Name: Stellanova City Location Type: Small City Pokemon Types: Electric, Water, Flying, Normal, Psychic, Fighting Lore: On the shoreline, near Adriana, is the region's creative hub, Stellanova City.
This vibrant city of colour and sound isn't for people who prefer the quiet life, but brings artists, musicians and performers flocking from all over. From elaborate theatre shows to music festivals by the beach, there's something for every taste. Many people, before participating in contests in the larger cities, stop here first to practice their performances.
The residents are sometimes stereotyped as arrogant and pretentious, solely concerned with taking centre stage, but this is only true of a small minority. A great deal of emphasis is placed on respecting the public, and those who don't are unlikely to find success.
Besides the shows, other things attract people to the area. Hotels line the seafront, which has several activities such as boat trips and water sports. When night falls, the beach becomes a truly breathtaking sight as Staryus and Starmies surface, lighting up the water.
As well as being one of the region's most popular vacation resorts for these reasons, Stellanova is also a reputable place to shop, as a particular item can be purchased here. A music box, shaped like an ornate Pokeball, with a dancing Oricorio figurine inside it. A few trainers dismiss it for its "girly" appearance, but many find it useful for its song's ability to cure status effects once per battle. Four versions are available, one for each of Oricorio's forms, although the differences are purely cosmetic.
Some people, drawn in not just because of the above, come here intrigued by a certain rumour. It's said that the reason Stellanova is so popular with artists is they seek out inspiration from a mythical Pokemon. Another version of the story is that instead of the Pokemon attracting the artists, the inverse is true, with the being wishing to relearn a song forgotten to it a long time ago. All that is known is that some residents and visitors claim to have heard the unforgettably beautiful singing of Meloetta.
Stellanova City Poke Mart
This large building, with its eye-catching, richly decorated sign above the door, can be found at the centre of the city.
*Poke Ball: 5 points: Beginner Item - Use this item to catch bottom tier Pokemon in your area.
*Rare Candy: 5 points: Beginner Item - Use this item to raise the level of one Pokemon.
*Potion: 5 points: Beginner Battle Item - Use this item to heal 10 HP of one Pokemon.
*Elixir: 5 points: Beginner Battle Item - Use this item to replenish 10 PP of one Pokemon.
*Great Ball: 20 points: Skilled Item - Use this item to catch middle tier Pokemon in your area.
*Super Potion: 10 points: Skilled Battle Item - Use this item to heal 20 HP of one Pokemon.
*Paralyze Heal: 5 points: Skilled Battle Item - Use this item to cure a Pokemon from 'Paralyze'.
*Shell Bell: 20 points: Skilled Item - Give this item to a Pokemon to have it restore its HP by 25% (rounded up) of the damage it deals when it attacks.
*Mystic Water: 20 points: Skilled Item – Give this item to a Pokemon to increase all water-type damage it deals by 50%.
*Music Box: 50 points: Skilled Special Item - Use this item once per battle to cure a Pokemon of any status condition.
Stellanova City Mission Board
Surrounded by lights, the mission board in the city square is easily noticeable. To submit a posting, go to the city hall near the board, and the request will be made available to the public right away.
Mission: Calling All Beachcombers
Hi, I'm Gretta Claremont, a jeweller in search of some hidden treasures. I'm looking for trainers to help me find rare, valuable items along the beach - namely, 10 Pearls, 3 Big Pearls, 3 Heart Scales, and 1 Star Piece. Once all these are added to my repertoire of materials, I'll give away a certain battle trinket to everyone who helped out.
Just a word of warning - certain wild Pokemon, especially birds, have a liking for shiny things and may try to get in the way. Pokemon who can fend them off would be a definite advantage!
Requirements: None, but a Pokemon with the Pickup ability would be helpful.
Max number of people: 4
Rewards: 20 TP plus choice between free Mystic Water OR free Shell Bell
After dropping by the Pokemart, Shanae booked a room overnight in the Pokemon Center and set her alarm for an early rise in the morning. Before she slept, however, she figured that her Pokemon ought to formally meet the “plus one” of the team.
“Everyone, this is Endymion — Endy, for short. He’s a Lapras, and he’s quite nice,” Shanae said, indicating the shelled water Pokemon. “Well, he looks kind,” she amended, tipping her head as she looked at the water-type. The Lapras didn’t respond, instead choosing to let the poised and mysterious smile on his face explain everything.
On the other side of the room — now quite full due to the presence of seven Pokemon — Shanae’s seasoned team of six looked upon the Lapras in silence. Ebon, the Houndour, had narrowed his eyes and was now watching the large water-type with unvoiced suspicion. Turris, Shanae’s Aron, looked quite unimpressed with the Lapras despite the fact that one stray Water Gun from the water-type could end in an instant KO. Beside them, Dius — Shanae’s Trapinch — and Otiosus — Shanae’s Lombre that evolved earlier that night — seemed quite excited at the prospect of having a new teammate on board. Both looked eager to run over and examine the large, new Pokemon, but both held themselves back, waiting for their teammates — more specifically the broody leader, Ebon — to give their approval for the action. Amatorius, Shanae’s Jigglypuff, looked just about angry enough to explode — good thing the fairy-type couldn’t learn the move — a mixture of purpling jealousy and unfounded resentment coloring his pinkish hue whereas Shanae’s Joltik simply looked upon the Lapras with curiosity.
“So?” Shanae prompted. “Final thoughts?”
The Lapras bent forwards, stretching its head towards the Pokemon gathered on the far side of the room who were now quickly dodging out of the way. Only Ebon stayed still, eyes unflinching as it met the water-type head-on. Their heads seemed almost to be touching, but then the Lapras retracted its head and the Houndour turned away to give his trainer a look.
“Eep! You all will be so cute together!” Shanae shrieked before slapping a hand to her mouth and cutting herself off.
“Quiet in there!” a voice shouted from outside the door. “People are trying to sleep around here!”
