Polity

-Gale lets off a concerned hum and flicks the color of her helmet eyes about the spectrum in jumps-

Automatons, one of the major hallmarks of the Alakagross... Though I am kinda dreading that we might be walking into something with a passive psionic control aura. Yaknow what I mean, given the nicknames for our ship...

Saffron Hotel, Briefing

Kitbash: Correction, your networks have been down since the attack. I keep my files in safer locations.

Download: >Yeah, in a bunch of loose hard drives in the van.<

Kitbash: I mean, it works. Can't remote hack something that isn't actually connected to anything. Aaaaaaaanyway, looks like we got someone dealing with P-Fu yeah? Looks like Lighty here's got a gimmick like yours...

Lee House, Closed Door

-The tourist with the phone clicks his tongue and shrugs-

Retro-phone tourist: Alright alright. You two have a good day, yeah.

-He wanders off elsewhere in the house-

Lee House, Subwhere Observatory

-Gravity fails outside the glass dome of the Observatory, but a little bit of illusions to propel oneself is enough to traverse over. The void is blank but not... It isn't cold. The void is just a lack of things, like the shadow cast by conventional reality-

-Reaching the spot Gale was at, it's clear to see the observatory dome far off where you left from. But what becomes clear this far out is something. It's not a sight or a sound or any other physical sense but a presence. And this presence is that of so many black-feathered birds-

-You're being watched-

Lee House, The Forest

-Gale looks, if anything, more concerned after hearing no one has seen any robots-

Okay! Huh! Because as far as my knowledge goes there's supposed to be robots here. And if there aren't, that means something is keeping them away. Which has some implications I don't like?

Galar Mountains

You pause for a moment to gasp at the reply, though it's not so much surprise as it is a show of surprise. You also let out a soft giggle at the end of that gasp as you spot the miniature backpack on Krasnaya out of the corner of your eye.

"Oh dang, didn't expect I'd meet one all the way out here! But yeah, I grew up in the OI and started backpacking when I hit trainer age so climbing and swimming is pretty built-in to me."

You try to keep your propensity towards obtuse hints to deep secrets under wraps.

"You could say it's my inner rock-type showing."

Unsuccessfully, it seems.

It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.

Stormchaser, Lucius's Room, past

-there are times, when Ever is more stressed, that a little of their humanity slips away, replaced with...something a bit more ambiguous-

-they adjust their footing slightly, freezing in place with Lucius like the leader in a dance-

Ever: As much as I joke about a compelling attraction to people who try and kill me, I like you. That justifies some things. Goodness knows you've done the same for me.

Dunsparce didn't stop being a thing or anything.

Stormchaser, Lucius's Room, past

-Lucius gives another of those half-chuckle, half-sob noises into Ever's chest.-

Lucius: I suppose you're right about that.

-He pulls away from them, still teetering on his feet, looking up at them with sudden intensity. The smell of cheap alcohol is pungent on his breath, but whilst his voice is wavering, his words remain quite clear.-

Lucius: ...You're broken, aren't you? What Muninn did to you, that whole encounter with Nathaniel, and all that on top of everything else you've been through... I don't see how that wouldn't break someone. Some basic human function, one of the ones that's responsible for sympathy or anger or bitterness or something like that... that just doesn't work anymore, does it? It's why you're not bothered by what they did to you, because you process all that trauma like arguments in some sort of logical program. It's why you stay with me, even after everything I've done.

-He clutches their hands tightly, tears glistening in his eyes.-

Lucius: But that doesn't stop me from loving you. We may both be broken, but one of the things that isn't is my love, or the faith that you invested in me. And that's not going to change. I promise.

Edited by Herbert40k on Jun 20th 2021 at 9:30:56 AM

Trans rights are human rights. JK Rowling preaches hate. If you sit at a table with five bigots and say nothing, there are now six bigots.

{REDACTED}, Unsafe House

Ramona:

Ribon:

Ramona:

Ribon:

Ramona:

Fluid!Ribon: ~...I am become Death, destroyer of worlds.~ / Molybdenum: !

-for the barest instant, a nanoscopic spot of concentrated focus—-

-shrieks between their gazes before nothing is there at all-

Amped!Ribon: -...impossibly, reconstituting himself in a tractor beam of stray atmospheric particles- ~Well, that was dramatic.~

-...silence, and the sound of organs-

-...-

Molybdenum: -on her feet- ~This...this could be—game-changing.~

-is she...is she lost for words?-

-is the sheer awe she feels palpable, or is that just the weight of her stare?-

Molybdenum: ~With that kind of power—? The potential is exponential. You—nearly singlehandedly—octuple the value of all assets we possess—~

-sure, the speedrun's tool-assisted-

Molybdenum: ~The Principal...~

-but it's as she said-

Ramona: The Principal will want to see this.

-Valedictorians get results-

-Ramona sits down again, hard—what's the mood? what is she feeling?-

Ramona: Neo...

-she's never seen her like this before-

Ramona: You're...really something, huh?

Wild Area, Distant Pool - Breathe

Half-Conscious!Megan: -amused(?)- Or what, you'll kill me yourself?

