RBYDark

Pokemon: The Spectre Conspiracy

Mia surveyed the other... trainers, once Professor Apple confirmed their role. The boys all seemed withdrawn, and the other girl seemed rather a klutz. What were they going to do as trainers? Real trainers practically bled confidence from their veins, not tears and muttered words and scraped knees! Well, maybe the last one. But only from high-intensity training, not from walking up some steps! Once this project was over, she couldn't see any of them striking off on their own to challenge the pokemon league or challenging gyms. Heck, she wasn't even sure what they'd do the first time a real trainer challenged them! Mia would probably have to step up. Whatever, she was good at that.

Professor Apple then went into a speech, one Mia would begrudgingly admit was pretty alright. She hadn't actually read the professor's Unovan work - though she had read reports on her work with Sycamore. It was interesting, to say the least, and had played a small part in her decision to accept Apple's offer. The introductions went... a tad more interestingly. Mia had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. They were getting a chaperone. Really? There were 10-year-olds who went out with a flipping Caterpie and left to their own devices. She was 13! But at least Lynda looked kinda cool. She wouldn't mind getting a jacket like that. The other assistant - Mia paused as he introduced himself. B? Really? Really? Even knowing it was a nickname didn't help much - pretty lame nickname. She looked him over. Maybe Patch instead?

Then back to Apple, revealing the pokeballs. Mia studied them - maybe some gnaw marks, a scratch, some hint as to the resident they held within. She wanted to get the best pokemon possible, something fierce and strong.

The hesitation cost her. Already, Lynda and two of the others had grabbed pokeballs. The Ralts was no big loss but - an Axew? A Totodile? Heck no! She grabbed one of the remaining two and let out the pokemon, hoping for the best. The light condensed, first into an orb-like shape before sprouting a few features: a pair of legs and a tail. When the light faded, a Poliwag stood there. His gaze was focused on some faraway point, and his mouth seemed stuck in a perpetual tiny smile as he wagged his tail slightly. Mia stared and then groaned. Of course. This was what she got for waiting. She looked over at Professor Apple. "Hey, I think th-" She was cut off by a raspberry. She looked back down to the Poliwag, who looked up innocently at her. "Please tell me I can sw-" And another raspberry cutting her off. She glowered at the Poliwag, whose expression hadn't changed in the slightest before looking up in exasperation. "Does anyone want to tr-"

And there went the longest raspberry yet to end her question before it could even be asked. And then the Poliwag resumed his slightly-dopey smile.

"Arceus help me."

Aʀʀᴏᴡsᴍɪᴛʜ: Fʀᴇsʜᴍᴀɴ Yᴇᴀʀ

Selene Cross / Wynona Gray Belvue

Location: Lunchroom
Interactions: Collab with @MissCapnCrunch: @carla6677 - Amelia and Mitzie, @King Tai - Ezera, @LovelyAnastasia - Poetry, @Thane - Kas, @alexfangtalon - Sadie

---

Selene nodded and, no sooner had Wynona spoken did Ezera cross into her line of sight, glancing around. Selene nudged Wynona. "Well, there he is. I don't see Amelia with him, though..." It wasn't like the two were glued toether but after homeroom? It seemed weird that she wasn't with him. That hunch of something being wrong only intensified as Ezera made his way over to the table.

"Hey sorry y'all. Don't mean to cut in but is Amelia here?" Selene had begun to shake her head when Ezera apparently spied someone else and darted away. With the cafeteria's size, it was hard to miss hearing him call out to Kas. Selene shook her head.

"I... guess he won't be sitting here?" She glanced to Wynona. "I'll introduce you two properly later, I promise."

Wynona's eyes narrowed as Selene nudged her and mentioned the boy who was named Ezera. She had remembered him strolling in late to homeroom this morning.

Bad boys.

Swoon.

Before they knew it, he was at their table and asking where Amelia was, and Wynona in sync shook her head with Selene's. He soon answered his own question and took his leave after the red head in the sea of students and chaos. "I guess not." she responded, as her gaze fell back to her tray that was now empty. "Don't worry about it too much." she smiled, as she placed her empty milk carton sideways on to her tray. "Are you done with your tray? I'll toss yours if you'd like." she offered, standing up from the stool, looking at Selene for an answer before she threw her own tray away.

