Fandom Pokemon: Vera Valle

[cinnabuns]

IANTHE KEKOA

Location: Cirriform Ruins
Team: Akira, Laren, Ianthe
Interactions: izayoiix Aithien

Ianthe let out a sigh of relief when the Kabutops retreated, but Nymph seemed hesitant to take her eyes off of the dark. It probably wasn't gone, by the way the Bounsweet continued to look around in the darkness. Ianthe gave her a small pat, looking to Laren as she spoke.

"I think we're okay, but I also dooooon't think it's over just yet. How are you two?"

She found herself thinking of Akira and Luc. Ianthe peered over the bridge and noticed that they weren't in the water, from what she could see. She hoped they got out alright.

"We should've had two Pokémon learn Flash. Next time."

She was speaking mostly to herself, but the past was in the past. All they could do now was work together to not trip too badly until they got back to Akira and Luc.

"Does Bailey need a Potion? I have a feeling Luc is gonna need one."

That poor Shinx was really on Ianthe's mind, but they had to get moving or risk another attack from that Kabutops.

"I wish I'd brought a flashlight. Oh, well."

Ianthe started walking forward after Bailey.

"Everyone, keep your eyes open, okay?"

Nymph made a small sound in response, her eyes still upwards.

Ianthe had never seen a Kabutops in person before. How wild. She wondered if the Professor would like it.

 

[Ganryu]

Fliathri Conchobhair && Himiko
​

"Under developed? Why, Vera Valle may not have such technological wonders as the space shuttle of Hoenn, nor the bullet train of Johto and Kanto, but we..." Suddenly it clicked in Fliathri's head what Verity was doing. "But, while quaint, we have a certain charm in the wilds. What better guide than a native? I shall be awaiting your response. And tell the professor we say hi."

He waved as the client disappeared.

"We're going to look like a bunch of fopdoodles once that phone call is made, aren't we? What's our backup plan? Indeed, this scheme seems to becoming a rakefire far too quickly. Do we go for a more uncouth approach? One would worry what so many witnesses may do if we mug a man in the streets, and think of the name of Blackleaf... but I see no way elsewith if that phone call goes through."


==================

In an alley nearby, muffins spilled all over the street, several pidoves trying to dive on them before a pair of claws swiped past them, chasing them off before grabbing the side of the nearest building as the 'queen' unceremoniously vomitted all over the ground. Panting, it looked back up to the muffins, then went straight back to round two. She still managed to chase away the pidoves. She still wanted them... until she looked at them again. Making an annoyed drawn out 'mew' the sneasel walked off, Himiko looking for her partner. Better with him than without. She growled as a pidove finally claimed a muffin, but not worth the effort of chasing them again.

Looking down the street, she saw a man dialing on a cellphone.. She rolled her eyes, until she noticed a small little icon. Pokémon Trozei. Her partner said some complaint about it, then wacked her on the head last time! Granted, it could have been because it was also late into the night... dawn... ish... and perhaps he wanted to sleep, but it was still annoying. She'd stolen his cane for a week, then laughed when he fell over a 15 foot embankment after tripping on it when she put it in front of him. Then she had to save him from some wild sparrow. It turned out they would stop being territorial if you set their territory on fire by taunting a cyndaquil til it attacked.

Still, the point stood. Himiko wanted the phone. With a snarl, she leapt at the man's face, her claws swiping at it... missing to grab the phone as she rushed off into the crowd with it. It rang with some deep man's voice. She shrugged as she kept walking towards her partner, messing with the phone til she'd finally pulled up Pokémon Trozei.

The deep voice continued, though Himiko didn't care. She was on a new high score already! Though her claw did leave a quick scratch on teh screen... the problem with uses claws. Oh well, she'd just steal her partners phone when he wasn't looking. Wait... she broke that. Wait... dangit! She missed a chain!

=====================

Fliathri continued to pace around Verity, likely annoyingly so as he worried in circles. Then he spotted his queen.

"Himiko! I have ascertained thy location! This one was so worried about you."

Wrapping an arm around her head in a psuedohug, she snarled at him, but was playing some sort of meaningless game on it. Looking at it, suddenly visions of sparrows filled Fliathri's vision, and he even swatted at the illusionary birds, going pale. A deep voice resounded from the phone.

"Dr. Ackerman? Are you there? Hello? Is this a butt dial? This is Professor Joshua. Hello? Damnit woman, I'll hang up when I'm sure it was an accidental call, maybe our collegue nees help?"

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Verity
​

"Dammit man! Get a hold of yourself!" Verity suddenly snapped, shaking her companion by the shoulders. "This is make or break time! Where the true artists separate are seperated from the amateurs! Now I just need to you to find a few hundred quarters and a pay phone and tie up Professor Joshua's line until..." Verity broke off suddenly as Himiko returned, bearing a pilfered smart phone.

Verity's mouth opened slightly in surprise, then split into an ecstatic grin as the voice coming from the phone made it obvious who it belonged too. "Himiko! You little genius! This is perfect! Okay quick I'll swap you," rather than waste time wrestling with the sneasel Verity simply bribed her with a pokebiscuit and swiped the phone.

"They have homeopathic infusions of thirty two essential vitamins and detoxifiers," Verity said to HImiko, as she muffled the phone with her jacket and then terminated the call to make it seem like it had indeed been a butt dial. Then she blocked the number. "No study has ever disproven their cancer preventing effects either!" she added brightly, diving into the phone's contacts and modifying the number for Professor Joshua so that it would actually reach Mansel at the team Blackleaf base.

"Alright!" Verity said, handing the phone back to Himiko. "Now this part is very important, I need you to run back past the guy you took this from, then Fliathri is going to "catch" you and give the phone back to him, you get that Fliathri? In the meantime I'm going to touch base with Mansel," she added, taking off to find a payphone "Break a leg out there! It's SHOWTIME!"


A few minutes later Verity stood inside a pone booth, impatiently twirling the cord around her finger as she listened to the phone on the other end ring. When someone finally picked up she launched a torrent of words at them without giving them a moment to get a word in edgewise.

"Hiya boss! It's Verity, how are things on your end? It's going great on this end, incidentally, how's your Professor Joshua impression? It's good right? I only ask because Ackerman's going to be calling this number expecting to speak to Joshua, you'll need impersonate him and convince him that Fliathri and I are interns he sent to escort Ackerman to the observatory. Shouldn't be too difficult. Okay great talk, bub bye!" she said, hanging up andwalking back towards the others, her pace quickened by nervous energy.

Misuteeku
Ganryu

 

[Misuteeku]

Dr. Hazel Ackerman
​

Dr. Ackerman took a sigh of relief. Good, those two didn't seem too keen on following him. Shoving his hand into his pocket and bringing out his phone. He needed to dial Professor Joshua quickly to get some people to escort the Master Ball safely. Hitting the call button, he waited the ringing to stop. That was until a Sneasel popped out of nowhere and swiped at him. Instinctively jerking back from the swipe, his hold on the phone loosened. The small feline grabbed his phone and by the time he turned it was gone. Dr. Ackerman cursed in Kantonese. The blame was immediately placed upon his two 'escorts.' Even if that bad stroke of luck didn't come from there, he'll nonetheless blame them regardless if it wasn't their fault. Turning around he made it into the clothing store.

"Hello sir, how can I help you-" Dr. Ackerman ignored the cashier and walked quickly towards the clothing isles. Quickly selecting a variety of random clothes and accessories that seemed to fit him, he slammed about fifty-thousand Pokedollars onto the counter. "Keep the change!" Ackerman yelled before the cashier had the chance to speak. Going into the changing room, he immediately undressed. Stripping off both his upper and lower garments, he immediately tried on the clothes. "Shit, this is too short." He growled. Removing the tight pants from his legs, he calmed himself. Panicking would only make things worse, he needed to take things a little bit slower. He started to look through the pile of clothes he had bought and try on the ones that seemed to have fit him.

It went quicker than his panicked driven mindset. Now all he needed to do was a few minor tweaks. Opening up his briefcase he go out the gel, that he would use to make himself look better in front of his superiors, and applied it to his head. Grabbing out his comb, he started to comb his hair back. Popping out his sunglasses, he put them on and looked at the mirror. He looked like he came out of the Yakuza. Though there was something missing from it. Pulling out his best intimidating glare, the look was finally complete. Now, all he had to do was get rid of the briefcase. Removing the Master ball and stuffing all the clothes he had bought into the briefcase, he closed it.

"Now come out, Porygon." Ackerman said as he grabbed the Pokeball and clicked the button. It swelled in size and opened up, releasing a bright light from the small sphere. Emerging from the light was Porygon, Sylph Co's successful creation of the first artificial Pokemon. It blinked at the doctor, but otherwise stood motionless. "I need you to hold onto to this," Ackerman said as he gave the Master Ball to Porygon. "If we don't get to Lacuno Observatory, I want you to hide immediately." With a nod, Porygon opened its mouth. It would of been great if Porygon was able to take the Master Ball into the cyberspace, but it wasn't possible. Shoving the Master Ball down into Porygon's mouth, the blocky Pokemon closed its mouth after the procedure had been done. Unlike most Pokemon, Porygon didn't need to eat. If anything it's 'stomach' would act like a storage.

Before returning the Pokemon back to its ball, Ackerman paused. "Under no circumstance that you will seek out, or reveal yourself to anybody. The only time you reveal do so is when Sylph Co personnel track you down." Ackerman said before returning Porygon. The Porygon that Ackerman had belong to Slyph Co. It had important data and had a tracker installed into it. Sylph Co could easily locate the Porygon as well as the Master Ball. Again, before Ackerman left he released his personal Pokemon. "Clang, chew this up." Ackerman said as he tossed the tracker to the Gear Pokemon. The Gear Pokemon immediately consumed the tracker. The tracker was made by the paranoid Ackerman, in case he needed to find the Master Ball. In this case, it would be give them a lead if they ever obtained the tracker.

Opening his stall, he walked out. He'll leave the briefcase behind. It'll just give him away. All there was were his personal belongings, his sandwich, and the clothes he had bought. Fully disguised and everything, he took a breather before starting to make his way out of the store. He will not let this thieves get their hands on the Master Ball.

Ganryu AtlannianSpy

 

[RoninN7]

Micah Reed
Location: Road toward Arcus Oasis | Interactions: Mqueserasera | Collab: Ganryu ​

After Micah got nowhere inspecting the gemstones, he decided to walk away and return Redgie to his Pokeball. “Hey Daria, we should probably go collect some payment from Madame Pompadour and start on our way back to the lab, there’s a lot we need to tell the professor about Lugia and that guy with the Zubat!” With that, Micah turned to walk off toward Madame Pompadour, leaving Daria with her new friend and hoping she could follow after him. Once the payment was collected, Micah made his way a bit down the road before setting up camp for the night. It was a fairly crude camp, consisting only of a small fire and a makeshift bed made out of Micah’s backpack and a couple of sweaters. Micah did notice the gems seemed to follow him for a bit before they sort of disappeared. Even though he searched for them for a little, but after a bit, he gave up on finding them again and hoped they’d come back. He’d let Redgie out of his Pokeball and was lying down with his head on his backpack with the Pokemon Bestiary in front of him. Micah was reading through the book and was looking at the page with Lugia on it, trying to see if he could learn anything else about the legendary so he could be better prepared next time he encountered it.

As Micah sat looking through the bestiary, a shadow began to spread out behind him, reaching out in a large black hand. A glint of gems was the only sign given, the moonlight reflecting off of them being the only indicator before the hand slashed down at the boy, aiming for his neck.



