Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Utrax
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Utrax 𝕰𝖝𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖊 𝕭𝖎𝖗𝖉

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In the tower...
Rustboro City - Fairfax Corporation


Dropping his bags down near the door, Theo looked around the room with indifference. During his travels he had stayed in all sorts of rooms that had broken down his pickiness for surroundings. Sure, he still had preference for those places that were extravagant and expensive but this room would do him just fine. His Pokemon made their way over to the bed and began bouncing around on it, as was usual, and Theo walked over to the nearest window. From where he stood, a good view of Rustboro city sprawled out before his gaze. The afternoon was still in full swing as the sun perched nearly overhead. Thin wispy clouds floated above and a few bird Pokemon fluttered about.

Placing his hands on the surprisingly clean window frame, Theo unlocked it, then pulled the window up slightly. Reaching into his pocket, his fingers closed around a large metal coin and he withdrew it. To call the object a coin was a simplification of what it was probably. Thing is, Theo didn't exactly know what the object was, seeing as he'd come across it laying on the sidewalk years ago when he was a child. As it were the size of his palm when he was a child, Theo now found it to be distinctly larger and thicker than most coins he'd handled. It felt as if it were made of metal, had the distinct brassy shininess and hardness to confirm the theory, but it was never cool to the touch no matter how low the temperature sank. He'd even left it in the freezer to see if it would cool once and the coin maintained it's warmth.

The most bizarre aspect of the coin by far was the fact that it was engraved with a weird symbol some museum associate told him was an ancient language-- that the coin was a relic of some sort. Said museum associate wanted to take the coin from Theo as well but it was too important to Theo to simply give away. As he placed the coin onto the outer windowsill, he eyed the skies once more, doing a brief check for distinct silhouettes. With a shake of his head, Theo closed the window, then turned back to the room. With the coin on the windowsill, Skarmory would have no trouble figuring out where Theo went. While he wasn't sure if excellent eyesight was distinct among Skarmory, Theo knew that Nick could spot that coin from miles away, at the least. There had been times that Nick had even spotted the coin through a thick jungle canopy or while Theo was stuck in a blizzard. To have this coin placed so high up and in an open area would be too easy for Nick to spot. With that task complete, Theo figured he'd better start planning his tour of Rustboro city. He placed his laptop down upon the small desk, then set about to browsing different sites and tour guides concerning the city and surrounding areas.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by c3p-0h
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c3p-0h unending foolery

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Haven really needed to start thinking out her plans better. Of course Lavaridge would be a mess after the Mauville attack – it was one of the closest towns that people could run to. Though in her defense, Haven hadn't actually known that at the time. She still wasn't… totally familiar with Hoenn's geography.

Yup, this one totally wasn't her fault. The nervous crowd of people overstuffing the sleepy town still sucked, though.

Haven scowled as she tried to shove her way past the nervous refugees, wincing when someone bumped her arm or back. For a big city girl, Haven hated crowds. And the events of the past few days hadn't done anything to calm her nerves about them. Her pokemon had all been recalled, the streets too messy and bustling for them to move without fear of getting separated from each other. Haven's size was both a blessing and a curse – she had an easier time than most slipping between people, but the way people tended to tower over her only heightened the claustrophobic feeling. The town's characteristic heat was stifling in the throng, weighing down on her as she tried to force her way to freedom. People shouted over each other, yelling at others to move out of the way, or calling for each other, or pleading for calmness and order. The unmistakable shouts of rangers were muffled in the cacophony.

Finally Haven emerged from the crowd to nearly fall into a small alcove between two shops. Free of the oppressive heat of the crowd, Haven leaned against a red brick wall and heaved a sigh. She closed her eyes.

What was this town's motto? A great place to relax or something? She had half a mind to spray paint a correction over their welcome sign. Haven slid against the wall to plop down and sit on the ground. Options. She had to think about her options.

She could sit here forever and never move again. That was a solid plan A. In case that didn't work out, what else was there? She was over this crowd, but how could she avoid them? If she stayed in Lavaridge, she probably couldn't. A town this size wasn't meant to hold this many people. The rangers would probably start trying to relocate people to neighboring towns as soon as they figured out how to coordinate it. Until then they were gonna be stuffed to the brim in the different hospitals and inns. There wouldn't be enough room. People would be on the street. Haven really didn't wanna deal with that. But she also didn't want to deal with stuffed rooms shared between eight people when it was meant for three, or crowds, or crime syndicates, or her scars, or any of this.

She probably should've stayed at Forrest's. Haven groaned.

"Miss!" a strong voice called out above her. "Miss! You can't loiter here. We need to keep people moving so we can clear the streets." Haven peaked an eye open to see a young ranger on an altaria hovering above the building. Haven had half a mind to flip her off.

Instead, showing an impressive amount of restraint, Haven squeezed her eyes shut again.

"Miss!" She was more insistent now her voice growing closer. Haven felt the wind from the altaria's wings blowing at her hair. "You need to –"

"Sorry," Haven cut her off, her eyes still closed. She did her best to make her voice sound small and tired – she tried not to think about how easy it was. "Sorry, I just… I need a minute. Last night I –" Haven hesitated, opening her eyes again to see the ranger just a few feet above her now. She lifted her left hand, pulling down her sleeve to show the extensive bandages covering her arm. The ranger's eyes widened. Haven's injury had nothing to do with the Mauville explosion, and it was already scar tissue, but she didn't need to know that. "They did their best to patch me up, but I… I just need a minute. I'm sorry, I'll be up soon, I promise. I just need a break from the crowd."

The ranger landed her altaria a few feet away from Haven before dismounting. She looked at Haven, approaching slowly before kneeling down. Shit, now she was interested. Haven didn't want her interested, she wanted her gone. Haven lowered her arm, tugging her sleeve back down over her palm again.

"You witnessed the explosion?" Son of a bitch.

"N…no." The ranger's eyebrows drew together. "I didn't see how it happened or who those men were –"

"But you saw the men – the ones who attacked after the initial explosion? Did they do that to you?" Her green eyes flicked down to Haven's arm, now buried in her lap. Haven was trying very hard to keep her string of curses in her head, and not voice them out loud.

"It… it was chaos. Just a painful blur." Haven bit her lip, eyes flicking down as she tried to remember every lesson from her middle school acting class. "Please," she said in a small voice, "don't make me relive it." The ranger's eyes softened at that. Her eyebrows drew together as she pressed her lips into a worried line.

"Hey," she murmured, "it's ok now. You're safe. I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to come to the station to make a statement." Haven's wide eyes shot up to her in an alarmed look that didn't need to be faked. "Don't worry," the ranger was quick to add, raising her hands in a placating motion, "it'll be quick and as painless as possible, I promise. We just need all the information we can get on the attack, and witnesses have been harder to find than we thought they would in all the chaos. If you were close enough to the attackers for them to…" the ranger looked down at Haven's arm again. "You were at ground zero. We just need anything you can remember, and then we'll see about some proper medical treatment for your injuries and getting you someplace to rest."

Haven let her head fall back to hit the wall as she squeezed her eyes shut again. God fucking damn it. She totally should've stayed at Forrest's. This was the opposite of relaxing.
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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Phoenix
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Phoenix

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Rustboro City
Ru's feet pounded against the dock to plant himself stiff as a large rope slid through his bare hands. Men and women were shouting all around. Crates were lowered with bangs and cracks. Wingull and Pelliper circled above and gathered around. A few of the vermin panicked away for fear of being crushed when Ru's crate met the dock.
Random hands met the crate and the pulley mechanism before Ru could. So he, instead,
grabbed a nearby crowbar to pry open a side to inspect the merchandise. After a few quick and powerful yanks, the side of the crate toppled down. Shouts were hollered in warning of the six-foot panel of thick plywood falling to meet the dock with a sharp and deep slap of wood meeting wood on their flat surfaces.
The same random hands groped and tore at the merchandise inside. Ru was pulled to another, slightly smaller, crate that proved to be heavier. His boots failed him and he stumbled forward to be pulled by the weight of the crate. Several pairs of hands attempted to catch the rope. But the help only managed to drop the crate at a slower rate. It threatened to tear through the dock and shatter itself on impact, but the concrete and steel supports made sure that wouldn't happen.
Ru cursed loudly at himself as did the others to themselves. A few hearty and bellowing laughs could be heard a distance away. But, still, hands worked over the crate and its contents as Ru was called to unload more crates.
The Rustboro Wharf was named such out of courtesy. Owned by the Fairfax Association, it's an entirely private portion of the city. Security clearances are required to enter and exit the Wharf and is well-situated to make it quite difficult for outsiders to see exactly what happens beyond the ten-foot fence, gates, and tall warehouses without windows.
Considering the current events, any Pokemon usually employed at the Wharf were now filling temporary positions in security. Much of the staff were required to relocate or change occupations temporarily to accommodate those affected by the "Mauville Incident" for those still able and needing to work for a living.
----------
The influx of humans into Rustboro meant more opportunity for her. Her pile of loot had grown significantly in the past two days and she was still "finding" collectibles. She hovered between buildings to occasionally perch herself on a ledge to better spy over a greater distance.
Coins were her favorite. She knew them to be rare, an anomaly, bu nothing beat the ornate simplicity of a coin. It was her lucky day, too. Though she'd only found a few gems and shiny metal bits, her little eyes spotted a hand that reached out and place a small shiny circle onto a ledge. She dove as fast she could and dipped her beak to scoop up the treasure. In her excitement, she missed and it fell far to the ground.


Lavaridge City
The crowds were irritating, but she couldn't deny the cover they'd provide. Still, she didn't understand why Ms. Shade couldn't be bothered to do this herself. Samantha just let out a sigh and looked up toward her Bronzong hovering over the town. From the mountainside, Lavaridge definitely looked like a refugee camp. That Haven girl Ms. Shade learned of before the Attack was the last person they knew to have contact with Raiziel. But he seemed to have escaped without being able to be traced. This certainly killed two birds with one stone, but she wasn't as skilled with such a stone as Ms. Shade was.
"Bellarus" was all Samantha had to say for the Bronzong to begin to levitate her along the sheer southern cliffs of the small, but, now, overpopulated, town. She stumbled a bit as the heels of her shoes sank into the tender sand typical of Mt. Chimney. She managed a graceful stumble toward the nearest road where she could gain balance. Victims, townspeople, and Rangers rushed past her in every direction yet paid not mind to the fact she came from, seemingly, nowhere. It was like they couldn't see her.
"Good job, Bell," she thought. "Now, to find Asuna. Scan what you can for any sign of the girl..."
She stopped where she was and considered how difficult it would be to actually reach her primary contact. She hated Teleporting, but hated crowds even more. The thought of the sheer volume of strangers in front of her, bumping into her and shouting over her,
made her heart pound with anxiety.
"Actually," she thought. "Just get me there from here."
She was supposed to get a good analysis of the town in its current condition, but she decided she needed more time to mentally prepare herself. Luckily for her, Bellarus was excited to teleport her, since he often never got the chance. Because of this, he had to descend so his underside almost fell over Samantha. With a low hum, they both dematerialized rather slowly into silver dust until there was nothing. A moment later, she was standing in front of the Mura Bath where she knew she would likely find the woman. Bellarus then hovered away with his usual metallic hum to scan for their secondary contact.
----------
"Asuna," a voice almost shouted from the door. It was relatively low yet held the softness of youth trying to be forced away. "It's time."
Asuna just shot an arm toward the door with her index raised with some irritation as she continued to suck a man's face. But he seemed to have more manners than her and broke from the embrace, though likely out of curiosity than modesty.
"Aw, come on, you bitch," Asuna whinned, gesturing toward her "visitor."
"Don't care," Samantha said. "You'll just have to explain to Ms. Shade..."
Samantha held her face from showing amusement at the fear and dread that blanketed Asuna's face from the apparent "threat." Asuna just grunted a sigh and reached for the man's face to physically apologizing for the interruption before verbally apologizing for the interruption.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Regitnui
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Regitnui Lorespinner

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Lavaridge Town
<Snipped quote>

Carefully removing his hand from its warm spot and settling it around Asuna's waist, Keoni greeted the girl. Obviously she was one of the family friends, or at least, someone Asuna knew. Didn't look old enough to be a peer. Maybe she was from next door or Asuna's old school? "Morning, I'm the boyfriend, Keoni. Alola."

The young woman didn't bother reciprocating the greeting and kept her stern and impatient focus on Asuna. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Rustboro, most likely," Asuna said as she started to change into more appropriate day-time clothing without concern they were both in the room. Her tone seemed to shift slightly, trying to match that of this stranger's. "Although, I never learned how quickly he was going to act."

"Then why are you fucking here?" she asked rhetorically toward Asuna. Her tone was more bitter, condescending. Her word choice was the only kind of humor she would ever express.

"Because I'm her boyfriend and I'm damn good at it. And she's better." Keoni stood, not quite looming, but still emphasizing his height over the girl. He didn't like the tone this girl was taking. Firstly, it was impolite. Secondly, it was directed to Asuna, who didn't deserve it.

"I wasn't speaking to you," she said with cold eyes and her index raised in a gesture of his needing to take a step back. If he didn't know any better, she was being as threatening as he was attempting to be.

"Now who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing here? I know I'm from halfway around the world, but I'm sure that I'd be well within my rights to have Robin pin you to the floor by your foot."

"I'm not your concern," she said, continuing her threatening tone. "And I'm not in the mood to be humored."

Asuna put an arm around his waist, pressing herself subtly against him. "Keoni, don't be like that," she said, putting a finger against his cheek and turning him to kiss her. He did, pulling her close before breaking it off. "I did tell you I have a job. These are my grandpa's springs. It's his business, not mine."

"And it's in your best interest to speed things up, Asuna."

He tilted his head as she trailed a finger over his neck. He smiled indulgently, twirling her hair, then turned and whistled at a pitch that made her flinch. A decidueye feather flew through the window, ramming into the wood after flying past the girl's head and nicking an ear. "But it's polite to make introductions too, love. And you can fill me in."

Asuna's eyes just widened in shock and terror. Her eyes darted back between the girl and Keoni. "Sam, please!" She moved between them, letting go of Keoni. In that moment, Keoni glowed a bluish green and was raised off the ground and slammed against the wall.

"And it's also polite to not attack others over pettiness." Her voice was venomous, now. Her eyes glowed in a similar color and the Meowstic behind her revealed himself and showed similar eyes upon Keoni.

"Ow. " Keoni waggled his feet experimentally, but he didn't seem to be coming down. "You don't know what a decidueye is, do you?"

Though he was stuck where he was, he did seem able to shift his weight slightly as his back complained about the impact. There must have been a beam where he was.

Two arrows shot through the window to hit the floor close to the Meowstic and its trainer. But a light pink dome materialized to deflect them into away from their target. The hue was similar to the Espeon's coat that rubbed against the girl. At this, Keoni was released to fall to the floor gracelessly.

"I'm not here to play," the young woman said, her full attention on Asuna. "I have more important things to do. I'll be checking in on you in Rustboro."

Without any notice, the three of them faded from existence almost immediately and the room fell into a silence Asuna could barely handle. She ran over to Keoni, helping him pick himself up into a sitting position. "Are you OK? She didn't hurt you? She's such a bitch and I really should have warned you about her. Of course she had to show up when I was all..."

"Honey," Keoni tugged the front of her bra, lacking a shirt collar for a better grip. "Calm down. Who was that?"

She settled onto his lap. "Sam. She's my... colleague. She does the brute force and surveillance for our group. I'm like the investigator who gets into places and gets information. This was supposed to be a holiday where I just be with you and pretend like my life isn't a colossal mess and owned by people, but now it's all ruined and I have to work again." She locked lips with him again, the fierceness of her kiss almost hiding the tear running down her cheek.

A deft movement behind her back left her topless again. "You know, we did travel a little around Alola when you were there." Keoni wiped her cheek. "Maybe you can show me this Rustboro town, and we can have a little more privacy..." Asuna smiled as the mood in the room returned to what it was before the interruption. He ran a hand up her spine, as if pushing up the giggle that bubbled from her throat.

"We can take the Shinkanto and be there by this evening," Asuna said, rocking in his lap. "You have to help clean the hot springs before we go."

