Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan

Ryan nodded, biting his lip. "Yeah, Vert should have some answers. I just... I just don't know how something like this could happen and be kept quiet from us. And whatever it was, it must've been after we left for Opelucid..." He turned away, muttering, "They're probably trying to keep us from mass panic or something..." He sighed, then looked back at Sonja. "I don't suppose Vert will be in her office here in R&D. So where do you think she is? Maybe that room Goldhawk called everyone to?" He quickly walked toward the door, not wanting to be in the Training Center any more than he had to be. He paused at the door, however, waiting for Sonja and Ray.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

"Alright! Leave it to-" Lucario started to say, before Colette whirled around, and dashed toward the shield's edge, charging up an aura sphere to quickly launch into the side of the Rhydon to finish it off. The surprised Rhydon was knocked away from the trio, and then looked up as Colette sent a volley of four blasts toward it, half of them hitting their target. The other two blasts exploded into the sand and rock behind the Rhydon, sending pieces of rock into the poor Rhydon, causing it to stumble forward slightly. Colette charged up another Aura Sphere, as the Rhydon roared out, and began to walk away from the trio with a limp. Colette seemed utterly confused, and quickly scanned its aura, and noticed that, while it was still rather angry, it knew when to walk away, and this was one of those times.

"Well... That was something." Colette said, as she sighed in relief.

 

-==IC: Ray==-

 

"That might be the case." Ray said, as he thought for a moment. "Let's check the auditorium first, then; though..." Ray paused, as he looked at the destruction.

What if she was caught in all this after all?

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

 

"Well met, bard!", Evan said, grinning, "That impact was made by my Garchomp, Gnip. I decided, to have her crash, with us still on her, to make a big entrance."

 

Gnip growled softly at Evan in response, in a sort of loving tone. She didn't really care. Her body was tough enough to withstand that impact. All that mattered was that she made sure to pay her master back for the kindness he gave to her.
 

"This warrior princess tells me that you play music, and play it rather well.", Evan said, "I think my Princess and I would love to hear a performance from you."

Edited August 6, 2018 by Dr. Hidaka

[Parugi]

IC - Sonja Baron - The Alamo, R&D Training Facility:

 

Sonja nodded to Ryan. Whatever had happened, at least they had some sort of a time frame for it--from when they left the Alamo to go to Opelucid and now. That left hardly a day or two in which the incident had occurred. Considering that she hadn't seen Vert at the dance, she briefly considered the notion that the attack could have happened during it, though pushed this thought aside when she realized that the Executive of Research likely wasn't the kind of person to attend dances to begin with.

 

"To the auditorium, then," Sonja said, following after Ryan. "Even if she's not there, then Goldhawk will be--as we've already established. So we'll get answers one way or another."

 

IC - Goldhawk/Blackskull/Silvermind/Joker/Ethan Worth/Gavin Braner/Skye Hall/Jamie Arthur/Lucia Zyther/James Arthur/Cyan Vero/Roderick Krane/Drake Masters/Zack Furler/Ryan Hikari - The Alamo, Command Center:

 

"I'll take care of that," Blackskull assured James. He nudged Silvermind's elbow, gesturing to the rest of the assembled Liberty Agents. "Mind dispersing the rest of these guys and gals? Doesn't sound like their services will be needed after all." If he meant it in jest, the words felt somber and tired, a dull sensation that only pressed harder as he stepped away from the group to radio in as many healing Pokémon as could be afforded from the Alamo's Pokémon Centers.

 

For a moment, Silvermind did not move, merely watching the Dark-Type specialist. Then she sighed, and turned to the Liberty Agents who had responded to Goldhawk's call. Many of them had jumped up at the sight of James's group's return, as well as the sight of Joker and the other Rockets. Now they looked around at each other, at their leaders and allies, with justifiably stunned expressions as they processed what they had just heard.

 

"You're all dismissed," she announced, surprised to find her own voice stalling with the words. "If you can help with damage recovery, then please do."

 

With quiet murmurs, the group began to thin. Only a few remained behind, sending out a total of four Pokémon possessing various healing moves. These eased their way through the crowd, providing preliminary healing for the most injured of those who had fought against the Hojohsin Agents.

 

Goldhawk leaned forward in his seat, eyes closed and a hand pressed to his forehead. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes and lifting his head so that it was his mouth that was covered by his hand. "So Ford's officially back," he said. "And he's playing for keeps now." The Liberty Leader sighed. "And here I had thought that Castelia might've been the end of it . . ."

 

"No one should have to tell you how foolish that sounds, Aleivy," Joker said. Silvermind took an agitated step forward, stopping only when Goldhawk raised a hand again. "What would have ever given you that idea?"

 

"Ford's activity since then, as far as we've been able to tell, has been minimal, if not non-existent," Blackskull said, returning from his call. "Though considering President Pierce seems to be a puppet of his, it seems we can add a lot more to our list of things he's been doing. But as far as typical Ford affairs have gone, there hasn't been a lot--no bombings since then, no small-scale attacks, threatening messages or ominous computer hackings . . ."

 

Joker furrowed her brow. Behind her, Ethan and Gavin exchanged looks with Lucia and Jamie. "Then it might interest you to know that Team Rocket has been involved in stopping, or else attempts to stop, several outings since the incident in Castelia, all led by Quincy Adams," she said, more than a hint of condescension in her tone. "I suggest you do your homework more thoroughly from now on."

 

"And I suppose this was just another one of those involvements?" Silvermind asked. "Strange coincidence, I'd say."

 

"Adams tried to kill me in Goldenrod, Ashera, and if this McKinley character had not arrived when he did, I can guarantee that she would have had neither the freedom nor the opportunity to pull any further plays like that," Joker said flatly. "Add that to your list--the incident in Goldenrod? Adams's doing." She paused, looking away. "Primarily."

