Freya had been back in her home, finishing up her packing when she got a text from Steph in a language that was actually understandable and yet, she read it in her head in a way that sounded how the Bogan spoke. She blinked at her phone for a second and asked aloud, "Am I cursed?"
Steph would feel her phone vibrate and as she got a text back from Freya saying that she was a bit busy at the moment but would catch up with her later if she told her which route she was heading to. So, with that Steph was free to go to park to go catch a fire doggo. She'd walk through the busy streets of Grand Glory City, making sure now to miss out on anything because God forbid she missed out on anything. Eventually, she would reach her destination.
Trainer School
It’s a school. Kids around Grand Glory City flock here eventually to learn the basics of Pokémon battling, or there are trainers that come here only to attend the odd lesson before they embark on their big journey. There’s a patch of grass and trees on the side where wild Pokémon can be found, and every week, breeders and rangers are known to release a new species in the park to help introduce them into the ecosystem and give these kids a chance to gain experience against different kinds of Pokemon. And, of course, there’s plenty of Pokémon battling among the students as they do their best to learn. In fact…
To the right immediately after one enters the school, there’s a list of students in a ranking-list on a wall. A huge list of the 50 top students, ranked in Pokémon battling ability, and there’s a thing that anyone who visits can challenge the list to get onto it temporarily. Leaving for too long obviously means falling off the list, but those who rank high gain some benefits and bragging rights.
That aside, let's have a brief summary on what's happening here.
Kids are having random battles and besides kids, there are just residents of the city who are just enjoying the scenery, and some are even having picnics. There were groups of kids that seem to be hunting after random Pokemon and a few of them were gathered around a natural pond. Seems like Water-Type Pokemon were an option.
The wild Pokemon that you could tell are wild and catchable are as follows...
Pokédex Entry #403 – Shinx, the Flash Pokémon. When its muscles extend or contract, it generates electricity. When it senses danger, a Shinx will let the electricity run through it, causing it to glow. If threatened, it uses its muscles to flash a bright light to blind the predator while it flees.
Pokédex Entry #824 – Blipbug, the Larva Pokémon. A constant collector of information, this Pokémon is very smart. Very strong is what it isn't. Often found in gardens, this Pokémon has hairs on its body that it uses to assess its surroundings.
Pokédex Entry #054 – Psyduck, the Duck Pokémon. Psyduck is constantly beset by headaches. As Psyduck gets stressed out, its headache gets progressively worse. It uses intense psychic energy to overwhelm those around it.
Pokédex Entry #058 – Growlithe, the Puppy Pokémon. It has a brave and trustworthy nature. It fearlessly stands up to bigger and stronger foes. Extremely loyal, it will fearlessly bark at any opponent to protect its own Trainer from harm.
What will you do?
1. Trainer School Park. There’s a small park of grass in here. What kind of Pokémon might be in it? 2. Talk. Plenty of students and teachers. This is a wellspring of knowledge, someone must know something. 3. Challenge. Work your way up the leaderboard! Specify the level of opponent. 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. Study. You want to know something? Feel free to learn about it here! 6.1. Pokémon Habitats. Learn where you might find a specific kind of Pokémon! 6.2. Evig Geography. Learn more about the different places in Evig! 6.3. Names to Remember. Learn about Gym Leaders, Elite Four, or the like! 6.4. Local Legends. Learn about different tales from around Evig! 6.5. Pokémon Breeding. That’s also a subject. 6.6. Battling Basics. You likely know them already. 6.7. Specify. Tell what you want to learn and we’ll see if we have a course!
Connected areas: Grand Glory City. All around, of course.
That curly mound of lavender hair suddenly shifted and then suddenly snapped towards him to reveal Miss Jacqulyn in her, uh, less than glorious self. Jason was met by a tanned skinned woman with deep, dark circles surrounding her eyes that had thick lensed glasses though her eyes were forcibly wide awake, bloodshot, and somehow jittering. Sleep and she looked like they were in a long-distance relationship, and she hadn't texted back in weeks. Yeah, she did not look like the picture of health.
"Jaqulynspeaking.HowcanIhelpyou?I'mverybusywithmyresearchsopleasedon'tbothermeunlessitisimportant." That wasn't typed out incorrectly. The woman was not speaking with spaces. She spoke with such a rushed manner that that her words just crashed into each other like a bad car accident on the freeway and it just kept piling up. Unless Jason was reading the text in the post itself, it was probably hard to make heads or tails of what the woman was saying in her sleep deprived, caffeinated high.