-her inner monologue voice is…half-present, pained-

-tired-

-Megan herself seems as relaxed as she can be, with three sets of her friends' hands in her metaphysical guts-

Vee: <...wait, it's s'pposed to come out?>

(-says Vee, already having threaded the seal into Megan's metabiological skeleture-)

Vee: <Oops.>

(-she's Helping-)

-neither(?) seems especially...aware, of anything, beyond the bounds of the seal-

Vee: <...wait, am I supposed to get out?>

-she squirms, and…-

Vee: <...oops.>

-cannot-

-speaking of which, one of her less familiar weird friends gets down beside her and applies glowing hands (and a scan from a custom app on a Pokédex)-

Hiro: -mutter, beginnings- The Aura's all but burned through her stomach lining, the only reason we're not seeing more internal bleeding is we're distracted by all the blood on the outside, most of which she ate for power, the amateur Gates'^* how does he know about that corrosion…>

-eyes bright- <If she dies here, she's coming back as a wicked Ghost for sure…>

Hiro: -staring into Megan's organs- —Vee, what the fuck did you do?

Vee: -weirdly defensive- <My ████ing best, lay off, dude.>

Hiro: ...hm.

Hiro: ...are you...are you still doing it?

Vee: <I'm...pretty sure I'm keepin' her alive.>

-internal squint- <Prob...probably.>

<help>

-...-

Hiro: -looking up- Er, hi. I'm Hiro. This was more or less to kill me.

-to Kai- ...are you okay?

---

-uncharacteristically, the sword has no retort-

-the Dragon Pulse hits—it's not like some inanimate sword can dodge, geez—and two voices scream out in unison-

-keep screaming, in the aftershocks—echoing into the background-

-a lot of people question, but Arc pleads—and it's Arc who elicits a response-

-his Bubble lets out a shimmering, pure note—high V#, if you had to place it—and starts to vibrate-

-what the Bubble says, is…:-

<<For the seal to hold,>> -intones Vee's voice- <<I need to stay dead.>>

-...-

-it's not…quite her-

-none of her warmth, nor her stumbling, laughing grace-

-all determination verging on spite-

-the water soaking…all the ground, sluggishly converges—creeps slowly up the sword, embedded tip up-

-lights red and blue both dim to darkness as they're covered—sinking to the deep dark spaces beyond surface comprehension-

-the eye, half-lidded…swirls-

<<I will keep them safe.>>

-the hilt scarlet-gleaming has a pull to it—enticing to pull it, but-

-...oddly the compulsion seems at a loss for what to do next-

-the bubble hits the cooling steam-

Bubble: <<...Arc? Kiddo, what're you—>>

Dáinsleif: -pul   ses-   

-the Bubble pops-

-its fluid is drawn to the sword, smearing its symbols—smothering them, in a watery haze-

(-Logan bustles from unconscious team member to unconscious team member—pausing occasionally to direct the nearer baffled Raid Trainer to take a rope to the Dens over there and do not touch that sword (or the woman on the ground, or the bird, or...)-)

(-their heart is shuttered and barred, as is professional—but little barrier to a Heart, and none at all to the ancient Heart to whom they're empathically linked-)

(-precisely what they're feeling is left as an exercise to the imagination—what they're carefully not asking, the same-)

---

-ah…-

-...are we unfinished-

-was I called prematurely-

-'anxiety' is the wrong word to describe how it sounds—bored, maybe—or…disappointed, perhaps-

-not sentience, nor sapience, seems to register in the thing—it perks up in short order-

-I want to make for you-

-I want to s h o w you-

-the Last Resort glows yet brighter, fuller—in the distance, from the Dens, the blue-gold glitter of Contracts dissolving-

-ahhh…-

-without focused direction, the spark seems...content, to ramble (much in the manner of the mind from which it sprung)-

-...was that a drop of rain?-

-it sings:-

-once upon a time there was a girl and her bird-

-once upon a time they set out to see the world-

-once upon a time to their hometown they did return-

-ever after, The End-

-I am...The End, it murmurs-

-where you lead, I will follow, it hums, where you go, I will go-

-I will catch them, every one, and know them as you know—-

-I will break upon your rocks, it purrs, and rend as you direct-

-I am...a catalyst, it buzzes, reactants to products, passed through the membrane-

-I am…a thought, it hisses, dancing in the dark, ready to be born-

-I am...the gleam, it winks, of an eye before the storm-

-I am-

-I am:-

-burn my notes—tell my siblings—thank you, for being in my life-

-what can I destroy for you today?-

-ready, eager, waiting-

Edited by Asterisk395 on Jun 20th 2021 at 11:36:01 AM

No mind to think. No will to break.

Wild Area — Aftermath

-Kai just sort of lets out a quiet laugh, not quite looking at Hiro directly.-

Kai: I-I'm fine. I'm... okay.

-They sure don't look okay. Their entire right side is covered in blood.-

Kai: I'm sure it'll— it'll heal just fine.

-The bird nearby shakes his head, and lands nearby. Kai starts to give a proper greeting, but squeaks at the much larger bird than she expected-

Kai: O-oh. You're— you're not Nix. Ahem, honor to see you, um, sir. Nix is safe still, she didn't get involved in this fight. Molybdenum still doesn't know about her.

Ho-oh: <I gathered as much. I can also tell you have no idea how injured you actually are. You look like a mess.>

-He flicks a wing, and many-colored divine sparks lace their way through Kai's wounds. Kai winces at the stinging, but after a moment, the blood flow stops. The wounds are still visible, but cauterized.-

Kai: ...Ow. Ow okay yeah I'm feeling that now. Oh wow that hurts. Oh wow I'm gonna go pass out now. Good night everybody.

-She sorta just falls onto her uninjured side. With Kai no longer actively dying, Ho-oh turns his attention down toward the still-piloted body of Megan.-

Ho-oh: <This really is quite the mess you've gotten into, isn't it? Luckily, both your friends here are still on this side of the veil, technically, if... in complicated circumstances. What matters is, I won't have to worry about, ah, negotiating with Xerneas and Yveltal for this. It's all under my purview.

