Route 214

Desmond: I feel ya, Atrin. Galar has peaceful towns, but when you're in the city, there's a huge difference.

he nods sagely as they start walking.

Desmond:I wonder what Pokemon we can find...

Desmond muses.

You piss off the Venom T-Rex. Roll initiative.

The Clone shivered a bit, and suddenly started to generate a cryo field around itself, Gabriel looking very pleased.

"Repeaters I call them, we have documented materials that interact quite positively with psychic, auric, and obscuric energies," Gabriel explained. "And thanks to a mutual benefactor, we have documented knowledge on how to integrate these materials quite harmlessly with human flesh, so... Whitt how would a mindless army under your command that can use your frost powers sound?"

Gabriel let it go unsaid that the clones would still suffer the same issues, such as a lack of aura and durability, but numbers would more than make up for any shortcomings. Though his concern was around how the clones would repeat the powers should their commander go down, more than likely they'd cease and fall back on old tactics. Also unsaid was a lack of refinement in the use of abilities, the clones may be able to toss blasts of cold but that'd be all they'd be able to toss.

Edited by EchoingSilence on Aug 25th 2023 at 11:28:02 AM

Route 214

Atrin: No idea. But there's probably some strong Pokemon here, I imagine.

Atrin pauses.

Atrin: You know, I admit to being curious about Galar. I've heard the league is huge over there. And packed stadiums for every gym battle? That sounds crazy.

Desmond: A way of life. The Gym Challenge, unlike the others, is always televised. It's always a huge spectacle, emphasis on huge.

Morgan:: <You should Dynamax me sometime! That would be sick.>

Morgan laughs.

You piss off the Venom T-Rex. Roll initiative.

Gabriel's Fortress

Whitt's eyes widen at the explanation. He doesn't understand the science, but he certainly understood enough to know that he's interested.

"A mindless army..." he mutters. "All with my powers. Controlled by me." He grins widely. "Just as a king should have."

He turns to look at Gabriel. "What's the catch?"

"Beyond the fact that they're not smart enough to do any of your more complicated maneuvers and techniques? They still hold the same issues as our previous cloned soldiers, require your presence to be within a set distance, current estimates say about 4 kilometers, to channel your powers," Gabriel explained.

"Other than that, I prefer myself more of an armorer for our fellows in our Institution, we can't rely on psychic might alone, I've learned that thoroughly with the limitations of my power."

He smiled. "Though we do have one at least one experimental subject here, part of the current batch, Subject 115. She is sleeping for now but will be... very useful with some experiments involving our forces."

Gabriel's Fortress

"I can do a lot with four kilometres," Whitt mutters, deep in thought about all the people he could kill with these clones.

"And you'll just let me use these? How many? Wait, am I going to have to do something for you in return?"

"You already are!" Gabriel pointed out. "You're our test subject, you have been testing so many products of ours, and as for clones... well once the process is made it's easier to do it again and again, I have many clones here."

Note: Spagposted with TheAbsentCoder and MasterJayAM.

Once again alone, in a room little changed except for where his previous interviewees left their marks, Mr. Tenor took out and thumbed through the dossier of the last of the four Schoolkids he intended to interview. As he did so, he idly mused about how he could get the lot of them to see how they could help themselves through helping each other, and make it seem like their idea.

Watson chimed in through the intercom.

"Xenon will be with you shortly." He said. "He's got a unique way of making an entrance. Believe me that it's hard enough to coax him to make one. You'd think since he chimed in from behind he'd just linger and come in, but that's not how he rolls."

He clears his throat.

"Xenon. I know you're in that hallway. It's been 5 minutes. Get in there."

Slowly, a hand reached in through the doorway, thumb and middle finger pressed tightly against each other before the hand trembled and the sound of a snap filled the room, a rush of air forcing Mr. Tenor to raise his arm to cover his eyes. As he lowered his arms, a sheet of notebook paper gently drifted down onto the table, landing and sliding such that it was neatly situated on the table before him.

Skillset?

Spatiotemporal manipulation.

Personality?

Abrasive.

Hobbies?

Gilding on the cage.

Taking naps.

What?

