ITT: We are all Pokémon Trainers

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-The sound of Kai's associated notification sound rings from Brie's phone!-

The GM House

Deziree: Uuuuuuugh.

Doomsday: <Don't worry, Dezi. Once you hit the second trimester the cramps will - hopefully - stop.>

Deziree: Whyyyyyy is the human body so aggressively inefficient with pregnancyyyyyyyyyyy!

Doomsday: <Because you gotta make a whole-ass human with a soft body and a big head (to body mass) in that belly of yours and your diet and body isn't prepped to make an external egg.>

Deziree: Next time I do this I'm using time travel.

Doomsday: <You've turned Dune into a girl before, right? Make him do it. Put him in a timewarpbubblewhatsit and sit out the nine months in, like, a real-time week.>

Deziree: ... Are you sure you're not a mad scientist?

Doomsday: <I'm more of an "angry physician" than a "mad scientist".>

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Galar, Wild Area - Blooming Grove, past

-Alice finds herself stammering as Abilene enacts her role reversal.-

Alice: I-I...

-She disentangles herself and pulls away, attempting to make the motion look graceful.-

Alice: ...I told you that I had need of your aid on my quest, and now you use the ingredients you had your minions retrieve for your own benefit? As if I needed any further proof of your sinister intentions.

-Delphinium, meanwhile, is hammered into the earth like a nail, dazed, with only her head and neck poking up out of the ground...-

Delphinium: >:c

-...and she uses them to reply with a viciously reciprocal headbutt.-

Unova Courthouse - Day 1

Shun: ...I hadn't actually mentioned the card yet. But yes, in spite of the damage inflicted by the fire, we were able to recover a calling card left on the victim's body. I have it right here.

Leonard: Thank you, Detective. The prosecution accepts this into evidence.

Evidence Added! Calling Card
Found on the victim's body. Bears the emblem of Aurabolts member Lamb upon it.

-Leonard smirks.-

Leonard: I am curious, though, why the defence would bring up something so clearly detrimental to their case. It's stark proof that your client was the guilty party. Unless you have some problem with this piece of evidence?

Edited by Herbert40k on Jan 21st 2023 at 8:55:45 PM

"Yes," Judge Jackson said. "I have to agree, what does this piece of evidence have to do with the burning? Doesn't this work against your client?"

Sunyshore Cafe

Maurice: "...I mean. They didn't know what to do with me so they pawned me off to the really creepy ex-Pokefutures mad scientist who I don't know how is still around... Thinking about it... Maybe there is some resentment there, huh."

-this is all said with complete sincerity-

Bubba Gump: <...Woah you're really unloading on this gal huh?>

THE COURT

Jared: "No. no, see, here's the thing dude."

-he does a dramatic finger point◊-

"Why would she leave a calling card if she was trying to burn all other evidence? It makes no sense!"

Outside The Jublife Hideout

-H. G. Cross is walking here-

H.G. Cross: "So one of the keys may be Seigbert's mother... Mabye I should ask him more about-"

-There is a noise-

-He stops-

"Probably nothing."

-He keeps walking-

-Suddenly he feels something crawling up his back-

-He stops again-

-He looks to his left-

-Nothing-

-He looks to his right-

-A singular eye is staring at him from his shoulder-

-He screams-

Battle Academy

-Standing outside the facility-

So this is the Battle Academy, huh?

Chiyo: -Next to me- This place already feels funny.

Battle Academy, Front Entrance

-The front doors slide open to reveal an elevator. A perky, feminine voice calls out from it.-

Failsafe: Hello, and welcome to Battle Academy! I am Failsafe, one of the fragments of the gestalt intelligence you know as Wuffles! Welcome, Mister Tagg, and guest! If you would please step inside, I will take the elevator up to the main courtyard!

Sunnyshore Café, past

Chiyo: -Hands to her cheeks- Seems not all Templars get a glamorous life, you don't get to choose what you really want to do.

-Twirling a loose curl idly as she waits for Maurice's answer-

They wouldn't happen to be a Dr. Moreau, now would they? What do they do with you Maurice?

Battle Academy, today

-While stepping inside, slightly miffed-

It's Dr. Tagg if we're going with titles.

Chiyo: -Smirks- I thought you didn't like being called "Dr."

-Crossing my arms-

It's different in circumstances like this.

Chiyo: No hide nor hair of Channah for a while now.

That's the other reason why I'm agitated, it's like she's disappeared off the face of the earth and I'm being a bad partner.

Battle Academy

Failsafe: I am aware that this is a personal matter and that we, as far as I am a separate-yet-included member of the Wuffles conglomerate, have just met, but from my observations of Mr. and Mrs. Galvani-Morton, such feelings are both very natural and a sign of a healthy habit of self-observation!

