Celestic Town, the Hotel Sylvestra

Frosty would feel some of the attacks, but not all, as the Charizard's blows seem to weaken inexplicably. It was almost cartoonishly at half strength. The now dazed Ditto couldn't control all of his appendages in this area very well, and it shows. The pseudopodial Charizard was an easy target for Simone's shockwave, and it too morphed into a pseudopod again, in the same gross way.

The Petersen-Sanchez family's actual Ditto, Bianca, looks at Heighton and then seemingly disapprovingly at the melting pseudopods and shakes the part of her body that has her face. She then briefly transforms into a copy of Heighton wearing sunglasses. This transformation was a far cry from the sickening transformation.

Bianca, in Heighton's voice: I can't let this creep give my species a bad name. We morph with finesse.

She then once more transforms from a college-aged human into a houndour (rather awesomely at that) and promptly begins to chew on yet another pseudopod that emerged as an attempt to attack them.

Similarly, the attacks that Lowry ordered hit. Bohr fends off the Sandslash, which didn't even try to retaliate. Alan's attack lands a hit, knocking the pseudopod in the shape of a human down.

Mimic Manipulator, in Conkeldurr: <You think you've won, huh? Savor it.>

He manages to barely stand up, looking more like goop than the human he was imitating before, then sneered at all of the figures, human and pokémon alike, in languages they can understand: Kalosian, Galarian, and variants of Monese.

Mimic Manipulator: I suppose I've no purpose trying to protect a group of ingrates. Enjoy your stay, folks. And here's hoping you enjoy the last moments of the J-Team and maybe the rest of the city. And your lives, maybe. I dunno the blast radius of that blimp. Hey, you have each other, and that's what family's for, aight?

"Oh would you just shut up!" Yelled someone from behind.

It was Sara. She chopped off the main pseudopod's head with a [Celtic] replica sword whose case got broken in the chaos.

Sara: I want my Tom-Tom back, you fiend.

Mimic Manipulator as a talking pseudopod: That's not up to me, Sara.

The rest of the mons dissolve into pseudopods, which promptly disappear into the cracks and pores of the floor.

Did the three families actually win their ordeal with the giant Ditto?

Celestic Town, outside the Hotel Sylvestra

Arachna-Guy shrugged as Mitchell made the joke.

Arachna-Guy: Eh, you'll get the hang of the puns.

Mimic Manipulator: You know I can hear you dweebs, right?

Arachna-Guy: Does it really matter at this point? I mean, you're pretty tied up at the moment.

Mimic Manipulator: I mean, sure, I'm all preoccupied on oh Arceus so many fronts but I can definitely remedy that by sinking back into the ground and then reappearing again.

Arachna-Guy: I know a Ditto and she's nowhere near as gross as you. And he's right, you know. You're in no position to be barking orders now, punk.

As the heroes outside continue to beat up the mess of pseudopods and the pokémon they manifested, Mimic Manipulator's control began to slip more and more. While the voice coming from the fake Tinkaton doesn't sound like he's winded, the mons on the end of the pseudopods tell a different story.

The fake Skarmory tethered to a pseudopod briefly stops its pursuit of Acolyte and hovers in place angrily, all while having to deal with a Raticate eyeing its cord.

Of course, that cool collected demeanor can't hold forever. Mimic Manipulator's patience is growing thin. The attacks his targets have been doing and the hubbub inside the building he just fled certainly didn't help things.

Mimic Manipulator: Welp, I tried. Hey, Thomas! Take her out!

After hearing those words however, Red Delicious refused to move.

Mimic Manipulator: Thomas? Tom? Tommy? Tommy-boy? Andy-Pandy? HELLOOOOOOOO.

He taps at the armored amokitized supervillain on the head with a thin pseudopod. Something's going on inside his head, one that starts to cause a rising sense of dread in the gigantic Ditto.

The giant Ditto slowly seeps out of the cracks in the pavement, forming a mass very close to the catatonic Red Delicious. The pseudopod he used to tap the enthralled victim on the head has grown in size.