“Will do! Sorry about that!” Shanae shouted back quietly before turning back to her Pokemon, only to find that the Lapras had been tackled by her Lombre and Trapinch — well, as tackled as a Lombre and Trapinch could. “Why can’t you all be like Alci here?” Shanae asked, nodding to the Joltik that had now climbed onto her shoulder. “She’s the sweetest, kindest, and smartest out of all of you. She’s probably going to be the strongest too.”
Seven pairs of eyes looked at her, each offended by something their trainer just said. Well, except for Alcedo.
Rank: Skilled Organization: Helping Hand Guild [Founder]
As it turned out, Leisy and Olivie had something in common: neither had heard so much as an offhanded comment about mass sleepwalking during their individual efforts to learn more about Stillwater's ominous hidden lore. Having joined the procession of people, a lone beacon of consciousness in a single-file sequence of sleepwalkers, Olivie suspected that this hair-raising march was something out of the ordinary. Even more so than when the Green Day had first cast its sickly pallor over the coastal town, she felt as though she, her party, and her acquaintances were in for something nightmarish. Though she couldn't understand them, she got the impression that her pokemon were just as uneasy as she. Periodically, Gespenst would fire off an Energy Ball into the sky, its radiance illuminating the whole column for a moment before it petered out and the Cacnea got to work making a new one. Together with the light provided by Olivie's lantern and Ella's luminescent Inkay, Gespenst's efforts revealed to the trainers that they were headed toward the edge of town. Olivie made sure to control her breathing as she followed in the footsteps of a man in front of her, down a boardwalk stairway and onto the soil. Then came the ascent.
The path wound through the clefts and rises. In no time, the area's unfathomable layout combined with the pitch-black of night left Olivie completely lost. All she could do was follow the villager in front of her, and keep ahead of the villager behind. Through all the twists and turns, however, the brunette was aware that she was steadily rising. The wind picked up as the eerie parade crested the top of a hill and turned out toward the shore. A natural stone archway lay just ahead, suspended upwards of 50 feet over the sand below, and here the wind's steady push became terrifying. Still, the sleepwalkers plodded onward, and Olivie was forced to press on. On her shoulder, Verrine clung to the side of the girl's head with all the strength her tiny limbs could muster, and both Buck and Bifrons kept a low profile to avoid catching a gust. As she made her way across the arch, using various plants as handholds, Olivie's composure suffered, and she could barely find the courage to forge onward. What seemed like hours later, the bridge widened out again, and Olivie could breath easier. She judged that she was on top of a kind of formation known as a 'sea stack', a vast pillar of stone jutting up from the ocean near the shoreline, eroded into a cylindrical shape by time and tide, and overgrown by plants seeded there by the same wind that deposited the dirt. If her guess was true, though, it meant that a potentially lethal drop lay in every direction. This was not, however, her chief concern.
A hole had opened up in the clouds, and in the sky beyond the sea stack the green-tinged moon shone down. It didn't provide much light, but it gave enough to reveal the shapes of at least a hundred people sitting on the grass in what appeared to be concentric circles, each with a black nimbus surrounding their heads. After crossing the bridge, the procession broke up, each individual headed for an open spot to sit, motionless and expressionless. The entire scene freaked Olivie out enough to make her breathing ragged and her hands shake. It was like something out of movie; how could this be happening!?
Movement at the center of the gathering caught her attention. She spotted someone waving, squinted, and only a second later recognized the person waving as Bernard. Her heart, still too beset by the creepiness of the situation to soar, settled for a surge of hopefulness, and she started moving his way. She managed to get within a hundred feet of him, carefully avoiding bumping into any of the sitters, before she noticed the slowness with which he moved and her heart was chilled once again. He, too, was asleep. The realization that it was a trap filled her mind, but it was already too late.
A dark shape arose next to Bernard, and from its imperceptible mass a torrent of blackness rolled out across the top of the sea stack. It crashed into Olivie before she could even turn to flee, its speed to great even for Leisy and Ella to get away. For a moment, all was dark, but then Olivie's eye's blinked open. Having fallen over somehow, she jumped to her feet. For a moment it seemed as if everything was the same, but something gnawed at the back of her mind that caused her to look around more closely.
Everything, in every direction beyond the pillar, was pitch black. There was no trace of clouds, of the shoreline, of the natural bridge, the lights of town, of the sea, or anything. Only one this stood out from the void. Staring directly upward, Olivie could see the moon, its brilliant pure white surface impossibly close. By her estimation, it was only a couple hundred feet up. Whirling from side to side, she spotted Leisy and Ella, both in the same situation as she. Her pokemon, too, were unharmed, but glancing at the ground made Olivie aware of something else that was different. At her feet lay a person, sprawled asleep and snoring, that looked just like her. At the feet of her pokemon, doubles of them slumbered as well. All the while, the people sat in their circles like statues. It's me. I'm dreaming. It's an out-of-body experience. For a moment, she wanted to laugh, but her humor evaporated quickly. In its place came only anger.
Tora hummed thoughtfully, returning her Pokemon besides Archie as she looked over the message in her friend's hand. "Porygon-Z is a pretty difficult Pokemon to handle. I insist on caution, but it would be nice to help this town with this apparent issue it has been having as of late. Although, I don't quite know how to find this sort of Pokemon." she said softly with a slight sigh of disappointment for herself at the lack of knowledge.
+1 post +1HHG = 36 +1CP = 31
Pokemon Team:
Archie the ♀Growlithe: Level 13/Healthy
Sirius the Staryu: Level 4/Healthy
Pezi the ♂Skiddo: Level 4/Healthy
Cairn the ♀Onix: Level 2/Healthy
Ria the ♀Riolu: Level 2/Healthy
Orion the ♂Shinx: Level 2/Healthy
Rachni the ♂Venipede: Level 2/Healthy
Inventory: 3x Pokeball 1x Potion 3x Rare Candies
-Continued interaction with @ToadRopes's character Juana. -Continued interaction with @Dusksong's character Cillian.
