The place was currently the ground floor of an office building, though they had roughed the place up. However, specifically at the entrance was ruled a dangerous place, so Creep had it abandoned except for those who were keeping watch over it. Some people just sitting around in a window opposite occasionally kept watch, but regardless, there were two grunts in the first little hall. Here were doors to other sections, stairs to go up or down, and two guys sitting by the side at a little table, one writing something extensive on his phone and the other lazing about. Both were typical male Rockers, unremarkable in their appearance. Upon the two strangers’ entrance, however, the lazing one perked up, smirked a roughed up smile and leaned on the table looking towards the people coming in.
’Why, hello there! Now, how might I help you?’
The other guy was simply typing away at his phone…
…
Creep
Sheila Hopkins
Rockers HQ
Creep’s phone lit up. That was the only indication she got a message, but that was enough for her, because she could make sure she knew whenever her phone screen lit up with her power. It allowed her to be stealthy, even when out on a mission carrying a phone. Still, currently she was just in her office. She reached over and pressed a couple buttons to check.
“strangers in lobby”
… Creep clutched a fist with one of her hands. That could so easily be harmless, maybe someone wanting to join the gang, yet could as easily be the harbingers of their destruction. She couldn’t help but worry every time. Well, looks like she wouldn’t be able to focus on what she was doing now. Time to alert some grunts in the HQ and then go stalk the guests while unseen.
Only if they turned out to be a real threat would she let the capes outside the building know, for now.
‘Thank you for waiting. We’ve restored your Pokémon to full health.’
She says as she hands the Pokéballs back. She then bows to her customer and gives a friendly smile.
‘We hope to see you again!’
And then it was off to Route 2! She cleared off away from the buildings of Pureplain City, headed through the fairly extensive suburbs and then finally erun arrived to…
Route 2
Route 2 is the wetter alternative to the fairly dry and straight-forward Route 1. Dragon Lake naturally flows south, causing many rivers through Route 2 which lead on into Infested Woods, giving the woods all the water it needs to grow. The road forward is a more primitive gravel road, which in order to get to the mountain housing the Wet Caverns on the other side requires one to cross a number of bridges, and it’s near tradition that there’s at least one trainer waiting in ambush for any other trainer who desires to cross. But, Route 2 sees traffic from nature-goers, fishermen and so as well as trainers, giving possibilities to slip by if desired.
One step to the left and one has ended up in the wetlands of Route 2, drenched by Dragon Lake’s insistence on breaking into the ground. Large flowers and many bushes arise from these lands, the nature is lush and green. Although one might wish to pack an extra pair of boots if one intends to traverse the reaches, there are undoubtedly many wild Pokémon awaiting in the grass around. Quite a few other trainers seem to have thought this, as there are quite a few in various stages of Pokémon searching or battling. With the combination of water and grass, one can assume the kind of Pokémon one might encounter. In the distance, by the lake itself, stands a number of fishermen’s huts, for those interested.
To the right, instead, stands the imposing Infested Woods, which scare people by its name and promises of how terrifying it might be to wander deep, or maybe that’s just scary-tales from those who are scared to death by bugs. Regardless, it stands there, drinking deep from the waters provided by the rivers. One merely needs to break off from the path and then one will sooner or later be in the woods. It is an alternative way to the Wet Caverns that avoids the trainer-bridges, but the choice of where to go obviously falls on the trainers themselves. For the most obvious Pokémon, there are Pidgeys flying about, every here and there one carries a captured Weedle from the tall grass, which tries to sting back…
With that, she and her Pokémon started seeking through the Route for rare Pokémon! Now, there were patches of grass and there were the rivers. In the grass there were mostly Pidgeys, Weedles and Sentrets stalking about. In the water the most apparent lifeforms were Surskits and Lotads, floating about being obvious about their existence. Now, it’s possible these interested Eryn, but it’s not what the description says she’s looking for.
Pokédex Entry #16 – Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. They are docile Pokémon that avoid fighting, kicking up sand in an enemy’s face or using Whirlwind to avoid battles. They have sharp senses of direction, capable of finding their nest or destination from very large distances. They inhabit tall grass where they search and prey on small bugs.
Pokédex Entry #161 – Sentret, the Scout Pokémon. A very cautious Pokémon, it stands on its tail to spot far-off threats and shouts an alarm if it sees one. When they sleep, they always does so with at least one Sentret on guard. If separated from the pack, a Sentret is unable to sleep.
Pokédex Entry #13 – Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokémon. It has an acute sense of smell, and can easily distinguish its favorite leaves. It eats its body-weight of leaves every day. Its stinger secretes a powerful venom, and it uses this toxic barb to ward of hostiles.
Pokédex Entry #283 – Surskit, the Pond Skater Pokémon. Found on lakes or in puddles after evening downpours, feeding on microorganisms. It secretes an oil from its feet that enable it to move on water as if skating. When endangered, it secretes a sweet fluid from its head.
Pokédex Entry #270 – Lotad, the Water Weed Pokémon. They live in clean ponds and lakes, where they float with their large leaves above the surface, and they serve as ferries to smaller Pokémon. They rise climb ashore only in search of cleaner water. If it’s dehydrated, the leaf will wilt.
So, she walked along Route 2, searching the grass and the waterflows and what not, hopefully staying off the bridges for now because there were trainers waiting on top of them. The options were to either take a detour through Infested Woods or need to go through at least two trainer battles before getting to the other side (they’d be played quickly, don’t worry). However, curiously, she saw what appeared to be an abandoned wooden rowboat floating down the river going from Dragon Lake and under one of the bridges. Assuming she was watching it, she might recall that people say that crossing that lake in a rowboat is fairly foolhardy, and the reason was-
CHOMP!
Suddenly the boat rocked, and a blast of water erupted from within it. The wooden boat rolled over from the force, splashing down to lie upside down. There, a Pokémon sat, its jaws having cleanly bit through the bottom of the boat and was now had its elongated nose stuck in the hole it had just bit through. The boat sank slowly, just as the Pokémon’s eye on this side drifted and landed on Eryn.
Looks like she found her blue reptile, somehow.
Pokédex Entry #158 – Totodile, the Big Jaw Pokémon. It’s rough and tough. Despite how small its body is, its jaws are very powerful. Without proper training, it tries to bite everything moving in sight. Trainers with one need to be wary, as even if the Pokémon thinks it is playfully nibbling, its still using enough force to cause serious injury.
What would she do now?
1. Find Pokémon. Can be specified what kind of Pokémon is being searched for, and how you search. 2. Train Pokémon. With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding. 3. Seek trainers. There should be some here and there. Note, some may challenge you, regardless. 4. Talk. There’s some other travelers around. Maybe seek answers to any burning questions you have. 5. Move along. Move along normally, letting any events that may come happen naturally. 6. Hurry along. Intentionally avoid confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination. 7. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 8. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 9. Area Specific: Fishermen Huts. See what the fishermen over there's got going.
Connected areas: Pureplain City. You can get back without complication. Infested Woods. You’re right next to it. Wet Caverns. May need to cross a bridge or two to get there.
‘I know, right~!?’ Archie grinned about the nifty nickname, failing to hear about how that implied the other nicknames weren’t also amazing. Regardless, no close combat fighters for Bellawesome. ‘Aww, that’s alright. Bellawesome, do your thing~’ Archie simply said when Lure came out. Bellawesome waited patiently for the Claire / Lure discussion to conclude, and then… then dashed forth.
‘Belloss~’ Given how the skirt glowed from the sunlight, it was apparent that Bellawesome also was under the effect of Chlorophyll, boosting her speed under the harsh sunlight. When Lure’s Gust came, Bellawesome pranced aside. Jumping into the air and drifting through the air with grace, holding the blade close to her body, she let herself be carried past the wind by jumping on the side of the wind blowing back towards the source. There was something inherently graceful and full of skill in this Swordmaster Bellossom, as she skipped past the Gust with rather minimal damage and kept running for Lure.
Given the artful dodge, Bellawesome had been momentarily delayed from arriving at Lure in a single turn, but she was getting closer and had the Leaf Blade at the ready, seemingly intending on using it. Will Claire think of some way to corner her?
'Oh. Okay. Good luck,' Vivia said, nodding to him and then taking a while to consider what she was doing right now.
Skylar found a decently small Tropius, snoring where it lay, and threw his ball. It hit and the Pokémon was transferred into the Pokéball and landed on the ground.
The ball rolled once. The ball rolled twice…
… the ball rolled thrice.
click
Skylar caught Tropius!
Gender: ♀ Type: Grass/Flying Personality: (Up to player.) Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other: (Up to player.) Level: 6 Moves: Leer, Gust, Growth, Razor Leaf, Sweet Scent Ability: Solar Power. Boosts Special Attack in harsh sunlight, but depletes health. Held Item: None
New Pokémon caught! Skylar earned 1500 P!
Would you like to give a nickname to Tropius?
With that done, he was now still in Southern Silent Forest with a bunch of Tropiuses and Vivia looking on with a mildly stunned expression, not that he could see it. What would Skylar want to do from here?
1. Find Pokémon. Specify if you’re looking for a specific kind of Pokémon in the forest. 2. Train Pokémon. With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding. 3. Move along. Move along normally, letting any events that may come happen naturally. 4. Hurry along. Intentionally avoid confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination. 5. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 6. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 7. Area Specific: Wander. This place… it’s so relaxing. Wouldn’t it be so nice to just… wander away… without thinking about it?
Connected areas: Route 1. To the south. Route 3. If you head north-east for a while. Silent Shrine. Go north, you should be able to find the road there.
It’s a school. Kids around Pureplain City flock here eventually to learn the basics of Pokémon battling, or there are trainers that come here only to attend the odd lesson before they embark on their big journey. There’s a patch of grass and trees on the side where wild Pokémon can be found, and every week the teachers are known to have found a new specie to release into it in order to keep the students interested. And, of course, there’s plenty of Pokémon battling among the students as they do their best to learn. In fact…
To the right immediately after one enters the school, there’s a list of students in a ranking-list on a wall. A huge list of the 50 top students, ranked in Pokémon battling ability, and there’s a thing that anyone who visits can challenge the list to get onto it temporarily. Leaving for too long obviously means falling off the list, but those who rank high gain some benefits and bragging rights.
But even above the #1… The school apparently had their own Elite Four and Champion that one could challenge.
Pureplain City Trainers’ School Elite Four: Georgia - The Brawler Loke - The Knight Penelope - The Idol Edwin - The Cricket
Champion: Daisy - The Siren (The Champion in our hearts, Maple - The Scorcher, is currently out on her Pokémon trip. We send out our most heartfelt wishes to her!)
Confusion as to why a trainer with a Butterfree isn’t on the leaderboard aside, Qwerty definitely had some trouble against the higher-leveled opponents. That said, this was mere training for fun, and they probably held back a bit. Some training later, and Qwerty was a bit damaged, but also a bit stronger!
Qwerty grew to Level 7! Qwerty learned frickin’ Psybeam!
Yikes.
‘Hmmmmm…’ The voice of a woman nearby sounded out. ‘A Porygon in Pureplain City. How rare,’ she said, intrigued.