Mimic Manipulator: Welp, I tried. Enjoy your broken ribs, Thomas Petersen. And see you in your next nervous breakdown.

And with one swift swing, the pseudopod backhands Red Delicious into the building. He crashes into a large sloping window near the exhibit—which was made of a remarkably strong, shatterproof glass—with an audible thud.

Sara: Tommy!

Of course, by then, he had lost his armor and was now just the scrawny-looking baggy-clothed Tommy Petersen. The twentysomething Unovan man briefly gets stuck on the upper story then slides down slowly and with a squeaking sound that the families inside will undoubtedly notice. Meanwhile, the feather detaches from the lanyard and drifts down to the ground. The ditto and its constructs slowly but surely disappear into bubbles of obscura. Before it does so completely, it manifests as Tommy Petersen one more time and yells "Don't let it touch you!"

It wouldn't need to, as the second he disappears completely, the feather lands close to the compromised statue of Sylvestra Macraul. The now damaged statue's head falls onto the very brittle feather with a cartoonish crunch that was remarkably audible throughout the square.

Edited by MasterJayAM on Sep 27th 2023 at 6:20:17 PM

Stylus finished the last text with a smile. <Seems we got some takers.>

<Hey, always good to hang out with friends,> Ribbon commented.

<We haven't really done that in awhile, it's always while some big disaster or event is happening. We really just need to relax.>

Ribbon tilted her head. <Think that's why your future self came back?>

Stylus sighed, having not considered the fact that Cylus was a thing. <First Tobias then him... are there any other mes we need to worry about?>

Frosty is surprised at how little injured he was by the pseudo-Charizard's attacks. <Huh,> he rumbles. <Out of gas already?>

<The lizard's done!>, Simone snorts, admiring her handiwork reverting the Charizard into a pseudopod. <Now for the rest of them!>

Frosty wanly smiles, then starts grinding his feet on nearby pseudopods, as Christopher sprays him down with a Super Potion.

Heighton, still grappling with a pseudopod, is startled by the sound of his own voice coming from somewhere else. He turns his head and sees...

Himself. With sunglasses.

"Aw, heck no!" Heighton squeaks, his face contorted in shock.

Lowry, sensing an opportunity, quickly and quietly takes a photo of the two Heightons. No doubt he plans to make a macro out of this photo, labelling his real brother as "Heighton" and the sunglasses-wearing double as "The Cooler Heighton".

<Not until you're out cold, old man!>, Alan retorts to Mimic Manipulator's taunt, his girder wielded like a bo staff.

As Mimic Manipulator gives his grandiose speech, Aveline is about to give a scathing reply, fuelled by motherly love, only to be interrupted by Sara's sudden decapitation of Mimic Manipulator's humanoid "body". She bites her tongue (metaphorically) for the time being.

The pseudo-Sandslash dissolving into a pseudopod and disappearing beneath the floor, along with the other pseudopods, causes Bohr to clatter to the ground, still spinning their gears. <Gang way, gang way!> they call out, as they spin themselves upright and just narrowly avoid bumping into the nearby fragile cultural artifacts.

A momentary calm falls over the Rhodes family and their Pokemon, as their senses remain on alert for a surprise attack from the malevolent Ditto-like creature. This calm is shattered by a thump above them.

Spinning around nearly at once, the eight see a human figure slammed onto the glass window above them. It looked much like the "Tommy" that the Rhodes' had been dealing with this past while, but somehow different.

As the figure slides down the window, Aveline springs into action. "Everyone, outside!" she calls out as she runs. "We need something to soften that boy's landing!"

With little time to acknowledge verbally, the rest of the Rhodes family, human and Pokemon alike, follow Aveline out and keep an eye out, both for where "Tommy" will land and for any way to soften the landing.

Gavroche notices the pseudopod cord connecting the Tinkaton he was climbing and the Skarmory chasing Acolyte, and he sees an opportunity. Shimmying up on the cord, he attempts to grapple the now-dazed Skarmory and maul it quite good.

