After all that training with a pair of trips back to the Pokemon Center when it was viable, Jason finally felt that he could probably take on the Hawlucha. Or, at the very least, give it a hell of a run for its money and he started his way that way. Slayer and Sable were both out of their balls and following close behind Jason as they made the trip and making some small talk as they went. Jason listened in the best he could and chuckled as the two Pokemon got heated here and there. Upon reentry to the town, the three of them made their way to the lifts.

Once there, Jason returned the pair to their Pokeballs to get some rest and talked to himself about the plan he'd come up with. "Alright, we're going to fight a Hawlucha, a fighting and flying type. So we're going to lead with Murus, cause his Ghost typing will nullify its fighting and normal type moves. The Flying type moves it might know won't have any advantage, should have tried to find an electric type...ah well. Avem has Wing Attack and is just as quick as Hawlucha, not to mention a smaller target...Yeah, no, we should be OK."

Once he got to the Entertainment district again, Jason set out to see how the fights were going and wait for his turn.

Stella Lumite

As she sat around, Stella browsed through the Center's brochures, picking a few out and stuffing them in her backpack. If there was any information on that house, she'd want it. It seemed mysterious, but also like it could have been on purpose? For a town so invested

What time was it, anyway?

As she picked up her Pokemon, Stella looked to her right, curiously. Move tutor? She'd heard mention of them from trainers. She gave Joy her thanks and approached the tutor. "Hello. You're a Move Tutor? Anything... you can teach a Blipbug?" Having something more than Struggle Bug would be nice, but maybe it just wasn't possible. Surely, a Pokemon like that must evolve... How else would it survive?

"I've got some others. How about a Tyrunt? Or a Joltic?" She was certainly interested in expanding the movesets her Pokemon knew. She wondered if any of the kids around here knew about rare or uncommon pokemon in town. She had an extra electric type that might make a good pet, she could trade for information.

---

Tristan made his way cautiously through the tunnel using the flashlight from his pokedex to illuminate the way. Princess walked closely at his side, but not too closely so as to not accidentally trip each other up as even with the flashlight it was still quite dark. A good look few looks at the walls showed that this tunnel likely wasn't natural and the fact the door was covered up with dirt had him surmising this to be an escape tunnel made or possibly discovered by Robbie and might explain how he has been hiding and sneaking off the eggs undetected.

Unsure of how much time passed as the shuffling of feet and ongoing darkness made keeping track of time difficult but eventually the end of the tunnel was reach with a ladder set before the pair.

From above they could hear faint sounds while Princess could make out that they were the heavy footfalls of a human. A few sniffs of her nose and her ears perked up at the familiar scents of Robbie and king which had the canine lifting up her right paw with perked ears." Rio." she let out in a low bark to which Tristan gave a shushing noise with a finger pressed to his lips.

The silver haired teen had not expected to find himself in such an opportune position having him wonder if it was actually due to his skills as a detective or by sheer dumb luck. For now he chose to go with the latter.

This was an incessantly crucial moment; one he would have to decide how to approach. He could go up there and confront the man, but he did not know what he might find up there or the kind of location or hell if he might have others up there with him. Not to mention the fact that Robbie was likely still in a state of panic and going up now was highly like to result in a battle breaking out of which he could find himself at a disadvantage but most importantly if he has any eggs with him then the risk of them getting damage would be high. Tristan may be spoiled and conceited and completely full of himself and....moving on. One thing he was not was one to be rash and refused to tackle this like a trainer who thinks battles and violence were the only way to handle any disputes. He could picture that hot head he glimpsed charging off like a stampeding tauros or a certain horrid she-beast who, at the mere thought of made his body shudder in distaste.

A feeling that going up now would likely exuberate the situation and with too little knowledge on the situation made such approach too risky. Besides, a number of signs stuck out to him from throughout the case that told him this Robbie did not seem to be a bad person as this whole thievery seemed to not be done out of greedy or malicious reasoning or intent. And the concerned expression evident on her face confirmed his suspicions.

After much thought, Tristan pressed his index left index finger to his lips once more signaling to keep quiet then pointed back towards the way they came. Quietly, he turned to tread his way back through the tunnel with a confused Riolu in tow. After traveling to what he felt to be the half-way point of the tunnel did the teen come to a stop and turned around once more and with a press of his thumb turned the flashlight off letting darkness swallow up the tunnel once more.

All that was left to do was to wait and with the hope King was nearby up there who would know to follow after. He would not handle this like the brutes he has since met.

@Zarkun

Jason made his way back to the Entertainment District via cable car and eventually made his way back to the Battle Square where the crowd did not recede at all. In fact, it looked like there was a decent line of people chomping at the bit to take down this half-sized feathered luchador. Jason would have no choice, but to stand in the queue that was getting shorter at an alarming rate. As he got closer, he would hear the occasional cries from the trainers who just were getting curb stomped and smeared around.

"Mercy, mercy!"

"Momma!"

"Wait, wait, wait!"

At this point this was just a glorified meat grinder and Jason was now the fresh meat. He was now standing face to face with this feathered, suplexing menace who was looking at the fledgling trainer with an ever-smug grin.

Jason was now standing in what was basically just a wooden arena where people were sitting on bleachers that were also made of wood just watching the slaughter. Standing in the middle of the arena seemed to be a young man in baggy street wear standing in as a referee who began this match with an announcement.

"Alright, the rules for this battle are simple! It is a one v. one match instead of our usual three v. three format! Meaning, you are only allowed one Pokemon for this battle! The Hawlucha will be treated as if it is a trainer so that means you are not allowed to catch it! The first one to knock out their opponent will be considered the winner!"

The referee turned to Jason and said, "Send out your Pokemon."

What does Jason do?

---

@CitrusArms

From the brochures she would weirdly enough, there was only surface level information on the decrepit house. What she could find was that it was around since the creation of Florasong over a hundred-years-ago and that it once was the home to the Osmans, a once prominent noble family that has now fallen into ruin. There were even photos of paintings of the house in its prime; a beautifully red painted manor with white trimming and ivy growing up its walls and a lush well-kept garden that looked like it once had a hundred hands working on it. There was even a technicolor photograph of a happy, handsome family that looked like it was taken in the last 90 years: a woman, a man in a wheelchair, and a little girl. Why this had happened to them, what their current situation is, and why the once glorious home was in currently in this rundown state was not answered in these brochures.