Micah didn’t notice anything at first, simply lost in the images of Lugia he was seeing in the book. It was then that he heard Redgie cry out and begin running toward him. Micah looked up and noticed that the Honedge was running at something behind the boy. His eyes went wide with surprise as he clutched the book and threw himself forward, feeling cold claws tear through the flesh of his neck, narrowly missing any vital areas. Micah felt the blood trickling down his wounds but he paid them no mind, instead springing to his feet and turning to face the shadowy hand. Once Redgie finally stood between Micah and the shadow, the boy set the book down and shouted. “So that’s how you wanna play it, huh?” He immediately noticed the glinting gems and knew that it was the same thing that had been following him through the aquifer. Redgie stood, poised to attack as soon as the shadow revealed itself.

As soon as the blood flowed down the claw of the Sableye, it popped out the shadow… and frankly began to freak out, looking down at the blood and up to Micah, and waving its hands in front of it in a ‘stop’ sign, though slightly horrifyingly, sent blood flying side to side as it waved its hand. Running over to Micah’s backpack, it pulled out a shirt, ripped it, and offered it as a bandage to Micah. Then it jumped back into a fighting stance, pointing at Micah, then itself, then a ‘bring it’ sign with its hands.

Then it pointed to the gems on its eyes and started laughing creepily. It had a rather high pitched laugh. It returned to the battle stance, staring down at Honedge.

Redgie and Micah simultaneously narrowed their eyes in confusion as the Sableye began to seemingly panic. It was an odd display, to say the least, with it trying to wave its hands as if it wanted to stop the madness but it was spilling blood from its claws. Micah tilted his head as his Honedge eyed Sableye, not quite sure if he should attack or not. Micah raised an eyebrow as the Sableye tore one of his shirts and gave it to him, which he took with a confused smile. As Micah pressed the torn shirt onto the wounds on his neck, he saw how the Sableye got into position and seemingly taunted Redgie. “So you wanted to fight, then. Why didn’t you say so earlier instead of creeping up on me like this?”

Micah set down his book on the ground beside him and stood up, clutching the soaked shirt to his neck. “Alright, since you seem to be giving us the first go, then let’s do this!” Redgie cried out excitedly and jumped up. “Redgie, lunge forward and hit it with Fury Cutter!” The Honedge’s blade lit up with energy as it jumped toward the Sableye and struck at it as Micah commanded.

As Micah started the battle, Sableye intermingled its claws together and started to cackled again as Honeblade charged it. As it came near with Fury Cutter, Sableye then stabbed its hand into the ground. Out of its shadow, a claw shot up under Redgie, slashing at the side of the blade from nowhere mid-swing.

Shadow Sneak

The Sableye’s strike was both sudden, precise, and rather cruel as it aimed across its beautiful ribbon, trying to take out the cloth part of its body rather than the steel.

Micah watched as the Sableye struck the ground and a shadow darted out under Redgie, striking the ribbon on its hilt. As that happened, Micah immediately shouted a command, dropping the shirt that he was holding to his bloody neck. “Redgie, use Shadow Sneak!” When the Sableye’s shadow impacted the Honedge its trajectory was thrown off, but as it landed and the light on the blade faded it registered Micah’s command. Its eye glowed dark purple and the blade shimmered as it drove into the ground, sending a blade-shaped shadow shooting up from under the Sableye’s neck. Even though the Sableye’s attack had hurt, Redgie was far from out of it.

Sableye laughed as it jumped up slightly, causing the blade to strike a gem on its body, then its cackle was caught short as Redgie’s force sent it flying anyways. It struck a tree, before rolling off. It looked down as the gem chipped. Shrieking, Sableye’s eyes glowed, before laughing a beam out at Redgie.

Power gem

Micah smiled when he saw the Sableye get struck hard, feeling proud of Redgie for the hit. Without a moment of respite, the Sableye immediately struck again, this time sending out a beam toward the Honedge. “Dive toward that Sableye with Fury Cutter! Go through the beam!” Redgie cried out and his blade lit up with energy again as he threw himself toward the Sableye, point first. He began cutting through the beam as the tip of his blade got closer and closer to the Sableye. Even though Redgie was taking damage, it seemed to be reduced by the cut.

Sableye held its hand up at the last second as a blade swiped through it, a purple mass spilling over the tree as it dropped to one knee following the cut, its claw sinking into the ground. The Pokemon didn’t seem to have a concept of rock vs steel. It was still sneaky though as behind Honedge, a claw rose from the shadows, trying to catch the Pokemon from behind once more.

Micah cheered when the Sableye was caught by Redgie’s attack and thrown backward, but as soon as it stuck its hand into the ground, Micah’s eyes went wide and he called out. “Sableye’s doing it again!” Redgie seemed to understand and shifted its mass so the hilt was facing forward instead of the blade and the blade took most of the impact. “Shadow Sneak!” Redgie shrugged the pain off and dug the cloth on its hilt into the ground, causing a shadow cloth to rise next to the Sableye and whip at it.

Sableye looked up with a shriek as the cloth wrapped around it. Viciously it tore and tried to remove the cloth from its head, but only a few moments later it fell onto its other knees, then forward, its head only held up by the cloth as its energy was taken by the Honedge.

Micah smiled as the Sableye seemed to stop fighting and collapsed. “That’s enough, Redgie, we won!” The Honedge cried out tiredly as it slowly moved back toward Micah, clearly wounded. Micah leaned down and looked over the Honedge with a smile on his face. “You did well,” he said as he lightly brushed the hilt, allowing him to take a bit of energy from him. With that, Micah walked over to the Sableye and turned it over gently, sitting right next to it, blood still trickling down the side of his neck. “You did us in pretty well,” he said as he touched his neck and pulled out a potion. He sprayed some from the bottle on the Sableye’s head and waited for it to wake up. “Hey! You fight really nicely and those gems of yours are pretty cool. I’d love to bring you along if you wanna come with!” Micah pulled out a Pokeball and held it in his hand, looking down at the Sableye.

The Sableye weakly reacted and tilted its head, looking from the Pokeball to the boy for a bit. Once it regained its strength, Sableye shook its head and smiled, jumping up and bumping the Pokeball with its head, getting drawn in. Once that was done, Micah returned Redgie to his Pokeball and went back to reading the bestiary until he eventually fell asleep with his new partner in tow.

 

[Ganryu]

Fliathri Conchobhair && Himiko

Himiko looked up at the pokebiscuit, and had nearly the opposite reaction Verity was probably expecting, with Himiko dropping the phone as she ran into a nearby alleyway, additional muffins resurfacing. Fliathri, however, knew Himiko's mindset, and patted her shoulders, continually patting her shoulders, and keeping sight AWAY from Verity as she entered the information. Himiko was bright, but had such a problem with object permanence. If she saw something she'd stolen, she'd want it back, but no sight, no problem!

"Apologies my dear friend about the multivitamins. It seems my queen here had... a hefty lunch. See, darling, tis for this reason a balanced diet is- whoa!" The cool tone of Fliathri's disappeared as he dodged a right hook from the queen, who went immediately back against the wall.

As the phone was 'handed' back from Verity, it seemed to almost disappear. Verity had her craft, and Himiko had hers. The sneasel growled slightly.

Fliathri sighed.

"Verily, for royalty, she's a driggledraggle, is she not? Now, now my dear, let's not be a fustilarian, if you adhere to this gillie wet foot of a woman here, I shall escort you through the shopping district. Per chance via a watch shop? I won't even swirve my head when one or two goes missing from the crowd. And that is the basis of the contract, if you perform above expectations, perhaps this one shall arrange an outing to purchase some of those bath salts you do so enjoy."

Himiko near dropped the phone as she stared open mouthed at Fliathri. The man cracked as good a smile as he could, thinking of his poor wallet if she DID do that well... Himiko had... expensive tastes.

A moment later, Fliathri was chasing after his partner, trying very hard to catch up. He didn't remember the darting weasel being so fast. She was a shade on one roof one second, and on the other another. She cried after him a few times.

"Kyahh!" She cried out annoyed, pointing towards him to 'hurry' up with her claws. She didn't have the crowds in the streets to deal with though. Panting, Fliathri lowered his hat, peering up, seeming to stop for a moment.

"No time to be a whiffle whaffle, not when my queen is finally motivated. Very well . Tally ho!"

Rushing forward with cane in hand, Fliathri pressed against the ground with it, launching himself several feet into the air, landing atop the same roof Himiko was on, and ran after her laughing. It'd been such a long time since he'd played tag with the little scoundrel. Wait... he was supposed to be 'catching her'.

"Come back here you rapscallion! Give that man back his phone!"

She darted off again... and so did Fliathri, leaping rooftop to rooftop after her.

After a few minutes, she held a hand back to stop, and lept down into a shop. Fliathri stopped as well, planting his cane on the roof as he waited. Sniffing the air, she made her way over to a suitcase, and cried in annoyance so loud, Verity likely could still hear it. Ripping into it, she quickly found a change of clothes, a sandwich, and some random clothes with tags still on them. Fliathri sighed as he watched her aggrevation. Others probably thought she was annoyed at failing. Himiko never failed when she was serious. She was upset she couldn't steal the items from under his nose. Stealing unattended items was a hinderance to Himiko. She grabbed several of the clothes, and buried her nose in them. One after the other. And then she was on her way, rushing into the distance, and Fliathri laughing behind her.

"Hip Ho, Tally Ho! My queen gives the lead!"

He even clipped his heels together as he leapt across one particularly large space between rooftops.

==============================================

Sitting in an armchair as his phone rang, Mansel curiously picked up his phone.

"Mansel, who is- Oh, okay then....-" The voice just kept talking, cutting him out at a hundred words a minute it seemed like. There was no number attached... but it was definitely Verity.

"Look, why am I the first person you... - oh okay then." There was buzzing on the other end. Had one of his grunts just hung up on him? And why him?

Sighing as movers placed boxes around him, Mansel let out a deep cough before letting out a rather deep voice, much more passionate than normal.

"Professor Joshua, legendary researcher, who single handedly wrestled a Machamp over a single cookie. Come to me blossoming trainers!"

One of the movers placing a box down in his office looked at him funny. Mansel glared.

"What are you looking at? Do you want me to sic Dragalge on you?"

"No sir!"

He saluted, running out the room.


​

 

[Misuteeku]

Maya Kaufman, Kenneth Vano, Caleb & Reina​

Maya grimaced at the echoed voice, why couldn’t Kenneth have had a second set of ear muffs? Even Kurama was taken aback by the noise for a moment. Though his focus quickly returned to watching the pair through the bushes, particularly the Growlithe that snarled in their direction.

Growlithes had been a common enough sight back in Kanto, being a fairly popular pokemon gave her a better idea of what she would be up against. Fire against fire wasn’t going to give her any kind of advantage, but she and Kurama had a better chance than if they took on the-

“Ah… shit...” Maya cursed under her breath at the sight of Feebas evolving. She wasn’t given much of a chance to even try and figure what they could do when Kenneth nearly jerked her off her feet in excitement. “Yep, I see it,” her tone had become deadpan. At first, they had a real chance, but now she really wasn’t so sure.

At Mandrawl’s second shriek, she threw her hands to her ears but it was too little too late. The ringing probably wasn’t going to go away from the rest of the day now. Hopefully, she could at least hear her teammate again in a minute. Even Kurama staggered and whined at the second blast.

Kurama wasn’t the only thing to stagger, both trainers fell to their knees as Whismur shrieked, and their pokemon let out their own cries at it.

Caleb gritted his teeth. “Can’t look bad…. In Front of my girl. Viola! Roar!”

The Growlithe barked an affirmative, then took a deep breath as a frightening roar echoed throughout the top of the falls, causing skarmory in the distance to crow and fly off. For a moment, the roar overpowered the echoing voice and would slam into Whismur in particular, echoing back into one central spot to try and cause the little pokemon to flee hopefully.