 

"So you're tracking Adams," Goldhawk said. Joker nodded. "If she can cause this much damage alone, then it would seem logical that Pierce could do the same. Perhaps more, since he's gone so long without being checked." He sighed. "I suppose that's Team Liberty's job to handle, then."

 

This prompted surprise looks from Blackskull, Silvermind, and Joker. "And how do you propose going about that?" the Shadow Admin asked.

 

"I don't know yet," Goldhawk said. "But we'll figure something out."

 

"Hm." Joker adjusted her bangs. "Well, knowing what we know, Team Rocket has more than enough reason to help, if you need it. Have Bounty shoot us a call."

 

Both sides fell silent for several moments. During this time, the Liberty Chanseys arrived, accompanied by several medics. They set about gathering the injured Pokémon in the room, as well as the unconscious Team Magma agents. As one approached Ryan, he briefly paused, as if recognizing him, but pushed this aside so as to tend to his injured Pokémon.

 

As they brought them into the hallway to be healed, Goldhawk looked at James. "You said McKinley had a kid with him?"

 

"McKinley called him 'Calvin Truman'," Joker cut in. "Just another code name. His real name is Levi."

 

"How do you know that?" Ethan asked. Joker turned, shooting daggers at him. "All due respect, ma'am, I'm all for saving a kid from the terrorists, but I'd personally like to know why they have him to begin with, and the fact that you know each other . . . I mean, it can't just be that, can it?"

 

"That's not important to you," the Shadow Admin said. "We're acquainted. McKinley having him is not a good thing. If you run into them, try to get him back. That's all you need to know."

 

"What a handy way of not actually answering the question," Drake muttered.

 

Joker sighed in aggravation, pinching the bridge of her nose. After a moment, she turned to the Liberty Leaders. "Look," she said. "I'll send you an explanation. Or you can ask Bounty. You can do with it what you wish, but until you get it, you won't understand. In the meantime, my group needs to keep moving, so if you'll allow us to wait outside until our Pokémon are healed, it would be very appreciated."

 

"Right that way," Goldhawk said, gesturing to the east door. Joker nodded her thanks, and gesturing to the Rocket Agents to follow, headed out. After watching her for a moment, Goldhawk shifted his gaze back to James and the other three Liberty Agents. "You three are excused," he said to Cero, Zack, and Drake, who departed after a few moments. To James, he nodded. "I can't say I'm pleased to hear that Maxie is dead, but after an encounter like that, I can't question your loyalty anymore, now can I? Consider yourself off of probation." He pushed himself up from his seat. "So, what do you make of this situation with Pierce?"

 

IC - Joker/Ethan Worth/Gavin Braner/Skye Hall - The Alamo, Hallway:

 

Joker waited until they were out of earshot of any nearby Liberty Agents before addressing her own. "I don't appreciate being disrespected like that in front of Liberty personnel, Worth," she said sharply. "But I do agree that if nothing else, you've earned a bit of honesty."

 

"I apologize, and thank you, ma'am," Ethan said. "So what's the deal, then?"

 

Joker stopped walking and took a breath. She turned around to face them. "'Calvin Truman', as McKinley called him, is Levi Alaric," she said. "Sleight's son. If he hadn't said anything, I likely wouldn't have known--the entire family is a total dead spot when it comes to telepathy--but I never forget a voice, and that boy only vanished a few months ago. If you've been to Chapel recently, then you know that things have been . . . chaotic. And that's the reason--Sleight's been searching up and down all across Kanto looking for him."

 

"That's so sad," Skye said, her soft voice hardly audible as she breathed the words. "Why would these people want a little kid like him, though?"

 

"That's the question of the century," Joker said. "Team Rocket's been dealing with Ford for a long time, so I can't say I'm too surprised by this. But every time this kind of thing happens, it changes the board. Like you can never truly understand what it is that he is looking for, what kind of power he's trying to use for whatever goals he's aiming to meet."

 

Gavin nodded. "Sounds like Team Liberty," he said, though did not elaborate, nor did he seem to notice the questioning gaze that Joker gave him. "Either way, I'm sure Sleight would like to know about a lead like this, right?"

Edited December 31, 2014 by Parugi

[Konuju]

IC: Jayron
Finally able to let up the shield, Jayron fell to his knees, letting his hands dig themselves into the sand as he tried to catch his breath. He sat there for several moments, then looked up at Colette. "What were you thinking?" he cried. "Using such a direct attack while we were still in the canyon -- you could have gotten us all killed!"
 
Colette had expected thanks. At the very least, gratitude. She crossed her arms. "But we're still alive, aren't we?"
 
Jayron sighed. "I keep forgetting this is your first mission. You haven't had to make these life-or-death decisions under pressure." The Liberty Executive picked himself up from the sand and brushed himself off.
 
"It's not our life or death I'm worried about," Colette shot back. "It's Alexa's."
 
"I know," Jayron said. "Alexa has you worried. But we wouldn't be much help to her if we were buried under a pile of rubble. This is exactly what I was trying to tell you last night, you're letting your emotions cloud your judgement. And I don't want--"
 
Jayron! Lucario said. We're not alone!
 
The Liberty Executive turned around, scanning the small beach with his aura. Sure enough, there was someone else there, near the water's edge. "This way," he motioned for Colette. "It's not Alexa, but maybe it's someone who has seen her."
 
The trio of aura wielders made their way down to the coast, where they saw with their eyes what they could only read with their aura before. Someone was there, alright. But he didn't look to be in any state to have seen Alexa walking by. It was a middle-aged man with long, dirty blonde hair, his dark clothes in tatters. He was lying unconscious in the sand, a number of Pokéballs strewn around him.
 
IC: Ryan
"Right," Ryan said, quickly leading the trio out of the department. Once they were back in the hallway, he recalled his Pokémon, his hands still shaking slightly. He figured if they were going to confront Goldhawk about this, it would better if they weren't trying to intimidate the Liberty Leader with a team of anxious Pokémon.
 
