Right as Jigglypuff tried to sing her signature first tones, Basil changed the style of music. Jigglypuff looked remarkably displeased with this, but a songstress would never back down from a challenge! Not remiss to let go of this opportunity, Jigglypuff still sang… but she ALSO changed the style of her song!
‘♫Ji-ji-ji-jiggly-ji-ji-ji-ji-puff-puff~♫’ The impossibility of writing down the tones of the following song aside, she went with a more fast-paced tone to try to follow along and suit the rhythm that Basil was setting. It could hardly be called a lullaby anymore, but the eager little fairy still did her best to try to sing along…!
Now, it was still the soft tones of a Jigglifuff’s sleep-inducing voice that came along, but something about the change in style meant Basil found he wasn’t really falling asleep, just as long as he kept on improvising and kept Jigglypuff on her toes!
Perhaps Basil would like to do something extra with the Jigglypuff trying to keep up?
Eventually, Basil would (assumingly) stop playing, and an exhausted Jigglypuff ended her song on a high note. The little balloon fairy breathed heavily… when the other fairies gave some little cheers for the performance they’d been given, Flabébés calling out and Snubbulls barking in delight, the little Ralts in the background clapping quietly with its two little arms, and Jigglypuff looked more or less stunned to have actual audience response, given usually they’re all asleep. Jigglypuff smiled so happily, waved to the other fairies a bit… and then fell asleep, having exhausted herself by singing in ways she wasn’t used to.
This made it the only Jigglypuff concert ever where the only Pokémon to fall asleep was the Jigglypuff herself.
With that, Basil was free to interact with the fairies around him. What would he do?
Northern Silent Forest
Before you lies a forest, dark to the sight but that is mostly due to the clouds gathered overhead. Unlike on Route 3, however, the thickness of the trees prevent actually seeing above the trees. The place has a lonely feeling, made only worse by the constant downpour which is the rain around Rainrock City, yet the place is filled with things one would not expect. There are lanterns shining blue light in the trees, there are arcs around the forest for unknown reasons that sometimes look like they’re glowing themselves. There were definitely mystifying powers at work here, these wooden arcs standing as if guiding the way somewhere, yet they lead nowhere, and are strewn around seemingly randomly.
True to its name, other than the rain barely any sounds come from within the forest. And yet, among the trees, small creatures dwell. Despite the lonely feeling, it is hard to look in a direction and not seemingly see a sign of movement. On the ground, smaller grass-type creatures were invariably found, while larger creatures that enjoy the rain could also be expected. But most of all, the air was populated by small, floating flowers, and the tiny denizens on top of them… This place was fairly well known for the fairies that inhabited it. If you’re looking for a place to name the Fairy Forest of Isson… This is a good candidate.
1. Find Pokémon. Specify if you’re looking for a specific kind of Pokémon in the forest. 2. Train Pokémon. With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding. 3. Move along. Move along normally, letting any events that may come happen naturally. 4. Hurry along. Intentionally avoid confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination. 5. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 6. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 7. Area Specific: Follow the Arcs. They seem to be standing randomly, but if you follow them anyways…?
Connected areas: Route 3. To the east. Route 11. If you head directly north for a while. Silent Shrine. Go south, you should be able to find the road there.
Mariette looked a bit at the gathering of Su, Silhouette and Trixy. It seemed they’d work well together. That was all she could ask for.
Another individual appeared. To Eliza, she used the key and she was transported into a black void she could stand on. There was a few seconds of absolute nothing, long enough that one could wonder if she had somehow gotten lost between worlds, when a portal opened in front of her. It led into Mariette’s office, where Mariette was seated behind a desk, and in front of her were Su, Helga, Trixy, Silhouette, Lily, Alexander and soon enough would also be Dan, Dina and Hilaria. After the dolphin appeared with his crew, Mariette nodded to them.
‘That is everyone gathered. Good. I’m happy you could join us, Eliza. Dan, Hilaria, Dina, thank you for responding to my quick summon. Justine is about to begin her assault, and I wanted you here before it happens,’ Mariette said, looking over them. To address some questions. Helga’s question about the keys first.
‘The keys are magical artifacts that are checked for by traps before they go off. They only work if they’re held by the person they’re made for, to prevent enemies simply stealing them. Making a new one would take some amount of time, time which we do not have. As such, please stick close to someone who has a key, and those with keys, please do not lose them,’ Mariette requested, nodding to them.
Then, there was Lily… avoiding her question with a straight lie. Mariette stared at her for a bit, trying to puzzle together why Lily would lie to her. It probably wasn’t anything that could come to harm Mariette, Lily wasn’t that kind of person, but it still made her worry. Fortunately, she didn’t have to worry for long, because Alexander came out and explained. Mariette blinked a bit at him.
‘An old minion of mine?’ Mariette asked, frowning. She didn’t have any old minions. Trying to understand who he was talking about made Mariette draw a complete blank. Still, what Alexander said next made her forget about that piece of information.
Brainwashed?
She took a couple of seconds to consider it. Could she be brainwashed? She considered her patron, and…
‘It’s possible,’ she said, but then dismissed the question. ‘But at the moment Justine is mounting an attack intending to kill me. I do not have the luxury to worry right now. Let us focus on getting through this alive.’
‘The enemy will be carrying with them my bane…’ Mariette sighed a bit as she resigned herself to that the whole world will know her bane. ‘… Cracked glass and lit candles. However, cracked glass only hurts me, while candles have a moderate effect on all servants of Asengav. That’s why I need you. You’ll be unaffected by the banes that hurt me and my companions. I will maneuver you around the compound with portals, I ask you cooperate with my allies.’
‘Speaking of banes, we do know Justine's. It's True Love...’ Mariette sighed a bit. ‘Something I've been a bit short on. However, perhaps you could help with that?’ Mariette asked, glancing over Lily and Alexander, and a little over Trixy, Silhouette, Su and Helga. She wasn't entirely sure about various relationships there, but who knows?
‘I have borrowed this from my companion, Eli,’ Mariette said, placing a map on the table. It’s the Super Map, showing up like a video-game mini-map showing the names and locations of everyone in the mansion. Like the marauder's map in Harry Potter.
Basement Ground Floor Second Floor Third Floor
They were currently in Mariette’s office on the second floor. The map was currently showing that quite a few people were on the third floor, on the “Artillery Opening Fire Line”, but there were others that were spread across the mansion, and numerous in the monster room below. Possibly notably, yhe map showed a girl called Olivia Giles in the Treasury right behind Mariette.
‘I will use this map and my portals to control the flow of the battle,’ Mariette said. She then reached for a box and placed numerous small high-tech looking metal objects for everyone, opening a portal to get some more for the excess amount of people.
‘Please keep in contact with these, and if my companion talks to you through it, listen to her,’ Mariette said. ‘Hello, I’m the companion,’ said the communicator. ‘If you want to talk to someone in specific, say their name, and it should automatically patch you through. I’ve already entered the names of Su and Helga into them, as well.’ Mariette nodded to show that she was authentic. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with letting people know this girl existed, yet, these were very desperate times. The Trespasser was the only other girl who would have perfect supervision of the battlefield, she had to be able to contact everyone without suspicion if something happened to Mariette.
‘I have a force of around 40 other magical girls at this time, but most are weaker than the average. I hope you can help make sure they survive, as well. However, there are the other champions of Asengav, with strength similar to mine. They are…’ Mariette gestured to paintings on the wall, because there were paintings of the other champions of Asengav.