The librarian that accompanied Jason looked completely unfazed and was gathering up the parapets of coffee cups that littered the table.
The old man leaned in to inspect the evidence with an arched brow and well, he was proven to be very wrong much to his own relief.
"Huh, I'll be damned. My apologies miss for the accusation miss. Not every day you see something as incredible as that." He said, leaning back in his seat being able to relax again. "Still, to be trusted with something as rare as that means that he must recognize something in you. From what I've heard on the news that boy is a real prodigy, so I bet he has a real keen eye for talented trainers."
It was the answer that made the most sense. Faye was one of the chosen talents selected and approved by Adriane and the league administration, so it stood to reason that Basil saw something in Faye as well. It was only just luck that she happened to meet him before any of the other new trainers. What exactly he saw in her though was completely up in the air though it was enough to give him confidence that the Pokemon within the egg would be able to grow and thrive with the fledgling trainer.
Still, Faye was still not exactly sure if the old man's assessment of what kind of egg she was given was correct, which prompted him to look slightly offended. He gave gruff grunt and handed her egg back to Faye.
"Lass, I've been breeding Pokemon before your parents were born. I am absolutely certain. The coloring is different, but the pattern is overall the same. From the state of it, it looks like it was laid recently, but considering I don't when it was laid or how long Basil had been holding onto it, I couldn't give you a solid estimate of when it'll hatch. Could be a few days to a week." He said with a bit of uncertainty. Sure, the old man was an expert in his field, but he wasn't a magician. This was the best answer he could give her with the information presented to him.
Then the boy, who was quite rude, suddenly piped up after his already thin patience thinned even more. The cogs in the old man's head were slow to move as he tried to figure out what forest Tristan was speaking about until he looked at the two of them as if they were absolutely insane.
"Hold on, you mean the woods here? Are you out of your minds?" The old man said hardly. "Two things happen to those that attempt to enter the woods: you either end up back where you started, or you're never seen again. Do yourselves a favor and forget about it."
However, Faye already knew that. She already mostly knew the story behind the Illusive Woods and the stories of how to enter it freely. Well, she only knew the broader scope of it, but the finer details were lost on her. What she read from her time studying in the great library of King's Cross was basically just fanciful poetic dribble. When it comes to myth and legends, these were the closest to historical fact that anyone could get. However, there was information that she was able to glean enough that there were two ways to enter the forest though whether or not she decides to share that information with the veritable dickhead that she had the misfortune of spending her morning with.
The monk just glanced over to the one person who may have been enjoying this less than him. The incarnation of bitterness and queen of insults, Adelyn, was complaining in response to Nolan's question that was not directed towards anyone, but she felt the need to put her noble spin on it. The only language that she spoke in was insults. Nolan was convinced that she came out of the womb and instead of crying like any newborn infant should, she instead expressed her discontent of the quality of the blanket she was swathed in or insulted the doctor for the infantile way that she was spoken to. Really, she could find anything to complain about she absolutely would. Adelyn could complain about the weather for being a singular Celsius warm or too cold. Heck, she would probably complain about how the tea served in this guild was not of the finest loose-leaf tea and was simply some cheap bags of black tea.
"As if the nobles are any more civilized. It's the same story, different coat of paint." scoffed Nolan as he took another sip from his drink. His facial expression hardly changed from its indifferent scowl. "Between this or the nobles, I'd rather deal with normal people having fun than dealing with some snobs looking their noses down at me. Sort of like what you're doing, Viper." Nolan knew that he was going to get an earful from Adelyn so in preparation, his eyes glazed over as if he was staring into another world to gain enlightenment. Disassociation was preferable to whatever verbal onslaught she would give him.
His eyes then trailed to another who seemed to get a kick out of Adelyn's penchant for cutting words and it was the guy that looked way older than he actually was, Kiba. His cheeks were flushed red from drinking and his facade of stoicism seemed to crack a bit. Nolan, in his complete disinterest of Adelyn's future insults, pushed her head down and leaned over her to talk to the swordsman. At least he would be more pleasant company than miss complains a lot, despite the fact that the man rarely spoke. "Well, at least one of us is having fun. I didn't think you'd be much of a drinker."