Once she felt she had done enough light reading and picked her Pokemon up, she had decided to check out the Move Tutor. The Move Tutor smiled welcomingly and spoke with a jovial tone.

"Yes, I am miss. We are now back in every Pokemon Center in the region to offer our services. We keep the more powerful moves behind gym badges though, so your options are a bit limited."

When asked about what he could teach her Blipbug, he did look a bit concerned at the question because they are not known exactly for having the most diverse learn set out there in the Pokemon world. He actually had to pull out a book to see if it could even learn a move that is available to her, but luckily showed visible signs of relief.

"Ah, well it can learn one move that we can offer at your level of experience. It can learn Infestation. If you wish to learn more moves, then you'd need to evolve it at level 10. I'm sure you can do it!"

He then proceeded to cross check the book again when asked about the other Pokemon she would be interested in teaching and promptly said, "Well, for Joltik you can learn Bug Bite, Shock Wave, and Infestation. Your Tyrunt can learn Hone Claws from what is available at your level as well."

The book was then shut with a loud thump. It does contain information about practically all known Pokemon.

"Each move will cost 500P a pop. However, I feel like I should show you what other options you have for the future."

The Move Tutor handed her a list of moves.

---

@samreaper

From King's perspective, he would see the Ditto return with a manilla envelope that seemed to be filled to max capacity and a flashlight, handing them to Robbie. "Thanks, little buddy. Now, let's get out of here before they find us." The man stood up from his chair and limped over to a table and just knocked it over with a loud thud before he knelt down and felt around for something before, he found his grip. He lifted up a panel of wood and tossed it to the side to reveal a secret passage down below the house.

"Dit? Ditto?"

"What? No, of course I wasn't followed! Now hurry before they figure it all out!"

The Ditto hopped on his shoulder and Robbie began to climb down the ladder that Tristan saw earlier.

What would King do?

Meanwhile, Robbie and his Ditto were now in the dark tunnel and turned-on a flashlight, which Tristan from a distance could see from where he was, but the farmhand was too far away himself for the light to reach our hero of the story. Robbie would continue to press forward as fast as anyone could with an injured leg and Tristan could see the light get closer and closer to him. It probably wouldn't be long until Robbie would actually see him.

What does Tristan do?

With just about everything useful gleaned from the locals, Steph was pretty content with her first day now. It hadn't gotten off to a great start but was looking up, and she was beginning to get an idea as to where to head to next. Lots of things seemed to be happening around route 4 and beyond, so she would head south. Of course, only after her sewer diving and going to catch a growlithe. But first, the cries of a man in distress caught her attention!

Turning over, she noticed the culprit flying away with a...manwich? The hell was a manwich? That just looked like a sandwich to her...anyway that didn't matter! She had been about to ask Freya where the easiest place to enter the sewers was, but this took precedent!

"Oi ya leettle shiieh', geh' bahck heah weeth thaht!" Yelling after the Wingull, for what felt like the 50th time today no doubt for poor Freya, Steph was running off shouting all sorts of obscenities. Luckily all the people giving her weird glances couldn't understand her.

"Hy Dusk mite, theenk yah cahn blahst em eow' of the skoy weeth an embah?" Glancing to her right shoulder, where her starter could be found, she was given an empathic look of just absolute....

Bruh how the fuck am I meant to do shit to a water type? look.

"Oh...roigh', roigh'. uh...guess Oy only raylly gawt one option. just geeve ih' a troy t' deestrahct ih' ok?" Pulling a ball from her belt as she ran, Dusk just shrugged.

"Lit..." Suppose there was no harm in trying? So as Steph threw a Pokeball out, Dusk would attempt to shoot the Wingull with an ember. At the very least, it should get the birds attention? Nonetheless, Steph was letting Jack out and pointing up at the bird.

"Jack, cahn yah use yoah ice shahd t' troy and knawck the leettle buggah eow' of the aeh? Once its daown at ahh laevel we cahn hahve yah gao roigh' at ih' ok?" A simple enough strategy, knock the wingull down, then have Jack basically just jump onto it and start scratch spamming till it got within catching distance and then throw a pokeball. And if it wasn't knocked down? Well, ice shard spam was always a viable backup.

---

King continued to observe as he was only to act if Robbie did something that might seem bad or dangerous as Tristan told him to do. The bird jumped a bit at the table suddenly being knocked over revealing a hidden cover. Before long he would witness Robbie and the ditto climb their way down into the tunnel and since he was told to follow him, the magenta bird would fly his way in after though not before making sure to wait a bit as he did not want to fly in when Robbie was still on the ladder.

Minutes later, Tristan who was waiting further in the tunnel soon saw glimpses of a flashlight and faint crunch of his feet hindered by the limp. His guess that the man would use this tunnel proved correct thankfully as he waited for Robbie to draw closer until shortly before the man's flashlight gave him away did, he turn on his pokedex's light once more revealing himself and Princess standing at his side.

The bipedal canine took a step forward alert but nervous as she wasn't sure what her trainer was up to but kept herself ready for if the human or that ditto tried to attack.

Then the faint sound of flapping came from behind as King flew into view and upon seeing Tristan up ahead past Robbie, the bird landed a short distance behind Robbie and let out a caw with raised wings to let the man know he was there. Both at the ready to act a moment's notice.

At that moment, Tristan held up his free hand." Stand down you two." He ordered with an expression matching the calm tone albeit with a stern hint to his gaze." First, I wish to state that your thieving is at an end and I'm afraid I can't let you go, Robbie. However.." Holding up a finger signaling for the man to wait before saying or doing anything." I wish to handle and proceed things here peacefully. After looking over the facts and details of the case as well as both the manner you went about this in a way that ensured no one got hurt and the reactions of Princess here." Motioning towards the Rioulu who let out a small bark in response." I have come to the conclusion that you are not a bad person nor doing this out of greedy or malicious intent." He studied the man closely and what he saw was a person he had seen plenty of from his visits to his father's companies or when made to observed the dealings of business.

