[X] My Assistant

[colourcodedchaos]

Continuation of my Winner's Bracket thread w. Yzarc.

"You... YOU..." Adelaide rushed forward, her tired and staggering legs belying a surprising speed. "You dare to hide behind moral relativism? You, who probably can't even fucking SPELL it? You are a boy, a pitiful whelp, shaking naked in the dark. You are nothing that cannot be easily replicated with a standard Tortured-Evil Program 1-B. I've got it on file, if you like. Compare and contrast exercises are always useful.

"See, I'm not in full possession of the facts, but unless your sole goal was to carpet bomb a stadium - and it might be - you're doing all kinds of shitty. People are coming, but they don't know actual villainy. I do. I spent my entire life learning. Don't talk to me about grey areas or sob into your bloodstained hanky about how hard it is being you. Can you look me in my one remaining eye and tell me that you know hardship? Can you look at this face and call yourself cursed? A clue: no. You cannot.

"I will not fight you, though. That means something different in this place, with your nation's little proxy wars played out between enslaved sentient beings. No, I only have one option," Adelaide said, staggering to her feet and putting her weight onto a piece of salvaged rebar, "if you do not tell me what you are planning, then I will beat your minions to death, and then I will beat you to death. Your gang tried and failed to blow me up. Your masters saw me as a threat and devoted resources to halting me. You are expendable, minion boy. You are not just weak; you are weakness. I will leave you a broken, boneless husk, mewling in the dark until I know which Centre you're taken to, at which point I will wait for you to leave and beat you senseless again. And I will repeat the process until you understand what I'm saying:-

"I'm just not very nice. You are evil, and you will be punished as such."

With that, Adelaide began to walk towards him, her legs shaking like a pack mule on a mountain path as she moved, the rebar clutched in her hand so hard that her knuckles were white and blood dripped onto the ground.

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

Justin allowed Adelaide to continue her speech, his arms remaining crossed as she spoke. It seemed only fair, her body beaten and broken as it was. It seemed as though his remarks about her not understanding good and bad hit a nail. And it was interesting that she made sure to mention that she had learned villainy, as though that made any kind of sense.

So once her threats were made, and her insults flung, Justin simply nodded. She was dragging herself towards him, but he didn't budge, or make further aggression. "Yeah, I don't have time for this," he said, turning away from her, and walking towards the Rhydon once again.

He finally made it to the jeep just behind the Rhydon to see Omar, Ace and Miriam exit. "Sup, Justin!" This was a surprise. Justin knew senior officers would be leading the charge, but to see familiar faces was unexpected. Knowing he was supporting Omar did put him somewhat at ease. He was probably the most calm and in control person he'd ever met. Of course, it did mean that when he did eventually turn on Team Deception, he'd probably have to fight the guy. That wouldn't be a fun bridge to cross.

"Justin, I'm glad you're here," Omar said, approaching him, while simultaneously looking around to assess the battle. "Been somewhat of a change in plan. Are Nate and Pan in position already?"

"Should be," Justin nodded, crossing his arms. "I mean, the explosion went off successfully. That hallway over there," Justin pointed to where the more recent explosion had been, the one not caused by the Electrodes. "So, Nate's in position at least. And then, Pan should be securing the leveling device. Some grunts made their way into the hallway, so she has some support there."

"Ace?" Omar turned.

"On it." Ace then sprinted towards the hallway, to meet up with Pan and help her secure the leveling device. Of course, when he would get there, he'd learn that the plan changed, and that Nate actually went for the device.

"So, here's what we got," Omar continued. "The dogs should be split up in the elemental tunnels through that hallway. I'm gonna take the Fire hallway. Miriam will take Electric. And you'll take Water. That's Entei, Raikou and Suicune. You're on Suicune."

"Oh," Justin seemed taken aback. "You want me on one of the dogs? Okay. Yeah, no problem."

"Good. Well, it should be something like that. Intel was pretty spotty, but hopefully it'll make more sense when we get in there." Omar nodded. "Alright, let's get moving." He held out his pokeball and called back Rhydon. Then, he turned to the other cars and trucks which had followed into the arena.

And so, at Omar's order, Team Deception made their way across the battlefield and into the tunnel created by the bomb. Beyond the initial facilities, the way would split into three. But there were ultimately four objectives. Somewhere in the science facility was the leveling device. Nate and Ace were both seeking it out, but it was likely that many of the would-be heroes still fighting a losing battle would figure out that that was their goal, and would do everything in their power to try to stop them.

[colourcodedchaos]

"Yeah, I don't have time for this."

That, to use one of the colourful local euphemisms from Adelaide's home dimension, got her all up an' pig-bitin' mad. She stood there, speechless, watching him walk away towards a Rhydon. She then saw a jeep drive off from behind it, an adorable little internal-combustion effort too. Back home, it'd be a museum piece. Here, she thought, it would just be another target. Then everything went all fuzzy at the edges and she blacked out again.

A few minutes later, she sat bolt upright, hurling the Wooper who'd been sitting on her chest a few feet into the air. The Conkeldurr, free from the predations of the Ninjask and Ninjask-suit, was watching her closely while digging sand out of an ear. The Grovyle was idly stroking the Growlithe, the Watchog was standing guard on top of the mech, and the Zangoose-

Wait, back up a minute.

How the hell did that get here?

"No need to shout," said the Conkeldurr. "In answer to your question, I carried it after those dreadful insects were summoned back to their master. Can you repair it?"

"Er, I... probably? I don't think there's a huge amount that needs repairing, to be honest. All it did was fall over."

"It's tougher than it looks, then, I take it." He pointed at one of the feet, the toes of which were hanging rather limp. Then he gestured at the mech itself, which was built in five minutes out of scrap metal, and looked it.

"Oh, yeah. Redundant systems all over. Why's my eye socket all warm?"

"You're bleeding into it and out of it," mumbled the Grovyle darkly, "did you not notice?"

"No, actually, I didn't. Thanks for the heads-up. Right. Let's get this thing repaired..." And so they did. Adelaide was becoming rather used to using Pokemon for additional help; the Conkeldurr was able to lift up the panels and beat them back into shape, the Growlithe was adept at welding the seals on the hydraulic pipes shut again, and the Wooper... well, it was moral support. Eventually, the thing stood tall once more, and Adelaide hopped inside (quite literally; her knee was playing up) and gunned the engine.