@Joshua Tamashii Well, there was only one way to go. With nerves of steel, she continued to walk along the river further with her ghostly companions, including the wild ones from earlier, and further down through these strange ruins towards the source of the mystery. She would begin to realize that she was soon walking down and down a steep, rocky slope where she needed to watch her step lest she meet a terrible tumble. Walls of sheer solid rock would soon to replace the greenery of her surroundings as the afternoon sky slowly turned into night with stars only just began to dimly peek through. Her trek did eventually pay off; she arrived at her destination.
Amelia stood before a gaping hole in the stony wall that led to a cave system. The only thing that she could see was pitch blackness though thankfully, her smartphone Pokedex thing had a flashlight feature so that was not much of an issue. It was pretty clear that this was the entrance to the source of the hellish malice from earlier, so there was only one thing to do, except something was completely off.
The moment the spirit medium tried to enter the cave, she felt resistance. It was as if she was pushing against a wall of rubber, as if something was giving way but then pushed her back though with a determined push, she would eventually make it through although with a bit of a stumble. Looking back at the entrance, she would see strange runic markings of blue light in the air by the cave forming a web though it seemed as if it was tattered from age. Whatever that was, someone or something was trying to make sure something did not get in or out.
If she still did not turn back, the only way forward was through the darkness. The only thing she would even hear were the droplets of water and the sound of rubber soles meeting stone echoing. The interesting thing though was that instead of the intense burst of negativity coming at her once, it was more like a steady stream that was more manageable though unsettling, nonetheless. However, she though it was coming from a single entity, but she would begin to realize that it was fragmented; Amelia could sense several sources at once.
Amelia would go deeper and deeper into the cave, descending further downwards until she stepped out into an open space and there was oddly, light. It was still dark mind her, but there were sources of light that somehow illuminated this space.
Lost City
Once a great prospering city only now reduced to a sorry, broken state worn down by millennia and forgotten by history. Loneliness permeated every facet of the ruins with only the trickling of water from stalactites and the river coursing to break the silence. What is a city even doing all the way down here anyway?
What does Amelia do?
(Message from the DM. If you continue, you are stuck in the dungeon until you clear it or lose. This is your final chance to turn back.)
Critical hit! The Ice Shard hit one of the Trubbish with tremendous force, sending it bouncing along the ground only to hit a wall and was knocked out. Meanwhile, the other Trubbish was so started by Dush's Astonish attack that it slipped and fell into the rushing water like its other friend earlier. So, that meant that there was only one left and it just stared at Steph and the Pokemon that were going to gang up on it. Rather than dealing with getting absolutely rocked, it fell over onto its side with closed eyes and its tongue lolling out. It was pretty obvious that it was playing dead, but it was either that or actually getting the shit knocked out of.
With that out of the way, the Toxel approached the Bogan girl and looked up at her. "Tox, toxel!" Against its better judgement, it seemed to want to join her out of gratitude.
It rolled once... it rolled twice...it rolled thrice!
Steph caught Toxel!
Gender: Female Type: Electric/Poison Personality: (Up to player.) Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other: (Up to player.) Level: 5 Moves: Belch, Tearful Look, Nuzzle, Growl, Acid, Flail Ability: Rattled The Pokémon gets scared when hit by a Dark-, Ghost-, or Bug-type attack or if intimidated, which boosts its Speed stat. Held Item: Currently at full hp.
New Pokémon caught! Steph earned 2500P!
Would you like to give a nickname to Toxel??
If not, it would give a nod of understanding and run off along the sewers. Still, Steph's efforts would not be wasted. One of the remaining Trubbish dropped a strange sludge item. Strangely enough, it had seemed to be trying to heal them though was that it?
The older man arched his brow with very clear skepticism and said, "Basil Rivens? You mean that nice boy that joined our region's Elite Four? You met him and he gave you an egg? Miss, you don't need to make up tall tales just to impress your friend here." He motioned his hand towards the young man looking at his phone.
"Now, let's see what you-" Upon just taking a single glance at the egg the old man's eyes widened and just stared at it in stun silenced for a minute. Not a metaphorical one, but actually just stared at it without uttering a single word without breaking contact from it. Eventually he took a deep breath and said, "It's a Larvesta egg, and a shiny one at that."
He turned his glance back to Faye with a much harder look than before.