-A ring of harmless, radiant life-fire traces a circle around Megan's body. Kai steps away quickly to make room.-

Ho-oh: <No need to appeal to me, either. It's quite clear how much these two mean to you all, I've witnessed enough to be certain.>

-Another ring, partially formed, starts to form around the felled sword of Dáinsleif, though an opening remains. Ho-oh looks to Daydre, and at the mote of condensed potential she wields.-

Ho-oh: <But first, I believe you need to do something with that.>

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Jun 20th 2021 at 10:10:08 AM

Spikemuth Town Centre

Hoops enters the middle of the town from one of the side streets, looking overall no worse for the wear. Marnie stands up to face them.

Marnie: You got here quicker than I expected.

Hoops: If you want more time to sit around, you should have some more competent trainers in your gym.

Marnie: You know, I'm allowed to just not accept your challenge. Most leaders don't, but I can. Especially if people disrespect my trainers.

Hoops: Whatever. Are we doing this or what?

Marnie motions to a few Team Yell members, who bring out video cameras and other recording equipment.

Marnie: You don't mind if this gets broadcast, do you? Apparently it's good for local tourism or something.

Hoops: Do whatever you want.

They take the first pokeball off their belt and hold it ready. After a moment of waiting for the go ahead from the camera crew, Marnie does the same. This town square will serve as the field. A Team Yell member steps forwards to act as referee.

Ref: This'll be a five on five match. Switching is allowed, and you lose once your whole team is knocked out. You got that, babs?

The two trainers nod their agreement. Behind Hoops, Anna slips into the square and shuffles to one side to allow them to stay out of the way. If Hoops notices, they say nothing.

Marnie: Go, Liepard!

Hoops: Drapion, you're up.

Spikemuth Gym Battle

Hoops: Drapion, use Toxic Spikes.

Marnie: Fake Out!

Drapion goes to use his move, but as soon as he moves Liepard seems to travel across the field in an instant and slap its paws together in front of his face. The shock makes him falter, and the move fails.

Marnie: Now that you're in close use Snarl!

Liepard growls loudly in Drapion's face, hitting him with a blast of harmful sound. The Ogre Scorpion pokemon grunts as he feels his strength begin to be sapped by the move.

Drapion: <Now I'm particularly angry.>

Hoops: Use X-Scissor!

Before Liepard has even landed on the ground, Drapion slashes it across the middle with both of its claws. Liepard yells in pain at the force of the attack and falls to the ground, unconscious.

Anna: With just one hit...

Marnie calmly returns Liepard to its pokeball.

Marnie: You did a great job, Liepard. Enjoy your rest. (To Hoops) I can see why you beat my trainers so quickly. You certainly have raw strength going for you, if nothing else. But you'll need more than that to defeat the rest of my team. Go, Toxicroak!

The new pokemon emerges onto the field and extends her front arm in a clear declaration of challenge. Hoops frowns.

Hoops: I thought this gym specialised in dark types?

Marnie: We do.

Hoops: But Toxicroak isn't a dark type.

Drapion: <This is misleading advertising.>

Marnie: I don't know what to tell you, but Toxicroak is on my team. Now, if you don't mind, can we continue?

Silas grimaced behind his helmet, "Things just get better and better don't they?" he commented, "Bishop, how many spots left?"

"Only two more Captain. Follow the relays," Bishop answered.

Roxy took the lead and marched forward, the party behind her as Silas continued to ponder what the hell was going on around here, there was so much wrong with this area... regardless of the nuclear winter occurring.

The party entered the next area, buried underneath a massive snowdrift, they reached the crater... and Roxy let out a "No fucking way..."

Silas and Hacks stared, ~T-That's a Metagross.~

Before them, buried under snow and rock was a large Metagross styled space vessel, it was weathered and derelict for certain, but it was here.

Hayden however, "Oh magnificent, truly an impressive sight to see here."

"Magnificent? Hayden that thing is a ticking bomb, if you didn't watch the recordings!" Arthur protested.

"Correction," Jack said to Salem, "Kitbash and you are collecting the data. I am collecting Lightwave, no offense but you two are top 50s, Lightwave was a former number 10."

"You will be covering Kitbash as he collects the data for us, security won't stop coming just because I'm on hand. As for the blacklist, It isn't just P-Fu, it's numerous other blacklisted groups, such as the Blackhands, the Society of Order, etc. We have many blacklisted names for good reason, we're a surgical scalpel, these ones are just butchers."

Jackal pondered the situation, "...Daniels probably isn't a big player... things are too... convenient around him. Best I have currently."

"More to the point he's holding someone's shadow hostage, isn't that a bad thing? Like changing people's hearts by forcing their shadow to confront their guilt. That's what the treasure is right?" Knight commented.

"Right..." Jackal said, slipping out of his pondering, "We still have an asshole to catch."

He rushed off down the hallway after Daniel, "No time to waste."

Lee House Void

Catching himself on an invisible wall, gripping it to keep from bouncing, the Unovan pauses at the invisible eyes digging into him.

"[Fiddlesticks,]" he either compares or curses, he's not certain either. Torn between running and fighting, a simple question in his mind causes him to turn towards the dome, ready to shatter it if it means he can get away, even with the flock in pursuit:

"What's infinity minus [Graham's Number]?"

Lee House Forest

<Why would robots be here?> Katsuragi asked. <Tour guides, perhaps?>

"Knowing our luck they'd malfunction and turn hostile, so it's probably for the best," Kamui considered.

