???, The Counselor's Office

-The Counselor gives a thin smile that, as always, never reaches his eyes.-

The Counselor: Excellent. I'm glad to see that we're on the same page. You're dismissed, Whitt.

Memitospace

Ever: You getting all this?

Ghost: <0_0>

Ever: You may have a point. Best to shore up those foundations, then, hmm?

Memitospace

-Kai gives a soft smile.-

Kai: Only if you'll let me help. Never alone, Ever, there are rules.

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Nov 7th 2022 at 9:35:52 AM

Memitospace

Ever: Hahahahaha. I'm seeing a lot of my own words turned back on me today, it seems.

No, of course not alone.

Memitospace

-The smile widens-

Kai: Well, of course. You gave me excellent advice, now I need to persuade you to follow it yourself.

-They crane their neck upward to give a full view of their smile.-

Kai: Can you give me your hand for a moment? The flesh one, not the prosthetic.

Memitospace

Ever: Hm. Okay, but I've only got the one left, so I'll need it back when you're done with it.

Memitospace

-Kai beams-

Kai: Sweet. I'll have to make sure you get it back in one piece. In the meantime— please remember I am an entirely platonic bud but also a cheesy goofball at every opportunity~

-They clasp Ever's hand, intertwining their own fingers with theirs, and give a light smooch to the back of the hand as they channel Aura through it, knitting itself into the holes of Ever's soul-

Kai: Whether this helps much directly or not, I hope at the very least, you remember this as a symbolic gesture and take it to heart.

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Nov 7th 2022 at 11:02:46 AM

Memitospace

-Ever tenses and twitches as the aura transfer occurs-

-the reaction is odd-

-like dry roots watered for the first time in a while-

Ever: ...I appreciate the symbolic import, but god that feels weird.

Outside Oreburgh City

"...I'll check in on my own," Owen said after a few moments. "You can head off; hope you two have fun."

With that said, he turned back to face the stunned Teryx, with his anger from before momentarily subsiding. Stipax promptly glanced up at his Trainer in shock.

<"G-get out"...?> he asked. <Owen, are... are you sure?>

"Stipax, I've never been so sure of anything in my life," said Owen.

<...this isn't like you,> Stipax noted. <What's he going to do out there?>

<I mean... Mark did have a point,> said Chasmo. <What you just did there was... well, it was a bit overkill, not gonna lie.>

"I'm sure he can learn to fend for himself," said Owen.

Then, turning back to Teryx with a hard glare as his anger returned.

"But he can't stay here. Not anymore. Not after he attacked two of his mons and his own Trainer."

<O-Owen, please...> Teryx muttered. <It- it would be unwise to release me back into the wild— you don't know what Pokemon are out there...! A-at least give me something to keep me safe...>

"Teryx. You heard me," he said. "Go."

<N-no! I... I can't go! I still have so much more left to prove to you! I—>

"I can't consider you a member of our team anymore, Teryx."

The words struck Teryx like a knife.

His eyes widened for a few moments, and a single tear fell from his cheek.

<P-please... I merely wanted to protect you...>

But Owen wasn't fazed, instead continuing to glare down at Teryx with a piercing look.

"I'm not going to give you any safety," he said. "I'm not going to give you any leeway. You heard what Mark said. He wouldn't blame me if I left you behind forever. So I will. You keep having outbursts like that, you'll be the dangerous one sooner than you think. Now get out."

Teryx shivered for a few moments, giving one more pleading look at his Trainer— which Owen returned with a glare. Eventually, however, Teryx finally realized that Owen wasn't going to give in, and sadly lowered his head before nodding, accepting his fate.

Owen nodded in response.

"Good." He took a deep breath, before motioning to the rest of the Jura6. "Come on, Stipax. Everyone. Let's go. We need to get Tyrie and Rhamphor to the Pokemon Center."

He walked over and grabbed the two fainted mons.

Teryx, meanwhile, waved one last time to the rest of the Jura6 before walking away.

<Farewell... my friends...> he muttered.

<Bye, Teryx,> said Stipax sadly.

<Good luck out there, Teryx,> said Chasmo.

<Hmm...> Saura hummed sadly to herself.

Nautilu and Crina merely waved back to him as best they could.

Soon afterwards, Owen returned them— as well as Archie— back to their PokeBalls and stepped inside of the center.

The Jura6 was now the Jura5.

Didn't really have much of the same ring to it, but oh well.

What was he to do?

What he didn't see was Stipax, staring out for a few moments at Teryx as he walked away, before a determined expression came to his face.

