@Pezz570@HokumPocus@Jerkchicken@Fetzen@13org DB and Karina made the jump down first, and Ferris quickly followed, taking a breath of the banana and vinegar scents he’d dabbed onto his mask. With the buzz of magic coursing through his body, he jumped, clutching and dropping from one floor’s ledge to the next. Without magic, the act would have started testing his strength towards the bottom; with it, he dropped easily, grasped readily, his movements fast and smooth. This wasn’t the first time he’d gone down stairs like this, but magic always made such actions easier.
At the bottom, he caught the end of the other two conversations, noting how Sil seemed to confound near everyone she spoke to. Despite knowing full well that she was a familiar and therefore an extension of Chres, Ferris was beginning to doubt whether she was anyone’s familiar. Surely Chres would be able to manage more control over his familiar than Octavio, whose familiar seemed to walk over him at times. But, then again, perhaps Sil’s individuality was too strong. Ferris doubted even he could curb her scatterbrained ways, not that he wanted to try.
Focusing on Karina when she spoke, Ferris listened, his eyes flicking between Týfurkh and Karina. Asking someone to fight without their magic was dangerous, but Týfurkh’s situation wasn’t exactly improving. On the other hand, the royal guard Karina mentioned sounded like an option. An unlikely one, perhaps, but an option nonetheless.
“I agree that we should fight, or at least attempt to extract Týfurkh. I doubt the Being recruited him as a sacrifice for our current situation,” Ferris said, his tone low as well as he looked to Karina. “Do the royal guard have any intention of helping us? If so, perhaps we can force their hand by bringing the fight to them. Start it here, with Týfurkh, and move it out the guard and tell. It’ll be hard to get to the door, with all the Sightless, but the fight’s already on the bottom floor.”
He paused, looking to Sil. “Sil, would you be able to test whether the Sightless can see you? If not, you could help us scout the best way out of the tower.”
Brittanium City || Day 1: Morning Arriving at the park, Essie was pleased to find that many trainers had the same idea as her. Trainers engaged in battle speckled the sprawling park, and Essie didn’t make it five steps in before someone approached her and her Pokemon.
“Human trainer, I challenge you!” a boy in a green dinosaur outfit said, raising his gloved arms up and baring the costume’s dull claws dramatically.
“Accepted! And sweet costume! But, um, what are you supposed to be, exactly?” Essie asked. The costume reminded her of a Larvitar, but the outfit was too green and didn’t have any of the telltale red and black.
“I am insulted by your disrespectfulness! I am obviously a Larvitar!” the boy said, huffing. “Prepare to suffer the consequences of your actions! You face Larvitar Frank!”
Essie laughed and, realizing that she’d just angered the boy more, cleared her throat, backing up. “Right, um, the battle. Here is fine, right?”
The trip to the Pokemon Center was a short one, which Essie figured was about right given that they were smack-dab in the middle of town. Why build the Pokemon Center any further from where all the trainers were sure to gather? So, as soon as she got Todd healed and out of his ball, she was back at the park, this time with the mind to avoid anyone who looked like they had an over-the-top get-up. While she didn’t mind Frank’s enthusiasm, his whole schtick got kinda old towards the end, and Essie still wasn’t sure if his comments had been purely part of his act. If they were, he was a pretty amazing actor, the odds of which didn’t make Essie feel any better.
“Hey, you looking for a battle?” Essie asked a girl who was standing around talking to her Aipom.
She looked up, glancing at the Pokemon at Essie’s side, and smiled. “Sure! Kylie, pleased to meet’cha,” she said, holding out a hand.
“Essie,” Essie said, grinning as she shook Kylie’s hand. Finally, a normal—
“Prepare to lose,” Kylie said, grabbing onto Essie’s hand as she tried to withdraw it. Her smile widened, and Essie recoiled, tugging on her hand desperately until she managed to snap out of Kylie’s grip.
“W-wha—”
“Good luck!” Kylie said, giggling as she skipped a short distance away. Essie stared at her until her Aipom hopped onto the field, the movement shaking her out of her stupor.
“Yeah, um, Mica? You ready?” she asked, looking to her Wingull. Mica squawked happily, taking off with a strong beat of her wings.
“Are there no normal people around here?” she asked Todd when they were out of earshot. Todd gave a sympathetic ‘Tor,’ and she sighed. “Well, I hope there are more normal trainers on the road. Maybe it’s just the city—it attracts crazy.”
Brittanium City || Day 1: Late Morning A Pokemon Center trip later, Mica was again squawking happily on her shoulder, and Todd spruced up at her side. Essie, however, was focused on the map on her Pokedex, a frown on her face. “Huh, Arsenic Island is the first gym, right? But it looks closer to Brass Town than to Brittanium City. Why not just head to Brass Town first, then?”
She looked between her Pokemon, both whom were in no position to give her a response. Mica, though, gave her a happy squawk anyway, prompting a laugh from her.