The man before him was not dangerous or evil, no this was a man who was scared and desperate." Having said that. I wish for you tell me your situation and from there we can perhaps figure out a peaceful conclusion. Or you can choose to try and brute your way through risking the safety of...that pink blob there and possibly a cave in." Motioning the light around the tunnel which undoubtedly was not made to handle shocks." And to show there are no tricks." Taking out a pokeball using it to recall king, the unexpected act making the murkrow gasp in surprise as he now rested within his pokeball.

" There. Now it will be one on one if you decide to battle. I leave the decision up to you, sir." This was a gamble, he knew but felt that for him this was the best approach.

Jason outwardly maintained composure, but internally blanched, realizing he had to figured this out with one of his partners to win this. Murus is the easy answer, what with his Ghost typing, but he's not very mobile...alternatively, Avem is small and quick and...utterly unprepared...Occisor has a type disadvantage and is still too angry with me..I think...I can't ask Slayer to do this, poor guy will get trounced. Sable would be too eager, but no ice type moves...Fuck, what do I do here... The referee sighed in annoyance.

"Come on, guy, we don't got all day and there are other people who want to fight this thing. You gonna throw out a Pokemon or not?" Pulling himself out of his reverie and nodding to himself, the aspiring champion pulled a ball from his belt and tapped the button to grow it to normal size before tossing it. "Alright, Slayer, let's do this together!" The Ralts emerged in a beam of light and the little guy looked determined. "Alright buddy, hit it with Confusion and then use Double Team and try and get a Hypnosis off! Failing that, hit it with Confusion again."

@Lunarlord34

Well, they certainly got its attention alright. The ember didn't hit the Wingull, it hit the sandwich with enough force to knock it out of its claws and careened down to the salt water in a smoldering mess.

"Gull gull!" Which translated to, My manwich!

The bird did a complete U-turn to fly towards the jerks that burnt its rightfully earned sandwich, which it stole, but stealing was work, only to meet face first with a fucking icicle. The poor Wingull just fell and almost smacked the ground though it just in time regained its balance in the air and glide along the ground as Jack tried to jump it. Unfortunate for Jack, the Wingull was actually quick enough to respond with a Water Gun and blasted the Sneasel away with a forceful stream of water from its mouth.

The Wingull just looked at Steph with some fight in its eyes. "Gull!"

Steph does not know what it said, but she can assume it was insulting.

What does Steph do?

---

@samreaper

Robbie just spun around in a panic to see that his way was blocked off by both sides though he was soon focused on Tristan who was going on about how there was no way out and to surrender peacefully. What his response? The farmhand began to laugh hysterically though it was not out of mockery towards Tristan's attempt at being some intimidating detective. This was broken, something that could come from a man at the end of his rope where the only sensible thing is to laugh at the absurdity of his situation.

This fit of laughter subsided eventually and the only thing Tristan could see was not the bright man from earlier, but someone who had been beaten down at everything this world had thrown at him, and he just could not take it anymore.

"You want to know? Fine, you're in this for the long haul whether you like it or not." He said with no ounce of resistance.

"I fell into debt with the worst kind of people imaginable in Neon Shore City a few months back. I had a winning streak in its casino though that was because I was counting cards, but uh, word to the wise, when the mob finds out you cheated them, they take exception to that. It was either that I found a way to make it square or I would be chopped up into feed. I don't know how they knew, but they knew that I was a farmhand here and had access to these Pokemon eggs on the ranch. They wanted me to steal the eggs and hand them off to their men. I'm guessing they were selling them off to someone for exorbitant prices, especially the Torchic eggs. God knows what's happened to them."

He could only chuckle bitterly at the point his life had entered and to make matters worse, it dragged innocent bystanders down with him.

"Kid, you are so out of your fucking depth. You have no idea how what kind of target you've put on your back just by getting involved. We're both already dead. You just don't know it yet."

He returned the Ditto to his Pokeball and looked back at Tristan.

"Just take me back. I'm tired of everything."

What does Tristan do?

---

@Zarkun

The Hawlucha's eyes glowed for a brief moment, and it somehow just seemed to leap out of the way of an invisible force of psychic energy directed its way. That was the move Detect, which basically allowed a free dodge from any attack as it could just predict what attack would come its way.

In retaliation, the Hawlucha charged straight towards the Ralts though then there were suddenly a horde of Ralts courtesy of Double Team. The bird looked around confused and swung its wing at one of the doppelgangers only for it to pass through. It did notice that one of the Ralts figures released a wave of energy that rippled throughout the air, which was Hypnosis, but quickly was able to fly upwards to avoid it. The Hawlucha then flew down and smashed down with a Wing Attack against one of the figures only to find it was again another doppelganger and then just ate a Confusion from behind.

It stumbled a bit from the impact, showing obvious signs of damage and even more obvious signs of anger. It wanted what it would call an 'honest' fight. No trickery, no status inducing moves, just pure one on one combat. That was its nature so the fact that it was struggling against a Ralts of all things was certainly an insult.

A red energy extended from its fingers and then traveled up its wings to create this bladed aura around it that expanded its wingspan. This was Hone Claws. It's attack and accuracy increased by 1 stage.

What does Jason do?

Oh? This Wingull seemed fiesty. She liked its style already! Sure, it stole some guys sandwich...but uh, guess no one was having that sandwich now. It was kinda on fire...and in the ocean. Oh well, that was well out of her though process right now as Steph just grinned up at the wingull, the excitement visible in her sparkling eyes.

"Oh? Yaw nawt gaowin t' run awhy? Laeh''s gao thaen! Jack, use ice shahd aguyn! Fuyah off thray naow!" Receiving a brief nod from her Sneasal, who had begun to understand not really what she was saying but her intent, the pokemon would begin a new assault. One. Two. Three. Chunk after chunk of ice shot off towards its target, as Steph stood there watching. Waiting. She had seen and experienced Jack's nimbleness and agility, though this was a bit more open than a narrow alleyway, there were still options! But first, she needed to keep this Wingull on its toes.