‘Eli is a smile-harpy-girl with Reinforcement and Darkness speciality and Third Eye. Stealth and reconnescence is her speciality, but she will still block attacks and heal wounds as needed.’ ‘Lea Keuffer is a green fairy-like monster girl. She’s a wind and insect specialist, and can cloud entire corridors in her bugs. Effective against close-quarter combatants without much magic, and otherwise an effective ranged attacker.’ ‘Freya Cameron is a werelamia monster girl with rock and beast specialization. She has sacrificed her magic capability for monstrous might in close quarter combat.’ ‘Esther Lassen is a wood-specialized monster girl. She’s embedded herself in the wood of this mansion. Through her, the mansion itself will be an active combatant against our foes.’ ‘Josefin Hermansson is an Oddball: Mana specialized girl. She can steal mana from one person and give to another, or absorb mana from enemy magic. She’s also exceedingly lucky. If you’re out of mana, ask for her. She has a considerable amount stored up.’ ‘Taihei Kumi is our item-maker. She’s gravity specialized, and is also the toughest girl alive. Nothing short of a Killing Blow can probably hurt her. Unfortunately, she's also incredibly unlucky. Beware if you're close to her.’ ‘Tullia Barese is an ice-specialized girl with massive magical firepower. Count her as a massive power offensive strength. She will spend the first part of this battle whipping up a blizzard.’ ‘Victoria Tretyakova is a physical powerhouse supported by ice-speciality and duplication. Make use of her many clones.’ ‘Suzette Laderoute is a powerful empath. She can manipulate the emotions of the battlefield and is also a powerful offensive magical presence. Use her as such.’ ‘Ronja Koskela is a Reinforcement and Psychic arachnid. She is support, first and foremost, let her heal your wounds and shield you from harm, though she is capable of considerable psychic firepower. Find her if you’re hurt.’ ‘Jelena Dias is a metal-specialized girl that hides large amounts of metal in her hammerspace handbag. Formidable at mid-to-close range combat. Her Third Eye also helps detect enemy mischief from afar.’ ‘Mayra McCullough is a dragon monster girl, fire and darkness specialized. She’s a jack of all trades, magically and physically powerful, if a bit chaotic in nature.’ ‘If a ball of hostile spirits shows up outside the building… do not bother it. It’s an ally, regardless of what it looks like.’
‘Outside the mansion is a great field of snow, filled with traps and monsters to exhaust our foes before they reach the mansion. The mansion itself is also filled with traps, mostly designed to work even if they have shields. Psychic blasts, focused sonic blasts, emotional manipulation, as well as numerous occasions of simple spells like burning them if they touch any surfaces or sudden spikes and explosions. In addition, Mayra has cursed all the windows, so if they get in through those without thinking they will be cursed with a variety of effects. As Esther has joined with the mansion, she can also close corridors or doorways and lock our enemies in with the traps, and we will use that to our advantage.’ Slight pause to breathe.
‘As champions of Asengav, we also have a lot of minion monsters at our disposal, expendable bodies to throw at our foes, let them take hits for you. Of course, we will use my portals to avoid enemies and try to get them from behind, but know I can’t portal where there’s shattered glass. As such, I cannot properly fight today, but I will ensure you all can fight to the best of your ability.’
Mariette breathed in a bit heavily. Time to tell them about that.
‘I have a plan in case we start to lose. I have the ability to make this dimension collapse, which would kill everyone still stuck inside it. If this happens, your priority will change to getting out of here as soon as possible. You are my allies, and I am not going to risk your lives more than I already am. Upon the start of the destruction, the place will start to crumble and fall apart over the course of one to five minutes, and I shall ensure portals try to take you out of here. People with Overcity Shift or their own Interdimensional Homes should be able to escape on their own, keep track of them. That’s why I called you, originally, Dan, to see if you could lock or keep our enemies within this dimension while we escape…’ she sighed a bit about what she was about to say next. ‘… but upon further consideration that feels like I’m putting you at risk, and I don’t want to do that.’ Now, ideally, this was when Dan offered to risk his life for her, but one thing at a time. ‘After such a collapse I’ve made arrangements to flee to the dimensional home of Vermillion Veronica,’ she said, nodding to Silhouette and Trixy, before looking to the rest again, ‘who I hope is prepared for a possible follow-up invasion. Everyone is free to come along, or I can simply put you back in Penrose. Your choice.’
‘It is imperative we take out Sonia, Justine’s maid, as quickly as possible. Not only can her warping powers likely supply her with an infinite amount of my banes, she’s a teleporter that could appear and disappear with their forces wherever. The traps are in large parts to take her out if she teleports directly into the mansion, no matter where she appears. Not only that, but if she’s around and I start collapsing the dimension, the escape of our foes will be trivial and they’ll likely be able to pursue me, making this whole defensive operation pointless. Taking out Justine is also a priority, of course, but if we take out Sonia it’s possible Justine cannot get out of here on her own.’
‘That should be all. Any questions or suggestions?’
Eventually, after that, Justine appeared at the front, it was visible on the map. Mariette breathed out a bit in relief, she was afraid Justine would appear right inside the office and just slaughter them all before they had a chance to react. Then, she looked at the names, and came to a realization just at the same time as Eli sounded in through the communicator.
‘Mistress! Justine’s appeared with a small army! And, she has brought some Beacon forces with her!’
…
Oh, you’re serious.
‘I’m… not going to ask anyone to fight Beacon for me. I can send home anyone who doesn’t wish to,’ Mariette said, her tone suddenly filled with a bunch of dismay. ‘… It seems their “do not make alliances with horrors” rule is dead if they’re willing to make peace with the person that blew up their base and brainwashed their girls trying to conquer this world in order to have me killed. I suspect they’ll turn on one another as soon as the battle is over, if not before.’ Now, there was the possibility that Justine had just brainwashed those that appeared and Beacon wasn’t involved at all, but Mariette wouldn’t expect herself to be that lucky.
‘Regardless, it seems it’s time to do battle. Stand by. Do any preparations you need. I will portal you wherever you want to go, but for now, let them face the blizzard. In the meantime, it’s time for me to open up some of the stars in the skies. Anyone’s got any magic missiles to spare?’
…
‘There’s a lot of Beacon names missing. Expect a second strike force.’ Primarily, there was a single name on there that Mariette definitely would have expected to be there.
Specialization: Portals, Light Power: Tentacles Perks: Gifted, I. Home, Blood M., Overcity S., I. Tourist, H. Handbag, Allies, Aware, A. Direction Benefits: C. Doom, Reason, Minions, Retrieval, M. Might, Mana Font. Drawbacks: Quick-T., Mind-Bent, Insomnia, Bane, H. Sapping Str: 4 Agi: 4 Vit: 4 Mag: 22 Lck: 10
Why, of course Justine was the one who was kidnapping people around Penrose. Who else would it be? Mariette?
Ronin giggled as she put away her phone with the message from Hilde. Right, then.
Then Sakura appeared with her patron. Ronin grinned widely and waved at her.
‘Hey, Sensei! Glad you made it!’ she said, partly for her allies to potentially realize this was also a friend. They couldn’t really give an update, but, oh, well!
That one over there was Aurelio, the one Penny had recommended. Unfortunately, he was going with the headlong assault. Which was a shame, since she had to-
‘We’ll go with the infiltration group. Need to get as close to Mariette as possible, taking her out early would complete the mission, after all,’ Ronin said, nodding about the rest. Very well.
That’ll be all there.
Specialization: Reinforcement Power: Twin S., Shapeshifting Perks: M. Training, Flexibility, Fated, G.o.o. Jail, BigDamn H. Benefits: Free Agent, Genki Girl Drawbacks: Alone, also in debt to Crimson Cradle Str: 7 Agi: 7 Vit: 7 Mag: 8 Lck: 6
A lonely gothic mansion stood before the assault squad, in a field of deep snow. The building ahead has windows to basically every room, albeit the windows were enchanted and cursed, making looking inside difficult.
In the basement, among a group of monsters, stood three girls.
Tullia stood in the middle of the room on a pile of snow, summoning her magical power while holding a focus artifact that brought her power to their maximum efficiency, her icy dragon hulking over her and gripping her shoulders, focusing even more power into the mighty magical staff of an artifact she held. The exit out of the basement was blocked by a massive amount of snow, and by it two girls were inspecting the monsters.