‘Oh, Professor Kathryn!’ Rex introduced, looking to the red-haired pony-tailed woman in official attire and with goggles on her head for some reason, and she smiled and waved back.
‘Hello. Don’t mind me, I’m simply watching. I wonder though…’ she said, leaning forward a bit and inspecting Qwerty. ‘Most Porygons of Isson are produced in Worldedge City and are generally only obtainable in the Entertainment District of the same city. What’s your story, little one? Were you transferred from Worldedge City here to be this boy’s Pokémon? Did you come from some other region? Perhaps you don’t even know, maybe everything felt like the same old cyberspace, to you?’ she asked, with a kind smile, directed at Qwerty.
‘Regardless…’ she said as she stood straight again, shifting her eyes to Valen and smiling a bit to him. ‘One day you’ll with to return to the labs of Worldedge City. That’s the one place you’ll find the items you’ll one day need, after all.’ Saying so, Kathryn was ready to just turn around and give a wave of “good bye” to them and walk. Still, perhaps Valen wanted to ask her something more if he so felt like it.
So, was there anything else he wanted to do here?
1. Pokémon School Park. There’s a small park of grass in here. What kind of Pokémon might be in it? 2. Talk. Plenty of students and teachers. This is a wellspring of knowledge, someone must know something. 3. Challenge. Work your way up the leaderboard! Specify the level of opponent. 4. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 5. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 6. Study. You want to know something? Feel free to learn about it here! 6.1. Pokémon Habitats. Learn where you might find a specific kind of Pokémon! 6.2. Isson Geography. Learn more about the different places in Isson! 6.3. Names to Remember. Learn about Gym Leaders, Elite Four, or the like! 6.4. Local Legends. Learn about different tales from around Isson! 6.5. Pokémon Breeding. That’s also a subject. 6.6. Battling Basics. You likely know them already. 6.7. Specify. Tell what you want to learn and we’ll see if we have a course!
Connected areas: Pureplain City. All around, of course.
So, the two decide not to move. This results in not particularly much. The girl ahead of them appears to have engaged in conversation with whatever entities oppose her, but that is currently too far away to be eavesdropped on. So far she hasn’t been snapped out in any form of way, standing defiantly in the middle of the room. Regardless, nothing much was happening right now, but if they remained in this corridor then eventually undoubtedly something would arrive to head through. This was the main path out, after all. But for now, they simply stood around, waiting for something to happen…
‘Yamask?’
One of the mask-carrying ghosts stopped by and said something that sounded like a question, looking wide-eyed at Amelia. Then, a second later, it called out. Not loudly, not in alarm or anything, but more like it had realized something.
‘Yamask! Yamask!’
Then… Amelia felt more ghosts heading in. All weaker presences, but together they were…
A troupe of little Yamasks looked in, drifting in from who knows where, looking over Amelia and Dawkin with interest. They drifted close, inspecting them curiously, amassing as a small swarm of ghosts that suddenly drifted in, called by the first Yamask’s call for attention. Amelia suddenly had a this little crowd of ghosts looking at her attentively, and the occasional one drifted and looked at Dawkin instead because he was here too, but it was mainly Amelia. It didn’t appear like they had drawn the attention of the Pokémon under the command of the Aegislash, but here was a bunch of other ghosts, all of a sudden. The voices they called out with sounded astounded, surprised, hopeful.
Now to remake that map, since the Yamask on the map were meant to signify an unknown ghost of some kind of some amount of power, this should make that clearer.
… No capes. No, this was a typical den. Five delinquent guys and a girl.
As she watched them laughing and counting the money they had stolen while sitting around a couch, a small part of her tensed up. This’d do for another practice run. If she couldn’t win here, then she’d never stand a chance against the real warriors. With that in mind, Creep removed her invisibility to simply stand there beside the couch. One of the kids jolted as he saw her.
‘Who’re you!?’ one of the youths shouted at her unpleasantly, causing the rest to also look at her and be startled. Creep let out the breath she was holding.
‘I am Creep, leader of the Rockers,’ she simply stated. You know, that group that was currently in the process of growing larger and beating up other smaller gangs within their borders. There was a moment of panic in the kids before the same one called out.
‘BEAT ‘ER UP!’
No negotiations here, it appeared. The group of six delinquents rose from their seats. Two went immediately for her with their fists. One had a baton already at his side. The other three scrambled for their own weapons. Well, then. Creep still wasn’t used to this kind of confrontation, but there was a reason why she gone through some combat-practice with a more able Rocker for the last few weeks.
Abusing her perfect sight around her, she could create a map of the apartment and perfectly keep track of where everyone was. While fooling the thugs as to her real location, she dodged aside and let them punch her mirage. Using the training she had gotten, she kicked hard at one of their knees from slightly aside while also curving his vision using her power at his face. The kick hadn’t impacted properly, but combined with her manipulation of his vision it was enough to send the first one careering so his head hit the wall. Creep stumbled a little from inexperience performing that kick, but it didn’t matter because all the delinquents saw was her suddenly standing to the side of the downed man unperturbed. They had been allowed to see the kick, not her fumbling after it.
The second man was taken down similarly. He came swinging his fists for her, and she dodged aside in the mannar she had practiced, before performing another of the kicks she’d been taught. The hard impact to his leg combined with the world before his eyes suddenly turning ninety degrees was enough to make him fall. He wasn’t out, however, so she delivered a swift kick to the side of his head which put him in enough pain to count him as out for now. Creep silently confirmed her legs had gotten stronger.
Now, if it hadn’t been for her power letting her map the surroundings, the one with the baton would have hit her. However, now she knew exactly what angle it was coming from and kneeled under it. Seeing how he had a nicely exposed stomach, for some reason, Creep pulled the taser she had obtained and jabbed it into his stomach. The bolt curled through his body and he fell, with Creep grabbing his baton and forcefully pulling it out of his hand on the way of slipping out from under him as he fell. Could be useful against the next set of opponents, she figured.
She now stood in between the three she’d felled and the three remaining. Her kicks weren’t that particularly strong, still, the two she had merely kicked would be getting up soon enough… but the remaining three were now hesitating to take on an obvious parahuman. Creep breathed heavily through her nose. Even after numerous tussles as a Rocker, actual fighting still sent such unpleasant surges through her. She hadn’t actually made any mistakes yet, but the idea that she might one day… All it took was for one misstep… Now, she felt that her power was probably actually helping her avoid making mistakes, somehow, but such a vague promise gave her no comfort.
‘Freeze! Don’t move!’ the girl of the group shouted at her, raising a gun. Creep frowned. The moment she had seen the gun taken out of the drawer she had obviously taken a step back from the mirage she let them see and knelt, minimizing the chance of being hit from actually being fired at. It was a good thing her clothes were all black, black was by far the easiest colour to make a mirage out of. Still, this was annoying.
‘No, I won’t,’ Creep said, the mirage turning to look at the girl. ‘C’mon, then. Shoot me. If you’re ready for the consequences of murder, shoot me. If you just kill me in here and clean up, perhaps nobody will ever know… but can you truly risk it? Can you risk attempted murder?’ Creep said, her voice calmer than she was feeling. Herself, she was shaking a bit… but her mirage was not. The girl holding the gun shook, thinking about it… but eventually she cried, and the gun fell from her shaking hands. The guys to her left and right saw this as a sign of their defeat, and lowered their weapons. Creep sighed as she stood, both invisible her and her mirage taking out a phone.
‘Good decision. Saved you a lot of regret,’ Creep said, before dialing a number to one of her unpowered lieutenants.
Her core was still shaken from the action, but after each fight, said core was a bit less shaken than the previous one. There was something intrinsically different fighting as Creep and fighting as Wisp. As Creep, she had to get up close and personal, actually hit her enemies herself and not just shoot light or lasers into their eyes. Creep was a lot more physical, meaning Sheila had actually had to learn how to attack. In her first action scene as Creep, she’d been somewhat of a wreck, even if nobody had seen. Now, two weeks later… this had almost been professional. … Or maybe she was overestimating her own performance thinking so, heh. Finally, the guy on the other end picked up the phone while Creep still stood visible among the delinquents, keeping her eyes on all of them at once.
‘This is Creep. I need some cleanup…’
They had a few more prospective Rockers to offer membership to. If they agreed, they could even keep the money they had just stolen. They’d take the gun, though. In addition, Creep kept the guy’s baton, sliding it in on the inside of her knife-belt. Honestly, she could use a blunt weapon occasionally.
Creep
Sheila Hopkins
Rockers HQ
It was early in the morning, a bunch of Rockers sitting in a circle talking at an hour too early for most people to be awake.
‘We’re being led by a bunch of kids, you know? And a girl, at that?’ One of the newer Rockers questioned, looking at the rest of the little gathering in the room. The rest weren’t entirely following along with the reasoning.
‘Your point?’ One of the more senior members asked. The new guy clearly wasn’t considering they were led by Ceramix and Shatterpoint a while back, who were as young.
‘… I’m just a bit worried. They might get overambitious or make some crucial mistake, and then it’ll all fall apart or something. Wouldn’t it be better to have an adult take the reigns, and let the parahumans just be parahuman?’
‘Careful,’ another Rocker said. ‘You never know when Creep might be listening,’
‘Eh, what are the chances she’s listening right now?’ the new guy smiled widely.
‘One can wonder, yeah,’ Creep said, right behind him. His flinch could be categorized as adorable. She had been listening for a bit, and just now lost to the temptation to reveal herself due to the excellent timing.
‘Boss, you’re early today,’ one of the members nodded to her while the new person was still reeling.
‘Yes, I am. I had some scouting to do and an incident to take care of, so now I’m here,’ Creep simply told. ‘Still, our man here has a reasonable worry. Who am I to believe I am mature enough to make the most reasonable decisions in my day-to-day life?’ Creep asked, in an attempt to appear more relatable. She had found that she enjoyed being in power. It had been a remarkable realization.
‘Unfortunately, this world demands respect, and few things in this world gives a group or a leader as much respect as being a parahuman with a leadership role. My name is already known, I have a place in the villain community, and at this point the Rockers would be hurt if I were to be replaced. We’re doing pretty well so far, aren’t we?’ Creep said with a little smile in her tone. It was easy to speak when nobody was interrupting and all eyes were on her.
‘That said, I have no intention of ruling as a tyrant. If you have any suggestions or criticism of any of my or anyone else’s decisions, you’re encouraged to bring it up. I promise you’ll be listened to and taken under consideration. We’re all friends and companions here in the Rockers, are we not…?’ she said. ‘Be nice. Gossip is fine, just make sure to bring things up if you have concerns. The Rockers would not be the Rockers without all of you,’ she simply said, and then turned to leave. She had no idea what kind of impression she was leaving, she didn’t know how their minds worked. Still, nothing to it.
Creep went to her office and checked for reports or what otherwise deskwork there was to do for the leader of an organization like the Rockers. She had the phone on her that the Broker or other allies could call if they needed to make specific moves on the Community. This war of theirs had taught Sheila a lot about troop planning and weird versions of military planning…
The other members of the Rockers could be wherever, Sheila didn’t necessarily want to disturb them this early if they were sleeping or something. There wasn’t an emergency yet, after all.
