Travis would shout, referring to not only himself and Tricky, but Owen's crew as well as the two followed along.

Memitospace

Kai: Young enough to have been named according to the Galactic scheme? Otherwise, my bet is Neo.

-They adjust their head in Ever's lap.-

Kai: I've been to the Canalave library in the past, but not since we came to Sinnoh this past year. I'm guessing there's something in particular there to check out?

Maniac Tunnel

"Right!" cried Owen.

He promptly returned his Pokemon, barring Stipax who jumped back onto his shoulder, and followed the group through...

Solaceon Ruins

...to the Solaceon Ruins.

Eventually, after a few moments, he stopped.

"Alright, then," he said. "Now what? How are we going to head off to Oreburgh from here?"

Memitospace

Ever: I could see her being second gen.

But yes. There's a specific story, regarding the fates of the people who interfere with the Lake Guardians. Look into Uxie's eyes, lose your memory. I thought for a while that's what happened to Mallory, but it's a more complete loss of function. If you harm Azelf, you lose the will to do anything— traditionally framed as becoming stone. Obviously I do not need help with this.

Mesprit is interesting, though. Touch Mesprit, and you lose all emotion. The end of subjective existence, but the only one to leave behind something that still moves and talks like a human being.

I wonder what a person who went through that would look like. How they'd behave, how they'd fight.

What do you think?

Memitospace

Kai: ...Mmm. It's difficult to picture, someone without emotion. Cyrus wasn't emotionless. He was angry. And especially, angry about being angry. Someone truly empty... I think they would be left with nothing but inertia, they'd continue moving in the direction they were pushed in. Having beliefs, having something to stand for, takes emotion. Having a moral epiphany, a reason to change course, also takes emotion. When you walk to the edge of a cliff, and you see how high of a drop is before you, fear keeps you from continuing forward and plummeting, more than simple logic does. But they'd never learn anything, either; ADHD tells me as well as anyone that if you're not emotionally invested in something, it's nigh-impossible to retain anything new.

Was she that kind of drone?

Solaceon Ruins –> Ruins Entrance:

After the party regrouped in the Solaceon Ruins and stopped, Mark and Travis would look around with the latter pulling out his phone and consulting the map data he had saved earlier. “Pretty easily from the looks of it. We're on the second floor of the ruins, just gotta go down to the 1st floor and the exit is straight ahead after that,” Before the party would get very far however, they would find themselves surrounded by question mark and exclamation point-looking Unown.

“Come the fuck on, we do not have time for this!” Mark would growl before Travis would then say, “Everyone stay put and cover your mouths and eyes, I've got an idea!” In the flash of a couple seconds, Travis suddenly brandished a max repel and would quickly spray a cloud of the powerful pokemon repellent over the group. If that wasn't enough, Travis would direct the remainder of the max repel's contents towards the approaching Unown, prompting them to flee almost immediately.

<Gah, this stuff smells like acid and feels awful!> Chopper would complain, having been coated in the stuff as he and Rookie were caught in the crossfire. <I've handled worse, I can take i—-aaaah my eyes!> Rookie would scream, trying to act tough only for some of the repellent to get in his eyes. Chopper would opt to carry the disoriented Riolu, hoisting him over his shoulder as the party continued making their escape. “Sorry about all that, don't know why I didn't think of using my max repel and sharing them sooner,” Travis would apologize, with Tricky only growling in response as she repeatedly sneezed and sniffled due to accidentally breathing in some of the repellent. On the bright side, the party would be able to avoid any future battles for a while and make a clean escape from the Solaceon Ruins.

Solaceon Ruins

Owen promptly went along with the preventitive measures, closing his eyes and holding his breath as he returned Stipax back to his PokeBall. The repellent was promptly sprayed, and as Chopper had stated, it did indeed smell like acid.

Fortunately for Owen, however, the stench would only last for a short time, as he quickly managed to get out of the ruins and out to the entrance.

Solaceon Ruins- Entrance

Once he was finally back in the clear, Owen opened his eyes back up and breathed a sigh of relief, before grabbing Stipax's PokeBall and allowing him to come back out and jump onto his shoulder.

"...Well," he said eventually. "That was something. Now... how are we going to get to Oreburgh City, I wonder?"

Memitospace

Ever: I do think she might have been. As you say, it's difficult to tell. I don't know what direction she might have been heading in, and I'm not quite so inclined to become a panopticon.

But it's an interesting bit of conjecture, isn't it?

Jubilife City

Tony would still be holding on Ascent to make sure he wasn't falling off during the flight, but when they arrived, he began to calm down a bit and wasn't panicking as much.

Now all that was left was to find his way back to his hotel.

Tony: Hmmm...if I remember correctly, it should be where the condos are at by the northeastern part of the city. Shouldn't be too far from here I hope.

Memitospace

Kai: Certainly. A concerning one. But more concerning is the idea that, whatever might have happened to her, also happened to her Pokemon. Seven victims, not just one.

-Kai mulls over a thought for a moment.-

Kai: Can I offer a story of my own?

Memitospace

Ever: Seems only fair.

Memitospace

-Kai nods-

Kai: After Vierr saved me from Nitrogen the first time, he and I had a bit of Aura training — he's an Aura Guardian in training now, if you hadn't heard yet. He explained a bit of Aura theory to me — that Hearts, Souls, and Minds are focal points of our lives as heroes. Not in the "of Gold" sense. The Heart is Mesprit's domain, the emotional core; the Soul is Azelf, willpower; Mind, Uxie, knowledge. It does sound like Ariel may be the metaphorical tin man, Heartless but full of will and wit.