Once more, Stompy Geoff roared into life. The Pokemon returned to their previous positions, and Conkeldurr and Wooper clambered onto the back, the former's concrete posts being jammed into some convenient-looking slots for a moment before Adelaide yelled a warning about heatsink outlets and not wanting to catch fire, at which point they were strapped to the outside. The Wooper, meanwhile, pushed a button on the outside and a long black tube telescoped from the mech's pauldron. It finally popped out all the way, and its unveiler let out a little "Woo" of inane contentment and sat down behind a cluster of white boxes.

"What... is that?" The Grovyle asked, shock in her voice.

"Oh, that's just a microwave laser. Couldn't do a visible light one, since they didn't have enough shielding for it, so I made that instead. At least, I think that's what happened. It's all a bit of a blur."

"... And, um, what exactly did you make it out of?"

"Microwaves."

"Of course," sighed the Grovyle, and let it go at that.

Stompy Geoff lurched off again, the strange gait even lower to the ground now thanks to the additional weight of the Conkeldurr and his bridge abutments. It entered the tunnel system at a dead run, then slowed, then stopped. "Er... anyone got a satnav?"

"Is that one from Kanto?"

"Grow grow growlithe."

"Ah. Didn't think it was."

"When you're all done being silly, I have absolutely no idea where I'm supposed to go, I can't see any tracks, and while I could probably scan ahead with my cybereye it needs a charge." As if on cue, the little dot clanged against the hatch before it was let in and reconnected to its owner's optic nerve. "That's better. Now then... any guesses?"

"That way."

"Why that way?"

"You said to guess."

"Well, alright then." Stompy Geoff turned and stomped off down the tunnel to the right, leaving the network only to be confronted by-

"WHAT THE BLUE CHRIST IS THAT?"

"There would appear to be hundreds of Electric-type Pokemon in the vicinity, if not thousands. Projected generation capacity in excess of-"

"SHUT UP!"

"Shutting up."

"Uh, laaady? Who're you talking to?"

"My eye."

"Oh, well that's alright then. Hey, what's with the cameras, it looks like there - oh. Oh, wow. Oh, WOW! Guys, it's - it's an army!"

There was a chorus of Pokemon-speak, which generally consisted of "<We know>". "We are, after all, on the outside," added the Conkeldurr.

"I... I knew that!"

"So, er, engage standard new encounter protocol, then, I assume." With that, Adelaide fumbled with her seatbelt for a moment and shucked herself out of the old car seat. She opened the hatch and looked out at the Raikou. "GREETINGS, CITIZENS! I AM THE DEMENTED DOCTOR SPATULA, THIS WORLD'S REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MAD SCIENTIST'S UNION AND FRIENDLY BENEVOL-" She stopped halfway through, bent double by a hacking cough like an old beggar under his sack. She looked at her hand. It had blood on it where there hadn't been before. That was... worrying.

"Er, as I was saying... hi. I suppose."

This post has been edited by colourcodedchaos: Oct 2 2013, 06:04 AM

[Toogee]

Back within the research facility, a team of nine grunts descended into the newly created hole on an attempt to find the legendaries as well as Pandora Gibbs. As they grappled down, they immediately noticed how quiet it had become. Not even so much as the rustling of debris came through the abandoned halls. This didn’t feel like a normal calm. Something big was waiting for them. None of them liked the feeling.

“Hurry up and find the girl, something ain’t right down here.”

“Er…yeah, I say she’s gone. Don’t we have a backup.”

“Yeah, the doctor said we could go straight to shadowfication if we lose the master balls. Ah, come now, she couldn’t have gotten that far.”

ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRR!

The group looked up to see the darkness light up in fire and lightning. Blinded by the sudden blast of light, they were unable to see the many shapes coming towards them. Immediately they scrambled back up the ropes, urging their unit to pull them back up. The terror on their faces was clearly evident that there were more than the legendaries down there. They immediately went to the radio to inform their boss of the happenings.

“D-doctor, there seems to be a very large population down here. A-an army for sure! We’re going to need reinforcements!”


~I figured as much,~ the radio buzzed back. ~Oh yes, it seems they’re prepared to defend their keep to the bitter end. Amazing behavior, considering they’re protecting a human facility.~

“I-I’m sure it is sir, but we’ll need several units down here to get deeper and capture the dogs.”

~Indeed you will! I’m staring at your aid right now. Dozens of them, fleeing the arena. Most are confused and distraught, but there are those who want to help in any way possible. Given the right motives, they’ll help you do whatever you need done. They’re the best kind of reinforcements, because once you’re done with them, you stab them in the back and never see them again! Yes, you’ll be seeing them real soon.~

“Yes sir. We’ll be ready to receive when they arrive.”

~Ah, one last thing. How is our latest pet project doing? Put Pandora on the line. I do want to hear her voice, see if she’s enjoying her new line of work.~

“Er…” the grunt looked over to the others for guidance. “I t-think we lost her, sir. There was an explosion in the computer room. There’s no trace of her.”

~…a pity. She would have been a good recruit. Let us keep radio silence on the matter, shall we? We wouldn’t want the bereaved to abandon their posts. Mondo out.~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The scientist put down the radio to enjoy his coffee. He sat on the second floor balcony of his hotel room, overlooking the panicked masses flooding the pokemon center across the street.

“Ah…chaos,” he remarked as he went back to his crossword puzzle.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Under the Suicune’s guidance, Pandora was led into a room deep within the facility. All around, pokemon were busy terraforming the building to their liking. Whatever this place was, it was designed to have pokemon take it over in the event of some emergency. At the moment, however, Pan just wanted to sit down and recover.

The room she was in appeared to be some storage facility, with a vast array of locks behind it. In addition, several security camera feeds were running in the center of the room, giving Pan a good idea of what was happening around the facility. As Pan turned around to say thanks, the door closed; Suicune was gone. The researcher turned her attention to a glass cabinet, also heavily fortified with locks. She could see an array of rainbow colored rocks inside, though most of the contents were hidden behind a sign taped over the glass:

Mega Stone Samples. Do Not Open Until October 12.

“Is this why they’re defending this place?”

[Aura Dynasty]

She knew it. Had she really? Yes, and if not, she'd probably guessed it and be right about it either way so that didn't really matter. The point was, what now? When seeing the exit of the tunnel, oh god bless the accursed light that had shone through and blinded her when stepping inside of it, she'd ran even harder and when stepping through the bashed doors noticed the chaos in front of her. Thousands of people were standing in the safeness that was the pokémoncenter. It appeared that they were standing outside since the inside of the pokémoncenter was already fully jammed with other people.