Meanwhile, Mitchell is disappointed, but not surprised, to see his challenge to Pavo get no response, so he delves into the fray, striking what blows he can against the pseudopods surrounding him, until he sees a mass forming close to Red Delicious.

"Don't!", Mitchell futilely screams, as the Mimic Manipulator knocks Red Delicious- no, Thomas Petersen- off into the distance, right into the hotel's window.

There is little time to react to this, though, as the Sentimonster and it's creations are all dissolving into Obscuric energy, leaving behind only a cryptic warning for those tempted to touch the now-loose feather.

<Nice timing, Gav,> Gavroche sarcastically congratulates himself, as he attempts to pilot the now-disintegrating Skarmory with a tactic he saw in an old movie the Rhodes family saw together. <Really, really nice timing for your little climb there.>

Spotting Gavroche falling, Mitchell moves to catch him. "I got ya, I got ya!" he yells out.

In the confusion, neither Gavroche nor Mitchell noticed the feather falling to the ground and getting crushed by the head of Sylvestra's statue. It is fortunate that they did not, for who knows what accidents they could have made if they had gotten ahead of themselves.

Castelia, last night

Lydia: -Throws a dart at Brad's eye with surprisingly good aim- I'll admit, there's something I've always been somewhat envious of when it comes to you Schoolchildren.

Chloe: -Eyebrow raise as she readies another dart- That being?

Lydia: Your sense of comradery. We Templars, we're not exactly built like that, we're a bit more... cutthroat.

Chloe: That's a big surprise.

Lydia: I'm support, so I'm spared from the worst of it, but the combat guys, if there were no truants to fight I think they'd just start killing each other, or at least more than they already do every so often. We have no Curse like you do, but think about it. Have you ever run into an older Templar, as in actually elderly?

Abe: -Shrugs- I always figured you guys were just too dumb to know when you've bitten off more than you can chew and just get killed by someone like Chiyo eventually.

Lydia: That's one reason, but if a Templar gets weak, most often the School has the newer models... decommission them.

Chloe: -Eyebrow raise- Why are you telling us this? Honestly the more of you guys that kill one another means one less Templar coming after us.

Lydia: -Throwing a dart- Yeah, I figured you'd say something like that. All most of my peers care about for the most part is figurative and sometimes quite literal dick-waving, so I'm hardly mourning either. Conversation with truants is far more interesting, even if you detest me.

Abe: Then... why don't you leave?

Lydia: -Looking away for a brief moment before speaking with a smug grin on her face- I'm too important to them to escape, I'd probably be dead in a week like Louise would've been had Chiyo not coincidentally been raiding that tissue bank. Also, I'd like to think that with Chiyo's little speech things might get better around here since the higher ups will be wanting to decease incentives for running away, as the stick isn't working as well as it used to. Where we're the ones in charge. Maybe you two would even come back.

Chloe: ...Why am I even entertaining this conversation?

-To Lydia-

Better? In what way? The School doing a whole 180? Seems more likely that things would be exactly the same except maybe you don't get liquidated when you fail. Why would I want to join anything like that?

Abe: -Dart to Brad's mouth- The whole idea's just rotten from the start, starting with the assumption that all there is to us is our genes. The Spectrum, it's so much more than that. You can obviously see the writing on the wall, even if you don't want to say it, so I don't get why you're so insistent that it's even worth salvaging. It's going down, with or without our involvement, the question's just how bloody the end result will be.

Lydia: That's what I'd rather avoid Abraham, that bloodshed you mention. If it goes now, it'll just devolve into chaos.

Chloe: So what, are you just fencesitting to see which way the wind will blow, picking a side once one faction finally pulls ahead?

Lydia: -Crossing her arms- In the cutthroat world of School politics, winning's often all that matters Chloe.

Chloe: -Snorts- Coward.