"Anuhthah vawllay of thray, thaen whoile it's deestrahcted jump off the wohl and propel yoahsself fohwahd weeth anuhthah ice shahd sao yah cahn slahm ih' intao the ground weeth a scrahtch!" It was maybe asking a bit much for a newer mon, but she had faith that her partner could do it. And if he managed to do that? Or well, at least do enough damage to put it into catching range, she would attempt to do so.

---

The man sudden hysterical outburst was unexpected and worrisome leaving the pair tense as they could not tell what Robbie might do next. It seemed he was far more desperate than he thought; one pushed to the brink of cracking mentally and for a moment Tristan was sure this guy was going to attack in the middle of losing it.

Not even noticing that his hand was tightly gripping King's pokeball as if readying himself to call back the murkrow. As a crazy person was the time you threw caution to the wind and went all out before they could do anything dangerous.

Thankfully Robbie seemed to retain his sense of sanity to instead tell his story involving gambling, cheating and...the mob?! The mere mention of that word had Tristan gulping nervously as he forced himself to keep his calm expression and composure though were his hand not occupied it would be shaking. His nervousness easily felt by Princess who inched her way in front of him to protect her trainer if needed.

And as Robbie carried on with his tale, the silver haired teen was still curious about that pink blob and would take this time while the man was monologuing to do a silent scan of it. A flick of his thumb to set it aside for later to read, thankful for his expert skill of texting to do it all with merely his thumb.

Once Robbie finished regaling his story, Tristan would cough against his left fist to clear his throat." Well uh... that's quite the harrowing life you have had there. Though can't say that you didn't do it to yourself, but I feel for you." He said but internally.* This guy is a fucking moron! Like seriously?! Cheating and stealing from the mob? What the fuck did he think was gonna happen?! Shit..if they find out it was me that put an end to this operation...this fucking day!* Stealthily chewing on his left thumb's fingernail to fight back the growing bout of panic sitting like a heavy pit in his stomach.

Even having Robbie willingly surrender did little to help his distraught mind and for a moment had an almost overpowering urge to do like a certain she-beat and deck this guy for being a fucking idiot. God forbid if the mob were to find out about him though with how resourceful and determined they were it was more a matter of when than if.

" Good to see that you are capable of seeing reason. But before we do, I must ask that you hand over any stolen items on your person. I will have Princess retrieve them and once that is done then we can head back. Give no trouble and I might be able to talk with the owners to figure out a way that ends well for everyone." Tristan nodded to Princess after explaining as the Riolu cautiously stepped over to Robbie but made no sign she was going to attack or harm the man.

If Robbie handed whatever he took from the stash without resistance, then Princess would pad back over to Tristan who would start leading the way out the tunnel, making sure to hold the door opened for the limping farmhand.

Good hit there, just gotta keep it up. Don't want to use the same tactic too many times either though, but Ralts isn't nearly as fast as Hawlucha...but then maybe I can use that against it... Smiling as an idea begins to form, Jason nods to himself before calling out to his partner. "Slayer, hit with another Confusion but wait til the last possible second to avoid its counter and try and hit it with Disarming Voice! Failing that, hit it with Confusion once more and then use Double Team to try and get in a Draining Kiss."

Stella Lumite

Whoops I saved over it. Shopping and move tutor. Infestation for Ocul.

I'll recreate this later maybe.

Faye laughed softly. "No no, of course not. I'd get parental consent for that." While Rosa started herding the kids, Faye started taking pictures of the kids having fun fooling around as they started. She could always go through and delete ones that just didn't look okay, but she liked the expressions some had as they tried to get their pokemon settled along with them when she started helping give instruction. Eventually they all got settled for long enough that she got a picture that was perfect.

"Excellent. Thank you, all! Here," she pulled out a business card with her information on it and offered it to the farmgirl. "Rosa, next time I stop by my house in King's Cross I can get this printed and developed, then I'll mail out prints to you to give to all of them. But I could transfer a copy to you right now if you wanted to print them yourself. Just need to your email or phone number, and I can send it over to you."

She laughed softly and waved off the apology. "Oh it's fine. I started off with helping take family pictures for neighbors and such. Kids can be fidgety but that was better than some of my photoshoots. So are you guys hanging here still or were you going to come with me? You said your family ranch was that way, right? Plan to stop in to check it out on my way to the Pokemon Daycare that's supposed to be around here too."

If Rosa gave her the information, she'd stay long enough to get the photo transferred to the other teen.
If the group decided to stay where they were, Faye would part ways with them and head on her way to Frida's Ranch. If the group wanted to join her, she'd happily accept their company for her walk back to the ranch.

@Lunarlord34

Ah yes, intent. The true way to understand someone when you can't understand what the actually fresh fuck they are saying.

Also, RIP manwich, we hardly knew ye.

The Wingull retaliated with water gun to collide against the ice projectiles rocketing towards the bird, taking one of them out in and pulverizing it into chunks though it was not so lucky with the other two. It missed its water gun and was smashed against the two icicles. This bird was already beginning to look like it was getting a bit tired from the beat down though despite the punishment it was enduring, it was still raring to go. This time it was able blast the Ice Shards out of the air with its Water Gun and watched as the Sneasel was trying to pull of his pretty risky maneuver.

The Wingull watched as the bipedal weasel jump off the wall and propel itself towards the Wingull in the air with an Ice Shard, readying its claws for a Scratch attack. In response, the Wingull used Water Gun again on the midair Sneasel. Now, the issue is that at this point it would be safe to say that the Sneasel was already committed to the attack so any chance of dodging would be impossible. The only way it would get out of this is if the Wingull missed.

Jack was met with the full force of a blast of water colliding against him and blasted towards the ground. It was a critical hit! Lucky for the Sneasel though, it wouldn't be enough to knock it down, but was it going to hurt.

The Wingull followed up with Quick Attack.

How does Steph respond?

