ITT: We are all Pokémon Trainers

Mt. Battle Summit

-Dune yawns as he finishes closing shop. He steps out of his office and locks the door, a sandwich he'd made in his other hand.-

-Then he turns around and sees a Magmortar yelling into his volcano.-

-Dune sighs before walking over.-

Magmortar: <Hello?! HELLO! I'm talking to you here!>

-Dune takes a bite out of his sandwich and chews on it until the Magmortar notices him.-

Magmortar: <You! Mortal!>

-Dune points at himself, still chewing on his sandwich.-

Magmortar: <Yes, you! Call the Heatran!>

-Dune stops chewing, his eyes narrowing behind his goggles. He swallows.-

Dune: Why?

Magmortar: <Ugh, second mortal today... I want to talk to the Heatran so as to complain about a blatant violation of portfolio overlap!>

Dune: ...

-Dune wanted to make so many jokes about portfolios but knew that his current audience would never get any of them.-

Dune: I'm gonna need to see some credentials.

Magmortar: <Credentials?! How many EX-marked Pokemon come up here to where they now need "credentials"?!>

-Dune just takes another bite of his sandwich.-

Magmortar: <Look here, mortal - my patience is running thing! Call the Heatran, or I will make you!>

-Dune's eye twitches.-

-His chewing becomes slower and more deliberate.-

-The Magmortar gives him the stink eye.-

-Dune finishes chewing...-

-And...-

-Slowly...-

-Swallows.-

-He then wraps his sandwich back in the little towel he's brought it in and walks up to the Magmortar.-

-The much larger Pokemon is taken aback by this.-

Dune: That almost sounded like a threat.

-The Magmortar just blinks in surprise.-

Dune: You want to talk to him? Call ahead. Make an appointment. I don't care if you're from Arceus himself, unless the world itself is at risk, we don't take off-hour calls.

-The Magmortar looks absolutely befuddled.-

-Could not be more befuddled.-

-All fuddled up in this bitch.-

-He blinks away with a Teleport.-

-Dune then takes his sandwich back out and goes back to eating as he goes to clock out.-

Paldea, East Province Area Three

Ever: That's Fuckhand the Blue to you, Ms. Macraul.

Cornflower: <I'm nobody's poor dear.>

Ever: Well, you've gotta be somebody's.

Cornflower: <I am my own.>

Ever: Oh, don't worry about me. I'm as domestic as Memitos get.

-they kick their legs a bit-

Are you negging? I'm flattered. Hello, Petilil, it's nice to meet you,

East Province Area One (Watchtower)

Del Lurra: -Faints the Chest Form Gimmighoul she's battling with a Poison Tail- <Okay, that's one down~>

Iridium: -Pumping her fist- Yes!

Aurum: -Immediately starts gathering the coins the Gimmighoul has left behind- <I'll be taking these.>

Iridium: -Holding out Aurum's chest- You know Aurum, how far are we on the whole getting you enough coins thing? This chest is starting to get really heavy.

Aurum: <Still a ways away, but closer than over, don't you worry.>

Iridium: Does it ever feel weird taking coins from other Gimmighoul?

Aurum: <No way kid, they'd do the same to me if things were different.>

Iridium: I guess that makes sense...

Del Lurra: -Starts glowing-

Iridium: Del Lurra's evolving!

Del Lurra: -Glow subsides, a Clodsire standing in her place-

Iridium: So cute...

-Trying to pick Del Lurra up but struggling-

But so heavy...

-She's only managed to pick up Del Lurra's upper end-

Del Lurra: -Continues to vibe-

Iridium: We're one step closer to getting even stronger, then we'll beat 1.0. With Dr. Tagg's lessons, we'll be sure to win.

Aurum: -Sitting on one of the ledges- <I don't know about that one kid, how are you gonna win when so many have apparently failed. Don't think Lydia would want you doing it either.>

Iridium: She'll be super impressed too if I win. The School will have to give me merits.

Aurum: <Not sure if that School's something worth meriting myself, if what you and Ammit tell me is true...>

Somewhere in Sinnoh...