-Elevator soon comes to a stop, and the inner doors open into a massive courtyard, with planters holding trees of different species - though all tending to prefer warmer climbs, like the scrub oak nearest the entrance. A massive set of glass windows illuminate the area, with supplemental UV lighting on the ceiling. A circular desk stretches around the central pillar, with a sign designating it as "Admissions and Student Archives", with four people manning it dressed in warm brown uniforms. A young lady, wearing a more ornate version of said uniform, comes walking up to Tagg and Chiyo.-

Kuthmal: Hello! You must be Dr. Tagg, and you must be the relation of Miss Ludmilla's!

-She tilts her head.-

Kuthmal: We really should come up with a different term for that. Referring to "Schoolchildren" in an actual, unrelated school is just going to be confusing...

-Even a cursory auric or psychic scan will reveal some very unusual features about her. Namely, that her body is absolutely suffused with psychic energy.-

Galar, Wild Area - Blooming Grove

-Abilene parts equally gracefully(-ish), straightening assorted accoutrements-

Abilene: My Lady of the Sunshine, I will point out they are still growing from her neck, and ask you factor this into your estimation—

Malus: <Um, brace>

Abilene: —of whether my sinister machiSapinda!

-Sapinda grins and—too close to dodge—meets it head-on, confident in the rooting power of her mass and stance-

-boom-

-...-

-thud-

-thud,-

-thump.-

-...-

Sapinda: <Kh...! Don't...gloat at me...flower...>

Sapinda: -wobbling- <With your...smug face...many seeds...heavy seeds.>

-she struggles to her feet-

Sapinda: <Like you could...take me out in one move. I am as a drake. My will be—>

Sapinda: >:(

Abilene: ...Xerneas' flank meat.

-she recalls Sapinda, wondering-

Abilene: Whatever you fertilize her with, I'd like some.

-what she swaps her out with lives in a Heavy Ball's leaf-patterned cousin, and thrives with a hefty underhand-

Abilene: -gasp- But truly? A sucker punch? One might suspect you of villainy, Dastardly Dame.

-a massive Torterra, boughs spliced and fruit-laden, comes gently to rest in Sapinda's crater-

Sorbus: -folding her legs under her- <What a beautiful day for a brouhaha.> :)

Abilene: Sorbus! Quick! Little Delphie's stuck in a well!

Sorbus: Ooo, heroics.

-forgoing tactical complexity, Sorbus...leans over...and Crunches Delphinium in her recovery period, chewing thoughtfully-

[REDACTED], Safe House

-Ramona "Molybdenum" Cadwalader is doing what she does best, under duress:-

-clerical work-

-relentlessly-

Edited by Asterisk395 on Jan 20th 2023 at 10:22:41 AM

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REDACTED Safehouse

-Neodymium is hanging out, playing some sort of game with Didit-

-PEFE!Every is watching them, taking notes idly-

-she's resting on Molybdenum's shoulder, an additional pen floating next to her as she takes notes on some other recent discoveries-

-everyone here is in the faint disquiet of being past their expiration dates-

-and one person in the room has had enough of it-

~Ramona, if you aren't going to handle liquidation, I'll do it. There's no sense stringing the girl along.~

~We don't have to, do we?~

~There is a new experiment in the pipeline the second her spot is open, Every. Keeping her alive isn't doing anyone any favors, is it, Molybdenum?~

Battle Academy

-Examining Kuthmal-

She's like... a living construct, or a Rabsca's ball when there isn't a grub in it.

Yeah, that's us. I assume you're one of the faculty Ludmilla mentioned?

Chiyo: -To Kuthmal- Well I'm certainly not a Schoolchild anymore by any metric, though I'm not sure if I'd like something like "Tankformed" or "homonculi" any better.

-Hand to her chin-

Ludmilla and I might not be part of the same Batch, but all of us Schoolfolks have a heritage in common all the same.

Battle Academy

-Kuthmal nods to Chiyo.-

Kuthmal: Oh, I assure you, ma'am, I understand completely! And yes! I'm Kuthmal, head of student admissions and archiving! A pleasure to meet you both. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to General Administration, where the rest of the faculty should be gathering.

-She motions to the pillar around which the admissions desk circles.-

Kuthmal: The spinal elevator should bring us directly there.

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-There's about a minute of silence.-

Pokéstar Studios Meeting Room

<So, tell us about it> Kec says. Katya translates for him (for the purposes of an outsider's perspective, this is to be assumed for everything that Kec says).

The young man shifts in his seat. "It was when we were working on the first Kecleonman movie," he begins. Noting Kec's expression, he corrects himself. "I mean. On the first of the reboots."

<Thank you> Kec says. <Go on.>

"So, it was my first time working on a set," the man continues. "I was just a lighting assistant, you know? One of those guys that appears in the bottom of the credits after everyone leaves."