‘The monsters have been prepared, specifically for your snowy landscape,’ Lea spoke, looking over the giant hulking beasts, as well as the smaller, growling ones. ‘Each has the locations of our traps mentally imprinted upon them by Ronja, they won’t enter their trigger area.’
‘Hahaha, awesome! I wish I could fight them myself!’ Victoria said with a grin. ‘Me and my duplicates are ready to harass the crap out of their flanks! Are we ready!?’ Victoria asked, and a roomful of similarly grinning Victorias stood ready behind her.
‘We’re ready,’ Tullia said with a sigh, focused her magic power, and lifted her staff, an artifact more powerful than a regular magical weapon. ‘I call upon the power of the Bifrost. FREEZE THIS WORLD OVER!’ she called, and an explosion of ice-magic blasted out of her. Lea stepped forward and grabbed the side of the staff to supply some of her wind-magic, and together, wind and ice magic mixed with the power of the staff…
And as Justine made her announcement, a blizzard manifested. Snow and ice filled the air, the temperature dropping, vision turning worse because of the snow and wind suddenly manifesting in the air itself. It wasn’t actually hurting them, it was just wind and snow, but the blizzard regardless raged to make life as uncomfortable as possible.
This was when small portals started opening around the enemy forces, on a range as to avoid the shards that no doubt were brought. Now, Mariette had her weaker magical girls spread across the mansion fire their attacks through these portals, intent on taking out the weaker targets to leave Justine without backup. Blasts of fire, electric bolts, light and ice beams and otherwise just beams of power, bullets and arrows, any available ranged weapons would start assaulting the troops. All the attacks were of a weaker variety, but they would not let up. Mariette knew she could recharge even if she ran out of mana, so she would never let up. If enemies fired on the portals they would close (which would be hard enough because the portals only opened for a very short time to let someone shoot through them), and if the enemies got closer to the portals they would close. For now, it was just harassment to make the enemies desperate, the big things came ahead.
The big things that, along with a huge swath of Victoria clones, just dove into the snow as to head towards the soon-to-be battlefield to attack. The doors to the basement closed, leaving Tullia and Lea alone to focus their blizzard upon their enemies.
If someone were to fly directly at the mansion at incredible speed... that was what the artillery line was for. They'd face sudden and focused firepower, hopefully enough to discourage such an approach.
‘Excellent! Good luck on your way!’ Kalmia said to her, and then Amelia was on the way again!
It didn’t take long before she arrived to
Route 2
Route 2 is the wetter alternative to the fairly dry and straight-forward Route 1. Dragon Lake naturally flows south, causing many rivers through Route 2 which lead on into Infested Woods, giving the woods all the water it needs to grow. The road forward is a more primitive gravel road, which in order to get to the mountain housing the Wet Caverns on the other side requires one to cross a number of bridges, and it’s near tradition that there’s at least one trainer waiting in ambush for any other trainer who desires to cross. But, Route 2 sees traffic from nature-goers, fishermen and so as well as trainers, giving possibilities to slip by if desired.
One step to the left and one has ended up in the wetlands of Route 2, drenched by Dragon Lake’s insistence on breaking into the ground. Large flowers and many bushes arise from these lands, the nature is lush and green. Although one might wish to pack an extra pair of boots if one intends to traverse the reaches, there are undoubtedly many wild Pokémon awaiting in the grass around. Quite a few other trainers seem to have thought this, as there are quite a few in various stages of Pokémon searching or battling. With the combination of water and grass, one can assume the kind of Pokémon one might encounter. In the distance, by the lake itself, stands a number of fishermen’s huts, for those interested.
To the right, instead, stands the imposing Infested Woods, which scare people by its name and promises of how terrifying it might be to wander deep, or maybe that’s just scary-tales from those who are scared to death by bugs. Regardless, it stands there, drinking deep from the waters provided by the rivers. One merely needs to break off from the path and then one will sooner or later be in the woods. It is an alternative way to the Wet Caverns that avoids the trainer-bridges, but the choice of where to go obviously falls on the trainers themselves. For the most obvious Pokémon, there are Pidgeys flying about, every here and there one carries a captured Weedle from the tall grass, which tries to sting back…
Pokédex Entry #16 – Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. They are docile Pokémon that avoid fighting, kicking up sand in an enemy’s face or using Whirlwind to avoid battles. They have sharp senses of direction, capable of finding their nest or destination from very large distances. They inhabit tall grass where they search and prey on small bugs.
Pokédex Entry #161 – Sentret, the Scout Pokémon. A very cautious Pokémon, it stands on its tail to spot far-off threats and shouts an alarm if it sees one. When they sleep, they always does so with at least one Sentret on guard. If separated from the pack, a Sentret is unable to sleep.
Pokédex Entry #13 – Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokémon. It has an acute sense of smell, and can easily distinguish its favorite leaves. It eats its body-weight of leaves every day. Its stinger secretes a powerful venom, and it uses this toxic barb to ward of hostiles.
Pokédex Entry #283 – Surskit, the Pond Skater Pokémon. Found on lakes or in puddles after evening downpours, feeding on microorganisms. It secretes an oil from its feet that enable it to move on water as if skating. When endangered, it secretes a sweet fluid from its head.
Pokédex Entry #270 – Lotad, the Water Weed Pokémon. They live in clean ponds and lakes, where they float with their large leaves above the surface, and they serve as ferries to smaller Pokémon. They rise climb ashore only in search of cleaner water. If it’s dehydrated, the leaf will wilt.
That aside, there appears to be more significant flooding here than usual. Water was pouring over from Dragon Lake, over the edges of the numerous rivers and into the grass, making the trainers around here gather on top of the various bridges that one needed to cross in order to get to the Wet Caverns. But, as it looked, Route 2 looked significantly wetter than Wet Caverns.
‘You’re telling me a single Pokémon caused all this flooding?’ ‘Yes! It’s right out there, mocking us!’ ‘Hey, this is a beginner-level area! We’re not equipped to handle this!’
So, what was this terrifying Pokémon that were plaguing the route?
‘Papapapapapapapa!’ it laughed, as it stuck its vibrating head back down into the water and made itself vibrate more and more, until a wave of water blasted away from it and over the edge of the water to soak down some more plains and make the young trainers take cover on the bridge.
Pokédex Entry #536 – Palpitoad, the Vibration Pokémon. It lives in the water and on land. It uses its long, sticky tongue to capture prey and to immobilize its opponents. When they vibrate the bumps on their heads, they can make great waves in water or earthquake-like shaking on land.
… Still, even though there’s a significant amount of water on the land, it’s still perfectly possible to cross, as long as you’re willing to get your feet wet. A single Palpitoad isn’t capable of causing entire natural disasters on its own, albeit the place is considerably less comfortable to traverse now.
At the fisherman’s hut over there sits a sleeping fisherman with his feet wet, clutching his fishing rod even as he sleeps, with a big Pokémon similarly sleeping next to him.
What would she do now?
1. Find Pokémon. Can be specified what kind of Pokémon is being searched for, and how you search. 2. Train Pokémon. With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding. 3. Seek trainers. There should be some here and there. Note, some may challenge you, regardless. 4. Talk. There’s some other travelers around. Maybe seek answers to any burning questions you have. 5. Move along. Move along normally, letting any events that may come happen naturally. 6. Hurry along. Intentionally avoid confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination. 7. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 8. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 9. Area Specific: Fishermen Huts. See what the fishermen over there's got going. 10. Current Event: Palpitoad Flooding. Random event.
Connected areas: Pureplain City. You can get back without complication. Infested Woods. You’re right next to it. Wet Caverns. May need to cross a bridge or two to get there.
There was a headbutt contest, between a normal-type and a debuffed rock-type. The miners was supremely excited to see them strike one another, one with Pound and the other with Stomp. Ultimately, however, the winner was the one with the type-advantage. Tyrunt managed to stomp down the Minccino eventually, with a bit of a sheer from the audience. He was considerably hurt, though.