Keoni pushed her back onto the bed. "So there's nothing else I'm supposed to do before we go?" Asuna laughed properly that time.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Utrax
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Utrax 𝕰𝖝𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖊 𝕭𝖎𝖗𝖉

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All things lost...
Rustboro City - Fairfax Corporation


Theo yawned then looked up and away from the computer screen. He leaned his chair back onto it’s hind legs. For all his searching on sites to see and things to do in Rustboro city, the results had pretty much told him, “Not much.” Aside from the Pokemon Gym, the Trainer School, and the Fairfax headquarters, Rustboro was a bit dry as far as attractions went. The city was renown for it’s historic sites-- featuring the “old style” buildings and such-- but Theo didn’t have much interest in a bunch of old builds, especially when they were all still used and renovated to today’s standards. What every search page seemed to agree on was the fact that Rustboro was more of an industrial city than anything else. A deep sigh escaped Theo before squeaky clamoring caught his attention. Sitting up, Theo stared over his shoulder, to figure out just what the commotion as all about. He found his Jigglypuff fast asleep on the bed but his Whismur was urgently tapping on the window and screeching toward him.

“Huh? It’s just Nick, isn’t it?” Theo asked. Harmony shook his body hard, then pointed out the window frantically. Confused, Theo strode toward the window saying, “What’s the big deal?” Theo stared out the window as Harmony struggled to open it. Once opened, with Theo’s assistance, Harmony pointed to the empty windowsill, then gave Theo a concerned squeak. Eyes wide, Theo mumbled, “Oh no...” He looked toward his feet, looked out the window, then began retracing his steps through the room. As Theo began checking under the bed, he worriedly mumbled, “Where’s the coin? Where’d it go? Now how’s he supposed to find us?” He shoved his arm beneath the bed and felt around briefly before looking to Harmony and saying, “This isn’t good...”




Nick the Skarmory, circled above the city once more. Where had his trainer gotten off to? Usually there would be a sign of some sort by now-- that much was always certain. Theo didn’t forget about him. No. Theo would never forget about him. As many things as Theo tended to forget about on a daily basis, Nick assured himself that Theo would never forget him. That meant that something must have been wrong instead. Landing in the park where Theo once was, Nick began walking about, ignoring the stares of the people around him. Let them stare. Nick knew it was because he was so magnificent, so gleaming and gold, that people and Pokemon couldn’t help but admire him. Perhaps one of them would recognize him though-- know that he was friends with Theo-- and perhaps point him in the right direction.

Then again…

In a bit of a hurry, Nick took to the skies again, then circled the city, because what if Theo had just now left his sign to follow? Or what if something happened to him? The two pink ones couldn’t protect Theo like he could. No… Theo wouldn’t have made it this far with just those two pink… oh. Nick suddenly had a brilliant idea! He screeched out loudly as he flew above the city this time, hoping that one of the tiny pink blobs could hear him, and hopefully tell Theo! What a great idea! Nothing could possibly go wrong now! Nick landed in the park once more, let out a cry, before circling the city again. Until Theo found him, Nick was going to repeat this pattern, for a long as it took.
Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by Phoenix
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Phoenix

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Outside Petalburg City
Credit: @Kymera
The smell of a freshly cooked meal made Rai's mouth water to the point where he was mildly surprised he wasn't drooling all over himself.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the kind of spread Jeanne had laid out on the table for lunch. He hesitated for a moment in the door as he just watched the family all scurrying about each other with their own tasks to finish putting the meal together. A familiar hand, large and warm, was placed on his shoulder as if to ease him into the house, comfort him or reassure him that it was okay to enter and sit himself at the table as the rest finished their preparations. Forrest had no problems joining his family, but Rai felt like an intruder on the scene in front of him. He had to wonder if this was how life was all the time for them.
He had to stamp those thoughts down quickly before the jealousy (already budding behind the longing feeling of homesickness) wormed it's way any deeper under his skin. Though, it wasn't until Kye poked his head out from under the table and ran over to gleefully headbutt him, while looking dirty and tired from his day training with Forrest's Pokemon, that Rai actually remembered how to move.
However, he needed no help remembering how to eat, and it was nearly painful for him to keep from inhaling the hoagie in front of him. He had to remind himself to tear off tiny pieces for Kye, waiting quietly with his head in Rai's lap for any scraps despite already having been provided food while he and Forrest were on their walk. Rai had a sneaking suspicion his Pokemon had likely been begging from Jeanne all along, but after weeks without a real meal, he couldn't quite blame the fire-type.
The cheese mealted over the warmed shaved steak perfectly. Of course, these products had been shipped from Johto, but the chemical-free preservation techniques kept the traditional tastes in tact. The hint of sourness with the salty wholesome flavor of the cheese perfectly complimented the savory and juicy steak. The sauce, likely having been made from the steak, itself, added some spice that matched perfectly without overpowering the pallet. It reminded him of the Olivine Grille, where he'd used to go with his mother and sister when he was a kid...
The bitterness of the beer went so well with the heavy and hearty tastes of the hoagie. Being a Double Hoppip, it retained the lightness of a regular Single Hopp but definitely hit his liver much sooner. He wondered if this might have been something his father might have drank...
His muscles continued to relax and as he ate. The reflexes in his arms slowed to a pace of contentment.
Good as the food was, Rai found his appetite suddenly draining away as they all started discussing their plans for visiting family back in Johto. Envy hit him like stampeding Ryhorn as he listened to the kids' excitement over the possibility at seeing their aunts and uncles. The feel of warm, rough scales under his fingers helped the smile on his face feel somewhat genuine as he scratched his Pokemon in silent appreciation while Forrest and his son discussed more training for the afternoon. He wasn't particularly thrilled at the prospect of more training, but it was familiar ground for him. He knew he could use it and he'd seize the opportunity so long as it was in front of him.

----------------------------------------------

Rai had been in his share of gyms in his life. Underground, usually sweltering hot and equipped with cobbled together - sometimes homemade - weights if he was lucky. The only thing Forrest's personal gym had in common with those "facilities" was the fact it was situated underneath Forrest's house. Oddly enough, it felt like there was more space down in the basement-turned-gym. Every square inch was being utilized for one style of exercise or another, and some of the equipment he barely recognized seeing it in actual working order.
Reality snapped back when Forrest handed him two twenty-pound dumbbells after stepping off a small platform. The word "dips" echoed in his ears and he realized what Forrest meant for him to do. Fear and frustration both surfaced. That was a sure way to get his calf to cramp again. He was sick of being babied and being meticulous and purposeful in his recovery.
But he found himself rising and falling gently, floating up and down. He realized he was staring at Forrest and Jerrek when Forrest gave him a little nod of some kind of acknowledgement that he was performing something properly. It's not like he didn't know how to perform basic exercises.
After the second intercepted staring, he realized his calf was flexing and stretching without issue. He could also feel how tense the muscle was, itself. Using his calves slowly and with purpose told him how badly he'd let his condition become. Rai let out a mumbled curse at himself, both by the relief he was getting from the exercise as well as irritation by Forrest's comments earlier and how right he was.
"You're slouching," Forrest said.
Rai felt a hand on his lower back and abdomen before he registered the voice and flinched slightly at the physical contact. He shifted his body to correct his form, though he didn't even realize his posture was incorrect - though he was usually a stickler for such things.
"Come on, straighten out." Forrest's voice lightly boomed, more commanding now.
Rai's brows twisted slightly and he looked toward Forrest who, even though he was on a platform, was still taller than him. He met a face with a level of concern and confusion that seemed to match his own.
"Hmm," the man hummed in thought. "I thought I noticed something during our walk. Your slouching only got worse at the table too, which I just let go..."
He was clearly talking to himself, assessing Rai's condition as if he was a problem to be solved. This was not something he was keen on experiencing.
Forrest's hand raised up to his shoulder blades and directed him in shifting his spine in, what he felt to be, strange ways. "Shift your shoulders back," "bend forward at the hips," "twist at the hips," "bend back at the hips."
And there it was. A major cramp that snapped his back to a forward position. But Forrest quickly wrapped an arm around his chest from behind and placed the other along his lower back. An Icicle Spear dug into his abdomen and he almost screamed in pain and begged Forrest to release him. The man just shushed him and told him to breath, which only caused more pain. He tried to fight the grip, but his arms were pinned under Forrest's and the pain was too great to do anything other than cry out in misery.
"Relax your abdomen!" Forrest bellowed, more commanding now than before. "Enough crying about it fight through the pain! You're only making it worse for yourself!"
The shouting triggered his instict to get mean, to get aggressive and angry. He even bent back what he could himself and let out a roar.
"Good! Breathe in deep and let it out!"
The encouragement was drowned out by the pain and adrenaline flowing through his body. His face, once white, was now turing red with fury. He roared a few more times until the pain subsided and he could feel Forrest's hold around his torso begin to ease.
"Keep breathing deeply. With your diaphragm." Forrest's voice was calm, now.
But Forrest kept his hold while Rai learned how to breathe again. It seemed he'd subconsciously changed his breathing habits due to the paralysis so his body only had to deal with one issue at a time. He cursed aloud to himself again with a light chuckle of relief.
"Good," Forrest said, returning the chuckle. "Now, keep this posture," he said and began to move his arm away from Rai's chest slowly and gradually.
A hand pushed his chest back two or three times. The spasm wasn't completely over and needed to be worked on diligently to be completely relieved. Focusing and relaxing at the same time was also an issue for Rai. His mind always raced, and usually with volitility.
He found himself on the floor in an empty room when the pain subsided enough that he could comprehend reality. Rai's head shifted to either side and discovered he was on a thin mat just the size of his body laid out upon it. He tilted his head forward, his gaze shifting from the ceiling to the wall in front of him. He met his own face in the mirror that covered the entire wall. He then saw Forrest a few feet next to him and spotting the boy who was performing some impressive yoga techniques.
"Ah, good! You're conscious..." Forrest chuckled out louder than Rai anticipated. The mixture of surprise and glee in the man's tone concerned him some. "-Was worried I'd have to get Jeanne..."
"- the fuck...?"
"Now it's time for some easy stretches," Forrest continued, seemingly unconcerned that Rai was exhausted and ready to pass out again from it. "Just do some pelvic tilts and tell me how that feels."
Forrest explained to flex his abdomen and push down his lower back while in his current position. The exercise, if it could even be called such, was so minimal, but Rai could tell that such a minor movement helped gain control of his muscles back. Another curse exhaled through his mouth while the large man hovered over him.
"How did that feel?"
"Fine-" Rai said with some dissatisfaction.
"Good. Can you roll over?"
With a groan and a grunt of both pain and irritation, he twisted his body quickly just to get this torture over with. But a hand pulled on a shoulder he had raised off the ground, holding him in place. His abdomen began to scream, so he allowed the hand to pull him back down onto his back.
"Slowly," Forrest chastised, once again demeaning him in a way that made him visualize just the kind of swing he could take at the man's jaw without hurting himself from this position. "You're going to set yourself back if you push too hard. You clearly can't handle being injured very well. You need to do what I say."
Rai chest growled with anger and frustration and his eyes rolled under partially pulled eyelids. He complied and moved slowly and deliberately onto his side and then gently lowered himself onto his chest, having, then, to shift himself over onto the mat.
"Good. Any pain?"
"No," he found himself scoffing.
"The truth-" Forrest said, demanding and impatient at this point. Rai's skin spiked and began to burn in defense.
"Sure," he spat back.
"What kind?" the man said, as if implying Rai should have known to describe it.
"Sharp ache..." he said, growing impatient himself.
"Where?" Forrest asked, continuing the paternal condescension.
"Abs and calf," Rai found himself almost shouting at this point.
Forrest just hummed, considering the answer.
"Do some press ups and hold them for 5 seconds. Extend as far as you can and try to push a little further each time, but don't push too hard or too fast. You'll cause another spasm. Keep going until I get back."
He then left the room Rai could see was the gym he was in earlier. He could now tell he was on the other side of the basement. Looking around, it was completely empty save some other yoga mats. Exposed showerheads were on the back wall. It seemed this space could work for both a dance or a yoga studio, not that he'd had any real experience with either. Now he was forced to into practicing yoga. But Rai understood that stretches were as important as hard exercise. He just never thought about it for physical therapy that he seemed to find himself in against his will.
His arms burned while they slowly rose and fell his torso. He was used to push-ups, but these press-ups only worked his arms and stretched his abdomen more than he thought necessary. But it felt good. His muscles twitched occassionally, but nothing that proved threatening or he couldn't end up controlling with enough concentration. Rai just pushed through the exhaustion and pain of the endless press-ups to prove to himself and to Forrest that he was strong enough to not need any more of this silly therapy.
That thought made him pause mid-press.
It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the help. Actually, he would have loved nothing more than to just deck Forrest once if it meant he’d shut his mouth about not pushing himself too hard. But as much as it hurt his pride to admit, Rai shuddered to think how much trouble he might be in right now if he and Kye had been on their own. This ordeal hadn’t been anything like his normal fare from the Pits, where he might limp home bloody and bruised but ultimately still the master of his own body. Now every twitch his muscles made had him held hostage to the fear that they would seize into a rock hard lump under his skin.
But why in the hell was Forrest doing this in the first place? These people had opened their home to him. They were feeding him and his pokemon better than they’d had in months or maybe even years. He’d offered taking him along to Mauville Island. And punishing as this whole exercise felt to his still unsteady body, Rai knew he’d come out stronger for the effort. And that’s what he couldn’t wrap his head around. There was no way it was out of some misplaced comradery for a distant shared homeland.
Nearly a decade ago, he’d sat among the ashes of the only life he’d ever known and watched people he’d always been told he could count on simply walk away without so much as a backwards glance. Sure, on the surface they wept, they talked about how sorry they were for his loss, how they would be there if he ever needed anything at all. It hadn’t taken long for him to realize what an empty gesture that really was.
The world didn’t work like that. Nothing was free and he’d spent those long years since learning that lesson over and over again. Most people made it obvious, some took a bit of reading into, but everyone wanted something. The fact Rai couldn’t work out what Forrest was getting out of this set his stomach burning as he reluctantly resumed the floor-presses. He wanted to prove he was better before Forrest changed him mind about bringing him along on this little camping trip, no matter what it was that Forrest might be getting out of this whole endeavor.
He strained to listen for the sound of returning footsteps, ignoring the rivulets of sweat that dripped to the mat under him. Better judgement screamed at him to leave it be and nevermind what Forrest’s reasons were for offering a helping hand when he so clearly needed it. But when the heavier sound of footfalls drew closer to him, Rai couldn’t help himself any longer. He needed to know.
“What are you getting out of all this?” Rai grunted, kept his gaze down at the mat as he continued his exercise, "I haven’t done a damn thing for you or your family. And until Mauville turned upside down, you wouldn’t have known me from any other bastard off the street. Why the hell are you helping me like this?”
The large man seemed to ignore him. Instead, Forrest set up a yoga mat for himself and began to do some poses quite unlike Rai's. Did the paralysis make him deaf, now?
"Get into a push-up position and stretch your calves," Forrest said through a pose and solidifying the fact he was ignoring the question.
Rai was about to get up and cuss the old man out and charge at him with all he had when Forrest's voice pushed through the space and off the cement walls.
"I'm not getting anything out of this." The words cut through Rai's abdomen like Razor Leaf. "You haven't - and I know," he added with an utter lack of care about the topic.
It seemed like an hour passed until Forrest answered the last question. "Because I can."
Forrest shifted slightly into a new position. "And what does it matter to you whether or not I'm getting anything out of it? Why so bitter about being shown generosity and hospility? What's damaged you so much that you can't accept assistance when it's been offered so openly and without condition?"
That was probably the closest thing to "offended" Rai would ever hear from Forrest. Still, it sounded accusatory and almost condescending. There was softness, though a disappointed tone hugged the man's words. But Rai could tell he struck a nerve since one of his own nerves was struck back.
"Fuck you, ol-"
"Get up and shower off," Forrest said with a boom, interrupting him and suggesting the questions were rhetorical or simply that Forrest didn't care to have Rai explain his suspicousness of Forrest's actions.
An argument wasn't going to be beneficial right now. Rai understood his situation and how his outburst might cause him to miss out on getting to Mauville Island. So Rai just sighed and cursed under his breath as he released the pose he was in.
The large man dropped his shorts and hung them on a hook. Rai was surprised for the lack of towels in the immediate area. Were they supposed to air-dry, or something?
Forrest shut off his shower head just as Rai prepared his own. Without an attempt to dry off or cover up, he opened a small cubbie Rai hadn't noticed before. The man walked over to the floor-to-ceiling mirror and looked at himself with a scrutinizing eye and a pair of scissors and a comb in one hand and trimmers in the other.
Even wet, the ends of Forrest's hair were seared and misshapen. It fell to the middle of his shoulder blades, but gave the impression it could have been twice as long. The large and callused mitt that held the trimmer placed it on the floor to then grasp the comb to go through the sopping hair and shake what moisture he could to get a better assessment of what he might want to do with it. A couple more shakes of his head and another pass with the comb seemed to spark the decisions to pick up the trimmers and shave the left side of his head clean to more closely match the right side of his head. He cleaned up the right side and worked at the back of his head, creating a V that reached the bump on the back of his head.
The trimmers were then retired and the scissors were retreived from the floor while the comb worked through what hair he had left. It was combed forward and backward and to each side as he examined what what the shortest section to which he had to trim. It was decided to be shorted just above the shoulder. Forrest's hand worked with notable skill, blending and layering the hair to give some volume that was naturally lost. The burnt ends were removed and gave some kind of life back to the hair as it slowly dried. Forrest passed his hands through the hair and examined the shaved parts for evenness. Without being able to see, he seemed quite able to shave the V perfectly on the back of his head.
Rai was impressed, amazed at the skills this man seemed to possess. Even something as mundane as cutting one's own hair, apparently, fascinated him. He was also surprised to see how much it began to curl as it continued to dry. He then found Forrest's eyes on his own and winced in subconscious embarrassment.
"Want me to do you?" he asked with a lifted chin, gesturing the comb and scissors in his hand toward Rai. "I can do whatever, unless you want to do it yourself."
Rai's hand automatically went to his own hair as he raked his fingers through the strands and tried to guess how long it had been since his last real haircut. He could feel the crackling bits at the ends where the high voltage charge had actually caused the tips to burn a little. He caught the tiniest glimpse of himself there in the mirror where Forrest stood, and couldn't quite remember the last time he looked so bad. He certainly couldn't remember the last time he felt this bad.
He was a mess of half-healing cuts and bruises from head to toe, almost to the point where Rai had to wonder if his natural skin tone wasn't the ugly shades of mottled green and purple that covered him in massive splotches. He knew full well Jeanne and Forrest were probably responsible for some of the more severe looking spots healing up as well as they were, as much as it irked him to admit. But his hair was doing him no favors. It was a ratted mess, even with the help of a shower, and long enough that he could actually get a grip and give it a firm tug. His pride screamed to ignore Forrest entirely, or at the very least, decline the offer with an accompaniment of a few choice explitives, but he doubted it would phase the man in the least.
Besides, now that he was aware of it, the burnt hair made his scalp itch.
"It couldn't hurt," Rai relented after a moment, telling himself that this was only because he was far too tired to argue with Forrest any further. "But if you shave a mohawk or something stupid, Kye'll give you a permenant bald spot."
"What do you want?" Forrest asked as he began to comb through Rai's hair.

