ITT: We Have All Become Pokémon

Mila nods, and makes her way to one of the empty rooms they'd passed by earlier. Once she gets the door open, her paws visibly shaking when she tries, she makes her way to the edge of one of the beds and sits down. Well, maybe 'collapse' would be more appropriate. As soon as she hits the bed, she begins to speak, wasting no time.

"I guess now is the time that I explain myself, huh? Tell you why... why I'm like this. Why I'm so weak when you're not there."

edited 7th Aug '17 12:57:11 AM by Cabe_Bedlam

Having accumulated enough air to function rather normally, I look at the stage. (Eliot's gonna sing…?)

The Farfetch'd reaches into the bin and gives Eliot a sitar. "Go."

Finley follows, takes a seat on the floor in front of her, and nods. She still feels weirdly unprepared for what Mila might say, but it's all up to her.

"I'm ready when you are. Take your time."

Mila takes a deep breath. Then another. Then a third before she feels like she might just break into tears if she doesn't say anything soon. She finally forces herself to say what she's been fearing, hoping for, and dreading at the same time.

"I... feel like you already know, but... I l...like you, being around you. I just, don't know what you think. I don't know what I feel like you should think, how I avoided telling you for so long. But... I feel so reliant on you most of everyone else here. And I think... that's why. I want to be around you— to be sure you won't go. Or if you do, that I go with you. I'm sorry, am I asking too much? I probably am, but I can't hold it any longer. I can't lie to you like I was..."

Finley looks at Mila, looking blank, but very clearly thinking on what she said.

Shit, she's been like this for how long? How serious is this? Is she interested in anyone else? What do we do now? What happens? What happens?

Not really knowing what else to do, she gets up and hugs her. "It'll be okay. Really. What are you trying to ask?"

edited 7th Aug '17 1:19:44 AM by BaconZorp

"I guess... what I really want is for you to be here for us— for me. Are you still willing to do that, after all this?"

Mila accepts the hug, weakly. She's not sure how this ends for either of them, but it is ending. All the worries and possibilities she's considered up to this point are about to become moot, one way or another.

[Ooh. This is better than I had anticipated... I take the sitar, finger it a bit just to get a feel for it...it's like the guitar back at home. Granted, I didn't really know how to play the things super well...I'm just glad this sucker's fretted.]

[I stay back for a bit to noodle some. I try and figure out the placement of a few basic chords...there's E minor, and here's G...now we got C, and now D. With some more time, I find F again, and after finding them, I take a couple seconds to strum a bar or two with all A chords. Well, that was fun and all, but I'm probably testing the guy's patience just standing here.]

[I walk up to the front of the stage and sigh.]

"...W...Wish You Were Here."

[I count in, softly, accompanied by taps of my feet: 1, 2, 3—I whistle the melody of the riff, what Gilmour would've done with his pick. All I can do is play the chords, really: just a lax seesaw between E minor and G for a few bars, then G hops off and A gets on, then I top off the first section again with a couple slow bars of G. Simple stuff, Pink Floyd's always is...]

"Of course. I won't just leave..." Finley says, trying to calm her down.

"Listen. If there's any way I can help you in the coming days, weeks, whatever, just let me know, okay? I'll try to help if I can. That's what I just promised, right?"

I listen to Eliot's song. The sitar playing just reminds me of home. Of my family. (I wonder how they're all doing…) As my thought process fades, the song lulls me to sleep.

"O-Of course..."

Mila isn't sure what to say next, or if she should even say anything more. Instead, she just tightens her hug around Finley, not wanting to let her go still for the fear that she might leave forever.

~ So...so you think you can tell. ~ [My voice sounds a little choked. Is this still from earlier?]
~ ...heaven from hell ~ [Okay, my voice sounds really choked...]
~ Blue skies from pain ~
~ Can you tell a green field ~
~ From a cold steel rail ~
~ ...a smile from a veil ~
~ Do you think you can tell? ~

[I give my strumming a little more oomph, the explosion of sound from the song in my mind facsimilied by a sitar strike that, to my surprise, reverberates throughout the bar.]

~ And did they get you to trade ~
~ Your heroes for ghosts ~
~ Hot ashes for trees ~
~ Hot air for a cool breeze ~
~ Cold comfort for chains ~
~ 'N did you ex-change ~
~ A walk-on part in the war ~
~ For a lead role in a cage ~

[I scat-sing against the next instrumental break. I find my vision casually drifting away from the audience, whoever the hell's watching, and affix itself to a dark corner of the room.]