---

@samreaper

"You're a bit too late. I don't have any of the goods on me. They've already been handed off to the goons and probably sold off somewhere. This though?" Robbie said, holding up a manilla folder and waving it around before tossing it down to the ground for Princess to pick up. "Totally useless to you. There is not a chance in hell that you or most of the region would be able to understand what this contains, but if it gets your Riolu off my back."

Indeed, he made no effort to stop the Riolu from retrieving what he had just dropped. As soon as Tristan had it in his hands, he knew that whatever was in that folder was not money. The mob was not paying Robbie monetarily; they were paying him with the privilege of living. It was a stack of paper, but whatever was actually on that paper remained to be seen. Despite this, one would be a fool to think that there was no importance placed upon these papers. Robbie risked getting caught and rushed his way to that rundown shack of a cabin to retrieve these papers for some reason. Tristan better hold onto that folder tightly.



Since Robbie did not put up a fight just like Tristan asked, he was led out of the tunnel. He had to squint as his eyes recalibrated to the now evening sun setting over them and took a deep breath of the fresh air after breathing in that damp, musty tunnel air. He chuckled bitterly and looked at Tristan with a sarcastic smile on his face.

"You know, I really did like this place. They gave me a chance that no one else ever did and treated me like family. I had a real sense of belonging and then I ballsed it all up. Shame that I'll never see it again... Not in the way that you think though."

The Pokeball flashed and out came the Ditto from earlier.



That Ditto then begin to physically reconstitute itself into the Pokemon that was in front of it, Princess the Riolu. Tristan and Princess would watch as this thing shifted and twisted until it was the spitting image of the Riolu standing in front of it.

"Sorry kid, but you really shouldn't trust others that easily. Not when it's a matter of life and death. Now, give me back that folder or, well, I don't think either of us are gonna like what will happen next."

If Tristan refuses, well, we all know what will happen and let's be honest, Tristan is gonna get that damn Torchic even if it kills him..

Farmhand Robbie challenges you!

---

@Zarkun

Again, the Hawlucha's eyes glowed again as it used Detect and leaped out of the way of the invisible force though the follow attack was quite literally impossible to dodge. The sound waves imbued with mystical energy reverberated throughout the battlefield. The Hawlucha grabbed its head as it tried to block out the sound to no avail though in a rush to end this fight, it charged towards one of the Ralts doppelgangers and swung at it with all its might, putting so much of its weight forward to increase the impact as much as possible.

So, the Hawlucha rolled a 1.

The Ralts doppelganger phased through its attack and because the Hawlucha threw so much of its weight forward, it could not stop its momentum and tumbled through after image so spectacularly that it somersaulted straight into the crowd and actually smacked into someone, knocking that person over in the process. It received recoil damage from this massive failure and was trying to stand up and get its bearings only to receive a direct Confusion. The psychic attacked forced the luchador bird to stumble back and then glared a frightening glare at the Ralts.

It charged straight towards one of the Ralts' doppelgangers and this time, it's aim was true. It swung down its wing swathed with red energy to strike down at the tiny green creature who was also now leaping up at the Hawlucha for a Draining Kiss. It all came down to who reacted the fastest!

There was a momentary pause and... the Hawlucha glowed with magenta energy before it fell flat on its back. Slayer sealed the deal with a kiss on the cheek and a 20 dice roll.

The street clothed wearing young man that was acting as the referee ran onto the battlefield and declared, "We have a winner folks! The blue haired guy with the Ralts wins!"

The crowd just stared in awed silence before they erupted into roaring cheer for the little menace had been defeated!



While the audience was cheering, the Hawlucha's eyes shot wide open, and it jumped back on its feet looking around to try and figure out what it was going on until it realized that it... lost? It lost. There was something out there stronger than itself? Did that mean that there was something even stronger than his opponent?

The bird's fist clenched and stomped over to Jason and Slayer in a huff.

"Haw, hawlucha! Lucha haw!" It seemed to be demanding something from Jason. Slayer though would be able to understand clearly; it was demanding that Jason would take it on his journey to grow stronger and prove its strength against the world.





Connected Areas
Starbor Forest. A forest filled with ungodly huge trees and many secrets.
Lake Charity. A massive body of water. Used to travel between Starbor Village, Valstille City, and Florasong Town.
Blue Lichen Cave. South of Starbor Village.

---

@CitrusArms

The Move Tutor smiled and said, "Right away miss. I will need to borrow your Blipbug for a little bit."

Stella would hand over the little Occul to the Move Tutor who then went to a backroom where she could hear them give encouragement to the Blipbug as it tried to learn a new move. Eventually after a period of time, the Move Tutor returned with her Blipbug and handed it back to her. "Here you go miss! Have a nice day!" Stella would hand over 500P.

After doing her shopping, she would head to the supposedly abandoned manor. Compared to how beautiful it was in its photos, it had seen better days. The red and white paint had faded to almost a gray and was chipping away, the windows were covered in a thick layer of dirt and dust, the wrought iron fencing was rusted, bits of wood looked like they were about to break off the house, and the grass was wild and unkempt. However, strangely enough the garden remained intact and was maintained with an obvious great affection.

When Stella knocked on the door, she heard an elderly voice ring out, "I'll be right there! Please give me a second!"

She would wait around for a few minutes until the door was slowly pulled open back to reveal a thin, elderly man with thick glasses and full head of gray hair. He smiled at him though there was a bit of confusion due to a stranger was standing at his doorway.

"Can I help you, miss?" He asked politely, his voice kind, yet frail.

---

@Sanguine Rose

"Eh, if you're coming over anyway then you can just use dad's printer." Rosa said as she kept an eye on the kids.

"If you're heading to the ranch then me and my sis better come back with you. If you're staying for dinner, then I'll have to tell mom or else she'll have my head. It is getting late anyway." It was becoming the late afternoon, the sky was becoming a blend of blue, orange, and purple hues as the sun started to set. While Faye's on a journey free of responsibility towards her parents, Rosa had to make sure that her preschool aged sister was back at home in time for dinner and bedtime lest she get a verbal lashing from her mother.