He glanced at Sonja as they walked down the hall. For a long moment he struggled with whether or not to spit out his apology about the dance. But he could see the seriousness in the Unovan girl's eyes, and decided that now was not the best time. He swallowed his words and pushed his thoughts aside. They had more important matters at hand.
 
IC: Zoe
Zoe giggled at Richard's antics. "I've already told this brave knight and his fair princess of your bardly abilities," she said. "Almost as good as my warrior princess abilities," she added with a grin. "We're all eager to hear your tale of our grand adventure.... although shall we wait for our chef friend?"

[JiMing]

IC: Ruth Fishers

"While you figure out where the power failure is, Jake Two, I'll go ask everyone to see if they have knowledge of how to fix power failures." she said, immediately running ahead of the group and asking every single person in sight, not having much success as she went though. That didn't seem to deter the trainer though, as she continued to politely pester every person in sight who looked at least slightly knowledgeable.

[otter]

IC:

 

"Growlithe, I swear, you try to bite some random bystander one more time and I will have to discipline you," one trainer growled to his Pokémon, who quickly - if slightly sullenly - returned to sit next to where his trainer was, although it still glared at other Pokémon and people going by. The trainer was sitting down with some old newspaper clippings and a book, reading stories that seemed to be about the event the town suffered a couple decades ago. It was all rather fascinating to the trainer, although he had to take everything back in soon - sitting right outside a library reading didn't offer him or his Pokémon any chance to move or get food, and obviously his Growlithe was suffering for it. His Dratini and Omanyte, meanwhile, were placidly sitting beside him, trying to read what he was. After another moment he closed everything up and put it in a drop-box, grabbed a backpack with the name 'Elijah' written on its tag, put the Omanyte in it and stood up to leave.

 

However, shortly along his journey to find a restaurant to eat at, he got stopped by some other trainer. 'Do you have any idea how to help fix a power failure or at least work on wires and stuff like that?' she had asked him. Elijah - the trainer whose name was upon his backpack - frowned, lifted one eyebrow in an expression of slight curiosity, and replied:

 

"Well, I know how to work on some things electrical, if it'll help. Why do you ask?"

Edited January 1, 2015 by The Otter

[Parugi]

IC - James Pierce/Quincy Adams/Tyler McKinley/Calvin Truman/Team Energon Executives - Titan, Conference Room:

 

The plan had been for the attacking forces to regroup someplace safe, somewhere away from Team Energon. McKinley's arrival had thrown her a loop, and it was not one that she had really considered how to deal with given the circumstances. Adams had thus expected to reappear at home, or in Pierce's office in Hoenn--somewhere the group could gather and debrief, discuss where to go now that Team Magma had been taken out, how to go about dealing with the rest of Team Energon without Travis around.

 

She had not expected to appear in a Team Energon conference room, in front of the remaining Energon leaders--Peter and the twins, Jennet and Zennet. Nor had she expected Pierce to be there, all gussied up in his little presidential get-up and looking . . . Was he putting on a sad face? Ugh. Ignoring her repulsion at the sight, Adams scanned her fellows, piecing together what was going on. The only logical explanation was that Pierce was here to sort out the remainder of Energon. If so . . . she had to commend him on working quickly, at least.

 

Pierce looked up at her as she appeared. His gaze confirmed what she suspected, as well as gave a very clear set of instructions: Shut up and play along. Adams brushed off her dirtied coat, and then nodded at him. The gesture, and the atmosphere of the room, made her realize just how tired she actually was, now that she was no longer surrounded by combat.

 

"And here she is," the Hojohsin President said, gesturing to Adams. He stood up and approached her. "I'm sorry to hear that the mission went poorly, but thank Arceus you sent your distress signal when you did, or else we may not have been able to get you out in time."

 

And by 'distress signal', you mean McKinley was keeping an eye on things and reported what went down, don't you? Adams silently asked, though only nodded in response. She did her best to adopt a sort of shell-shocked expression. The Third Child looked at McKinley. The Fourth Child had moved Calvin in front of him, and now stood with his hands resting on the younger boy's shoulders. Calvin was shaking slightly.

 

Adams's mouth thinned at the sight, though she said nothing.

 

"It's a shame the same can't be said for Travis," Pierce continued as he turned and walked back toward the three Energon leaders. "But, he did as he promised, so I suppose it's only fair that we give what we promised." He settled a sincere gaze on them. "That being said, I suppose it would be best to establish some sort of plan for Team Energon's future. It wouldn't seem wise to make any sort of plan with the organization's new leadership in such an uncertain state, after all."

 

"Protocol defers such power unto the three of us in the wake of Travis's death until we can discuss and decide who will be made the proper leader of Team Energon in his place," Zennet said. "As things stand, we have not had enough time since we were informed of his demise to come to such a decision."

 

Pierce nodded. "In that case--"

 

"However," Zennet interrupted. Adams could see the corner of Pierce's lip twitch at this, prompting her to take a small step backward. McKinley glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, though said nothing, instead choosing to continue watching the exchange. "I think I speak for all of us--as well as the organization as a whole--when I say that we would be very interested in knowing the true circumstances of Travis's death. As you might know, he was a friend to us as much as a leader, and the lack of even a body to bury is . . ." She took a breath, searching for the right word. ". . . disheartening, shall we say."

 

"Of course; I understand," Pierce said. The First Child's tone had taken on a much more affable tune. Adams knew that this meant bad things were likely to occur in the short term. He looked at Adams. "Quincy, would you mind explaining to us what happened? I'm interested in knowing this, myself, to be fully honest."