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"Hell, I thought I hurt this morning..." Rai sighed, slipping into a seat on the porch. He ached, but his arms and legs felt boneless rather than stiff and immobile. He scrubbed his head with his fingertips, shaking out more loose hair from his trim and abscentmindedly ran the pads of his fingers across the short bristles.
"But it's a good sore now, right?" Forrest said, his voice sounding tired, now, as they relaxed on the porch in the shade of the afternoon.
"There's no such thing as a 'good sore,'" Rai huffed, rolling his eyes, though he was weary enough that there was no venom left in his words. "Pain is pain, some just hurts less than others."
A bottle hit the arm of his chair with some force that took Rai's attention away from the scenery. A cigar then found itself in front of him, and Rai didn't have the mind to refuse, having not had one for a few years, now, and welcomed the luxury.

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He wasn't used to the perpetually pleasant weather. His first day in Hoenn was stormy, not to mention the weather being less than ideal. It seemed that, wherever they were, the Sun was stubborn about avoiding clouds. The air from the coast wanted nothing more than to extend its cool saltiness inland. He couldn't tell how far away they were from the coast, but he could imagine it wasn't very far, considering the clean tang he'd become so used to so quickly. The trees in this part of Hoenn seemed to grow modestly in size but vibrant in color and scent. The wild berries, Rai'd learned, weren't so wild. He'd noticed Jeanne and the youngest of the children tending to them throughout the day. He wondered why they would plant them so haphazardly, but the thought crossed his mind that they let most of the berries grow uninhibited by humans' nature to be organized and efficient.
"How'd you get a woman like that?" Rai asked as they drifted down the dirt path same as the air around them. He was told they were going to the city-proper, whatever that meant. But he was beginning to realize they were much further away from a major city than he was initially led to believe.
"Pregnant," Forrest grumbled in front of the "vintage" cart he was pulling. He'd decided to bring the girls to Petalburg with him for some new clothes since he'd told Rai he was going to get him some new clothes as well. It was another thing he didn't ask of Forrest that was forced upon him. The level of charity of this man was insufferable.
"- the fuck does that mean?" Rai asked with a scoff at the vague response to his question.
"I'm assuming you asked how we met and how we came to be married," he explained rather dryly. "We met toward the end of my run in the Pokemon League about ten years ago. I was piss and vinegar and she was flirty and naive. She likes to say she took advantage of me, but I'd just turned 18 and she was 16 at the time and nowhere near as worldly as I. We had a good long night. Hung out for a couple weeks after that when we learned she was pregnant with Jerrek. We were engaged before we even reached home and married that next day."
"- fucking Houndoom, you," Rai chuckled.
"I'm just glad it's worked out as well as it has. We barely knew each other and grew up real quick. It was lucky that I won the Championship that year. The prize money got us off to a good start. But finding stable work was tough. I worked at the Wharf in Rustboro for a few months. Worked at the Marinas on Route 104 South and Dewford Town for a few months with my friend. Found myself working at the Academy and then teaching. But none of that makes us enough money to sustain what we have now."
This guy was an open book. But this book was pretty interesting. As long as the focus wasn't on Rai, the chances of his identity leaking were slim. "What does that mean?"
"This doesn't get to my wife," he started. Rai found steel eyes piercing into his. He realized how close he'd gotten to Forrest at this point. The neat lines of Forrest's hair that he cut off that morning made for a interesting texture. He didn't quite understand why he'd cut his hair again, but it wasn't his place to criticize. Not to mention, he thought it suited Forrest, made his face look even more masculine, somehow. But that was an opinion that would be kept to himself.
Rai just raised a brow and nodded in a silent agreement between men.
"I've taken a few contracts from the Rangers."
Ice shot down from the base of Rai's head to the bottom of his spine. Frost clawed like lightning down his arms and legs. "Like a bounty hunter?..." Fuuuuuuuck me. Here, I get away from the Rangers only to be in the lap of a bounty hunter.
"This doesn't get to my wife," he repeated. His voice was low and threatening. "In fact, no one can know," he added, almost spitting with preemptive retaliation for betrayal.
I wish I didn't even know.
"Yeah, man. 'Course," he said, looking down at the ground and began gathering some distance between them.
Explains the gym...
It didn't take long to fall back into a air of comfort between them. The girls certainly made sure of that. The rest of the hike to Petalburg was watching them run around or sneak up on wild Pokemon or climb over the cart their father was pulling or playing with the Masquerain that always seemed to be around them.
Petalburg was a quaint town. It was larger than he'd expected. But all he knew was that Forrest lived just outside the city, but he only just now learned how far away that really was. It took them two hours just to see the skyline of the city. The buildings were a strange mix of modern and vintage. The technology wasn't impressive but was incorporated in most everything. The city looked to have been cleaned daily. The cobblestone and slate streets and walkways gave the paths a classic texture. At this time of day, the city seemed low on citizens, which suited Rai just fine. But the amount of houses and apartment buildings suggested the population of this city was quite high.
It felt like they'd walked just as long in the city as they had just to reach it. His calf was feeling like normal by now, but his subconscious alerted his body in possible compromising movements he'd make that'd trigger his abdomen to twitch. It was a long and uneasy walk for him if only because his body was still recovering. But he just took this as a personal challenge to conquer weakness.
The store was huge. It was clearly a high-end clothing and equipment store that likely had chains across the region. Rai likened it to the Johto Outlets across his home region. But Hoenn seemed to boast cleaner, more sophisticated, and more various choices. He had to stop himself from ogling too long at some of the gadgets and pieces of clothing. One of Forrest's daughters certainly helped with that.
Little Shelynn tried to play fashionista with Rai. He relented at first and with initial unease. But she seemed to have an eye for some things, even though he felt a fool playing dress-up with a toddler. But he couldn't deny her innocent sweetness. It reminded him too much of his younger sister back in Olivine all those years ago. It was like he was getting some of that time back.
"Why you cryin' Rai-Rai?" a small voice came up from his leg.
Her hand reached up as if to try to catch the tears.
Fuck...get it together. Don't be a little bitch...
He got down onto a knee in front of the girl. Her eyes were wide with sympathy and her face exaggerated his own like some fun-house mirror. "You just remind me of my little sister when we were kids." His hand found its way to cup her round cheek as he let the girl wipe his own cheeks rather messily.
"What happened to her?" she asked with a surprising level of intuition.
"She died in a fire," he said without care how someone so young might take such a response.
"You must miss her," was all she said.
Rai rose and wiped off his own face after composing himself. "Yes," he said with a quick sniff and cleared his throat.

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The sheer amount of clothing Forrest bought just for him was startling, even to Rai. The girls each got only a few fewer bag-fulls than he. Forrest even went so far as to purchase an amount of underclothes and accessories he'd never thought he'd see in his life. A new backpack and shoes. Gloves and hats. And that was just the clothing. The amount of equipment he was gifted was surprising, but exciting. The tent and sleeping bag, the hatchet and fire-starter. He was even fitted with a Gauntlet that stored most of the items he'd been given. It was an Arceus' Day he'd never had before. Forrest was rolling in some serious money to afford all of this for a practical stranger, nevermind his four kids and a wife. Maybe he'd get into Bounty Hunting, himself, when he was done with the Pits.
Forrest even took them to a nearby pub for lunch. Some noontime beers and heavy food seemed to be what Forrest needed, and Rai didn't hesitate to follow suit. The girls ate a surprising amount, but considering their activity level and that they had to walk all the way back home, he couldn't be surprised.
Shelynn rode on Forrest's back most of the way home and Elizabeth laid in the cart with the soil and gardening equipment they'd picked up while in Petalburg. This man was like an Ursaring, never faltering or showing fatigue on his face. He'd taken his shirt off and the sweat that accumulated across his skin betrayed what his composure tried to portray.
Rai'd offered to take the cart or at least carry Shelynn, himself. Forrest turned down the offer with some bullshit about his abs and calf, but Shelynn was happy to take a ride on something different, which made Rai's chest warm and eyes burn. It'd been such a long time since he'd felt this way. It took him nearly too long to realize what it was. Rai was happy. He scoffed at himself for feeling so positive, for feeling so relieved to feel so positive. He just wished he could share this with Kye. It'd been such a long time since they'd had the opportunity to be relaxed.
But the idea of Mauville Island rudely reminded him of his true objective. He thought about just rejecting it and staying with this man and his family, as if that was appropriate. He thought about staying in Hoenn and turning to Bounty Hunting and being more successful than Forrest. About settling down and living a normal and content life.
The daydreaming tore at his conscience. How could he rest when vengeance was still to be served? He was so close to finding the fuckers that burned his house down. That killed his mom and his sister. That lit his entire life into flames and watched and laughed as they saw it consume him. That fire would be the end of their lives. It'd burn a thousand times more brutally...

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The Petildale Forest was more wild than Rai'd expected. They had to camp a night in the Forest since they'd decided to walk to Mauville rather than find a ride, like normal people. He was initially confused as to why Forrest wouldn't use his Gauntlet to carry their supplied, only to learn he never a Gauntlet to begin with. It was clear that Forrest spent most of his time either actively training or exercising or passively doing so. Rai was impressed at the man's tenacity. The boys seemed to follow their father in this way as they carried relatively heavy rucksacks as well.
Rai also got a taste of the even less modest side of Forrest and his kids that night. They'd hardly turn sideways and step away to piss or shit. Even in the wilderness, their clothes came off to sleep, even more than Rai thought necessary. Rowan seemed to love being bare-assed in the dark woods. Rai couldn't help but chuckle at the little bastard showing pride at his lack of shame or fear of the wilderness. Even Forrest struggled to reign the bastard in from showing all he had to their guest. But Rai just assured Forrest that he was more amused than uncomfortable and even commended the little guy.
After "struggling" to get dressed in the morning, they'd managed to make it to Mauville just after noon. Of course, they still couldn't go into the city, itself, but the docks were open to certain individuals. Forrest was one of those individuals. He had his own little motorboat that barely held them all and all their equipment. Rai felt preemptive guilt for their capsizing on the way to the island.
They barely made it to the island before sunset and they still had to go a distance around the island to their "camp site." It seemed to Rai that the "camp sites" here were privately owned pieces of the island since he didn't see another human anywhere.


Rustboro Wharf - Rustboro City
The hollers boomed through the night and into the day. Metal scraped against wood and ropes were pulled taut or snapped. Planks slapped against the docks as a constant percussion to the almost-overwhelming symphony. Everyone worked hard and together and there was a strong sense of community amongst the laborers employed by the Fairfax Association. But that didn't mean there was dissatisfaction and contempt.
The gray clay-concrete walls of the storehouses made for a rather monochromatic and dull atmosphere. Splotches of white excrement were the only contrast upon the buildings throughout the Wharf. The pathways were barely wide enough to two men abreast. Hiding in the mazes of the alleys was a struggle only for the fact one could easily get lost. The textured cement pathways dissuaded walking without proper foot-wear, but that didn't deter some of the more sea-hardened individuals.
The only interest in the Wharf was a single wooden spire that shot up past the rest of the storehouses. The planks looked of a rich mahogany with steel structure beams painted black. Red velvet curtains would peak from behind windows and lights would be seen on throughout each night. Access to this building was highly restricted. Walking past it was reason for termination.

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"Bring'im'in!"
"Yes, sir."
...
"Mr. Fairfax - sir..."
"Shutchyer fuckin' mouth, boy!"
"The Sire wishes to speak with you about your contact in Slateport."
...
"Out with it, you fucking dickless priss..."
"ahem...Yes, well, I verified he was hired by your mother, but only because of the digging I had to do of how he got here. The Briney Marina is now short a Briney becuase of that -"
"I don't need a fucking sob story, Buxs. Did you terminate the contact?"
"Yes, sir..."
"sigh...That's all I needed. We know there's another contact out there, though. Someone native to Hoenn, or that's what we're led to believe. The only lead we have are the Pits. So get back to Slateport and report back when you've found them."
"uh...uh, yes-"
"Get!"
Hidden 6 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Regitnui
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Regitnui Lorespinner

Member Seen 2 yrs ago

"Oh. My. G- aaah!" Asuna's head dropped back against the headrest, and she slammed her fist against the seat next to her. After a moment, she looked over at Keoni, who had a suppressed smile on his face. "You swear you never..." He shook his head, rolling a marble around and cuing a cry from Asuna as she slapped his hand away. "No. No way are we playing this game anymore. You cheat." She picked all the marbles off the board, putting it and the marble bag back into the compartment under her seat. The rocky landscape of Mount Chimney and its range had given way to the open grassland of Rustboro's surrounds, though the buildings were becoming thicker on the ground than actual grass. Soon, they reached the station and the shinkansen came to a halt.

Unlike the airport, the station was a pokemon-free zone. It wasn't until the couple entered Rustboro proper that Keoni could let Sirocco out to stretch his wings. Admittedly, it wasn't a long ride, but still. The flygon immediately took off, and Keoni watched him go, until Asuna put an arm around his waist and pressed herself against him. "I swear by all four Tapu I've never played checkers before," he told her, but she put a hand over his mouth and gave him that look. He contented himself with putting an arm around her shoulders. "So where-" He stopped and looked up as he heard a skarmory call above him. "Where to?" He asked Asuna, looking with some distaste at the factories along the western edge of town.

She nudged him in the opposite direction. "We're off to the Pokemon Center. You have your Trainer Card on you, right?" He nodded. "We're getting a room there for the next couple of days. If anyone asks, we're foreign trainers on a journey through Hoenn before we settle down and-" Asuna went pink across the cheeks a little, and he smiled when he figured out why. "And that's why we might be in places we're not supposed to, alright?"

Whistling to call Sirocco back, Keoni agreed. "I can see why you're calling me foreign, but you have a local accent."

"Do I?" Asuna remarked, bumping his hip with hers.

"You d-" He frowned. It took him a few seconds, but he replied, "Did you just say that with an Unovan accent?"