EX Lanturn: <C'mon dude, every century or two this happens.>

-The Lanturn, a red-and-blue wave pattern dancing across his flank, just shakes his head at his longtime friend.-

EX Lanturn: <You gotta stop acting like you're some avatar of divine will every time someone does something.>

Magmortar: <But it's my first chance to enforce something in the better part of two decades! That's my job!>

-The Magmortar was sitting on a broken pillar, looking fairly miserable with himself.-

EX Lanturn: <Look, dude, I get that, but it wasn't just any old humans you walked up on. Those guys were J-Teamers, and you kinda did overstep your authority the second you went into that volcanic region.>

Magmortar: <My boss is his boss! My authority is his authority!>

EX Lanturn: <Okay, my guy, did that help you the last time you said that?>

Magmortar: <You damn well know not to bring that up!>

EX Lanturn: <You brought it up, mi amigo! And I shouldn't even have to!>

Magmortar: <Dammit, we can't just let another Heatran break off from the hierarchy!>

EX Lanturn: <There isn't really a hierarchy to break off from now. Not after the new bosses showed up.>

Magmortar: <All the more reason to remind people that these sorts of things need structure!>

EX Lanturn: <Tovarich, you really could have picked a lot easier place to start. The other Nobles have been talking, and apparently they've got the protection of a Megearna now, too.>

Magmortar: <Nonesense. I have collated notes on all of the Megearna.>

EX Lanturn: <You remember that one that went missing right before the fall of the Alakagross?>

Magmortar: <Wasn't around, then.>

EX Lanturn: <Oh right, you came a century or so after that, huh. Anyway, that one had been missing for a while. Turns out it was inside this crazy Alakagross city stuck in some dimensional pocket. Go figure.>

Magmortar: <Great! Are there any other gods in that region I should know about?!>

EX Lanturn: <I mean, there's the creepy shadow canine thing...>

Paldea, East Province Area Three

-Liliaceae looks up at Ever with wide, innocent eyes-

Liliaceae: <Why?>

Abilene: -firmly deadpan-

Liliaceae: -glancing up- <...that was a good moment to threaten their other hand. For the nickname.>

Abilene: You can continue being the confused sweet one if you like.

-the little Petilil seems to think very seriously-

Liliaceae: <No…no, I don't think I do like.>

-she squirms in the crook of Abilene's arm to eye her fellow Pokémon-

Liliaceae: -to Cornflower, solemnly- <Hello. It's nice to meet you.>

Abilene: -expression strange- I would make a pertinent remark about those implications, but, well. One can't be domestic in glass houses.

Liliaceae: <You can grow tomatoes.>

Abilene: -bouncing her- You can grow tomatoes in glass houses. And cucumbers. And squash. A good Grass Trainer knows the sun is her friend.

Liliaceae: -eyes up- <Are you a good Grass Trainer?>

Abilene: Well, I was being domestic.

-she mulls over the nature of that recent domesticity for a long moment, seemingly weighing various intangibles to those of Ever's own-

-verdict reached, she leans in close, and whispers:-

Abilene: My polycule would trounce your polycule.

-and smiles-

East Province Area Three

Ever: Good question, Petilil.

Cornflower: <It's good to meet you too. Is that your liege?>

-Ever smiles slightly-

Ever: Your ears were burning, huh? I've sort of been hoping you'd come by.

-they kick their feet again a bit as Abilene leans in-

Ever: Maybe so, but they're not here now, are they? We'll have to stand on our own.

Paldea, Casseroya Lakeside

Ah, boneless. Umbre-Vee was not quite so boneless, but she certainly tried.

Despite the temperature Ama doesn't so much as shiver.

Ama: "I can empathize with that, at least. I look back on the person I was before vampirism with rose colored glasses. 'Ahhhh, if only I could go back to those days'. They seem so much better from here. I was happy, I think. But I can't, and it's why I even considered coming back to kill my alternate self. To save her from becoming me."

Ama: "Somewhere I'd gotten the impression it would be a mercy, for both those who loved her and herself. The best way to stop something from developing is to kill it, no?"

She sighs.

Ama: "You realize how ridiculous that sounds, right? It's not a spiral I'd recommend for anyone. Did you like how you were in the moment? Or is that just something you tell yourself now, with hindsight?"

Ama: "... Well. I wouldn't doubt if you really did love yourself then. But sometimes it's a good idea to examine whether your feelings are from the present or the past."

At being called Daydre, she stiffens a little. ...And then forces herself to relax.

Ama: "You're choosing to take on everyone's burdens, hm? I can't really stop you, but you and I both know you're not infinite. No matter how much you'd like to be."