I’ll note that I will always be in control of what Pokémon you encounter. I also follow a certain map I’ve made of where I’ve placed the Pokémon that you might encounter across the world… and I’m afraid you won’t find what you’re looking for here. Pureplain is so pure and plain not even those can be found. In fact, these wouldn’t have been here either, if it wasn’t for…
Well, anyway. I got to present an established character again. Wooo.
I had to go check. There’s a 32% chance that a full-health Jigglypuff is caught using a standard Pokéball. I, of course, had to roll my 100 sided die where lower is better for simplicity. You rolled a 25. So, congratulations. I’m going to go bury my intentions of turning the Silent Forest into a Friday the 13th parody with a Jigglypuff Jason-standin somewhere at the wayside. *sniff*
Puh. That was some work. Okay. Now you’re free to do whatever you want. Most will rely on Amelia’s ghost-sense, yeah.
I’m a bit conflicted on Joshua right now. I did design this particular scene to be a bit of a “we know we’re weaker, what do we do now?” situation so it really wasn’t entirely profitable for me to have you be accompanied by a guy that could walk in and one-shot the boss. Still, it makes sense that he’d come, doesn’t it? Bunch of danger and so, why wouldn’t he? But that’d be so anti-climatic. Eeeh… Oh, well…
I might contact you about Joshua’s current events later, but right now I just want to post this.
Teh-heh. I actually had something commissioned for this, even if it was just something simple. I just wanted that pictured. Teh-heh. Your enemy is Level 21. Have fun.
‘First and foremost, your Trainer Card. It is your ID as a Pokémon Trainer, showing your name, index number as a Pokémon Trainer, a picture of you, the date you got your card, today, and it also shows how many badges you currently have. At the moment, that's zero. If you ever enter the Pokémon League, the Battle Dome or any Pokémon Contests, it will also show your results there.’ Kalmia said. ‘I took the liberty of inserting your new Trainer Card into your Pokédex, for the Pokédex won't function without it, but you can take it out when you need to show it or add a badge to it. It's in the back of the Pokédex.’ (You know how the Pokédex looks like a Game Boy Advance? It's in the place where you'd insert a game cartridge. You may pick what colour yours is~)
‘Your Pokédex has multiple functions. The main function is to give you information on every Pokémon you encounter and register the Pokémon you have caught. Scan a Pokémon by simply holding the Pokédex towards the Pokémon in question and press the scan-button. You'll be told information about said Pokémon, and by capturing the Pokémon you can also see its expected sizes, what moves it knows, what level it is, what types it is, where it is expected to live, all sorts of stuff. Note, Pokéballs needs to be registered to a person in order for them to function, and the Pokédex does that for you when your Trainer's Card is inserted. It's already linked to the PC as well, so any Pokémon beyond the six you're already carrying will be transported to the PC, and you can retrieve them at any Pokémon Center PC.’ It is common knowledge that you can only have six Pokémon at you at any time.
‘If you check the Pokédex, you can play the cries of a specific Pokémon you've previously caught. Use that as you wish. You can also use the Pokédex to find out where you might be able to find a specific Pokémon that you've scanned and want to catch... Or, well, you WOULD be able to do that, but the Pokédex has never existed in Isson and as such that data is not recorded. However, you can input it! So, if someone ELSE of you guys has inserted the data of where one might be able to find a specific Pokémon, then it will display on your map similarly! You can also supply each other with information about your previously caught Pokémon if you wish! Do help each other out~!’ So no need for ALL of you to complete the Pokédex if you don't wish to, you can do it as a team.
‘In addition. Since we are doing this on mission of the Pokémon Research Association, we're actually getting paid. For each Pokémon you catch, the data of where the Pokémon was encountered and such will be recorded, and a number of Pokédollars will be transferred to your accounts. Also, assuming you register a Pokémon trainer battle, you automatically get the winnings transferred to you should you win the battle. Really easy, and you don't lose anything by losing, so you don't have to worry about running out of money out there!’ The Pokémon Association has to do SOMETHING so that Pokémon Trainers don't go broke out there. (… And please ignore the financial contradiction caused by not losing anything by being defeated. I feel you shouldn't have to fear getting into Pokémon battles for monetary reasons!)
‘It's also a communicator that can be contacted by both phone and Pokégears as well as other Pokédexes. I took the liberty of inputting the contact information of all the other Pokédexes I've handed out and to my own central Pokédex, but you can register any other people just as you wish. Give me a call anytime you're in trouble and need some advice! I'm not a Pokémon Professor for nothing!’ Kalmia smirked happily, looking out over the new trainers.
‘Any questions? Otherwise…’
‘Here’s your Pokémon~!’
Pokédex Entry #136 – Porygon, the Virtual Pokémon. A man-made Pokémon developed using advanced scientific means, programmed to feel emotions. It is capable of reverting itself back into program data and so travel freely through cyberspace, though is protected from copying. Due to its means of movement and not needing to breathe, it can theoretically move through space.
‘Oh, you’re going already? Alright, then. Here’s some stuff to catch more Pokémon with!’
Valen obtained 5 Pokéballs!
‘Now off you go!’
In Pureplain City at this moment.
Pureplain City is placed on the south-west brink of Isson, with the town facing the water and spreading quite far. The further in-town you go, the higher the buildings become, but the suburbs spread quite far. In terms of sheer landmass, it might even compete with Worldedge City, although maybe not in height. Life passes normally within this city. Children grow up alongside their parents in houses in the long, friendly streets. Jobs come from the depths of the town in the taller buildings. Schools grow from the reasonably high amount of children in need of tuition. And of course, there are lots of Pokémon.
In Pureplain City, human and Pokémon work together. Be it for manual labour or just for company, Pureplain houses often contain at least one house-hold Pokémon and there are many Trainer's Schools around the city have always been plentifully attended, not counting the recent drop of embarking trainers due to the Team Wars. In addition, Pureplain Harbor is known as the “Gateway of Isson”, as that’s where all the ferries from outside the region dock, giving life to quite the marketplace. A common attraction of the city is the Super Contest stage, but other than that, Pureplain remains what it has always been. Pure and plain.
1. Find Pokémon. Can still search for Pokémon in towns~ 2. Talk. In cities, there are considerably more people one can talk to. Specify what kind you’re looking for. 3. Exit. Exit the town to any of the connected areas. 4. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 5. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 6. Notable Buildings. Visit any of the facilities of the city! 6.1. Pokémon Center. Heal all your Pokémon. 6.2. PokéMart. Go to a store and buy things. 6.3. Gym. ??? 6.4. Super Contests. Rank 2 / 4. Where hopefuls become idols! 6.5. Trainer’s School. Where young trainers study to become better. Has a little park of wild Pokémon. 6.6. Kalmia’s Lab. You know you’re always welcome. 6.7. Pureplain Harbor. Known as the Gateway of Isson, it has a marketplace and ferries to places. 7. Familiar Faces. Kalmia’s still in front of you, and then you have each other, of course, if you want to talk. Jacques is still here, as is Eryn and Oaken, Axl and Rodger. Vivia over there, Simon might be possible to catch up to.
Connected areas: Route 1. Easier path, just follow the bigger road. Route 2. Walk through quite an amount of suburbs until you eventually reach the path. Sea. There’s water, alright. Can take you anywhere you want to go, assuming you have means to traverse it.
Common: #16 Pidgey #52 Meowth #506 Lillipup
Uncommon:
Rare: #353 Shuppet (night)
Buuuuuuuuuuut seems like Valen already took a quest on his own. That’s fine, too.
So, Valen approached the house. He knocks on the door, and after a bit of time steps can be heard from the other direction. The door opens, and a man stands on the other side. A man with blonde hair, slightly tan skin, clothes that look like they might have belonged on a noble once upon a time but has been worn out from extended use and a limited wardrobe and a look in his eyes that looked like he was mostly empty inside.
‘So, you’ve come. You’re a trainer, I assume?’ the man said, staring at Valen and then at Qwerty. His tone didn’t sound particularly excited. He gave the slightest of nods. ‘Forgive me for my appearance. I’m Johannes, a teacher of the Trainers’ School. There’s a couple Pokémon that finds it amusing to cut my power every couple nights. If you would, could you catch them? I don’t think they’ll leave me alone unless they’re caught. You can do whatever you want with them, after. Release them on the opposite side of Isson, if you can. I’ll reward you, of course. Here’s the, uh…’ He went through his pocket. ‘Here’s the advance, since I guess the Pokéballs cost somewhat. I’ll give you something else upon the task being completed.’
Valen earned 1000 P!
‘They’re only around at night, so wait around, I suppose. The breaker’s on the pole behind the house,’ he said, and then closed the door. If Valen had additional questions, he’d have to knock again.
Well then. Would he wait around?
If he decides to wait until night and check behind the house as wished, then…
So, wandering behind the building and seeing the pole, and the breaker attached to it… There were a couple Pokémon floating around it. Three, to be exact.
Pokédex Entry #353 – Shuppet, the Puppet Pokémon. It senses the emotions of others, and feeds on dark emotions like jealousy, malice, anger and sadness through its horn. They’re very active at night, and search cities for the houses of vengeful people. They like to gather under eaves.
‘Shuppet~!’ One of them was happily tackling the breaker, for some reason, knocking it with Knock Off.
‘Shup-shup!’ Another one was just looking happy floating about the noise.
‘Shuuppet.’ The third was floating around, peeking through windows and hiding in the eaves occasionally.
Seabreeze flew in, and shot out a Supersonic at Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff wavered, Confused by the sudden waves, but nonetheless intended to sing. Vivia nodded and dove to hide, her multiple Pokémon following behind.
‘Jiii-’ -And just as the first tone escaped Jigglypuff’s mouth, the ball hit its head, and Jigglypuff looked forward on confusion as it was absorbed into the Pokéball. The ball hit the ground as Skylar rushed to hide.
The ball rolled once. The ball rolled twi-
-ice, the ball rolled thriiiiice…
click
Skylar caught Jigglypuff!
Gender: ♀ Type: Normal/Fairy Personality: (Up to player.) Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other: (Up to player.) Level: 7 Moves: Sing, Defense Curl, Pound Ability: Friend Guard. Reduces damage done to nearby allies. Held Item: None
New Pokémon caught! Skylar earned 1500 P!
Would you like to give a nickname to Jigglypuff?
'Oh. You… you got it,' Vivia stated, looking out with a touch of surprise on her face.
The Tropius group over there was calming down now and returning to their various fruit-eating missions, those sleeping left to sleep.
So, the strategy amounted to that Kylie drew the attention of the wild Purrloins and Dei reduced their attack with Growl. The Purrloins were rather unhappy with being targeted by sudden fairy-infused gusts of wind, and were more than happy to barr their claws for Scratches. However, they were quick to realize they weren’t very effective against a Mawile’s surprisingly solid hide, so being the clever little buggers they are they went for Dei instead. That said, he wasn’t defenseless either.
They went through this process a couple of times. After not too long, Dei was the one that had taken a bit too much damage, but it was a while because each pair of Purrloins needed to learn the lesson of that attacking Mawile wasn’t a profitable venture. After a bit of training, Eryn’s Pokémon had gotten a fair bit stronger. It went better for Kyllene due to the favorable matchup.
