PlatinumSkink

Pokémon: Start

Buying myself some time for the rest by posting for the one who posted first.

@Pikmin Eye I will assume the Zubats are no problem, so I'll just assume you have the tools to deal with them, haha. I went ahead and assumed you'd head to the location specified. There we go.

She forgot to mention that it was all dark, didn't she? Oh, well.

Pokémon: Start

@Pikmin Eye

‘The land, maybe it doesn’t change. But your perception of it…’ The girl smirked at him, and then collected the money to then wave when he left.

‘Come see visit us again if you need any further tips~!’ She said, and then sighed when she thought he was out of hearing range, bringing up her phone again to entertain herself in the store otherwise empty of people.

So, he left Lakewatch Town behind to go back over the river and up the hill to the east entrance of Wet Caverns.

Wet Caverns

Wet Caverns

_{Above is an accurate representation of the average traveller trying to go through Wet Caverns, assuming the bats are Zubats}

The Wet Caverns, known so for the sheer amount of water drenching the contents. It’s a large series of tunnels with no real large open rooms, dividing itself up into a fairly simple maze going from one side to the other. The water inside the tunnels thankfully lit up the contents due to some shining mineral in the liquid, giving rise to a mildly lit set of tunnels. Many people prefer not to travel through the Wet Caverns due to them being long and easy to get lost in, in addition to the large amounts of hostile Pokémon which might attack at any time. Yet, here you are…

Still. There are those who travel through it on a regular basis. Those who have learned the trick finds it a fairly easy shortcut between Lakewatch Town and Pureplain City. For enthusiasts there are always the options of delving deeper into the caverns, fishing or surfing to find out what kind of Pokémon might inhabit the depths and the shallow rivers that flow along the underground corridors. It is known to be fairly diverse when it comes to the Pokémon inhabiting it, giving trainers both water- and cave Pokémon to pick from when they want to catch something.

Wet Caverns, known Pokémon

Common:
#41 Zubat
#74 Geodude
#118 Goldeen
#283 Surskit

Uncommon:
#54 Psyduck
#75 Graveler
#78 Slowpoke
#194 Wooper

Rare:

As instructed, he went forward towards the first intersect-

WET CAVERNS WELCOMING COMMITTEE!

Pokédex Entry #41 – Zubat, the Bat Pokémon. It lives in colonies in dark places. It has no eyes, but when flying it is constantly emitting ultrasonic sounds which it uses to navigate through echolocation. As sunlight burns it, it’s usually only found in caves or at night.

He was forced to deal with a couple of Zubats anyhow he felt was appropriate, then he went forward towards the first intersection. The damp cavern smelled wet to him, where he walked through a cavern of rock with the river to his left, leading out. At the crossroad in four directions, he saw that in the direction the girl had indicated, there was electric light shining, for some reason. There was no water heading in there, but notable time to remind, Water-Pokémon from Pokéballs can get a small bubble of water around them to float in slightly above the ground for convenience. Anyways, with the assumption that Martin headed in there.

It quickly became apparent that this was a dead end. But, it also became clear why someone had lit electric lights here, because it would have been pitch black otherwise. This was a tiny pocket in the cavern, a small round room with a hole in the middle, straight down. The water was pitch-black, one couldn’t possibly see down into it. But, far down there, there were tiny flashes of light from living beings.

But, more obviously, there were pink Pokémon sitting in a circle around the hole, all with their tails dipped into the water.

Pokédex Entry #79 – Slowpoke, the Dopey Pokémon. Extremely slow and sluggish, it doesn’t feel pain until 5 seconds after the blow. It fishes by dipping its tail in water and then doing nothing all day waiting for something to bite. To assist, a Slowpoke’s tail is flavorful, and can break off with no pain and grows back after a while.

None of them had noticed him, obviously. About a third had fishes on their tails, but hadn’t even noticed. If they noticed, they wouldn’t be reacting to it for an additional number of seconds. If the girl’s words held truth, then the hole in the water led somewhere, but it was extremely dark down there, albeit with small shining lights from Pokémon living down there. Now, then.

What would Martin do?

Pokémon: Start

@Rune_Alchemist Nicely posted. Impressions appear to have been made. Now, then. Practice, eh? Heh. Alright, then.

@Eklispe Straight for the Pichu. Alright, then. Let's see how this goes. Nicely posted.

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

@Sickle-cell Oh. So Knight and Ifrit are simply to get going, then? Ifrit did ask how long they had, but otherwise I don't suppose Praetor had much to do other than wave them off. Hah.

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

^Knight

Rosaline Buckner
The Zenith

Knight’s expression twitched towards a frown, but she returned it at Praetor’s words. She couldn’t see how that would have been a functional strategy at the time. But was it true? Was she not imaginative enough? She did like to consider herself low-key intelligent. But… … … Knight stood and considered that maybe she’s not quick-witted enough, her expression unsure.

‘No questions.’ She simply said in a quiet, slightly submissive tone, as she intended to go out there and do her best in the Circus, now. She turned to Ifrit when he spoke to her. Oh, her helmet. She lifted and absent-mindedly looked at it. Drawing from her fortune, it was among the best that could be made… but it wasn’t tinker-made.

‘It does not.’ She said, giving a small, grateful smile and handing over the helmet to Ifrit. ‘I’d be thankful if you could modify it. Just don’t erase the air-pocket. I… need that.’ To be able to be invulnerable for longer when she couldn’t get her own air. She could describe her powers to him later if he didn’t already know.

concerned: @Sickle-cell@SkinnyTy

Pokémon: Start

@Pikmin Eye Nicely posted. Now, I have a lot of shrines, but did you mean the Sacred Grounds, west of Redcoast? Ah, details right now.