 

'Convince me.' Quincy looked from him to them. This won't go over well, will it? "Team Liberty forces were already there when we arrived," she said, letting the story's web spin itself as she spoke. "Not a lot, but enough to catch us off guard. Like someone had tipped them off. My squad managed to fight our way to Havoc's control center, where we encountered Maxie and a Liberty Executive, whom I can only assume had been sent there to protect him. We managed to compromise the Executive and kill Maxie, but it turned out they had a Moltres and . . . Well, let's just say that fire doesn't mix so well with experimental power drainage machines." She brushed her hair to the side. "I sent my distress call, and McKinley got there just as the bombs we had planted went off. I didn't get a chance to grab Travis's body because of that bird."

 

Pierce visibly fought the urge to raise an eyebrow, eventually overcoming it and turning to face the Energon Executives with a solemn expression. He lifted a hand, gesturing to Adams. "If only we had known about the Moltres . . ." he lamented.

 

Zennet did not look convinced. "What was this Executive's name, exactly?" she asked.

 

Really. "I didn't stop to ask," Adams said. "He had sunglasses, spiky auburn hair, and a weird accent, though. I imagine he'd be pretty easy to track down, if you want revenge."

 

"Of course," Zennet said. "And who do you propose this supposed mole was, if you don't mind me asking?"

 

"I wouldn't know," Adams said. "But if I had to take a guess--Team Energon was recently attacked by an individual who was then recruited for this mission. Ryan Hakuda, if I remember correctly? The man responsible for the incident in Unova? I haven't heard from him since we left for Havoc, so perhaps it was him?"

 

The Executives all exchanged looks with each other, though said nothing. Pierce tilted his head. "You seem suspicious," he said. "Care to explain why?"

 

"It just seems very strange that, over the course of this mission, the majority of lives lost on our side were those of Team Energon agents," Jennet said. "Including the life of our leader." Pierce's expression remained the same at this, with the exception of a small smile that began to spread across his lips. Seeing this, Zennet and Peter both shifted their hands, subtly moving them to the Poké Balls lining their belts. Jennet glanced between them all. "And, well . . . That, coupled with, ah . . . certain tendencies on Ford's behalf . . . can only lead to so many . . ." She settled a nervous gaze on Pierce's face. ". . . conclusions."

 

Adams held her breath as she watched the scene unfold. She, too, watched the First Child with profound trepidation. The Hojohsin President, for his part, remained as friendly and cool as ever, even as he sensed the growing distrust from the Energon Executives. Slowly, he rose to his feet, clasping his hands together in front of him and approaching the large window at the far end of the room. He stared out at the skyline of Saffron City, taking in a deep breath and closing his eyes. The display--perhaps through its sheer oddity, and lack of aggression--seemed to stop any immediate attack response, as the Energon Executives simply continued to watch him.

 

"Well, Miss Jennet," he said. "And Miss Zennet . . . You are a very clever pair of women, and I genuinely appreciate that about you."

 

"Oh, no . . ." Adams looked at Calvin as he uttered this. Even he seemed to be able to discern the bottled response that was about to be unleashed upon the trio. If McKinley hadn't been holding him still, he might have taken several steps back. As things stood, he could only cover his ears and close his eyes, clearly expecting the worst. Adams couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for him.

 

None of this went noticed by Pierce--or, if it did, he made no indication of it. He merely turned slightly, giving Zennet, Jennet, and Peter a sideways look. And thus, with a smile, "Unfortunately, I feel that some dots are better left unconnected." Pierce nodded to McKinley. "Take care of them, if you would."

 

Adams was not sure what horrors she expected once the Fourth Child tossed the Poké Ball hidden in his glove, but whatever they were, the sight of his Hypno proved to be very puzzling. She watched as it immediately acted, reaching out with its powers before the three Executives could fully process what was happening. And as she watched, Peter and the twins fell into a deep trance, and voices seemed to whisper to them, directing them on what it was they were to do. The psychic waves, so calm and soothing, radiated about the room, easing the mental tension to such a degree that even Calvin felt comfortable enough to look upon the scene again, amidst the rapid thumping of his heart.

 

When at last the hypnosis was abruptly halted, the Executives remained where they had been sitting, all in a daze. McKinley smirked at the sight, recalling his Pokémon. Pierce rested his eyes on them for a few moments before moving back to the other apprentices.

 

"Excellent work, Fourth Child," he said. Then, to Adams, "And to you, as well, Third. I cannot fully express just what I was expecting, but I can very well say that you've passed with flying colors."

 

"Thanks . . ." Adams said, her tone uncertain. She glanced past Pierce, toward the three Executives. "You didn't kill them. Why?"

 

"They still have their uses," he said. "I'm sure they aren't the only Energon Agents who will be suspicious of what happened in Havoc, so they're going to do us the trouble of convincing them that what occurred was merely an accident. And if they cannot convince them . . . It saves us the trouble of weeding them out later, don't you think?" Adams nodded. "I thought so, too."

 

"So what now?" Adams asked. Her eyelids were beginning to droop. The thought of a warm bed seemed more welcoming than usual; she was beginning to realize that she had been on her feet for almost a year now, with very little rest in between jobs.

 

Pierce laid a hand gently on her shoulder. "You're going back to base," he said. "Take it easy. You've done you're part--now we'll finish doing ours. Hayes is on her way to Fortree right now to check up on our potential Ninth Child. Depending on her response, McKinley will be headed that way soon, as well. And Ford has finally sent word back--he's preparing the final preparations at the designated spot. Everything's coming together at last."

 

"Just as long as we don't suffer any further slip-ups," McKinley piped up. He lightly rocked Calvin's shoulder. "Isn't that right, Eighth?"

 

Behind his mask, the boy felt his face warming up at the thought of what he had done in Havoc. He knew it was a stupid move--every part of his brain told him so--but he hadn't been able to help it. He knew Joker, and he knew that if anyone could have helped him in that situation . . . He bit his lip in a vain attempt to stop himself from crying, all too aware of his shuddering breath and quivering shoulders. His eyes stung with the threat of tears.