Dei grew to Level 8! Dei learned Ember!
Kyllene grew to Level 8!
Though, it took some doing. If you wish to keep track of percentages, Dei’s now at 23% and Kylie at 49%
Hm? Someone seems to have dropped a Pokéball here.
Eryn found a Pokéball!
Alright, that’s about that. Now what?
1. Pokémon School Park. There’s a small park of grass in here. What kind of Pokémon might be in it? 2. Talk. Plenty of students and teachers. This is a wellspring of knowledge, someone must know something. 3. Challenge. Work your way up the leaderboard! Specify the level of opponent. 4. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 5. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 6. Study. You want to know something? Feel free to learn about it here! 6.1. Pokémon Habitats. Learn where you might find a specific kind of Pokémon! 6.2. Isson Geography. Learn more about the different places in Isson! 6.3. Names to Remember. Learn about Gym Leaders, Elite Four, or the like! 6.4. Local Legends. Learn about different tales from around Isson! 6.5. Pokémon Breeding. That’s also a subject. 6.6. Battling Basics. You likely know them already. 6.7. Specify. Tell what you want to learn and we’ll see if we have a course!
Connected areas: Pureplain City. All around, of course.
Honedge fainted as intended from Wooper’s next Mud Shot and then they headed on, Joshua heading off on a different route.
So. Following the corridor of this ancient tomb, they’d see that it opened up into a hall straight ahead. A hall of kings, all things considered. The girl that had been saved was dashing straight into the open, all eyes falling on her. Within the hall stood lines of Goletts, with Bronzors and Honedges standing by to be wielded by the automaton Pokémon, but most notably was the throne-seeming seat straight ahead, and what was around it. To the left and right stood large, bulky automatons that looked far stronger than the smaller counterparts…
Pokédex Entry #623 – Golurk, the Automaton Pokémon. They were created to protect the inhabitants of an ancient civilization. It serves its master faithfully, and using the mysterious energy it runs on it can lift from the ground and fly at Mach speeds. Removing the seal on its chest makes the internal energy go out of control.
… The one on the right was occasionally scratching the seal, as if it itched. Regardless. What was perhaps the most striking was the one who stood before the throne itself, like a king. It was a regular human, a boy who looked to be a teenager in age, stood with an aura of strength as he watched the girl that had just entered the hall. He did look like somewhat of an adventurer, with brown hair and clothes suited for embarking into the wild… and no sword, whatever the picture might imply.
And, just as Amelia had guessed, behind him floated a sword and shield interjoined, proving that this boy had some degree of power here.
Pokédex Entry #681 – Aegislash, the Royal Sword Pokémon. Generations of kings were attended by these Pokémon, which used their spectral power to manipulate and control people and Pokémon. Apparently, it can detect the innate qualities of leadership. According to legend, whoever it recognizes is destined to become king.
Amelia and Dawkin moved forward some distance… only to perhaps suddenly be startled by something large and flying floating by from right to left through a corridor that opened up as a crossroad to the left and right. There were additional routes they could take, but they were patrolled.
Pokédex Entry #561 – Sigilyph, the Avianoid Pokémon. The guardians of ancient cities, their memories of their ancient duties so steadfast that they still patrol a single route that it doesn’t change, ever since birth. If they spot any invaders, they will immediately attack with psychic powers. The cycle is only broken if caught by a trainer.
Sooooo, there are certainly Sigilyphs around. There were some flying around here and nothing special happened to them. It was just that all wild Pokémon had evacuated the last room due to scripted event. This most certainly means that Joshua will be able to find some on the route he’s going, aside from probably annihilating the force going after the girl’s father.
Apart from that, Amelia felt something else now. There were more ghosts around, ghosts unaffiliated with the faction that had grown under the Aegislash’s influence. They were scattered around the tombs, afraid and confused to this change, avoiding contact with the oppressive forces. Most of them were Yamask, but there were other, more powerful entities mixed in among them. If Amelia wanted to seek them out, she had the power she needed to do it.
Pokédex Entry #562 – Yamask, the Spirit Pokémon. They’re said to have arisen as the spirits of people interred in graves of old times. They carry a mask with their likeness from when they were human, which they sometimes look at and cry. They appear to retain their memories from living as they wander the ruins of ancient civilizations.
Below here’s a map.
The girl who without care for her own safety dashed straight into the arms of the opposing force had drawn their attention, they weren’t looking for anyone else right now. Words were being exchanged, but it was currently too far away for Amelia and Dawkin to hear them. They could get closer, but that’d certainly risk that they’d be seen.
The Yamask images notes that there’s a powerful presence of ghosts there that aren’t necessarily affiliated with the opponents. Yamasks themselves are basically everywhere, you’re going to see one in every corridor just floating about feeling sorry for itself and drifting through the walls. The enemies about are Goletts, Sigilyphs, Honedges and Bronzors… though note that since Amelia can’t sense the non-ghosts, there may be Sigilyphs or Bronzors not noted on the map.
Archie tilted his head a bit at Claire’s next Pokémon.
‘That one… is not at a level to compete here,’ Archie said, looking at Pip running about. Then he smirked widely at Claire. ‘Stalling tactics, heh,’
Sunfloorall was already charging the next Solar Beam, and soon enough shot it out! … Pip didn’t do all that good at dodging, her speed wasn’t high enough yet compared to this huge sunflower that probably had plenty of practice aiming its ginormous beams. Pip got hit, and Level 8 just didn’t cut it against firepower of this magnitude, even with Not Very Effective. Pip fainted. However…
‘Sun… Floooooooor~!’
Sunfloorall called out as the wilted sunflower collapsed under the blazing sun, batteries exhausted. The massive flower fainted, hitting the wooden floor beneath and now both Pokémon lay fainted. … We’ll say they got some experience for being shot~
Ritz grew to Level 16!
For enduring the best.
Pip grew to Level 10!
‘Cause ow.
‘Teh-heh. Looks like I’m down to my last Pokémon. And you’re down to your last two, right? Alright, let’s do this. Me first,’ Archie smiled excitedly, returning Sunfloorall and holding forth a hand so that Ramsey could drop down a Pokéball into the hand. With that, Archie threw the ball forth, and it hit the wooden floor to crash open. A green creature with a green leaf skirt and two red flowers on its head and a happy smile emerged, looking forth towards Claire.
‘Bellawesome, you’re up.’
‘Bellossom~’
Pokédex Entry #182 – Bellossom, the Flower Pokémon. Commonly found in the tropics, it’s known to gather in groups and dance at the end of a heavy rainfall. Their dances are said to call out the sun, so they dance whenever there hasn’t been any sun for a while. The flowers on a Bellossom are said to become more beautiful the stinkier it was as a Gloom.
While not as giant as the other Pokémon Archie had presented, Bellawesome was certainly bigger than the average Bellossom. Compared to a normal 40 cm / 1 feet 4 inches Bellossom, Bellawesome was more than twice the height at a full meter / 3 feet 3 inches tall. And, while both trainer and Pokémon were smiling…
‘Bellawesome. Prepare your blade,’ Archie told.
‘Bellossom~’ the Pokémon called again, and then… petals emerged. Bellawesome spun in place, and green leaves spun into the around it, joining together one by one. A flower sprouted which the Bellossom grabbed with both little green hands, directing it forward. The leaves spinning in the air joined into one long string of leaves, before suddenly freezing in place, hardened on top of the flower that acted like the handle. Bellawesome had drawn her blade, turned one shoulder towards Claire, and she held the sword in a trained stance.
‘You wouldn’t happen to have any close-combat fighters left, would you? Bellawesome loves a good tussle~’ Archie smiled so widely, hands behind his back as he looked towards Claire. Bellawesome also smiled, eager to prove herself.
‘Kahaha!’ Jelena laughed as she was launched into the next room by herself. Her arm flew back and into its socket again as Helga jumped into a different room, Jelena following the movements by turning her head towards where she supposed Helga would be right now. ‘Don’t call me a copycat unless you lose all your limbs and replace them with metal as well! But then you’d be the copycat, wouldn’t you!?’ she called, summoning her metal shards back towards her, with the exception for the one stuck into Helga’s cheek. That one she could have further fun with. Jelena grinned at the nasty things she could do.
‘Teh-heh, of course I want to fight!’ Jelena called, tracking the metal and reshaping the damage to her arm that Helga had done. ‘I just need to litter my battlefield with my metal and the-HYA-!?’
The floor under Jelena was suddenly removed by Su’s blasted around where she stood to make her piece of floor fall down into the room where Su and the monster-girl was standing. She made a quick, desperate grab for the ledge, except her destructive fingers instead tore through the ledge she was trying to grab ahold of and she instead fell down in a spin. ‘TSK…!’ She made a noise as she instead shielded herself with her other hand, shaping the metal into a shield as Su started shooting her. The first few blows came before Jelena had properly shielded herself, but things pointed to Jelena having decent Vitality to harden through those for long enough to just be launched into the wall again. Though, Helga was in the other room up above, a bit far away to finish the job.
However, that’s when two swords of ice cut along the wall around Jelena, and the section of wall along with the metal girl was sent stumbling along the floor of the adjacent room, momentarily safe unless Su gave immediate pursuit.
‘You’re outnumbered. Let’s pull back,’ Victoria’s voice could be heard.
‘Outnumbered!? You’re here, and Mayra’s over there, isn’t she!?’ Jelena complained loudly.
‘Thing is, I’m not me, I already left,’ Victoria responded.
‘Oh, hell,’ Jelena cursed, then her head stuck through the door to look at Su and the monster girl. ‘Hey, Mayra, give me a hand, here!’
‘Mmmm…’ the monster-girl lifted a finger to her lips and considered, before grinning widely. ‘Nope!’
‘Whathe- WHY!?’ Jelena demanded.
‘You froze me and kept me out of the fun! Su helped me put out my own fire, and I wanna follow her for a bit, see what she does~!’ Mayra responded, smiling, putting her hands behind her back over her tail and tilted her body in an overly girly way.
‘GEH!’ Jelena jumped back from the hole in the wall, and then a heated but whispered conversation took place behind the wall.
‘FINE! HAVE FUN!’ Jelena called in a voice that sounded like she wished her to be impaled on a spear for all eternity. There was then the sound of the two of them breaking out a window and escaping for now. Of course, pursuit’s still possible if Su feels so inclined. Mayra gave a girly little wave for them to leave, before offering Su her hand.
‘Mayra McCullough. Pleased to meet you~!’ Mayra grinned so widely and happily as she offered. Well, that’s something that happened. What now?
Then there was that Katelyn unleashed lightning outside, and Mayra probably looked in the direction despite there being a wall in the way, being like ‘Oooh, who’s that?’
Shion duplicates and Katelyn might become aware of Jelena and a Victoria escaping the building, possibly looking up and then having a silent chatter amongst themselves before attempting to fall back out of sight. Meanwhile, there were more Victorias hiding out here and there in roofs, alleys and inside the building the fight had taken place in, just in case, watching, but none of those were interfering in whatever Shion and Katelyn were doing right now.
‘Maw…?’ Mawile looked up to Eryn as she handed over that stick of honey, accepting it with somewhat eager little hands before starting to lick at the honey on the stick, her eyes wide with the eagerness to taste that sweetness. Then… Eryn proposed that.