<I actually stay for the credits scenes> Kec says. <But I understand. Keep going, Jordan.>

Jordan nods. "So, we'd been trying to get a shot for like, five hours. For some reason Mr Nolan just wasn't satisfied with it. Everyone was frustrated and tired. And then just as we were coming off another take, I tripped over something. The take was finished, I wasn't interrupting anything, but it made a bit of noise."

<And he got upset at you?> Kec asks.

"He started screaming at me," Jordan explains. "He was all up in my face, red faced, jabbing me in the chest, everything. He did that for like two minutes, then he said I was fired and had security escort me off set. I didn't even get to grab my bag. Then he basically blacklisted me, told a bunch of other directors that I was being aggressive, probably to cover his tracks. I can't get work on anything now."

<He took his anger out on you> Kec said. <Couldn't you sue him for slander and false dismissal?>

"I'm in my twenties and paying off film school," Jordan says. "He's one of the most well-known directors in the business, and he's worth millions. How do you think that would have gone for me?"

Kec nods. <I'm going to do my best to help you> he promises. <I can't guarantee anything, but I know Nolan has hurt a lot of people like you. You deserve justice.>

Hokulani Observatory, Alola

Hoops presses themself against the wall and consults the device in their hand. "It says the electrical disturbance is coming from this way. That must be where the totem pokémon is."

<Don't ask me> Ray says. <As much as I wish to help, Young Mistrum, it seems that the walls in this facility are plated with a metal that prohibits my ability to see through them.>

"Can you feel the electricity or anything?" Hoops asks.

Ray closes his eyes and focuses. There is a tingling in his mane, but it's hard to specify a direction that it's coming from. Truthfully, this whole place is pretty charged. He shakes his head.

"Great," Hoops mutters. "I guess we'll be going in blind."

They turn the corner and find a dead end. They look at the device, which is blinking rapidly. "I guess this thing doesn't work."

<I beg to differ, Young Mistrum> Ray offers. <Perhaps if you would turn around.>

Hoops turns around and sees that the corridor is filled with a giant Vikavolt that is brimming with Z-energy. They gulp. "That's... bigger than expected."

1885, Spectra Castle

Sirocco: Joseph. Think for a moment. This object just referred to us factually, in the past tense. Do I have to drill into you the first and most obvious implication of such?

-Sirocco, still standing, sets the device on her desk and begins pacing-

Sirocco: I will require the pertinent journal and your expeditionary contacts. I want to see this 'glowing thing' for myself.

Hamlet, The Farmhouse

The doll seems to flicker as the flame-light messes with the careful cold desaturated light of the farmhouse, the figure further back in mourning robes seems to clutch at its forehead in a jerky movement. For a moment it seems like the doll is trapped in the Fire Spin, screeching softly before with a flicker it appears outside of the maelstrom of flame.

The Doll, Angie: <Oh now that's not how you play hide and seek! Come on, you have to find me first~!>

The light in the farmhouse cuts out for a moment and when it returns the doll and the figure in black have vanished. There's a shuffling sound from elsewhere in the house.

Thieves Hideout, Main Room

-Susan takes a deep breath as she slams her phone down-

Susan: ... Damn it. Yeah socials are flooding with leaked footage from the conference...

-She sighs, gently pressing her head against a table-

Susan: We'd need a name and a place and a sin and just... So much information, of which we have none of. Meanwhile... Meanwhile they were just able to assassinate him, just like that. They knew he was going to be compromised, they have to, yeah?

-Seemingly recovering from the momentary headache, Susan returns to scrolling through socials to see how the public is responding to this-

Susan: Legends, this is... Reactions are kinda split between confusion and just... Meme-ing on the guy.

-She picks one response with a vaguely familiar user picture and works out a response-

-She doesn't quite realize that she sent the private reply on her Maxi Eary account...-

Battle Academy

Whoa! Okay! Hello!

-Pent takes a moment to take a step back and re-orient after the very sudden translocation. And then he spots the girl and her owl-

Right, this is what I was dreading. I really hope this entire Academy wasn't some kind of elaborate trap.

-The girl starts laughing-

... This isn't an elaborate trap, yeah?

The Owl: <Why are you laughing? He is right there.>

Elizabeth: It is, but not for who you think~

-Pent blinks and is torn on whether to draw a weapon or run-

Glimwood Cabin, Now's Your Chance To [Read An Email]

-Gale Knight was pacing, trying to figure out how she was going to react to the news that something extremely odd had infiltrated her computer-

Okay so the email speaks, laughs and... What was the third one again?

/Duck/: >Liberally uses square brackets, sir.

-The floating geometries of the Porygon 2 unaligned and realigned in concern as Gale started packing anything fragile into various cabinets-

Okay. Okay, I think I know what we're dealing with. Got everything locked down codewise?