 

"I'm . . . I'm sorry," he said, his voice muffled and squeaky behind his mask. "I wasn't . . . t-trying to . . ."

 

It took hardly a second for the Hojohsin President to connect the dots of the conversation. "Hey, hey--Calvin," Pierce said gently, stooping so that he was level with the boy. He placed his hands on the Eighth Child's shoulders, pushing McKinley's away in the process. "Come on--no need to cry." He smiled his pleasant smile, a genuine gesture of friendliness. "It's okay. We've all made mistakes--just ask Miss Quincy. Whatever you did, just make sure it doesn't happen again. Okay?" Calvin nodded. Pierce patted his shoulder. "Good." He looked at McKinley. "Fourth, take him home. And get rid of that mask. It is . . . unsettling."

 

McKinley nodded. "Will do. Sorry about that." He untied the green string holding the white mask in place, lifting it off of Calvin's face. Without it, his bright blue eyes could shine freely, though they glistened now with broached tears that dotted his visage, shimmering in the lights around them. Calvin immediately wiped his face with his sleeve and looked away, though continued to sniffle.

 

Pierce couldn't help but chuckle. "Better?" Calvin nodded. "I thought so." He paused. "Calvin, has anyone ever told you that you look just like your mother?" Calvin nodded again, eyes tearing up at the mention of his family. "It's striking, to be honest. You've got the exact same eyes . . ." He shrugged, standing up and moving back to the window.

 

McKinley began to guide the Eighth Child toward Wobbufet again, though the boy stopped after a moment. "When Mr. Pierce said 'home' . . ." he began. "Did he mean . . .?"

 

"The Family's home, unfortunately," McKinley replied. Calvin nodded again, diverting his gaze to the floor. "Very sorry, kiddo. We'll make it up to you, though, don't worry. In the meantime, is there anything I can do to make you feel better? Take you to get ice cream or something like that?"

 

Pierce watched the pair from his spot by the window, switching between looking at the Fourth and the Eighth. Adams gave them a short look-over before stepping through Wobbufet's portal, leaving the room in complete silence.

 

After several moments of rather heavy breathing in an attempt to steady himself, Calvin gulped and lifted his head, staring sheepishly up at McKinley. "My name's . . . n-not Calvin," he said. "Could you please just . . ." He averted his gaze again. ". . . just call me Levi . . ."

Edited January 1, 2015 by Parugi

[JiMing]

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

Ruth immediately pumped her fist when Elijah replied! "Haha, success!" she declared, before clearing her throat and looking back at Elijah. "Sorry about that, just didn't think I'd find someone who can help that quick. Your name's Elijah, huh?" the trainer asked, having seen the name tag on the backpack. "My name's Ruth! Ruth Fishers, fresh from her victory against Oreburgh Gym Leader Roark!" the trainer explained, before grinning and holding up a v-sign with her right hand turned to the side, once more collecting her compusure afterwards. "But it turns out the conveyer belts somewhere in or nearby Alamos Town borked, so Roark sent us to go check what's wrong. None of us know how to fix wies or any of that stuff, but since you do..... Would you mind helping us out really quickly?"

 

Caliburn, Ruth's faithful Aeigslash floated tp her side, and looked at Elijah. The ghostly sword lifted a tassel and put it on an area below his eye, stroking his nonexistant chin while judging the other trainer's character. Locke levitated to the side to get a better look at Elijah's Pokemon, making a low jingling noise resembling chuckling. Fuerte glancd at the other Pokemon before puffing up his chest and crossing his arms, the luchador bird doing his best to look tough.

[otter]

IC:

 

"Sure, I haven't got anything else going on. I might as well get something done." Elijah smiled back at Ruth, shrugging. He was bored, and he needed something to do other than sitting around and reading all the time. But he had one hope: hopefully Ruth's friends might be a little calmer than her, otherwise he might have trouble keeping up. Elijah's Pokémon, meanwhile, were all doing their best to get as good a look at Ruth's as they were at his. Omanyte turned himself around and waved a tentacle at the Aegislash, while Growlithe, true to form, barked at Locke.

 

And, slightly off to the side, a distinctly unimpressed Dratini decided to tap Fuerte on his little red beak with her tail.

Edited January 1, 2015 by The Otter

[Ehksidian]

IC: Arius Jacobson

"...Wait, am I Jake One or Jake Two?" Arius sighed. This was just....confusing. Oh well. He took a quick survey of where everyone had landed, and started off down one of the streets. It didn't take long for Arius to run into a townsperson at all, actually.

"Oh, uh, hello! I have a question to ask..." Arius said to the (slightly bewildered) lady.

"Uh...what is it young man?" She seemed uneasy about something. Very, very uneasy.

"Well, I heard that there was something wrong with the power plant, and Roark sent me and a few other trainers up here to fix it...do you know where it is?"

[JiMing]

IC: Ruth Fishers

"Great! Thank you sooooo much!" Ruth shouted excitedly. "Now all we gotta do is find Jakes One and Two and we should be on our way!"

Caliburn noticed the Omanyte waving to him, and bowed respectfully in turn, chiming to introduce himself. Locke meanwhile sized the energetic Growlithe up and looked away from the puppy, making a jingling noise as though she were whistling innocently. Being a trickster, she was planning on how to go about messing with Elijah's Pokemon and not get caught by Ruth at the same time.

 

Fuerte was furious at the Dratini's display. The Wrestling Pokemon grabbed the tiny serpent by the tail and prepared to leap up in the sky to perform a Flying Press.

 

"Fuerte, no. If you've got a beef with that Dratini, we can talk it out later." the trainer said sternly, to which her Hawlucha let his grip loosen on the Dratini, all while grumbling angrily. "Now then.... Where are they...? Oh! There's Jake One!" Ruth said, pointing over to her friend who was currently talking to a townsperson. "Come on, I gotta tell him we found someone who can help!" she once more shouted, this time grabbing Elijah by the arm and dragging him over to Arius.