"This is..."

"RROOOOAAAAARRR!!!!"

As stung by a bee she turned her head into the direction of the sound, as it echoed through the tunnel behind the door she'd just passed through. Jill looked around with a quick gaze, but there didn't seem to be someone near her that had heard the roar. Was it her imagination? She'd no idea, but the roar seemed vicious, perhaps it was for the best to stay away from it. She let it slide and walked back towards the assembled masses, seeing how rescue-workers tried to calm the people down and in the overcrowding trying to run back towards the arena to help out. People beside her were discussing what they would do next and how to get their pokémon back.

Jill shook her head. She too had that question to worry about and she had another three pair of pokémon she had to deliver back to the their rightful owners as well. But the pokémon left in her care were her priority now, so instead of wandering off she made her way towards the pokémoncenter, which took twice as long due to the constant squeezing through and apologizing afterwards.

The doors opened in front of her, with their oh-so familiar zooming noise. Stepping through she stumbled over someone who'd laid himself down on the ground and had the utmost luck not to run over a small Azurill before crashing into the plants at the side of the orange bench. The people next to Jill looked at her as if their eyes were asking why the hell she'd possibly wanted to lay down in a pot of ferns, truth to be told, that pot would've been sent flying if there weren't so many people around. She got back up straight and removed the pieces of fern that had decided to tag along before making a 90° spin and paced towards the counter of the pokémoncenter.

"How can I help you?"

The nurse asked her. Honestly, how could that woman be so calm when being surrounded by so much chaos? Must be of part of the job-requirements.

"Eh, a quick healing of 'my' - well-you-know-not-really-mine-but-you-get-the-picture - team should suffice, thank you very much."

"Then please proceed through the right door and ask one of the in-white dressed people to help you out. We try to keep the counter free in case we have some pokémon that need immediate care, so I hope you don't mind..."

The pink-haired nurse gave her apologizing smile as she pointed towards the door she'd described earlier.

"Of course, I understand. Well, thank you anyway."

Jill tried to make her way towards the door and made it there with some effort. She felt like a fresh-caught sardine, ready to be put in a too small packaging. The area behind the door looked even more busy then the previous one, but luck seemed to have taken it easy on her. A man with a white lab-coat gestured her to come towards him and when arriving at the spot explained what she had to do. A small *Ding* resonated and she took back her pokéballs from the small plate, backing away and making some room for the next trainer to heal up his party.

When getting back to the main waiting-area of the pokémoncenter she was planning to get across and ask about the situation, which she quickly dropped as being a futile act. There was no way she'd get through the crowd unharmed and thus proceed back towards the exit. Once out she inhaled deeply, smelling the freshly cut grass, smoke and the sharp scent of incinerated objects. Unable to sit on tight she walked back towards the arena, looking anxiously at the gaps in the sides.

The roar she'd heard earlier seemed to have been replaying itself inside her mind and the very thought of it was making her crazy. Crazy from excitement and indecisiveness. What was she going to do? Help out here or go her own way? Come to think of it, she'd managed to lose track of her new friend Darryn as well. That didn't really work out that well, helping people that is since she always managed to get herself in need of aid, so her decision quickly fell upon a somewhat rash solution. Going back inside on her own.

"Just. Go.Destroy...."

A voice resonated, it appeared to be coming from behind her, but when turning around nobody seemed to be there.

"Wha-?"

Jill shook her head slightly and looked back forward. She had to make a decision here and now. Go on or take her hands off of this. That last option however was impossible. So going on would be the case indeed. Jill hesitated just a bit, not being able to make up her mind. She knew what to do and yet the wavering indecisiveness of the typical 17 year old adolescent made her doubt. Shit happens, even in times like these.

[Toogee]

After the events in the arena, various trainers flooded the streets of the village outside, to the one place they could count on to be safe: the pokemon center. As a result, a massive crowd circled the building, the inside already packed with trainers looking for answers. Poor Joy was being yelled at from all sides by angry trainers wanting to know where their pokemon were. Accessing the computer system proved pointless: communications were down with the box system. In fact, not so much as an email could be sent to the outside world. All the trainers could do was wait for everything to come back online and tend to those wounded.

Darius found himself among the waiting, learning more about his pokemon team. It wasn’t a terrible bunch for pokemon that weren’t named Bindy and Snake. Though his Cherrim was back inside her petals, something about the sun turned her into a complete psychopath. One that shot off giant lasers. It was the latter that somehow inspired the dragon trainer and his other pokemon to perform better.

Next up, Slowbro’s moveset was fairly decent. If only he weren’t so slow. Darius wasn’t sure what he could do with such a slow pokemon. His Beautifly was armed with bug moves, helpful for status effects. The dragon trainer wasn’t exactly a fan of bug tactics, but he figured bug catchers loved these things, and that whirlwind proved quite handy.

As for the glaceon, Darius usually saw ice types as an enemy, being one of only two types having an advantage over dragons for the next twelve days anyways. This would be a good learning opportunity to see what ice is capable of. The teddiursa simply sat in Darius’ lap, looking cute as he nibbled on a biscuit. Those claws of his looked quite capable, but the bear cub was apparently quite effective as a wingman. Women were coming up to Darius, complementing his relationship with the teddiursa. Darius was usually a big fan of evolution, but not in this case…

Gible proved to be Darius’ first experience in training dragon pokemon. After Tag’s stern command to the little one, Darius realized that some tough love was needed to keep him in line. A confident tone was all that was needed for the dragon to obey commands.

Speaking of Tag, where did he run off to? Darius had finally found the dragon master, only to find that he hadn’t mastered very many dragons. Darius had so many questions to ask.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before he could begin his search, a rescue worker with a large megaphone came up to the giant group, calling for their aid. The young woman looked quite sad as she pleaded for help

“Could I have your attention please?” the rescuer began. “The group causing the explosions has retreated, but the arena complex has been greatly damaged. Under the arena was a research complex, where we believe several people are trapped inside. However, the pokemon residing in the complex are loose…and wild. The scientists may have been experimenting on them, causing them to take over the building and keeping the survivors as hostages. We can’t help them without more pokemon trainers to keep the hostiles at bay. If there are any trainers willing to help with the rescue effort, please speak now. We don’t know how much time the survivors have…”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The right motivation…” Mondo mumbled as he witnessed the show going on down below.