The girl was still covering her ears.

“Damnit Caleb, don’t try to outloud the jet engine pokemon, my ears are already bursting!”

Milotic dove under water in the nearby stream.

The fur on Mandrawl’s body stood on its ends. It was scared shitless. Unfortunately for Growlithe, the attack had the opposite intended effect. When a Whismur gets scared, it ceaselessly screams in terror. In this case...

Mandrawl’s Echoed Voice attack went off again. This time its attack was three times the amount from the original Echoed Voice attack.

Kenneth frowned as he started the hear the attack through his earmuffs. Mandrawl was starting to get seriously loud. However, this was a good opportunity to recall Mandrawl back to his Pokeball. It was standing still while it was screaming, so he had a clear shot.

That was until he spotted a poor little Magnemite in the distance. It was laying down on the ground. Must have been hit by one of Mandrawl’s Echoed Voice attacks. More interested in the wild Pokemon then the mess that Mandrawl had created, he ran over towards the Magnemite.

“I’ll be right back, Maya! I’m just going to catch that Magnemite real quick!” Kenneth said as he ran over towards the wild Pokemon.

The other Black Leaf member tried to protect her ears to no avail. Between Mandrawl freaking out and the Growlithe’s roar, Maya wasn’t sure she’d be able to hear anything for the rest of the day. At this point, she wasn’t entirely sure Kurama could hear her commands if called out.

Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, Maya turned to see Kenneth running off after some completely different Pokémon. Anger overtaking common sense, she threw her hands out in a motion that all but yelled: ”what the fuck!?” With a grimace, her hands returned to her ears. Maya managed a slight nod to Kurama who’d been looking between her, Mandrawl, and the Growlithe.

Unable to hear a verbal command if one even had been given, the Vulpix went with the first thing that came to mind. Orbs of blue flame coalesced on the tip of each tail before streaking towards Growlithe.

Will-O’-Wisp

The growlith’s growl turned deeper as it went lower to the growl, before firing embers at the incoming ghostly whisps. To its surprise, they passed through the ghostly flickers, meaning they continued to the pup. To its advantage though, they did pass through, straight to vulpix. Growlithe yelped as the blue flames hit it, then its eyes burned as it barked, streaks of fire arcing from its teeth.

Caleb smiled. “Hah! Didn’t you know fire makes Growlith stronger! Stupid! Viola, again! Ember!”

Before Caleb could even see the effects of his previous fire attack, embers shot out and glowed from growlithe, burning the air around it much stronger.

Reina shook her head. “What is Ælling doing? I don’t even know anymore.”

Singing came from the depths of the river as waves gently rolled around it.

Kenneth was taking his time as he started to walk towards the Magnemite. Looking over it, it seemed to have been badly injured by Mandrawl’s Echoed Voice attack. “Shucks, I wonder if it’ll still bond with me after this.” Kenneth muttered to himself. Though, it was more so thinking to himself since Mandrawl screaming made it hard to listen to himself.

Taking out a Pokeball, he tossed it towards the Magnemite. The red, white ball made contact with the Magnet Pokemon. Sucking the steel type into itself the Pokeball landed on the ground and began to shake.

1… 2… 3…

The ball stopped moving. Grabbing the Pokeball, he hooked it onto his belt. Now all he needed to do was clean up the small mess that he left Maya to do. She’ll probably kick his ass, but that was fine. What was more important was Mandrawl at the moment.

Mandrawl was well beyond hysterics at this point. His mind was practically shutting itself down in fright and he stopped using Echoed Voice. Take deep breaths, that’s what Kenneth taught him to do.. Exhaustion slowly crept into Whismur as he took deep breaths. Falling on to his rear, Mandrawl looked around.

There was that girl and her Vulpix that Kenneth introduced to him. They were fighting against that orange, furry mammal. Why were they fighting? Was it like that one time that Kenneth and him watched that one fight on television?

Not knowing what to do, the Whismur looked around for Kenneth. Seeing Kenneth walk back towards him, Mandrawl cried and ran towards him. Oh was he so happy to see Kenneth again! The small purple mammal practically latched onto Kenneth’s leg when he reached him.

“Haha, sorry about that Mandrawl…” Kenneth sheepishly said as he kneeled down to comfort the timid Pokemon.

Maya quietly sighed in relief as Mandrawl’s echoed voice began to die out at last. Her ears were still ringing but she could vaguely make out some of Caleb’s taunting. The trainer rolled her eyes. At this point, she just wanted to get the job done and lay down for a bit or something.

Or maybe make some tea.

Tea sounded good.

Meanwhile, Kurama darted across the small space, narrowly slipping past the first ember with graceful ease. The second one… not so much as it nailed the kit in the side eliciting a sharp yelp. A lick of flame slipped through his teeth as he braced himself.

“Funny story,” Maya gave a slight smirk, “fire makes Vulpix stronger too,” a brief nod, “Fire spin.” If she was being honest with herself, the bravado she wore was nothing but a thin shell. Neither of them had any way to know what that Milotic was doing or how they were going to bring it down.

With a deep breath, Kurama exhaled a stream of fire that tore across the ground in an attempt to trap the Growlithe.

Growlithe roared as it stood in the fire, its eyes lighting even more as it fired an ember back at Kurama.

“Haha! I’ve got you now!” Caleb roared, before walking over to the enemies side.

“Look. I’m trying to show off to my girlfriend, but I don’t think our pokemon can hurt each other, do you just want to call it a draw before I look bad in front of my girl? We’ve been dating for a month, and she just keeps showing me up.

At, like, everything.

I cook a nice spaghetti dinner, she makes Linguini with Mascarpone. I climb a tree, she’s on top of Fogma Falls. Just kinda spirals sometimes, ya know?”

Kenneth looked at him then back to Maya. “Um, that’s nice?” Why was this guy telling them his love life? Anything that was related to love made little to no sense to Kenneth. Also, what was the purpose of walking towards the enemy? He could literally deck the guy and hold him hostage if he wanted to.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but my friend and I were just taking a walk.” A blatant lie, but a lie could be turned into truth if enough bullshit was added into it. “I was catching this Magnemite and came back to see you all fighting.” Kenneth took the ball, the ball that caught Magnemite with, out and waved at the guy.

Mandrawl was now hiding behind Kenneth. It was exhausted from screaming its lungs out and was trying to recover from it.

“I’m sorry, if we- I ruined your date.” Kenneth corrected himself. Hopefully, things will defuse and the couples ruined date will make them leave the area.

Maya thought for a moment, ignoring Kurama’s pointed stare. “We would probably just end up destroying this place..” It was admittedly a nice spot, perfect for relaxing after a long hike. “You guys leave, I’ll even say you won.” The Vulpix gave an angry bark in her direction before being nailed by the incoming ember.

The guy nodded his head. “Y-yeah, sounds good. You two enjoy your date up here!”

“Hey, Reina, these guys wimped out, we won!”

Meanwhile, the woman was slapping her ears. “What?”

“We won!”

“I can’t hear you!”

Milotic slowly started to rise from the water, columns falling from her as she rose, before crying again, whipping her tail at the entire group as a small cyclone rose up.

Twister

“Maya, I never knew we were dating!” Kenneth whipped his head around to look at Maya. He had a very pleased look on his face along with a smile. That smile quickly faded when he turned to look at the small cyclone that was coming towards them.

“...Uh, good luck with your date!” Grabbing Whismur, Kenneth immediately started to retreat from the incoming danger cyclone.

It was awe-striking that a Milotic whipped up that twister despite the fact that it had just evolved. Or it would be, if it wasn’t coming towards them.

The redheaded trainer just gave a slight shrug as Caleb turned to call out his supposed victory. It would take her a while to get Kurama to forgive her, but it was for the best. Now they wouldn't have to deal with the-

Maya froze in place for a second as the Milotic reappeared, sending a cyclone roaring through the air at them. ”FortheloveofArceuswhy!?” she didn't think, springing forward to scoop up the equally stunned Kurama before breaking into a sprint.

The tornado flew at the group in a torrent of energy that would send anything in its path flying up and dropping them like a rock.

In the distance, Caleb rubbed the back of his head, cursing, then motioning for Reina to follow him down the side of the cliff, he was done. This date was done. Could he go one freakin’ date without grandstanding? Behind him, Reina held her arms behind her back giggling, though neither one of the two could hear as they began the descent down the falls.

Not wanting Mandrawl to get hit by the tornado, he mustered the speed to run out of the range of the tornado. Going off to the side, he took deep breaths and felt something nudging his ribs. Looking down to see Mandrawl wrapped within his arms, the small Pokemon let out a concerned cry.

Kenneth softly laughed, “Yea, I’m fine. Sorry for leaving you by yourself.” The Whismur just made a sound as if to say, “it’s fine.” Returning Mandrawl back to his Pokeball, he turned to look around.

The couple seemed to be gone, from his sight anyway, so in the end it was a mission success. He stopped when he saw a strange green light in the distance. “What’s that?” Nothing could make that strange mythical light unless…

“Maya, if you can still hear me, let’s go! There’s something up there!” Kenneth said as he ran towards the green light.

It all happened so fast. One second, Maya was running with Kurama clutched to her chest, the next she was floating in the air. It was almost… serene, allowing her to catch sight of a faint green glow off in the distance.

Then gravity kicked back in.

“Shiiiii-!” The redhead plummeted, crashing through the branches of a nearby tree before coming to a sudden stop on the ground. She quietly groaned in pain.

Before Kenneth, a green shell could be seen shining. Rocks fell on top of it, half submerging it, but it wasn’t cracked or deformed in the least, still shining regardless. It looked almost like glass, except for how tough it was. Slightly transparent, a sleeping pokemon could be seen inside, its eyes closed peacefully.

A golden crown on its head, an intense aura around the field, one would feel a headache if they stayed too long. The small pokemon had an odd smile on its face as it slumbered, and several tags coming from its crown, a cape enveloping it like a blanket.

Kenneth immediately came before the slumbering Pokemon in order to get a closer look. Upon getting closer, he was overwhelmed by a certain feeling. Excitement? Awe? Desire? Kenneth couldn’t tell as he looked down at the small Pokemon before him.

With Jirachi, maybe he could-

The thought was halted and withered away. With a sigh, he faced a reality check. In front of him was the sleeping form of Jirachi, unable to grant wishes in its current form. A sad smile form on his lips. So much for that.

“Now what…” He muttered to himself. If he tried to call Mansel, Jirachi might perceive him as a threat… No, he refused to call Mansel. His entire childhood consisted of reading many fairy tales that had Jirachi as the main star.

To have Mansel capture the core of his childhood… It wasn’t right. Kenneth slumped down as he looked at the sleeping form of Jirachi. If only it was awake to grant his one singular wish.

Maya slowly limped over, slinging her backpack back over her shoulders. The egg survived the fall unharmed which she was thankful for. Maya on the otherhand wasn’t so fortunate. Twigs stuck out of her hair and a large tear marred her jacket. “Is… that it?” She murmured, flopping on the ground next to Kenneth with a wince. Kurama wasted little time curling up on her lap.

Jirachi was… smaller than she expected. But even then it wasn’t like she could deny the sheer power radiating from the slumbering pokemon.

Kenneth straightened up in surprise when Maya came by, but became somber. “Yea.. This is Jirachi, it’s asleep right now.” Disappointment grew into him as he looked at the slumbering form of the Mythical Pokemon. “It still must be in its thousand year slumber, a shame really.” Kenneth said with a sigh.