Lydia: I prefer the term, survivor. Just as you two are trying to survive this messed up world, so am I in my own way.

Abe: We're not trying to just survive, we're trying to live. Is that really all you want, to survive? No matter who gets stepped on?

Lydia: It's not about what I want, it's what I know will happen. I don't like Schoolchildren dying of their Curse, but that's what happens to a lot of you. Did to one of you.

Chloe: -Angrily- You keep Curium out of your mouth, got it?

Lydia: I don't mean offense, but that is what happened to her.

Abe: Then... what do you want exactly, Lydia?

Lydia: -Smiles wistfully- Wouldn't that be something?

Edited by rmctagg09 on May 24th 2023 at 5:33:18 AM

Hospital

Lace: <Whoa, warm hands, hello.>

-she nips playfully at Hiro-

<You are very interesting.>

Ever: I. Don't know.

I mean, Mesprit made me get in touch with all the little slivers of my consciousness, and I spent a few minutes talking to myself, but...I don't know. I don't know if anything did change my mind.

I'm just sort of...still here. Like, by choice. And it feels really weird.

Sinnoh, Hospital

Hiro: -to Lace, nipped- I try. I like your wisps.

-he tastes really bright-

(-a little armored, helmeted head peeks out from under his cape-)

-Hiro Looks (and looks) at Ever for a long time, before sighing:-

Hiro: -huffs- Well, that's a relief.

Very sincerely, thanks for nothing, you sleepy little nerd. In Verity, est veritas.

-he rubs the back of his head-

Hiro: -wryly, sincerely- It does, feel weird. -something in him relaxes; his shoulders slump-

Hiro: It's how it goes. You just take it one day at a time.

-scritch scritch-

Hiro: I'm glad I got to share this weird yogurt with you. And pet your new fox, named after an old friend.

-and he continues being rude, squinting at Ever's treatment sheet-

Hiro: ...and that you're starting this stuff. It's not bad.

Floraroma Meadow, ???

Mog: "...Those are some powerful mice."

-Eventually, as the pair and their mons fight through the hordes,they can hear a "WOOHOO" from nearby-

Hotel Sylvestra

-The feather dissipates with a sickening crunch-

-There is a pulse of Obscuric energy as the Sentimonter and its host dissolve-

-Everything goes back to normal-

-Everything is repaired-

-But a lot of worried people are left behind-

Iris: "...How does it DO that."

Noble Elemental: "I have no idea. At least it's over..."

Coil: "...They're getting stronger. I'm. Very concerned about where this is going."

Pavo: ~Curse you J-Team! You may be rotten to the core... But I can still see my victory taking shape!~

School Safehouse, Office

-Justice quickly grabs the key and shuffles the heckout of there-

Thieves' Hideout

Flamel: <I say aside from last time we have a good track record of... "improving" people. There's GOT to be a lead but I have no clue what it is...>

Autumn Mountain

-The paper loosens upa little from the moisture-

-Which lets Pent unfold the Origami Wishiwashi into... A Human! Specifically a Human in a captain's hat-

Sea Captain Human: "Phew! Flops for flopping me out!"

Thieves' Hideout

-Rose finishes a can of beer and crushes it.-

Rose: Well, let's just run down the list of School people we know, yeah? Surely one of them will get the app's attention, that's how I figured out Robinson and myself. I'll start.

-She pulls out her phone.-

Rose: Molybdenum.

...

-She puts it away.-

Rose: That's it, that's all I've got. Been a bit busy with the Skull kids, I've only been around enough to have Molly poking around in my mind. Ahh, what a night.

Sinnoh, Hospital

Lace: <Thanks! Can I eat you?>

Ever: Now, Lace, what did I say about eating my friends?

Lace: <Ask first!>

Ever: ...You're not allowed to talk to Breeze anymore.

Breeze: <But she's a fox made out of all your worst impulses! She's like a reverse Diesel!>

Ever: You don't need a reverse Diesel.

