ITT: We Have All Become Pokémon

Guy scratched the back of his head. "Oh. So that's what the Porygon guy was talking about, cleaning up. I'm on it." He walked up to a nearby tree and punched it a few times. Some large branches fell down to the ground. "Heh. Payback."

Andy got up. "Well, fun this was, but we should head back to the others, now."

*Teller grins evilly, not expecting much to come out of it, but hoping to at least instill a sense of obligation into the naive youngster* Well then...

*he telekinetically moves the trinket into a secure box below the cabinet, while simultaneously spilling his guts* The humans, they were all here not too long ago. The first one to come in, in fact, was a female Diglett. She seemed as if she were born yesterday. Then there was this Joltik, I'd have missed him if not for my third eye, so to speak.

*noting impatience among the group, he hastens his tale* One by one, the just kept coming in — must have been at least 10 of them. *he details a number of their species* Most remarkably, two of them just appeared out of thin air. *his facade briefly breaks with a barely noticeable hint of fear* Not by any normal means, either. I would have known if it were a Teleport.

*his composure easily returns, and with a neutral expression he continues* Not so long after they came, they went. If you're lucky, you might be able to follow the Diglett's trail out of here — one of them anyway. Since technically there'd be two of Jani's trails leading from the bar, from entering and exiting.

Now... *he says, with a slight psychic aura surrounding his frame accompanied by an almost hollow-eyed look, purely for show* ...as to our arrangement, let's shake on it like gentlemen. *he extends his hand*

*Jani thanks Noriaki for covering the holes, and does light finishing touches, carefully tossing someof the excess dirt onto the leaves to make it more convincing, while spreading it elsewhere to be less obvious*

edited 30th Jun '17 2:31:07 PM by sarysa

[Sitting on the front steps, eyeing the streets of Orichalcum with an artist's intent, I ponder on what to draw, tapping the pencil against my chin. ...I suppose I could always draw my persona again, but...I dunno, it feels kinda weird, thinking on it.]

[...how about I keep things simple and just draw a tree? There's one over there I see, a nice and tall one that's plain in view...yes, I'll draw that one! And with that, I bring the pencil down on my paper and begin to draw...]

(Breaking out of my trance, I feel that I should be less worried about myself and how Cyk feels. I sit down next to him.)

I'm sorry... (I tell him somberly, failing to think of anything else to say)

"I don't deserve your pity..."

I...(not having ever had to deal with an accidental murder before, I don't know how to deal with this further)

What should we do? What can I do to help you?

edited 30th Jun '17 3:37:50 PM by kablammin45

"I don't know..."

(I feel that helping Cyk is behind my capabilities, so I go with the next option I can think of)

Maybe we should find the others and explain what happened?

(I dread to hear how Andy would react, though.)

"It would seem as if we are all set now", said Noriaki, "I have an array of hidden traps amde from the vines I gathered."

Yeah... *Jani nods to Noriaki, then gets into position to be a decoy, with the pit traps in between where she thinks the trio will come in* I guess all we can do now is wait, and hope...

...hope they'll have to listen to reason, that is. I'd really rather get out of this without a fight.

"Hm... I guess I'll lay out in the open for the element of surprise in case whoever these guys are come looking for a fight." Guy found a few large bushes, uprooted them, then covered himself with them.

Cyk is not ready for a fight, so he just hides in one of the bushes.

Noriaki flutters up to a nearby tree branch and blends in with the leaves.

(Having been either asleep or away most of the time and not knowing everything about what's going on, I simply follow everyone else's lead and jump in the bushes as well; curling up as tight as I can.)

Lars gradually begins to regain his composure, sagely nodding and brushing his chin as he listened to Teller's story. Or at least it was supposed to be 'sage', but he overdid it a bit and he ended up looking like a caricature of an ancient philosopher. Meanwhile, Bash yawned and Max began to impatiently tap her foot.

However, Max and Bash gradually began to pay more and more attention the further Teller got into his story, as they remembered most of the species he was mentioning...

"Bashamo!" the Blaziken exclaimed, slapping his palms together, as though a lightbulb had appeared above his head.

"Yeah, yer right..." Max agreed, pointing his way.

Lars groaned and stomped the bar, fed up with his two hired hands constantly meddling and interrupting and generally being a nuisance. "What? What?! Right about whaaat?!"

"All those species he's talkin' about, they're the ones we ran into on the way here!"

"...Yeah, so?"

"Bash! Am! O!"

"WHAT?!"

"It means those mooks lied to us! They're the humans!"

"...I knew it! Those lyin', disrespectful, lyin' bastards! ...But there is an upside to this!" he says, beginning to pace up and down with his hands behind his back. "It's quite obvious that the years haven't been kind to their fleshy behinds. Their power is gone! *Poof*, just like that! They've been reduced to a collection of common weakling-mons! Hell, in the state they're in right now, they'd beg me to put them outta their misery with a single punch!"