Juana thought for a moment, before snapping her fingers. “We could check all the electronics stores around here, starting with the one I caught Rotom in. If Porygon-Z travels through digital space, we’re bound to run into it if we browse the Internet for long enough.”
She tapped her foot. “Of course, there’s other places on this train that use computer networks… if the virtual Pokémon’s not in the electronics, then we’d have to check the train’s power grid.”
Juana looked at her newly-caught Rotom. “Maybe Rotom can help flush out this Porygon-Z… Rotom has a knack for possessing machines, after all. And I’m betting Rotom can get into a computer.”
She thought for another second. “…The employees might be pretty mad if I loose the Rotom that just wreaked havoc upon their store into one of their display laptops,” she said. “Maybe this train has wireless Internet connection… I don’t want to mess with that though. How long do you think it’ll take for Rotom to find Porygon-Z?
Rotom snickered.
“…If the fellow doesn’t get sidetracked first,” Juana muttered.
Rotom batted its eyelids and clasped its two plasmatic mittens together as a halo of sparks appeared over its head. CP: +1, Created Charlotte Carver -25, Created Aether Foundation organization -20, total: 7
The Aether Foundation building stood in stark contrast to the surrounding buildings of Central City. It boasted a sleek, white exterior with the Aether logo emblazoned on both sets of doors. The structure was a beveled prism, simple in style. Indoors felt particularly bright and sterile. This was the administration building; it did not house an Aether habitat. Rather, it was the place where Aether employees around Central City reported their findings or assignments.
One particular employee, a swarthy woman in a stark white trench coat and bowler hat in the standard Aether style, strode through those doors and immediately pulled out her cell phone. At her side was a green bug Pokémon, about the size and shape of a small microwave, with silver mandibles and yellow tusks, and blue lenses from which glowing yellow eyes dully peeked out. A Charjabug.
She keyed in a number, and put the phone to her ear.
”Hey, Charlotte,” came a voice on the other end. ”You back?”
“Yeah,” Charlotte replied, reaching under her bowler hat and running her hand through her curly hair. “The reports on the presence of the UB-03 at Zephyr were unconfirmed as of late. The ecosystem was stable, however; the Pokémon were quite well-adjusted to the commercialization of the location.” Charlotte paused. “There was actually an interesting phenomenon going on throughout my field study, actually; the Rotoms I observed were able to take on forms I haven’t previously seen due to the products in the stores. And it seems like the Ghost and Dark Pokémon were well-adjusted to staying in the eaves of the coaches… I think there was evidence of Rattata speciation, similar to that in the Alola region, but the presence of Fighting-type Pokémon in the wild make it dangerous for them to come out.”
There was one Pokémon in particular that seemed quite well-adjusted, actually. “It seems that Stufful, and its evolution Bewear, were higher on the hierarchy of wild species, especially due to the relative ease of their camouflage. Not only that, but because of the universality of electric lighting around the mall, the Gumshoos stakeouts tended to be more successful.”
Charlotte sighed. “It’s a lot of work having to clean up after what happened since that incident, and it’s no help that LIGHTING insists on being elusive. It was much easier to find the BLASTER given that it was a flying Pokémon the size of a small airplane with a long trail of fiery smoke.” She chuckled.
”Preserving the Ultra Beasts is a noble goal, of course, but nobody ever said it would be easy,” the voice on the other end replied.
“Wasn’t saying I wish it was,” Charlotte said, smirking slightly. “Anyways, what’s next on the agenda?”
“Actually, we’d like for you to study the ecosystem at Stillwater next. It’s an area that’s relatively untouched by urbanization, so it’ll be easier to study Pokémon in a more natural state.”
“Got it.”
”I’ve already sent you the tickets you’ll need to get there; you’ll find them on your Pokédex.”
“Okay, thanks. Anything else?”
”Charlotte, you’ve been doing great work since you came to Aether. As usual, on behalf of the Foundation, I would like to thank you for your dedication.”
“You’re makin’ me blush, Manager.”
”Haha. Well, good luck!”
“Luck is a colloquialization of the nature of numerical probability, and is not inherently good or bad,” Charlotte droned in an exaggeratedly flat tone.
There was a snort from the other side of the line.
“…That is, thank you.”
”You’re quite welcome, Charlotte.”
Charlotte shut off her phone, and checked her Pokédex for the tickets. Sure enough, they offered a train and a river ferry to Stillwater. “So tomorrow morning, I’ll be heading out,” she mumbled, shutting off her Dex and tossing it into her white briefcase. She pulled out a rag and knelt down to Charjabug, polishing the bus-shaped bug’s carapace. Charjabug gave out an accordion-like sound, and looked up at Charlotte.
“Alright, little buddy, I’ll get the bottom side too,” Charlotte said, rolling Charjabug over and polishing the bug’s underbelly as well. “Adventure’s a messy business. Or field study, depending on who you talk to.” Charlotte chuckled. “In my case, it’s the latter.”
Ella didn't even have time to cry out as what looked like a cloud of black smoke rushed at her, engulfing her and the other two. Her surroundings went dark, then came back into view... but they weren't the same as before.
"What's with that moon?" she yelped, staring up at the unnaturally huge white orb in the sky. Picking herself up off the stony ground, she turned her head this way and that. All around the pillar was darkness, only darkness, and at their feet... She gasped at the sight of a sleeping figure. A pink-haired girl in a dress of sewn-together rags.
"That-That's me?" She took in the other figures. "Leisy? Olivie?" Looking up in shock at the other two, who stood over their own sleeping forms, she frantically thought over what to do. "Wake up! C'mon, wake up!" she pleaded, leaning down and trying to nudge her slumbering self awake. The girl on the floor didn't respond. Beside her, Jumbles squealed in alarm, floating around a double of himself who lay fast asleep.