But, if I read that right, you're heading to the location she said you'd probably be finding Slowpokes?

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

@SkinnyTy Am going to read the preludes and that as soon as I'm done with my current rereading of Worm.

Please don't discuss it here, I really want to be able to read the OOC. XD

Edit: Alright, posted. I didn't really consider if her helmet had any of those things. It would kind of make sense if it did, wouldn't it? But, since I hadn't detailed it, I'm going to say it does not. Heh.

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

Because I knew Knight would ask for permission first, I PMed Sickle-cell to see if she did, and so his little contribution to the post is Praetor's response before Knight starts talking.

I timed myself saying all that Knight said while speaking quickly. 70 seconds or so. Even factoring in the hesitation, she's in the clear! XD

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

Post written with minor collaboration with Sickle-cell on Praetor

^Knight

Rosaline Buckner
Dorchester

Knight was a bit taken aback at Vector coming up to her and spoke like it had been Knight’s fault. Still, she steeled herself and replied.

‘Oh, I have them.’ Excuses, that is. ‘I did what I could in the situation presented to me. If I hadn’t held him up, Sickle-Cell would have been gone far sooner. I’ll write a report detailing my considerations of the encounter.’ She said, trying to not sound defensive. She believed that, all things considered, she had done a fairly good job. All the Wards were alive, and we had gotten Sickle-Cell to retreat which showed that we didn’t fear him, he feared us.

With luck, Praetor should be hearing her debriefing before judging her.

---

The Zenith, minutes later

Or not.

Knight frowned deeply as Praetor spoke as if it had been a disaster. That wasn’t it. They really had done pretty well, considering what they were up against and what could have happened. But… natural insecurity within Knight made it hard for her to speak up against him. Praetor was the person in the world she had the most respect for since the loss of her father, and it was painful hearing him speak like this to her. … “Daughter of Retribution would turn this city around“, huh. I’m so sorry for not being Scion-like.

She blinked a bit in surprise at the mention of being sent to the Circus, raising her head. But… that would give all the villains a chance to see her abilities, to develop counters to her. … … … As if she could speak out against him. She bit together, nodding slightly, looking down into the floor. “Don’t make fool of my heroes again”, huh. But… she hadn’t…? Ngh, it was so hard to say. Currently Knight stood in armor, but held her helmet under her left arm, her head revealed when Ifrit came in.

She turned and looked at him as he took off his helmet, her own expression still slightly frowning in pain from the conversation taking place. He was… really tall, and she could only guess how much of that was the suit he was currently wearing. He looked alright. Younger than her, although not by much. Knight noted she couldn’t use her age as an excuse with so many kids in the Protectorate. He lifted a hand and… oh, he meant well. Knight got a small smile on her otherwise pained face, nodding to him albeit not taking the hand or answering. She’d speak to him later.

‘Sir, may I… explain?’ She turned and asked Praetor with a withdrawn tone, but hoping for a chance to detail her reasoning and perhaps, maybe, have Praetor not be quite as angry with her. Or, if nothing else, have it explained to her what exactly she did wrong. … Had she been braver, then perhaps she would have just started talking. But as it was, she felt she’d be going over some line if she didn’t ask, first.

Praetor's eyebrows furrowed. The girl clearly wasn't going to let this drop. "You have two minutes," he replied, scowling. "Although I still suggest the time may be better spent preparing to make up for your failings."

Knight hesitated for a few seconds, eyes widened, due to the later sentence. Did her words not mean anything? … Two minutes. Knight swallowed, then refocused and started talking quickly.

‘When we arrived, Sickle-Cell had already slaughtered many of the thugs, taking their blood for his own. He doesn’t seem to have a limit on how much blood he can manipulate, he had a storm of blood surrounding him, and even a little could be used to harden and kill. I could probably handle that, with my armor, but I had the Wards with me. They were defenseless to his power, and he could kill them easily. I couldn’t fight him and protect them at the same time. In the light of this, I changed my objective from defeating Sickle-Cell to making him leave, which I did by talking to him. After Vector’s command to hold him there, I told the Wards to leave the scene as I took on Sickle-Cell on my own, but frankly, I can’t do much when he’s at full strength. I hit him into a building, but his blood armor protected him. He threatened to kill everyone present if I kept pursuing him, and at that point I had to let him go to avoid further losses.’ She said, not knowing how long she had taken.

‘Despite my command, Anomaly tried something, I’m not sure what. Now she’s in the medical bay. I feel that’s proof my instinct not to fight him was correct. _{Don’t be too hard on her, she was doing her best,} but we needed more firepower than a single hero and three Wards to take on the Covenant. That’s what I felt. … Shaker 5 is way too low for Sickle-Cell, Shaker 8 feels more appropriate.’ She said, and then shut up. She didn’t know if she had taken more than two minutes or not. But that was her defense. She now looked very nervous, looking towards Praetor. Would he say her reasoning was wrong…? … Or just plainly that she had just wasted his time?

concerned: @Sickle-cell@SkinnyTy
if she for some reason wanders into Praetor’s office: @Banana

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

@SkinnyTy I will say that I think the number of parahumans in canon who can handle her in a 1 on 1 fight in a boxed-in circumstance probably don't go above the single digit. When sneak-attacking? Sure, then the number becomes a lot higher, but as long as she knows of you she's supremely hard to beat. But, I do find a degree of hope in the fact that this is a 2 on 2. Meaning, it is theoretically possible one of us can strike her while her attention is on the other, heh.

But, acknowledged. We'll see what happens. Hah.