Studio Palace

Trusting Jackal better than his very easily distracted nose, Ahemait waits for his user to board his back. With a grip on the scruff, Rn'L is barely braced well enough to chase after Daniel, possibly even picking up on the scent as it's fresher where he ran to.

[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]

Room 101, Saffron City

Ma'at: While I deign to admit it, I must applaud your system's key design strength. If you're willing, you are most welcome to work under Sphinx's technicians. And for every black hat technician you hire under you, you get a sign-up bonus of 100,000 Pokédollars.

Ma'at disappears from view. She then reveals a diagram showing the key data center they will be heading toward, plus key security points.

Ma'at: While I can temporarily disable some security protocols, I will need more assistance to begin disabling the protocols of the data center itself to ensure that the data flows freely. If we do this right, their systems would never detect that a breach had occurred at all.

Wyndon Stadium Stands

Evelyn: -to Kim- He'll be fine. After all, he did throw himself out of a window just to watch my Gym Battle in Motostoke. Remember?

Wyndon Stadium, Ian VS Daisuke

Me: Daisuke-san! Daijōbudesuka?^* Daisuke-san! Are you okay?

-Daisuke picks himself up off the ground and brushes off the dust.-

Daisuke: Daijōbu.^* I'm okay. I've got a rather hard head. Also, I did throw myself out of a window that one time.

Me: I suppose that's true.

Daisuke: So it'll take a lot more than getting Emily'd^{Author's note} Animeboy Ianpower refers to the moment when something (usually a ball) hits someone in the face as that person "getting Emily'd" as a reference to Emily/Hoshizora Miyuki from Glitter Force/Smile Pretty Cure!. Though it has happened multiple times in Pretty Cure seasons past and future, so the more operative phrase would be "continuing the Pretty Cure tradition". to beat me! Blasty, use Flash Cannon again!

Me: Oshawittle, use Swords Dance again!

-Oshawittle dispels the water surrounding him and spins around in midair, showing off his swordplay, even with no ground below his feet. Blasty aims his shoulder cannons at Oshawittle and fires a metallic beam of light at Oshawittle. Oshawittle parries the beam as he dances, displaying excellent control over his blade, as though it were an extension of his arm... No... an extension of his very soul!-

Oshawittle used Swords Dance! Oshawittle's Attack Increased Sharply!
Daisuke: Now, Blasty! Use Skull Bash!

Me: Oshawittle! It's just like the battle against Brock's Steelix! Get yourself into a ready stance and when the time is right, use Ice Aqua Jet!

-Oshawittle, upon landing on the ground, sheathes his sword and prepares himself. Blasty pulls his head into his shell and heightens his defense and he prepares to lift off and slam right into Oshawittle.-

Blasty pulls his head in! Blasty's Defense Increased!

Wyndon Stadium Stands

Evelyn: Ice Aqua Jet?

Hatty: <This should definitely be interesting!>

Anistar City, Emilie's House

-Levy then notices what looks like a card in Emilie's pocket.-

Levy: <Huh?>

-Levy pulls the card out of Emilie's pocket to get a good look at it.-

Levy: <What's this?>

Gus: <A card?>

Levy: <This must've been the card that that villainess, Terra Preta, left on Emilie while she was hypnotized!>

Gus: <Alas, poor Belladonna. First she's defeated by supervillains, then they have the audacity to leave her a calling card?>

Levy: <Maybe there's more to this than meets the eye, Gus... After all, what kind of a supervillain would be dumb enough to leave witnesses?>

[Imperial] Hotel, Room 101

Salem: You can count on me, I suppose... Though, truth be told, I haven't exactly been on the ball lately...

Studio Palace

Joybringer: Wait for me!

-Joybringer runs off to follow Jackal.-

♪Show me the wisdom of the world... Tell me the secrets of the heart... and the sweet~ mysteries~ of love~...

Wild Area, past

-Pinches bridge of nose after Vee's statement-

I guess I might need to separate you manually in a bit.

-To Daydre-

Like Ho-oh said, it's up to you.

-Eyes focus on Hiro briefly but intensely as he mentions the Gates, but nothing is said-

Edited by rmctagg09 on Jun 20th 2021 at 7:05:07 AM

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Stormchaser, Lucius's Room, past

-Ever goes very still for a bit-

-they think about the person they just killed, and the people they might have left for dead-

Ever: Maybe, yeah. Probably. Dunno how much it matters. It's still me.

-that seems like the correct emotional response for the situation, sure-

And me loves you. Or whatever.

-they peck Lucius on the head-

-...-

Ever: But really we gotta go to the hospital. We can talk more about this when I'm not dying and you have a few good meals in you.

{REDACTED}, Unsafe House

-Neodymium pumps her fists in the air as Ribot reconstitutes himself-

-a common truism about teenagers, and one that applies even to teenagers who were artificially assembled in a lab and underwent accelerated growth, is that they tend to move back and forth between moments of surprising maturity and moments of extreme childishness-

-notably, a great degree of investment in the opinions of trusted people-

-Neodymium lights up, smiling for the first time onscreen-

Neodymium: Do you think?

-her speaking voice is scratchy, she doesn't use it very often except in moments of very sudden feeling-

I...really hope so.

-she looks excited or maybe awestruck-

-the way someone can only look when they're receiving news beyond their wildest expectations-

(speaking fast, words bleeding into each other with a bit of a stutter) I had this dream. Where my project gets approved, and I don't die. And I'm old enough to go to one of those fast food places you like without you or Dr. Tran, or to a movie, or to a—a bridge...