“I’m curious on why it’s down here though. Jirachi usually sleeps amongst the stars, not on some random hill.” Kenneth’s eyes furrowed. The green light that Jirachi had emitted was only shined recently meaning Jirachi had just arrived here. What could that mean.

Whatever it meant, it didn’t matter to him right now. He felt like he needed to get something off his chest. “Hey, Maya… Let’s say Mew, or any Legendary Pokemon you are fond of, was targeted and wanted said Legendary to be captured. What would you do?” He didn’t want to call Mansel to inform him of Jirachi’s appearance, but with Maya here he was forced to avoid trouble.

But he felt like Maya would understand what he was feeling right now. Maybe she would agree to what he was feeling if she was in his position.

A silence fell between the pair for several moments, Maya gently combing her fingers through her Pokémon’s coat. Grey eyes watched the motionless legendary in front of them. Finally, she sighed, “Moltres. That was the first legendary I ever saw, one night while walking home back in Kanto. Since then I’ve wanted to be strong enough to earn its respect and train it. But if Mansel got to it first…” She shook her head, “I’m not sure how I’d feel.

“There’s no denying he’s strong. He has to be to bring that Dragalge to heel. But…” Maya rubbed the back of her neck, ignoring Kurama’s grumbling, “I’m not sure he’s strong enough to win the obedience of a Pokémon like this.”

Kenneth had a soft smile on his face. “I see, sorry for the weird question.” He laughed awkwardly. Well at least Maya seemed to agree with him, that was comforting enough. “You’re probably right about that. Mansel exudes a more dominant feeling around him, right?” Now that he thought about it, Jirachi was probably incompatible with Mansel.

The smile dropped as he returned to his somber look he had before. “Hey, Maya… Do you think we can not report to Mansel about Jirachi?”

Maya chewed her lip for a moment before sighing. “Even if we didn’t, there’s that other team already en route to finish securing the cliff. They'll just report it.” She gestured to the barrier in front of them, ”can't exactly hide this big, glowing dome. And a psychic type could probably feel it from anywhere on the cliff.” Just sitting there was giving her a headache.

An idea seemed to strike her, ”unless… We scared it off?” Of course, the idea raised all sorts of its own problems. Like ’how do you even scare off a Pokemon that can sleep for a thousand years?’ Or ’how do you scare off a thing of legend without being obliterated?’

Minor details like that.

”That way we can still tell him we did, in fact, see it, but it just teleported away.” She hesitantly reached out and pressed her hand against the barrier. It emitted a comforting warmth, like the sun on a warm spring day.

“I see…” Kenneth muttered. If he had to fight Jirachi in order to save it, then he would do so. Grabbing Magnemite’s pokeball, he released the injured Pokemon. “Maya, you should prepare yourself. Even when it’s asleep, Jirachi can still defend itself.” Kenneth said as he took out a potion.

While he was unsure on using Magnemite for this battle, he didn’t really have a choice. Mandrawl would only hinder their progress in scaring away the Legendary Pokemon. Taking out a potion from his bag, he sprayed it on the Magnemite.

The formerly injured Pokemon floated back up and just blinked at Kenneth. Good, it didn’t seem that hostile towards him. “I’m Kenneth, you’re trainer. I will be needing your assistance every now and again, is that alright with you?”

The floating magnet just blinked at him that Kenneth took for as a yes.

Turning to Maya, he spoke, “I’m ready, how about you?”

While he was a little rash in his decision making, he really wanted Jirachi to run away from the area.

”Well the two of us are kinda beat to hell, ” Maya stood with a grunt. She looked over at the Jirachi, her hand still against the barrier. ”...You said this Pokemon grants wishes, didn't you?”

“If the tales and myths are true, then yes, it is able to grant wishes.” Kenneth said as he grabbed another potion for Maya to use on her Vulpix. While the energy expended would not return, their minor injuries would probably feel better.

“And no, it’s not like Aipom’s paw.” Kenneth tossed a potion towards Maya’s direction.

She caught it, turning to tend to Kurama. ”Would it hurt to try?” Maya looked back up at him, ”I'm all for throwing what firepower we have at this, but I’d also like to see tomorrow.”

“Well... “ Kenneth hesitated. There was another way to deter Jirachi, if the tales and myths were correct. The story, “Songstress Of The Stars,” flashed back into his head. The tale where the princess kept singing up to the night sky, wishing for a friend. Jirachi answered her wish and became her friend for as long as she wanted. Kenneth didn’t want to think about the ending that befell the princess.

“If you can sing a song of purity, or whatever you can wake it up.” Kenneth muttered. Though in one department, he doubted Maya can sing well. His sister was at fault for this since her singing was worse than Mandrawl’s screams.

”Sing?” She shifted, feeling her face grow warm. ”I mean… I can kinda sing. But a ’song of purity, ’?” Maya shook her head, ”I work for Blackleaf, not exactly exuding purity here.” A heavy sigh as she raked her fingers through her hair, tossing a twig aside. ”Can't we just say something like ’I wish you were someplace safe and out of the boss’ reach’ and call it there?”

As Maya said the words, Jirachi turned in its sleep, smiling. One of the tags glowed as writing began to emerge down it, the leftmost ornament on its head. A number appeared on its cocoon, ‘7 days’. Then it flashed. There was nothing left behind. A few rocks fell that it had been buried under for decades, but no green cocoon was there, nor legendary pokemon.

Kenneth blinked as something flashed behind him. He wasn’t able to see what it was due to facing Maya at the time of the event. Turning around, Jirachi was nowhere to be seen. “Oh… or that can happen.” Kenneth said as his gaze landed on the spot where Jirachi was.

A wave of relief washed over Kenneth. “I guess it can still grant wishes even when it’s asleep.” All there was left around them was an awkward silence between him and Maya, for him at least. Returning Magnemite back to its Pokeball, he shuffled his feet.

“Hey, Maya?” There was a slight pause before Kenneth said anything, “Thanks.”

As Jirachi smiled and vanished, a bark of breathless laughter escaped Maya. That had actually worked! It was safe now, hopefully somewhere Mansel couldn’t find it. There were plenty of other powerful legendaries more cut out for battle anyway. Bending down, she scooped up Kurama, holding the Vulpix close.

“Hm?” Maya turned back towards Kenneth. At his thanks a soft smile crossed her lips, warm like when she had first met Mandrawl. “Any time.”

 

[Ganryu]

~Ruins Team~​

As the team continued in the darkness, down the bridge, scuttling could be heard away from them as the Kabutops decided they were not worth the trouble after the sheer damage bulbasaur had dealt. It be slow going for quite some time due to the dark and the bridge missing, though their eyes would adapt enough to make out vague shapes. A massive splash was heard, followed by an almost alien noise:



Striding next to them, several gems sparkled, a cold mist blowing past Ianthe and Laren. The gems started to sparkle more and more as a source of light approached them from below, Luc and Akira it looked like. The more was revealed, the more of a giant dinosaur could be seen, breathing a cold mist from its nostrils before continuing paying the party no mind. In its wake in the water, sheets of ice shone and broke apart with every step, leaving floating sheets.

Aurorus, the Tundra Pokemon.

Its sparkling revealed several tendrils on the cieling, a pokemon rooted literally ontop the ceiling, sticky vines hanging down in their path, hoping to catch something infront of it.

Lileep, the Sea Lilly Pokemon.

A moment later, Ianthe's phone went off, a panicked voice on the other end.

"H-hello, is this Ianthe? This is Professor Joshua's assistant, can you guys come to the lab immediately? Is Akira alright by the way, her phone isn't answering. Oh no, the labs terrible.... Hurry if you can! Damnit Joshua, why do you have to be out! A-anyways, I'm calling you guys a ride. There's a company called the Onix Exodus, you'll find a guy outside who'll give you a ride, it's prepaid. Just take it here! Oh, by the way, probably a bad time to ask, but did you find what was so strange inside?"
izayoiix cinnabuns Aithien

===============================

~Oasis team~​

A phone call went off to both Daria and Micah as well, the professor's assistant calling them with urgency.

"Hello? Yes, this is professor's assistant, hurry back! Something horrible's happened to the lab, we need your help! Blackleaf raided it. I-it was horrifying. I'm paying for a ride service, called Onix Exodus, find the nearest guy who will pick you up! O-oh, also, how did it go? Madam Pompadour sent stunning remarks of you all, and said she saw the criminal fleeing from the aqueducts herself. She has something of a reward sent here. A-anyways, hurry up!"

RoninN7 Mqueserasera

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Verity
​

Verity whistled softly as Fliathri took off after Himiko, the pair of them leaping from rooftop to rooftop with unexpected agility. That kind of cardio was a little outside of Verity's wheelhouse so she opted to follow along via a slightly more civilized ground route. As she jogged after her partner, Verity's mind whirred with possible course of action. The good doctor had turned out to be more paranoid than she had expected, a lot more paranoid. There was every chance that he wouldn't buy the planned conversation with "Professor Joshua"

If that was the case then what to do next? Verity had dealt with paranoid types before, at her first job selling health food. They always wanted to know what was in stuff, what the angle was. Despite all that they weren't necessarily that difficult to sell to, all you had to do was do was convince them that they had cracked the code, that you had something in the back "the man" didn't want them to get their hands on. Validate their paranoia and confirmation bias would have them eating out of your hand.

Up ahead Fliathri slowed, as Himiko dived into a clothing store, presumably still on the Doctor's trail. Using the last of her rather pitiable reserves of energy, Verity caught up with the two and then dounled over, resting her hands on her knees as she panted.

"You...know...I'm...starting," Verity began, between breathes. "To get...the impression.. that the good doctor doesn't really care for our company," She said, straightening up and observing the abandoned suitcase and pile of clothes Himiko had sniffed out. "Listen you two stay on him for now, I'm going to try a different approach, but first," Verity cast an appraising eye around the store, spotting a rather baffled clerk. "Hi there," Verity said, launching a trademark, full wattage smile. "I need a new suit. Something...hmm.. grey, kinda tacky, something that says 'I'm shopping on government employee budget, if you catch my drift..."

Ganryu
Misuteeku

 

[Misuteeku]

Dr. Hazel Ackerman
​

He passed by the girl as she entered inside the clothing store. He promptly left as soon as she had just entered. Good, the disguise was working. If only he had some perfume to get rid of his scent. The last thing he needed was to be tracked down by a Pokemon with a great sense of smell. Looking around his surroundings in search of any suspicious individuals, Hh made his way towards the Northeast exist of Cumulus City, towards Lacuno Observatory. That's where he would safely deliver the news about the Master Ball. It would also be a great time to ask for a raise after all of this shit was over. A long vacation would be great too, seeing as he was very stressed by the string of events happening. Anything to get away from this cursed region.

Thankfully, it was much quicker following the current of people, as he made it outside of the town, he went off to the side. Taking out Porygon's Pokeball, he hesitated released the A.I out of its Pokeball. It would be such a huge risk if they saw him release Porygon. Not only would that reveal his identity as the Doctor, it will also give away that Porygon might have the ball. While he only counted two, there might of been a third that wasn't reveal to him. Hell, maybe they were playing mind tricks with him and one of them was here right now!

With a huff, he ran a hand through his hair. He stuffed his hand into his pocket where Klank's Pokeball was. If they came for him, then he wold give them the fight they wanted. While he wasn't that great at fighting, he did know that he had a type advantage with Klank being a steel type against an ice type like Sneasel. Porygon was utterly useless when it came to battle and only served as data storage. With that said, he sped his way away from the city. If they managed to catch up, he would have to release Porygon to run away with the Master Ball while he and Klank distracted them.