"Mmm-" She glanced at her tray - it wasn't like she had grabbed a lot of food in the first place and, while she had been talking with Wynona, it didn't take long to eat. "Thank you, but I'll walk mine over too. It'd be awful if you ended up dropping things, or if maybe my milk carton had just a tiny bit of milk left." She didn't think so, but Wynona's clothes looked too nice to let milk spill on them. She stood up with her tray.

"I have to ask, though, where did you get your jacket from? Were there any other colors?" The style was nice, she just preferred the lighter colors was all. Not that there was anything wrong with Wynona's tastes.

Wynona let out a small chuckle as Selene worried about her dropping things. She was often clumsy and if it wasn't Selene's tray she'd spill it would be hers. As the two walked towards the garbage can, Selene asked about her jacket and a sparkle came into her eye. She loved talking about clothes and where she got from them, how much they were, and how that person needed to get it as soon as possible.

"You like it?" a bit of excitment could be heard in her voice as she tossed her tray into the trash and pushed up the sleeves of her jacket. "I got it for a great deal over at that little discount place over in Creekview." she admitted, "It's perfect for fall here, since it's not too heavy and not too light." she continued, putting it out for Selene to feel the material. "It's freaking pleather too, could have fooled ya right?" she laughed, putting her arm back by her side as the two walked back to their table. "They had it in a light brown, maroon, and a white. You'd look great in any of them, honestly. Your skin tone is to die for." she complimented, a gleam in her eye.

"Really? I think I'd have a few things on my closet that would go with the light brown or white," Selene said as she lifted her hand off the sleeve. Wynona was right - it really did feel and look like leather. Quite an impressive find, too - not to say Selene hadn't made her own finds at the Creekview strip mall, or the neighboring city even, but credit where it was due. There came a point where such finds were skill rather than luck: knowing where to shop, what brands would hold up just as well as the designers, when sales would happen, who was prone to helping customers find discounts. Judging by Wynona's style, Selene suspected it was a matter of skill.

"But thank you! It's my parents'." A little joke. Ha. "It looks good on you. Any chance you remember the store's name?" She hadn't exactly gone on a spending frenzy before school, and she was responsible in her purchases. Her parents would likely allow her to have the new jacket.

Reaching back to the table and taking a seat, Wynona nodded while Selene talked, smiling when appropriate and truly appreciating the conversation the two were having with one another. "It's legit called Creekview Discount Clothing." Wynona said, a smirk on her face with how clever their small town was with naming things.

Close by, a bit of commotion erupted and Wynona turned not just her head but her whole body to investegate. "What is going on?" she asked Selene, looking between her and the scene that was forming.

Selene turned to the sound - it looked like a group of people, their edges slightly fuzzed out. Yeah, halfway across the room. Even if it was small enough to provide acoustics for the brewing argument, it didn't help her vision problems at all. She squinted, trying to focus the sight before her a bit. There was Ezera and Amelia, right there. Also a few others - Sadie and Poetry, she recognized from the homeroom game. There was also a girl, who she didn't think had been in homeroom at all - and it looked like she was yelling at Amelia. Oh boy.

She glanced to Wynona. "Looks like Ezera found Amelia - and so did someone else." She had only met Amelia yesterday, so she wasn't sure if this was typical or not. She really had been hoping for a peaceful schoolyear - could she be blamed for that? There was already a fair-sized crowd around them, and, at a glance, she and Wynona weren't the only ones who had noticed. Other students were staring too from their seats, clearly interested with no intention of trying to break up the fight.

"...is there a teacher around? I don't think we're supposed to leave the cafeteria." The only other option Selene could think of was to join the crowd and be ready to split them. Selene didn't like to think of herself as a person of violence if it came to that, though.

"Besides the lunch ladies? No." Wynona repled, looking to the front of the cafeteria where the women could be seen cleaning up after the lunch had been served. "Let's go over there. They are your friends." Wynona insisted, standing up again and taking no time to walk over. With her sleeves rolled up, she looked like she was ready to get into a fight as well.

Selene nodded and had begun to stand - and already Wynona was striding over, rolling up her sleeves. Selene glanced into her bag and reserves of candy. Well, candy couldn't necessarily stop a fight, but maybe it could at least provide incentive to calm everyone down? She followed after Wynona to the group of largely freshmen (and a few confused-looking seniors).