Hey hang on stop looking at my meds, you weirdo. It's bad enough that my Pokemon all know the exact contents of my brain chemistry, I don't need my humans doing it too.

Kaisei: "Huh, guess humans are probably overdue for ending up in these weird scenarios, too. Oh, uh, hey there! Didn't expect to see someone caught up like that. You from around here or something?"

Thieves Hideout

-To Rose-

We're... acquainted.

And I can tell you know them... intimately.

Well, there's Chiyo's creator, Dr. No Heart I believe he's called, but he obviously doesn't go by that as an actual name.

Alvin? Too much of a tool.

I would not suggest trying to poke inside Adelinde's head. Maybe the Phantom Class Nitrogen.

-Pacing-

I could try going over the data we recovered from that School base, see if there's any names there worth checking into in Mementos if nothing else.

Floaroma Meadow, ???

Chiyo: -Hearing the cry- You hear that?

Autumn Mountain, far past

Ann: -Cue Sea Captain Man- Huh?

Castelia, past

-The Brad picture is by this time looking more like a pincushion-

Lydia: -Throwing the last dart- Well, I think this has been a fruitful conversation, so I think I'll be off now. Best if we leave separately, I'll pay, consider it a form of reparations.

Chloe: -Eyebrow raise- Back to fencesitting then? Well, here's the thing about what you're doing.

-This time, she uses her knife, it spitting Lydia's dart-

Eventually, you'll just fall off the fence if you're not too careful. Or it'll give you splinters.

Lydia: -Smirks, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes- Thanks for the concern, but I've been balancing for a while, and I'll continue to do so. Even if it's not what I want, for what I need, it is the only choice for me.

Abe: Us, we plan on living rather than being subject to the vicarious whims of the School, no matter how dangerous. I'd suggest making a decision sooner rather than later, Lydia.

Lydia: -Looks at them with an unreadable expression before responding- Chiyo's a lucky woman to have friends like yourselves.

-Steps to the door-

Farewell.

-She leaves, the two clasping hands until they no longer hear her footsteps-

Edited by rmctagg09 on Feb 25th 2023 at 12:15:28 PM

"Only one I know is some jackass called Gabriel," Silas commented, taking another sip of his coffee. "I don't think that head is one we're going to be able to invade."

This was difficult, just picking a target alone that would be feasible. "I've never heard of Molybdenum, then again I'm not very good at keeping track of all the goings ons."

Phenac City(?)

Coyote: Hrrrrrrmmmm...

-Coyote taps the side of his head with a claw, eliciting a sound not too dissimilar to a clock ticking.-

Coyote: Well, I'm out of ideas.

Ludmilla: We've tried everything! Are you sure this is how it's supposed to work?

Coyote: Yes! You're supposed to identify the people - which we did - then properly identify the shape their distortion takes! But for some reason that's the hangup!

Selene: What if we're missing an adjective?

Coyote: Great, let's just break open the dictionary and start going down the tens of thousands of applicable adjectives to describe each of the different variations of "city", "hotel", "city-state", or "country" that we've already gone through.

Selene: Was this not a problem for any other one?

Coyote: No! At least, I don't think so. Everything's usually simple! Why is this complex?!

Ludmilla: Wait a minute. I mean, have two palaces countering each other ever been found before?

Coyote: ...

Ludmilla: ...

Coyote: ... Everyone out. We have hunting to do.

Selene: Wait, what?

Ludmilla: The School.

Coyote: This is the exact kind of twisted experiment they'd do. Which means they have an observation post nearby.

Ludmilla: And they'd have documentation.

Selene: Hold on, I'm not letting you run off on your own! I'm going, too!

Coyote: Good, because I have a few hunches were they might be. I just need to confirm.

Mitchell: Uh, guys, am I seeing things, or did a human just pop out of that origami fish Pokemon?

-beat-

Mitchell: Also, not as important, but is there something a bit, y'know, off with how this human's talking?