“Thanks, Mica. Alright, it’s settled then. To Route 2 we go!” she said, pointing to the way out of town. “Let’s see if what kinds of cool wilds are around this place. Hopefully we see some rare Pokemon we don’t see back home!” she said, grinning. “Maybe we’ll even find someone to join the team! What do you think about a new teammate, Todd, Mica?”
Todd gave a slow ‘Tor,’ which wasn’t exactly a no, while Mica gave her usual happy squawk.
“I hear you, Todd, but I’m just saying, what if we find the one? Or maybe, if we’re lucky, the two?” Essie asked, at her Torkoal. Todd puffed some smoke, repeating his answer, and Essie sighed. “Yeah, you’re right Todd. But, I mean, still, what if?”
As Essie continued her discussion with Todd, Mica squawked happily on her shoulder, settling into a pitchy song that was more improvisation that what was necessarily needed. Thankfully, the city’s outer edges had fewer people, but Essie still had to ask her to tone it down a few times. As soon as they were out of the town boundaries, though, Essie ended her discussion with Todd in favor of joining Mica in her song. It was nonsensical, but it was fun, and Todd dealt with it by walking to what was probably the beat, much to both Essie and Mica’s delight
Actions: Two battles down, and now it’s onto Route 2 to look for/battle some wilds.
Brittanium City || Day 1: Morning “Wow. I mean, wow, I saw Champion Rylen live. Like in-person, onstage,” Essie said, still a little stunned as she left the stadium. Walking along at her side was Todd, who was pretty used to her ramblings by now, and on her shoulder, Mica squawked.
“Right, Mica? Like, wow. He’s so cool! The champion of the Chromis League… If I get to fight him… I can’t even imagine it,” she said, sighing. Todd uttered a slow word of disagreement, prompting a laugh from her. “Yeah, Todd, you’re right.”
Looking at the trainers disbanding around her, she grinned again. “Man, there’re so many cool people here, and all of them are trainers!” Would she be able to befriend any of them? Would they see her as nice enough, cool enough to be a friend?
“Tooor,” Todd said again.
“Right, right. Where we’re going, um, what were the options again? Arsenic Island’s the gym, and we have, um, one week to get there, right?” she asked. Todd nodded, Mica squawking a note that may or may not have been agreement, and Essie nodded. “Alright then, well, we have some time? No need to head to the island right now, so let’s take a look around the city! This place is so fancy—is this what all cities are like? I mean, Violet City’s pretty big, but not this big, right?”
“Tooor,” Todd repeated yet again.
“Okay, you’re right, let’s go,” Essie said, making for the main street. “Wasn’t there a park or something in town? Maybe that’ll be a good first stop before we hit the road. We can even get a battle or two in while we’re around a Center. What do you say, Mica? Todd?”
Mica squawked, fluffing her feathers, and Todd uttered a slow word of assent.
“Sweet, race you there, Todd!” Essie said, grinning as she broke out into a run. In reponse, Todd puffed some smoke, withdrawing back into his shell and spinning off after her. Luckily for Essie, the main street was pretty big, though she soon stopped running when strangers started to stare.
“Whoops,” she said, flashing anyone who’d turned to stare an apologetic smile. Cities—she couldn’t wait to get out.
Actions: Heading to the park to fight 1-2 trainers through Simple Battles, depending.
As Mors got to work with his kill, Branna scanned the battlefield again. The outside of the fort was now clear, the enemy reduced to individual scraps and bodies around the place. A decent number of people had joined her at the front of the castle, and she vaguely wondered about how many people were still with the lordling. Allowing the coin purse to get himself killed before he coughed up was hardly right, even at the beginning of a long and high-stakes job like this one. While time might be saved, they’d already spent several days on this job, and every new one made ditching this one a less worth it.
But, that wasn’t the task at hand. Currently, there was a fort to seize, and when the little archer spoke up first, Branna felt herself grin. So the girl had a voice—a quiet one, yes, but one that didn’t tremble. One day, when the girl had a few more tallies in her headcount, she just might make a strong ally.
Under her, Mors snapped a bone loudly, crunching on it as he stared pointedly at the archer’s horse, who returned his gaze readily. The archer quickly redirected her horse’s attention, and Branna took her lead, patting Mors’ side with a scratchy snicker. In her experience, mounts tended to pick up some of their rider’s traits, so perhaps there was more to the archer than met the eye.
As for the fort, well, the door was large and the interior would no doubt fit Mors. Comfortably, probably not, but no self-respecting commander would build and rule a small fort. That said, while Mors was no stranger to small spaces, he didn’t like them much. They tended to give him a bit of the ‘cornered animal’ feel, if Branna were to try and describe it, and cornered animals were perfect for the battlefield. There’d be no flying or dodging inside, perhaps, but there would be lots of room for flinging and smashing things into walls.
Directing a final grin at the other mercenaries, Branna straightened. “Fort,” she croaked, looking straight at the structure’s metal-reinforced doors. They were thick, yes, but they were open.
Mors took off for them on foot, his feet pounding on the ground below as Branna grasped her spear. There was a real battle waiting inside, complete with skilled warriors and a talented commander. Bringing them down, well, didn’t that sound fun.