Asuna smiled and fluttered her eyelashes like a Nimbasa City model, adding a little more sway to her walk which Keoni immediately noticed. "You didn't wonder why I spent so much time in the bathroom today?" She asked, flipping her straightened hair over one shoulder. Without its length being bound up in curls and frizz, it fell just far enough past her shoulders that a man's, specifically his, eyes were drawn down to her off-the-shoulder sundress.

"I have two older sisters," Keoni shrugged, looking up before he could be accused of lingering. "Women take a lot of time in the bathroom, it's kinda a fact." He found himself looking around a little more, spotting other young men out of the pedestrians and meeting their eyes just long enough to warn them off, not long enough to challenge them to a battle. Sirocco thumped along behind them, taking his cue from his trainer and looking intimidating. "Wait, if we're both trainers, don't you need a pokemon?"

The doors of the trainer's hostel slid open in front of them with that particular liquid-glass shing that all hostels had from Dewford to Snowpoint. Asuna dropped her voice into a sultry tone that promised interesting things even if the subject was incredibly innocuous. "That's already arranged, my dear Keoni. Now act like you're head over heels for me,"

"Already am," he interrupted, earning a glare softened by a flattered smile.

Asuna bumped him with her hip. "I meant, less like you're looking forward to seeing this dress fall off and more like you're going to kiss me silly."

"Can't I do both?" Keoni asked, and she rolled her eyes at him. As they entered the queue for the nurses' desk, he swept her into his arms and kissed her slowly, taking enough time that the person behind them coughed when the queue moved forward. In time, they ended up at the desk in turn. "HI, I'm Keoni Mahiki," He fished out his trainer card and placed it flat on the counter. "I've got two pokemon and a gorgeous fiancee to declare. Can we also get a room?"

The receptionist bowed, checking his card. "Planning on visiting our local gyms?" He nodded and replied with meaningless small talk. "And your card, miss?"

Asuna blushed deeply enough that Keoni was sure she was acting. "Oh, um, I think it's still in our luggage." Untangling her arm from Keoni's, she leaned over the counter and dropped her voice. "You can check for Julia Smith, I think I'm there."

The nurse nodded. Typing quickly at the computer, Keoni was surprised to see a picture of Asuna - sorry, "Julia" - appear with full trainer registration. Clearly this wasn't some spur-of-the-moment disguise. She had a real alter ego and everything. "Yes, here we are. Your pokemon were dropped off by courier for treatment. Let me go fetch them." As Asuna stepped back and entangled her finders with his, Keoni raised an eyebrow. She pouted and trailed a finger over his chin, pulling him down for a kiss of her own. "Excuse me," the receptionist returned with three pokeballs; two regular and one premier. "I have your pokemon, Miss Smith." Asuna took them from the woman and placed them on her handbag. "And your keys, for one of our double rooms upstairs."

"Thank you," Keoni took those, and walked with her up the escalator. Sirocco went back into his pokeball for now, with a minor sound of complaint.

Asuna rested her head on his as they walked through the corridor. "Stop staring at me."

"I'm not!" Keoni objected, then looked down directly into her cleavage as she pressed herself against him. "Well, I wasn't." Asuna giggled, unlike her normal laugh, but still cute in its own way. "You're playing the Nimbasa Shockgirl stereotype pretty hard, you know," he said, opening the door to their room. "Not that I'm complaining."

Asuna took a few steps into the room. It was fairly basic, even spartan, with a double bed to their left, pokemon bedding and a door to a bathroom on their right, and a closet that might hold maybe two days' worth of clothes. The window directly in front of the door had its curtains drawn, though enough daylight seeped through that the room was lit. "Well, that's my job," She deposited her handbag on a bedside table and turned around to face him as he closed the door. Kicking off her shoes, she reached behind herself and shook her shoulders. "But for now, I'm off the clock." Her dress neatly puddled on the floor and she stepped forward to grab his belt. "So keep staring."
Hidden 5 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by Akacen
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Akacen

Member Seen 30 days ago

Victory Road
Days Ago


“Houndoom, let’s do this!” a young man yelled, his voice rumbling through the caverns. Before the Trainer’s voice dissipated, Houndoom’s roar blasted throughout, causing retorts by wild Pokemon wandering within the caves.

“Hm… six,” Tristan counted in his head, noting that this was the sixth Pokemon that had been revealed in this contest.

The challenger was Lucius Princo from Veilstone City in Sinnoh, a rather plain looking individual dressed in clothes that signaled some form of modest wealth. He was somewhat dirtied by his trek through Victory Road, unsurprisingly, though not nearly as bad as many Tristan had typically witnessed.

Even so, this couldn’t compare to Tristan’s tailored mauve three-piece suit, custom-made leather shoes, and red silk tie. The sun’s rays shone through the cave’s exit as a sort of halo around Tristan’s body as he stood between Lucius and admittance to the Championship.

While this Lucius had already more than proven himself, the rules were the rules. Only three of the so-far six Pokemon Lucius had called upon were significantly hurt. Tristan was curious if he would get to see two more different Pokemon, or if this Lucius had only prepared the six.

Three figures stood off to the side – the other members of the Elite Four who's tests the challenger had passed. Fredrick Vant, specializing in Dark-type Pokemon, was a bookish young man with thick framed glasses that didn’t sit on his nose quite right. Bingham Keetra, specializing in Ghost-type Pokemon, was an elderly man dressed in similarly fine clothes to Tristan standing at some form of lax attention to display his long history as a former Ranger and Gym Leader. Then there was Lois Preato who specialized in Steel-type Pokemon. She wore a fitting pant-suit with little in the way of embellishments, allowing her impressive physique to be on display.

All four were rather impassive as they observed the event. Tristan did lift a brow when Houndoom was brought forth to battle Pandora, his affectionate Jynx. Ether, Tristan’s Espeon that never left his side, lifted his head to look at the source of all the commotion. Seemingly bored, he lowered his head back down, but kept his eyes on the Houndoom.

At this point Jynx turned to look at her Trainer, seeing him nod to her and she nodding in kind. “Ready?” Tristan posed.

“Let’s do this,” the young man replied.

Off to the side, Bingham bellowed, “And… begin!”

And begin it did with an impressive Flamethrower billowing out of Houndoom’s maw as it pounced to close the distance. A mix of Powder Snow and Icy Wind proved a minimally effective shield against the attack, leaving Pandora sweaty and breathing heavily.

“Hm…” Tristan thought to himself. “Aurora Veil,” he muttered, barely loud enough for anyone to hear. Tristan’s Jynx brushed her hair out of her face and waved her hands around to create a sort of armor in the form of a beautiful gown. “Frost Breath next time,” he mentioned again. Pandora would nod at that and wait for only a moment before a new offensive was unleashed.

“Dark Pulse!” Lucius called out. Not quite ten feet from Jynx, globs of sickly dark energy rushed out from Houndoom. This met a cone of ice and snow to cushion the blow against the armor Pandora now sported. She seemed mostly unaffected by the attack, and so Tristan took advantage to suggest, “Miracle Eye. Draining Sweet Kiss.” The requests were minimal, but more than satisfactory.

Her eyes glowed a deep gold despite the following Flamethrower melted away what remained of her Aurora Veil, but allowed her the opportunity to give a healthy smack of her lips upon the Houndoom.

Now the Houndoom simply had no idea what was going on.

“Return!” Lucius raised the pokeball and recalled Houndoom, only to find that Tristan had done the same. Before Lucius could ask what he was doing, Tristan called out, “Arine!” to reveal a Starmie to oppose the challenger now. Lucius shook his head with a furrowed brow, but didn’t dwell on it. “Luxray, you’re up!” Tristan again lifted his brow with intrigue. Ether didn’t raise his head this time, not quite concerned with a mere Luxray.

“Round two,” Tristan mentioned.

“Ready?” Bingham called out. “Begin!”

This Luxray, as well, thought to take the initiative, an oppressive Thunderbolt exploding from its body, hitting Starmie dead on.

No! Starmie was at the edge of the cave, unharmed!

Wait, it was at both sides of the cave!

Luxray had to take a moment to figure out what was going on, but that was more than enough time for Arine to Rapid Spin it from above, landing a good hit. Luxray growled out in displeasure, but by the time it started to Discharge, Arine already hit it with an Aqua Jet.

This Luxray was tough, though, and it would take more than that to level it. Ignoring the pain, it Discharged a wave of electricity in all directions consuming Starmie again… only for it to dissipate. It was a Double!

Now there were two Starmie a couple yards away. “Light Screen,” Tristan suggested, and a barrier arose in front of both of them. “Calm Mind,” he mentioned, and the Starmie stood there for a moment, the great gem in its center pulsing a dull glow.

“Thunder Fang!” For all of Luxray’s power and toughness, it was not quite fast. By the time it reached the Light Screen, falling through without resistance, it would fall upon a visage of Starmie – another Double. From across the cavern a Water Gun shot at Luxray, hitting it hard in the side. Luxray growled again and released another Thunderbolt.

The massive amount of energy shattered the Light Screen as soon as it touched, leaving Starmie steaming despite the Rapid Spin it attempted to shrug off some of the damage.

“Brine…” Tristan offered with a seemingly impassive expression. Starmie didn’t miss a beat and released a torrent of water from each of the ends, spinning wildly to create a sort of water cyclone that this particular Luxray would only be able to partially evade.

Luxray seemed to understand this and instead of trying to move out of the way, released an incredible amount of energy, creating a Thunderous boom throughout the caverns. The electricity raced up the water crashing upon it even as it threatened to toss it back while it clawed into the stone to resist flying through the air.

Once all was said and done, Tristan’s Starmie was battered, nearly beaten. Luxray seemed to be a similar position, however.

“That’s enough, Arine…” And, with that, Tristan had it return to its pokeball.

“Luxray, you too…” Lucius seemed relieved that they were not going to continue.

“I call upon Aequitas…” With something of a flourish, Tristan revealed a Gallade to oppose this challenger now.

Gallade stood tall and proud. Indeed, it was noticeably taller than the average Gallade. “Starapter, let’s go!” Lucius shouted.

This time Tristan nodded with a “Hm,” glad that he was allowed to see the rest of Lucius team. Lucius certainly did his homework, ready for anything that might be thrown at him.

“Final round!” Bingham announced. “Ready? Begin!”

Aequitas was already Working himself Up even as the Staraptor raced towards him with an Arial Ace. At the last moment, Aequitas swiped at Staraptor as they met, hitting the Arial Ace with a Mach Blade (i.e. Punch). While this resulted in Gallade being pushed back a few yards, he was able to stop his opponent there in front of him.

The two locked – arm to wing, blade to blade. A tense moment passed before they jumped back from one another. Gallade decided to size up his opponent while Staraptor tried to keep the pressure up with a whirlwind to get Gallade up in the air and immobile. Somehow, though, Aequitas was able to Detect it, evading each attempt. The purple glowing in his eyes was still fading when he locked eyes again with his opponent after it had given up on the trick.

No matter, it thought, and proceeded to rush Aequitas with a wicked looking Drill Peck. Similar to the last time, Gallade met the Staraptor with a strong Slash, causing both to bounce off one another. Still, the two looked somewhat weary from the attempt.

This time it was Aequitas’s turn to push the offensive, sending a Sphere of his own Aura towards Staraptor. Like Luxray, it seemed not quite quick enough to attempt to evade the attack, and instead met it head on with Wings hard as Steel.

A small explosion erupted around the Staraptor, but when the smoke cleared it was no longer there! The two were already sparring with one another as the cloud lingered. Aequitas was nearly hit, parrying attempt, having Detected it yet again. Proving itself able to learn and adapt, Staraptor buffeted Aequitas with and impressive Gust, lifting him off the ground and unable to move.

Taking full advantage, it attempted a full power Wing Attack, connecting against Aequitas’s Cross Chop, but still sending him through the air and landing in a roll on the ground. Now breathing heavily, he raised his bladed arms, ready for what came next.

“Respectfully, I yield…” Tristan admitted to the surprise of only Lucius; the rest of the Elite Four seemed unaffected by the announcement. Aequitas was displeased, but would not show this outwardly. Not in front of others. The challenger blinked rapidly several times, not quite believing it.

“But…” Lucius start.

Tristan interrupted. “Our job is only to determine if you are skilled enough to participate in the Pokemon League Championship,” he started. “You have more than proven your ability. Well done, Lucius Princo of Veilstone.” A beat passed before he offered, “Congratulations.” There was the faint hint of a smile on his lips as he moved to the side and lifted an arm. Lucius was allowed through to Ever Grande City to rest, recuperate, and stay until the Championship was held.

Slateport City
Night of the Mauville Explosion


“You’re going to tell me what I want to know, or I will let Veritas show you what she does to people who try to hide things from me.” Tristan, now dressed in black with a dark sport coat draped over his shoulders, stood in a dimly lit room in the Harbor Warehouse nearly an hour passed midnight in front of a terrified man seated in a wooden chair in a far corner.

Ether kept watch while Veritas, Tristan’s Gardevoir, crept closer, a determined look on her face. Off to the side was Vertigo, Tristan’s Alakazam, juggling three crates via Telekinesis – his job done for the time being.

“I’m tellin’ ya! I don’t know nothin’!” The disheveled man pleaded with the now Private Investigator. Tristan, however, was not quite convinced. Or he wasn’t quite ready to leave with nothing; not without trying everything.

He sighed and shook his head, waving his hand to allow Gardevoir to sift through his mind to figure out what he knew. The whole process took only moments, her hands on either side of his head as her eyes glowed in lilac and stared deep into him. When she released the man, letting him slump and fall on the floor unconscious, she turned back to Tristan and shook her head. The three of them shared no spoken words, but rather conversed through thought.

“He doesn’t know anything.” Veritas reiterated.

“That can’t be possible.”

“I’m telling you, there was nothing there.”

“I didn’t get anything either.” Vertigo chimed.

“Fucking shit… we’re going to have to come up with a plan to figure out what she knows.”

“Gladly…”

“Vertigo…”

“What!?”

“That’s enough…”

“Something’s happened…” Tristan looked to Ether, hair standing on end. He brought Veritas and Vertigo back to their pokeballs and touched his Espeon to be transported to just outside of Mauville.

Mauville City Limits
Night of the Explosion


“Let’s go…”

With that, Ether teleported them to the location of the secondary explosion (that had not happened yet); not quite what Tristan was expecting.

He didn’t really need to concern himself with it because his first act is always to release his team. Ether and Veritas took up defensive positions around their Trainer while Vertigo and Aequitas immediately looked for trouble. Oracle, his Xatu, flew up to get a better vantage and start to understand what was going on.

Chaos reigned and Tristan’s eyes darted around to figure out what he could despite the pitch black now that the city was cloaked in darkness. It took a few moments, but he recognized where he was – one of the administrative offices that handled the power grid. It was one of the secondary ones, but Tristan knew it to hold many sensitive documents, most of which were only available in hard copy.

Reflects and Barriers erected around Tristan just as the top floor exploded in time with another explosion some ways off. The Elite Four member and Intenral Investigator winced at the bright light, yet was unaffected by any heat or debris that fell.

“Everyone,” Oracle thought to Tristan. Only a moment’s beat passed before the rest of Tristan’s team was released. Arine, Pandora, and Zen materialized in a right angle around their Trainer and were immediately apprised of what was going on - one of the many benefits of telepathy. Zen, Tristan's Metagross, stationed itself on the main road, closer to the main explosion in case anyone or anything came from that direction. Arine and Pandora, meanwhile, moved to scout the area in concert with. Oracle.

Vertigo and Aequitas lifted themselves to investigate what was going on in the building now alight with flames lapping from the broken windows. Vertigo parted the flames with a Light Screen to allow them both entry.

“Get out,” Oracle commanded of the pair. “Now.” When Oracle said that, it was imperative to listen. Not a moment after they floated out of the window, the top floor was utterly destroyed by an devastating Draco Meteor.

“Fuckin’ A…” For the first time in a long time, Tristan was actually scared. “Are you alright!?”

“Yeah, yeah. We’re fine.” Vertigo sounded annoyed with it all.

Tristan knew better, though, and sighed with relief.

“They’re flying off.” Oracle reported.

“Did you see who it was?”

“No.”

“Fuck…”

By this time several Rangers showed up. They were quite tense and almost attacked the Elite Four member, given the darkness.

“Mr. Aeros!” A voice called out. “Glad you could join us!”

Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Phoenix
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Phoenix

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Refugee Camps - Lavaridge Town
@c3p-0h
"Master General -" she said with chest high and hand at her head in salute.
"At ease, Sentinel."
"Thank you, sir."
"Where's Major White?"
"He is currently verifying the state of the refugee camps and the Lavaridge Medical Centre, sir."
"When will he be back?"
"Not until tonight, sir."
"And Grand Watcher Clerk?"
"She's in her tent, sir."
"Thank you, Sentinel."
"Sir," she said in a farewell with another proud salute.