So, Faye was led to Frida's Ranch by Rosa and her little sister, Lisa, the girl that she fought earlier today with the Nickit. They would walk down the dirt path past other properties where people grew other things such as berry orchards and other crops. When they arrived at Frida's Ranch Eventually, they would arrive at what looked like a stereotypical ranch; a series of massive red wooden buildings with Pokemon contained in these enclosures. They were most definitely not wild Pokemon so they could not be captured, but that does not mean they can't be obtained.

In one partition, there were two kinds of Pokemon that looked very similar; they were both wooly things though one species had a white coat and another with a yellow coat.

Pokédex Entry #179 – Mareep, the Wool Pokemon. Clothing made from Mareep's fleece is easily charged with static electricity, so a special process is used on it. The more static electricity is charged, the more brightly the lightbulb at the tip of its tail glows.

Pokédex Entry #831 – Wooloo, the Sheep Pokemon. Its curly fleece is such an effective cushion that this Pokémon could fall off a cliff and stand right back up at the bottom, unharmed. If its fleece grows too long, Wooloo won't be able to move. Cloth made with the wool of this Pokémon is surprisingly strong.

There two pens where pink, round bovines were separated from these fierce bulls with three tails. For some reason, looking at the pink cows would instill a primal fear that would be hard to explain as if a collective consciousness has experienced their wrath.

Pokédex Entry #241 – Miltank, the Milk Cow Pokemon. Miltank produces highly nutritious milk, so it's been supporting the lives of people and other Pokémon since ancient times. This Pokémon needs to be milked every day, or else it will fall ill. The flavor of Miltank milk changes with the seasons.

Pokédex Entry #128 – Tauros, the Wild Bull Pokemon. When Tauros begins whipping itself with its tails, it's a warning that the Pokémon is about to charge with astounding speed. Once it takes aim at its foe, it makes a headlong charge. It is famous for its violent nature.

Then there were these little orange chickens walking around by a coop pecking ground.

Pokédex Entry #255 – Torchic, the Chick Pokemon. Torchic sticks with its Trainer, following behind with unsteady steps. This Pokémon breathes fire of over 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, including fireballs that leave the foe scorched black. It has a place inside its body where it keeps its flame. Give it a hug—it will be glowing with warmth. This Pokémon is covered all over by a fluffy coat of down.

However, there was something completely off. The entire farm was in a state of panic. People seemed to be running all over the place as if they were looking for something as if their lives depended on it. From what Faye could pick up, they were looking for some Pokemon that could transform and that was marked with magenta feathers by a trainer's Pokemon. Judging by the looks of confusion on both Rosa and Lisa, her little sister's face, this was not the norm.

"The fresh hell is this?" Rosa asked herself.

"Rosa said a bad word!"

"Shut it."

Among those running around was this massive bear of man in a red plaid shirt, denim overalls, and black boots. his man had arms like steel girders, barrel chested, and had a lush, full brown beard and bushy eyebrows that obscured his face. He saw the girls and sprinted over to them; the ground shook a bit with each step and then easily towered over them. It would be more accurate to say that he was more bear than man.

"Rosa, Lisa! You're back!" He exclaimed before glancing at the new girl for a brief moment. "Who's your friend?"

"Um, this is Faye and uh... Okay, what's going on?", asked Rosa.

"We finally have a clue on the thief. We hired this trainer to help, and it seems like he figured something out... I have no idea where he is though"

"Can we help? Can we, can we?", said Lisa, the little preschooler.

Her father just grimaced at the very thought of having her help, knowing that it would be extra work to just keep an eye on her while they were looking for the thief."Uh, please just take your sister inside and keep an eye on her."

"Got it." Rosa would drag along the little girl complaining a storm to the audible relief of their father.

He turned to Faye and said very apologetically, "I'm sorry, but this is really a bad time right now. We can't really entertain guests until we sort this out. You can go inside with the girls or come back later."

What does Faye want to do?

---

Tristan was thankful to be out of that dark and stuffy tunnel and back outside just in time to see a nice orange sky signaling the coming sunset. He had taken ten steps give or take away from the tunnel door to take a deep breath of the fresh air and enjoy the view feeling accomplished like he did a good job. It hardly made up for such a crappy day, but of course things were going too well, suspiciously so.

Barely even given the chance to enjoy his victory before hearing Robbie's voice speak up with mention of truly enjoying the ranch which got him to turn halfway to look back over at the injured thief to see his ditto called back out. Both he and Princess bore witness to it transforming into a perfect copy of Princess..well almost as its eyes were still tiny dots giving it such a derpy expression that it almost looked as if it was mocking him and the Riolu.

The first thing to leave his lips turned out to be an exasperated groan." Ugh.. really? Come on! We were doing so well here too!" He directed at the farmhand challenging him in an agitated tone almost like a child complaining." And for what? This?" Raising his left hand where the folder was clutched in." I don't know what this is, but its clearly important enough for you to go and do something stupid like this. I was going to vouch for you and work out a way to keep you out of jail but guess you like spitting in the face of those trying to help....guess I'm the idiot for bothering to help a guy in trouble."

Shaking his head with a sigh as he turned to face Robbie and his transformed ditto with Princess shifting into a readied stance." So, if you want to battle then fine with me, but before we do I have something to add. See, I've read up on the basics of pokemon and trainers and how a trainer should always fight fairly against another issuing a challenge." Holding up his right hand which was still holding King's pokeball." But, you sir are not a trainer. Not only that but you are a thief and a liar." His eyes glowered at Robbie as he tossed the pokeball calling out King who appeared besides Princess in a flash of light then Tristan extended his left hand forward." Taking all this into consideration and as such I have no obligation of treating this battle as official nor any reason to fight fairly. If you want this folder back then this will be a two vs one."

" If you don't like that then that's your problem. I gave you a chance." Shifting to place the folder into his backpack for the time being then gave his hair a flick." Let's do this then. King! Fire off a volley of feather dance then Princess follow up with a quick attack while its either dodging or distracted by the feathers! King, the moment you see an opening fly in and follow up with a peck!" He called out the set of orders, the rich teen clearly done with being made a fool of today that he had no intention of holding back against this man who spurned his trust.