-she folds her arms, not meeting Molybdenum's eyes or mind-

Neodymium: ~Or, it wouldn't be so bad if my genes made it into one of the Templars. That'd be cool, or whatever.~

Wild Area, Distant Pool

Arc: <...It's just a sword, though!>

<I mean, I think it might be an evil sword, but I'd rather have you and them than neither!>

Oracle: <Hey, quick question, is that fucking Ho-Oh?>

Arc: <...Maybe?>

Oracle: <Pretty sure.>

Arc: <...>

-shrugs, and summons another Bubble for Vee-

-which is stopped midair by Oracle-

Arc: <Hey!>

Oracle: <I'm fast realizing that this situation is getting increasingly incomprehensible, and that nobody involved is getting particularly deader. Let's try and approach this with a plan, okay?>

Arc: <...>

Dunsparce didn't stop being a thing or anything.

Wyndon Stadium

Elton: <ICE AQUA JET?!>

Kim: "Well, this should be fun."

Studio Palace

(The Consultant turns to Triton.)

The Consultant: "Come on, Triton. Let's follow them."

(And they promptly head off.)

Circhester Battle

(Braker shakes his head.)

Braker: "O-okay, then. Forget Glare. I have a better idea. Jules, use Poison Fang!"

Jules: <Poison Fang...? Okay!>

(They jump up into the air, their fangs glowing a bright purple, and come straight down onto Joel, biting him in the belly.)

(Seconds later, though, Jules suddenly finds themselves being bounced backwards by Joel's belly, and while they are eventually able to land, Joel is not poisoned. Seconds later, Jules slowly starts to fall asleep.)

Jules: <U-uh oh... oh no...>

(And then...)

Braker: "Jules!"

(Kim smirks.)

Kim: "Alright, Joel. Shall we?"

Joel: <You bet!>

Kim: "Finish 'em with an Earthquake!"

Joel: <Gladly.>

(He promptly stomps on the floor, creating a large Earthquake that shakes Jules around while they are still asleep.)

(Jules is eventually knocked into the ground as the Earthquake ends, and when the dust settles, they are lying on the ground with swirls in their eyes.)

Jules: (weakly) <Owowowow...>

Heahea Beach- Post-VIKAVOLT STUNT SHOW

(Braker, Walter, Cuddles, and Panto follow #73 and his Trainer to outside of the Vikavolt stunt show. Braker's cameras are rolling the entire time, and the whole time the Trainer's back is turned to his Vikavolt. Eventually, however, the Trainer and the Vikavolt come to a stop, and Braker zooms his camera in on #73.)

Number 73: <Hey, what gives?! I won, didn't I? Y-you wanted me to win! You trained me to win!>

Number 73's Trainer: (whipping around to face his Vikavolt) "I trained you to beat the all-time world record for the fastest Vikavolt in the annual stunt show. I didn't train you to come up a few minutes short!"

Number 73: <B-but that doesn't matter! I still won; t-that should be enough, right?>

Number 73's Trainer: "It's not enough for me."

(He starts to walk away from Number 73. Frantically, the once-confident Vikavolt begins flashing his headlight eyes in desperation.)

Number 73: <Hey! Where are ya goin'?! What's the matter with ya?!>

Number 73's Trainer: "Simple. I've given up."

(Cuddles' and Panto's eyes go completely wide, and Walter stands there— holding back barely-contained rage, though no one would notice otherwise since he's a Wobbuffet. Braker, meanwhile, is both angered and concerned.)

Number 73: <Given up?! W-why are you giving up on me?! I- I didn't care about some stupid record! I just wanted to win and show you that I could—>

Number 73's Trainer: (interrupting him) "That record was everything to me, Vikavolt. That record could have made me a star- you a star. It's not stupid. Even if you win, you're still too slow to break the all-time record. You're a complete disappointment."

(Cuddles almost immediately starts to burst into tears, and Braker continues rolling the camera, his focus now shifting to the Trainer, who immediately turns and starts walking away. Number 73 frantically starts flying after him.)

Number 73: <W-wait! Come back!>

Number 73's Trainer: "I'm not going to. I will not forgive you for even one failure." (He turns to his Vikavolt for one final time, then walks away.) "Can't believe I ever would own such a disgrace as you."

(Number 73 just floats there, in pure silence, as his former Trainer walks away from him. As he does so, the announcer of the competition goes up to him.)

Announcer: "Congratulations! Your Vikavolt just won the stunt show! You've just won 25,000,000 dollars; what do you—"

Number 73's Trainer: (raises his hand) "Save it. He's not my Vikavolt anymore."

(And he walks away, while the announcer looks on in pure shock, turning to Number 73 in concern. Braker keeps his video camera on the Trainer, then turns to Walter.)

Braker: (angered) "...how could he?!"

Walter: <It is a very good thing you got this on camera, Braker. You absolutely need to talk about this on the stream; more people should be informed.>

Cuddles: (concerned) <N-Number 73!>

(He and Panto immediately rush over to the now downtrodden Vikavolt, and soon enough Braker stops the video camera footage, puts away his camera (i.e. his phone), and runs over to the Vikavolt as well. Walter follows. Number 73 beeps sadly and looks down, before floating over to his motorcycle. Seconds later, he hears Cuddles' voice from behind him.)

Cuddles: <I can't believe that happened to you...>

(Number 73 turns to face Cuddles, and looks down sadly.)