It'd been almost a week since the Mauville Attack. He was concerned to not have heard anything devastating happen in Lavaridge. However, it was also not entirely surprising as it was Grand Watcher Clerk who was tasked with overseeing the operations of the area.

There was no contest when it came time to promote a Sentinel to Watcher. She was the youngest in history to ever be promoted to the rank, but none knew of a better candidate. She was impossibly bright and focused, though harshly stern and doggedly focused. But the Air Rangers of Hoenn were known for their effectiveness, not their sense of humor.

This kind of task is in what she excelled. She could retain high volumes of information without needing to record it immediately. In fact, she often came into the frustration of the other branches when she'd fail to properly record information despite being able to recite it verbatim.

She was the hub of all information. Currently, she was the hub of all information about the Mauville Attack and the goings-on in both Mauville and Lavaridge while she was updated about Rustboro by the Land Rangers. She had a team dedicated to solely recording all the information they'd gather in a day, and they only just recently became current.
__________


She watched from afar at this "Haven" playing with a Cutiefly. The thoughts revealed it was newly hatched. Samantha cursed at herself for finding it as cute as she did. Keeping hidden behind a tree for a little longer showed a softness and a strength in this girl that Samantha found surprising. Considering her recent past, she was impressed with Haven's determination to continue on as if nothing happened.

Samantha absent-mindedly brushed her ear where that damned Decidueye had got her. It bothered her that she didn't see it coming.

"Excuse me, Haven," she said as she stepped from behind the tree but keeping the distance between them.

Her tone was soft and polite, almost meek. She kept her hands behind her back as to keep a non-threatening air around herself. "That's an adorable Pokemon you've got there. Does it have a name?"

Now with pleasantries out of the way, she could get to the point of this conversation. But she had to be tactful. "I heard your story from the rangers around here and thought you could help me with something." She fidgeted with her hair a little to portray a kind of nervousness Samantha assumed might be warrented in this kind of situation.

"I know someone I think you might have seen and I was wondering if you'd be able to tell me where you saw him last or where he could have gone. I want to make sure he's alright."

Her brows shifted down in a kind of sadness and concern she'd seen others express before. "I haven't seen him in a while and I'd really like to meet with him."

A long pause was held between them. The mauve pelt of her Espeon appeared beside her and rubbed its face against her calf. Her eyes rose to meet Haven's. They were beginning to swell with tears she'd only recently learned she could produce.

"I'm his sister."


Mauville Island
@Kymera

The new hatchet worked well without having been sharpened after purchase. The fire-starter was largely unnecessary with Kye around. But the fact he wouldn't have to rely on his Pokemon to start a fire made him oddly self-confident. It wasn't long until he'd managed to accumulate a hefty pile of small logs and large twigs by the firepit Forrest had thrown together with some nearby rocks.

The tents were up and equipment laid out in neat order. The two men then worked on falling a tree to then chop in half to use as benches by the fire. It'd only taken a couple hours, but the moon was high and the air cool by now. Jerrek and Rowan were running around the fire and the nearby woods. Forrest paid little mind as Medicham and Flygon were around to get them out of any trouble they would be able to find.

After hiking for two days and then prepping the camp site with Forrest, Rai was ready and glad to be able to rest until the morning. He and Forrest drank a few beers each. Forrest partook in a cigar with the kids indulging in a soda before bed, something their mother would never allow. He made them go to bed soon after, which they did without much fuss. Rai was mildly relieved to see Rowan with clothes on, but with the air being cooler, he couldn't blame the kid.

Forrest, on the other hand, was down to undershorts. His shirt and pants were slung over a rope that was tied between trees so it would hang relatively close to the fire for more efficient drying. They were even wrung out before being hung, proving that staying in them was the poorer of options. By now, Rai couldn't be uncomfortable with anything they'd do.

The flick of a match pulled his eyes from the fire. His tired eyes saw a cigarette in Forrest's hand as he laid on the ground, partially propped up by the log and laying his nearly-naked body worryingly close to the fire. Another beer filled his other hand as he watched the fire as he thought Rai did. But his eyes blinked up and caught Rai's. He twitched his chin in an offer to grab another for Rai. Forrest managed to reach for one, open it, and pass it without actually getting up.

Rai was just glad to experience the calm of a silent night in front of a fire. It felt good to be out on the road again, even if he wasn't alone. It amused him how quickly he'd become used to Forrest's company. It'd been so long since he felt part of a family.


Ground Zero - Mauville City
@Akacen

Any surface damage caused by the attack was cleared away and repaired in little time with the help of the Rangers, both national and international. The presence of an Elite Four member also made things progress much faster than expected. However, repairs to the energy circuits throughout the underside of the city was a whole other project Mr. Sturm would need months to get back into normal working order.

The outskirts of Mauville were beginning to re-populate as the power grid was reworked to avoid the affected generator as it was being repaired. There was still a heavy presence of Rangers throughout Mauville as investigations continued as to cause of this attack. The suspects that didn't die were sent to Fairfax Hospital and there was precious little revealed as to the reason for this attack. All the rangers could get from these criminals was "Jonton is back."

"Sir Aeros, excuse me." A young man bowed before the Elite Four member with a hand outstretched with a piece of parchment rolled inside it. "A message from Madame Fairfax. She requests that you act upon this in haste."

When the scroll was properly delivered, the man simply turned and left without another word.

Sir Tristian Aeros,

Your presence is requested at the Fairfax Manor estate at once.


The script was a beautiful calligraphy he'd never seen before. It was never known for Mrs. Fairfax to request a personal audience with anyone. She only deigned to expose herself to the public when she so cared. This was certainly far from what would be considered expected behavior of the Queen of Fairfax.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by c3p-0h
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c3p-0h unending foolery

Member Seen 3 mos ago

Haven sat in one of Lavaridge's parks, stretching out under the sun. Goddamn, it was hot. Of course, the sweater she refused to take off didn't help. Her arm was still wrapped to hide the scars that she wasn't quite used to.

She'd been in Lavaridge for nearly a week. She'd spent a good three quarters of that time regretting it. Haven hated crowds, and Lavaridged was about as packed as an overpriced music concert -- except instead of buzzed 20-somethings clamouring to get some low-quality video with the sound blown out, it was a bunch of traumatized, bored, irritated refugees. Haven needed to get out of this damn town.

Of course, there'd been one upside: the hotsprings. They were normally too full to enjoy, but the two times that Haven'd actually managed to get in had been pure bliss. And of course, the time in the warm sand had helped to officially add a new member to their little family.

She'd hatched yesterday: a tiny yellow and white ball of fluff that buzzed around her head in happy little circles. She was something called a Cutiefly, apparently. One of the old men who'd witnessed the hatching had spent some years in Alola, where they were usually found. She'd spent her first few seconds of life trying to hold herself up in the shifting sand, fluttering her fresh wings and kicking up dusty particles. The moment she'd figured out how to fly, she'd taken off, zipping around Haven's head, between her other pokemon, to different flowers until she was absolutely covered in pollen, to different laughing strangers, then back to Haven again.

Her name was Dust.

Everyone was in love with her, naturally. Blink doted on her, delighting in producing harmless powder for her to zip through. Lace was excited to have another playmate, the two chasing each other this way and that. Cloak enjoyed teasing her with flowers, pulling them out for her only to hide them as soon as she got close. But it was Dagger who seemed to take the strongest to their newest family member -- Haven chalked it up to the fact that they were both fairy types.

Haven... wasn't quite sure how she felt about the little pokemon yet. Her emotions were a swirl of responsibility and trauma and protectiveness that --

A figure stepped out of the shadows and approached her. She tensed. But she didn't jump out of her skin and shrink behind her pokemon like she would've a week ago. Her pokemon all stilled in their game, just happening to place themselves loosely around their trainer. Haven looked up to see who it was.

Standing before her was a teenage girl, tall, with straight brown hair and green eyes. An Espeon was close by, its tail wrapping up around her leg. She fidgeted, sadness in her eyes as she spoke. Movement in the air caught Haven's eyes and she glanced up to see Dust, predictably, zipping over to inspect the girl. Dust did one quick revolution around the girl's head as she spoke, and then...

Came back to Haven.

That was unexpected.

In the short time she'd been alive, Dust had proven herself to be an empathetic little thing, sensitive to the emotions of everyone around her. If someone was angry, she did her best to avoid them. If they were happy, she flew around them incessantly, reveling in their joy, even landing on them and trying to poke at them with her tiny little mouth as if she'd mistaken them for flowers. And if they were scared or sad, she stuck close by them and nuzzled at them, buzzing in concerned circles.

So that this girl stood before them, nervous and on the verge of tears... that her Espeon looked so distraught, and Dust didn't react at all...

Haven filed it away in her mind. It was odd, to say the least. She held up a finger and Dust landed on it, tapping at her skin every now and then with her mouth. Haven looked back up to the girl.

"Uh, sorry," she responded. "You're gonna have to be more specific. I've met a lot of people lately."
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Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Akacen
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Akacen

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“Major,” Tristan offered with a nod. Lights flooded the streets from various flashlights and lanterns held by the half dozen Rangers clearing whatever alleys or side streets they passed.

Major Harry Burque was a somewhat rounded individual slightly shorter than Tristan himself. Despite this, he was known as a powerful, not simply strong, man who commanded the respect of any subordinate.

“I’d say it was nice to see you…”

”Spare me, Major. I need to get in touch with a Watcher...”

”Why?” There was an intensity that was starting to dissipate as the pair focused on the issue at hand. Still, the back-and-forth interruptions were unwelcome.

”A Draco Meteor destroyed the top floor of this office and flew off. Oracle didn’t see them.”

”Yeah, let’s have the professionals handle this.” Picking up his comm, he called for any available Watcher. Tristan sighed, rolled his eyes, and walked off towards the main explosion to see how he could help.

Oracle soared above, keeping watch and pointing out individuals running away. Tristan would have Ether, Veritas, and Vertigo Teleport to intercept these individuals, determining if they looked suspicious and detaining them if that happened to be the case. These individuals would be gathered at a secure location determined by the Rangers that had started to set up a base of operations while Tristan continued walking towards the chaos at the center of the city.

The rest of his team remained vigilant around their Trainer, but would encounter no one on the way. By the time the pair made it to ground zero the situation seemed under control. Bodies were strewn every which way, Pokemon and people. Blood splattered the ground and screams dissipated into the distance.

It was a difficult scene as Ground Pokemon worked to put out the electrical fire while Chancey and Blissy worked to find and save any survivors that they could. Bodies were starting to be covered with white sheets already. Tristan just stood there and watched, not quite sure what to do. For once, his mind was blank - incapable of analyzing the current situation.

His Pokemon, however, were not so paralyzed. They worked with the Rangers and their Pokemon to clear and secure the area. Any suspicious individuals detained by Ether, Veritas, or Vertigo were questioned extensively, more than a few by Tristan and Veritas themselves.

Despite their best efforts, they were able to learn nothing more than “Jonton was back.”

One day at a time; that was all Tristan allowed himself to think about as he, along with hundreds of volunteers, worked to clear the wreckage. Of course, Tristan himself did little by the way of manual labor, choosing instead to have his team perform “heavy lifting” (via telekinesis, of course).

What most concerned this particular member of the Elite Four was the fact that they could determine so little from the remains or the survivors. Any efforts to read their minds were thwarted; something that only stirred up more anger and frustration in the slight man.

Tristan made a few trips back and forth from Fairfax Hospital during this time. Failing to learn more from the survivors but also doing what he could to gather illicit glances at whatever evidence they might have had on their bodies or overhear any conversations from the Rangers stationed as bodyguards. He might also happen to overhear any who were conducting interrogations.

Through these eavesdroppings Tristan only further confirmed that the only information they were able to get was that “Jonton was back”. Tristan himself knew little of this individual. Yet, soon enough, he was reminded that this very likely must have been the illegitimate Fairfax kid.

What was he doing back? Is he really responsible for all of this. Is he really that mad at his family to blow up Mauville and kill innocents? What was the goal here? Or was it just a game for something else?

And how the FUCK were these idiots able to protect their minds from Veritas’ telepathy?

Too many questions and little, if anything, to go on. A frustrating position to be in, but not one Tristan thought he would be unable to overcome. Indeed, this wouldn’t be the first time he was so utterly in the dark.

Whenever he spent time back in Mauville he felt some sense of unease. The Rangers, who were somewhat skeptical, yet not without reason, made Tristan need to tread carefully. It was altogether unusual, after all, that an Internal Affairs Inspector was helping in such a manner. Of course, Tristan was previously an Investigator for the Rangers. While that may have been many years ago, his current position never sat quite right. Sure, he was glad to have routed some corruption within the ranks all those years ago, but that trust he used to have had since been shattered.

In discovering what he could, given this, he was somehow approached by a messenger with a note.

After reading it, Tristan’s eyebrows involuntarily furrowed slightly for a fraction of a moment as he considered what this all meant. Even though he had been working for Marilda for years now, he had never met her in person. Much less summoned to her home.

Fighting past the surprise and confusion, Tristan realized this would be his best, and probably only, opportunity to try and figure out what Lady Fairfax knew about all this. She, after all, had him veritably chasing his own shadow for months now. He figured a woman of her stature would know something.

Or, at least he hoped she might.

”I guess we’re going to Faifax Manor…” Tristan reached down and, in a moment, the two were transported to their destination.

-----

The Fairfax Manor was labeled inaccurately. It was comfortably a castle. The only building in all of Hoenn built from giant blocks of stone collected from Meteor Falls, Mt. Chimney, Granite Cave, Sootopolis, and Ever Grande. The patterns of the stones were organized in a way that appeared purposeful. Sootopolis Limestone was peppered along the corners of the structure. Granite Cave Granite made up the borders of windows and doors. Meteor Falls Slate and Mt. Chimney Sandstone made up the majority of the structure with the more ornate features of the architecture made of Ever Grande Marble. The courtyard between the walls and the gates of the manor were filled with lush gardens full of exotic plants and stately trees. Full-time landscapers paced through these gardens each day to keep it as manicured at all times as possible. The summer had the garden produce large red apples that were brought to the kitchens or sold at the local farmer’s market. Fees could be paid to precious few each year to enter the grounds and pick from the trees personally.

Each side of the silver-steel gates stood a large Land Ranger and his partner. An awning just large enough to shield one from the sun was placed into the pillars above each.

Tristan approached these Land Rangers with an assuredness that displayed his station. The two individuals were unknown to the middle-aged man, and so sized them up.

”Impressive…” he thought to himself. Ether was not quite so impressed, staying close to Tristan as the pair approached.

”I have a summons from Lady Fairfax,” he announced, holding out the missive he had received only moments ago.

The large man took the parchment from the Elite Four member to feign inspecting it before giving it back. “It has neither her seal nor her signature. You do not have a summons from Lady Fairfax,” he said matter-of-factly. He shifted his posture back to standing stoic and still and looking forward at nothing.

There was a moment of frustrated pause as Tristan internally sighed, closing his eyes to hide the fact he rolled them at this brick of a man. ”Can you… can you check with her, please?” Having never done this before, he was somewhat at a loss as to how to go about it. His mind started to race as he considered what he was supposed to do here.

“No,” he said with a short exhale that pushed the word quickly and forcefully from his chest.

”How might I go about scheduling an audience with Lady Fairfax, then?” His tone was trying, very hard, to be civil and formal.

“You,” he said as to stress the point, “do not.”

”Ah, yes. It seems you were confused by semantics.” There was a slight pause before he rephrased, ”How do I go about requesting an audience with Lady Fairfax?” While he was utterly ignorant in this moment, that didn’t mean he was necessarily stupid.

This time the Ranger’s eyes snapped toward the diminutive man. “You,” he said in the same manner as before, “do not.”

”Ah… yes, of course. I was thinking of someone else. My apologies, good day,” he jabbered with a false bow. ”I’ll leave you to it, then.” With that, the slight man twirled on his heels and practically ran away.

”You get a look inside?”

”Yes…”

”You think it’s a good idea?”

”No…”

There was a lot left unsaid - speaking this way allowed for emotions and stray thoughts to bleed through leading to, perhaps, a more comprehensive form of communication than simple speech. The two were decidedly confused about the whole thing - why would Marilda summon them to her manor, but not through the proper channel? Was this some sort of stupid joke to make him look, and feel, stupid?

Probably.