"Quick! Does anyone have any Pokemon with moves that can wake people up?" No sooner had Ella spoken, though, than she felt stupid. How would they be able to get their Pokemon to do anything like this? Were they even all trapped in the same dream? Was she really talking to Leisy and Olivie, or simply imagining them while under a Pokemon's spell?
TP: +1 (52) Pokemon:
Trubbish (Treasure), female, lv7
Ekans (Smiley), male, lv6
Duskull (Brighteye), female, lv4
Inkay (Jumbles), male, lv4
Stunky (currently unnamed), male, lv1
Inventory:
Pokeball x1
Potion x1
Black Sludge x1 (borrowed)
✰ Jason Ackerman ✰
Location: Central City
On the outskirts of Central City, a small group of people and Pokemon had gathered, various levels of concern on their faces. Well, on the faces of all except one.
Jason grinned down at the others as his surroundings rushed past him. The two rather cute researcher girls he'd been talking to had asked him about Ice-type moves, something they weren't used to seeing - well, here was an example.
"Having Ice type Pokemon around sure is fun!" he shouted, balancing on an old, rickety plank of wood as he snowboarded down a slope of ice on a hill. Nearby, an Espurr and a Fraxure both glared at a Snorunt, as if to say they couldn't believe she'd gone along with this.
It would surely have been an impressive stunt if not for one slight wrinkle. Noticing the lump of rock directly in his path, Jason swerved, losing his balance and hitting the stone anyway. "Ah!" The ground rushed up as he and the plank flew in different directions.
The Espurr reacted quickly, using his psychic powers to stop his trainer's fall and lower him to the ground. To the side, the piece of wood landed and broke in two. "Whew... Thanks Tibert," Jason said, steadying himself once the Espurr had released his hold on him. Tibert gave him the kind of condescending look that only a cat could manage.
Turning back to the two girls, Jason rubbed the back of his neck. "And, umm, having Psychic type Pokemon around certainly comes in helpful," he added.
Once the girls had made sure he was ok, they looked at each other. "Uh, there's somewhere we've gotta be right now," one of them said, before they both headed off, muttering. Jason didn't know exactly what they were saying, but he was sure he heard the word "idiot" in there.
"Aw, geez. Well, at least it wasn't a total loss," he said to the group of Pokemon. "They claimed they once saw Shaymin around here."
The moonlit sky was slowly growing brighter, and the city lights shone on the greenery. It would be easier to do a proper search once the sun came up, but for now, it was worth keeping an eye out. The legend enthusiast and his Pokemon set off along the path, towards the meadow the researchers had mentioned.
Following Olivie through the crowd proved to be more challenging than following any of the other less mindful, more sluggish figures, so Leisy soon found herself walking with Ella somewhere behind the girl amidst the crowd. A frantic movement somewhere ahead of her caused Leisy to look up and spot Bernard in the dying lights of one of the luminescent Pokemons’ Energy Balls, and she was able to make out a figure weaving their way towards the boy as well. Olivie, she thought, making for the boy as well. Before she could get close, however, a figure rose up beside the male trainer, blacker and bleaker than the night. In a flash, it rolled towards the crowd in front of Leisy and swerved for her, upon her in an instant.
Reflexively squeezing her eyes close, Leisy didn’t see anything, but a moment later she felt a sudden wave of nothingness. No pain, no dark wind blowing past her, no anything. Opening her eyes cautiously, Leisy found that the world had gone black. Am I trapped in a nightmare? she wondered, looking around frantically and relaxing when she spotted Olivie and Ella near her. As terrible as being trapped in a nightmare was, at least she had her friends with her — well, one friend and another helping hand. Further examination of her surroundings yielded some despairing facts: that the moon was quite close, placing Leisy likely in space since it seemed the perpetrating Pokemon was quite adept at creating realistic nightmares, and that her body was unconscious on the floor beside her.
Noticing her sleeping form on the floor beside her sent Leisy flinching back in alarm before approaching cautiously and attempting to touch it. Her hand easily passed through her body, yielding another slew of questions — and answers.
“This should be the out-of-body experience that many people possessed by Ghost-types talk about,” Leisy said, standing back up and looking at the other two girls. “I never believed it much since Pokemon — Ghost-type or not — were still Pokemon, but…” she paused, looking back at the body next to her with a shudder, “I guess they were telling the truth.”
When Ella freaked out, attempting to wake herself up, Leisy reached over and pulled her friend away from the body gently. “We’re not asleep, Ella. We’ve been knocked out of our bodies,” she said calmly. I wonder how I can be so calm, Leisy thought, looking at her hands. Maybe because… Maybe because this is just so amazing. Even when proffering death, the world still offers a piece of consolidation — something so amazing I can’t look away.
“Good point. But the Rotom is only able to control physical objects, right?” Cillian asked. “If it possesses a computer and the Porygon-Z attacks it through the cybernet… Things could go badly.”
Cillian pursed his lips, thinking. “How about use the Rotom as bait and set a trap for the Porygon-Z?” he suggested. “We can unplug the computer so that it can’t connect back to the electrical systems. And turn off the wifi function,” Cillian added. “How about it?”
The alarm woke Shanae up before day broke, and she quickly showered and dressed. A few more minutes and she was waiting in line at the corner convenience store since that seemed most convenient. Plus, Shanae was getting something for the road, assuming that she wouldn’t be able to get a hold of her friends today.
As she was exiting the shop, a official-looking board set up by the road caught her eye. Slowing down, Shanae paused to check it out.
“Huh. Interesting,” she said, looking over the posted notice before checking her watch. “Still have a bit of time before day breaks… Sure, why not?”
Neatly removing the pin and replacing it on the board, Shanae made for the building named in the post.
Rank: Skilled Organization: Helping Hand Guild [Founder]
"Ghost types..." Ella muttered as Leisy, who seemed oddly calm - in shock, possibly? - pulled her away from her unconscious double. Her eyes went wide. "If we're out of our bodies, then... Ghost types won't be affected by this! If there's any way we can let Brighteye and Tyrus out, maybe they'll be able to help!"