[Master Houndoom]

Together, they had made their way to the gathering place. Branwys looked, between the crowd of pokemon and the clamouring trainers, and despaired of ever getting inside. With a sigh, she sat down.

Making oneself smaller and not human shaped in front of a snorlax is a generally bad idea.

Suddenly she fond herself lifted in the air, rising higher and higher. For a split second she panicked, until she felt the pressure on her foot where a claw had picked her up. It wasn't the first time she had been mistake for a meal. It probably wouldn't be the last.

It would, however, be the easiest to deal with.

Her arms crossed even as she rose to the snorlax's face, her eyes hooded. Unimpressed. THe snorlax looked momentarily confused, deciding whether or not to go through with his plan to sate his stomach for five minutes or so.

"You're lucky I'm wearing a skort," she snarled, then, lifting the one of the pokeballs she attached to her belt, recalled the snorlax.

She admitted as she hit the ground on her backside that she hadn't thought that all the way through. The commotion, however, had covered her: No one had bothered to look up when she shrieked.

"OK, everyone back in. Thanks for the cover, but we've got to find your trainers!" And I have to find Dimo and Oggie...

Being small had its advantages. While she couldn't shoulder her way into crowded rooms (and if she hadn't been afraid of becoming an annoyed snorlax' snack, she would have used him to do it), she could find opening where others couldn't hope to fit. There were some tight squeezes and a couple of embarrassing moments when her hair or, worse, her hand brushed someone's rump (and some were rumpier than others), but eventually she'd made it to the counter.

Getting the nurse' attention proved futile, as many others had wanted to know what she did. Why were their pokemon missing, who were these strange pokemon, and what was being done to fix it?!

Branwys had another plan, however, and one she felt was important. So intent was she on getting her point out that she didn't notice the group fall quiet as the rescuer made her announcement. Finally, frustrated, she shouted out, "I CAN HELP!"

"Oh, thank you, little girl!" The voice came from behind her. "We really could use all the help we can get." The rescuer pointed to where volunteers were gathering. Branwys blinked.

She had meant the machines, but the rescuer's eyes were so earnest that Branwys hung her head, embarrassed by her outburst and the mistake, and walked to the gathering place. People, well, some, made room for her. One man, whom she had brushed against before, hadn't move, looking back eagerly at the girl. Branwys made a face and gave him a wider berth than needed, much to his look of disappointment.

Muttering to herself, trying not to be heard, she crossed her arms. "Any one want a snorlax..?"

[Living Arrow]

“That’s, like, impossible…” Lyla whispered to herself after Tag explained the Pokemon swap-out situation a for the second time (a little more slowly for her distressed mind to capture it). She fumbled awkwardly for her Barbie-pink Pokedex and set to scanning the balls in her bag.

[Rotom. Swellow. Jigglypuff. Alakazam. Buizel. Typhlosion.]

“No way… Then, like, where’s Kaki and Momo and the others?” She wondered out loud as she removed the balls from the bag one by one and fastened them to her rarely-utilised trainer’s belt even as her escort trio of trainers battled around her. Oblivious, she clipped them in alphabetical order so that she wouldn’t lose track of who was in what ball then began to flip through their pages on the Pokedex with one hand while her other found Tag’s arm once more.

*I’d definitely need a strong Pokemon like Alakazam or Typhlosion to protect me but what if they don’t listen?* She fretted as they oved into the more crowded area around the Pokemon Center. *Maybe I’ll just stick with the Jigglypuff or the Buizel if it comes to-*

“Huh?” Lyla bumped into Tag as they suddenly stopped moving and her chest brushed up against cold armour plates. “Wah!” She cried with alarm in Darius’s face. “Where’s Tag gone?!” She demanded, searching around wide-eyed through the pressing crowd. “He said he’d keep me, like, safe…” She sniffed weakly.

[Aura Dynasty]

Even though she stood a while away from the immense crowd -Jill still tried to figure out how so many people could possibly fit inside the stadium- she was clearly able to hear the rescue-worker's speech on how they needed trainers or people capable of helping out and finding the survivors. An outstanding opportunity, but she'd no idea how she would be able to help out, she didn't had the guts to raise her hand, leave alone stand up against the people who'd done this! From several groups she'd passed one thing kept repeating itself. Team Deception. No idea who they were, not even what they were exactly, but by seeing what they'd caused at the tournament, they wouldn't be an innocent group of illusionists.

"I CAN HELP!"

The voice was loud and clear, perhaps a little frustrated by focusing on its tone, but it was heard and the rescuer who'd just made the announcement looked hopeful as she pointed at the gathering place. This girl seemed a lot younger than Jill was, and she had the guts to raise her voice like that for the sake of helping their cause. Admirable. Jill thought about what to say, what to do and looked at her hands, who'd started shaking. Thoughts of indecisiveness, uselessness rushed through her head. Again that feeling. She hated it. This time there was a chance she could help people in need, keep them from suffering, pain or even worse, death. Helping them, a chance that'd become riskier with every second that passed.

"What am I? A coward? No, take an example at that girl and rise up!"

Clenching her hands into fists she looked up at the rescue-worker, who obviously couldn't see that Jill was watching her, and she too opened her mouth.

"I-eh,... would like to help!"

The people close enough to hear it looked at her, then shook their head as if they'd imagined hearing something and went back on with their babbling. This sudden ignorance somehow made something snap inside of her. After she finally spoke up she was to be plainly ignored?! No way that this was happening! Boldly she paced towards and partially through the crowd, to stop fifty yards from where she'd first stood and raised her voice once again.

"What are they, deaf? I VOLUNTEER!!!"

The people around her suddenly backed away and looked at the blonde girl who'd just managed to shut an entire crowd up. Well, she had to admit that the way she'd said it was pretty loud. Actually, ridiculously loud. Atop of that she'd managed to not repeat herself, but to use a film-quote as well. A little bit shocked herself she hadn't noticed that she held both her hands in front of her mouth, until she tried to utter an apology. The rescuer herself looked at her, both pleased and taken aback. This girl sure was a strange one.

"Uh, okay that's fine." the woman replied, still a bit confused. "That way, if you'd please..."

Jill lowered her head, a bit ashamed and quickly walked through the crowd and towards the group of volunteers. People made way for her, which only made her more embarrassed. First impression: Failed. Big time. If she'd be remembered later, hopefully she wouldn't be remembered as the Shouting Volunteer or something.