Was this a test to prove to her that he was still, in a way, loyal to her?

Probably not.

Did she want him to break in or something?

He sure hoped not.

But, what else could he do at this point? While Ether wasn’t necessarily a stickler for the rules, he didn’t feel confident about slinking their way around a place, likely heavily guarded, that they had never been in before, and had no information about as far as what was inside.

As soon as the pair moved to a position that was outside the line of sight of the two uptight Rangers Tristan would reach down. As soon as his fingers fell upon the velvet fur of Ether the pair disappeared only to reappear near a pear tree in the gardens, facing the Manor, though able to crouch down to hide behind some weird bush thing.

“That’s enough of that, Sir Aeros. Follow me, please,” a feminine and strong voice sounded from behind a bush right next to him.

Even with Ether’s peerless awareness, Tristan still jumped somewhat at the voice. He was, however, able to avoid making a sound and turning to look upon her without drawing much in the way of attention to himself.

Her face was plain. An oval of porcelain bordered by straights of black. She wore a kind of bonnet he’d only seen in fairy tale books as a child. Her dress was strange. Black and white and a confusing mixture of modern and victorian. It was a niche fashion trend that had started a few months back.

“She’ll be disappointed,” she said as plainly as her face.

”Uh… sorry? He thought to himself, not a clue about what was going on. Certainly not his favorite position to be in; one that he was not quite familiar with.

Her gait was shallow and short but rapid. The dull heels of her shoes clicked against the hardwood floors stained a deep mahogany when they passed through the enormous gate that was the front entrance. These contrasted with the sharp clap of Tristan’s custom leather shoes, as well as his longer gait, commissioned by someone close to Marilda herself. More individuals in similarly strange clothing paced with purpose and haste across and down the grand hall.

“This way, please.”

They passed by many pieces of furniture, clearly commissioned for specific purposes that were difficult to immediately identify. Some appeared to have no purpose at all other than to be a strange show of carpentry.

The rug they walked down silenced the woman’s heels and the man’s shoes. But the echoes of other hired keepers sounded around them, filling the negative space despite the statues and decorations and paintings and furniture.

The last turn brought them to a corridor lined with immense statues of men that all looked remarkably similar to each other. ”A bit much, don’t you think?

”You don’t really surprise me anymore. Ether spoke of humans in general, of course.

The farther they walked, the older the craftsmanship appeared. At their bases of these statues were simply labeled with roman numerals descending as they approached another enormous gateway.

It began to open as they passed the one marked “V.” The woman did not slow her pace, expecting the doors to open enough for her to pass through in the time it took to reach them. The gap formed by the doors revealed the image of another diminutive woman perfectly framed by the intricacies of the doors themselves.

She stood there with her hand clasped in front of her. The gown she wore was light in both fabric and color. There were so many layers, too illusioned to count properly. Her hair was high this day. It was a light gray with some streaks of brownish red. She stood upon what looked to be some kind of exaggeratedly large step that would be the beginning of stairs. However, it was easily twenty feet wide and stretched back to the other end of the room until it met the wall between two huge wide-paned windows. A large chair made of wood and stone and metal sat at the center with the woman standing regally before it. The chair was ornate. It took more than one lifetime to craft such an impressive piece of furniture.

This was her throne in Hoenn.

“I see you failed to destroy the note,” the woman standing regally before the throne said in a soft yet strong voice that filled the entire space. She clearly spent a lot of time here.

“Disappointing.”

There was an uncomfortable pause. Tristan, for his part, instinctually put his hand over the spot of his lavender jacket where the note was currently. There was a bit of defensive resentment at her assessment of the situation.

“And you failed to make it here promptly. I expected more of the Elite Four.” To that, Tristan clenched his jaw for a moment, more than a little annoyed at all the presumption directed at him.

The whole literal throne thing didn’t really help either.

Her tone lacked condescension, but her words did not betray her. “Regardless, I’m glad you could make it.”

She rested herself upon her throne. Her forearms gingerly rested on the arms of the cathedra and she crossed her legs under her gown that completely changed shape when she did so. It was tailored specifically for this purpose.

“I’ve brought you here because I have fewer subjects that I can trust.”

”Seriously… subjects?” Ether was similarly disinterested in the designation.

“With the attack on Mauville, Jonton has become quite the thorn in my side. I’d like to see him properly pruned away.”

“I should have had him euthanized when he arrived,” she admitted, turning her head up toward the corner behind Tristan. He wasn’t quite sure how to consider the particular and specific way she worded that while she considered this alternate reality with an unsettling level of fondness. Tristan, in kind, was so unsettled, but remained still and stoic as he listened to Her Majesty’s monologue.

“Nonetheless, you’ve proved the most capable thus far.”

”Oh… hey thanks… Tristan closed his eyes slowly, internally rolling them.

”Even still, my most useful of subjects has recently gone silent.”

Tristan again shut his eyes for a moment, for some reason surprised at the whiplash she was giving him. Praise then veiled insult… alright, then.

”I’d like you to search for her and all of the information she has and then neutralize her.” Lady Marilda’s eyes widened slightly as she sliced through Tristan’s form as he couldn’t help but blink rapidly at the… suggestion? Order? He could have sworn the corners of her lips twitched with some kind of excitement.

She laughed.

It was the most “proper” laugh he had ever heard, whatever that meant. Her chin raised slightly and she brought a lax hand toward her mouth as if to cover the indecency.

“I jest,” she said with a coy smile. “Please check to make sure she is not dead. If she is, find out what happened to her and learn everything you can of what she’s learned thus far. I don’t know how her intel leaked about Jonton. Perhaps it was one of his own lackeys that possessed less disciplined lips than others.”

She trailed off some as her mind wandered for a moment. Tristan, for his part, was doing his best to make sure he properly understood her convoluted and twisted manner of getting her point across. “But she was certainly finding her way toward him. She made sure to gloat about that whenever we’d correspond. But I digress. The point is, she has information and has yet to apprise me.”

She turned her head slowly in the other direction and gazed off for a moment. “But if she’s decided to turn against me, you are required to make sure she can not.”

”I… My Lady, I have… many questions...” His mind was racing as he did his level best to keep up with this mountain of vague, potentially misleading, information.

Marilda would cut him off before he could get out any specific questions. “She simply goes by the title ‘Ms. Shade.’ I’ve never seen her and she’s never revealed her location. She wouldn’t be as effective if she had…

“However, I do know she is fond of her Zoroark that she calls Finster. I also know that she does not work alone. She mentioned having connections in Lavaridge and from Olivine in Johto. That is all I can give you to aid in your investigation. I’m sure that’s quite enough.”


Her head turned toward him as slowly as it had turned away.

”I…”

Her eyes once again sliced through Tristan. “Hoenn is about to see horrible events in the near future should you fail.”

Many long moments passed throughout which Tristan knew better than to try and speak. “You’re dismissed.”

While most might have been defeated given the information revealed posed more questions than answers, this was a boon to the Investigator. He had names and ideas of personalities. At the very least, he now had some leads to follow and ideas of what strings to pull along the way.

It wasn’t going to be easy by any means. This was going to take a while until he got a good break. Still, while he had dozens of questions zipping around his head, he bowed to her and touched Ether to teleport themselves back to an alley he liked to get “lost” in while there.

In seemingly the same motion he released Veritas, Aequitas, Vertigo, and Oracle. A silent conversation took place among the group, Ether filling in what details Tristan may have overlooked in the moment. The whole process took not quite a minute before they were back in their pokeballs (save Ether of course). Tristan moved himself out of the alley to stare blankly at the empty street.

Usually this street was busy enough, but with the rebuilding, this was still a district that hadn’t been resettled.

Setting out, Tristan let Major Harry Bigboy know that he was going to Lavaridge to look into a lead. He let the Major know to just contact him if he was needed back in Mauville.

So as to get the last word in, even before the full word had left his mouth, Tristan touched Ether to teleport to just outside Lavaridge. He’d first let out Veritas, Vertigo, and Oracle, directing them to have a look around and not get into too much trouble, while he and Ether went to the Pokestation to do a bit of eavesdropping.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Regitnui
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The sableye stared at Robin. Robin stared back. It wasn't hostile, or Keoni would have recalled Robin already. The two ghost types were just watching each other. And Asuna was sitting next to the table with papers, notably not looking at him. He'd never thought he'd be the type to become annoyed over being left to his own devices, but having spent more time touching her than not, he could clearly feel the lack of it. Keoni flipped open the tourist brochure that'd been on the desk, searching for something that was actually something worth visiting, and not an incidental function of the city's location.

Rustboro seemed to be a university town, at least at first, so most of the brochure had to talk about was academic in some way. Museums of history, art, a garden with rare plants... All in some way related to an ongoing function of the university. He stretched, and Katherine took the opportunity to nudge him with her nose. "Ai! Careful there." He flinched away from the sudden cold, scratching her behind the ears as he pulled his shirt to cover the spot. "You know that's chilly."

The ninetales growled mischievously, though that turned a little harder. He looked up to see Asuna had been distracted from her studies. "Don't worry there. I just got a reminder that I wasn't paying my other favourite girl enough attention lately."

A strange expression crossed her face before Asuna replied, "I think both your favourite girls want your attention today, but one of us has a job to do first." She stood, settling the Unovan-cut clothes around her waist more appropriately, then patting them looking for a pocket that wasn't there. Katherine nudged Keoni's hand again, as it had stopped moving. With a sigh, Asuna fished a handbag from her luggage and dropped the other two pokeballs into it before recalling the sableye. "Come on," she looked over at Keoni.

"Oh, am I coming?" he said, lifting himself off the couch. Asuna's eyes drifted from his face a little, as he buttoned up again. "Sure I won't get in the way?"

She tossed Katherine's ball to him, remarking, "Well, if you'd rather sit here all alone while I go do dangerous things in seedy parts of the city..." Apparently she'd picked up something objectionable in his tone.

Keoni stood, recalling Katherine and Robin. He put his arms around Asuna's waist, though she stopped him from kissing her. "Makeup, right," he muttered. "Never understood why the Nimbasa girls wear so much of it. Halfway through a tour you'd see them desperately trying to patch their faces up as the heat got to them." He instead kissed her forehead, up near her hairline where there was only foundation. "If this is some sort of Dark spy mission, I'd stand out. Though you always stand out and..." He stopped as he understood. "Oh, that is the disguise."

Asuna laughed, pulling away and taking his hand with her. "Mm-hm. Now let's go before I decide to stay in today." He let her pull him outside the room. "Don't forget to lock it," she reminded, and soon they were out in the plaza streets of Rustboro. The height of the city struck him most of all. The Haina had dunes that loomed over you like this, stone formations that rose high, but this was something altogether different. These skyscrapers were almost deliberately vertigo-inducing, square on the top as they were on the bottom, close enough that they were probably leaning on each other.

He didn't notice the circuitous route Asuna was leading him on, nor that his gawking at the skyscrapers and billboards was doing quite enough to disguise her careful, searching looks. It was on a wide balcony, plants growing in a small garden with a bench, that he noted, "I don't know how people live so cramped. Maybe they've got a secret or something."
Hidden 5 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by Phoenix
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Lavaridge Town
This one was terse. Samantha certainly respected that. That annoying Cutiefly was forgotted by this quick response.

She shifted slightly to pause and consider which emotion she should play next. She giggled briefly and put a hand toward her mouth. Embarrassment. "Oh, yes, I apologize," she said with a slight smile and oddly dead eyes. "I'm just so caught up with the fact that my brother might be here.

"I knew him as Raiziel Kurin from Olivine City in Johto. I don't know if he's assumed any other names. I remember him having a Charmander that he called Kye or something."

She looked down at the Espeon sitting stone still beside her. She reached a hand down to place a soft hand upon the periwinkle coat. A brief twinkle in the gem upon the Espeon's forehead shone as leaves shifted in the passing breeze.

Samantha sniffed as if about to cry. "I haven't seen him in so long, I have no idea what he could look like. We were only children when we were separated.

__________


The town fell into an organized chaos. Now that some Mauville districts were habitable, there was a sense of relief among those directly impacted by the disaster. Rumors continued to swirl around, but they were casual and without much weight as the Rangers refused to disclose any more information than the news coverage that was beginning to slow down.

Despite all this, Veritas sensed a strange amount of residual guilt and embarrassment and fear. She followed it until she arrived at the Muro Bathhouse and tagged her partners to join her and affirm her assumptions. It was agreed that it would have been something to look into.


Rustboro Wharf - Rustboro City
The Rustboro Wharf was named such out of courtesy. Owned by the Fairfax Association, it was an entirely private portion of the city. Security clearances were required to enter and exit the Wharf and was well-situated to make it quite difficult for outsiders to see exactly what happened beyond the ten-foot fence, gates, and tall warehouses without windows.

Considering the current events, any Pokemon usually employed at the Wharf were now filling temporary positions in security. Much of the staff were required to relocate or change occupations temporarily to accommodate those affected by the "Mauville Incident" for those still able and needing to work for a living.he hollers boomed through the night and into the day. Metal scraped against wood and ropes were pulled taut or snapped. Planks slapped against the docks as a constant percussion to the almost-overwhelming symphony. Everyone worked as one and with a heavy sense of obligation considering the state of Mauville. But that didn't mean there was dissatisfaction and contempt that it occurred in the first place.

The gray clay-concrete walls of the storehouses made for a rather monochromatic and dull atmosphere. Splotches of white excrement were the only contrast upon the buildings throughout the Wharf. The pathways were barely wide enough for two men abreast. Hiding in the mazes of the alleys was a struggle only for the fact one could easily get lost. The textured cement pathways dissuaded walking without proper foot-wear, but that didn't deter some of the more sea-hardened individuals.

The only interest in the Wharf was a single wooden spire that shot up past the rest of the storehouses. The planks looked of a rich mahogany and cherry with steel structure beams painted black. Red velvet curtains would peak from behind windows and lights would be seen on throughout each night. Access to this building was highly restricted. Walking past it was reason for termination and arrest.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Akacen
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Despite all the work he had been doing in Mauville and Rustboro, Tristan hadn’t been to Lavaridge since the attack. There were just too many people in this small town. He wondered how many might have gone to other surrounding towns, or to go live with family in other cities. This surely couldn’t be everyone displaced by the explosion.

Moving through the throngs of bodies took a bit of time for the thin man. Ether had an easier time of it given his affinity for knowing what was about to happen and all. Still, it took some time to get to the pokestation.

Of course, along the way he would listen to the cacophonous din of people talking, hoping to pick up something, anything that might have pulled on a lead. Still in his costume-ish purple suit, he made sure to grab the attention of the nearest Ranger to let them know that he was here and had his team looking into a few leads.

In the meantime, Veritas floated her way through the crowds with pure grace while Vertigo essentially kited her and Oracle kept watch from above.

There was some anxiety around flying these days, what with that Draco Meteor that came out of nowhere the night of the attack and all. While the Air and Gale Rangers kept the skies rather safe, at the same time it was heavily regulated - a lone over-sized Xatu was sure to draw attention. Hopefully that kid Tristan spoke to reported to his superiors, and Oracle wouldn’t be harrassed.

The four (Ether, Vertias, Vertigo, and Oracle) would keep in constant communication via telepathy, with Ether relaying important information to his trainer. Otherwise, Tristan’s Pokemon were telling and showing each other what they were experiencing. While Oracle focused on Mind Reader and Future Sight, along with the Telepathy, she would really only be able to glide from updraft to updraft so she could focus her mind to find… someone. Something? Somewhere??

Beyond that, it was also a good view to ensure that Veritas and Vertigo weren’t being trailed or snuck up on.

Veritas wound her way towards the bathhouse, keeping a keen sense on that decidedly unusual mixture guilt, embarrassment, and fear. While these three particular emotions mingled throughout the people here, the mixture of all three in this way was unique. If nothing else, she hoped to help someone who was in such distress.

All the while she was listening in, both physically and telepathically, to those around her. She was intent on finding the source but certainly wouldn’t engage. Rather, she and Vertigo would get a physical description of the person - height, weight, hair color, eye color, skin color, clothes - and maybe follow to confirm suspicions or learn more. The pair, much like Oracle, would continue to Mind Read those around them, and perhaps their Miracle Eyes might pick up on someone… something?

Vertigo, of course, couldn’t help but think up some Nasty Plots to prank random individuals as they worked.

It was some kind of bubble. There was a strange void surrounded by these emotions swirling strongly with each other. One the second floor. Yes. A bedroom. An arrow. Some kind of confrontation. Two people, though they weren’t looking at each other. They were looking at the void.