Her eyes bore into Vee's, embers into a winter gale. She knows she can't really stem it, but she doesn't seem to be trying.

Ama: "If I were younger I'd have told you I was scared of aging. To some extent I still am. Change is scary, loss of your faculties is scary... But change teaches you things. 'Older and wiser' is kind of a cliche, and I don't feel very wise, but I at least would rather know what I do now."

Ama: "Sometimes we want to devour the things we love. I think that's true even of normal people. It's... neither a good nor bad instinct, inherently. It can be used for good or ill."

Ama: "I'm not going to tell you to embrace your desires and destroy everything, but I think it would behoove you to at least not beat yourself up for having desires in the first place."

She flexes her fingers, trying to make sure she still has blood flow in them.

Ama: "You've probably heard this before, but you're allowed to want things. Bad things, even. What makes you a bad person- or mon, I suppose- is how you act on your wants."

Ama: "... And even then, when you make a mistake not everything is unsalvageable."

Ama: "Everyone gets hungry. You either eat or starve to death."

...

Ama: -slight sardonic grin- "Or you can become a hermit and live in an aura nexus."

Strings tilted his head, a message came in, the jailer was dead, but Zero... or rather Silas at this point, was already in the autodoc. This, this could be used to his advantage. He smiled and paused the process, and decided to make a connection.

Silas took a deep breath as his mindscape returned to normal... he watched as it formed, a bright and colourful city, overlooking a sunset and a spaceport. He was free... so why wasn't he awake?

"Drugs," came the answer. "Anesthetics really, you're about to undergo something painful."

Silas spun around, his EGO forming around him when he heard. "Easy now, you won, I believe in fair play."

It was Strings, once more. Silas kept the EGO up and just clenched his fists. "Start talking."

"You're in one of Gabriel's machines, an autodoc, meant to install special pieces into you to take away your free will," Strings said. "However, I can fix that."

"Free me? Good."

"Can't free you," Strings replied with a sad shake of his head. "Besides... you don't realize what an opportunity you have here."

"Opportunity? Becoming a mindless minion to a Templar who hates my guts? Nah, I'll take my chances."

Strings chuckled at Silas's response. "Not that... I can alter the parameters of the machine, make it so you don't lose anything, but the surgery will still happen..."

Silas couldn't trust that, surely if he could make it not take away what made him, him, then it could be told to spit him out. Strings sighed and rolled his eyes. "You know I am hooked to your brain right now, I can hear those thoughts. What do you think Gabriel will do if the machine reports nothing happens?"

"I'll handle that," Silas said.

"And lose the element of surprise, and be in a large base without your magic scarf or your pokemon, surrounded. No, there's another way out and it's time you take it."

Silas squinted, and watched as String summoned up some bits and pieces, they were elements of Project Holon. String smiled at them as he did so, tilting his head somewhat. "So many of these, familiar in a way to you... like you're trying to mimic your pokemon abilities in human form. Admirable really, I can give them to you."

Silas eyed Strings. "Why would you help me? You're working with Gabriel."

String said nothing for a moment, he walked about, rolling through the images of project holon, his knowledge of anatomy and neuroscience, and how they'd work together. Silas slowly followed, Strings seemed to roll his tongue into his cheek as he thought about what to say. "Because Gabriel believes psychic might is the ultimate power, I disagree. Steel is the true strength, you are an entity of steel and I wish to prove that. He was convenient yes, as an ally."

"But you don't need him anymore, and you want to use me to make him sweat," Silas added, it sunk in slowly. "Heh.... heheh.... HEHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

He roared back in laughter, a hand over his face as he did, the EGO burned away. Strings didn't know why, but this was unsettling. Silas snapped back, his eyes almost glowing with an intense look. "So! You give me something to fight back with, and then I get out of here. That it?"

Strings smiled. "That's the idea."

"You're not giving me a choice huh?"

Strings shook his head, his smile grew wicked. "No, I won't give you any weapons other than these, either take the advantage now, or risk everything, in an unfamiliar place surrounded by guards and Dark Troopers."

"...fine," Silas muttered.

Strings grinned. "I love it when I win."

A menial walked up to the pod, it had just exited the autodoc, Subject Zero inside was to awake soon, and be directed. Gabriel would be pleased to see his new weapon under control, the pod hissed and the oxygen rich fluid drained, the eyes of Zero slowly opened...