Trial of Fear || Day 4: Night || @PlatinumSkink So Houndoom were pretty intimidating. So were Trevenant, Gourgeist, Arbok, and swarms of Sableye. The last bit of the maze was nothing worse than being chased by an angry Arbok, even if Houndoom had sharp noses. When Eryn got past them, reaching the tower she’d seen earlier, she stumbled upon some sort of passcode-locked door. If you asked, her, secret codes and passwords were too middle school to be taken seriously, but after some struggle, she had an epiphany.
“That brat,” she muttered, entering in the cheesy phrase he’d shouted.
The lock beeped, opening, and Eryn headed in, walking down the stairs with Eri and the Umbreon. At the bottom of the stairs, she found some sort of villain’s lair complete with snacks, seats, and surveillance. Wrapped in a comfy-looking blanket on the couch was none other than the Trial Master, who looked quite upset about seeing her.
“So that’s what you were tagging along for,” Eryn said, looking at the Umbreon with an amused smile. “And, let me guess, you could’ve had a bigger fear aura if you’d tried. Well, thanks for not doing so, at least for the maze portion.”
Turning to the Trial Master, Eryn grinned, setting her hands on her hips. “Of course I got through. Trial of Fear? Have you been to the Infested Woods yet? The Nuzleaf was a nice touch, but try some more ghost-types, won’t you?”
At the mention of Pokemon, she frowned. “Oh c’mon, do none of you have any good rewards?” she asked, then backpedaled when the Trial Master looked surprised. “I mean, of course, rare Pokemon are really cool, and I’m sure any trainer would be lucky to have one, but c’mon, I’m a trainer. I got my starter already. If I kept getting my Pokemon from other trainers, what kind of trainer does that make me?” She shrugged. “Plus, I just hatched a Pokemon yesterday—or today, depending on how you look at it. So I have my hands full. Quite literally.”
When the Trial Master relented, presenting an item reward instead, Eryn grinned, accepting the prize with open hands. Looking over the items, though, she realized that she once again had little use for them. If she remembered correctly, none of her team needed anything to evolve except Peri, whose evolution required a Metal Coat or something. Given that Peri was still but a baby, Eryn wasn’t too concerned with evolving her yet, but it remained that none of the items were useful aside from the cash and the sash.
“Oh, this is the thing that Jeremy was using, right? For his Rattata?” Eryn asked, holding up the sash and examining it. “I don’t think this is very applicable in actual battles, but, maybe I’ll find a time to use it,” she said, pocketing the sash as well.
“Oh, I’ll definitely be back. I’ll have to challenge the Lakewatch Gym sometime, so be ready. You’re going to have to get some bigger ‘mons for then!” she said, grinning.
As he shouted his catchphrase again, though, Eryn realized he was about to leave, and she held her arms out. “Woah woah woah, at least tell me your name. ‘Trial Master’ is a real mouthful. Don’t you have some sort of nickname so I don’t have to call you ‘TM’?”
After that, though, it was up another staircase to the house from before, emptying Eryn out onto Route 5. Night was upon the route, the sun long gone, which made sense considering how much time she’d spent in the trial’s forest and maze. Checking the time revealed that it had felt like longer than it was, but a few hours was more than enough time for the sun to go down.
“Right. Back to town we go, but let’s check out the lakeside real quick. We need a water-type to check out the ruins, and we may as well start looking now,” she said, stretching her arms out above her head. “Oh and Eri, how about doubling the Umbreon from earlier? Can you do the glow too?”
Eri’s Lunatone form bobbed, then faded, replaced by an Umbreon below, which looked exactly like the one that had been tailing them during the trial. While there was a faint glow from the Umbreon despite there being no moon around to encourage it. However, the glow was somewhat dimmer, fading within a foot or so of Eri.
“Hm, no using you as a light, huh?” Eryn said, grinning. “Too bad then. Guess Dei’s still our go-to flashlight then.”
With that, she called out all but Kylie, whose she made a mental note to apologize to later. She could have done better in that battle—predicted that Jeremy had some sort of trump card up his sleeve that even a steel-type couldn’t immediately counter. In a way, she’d used Kylie as a tank due to her strength, which is exactly why she felt bad.
“Alright, to the waters we go,” she said, pointing to the lake in the distance, or at least what dark patch she thought was the lake. Onwards her team marched, the ground shaking ever-so-slightly as Peri followed along. Dei was walking along with Eri, the two of them chatting with hushed tones, and Tula was in her arms, calm and unblinking but somehow seeming like she was aware of what was happening. Or was that just her projecting?
“You know what’s happening, don’t you, Tutu? We’re heading to the lake, and you’re going to help me find a water-type—provided the waters are safe enough for me to put you in,” Eryn said, rubbing Tula’s carapace. As she spoke, the Magikarp wriggled, and her words gradually mellowed out into simple coos. “Yep you totally know, don’t you? Don’t you, Tutu?”
Actions: Heading to the lakeside of Route 5 to see if there are any water-types she can recruit temporarily. Maybe also putting Tula in the water if it seems safe.
Remram
Achronum