Mawile paused and stood straight, staring at Eryn, honey-stick lowered. It was a stare that differed from earlier, an analytical stare of someone in full control of her emotions and considering her options from a serious angle. After all, she knew she was on the lower rung of the Pokémon world right now, and growing strong had its attractive options. More like, having been released into this park of unappealing young trainers, it was pretty infuriating. Like an insult to her intelligence, that she wasn’t worth more than a brief event for the trainers at this school. Of course, it was her own fault for being captured in the wild to begin with, but that didn’t make it any less infuriating.
She knew that she’d likely leave here in a Pokéball one way or another, but here was the option to give herself up for the promise of becoming strong enough to get her treats. It was slightly insulting. Then again, this trainer didn’t look like she had much else to offer at this moment, and Mawile herself HAD been attracted here by the sweet smell of honey, so it wasn’t too unreasonable, she supposed. She slightly blamed herself for being attracted to the honey, lured like some common animal. The reason she hadn’t approached the honey to claim her share was honestly because she hadn’t wanted to be found by any students, but this girl was no student. Perhaps… perhaps that was…
Mawile considered this fairly important decision concerning her life for a few more moments…
… Oh, well! This trainer looked like she’d pamper her, so she figured she could do worse!
‘Mawile!’ She jumped straight back into her cute persona and skipped to Eryn.
Eryn obtained Mawile!
Gender: ♀ Type: Steel/Fairy Personality: (Up to player. However, note that she’s the Deceiver Pokémon. It’s in her very nature to be secretly one way but pretend to be the cutest thing.) Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other: (Up to player.) Level: 5 Moves: Taunt, Growl, Fairy Wind, Astonish, Fake Tears Ability: Hyper Cutter. Attack cannot be lowered. Also becomes more proficient with Cut. Held Item: Occa Berry (once eaten, reduces effect of next fire-type attack which strikes)
New Pokémon caught! Eryn earned 2000 P!
Would you like to give a nickname to Mawile?
Now, then. What would Eryn do now?
1. Pokémon School Park. There’s a small park of grass in here. What kind of Pokémon might be in it? 2. Talk. Plenty of students and teachers. This is a wellspring of knowledge, someone must know something. 3. Challenge. Work your way up the leaderboard! Specify the level of opponent. 4. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 5. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 6. Study. You want to know something? Feel free to learn about it here! 6.1. Pokémon Habitats. Learn where you might find a specific kind of Pokémon! 6.2. Isson Geography. Learn more about the different places in Isson! 6.3. Names to Remember. Learn about Gym Leaders, Elite Four, or the like! 6.4. Local Legends. Learn about different tales from around Isson! 6.5. Pokémon Breeding. That’s also a subject. 6.6. Battling Basics. You likely know them already. 6.7. Specify. Tell what you want to learn and we’ll see if we have a course!
Connected areas: Pureplain City. All around, of course.
I am amused that you mentioned seeking that particular Pokémon. Did you know? It has been mentioned in the IC that Tropius appears in this forest at a previous time, but the have not been properly encountered before, heh. In any case. Here.
Nope, he didn't bother with Grass Whistle this time. Sorry about that. Ritz didn't quite have the agility to dodge, so it became a matter of outlasting the firepower... which worked relatively well, but that's just way too much power, heh.
I'll remind that I prefer Joshua to not interfere too heavily with what's going on down here. I was okay with it when it was Angelique, because the kids can't handle her, but here the place is scaled for Dawkin and Amelia, hah.
I apologize for the short post, but it mostly amounted to "that works", heh. Now I need your input for how you intend to use the stick of honey you acquired.
'Oh. Alright, if you say so,' Vivia said, acknowledging with Skylar said and then heading out with him. She listened to the rest he had to say but didn’t really have anything else to say, so moving on. As they wandered the forest, it sounded like there were some soft tunes in the distance, sounding like some kind of melody? They walked on, and then they walked into a decently large Pokémon, extending its long neck to eat fruits from the nearby trees.
So, funny that was specifically what he was looking for. Because… there are Tropius in this forest, walking about from tree to tree, seeking fruits and not minding Skylar and Vivia at all.
Pokédex Entry #357 – Tropius, the Fruit Pokémon. This Pokémon continuously seeks out and eats fruit, growing more nourishing fruit itself the more it eats. It flies by flapping its giant leaves, somehow. It’s normally found in jungles, but Isson doesn’t have jungles, so instead they inhabit the rainy Northern Silent Forest and its Southern counterpart occasionally.
… Except, they’re somewhat of the hulking giants of Silent Forest. Being in their presence, Skylar feels that he’s a bit out of his own league, and if he wants to catch one he’s going to have to return when he’s somewhat stronger. If he got too close, he’d get a threatening stare… and maybe be offered a fruit, the large Pokémon lowering its neck to offer the fruits growing on its neck to them, but that’s about it. Currently, their levels range from 20 to 30. There MAY be younger Tropius around, they aren’t born on level 20… but to find those, he might have to change his strategy.
So… This little pocket in the forest seems to be a Tropius napping ground, with numerous Tropius lying collapsed and snoring. … Or not, seeing how multiple others were fleeing the scene, as if in a panic. If one were to ask why exactly they were running… then one’s eyes (assuming they were functioning well enough) would be drawn towards the stump before the groove, where a pink ball of a Pokémon stood, turning to stare at the new people that had entered the scene.
Pokédex Entry #39 – Jigglypuff, the Balloon Pokémon. Looking into its eyes causes it to sing a lullaby which, due to its unique vocal cords, are able to find the exact frequency at which the opponent cannot help but fall asleep. This is its defensive mechanism, and will sing to the point it cannot breathe against an enemy that won’t fall asleep.
‘... Puff?’ At the start, Jigglypuff was looking at Skylar, who… wasn’t triggering her instinct to sing when their eyes met? Jigglypuff was confused. However… then it met the eyes of either Seabreeze or Vivia, the latter who blinked a bit in surprise towards it. Satisfied, Jigglypuff smiled under its giant eyes, and then opened its mouth.
Jigglypuff was intending to sing for them. It’s pretty common knowledge what a Jigglypuff’s song does.
Skylar / Seabreeze’s action?
If he needs outside input for any reason, we can assume Vivia called 'It’s gonna sing!' before starting her own actions, which she will have, but Skylar’s first.
‘Cheap tricks?’ Archie giggled, no other word for what he was doing, before he smiled widely with hands behind his back and tilted his head while play-pouting. ‘Hey, that’s rude! Those “tricks” are my bread and butter~!’
Ritz came out, and Archie smiled widely. ‘Tihi. Still red. Not fire, but still red. So, so red…’ … and that was all Archie said, while Sunfloorall had started charging a Solar Beam in its own, preparing to fire as Ritz flew up into the sky.
While Solar Beam didn’t need a turn to charge because of the harsh sunlight, it still took long enough that Ritz had the advantage in speed. That said, Safeguard didn’t help when the sunflower went all-out assault. Due to the distance Ritz managed to precisely maneuver out of the way as another massive beam shot into the sky past him, yet the mere proximity to the powerful rays damaged him a notable amount despite the double resistance. Then, he got Reflect up just in time, because he wasn’t as lucky with the dodges the second time. The Solar Beam hit right into the shield protecting him, and all his Special Defense would have been pointless before firepower of that magnitude. However, Reflect protected him, the beam dispersing to his left and right as he resisted the beam.
When the beam finally dispersed, was still in the game, though damaged heavily.
‘Yeah, shoot another beam. You don’t have a lot to go, so we’ll have to take out as many as we can while you still got it,’ Archie said, still smiling, and Sunfloorall responded.
‘Floooooooor~!’
While Ritz was doing his best to dodge, and having reflect and double-resistance at his side, two more Solar Beams STILL did too much damage, even though it was merely by proximity, causing Ritz to faint. The tactics employed had ensured that it took four Solar Beams rather than two, but in the end Ritz wasn’t fast enough to quite dodge the beams. Still, Sunfloorall looked like it was about to faint, now.
‘Niiiice~ So, you got one or two Solarge Beams to go. Think you can take another Pokémon?’ Archie asked his gasping sunflower.
‘S-sunflora!!’
Sunfloorall called out, eager to serve but almost drained.
Litwick went and Astonished the Golett within his own Fire Spin, taking some fire damage which was absorbed by Flash Fire and powered up Litwick’s own flame. Golett, meanwhile, took too much damage and fell into a heap and fainted.
Sooo, ability update. Seems Bronzor here went with Heatproof, meaning it actually didn’t take particularly much damage from Fire Spin. This, however, meant it does not have Levitate, and was as such promptly Mud Shot by Wooper, taking super-effective damage and quivering back. Meanwhile, while Atlas does not know Mud Shot, he can Mud Slap aplenty in the direction of Honedge, who was hit and got some mud on the eyes on its guard and had its accuracy decreased… not that it mattered, No Guard ensured it hit its next Fury Cutter anyway.
The combination of Wooper’s Mud Shot, Shuppet’s Knock Off and Drifloon’s Astonish was enough to faint Bronzor. However, thanks to its impressive defense was still just barely around after two Astonishes and a Mud Slap, partly due to the low-power nature of the moves. In annoyance, it sliced back a Fury Cutter against Phantump, who due to Grass-type took a decent amount of damage from the one-step powered up cutting move… but now Honedge’s going to be taken out by any move that any Pokémon performs, so for all intents and purposes, this particular skirmish is over. It’s just a highly damaged Honedge left.
Without any further ado,
Litwick grew to Level 11! Shuppet grew to Level 11! Phantump grew to Level 11! Pumpkaboo grew to Level 11! Pumpkaboo learned Worry Seed! Drifloon grew to Level 11!
Wooper grew to Level 11!
Meanwhile.
The Golett carrying the girl flinched to a stop as Absol overtook it and growled. As Absol doesn’t actually learn the move Growl, Golett’s attack-stat was unaffected.
An ultimatum was given, release the girl or suffer a fate worse than death (slight dramatisation). Golett held the girl, slightly quivering as its loyalty was tested. It considered for many long seconds, during which it honestly considered abandoning the cause…
… but no!
It could not abandon the emperor! The emperor that for so long and bravely supported them, that hatched this plan and promised prosperity to them all, that urged them on this quest for him! Their loyalty was absolute!
‘Golett!’ With this in mind, Golett steeled itself, a tear of yellow oil or something leaking from its shiny eyes, as it took one step-
aaaaaaaaaand was cut down by a Night Slash, falling down into a heap after the absurdly powerful slash.
The girl fell onto the floor or perhaps Absol or Joshua caught her, and was quick to get up on her feet and dust herself off. She then turned towards her saviors.
‘It would seem I have been saved,’ she said, before bowing to them. ‘Thank you, but I ask that you leave this place at once. The spirits are uneasy, and only someone who can commune with them will be able to unearth the cause. As such, I should proceed alone. I’d like to ask you to go look after my father in the meantime. He was being pursued by a group of Pokémon. That is all. Have a good day,’ she said, before turning around and intending on heading deeper into the tombs on her own.