Even though she knew her hand would pass right through if she tried to touch the Pokeball, she crouched down. "Brighteye! Can you hear me in there?" Ella waited anxiously for a response, her heart sinking further with each passing second as nothing happened.
TP: +1 (52) Pokemon:
Trubbish (Treasure), female, lv7
Ekans (Smiley), male, lv6
Duskull (Brighteye), female, lv4
Inkay (Jumbles), male, lv4
Stunky (currently unnamed), male, lv1
Inventory:
Pokeball x1
Potion x1
Black Sludge x1 (borrowed)
✰ Jason Ackerman ✰
Location: Central City
Despite having grown up in Central City, Jason hadn't gone looking for Shaymin since childhood.
"Oi, girly boy!" Dazed and bruised, the child looked up from the patch of flowers he'd been pushed into. A sneering face loomed above him. "What's the matter? Scared? Not going to call on that imaginary friend of yours to help out? Y'know, even if that walking bunch of flowers was around here, fat chance it'd do anything. It'd be a wimp. Just like you."
Shuddering at the memory, he reminded himself that things were different now. As the head of Legendwatch, seeking out the Gratitude Pokemon wouldn't get him ridiculed, but respected. If he could get a photo back to the headquarters, that would be a major achievement.
As he stared into the sea of blooms in front of him, though, he knew this would be much easier said than done. "Ehh... This surely can't be all that difficult," he said to the small group of Pokemon at his side, although even to him, his words didn't exactly sound convincing.
Metal clanked and clashed against metal inside the building Shanae was standing in front of, and front of the building a series of letters had been nailed above the doors spelling out “Terraworks Inc.” Shanae paused, adjusting Alcedo so the Joltik was sitting on top of her head, before reaching a hand to knock on the door. Before her knuckle met metal in the painful exchange of many, the door swung open to reveal a small, stout man with a beard curled as if with a curling iron.
“What d’ya want?” the blonde-haired man demanded, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Shanae raised her hands in surrender, empty palms out. “I’m here about the mission — the one about the Pokemon that’s running around town burning buildings?”
The man paused, thinking, before snapping his fingers. “Right. Boss said som’thin about that earlier. Come wi’ me.” The curly tips of his beards disappeared into the factory, and Shanae followed him in.
Rank: Skilled Organization: Helping Hand Guild [Founder]
Trudging through the meadow, Jason frowned as he turned to Tibert. Currently, the Espurr was the only one of his Pokemon still out. "You sensing anything particularly strong around here?" he whispered. Shaymin, despite its small size, was supposed to be incredibly powerful.
Tibert looked around the area with his blank stare before shaking his head. Jason wandered onwards from flower patch to flower patch, taking care to make as little noise as possible. He stopped in his tracks as something green and leafy scurried out, but it was just a Snivy.
"This'll be easier when it's lighter," he said with a sigh. "While we're waiting, we might as well spend some time training."
As he and the rather bored Espurr headed further away from the city, the grass thinned. Before long, the two had emerged from a forest, on their way along one of the mountain trails.
“Right,” Juana replied, glancing at her Rotom. “I think it’s the electrical wires and stuff that Rotom takes over… but Rotom might very well help us put a stop to that Pokémon.” She checked her Pokédex. “Rotom can probably paralyze the Porygon-Z as soon as it comes into the computer like you said, and from there we’ll pull the plugs.”
Juana tossed the ball, and the toaster popped out of the capsule. “Rotom,” Juana said, “can you possess a computer for us?”
Rotom stuck out its tongue at Juana and danced around aimlessly. Juana sighed.
“Look, I’ll give you a treat if you do this for us, ‘kay? Something that’s not baking powder. You remember the baking powder, right?” Juana shook the now-empty tin in front of Rotom. The plasma Pokémon made a gagging noise, not wanting to experience the disgusting phenomenon of consuming raw baking powder again.
“Okay, sounds like a plan,” Juana said, standing up. “We’re going to have to ask the folks in the electronic store to use one of their laptops, because I am not interested in pissing them off by bringing the ghost I just busted back into the store.” She turned towards Tora. “What about you? Sounds like a plan?” CP: +1, total: 8
“Haha, I wouldn’t like to sample baking powder either,” Cillian said, laughing. He nodded in agreement with Juana’s words, thinking them over as he looked at the Scraggy at his side. His quick search of Porygon-Z had defined the Pokemon as a Normal-type, which meant that the dark-fighting dual in his arsenal would have an edge in the likely scenario that battle should occur.
“Say, can your Rotom take over your Pokedex?” Cillian asked. “It’s electronic and connects to the internet. You can also plug it into systems such as the PC machine, right?” Cillian asked.
Inside the factory, gears clinked and clanked in a symphony of sound. There seemed to be some sort of dysfunctional rhythm going on, but it sounded so mechanical, so flat that Shanae found herself instantly disliking the entire building. Although I still wouldn’t mind getting a tour, she thought, looking around at the whirling gears and churning rods as she followed the man up a stairwell.
“Ge’ in,” he said, an arm holding up a metal grate that covered what Shanae could only guess was an elevator of sorts. “Hurry up. This thing’s heavy.”
“Ah, sorry,” Shanae said, ducking into the elevator just as the man let go of the grate. The metal crashed down with a middle-volume clang as it hit the metal floor under it just as Twirly Beard — for lack of a better name and for the utter wonder that was his beard — pulled a lever that send the elevator shooting up the chute. “Wh—Wha—Whoa!” Shanae exclaimed, pressing herself against the wall of the elevator. Twirly Beard didn’t respond, merely tapping his foot patiently as the elevator shot up.
“Not scared of heights, are ‘ya?” he asked. Shanae’s eyes widened a little as the the elevator came to a halt at the uppermost level of the factory.
“Maybe a little,” she said, gulping as she peered down over the railings to see the pool of molten metal around ten stories below her. Twirly Beard snickered in response, footsteps leading Shanae away from the view and towards an office in a corner of the floor.