Ganryu AtlannianSpy

 

[KageYuuki]

Kenneth Vano Maya Kauffman
The Blackleaf camp at the top of Fogma Falls was nothing special. Two small tents and a ring of stones denoting a firepit were all that occupied the space. A small pot of water rested on a bed of hot coals, Maya rifling through her backpack beside it. Two metal mugs - already dented despite the short time she’d own them - rested on one of the stones. Not the greatest place to have them in hindsight.

”I'm not sure how much sugar I have in here, ” the redhead withdrew a small tin. A mesh ball filled with tea and tossed into the pot before Maya withdrew it from the coals. ”I mean… Assuming you want any.” Tea had always been her way to unwind after a long day, and today had certainly been a long day. Her ears were still ringing from Mandrawl’s echoed voice.

“Eh, It’s fine. I don’t really like sweets.” Kenneth was happily stretching his legs forward as he chatted with Maya. After everything that had just happened, it was nice to have a break from all of it. Though he did feel a little embarrassed. Maya had helped him out a lot and now she was serving him tea.

It did make him a little happy that he and Maya were getting along now. Though, that reminded him, “Say, what should we tell Mansel about the kid?” Baron was technically in their team and they were kinda responsible for him. Though it did make him wonder why Mansel would allow a kid into Blackleaf.

”No idea, ” Maya sighed, pouring out two mugs of tea. It was pale green, a faint hint of citrus mingling with the more mild drink. She held it out to Kenneth. ”Maybe just the truth, he ran off on his own. Wouldn't listen or tell us where he was headed beyond ’catch Jirachi for himself.”

“Fair enough,” Taking up Maya’s gracious offer of tea, Kenneth took the drink. It was rather scalding, but that mainly due to Kenneth’s haste in drinking it. The taste was good, even though it was mostly burned away by the feeling of burning and a bit relaxing. Setting his cup between his crisscrossed legs, he looked at Maya’s bag.

“Say, Maya. I noticed your bag was moving earlier when we went up Fogma.” Curiosity dwelled inside Kenneth’s head. He had a few guesses on what it was. “Do you have a second companion that I don’t know about?”

Maya shifted, glancing over to the open bag. ”Not yet, anyway.” She heaved a sigh, there wasn't any point in hiding it. Arthur would've thrown a fit, but, he’d wandered off to Arceus knows where. Reaching into her pack she withdrew the incubator. The glass had a couple of cracks in it from her fall earlier, but the egg was unharmed. A few shakes before the egg fell still once more. ”It’s getting close.”

The moment Maya revealed the egg, Kenneth recognized it. He had seen many kinds of eggs like the one in front of him. This one happened to be a very popular egg among people and was often requested for breeding. Hell, even his sister had one on her team. “Oh, you had a Ralts egg? How did you get that?” Kenneth inquired.

”Ralts?” She looked back at the incubator, ”that's what this is? I'd never seen an egg like it before so... Was kind of waiting until it hatched to find out what it was.” Maya hesitated, ”as for uh getting it…” she rubbed the back of her neck. ”Remember the whole incident with Entei back near Clasm Outpost? I was nearby when it happened - it's a beautiful Pokemon by the way if you've never seen it - there was a breeder there I guess or someone making a delivery. But they dropped a few of their eggs and…” she shrugged.

“Well, it’s a good thing you picked them up. Otherwise, they would be out in the wild alone.” He had to wonder, what happened to the rest of the eggs. At the very least, the one in front of him would be safe in Maya’s care. She came from a Pokemon Breeding family, so she should know how to care for the egg.

Kenneth raised an eyebrow. “I’m afraid, I didn’t hear about the Entei incident. Care to tell?” He had, of course, heard many rumors about the event, but never in full detail. Back then he was way too busy trying to calm down Mandrawl.

“From what I’ve been able to piece together,” Maya took a drink from her tea, leaning back on one of her hands. “Entei had been found out running around the Ring of Fire, so a team had been sent out to investigate, track its movements, find where it’s living, that sort of thing. So they find it just as a pack of Houndooms decided to pick a fight.”

Kenneth could see where this was going. With what Maya said earlier about how she found the egg, then there was some sort of mess up. While he didn’t know what Entei was, besides the fact it was a Legendary, he could presume something involving lava was involved. He nodded and took a sip out of the cup of scalding tea.

“Entei won the battle with them and these guys thought he’d be weakened somewhat after taking on several other pokemon.” Taking another sip, she didn’t notice Kurama creeping behind her towards the open backpack. “So they try to catch him. Even managed to get Entei in an ultra ball.” Maya looked up at the clear sky, “he was… pissed, to say the least. Apparently wiped out half the team. The survivors, for some ungodly reason, decide to lead it right into town. All hell broke loose shortly after. Not… the greatest introduction into Blackleaf, but that pokemon was incredible.”

There were a few moments of silence when Kenneth stared at her incredulously. He facepalmed after a while. “Mansel should really hire better recruits…” He muttered. One of his hands lingered over to Milutin who was floating right next to him. Petting the Steel type as if it was a cute, little Zigzagoon, something caught his eye as he saw some furry orange thing go behind Maya.

“Hey, Maya. Is it normal for your Vulpix to dig through your stuff?” Kenneth said as he stared at the fox.

“For him to do what?” Maya turned back to look. Knowing his time was up, the little Vulpix snatched his prize - a wooden brush - and bolted. “Dammit, Kurama don’t chew that!” She hastily set the cup down before staggering to her feet and running after him. Her injuries from earlier in the day made sure she knew they didn’t appreciate the sudden movement.

Kenneth watched as Maya gave chase. While he wanted to tell her to rest, it was entertaining watching her chase her partner around. Withdrawing his hand from Milutin’s shiny metal body, head or something, he looked towards the sky. Somewhere up there, Jirachi was still sleeping amongst the stars. He frowned as he gave it a little thought. It must be terribly lonely up there, slumbering in an eternal sleep because someone wished for something. Kenneth pitied Jirachi for that much.

A loud crash. A yelp. Maya returned to her spot, Kurama by the scruff in one hand and a charred brush in the other. “He hates being brushed and has resorted to finding and destroying any brush I own.” The Vulpix groaned, giving her a slight wag of his tails.

A light chuckle escaped Kenneth’s mouth as he looked at the dismayed Vulpix. “Well, you can borrow my brush until you get a new one if you want.” He wondered why Kurama seemed determined to burn all of Maya’s brushes. Usually, Pokemon liked to get groomed by their trainers. Why did Kurama hate such a thing?

“Uhh best not to show him you have one, or he’ll burn it too.” Maya rather unceremoniously dropped him back on the ground before returning to her seat with an exasperated sigh. “Luckily the brat didn’t get to the bristles this time so he’s still getting his tails brushed tonight.” The trainer made sure to emphasize the last bit, getting a growl in return. “Either I find a way to finally break the habit or find something he can’t destroy.”

“I see, I wonder why he hates being brushed.” Finishing up the last bit of tea, Kenneth set the cup down in front of him. Speaking of being brushed, he should brush Mandrawl as well. It was always nice to keep him clean and he seemed to enjoy it. “Anyway, what are you going to name the Ralts?” Changing the topic, he was more interested in the egg more than the twenty-five reasons why Kurama hates being brushed.

“I don’t know, and… I don’t know.” She toyed with her hair slightly, “I’m not even sure what a Ralts is or what they look like. I mean, I don’t even know if it’s a boy or girl yet.” Rummaging through her pockets, Maya pulled out her Pokedex and fought with the iffy keypad for a few minutes. The screen lit up with an image of the tiny pokemon before a computerized voice read out:

“Ralts, the Feeling Pokemon. Average height: 0.4 meters. Average weight: 6.6 kilograms. Ralts has the ability to sense the emotions of people. If its trainer is in a cheerful mood, this Pokémon grows cheerful and joyous in the same way. It hides if it senses hostility.”

Maya hummed, “they’re definitely adorable. No wonder they’re so popular. Do they evolve though?”

“They do indeed evolve. Ralts evolves into Kirlia and then the evolution branches out. If you give a male Kirlia a dawn stone, it’ll evolve into a Gallade. If you don’t use a Dawn Stone, it’ll evolve into Gardevoir.” He had seen way too many Gardevoirs, Ralts, Gallades, and Kirlias back at the farm. They were in high demand due to their ability to teleport away from trainers. One had to be lucky in order to catch a Ralts.

“The only difference between Gallade and Gardevoir is that Gallade becomes a Psychic, Fighting type while Gardevoir becomes a Psychic, Fairy type. They are both pretty fast and share many similarities, but it ends when it comes to their typing and attacks.”

“I see…” Maya finished her own mug of tea. “Guess I’m going to have some reading to do, sure psychic type pokemon can be a handful on their own.” Not that Kurama wasn’t already. But it was all part of being a trainer. The egg shook again, hard enough to knock against the side of the incubator. “Hm?” Was it finally time? She had been carrying the egg around for some time now…

Kenneth whistled. “Guess the Ralts is finally ready to hatch.” Digging into his pocket, he took out a coin. Looking over the seemingly forgotten Magnemite, he flipped the coin up and caught it. Opening his hand, it was heads. “Looks like I won our bet Milutin!” The Magnemite just blinked at him as he bragged.

“Your bet?” Maya worked to open the incubator, having long given up on hiding any kind of excitement. An egg hatching was a big deal! Retrieving the egg, she spied a new crack in the shell and gave a quiet squee. Another crack formed, and then another, before a small red horn finally broke through. “Hello,” she cooed to the hatching pokemon.

While he wanted to join in with all the cooing, he stayed where he was and watched the event unfold. It was a special moment between Maya and her newly hatched Ralts. He would rather not ruin such a moment by being an attention Spoink. Milutin turned to stare at the event as well, without blinking once.

It took several minutes of wiggling and chipping at the shell, but the baby Ralts finally broke free. “Welcome to the world~” Maya cooed, unable to hide a grin as she wrapped the small pokemon in a towel. The coals still radiated a pleasant warmth, but the cooler wind from the falls would chill the freshly hatched Ralts too quickly.

Ralts cooed back, snuggling into the towel. The albumen still clinging to its hair - for lack of a better term - shimmered slightly in the sunlight. Despite still positively beaming, Maya tilted her head slightly, “Could’ve sworn the ‘dex showed them with green hair… Is it like a Vulpix? They start with a single, white tail when they first hatch that changes as they grow up.”

There were no amount of words that could fill Kenneth’s mouth as he stared at the Ralts. “Woo, Maya, looks like you hit the jackpot!” Kenneth excitedly said as he pumped a fist up into the air. “Who knew out of all of those eggs, the one you pick had a shiny in it.” Despite being from a family of breeders, shinies were exceptionally rare. He only got to see one or two before they were sold off immediately.

“Oh wow!” Maya couldn’t hide her grin even if she wanted to. Even back in Kanto, the so-called shiny was an incredibly rare and sought after variant of pokemon. Some rare genetic quirk that would change a pokemon’s color. She’d seen more photos than anything, the Ralts on her lap being the first she’d seen in person. “Absolutely adorable and special! Mostly adorable!” Ralts gave another coo, louder this time as it basked in the sheer joy from both trainers.

Kenneth withheld a laugh behind his hand as he watched Maya fawn over the Ralts. He never imagined her to be this cutesy before. Always imagining her to be more masculine if anything. Then again special times called for special occasions… Or something like that. Removing his hand from his mouth, he went over and leaned forward to get a better view of the Ralts. “Now, now, Kurama might be jealous over the attention you’re giving the baby.” Kenneth joked.

Maya hesitated before heaving a sigh, ”he probably already is.” A quick glance confirmed it, the Vulpix was curled up in a ball glaring daggers at the new Pokemon. ”Come on, Kurama, at least say hi.”

He only huffed, smoke seeping out from his muzzle.