 

"Jake One, good news! I found this guy who can help us with fixing the power grid. His name is Elijah." she introduced. "Elijah, this is Jake one, aka Jacob. What're you up to, anyways?" the trainer asked Arius.

[Ehksidian]

IC: Arius Jacobson

I'm Jake one. Okay. Gotta remember that. Arius turned around and waved at Ruth. "Hey Ruth! Hello person Ruth is dragging along!" He glanced to the lady he was talking to, who still looked very confused. Arius turned to her, and said, "This is one of the other trainers Roark sent...she actually managed to beat Roark, while I didn't even get to challenge him, heh."

Arius turned back, and looked at Ruth. "Trying to figure out where the thing is that broke. Decided to ask someone, but she seems worried about something. No idea what."

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

While the other two had run off, Jake had been researching the location of the power plant and where the power lines went, when he noticed Ruth with another trainer talking to Jacob. He began walking towards them, not noticing Pikachu was sneaking up behind a Growlithe, preparing to give the fire-type a tiny electric zap.

[otter]

IC:

 

"Worried about something? That's odd," Elijah said, although he had no idea if it actually was or wasn't, considering how he'd really not been paying attention to the people walking around him for the time he'd been in Alamos. "So, Roark sent you guys, eh? I wonder how bad things must be." Elijah pursed his lips, stroking his chin with one hand whilst paying no attention to what his Pokémon were actually up to.

 

Dratini had simply giggled at Fuerte, before continuing along on her merry way; Growlithe eyed Locke warily before following along behind the rest of the group, and Omanyte, its little greeting finished, waited until Elijah had stopped moving to crawl out of his backpack and on top of his head. It noticed the Pikachu that was getting ready to mess with Growlithe, and called out to its energetic little compatriot; Growlithe promptly jumped forwards, twisting itself around to glare at the Pikachu.

[sonyaxe]

iC: Jake

 

Pikachu took the growl in stride. He grinned cheekily at the Growlithe, turned around and jumped back onto his trainers shoulder.

"Hi! I'm Jake. Sorry about Pikachu, he likes practical jokes." He apologized. "If I heard correctly, and since Ruth was shouting I'm pretty sure I did, you're Elijah, right? Nice to meet you."

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: (Claus/Richard)

“Yo,” the chef friend said, appearing behind Zoe, as the monkey hopped from his head over onto Zoe’s.

In his arms was a plate that held a large number of rice balls jelly donuts and eight different varieties of Poffins.

“More people, eh? We’re gonna have to ration these out then, if they also want some."
 
“Indeed, indeed, almost as great as the legend of Zoe of Liberty,” Richard said to Zoe, nodding and resisting the urge to ruffle her hair.

“A performance is what you wish. And a fine wish it is. But I don’t just play for anyone.”

Liar! Hades called out

“If you wish for a performance from me, you must first prove your worth! In the only way that bards know how to prove themselves. Pokémon battling, music style. Can you and your Pokémon sing and dance, as well as fight and smite!”

You’re so dead, the Sableye whispered shaking his head, looking at Gnip.

“You mean, you are so dead,” Richard whispered to the Sableye,

…Shoot, the Sableye mentioned when he remembered that the bard was his trainer.

“Just kidding, you can sit this one out.”

The bard walked quickly over to Gawain, who had decided to lie down, thinking about taking a nap.

“Hey Gawain, do you want fight alongside me? It’ll be fun~”

Gawain looked at the bard oddly, but then shrugged pleasantly.

Sure might be interesting, the knight said to Hades, who relayed the message to Richard.

“The rules are simple... somewhat. First we decide on a melody we shall fight to. Bickering over the music choice is not mandatory, but is recommended for best effect. The base line battle format is a 1 vs 1 battle, unless the music choice requires partners and or back-up dancers. The fighting itself shall take place normally, except our Pokémon may only attack in time with the beat. They must also make some effort to continuously dance the entire team. Singing and instrument playing are not required, but are awarded bonus points. The winner is declared by whoever has the most points at the end, but knocking out the opponent awards a significant point increase.”

“And to make this more pointlessly complicated, as only we bards can, I declare Zoe as arbitrary rules judge. Anything rule she decides to call out at any given moment goes. And she is allowed to and encouraged to abuse the privilege as much as possible. She decides when and how points are awarded, and crowns the winner at the end.”

“And that’s the name of the game. What say you?" he called pointing the bow of his violin in faux-threatening manner

By the way, to anyone who’s wondering and can understand me. Yes, he is always like this.

Edited January 2, 2015 by Claus Von Minun the 4th

[JiMing]

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

"Yeah, this is Jake Two. As you can tell, their names are kiiinda similar." Ruth explained while grinning to her comrades. "Anyways, what's there to be worried about?" she asked the woman Arius had been chatting with. "Things seem okay here...."

 

Caliburn looked at Pikachu and made a chiming sound as if he were sighing with disappointment. Locke used the distraction provided to get behind Growlithe and very fiercely jingle her keys to try and startle it. Meanwhile, Fuerte continued to shoot Dratini dirty looks, on the verge of pummeling the dragon thanks to the dosrespect she had shown.

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe

A warrior princess is supposed to be calm and confident under pressure. This one, however, broke her act when the monkey hopped onto her head. She had won countless battles (or so she claimed), yet she could not fight the silly grin that burst out on her face and remained there as Richard set the terms for battle.

 

"Very well then," she said with a laugh. "As rules judge, I designate Flint here as Monkey Metronome." She pointed to the Monferno balancing on her head. "He will dance to set the beat. If he speeds up, you all speed up. If he slows down, you all slow down. Points will be deducted for not following the Monkey Metronome. And if you lose enough points..." A mischievous grin spread on her face. "Flint will be dancing on your head instead." She glanced from Richard to Evan. "As an additional rule, your battle commands must be in song; or at the very least in rhythm." Her voice became suddenly serious. "Sir Knight, Shooting Star Dragon, if your trainers give commands that aren't in song or rhythm according to Flint's tempo, you can't listen to them."