Castelia City, [Washington Square Park] analogue - Sometime later

-Both Abe and Chloe are sitting (Him in his chair, she on a bench), following their Templar encounter, having not said a word-

Chloe: ...Abe?

Abe: -Looking up- Yeah?

Chloe: I think... Lydia reminds me more of myself than I feel comfortable saying.

-Leaning back-

Survival. That's what I said was the most important thing to honor Gallium, but it didn't feel all that great having my own words thrown back at me, what I said to Chiyo in Sinnoh the time.

Abe: Hmm.

Chloe: -Bitterly- Focusing only on survival didn't save Cadmium from being liquidated, did it?

-Glaring upwards-

And that Templar's a fool if she thinks her balancing act isn't just going to get her killed one day.

Abe: -Speaking up- Well, I don't think Lydia told us everything about her motivations for sticking with the School.

Chloe: Regardless of whatever her true motivations are. If we never escaped, and just stuck with the School, do you think I could've ended up like that? Concerned about my survival above all else, to that point that I could even have...

-She stops, unable to continue the sentence-

Abe: Well, you and Lydia are different people with different circumstances, but I don't think you would do something like that. At least, that's what I'd like to believe. That you'd preferably die before that happened. Because you care, you care a lot. About all of us.

Chloe: -Putting her index fingers together nervously- Abe?

Abe: Chloe?

-The former takes the latter's hand, before kissing them full on the mouth for at least 30 seconds-

Chloe: -Blushing as she breaks the kiss- Thank you.

Abe: -Blushing himself a bit- Of course.

-They then continue sitting quietly in the park, hand in hand-

Edited by rmctagg09 on Feb 26th 2023 at 8:25:55 AM

Floraroma Meadow, ???

-There in fact is the woman, cheering as she sends a Pokemon into the hordes-

-The Pokemon resembles a Tentacruel but looks noticeably...off-

Autumn Mountain

Sea Captain Human: "FLOP?! I mean huh?! It's the J-Team! Thanks for the assist! I've been stuck up on this mountainlonging for the open sea... For I am Sea Captain Human!"

-hands them a business card-

"Come visit my boat if you need to cross the open waves!"

-he heads off-

Olivia: <He seems like he'll be handy!>

Hisuian Voltorb: <...Let's.Move on.>

The GM House

-Deziree looks at herself in the mirror. She frowns.-

Deziree: I guess it's a lot less subtle now.

Dune: I think it's cute.

Deziree: You think everything about me is cute.

Dune: Irrelevant. I think the baby is cute, in this case.

-Dune slides up beside her and rubs her slowly burgeoning baby bump.-

Deziree: You get to carry the baby next time.

Dune: Let's wait until we're settled with this one before worrying about that.

Deziree: You have to cross that bridge at some point.

Dune: I know, dear.

Deziree: Alright, good. Because the more this progresses, the more I wish I'd just laid an egg.

Dune: Dear, I would rather you not think too much about "improving human anatomy", all things considered.

Deziree: Yeah, well, when that anatomy is forcing my intestines to part for an incubating conglomeration of cells, I can't help but think of a few improvements!

Dune: Just don't act on those, dear, we don't need the Kaminko comparisons.

Deziree: Eugh. Okay, your point is made.

Floaroma Meadow, ???

Chiyo: -Seeing the woman's Not!Tentacruel- Is that some sort of Tentacruel variant?

Beremices A: <Toedscruel...>

Chiyo: -Eyebrow raise- A what now?

Beremices B: <They taste good.>

Autumn Mountain, past

Ann: Is that really his name?

Lutra: -Sniffs Sea Captain Human-

Textspace

Edited by rmctagg09 on Feb 27th 2023 at 5:33:13 AM

Silas stood in the parking lot, waiting for everyone. He held the green scarf in hand, a duffel bag of Ersatz items beside him. He had his methods for getting them... and all of them involved playing nice with the various fae entities that ran the store.

Sure he had steel typing and Mando history backing him, but he was in no way going to get into a protracted fight.