And then his left hand shot out and gripped the Menial by the throat.

"Where is my team," Silas said, in a low menace.

Edited by EchoingSilence on Jan 7th 2024 at 12:52:10 PM

Orre, Oasis Pokespot

-Xavier sits behind a bush, staring at the little bait trap. She reminds herself to blink.-

-Nearby, a pair of Wooper stick their heads above the water.-

Wooper 1: <She's still there?>

Wooper 2: <Yep.>

Wooper 1: <Why?>

Wooper 2: <I don't think she knows how this works.>

-The Wooper drop down into the water when they hear approaching footsteps. Xavier refocuses her attention.-

-But it's not a Pokemon that walks up to the bait box, but a... kid?-

-A kid around... pre-teen, perhaps, their physical features hidden underneath a raggedy cloak and their clothes looking like they were donated by some kind soul who was perhaps a little on the extra large size, walks up to the bait box.-

-They lean towards it and... sniff it?-

-He reach into the box, grab the bait, and stuff it into their mouths.-

-Xavier is left speechless as this stranger eats her bait.-

-Eventually, though, her brain kicks back on and she comes out of the bush.-

Xavier: Uh, h-hey, you're not supposed to-

-The kid jumps, dropping down to all fours.-

Kid?: You left food in box! Makes it mine!

Xavier: W-wha-

-The kid then does a spin on their hands, kicking up a dust cloud with his heels. Xavier, not prepped for sandstorms at the moment, shields her face. Once the cloud settles, the kid is gone.-

Xavier: What the heck was that all about...? I think I need to tell somebody about that...

Meanwhile, at Mount Battle...

-Dune feels a tingling sensation in the back of his brain.-

Dune: ...

Rill: ... <Dune, no.>

Dune: What?

Rill: <You have that look on your face.>

Dune: What look?

Rill: <The same one you had when that girl tried to punch you!>

Dune: Wha- but I'm just sitting here!

Rill: <That's why I'm laying this down now! You made a fucking school to take care of all the kids in Orre, you don't need to adopt another one!>

Paldea, Casseroya Lakeside

-Vee gapes-

Vee: <You…>

Vee: <I…>

Vee: -stares at her- <...>

Vee: -stares at her paws-<...>

Vee: <...>

Vee: <FUCK!!!>

The Trees

-birds scatter-

Paldea, Casseroya Lakeside

Vee: <The stranglin' yourself—the time travel—the damn mercy.>

-she glares with something she's less comfortable with than loathing-

Vee: <Waited—'til I saw ya—as Big Daydre, really Big Daydre, 'fore droppin' the human me bomb, did ya? Didn't ya??>

-there's an odd desperation to what should be accusation-

Vee: <Stupid, manipulative—not bein' manipulative. Stupid understandin'. Stupid not bein' like us.>

-she lets out a sound like a garbage disposal suffering introspection-

Vee: <Uxie's eyelashes, why'd ya have ta go an' get eloquent in yer old age—>

-she breathes-

Vee: <Ama.>

-and growls-

Vee: <Fuckin' Ama an' yer fuckin' appealin' fuckin' future as a cool older vampire version of my Trainer's partner. "Be cool like me by not bein' like me." Ass. Fuck.>

-she falls over, mortally seen-

Paldea, East Province Area Three

-Abilene raises an eyebrow-

Abilene: So you spoke ill to empty air and hoped for the worst. Devious.

Liliaceae: -?- <No, she's my sponsor.>

-her sponsor lets out a long, low chuckle at Ever's declaration-

Liliaceae: -wiggling- <Mother, I crave violence.>

Abilene: Don't…ah, very well. Your new catch against mine, Memito.

-Liliaceae squirms out of Abilene's grip and to the ground—pouting at hard stone—and draws all two feet of her self into a sturdy ready stance-

-Abilene's sleek deep-green Rotom phone floats up and next to her ear, whispering-

Abilene: -listening- Just like Miss Megan taught you, yeah?

-little Petilil nubs fold together, expression brightening—the area brightens with it-

-for the second time in recent memory, the Sun intensifies around Ever specifically-

Liliaceae: -eyes squeezed shut-

Abilene: -head tilted- …yes, that will do. And what do we say?>

Liliaceae: <'Fank you.>

-waddling up- <I pwomise not to embawass you too badwy.>

Abilene: Good girl.