"You're either telling the truth or your stole this from someone. There are not many people in the world who have the means to obtain this egg given their rarity and in Evig only less than a handful of people have one. I wouldn't be surprised if the Elite Four have their own, but if we're talking about people who are famous for using a Volcarona, its evolution, then there are only two people: the fire-type gym leader, Geir though from what I've heard he doesn't leave Ashborn much, and Adriane Brand."
"Well, she's the kind of person that tends to forget about her own basic human needs when she's focused on something. If I'm going to be honest, I think she's just fueled by caffeine and sheer determination." The librarian said as she led him through the many aisles of bookcases and areas where students were sitting around and studying, some on their laptops writing papers. Definitely some of them looked like they have not slept for weeks at a time. Speaking of sleep deprivation, the living personification was not far off.
There was a desk lined with to-go coffee cups stacked up on each other among towered of texts and notebooks. The only thing that could be seen of the actual person was just a mound of curly lavender hair and a long dark brown jacket cloaked over her. Jason could hear a constant muttering from her. She was completely unaware of his presence.
Sitting at the bar watching this rather unexpected concert was a young man with a fair complexion, messy, wavy chestnut brown hair, and deep red eyes that did not register any sort of emotion though what really made him standout were the baggy monastery robes that he was wearing. They were a deep, desaturated brown teetering on black with gold, ornate trimming marked around its edges though the interior judging by the hood was lined with a white cloth and wore fingerless gloves that were the same brown as the robe and a turtleneck underneath. One could make out that he was wearing dark boots with a prominent heel. It did not take much to figure out that this young man had come from a holy order or from some temple given Pergrande shared its border with the theocratic kingdom ironically named Sin or from some other kingdom.
Well, the people in the town of Rembrandt would know this young man as Nolan, one of the newer members of Starborn and a bit of the local mystery. No one really knows who he is or where he came from. He just appeared at the town entrance one day with a monster he killed to sell its parts and there was an altercation between him and the guards that turned violent, which resulted in the guards being brutalized though in Nolan's defense he did not throw the first punch. There were guards that did not take kindly to foreign mages and took Nolan's cutting words with less grace, resulting them to use numbers to harm a lone mage that they thought they could bully. They made the severe mistake of picking him of all people to assault.
He would've been arrested have it not been for the effort of his current guild master, Jenna, stepping in and was able to find witness to corroborate with Nolan's claim of self-defense though that did little change his now shaky relationship with the town guards. In the end, he did end up joining the guild for the steady work and to have a base of operations though he has not really been known to be warm towards the rest of the guild besides Mark and their friendship is mainly built on mutual silence and drinking. Other than him, Nolan had not been making that much of an effort to make friends and it's not like his general demeanor made it any easier for people too approach him, save for a certain someone.
So, in typical fashion Nolan just sat there with a glass of spirits, a gin and tonic, watching the rest of the guild dance along to Jenna's music. He looked strangely uncomfortable with being there like he was completely out of his element. Nolan just sat there stiffly, taking the occasional sip of his drink while looking at the crowd awkwardly.
"Is it really something worth celebrating?" He asked aloud with a deep exhale to no one in particular. This kind of festive energy; the noise, the people were exhausting.
So, how does one explain the feel of ice shrapnel hitting someone's eyes? No, seriously how? That it stings like hell to get point, serrated bits of glass in one's eyes? Because obviously it would bloody well sting! One of the Trubbish just hit the ground rubbing its eyes to ease the pain and the other one was in so much pain that it rolled around without regard to its surroundings, it fell into the water and was whisked away by the current. So yeah, that just happened. Did it survive? Honestly, who knows.
Anyway, Jack was able to close the distance between the other Trubbish aiming for the shit bird Dennis while it used Leer to lower their defenses. Together they knocked them back with its two Scratch attacks and in retaliation, the two Trubbish used Poison Gas at the two of the Pokemon. How do the two Pokemon avoid getting poisoned, if they can do that?
Meanwhile, Dusk went as fast as a ghost candle can be just to use Astonish on the other Trubbish. Honestly, thing was just now that one Jojo meme of getting its shit beat on by the Litwick and the Toxel got attacking a paralyzed trash bag. Who would've thought the jumped would become the jumpee.
Now given that all of the Trubbish were just getting their shit kicked in and generally had the same amount of health left over so the paralyzed trash bag was the one who would get absorbed into a ball.
It rolled once... it rolled twice...it rolled thrice!
Steph caught Trubbish!