‘That’s fine! I just need to take you both out… with my partner! Ducklett, go!’ Mia called, excited, and the duck waved his wings to dart onto the battlefield, and…! ‘Ducklett, use Water Pulse! And keep Water Pulsing even if the yellow rat comes out! Take them out before they can hurt you…!’
Mia has made her move. How would Dawkin counter?
There is the possibility he’d catch a glimpse of Vivia peeking over a shoulder of a miner at the battle over there, and could potentially recognize her as one of the trainers Jacques had given Pokémon to and Kalmia’s former assistant. If he’s too busy with the fight to notice or otherwise too preoccupied to acknowledge, that is totally fair.
‘Oh?’ the Bug Maniac looked curiously at Basil as he began speaking of travelling trainer, and there was a strong gleam in his bespectacled eyes as he smirked at the egg. ‘So, if you’re speaking the truth, I could be among the first bug enthusiasts of Isson to…’ He snickered a bit. ‘This is valuable information. Very well. Let me tell you what I know.’
‘The big mistake of most would-be Pinsir hunters is that they’re looking at ground level. Thing is, they’re either underground or high up in the treetops. If you have something that can dig, look among the roots of trees. If you have something that can fly, have them check the tops of the trees. And, the deeper you are into the forest, the more likely you are to find one. They like the dampness here where it rains, so Northern Silent Forest is where it’s at! Good luck on your hunt!’ so the Bug Maniac said, before he was suddenly off in a hurry, because, foreign bugs.
Then, he went over to the forest. He decided eventually to pick out his mandolin and start playing.
He played his little bardic tones for a couple moments… and then the effect was immediate and very obvious. He was drawing fairies from around the otherwise relatively silent forest that came out of curiosity to inspect what was making such pretty noises. Hope he wasn’t hoping to only lure over ONE fairy…
‘Fla?’ ‘Bé?’ ‘Bé?’
… Asked three separate fairies as they drifted close to inspect him.
Pokédex Entry #669 – Flabébé, the Single Bloom Pokémon. At the beginning of its life, this fairy picks a flower that then becomes a part of its body. It can draw out and control the hidden power of flowers, whatever that means. When it floats in the wind, any troubles in its heart is said to wane.
Then, on his left on his right, some (ugly?) pink heads stuck out of some bushes to stare at him a bit.
‘Snubb?’ ‘Snub-bull!’
Pokédex Entry #209 – Snubbull, the Fairy Pokémon. It carries a scary face that frightens smaller Pokémon, but Snubbull is actually a cowardly, excessively affectionate and kind Pokémon that is very popular with women for its frolicing ways. It becomes sad from Pokémon fleeing it and is known to sleep half the day.
There was also the slightest glance of something green hiding behind a tree somewhere to the left…
Pokédex Entry #280 – Ralts, the Feeling Pokémon. The horn on its head can sense emotions, and its own mood will be affected in turn. It will approach positive emotion and its body will warm, while it will shy away from and avoid negativity and hostility. Quite rare to see in nature.
There was something a bit curious about this Ralts, though. As in, it was wearing a miniature version of a traditional priestess outfit. You know, the kind a shrine priestess would wear? White top, red under? The Ralts was wearing a tiny such. Yupp.
Before he reacted to any of his visitors… something else skipped in. It was staring up at him in awe for playing music, like if he was a dream come true. The round, pink thing happily opened its mouth, looking like it wanted to sing along the music.
Pokédex Entry #39 – Jigglypuff, the Balloon Pokémon. Looking into its eyes causes it to sing a lullaby which, due to its unique vocal cords, are able to find the exact frequency at which the opponent cannot help but fall asleep. This is its defensive mechanism, and will sing to the point it cannot breathe against an enemy that won’t fall asleep.
… What does Basil do?
Northern Silent Forest
Before you lies a forest, dark to the sight but that is mostly due to the clouds gathered overhead. Unlike on Route 3, however, the thickness of the trees prevent actually seeing above the trees. The place has a lonely feeling, made only worse by the constant downpour which is the rain around Rainrock City, yet the place is filled with things one would not expect. There are lanterns shining blue light in the trees, there are arcs around the forest for unknown reasons that sometimes look like they’re glowing themselves. There were definitely mystifying powers at work here, these wooden arcs standing as if guiding the way somewhere, yet they lead nowhere, and are strewn around seemingly randomly.
True to its name, other than the rain barely any sounds come from within the forest. And yet, among the trees, small creatures dwell. Despite the lonely feeling, it is hard to look in a direction and not seemingly see a sign of movement. On the ground, smaller grass-type creatures were invariably found, while larger creatures that enjoy the rain could also be expected. But most of all, the air was populated by small, floating flowers, and the tiny denizens on top of them… This place was fairly well known for the fairies that inhabited it. If you’re looking for a place to name the Fairy Forest of Isson… This is a good candidate.
1. Find Pokémon. Specify if you’re looking for a specific kind of Pokémon in the forest. 2. Train Pokémon. With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding. 3. Move along. Move along normally, letting any events that may come happen naturally. 4. Hurry along. Intentionally avoid confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination. 5. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 6. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 7. Area Specific: Follow the Arcs. They seem to be standing randomly, but if you follow them anyways…?
Connected areas: Route 3. To the east. Route 11. If you head directly north for a while. Silent Shrine. Go south, you should be able to find the road there.
‘… It was around nine the first time, then four more the second… so thirteen trainers???’ Vivia guessed on how many trainers Kalmia had sent out, not entirely sure about her own accuracy. That aside!
Later on. Since he wasn’t actually doing much, Vivia’s response to if Dawkin was a good trainer. ‘I’m not sure. He did win his first battle, but we all were just on level 5 then, and we don’t know who he’s battling…’ Vivia said, as she got up on her toes to peek over the shoulders of a couple big dudes, miners surrounding the battle.
It was a problem that someone else was brought along.
When Trixy first started talking, only the very first sentence was important to Mariette. She threw a single glance at one of the paintings, and an alarm went through the heads of every Magical Girl in the building that was connected to Asengav, that is, everyone but Mariette’s guests. Girls that were out on missions were called back, traps were in the process of being armed, various monsters set in place to be unleashed, measures and countermeasures were activated around weak points, and magical girls all over the building started scurrying towards their positions… which left Mariette with the duty of calling for and briefing her allies.
… Silhouette appeared. However, she was not the only one that had appeared. Su appeared, which made Mariette widen her one visible eye a bit. Her lips parted, wanting to say something… when her gaze met Helga right behind. The feelings were mutual, as Mariette’s eye narrowed towards her, suspicious of her intentions, for Mariette had no reason to believe Helga was not a mole placed there by Justine. That aside, there was someone significantly louder that had also come in, alongside Alex.
‘The maid is not mine, she’s an ally. Meet Trixy. I’m happy you could come, Lily, Alex. Silhouette, you’re a scary magical girl, I’m happy to have you with us on this side. And…’ Mariette then looked towards Su.
‘Su…’ she muttered, a bit softened in her expression. ‘I would have liked to speak with you, but it’s a bit of a bad time. Justine is coming to attack. … I apologize for this, but…’ Mariette turned to look directly at Helga.
Slight collab with @Ariamis ‘Helga. Are you intending to betray Su’s trust?’ Mariette asked.
"I would never betray Su, even if I had to risk my life for it. Unlike certain other people," Helga replied.
‘You're no longer connected with Justine in any way, then, and will not leak my battlefield information to anyone in the outside world granted I'm true to my word?’
"I'm here to make sure Su is safe, and that Justine won't hurt people again. Nothing more," Helga replied again, glaring at Mariette.
Light-specialization noticed no lies. Very well. Mariette’s doubts were slightly quelled. She turned to Su again.
‘It’s a bit dangerous for the two of you here, without a key the traps of this mansion will treat you as an enemy. If you’re here to help, I’m eternally thankful, but you should make sure never to leave the side of someone with a key, then. Even straying a couple meters from them could be dangerous,’ Mariette said to Su. Then, to Alexander.