Edited by Asterisk395 on Jan 7th 2024 at 9:45:25 AM

The menial said nothing, Silas got close, his left eye igniting in a thorough glow.    "Tell me where they are, and you live."   

The menial scrambled to pull up his tablet and direct a map, Silas let go. "Thank you..."

He marched out, grabbing a spare shirt and pants, even pulling on some boots. These weren't his, but they were better than running around in his underpants. He clenched his hand and looked to his new arm, it was a dark blueish colour, with gold fingertips, he clenched it and felt a spark of electricity run down it.

"I'm coming for you, Gabriel..." he muttered, before punching out the door and sprinting down the hallway. First stop, getting his team back.

Alarm klaxons went off, Gabriel checked the security feed and saw Zero out, free, and very clearly pissed. He rushed over to his intercom and called up Strings.

"Strings what did you do?"

The voice of MasterOS echoed about the room, a synthetic laugh that only went "ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha."

"What did I do Gabriel? Is something wrong?"

"You freed Zero?!"

"Did a little more than that."

Gabriel grimaced, a scowl formed across his face. "When I find you, you traitor-"

"Traitor? Gabriel, our allegiance was convenient, but I believe in the supremacy of only one thing. Steel... steel won, and so it is steel that will best your psychic might. Either abandon the fortress... or direct him out."

Gabriel looked to the feed, and saw Zero blitz faster than he could blink. Lose the fortress and everything it stood for... or get Zero out... or even risk Zero finding him. This would set him further back, he'd have to start relying on Sakura more thoroughly.

"Damn you Strings."

"Goodbye... friend."

Silas felt his body vibrate, time seemed to almost slow, it felt... familiar. He rapidly approached one of the clone guards, and clamped his left hand to its head, squeezing tight an electric charge zapped the life out of the guard. Things picked up pace, and he felt a bit of a... burn? A burn in his back, along his spine.

"Holon," he muttered to himself. Two more guards came out and opened fire, he raised his arms defensively in shock, and a blue barrier appeared before him, he blinked. He could feel the energy running through his arm.

The guards paused, unsure of what to do next, he took the chance. Silas wanted to close the distance between them, and in what felt like another flash, he did. A kick to one, a punch to the other, and emptying one of their weapons.

Whatever Strings had done, whatever had been in the plans for Project Holon, he felt stronger than ever... and he was good with that.

He looked back to the end of the hallway and got to running. Entering the armory he wasted no time in searching, he found a locker labelled Zero. Grabbing it he dug out some pokeballs and opened them, out popped Hacks, Snakeye, Tae, Blackquill and Bishop.

"Captain, good to see you," Bishop said. "You seem... different."

"It's been a bit, I've been through some shit, long story, explain later," Silas said, he cracked his knuckles. "You all good?"

~Y-Yeah,~ Hacks responded. ~I think I'm good, time is... weird.~

<Grant-dono, I am ready to cleave through the dishonorable scum in our way.>

<Partner, let's give this place some frontier justice.>

Everyone looked to Tae, who shrugged. <Let's fuck em up.>

Silas grinned and grabbed his stuff, tossing Hacks his mega-crystal. "Ready?"

Hacks caught it, and a wicked grin grew on his face as well. ~Ready!~

The building shook, Zero was free and had his pokemon. Gabriel was scrambling, directing the workers and clones as best he could.

"Get them to experimental lab 13, I don't care what you have to do! Prep it, launch it as soon as they're in there! GET THEM OUT!"

This was a terrible day for him.

Hacks let out a roar as he kicked another clone into a wall. ~BRING ME MORE! MORE! I WILL DESTROY EVERY SINGLE ONE!~

Silas marched in slowly, Blackquill behind him dropping another lifeless clone. <No life, no honor, these things are but puppets.>

"That's the idea, the school can't get people to die for them, and they probably don't want to waste their precious templars, so fleshbots like these make do."

<They were defending this place awful hard,> Snakeye noted. <Gotta be something.>

Silas looked up, and saw various coils around the place, he counted them and started to make note of their placements... and only then did he realize. "Shit..."

"NOW!" Came Gabriel's voice over the intercoms, the coils flashed, and Silas and his team vanished.

Silas and his team appeared, dropping onto the cold road beneath them. Silas grumbled and slammed his fist down. "Ow..."