Ribbon sat on his other side, wagging her tail. <Bringing anyone else along?>

"I offered, but nobody on the team wanted to come along."

<AHEM!> Oliver responded.

"Beyond you of course."

<Thank you,> the Decidueye responded.

Ribbon grinned. <Wonder what forms we're going to see.>

School safehouse, warehouse

The green leafy Dratini is still waiting in its cage. It perks up as the group arrive back.

Dratini: <What was going on? Did something happen??>

Poke Park

A Metang with a green scarf tied awkwardly around one arm floats over.

Eva: <Is this where the hangout is?>

Thieves Hideout, Textspace

Poke-Park, Sinnoh

A short distance from where Eva floated, something rumbled beneath the ground before an orange canid ruptured the ground from beneath, ascending a distance into the air with a backflip, landing on a Stone Edge that appeared in time with his Drill Run breaching the surface. The gray jacket he wore settled into place on his shoulders as the Dusk Lycanroc looked down at the gathering Pokemon.

<Hey Silas, Roxy,> he nodded, stomping his paw and letting his creations vanish back into the earth from whence they came. <Hope they don't mind the contraband,> he chuckled, a paw batting at the Sun Stone held by a string to his scruff.

Edited by AbsentCoder on Feb 27th 2023 at 11:45:59 AM

The Stormchaser, Inside

In comes a [Croatian] man in his late 20s, wearing a heavy, baggy hoodie and cargo pants, followed by a yellow-and-green porygon and a slowpoke. He is followed by a man in his mid 20s wearing a plaid shirt who kind of looks depressed. He has a spinarak on his head and a lanyard on his neck with an ID that very clearly states "PRESS."

Nick: See you brought back the side-part. Don't get me wrong but I kinda got used to you having it.

Tommy: Yeah, why change what works?

Nick: Sure you're doing okay buddy?

Tommy: Nick, I'm fine.

Nick: I'll take "obvious lies" $5,000, and look we have a Daily Double. Hey, remember when we were kids during reunions and grandpa would watch game shows with us. We'd try to get as many answers as possible and whoever had the most points got like a few grand worth of pokedollars.

Tommy: I always won. After the first few times, you turned it into a betting pool to see how many answers I got right.

Nick: Save it, genius. Anyway, I already know who you might be looking for. There's a few of them here and there. What was it again?

Tommy: The School.

Nick: Right!

Beat.

Nick: I'm sorry about what happened.

Tommy: Don't bring up the details. I just don't want to talk about it right now. The sooner I learn more about these bad guys, the sooner I can pin them down and give them a what for.

Nick: Hold your rapidashes there, Tommy. Don't care how much more ripped you are than I am. You're not a superhero. Not your job to chase after the bad guys. Leave that shit to the J-Team.

They notice the occupant.

Nick: Oh heyyy! Howdy, I'm Nikola Ditkovic from PEFE. You can call me Nick. Nice to see ya. This is my cousin, Tommy.

Tommy: Hi!

Nick: We were told that there was a police detective we could talk to. I mean, ordinarily, we at PEFE try not to get in too much interaction with cops. But somebody here kind of need a sleuth on the case to help him piece things together.

Tommy: That's the short and long of it, yes.

Edited by MasterJayAM on Feb 28th 2023 at 2:21:40 AM

Mitchell glances at the Sea Captain Human, then at the business card he produced, then back to him as he heads off.

Mitchell: Well, at least he isn't TOO shaken up by his foray into arts and crafts.

Oliver: -to Lutra- <Careful, now! Not all humans like being sniffed.

Oliver speaks from experience.

A Chimecho floats across the parking lot, followed by a young Unovan male human whose only distinguishing feature is his bowl cut hairstyle. They notice the dramatic entrance of the Dusk Lycanroc, and through that, spot the rest of the group. They advance towards the group.

As they approach, the human, Mitchell, mentally composes himself. Okay, buddy he thinks, you've practiced this all week. You've got "Hi, I'm Mitchell! Nice to meet you all!" in Monese memorized. They'll surely have a good impression of you if you show your fluency that way.