In any case. They’re standing in a bit of a crossroad of sand. The rest of the Goletts headed into the architecture ahead, further into the tombs. Right from the entrance was the direction the man had dashed, pursued by a small army of enemies. Left was another tomb-like cavern, who knows where that led, and finally there was always back, following the stairs back out.
‘Dwebble!’ the Dwebble sounded annoyed as something was taking its honey-covered stick, and turned to face the slimy thief… only to end up face-to-face with (comparatively) big fire lizard. It then made a quick call that this particular bit of honey probably wasn’t worth it, and instead turned to mess with its mates to get some more honey from them. Dei was free to return to Eryn safely.
What exactly did she wish to do with said stick of honey?
Sheila had ensured there was a path into the HQ that currently didn’t contain any Rockers grunts for this moment. It was the time to introduce people, and hope things went well. Herself, she was in full Creep costume, black coat and a black tattered cape which she’d discard if she’d actually be in battle but it looked cool whenever she wasn’t. Blindfold and mask on, hair coloured brown by use of her power, hood currently down. It was easier like that. First, she had escorted Jacob into her office. Now, she came through for the second time, having retrieved Chad. It was time for them both to meet again, now. She didn’t know how much they actually knew of one another… but here it was.
Sheila opened the door and walked aside, turning to look at each of them as she let the encounter happen without any interference on her part. She’d told them both the one they’d meet would be another ally of hers, but left everything else exceedingly vague, just in case they wanted to keep their identities hidden… but chances were they’d know.
Jacob stood there, looking on casually at the other. An ally. The only one to accept the offer, if he had to guess. What a shame. She deserved more than just…. Well, him and another.
He'd come simple. He didn't want anything impressive for a costume, it just wasn't his thing. Instead he was in a black hoodie, hood up and a pretty standard black Domino mask on underneath framed by his untidy hair. Old black cargo pants, torn in a few places, over well worn shoes. He could pass on the streets as any random person. He nodded at the other, raising his voice a little. ”The name's Pester.”
Comparing himself to the other guy here, Chad couldn’t help but wonder if he’d asked too much of Sheila. He’d suggested for himself something akin to a firefighter’s outfit, complete with mask and head cover, not expecting her to actually go out of her way to grab one for him. Since then, he’d customised the mask with a tinted layer, letting him see out whilst blocking his face from observation and muffling his voice. He felt like he’d appreciate that notion, honestly. Given his ability, if he accidentally killed someone, he’d want to make sure his real identity wasn’t compromised.
One benefit of his power: he didn’t really feel heat the same way. Sure, it was hot under his outfit, but it wasn’t affecting him the way one might anticipate, which was certainly a plus. Helped him keep his cool around... this guy. He had a feeling he recognised the hair, but he didn’t bring anything up for now, just in case he was wrong.
Instead, he introduced himself dispassionately. ‘I go by Salem. Pleasure to meet you.’
Jacob licked his lips and swallowed before continuing, having looked the guy over. ”It should be…. Interesting…. Working together.”
Sheila looked at them both at the same time, using her power. Hm, well. Seemed like they’d do fine, but they were slightly strapped for time. ‘Alright, good. I’d take more time with this introduction, but Visage is on her way. Visage is on the Rockers and an ally of us, but she’s not like me. She’s a proper villain,’ Sheila said with her voice-changer on, making it more creepy and hoarse yet still decidedly female. ‘I don’t entirely trust her, but we’ll be working together. I trust you two to be my allies… if something were to happen. In any case. She has the ability to take my form. She can change people’s perception of her, just like I can. She’s going to help lead the Rockers while taking my form, to make “Creep” a mightier and more everpresent entity. … But that’s also why, at any point I enter your field of vision…’
She blinked at them. A small white light, blinking in the center of her dark form at the two of them, a separate light for each. Each light was directed only at their eyes and at nothing else, giving a small blinking-star like appearance at a harmless level of light.
‘… I’ll give you this sign that it is me. Nobody around but those I want to see it can see it. Visage won’t know it, and I trust neither of you will tell her. This way you’ll be able to tell, no matter what.’ Sheila nodded, thinking that’d do. ‘Alright. Stand by me, or make ready any way you want. Visage will be here any minute.’ Saying so, Sheila turned to the door Visage would likely appear from, given it was the only way into the office. Just standing straight in the middle of the room, in a way nobody would unless they were obviously waiting for someone.
Jacob nodded once, moving to lean against a wall silently.
Oh, right, Visage. She’d been... mentioned before, with a hint of caution in Sheila’s voice when she did so. At the time, Chad had been a bit put off by how it turned out she could look like Creep at any time she wanted, with no obvious hints that she was indeed a different person. Now, with some time to process the notion, and especially with this new revelation of how to tell who was the real Creep and who was merely an imposter, Chad felt much more at ease about that matter.
‘Understood,’ he agreed, taking his position next to Sheila in preparation for what came next. He’d been practicing his “cool guy” persona for a few days, so that he could mask his persona as well as his physical features from those he definitely didn’t want to know about it. He was a bit of a twat normally, he’d admit that much to himself any day, but the average Rocker didn’t need to know about that. Visage, from what he’d heard about her, didn’t need to know either.
”No mentioning stabbing people, be respectful to Creep, do I need to reiterate anything else?” Visage closed the cab door behind Mire, fixing her mask to her face a bit better. Now she was actually wearing her full costume, as opposed to just manipulating the node like before. Listening for a response, she started leading the way towards the Rocker HQ. Without thinking about it too much, she dismissed the node she had set on the cab driver.
Mire counted her fingers while mumbling to herself as she went over the many points Visage had discussed with her while on the drive. ”Uhhhh-no I don’t think so. Yeah no I think we’re good.” Mire was shaking with excitement as they walked towards what she was assuming to the be Rockers HQ building. She took a deep breath and made sure her knife was sheathed securely. ”Ok yeah one hundred percent ready.”
The lack of Rocker grunts in the HQ kind of surprised Visage, though she tried not to show it. Letting the heavy door close behind them, she stayed ahead of Mire, and headed for Creep’s new office. It wasn’t new new, it was new to Creep, Visage assumed. She opened the door, and went in first, motioning Mire to follow her as she took stock of the new people. She hadn’t met either of them before, it seemed, as no nodes were present except Creep’s.
”Wow we were on similar wavelengths, eh?” Visage joked, flourishing her hand at Mire, before waving it again to reference the two others. ”New allies I presume?”
So quick to find the words. Creep had been intending to speak immediately, yet Visage had construed entire sentences before Creep got out her pre-prepared one. ‘Hm.’ Creep crossed her arms and let out a mildly amused little sound. ‘I did say I’d be looking into inviting some friends, did I not?’ So the pet project was a new ally? Interesting, and slightly worrying. Still, it was promising. Creep turned her face to Mire despite not needing to in order to see her. ‘I am Creep, leader of the Rockers. And these… Gentlemen, if you would,’ she said, intending that the other two can introduce themselves.
‘Salem.’ Yeah, just his Cape name would work. Maybe cross his arms, too? Hell yeah, that definitely looked badass.
”Pester." Jacob's voice was resoundingly unemotional, borderline bored, as he remained where he was.
Maybe a little less impactful than Creep would have liked, but alright, then. ‘Now, who’s this?’
Mire looked at all the new people, you had the boss Creep and her goons Salem and Pester. So this is what she’d gotten herself into. After a brief glance back at Visage Mire looked back at the others and shot out her arms towards the two boys, inviting them to a handshake. ”Pleasure to meet you all. I’m Mire! I look forward to working with you!”
Bracing herself, Visage didn’t expect Mire to do-wow. That was actually perfect. Visage smiled slightly, now watching Salem and Pester’s reaction. Honestly if Mire was just very polite the entire time, it would make it difficult for anyone else here to act out, unless they wanted to lose respect.
Oh-ho. An energetic one, Creep thought. That might actually be a boon to the group. She stayed quiet for now, looking on.
Jacob nodded slightly, looking at the hand offered before pulling himself off the wall and accepting with an easy smile. ”Any ally of Creep is an ally of mine." The words were casual as he looked into Mire's eyes.
”Same!” Mire said with a slightly giddy tone before turning her head towards Salem. Wiggling her fingers as she waited for him to go for the extended hand.
Chad had expected a much less... perky ally in Mire, admittedly. Then again, he hadn’t been expecting any other allies than Visage. Sheila hadn’t mentioned this, but from the sound of things, she hadn’t known about it either. That said, since she was offering her hand, Chad extended his hand to take it.
Just as Chad had almost reached her had Mire quickly retracted in and ran it over her head and rubbed the back of her neck. ”Ooooo too slow.” Mire chuckled a little. ”I’m sorry I jest.” Mire then re-extended her hand back out and gave Chad a firm handshake.
...that stung, a lot. Memories arose of times when he’d been subjected to bullying, so much bullying. And he’d just been about to greet her cordially, too. He was almost tempted to just retract his hand entirely, but for the sake of politeness, kept his hand extended until the shake was over before folding his arms again. Bitch thought she was a jokester, huh? He imagined the idiot wouldn’t be laughing so much if she had her arms torn off. Or maybe her fingers broken one by one, or... hell, he could just start melting her body inch by slow, painful, torturous inch...
Auuuuugh. He hated bullies. Managing to suppress a violent twitch of recoil from his own broken psyche down to a slight shudder, he responded ‘I hope we can get along well,’ nodding politely in Mire and Visage’s direction. He’d certainly make sure Mire didn’t start fucking with him regularly. Somehow, maybe.
Jacob's grip on Mire's hand tightened slightly as a flash of irritation passed over his face. ”I think that was uncalled for." With that he let go with one final squeeze and returned to Sheila's side.
‘Now, now,’ Creep raised her voice a bit directly after Pester’s comment, in a way to signify that the boss was talking. ‘Play nice. Mire, I’d appreciate if you avoided making my members feel slighted. Pester, in the same vein, avoid scaring new members when you inform them they’ve done wrong. We need them to like being Rockers.’ Creep took it onto herself to make a good first impression for the girl. While her face was covered, she made herself smile under the mask as she stepped forward to calmly extend her own hand.
‘Welcome to the Rockers. I look forward to seeing how you’ll do.’
Mire tilted her head at Jacob as he let go of her hand, she didn’t think she was going to like these two. Soft as fucking marshmallows they were. That’s when the boss raised her voice, she also voiced out against her harmless prank though it seemed like she was trying to keep everyone happy over actually being annoyed by it. It was cute how Creep thought Pester could actually be scary, with how thin that kid’s skin was Mire didn’t think he’d be capable of anything that she would consider even remotely frightening.
Mire accepted Creep’s handshake, giving her a surprisingly sturdy handshake for someone of her size. ”I look forward to working with you too. I hope I’ll be able to pull my weight.”
Gentlemen. This is a boy at best, child at worst. Visage didn't even consider shaking their hands, but she still had to tease them somehow. She walked over to Pester, leaning forward, eyes intent on the side of his face, directly below the right side of his domino mask. Having already looked him over, this was literally just for show. If he glanced down at her cleavage he would get quite the show, but he'd also lose in Visage's eyes. ”I like you, Pester. Name makes me think of pestilence. Hopefully it's not in reference to what children do.” She stood straight again, walking over to stand in front of Creep but keeping her distance still. ”Are we gonna show off a little of what they can do? Or is now not the time for that?”