<Goddamn teleporters,> Tae said.

Silas muttered and ran a hand through his hair... he was free at least, and that counted for something. Gabriel was probably scared, and hopefully... wouldn't bother him for some time.

He could live with that, he would live with that.

East Area Province Three

-Ever cackles, and folds their legs up to perch on the sign, snapping their goggles in place to shade their eyes-

Ever: Alright, then!

Fair warning, I've got serotonin and everything.

Jokes aside, this isn't ideal terrain for either of us. Rocky ground doesn't favor a flowering plant, and there's nothing to burn. Petilil, special attacker, young and confident...

Cornflower: (sternly) <Well met, then.>

Don't actually know what a Ceruledge does...

Amanita would lay a trap. Brie would go for it.

Ever: Cornflower, Smokescreen?

Cornflower: <Clear Smog?>

Ever: The opposite.

Cornflower: <Wouldn't that be nice.>

Ever: Alright. We've been offered the gift of sunlight, let's put it to some use. Fire Spin!

Cornflower: <I am not pyrokinetic.>

Ever: I am not asking you to be.

Cornflower: <...Hmph.>

-flame spills from her blades, and she rakes them across the ground, sending two runners of fire towards Liliaceae-

-then snaps her blades wide open, a current of obscura whipping out from them-

-turning the flames from streaks into spirals-

-they don't have a lot of purchase on the rock, but the air is dry and obscura burns like dust-

Schedar Squad Base

-In the midst of a Star Barrage-

Iridium: Let's go guys!

-Sending out Bulbal, Del Lurra, and Struthie-

Struthie: -Immediately blasting a Torkoal with Psybeam- <Finally!>

Bulbal: -Bellowis before Aqua Jetting into a Houndour- <I'll crush any mon in our way!>

Del Lurra: -Bulldozes a Growlithe-

East Province Area Two

Gras: -Now a Floragato- <I'm bored...>

Natron: -Now a Naclstack- <You're always bored.>

Gras: <We should go prank Tercio again.>

Tercio: -A Combat Breed Tauros, currently napping-

Pelly: -Perched on a rock- <That sounds like a dumb idea, don't you remember how long it took us to get him weak enough for Tagg to catch?>

Gras: -Shrugs-

Kinsho: -Stabbing into the sand, not paying much attention to the conversation-

Finizen♂️: <Yeah that doesn't sound smart, or heroic, Gras.>

Gras: -Practicing with his vine- <Of course you would say that Yagi.>

Pelly: <Also, Tagg wouldn't like it.>

Hitodama: -Watching Gras and co converse- <So much squabbling...>

Akiko: <They'll get over it.>

Pugh: <I wish Tagg had let us fight, then I could've wrestled him...>

Tyl: -Perched above- <You would've just fainted him Pugh, and quickly too.>

Ginny: <Yeah, the mons around here are mostly too weak for it to be worth it for us to fight.>

-Looking around-

<This place reminds me of the Wild Area, kinda.>

Hitodama: -Looking towards Levincia- <This whole region's like one big Wild Area, I don't think they have any particular Routes at all past these dirt roads.>

Tendril: <Tagg's been kinda distracted.>

Hitodama: <Well there's a lot of things to be distracted about. His and Chiyo's hatchling, for one. The parameters of our mission in this region is another. He didn't agree to this temp thing just for the sake of it.>

Akiko: <Nicky and Kendra said they ran into her not too long ago, right?>

Hitodama: <Yeah. I warned Tagg that this shouldn't turn into another Muddy and Cam situation.>

Tyl: -Trilling the words out- <And now they're in Paldea too.>

Akiko: <It's been almost a decade since Hitodama and I hatched, almost a decade since Constantin.>

'Hitodama: <Will this finally be the year we deal with him, and Shaka.>

Akiko: <I hope so, but we thought that all the other years too. Kalos is right there if we go northeast enough, after all. I'd bet dollars to donuts that there's some sort of major Neo-Flare facility in Kalos, it'd be weird not for there to be.>

Hitodama: <He's had so long to consolidate power mostly unmolested while we've been busy dealing with the School, or Mobius, or whoever else pops up.>

-Purposely vague-

<Imagine if we hadn't done what we did, how much more they would've progressed in the interim.>

Akiko: <Now that's a scary thought.>

Edited by rmctagg09 on Jan 8th 2024 at 4:54:00 AM

Paldea, East Province Area Three

-both of Abilene's eyebrows go up-

Abilene: -wonderingly- No shit?