However, Ever, it doesn't take an empathic genius to recognize you're attempting to use this as a framing device for your own turmoil. That's why I'm here.

Solaceon Ruins Entrance:

Once Mark verified everyone had regrouped, he would notice Chopper set Rookie down and try unsuccessfully to clean up the irritating max repel in the Riolu's eyes, only making it worse. He would take a Full Heal while approaching Rookie before ordering him to stay still and open his eyes. While the Riolu would struggle, he would eventually open his eyes enough for Mark to spray them with the Full Heal, which hurt at first but quickly soothed the pokemon's eyes that Mark would pat down with a dry cloth.

“Good on you for thinking fast Travis, but you've gotta be more careful next time! Rookie could have gone blind ya know!” Mark would tell his friend with a mix of annoyance and respect. “Yeah man I know, sorry...we made it out of there in one piece at least...” Travis would reply before consulting his map yet again and answering Owen's question with, “Well that's easy enough, we just keep going west until we reach Hearthome, then go past that a ways before we find ourselves back in Oreburgh.”

Mark would glance at his watch before reporting, “Considering how late it already is, it's going to be almost midnight by the time we reach Oreburgh on foot. We're better off flying if we want to cover more ground more quickly....and thankfully I happened to bring one of my favorite mons back when I was challenging the Kanto Region,” It was at this moment Mark would summon a Luxury Ball from his inventory and release a Charizard before the group, whom immediately roared with excitement before leaping into the sky, doing a backflip and some barrel rolls while circling around the party.

<I'm freeeeee, agaaaaaaaainnnn! It feels good to be back in the real world with the wind in my face and out of cyber space! Whooooooooo!> The not-a-dragon pokemon would roar, occasionally spitting jets of fire in the air at nothing in particular before returning to the ground, landing a few feet in front of her trainer. <First I replace your pokeball with a Luxury Ball, then I finally give you a chance to see the world again after beating the Elite 4. Can't say I don't do anything for you,> Mark would say before introducing the Charizard to the squad with pride, “Gentlemen let me introduce you to the one and only Pyra The Charizard: One of my 6 best Kantonese pokemon that helped me beat the Elite 4 alongside good old Choppy-Boy here back when he was still a Machop.”

Solaceon Ruins- Outside

"Oh? I didn't realize you had a Charizard," said Owen. "Pleasure to meet you, Pyra. This is my partner, Stipax."

<Hello there!> said Stipax, jumping down from Owen's shoulder. <Nice to meet you! So... what was it like as a member of the Kanto team? What was it like taking on the League? We've done it ourselves, and I have to say, Sabrina was probably the hardest Gym Leader for us... Also who else was on that Kanto team?>

While Stipax was asking Pyra questions that Owen didn't really understand, he paused for a few moments to look down at his PokeBalls.

"I suppose now's a good time to give one of my mons some training," Owen reasoned, taking out a PokeBall and throwing it into the air. "Alright, then! Go, Teryx!"

The ball opened, and in a flash of light, Teryx emerged from his PokeBall, flinching back the second he saw Tricky— and his eyes widening in fear for a moment when he saw Pyra.

<Oh... oh dear... nononono... is that—?>

He got closer— and upon seeing it was a Charizard, he breathed a sigh of relief.

<Oh, phew...> he muttered. <Thank goodness...>

<Oh, hey, Teryx!> said Stipax. <This is Pyra. She's going to fly us to Oreburgh City.>

<Oreburgh...?> asked Teryx. <P-pardon my interruption, but why are you planning to fly to Oreburgh?>

<Owen got some new friends!> cried Stipax.

<Oh... I see,> said Teryx. <It is... a bit of a shame that I cannot fly yet... unfortunately, my parents never really got the opportunity to teach me before—>

<Hey, I know!> cried Stipax. <Maybe Pyra here could teach you to fly!>

<R-really...?> asked Teryx.

<Sure thing!> said Stipax, turning to face Pyra. <That OK with you, Pyra?>

Memitospace

Ever: Hm. I don't know if I believe in heroes, but I think that's a reasonable assessment.

I'm really in no turmoil, you know. I'm simply considering.

Memitospace

Kai: Ever, you and I both know that's a lie. And that is why I am here.

-She sighs-

Kai: You claim, again and again, you're emotionless. And yet everything points to the contrary. You may not detect or understand the emotions you have, you try to push them down, but they're there. The word "commander" elicited a reaction all on its own. Your indignance upon being removed from the TV. Fighting tooth and nail to keep Brie from dying, years ago. This... glimmer of something, when I gave you that Favor. I do dearly wish you'd redeem that Favor, because it seems like you need something now.

-They gently squeeze Ever's hand-

Kai: That story helped me understand better, though, and I'm thankful. Because now I realize that the problem isn't that you're the tin man. Your Heart isn't what these ghosts are so hungry for. They're feeding on your Soul. And everyone who loves you is watching you turn to stone.

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Nov 6th 2022 at 10:54:33 AM

"Well," Vaughn said. "Good to meet you I guess."

~Why are you two looking for that other woman? The purple one?~ Colt asked. ~She wrong you in some way?~

Vaughn looked suddenly very worried, Colt looked up and patted him. ~Hey easy, just because of your history with Helena-~

"Yeah don't forget she's got your daughter... who also hates your guts."

Colt stopped patting. ~I keep forgetting.~