Seconds later, he crawled down to Owen's belt and returned himself.

THE HASSLEMON INTERWEBS

jovialPaleontology (JP) joined the chat.

JP: Hey, Jura6 members? You there?

extinctLogistics (EL), dentalOptics (DO), reliableBastille (RB), and drowsyBorealis (DB) joined the chat.

RB: You turned off the quirk settings? Well, somethin' must be up. This about Teryx's release, I'm guessin'?

EL: I would assume so.

DO: Ohhh, I don't think I could ever forgive him for attacking my Trainer... Just kidding! :P What do you want?

JP: It just... doesn't make sense to me.

DB: Yes, me neither. I think we all found it a bit peculiar, really.

RB: To me it was more shocking than anything. I don't think I've ever heard Teryx sound like that.

EL: I certainly haven't heard him act like that. It was... odd, really.

JP: Exactly! I still just have so many questions... What's he going to do out there? Why did he attack Tyrie and Rhamphor in particular? Why wasn't Owen willing to listen to him?

RB: Oh yeah, Owen was really out of line. Whatever Teryx has going on, I don't know if he fully understands.

EL: He doesn't seem to speak Archean Monese.

JP: I don't know what's going on with Teryx; do any of you?

EL: I have a few theories, but I'll need more proof in order to confirm.

DO: Nope!

RB: Not me.

DB: Certainly not me.

JP: Alright, then. In that case... I think I have a bit of an idea.

RB: Oh?

DB: What is it?

JP: Pack your bags, everyone! We're not going to Hearthome— we're going off on our own adventure!

RB: Hold on there, Stipax. It's nighttime.

DB: I can glow in the dark.

JP: I have night vision!

RB: ...Well. Never mind, then. Didn't know that.

Oreburgh City Pokemon Center

Owen sat down in the Oreburgh City Pokemon Center, still mulling over the events that had transpired. It had been a very long day for him, and he desperately needed to go to sleep. He had given Tyrie and Rhamphor's PokeBalls to the Nurse Joy, and was waiting for them to be healed up.

Eventually, after a few short moments, the Nurse Joy came out of the back, holding two PokeBalls. Owen glanced up.

"Thank you for waiting," said the nurse. "Your mons should be all better now."

Owen breathed a sigh of relief and took the PokeBalls from the nurse.

"Thank you so much," he said.

"You're welcome," said the nurse. "We hope you have a great night."

Owen nodded, and then stood up, beginning to head off on his way to the Ingot Inn— when all of a sudden a few flashes of light showed up in front of him. Soon afterwards, Stipax, Nautilu, Crina, Chasmo, and Saura all appeared in front of him. Owen blanched.

"G-guys?!" he cried. "What are all of you doing here?"

<We hope it's not too much to ask, but... we don't want to go to Hearthome with you,> said Nautilu.

Owen blinked. "Huh...? Why not?"

<We've decided to go on our own adventure,> said Stipax.

"O-oh!" said Owen. "Well, I'd be on board for that. Been a while since you mons ever went out on your own."

<Alright, then!> said Stipax. <We'll see you after the concert!>

"Good luck!" cried Owen.

With that said, Stipax waved to his partner, and the group of mons headed on board for Route 206.

Owen, meanwhile, headed for...

Ingot Inn

...the Ingot Inn.

Upon stepping inside, he walked up to the counter.

"Yes... I'd like a single, please," he said.

Road to Route 206

Soon, the fossilmons found themselves comfortably far away from their Trainer. Eventually, Stipax jumped down from his perching place on Chasmo's back and turned to face the rest of the group.

<Alright, everyone!> said Stipax. [[gold <Our goal is to see if we can't find out about what happened to Teryx!>]]

<Don't you think we'd need to find Teryx first in order to do that?> asked Chasmo.

<Well... yes,> Stipax admitted. <But, I don't think you need worry about that.>

He promptly reached into a miniature bag he was carrying and pulled out a detective hat, as well as a magnifying glass. Seconds later, he turned to face the rest of the Jura5.

<We'll find him,> he said. <And then we'll find out the truth.>

Route 206- Sinnoh

Teryx walked alone across the dirt roads of the Sinnoh region, still saddened and reeling from his punishment. It didn't make sense to him... well, okay, it did, and yet at the same time, it didn't. He had always had a desire to protect his Trainer from anything that he thought could be a potential danger, and Tyrantrum and Aerodactyl were definitely no exception.