The illusion of freedom a pursuit of a pastime would provide me is at odds with my creation as a tool.

You only ask to APPEAR interested in us as people.

I still perceive the world in real-time when I use my ability. The days are 24 hours long, but to me they range anywhere from 25 to 40, depending on how much I need to exert my power.

Favored music?

Anything not in 4/4 time, especially if the rhythm changes frequently throughout the song. I promise this is a real song title, an example of such being called [Puberty Dysthymia]. There is another close second called [The Dance Of Eternity] but it has an upbeat piano section I don't like.

"It seems," Mr. Tenor remarked, taking the sheet of paper into his hand, "that Mr. Watson was not joking about dear Xenon's way. Now, what do we have here?" he continued, theatrically playing to the recording device in the room. "A sheet of paper, with writing not in my own hand? Let's have a listen to what's on it." With that, Mr. Tenor started reading.

"Skillset: 'Spa-tio-tem-poral ma-nipu-lation'? Sounds like a big science word for the Time Warp Certainly explains the mystery of the appearing note."

"Personality: Abrasive? Charming. Not something to say to his face, I think."

"Hobbies: Taking naps. Well, he's young. There's always room for new hobbies when- hang on, there's something else. Ah, he experiences more hours per day thanks to his power. No wonder he treasures his beauty rest."

Mr. Tenor deliberately left out the crossed-out lines on Xenon's note from his audio recitation. He figured that they were both a private message for him and a challenge for him to prove wrong, at a later date.

"Favored music: anything not in 4/4 time, frequent rhythm changes preferred. Hmm. Might as well bookmark this [Puberty Dysthymia] for future listening."

Mr. Tenor then took down extra notes on the sheet. ^note Might like percussion side. Drum kit/keyboard/turntable options. NO TRIANGLE (unless he asks for it) After that, he tore another sheet from his notepad and slid it across the table. "Now, Xenon," he said, what we're doing will be tailored to your needs, just as much as the others. You can share any you think are relevant, or just say you understand, on that sheet over there." He crossed his arms in front of his face, bracing for the next impact.

The only impact was the sudden appearance of Xenon in the opposite chair, looking up at Mr. Tenor with his tired, purple eyes. His blue hair darted about every which way, either because of his speed blowing it about or how he tossed and turned in his sleep, and he learned forwards onto the table from where he sat, stifling a yawn to make his annoyance known.

"Any propositions I would offer would only serve as a reason to liquidate me, so let it just be known that I don't like you, or the other Nobles, or anything you could ever do for me as someone working at this place on principle. A gilded cage is no less a cage, a diamond-encrusted collar is no less a collar, and these Nobles are no less immature children. Farewell and goodnight."

All the playback would pick up in that moment was a high-pitched blip, lasting about a tenth of a second. Xenon blinked out once again, leaving Mr. Tenor with a high pitched blip and a statement on the tape he didn’t hear Xenon say.

"I'll keep you posted. Farewell and goodnight."

Mr. Tenor was startled by what had just happened, almost wondering if he imagined the whole thing. The writing on the sheet he left, however, was enough to confirm to him that he wasn't imagining things.

"No further comments, then," Mr. Tenor said, mostly for the benefit of the recording device. Then, turning on the intercom, he said "I believe that's a wrap, Watson. With what I've got from our bright sparks here, I've got a good idea for the contents of my shopping list."

"Noted, Mr. Tenor." Watson responded from the Intercom. "I wish you luck. You're gonna need it."

"Thank you," Mr. Tenor responded, before collecting his things and leaving the room. As he returned to his accommodation, his mind spun with ideas for getting the Nobles to work together, and beyond.

Let's see how far we can go, he thought to himself, before this contract is up.

Phenac City Hospital

Ludmilla: ... Thanks. I needed that.