Number 73: <Yeah, me neither. I thought that by winning the show my old Trainer would finally give me the respect I deserved, but... he didn't. All he cared about was some stupid record that I didn't even know he wanted to break!>

Walter: <We know. We saw what happened.>

Number 73: <You did, didja...?> (He sighs.) <You don't understand how much this has been going on. He's been training me for this for ages, and every single time I kept losing. I wanted to show him how good I could be, so I trained hard to finally win, but when I finally do...>

(Walter and Cuddles look at each other, while Panto blinks sadly.)

Number 73: (says nothing, just looks down sadly)

(Cuddles blinks, then goes over to Number 73 and gently places a warm, comforting pedipalp on his shoulder— or relative lack thereof.)

Cuddles: (gently) <...Hey.>

(Number 73 hears him, and looks up at Cuddles, who just smiles.)

Cuddles: (warm and calm, with just a touch of his usual excitability) <Want a hug...?>

(Number 73 blinks in shock, and starts bursting into tears before nodding. Immediately, Cuddles pulls him into a warm, fuzzy hug and pets his back. Number 73 squeals.)

Number 73: (in tears) <Who told me Galvantulas were this soft...?!>

Cuddles: (snuggles him; shushes him softly)

Number 73: (keeps crying)

Cuddles: <I know... I know, it's okay...>

Number 73: (sniffles, sobs)

Panto: <Oh... poor Vikavolt...>

Walter: <Indeed.>

MEANWHILE IN THE HASSLEMON INTERWEBS

ZL: Hey... what'ss going on? Ssomebody'ss crying!>

RM: WE—CAN—ALL—HEAr—THAT, JULES; YOU—DON'T—HAVE—TO—POINT—IT—OUT.

MC: why in The wORLd aRe They cRying

ET: Something Traumatic Has To Have Occurred. I Should Go Out There And Investigate.

ZL: Can I come, too? :P

ET: I Do Not See A Reason Why You Can't.

ZL: Yay!

RM: GOOD—LUCK—BOZOS! I'LL—BE—IN—HErE.

Heahea Beach

(As Cuddles is hugging the sobbing Vikavolt, Jules and Charon suddenly emerge from their balls. They look around for a bit, then notice the crying Vikavolt in front of them and exchange concerned looks.)

Jules: <W-what happened...?>

Charon: <Is everything alright...> (he notices the number) ...73?>

Number 73: (chokes up, looks up at Jules and Charon) <Oh... hey. Y-you must be two other members of this team. I— I'll have ya know that my old Trainer abandoned me.>

(Jules and Charon look at each other in shock.)

Jules: <W-WHAT?!>

Charon: <Why in the world would they abandon you?>

Panto: <His old Trainer wanted him to beat the world record in this stunt show thingy, but he didn't do it.>

Jules: <That's no reason to abandon your Pokemon!>

Charon: <Indeed, that reasoning is fallible.> (a pause, then) <Is there anything else that we should know?>

Number 73: (sniff) <Y-yeah...> (sniff) <I didn't care about a stupid record! I just wanted to prove myself to him! Every time I'd been in this stunt show, I lost... but even now, when I win...>

(He pauses, then starts sobbing again. Cuddles pets him, and Charon and Jules look at each other, before going up to the Vikavolt to comfort him.)

Jules: (licking the Vikavolt's face) <Awww...>

Charon: <That is simply horrifying to hear. I am extremely sorry about that. Hopefully you will find a better team...>

Number 73: <Yeah... hopefully...>

(Cuddles continues hugging Number 73— and then all of a sudden it hits him. He gasps in shock, and immediately stops hugging Number 73.)

Cuddles: <Wait a second! I know! You could join us!>

(Number 73 suddenly pauses and looks up at Cuddles.)

Number 73: <Wait... you're serious?>

Cuddles: <Sure! I'm Cuddles, by the way. The Wobbuffet is Walter, the Shiny Mr. Mime is Panto, the Seviper is Jules, and the Gastrodon is Charon.>

Walter: <Pleasure.>

Panto: <Hello there~!>

Jules: (derpy tongue face)

Charon: <Greetings to you, #73.>

Number 73: <H-heh... yeah. Nice to meet you all. Aaaaand...> (sniff) <...who's the guy with the phone camera?>

Braker: "Leonard Braker. I'm very delighted to meet you. Don't worry, Number 73; you're not going to have to worry about a perfectionist Trainer anymore."

Number 73: <Well, then... in that case, I'd be happy to join, I just have two questions.>

Braker: "We'd be happy to hear them."

Number 73: <1, can I keep my motorcycle, and 2, can I still participate in these crazy sports?>

Braker: "Absolutely."

Number 73: <Alright, then! If that's the case, then bring me on!>

Braker: (taking out a Great Ball) "Will do—" (he pauses) "Hang on, you said your number was 73, right?"

Number 73: <Yeah, why?>

Braker: "As I thought." (He throws the ball.) "Welcome aboard, Lithium!"

Number 73: <Lithium? I have a name?! I HAVE A NA—>

(Seconds later, the newly-named Lithium finds himself sucked into the Great Ball— along with his motorcycle, which shrinks to the same size. The ball then falls to the floor, shakes three times, and then flashes yellow in the center, signifying capture. Braker smiles with satisfaction and picks up the ball, and all of his Pokemon exchange grins.)

Braker: "Good." (He takes out his Pokedex.) "Hopefully he won't be seeing that old Trainer again."

(Seconds later, info appears:)

SPECIES: VIKAVOLT

NAME: LITHIUM

GENDER: MALE

NATURE: RASH

ABILITY: LEVITATE

Braker: "Well. That explains it."