Jason stood in awe as Ralts landed the Draining Kiss and the Hawlucha went down for the count and he cheered alongside the rest of the crowd. "Hell ya! Way to go, Slayer!" The Ralts triumphantly approached his trainer and high fives him as the pair smile with the adrenaline of their victory. It was a tough fight going into the arena and Jason had been nervous about how the crowd would have felt about him becoming another statistic in the struggle to bring the feisty Pokemon but with that win, he felt even more sure that pushing to become the region's champ was the right course. Of course, their celebrations were cut short by the approach of the loser of their bout, the Hawlucha herself.

Jason was slightly nervous as the flying and fighting type spoke to them and indicated Jason. Fortunately, Slayer was there to translate and pointed at Hawlucha and then to one of his Pokeballs. After a moment, what was meant clicked in Jason's head and he pulled out an empty Pokeball and offered it to the Hawlucha. "You mean you want t-" The luchador Pokemon slapped the button in the middle and was absorbed in a ray of light as it fell to the ground. After three wiggles, it was confirmed to be captured and Jason grinned as he picked up his new partner. "Well, I've got a name for you at least, Lucha. Come on, Slayer. Let's head to the Pokecenter and then wonder for a bit, see what happens."

Making her way over to Route 4, as the only other option took her closer to home than she would be comfortable with, Amelia was greeted by the wonderous sights of the rather calming Route. The sounds of the rivers running through it helped alleviate any feeling of nervousness she might have and also helped temper her excitement over the monstrous amount of ghostly energy she was feeling. There was always something about the sound of running water that helped her keep calm and focus.

Slowing down a bit, partially because of the rougher terrain, she managed to spot a Geodude moving around before accidently stepping on one. After scanning the Pokemon with her pokedex and learning of the dangers of stepping on them, she moved even slower, making sure not to bother any of the resting rocks. When it came to the Pokemon that called the rivers their home, she took a moment to admire them with Mimikyu and Phantump. If any approached her out of curiosity and were friendly enough, she would be more than happy to give them a gentle pat on the head, save the Woopers since they were covered in a poisonous film.

When she finally reached the ruins, she couldn't help but stop at the sight of not one but two new Ghost-types. She stopped and watched the Goletts at work before a Yamask popped out of one of the blocks and floated over. Amelia gave the Spirit Pokemon a smile and held out a hand.
"Hello there. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said to it, having a calming and friendly aura around her.

Rosa offered for her to walk with them, and Faye certainly appreciated it. While she would have been just as fine walking by herself to the ranch, she was happier to pass the time chatting with the two ranch girls. Not necessarily about life on their ranch, but just Pokémon in general. They seemed to spend just as much time - actually, more time truthfully - around Pokémon and it was always nice to chat about something people had in common. Some of the ones she saw were ones she expected, though not fully interested in any of them. Until she saw the torchic; her eyes lit up seeing the little chick walking around their coop. She hadn't heard of anywhere else in the region she could get one of those. That likely meant they cost a very handsome sum.

But the chaos around kept her from dwelling on that fact for very long. Given how her two companions reacted, she assumed this wasn't normal. Something was wrong and it sounded like - if her memory served - they were trying to hunt a Ditto that someone's pokemon had marked. Magenta feathers? The girls' father - she assumed it was their father given his attention full stop shifted to the sisters when they arrived - came over and looked a mix of relieved and panicked. But he said they'd hired a trainer, and given the feathers...well she was making a huge assumption but it might just be the pompous, posturing priss that she'd seen helped out of Kapoc's lab earlier that day.

"I'll catch up with you in a bit," Faye said as Rosa dragged Lisa off to the house. Her attention turned back to their father as he refocused on her as well. Not entertaining guests, but... "I know you said you hired another trainer to help, but since you don't know where he is - I can help. Like Rosa said, I'm a trainer too. Sounds like it might help you guys out to secure the ranch - make sure this shape changing Pokémon doesn't cause any more problems for you. My Rowlett could fly around, see if she sees anything like you described. Or my Eevee might be able to help track down where the trainer went to help him out."

Just how much effort was trying to beat this Wingull? Steph watched in annoyance and frustration as her admittedly risky maneuver backfired and Jack was now pretty hurt. But a look over at the Sneasel and she didn't even contemplate switching. Well for one, she didn't really have a better option right now but mostly she could see that Jack wasn't ready to throw in the towel yet. Steph knew a kindred spirit where she saw one. But how could she handle this follow-up Quick Attack?

"Oolroigh' jahck, as the buggah gets closah bawmbahd its weengs weeth ice shahd! Troy t' knawck ih' off buylahnce, thaen close the gahp and use scrahtch aguyn!" A simpler strategy, but hopefully a more effective one. After all, even if it dodged the ice shards it would have to give up on its attack or risk losing its momentum. And if it did and tried to fly up, Steph would just order Jack to fire off even more ice shards. There wasn't much else she could do.

@samreaper

"Kid, you don't get it. Not everything can be solved by just talking it out. What were you going to say? Work for them until I paid off what I stole? In the end, I'd just be sent to jail and the damned Lunds would just send someone to kill me while the guards turn a blind eye. I'm just trying to prolong the inevitable. Hate me all you want if it makes you feel better. It'll make this a lot easier for both of us if you do."

He sighed and just listed to the verbal assault that Tristan gave him. Robbie just let the boy get it all out of his chest and then just chuckled bitterly because frankly, he really didn't have much else in the way of his own defense other than he just wanted to live.

"You're right, I am a liar and a thief. Some things don't really change after all no matter how much you wish, but I do wonder... If I am a liar and thief, then what does that make you, Glory? A root from the seeded corruption?"

He had this bitter smirk on his face as he asked the question, watching to see whatever reaction that the boy had.

The battle commenced, and Tristan showed that he was not going to show any mercy by going two against 1. Well, if he wanted to play it like that then fine.

"Avoid the feathers with Quick Attack into the Riolu." Rather than simply trying to jump back, the Ditto dashed forwards towards the feathers quickly enough that the feathers were just piercing the ground while it dashed to the opposing Riolu. The two would clash though Princess would be knocked back from the impact of the Ditto's own Quick Attack. While Transform copies the stats, stat changes, moves, abilities, and so on, it did not scale with the Pokemo. If the Ditto was of a lower level, then it would simply be a weaker version of Princess so if the inverse was true then that meant that this was version of Princess was superior to the original.