The Kidney Room

Code Talker: <... This toxin...>

Satele: <You want my feedback or is this just a rubber duck situation?>

Code Talker: <Speak up if you have something to add, I am merely voicing my thoughts... But this toxin is... Hmmmm...>

-The Slowking focuses his mind onto a molecule. Just one, already removed from the nerves and isolated for proper disposal.-

Code Talker: <I had not noticed while removing them, but these molecules bear... striking resemblance to a toxin I had once postulated the existence of to a colleague of mine...>

Satele: <I doubt a Templar would steal anyone's notes.>

Code Talker: <While you may be surprised, I suspect in this case, you are correct. I am merely wondering aloud if perhaps theoretical original creator of this toxin and the Templar's reproductive devices may be closer than I had originally thought...>

Satele: <I don't follow.>

Code Talker: <Once upon a time, aeons ago, beyond the memory of all but the immortal, there was the Alakagross Empire. And of that empire, there were many factions. The Followers of the Trinity... the Artificers... the Valorous... and the... Eugenicists among others...>

Satele: <Oh I don't like the sound of that last one.>

Code Talker: <Mobius shared much the same sentiment. From what I have been able to pry from him on the matter, they were despised even in their own time, especially by the Trinities, who saw an over-reliance on genetic manipulation to be a heretical practice against what we know to day to be the Lake Trio.>

Satele: <Mesprit, Uxie, Azelf.>

Code Talker: <Just so. And one of the Eugenicist's favorite tactics, aside from stealing and repurposing the Artificers' inventions, was poisoning their political rivals. I had postulated that they would use a toxin none too dissimilar from this one. Maybe it's a coincidence, a case of convergent thought processes.>

Satele: <As someone who's been around this group for as long as I have, I know that true coincidences are rare.>

Code Talker: <Hah. You sound like someone I used to know. Yes, quite right. I will need to ask Mobius more about it later.>

Veilstone hospital ward

Kris is talking to Pat when they suddenly pause.

Kris: ~They're here. Are you able to go hide somewhere?~

Pat shakes her head and gestures to the IV in her arm. Kris goes to pull the privacy curtain around their bed.

Kris: ~Okay. I'm not going to let anything get past here. We'll just wait until they're done.~

Robin: ~I heard all that. What do you mean they're here?~

Kris: Fine. The templar from earlier is back. I recognize their thoughts. I suggest you say you goodbyes to your trainer or get ready for a fight.

Pat: We're just going to let them die?

Kris: They can defend themselves. There's only so many people you can care for at once. There's no point protecting them if they're too weak to last.

Pat: But what about me? Why didn't you leave me here to die? Aren't I "too weak to last" too?

Kris: ...

Kris: I've known you for longer. The people over there are just random strangers. Now quiet, she's here.

An unassuming looking nurse walks in, carrying some menus.

Nurse: Hi! Are you feeling up for some dinner?

Jess: I'm not hungry.

Violet: Can I have theirs?

The nurse passively aggressively smiles at Violet.

Nurse: Those are for patients only. Also, the doc told me to give you some more medication.

The nurse produces a box of some sort. Before anyone can see what's in it, Robin knocks it out her hand and across the room with a Psycho Cut.

Robin: ~Nice try, templar.~

The "nurse" scowls.

"Nurse": Well, aren't you a smart one? Attacking a nurse in the middle of a hospital? I'm giving it about a minute before security comes to haul you off.

Robin: ~That's plenty of time to get rid of you!~

Robin teleports in front of the templar and knocks them to the floor with a Sacred Sword. Violet grabs her poke balls.

Robin: ~Don't worry. I'll handle this.~

"Nurse": I wouldn't be so sure about that. Thanks for all the attention, though! It's a shame I won't get the chance to show off here.

A tall figure with dark blue hair and a long scarf teleports next to Jess's bed. Violet quickly throws out one of her pokemon.

"Nurse": We'll be going now.

Violet: Platto! Block! Now!

The blue haired figure tries to teleport away with Jess, but fails for some reason.

Chase V: Damn, you're fast.

Violet: If you're gonna try and kill us, you're gonna do it in here.

"Nurse": Can't you do anything right?! You're just as bad as the last Chase.

Chase V: I'm sorry, who again was the one who's failed the simple task of poisoning a helpless victim twice today?

The "nurse" scowls.

"Nurse": At least for once this won't be boring.

Chase V: Don't get your hopes up yet. Unlike you, I don't need to rely on anyone else to finish something.