Jacob looked on, unfazed, with a slightly raised eyebrow. He glanced at Creep before speaking. ”It's a reference to what I'll become. What I am." He looked again at Creep for confirmation about displaying abilities, a hint of concern on his face.
Visage was definitely flashing Pester, right? That wasn’t just a trick of his mind, was it? Maybe he was just imagining it. Yeah, that made sense. But honestly, he felt like what Creep had said about playing nice wouldn’t matter, since he was able to play as nice as anybody could want, even if he was wanting to put his fingers through their- no, Chad, no, stop it. The point was, she had accused Pester of pestering, and he’d responded with a statement about who he intended to become. And as for himself, somewhat on the sidelines... well, he hoped he hadn’t fulfilled a prophecy in his own right by naming himself after an infamous incident of mass hysteria.
Creep watched Visage very closely for what she was doing that close to Pester, albeit she was still turned towards Mire. Nothing particular happened and Pester held his own, good. Creep finished her handshaking with Mire and nodded, until Visage then asked asked if they’d show off what they could do. … Hm. Both her new recruits had certain negative drawbacks upon using their powers. One internal, the other highly external. Still…
‘Yes. We need to understand one another’s abilities going forward, for when we fight side by side it is to our advantage to know exactly what to expect of our companions. With that in mind…’ … Creep took a bit of a breath as she prepared to show off her own power first.
She made a show of suddenly being blown into dust in front of the rest, little parts of her scattering into nothing. Though, she was still standing there. ‘I twist perception for those looking in my direction. While my range is short, I can redirect any image I perceive around me in any direction I please, or break it apart as it suits me.’ For those present, she made a little show of an image of themselves as she could see them appearing in her place, looking back at them. ‘… That said, I am no artist. I can only use images I have available, I can’t create new ones from scratch. But I can break them.’ She cracked the images in a lot of pieces, scattering them in the winds, Creep standing there behind, looking towards them.
‘So. Currently, all of you seem to see me looking at you. Which way am I actually looking?’ … She had the vision of herself collapse into shadows, leaving herself facing the wall. ‘… The answer is all of them, because I manipulate my own perception so I can see in all directions at once. I don’t need to face anywhere, anymore.’ She breathed out a bit. ‘So, my range is short and have limitations. However, when someone’s within my range…’ So, Mire had been close to her for that handshake, so Creep was going to use her for her own demonstration.
To Mire, Creep remained standing in front of her. To the rest, Sheila briefly left a transparent version of herself standing where she had been as the real her walked in a half-circle around Mire on soft, silent feet. The transparent version of herself vanished quickly, but Mire still saw Creep in front of her, yet none of the rest did. Finally, behind Mire, she spoke. ‘When people are within my range, I control exactly what they see. They’re effectively mine.’ With that, the Creep in front of Mire, to only her, blew into dust as Creep backed away towards the wall behind her. ‘I can choose who I want to see me and who to not. As such, I’ll show myself as transparent if I want you to see me but want to signal that our opponents cannot. At worst, I’m a Stranger with a knife. And that’s what I can do. A Creep creeping up behind you without you ever knowing, and taking control of your reality.’
… Maybe she went overboard there. Maybe. She had thought about that demonstration a lot. … Of course, that wasn’t all she could do, but that was entirely intentional.
‘The rest of you can demonstrate if you wish. I leave that to you,’ Creep said, leaning to the wall now.
Frowning for a moment, Chad looked down at the ground before him. He’d learned by now to filter out the additional sense when he didn’t need to use it, but when he focused on it just a little, the floor and walls around him gladly offered themselves up as subjects to his ability. At a whim, he could probably kill everybody else in the room before they could blink... but, that would be counter-productive. And it’d mean Sheila died, too.
‘You’ll figure it out,’ he uttered to the other three. Coldly, or coolly? Crap, had he been too chilly with his response? He was trying to sound cool, not douchey. If he came off as a douche, they might decide he was worth killing after all... oh, hell, he hoped they wouldn’t do it to him.
Jacob smirked, walking away from everyone a little, showing the first real signs of emotions since the meeting had started.
With a little snap of his fingers, for show of course, a lean reptilian looking creature appeared near him. It immediately took off, running around the group, between people, and going so far as to even pull off a little flip before climbing a wall. And then….
It was gone just as soon as it had appeared. Jacob's face went from joy to…. Nothing. In an almost mechanical voice he spoke up, ”Yeah, so, I use my emotions to make a thing that kinda listens and does whatever you'd expect that emotion to do. Leaves me emotionless for a few hours or so.”
Mire stood in place after she shook Creeps hand, just looking around at people as they said their stuff. And it seemed they had planned to show off their powers so they could better work together and all that spicy stuff, that was cool. Oooh, the big boss was going first, Mire was interested in this one. Mire tilted her head at Creep as the girl appeared to just, fade away but like she was still there talking. Oh boy it was another mind fucker illusion person dam there were like 3 of them standing in the room! Man fighting them would be like fucking a disco.
Then it seemed Creep was focused on messing around with Mire, she could see the image of the boss clearly in front of her but her voice was coming from behind. That was some sneaky shit right there, Mire wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Then it was fireman Sam’s turn, though he just blurted out some ominous crap and didn’t do anything. I mean Mire wasn’t expecting much from the dude anywho. Then came another interesting power, summoning animal companion based on emotion… Hmm what if they could bleed, oh wait could she stab them and then nobody except a projection would die? Shiiiiiit she might like this kid after all. Mire looked around and then pointed to herself? ”Oh is it my turn now? Oh a-ah ok, I think taking a few steps back would be a good move.”
Mire walked as far as she could away from the others, as she wanted to show off the mist a bit without actually making them get fricked the heck up by it. Mire rolled her shoulders and shifted to her breaker form with a quick puff of smoke. Instantly Mire’s Mist started to expand and fill the room, though Mire was taking care that the cloud would not reach the others. ”My power is made up of two main parts, there is the mist that you all see in front of you. If you were to come into contact with it you would start to see things, hear things, feel things, that are not truly there. Well most of them.” Mire’s voice was much different from her normal one, it sounded like an echo except it was clearly coming from one direction instead of all around. The mist stayed in place as Mire made her way closer to the group though she was still currently concealed by her mist, but instead of normal footsteps everyone would hear heavy thudding, like something big was coming.
That is when Mire’s form would peek out of the mist, still partly concealed by it. What stood there was clearly not human, it was a towering beast that’s hunched back was almost scraping against the ceiling. In place of a human head was what looked like a mix between a bear and a shark head, in place of arms the creature had two sets of bladed appendages like massive bladed hooks. The main bulk of the body and rear end of the beast was still hidden in the mist. ”The secondary part of my power lets me edit my form in a multitude of ways, I’m a shape shifter.” With that said Mire descended back into the mist which quickly started to collapse in on itself, eventually disappearing to show Mire standing there. ”Ta da!” Mire did a dramatic bow before walking back towards the group.
First there was Creep’s performance, which informed Visage of her power in ways she hadn’t before known. She took some mental notes, trying to remind herself to write this down at some point in the future. Know thy enemy, and all that jazz. Next was Salem who- Alright, did nothing. Was he going for edge? Regardless, Visage found herself slightly perturbed, though she did her best to remain straight faced.
Next next next, next was Pester. The moment she saw the thing appear she frowned. It moved around the room a bit, and Visage had to hold back an involuntary screech. God she hated creepy things like this. That gave her a mental note to not bring Pester on missions with her unless he was going to be using his power very far away from Visage.
At long last our dear Mire, she showed her true color, which was black smoke. Another self satisfied smile crossed her face, sticking there until Mire reverted. Wonderful. She mouthed, mostly to herself. So far she’d seen a woman who could control her image in a more abstract way, a boy with performance anxiety, a reptile summoner, and the incomparable Mire. Visage was definitely winning.
Oh, and herself. She idly wondered if they had actually been told about her power. It didn’t much matter if they had been, as no one knew the whole story behind her power, still. An interesting thought. Taking to the center of the room, she set nodes on them one by one, only keeping her eyes on theirs long enough to create it. ”Poof” In front of them stood Creep, and they would fully grasp that instantly. There once was Visage, and now there was another Creep. ”Oh I found this out recently.”NotCreep said, and then she was gone. No other form stood in her place. Soft soled and invisible, she carefully crept past Salem. Once behind him, she would wrap her arms around his stomach, pressing herself against his back Her power turned off for all present and she remained motionless. ”Similar to Creep’s but without the shattering. I can just control what I look like.”
Everyone else seemed so proud to show off. Sure, there were benefits to showing what he could do to those who’d benefit from it, but why bother when you could just tell them? Not to mention just showing it, not intentionally making a scene. Even Creep, he realised belatedly, she’d gone and showed off her ability to apparently turn into dust, as well as sneaking around the back of Mire. All perceptual, all based on twisting what they could see freely. It was self-indulgence. And to add to that, Pester showed off his own ability, a Master power that generated a creature from his emotions. Apparently, he only really felt emotion as a result of that? Or at least he couldn’t feel emotion after the fact. Interesting.
Then came Mire. Dear God, Mire. Not only could she... generate some black mist? Transform into it? He couldn’t tell, but it was supposedly hallucinogenic either way. Chad was suddenly very very happy he was wearing the smoke mask, whether or not it helped. In fact, he wasn’t sure her mist wasn’t getting in anyway; the thing, the monster that stepped out of the mist kind of made him wonder if he’d not suddenly snapped. Then again, it was speaking to them all, and the others, so he took a step back from it just in case. Juuust in case.
And shortly after, the mist collapsed, and Mire was back to normal. Yeah, no, that was fine. He never ever wanted to fight her, whether he would win such a fight or not. Though somehow, he wondered whether he could, even with his own ability. However, that just left Visage, who took to the center of the room, then took her time to look in everyone’s direction... why? Apparently, so she could transform into Creep. Right, Sheila had mentioned this already; a fake Creep, but as he glanced back and forth between her and the real Creep, he kept track of that one indicator, that thing which proved who was who, fake, real, fake, real, fa- wait. Where did Visage go?
The sensation of a body pressing up behind him, of arms wrapping around his stomach, had him freezing up abruptly. Was that. Yes, no, that was Visage. Why was she behind him. Why was she pressing herself against him. Okay, no, see, most guys would like that to happen, right? Why wouldn’t he like it too? Well, maybe, the consideration of what Sheila had told him kept him a bit wary anyway. She was a “proper villain”. That meant bad things, or at least he imagined it did. He didn’t know, maybe Sheila was exaggerating a touch.
‘Yeah, okay, cool,’ he uttered, his voice still muffled through his mask. Thankfully. ‘That is definitely a useful ability.’ And like that, he was the odd one out. Hell, maybe he should say what his power was? They’d figure it out soon enough, anyway... but still…
Creep turned her head, as she made in habit of doing as to not look inhuman as she focused around her. Salem… said they’d figure it out. … Hah, yeah, she had been wondering. Okay, while she had something to say, they moved on. Pester showed his power. Honestly, she found the reptile a little cute. Given his smile, she assumed this was joy? Or smugness, that worked too. While there was an inherent worry that it’d for some reason charge her, Creep stayed still until it was gone. Then, it was Mire.