/Duck/: >Yes.

-With a sharp thunk Gale slams shut a cabinet and grabs her bag for 'draw a sword if need be' purposes-

Open the email.

-The Porygon 2 nods and retreats back into the laptop to be the digital stalwart in case this visitor turned malicious-

Celestic Town, Bird vs Wyrm

-The Nightingale is clipped by the first beam, but manages to weave her way around the others. Of course she is still clipped by the first beam so once the barrage is over she flinches and clutches the spot on her arm where the beam hit-

Alright, need some backup. Acolyte!

-She doesn't even have to grab the Pokeball, her Corviknight knows when he is needed. He takes to flight while the Nightingale recovers from her brief injury and resumes trying to close the distance with her twinblades-

Edited by Pentigan on Jan 23rd 2023 at 7:31:49 AM

"Why, thank you kindly, Mr. Petersen," Aveline says. "We'd be grateful if you led us there."

"The farther away we get from Big Red," Heighton quips, "the better."

Lowry recognizes Tommy's accent, but refrains from commenting on it. Instead, he remarks "At least there's an Aurabolt keeping them busy. At least, they looked like one."

Here, Christopher interjects. "Where are our manners?" he rhetorically asks. "Mr. Petersen, I'm Christopher Rhodes, and these," he continues, gesturing to his family, "are my wife Aveline and my sons, Heighton and Lowry. Well, the two that are here, at least. Pleasure to meet you!"

"More fool you for assuming things," Mitchell retorts. "My family is far from picture perfect, but we're happy together, and that's all that matters."

<Careful about provoking this guy, Boss!>, Gavroche warns. A familiar rumbling sensation flows through him, one he is trying to repress with all his might.

"Besides," Mitchell obliviously continues, "you look and act like the kind of tin-can pantomime villain from a knockoff Last Legend episode who wants to doom everyone for no reason, so it doesn't matter that way whether I ran or stayed." His heart loudly pounds at the sight of the massive Appletun approaching, but he manages to plaster a smile on his face and point a finger directly at Red Delicious. "I'm challenging you, yes, but mostly because I bet you have a special birthday present for me!"

Oh, nuts, Mitchell thinks to himself. That sounded better in my head. Better roll with it, either way.

"Perhaps," Mitchell muses, "you might have a quick attack of conscience?"

Gavroche takes this as his cue to attack the Appletun with a Quick Attack, aiming to knock the giant Pokemon off-balance more than to deal them actual damage.

Hamlet, Past

"Tch," Kamui scoffed in annoyance.

Unprompted, Akatsuki raised his snout to the air, the Boltund intending to track down either of the figures.

Katsuragi, similarly, descended into the shadows, hiding whilst seeking the doll and/or figure.

Unova Courthouse

I found the calling card on the floor, covered in soot and ash, Kendall mused. Where does Lamb typically leave the calling cards?

Kamui, in a fit of nervousness, pulled up a leg to hold against her chest.

The Laptop seemed to crackle with static, it shook as the email was opened. In an instant there was a boom of thunder as out of the laptop leapt a thing.

It was a banette wearing an old blazer and a pair of mismatched colour glasses. It seemed to stutter and glitch visually, before standing up straight with a flourish.

"HEY EVERY! Introducing ev3ry buddy's favorit3! Number 1 Salesman! [Circa 1997]"

The Banette let out another laugh, the way his head bobbed to it was if he was animated like a sprite in a game.

He held out a hand and looked to Gale. "Spamton G. Spamton!"

Battle Academy

-Angela's temper flares. The lights in the... room?^But... Wasn't this a hallway just a moment ago? flicker.-

Angela: If this Academy is a trap for anyone, it's for Templars. Now, my patience. Is running. Thin. And as I have already tipped my hand as to just how connected to this loci I am, I would like for the point of conversation to turn towards what is going on here.

Don't Tell Me What To Do, Didit Safehouse

Ramona: ~I understand completely.~

-on the nervous-system diagram she's been painstakingly annotating for the last...ever, she taps one particular lovingly-illustrated lobe-

Ramona: ~I'm preparing her replacement's preliminary materials right now. The first three formative stages, in tiers.~

-and chews on her pen-

Ramona: ~Whether or not anyone admits it, I have a responsibility—to analytics. It's not often you get one as pliable as this one. Especially at this point.~

-she straightens the papers against the table-

Ramona: ~These last days are a valuable source of data.~

-Ribot's lights flicker all green, all red, and back to oscillating-

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Sinnoh Safehouse

~You're stalling, Molybdenum. The data is there. Dr. Tran has everything down for the next iteration. We're all waiting on you.~

~Nobody wants to liquidate her, but we've got a responsibility.~

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