~ How I wi-... ~
~ How I wish you were here ~
~ We're just—[I stop strumming, holding the sitar at my side.]—two lost souls swimmin' in a fishbowl ~
~ Year after year ~
~ Runnin' over the same old ground ~
~ And how we found ~ [I start strumming again, bringing the sitar back up in an almost defensive manner.]
~ The same old fears... ~
~ Wish you were here ~

[I don't whistle the riff this time...I pluck it, take it slow, noticeably slower, staring at the frets, occasionally darting my eyes to see the strings to be plucked. I fumble a little in some places, but eventually, after a final strum of the sitar, I stare into the audience, at the bar-goers.]

(I decided to not go to the club, instead deciding to take up a round of training at the same place Niles did.)

(I walk into the Dojo and notice a Medicham setting up some training dummies among other things.)

Hey, man! Here to train for the tournament? It'll cost ya some dough though.

(I provide the money needed for a training session and we begin. The Medicham does notice my arm, still slightly messed up from the Dusknkoir from 4 IGD ago.)

You alright, dude?

Yeah, four days ago we fought a Dusknoir with Viral Aggresion at Silversand-

Oh, wow, I heard about that. Nevertheless let's get to work.

(We begin our training with the Medicham placing some boards before me.)

Now, I want you to break this board with a Brick Break. I'm sure a Gallade could do that...

(I focus my power, my arm briefly glowing and leaping forward to break the board in two with a Brick Break.)

Nice work, dude! Now try to break them all.

(I focus again and do so.)

Alright, now I want you to practice your psychic attacks. See this punching bag? I want you to try and move it with only your mind.

(My eyes flash pink as I begin focusing my psychic ability into moving the bag before me. It begins moving, albeit slowly. The Medicham, Harvey, looks on and likes what he sees.)

Awesome!

Uh, thank you....didn't know I could actually do more with that than just telepathy.

Oh, you haven't done much with your psychic abilities? As another dual-type I know that to be effective here in this tourney you need to ultilize both types you have.

(We train for a while longer, before I leave. The Medicham yells out "Good luck!" While I simply wave back. I decide to return to the Board at Hoard, where a Dragonair waits for me.)

Oh, hello there! Maran and Cortez went off to the club, are you from that large group?

Yes, yes I am.

(She leads me to a set of rooms much like the ones Maran showed us. I take one and thank the Dragonair. I immediately fall asleep.)

Timeskip

(I wake up with a slight start. I notice that whoever decided to bunk with me is still asleep.)

Another day.

edited 7th Aug '17 4:32:58 AM by Team42Larson

That night, the party may have heard the distinct humming sounds of Pawniarmy Magnezones hovering over the Bazaar district and beyond, shining a great many spotlights.

"Please be advised. Violent activity detected in... blocks for rent Feebas-Three to Paras-Five. Perpetrators at large..." the Magnezones would announce periodically. "If you detect any suspicious activity, report to nearest security officer ASAP... this security alert is sponsored by Soft Boiled Dairy Provisions™, that which ups your HP and downs your sadness..."

I decide to float around the city for a bit.

*meanwhile, some time after everyone sleeps, Jani briefly pops into Finley's room...after accidentally popping into three other rooms first, clearly still not sober. She leaves a letter (that she wrote before getting plastered) before popping out. the handwriting has improved a bit since Jani's earlier research notes. it reads*

To Finley (and the others),

You were the first to show me kindness when I came to the surface, so I could think of no one better to address this to. You always wore your heart on your sleeve, and I'm sure you're either worried or think I'm an asshole (or both), but I'm just too afraid to rejoin everyone. I don't know why I'm affected differently than PJ...maybe it's THAT CAT. *those two words are scrawled noticeably differently* Well, I guess that one's obvious. *cue Jani coming to her senses in print*

Anyway, I won't lie and say that I'm well, but I'm pretty sure I have a handle on my abilities...and limits by now. I didn't pick a fight with Bella, after all oh, and she's bad news, trust me but anyway...
You probably heard from the others by now, but I'm trying to research everything I can about the plague. I want to rejoin you guys, I really do, but I don't want to be the cause of any of you getting hurt. Hopefully Marlon showed you my notes I left behind, but I've been skimming another book as well, and I've attached a few more incidents that someone other than Voxno can maybe work with. I think I'm onto something with this batch.

Miss you guys, *it's signed with a heart*
- Jani

*included with (not really attached to) the above note is another note, with details from the book Jani unofficially borrowed from the library, regarding a book slightly more recent than the last*

Notes for Mysterious Maladies and Paranormal Phenomena 6th Edition CLSFC ID: 692915281
by Rotom V. Stunfisk
Published six days ago

Page 24: Dated two years ago, "A Riolu with a dark aura murders a family of Lickilicky before being taken into custody on the island of..." *to which Jani adds* (probably unrelated)

Page 63: Dated three months ago, "Riots erupted for two straight days in the small town of Crystalton, south of Crystal City, before being quelled by a mercenary force known as the Pawniarmy, who just happened to be visiting at the time. The cause of these riots is unknown."