‘You’re correct, the dark void is a trap. If a party without a key entered, they would have been annihilated in there,’ Mariette replied to Alexander’s question about a trap, revealing she’d heard him. ‘But, as you’re a friend of mine, you’re safe,’ she quickly added. ‘Justine von Visceral is starting her attack, so my allies are gathering. Still, it sounded like Lily maybe didn’t know and only came to talk about something…’ Mariette said, and looked to Lily. ‘Was there something you wanted to talk about?’
While waiting/listening for a reply, Mariette opened a gateway into her Hammerspace Handbag. In there she found… the phone from Umu had disappeared? Strange. Did that mean the “alliance” with Beacon had shattered already? … There was a weird premunition in that something was off. Still… she reached for the aquamarine shell she’d received from Dan. It was what she’d been looking for in the first place. She took it, and with the intention of letting them prepare a bit before the attack actually happened, she brought it to her ear, just as intended for Dan and company to bring them over here… not actually knowing what they were currently doing.
Specialization: Portals, Light Power: Tentacles Perks: Gifted, I. Home, Blood M., Overcity S., I. Tourist, H. Handbag, Allies, Aware, A. Direction Benefits: C. Doom, Reason, Minions, Retrieval, M. Might, Mana Font. Drawbacks: Quick-T., Mind-Bent, Insomnia, Bane, H. Sapping Str: 4 Agi: 4 Vit: 4 Mag: 22 Lck: 10
‘Hm? Ooooh, you’re looking for a Pinsir, basically the pinnacle of bug catching?’ the Bug Maniac had a cheeky grin on his face as Basil inquired him about the bug. ‘It’s a really rare Pokémon, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d never find it on your own… but I COULD be persuaded to give you a tip… but what would you give me in return…?’ the Bug Maniac asked, ever the charitable individual, grinning and with a hand on his chin.
We can return to this conversation depending on what Basil replies to him.
Then there was the guy by the souvenir store over there.
‘Oh, if you’d like to learn all about it, there’s a whole book about it here! It’s mostly superstition, though, not based on real facts,’ the guy in the shop said, waving a book about the legend of the silent shrine around. ‘Truth is, we don’t even know if that legend is real. The trainer walked alone into Silent Forest, and came out with the guardian Pokémon, fending off the monster. How many of these guardians there were, how we even know he was blessed by the fairy, we don’t know. Yet, so the legend states. He walked into the Silent Forest, prayed to the fairies for help, and something heard his plea. The guardians came to help, and the monster was defeated. In movies and such, the “fairy” is usually represented by a Floette, but who knows what it really is?’
Yeah, not too much information to gleam from this guy.
Regardless, Basil now went north, stepping into the forest. The rain started coming down and with the clouds gathering overhead, the air got darker despite that it was daytime. Yet, instead, something inside the forest lit up instead…
Northern Silent Forest
Before you lies a forest, dark to the sight but that is mostly due to the clouds gathered overhead. Unlike on Route 3, however, the thickness of the trees prevent actually seeing above the trees. The place has a lonely feeling, made only worse by the constant downpour which is the rain around Rainrock City, yet the place is filled with things one would not expect. There are lanterns shining blue light in the trees, there are arcs around the forest for unknown reasons that sometimes look like they’re glowing themselves. There were definitely mystifying powers at work here, these wooden arcs standing as if guiding the way somewhere, yet they lead nowhere, and are strewn around seemingly randomly.
True to its name, other than the rain barely any sounds come from within the forest. And yet, among the trees, small creatures dwell. Despite the lonely feeling, it is hard to look in a direction and not seemingly see a sign of movement. On the ground, smaller grass-type creatures were invariably found, while larger creatures that enjoy the rain could also be expected. But most of all, the air was populated by small, floating flowers, and the tiny denizens on top of them… This place was fairly well known for the fairies that inhabited it. If you’re looking for a place to name the Fairy Forest of Isson… This is a good candidate.
So, what will Basil do here?
1. Find Pokémon. Specify if you’re looking for a specific kind of Pokémon in the forest. 2. Train Pokémon. With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding. 3. Move along. Move along normally, letting any events that may come happen naturally. 4. Hurry along. Intentionally avoid confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination. 5. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 6. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 7. Area Specific: Follow the Arcs. They seem to be standing randomly, but if you follow them anyways…?
Connected areas: Route 3. To the east. Route 11. If you head directly north for a while. Silent Shrine. Go south, you should be able to find the road there.
‘Hey, Amelia?’ Kalmia showed up next to her, looking a bit eager but also a bit pensive.
+ lab-coat, because professor
‘As you may know, I am not the one that actually installed the PC-system in Isson. I’m just borrowing it with permission from the guy who is actually running it. While you trainers of mine are using my, Kalmia’s PC, everyone else in Isson uses David’s PC,’ Kalmia said, a decently serious tone of voice as she did.
‘David is both the owner of the Pokéball Factory close to Rainrock City, and the PC system that he operates from his home. He is the master of the Private Palace, located west of Worldedge City. He’s a decently rich guy, constantly working to spend his money on technological advancements. I hear he used to be a pretty accomplished Pokémon Trainer back in the day, as well,’ she continued, reminiscing about him.
‘I met him once when I was seeking permission to make an off-shoot of his system for research. He was a pleasant and understanding man, if a little intimidating. Now, I COULD just call him and ask for permission to edit his system, but understand that we’re seeking to circumvent one of the oldest rules in the Pokémon World. Without his permission, that is not happening. As such, I’d like you to go to him and present your case to him. It may feel a little cheap, but nothing like a little girl to tug at the heartstrings to make him consider it, right?’ Kalmia said, smirking a bit.
‘The Private Palace is accessible from Route 13. You can get there on your own, right? In the meantime, I’ll see if I can work on a prototype to present to him. If you want me to be there, you can call me when you get there and I’ll get there as soon as I can. If you want to do other things before the time comes, and give me a bit more time to work, I could make something a bit more impressive to show off,’ she then said, and then seemed to get deep in thought.
‘The Pokédex already keeps track of if Pokémon uses moves, I just need to create a function that… somehow connects to their Pokéballs if they try to illegally use a move, to enforce the rules of Pokémon battle through programming rather than actual physical presence. It’s, uh, a system that could easily become vulnerable to exploitation, what if someone uses a “non-active” Pokémon as a shield to take damage for them even if they don’t use moves, for instance? I need to think of all such circumstances, and fix them all, somehow…’ Kalmia said, and then chuckled a bit.
‘Haha, if I actually complete this, it might be something that finally pushes my name to fame, like other professors. But, it wouldn’t be for actual Pokémon Professoring, it’d be for technological development, and I don’t know how I feel about that. I mean, I can do that, too, I learned all about Pokémon programming for the sake of studying Pokémon in boxes and how I can improve things for them there, as I intended that to be my thing, but… Oh, well!’ she said, and then gave a wide grin.
‘I’m in your corner. If you have trouble getting into the Private Palace on your own, show them this,’ Kalmia said, and offered a letter.
Amelia obtained Kalmia’s Permit!
‘Any further questions? Otherwise… good luck!’
Currently in Pureplain City.
Pureplain City is placed on the south-west brink of Isson, with the town facing the water and spreading quite far. The further in-town you go, the higher the buildings become, but the suburbs spread quite far. In terms of sheer landmass, it might even compete with Worldedge City, although maybe not in height. Life passes normally within this city. Children grow up alongside their parents in houses in the long, friendly streets. Jobs come from the depths of the town in the taller buildings. Schools grow from the reasonably high amount of children in need of tuition. And of course, there are lots of Pokémon.
In Pureplain City, human and Pokémon work together. Be it for manual labour or just for company, Pureplain houses often contain at least one household Pokémon and there are many Trainer's Schools around the city have always been plentifully attended, not counting the recent drop of embarking trainers due to the Team Wars. In addition, Pureplain Harbor is known as the “Gateway of Isson”, as that’s where all the ferries from outside the region dock, giving life to quite the marketplace. A common attraction of the city is the Super Contest stage, but other than that, Pureplain remains what it has always been. Pure and plain.