[otter]

IC:

 

"Don't worry about your Pikachu, Jake. Growlithe probably needs somebody to show him he won't always get away with being a hyperactive little prankster." When Locke started jingling behind Growlithe, the little fire-type just swatted at her with his tail, while barking at the Pikachu something along the lines of 'You smell.' Dratini, meanwhile, just ignored Fuerte, who seemed extremely unable to take a joke, and instead looked at Caliburn and rolled her eyes in a gesture of exasperation with the other Pokémon.

 

Omanyte proceeded to just wave to all of the people around, doing an even better job of ignoring the other Pokémon than Dratini was.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

 

Evan smirked at this turn of events. He'd battled quite a bit, but never tried this sort of battle. There was a glint in his eyes, that on shone more when Zoe laid down the first of many rules.

 

"Very well then, Bard and Warrior Princess!", Evan said, "I ask that we battle to the tune of Smooth as Honey. I sang this six months ago in a little cafe in Unova. But my princess never got to hear it!"

 

Gnip roared a challenge at Gawain, her eyes glinting like her master's. She whipped her tail down, trying to size up Gawain's strength.

 

"You realize we are not gonna go down that easily, don't you?" Gnip growled at Gawain, "For my master's sake, I will fight my hardest, even to the beat!"

[sunflower]

IC Megan [Alamos Town]

 

For better or for worse, Megan had thoroughly tested whether or not hanging upside down while reading enhanced the information going through her eyes to her brain.

 

Alright, maybe she was a little bored. Yeah, Shinnoh was a welcome change in speed from Kanto, but it turned out it was constantly changing from excitement to brain melting boredom pretty quickly. How normal people coped with not doing anything was beyond her, and her attempts at sitting quiet and reading a book to pass the time had ended up with her legs wrapped around Matt's striped horns and hanging upside down along his back.

 

Oh yeah, her Pokémon were sure a great help too. Matt was just standing there, the Scolipede content with making himself look large and impressive for the towns folk. Show off. Aron was knawing on a fencepole, fair enough, and Ink was nowhere to be see-

 

Megan gave a shout of surprise as a small, blue tentacled form attached itself to her face, causing her legs to unwind and her to slip down Proud Statue Matt's back, book falling to the ground.

 

"Hi Ink," Megan sighed, letting her limbs go limp as she stared up at the sky through a faceful of suction cups.

[JiMing]

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

"So.... None of you heard about what's been happening?" the woman whom Arius had been talking to responded, then looked down nervously. "Well.... Ever since that incident six months ago, things have just been..... I-I don't know. There's nutjobs running around everywhere and people have begun disappearing as of late...." she explained, pulling at her collar while sweating profusely. "Just...... Can I please go now? I... I'd rather not stop in one place for long."

"Uh, okay, sure thing...." Ruth replied, as the woman immediately took off. The trainer turned back to her friends (and Elijah), with a somewhat nervous look. "If that's the case, then.... We should head to the Power Plant really soon. Don't want to run into any of those nutjobs like she said...."

 

Locke was pretty annoyed at the Growlithe for swatting her away, and made a mental note to come up with a better idea later. Fuerte growled and turned away, continuing to fume. As the other two of Ruth's Pokemon were lost in thought, Caliburn's eye followed the woman as she ran down the street, ignoring a ten-foot tall Scolipede with his trainer hanging on a tree upside down. The Aegislash found that sight strange, but the upside-down trainer didn't come off as someone to be wary of, like the woman had warned everyone to look out for.

[Ehksidian]

IC: Arius Jacobson

"I am actually really worried now...Nutters around here, people disappearing? We do need to find the power plant quickly." Arius sighed. "Shame I couldn't even get her to say where it was..."

He fished around in his bag, and brought out Hexcalibur and Eyes. It was something Arius did, mainly when he was worried. Having his two pokemon by his side calmed him down. He could, after all, defend himself like this. Eyes stared directly at Elijah, taking in the newcomer's face with its soulless gaze. Well, what appeared to be soulless. Espurr eyes could be...very unsettling.

Hexcalibur, however, simply floated there, observing, keeping an eye out for what may come. A sword is intimidating on its own, and a floating one possessed by a ghost? Even more so.

Arius smiled as he looked at the two pokemon. "Oh, right, these are my pokemon. Eyes, the Espurr, and Hexcalibur, the Honedge. Got them both when I lived in Kalos...parents had to drag me back home, hah."

[otter]

IC:

 

"Nice to meet you two," Elijah said to the next two Pokémon to come out, while Omanyte and Dratini waved at them, Growlithe warily - and almost hungrily watching Locke. It was obvious that some sort of prank war was about to start between those two Pokémon, and maybe with the Pikachu as well. "Although I must say, it's rather odd hearing about people going missing and 'nutters' as you say running about. I haven't noticed any such thing and I've been here a few days..." Then he smiled a little sheepishly.

 

"Although, I have been holed up at the library this whole time..."

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

While the others were conversing, Jake continued to search for the power plant using his Pokedex. After trawling through a few pages of why the city was so wonderful, he finally found the list of city buildings, complete with addresses.

"Hey guys, I found it! Jake said. "Look, its just outside of town. If we follow this street, then make a left, cut across a park, and turn right we can get there... In about 20 minutes, at a rough estimate." Jake memorized the route once more, then closed his pokedex and slipped it into his pocket.

"So... You like books then, Elijah? I'm never able to find time to get to the library."

Meanwhile, Pikachu decided that the top of Jake's head was the best place to stand and take a look around. He was starting to get some bad vibes from the area...

[sunflower]

IC: Megan

 

As her sigh to the world at large faded into the air, voices from those around began to filter in.