Why couldn't Owen understand what they had done to him? Why he was so scared? Why couldn't he understand that he couldn't just grab him in the midst of a panic attack, or send out a Tyrunt or an Aerodactyl without knowing the flashbacks and horror that said species would bring him?

He didn't even know if Tyrie and Rhamphor were good Pokemon! For all he knew, they could easily be the same Tyrunt and Aerodactyl that killed his parents- and him- all those years ago!

...but, even so.

He hadn't meant to hurt his Trainer.

And yet, he had.

And now here he was, officially a Vow Breaker, exiled in shame.

He no longer was a part of the team.

And quite frankly, he didn't know if he ever would be again.

A pit quickly began to form in Teryx's chest as he looked around and realized that night was upon him. Predators could be here at any moment. He had no food, no water, and no where to go.

But he knew, as always, he had to stay safe.

So he did the one thing he could do at the moment— he used Dig.

He dug into the dirt, eventually forming a small hole for himself that he crawled into and covered himself up with. The dirt didn't beat the warm, comfy body of Stipax, but what did it matter? If Stipax didn't want to ever come back for him, that was fine. He completely understood that.

Now feeling more lonely than ever, he shivered in the dirt as the cold of the night came upon him, and eventually let out a mournful, loud sob that probably echoed all throughout the route— and possibly even reached Eterna.

Sweet Arceus, being a protector wasn't easy.

Memitospace

Kai: Doesn't it? That's mostly Stormchaser aura that I put in you, by-the-by. Y'know, bonds engine, fueled by the power of friendship, maybe with a bit of gladiolus and gracidea energy mixed in for flavor. It might even self-replicate with enough care! I'm not sure yet. Only way to find out is to treat yourself better~

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Nov 8th 2022 at 9:47:08 AM

Memitospace

Ever: Just shoving a whole bouquet in there, I see. Well, hopefully it sticks around.

-they pet the Ghost-

Gotta keep you fed, right little blob?

...That's a joke, for posterity.

-the Ghost, meanwhile, now seems interested in Kai, who has a pair of large yellow eyes in their face-

Ever: Now look what you've done. You'll never be rid of them.

Memitospace

Kai: Heheh. Almost got you some flowers too, by the way. Thought about it. Unfortunately, all the flowers at the shop were fully bloomed, none were still buds. And it would only be disrespectful to not commit to the bit for you.

-They titter at the presence of the Ghost-

Kai: Hey there~ Just a warning, I've only got so much soul to spare, so try not to drink me too much, 'kay?

Memitospace

Ever: Hahahaha. It's okay, I'm terrible at taking care of plants.

-the Ghost's ears droop-

-apparently, they have ears now. Isn't that odd-

Ever: You heard them, critter. Off you get.

-they scoop up the Ghost, rocking them gently-

They are cute, huh? I wonder what they are. I've never seen a Ghost-type with ears like these.

Memitospace

Kai: Awwww. Yeah, it's unique. Usually you only see those on true-ghosts of their original species, not half-formed ghostmons.

-She stretches like a cat, before sitting up.-

Kai: I think I'm gonna be obnoxiously cute with my girlfriend now. Maybe both of them, since I still have that other bouquet to get to Alice. But I'm glad we had this chat.

-She hugs Ever from the side.-

Memitospace

-Ever, with their arms occupied, bumps their head against Kai's by way of reciprocation-

Ever: Very reasonable. Both of you get out of my room now, I want to pet my Ghost.

Brie: ...This is my room.

Ever: -narrows eyes- Shoo.

Brie: Come on, Kai, let's go see Alice.

Memitospace

-Kai grins-

Kai: Aha! There we go! You want to do a thing! An improvement over wanting other people to do things exclusively. I'm now fully satisfied.

-They pull out one of the gracideas and clip it into Ever's hair before getting up.-

Kai: We'll leave you to your machinations, then. See you, Ever~

-They take Brie's hand, smiling, and pull out their phone with their free hand as they leave.-

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Nov 8th 2022 at 5:47:10 AM

Silas's eyes narrowed as he heard this. Roxy let out a "tch" in a grunt, both were pretty upset. Silas took a deep inhale and said. "Public Defense will work for the basics, for this we're gonna need a more dedicated attorney."

"Gio's out," Roxy noted. "His team is corporate only and even then, he's got stuff to handle back in the Foxverse."

"He also never said he'd be our legal rep. I haven't used him for that at all..."

Silas tossed a pokeball and out stretched his Golisopod, Blackquil.

"Blackquil, legal advice, one of ours was arrested on charges of murder."