Rank: Skilled Organization: Helping Hand Guild [Founder]
Tora listened to the plan and nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a good idea as long as we're careful. I wouldn't want Rotom hurt if we make a mistake." she said before looking to Cillian as he questioned about the Rotom and Pokedex. "Rotom's are capable of possessing Pokedex's, as the region Alola has figured out. Though usually Rotom are trained for that specific purpose and a pretty rare gift. Unsure how Lady's Juana would react to possessing these Pokedex. Also it would be a bit risky to have either Rotom or Porygon-Z accidentally destroy her Pokedex. They aren't the most common things to cross by and hold quite important information. It may be wiser to risk a disposable computer." she suggested before going to the electronic store, quickly browsing a laptop and finding a suitable one. One with quite good internet connection and nice tech in order to temp the Pokemon.
"I'd like to purchase this please." Tora smiled to the Cashier who cocked a curious eyebrow.
"Sure thing. That'll be 500,000 Poke." The Cashier chirped and her jaw dropped a little as Tora reached into her backpack and plopped the thick stack of money on the counter. After ringing Tora up, the tall woman walked back to her friends and held it up to Rotom. Rummaging in her backpack and pulled up a jar of Pokemon food.
"If you would kindly assist Rotom, you can have some homemade Pokefood. Nice sour flavor for you." Tora spoke with a bright kind smile.
+1 post +1HHG = 38 +1CP = 32
Pokemon Team:
Archie the ♀Growlithe: Level 13/Healthy
Sirius the Staryu: Level 4/Healthy
Pezi the ♂Skiddo: Level 4/Healthy
Cairn the ♀Onix: Level 2/Healthy
Ria the ♀Riolu: Level 2/Healthy
Orion the ♂Shinx: Level 2/Healthy
Rachni the ♂Venipede: Level 2/Healthy
Inventory: 3x Pokeball 1x Potion 3x Rare Candies
-Continued interaction with @ToadRopes's character Juana. -Continued interaction with @Dusksong's character Cillian.
Ella’s outcry caused Olivie to spin her way instinctively, but whether or not the brunette heard her was not apparent. Finding no suitable target for her mounting hatred, she looked elsewhere. As adrift as her thoughts were, like one so exhausted after a long day’s work that everything had become a cloudy daze, or like a person lost in her dream, she focused on her surroundings. An inky abyss, darkness that seemed to weigh on her; the looming moon, pure as an angel’s robe; the rings of unmoving humans. She narrowed her eyes and stared at the very center, where she remembered the wave of soporific black originated. There knelt a singular figure, clad in a bulky gown the color of charcoal. A large, long wisp of white hair moved back and forth at a steady rate, even though Olivie couldn’t feel any wind. In this bizarre dreamscape, her skin didn’t grow clammy and her hairs didn’t rise in alarm, but she felt that something, something, was terribly wrong.
The centermost individual rose into the air. Olivie’s hands balled into fists as she watched, one hundred percent certain that the host of the nightmare levitated before her. When it gained some height, it showed no trace of legs, but instead gave a gleaming cyan light from one side of its head. This thing, not human at all, tilted its head and watched the three girls for a moment. Then it began to move forward.
No matter how bright the candle, it could not hold out forever beneath the onslaught of a gale wind. Olivie kept her courage together, but didn’t know how long it could last. Could this monster truly be a pokemon? Wraithlike, it floated toward her, its shadowy surface always in motion. She did not know what to expect, but out of every possibility, she did not anticipate it being able to speak.
”Riddle me this,” it demanded, the medium-pitched voice with which it spoke full of mockery. ”Three outsiders poke their noses in what doesn’t concern them. They vanish in the dead of night, never to be seen again. Who are they?”
It ceased moving forward. By now, it was close enough for Olivie to charge forward and attack, were she not in a stunned silence. The wraith cackled. ”Well, ‘nothing’ is a pretty good answer. Too scared to play along, are you? Come on. Tell me you liked how I strung along my little puppets.” An awful claw rose to make a sweeping motion toward all the villagers gathered on the sea stack. ”You know, I could make every one dance right off the cliff and clog up the shore with carcasses, but then all I would have left would be my cousins. What a bore!” It crossed its arms. ”In all honesty, I must thank you three. It’s not every day in this place I get to make a first impression. The locals tend to stop caring after a while. Speaking of which, where are my manners?” Gathering itself up, the monster executed a theatrical bow, its eye agleam with glee. ”Your kind calls me Darkrai. The pleasure is all mine. I sense that you may have...questions...for me?”
"You just walked in there and bought a laptop?" she asked. "Well, guess we don't have to worry about breaking it."
Rotom eagerly escaped the toaster, causing it to fall to the gravel with a thud. The computer became a deep scarlet, and opened up in Tora's hands, as Rotom's face displayed on the screen.
Juana picked up the toaster oven and escorted her friends to a café, before booting up and setting up the laptop. She hooked it up to the café's wireless.
"Okay, Rotom, search for the Porygon-Z," she ordered.
Rotom's display turned into a loading bar.
"So how are we going to get the Porygon-Z out of the computer?" Juana asked. She stood up. "I'm gonna go buy a Tapu Cocoa. You two want anything?" CP: +1, total: 9
In a flash of light, Jason let out the six-tailed fox. "Vul!" she squeaked, scampering along by his side. The trainer smiled, a soft smile rather than his usual cocky grin. Fond memories came back of meeting his Vulpix, his first Pokemon, right here in Central City's mountains.
"And you, Amyntas. This'll be a good place for you to train. How about it?" It was a silly question, really. As soon as it appeared, the Golett nodded, stomping forward in search of its next challenge. Tibert walked alongside the three, his attention fixed on them as if it were his duty to keep them in check.
Entering a cave, Jason squinted into the shadows. "Hey, Ili, you wouldn't mind brightening this place up with that fox-fire of yours?" Iliana complied, breathing out a small flame and letting the Will-O-Wisp drift around her.