Gender: Female Type: Poison Personality: (Up to player.) Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other: (Up to player.) Level: 4 Moves: Pound, Recycle, Poison Gas Ability: Aftermath Damages the attacker if it contacts the Pokémon with a finishing hit. Held Item: Currently at low hp and paralyzed
While Jason wondered how this place was not the capital of the region, it only made sense that Starbor had this much. After all, this was the region of progress and given the technological achievements that have come from this region, it's not surprise. This was the regular standard of living found in the region and was pushed forward even more by the new government that replaced the one previous one infested by Cipher ops and corrupt politicians who stood to gain everything. Just like with Grand Glory City this was an effort to show that the heart of the region, its people, to show that they were strong and able to come back even from the worst disasters. This was something that Jason must've been aware enough given his parents' effort to help repair it. That and this isn't a videogame so there actually is room to fully develop locations to be more sprawling and more to do.
Now back to the matter at hand. It actually wasn't hard for the professor that Jason was talking to figure out who the young man was referring to. The professor that he was speaking too was a short, stout, plump man with puffy gray hair, thick round glasses, and a mustache so bushy one could not see his mouth. "Ah, you mean Jaqulyn. You'll probably find her in the library. If you see her, please tell her to get some sleep." If that was not cause for concern, then nothing was.
Well, all roads pointed towards the library so that is where Jason went. Walking along the streets, walking past students and teachers alike and with a bit of help pointing him in the right direction would find it and he of course eventually would it. The library matched the gray stony aesthetic of the district, built into the interior of the tree. It had steps leading up to the entrance, stone Corinthian styled columns decorating a massive doorway, and large sun windows. Upon walking in, Jason would be greeted with the strange juxtaposition of a library, a place of academic learning and self-improvement, and plant life that seem to grow with little restriction. Roots wrapped around the reception desk as trees seemed to be growing along the walls and in the middles of the corridors. There were even flowers and other strange things growing that Jason would not be able to identify, some even emitting light, but no one else treated it as odd.
Whatever reactions Jason had Of course, he still didn't know what Jaqulyn looked like so still needed the librarians to help look for the woman and they certainly did. The librarians exchanged looks of certainty to each other and one spoke up and said, "Uh, I know where she is. She's in her usual spot by the mythology and religion section near the back. You're welcome to talk to her, but... Well, you'll see."
While talking to the Runerigus, Amelia would feel it again. That spectral energy that she felt back in Grand Glory City erupted spectacularly again and this time it was far fiercer than before. She would feel as if her very being was being gripped by a grizzled, chilled hand and was trying to rip it out of her. Cold sweat dripped down her head as her own breathing would become shallow and every hair on her body stood up while she would feel a sense of dread wash over her. It was a cocktail of every negative emotion possible stabbing repeatedly into the poor girl. Grief, melancholy, bitterness, rage, and above all else was a unified feeling of malice.
Then there was a strange feeling of warmth, gentleness. The ancient words carved into the stone, even the ones on the Yamask and Runerigus, lit up with an ethereal light blue, lighting up encroaching night and that terror slowly began to melt away from her. When the feeling had finally stopped, the light did not fade away, but flickered like a flashlight running almost dry. The ghosts accompanying her rushed over to her side to make sure she was okay though they looked confused with what just happened.
She much closer now to the source. Does she continue?
The narrator has left the building because Jesus fucking Christ what the actual hell. The audacity of this man was just outrageous that it is taking all the might of the universe to not have another bird shit on his stupidly expensive jacket, but that would not happen, yet. If Faye left him in the dust, it would be completely understandable.
For whatever reason Faye puts up with the living fragile masculine ego, they walk along the main road passing through the countryside that was route 1. It was just a bit before 9 am and there was a slight chill given that it was only early spring though they were warmed with the beams of sunlight from a cloudless day. It wasn't long though it may have felt longer for Faye until they arrived at a well maintained, small modern wood cottage that Faye was directed to by Rosa. Outside was an old man with a long, bushy gray beard sitting on a rocking chair with a cup of coffee. He was wearing denim overalls over a light blue collared shirt and worn boots. The man was just enjoying his morning only to see a couple of strangers he had not seen around these parts before.
"Ah, hi there. How can I help you both?" He asked with a kind smile.
Kronshi,
Estylwen,
Sky Blue,
Marik,
thedarkness,
Lunarlord34,
Izurich,
LimeTime966,
Squirrel98,
Xaltwind