<Grant-Dono, as the saying goes. Lawyer Up, contact your friends, you may have advice. I am not, a practicing attorney.>

Silas let out an annoyed grunt before pulling out his phone.

Kamui was being held here, the door opened and in stepped two people. Lt. Manya from ISR, and Detective JD, reported to be a cyborg similar to the J-Team's own Alex... or Owen from the Bolts.

The two sat down across from Kamui and Manya took out a note pad. JD cleared his throat and was the first to speak. "Alright, do you know why you're here?"

Castelia Holding

"I don't know anything," Kamui swiftly explained, leaning back in her chair and shrugging, before shifting forward, a phantom sensation causing her discomfort.

Castelia Alleyway

"Yeah, I'm no help here," Kendall conceded. "Dammit! I should be able to help her out here, but I'm a logician, not a lawyer!" He slapped his palm against the side of the building, forcing himself to hold back so as to not bust a pipe open.

Textspace

-Within a minute or so, a reply pings on both Kai and Brie's phones.-

Jubilife, earlier

Saffy and Jasper are walking around. Saffy stares longingly at a bank they walk past and sighs.

Saffy: Just a couple years ago we'd be busting into that place's vault. What a blast. I wish I could go back.

Jasper: <I wouldn't mind. It was pretty fun.>

Saffy: I just wish there was something interesting to do that wouldn't get you into fights with cops and superheroes and stuff.

It is at this moment they hear someone shouting something about j-team folks a short distance away.

Jubilife

A lady wearing a yellow coat approaches Tony with her Sandslash.

Saffy: Did someone say fighting the forces of evil?

Jasper: <We're technically in the j-team!>

Edited by QuantumMelody29 on Nov 8th 2022 at 11:33:42 AM

Jubilife City, Streets

Tony sees the yellow coated lady and turns to Stephen and the Sneasel.

Tony: Hah! I told you guys it would work!

Stephen: <Well to be honest, it was mostly your theatrics that helped you the most...>

Sneasel: <Aw heck yeah! Now we're in business!>

And all three of them go up to meet her.

Tony: Yep. That was me calling by the way.

He'd pull out a business card and give it to the lady.

Tony: Name's Tony Lopez, Paranormal Private Eye. I need you guys to help me with something.

Edited by ThanosBoi on Nov 8th 2022 at 6:52:34 AM

Jubilife city

Saffy inspects the business card. Jasper looks mildly concerned.

Saffy: Huh, didn't know that was a job. What do you need help with?

Jubilife City, Streets

Tony: I need help stopping an egg heist in snowpoint, and this Sneasel used to work with a Sneasel gang but bailed out of it to tell me and my Misdreavus, Stephen, about the heist. I don't think it's a good idea to talk about it here in public though. You got any safe spaces in mind to discuss this?

Edited by ThanosBoi on Nov 8th 2022 at 7:12:53 AM

Jubilife

Saffy thinks for a bit.

Saffy: If we were in Lilycove I'd be able to help with that, but I don't know my way around here too well. I suppose our best bet would be to head back to the Stormchaser unless you know anywhere better.

Brooklet Hill, Akala Island

"Okay," Hoops says, as they and Pol dump their third of several armfuls of things on the ground in front of Lana. "Please tell me it's in there."

Lana looks through the pile. There are many things here that technically come under the purview of 'items': a discarded shoe, multiple wedding rings, a pipe with blood on it that she decides to tell the police about later, a kitchen sink for some reason, a locked treasure chest, a waterlogged bag of salami, the list goes on.

"By the way," Hoops says as she looks. "There's a disturbing amount of pollution in that water. Like really, do you need some help cleaning it after this?"

Lana straightens up. "It's an ongoing problem. In the meantime, you're still missing the third item. I promise you'll know it when you see it."

<This is how it always goes with rules of three> Tot complains.

Hoops sighs. "Alright. Back in we go." They and Pol jump back into the water. It's hard to see because of the pollution, so their quick search becomes a lot harder.

A shape looms in the darkness behind Hoops. Pol, who is more used to moving in water, feels the vibrations in the water - like a large creature, but also not. Still, she has no time to question it. She pushes Hoops out of the way and then attempts to punch away the creature.

Before she can make contact, the creature seems to break into dozens of pieces. Pol pulls back, surprised as her punch makes no contact. The pieces re-join the mass, and eyes gleam in the dark.

The pokémon hits Pol, hard. She is pushed through the water, where she slams against Hoops. Both of them are thrown from the water.

<Hoops!> Vul yells. He turns his attention to the water, where the giant pokémon is emerging. Dark blue, with a fish like shape, and the orange aura of a totem pokémon emanating from it.