"And that's why I don't open my mouth so often." she mumbled to herself as she proceeded.

[Douken Sota]

It was a risky move finding himself at the Pokemon Center, but at the same time a safe one. If they wanted to take him out secretly, then being in the midst of a crowd would act s a safety net. Anyone try to do anything and they will be easily spotted by a number of faces. during that time, he could sit down, straighten up his head, recover, and find out how things looked on his end.

Releasing his other three Pokemon, he was soon able to take a look at his full team: Flaffy, Bulbasaur, Hariyama, Gible, Sudowoodo, and Gothita. Sure enough, no one knew each other and were staring at each other either confused or angry. "May I have a moment?" he called out to them, getting their attention. "As you are aware, we got a bit of an issue going on. We have all been separated from our trainers and families because of an attack. This was made to try and confuse us and prevent us from fighting back in the midst of the confusion. However, as we speak, we are trying to get things fixed up as soon as possible. However, during this time, I want to make sure that this distraction they threw at us will not stop us at stopping them, so I ask of you to please lend me your strength for moment." he gave them a moment to let them think it over. "Gothica, may you please give me their names?"

"Yes, Temp Master!" echoed in his head, feeling a small sweat drop form on the back as she asked about. "I am Nina. This one," Gible, "is Snap. This one," Sudowoodo, "is Mimic. This one," Bulbasaur, "is Lily. This one," Flaffy, "is Plush. And finally, this one," Hariyama, "is Don't-act-like-you-fucking-own-me." However, Douken watched the Hariyama face palm while giving a brief comment before Nina added, "But you can call him Hachi."

"Alright, well it is ice to meet you all and I do wish to help out as much as possible myself. I am Douken Sota. i am not your new trainer or temp master, but I do wish to help get this situation taken care of. So please, lend me your strength and I shall do the same."

A bit after some Q&A to try and understand some things between each other, Douken was able to get an idea on what they were like and what special skill they possessed outside of their normal move arrangement. however, one of the rescuers soon came up, asking for volunteers to help them in their situation. His eyes narrowed a bit, betting what he had this was a secret move for TD to use them just like in the Lenolia Graveyard. Standing up, he returned what consisted of his team except for the Gothita, who sat on his shoulder, and pushed his way through the crowd to get in front of the "rescuer," and stared her right in the eyes.

"Sounds like you are having trouble with your job, aren't you," Douken muttered under his breath,making sure only she could hear. "I mean, it must be hard to do your job without the help of civilians. Who else makes great pawns to do some dirty work?" Stepping away, he soon found himself walking over to the other volunteers. "I am helping too," he announced. This way, I can make sure you don't get what you want.

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

Pansear (M) [Blaze] Role Play
Delcatty (F) [Wonderskin] Ice Beam
Gurdurr (M) [Iron Fist] Thunder Punch
Corphish (F) [Shell Armor] Chip Away
Masquerain (F) [Intimidate] Energy Ball
Porygon 2 (-)[Trace] Psychic

"Goddamnit this blows!" Seican shouted, A Porygon 2 and Delcatty sitting next to him. "how the hell can I get ready for my next concert if my band is everywhere but here?!" Groaning under his breath, his head dropped as he slowly made his way over to the overly crowded Pokemon Center. Stepping in was simply impossible, so he had to wait outside throughout the rest of the noise. "Geez, talk about uber crappy luck."

However, it seemed like there was a rescuer outside looking for help as well. It was a good way to get the attention of everyone if they had a few guys trying to get extra hands. With a sigh, Seican simply said, "Why not? If I can beat something up to let out my frustration, then so be it. Not like I can thrash some metal now anyways."

This post has been edited by Douken Sota: Oct 3 2013, 02:35 PM

[Kamaitachi]

Lyla had not go of his arm the entire trip to the Pokemon Center. The girl clung to him with a death-grip even as he barked out commands to his temporary team. He made a face down at the girl, silently wishing that she were a bit more assertive in the fight. But, this was yet another disaster that they'd endured. He couldn't fault her for shutting down.

They reached the overly crowded Pokemon Center, and Lyla, for a moment, let go of him. He used the opportunity to gently slip away, leaving her with Darius and Tikal for the moment. Now that the majority of the excitement had petered out for the most part, now was the time to find some answers.

He moved through the crowd, making his way to one of the healing stations where his makeshift team was tied up. He looked around for a moment, wondering if he'd recognize any of his Pokemon. However, there were so many moving about, and a vaster majority still in their pokeballs, that the probability seemed rather low.

Sure, he was worried, but he'd trained them well. They would be able to do just fine in the situation. It was their makeshift trainers he had to worry about. Yet, that was another bag of worry he didn't even want to think about. He was quite convinced that if the new trainers were sub-par, his Pokemon would simply just do their own thing.

His Pokedex beeped loudly, startling him. He never received messages via pokedex...no one really knew him well enough to send him messages anymore.

Flipping it open, he noted a message from...unknown sender.

"Meet me at the entrance to the Arena. Bring anyone you trust."

Trust? Tag trusted very few people. Justin and Nate he trusted now, but they were nowhere to be found. He didn't really know anyone else well enough to trust them. For that matter, he didn't even really trust the message. If this was an attack, certainly they'd want to take him out. It would be foolish to go alone.

Throughout the hustle and bustle of the center, he noticed a few people starting to form into groups, probably for some sort of rescue mission? He would've gladly volunteered as well...but this message was bothersome. His gut told him that much more of the answers would become apparent should he go meet the mystery messenger...or at the very least, he'd have a new lead to follow.

He returned back to the group, forcing a smile as Lyla sniffled attached to Darius.

"I'm right here." Tag nodded as he looked over at Lyla, Tikal, and Darius. "I'll be heading back out to see if I can't find the wounded or stragglers. Dragon Trainer, may I task you with keeping the young lady safe?" He paused for a moment, looking the man up and down, finally pinning the armor as a variant of the proud leather armor worn by die-hard trainers from Blackthorn. No wonder he'd recognized Tag and asked him to summon his 'mighty dragons'. If only the poor lad knew. Taggarty Lee, the Bane of Blackthorn, was no longer a dragon trainer by rite of his exile.

"Tikal" He looked over at the opponent he'd narrowly beaten only moments before. The tattooed man leaned in to whisper the next bit: "You're in charge of keeping an eye on the both of them. I think we know that you're the sanest one in the lot."