Creep acknowledged and moved over without a word for her demonstration. First there was the smoke. A Breaker, it appeared. The effects of the mist were certainly worrying. Then… that form appeared. Seemed they had no shortage of monsters. It was an impressive power, indeed. It gave them some much needed physical presence, given two Strangers and a Master so far. Yeah, not a power she wanted to fight, certainly.
Then… Visage. It disturbed Creep somewhat that she could now replicate invisibility. She dearly hoped Salem could handle being hugged, because at least that was a friendly move. However, that explanation… Like her own, Visage was hiding something. Creep knew it. Later, in a more private spot, she’d tell both Jacob and Chad that Visage is hiding some part of her power. She has some form of Thinker sub-power, possibly more that she isn’t telling, which helps her keep others in order. Be on your guard. Still, from here, it did seem like Visage had the power-advantage, if something were to happen. … Let’s throw a wrench in that, shall we?
‘Thank you. Pester, nice, we’ll need to test out your power in live environments soon so we can know what to expect of it in action. Should be fun. Mire, that’s a cool power. It’ll stand out well when we move out. Visage, where did you find her? I’d like to look into the same alley to see if we can find any more.’ Creep gave the mildest of a chuckle, willing herself to be amused. Then… she turned her head to the one who hadn’t shown off his power.
‘Salem. I understand your choice. Indeed, showing off your power here would be rather unwise. Still, if an emergency would happen, say, in five minutes, then our allies need to know what to expect of you. We may need to skip the demonstration and use old-fashioned words to describe what you can do,’ she said, looking to her friend.
...and there, see, Sheila was basically confirming what he’d just been thinking. Fine, he needed to say roughly what he could do, but he didn’t need to explain it in full, right? He was pretty sure the others hadn’t explained their own abilities fully to everyone else, after all.
‘Well. Long story short, I can melt rock,’ he explained, shrugging out of Visage’s grip as best he could, ‘and turn it into lava. It’s got quite a good range, and whilst I can’t turn people’s bones into lava, I can turn the ground under their feet into lava. It’s pretty dangerous. I’m, uh, coming up with ways to make it a bit less completely lethal.’ Understating himself, there - but hopefully, that could work to his advantage if any of these guys turned on him. He hoped he actual personality didn’t come through too strongly.
‘… And it’s basically instant,’ Creep added the info she felt Salem left out that was needed. ‘It’s a bit hard to adapt, and basically destroys the city wherever it’s used, but with it he can have every cape in Denver shaking in their boots.’ … So, Creep didn’t feel he sold his power enough, and as such did it for him. It wasn’t exactly a power he could hide the factors about anyway. Initial impact was more important, she figured.
Mire didn’t know that Visage had the ability to turn invisible! That’s some proper sneaky shit! Mire was happy to see some more of what Visage could do, though she was less than happy when Visage appeared behind Salem and hugged him! What did that crybaby do to deserve that! She couldn’t let something like this get to her, or at least not let it show so Mire just stood there quietly and watched Salem as he decided to grace them with details about his power. Mire tilted her head at Salem looking him up and down, so this little dipper baby was actually very dangerous. Though while Mire knew for a fact that there were some capes out there who would eat this kid for lunch she didn’t want to point it out, risk hurting the kiddo’s feelings again.
Relinquishing her grip, she very slowly circled around the outside of the room, keeping notable distance between herself and Creep. A smile dawned at the compliment from Creep, though it was soon replaced by a frown when Salem stated his power. That was strong. Christ, that was very strong. Quickly, Visage hid the frown. She rounded the same end of the room as Mire, and reached out her fingers to draw their tips against the shorter girl’s lower back. She kept her eyes moving, trying to read everyone present. The social alertness Visage exemplified helped her notice Mire’s jealousy earlier, when she was touching Salem.
”Having Salem around is gonna be- It’s gonna imply escalation. For the same reason we don’t carry guns, having a nuclear bomb as part of the squad is gonna make the authorities very wary of us. How do you wanna go about implementing him in a way that won’t have the PRT calling in favors from other cities the second they see him use his power?”
While she said this, Visage notably didn’t look at Salem or Pester, instead keeping her eyes solely on Creep.
Creep’s vision being what it was, she did not miss that frown on Visage. It amused her a tad. Though, then she turned around and voiced a reasonable worry. Creep nodded before starting to answer.
‘He’ll play nice. As any other cape in the world with a lethal power, he has the advantage of not having had a choice. He didn’t pick his power, unlike how it’s a choice to carry a gun. As long as they know he sticks to the rules, we’ll have a powerful, frightening asset without necessarily facing the consequences. That goes for all of us, really. We stick to the rules to ensure we don’t become a priority target. We paint the Rockers as cool villains to make more grunts want to join us, and paint us as people who just want to have fun being bad to the Protectorate so they don’t think we’re worth the risk to take out as long as there are bigger fish to fry.
… As for how to use his powers, heh. Lots of weapons our enemies might be carrying will be susceptible. Vehicles, too. Walls could be melted to give us an entrance into places, assuming we have time to wait for the magma to cool. Notably Salem himself isn’t hurt by his own power. Sprinkling some magma over the battlefield is a good way of controlling it, as well, if we ensure some idiot can’t kill themselves somehow. Honestly, we could mount some cool rescue missions or robberies with this. If you can think of other uses of it, then we welcome it.’ So Creep said. She didn’t consider it as big a problem as Visage seemed to address it as.
Yeah, thank you, Sheila. He had said as much as he wanted to say, he didn’t need people to keep going for him, and he could come up with plenty of ways to hurt them if they- nonono don’t do that. Just. Think about how to respond to it, Chad.
Understandably, he was put off about the situation, but it looked and sounded like Visage was far more put off by his power than how it was explained beyond what he’d wanted. Which meant she was scared of him. Hah. Yes. She’d better be scared, scared was fine by him. If she weren’t, she’d start going for him, and then he’d have to push a knife under her skin and start peeling it away from her body... ah, no, he shouldn’t do that. Obviously, she hadn’t done anything yet, so it’s not like he had to have those thoughts about her...
...but just in case she did. She was an actual villain, after all. And it’d be good to keep scaring her, in that case.
‘As Creep has stated,’ Salem explained dispassionately, ‘My power seems to be very distinctly single-use in the first instance, but it has many applications beyond mere lethality. Even if I am forced to maim or injure others, hurling a pocket of dirt at somebody and turning it into a superheated cloud could be a very useful deterrent. Or landmines... no, there’s a better name for them than that,’ he realised, thinking for a moment. ‘I want to say punji traps, or some other similar Vietcong trap - your foot falls into an empty space, and either gets impaled on spikes or smashed to ruin. It’s the same concept, but with lava instead.’
Creep suppressed a shudder, feeling somewhat unsettled. Those were some horrific mental images. She kept quiet, though, head still turned towards Visage.
Mire was looking between Creep and Salem when she felt Visage’s fingers touch her back, she stayed professional holding back a shiver. As usual Visage had something useful and important to say regarding Lava lad’s power and how it could cause problems, though admittedly Mire didn’t share this concern. Creep’s answer was a pretty good one, though playing by the rules was lame as hell, not like Mire was going to do it anyway. But the bit about having fun or at least pretending to have fun while opposing the protectorate did seem like it could actually be interesting.
Then Salem started speaking of how he could apply his power in creative ways. Bringing up Vietcong traps but with lava, wait a second. Creep called it magma but Salem was calling it lava, which one was it!? Mire was frowning under her mask, she really wanted to ask which is was but she was pretty sure it was just these plebeians being idiots that didn’t know what they were talking about. ”So if we do find ourselves in a conflict, what happens if our opponents aren’t the rule following kind? Do we eliminate them?” Mire’s head would tilt ever so slightly and she’d look up at Creep.
It appears everyone was on different pages. Creep did not have her ducks quite in a row, much less these ducklings. First Creep claimed he’d use his power in a way that helped to reduce the chance he’d be a target. That was all well and good, but then Salem pointed out ways he could use his power that would certainly make himself a target. All the while Visage enjoyed Mire’s reaction, changing her expression to the slightest of sly smiles. At Mire’s question she grinned, moving closer to the young girl so that her hand was resting on the small of her back, she thought on how to answer.
”It honestly depends. If they’re breaking the rules and there are witnesses, we could certainly move to more extreme measures. Avoid that as best you can, but when it’s us or them, I don’t think Creep will fault you for choosing us. I certainly won’t. If there are no witnesses then it’ll be completely case by case. I trust you all to choose the option appropriate for the situation.” Visage said, pausing a beat before turning to Creep again. ”Do you object to my take on the matter?”
‘No objections,’ Creep said, before continuing. The matter of criminals that’d use lethal means… those were the kinds she wanted off the streets. ‘My official position on the matter is the following. If you encounter such foes, I prefer you escape alive over risking your life for a minor victory. If you do have to fight, I’d like you to keep in mind that if you somehow manage to take them out without resorting to their means, it would improve our reputation. However, don’t risk your life for stupid things like that. The moment they use such means against us, they abandoned their right to mercy. Butcher them.’ That was about that. Now for… another little thing.
‘Salem. That trap you mentioned…’ Creep suppressed another shudder. ‘Leaving our enemies with stumps for feet is also somewhat iffy to the rules. We’ll work on it.’ Okay. That’ll do. Time to address the rest.
‘Alright. I have intentions to introduce you all to the rest of the Rockers as soon as possible, as my lieutenants and fellow capes. Having you three join our number will give the Rockers a serious boost of reputation, and make our claim in Denver all that much more authentic. However, I ask you to not seem above the rest of the Rockers. Join their number, be nice, be a companion to them. If you could be upbeat and cool to our grunts, so that they do not view us capes as a lording entity above their common gang, that’d be a boon to us.’ She was aware some might have an easier time with that than others. Still.
‘We’ll organize what crimes we’ll commit to gain status at a later time. For now, we need to establish our presence, both in the Rockers and in Denver as a whole. As part of the truce collaborating to uproot the Community, we have an excellent opportunity to do just that. Just… don’t get caught. Patriarch turns those he touches to his allies, after all. We have a cooperation organized with the Broker, I’ll be reporting to him so we can collaborate with the other gangs of Denver to destroy the Community, while we attempt to grow as well as we can. That’s step one. Step two…’ Creep gave a little scoff. ‘The current goal is a monopoly on the delinquents of Denver and to be as big and rich as we can while rooting out the rest of the villains. Beyond that? Well. We’ll see how it goes. We’ll have a discussion on the different capes of Denver and discuss how we’ll try to counter each of them.’
‘Does anyone have any immediate thoughts they’d like to voice?’ Creep asked, looking at each of them with her power.
Appeared that nobody had anything more that they wished to add, so then it was time to get going. Creep nodded to them.
‘Alright. Time to introduce you all to the men, then.’ Despite herself, she looked over the number of capes in the room, and felt a touch of pride at the team they had gathered, that she was leading. It also felt like she was feeling just a tad excited? Frightened for what might happen, yet all the same, excited. How curious. She let that touch of amusement take her over enough to give a brief little chuckle, which thanks to her voice-changer sounded pretty dark.
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