A longsword floats out of Chase's pocket and flies at Jess. Platto uses protect to block the attack. The other templar bursts out laughing.

"Nurse": Get rekt. Now I guess we're both relying on something else. Come on out Spike! Let's give these kids a grand finale!

The "nurse" sends out a Kecleon. Chase sighs and floats a poke ball of their own out of their pocket.

Chase V: Fine. Malware. Make this quick.

Chase sends out their Porygon Z. Robin steps forward.

Violet: Copper! Protect Platto!

Violet chucks a luxury ball. Copper flies out to join the fight.

Copper: <Finally, freedom again! Who even are these losers? Let's get them!>

The "nurse"'s eyes turn to the usual violet, and her hair lightens a bit as she stares at Copper.

Templar: What a cute delta pokemon! I bet it would look great in a selfie or something... Anyway! It's time for Camellia the Changeling to send you all to the morgue!

You are challenged by Camellia the Changeling and Chase the Courier!

I used to plug my deviantart here but turns out the link was too long.

Route 214 and Beyond

Desmond: Oh yeah, the Gym Challenge is super popular, maybe even more so than in other regions.

he laughs, reminiscing.

Desmond: I've never been able to watch one in person, but I've seen glimpses of it on the news. Stadiums packed with people, every gym battle televised to the region, perhaps the entire world if you get far enough. Sadly, I can't enter, since you need a letter of endorsement... Would've been good for battles...

he grumbles, Morgan sighing.

Morgan: <Well, once we get enough badges from enough regions, maybe we can go back, they'll hand us an endorsement on the spot!>

Morgan laughs boisterously. Desmond smiles and shakes his head, browsing his phone about the route.

Desmond: Seems that we'll pass the Valor Lakefront and Hotel Grand Lake. The latter is renowned for being super high-class (Morgan: <And super pricey...>) and their restaurant's amazing too, with a free meal if you win a double battle?!

Desmond starts trying not to drool, Morgan wiping her hilt in instinct, despite not having a mouth anymore.

Morgan: <What is it with free stuff and battles? Not complaining or anything.>

she shrugs, and Desmond laughs.

Desmond: It's said that Valor Lakefront has sightings of a super rare Pokemon! I don't think we could catch it, but it's good to dream.

he shows Atrin a blurry, hastily-taken photo of a blue speck in the middle of the lake.

Desmond: You think we should try for some Pokemon now or wait for the Marsh?

Edited by Jules-Firenze on Aug 25th 2023 at 11:08:58 PM

You piss off the Venom T-Rex. Roll initiative.

Route 214

Atrin: Hey, my team's pretty good right now, I think. So I'll leave it to you.

Atrin examines the picture, his eyes widening a bit.

Atrin: That looks quite amazing...

Mimir looks over Atrin's shoulder, also in amazement.

Edited by etran12 on Aug 25th 2023 at 8:11:57 AM

"Anytime," Silas said, taking a swig from the diet soda. "I've had enough experience dealing with bastardous organizations by this point."

He finished the Commander Cola off and tossed the can into a recycle bin. He took a deep sigh, and felt worry crawling up his spine again, his head drifting towards the door of the operating room. He knew from experience that this kind of stuff wasn't without side effects, he scratched at his chest a bit, around the area where his alternate had-

He shook his head and looked back to Ludmilla. Roxy was with experts, and whatever side effects or changes came about from this process, they'd deal with together.

"Poison attack is new in my experience, especially with a nerve toxin that hasn't been seen since the 70s," Silas commented. "Dunno if you ever read the declassifieds that came out a few years ago about the events from the 60s to 70s. Apparently it was a repurposed Fritz Weapon, just makes me wonder where those bastards got the idea for this stuff."

He was mostly just talking to keep himself from worrying.

Phenac City Hospital

Ludmilla: That's the problem with knowledge, you never know when someone else will find it and do something you never intended it for. Who knows, maybe they were behind the whole thing, or were a sponsor, or nabbed a scientist who worked on it after-the-fact.