With that, and whatever responses they could muster, he hurried from the Pokemon Center, looking to meet with the mystery man or woman.

Sure enough, as he was running, hands on his pokeball belt, he noticed someone else moving through the debris. Jill Laurent! He moved over instantly, eyes darting about for any sign of enemy or Electrode.

"Are you hurt?" He asked calmly, crossing his arms. "If not...I could use your help. Care to follow me back to the arena? I believe I've a lead on what's going on around here."

Jill...probably the most sane and down to earth person in all of Furoh. The one person who didn't particularly rush headlong into danger like almost every other trainer in the universe, Tag included. Someone of her sensibilities was someone that Tag could inherently trust.

* * *

"Lori, we're almost there!"

Once they'd crossed the threshold into the safety perimeter of the Pokemon Center, Francesco Rojas and Lori Pardare moved about, looking for Branwys. However, looking for Cesc's Lady-Friend in the crowd of people was proving more and more difficult, especially with more haggard and terrified people surging in. Cesc sighed, holding on to Lori as he looked about the Pokemon Center.

He listened intently, wondering if he could locate her via the sound of her voice. What he did hear, however, was someone asking for trainers to help rescue people somewhere.

"Lori, let's go help out." He nodded grimly, moving towards the groups gathering to travel somewhere to rescue some people. There was a chance that Branwys was one of the people in need of rescue, so this seemed as good a lead as any. "Time to be heroes, yeah?" His charming grin broke out despite all of his worry, aimed to bolster the spirits of the woman he was leading around.

Cesc pushed his way through the crowd, making a path with Lori until they arrived at the rescuer's location.

"We volunteer!" he waved, taking Lori by the hand and pulling her into the group. Looking around at the smattering of trainers he'd assembled, he noticed long-haired rockstar Seiccan Serroc, whom he waved to noncommittally for a moment. As he scanned the group, he noticed his lovely lady love. It stood to sense that she would be someone rescuing, rather than someone needing to be rescued.

"Branny!" He grinned, letting go of Lori and moving over to his fellow trainer. "Branwys...I'm so happy you're safe."

[Toogee]

Darius could have giggled like a schoolgirl if it weren’t for all of these people around him. There he was, Taggarty Lee, taking charge of the situation. He gave Darius the task of protecting Lyla, the beginnings of a tale of chivalry and danger! As Tag whispered something to Tikal (probably about how awesome Darius was), Darius turned to Lyla as he recalled the teddiursa in his arms.

“Not to worry, milady. No harm shall come to you while I’m standing. You have my word.” He put his free hand on Lyla’s shoulder, as solid a promise as the dragon trainer could make.

Soon, under Tag’s leadership, they would infiltrate the arena, fend off the creatures within, and rescue the survivors. What was a simple outing was turning into another epic chapter in the Chronicles of Darius Dovakin!

And then Tag left without them.

“W-wait, what about us?” Darius asked, but his idol had disappeared into the dense crowds. What kind of chapter would this be? They just stand around while someone else saved the day? Darius wouldn’t hear of that! The dragon trainer saw his opening when people began volunteering to help with the rescue effort. Yes, this was how this chapter would begin! Darius, alongside his fellow trainers, would fight into the decrepit arena and save the day!

“People in danger? We must help as well!” Darius said to Lyla and Tikal. “We cannot sit idle while more damage is done! That wouldn’t be very heroic at all!”

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

Jill Laurent was searching the pokemon center desperately to find her companions. Pele, Vinyl and Flare were missing, and in their stead she had quite the random assortment of pokemon. Her top priority was finding her lost pokemon, but it was difficult in the chaotic crowd, filled with trainers on the exact same mission as she.

Then, a rescue worker darted in and insisted that they needed help. Perfect. That meant some of the trainers blocking her way would undoubtedly rush headstrong back into the arena with their new and powerful pokemon, which would surely make it easier to find her own.

But it's never quite that easy. She happened to run into Tag Lee, which was for a moment a relief. After that, he insisted that she come with him, he had a lead on what was going on. He began to move towards the stadium, but she stayed put.

"Tag-" She began, and he stopped to listen. "I'm not-" She couldn't quite figure out what to say, but she knew that her priority was finding her pokemon. She wasn't out to save the world, or to stop the bad guys. Frankly, she didn't care. But she did kind of care about Tag, and he appeared to care very much about fighting for good, or whatever. So, she had to say it gently. "My priority- I can't-" She stopped to take a deep breath and figure out what to say. "I can't come with you. I need to find my pokemon." She could feel a tear coming, but she fought it off. "They're all I have left."

[Kamaitachi]

Tag stopped in his tracks, slightly befuddled at Jill's reaction. He hadn't expected the sort of emotional panic from her; in the few instances he'd seen her, he'd never been met with this sort of desperation.

"Everyone is looking for their pokemon." He stated matter-of-factly, not entirely sure how to explain his point. "It's going to be a mess here, but if we can sort out the problem at its source, everyone's Pokemon should be returned to them. The sooner that happens, the better. I've got someone else's Pokemon, and I intend to take care of them as if they were my own. I can only trust that whoever has my Pokemon will do the same. Until then, I think this is the best way to set things right across the board."

He hadn't intended to monologue at her, especially with so much still going on.

"I'm going." Tag clenched his jaw for a moment, not really sure how to sum up his thoughts properly. He really needed to learn how to talk to people, or at the very least express his own thoughts in a way that didn't sound stupid. He was surprisingly elegant when it came to being noble, but when it came to being a human, he had no idea how to phrase things. "You have your priorities...and I understand that. There's more at stake here...if we don't stop whomever is behind this, then we may never get our Pokemon back. So, I hope you change your mind." He gave her an awkward sort of wave, drawing a Pokeball, he summoned his temporary ally.

"Togekiss, you're on overwatch. Keep an eye out for trouble."

With a determined sounding trill, the Jubilee Pokemon swept up into the air as Tag broke into a jog away from the Pokemon Center.

[Master Houndoom]

Branwys stood there, twiddling with the pokeball that held the snorlax that had almost eaten her. She could tell, could feel that it wasn't Dimo or Ognian's ball, and not just by the lack of their stickers on it. It just felt... wrong. Heavy, even though she had done the measurements and experiments with her brother that proved that the ball didn't change dimensions unless activated or put into storage mode, and the weight of an empty ball and an inhabited ball never changed by more than 21 grams...