"Now kick up some dust!" Robbie commanded. The Ditto dugs its foot into the dry, loose soil of the dry canal and kicked it up to create a cloud of dust that would obscure the mimic Pokemon. The Ditto was able to use the Riolu's ability to sense aura and took advantage of its obscureness and leaped out of the dust cloud back to its trainer's side.

He glanced down at his Pokemon and said, "Ditto, Transform again."

This time, the form of what was a Riolu twisted and molded into a certain magenta bird though with the eyes of a Ditto.

"Use Feather Dance on the Murkrow and follow up with Peck on the Riolu."

What does Tristan do in response?

---

@Zarkun

Alright, Slayer and the newly acquired Lucha were healed up and ready to explore what this village had to offer. Considering Jason was already in the Entertainment District, let's start Jason's adventure there.

Walking around in the district, he would have to wade through various crowds of people. It was actually incredible that the wooden platforms and the branches that supported them from below did not buckle from the combined weight of so many and from the various buildings. In those buildings were just people and their Pokemon having a fun time with various activities. Some were sitting around the various restaurants, cafes, and the like with Pokemon sitting around their partners were eating food that seemed to be making them friendlier towards their trainers. Actually, the Pokemon in most of the places beyond just eateries seemed to be friendlier.

Nearer the Elder Tree was one of the hottest and newest attractions was the Gym, a massive stadium that looked like it could seat hundreds upon hundreds of people. On it was the Evigian League symbol; a multi-colored mosaic Pokeball. It had electronic screens displaying a series of various animated graphics, advertisements, and then an animated cutaway of electricity splitting the screen did an image of a blonde teenager with various bangles and feathers adorned appeared with the name "Lightning Dancer, Thora Nilsen" in big, flashy letters crackling with electricity. It would seem to Jason that gym battles were now being pushed as public spectacle if this was any indication. Well, that and the ticket booths outside.

Continuing on he would find one of the other mainstays of the district, the Contest Hall. This too was also a stadium though perhaps a bit smaller in scope compared to the gym. The entire area surrounding it was actually filled to the brim with people, some potential Coordinators looking to make a name for themselves in the Evig Region Contest scene and many who were just spectators to the day's event. Jason though would recognize someone from that crowd; a very friendly Scraggy waving from afar to him. It was standing next to a very familiar cowboy that had traded in his typical ranch attire for a rather dashing suit that looked meticulously maintained. Connor's eyes followed the direction of where the little hoodlum Pokemon was waving towards and instantly the color from his face drained and did his best to pretend that Jason simply wasn't there.

If Jason ignored that and continued along, he would see some Pokemon he had not seen before wandering around. Running around the tree branches and the tops were these bizarre green monkey Pokemon with bushes on top of their heads. They didn't seem to be bothering anyone, they seemed to just be scavenging.



Floating along the treetops were these purple balloons. Upon a glance they did not seem to be anything, but balloons, but when one paid more attention to them, the balloons had eyes. Some of them were just in place, with their limbs attached to the railing. Children were drawn to them, but their parent's tugged them away.



Once he had his fill of the Entertainment District, it was time for Jason to venture forth and ride one of the cable carts down to another level. The cart would eventually reach its stop with a sway and then a stillness.

---

@Joshua Tamashii

The Yamask looked at her with great intrigue though not because of her friendly, calming aura, rather because she gave off the feeling of death that one would not expect from a eleven-year-old girl. Well, perhaps death was an exaggeration, but she gave off the feeling spectral feeling that ghost-types typically gave off. It just hovered in front of her instead of returning her handshake mainly because it could not get a read on what exactly she was. Amelia wasn't a ghost, at least it did not think she was. No one had died on this route, at least as far it knew.

This Yamask was not the only one curious ghost; other Yamask popped out of the walls and even the Golets stopped what they were doing just to gather around her and looked at her with great curiosity. Her spectral abilities had an energy that drew in ghost-type Pokemon. They were not attacking though; they had any visible intentions that they were going to gang up on the pre-teen. Their intent was simply trying to understand this less than 5- foot-tall anomaly.

What does Amelia do?

---

@Sanguine Rose

Neil turned to Fate with a look of surprising. He actually was not expecting for her to offer any help and well, typically he would not even accept something like this without a second thought but given the situation he wasn't one that can turn down such an offer. Who in the world would have thought that things would had gotten this

"Well, to be honest I am getting concerned about where the kid had gone off to. The property is very big, even your Rowlet would have trouble finding him if you don't know where to look and if he got into trouble out there, it would be impossible for us to know. I should've asked the kid for his number."

He stood there tapping his foot in thought trying to think of something when a realization dawned on him.

"Wait, I have something that can help.", said the Ursaring of a man. He quickly ran off with equally thumping footsteps back into the house before coming back a few minutes later with a pair of very fancy, fashionable shoes that would be very easy to recognize from a disgruntled rich boy.

"I had him change his shoes out for some boots. No point in ruining them by walking in Tauros patties. You said your Eevee can smell him out, right? Let's see if you really can find him." he explained before putting the shoes down to let Sage get a whiff to find the scent of Tristan.

What does Faye do?

---

@Lunarlord34

Enough effort that it should've technically gone down, but that would mean for the GM to actually set up another encounter, so we'll just say that this Wingull in particular was far more resilient or perhaps out of spite for the loss of its manwich. Honestly, could be both. Steph seemed to be in the habit of just pissing off bird Pokemon, if charging beak first at the Sneasel was any indication. Now that was something that would've hurt, except, well, it ate shit.

An ice shard smacked into it with a crit and now it was just lying on the ground, twitching. This thing was basically at 1 HP so there was no real point in Jack to actually follow up the rest of the order. Any more would just knock it out.

Honestly, there's no point in making a separate post to catch the Wingull because it had no way of breaking out of a Pokeball anyway

It rolled once... it rolled twice...it rolled thrice!



What does Steph do now?