"What is that?" Hoops wonders out loud.

"It's Wishiwashi!" Lana yells. "It's the totem pokémon that guards these pools. And it has the last item you need."

"Of course it does," Hoops mutters. "Four minutes left, right?"

"Yes."

Hoops smiles. "Then we'll just have to take it out. Vul, Dark Pulse!" Vul looses a beam of dark energy. As before, several pieces of Wishiwashi break away, and Hoops realises that they are a much smaller pokémon. Once the attack has passed, they once again attach themselves to the main body.

"What is that?" they ask.

"Wishiwashi is the smaller pokémon on its own," Lana explains. "When a lot of them come together, it forms what you're fighting now."

<That's a problem> Pol notes.

"Definitely," Hoops agrees. "If it can reshape itself to avoid our attacks... well, let's test that. Everyone, attack!"

The pokémon all launch themselves at the Wishiwashi. It shifts, breaking off parts and changing its shape so that all of the attacks that are launched at it miss. It then summons water around its tail and slams Tot with a powerful Aqua Tail. It throws him against a rock, and he struggles to get up.

<That hurt, boss> he relays. <This thing isn't just good at dodging, it packs a punch.>

"Three minutes," Lana reminds them.

Hoops grits their teeth. "Okay, let's try this. Force it to keep changing its shape, keep the school moving. Maybe we can steal the item if we find it."

The attacks resume, with Wishiwashi avoiding taking any damage. Hoops notices that, even as the rest of the school moves around, there is a core in the centre that doesn't seem to move. Wishiwashi counterattacks again with a Hydro Pump that meets Vul's Dark Pulse in the air and quickly overcomes it. Vul is thrown to the ground, though he manages to stand.

"Come on," Lana says. "Surely you can deal with totem pokémon. Two minutes."

"How can I fight something I can't hit?" Hoops demands. Lana gives no answer.

Tot releases a Hyper Voice. Wishiwashi dives beneath the water to avoid the attack, then appears in a different part of the pool, seeming smaller for a second before it returns to its original size. It then vaults from the water and slams into Pol with Double Edge. She grunts with pain but stays standing and hits it with Liquidation. Having just attacked it has nowhere to run, and it takes a hit finally.

The pokémon cheer, but it is short lived. Wishiwashi appears to have taken almost no damage from the attack, despite its power.

"Damn it," Hoops mutters.

"One minute," Lana says.

<Any ideas?> Vul asks. <Because we're not doing well here.>

"You're my thief," Hoops tells him. "Tell me what's on your mind."

<I think I know where the item is> Vul says. <But I need a clear path. And it doesn't look like we'll get one.>

Hoops stares at the giant pokémon, which is still moving like a unit to make the appearance of one mind.

Wait. That was it.

They grin. "Tot? How do you feel about having a drink?"

Tot stares at them. <This isn't really the time - oh wait, you're doing a thing.>

"Yep! Use Hyper Voice into the water!"

Tot seems to realise what they mean, because he flies down to the pool. Wishiwashi starts to come at him, preparing an Aqua Tail, but suddenly Pol is there to block the attack. She grapples with the totem.

Tot screams into the water. It begins to ripple, and then the Wishiwashi vanishes, all of its components dispersing and going in separate directions, their communication momentarily broken. It lasts for a second, but for just that second there is an opening Vul leaps forwards, and grabs the small capsule that has become visible. But the Wishiwashi reforms and is after him, following him like a wave as he jumps from rock to rock.

"Go, Pol!" Hoops yells. She nods and rushes towards Wishiwashi.

"Wait!" Lana yells. "You already got the item. You passed."

"You said it yourself," Hoops says. "We need to be able to fight totems. Pol, use Focus Punch!"

Pol manages to get in front of Wishiwashi as it charges after Vul. She closes her eyes and sends all her energy to her right fist. She feels the ripples in the water from the hundreds of fins. She won't miss this time.

She hits Wishiwashi as hard as she can. It is stopped in its tracks, and the force of the punch blows away all of the smaller forms until there is just one left, one hand sized pokémon that holds the totem energy. Then it too, swims away.

Lana watches in shock. "That was amazing."

Hoops smiles at her. "Thanks. Now," Vul hands them the capsule. "What is this anyway? If it's your lunch, I will throw you in the water."

"Take a look," Lana suggests. Hoops does so, and a small blue crystal falls into their palm.

"Is this..." they begin.

"Yes," Lana says. "That's a Waterium Z. And now it's yours."