1. Find Pokémon. Can still search for Pokémon in towns~ 2. Talk. In cities, there are considerably more people one can talk to. Specify what kind you’re looking for. 3. Exit. Exit the town to any of the connected areas. 4. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 5. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 6. Notable Buildings. Visit any of the facilities of the city! 6.1. Pokémon Center. Heal all your Pokémon. 6.2. PokéMart. Go to a store and buy things. 6.3. Gym. Dorian’s Major League Normal-type Gym. 6.4. Super Contests. Rank 2 / 4. Where hopefuls become idols! 6.5. Trainer’s School. Where young trainers study to become better. Has a little park of wild Pokémon. 6.6. Kalmia’s Lab. You know you’re always welcome. 6.7. Pureplain Harbor. Known as the Gateway of Isson, it has a marketplace and ferries to places. 6.8. Pureplain Airport. The Gateway of Isson also has a way to dock your flying ships, apparently!
Connected areas: Route 1. Easier path, just follow the bigger road. Route 2. Walk through quite an amount of suburbs until you eventually reach the path. Sea. There’s water, alright. Can take you anywhere you want to go, assuming you have means to traverse it.
Ronin had camped out in an abandoned building near the parking garage Justine was waiting in, anxiously waiting for replies to the call she’d sent out. Of course, she couldn’t fault anyone who didn’t want to come, but she did hope that some people would come out of the sheer goodness of their hearts. Well. At least two would.
After sending a text agreeing to help Ronin with her problem, Connie and Mia had transformed and set out to join their friend. It wasn’t long before they found themselves at the location the samurai girl had specified.
“H-Hi, Ronin!” Connie called out as they entered. “W-We c-came as f-fast as we c-could!”
“Yes,” Gaia agreed, “your predicament sounds quite serious indeed, and we are certainly not the sort to abandon a friend in such a dire situation,” she added with a reassuring smile.
‘Ooooh, Connie, Mia, you’re a sight for sore eyes,’ Ronin called, grinning so widely to them as they came. ‘I messaged quite a few, but not a lot replied…’ She definitely had expected something from Su. What was that girl doing…?
‘In any case, I’m happy you’re here! Alright, now, do you have any immediate questions while we maybe wait for… more… hopefully,’ Ronin told, sighing just a little.
“You were kind enough to provide quite a thorough amount of background in your text, so most of our questions have already been addressed,” Gaia noted. “However, I am curious about one rather important detail. You mentioned that our ultimate objective is freeing a pair of girls from mind-bending. Do you happen to have a plan in place for doing that? Please forgive me if I come across as rude, but I find myself worrying that you are planning all this on the fly, so to speak.”
Ronin breathed in deeply. Alright. Plan. ‘Alright. I’ve done all I can to make our success as likely as possible. Now, to outline it all,’ she said… ‘ … Though, I intended on doing that when everyone was here, hahaha,’ she chuckled a little. ‘Still, I don’t even know if anyone else is coming… so I might as well get started?’
Before anyone could reply, a sparkling pink whirlwind swirled into existence in the center of the room. It quickly dissipated to reveal a whimsical-looking girl with a cheerful smile.
“Tada~! Magical Dream Princess is here~! (giggle!)” she declared, striking a cute pose and giving everyone a playful wink. “Wowie zowie~! Like, look at all the new friendy wendies Magical Dream Princess can makey wakey~! (giggle!) It’s, like, so super duper nice to meet you girls~! (giggle!)”
Ronin stared at the newly arrival in surprise, and then blinked as she got a message in her phone, which immediately needed her attention, allowing the rest to talk first while Ronin read the message.
“H-Hi…” Connie said tentatively, more than a little stunned by the hyperactive girl’s startling entrance. “I-I’m C-Connie, and t-this is my b-best f-friend,” she added, gesturing to the green-skinned girl with flowing emerald hair.
“Gaia, Daughter of Mother Earth,” the verdant magical girl finished for her friend. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Y-Yes!” Connie stuttered, trying to be as friendly as she could, but still very nervous. “I-It’s v-very n-nice to m-meet you!”
“Connie~?” MDP repeated, while slightly tilting her head. It was clear to see that the childish magical girl was a bit confused. “Connie Wonnie~? Hmmm… Why does that namey wamey sound so familiar wiliar…? Oh wellsies~! (giggle!) Magical Dream Princess can’t remember wember~! Magical Dream Princess’s memory wemory is, like the worsty worst when she’s Magical Dream Princess~! (giggle!) But, like, when she’s her normal wormal selfie welfie she actually wacually has a photogaraphy waphy memory wemory, so it’s, like, a really big changey whangey for her~! But it’s also, like, really funsie wunsie, too~! (giggle!) Like, she remember wembers all kinds of thingie wingies when they just pop into her brainy wainy, but then they fly away like little birdie wirdies~! (giggle!) Like, she just remember wembered that she heard Gaia Waia’s namey wamey before, too~! (giggle!) She was, like, super duper important for some reasony… Oh~! But, like, Gaia Waia also has such pretty witty greenie weenie skin and such super duper long hair~! (giggle!) She reminds Magical Dream Princess of her friend Katie Watie~! Like, can Magical Dream Princess play around in it~?! Can she, can she, can she~?!” the hyperactive magical girl asked, while jumping up and down with childish glee.
“You may,” Gaia confirmed with an elegant nod, while giving voice to a melodious laugh.
“Oh goodie woodie~!” MDP cheered as she ran under Gaia’s flowing tresses and swiftly wrapped herself up in them. “Wowies~! This is, like, so super duper comfy cozy wozy~! (giggle!)”
“I am glad you like it,” the verdant magical girl replied with a warm smile. “My dearest Connie also greatly enjoys cuddling in my hair.”
“Like, Connie Wonnie and Magical Dream Princess should cuddle wuddle in Gaia Waia’s hair together~! (giggle!)”
“U-Umm, I, uh, g-guess w-we c-could…” Connie noted, while she nervously played with her own hair. “B-But, um, o-only if M-Mia’s o-okay with it…”
“Mia Wia?” Magical Dream Princess asked, clearly more confused than usual. “Like, who’s that?”
Before either of the two friends could respond, something new caught MDP’s attention.
Or, rather, someone.
“Like, OMGeee~!” she squealed, while bouncing over to the small samurai girl she’d just now noticed. “You’re, like, sooo super duper cute~! (giggle!) And soo tiny winy, too~! Magical Dream Princess could, like, pick you up and hold you in her armsies~! (giggle!) And she just, like, totally wotally wuvs your outfit~! It, like, makes you look like some kinda winda magical wagical samurai girl~! (giggle!) Oh, golly wolly~!” MDP exclaimed as a thought managed to poke its way through the ditzy haze that so clouded her mind when she was in this form. “Are you, like, Magical Pastel-chan’s friendy wendy~?! The one who needed helpsie welpsie~?!”
Ronin recoiled a bit as MGP jumped at her, though she was quick to grin at the extremely over-the-top Magical Girl. Yikes, she’d never seen someone lose themselves to the power of magic to this insane level before.
‘Yupp, that’s me! I’m the Tiny Ronin, Magical Ronin, or whatever like that! You’re the friend of Amanda, right? I’m so happy you came! Let me… just…’ She just… had to respond to Penny’s text a bit quickly first, because there was a very distressing part in it.
‘So, you wanted to help me? You understood the circumstances well enough? Any questions on the circumstances?’ Ronin asked her, because, well, she didn’t exactly seem like the type that maybe got all the details in the first explanation.