“Don’t worry, Kurama, I know what it’s like to be the forgotten child.” Kenneth’s gaze darkened and he laughed a little too darkly. Out of all the children that his mother gave birth, he had to be the middle child. The child that wasn’t too old to pay attention to, or too young to be babied. Kenneth always felt a little left alone when his parents gave more attention to his siblings rather to himself. He reached over to pet Kurama on the head.

”Oh, fuzzbutt doesn't have to worry he isn't gonna be forgotten like that.” Maya caught the shift in Kenneth’s demeanor. She chewed her lip for a second as she debated whether or not to press the issue. Maybe it’s best not to right now…

Kurama leaned into the touch before getting up and snuggling against his leg. ”Trying to make me jealous now?”

The gaze on Kenneth’s face lightened up when Kurama started to snuggle his leg. “Maybe he is, or maybe he isn’t either way, I’m just going to happily enjoy his generous company.” A small chuckle escaped from Kenneth’s mouth as he pampered the Vulpix with more touches onto his back. While the lingering thought of family pestered throughout his mind, it slightly faded back into the background of Kenneth’s head.

”As you should,” Maya teased, ”he doesn't grace just anyone with his presence. Swear he’s as bad as a Persian some days.”

“Not that I know what a Persian is, but it must be pretty scary.” Turning his attention away while one of his hands still pampered the Vulpix, he turned to look at the Ralts that was wrapped in a bundle of cloth. “What are you going to name the Ralts?” Now that it had hatched from its egg, it was the perfect time to name it.

Looking down at the small Pokemon dozing in her arms, Maya gave a low hum. ”How about… Ren? It means ’Lotus’ back in Kanto.”

“Ren? That sounds like a nice name.” Kenneth said as he returned to look back at Kurama to give him some attention. No one was going to get left out on his watch… Well maybe besides Milutin, who was floating in the air still staring at the bundle of cloth, but he doubted Milutin would care that much.

 

[Aithien]

Laren Hartwell
Cirriform Ruins
with izayoiix (Akira), cinnabuns (Ianthe)
​

"A bit rattled, " replied Laren as she followed Bailey, almost too evenly. Were there enough illumination, the white-knuckled fist at her side would tell a different tale. "But I think Bailey's fine to keep going. Unless our ah, friend returns, of course."

The Bulbasaur near her feet made a little noise Ianthe-ward that could sound grateful at the mention of a potion, but her progress forward is sturdy, if cautious.

"Ears open, " Laren added almost absently to the other trainer's words of caution, warily glancing again in the direction they last beheld their pursuer as the amount of bridge behind them slowly grew. "What do you - "

Between the sudden splash and movements around them, both Bailey and Laren stopped short, the latter flinging a warning hand out to each side. "More company!" As the illumination slowly increased, green eyes squinted instinctively as something sparkly flashed into view.

Bailey tensed in front of her, head swiveling to try to keep an eye on everyone at once.

"You don't suppose he was expecting this much activity, do you?" followed the beginnings of Ianthe's ringtone. And: "I hope that light down there is Luc."

 

[AllHailDago]

Damon Arwell
Lacuno Observatory​

With a name like Onix Exodus, Damon should've known it would actually involve Onix. Yet somehow he was still giddily surprised when he was picked up near the Nimbos Forest by an actually friggin Onix. He'd adored the big ol' serpentine rock pokemon ever since he was a child, and he found himself enthralled during the course of his ride. He hadn't overly entertained the fact he was a trainer now in his mind since he'd arrived to Vera Valle....but looking at Onix, he thought, just maybe......

Mid thought he found himself bereft of sight, seeing only green. He let out a short chuckle and reached up to his head. Lifting Ren up and off of himself, her leaves uncovered his eyes. He held her aloft and gave her a look of faux indignation. "We've been over this Ren!" There was no real disapproval in his tone, yet she found somewhere, anywhere, to look that wasn't Damon. He had to force himself not to laugh.

Damon adjusted the strap of the backpack over his shoulder, careful not to jostle it too hard given all the glass vials inside. Granted they were in a special case, but he was a careful sort. He didn't quite get all the way to the tree in the Moonmist Glade before he got the urgent call to return to the lab. He hoped the soil samples and cursory notes he got from the earlier parts of the Nimbos Forest would be good enough for now. If not he'd be glad to give back, as would Ren he believed. She seemed to feel right at home there.

As they neared their destination Damon noticed a distinctly acrid scent. Holding Ren close to his body in sudden wariness, he eyed the skies and surrounding area. At first he didn't notice anything particularly off. However as they passed through a couple of tree and came into sight of the Observatory Damon's heart dropped. Numerous parts were on fire, and the front entrance seemed to be knocked inward. Smoke plumes billowed away into the wind, responsible for the smell he couldn't initially identify.

Suddenly he wished he'd befriended or caught a water type. He eyed Ren with concern, while she herself seemed to look at the building in distress. Holding her tight, he dismounted the Onix and began running towards the entrance. Thoughts of preserving the samples in his backpack all but forgotten, worry for the Professor and the others who worked here took over.

 

[Ganryu]

Fliathri Conchobhair && Himiko
​

With the smell memorized, Sneasel rocketed to the doctor like a bloodhound, with Fliathri still following behind, his shirt becoming untucked, his scarf out, and his hat barely clutching to his head. Even the best of cardio did little when you ran after a pokemon like Sneasel. The doctor had to keep his identity and run in the crowd, to not arouse suspicion. Fliathri had no such inhibition. As they ran out of town, Sneasel turned to him, mewing in frustration as she pointed at him. She then made teh 'shh' sound, and followed by a cut across her neck. A clear threat. Fliathri nodded. The meaning was clear to him of his partner. That was the man, he'd better not screw up.

Crying, she leapt past the good doctor, leaping at his pocket with a cry. Fliathri was on her in an instant, pressing his cane against her small claw, almost looking happy he'd caught her for once before realizing she'd let him. Shaking it off, he pinned her to the ground, gulping again at the thought of what she would do to him later. He turned to the Doctor with a plesant smile.

"My, my doctor, quite some ritz you have. I can appreciate a man of such high fashion such as yourself. I do believe this scoundrel has been giving you trouble for quite some time. Is this per chance a cellular device of your belonging?"

Fliathri tossed back the phone, still trying to pin Himiko. She growled, and his face paled slightly. Was he being too rough? What would his queen do if he was? But no, she'd be far harsher if he messed up on the acting.

"May I inquire of the nature of your departure? I do believe it was quite clear this area is dangerous. For example, this tree-"

Tapping a nearby tree with his other hand in a large slap caused a pineco to fall out of it, looking surprised as it started to glow.

"Perchance demonstration was a poor choice. Duck!"

Fliathri leapt behind the tree as the pokemon self destructed, taking out the area in a large blast. Himiko ran in her own direction, but her part had been played. Where could his queen have gone? She was not a fighter, neither was he. Perhaps it was for the best. He shook his head, he couldn't keep track of her and the professor, and the pineco exploding, what were the odds the good doctor could either.

 

[izayoiix]

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location: cirriform ruins ;; mood: pissed and wet ;; interactions: ianthe and laren
​

After she pulled herself up out of the water, dragging Luc with her, Akira felt a strong urge to hiss. It would definitely fit with her appearance, looking like a drowned cat and all, with her raven hair plastered to her face and her clothes sopping wet rubbing against her skin in a highly uncomfortable way. Once Luc was set down on the rocky ground, he managed to shake some of the water off of his fur and began to glow brighter, having gotten his bearings back. Akira let out a sigh of relief at that. She didn't know what she'd do if her partner wasn't okay.

With Luc lighting the way she was able to find an incline that led her back up to her traveling companions, coming up on them right as Ianthe's phone call ended. "Here's hoping it stays broke." she grumbled in greeting to the two girls. "Maybe then it won't disturb us again." she huffed.


With that she grabbed the chunk of hair that had fallen in her eye and threw it back, out of the way. Grumbling she narrowed her eyes and shoved her hands into her wrinkly hoodie and hunched over, more than ready for the day to be over. "You two good?" she asked, glancing between the two, squinting to see them even with Luc's light illuminating a good amount of the cavern they were in. "If so, I'm of the mind we should get the hell out of here. They said they had a ride waiting for us right?"

[/div][/div][/div][div class=credit]credits @RI.a[/div][div class=overlay]a k i r a[/div][div class=tags] cinnabuns Aithien [/div]

 

[viska]

-Iris enters the fray-​

In the shade of a tall tree, next to a cool river bank, a vicious hunter held fast to her weapon of choice.
The stick she had fashioned into a rod was locked in mortal combat with her prey of choice.
The steely eyed fish dancing around the silvery hook that would seal its doom, but never making its move.
Her hands trembled, her brow began to sweat in this raw tournament of will.
Souls would collide as the next one to even breath would tip the scales for good or ill…

Suddenly, the fish turned belly up and floated to the surface.
The brave angler could only stare in dumbfounded confusion until she heard a contented sigh come from behind her.
Her not so trusty companion Flicker’s purple flame was aglow and its face beaming with self-satisfaction.
Her traitorous partner had violated the sacred art of the hunt and siphoned the fish’s life force.

Iris simply tossed the stick aside with a defeated groan, her own stomach whining in reply.
Turning to her Litwick she scolded “Flicker! That was supposed to be my lunch!
How am I supposed to make Sushi if the stupid fish is in the middle of the stupid river?”
Flicker only offered a quick burp and a “Litwick li” in reply.
Digging through her bag, Iris pulled out her Gohei and with a single quick swipe, snuffed the flame from her candle pokemon.
Giving a sassy smirk, she patted Flicker’s head and reminded him “Your lucky you have such a forgiving trainer”
Holding her Gohei close she seemed to stare off starry eyed as she went on “The training of the Lavender shrine takes discipline. we can’t just give into our base urges whenever we feel like it.”


The young Litwick only looked up with a dopy grin.
He was full and could care less what his ‘momma’ had to say about discipline; something he was sorely lacking.
“And another thing”-
Iris’s lecture was suddenly cut short by a muffled song chiming from her bag “I brush against the freckles that I hated so, and life goes on and I-“
Iris frantically dug through her bag to try and find her phone to silence the embarrassing song.
She was sure she had set it to vibrate.


“There you are!” she announced triumphantly as the song went on “I just can’t see it any-“
An anticlimactic “beep” ending the cringe at last.
“Hello?” Iris answered, but to no response.
for a while it was only a cacophony of loud sounds and distant shouting.
Iris’s heart began to race as she remembered those scary stories about haunted phone calls.
What did her sisters call those again? Phony rigatoni? No that wasn’t it..

Finally the professors assistant answered her with a very brief but dire message “Iris! You’ve got to get to the lab quick! Im calling everyone I can. Somethings happened, You have to hurry!”
Iris’s heart raced as she tried to get answers “What’s going on? Is the professor ok? Hello? Hello!”.. But only a dial tone responded to her pleas.
Resting her back against the tree she once sat under Iris folded her arms around her to try and get a grip on the shock and panic that was creeping in.
After all, the Professor and his assistant were the only ones to help her out when she entered the region.
Now they were in trouble?

Steeling her resoulve she pulled a poke-ball from her cloths and shouted “Litwick return!”
The beam quickly snatching up the happy pokemon, still looking on with a dopey grin.
Giving her poke-ball a quick kiss, she explained “Sorry Flicker, but we’ve got no time to waste”
Stuffing the ball back into her cloths, Iris quickly scurried up the side of the bank to the road and started running down the road towards the lab.


Over the horizon, foreboding smoke bellowed into the sky.
The very sight lighting another kind of fire inside Iris spurring her on to run even faster.
She wasn’t far now, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out what was at the crest of the hill..