She sighed. She hadn't seen a familiar face since Darryn had defeated her in their match. Not even Gol had seemed to stay around (but, then, could one blame him?). She knew Cesc was here, he had texted her as much, and she was certain that if Daryn were here, then Lyla was likely with him, but she hadn't seen anyone.

Dimo and Oggie were always out, unless they just couldn't be. She wondered where they were, if anyone had them, and if whoever had them was treating them right. Branwys almost laughed at that, except for one thing: While Dimo and Ognian were strong willed and loyal, they were still very small, not evolved. She was beginning to fear that, if a trainer mistreated them, they would act up, and if he didn't like it... well, then what? She had some pretty strong pokemon on her, and a fe- one not so strong one. What if this guy sicced a stronger one on her boys?!

There was no guarantee the strength leveller was working, either.

Dimo would find her. Or she would find him

It had to happen. She couldn't bear losing more right after losing Tinka.

Branwys looked up just as another group of volunteers made their way to the group; That Seiccan guy from the bug caching contest, and...

Cesc. Holding a girl's hand.

For a moment she could feel the blood rushing from her face. It came back with a vengeance when he had't even noticed her at first, still holding to the other girl's hand, he turned, and finally spotted her.

She had managed to calm her formidable ire by the time he saw her, but she wasn't about o stop the icy look in her eyes, or the grit teeth, or the way the ball nearly popped out of her hand from trying to squeeze it at seeing Cesc's hand in another...

Inwardly, she sighed. Of course. Of course he'd turn to someone else. Either he was a complete jerk and was playing her for the novelty, a complete ass and had several girls in reserve, and she was the one who'd simply popped up most often lately, had decided her size and manner of dress was off putting, which, honestly, just confirmed every fear she'd ever had about finding a relationship ever, or he was intimidated by the fact that she had had to bail him out on two fights during that whole debacle and his male ego was bruised (nevermind that he had asked for her help... that probably made it worse in his ass-jerk-non-committing mind!).

He came toward her, but she was looking at his chest and not his eyes, stepping back to avoid the inevitable hug. Her eyes, she knew, said it all: Keep your distance, and maybe I won't bite you in that non-pleasant way you are guaranteed NOT to like.

"Cesc," she said, cooly, her voice lowering a full octave. "Who's your..." she wanted to say little, but even that petty insult would backfire on her, given the facts, "friend?"

[rt117]

Watching Tag leave to tend to his own business, Tikal realized that perhaps he was serious when he had asked her to keep an eye on them. When he left, she could see why, as Darius made a potent declaration about having to be heroic. This, combined with his attire made it all the more difficult for the girl to resist the urge to cover her face with her hand. She would agree to let him go on with his plan, so long as she could be the voice in his head, to steer him away from some epic failure.

"Right... well... let's get started then. What's your plan?" she asked, recalling the Pokemon she had summoned to help the group escape from the madness out on the battle arena. All but the Oshawott, which somehow reminded the girl of Darius, swinging his scalchop about as if it were a sword, in a demand to take part in the 'heroics' that the armour-clad trainer promised them.

Tikal looked down at the little Oshawott, which was quick to run over to Darius, examining his gear. Unable to hold back any longer, her hand slipped over her face.

"...Looks like you've got yourself a fan."

[Kamaitachi]

Cesc reeled for a moment. While they were embroiled in yet another horrific situation, he had been expecting Branwys to be as relieved as he was. The rather icy glare that met him instead surprised him to no end.

"This is Lori Pardare." He gestured over to her, "She was my opponent during the tournament. "Miss Pardare won handily in our match, but then those Electrode fell out of the sky." His mismatched eyes looked over Branwys, who seemed haggard, and not in the 'just-rolled-out-of-bed' way that he normally enjoyed. Something had been very off about her recently, and now he thought he'd finally placed a finger on it.

"Bran," he frowned, placing his hands on his hips. He had hoped that Branwys wasn't one of those horrendously insecure girls that immediately jumped to conclusions whenever it suited them. She had never shown that face before, usually being the cooler of the two of them. But he was tired at this point, perhaps from what now felt like a constant slew of dangerous situations. So despite all of the warning signs, the tired, frazzled Cesc refused to step aside for the gentler, more thoughtful self. "You've gotta be kidding me. Now, of all times, you're jealous? The world just exploded and you're getting upset over this?"

Noooooooooo...Cesc...you moron!

* * *

Hey guys, we're overdue for the split. I was waiting for everyone to assemble here, but in the spirit of keeping things moving, I may induce the split. Government might be shut down, but we're not!

[LittleShadowPoke...]

Pre-Crisis & Pre-Battle

Joey fought his way through the crowds and eventually found his way by following in Bartholomew's generous wake. When the young boy could see in front of him, his line of vision was greeted by an earthy display featuring supposed long-extinct Pokémon. Joey recognized a couple from toys he had once possessed in childhood. Bartholomew, with surprisingly gentle guidance, brought his young protégé to the front of the crowd to better peer at the fossils in the glass case.

Exorbitant prices were available for buying outright, but a game of chance accompanied lower prices. In a brightly painted tub featuring a sunny Lotad design swirled Magikarp and one lone Feebas. Old rods were propped against the counter expectantly. Bartholomew turned to Joey slightly and started signing.

"Is this exotic enough for you, Master Sweet?"

Joey made a derisive face and signed back regarding the excessive title.

"Sarcasm doesn't become you, Barty." To indicate a nickname, Joey used the name sign he had assigned his new assistant by slapping his B hand against his chest over his heart.

"It's all about style," Bartholomew brushed off the comment easily.

Joey rolled his eyes subtly before reaching for an old rod, but Bartholomew promptly slammed his own B hand against his opposing open palm. Joey obeyed the "stop" sign and focused as it was explained to him. He was transitioning out of being a rookie, and a new teammate should not be left to chance. Consideration must be carefully made to assess his team needs. Joey made a mental run through of his team and tried to recall his tactics he had read.

"Defense," he muttered orally.

Bartholomew nodded, as if expecting him to come to that conclusion, and confidently handed him a fossil. The dirt was tightly packed and rough against his skin. He ran his fingers over the grooves in the fossil in wonder, trying to feel if life indeed existed within what appeared akin to a rock. He scanned the brochure and matched the fossil to the Pokémon. It was an Armor Fossil, and housed the DNA of a Shieldon. It might have hiss his over-active imagination, but the deaf boy would have sworn up and down that he had felt a tingle as he handed the fossil to the vendor clerk to be restored. The machine hummed to life, and Joey could feel the vibrations throughout his body and rattling his ribcage. His excitement soared with the same growing intensity. A dull glow escaped the lid, and before the spots dissipated from his eyes, a young scaly Shieldon was thrust into his arms, which he had to set down quickly due to its in proportionate weight. However, he knelt down and kept his hand on it in greeting.