“Like, totally wotally~! (giggle!)” MDP replied in her typical overly energetic manner. “Magical Samurai-chan is Magical Pastel-chan’s friend, and Magical Pastel-chan is Magical Dream Princess’s besty westiest friendy wendy in the whole wide worldsie, so, like, Magical Dream Princess just hasto help one of her friendy wendies if she’s in trouble wouble~! (giggle!) And, like, Magical Dream Princess, like, totally wotally understandy wandies what she’s gotta do~! (giggle!) Her brainy wainy might make it hard for her to thinkie winkie real good, and her memory wemory might be, like, really terrible werrible, but she still remember wembers that~! (giggle!)” she declared, sounding very proud of herself. “She’s gonna helpy welpy Magical Samurai-chan save some girls from a bunch of meanie weanie heads~! And, like, one of those girls is someone Magical Dream Princess would like to have a talky walky with~! About some really super duper important stuffy wuffy that Magical Dream Princess, like, can’t remember wember right nowie…” she added, her voice trailing off as her gaze wandered around the room as if searching for the missing knowledge.
‘Alright, uh. I’ll take it from the beginning to be safe,’ Ronin said with a smile, wondering if bringing this girl along was a good idea. Does this girl even have the concept of mortality? Is bringing her to a battlefield a terrible idea? Oh, well!
‘So, the situation is as follows. We’re going to join up with Justine, who wants to have us as allies to break into Mariette’s base of operations. Justine is an overall terrible person of a Horror-patron… wait, what if she’s just mind-bent too… EH, ONE HORROR-GIRL AT A TIME!’ Ronin grinned and threw her hands into the air. ‘Regardless. Mariette will oppose us with likely lethal force. However, when the time comes, we don’t want Justine to get her hands on Mariette, because we want to secure Mariette and Eli, because they’re mind-bent, doesn’t know they’re not following their patron against their will, and needs to be saved, along with everyone else on Mariette’s side.’
‘Now, I’d be afraid that Justine might see through us and just attempt to annihilate us on the spot… but I just heard she’d recruited BEACON as well, similarly to how she recruited me. So we can be decently sure Justine doesn’t kill us, because Beacon would mind, and I don’t think Mariette has the firepower to oppose Beacon so that puts us in a winning position not as likely to die, but on the other hand Beacon is a big organization that definitely wants Mariette dead. So, we need to make sure they don’t get their hands on Mariette first, too, and that’ll be fun. It also sounds like the Lesser Force Dan the Dolphin will be there… but I don’t really know what he’s doing there, so, uh, who knows.’
‘Fortunately, we’re not ENTIRELY alone on this mission. I’ve made a connection with Vermillion Veronica, who in turn has an alliance with Mariette. Mariette has asked Veronica for assistance driving off the assault… what I’m saying is Veronica will have people on the inside, that are allies of ours. Trixy, Silhouette, maybe some of Maura’s people. They can’t exactly help us get in, but they’re our allies. Veronica has the tools to remove a mind-bending from a mind-bent mind, we’d just have to help her.’
‘Besides that, I’ve also procured an Interdimensional Home from some of my friends, which I can enter at will. We can use that to escape. I’ve also procured the contact information of some friends in Beacon, I don’t know if they’ll be there, who are willing to help me remove the mind-bending on Eli and Mariette. So, if I can just get my hands on them, I can take Eli and Mariette to a safe dimension Justine doesn’t know about, and then have Janet and Jenna remove the mind-bending. Now, it wouldn’t hurt if Mariette is knocked unconscious at this time, as she’d not willingly allow the mind-bending to be removed, but everything in due time. Knocked out is better than awake is better than wounded is better than dead.’
‘So, at the start of this battle, it’ll be us, Beacon and whatever other force Justine brought invading Mariette’s dimension. We may have to make use of Justine and Beacon to get in, because we’re not strong enough to overcome Mariette by ourselves. But when we DO get in, we can’t let them kill Mariette, and we have more friends on the inside in Veronica’s agents. At that point, defeat Justine, somehow secure Mariette and Eli, take them to me so I can bring them to that dimension, bring everyone along, hopefully, and then contact one of those that could remove the mind-bending. That’s the plan as far as I’ve made it. Yupp.’ Ronin nodded at the end of her explanation.
Oh, and on that note.
@BrokenPromise I’ve got more allies with me. They’re Connie and Gaia, nightmare and nature girls, as well as the eccentric Magical Dream Princess. Have our agents avoid killing them slash cooperate with them, if you could.
Ronin sent a message to Veronica through the mind-link. Now to see what the others say.
“That… Is certainly a lot to take in…” Gaia said after a moment, while doing her best to maintain her serene demeanor.
“Y-Yeah…” Connie agreed, her voice filled with uncertainty. “It k-kinda m-makes my h-head hurt…” she added quietly.
Predictably, Magical Dream Princess had a slightly different opinion.
“Wowie zowie~! (giggle!)” the ditzy magical girl exclaimed, while bouncing up and down in delight. “That sounds, like, super duper crazy wazy, but also, like, mega wega funsie wunsie~! (giggle!) And, like, Magical Dream Princess is glad her brainy wainy isn’t the only one going spiny winy~! (giggle!) Oh~! And she just wuvs secret wecret stuffy wuffy, and, like, she totally wotally understandy wandies that she can’t telly welly anybodywody about Samurai-chan’s super duper secret wecret plansie wansie~! So, like, pretty please don’t worry about her, Samurai-chan~! (giggle!) Okie dokie~?”
That demeanour of MDP’s really made Ronin wonder if she was secretly an agent of Justine or something. It just felt so over the top. Let’s assume not.
‘I’m happy to hear it!’ Ronin said with a wide grin. ‘So, yeah, I’ve outlined my plans. Any further questions? Do you still want to come?’ she asked, primarily to Gaia and Connie, because, yeah. It was a lot to take in.
“Y-Yes!” Connie answered, with a bit more force than she’d intended. “Y-You’re our f-friend, a-and it w-would be awful if w-we just a-abandoned y-you to f-face all t-these h-horrible things alone!”
“Well said, little sister,” Gaia noted with an approving smile. “It shall be our honor and privilege to stand with you Ronin, no matter what trials lie ahead.”
‘Aw, you guys…’ Ronin smiled so widely, and then promptly leaped to embrace all three of them if she possibly could. ‘You’re the best of friends! I love you so much!’
Then, she released, and promptly spun around towards the exit.
‘Alright! Shall we go before they go without us?’
“Yes,” Gaia concurred, giving a voice to a small giggle as Ronin embraced her. “Let us be on our way.”
“Y-Yeah, l-let’s do t-this!” Connie added, drawing comfort and resolve from Ronin’s enthusiastic hug and kind words.
Magical Dream Princess squealed in delight as Ronin embraced her. “Yaaaay~! Magical Dream Princess just wuvs cuddle wuddles~! (giggle!) And, like, Samurai-chan just made her sooo super duper happy wappy with what she just said~! Magical Dream Princess’s heart feels all warm and fuzzy wuzzy right nowie~ (giggle!)”
‘Awesome!’ Ronin called, grinning at the positive emotions currently surrounding the four of them. ‘Let’s go!’
Something else that Ronin thought of as they were going along.
‘So, uh, let me just add that, there may be a point in telling people that Mariette and her forces are mind-bent. Justine and her forces probably wouldn’t care, being evil beings and all, but Beacon might reconsider using lethal means. Might. They’re generally good-natured, after all, if they don’t decide Mariette’s just too far gone. Just don’t mention this where Justine can hear, it may give away our intentions.’
‘Oh, and, Light-specialized girls are able to tell if you lie to them, and if Alicia is leading the Beacon team, she’s one. Try to avoid lying to the best of your ability, kaaay~?’
“O-Okay…”
“Understood.”
“Okie dokie~! (giggle!)”
A short while later Ronin and co came down to the underground parking garage. She gazed upon the Beacon forces and then to Justine and her strange furniture and the weretigers beyond… huh, there were shapes in the void beyond there. How much firepower did Justine have? Who even knows? Still, Ronin just grinned and went along.
‘Heeeeeeeey! I’m Ronin! Pleased to meet you all!’ Ronin called to the members of Beacon. Then there was the pooling of information… Ronin grinned and put her arms behind her head. ‘I’ve got nothing I want to add! We don’t really have the ability to scry across dimensions, after all, heh,’ Ronin said, chuckling a bit as she pretended to not be super-nervous around Beacon and Justine.