Phone!Wisp: <—ground is rocky and unrootable. Reach is thrice Lili's. Stands firmly, confident, with little rapport—>

-Cornflower strikes dread sparks from the earth-

Phone!Wisp: <—conical trapping blast.>

Abilene: Claymore.

Liliaceae: <Which one's that?>

Gods damn it, Megan.

Phone!Wisp: <—ah. Seed-pod? Check your pockets.>

Liliaceae: <'kay.>

Abilene: Do a funny hop.

-speaking of burning dust-

-rather than launch herself up, Lilia races to the side, tossing the seed-pod behind her-

Perhaps we can't contest in raw power, but we carry our resources with us. Grass famously where Ghosts and flames do not.

-it puffs up on its stored nutrients, drawing in air, and when the Fire Spin hits it its fuel-air mix explodes-

She's nimble, energetic and young, and fights like she's invincible. Until that catches up, she will be bold.

Phone!Wisp: <—leaps, riding the blast wave. Tucks, rolls, hits the ground running. Singed but not trapped by the spiral—>

If she surprised me, she can damn well surprise Ever.

Abilene: Make distance.

Liliaceae: -smoking- <'Aight.>

-she twirls, flinging a good double handful of those seeds into the space between her and Cornflower-

-they expand rapidly in the Sun, hissing with the intake through their pores-

Edited by Asterisk395 on Jan 8th 2024 at 7:49:52 AM

Stormchaser, exterior

Anyone who happens to look out of the window on this afternoon receives a strange sight.

There is a large red and white striped picnic blanket sitting amongst in the middle of the field in which the ship is parked, covered with a variety of sandwiches, cakes, and other snacks that actually look rather delicious. A portable kettle is almost at the boil, and a quaint tea set is laid out next to it.

Of course, the most surprising thing about the scene is that Whitt is the one sitting cross-legged in the middle of the blanket. He's wearing, for whatever reason, the type of suit common in the 1920s, when men were expected to wear suits for everything, fitted in such a way to be comfortable for outdoor wear. The suit is a light grey colour, almost white, giving the dark blue tie (adorned of course with small snowflakes) an extra eye-catching quality.

In front of the picnic basket, a large sign reads "I'D LIKE TO TALK" in giant letters. Then, underneath, more words say "I TRIED TO RING THE BELL BUT EVERY TIME I REACHED FOR IT IT MOVED OUT OF THE WAY" in slightly smaller letters.

Paldea, Stormchaser exterior

-speaking of red-and-white, who first emerges is That Guy-

-dressed more casually in a deep red vest, warm pants, sneakers, and an ostentatious white cape-

-School public enemy number...-

-...-

-well, he's on the list-

-Hiro Alítheia gives Whitt the Picnicker a shameless once-over, eyes    flashing   -

Hiro Alítheia: Yes, she does that.

-it's not an especially angry look, for all that he probably should be angry-

-or fearful, or especially passionate-

-just...-

Hiro: What do you want.

-calculating-

Stormchaser Exterior

Whitt looks Hiro up and down, paying particular attention to the cape which he lingers on for a few seconds.

Whitt: I'm sorry... who are you?

Paldea, Stormchaser exterior

Hiro: -staring- ...

-bizarrely, Hiro brightens-

Hiro: -almost smiling- Hiro Alítheia, Hero of Truth. One Trainer among many.

-he flicks his cape in a flourish that's not quite a bow-

Hiro: And what do you call yourself, Whitt?

Silas grumbled and got up, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Where the hell are they?"

"Where is what Captain?" Bishop asked, appearing on the screen.

"The Wing? Roxy? The rest of our team?" Silas said. "They obviously vanished, otherwise they woulda gone hunting for me and raised hell."

"The Wing's weapons are not meant to be used Captain, save it for space travel."

"Not what I meant," Silas muttered.

~They gotta be around somewhere... it's not as if they can just up and-~ Hacks began.

"Number One, please remember the life we lead," Bishop interrupted. "The Captain and the Commander are magnets for this kind of trouble. Hell the Admirals have access to a ship that was stolen from individuals who could just straight up and vanish."

Hacks blinked and muttered a bit, but didn't argue, Bishop was right.