The light fell across two advancing shapes. A Growlithe and a Quilava, their eyes on Iliana and Amyntas, who approached as if accepting an invitation to fight.
"Well, that was quick," Jason commented. It was a shame he was out of Pokeballs. "Ok, Iliana, hit that Growlithe with Confuse Ray!" Ghostly images danced, disorienting the Growlithe. The Quilava stepped in, using Iliana's distraction to its advantage, letting loose a Flamethrower.
The Vulpix stayed where she was, unharmed as she simply absorbed the fire attack. A golden glow appeared around her, further illuminating the cave.
"Nice try!" Jason said to the surprised Quilava. There was a reason he'd decided to train his Vulpix against other Fire types. "Now, Amyntas, take them both out with a Stomping Tantrum!"
Iliana and Tibert moved out of the way as the clay automaton worked itself up, stamping and thrashing, flinging rocks around. One of the rocks clattered down a sloping tunnel, bouncing off something. Something that moved. And growled.
The two wild Pokemon, weakened as they were, scurried away.
Jason stepped back from the awakening creature as another angry rumble echoed through the cave.
A single blue eye, peering out from under a mass of wispy white hair, chilled Ella to her core. She knew she'd seen that eye somewhere before... That dream. It had to have been in that dream she could barely remember.
This wasn't real, she told herself, just a vivid nightmare. Yet the being's words seemed to lower the temperature around her. Never to be seen again... This creature was all too capable of harming people as they slept.
As the monster turned, both its eyes fixing the group, Ella brought herself to move. If she'd still been in her body, she was sure she'd have been trembling, but she faced the wraith that called itself Darkrai. This had to be the legendary Pokemon she'd read about, but it wasn't said to target innocent people for fun like this... She wanted to back away, but instead, she stepped forward.
"I-I have a question," she said, her voice quiet and wavering. She had to force herself to meet that icy gaze. "Will you set the others free... Leisy, Olivie, all these townspeople, our Pokemon..." Her words faded to a whisper. "If I go with you?"
It was the only way she could help anyone, and today's events had proven the other two would be better off without her tagging along. So would Vivian. Surely someone as strong as Leisy would be able to track down the thieves alone, with nobody getting in her way.
Besides, after what she'd let happen with the Malamar, she owed Olivie this, as well as the other trainer whose Pokemon she'd gotten hurt.
Squealing in protest, Jumbles floated in between Ella and Darkrai. "Jumbles, please, keep out of this," Ella urged, standing before the looming figure, as she prepared to be useful for the first and last time.
Leisy watched in awe as the black figure floated up from the crowd, moving towards where she and her friends were. A spectre — a grim reaper, Leisy thought, eyes wide as the wraith approached. Are we… Are we dead?
When the Pokemon spoke, a chill rolled down Leisy’s spine. She had never given it much thought as to what death would sound like if personified, but this creature didn’t fit the bill. It’s voice was too snide, too haughty, too lacking in omniscience to be the personification of death. When the creature spoke its name, Leisy thought back to the children's’ rhyme about sleep — how Cresselia, the lunar Pokemon, would rescue good children from nightmares of Darkrai and grant them sweet dreams instead.
So this is Darkrai? she wondered, looking up at the pitch-black Pokemon as it spoke. Does this mean we really are dreaming?
The dark-type’s last question was dangled in front of Leisy like a cat would dangle life in front of a mouse, letting the squeaking animal escape briefly only to give chase and sink its claws in deeper. Still, Leisy had questions, and she would be willing to venture out of the claws if it meant she got answers.
“Are we dreaming?” she asked the Pokemon, pointing to the bodies beside her, “Or are we dead?”
When Ella asked her question, Leisy snapped around to look at her friend. “No, Ella. No,” she said firmly. “We took on this mission together, so we have equal responsibility in whatever happens to us. But if you sacrifice yourself now, it’ll all be my fault then. That I didn’t convince you out of it, that I wasn’t strong enough to save you,” Leisy said, shaking her head. “But other than me, what about you? Your Pokemon, your parents, your friends… None of them will ever hear from you again. Will you really willingly make them go through all that grief, pain, and suffering?”
“Whoa, do you just carry around that much cash?” Cillian asked, eyes wide as Tora returned with a laptop in her hands. “What if we get robbed or something?”
Cillian was silent as he watched the Rotom load itself into the computer and start his search for the Porygon-Z. “This is really cool,” he said as the Rotom pulled up a loading bar. A ghost-electric dual that can possess appliances is looking for a virtual Pokemon that lives entirely in the digital world, Cillian thought, grinning. Pokemon really are amazing.
“Tapu Cocoa for me too — could use some hot cocoa right about now,” Cillian said, straightening up and pulling out some Poke and handing it to her.
“Boss, a trainer’s here to see ‘ya,” Twirly Beard said, announcing Shanae’s arrival. Walking into the office, Shanae was greeted by an ornate carpet upon which a spacious desk was stationed, the backdrop a wall of clear glass that showed the rows of skyscrapers and factories near this one. Behind the desk was a chair turned away from Shanae — a large, red leather swivel chair that, if not for the hand drumming a steady rhythm on one of its handles, Shanae would have overlooked entirely.
“So you’re here for the mission, are you?” the hoarse voice asked in a deep and cracked drawl.
“Yep,” Shanae said brightly. She paused briefly, considering silence briefly before continuing. “Um, Marvin, you still need to work on the voice thing a little more. Right now, you sound like a dying whale.”
“Shanae?” the voice asked, swiveling his chair around. A blonde-haired boy around fifteen sat in the chair, eyes wide and mouth open as he stared at the woman in shock. “What are you doing here?”
“Taking a mission,” Shanae replied, waving the notice around. “The one your father put on the mission board?”
Rank: Skilled Organization: Helping Hand Guild [Founder]
"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap..." Jason ran from the cave, followed by his Pokemon. A furious bellow sounded through the mountain air. "Niiiice giant firebreathing lizard... Aagh!"