Page 182: Refers to a time two and a half weeks ago, "Communication and trade have ceased in the village of Milklett as of two weeks ago, and now the village of Hiveton has stopped trading their honey. It was around now that I realized a sixth edition would be needed, as these unexplained pheonmena appear to be at our doorstep. A crack team of myself: Rotom V. Stunfisk, along with..." *scrawled next to it* There's a village right in between those two, Blissparce, but they don't seem to be affected?

Page 243: THIS IS IMPORTANT *is scrawled in that same "crazy" handwriting from earlier* "Epilogue (addendum, rushed for publication): Our team followed a lead regarding a farming village that simply ceased trading with the outside world. Milklett, located on the central western side of the island, appears to be a total loss. Multiple residents were simply sucked into fissures and died on the spot. Several of the deceased had bite and claw marks, though there was only one cat-like resident in the recent census. Many buildings were leveled, others have earthquake-borne cracks and holes a little larger than your average Tauros." [...]
"We surveyed the remnants and after two separate body counts, we found that 862 individuals had died. The most recent census from two years ago indicated the village had 853 residents. Periodicals littered about mention a feline serial killer, but they are incapable of causing this level of carnage alone. Three of the dead were clearly foreigners: A Gothorita, Elegym, and Reuniclus — could their psychic prowess have caused this madness?" *to which Jani has scrawled her opinion* BULLSHIT
*scrawled underneath it is Jani's take on the subject* No survivors! If those anomalies were guild members, and accounting for visitors and births, it looks like no one should've gotten out alive!

edited 12th Aug '17 11:46:12 PM by sarysa

(I turn to notice the note that I had been given yesterday. I reread this note, which included Jani's notes, but I focus particularly about the discovery of the Stone Tablet from some 500 years ago which suggested riots in a time of plenty. I can't help but feel the need to speculate...to nobody in particular.)

If this could be the earliest possible known case of VA, then how do we know what stopped it?

edited 7th Aug '17 7:53:38 AM by Team42Larson

I decide to float into the inn and wait for everyone else.

The night before...

[I very slowly walk down the street towards the inn, carrying Niles on my back and Sushi on a small cart I'm pulling behind me. That Exeggcute was kind enough to let me borrow it, and I'll get it back to them tomorrow. I was able to get a few hundred Poké, almost a thousand, from tips after my performance, but it's still nothing much.]

[Walking down the street, most of the shops I pass are closed. Guess it's night; despite how hard to tell it is because of the whole mountain thing, I can already feel the grips of sleep starting to weed its way in. Eventually, I make it to the inn, taking a quick look behind the counter to see what all rooms are occupied.]

"...okay, Jani's here...Maran...I guess that's that Flygon..." [The room to the left of Jani's is open; why not there? My tail wraps over my shoulder, and I snatch it out of the air, dropping the rope for the cart. With careful precision, I make a little green paw print in that vacant room.]

[Pulling the cart and hoisting Niles up again onto my back, I make it to the room, open the door and bring everyone inside. After I get Niles into one of the beds and Sushi at the foot of mine, and hang my bag on the coat rack, I tuck myself in and doze off myself...]

[Well...it feels like morning...I don't feel like complete shit, that's for certain. I roll over, my eyes still weighed shut.]

Cyk has bought some building supplies, and kept some Goodra goo. She waits in the inn, holding a shopping bag.

(In the morning before the party has gotten up...)

SPLASH! Sproing!

AACK! (Maran sputters as he wakes up, changing form thanks to the cold water being dumped on him. He looks up to see Cotrez towering above him.)

Time to get to work, sleeping beauty. (Cortez snorts, tossing Maran two Oran Berries.) You can eat while you set up the breakfast area for the patrons. Now git!

Yes sir. (Maran says as he runs out of his room and into the main lobby. He loathed being woken up this way, as usually when this happened Maran would be stuck in his shiny female form for the better part of the morning unless he could sneak a splash of warm water when Cortez wasn't looking.)

(Remembering what happened at the club last night, Maran anxiously awaits the party as he tidies up around the breakfast area, scarfing down his two Oran Berries, ready to speak with them since he fell asleep before he could do so last night. He is especially looking forward to speaking to Finley, as she seemed to understand his situation the best.)

edited 7th Aug '17 8:37:45 AM by kablammin45

Cyk wakes up. She builds a shrine to Goobert, using the building supplies, and creates a sculpture using the goo. She leaves her room.

(I walk out of my room and out to the main hall. I see Cyk too.)

Oh, hi Cyk.

"Hey, Marlon. What should we do today?"

edited 7th Aug '17 8:43:37 AM by CyberController

I don't know- but Jani left this note for me yesterday regarding the Aggression.

(I show Cyk Jani's first note. The second is with Fin.)