"I dunno, I think one of them mightah been-"

"Uh-bub-bub! Whatever you were gonna say, I don't care! Now, what was I doin'... oh, right. The thing."

Lars turns back to see Teller, and flinches slightly upon catching his odd psychic aura-and-hollow-eyes combo, but makes sure to regain his composure - again - soon afterwards.

"...What was it I was agreein' to, again? ...Uh, screw it, it don't matter. Dad's problem now, not mine," he says, accepting the Alakazam's offer for a handshake.

edited 30th Jun '17 6:11:51 PM by PresidentStalkeyes

*Teller shifts from the menacing look to a smile in a way that would make most actors awestruck* Well then, it's a pleasure doing business with you! *he shakes Lars' hand firmly*

Oh, and a bit of advice. *a stern expression crosses his face* I would not underestimate them. They seem to have an uncanny knowledge of this world, and may very well know your weaknesses.

That nugget is on the house... *Teller then grins, and he continues* ...our deal could end up null and void if you wound up dead, after all.

Spooks watches this from above, and feels embarrassed about having missed so much even after trying to come back. Noticing that some Pokemon are hiding in the bushes, he quickly floats down there too.

"I'm terrible at keeping up with everything, aren't I?" he whispers to the Pokemon in the bushes. "I'm sorry. I promise I'll stay with you all. If there's anything I can do to help, now and from now on, just let me know."

"But I digress. I guess we're just laying low. I'll shut up now."

edited 30th Jun '17 7:21:52 PM by DrNoPuma

Surprisingly enough, Teller's handshake was able to shake around Lars' entire body, though he dusted himself off and tried his best to pretend nothing had happened afterwards. Again, didn't stop Bash from stifling a chuckle.

"Well, hehehe..." Lars said with an obviously fake chuckle of his own, "thanks for being sooo worried for my safety, but trust me, this'll be a piece o' Poffin pie! We're outta here, you two," he continued as he jumped down from the bar and headed for the exit, pointing at his two companions in turn. But before he left, he turned back around to address everybody, once again eliciting blank stares. "Oh, and don't forget: Lars, son of Merqury! Remember that name!"

Once that was out the way, he wandered outside, muttering under his breath, "Stupid, old-ass psychic bartending geezer... who the hell does he think he is, my mom or somethin'? I should kick his golden, moustached ass next time I come here..."

Bash grunted with annoyance and followed after him, waving for Max. She did so, too, but not before getting up close to the bar herself and saying to Teller: "Arcsdamn. I'm so sorry 'bout that. Our boss ain't exactly the sharpest leaf on the Sceptile's tail... we're just doin' what we were paid for. That trick my partner an' I did can only get us so far... actually, here, take this," she said, taking some spare Pokes she had tucked underneath her belt and handing them off as a tip. "Believe me, yer gonna need 'em. That brat's word don't mean Mudsdale dung."

"Bashamo, bash!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'..." she said, heading after the Blaziken. "Have a good one," she concluded her brief discussion with Teller before heading out the door.

edited 30th Jun '17 7:29:14 PM by PresidentStalkeyes

*Teller waves to the trio as they leave, and shortly thereafter, a figure hovers out of their chair, and flies toward the exit*

*the mystery figure simply gives Teller a nod, who nods back in kind, and then the figure exits the bar as Teller resumes tending to his stock*

edited 30th Jun '17 8:10:05 PM by sarysa

>F head out of the manor for a moment, to take a breath of fresh air. After walking around for a while, they bump onto a pink-and-white figure.

"Oof... Watch where you're going! Wait..."

>The figure looks down. It seems familiar...

"Do I- know you?"

[...okay, this tree is starting to look like shit. Why do I do this to trees? It's supposed to be like those thick branches that go out everywhere, but I always make it look like some flat cutout, there's never any dimension to these trees...]

[...maybe just draw a random inhabitant? Well...I do see a...a...hey, that's one of the green cell guys I used to have in my party in White...middle stage evolution, I think, Stage 1?, whatever. He's just kind of...floating there at the edge of town. ...well, I don't see why not? Let's give him a go. Starting lower on the page—I didn't draw the tree too big, only used about a third of the page's height—I begin by sketching a rough circle to serve as the Pokémon's body...]

>The figure, now unmistakeably a Sylveon, looks down at F with delight.

"Oh! You're Kakak!"
"Oh-! Mandy, since when did you come back to Orichalcum?"
"When I ditched you back in the forest, remember?"
"So... can I get a ride back to the house over there?"
"I'M GONNA MOONBLAST YOUR BUTT IF YOU RIDE ME AGAIN I'M GONNA DO IT"
...
"I guess I'll walk then.
"I'm going to race you there."
>They raced each other to Morbitesse's manor.

I groan as I open my eyes, finally waking up from my nap. (How long was I out? Felt like two days…) "Agh… what'd I miss this time…?" I look around, only to see a bunch of traps around. "No, seriously, what did I miss?"

edited 1st Jul '17 6:48:06 AM by shrubBird

I float over to Nyquil. "Quick, Hide!"