Silas sighed and passed by a clothing store, he dug in his pockets, no wallet... probably burned with all of his ID. Still, his phone was in tact. "Bishop, why was my phone still together? It's just a King Industries Model 14."

"A bit of an older model Captain, but with the modifications we have made, especially in regards to the Operative Porygon System we use to hack and subterfuge enemy lines, best I can presume is that the Templar wanted to find out why. Meanwhile your wallet was of no use for him as your identity was what he wanted to suppress."

"Still, call up our banks and so forth, make sure nobody's fucking with my identity," Silas said. "Also make sure our bank app still has some money, I need to get some new clothes."

~Good idea there,~ Hacks said.

Silas stepped in and as he passed by a mirror, he paused and walked back. Looking over himself in it, the long hair on his head had been shaved down, completely down by the sides, small surgical scars lay around it. He brought his hand to his face to look at it closer, and only really did he start paying attention to how different this new hand was to his old one.

He had changed for certain, and he'd need to deal with that in time... just find out what was put into him.

A little over half an hour later, Silas walked out, wearing a windbreaker, a v-neck t-shirt, dark jeans and some decent sneakers. "There we go, not quite my style but it's better than what we had earlier."

~You do look better.~

"Captain," Bishop spoke up. "Interesting text message."

Silas looked at the phone, and squinted, he read over the message a few times before shrugging and deciding to reply. It'd be something to do, and get him to a place that may be able to help him.

Stormchaser exterior

Whitt: Well, you clearly already know who I am. You know, if you had asked me that question some time ago - what I call myself, that is - I might have answered with something rather trite. The Frozen Emperor, perhaps. I also admit to calling myself the one without warmth on more than one occasion. Oh, won't you sit my good man?

He gestures to an open spot on the picnic blanket.

Whitt: As to the currency of your question, if I were to assign myself some kind of title, I suppose Whitt the Repentant might be a fitting moniker. Though I confess it might be a little on the nose. Anyway, all this to say that it's a pleasure to meet you, Hiro Alítheia, Hero of Truth.

Halis continues floating in the psuedo-space they've created, noticing their PDA ring with a reply alert.

Halis: "Oh, hey, an actual reply. Maybe this time I'll remember to do stuff..."

Silas was never the biggest fan of walking through the halls of the Stormchaser. He had nothing against the vessel herself, Stormchan was important for the J-Team and he knew that more than anyone, he just preferred his ships to not be eldritch locations.

He was thankful finding Halis's room was easy enough, he knocked on the door.

Realizing that the door is actually a fair distance away, Halis thinks for a moment... before realizing they can just use the momentum from a move to propel themselves over to it, switching to their Lopunny form for a moment and Focus Blasting in the opposite direction to launch themselves towards it, kicking open the door before bouncing off of it and reverting to human form.

Halis: "Come on in, the void water's fine!"

They end up hitting an upper bound of the spaceroom, standing carefully on what would be the ceiling.

Silas stepped in, and felt the lack of gravity. He let out a sigh but this was honestly more normal, he was used to 0 g. He liked 0 G.

Hands in his pockets, he looked to Hacks who smiled, and the two stepped in. Drifting carefully and with purpose, plenty of experience here.

"So," Silas said. "Identity problems?"

~Tell us about it, we're well versed. I've had to advise this dipshit that it's okay to embrace the tail.~

"Tail is still weird feeling, even today."

~And the metal bone spikes aren't?~

"They're like... fingernails honestly."

Halis: "Embracing... hmm..."

Halis shakes their head, bouncing off the 'ceiling' and then the 'floor' more gently until they end up stopping near Hacks and Silas.

Halis: "No, it's less embracing and more uh... disassociating I guess? Ok so like, how do I describe it... I'm supposed to be at least partially a fairy right? Well... one big problem, Lopunny's a Normal-type. Doesn't match the rest of me at all. To be honest I've been keeping it to myself for a while, didn't want anyone to worry about me, but... iunno, with so much time to think about things I kinda realized it just... doesn't fit me? At all? Like yeah people associate it with me at this point, but there's a difference between associating and actually being, y'know?"

They stop their little rant in the middle, realizing they've been talking a lot in a short timespan.

Halis: "Uh, you do get what I mean right? Like I've not just gone completely mental from self-isolation? And please don't say something cliché like "you're perfectly fine the way you are" or something, that doesn't magically make the issues go away."