Someone didn’t want to be found. Was it the contact or had someone confronted the contact and didn’t want to be found out and knew how to shroud themselves psychically?

“The Quay...Rustboro.”

It was a faint echo, slowly drowning in the growing void that was swallowing this odd mixture of emotions.

The words echoed throughout the consciousnesses of all four of Tristan’s Pokemon at nearly the same time; their psychic connection to one another rather strong. These words were relayed to Tristan himself as he entered the Pokestation. Something else to keep an ear out for, he thought.

Vertias was instantly intrigued, and so decided to wait outside. It would be rather odd, after all, for a Gardevoir to enter a bathhouse of all places. Or, so she presumed. Instead, she would wait outside somewhere she wouldn’t be immediately noticed.

Vertigo, however, wasn’t so patient. Despite Vertias’ request, Vertigo went ahead and floated up to this second story to peek into this window. He’d use some telekinesis to draw a curtain or shade if one might obscure his vision.

Oracle, at this point, decided to land somewhere with a decent view to witness the past and future of this place, of these people, at the same time. While this was an inherent trait of Xatu, it was something Oracle herself rarely employed due to the stress on the mind and soul.
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Phoenix
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Lavaridge Town
A squadron of Swellow glided across the skies above Lavaridge Town. Grand Watcher Clerk wasn't keen on the idea of another mystery Draco Meteor taking out the remaining survivors for which she was responsible. The squadron bullied any wild flying Pokemon from traveling through. It was announced that only those with authorized permissions from the Grand Watcher herself could have approved Pokemon fly over Lavaridge. And so they dove straight toward the Xatu they spotted from above the clouds.

Oracle would have known their approach soon enough, but their speed would be quite concerning. Though they were headed straight toward her, they broke formation and simultaneously turned away like a kind of blooming flower. Oracle would hear a faint command from a voice she wasn't familiar with. "Leave the Xatu alone..."

Before relief could wash over her completely, she was summoned to the building attached to the bathhouse by her teammates. Their collective confusion and curiosity would have filled her consciousness before she cleared it to focus on the past and the future of the place. She heard the entire conversation among three people talking about the woman she could see being commanded to go to The Quay in Rustboro City. A Decidueye shot through a window on the other side into the void that surrounded one of the women. The man was levitated and slammed into the wall. The void disappeared and the man was released. But the conversation, itself, was overall vague. The ability to hear subconscious thoughts from the past was beyond any psychic Pokemon, as they were so thin and fleeting. Fortunately, their target was confirmed - they mentioned Ms. Shade, their target. She watched as the vacant orb in the room disappeared.

The void was very familiar to Oracle. It felt very similar to what Ether would do to hide herself and others, if she chose, from the prying "eyes" of others. It was unnerving to feel something so definite and potent that she could say it matched Ether's, though the thought might have frightened her a little. Regardless, after the void disappeared, the other two eventually left the home. Oracle could follow them to the tram that went directly to Rustboro. Once they were far enough away, her vision faded into the present.

"Um, excuse me, sir? Are you going to do anything?" a voice asked behind Tristan. When he would turn, the young man would say "are you okay? Do you need help using that?" he asked and pointed at the Pokestation Tristan was standing in.

When Tristan and his team decided on their next course of action, Oracle's eyes glowed bright and her wings splayed out straight from her sides where she stood. Her body glowed bright and the air around her buzzed with intense psychic energy. Though she thought she had mastery over her visions, when she pushed her abilities, there would be times she couldn't control them. This display was specifically when she saw powerful visions of the future.

She hovered far up in the sky above Rustboro. It was pouring rain. There was no wind. It felt heavy. Rustboro was burning to the ground. Her vision zoomed in to see a large man slumped over something on the ground. A Masquerain - dead. Beyond him, another man in a suit stood emotionless. A Gorebyss and Huntail hovered on either side of this man. Her vision shot up toward the sky, past the clouds, into space. A Pokemon - unmistakably Jirachi. Her vision followed it back down until it was hovering above the man flanked by the Gorebyss and Huntail. He touched the Gorebyss and all four of them teleported away.

Her eyes dimmed and the glow around her faded and she fell to the ground - exhausted.


Mauville Island
The week went by like it always had, though with the addition of Rai. Jerrek and Rowan welcomed him to their vacation and had him chase them through the forest and swim with them and jump off a nearby cliff into a deep pool. They ate and drank much. They slept at their leisure. They chatted and sat in silence to listened to the nature around them.

When the week came to a close and Forrest was packing up camp, Shaq-ti notified Forrest of someone approaching the camp - a young woman. Shaq-ti felt a twinge of unease but thought it was just due to the surprise as she looked innocent enough. Still, she alerted the rest of her teammates and they all instinctually moved closer to the camp.

Samantha. Samantha Kurin. Rai's sister he thought had died when they were children back in Olivine City. It took some time to convince Rai that this was, indeed Samantha - his sister. She revealed she had found him thanks to years of searching and the help of her Espeon that apparated from elsewhere. The reunion was quiet but certainly intense. Forrest made Jerrek and Rowan busy with something elsewhere so they could have the time to experience the existence of each other. Forrest was glad that Rai's broken family was a little less broken.

She convinced him to go with him to where she had made her home in Mauville City. The city had yet to be entirely restored, but she knew her home would be safe to go to. Rai thanked Forrest and Forrest gave Rai his contact information as a sign of friendship. They then teleported away.

It took a few moments for Forrest to recover from the experience. But he was soon finished with packing up camp and getting to the boat that would take them to Mauville as well.


Rustboro Wharf - Rustboro City
Forrest's large brown boots seemed to pound against the tiled hallway floor. His fitted jeans zipped rapidly with his pace. The muscles under his short sleeve white shirt could be seen flexing rather erratically. His face was stern, determined, irritated. The Rangers moved out of his way when they realized he wasn't going to move for them.

It looked as if he tried to tear the door handle off the door as he swung it open. He took two steps into the office and stood straight up with his arms crossed and his brows furrowed. His eyes bore into the Master General.

"Fucking bastard decided to show his ugly fucking face right after my vacation. I haven't even had a solid week at home for eight months, now. Where is he? I'm done playing his games."

"Whoa, Forrest, calm down a little. No need to be so fired up." The Master General raised his open hands and shook them a little. "I forgot it was your vacation week. I wouldn't have called you if I had remembered."

"Yeah, and have them pussy-foot around 'cause he's a fucking Fairfax? Fuck that. I'm going to parade his head around town and then bring it to you on a platter."

"Enough theatrics, Forrest!" the Master General's voice boomed louder than Forrest was shouting. "Calm the fuck down! You're acting like a child! Now sit!"

Forrest took a deep breath. His arms lifted to his chin as they were still pulled across his chest. His jaw clenched but he took the few steps to get into one of the chairs in front of the Master General. His nostrils flared as the tensions lowered.

"You're right, Forrest. I've been too precious with him because of his last name. That ends. I'm more furious than anyone that it took the destruction of Mauville for me to wake up to that. Mauville is my fault. I had him five years ago, but I let him go just because of his last name. He's going to pay for all the lives he took and ruined."

"What's the plan, Dick?"

"Raid Rustboro Wharf."

Forrest's brow rose and he kept quite for a couple moments. "He's in the Wharf?"

"Yup. That's his domain. The Fairfax's admitted that they don't control it anymore. But only one of my spies assigned to Jonton still lives."

"So I can raze it to the ground to find him?"

"You are under my orders to use whatever means and force necessary to bring him into custody either alive or dead. You also have clearance to use whatever means required to neutralize any and all threats that you come across."

"Hell fucking yes," Forrest said with a determination that was almost gleeful though his face remained stone still.

A couple moments passed until the Master General pushed up out of his seat. "Go, you fucker! I want that fucking bitch's head on my desk before sunrise tomorrow!"

Forrest nodded and quickly rose and almost started running out of the Rangers Headquarters and straight to the Wharf. Forrest remembered how it used to be called the Quay and was still referenced as such colloquially as he released all of his Pokemon. Due to his lack of discretion, he was soon recognized and people started to follow him. Children cried for his autograph or to ride on Antligon. Adults wanted to shake his hand and ask him questions. They were all fended off by his Pokemon, however. Additionally, Rangers started to make way for him so he wouldn't be disturbed.

"Mr. Aeros? What are you doing here?" Forrest asked once he reached the massive gate to the Rustboro Wharf. He stopped and leaned back on his foot and crossed his arms. He wore a wry smile and curled a brow. "Do you know what I know. Are we both here for the same reason?" he asked and tilted his head to one side.
Hidden 2 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by Akacen
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At this point, it would take quite a lot for Oracle's visions to get to Tristan. Especially given current events, the part that bugged him the most was the void. It was a mixture of annoyance and jealousy that someone would have an Espeon (presumably) so well-trained to perform the feat.

He wasn't about to let this Ms. Shade have the better Espeon, too.

Even the vision Oracle suffered once they were ready to head to Rustboro didn't shake Tristan as much as the episode itself. He allowed Veritas and Ether to tend to her while he walked around for a bit, just taking in what he could from the area. Actually looking at it all, it seemed like it was worse than Mauville; all these people crammed together just trying to get by while they tried to figure out what to do with what remained of their lives and livelihoods. It was certainly not quite uplifting.

Once Tristan was alerted that Oracle had recovered and was alright he turned on the balls of his feet to make it back to them. Oracle seemed better, sure, but still seemed fatigued. He'd offer his condolences subconsciously, returning both her and Veritas to their pokeballs.

"I'm not worried..." Ether asserted. His voice a smooth tenor in Tristan's mind. The trainer was not so convinced, but didn't argue the point. This wasn't the time for that. Time was of the essence, and they all needed to focus to accomplish the goal.

"Ready?"

"Let's go."

Tristan's hand rested on Ether's head and the pair disppeared.

Teleporting was just as normal as walking to Tristan at this point. The pair had teleported all over Hoenn over the course of their lives. Sure, longer trips, like this one, made him a little dizzy, but it would have to be a trans-regional destination to give him the spins like he used to. Ether shook himself off after the teleport, as he usually did. A sort of habit, and his way of becoming acclimated to the new location.

That location being a block away from the Rustboro Wharf. After all, he wasn't so foolish as to bring his trainer right in front of the gate. Tristan would take a moment to get his bearings and determine if they were noticed at all. On instinct, he reached for Oracle's pokeball, making the motion to throw it up, but didn't release it from his hand. He remembered at the last moment that Oracle wasn't quite in the condition to do reconnaissance. He'd have to do this the hard way.

No words were spoken, nor any signals given. That would be much too obvious.

"Conceal?"

"Yeah."

"I don't sense anyone."

"Let's go."

The pair started walking forward. Ether's cracked gem glowed dim as he disappeared the pair of them from psychic detection. It would look nothing more than a casual stroll for the pair as they made their way to the entrance of the Wharf. It seemed rather quiet, though he couldn't remember the last time he was in this part of town, so couldn't really compare it to anything.

The two would stop at the gates, just looking at them. But, of course, much more was going on.

"How much of the inside do you think you can map from here?"

"Not much. Enough to get us inside undetected."

"We'll have to move quick once we get in, then."

"And we shouldn't let the team out. Too much potential for getting caught."

"I wish Oracle was better."

"You know she'd happily..."

"Of course she would. That's why I won't let her."

"Someone's coming..." Tristan looked at Ether when he relayed that. He wouldn't turn around to look - that would be unbecoming. He'd just wait for Ether to try and discern who it was, if he could.

"Forrest Johnson."

"Fucking great. This'll be interesting." Tristan let out an audible grown while rolling his eyes.

"Doesn't Forrest have a Masquerain?"

At that, Tristan froze - a shiver ran up his whole body and his heart pounded in his chest. Time stood still for a moment before...

"It doesn't feel like rain..."

Tristan couldn't help but look up to confirm. It was like a weight lifted off his shoulders when he finally took in the clear, sunny skies for as far as he could see. The few clouds lazily drifty overhead were far from threatening any sort of rain today.

Wanting to keep his reputation intact, neither he nor Ether turned when the hulking man approached. Instead, he waited for Forrest to say the first word before turning around as impassive as he could muster. Forrest, easily a full head taller than Tristan, required the elder to crane his neck a bit to make proper eye contact with the younger.

He'd let Forrest speak the entirety of his question before responding. He wasn't quite in the mood to try to talk over Forrest's booming voice. "All I know is that someone I'm looking for is supposed to have been here at some point." Staying as aloof as he usually did while on a mission, he wasn't about to give away what he knew first.

He knew better. Even with the former Champion, and otherwise a man he fully respected. Sure, Forrest got on Tristan's nerves, but that didn't take much. If nothing else, Tristan wasn't a particularly proud individual. He would gladly take the help. Gladly inwardly, at least. He had a reputation to uphold, after all.

"So, I'm just looking for clues." He paused for a moment, gazing longingly beyond the great gate and into the Wharf. "Just need to figure out how to go about doing so without drawing too much attention." Then he looked pointedly at Forrest. "Or without making too much of a mess." With that he'd flash a quick smirk.
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Phoenix
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Shaq'ti remained by Forrest's side. An aura of blue and white surrounded her body. The colors swirled around each other but never truly blended. Her eyes remained closed and she hovered slightly off the ground. Her hands were together in front of her as if in deep meditation. Her palms and fingers were aligned with each other and pointed straight up. About fifty feet from her in all directions was a calming energy that kept passers-by from approaching or even noticing her trainer and her party mates.
Marionetta hovered around and disappeared from one shadow and appeared in another. Her eyes glowed deep and menacing yellow. She's occasionally try to surprise one of her other party mates, but they merely swatted at her her giggled and joined in. She managed to scare a few people that were unaffected by Shaq-ti's aura. Her echoed giggles could be heard near-constantly as she apparated and disapparated from place to place.
Syressa's huge form hovered around twenty feet above Forrest. She coiled and swirled into and around herself so as to not go too fast but to also keep an eye around them. The scales along the lower part of her body and her tail glimmered brightly in the sunlight. Their colors often shone on those below her. Vague diamond shapes of violet and blue and green would briefly appear on Forrest and other party mates.
Halcrow kept in the sunlight as much as he could. He kept his legs stiff - never bent at his knees - to expose as much of his body to the sunlight as he could. He joined in Marionetta's games for a short bit but returned to his photosynthesis. Otherwise, he appeared mostly serious and determined as if he knew what he and his trainer were about to get themselves into.
Antligon was high in the sky above the city. His massive form was easily spotted. His snaking tail and distinctive wing shape and occasional cry kept him conspicuous among the wild Pokemon as well as any Rangers in the area. He was ready for any order at any moment. However, it seemed as if he was playing or showing off as he performed barrel rolls and loops.
Kangooroom kept to the shadows like Marionetta. But he hadn't the patience to play her games. He never liked being on pavement or dry stones. The lack of moisture under his feet and in the air made him uncomfortable - grumpy. But as they neared the port, the sea air grew more thick and his attitude slowly grew more mild.
Wickengu lept from building to building. It was hard to keep track if he was ahead of Forrest or behind him. He passively challenged Marionetta in her attempts to frighten and surprise others, but it turned into them playing a game of tag with each other. They didn't notice when Forrest stopped and started chatting with Mr. Aeros.
Damselraed hovered and zipped around Forrest and demanded his attention. She giggled and blew bubbles and tried to tickle him and keep out of his reach from swatting her away as he chuckled, himself. She lit upon his should a few times to rub against his face but then went back to playing and fooling around. She was the easiest victim of Marionetta and Wickengu, which Forrest had to scold to get them to stop.
She lit up when she saw Mr. Aeros and Ether. She hurriedly zipped over and greeted Ether with playful bubbles and alighting onto his back and playing with his tail. She pestered Mr. Aeros in a similar manner. She would have only relented when she was awarded with a smile and chuckle. But Forrest commanded her to leave them alone through a chuckle and light apology to the two, but wouldn't protest if they contradicted the command.
She was not part of the battle between Forrest and Mr. Aeros those ten years ago. And even though their initial interactions were very short around that time, she was just as lively and joyful, it seemed. Similarly, the aura of Shaq'ti would have been foreign to them, as she was, also, not part of any of their battles between each other or any other battle during the Championship. It would have felt notably weak, though possibly intentionally so, it might have been difficult to tell.
Syressa moaned a cry of greeting to the pair. Marionetta suddenly appeared in front of both of them separately with her wide grin and glowing eyes with a wave of her little arm. Wickengu and Halcrow stopped to acknowledge them both from afar, as well. A long cry was heard from far away, notably Antligon, who recognized that Forrest and Mr. Aeros had started to interact with each other. Kangooroom made not effort to acknowledge anyone as he focused on absorbing any humidity he could in the shadows of the nearby building.