 

"...should head to the Power Plant really soon..."

 

Hmmm?

 

"Nutters around here, people disappearing..."

 

Heeeey.

 

"I have been holed up at the library this whole time..."

 

Wow, lame.

 

"Hey guys, I found it!"

 

Wait, what?

 

Megan slid down from her Scolipede's back, and nearly fell over from the fact that her vision just consisted of Ink. Megan pushed her mostly off her face, and walked over to the rather loud group nearby. Whatever they were talking about, it certainly sounded more exciting than what she was stuck doing for the time being. Matt the Statue Scolipede's gaze followed her as she walked up to the group, before reluctantly following.

 

Aron, to his credit, continued to snack on the fence.

 

"Uh, sorry, I couldn't help but overhear, but what's this about Power Plants and nutters?" The girl with an Inkay for a hat asked. There were four of them there, two guys who looked her age, and a boy and a girl who looked a few years younger.

 

"Oh, uh," Megan began quickly, pulling Ink from her head and holding her in her arm, "I'm uh, bored, I-I mean Megan. I'm Megan. Just sounds like something exciting, y'know?"

[otter]

IC:

 

"Maybe this town is turning into a nuthouse and I'm just not noticing it," Elijah replied, smiling slightly. "Considering there's two of us wearing tentacled Pokémon as hats and nobody is saying anything about it."

[sunflower]

IC: Megan

 

Megan glanced down, grinning ever so faintly at the observation. Of course, that brought her gaze down towards Ink, who nearly managed to roll her pupil-less eyes, before waving a clear tentacle at the other Pokémon around.

 

"They do kinda make great hats, I guess."

[otter]

IC:

 

"They adjust to the shape of your head. Cephalopod hats are just so wonderful," Elijah replied, sarcasm showing in his voice. "Except for when they've got a shell that's as heavy as a rock." Omanyte just did the Omanyte version of a shrug, before waving back at Megan's Inkay.

[sunflower]

IC: Megan

 

Megan's grin grew, and she agreed, "Yeah, that would ruin it a bit, but at least there's really no way for them to fall off."

 

Ink caught Omanyte's eye, and nudged a tentacle to her trainer who was currently holding her, before replicating the cephalopoidian shrugging motion. Of course, it was more to the effect of "are you hearing this too?"

[otter]

IC:

 

Omanyte was starting to wonder if Ink was mocking it, watching what the little Inkay did. He jumped down from Elijah's head into his arms, and it was a testament to just how strong the trainer actually was that he wasn't surprised, phased, or tripped up by the nearly seventeen pound weight that suddenly left his head and entered his grasp.

 

"No, there's just a good way for them to break your neck and crack their own shells when you fall." Growlithe, curious as ever, ignored Elijah and Megan and went to see what was going on with Megan's Aron, while Dratini waved her tail at Megan's Scolipede.

[sunflower]

IC: Megan

 

"Fair enough, you seem perfectly capable of holding...him? Her? Up."

 

Ink watched Omanyte back, before waving another tentacle at her fellow cephalopod since they were both at the same level now. Aron was still attempting to eat the scenery, but only managed to roll onto his side when turning his head too much to bite at a fence pole. After which he just continued to snack.

 

Matt the Scolipede glanced down at Dratini, and nodded his head in greeting, but otherwise seemed unmoving.

[otter]

IC:

 

"You get kinda used to it. And Omanyte's a male, by the way." Omanyte shot a curious glance at Inkay, moving one of his longer tentacles under an arbitrarily defined space beneath his eyes henceforth to be called his chin and stroking it as though in thought, mimicking the expression from Caliburn earlier. Growlithe, seeking amusement, simply grabbed Aron and dragged him away from the fence pole, and Dratini turned back to the conversation at hand.

[sunflower]

IC: Megan

 

"Oh yeah, uh, this is Ink," she patted the Inkay in question, who attempted to capture the hand, "that's Matt," Megan titled her head back to the huge Scolipede, "and Aron is, uhhh."

 

Megan turned around in search of the admittedly adorable ball of steel, and found him with a small "oh".

 

Aron flailed his stumpy legs in either enjoyment or frustration as Growlithe took him for a ride.

[otter]

IC:

 

"Right, yeah, my Pokémon don't have nicknames. None of 'em seemed to want nicknames anyways, though, so I think we're good." Elijah turned his eyes to where Megan was looking, and frowned - though he was trying not to smile - at his Growlithe's antics.

 

"Should I make him stop?"

[sunflower]

IC: Megan

 

"I'm not in danger of being fined for property damage anymore, so uh, he's fine."

 

"Also it's... kinda cute."

 

Aron managed to right himself through the workings of miracles, and proceeded to try and see if Growlithe was made of metal. The only way he knew how.

[otter]

IC:

 

"Yeah, well, that's a plus I suppose," Elijah said, watching the antics of Aron and Growlithe, alongside his and Megan's Pokémon...aside from Matt, who seemed incapable of moving at the moment. Elijah thought he was probably sleeping standing up by now.

 

Growlithe meanwhile jumped out of the way of Aron's bite, nipping back at the metallic Pokémon.

 

"Oh, Growlithe, you have to be smarter than that."

Edited January 3, 2015 by The Otter

[sunflower]

IC: Megan

 

Megan nearly giggled, and probably would have if it weren't for the fact that she didn't exactly know present company. Still, she couldn't help but smile as Aron continued to follow Growlithe, mouth snapping like some kind of wind-up toy.

[otter]

IC:

 

Growlithe simply ran back to Elijah and jumped on the young adult's shoulders, glaring down at Aron. "Can't take the heat, can you Growlithe?" Elijah said, setting Omanyte down on the ground and scratching behind Growlithe's ears. Growlithe simply growled something along the lines of 'that little Aron is vicious and hasn't got a brain in its pea-sized little head.'

 

Omanyte, always polite, waved at Aron, who it was now on the same level as.