MOVESET: BUG BUZZ, THUNDER, ENERGY BALL, FLY, VOLT SWITCH, GUILLOTINE

(And at this, Braker nearly falls over.)

Braker: "HE KNOWS WHAT NOW?!"

Walter: (beat) <...I must say, I am just as surprised as you are.>

Charon: <I did not think he would know such a move.>

Panto: <I'm even more surprised that he can fly!>

(Braker nods. Soon afterwards, he hears a ping, and a message appears on the screen:)

HASSLEMON HANDLE DECIDED

chargingBattery (CB)

Braker: (smirks) "No question."

(He— and his group of Pokemon— promptly return to the Heahea boardwalk.)

MEANWHILE IN THE HASSLEMON INTERWEBS...

chargingBattery joined the chat.

CB: H3llo 7h3r3, 3v3ry8ody-! Nic3 7o m337 you all, if I do say so mys3lf. You folks wanna, oh, I don't know, may83... go for a rid3 or som37hing? I got mys3lf a mo7orcycl3...

RM: ...

MC: ...

RM: WHO—THE—HECK—ArE—YOU.

MC: isn'T iT ObviOus ROmea

MC: he musT be a new membeR Of LeOnaRd bRakeR's Team

CB: I sur3 am. My nam3's Li7hium, in cas3 you'r3 wondering. Can'7 83li3v3 I ac7ually hav3 a nam3 now...

RM: OH. HEY. NAmE's rOmEA.

MC: i'm seRkis

CB: H3y 7h3r3.

MC: sO, hOw dO yOu feeL abOuT being Owned

CB: I lik3 i7... for 7he mos7 par7, anyways. Miiiigh7 83 a 8i7 suspicious of 7his 8rak3r guy, 8ut... he do3sn't s33m 8ad.

RM: HEH! YOU'rE—GONNA—LOVE—HIm!

MC: yeah, he's pReTTy nice

MC: don'T woRRy, i was a biT suspiciOus Of him, TOO

MC: ThOugh... why aRe yOu suspiciOus

CB: ...I'll explain la7er.

Hi, I’m oghond, and I’m a Rushaholic. Sorry if I annoy you unintentionally. 😅

Stormchaser — The Day After the Megan Incident

Isle of Armor, tonight

-Looking out towards the sea, and then at my phone-

Maybe now's the time I finally set it up, it's been more than a month since that whole incident.

Akiko: -Also looking out at the sea- <That whole fight, with the water, and the creepy sword, and all that other stuff, and all I could do for the most part was watch.>

<I want to stand for peace, but sometimes, peace requires fighting, and fighting's not what this form is all that good at doing.>

Hitodama: <We'll get Molybdenum next time.>

Akiko: -With grim determination- <I've finally decided what I need to do. I need to evolve, like you have. Like Tendril and Pugh and Rakshasa still need to.>

Tangela Tendril: ?

-Has been repeatedly typing and then deleting a text before sending it until I actually do send it-

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Textspace

-At first, the message doesn't seem to go through. It attempts to send, but it hangs for several minutes, as if attempting to find its recipient is impeded.-

-For a moment, it gives a message failure notification.-

-But seconds later, it retries, and goes through easily, as if there was never any problem.-

-The response comes through quickly when it is read.-

Isle of Armor

Akiko: -Putting her paws on a Shiny Stone- <I've decided what my "peace" is, I'm not looking for fights, but I'll do more helping from now on, and not just from the sidelines, but in front too. As we often say, sometimes fighting for peace isn't just figurative, but literal as well.>

-The Shiny Stone then glows, as she starts glowing with it-

-As the text is sent, the glow then subsides, as a Togekiss is left in Akiko's place-

Togekiss!Akiko: -Doing some experimental flaps of her wings as she floats up- <This might take a little getting used to, my emotion sensing's gotten stronger, a lot of me's gotten stronger.>

Like mine, huh?

Akiko: -Floats back down- <I'll help, with this, and Constantin, and the School, and everything else. That's my promise to our family, to make peace.>

Yew: -Briefly looks like she's about to make a wisecrack about Akiko current dramatics, but decides not to-

Hitodama: -Claps, or does the Chandelure equivalent of one-

Edited by rmctagg09 on Jun 20th 2021 at 11:47:59 AM

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Stormchaser, Lucius's Room, past

Lucius: ...Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

-He clings tightly to Ever for a second, before tugging on their prosthetic hand.-

Lucius: C'mon. Hospital first. You being dead on your feet is a bigger issue than me not getting a balanced diet.

-And with a blip, Maul presumably takes them wherever they need to go.-

Stormchaser, slightly less past

-A reply to Kai's message comes through almost immediately after it's sent.-

-Sure enough, not long afterwards there is a knock on the door of wherever Kai happens to be recuperating.-

Trans rights are human rights. JK Rowling preaches hate. If you sit at a table with five bigots and say nothing, there are now six bigots.