-She finishes her soda and then crushes it into a disc with her mind before throwing it into the recycle bin like a frisbee.-

Ludmilla: Honestly though, Obscura-laced poison might very well be something they just sorta picked up after the Phantom Class. Didn't think they'd use a WWII era warcrime for it though. Figured they'd do something stupidly complicated like... I dunno... radium-laced powder or something.

Route 13

Poppy and her team were separated for training purposes. The goal? Get to the end gate of Route 13. Poppy and Shroomy were paired together, battling all kinds of Pokemon as they made their way to the end gate.

Shroomy used Seed Bomb!

Shroomy had been using Seed Bomb a majority of the time to deal with all the Ground types they had been running into.

Poppy: Nice work, Shroomy! I wonder how Sunrise and Crusher are doing...

Sunrise and Crusher had been paired together, and they weren't boding as well.

Sunrise: Seriously! I've been forced to battle all these Pokemon because you won't! And I'm weak to Ground types...

Crusher: Well, I'm twice as weak to Ground types!

Things were still tense between them, even though they were teammates now.

Meanwhile, Donut had been paired with the Egg, as it had been strapped to his back, inside its incubator. He had the challenge, though, of keeping the Egg safe as he travelled through the route.

Donut: If I had to guess, I'm halfway through. I'm amazed that I kept this Egg safe for this long.

Just then, the Egg started glowing, before stopping. He could see it in the reflection of the water.

Donut: What- ah, geez. Now I better bring this Egg to the end safe. Unless it hatches on me or something...

"If I've learned anything, it's to worry about the ones who go for proven techniques and weapons. If they're using something that already worked once..." Silas commented.

At the mention of the School potentially being behind the development of N6. "Honestly, I could buy it. The "Union" had a brainwashing program, sleeper agents meant to listen for numbers stations and then activate. Psychic programming like that had to come from somewhere, my Grandfather is still suffering the effects."

He let out a sigh and leaned his head back. "In the shadows, controlling events, they are the invisible hand."

Los Platos, Paldea — Pokemon Center Plaza

-Kai is... antsy. That kind of restlessness that someone with ADHD and anxiety might have if they ran out of their anxiety meds.-

-Not, like, actively worried about anything. Just restless and listless and needing to do something.-

-They dig out their phone, and aimlessly scroll through contacts for a moment, before settling on one to send a text to-

-They send, then go back to staring off listlessly, twirling a necklace consisting of a single jade magatama on a thin metal chain between their fingers.-

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Aug 27th 2023 at 2:47:20 PM

Paldea

off the shits

Los Platos — Pokemon Center Plaza

Paldea

off the shits

Los Platos — Pokemon Center Plaza

Paldea

Secluded Beach

Daydre is standing here.

She has her hair in curled twintails, and she's changed her outfit since last time Kai saw her. (Given that it's probably been a while since Kai has seen her, this is probably not surprising). Said outfit is composed of a short-sleeved red dress shirt with matching bow, and black shorts held up by suspenders. She's holding a pair of sandals by the straps and stands barefoot in the sand, because hot sand on your feet is preferable to hot sand chafing in your shoes.

off the shits

Secluded Beach

-Kai's voice echoes out dramatically from above.-

Kai: Daydre!

-They jump down the cliffside into the sand, ending with a three-point landing.-

Kai: ...ow. The sand did not cushion that as well as I hoped.

-They stand upright, stretching out their now-aching legs, and smile as they turn to Daydre-

Kai: Hi! You look nice.

-For what it's worth, their current aesthetic coincidentally matches with hers — in Kai's case, it's a red V-neck tank top, and no suspenders, but the red-top-black-shorts combo matches. Their hair is pulled up in a bun, which just loosened up a bit from the clumsy attempt at parkour.-

-Oh yeah, and the jade magatama is very eye-catching in contrast to the red.-

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Aug 27th 2023 at 2:46:52 PM

Secluded Beach

Daydre kinda winces when Kai lands, but smiles back nonetheless.

Daydre: "Hey! You look great too!"

Perhaps predictably, her eyes are drawn to the magatama. She openly stares at it for a moment, and then tilts her head.

Daydre: "That's a nice necklace! Where'd you get it from, if I may ask?"

off the shits