"You know, I suggest we all go sit down for now, and maybe talk it out? My friend and I-" Was that too forward? Selene glanced at Wynona, hoping she wouldn't take offense to the sudden title. "-well, we just came from an empty table. We can discuss this all in relative privacy. What do you think?" She beamed - yes, the situation seemed serious, and were those bruises on Amelia's arm? But this was the best she could do: try to defuse.

Masked

Short post is short but hopefully useful?

Masked

@Eviledd1984 @Gentlemanvaultboy

Even with Sammy's temporarily doured view, it was hard not to be at least mildly inspired by this guy's own enthusiasm, starting with the slightly-too-tough grip on Sammy's shoulder. Even with the out-loud confirmation of his own fears, this guy at least then offered a solution and help. He wasn't sure if this guy would be affected by these people he was supposed to hide from - though he could probably smash them into the ground with one hand. He seemed like that kind of guy. So, despite his own concerns, Sammy couldn't help but start smiling as West described the ultimate ideal: kicking these people's butts and making sure Witch was okay. Hopefully, she was still with Pyro and Sammy just hadn't been able to see her - it was still possible! - but if not, at least there was something to do to about it. "Yeah! I-" Well, Sammy knew he couldn't really punch. "I can do that!" Gosh, he was lucky that at least, since Pyro hadn't answered yet, it was this guy who had.

And then the meeting took a turn for the even weirder. That was saying a lot, considering Danny's appearance.

That boost of confidence began to evaporate as the strange masked man landed beside him. He didn't seem Obsidian, and he sure wasn't with Pyro. Sammy took a step back - and another as the guy drew what looked like a fairly sharp hatchet from his jacket. His gloves laid abandoned by the bag of gravel, and his hands were almost completely blue with poison. Even as the guy backed off, Sammy couldn't help but wonder where he was planning on using that hatchet. He swallowed.

"Um, we... aren't dancing. Really. We're planning on finding Witch. What're you doing here?" It seemed like the obvious place to start. He glanced at West, hoping the larger super might recognize the guy. Not like Sammy really kept up with things outside of Chicago.

Aʀʀᴏᴡsᴍɪᴛʜ: Fʀᴇsʜᴍᴀɴ Yᴇᴀʀ

@Icepick Sorry, currently got a waitlist. We can add you though?

Pokemon: The Spectre Conspiracy

First was Sully - Apple noticed him first, crossing into town before apparently a message on his phone distracted him. It took him a moment longer - another girl passed him by on the way into town - but soon he reached their little cafe table.

"Hello...I...I'm Sully..." He mumbled the words, almost caving in on himself. Apple offered a comforting smile.

“Well, Sully, we’ve been waiting for you. You can have a seat.”

Lynda watched Sully as he joined them, though didn’t seem to acknowledge him too much beyond a friendly smile of her own; it was when the next boy arrived a few moments later that the smile faded in favour of something more.

The first boy had been quiet, but this one didn’t even offer a verbal greeting; instead proceeding into a series of strange hand gestures as he neared them. She stared for a moment, her mind debating possibilities-

But before she could come to a conclusion, it was B who spoke up. “Oh, he’s introducing himself. He’s Reeman-” B gestured toward the second boy. “I’ll hazard a guess you can’t speak? Not that it’s a loss, trust me.” He beamed.

“What my assistant means is, it’s good to listen,” Professor Apple clarified, eyeing over the man. He nodded.

“Right - this isn’t my native tongue, words escape me sometimes.” His smile hadn’t faltered at all. “Come on, sit down with us.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, he’s not so bad.” Lynda nodded to Reeman, the friendly smile returning to her face. So he was mute? She’d have to make a note of that. “It’s just that his vocabulary’s lacking some depth.”

B chuckled. “An endless source of humor, isn’t she?”

“Please stop - at least in front of the trainers?” Professor Apple shook her head.

“Alright, sorry,” Lynda replied, looking away with a sheepish chuckle as the Professor scolded her again; only to find herself distracted by the next of the arrivals, a young woman.

"You must be Professor Apple. I, Mia Kita, answered your letter." Professor Apple recognized her from the bridge earlier. Well, she had no reservations on introducing herself - or passing judgments, based on that sneer at the Y-shaped Unown. The Unown simply glowered back at Mia, to the surprise of neither the professor nor her assistants.