 

[RoninN7]

Micah Reed
Location: Road toward Arcus Oasis ==> Lacuno Observatory | Interactions: Ganryu | Mentions: None​

As Micah settled down with Gemma and Redgie by his side, his phone began to ring. He picked up the phone but before he could say anything, a voice rang out with a somewhat alarmed tone. It was the professor's assistant and she was talking about some attack on the lab. "H-hey wh-... Okay... yeah, I'll be there soon. Oh, the mission? It went really well! We found Lugia and I caught a new Pokemon. Great! We can get to the reward after I get there and get debriefed on what happened." With that, Micah hung up the phone and stood up. He stretched for a moment and began packing up his stuff into his backpack rather quickly. "Alright guys, we gotta get back to the professor's lab because some bad stuff has happened. The assistant called some sort of transportation service for me so you guys are gonna need to get back into your balls." The two Pokemon at his side groggily nodded and yawned before Micah pulled out two Pokeballs and clicked on them, pulling the Sableye and Honedge into each one. Once that was taken care of, Micah yawned and stretched one last time before walking onward.

It took a few minutes, but Micah finally managed to find an Onix making its way toward the Aquifer. Micah called out to it, causing the massive rock-type Pokemon to stop. After a quick explanation, the man on the Onix set the Pokemon down for Micah to hop on. Even after everything Micah had seen back in the Kalos region, and even his encounter with Lugia, riding on the back of an Onix was quite the experience. Vera Valle's mountains and terrain seemed a lot more beautiful to Micah when he wasn't directly walking through any of it, especially in the heat. For the duration of the ride, Micah felt a strange feeling of freedom wash over him; it felt as though he were riding to a faraway land on the back of a massive Pokemon. Somewhere along the way, Micah wondered if that is how it would feel to ride Lugia, should he ever get the chance. Even though the time for travel was significantly shorter on the back of an Onix, it still took some time. Fortunately for Micah, he did catch the faint outline of the Observatory in the distance quickly enough.

As the outline took shape and the colors became solid, Micah knew that he was almost there. Once there, Micah thanked the Onix rider and went on his way, darting through the doors and toward the professor's assistant. It seemed as though Micah had been getting chased by an angry Tauros because of how fast he ran. When the professor's assistant was a few feet from him, Micah stopped dead in his tracks and took a moment to collect himself. "I came as fast as I could," he started, looking around at the lab. "What happened here? It looks pretty bad. Did you see who did this? How long ago did it happen? I could chase after them if it was less than a few hours ago if you want." He finally took a moment to breathe, realizing that he was asking too many questions too quickly. After his brief pause, Micah finally spoke up again, this time more calmly. "What happened with Madame Pompadour, anyway? Is everything okay? Lugia kinda blew a hole through the aquifer."

 

[cinnabuns]

IANTHE KEKOA

Location: Cirriform Ruins

Team: Akira, Laren, Ianthe

Interactions: izayoiix Aithien . Ganryu

Ianthe's attention was stolen by the Aurorus, something she personally recognized for its beauty. She stood, quiet and in awe, as the Pokémon walked by her and Laren.

"Wow." Ianthe breathed. She would never forget this sight, never. Because the cave was so dark, she didn't want to disrupt the natural order of things by taking a photo and shocking any other Pokémon into attacking, like that Kabutops. Her eyes followed the Aurorus, and suddenly, the sparkles radiating off the Pokémon showed another waiting at the ceiling at the cave. Surprisingly, not a Kabutops. But she knew who that Pokémon was, too.

The Lileep dangled its tendrils and Ianthe almost reached out to take hold. She wanted a Lileep so badly, and she'd never seen one in person before. Just fossils, much like Laren and Kabutops. She would do anything to have it, but once again her attention was shifted away from the Pokémon and to more important people and matters, as she saw another glow in her peripheral vision....

Ianthe perked up when she noticed Akira and Luc when she and Laren continued walking, running over to them.

"Are we okay?? What about you?? Are you two alright??"

Maybe they really did need that picnic after this. Ianthe wished she had a towel for Akira to use; she frowned, noticing it wasn't hot enough to evaporate the liquid quicker. They might get a cold in they weren't careful--

Ianthe's phone began to buzz, so she grabbed it, digging in her bag to pick out a sour Poffin for Luc while she held the phone to her ear.

"Helloooo, Ianthe here~!"

"H-hello, is this Ianthe?"

Oh, she recognized that voice!

"This is Professor Joshua's assistant, can you guys come to the lab immediately? Is Akira alright by the way, her phone isn't answering. Oh no, the labs terrible.... Hurry if you can! Damnit Joshua, why do you have to be out! A-anyways, I'm calling you guys a ride. There's a company called the Onix Exodus, you'll find a guy outside who'll give you a ride, it's prepaid. Just take it here! Oh, by the way, probably a bad time to ask, but did you find what was so strange inside?"

The lab??? Oh no.

"Yes, Akira's phone is...." She looked over at the grumpy, wet trainer and let out a sheepish smile, holding out the Poffin to Luc. "Out of commission."

"But okay! Please stay safe, we'll be to you soon. And to be honest, there were a lot of strange things...we'll tell you everything when we get back, I promise."

Ianthe hung up the phone, turning to Akira and Laren.

"Something's up with the lab - we have to head back. You're right, we've got a ride waiting. We'd better hurry!"

Ianthe rushed forward and towards the bright light of outside, with a few last looks back at the Lileep, who soon she couldn't see due to the Aurorus being out of view.

Another time, she thought to herself.

 

[Ganryu]

~Trainers~​

The onix ride for many of the trainers was both rough and beautiful. Being elevated upon the large rock pokemon, they were able to see the mountains of the valley, along with the many biomes and nature contained within: Ice, Fire, Swamps, Lightning Plains, Forests, Falls, Lakes. It was a small wonder this place was full of legendaries, they could rule over whatever biome they preferred. In the middle, a mountain much larger than the rest stood out, almost as if it was proclaiming itself king: Mt. Regi. Watching it, it would occasionally rumble, the entire mountain shaking and pillars of rock collapsing. Large pillars of rock also raised themselves in the distance, before being capped with ice. The Onix seemed unnerved going anywhere near it. A thick mist began to obscure the place.

In the distance under the mountain, through the mist, the outline of a large tower could be seen, shaking in rhythm with the mountain. The entire tower stood on stilts, and had fences all around it: The Lacuno Observatory. A gaping hole in the side of it was fairly obvious, it looked like it had been melted a way, burn marks and melted steel laid bare, and a tired assistant screaming at everyone directions.

She ran out to greet the trainers.

"Oh thank goodness your here. Laren, Damon, Akira, Iris, Micah, Ianthe... sorry, the professor has a rule he wants us each to address trainers by name if we can. He's... odd like that. Anyways, Blackleaf just attacked. We couldn't stop them without the Professor. We had a castform he took away. It was terrible. The Professor should be back in a moment, ah, speak of the devil."

In the distance, a jeep could be heard flying over rock and mountain path, going quite fast. It peeled out infront of the trainers, swinging as the brakes were slammed, causing it to buck a couple feet infront of Akira, near running her over. In the drivers seat sat a Machamp. Leaping out of the passangers, the professor was almost larger. He wore a lab coat which sleeves were ripped, and had a wild look on his face.

"I'm back Maria! Ah good, the trainers are here! We don't have much time, so I'll skip most of the familiarities, though I must say, good job on those jobs we asked for help with. Hmmm. Anyways, emergency being what it is, I literally don't have time to say thanks enough. Anyways, Maria, fetch the map. If you are willing to help us, I think I have an idea of what those scoundrels are up to. And its not good."

As Maria laid out the map of the area, the professor pointed to the Nacreous Glaciers.



"I was observing Articuno in this region when I ran into some of those blackleaf hooligans leaving the glacier. I was a bit curious, so I climbed down with Machamp. I saw it there. A dragon of legend in Unova. It was MAGNIFICENT! Also of a brutal temperament, and if the side of our observatory says anything, its that blackleaf likes its brutal temperament. I may have tried to battle it myself, but I lost quite badly. Whenever Machamp here threw a punch, it disappeared into the mist around the glacier! Its much thicker than even here on the observatory.

They took castform. They mean to clear the fog with it, I'm sure of it. Ours does know the move defog.

So, we have two attacks against Blackleaf to rescue poor little castform. Akira, Ianthe, Damon, would you mind pursuing the hooligans? I know Micah here already offered, but we have a different job for you. Anyways, would you three try to cut off Blackleaf? Their base is in Laketown, but they escaped North. They can't have run through Mt. Regi and got out unscathed, so they probably went north, through Pannus Grasslands. I think Akira might have a field day there too if you manage to wrap up early. They just moved, so they probably think they are safe, but they UNDERESTIMATE MY INTEL! I am a professor! Knowledge is my domain!"

The professor laughed as he flexed at the statement, the tears in his labcoat bursting more.

"Anyways, Iris, Micah, Laren. If we can't cut them off, or if they find some other means of defog, we'll want to be ready for them. Head up to Nacreous Glaciers. Now to be fair, it is a bit brisk up there. I had to wear a second shirt, and I'm quite opposed to wearing more than is appropriate. I want you to try and kick Blackleaf out of there. Battle trainers, let Kyurem get some privacy after all. A lady needs her privacy after all. Haha! We want them to lose track of her, so whatever you deem neccessary to do that! Oh, and Iris, a small note of interest, I hear the place has several snorunts."

He then eyed the entire group across.

"And I'm so proud of you developing trainers, I can't say that enough! I thank you for your help! I will make this worth your while! "

cinnabuns Aithien AllHailDago izayoiix RoninN7 V viska

 

[Misuteeku]

Dr Hazel Ackerman
​

The poor doctor was blown back by the Pineco's explosion attack. His eyes were too glued on the glowing Pineco and made him freeze in fear. Ears were ringing, he was disorientated, and tried to find his bearings. After recovering from his slight disorientation, his paranoia kicked back in him. The grunt was trying to take him out. Immediately scrambling up on his rear, he shoved his hand into his pocket. There was no way he could fight the black furred menace, but his steel type definitely can. "Go, Klang." He muttered out as he released the gear Pokemon out of its Pokeball. It was fully alert and was surveying the its surroundings.

"If you see that Sneasel, use gear grind." The doctor said as he got up. Looking over towards the smoke ridden plains, he addressed his almost murderer, "Fuck you! You aren't taking the Master Ball!" With that he made a mad dash with Klang to the river. Seeing that there really weren't any good hiding places from the city to Lacuno Observatory, there wasn't much point in trying to hide from them. Especially since that Sneasel of his could easily find him in the end. He wasn't going to let that blood fiend to ruin his career after all this time.

His mad dash consisted of him moving very slowly towards the river. The injuries from Pineco's explosion prevented him from going any faster and it was a pain in the ass moving around. With that being said, Klang was still on guard if Sneasel ever came by. Ackerman stuffed his hand in his pockets and gripped Porygon's pokeball tightly. The last thing he needed was Sneasel pickpocketing his pockets to steal Porygon off of his pockets. In his head, he raged. If only he hadn't received his assignment to deliver the ultimate ball to some far away observatory and get attacked by some criminal organization wanting said ball. If only he had someone else to help him with delivering this damned ball. If only dumb fucking Silph Co. send someone else that wasn't him to this damned assignment. He didn't sign up to get blown up and beaten up by a pair of teenager.

 

[viska]

Iris's heart was beating in her ears by the time she finally reached the observatory and saw first hand the damage.
The only thing she could think of as she walked up on the wreckage was weather or not Professor was alright
He was the only person to show her respect sense she left home over a year ago, and now his 'home' was in shambles.
He was the one who told her all the wonderful things about the region and it's ghost Pokemon.
If it wasn't for him, she likely would have moved on with her pilgrimage weeks ago.