Basil went over and eventually decided he was going to pray at the shrine. He said his piece, and he was met with… silence. The idol most certainly wasn't responding. Yet, somehow, Basil would get an impression, instinct or premonition that something had heard him. Something had heard his wish.
Besides that, nothing much was going to happen here. What would Basil like to do?
1. Find Pokémon. Feel free to specify searching for a specific kind, if so.
2. Train Pokémon. With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding.
3. Seek trainers. Visitors to the Shrine or so.
4. Talk. There’s some people around.
5. Move along. Move along normally, letting any events that may come happen naturally.
6. Hurry along. Intentionally avoid confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination.
7. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result.
8. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you.
9. Pray at the Shrine. Not guaranteed to be very exciting, but it’s steeped in culture to do so.
Connected areas:
Route 3. If you head east, back along the Path to Silent Shrine.
North Silent Forest. If you go into the forest north.
South Silent Forest. If you go into the forest south.
[That is fine. Come on in] Mariette replied. A little too soon after, she got a note that someone had entered using a key. It was not Lily. Mariette would receive her, anyway.
When Trixy used the key, whatever shape it had taken, she’d find herself transported to a different dimension, and everything went black at first. … And then it stayed black, because she’d ended up in a room that was entirely completely black. It took around three seconds, then a portal opened in front of her, leading into a closed-in room inside a gothic mansion, Mariette’s office. There were some book-cases with books, a bed and a table with a chair where Mariette now sat, staring at Trixy.
‘What brings you here?’ Mariette asked, albeit she’d already given the command to prepare for an incoming attack, just in case.
If Lily wanted to come on in, she could enter just as Trixy had and Mariette would open another portal into her office for her as well.
‘It was… frightening, but also glorious, in such a weird way…’ said a positively out-of-breath Vivia after that whole horse-ride. ‘They really go fast, huh… and that whole massive plain was just their personal playground… whew, felt I could have been thrown off at any moment… but it was so… beautiful…’ Vivia said, before she gazed to Skylar, and sort of realized he’d been unable to see it all, and proceeded to be a bit self-conscious for a bit. Thereafter, they went into Raremine Town, and Skylar soon pointed out that he’d recognized a voice.
‘Wait, really? Uuuh, there’s a lot of people. Let me check…’ Vivia said, as she went over to peek over, before coming back. ‘I think you’re right. She’s currently in a Backpacker’s outfit, though. She’s currently engaged in a Pokémon battle inside an arena of miners that are excitedly cheering them on… and she’s facing- wait, isn’t that one of Kalmia’s trainers?’ Vivia asked, having a vague recollection of Dawkin’s appearance.
But, before that, they apparently had time to go to the Pokémon Center to heal and ask a couple questions.
‘Hello, and welcome to the Pokémon Center. Would you like to rest your Pokémon?’
Assumingly, yes.
‘Okay. I’ll take your Pokémon for a few seconds, then.’
She’d then accept the Pokéballs and put them into the machine, and…
‘Thank you for waiting. We’ve restored your Pokémon to full health.’
She says as she hands the Pokéballs back. She then bows to her customer and gives a friendly smile.
‘We hope to see you again!’
Some questions, then. Gym, fossil lab and whatever else is super important.
‘Oh, here to challenge gyms, are we? You’ll find there’s no Gym Building in Raremine Town. But, that doesn’t mean there’s no gym challenge. Go face the smaller exit into Route 7 to the left of the main one, you’ll find it marked “Gym”. Oh, and consider buying Go-Goggles at the shop for 1200 P. You may find yourself in need of them…’ Then the guy took an extra look at Skylar. ‘… Or maybe you’d do just fine, huh.’
‘Oh, yeah, fossils! They show up every now and then from the Desert Mines we’re working in. The mines are primarily for metals, of course, but we find stones and fossils as well. The stones are traded to the Stone Store here in town, and the fossils are brought to the labs. There, they’re somehow able to bring the fossils back to life! How cool is that!? They’re also doing all other kinds of research, headed by Professor Dunstan himself. No idea about what else they’re researching, though.’
‘They say the waters of Route 16 are haunted, it’s too dangerous to cross for most Pokémon Trainers. Yet, Mr. Stalford bravely offers a ferry for those willing to protect the ship as they cross. Guess any business is viable as long as trainers pay enough, hah. I’d recommend taking the long way by Freecape Town for a safer way across.’
‘The so affectionately called Old Tombs lie in the far reaches of Route 7. They’re an archeologist’s dream. Still, there seems like there was a ghost uprising there, recently? Eh, no concern of mine. Oooh, do you want to go to the Mythic Oasis, which’s located somewhere in the sandstorm? Go to the Bug Garden and hire a Vivillon, then! Those bugs can find the water of the oasis even through the sandstorm!’
‘So, recently there’s been a spree of Ancient Pokémon being kidnapped. The miners blame the scientists, and the scientists blame the miners. Yet, just today, both sides joined forces to try to see if they could find a responsible third party. It was like an emissary of peace made its voice heard from afar and everyone just sat aside their differences… Is there truly a Pokémon with that kind of power out there?’
… And that was some information.
Right. What are they doing?
Raremine Town
no cat-eared girls here, sorry
Raremine Town is a moderately large, bright town on the edge of the only desert in Isson. By some twist, the largest mineral deposits in the land is located right under the desert, making it an attractive place to build mines. From that, Raremine Town naturally sprung into being as a merchant town on the edge of habitability from where the mineral could then be delivered to the rest of Isson. The temperature is hot, sun blazing down on this land where plains slowly become desert, the atmosphere dry and unfriendly… yet, life and trees blossoms among the buildings of Raremine Town.
The ground is still the grass from the Vast Plains, with buildings on top of them. The modern houses stand tall with plenty of architectural skill put into them, tools for building and living sold inside the houses. Everywhere, one can see workers walking about, but they’re happy workers, with their families living close at hand in the town and with the finest equipment available. Oh, and of course, plenty of Pokémon that assist with the finding of ores and such! The trees, which appear to have been planted and grown all over town by the residents themselves, gives plenty of homes for local Pokémon to live.
Overall, it’s busy, with people walking and talking all over, an active town indeed.
1. Find Pokémon. Can still search for Pokémon in cities~ 2. Talk. In cities, there are considerably more people one can talk to. Talking can give you info on local rumors and such. 3. Exit. Exit the town to any of the connected areas. 4. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 5. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 6. Notable Places. Visit any of the places in the city! 6.1. Pokémon Center. Heal all your Pokémon. 6.2. PokéMart. Go to a store and buy things. 6.3. Pokémon Gym. ??? 6.4. Desert Miner’s Hangout. The workers of the Desert Mine live around here. They can give tips about the desert! 6.5. Research Lab. For archaeologists, those who want to talk to Dunstan and those who want to resurrect fossils. 6.6. Stone Store. Where all the stones of the Desert Mines or Frozen Cave eventually end up! Lots of evolutionary and other kinds of stones! 6.7. Bug Garden. A garden within which bugs thrive. Vivillons can be hired here for tracking down the Mythic Oasis! 6.8. Warehouses. Because the things they mine here needs somewhere to be stored. This includes Ancient Pokémon, apparently, as some of the warehouses are pens. 6.9. Familiar Faces: Dawkin Maybe not familiar, but he’s here. He’s having a battle in the middle of an arena surrounded by burly miners.
Connected areas: Route 6. The Vast Plains open up to the north of Raremine. The shorter paths lead to Route 8 and 16, while west far enough leads to Lakewatch Town. Route 7. The single rocky desert of Isson, it connects to the Desert Mines, the Old Tombs and to the Mythic Oasis.
Xaltwind
Pirouette
Crimson Flame
Danyel
Mage
Noctis
Izurich
Damycles
jimapple
Zapdos