He leapt to the side, feeling the air heat up as he avoided a burst of flame. His foot struck something, and he tumbled down a rocky slope, his surroundings lurching. Wincing and gritting his teeth, the dazed trainer propped himself up to see the creature take to the sky with a sweep of its huge wings, a ball of fire forming in its jaws.
Iliana jumped in the way of the blast, absorbing it before it could hit her trainer. With a gasp, Jason pulled himself back. "Iliana! Look out!" The Vulpix only narrowly managed to dodge a swipe of the Charizard's claws.
Tibert rushed over, letting out a loud grumble as he set up a Light Screen. The sturdy Amyntas placed itself in front of Jason, ready to defend him against the enraged beast, who didn't look in the slightest deterred.
Ella stayed where she was, in front of Darkrai, both hand clenched into fists by her sides. She couldn't feel the pain that digging her fingernails into her palms should have brought. She might as well already be dead.
"If I don't," she choked out, "we'll all die anyway. And my parents, well... Look, they always said I brought shame on them. Mom didn't even want me to be a trainer. Said I'd embarrass her. I don't exactly have many friends. And look what kind of trainer I am... my Pokemon can't even be out at the same time. Surely they'd be happier with somebody else."
Jumbles let out another cry, turning from side to side as if shaking his head.
"It's not your fault," Ella continued to Leisy. That cheerful mask she put so much effort into keeping in place had shattered and fallen away completely, but it didn't matter any more. "It's just that out of all of us, it should be me."
First to step forward was the girl in patchwork. Darkrai returned to its full height, arms crossed beneath its great red jaws like a djinn hearing a wish. A wish did come—Ella volunteered to sacrifice herself, if only the others would be spared. Had it a mouth, the wraith might have snickered, and had it a nose, it would have looked down it at the brave young lady. How romantic! How poetic! How...misguided. Silence reigned in the dreamscape for a transitive moment until Leisy broke it with her refusal. The raven-haired girl took it upon herself to try and talk her friend out of it, citing the grief of pokemon, parents, friends, and so forth in order to reverse Ella's morbid offering. However, the punk proved immune to reason, and in a pity of self-pity hardheadedly refused to reconsider. During this time, Darkrai glanced at the remaining visitor. For all her supposed eagerness to fight, Olivie had yet to speak, let alone to pick a fight. Just as it had guessed, the girl wasn't hard at heart. No matter how convincing the facade, a person's mask would always slip under troublesome circumstances. A look of true concern lay on her face, directed at Ella. At the same time, it asked are you stupid? and declared no way, but Olivie herself said nothing.
No matter. A gleeful edge infiltrated Darkrai's voice as it enunciated, ”Whoa, whoa whoa. Who said anything about dying? Who says I want a sacrifice? Maybe I like you better alive. Maybe I'd do anything in my power to keep you alive. After all, the dead can't dream. What kind of monster do you take me for? A cackle echoed through the empty space. It carried with it some kind of invisible reverberation, one that spiraled into the dark that lay in every direction and made it move. Suddenly, the landscape's serenity was no longer. Like the static of a television, the abyss shook and vibrated. Darkrai floated upward again, revolving as it did. Its voice, louder now, reached the girls once again. ”I've never killed a soul. In fact, when someone is about to die, I give them a final good dream to send them to their rest. But I am a monster, after all. Want to know my little secret? Why I do what I do? Why...I'm a monster?” Returning its one-eyed gaze to the trainers, it loomed over them, crooked as a crone. ”Course you do! It's power. Power is an end, not a means. Having it is all you could ever ask for. Most never get any. Pokemon have more than humans, but they can't put it to as much use. Power is freedom, and monsters are free. Anyone can be a monster. Everyone would if they could. Who hasn't taken pleasure in dreams, delighting in and pining for something more? Perhaps, before we get down to business, you'd like to see what I mean.”
Out of the blue, Darkrai's eye flashed. So blindingly bright was it that Olivie reeled back, hands plastered over her eyes, but the glow remained seared on her retina for several seconds. When the darkness finally returned, she blinked several times to readjust to the light. Once she could see clearly again, she could see that the dreamscape had changed. Instead of standing near the rim of a sea stack, she stood on a great plateau, its surface covered in yellow grass. Beyond the land, the darkness still squirmed and wriggled, but Olivie's attention lay on the scene before her. Every person was gone, and across the top of the plateau, a battle raged. Olivie spotted hundreds of different Pokemon, few of which she recognized. The sky lit up, causing her eyes to follow, and she witnessed an orange dragon sending a gargantuan wave of flame into an airborne opponent she couldn't quite make out.
”Magnificent, aren't they?" Darkrai's voice sounded out from behind the trio. Olivie turned to see the specter hovering with its hands clasped as if in awe. ”Every night it's something new. Usually there's more of a theme going on, but tonight I left it as a grand melee, just for you all. I know,” it said with bowed head, its voice a sigh, ”That you three don't think much of me. A crazy monster, spouting off gibberish to excuse its foul deeds. Well, I am hoping this exercise will show you.”
Olivie felt something brush her shoulders then her elbows, then her thighs and calves. She reached to grab it, and her hands closed around something light and soft. She pulled it into vision and found it to be pure white hair—her own hair, for a tug bought some pain to her head. Two such hairs drooped into her vision, globules of gold on their tips. Memories came rushing back. ”Oh no.”
Opening its eye, Darkrai bared its teeth in a huge grin. ”Oh, yes. The three of you will understand soon enough the unstoppable allure of power! First, you shall gain it.”
Something strange happened to Olivie's vision. Everything grew blurry, then clear again, and when the world returned it was a much wider and taller view than she was used to. She looked down to find a body not her own; she raised her hands to see slender snow-white wrists with long, yellow claws instead of fingers. Anger and confusion surged through her, and in their wake was a new feeling entirely.
”Then, you will revel in it! Think little of monsters, do you? Well, welcome to the club!”