Forrest frowned and pushed his brows together. He kept his stance - his arms crossed and legs spread as wide as he shoulders with his back and neck straight. "What clues do you need? Jonton is in there," he said and pointed with his chin through the high and thick concrete walls.
"He's waiting for a meeting with me," he said with the flash of a grin that turned into a deadly serious expression that shadowed his face. A brow raised to suggest his words were intentionally misleading.
"But lucky for you," he said with his brow still raised, "I've been given authority to enter."
Another short-lived grin twitched across his lips as bent his neck toward Shaq'ti but kept his head facing forward and his eyes on Mr. Aeros. "Antligon, please open the doors for us," he said with a slight inflection in his voice.
He kept his eyes on Mr. Aeros and only blinked once before the air began to rumble around them and the sunlight turned to a blueish-purple hue. A deep whistle sounded from afar but quickly grew louder. Forrest pointed with his chin behind Mr. Aeros and toward the unreasonably large gate. Descending at an angle were several orbs - no, meteors. They blazed through the sky and landed directly onto the gate. A horribly loud explosion sounded around them and the gate and much of the adjacent walls crumbled into dust. Further portions of the wall continued to crack and topple to the ground until the fifty-or-so foot wall beside them fell to the ground.
Antligon's heavy wingbeats pushed the air from around them a few times until he allowed himself to fall onto the ground between them and crack the pavement and stones under his feet. He was as massive as ever and clearly proud of his display of destruction as he let out of a roar that vibrated the air around them.
Screams and shouts could be heard from afar within the city. However, more importantly, there was shouting coming from within the Wharf. Forrest paid no mind to the sounds and kept his eyes directly on Mr. Aeros. He stepped to stand beside Antligon. Even knowing that Antligon was more than a foot taller than the average Flygon, Forrest managed to still look rather imposing next to something that was almost a foot taller than himself. It must have been the fact that his arms were at his sides and his hands were gripped into tight fists. His chin was lowered slightly. He was deadly determined toward something - Jonton.
"I can't be late for my meeting," his voice growled deep. "If you need any help, you know how to find me," he added and gestured toward Shaq'ti and Syressa.
He quickly stomped away. He managed to walk over the rubble just next to them with relative ease despite there being huge pieces of rubble and some of them crumbled beneath him or rolled when he stepped off. Shaq'ti and Damselraed kept at his side. Wickengu kept close by and Kangooroom and Halcow followed directly behind him. Marionetta was nowhere to be seen and Syressa followed Forrest into the Wharf as she hadn't altered her location relative to him. Antligon's wingbeats pounded at the air around them and he was soon high in the air again.
Hidden 2 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by Akacen
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It was already bad enough that Forrest himself was here. Did he really have to have all of this team out at the same time?

Though, there was certainly some intrigue and respect for Shaq’ti’s power. Admittedly he knew little of this particular member, but that perhaps made it all the more impressive.

Damselraed was tolerated until Forrest shooed her off. Neither Tristan nor Ether being in the mood to play. Not now. Not here. Not after what Oracle showed them, or what they knew they had to try to do here.

Confusion and disbelief covered Tristan’s face for a moment before he managed to pull himself together and put on his aire of stoicism. If Jonton really was here, then this just got a whole lot more complicated. Tristan’s mind raced as he tried to figure out what he was going to do.

More worrisome, though, was the prospect that this Ms. Shade might actually be working for Jonton, rather than gather and imparting information to Lady Fairfax as she was supposed to be doing. Unless she was some sort of double-agent and pretending to get close to Jonton to get all the information she could, and it simply hadn’t been safe in quite some time to debrief with Lady Fairfax yet.

And the Wharf just made the possibilities of what was going on effectively endless. Who knew what was going on here, or what they could be trying to do?

It didn’t help when, to the surprise of no one, Forrest urged Antligon to destroy the great gate that barred entry to the Wharf. Tristan thought it was an altogether melodramatic display, but kept his opinions to himself. Ether raised barriers to protect his trainer from the blast so they wouldn’t get dirty or dusty.

Ether scoffed telepathically while Tristan rolled his eyes and shook his head. As usual, Forrest didn’t take the time to listen to anyone while he was so invested in finding Jonton. That, and Ether and Tristan were sure they would just need to follow the sounds of explosions and screaming if they wanted to find Forrest.

The opposite of what they wanted to do right now. But, how did Forrest know that Jonton was here? Did Lady Fairfax just not tell him? Was she not worried about him as much as Ms. Shade? Or did she really not know? But, he was sure Forrest couldn’t know more than Lady Fairfax about her own son. And Tristan was sure that Forrest didn’t have a contact that knew more than Lady Fairfax. That would be absurd.

Still, he’d play it off and let him go on his rampage. He would be the distraction while Tristan and Ether went off to see if they could find Ms. Shade, or even Jonton. Perhaps they didn’t want to engage the former Champion right now, and would make a run for it.

Even though he was taking the absolute opposite route towards a similar goal, Tristan stayed relatively near Forrest. After slinking off behind some crates, he let Veritas and Vertigo out to go do some reconnaissance. Forrest was more than able to hold his own, but he still didn’t feel comfortable leaving the man all alone. Tristan didn’t know what to expect here - what dangers might be waiting for them.

That, and there was a part of him, though he would never admit it, that didn’t want to stray too far from someone who could assist him in kind.
Hidden 2 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by Phoenix
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Screams and groans of men and women filled the air soon after the echoes of the Draco Meteor faded. Pokemon roars and cries accompanied them. Soon, people were fleeing from the area.
Wickengu slashed wide at people and Pokemon alike. Kangooroom pummeled hard against anyone that dared to stand up to him and Marionetta frightened everyone she came across nearly-to-death. Halcrow pinned everyone around him to the buildings they were closest to. Antligon clawed at and smashed into the tall storage buildings all around them. The rubble fell to the ground and ended some unfortunate lives. Behind them, Syressa levitated bodies and brought them out of the Wharf. She healed who she could but also put them to sleep so they could no longer resist this mass-arrest. Shaq'ti and Damselraed remained by Forrest's side as he walked straight to the tallest building within the Wharf - the Captain's Tower.
Forrest punched in a couple faces and kicked a few people in the crotch or kneed them in the stomach. Any Pokemon that tried to engage him were forcefully deflected by Shaq'ti. Masquerain feigned help by randomly filling large areas around them with Bubblebeam.
Forrest dragged one individual that he pummeled the face of to knock him out for a moment. When he came-to and found his arm was in Forrest's harsh grip, he instinctually tried to escape and fight back. But Forrest slammed his entire body onto the ground to knock the wind out of him. He leaned on the man's stomach to make his breathing more difficult. He got close to the man's face and stared for a moment. It seemed to be perfectly silent.
"Is Jonton here? Is he in the tower?"
"Fu-," he tried to speak but grunted and moaned in pain. "How-"
Forrest slapped him hard across the face enough to dislocate the man's broken nose even more. He cried out in pain and his eyes leaked tears in a continuous stream. "Answer the question. I'll make sure you're pardoned if you tell me the truth."
Forrest gripped at the man's collar harder. It began to rip around his fingers. His voice was low and calm. His eyes were still and he never blinked. His face was even, level. With only Forrest in the man's view, he slowly realized the position he was in. But he couldn't help but practice his loyalty.
"Fu-ck you," he said with a shallow and short cough. "You can't be-"
"You're all under arrest under the orders of Master General Hardy. I'm under his orders to bring him Jonton and to subdue any and all resistance I come across. And after your little stunt in Mauville, I'm not inclined to be generous."
Forrest started to lean onto the knee in the man's stomach. His other hand gripped around the man's chin hard and squished his face which made it hard to speak. "Now be a good little boy and tell me the truth."
Forrest released the man's face while pressing his fingers so that it would act like a kind of slap and turn his head. Forrest harshly patted the man's cheek a few times and then pulled the man's chin back to face him.
"Y-yeah. He's here."
The man's eyes quivered with fear and sorrow. The tears that streamed down his face didn't lessen. He took a big gasp of a breath when he felt Forrest's knee rise from his stomach.
"Good boy," Forrest said and pat the man's face more gently this time. He then gripped the man's wrist and ankle hoisted his body up in a wide swing. "Here you go, Syressa!" he shouted as he released the man at the top of the swing to have him float in the air for a moment.
The man's body then rose further until it reached a kind of purple and red bubble that surrounded Syressa. Inside were several other people and Pokemon. The man quickly fell asleep and Syressa hovered away.
Forrest dusted himself off, though it was in vain considering the blood splatters and dust that caked across his body. He cracked his neck and rolled his arms a few times as if to loosen himself up for the real fight he was looking for. His eyes stayed on the Captain's Tower until he neared the base.
"What the fuck is this?" a hulking man said with a harsh and raspy voice. His arms were crossed in front of him and he was flanked by two Pokemon on each side. His face wore a frightening grin.
Jonton was known for his mildly-deformed face. His head was unnaturally wide and his ears were swollen and stuck out straight. He had a scar across his face and his head and brows were shaven. It seemed he'd acquired a few facial piercing the last time anyone saw him. The tattoo that came up his neck looked new, as well, and it made his neck look even wider, somehow. The dress shirt and pants and shoes he wore looked as if they would pop off of him at any moment. His body was massive and wide. He made Forrest look thin. Even though Jonton only stood up to Forrest's collar bone, it looked like Jonton could toss Forrest around blade of grass.
The immediate area seemed to have been cleared. Jonton glanced around as if to make sure. His small and piercing eyes shot back at Forrest and he grinned even wider. He wrapped his thick and wide hand around the lit end of the cigar between his lips. A faint hiss sounded. He crumpled the cigar in his hand and spread it onto the ground as it turned to dust.
Jonton's arms fell to his sides with his elbows bent and facing backward. His hands gripped hard into fists and he flexed nearly all the buttons of his shirt. "Time to dance," he said in a low growl with a kind of sinister chuckle.
The Pokemon at his sides scattered. The Fearow and Scyther flew up in a V away from Jonton. The Tauros and Rhyhorn charged straight ahead. Jonton's big feet pounded straight forward toward Forrest. He swung and rolled his arms which tore apart the sleeves and back apart. The seams all tore clean through. The muscles in his legs flexed for his pants to rip apart as well. His body hair was uneven in both color and thickness across his body. Bald patches showed off many more scars he'd collected over the years. Stretch marks showed how quickly and aggressively he grew both during adolescence and probably recently since Forrest didn't remember Jonton with so much muscle.
Wrestling with a man in underwear and dress shoes would have been a bit strange. It didn't lessen any of the fear of fighting against someone who was ruthless and maniacal. Forrest knew Jonton's propensity to kill. And with the rumors that Jonton would kill lackeys with his own hands, Forrest knew he had to be careful and smart about taking the man on head-to-head.
Forrest muttered out a quick "go" to Damselraed and Shaq'ti, who promptly fled the scene. The Fearow and Scyther engaged Antligon with a ferocity that took the Flygon by surprise. Rhyhorn charged straight for Halcrow who'd Ingrained himself in place and extended the spikes across his body while he took a braced stance. Kangooroom mimicked Halcrow as he took his position in front of the Tauros. Forrest rolled his shoulders and arms and shook himself loose as he watched Jonton charge toward him. Forrest put up his fists and took a boxing stance by the time Jonton reached Forrest and swung straight across Forrest's torso.
Even with both Forrest's forearms to block the punch, his elbows were pushed back into his stomach and he was knocked back hard. Forrest had to take a few steps to find his footing but Jonton was already on Forrest with another swing of his fist in an uppercut into Forrest's abdomen. Forrest flexed hard and tried to pivot so the punch would glance off him as he swung hard at Jonton's face.
They both connected. Though Forrest was known for his steely abdomen, the air was pushed out of his lungs and he was knocked back again. Jonton's face shifted only slightly from Forrest's punch. And though it looked like the blow broke his cheek bone and blood started to fill the white of his eye, he appeared unfazed.
This man was a monster. Jonton was truly the Monster of Fairfax. Forrest's heart fluttered at the realization that he wasn't going to be able to stand up to him one-on-one. His mind raced as he tried to remember what Rai had taught him. But his thoughts were too slow and he had to focus on entirely dodging swings from Jonton.
Forrest considered trying for leverage and cheap shots. He considered clawing at him to bleed him until he weakened enough to be able to overpower him. He considered trying to find something to stab and slash at him with. This particular thought brought Forrest some confusion, however. As Jonton's clothes continued to rip and tear and fall off his body, Forrest realized that Jonton was entirely unarmed. He thought it strange that a man under immediate threat of being captured and possibly killed, such a man would bring all kinds of weapons to kill anyone who might cross him. Was he expecting to eventually be taken out but wanted to prove his reputation by killing his would-be-captors bare-handed?
Forrest tried a few safe punches and kicks against Jonton. Forrest could feel how the bones in his forearms were bruised from the first punch, but fought through the pain. He couldn't seem to flex his abdomen like he usually could, which set it some panic for getting hit there again. Still, Jonton's skin tore and ripped from the force of the blows, but Jonton never reacted. Jonton chuckled. He was chuckling. He was fighting nearly-naked in the open and was getting hit and was actively bleeding, yet he chuckled. A man almost a foot taller than himself was dodging away from him - clearly afraid. He knew the position he was in and he was reveling in it.

Syressa, Shaq'ti, and Damselraed were off "helping" the soon-to-be prisoners while Marionetta and Wickengu continued to incapacitate and mow down Jonton's grunts and to keep them from reaching their trainer. Forrest knew it was only him, Halcrow, Kangooroom, and Antligon to take on Jonton and his own Pokemon.

----------


A particularly panicked emotion caught Veritas' attention. She caught the image of a girl - a woman - a young woman fleeing. With a ping to Ether, she would follow and eventually see the girl she'd seen in the memory within the house in Lavaridge Town. A short flash of telepathy would reveal her concern about this situation she found herself in and what Ms. Shade would think.
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Akacen
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So much carnage so quickly.

It would be impressive if it weren't so frightening.

And bothersome.

Tristan and Ether rolled their eyes at the display. "Men..." they said in unison. So typical, they thought.

Still, it was quite the sight to behold. That, and it was quite effective. Whatever attention Tristan and his team might have garnered were easily overshadowed by Forrest's rampage. Strong as a Machamp, even, the hulking former Champion swatted them all away as little more than cutiefly.

Tristan flanked Forrest while staying behind cover. Keeping pace with him, Tristan looked around while Ether kept an open line of communication with Veritas and Vertigo. It seemed that everyone was descending on the obvious, and arguably primary, threat. "Good..." Tristan thought.

Through some cargo containers Tristan caught a glimpse of the infamous Jonton. He was certainly something to look at. Ether's hair stood on end when he laid eyes on the hulking human. Ether used telekinesis to lift himself onto the double stacked containers, then lifted his trainer to stand alongside. Tristan crouched down and surveyed the area to try and see if anyone else was coming.

His attention was quickly consumed by the brawl taking place between the two excessively muscled humans. At least Forrest had the decency to have clothes that properly fit him.

"It's... hard to tell." Ether usually could intuit how a battle or fight was going. Not being able to, with Forrest as one of the combatants, was troubling. There was little time to consider this as Ether then relayed what Veritas found.

Conflict flooded the Elite Four member. He was loathe to leave Forrest alone, but he had his own job to accomplish. The two would descend back to the ground and Tristan would release Arine and Aequitas. Ether relayed what was happening while Tristan whispered, "Step in if things don't look to be going well for Forrest. Keep in touch."

Aequitas nodded and Arine curled its top arm in understanding. Aequitas would lift the pair of them onto the containers Tristan and Ether were just on to get a better vantage and be ready to jump in immediately if the situation called for it.

Tristan and Ether raced off to meet with Veritas, with Vertigo already en-route. The latter were tasked with finding a way for the former to intercept her within the sprawling labyrinth. He worked to try to meet up with her, putting on an aire of fear. Which, admittedly, wasn't at all difficult.

"Stay out of sight."

"You think it'll work?"

"I'm going to try."

"I'll be right there."

"Yes dear..."

Directions were given to Tristan so he took the path that would best allow her to seamlessly meet up with the young woman. He'd catch her eye and hope that she had no idea who he was.

"Where's Ms. Shade?" he'd ask of her. Not in a way that he thought she knew where she was, but that he was just looking for her and "knew" she was here and hoping this lady might know where she was. "We need to get out of here." he'd look behind him, and as though on cue an explosion sounded. "And quick."
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