‘Well, she’s certainly more talkative than the other two,’ Lynda mused to herself, continuing to watch Mia as she caught sight of the girl’s unimpressed glance towards the Unown. She couldn’t say she was particularly fond of the weird Psychic-type, but she refrained from adding anything this time; after all, she was more interested in seeing whether the girl could back up the attitude behind that contempt.

It was another few minutes before another voice spoke up: “S-sorry I’m a little late!” Apple looked up at the boy, then at his Gastly, and stared in some mild confusion at the boy approaching. He looked to be in the right age range, but...

“Thank you for having me, Professor.” ....well.

“Ah, you’re welcome.... And you are?” She blinked. Not quite up to her requests, but-

“Oh, Professor! This is the one I recruited! His name’s Charlie! I thought he’d make an excellent replacement - he was off doing his own research when I found him, you know. I suppose I forgot to mention him?” B shrugged. “My mistake.”

Apple nodded. “Well... I suppose luckily you have your own.” She smiled gently at Charlie and looked at the Gastly. “I’ve always been fond of Ghost-types, you know.”

“Especially the ones that apparently used to be human,” B added. “They’ve got the best data - human-like chromosome structure.”

“B, they don’t need to know specifics yet. Not unless they decide to stay once the journey has ended?”

“Right, right.”

It was barely a moment after that morbid turn in the conversation fell by the wayside that someone else appeared from over the bridge and began to approach; only to trip and fall onto her knees as she came within a few meters of joining them.

”H-hey. I’m Rosaline, you can call me Rosa. You’re Professor Apple, right?” And with Rosa’s arrival, the entire group had fallen into place. Apple nodded and looked over the group. With everyone in place, she cleared her throat and stood up. The small Aron on the table watched her rise to her feet.

“I’m glad you could all make it. Now, I intend to say this only once, so everyone please listen. My name is Professor Apple - you may have seen some of my work back home in Unova?” While perhaps not as renowned as the likes of Oak, for developing the pokedex, and Sycamore, for discovering Mega Evolution, she had still published papers on the potential connections between humans and Pokemon, with particular focus on one of the native pokemon - Yamask. “I came to Kalos in order to further my work, by studying Mega Evolution, as you may recall in my letter. While Sycamore is away in Hoenn to understand the influx of developing Mega Stones in the region, I am currently running his lab. His remaining staff, of course, are focusing on his research. While I have my assistants, I still find I’m being stretched too thin. B, Lynda, would you like to introduce yourselves?” She gestured to the two beside her.

“Hey, everyone, I’m Lynda!” The young woman was the first of the two to take the initiative in introducing herself, waving to the five younger children. Compared to how she’d seemed to size Reeman and Mia up, the air about her now was far less tense and focused. “I’ll be tagging along with all of you, at least for a while. My journey starts today, too!”

“And, well, I’m B - it’s, well, it’s a nickname. It can be tough to pronounce my full name and- oh!” As B was rising to his feet, using his chair for balance, the chair slipped backwards away from the table, and B nearly went with it. Only his Unown intervening caught him from falling. “Ah, sorry. Anyways, well, I’m B - I assure you, I’m not so klutzy in my element. Due to the nature of my work, it’s likely I’ll be meeting up with you and Lynda to pick up work and tell you what else Apple needs you to focus on.”

Professor Apple nodded to the two before continuing to address the other five trainers. “These two will help you with the projects I’ll be assigning you. Unfortunately, since I am running Sycamore’s lab for him, it often means I am called away to tend to tasks he’d normally deal with. For example, after we part ways today, I will be with the Pokemon League, dealing with the influx of Zweilous nests in Victory Road. Drasna’s told me it’s been making it difficult for trainers to reach them.” She shook her head. “I’ll get into the details of your first mission shortly. For now, please-” She gestured to the pokeballs sitting on the table. “-pick your starter.”

Pokemon: The Spectre Conspiracy

I'll fix OP link. Again, thank you!

Pokemon: The Spectre Conspiracy

Really? That's strange. I'll try to grab another?

Pokemon: The Spectre Conspiracy

Big thanks to Cynder for making the chat, and big thanks to Mag Lev for making the link.

Pokemon: The Spectre Conspiracy

Ohey, so's Ob.

Also, dibs edited in. My main dibs are:

Hider

-Poliwag line (ending in Politoed)
-Zubat line
-Mantyke line
-Pawniard line
-Trapinch line

Thing is, for last spot, torn between Carvanha, Scyther, and Yanma. Hopefully can decide soon.