She coughed and waved the smoke away as she gathered with the other trainers at the assistant's call.
The assistant's pleasantries only served to annoy Iris as she listed off every single trainers name.
She could hear the wood creak as her grip tightening on her gohei, she insisted "Where is the pr-"
Her complaint however was cut off as the Jeep suddenly burst onto the scene, with the professor riding shotgun no less.
Iri's heart lit up with joy and her eyes with stars as she saw the grand entrance that was actually very dangerous.

Iris let a soft sigh of relief slip from her lips as he came down from his amazing ride and walk towards them.
To her he strode like giant, and the glint of his muscles shown like the sun.
He could bring any pokemon to heel and any Black-leaf thug to shame.
She couldn't help but blush as he regaled them with tales of his exploits and flexed his Adonis like form.
She hated the idea of being one of those fan girls who crush on local celebrities, so she convened herself it was only a deep respect for him.

The Professor then began explaining the situation and the Black-leaf attack.
To go to all this trouble to steal and exploit a Pokemon was a hard thing for Iris to wrap her head around.
But she knew she wouldn't stand for anyone to do such a terrible thing.
To let this slide would go back on her values as a shrine maiden.
On top of that, those Black-leaf goons chose the wrong observatory to wreck.

Iris listened carefully to the plan, taking special notes to anything she or Flicker could do to make sure it succeeded.
This was her chance to prove herself to both the professor and her sisters that she wasn't a little girl anymore.
Her concentration was broken when she heard the Professor address her directly regarding the Snorunts.
She knew very little about those, but she was not going to let this chance slip by.
Taking this as a personal challenge she could only blurt out "Y. Yes sir!" before cringing from her statement.

Hiding behind the ribbons of her gohei, she could hear the professor praise the trainers for their growth and contributions to the region.
And while she knew it was meant to encourage them, she couldn't help but feel a bit undeserving.
She had been in the region nearly a month, and hadn't done much more then bum around the local spiritual hot spots.
This would be a chance to do some real good, and she had to make the most of it.

 

[cinnabuns]

IANTHE KEKOA

Location: Lacuno Observatory

Team: Akira, Damon, Ianthe

Interactions: izayoiix , AllHailDago , Ganryu

When they finally arrived at the lab, Ianthe was all smiles, even as she looked at the state of the lab. For some reason, this whole thing wasn't surprising, with how Professor Joshua liked to run his business. The only thing that was surprising was the fact that this wasn't Joshua's fault for trying something new. Blackleaf was known for their dastardly plans, however. She didn't trust most gangs - Team Rocket, Team Aqua (even though they tended to but heads mostly with Team Magma), Team Skull, Galactic, Plasma, Flare...she should have known that a new region would just have a new villain.

No, none of this was surprising in the slightest.

Ianthe grinned when Maria spoke to her and the other trainers.

"That's quite alright, Miss Maria; I prefer my name to anything else, anyways." She said smoothly, looking over the damage Blackleaf had caused stealing Castform from the lab. "Did anyone get hurt?"

Of course her mind was on the Castform, who was probably scared to its wits in the hands of evil. Poor thing. But she couldn't help but ask and make sure there wasn't anyone who needed her assistance now.

Before Maria could answer her, Ianthe heard the sound of the Professor's Jeep screeching to a halt.

It was almost comical, the way the Professor and his Machamp got out of the vehicle. Both of them were so big in comparison, it felt. The amusing thought kept the smile on her face as the Professor came up to her and the other trainers. The look changed into one of awe when he mentioned Articuno.

"How impressive. I want to see that beautiful Pokémon with my own eyes. Hopefully it stays free."

Ianthe couldn't even imagine the elegant, powerful bird, but of course, the imagery of Joshua and Machamp running away from an ice blast - Joshua laughing the entire time, she guessed - was humorous. One day, if she were lucky, she'd see such a legendary beast.

She continued to listen to the Professor's speech, slightly eyeing the well-dressed younger girl who was fawning over him before looking back at the Professor himself. She'd have to ask her if her outfit was genuine when the timing was better....

Ah, so Blackleaf was after Articuno, with Castform's unwilling asssistance. Well, that settled it. She'd do whatever it took to help get Castform back to its rightful home.

"...they UNDERESTIMATE MY INTEL! I am a professor! Knowledge is my domain!"

Ianthe laughed in earnest as he did, a slight sweatdrop appearing on her forehead. He was something special. "But of course, Professor. Happy to have you back in one piece as always."

He knew this region like the back of his hand, and that was a pro in this situation. Now they had to use the knowledge he'd given them to the best of their abilities.

"And I'm so proud of you developing trainers, I can't say that enough! I thank you for your help! I will make this worth your while!"

Awwwwwww. That definitely warmed Ianthe's heart.

"Honestly, the best gift will be that Castform happy at home in the lab." Ianthe was genuine here. All that truly mattered to her was that the Pokémon wasn't being used for nefarious purposes. From what she remembered, Castform was a sweetheart.

Ianthe turned to Akira and Damon with a giggle.

"Well, darlings~! I'm ready to cause some mayhem for Team Blackleaf when you are."

 

[RoninN7]

Micah Reed
Location: Lacuno Observatory | Interactions: Ganryu Aithien AllHailDago V viska | Mentions: cinnabuns ​

Micah turned around to see all the other trainers arriving, feeling quite relieved that Blackleaf didn't get anyone else. It didn't take long for the Professor's assistant to debrief them on what happened at the lab; Blackleaf had broken in and taken the Professor's Castform. "Don't worry about it," Micah replied with regards to being called by his name. "It looks like they did a number on this place, but we'll get that Castform back, don't you worry!" He nodded in agreement when Ianthe mentioned how she hoped no one got hurt. Even though Micah didn't know what they were up to, he knew it couldn't be good. It was then that the Professor's Jeep pulled up at the Observatory and he made his entrance. Even though Professor Joshua was a rather interesting character, Micah couldn't help but feel a sense of security with him around. The Professor always seemed to know what was going on and how to solve any issues.

Micah nodded with a smile as the Professor mentioned the good work that some of the trainers had done. Once his assistant, Maria, had brought the map, Professor Joshua began telling the trainers his thoughts on Blackleaf's motives. The boy's eyebrow raised at the mention of Articuno, which was a Pokemon that Micah had heard a lot about. Having seen the legendary Lugia first-hand, Micah knew how awe-inspiring legendary Pokemon were. It wasn't until the Professor mentioned the fog that everything clicked for Micah; they planned to use defog to capture some legendary Pokemon. As Professor Joshua explained how he had other plans for Micah, the boy could only nod. "Alright." Once the Professor was done with giving three other trainers the task of chasing after Blackleaf, he finally got to Micah and the others. He explained that Micah, Iris, and Laren were to go straight to Nacreous Glaciers and wait for them, keeping out of Kyurem's way where possible. "Don't worry, Professor. We're gonna be ready for them and we will stop them if they somehow make it to the Glaciers, you can count on it!"

Despite Micah's confidence, something did trouble him a little. Even though Team Blackleaf was notorious around the region, they've never concocted grand schemes like that of Team Galactic or Team Plasma; it was worrying to think that they were finally hitting bigger and bigger targets. Regardless, Micah and his teammates had a mission to complete, and he did not intend to disappoint. Even though Micah's thoughts seemed all-consuming, the Professor's words of gratitude were enough to pull the boy out of his mind. A smile curled across Micah's lips, and he bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment of the Professor's kind words. "You can count on all of us, Professor. We won't let you down!" Micah then turned confidently to his two teammates with a smile on his face. "Alright, I say we get moving pronto! We gotta get there before these Blackleaf goons."

 

[Ganryu]

Fliathri && Himiko

The explosion gave the good doctor several minutes advantage as Fliathri felt the explosion reverberate. He walked out to see the damages. A large explosion... blasting out from the pineco in a rather impressive blast range. A shadow of a bush was left, and the area was in tatters. Pinoco was in the center, its eyes glazed over as it groaned. And then there was a torn labcoat from the blast. Fliathri grabbed in a cry.

"Good doctor, why!? Why must the good die young? And how might our boss, my master, take such an account. "Go forth and grab the masterball" he sayth. "Oh, sorry, prithee forgive me, but I exploded the good doctor in a grand shower of inepitude! And no that was not a metaphor!!"

As Fliathri cried on the ground, suddenly a large projectile hit him in the side of the head, sprawling him out on the ground. As he looked over, he saw a pinecone to his side, and Sneasel tossing another one threateningly, rolling her eyes and mewing annoyed.

"What is this good partner, hath thee even betrayed me!?"

The eyes narrowed, and Fliathri barely avoided the herbaceous projectile as it exploded where his head was. Looking up stunned, Sneasel pointed in the direction the good doctor had run, and leapt towards him.

"What's this? Is our mission not yet ended in failure? Is there... hope? I will continue my queen, tallyho!"

He looked for a few seconds at the Pineco, then shook his head, and ran. And like that, Fliathri was off, towards the river as his queen took the lead. The trees ended, leaving them a rather blank area leading to a river bank.

"My queen, isn't the laboratory that way?"

Suddenly a cry caught his attention as Himiko went flying back, struck by a gear, falling to the ground, groaning slightly.

"My queen! You monster! She is a beloved angel, not a fighter!"

Sneasel looked annoyed as she tried to stand, looking around the embankment, despite being hurt. Fliathri was so proud. She never put in any effort that wasn't.... oh right, stealing. Little wonder she was so interested. The resistence the good doctor put in just made her want it more. And being rewarded... Fliathri was suddenly worried for the good doctor's life as he realized that Himiko likely wasn't about ot have any limits to what she would do.

Still, she looked like just another hit would take her out. Still Fliathri gulped.

"I, uh, would not push the dear queen much further my dear doctor. I mean thee no malice, but... she very well might be... upset if you push her any further."

 

[izayoiix]

ᴀᴋɪʀᴀ ᴛᴀɪᴅᴀɴᴀ​

If she was being honest, Akira had no idea what the professor's assistant had been blabbing on about. She'd fallen asleep and only came back into awareness at the small shock of static she received from Luc who'd been sitting beside her leg until the Professor's jeep slammed to a stop in front of her. She blinked once, twice, then yawned, stretching her arms out, enjoying the feeling of not being wet after their last adventure. Another reminder why she didn't care for water types. Thank Arceus, Luc normally had such an advantage against them.

As soon as the crazy man who called them all here started rambling about Articuno, Akira wondered what it would take for her to get enough time to slip away and get some more rest...She was sure that Luc wouldn't argue with her for wanting to take a day or twenty to get another nap in after the situation they'd just gotten out of. She yawned again.

He was yammering on about Castform and how it had been stolen from the lab. She groaned quietly at that, suddenly knowing they were going to get sent out again. A second later, her feeling was confirmed and she let her head drop to rest against her chest as she sighed in despair. "Guess that nap is getting postponed....again..." she mumbled unhappily as suddenly began to truly miss her time with Professor Rowan in Sinnoh. The older professor hadn't nearly been such a headache like this man was turning out to be.

"Yeah....sure you will." she grumbled as he promised to make it worth their while. Sure it would be nice if he would, but Akira wasn't willing to hold her breath. She rolled her eyes as she shuffled slightly, turning around so she could properly face her somewhat new team members.

"Don't you feel tired?" she grumbled in response to Ianthe's excitement. She yawned before glancing over at Damon with narrowed eyes. "Yo. I'm Akira, that's Luc," she nodded towards the Shinx sitting by her leg. "Whatever, let's get this over with, I guess. I just want to be done with this so I can take a nap."
cinnabuns AllHailDago