The Walking Mountain

Garuda: <I do not think this qualifies as "appropriate dress".>

Selene: <I am working with the best I have on hand, Garuda! I'm not the super-fashion designer that Edna is!>

Ajax: <Guys, maybe a little less snarky observation and a little more chipping in to make this outfit work would be in order.>

Rill: <I don't get fashion.>

Big Dom: <NEITHER DO I.>

-The longtime travel companions are huddled in a room they carved themselves to allow them space to make Dune's Grand Ball outfit. Selene and Garuda, being the only ones with fine motor control necessary for sewing, have been trying to make something out of the local Karrablast and Accelgor moltings. It's been an uphill battle.-

Garuda: <Rill. We require gemstones.>

Rill: <What kind?>

Garuda: <Bring us what you can get and we'll work from there.>

Rill: <Alright, I'll see what I can do.>

Garuda: <Dom, we require gypsum.>

Big Dom: <WHY NOT HAVE RILL ACQUIRE THAT SIMULTANEOUSLY?>

Garuda: <Gypsum is water soluble. Rill's Hydro Pump strip mining will not work.>

Big Dom: <VERY WELL. I SHALL RETURN SHORTLY.>

Ajax: <Selene, your needle is dulling.>

Selene: <Yeah, I've noticed. The backup ready?>

-Ajax pulls a metal pin out from between his teeth, where his tongue has been dragging it between his teeth like a pair of whetstones.-

Selene: <This is still kinda gross.>

Ajax: <I assure you, Tyranitar mouths are quite hostile towards foreign bacteria. You might as well have dipped the needle in a cold sterilization tank.>

Garuda: <I do not believe that entirely encompasses Selene's concerns.>

---

-Dune stares at the lift that, on the appointed date, will carry him up to the main portion of the mountain. Where Deziree is.-

-...-

-...-

-...-

Textspace

Stormchaser — The Union Room, Now

-Echo is patiently waiting.-

Stormchaser — Medical Wing, Kai's Recovery Room, Previously

-The door is not fully closed, and slowly swings open with the first knock. Kai is there, a loose shirt over bandages around their chest and right shoulder, as well as over the lacerations on the side of their neck and face. They're sitting up, awake but visibly fatigued.-

-They offer a weak smile as Alice arrives.-

Kai: Heh. Punctual as ever.

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Jun 21st 2021 at 2:51:52 PM

Union Room

-Shows up-

It's been a long time, hasn't it? Guess I need to figure out where to start.

-Beat-

Like where have you been this whole time, were you going on some multiversal odyssey using the Union Room as a safety tether?

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

The Union Room

Echo: Of a sort. I've been... I suppose, doing some soul searching. Since the Robinson incident. I'm not sure I've found it yet, and I think I'm going to continue after this.

-She tilts her head curiously.-

Echo: And you?

Stormchaser, Medical Wing, past

-Alice gives a sigh of relief upon seeing Kai alive and conscious, but her expression quickly turns to a frown upon seeing the extent of their injuries.-

Alice: ...I swear, Kai, you are going to kill me with worry one of these days. I am glad to see that your condition is not more serious, but sometimes it feels like I only have to look away for a second for you to find yourself in danger once again. If I didn't know better I'd say you were actively seeking it out.

-She takes a seat next to Kai's bed.-

Alice: So what happened this time, exactly? Is there anybody I need to have killed? Just give me a name and a place and I can take care of the rest.

Edited by Herbert40k on Jun 21st 2021 at 9:54:13 AM

Trans rights are human rights. JK Rowling preaches hate. If you sit at a table with five bigots and say nothing, there are now six bigots.

Union Room

-To Echo-

Honestly I wouldn't mind doing it myself, with the Union Room there's far less of a danger of getting permanently lost.

-Beat-

Anyway, it's a bit of a long story, but...

-Goes through a truncated version of what happened at the Final Shell...-

And then when I punched Izaya basically everyone else descended on him so...

-including but especially the Izaya portion...-

We won obviously but I was so disgusted by what I, we did regarding Izaya afterwards that save for my already existing duties I was keeping away from most of the J-Team.

-Talking about the Isle of Armor...-

...And then as I was training Rakshasa I fished up Megan again, I quite like the kid but...

-And then to the events of more than a month ago...-

...and then lo and behold it turned out she'd been enthralled by a School alumnus and Kai, Daydre, and I had to fight her and she and Kai nearly died because I'd gotten too comfortable to check...

-And a meeting with a certain Macraul...-

...And then after meeting And semi-arguing with Abilene I came to the conclusion that I'm tired of hiding but I'm still so very disenchanted, and you've been in the same situation being the leader of your own group even if you were fighting us so out of everyone I'm close to you're the only person I feel I can talk about this with.

-The desperation is quite clear to see-

So what do you think I should do?

Edited by rmctagg09 on Jun 21st 2021 at 6:04:54 AM

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Stormchaser Medical Wing, Past

-Kai rubs their neck awkwardly, before wincing and pulling their hand away as they remember that's the side that's injured.-

Kai: Agh. In my defense, this time I went into it thinking it was just a friendly sparring match, and it got out of hand. Very, very out of hand. Megan invited a few of us for some practice battles, and then it turned out that she was being enthralled by an agent of The School and it was a trap.

-She leans back in her bed.-

Kai: I'm honestly fine, physically. Ho-oh made sure I didn't bleed out, I'm not limited in movement or anything, there's not even a reason I need to be here except the fact that I'm sore and tired as hell. We don't even have actual doctors, I have no idea how this part of the airship exists, and nobody's taking credit for putting me here and bandaging me up. This ship's weird and kind of spooky sometimes.

The Union Room, Now

-Echo is quiet as Tagg goes on his spiel, and quiet for a few moments further as he finishes.-

Echo: ...Mmm.

-She just holds a pensive look on her face as she processes everything.-

Echo: ...I can't say I have an answer. I can't say I'm the one who can give an answer. But I may have a few questions for you. Please preemptively excuse the cliche, but... What has the J-Team, historically, been to you? How did you end up in the shoes you're walking in today?

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Jun 21st 2021 at 6:33:23 AM