Brimming with overconfidence, Mitchell attempts to introduce himself to Silas and the others present. <HELLO,> he says. <I AM A MONSTER COACH, THE FIRST MANKIND ALL OVER THE WORLD.>

<Allow me,> the Chimecho interjects, visibly embarrassed at what her Trainer just said. <This is Mitchell, and I'm his Chimecho, Christine. I'm here as his translator. We're, er, pleased to meet you all!>

Edited by AnotherMan on Feb 27th 2023 at 6:45:13 PM

Hau'Oli Hospital

Hoops looks through the window into the room where Xaster is being treated. His body temperature was dangerously low when he was brought in, so the doctors are now placing him in a special room that will gently warm him up.

"Will he be okay?" he asks.

The doctor nods. "None of his injuries are too serious and we don't expect any of them to threaten his life. More concerning is the cold, but we're past the point where that's a threat. And then..." she checks a chart. "Yes, it seems as though his body's processes have slowed, even independently from the cold thing. Like all their energy has been drained away. You say you didn't see what happened?"

Hoops' arm tightens on the window ledge. They're sure that this was the School. "No," they say. "Sorry, I have no clue what happened."

"Well, you should be able to see him soon," the doctor says. "Oh, and please pass on that his pokémon are all expected to make a full recovery."

Hoops sits on the edge of Xaster's bed as their boyfriend's eyes flutter open. "Hey," they say gently.

Xaster jerks upright. "Where am I?"

"The hospital," Hoops says. "Don't worry, you're fine. So is your team."

Xaster lays down once he realises that it's Hoops.

"How do you feel?"

"Heavy. Even moving feels hard."

Hoops takes their hand. "Who did this to you, babe."

Xaster sighs. "The School. A guy called Whitt, had a lot of ice and ghost types. He knew I was J-Team. I tried to fight him, but..." His eyes well up. "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough."

"It's fine," Hoops assures him. They kiss him on the forehead. "And don't worry. I'll kill him for you."

Poke-Park, at a different time

Hoops arrives in the carpark exactly three minutes after the established meeting time, having been waiting nearby until now so as not to seem too eager. Since this is their first time hanging out with some of the other J-Team members, they've taken the time to properly clean themself, with that including doing their best to clean the bandages. It only somewhat worked.

"Hi," they say. Their voice comes out quieter due to nerves, so they repeat themselves. "Hi."

Edited by theoncominghoop on Feb 28th 2023 at 10:44:15 AM

Stormchaser, Meeting Room

Right as Nick and Tom walk in, Tony is immediately startled and falls backwards on his chair. Autumn just rolls her eyes at him in annoyance. Now feeling quite embarrassed, he stumbles back into his seat, picking up his suitcase and putting it off to the side.

Tony: Oh! Jeez...sorry about that, I was just about to doze off right there...heh...

He just sits there with a dorky smile on his face before continuing.

Tony: Anyhoo, yes, I'm the guy you're looking for here. Name's Antonio Lopez, of Lopez & Stephen Investigations, but you can call me Tony for short. I work with the Jubilife Police Department and am now taking residence here in the Stormchaser. And this right here is one of my mons, Autumn.

Autumn looked a little bored at the moment.

Autumn: <Yo. Nice to see new clients or whatever.>

Tony turned to her with a frown.

Tony: Now now, that's not how we talk to our clients, remember?

Autumn then sprung more awake and alert at that statement.

Autumn: <Oh, Right! Sorry.>

She jumped off of the table and walked over to the two.

Autumn: <Heya, I'm Autumn. It's so nice to see you two!>

She then turns to Tony and whispers to him.

Autumn: <I'm doing good, right?>

Tony gives her a thumbs up, and then turns to Nick and Tommy.

Tony: Now then, why don't you both take a seat so we can talk about what's going on here.

Edited by ThanosBoi on Feb 27th 2023 at 1:59:16 PM