Wide, innocent eyes gazed into Joey's own from beneath the metallic ridge jutting from the head of the ancient creature. The Pokémon vocalized his name and Joey felt it and the calm breathing. The eye contact of calm adoration wasn't broken even as Joey recalled his new teammate into the Pokéball.

"Well?" Bartholomew signed warmly to Joey, who cradled the Pokéball with devout affection.

"That was the most amazing experience…" Joey signed slowly.

Bartholomew smiled.

***

Bartholomew noted a kiosk detailing the battle information and then herded Joey to his next match. Getting flustered, Joey had trouble hiding his reluctance to conforming to his next costume change.

A copy of Joey's Battle Thread post for chronological convenience.

"Is she even watching these? How will she know if I wear the costume or not?" Joey muttered verbally for once, referring to his pseudo-tyrannical sponsor, as his hands were too busy clawing at fabric to sign.

"Believe me, she'll know," Bartholomew responded with certainty as he manipulated one sleeve for Joey to wiggle into. In the near pitch dark of the changing tent, Joey wasn't even sure what he was working so hard and fast to get into, and he was less sure he wanted to ask.

On the way to the battle tent, Bartholomew had briefed Joey on the arena environment, which unfortunately would make things difficult for his two strongest Pokémon. Claw and Jet would be out of the picture for his round, because while he considered that the environment was not the deciding factor, how his Pokémon moved within it would be. He recognized that they weren't yet skilled enough to trust with an inherent disadvantage.

They entered the arena and Bartholomew quickly branched off to settle himself in the stadium seating and Joey quickly lost sight of him. The new-found light of the laboratory instruments illuminated his newest outfit which betrayed a purple and pink pattern displayed in a stylish tuxedo fashion and adorned with green sequins across the collar bone and swept into diagonals closing in on the young boy's chest. With a twinge, he realized that a set of fluffy purple ears adorned his sleek, purple fedora. He was the perfect anthropomorphism of a Purrloin, and he could almost feel Bartholomew's snickers as he took his place at his end of the arena.

He had been a little late, but ready now and reached into his blazer jacket to access the dress vest within that was tailored to house Pokéballs, and also was the pale tan as viewed on the Purrloin species. With a sigh, Joey gripped Mally's Pokéball and caught himself succumbing to prayer. Babylon was in his other hand, ready to fight allied with Mally, despite Mally's inevitable best effort.

He flung the Pokéballs out and Mally appeared arching her back nonchalantly and Babylon looked astonished while scanning the packed stands and arena, and his gaze ended at his own trainer, a smile which quickly dissolved in a flash of white light. In one heartbeat, both of his Pokémon were sucked back into their Pokéballs in his hands. It felt like lead in his stomach as he puzzled over what happened. He could feel the crowd's eyes on him and the pressure of making a bad impression so early.

He would peg Mally being a pain in the ass at such an important moment, but Babylon? And that white light… it didn't look familiar or even remotely voluntary. The deaf trainer's thoughts were broken by a cascade of exploding bright lights landing all around him. Vibrations rocked the ground and his nervous system. Caught completely off guard and stunned, Joey fell to his knees and cautiously glimpsed skyward to see dark, whirring shapes hovering. His attention was brought back to his level when an Electrode whizzed by. All around him trainers had called out their own Pokémon to contest the unwelcome intruders, and Joey got a grip on himself and decided to do the same. His own expression matched those of the surrounding shocked trainers. Joey had called out Mally, but before him was not Mally.

Joey rose to his feet quickly, but that didn't level the height difference between the trainer and his monster. It stood on two feet and towered over him with a fierce gaze. The nearby trainers even took fearful note of its presence. It was made of rock, it was huge, and its tail alone rivaled the size of Joey. Around the beast, sand started to rise and whip around around it and engulfed Joey quickly. Within a matter of seconds, the arena was ablaze with harsh, unforgiving sand. Joey choked and tried to cover his eyes. There was no way to take in a breath. He desperately fumbled for what he had thought to be Mally's Pokéball, and thankfully was able to recall the vicious monster. As he did, the sandstorm waned, and died, much to the relief of the arena.

However, explosions were still occurring and even more trigger happy than before. Joey cursed his luck and tried to rub the sand out of his eyes, but it was useless and he stopped for fear of making it worse. A deaf boy who couldn't use his eyes was almost as good as a goner, he thought. He wandered around the arena, heading in the direction he remembered as the entrance he had used (he hoped), and avoided touching anything resembling a sphere. He went as fast as he could, stopping only to brace himself for every explosion that threatened his balance, and attempted to suppress his rising terror.

When it first started happening, he had humored the thought that this were a choreographed part of the competition, an added challenge to keep things lively. But as the panic escalated around him and having glimpsed the bright orange of the rescue workers through burning eyes, Joey perished the thought. The pit in his stomach was confirmed, and something had gone terribly wrong.

As his last futile attempt to break through the crowd was failing, he tried to make his way towards the arena exit and also to find Bartholomew. His assistant was nowhere in sight, at least what Joey considered sight at the moment, and after being knocked down several times, a rescue worker grabbed him protectively and ushered him towards the lobby, and Joey was succumbing to shock too much to resist. He was just numbly grateful.

Where was Mally? Did he still have his other Pokémon? Did he have the guts to check? What if he didn't?

Thought after thought flashed through his mind, each more grisly than the last as he himself was rushed towards safety.

A small water basin was brought to Joey so that he could rinse out his eyes, which he accomplished desperately with great relief, and minimal trouble. He slowly blinked back into the world of vision and found himself sitting out on the grass with the Pokémon Center not far away. An overwhelming crowd of distraught and angry people were gathered in front of him in all imaginable positions of sitting and standing, and as he could see through the center's glass doors, it was overflowing with people.

While he had hated it with all his might only moments ago, being deaf became an advantage as his panic faded away. It was very easy to tune out the chaos and mentally check out of the situation. As he did so, his logical and analytical side bubbled to the surface, and he was able to take a step back and think.

Everyone else was fleeing to the authorities during the crisis and it was getting them nowhere, therefore Joey had no inclination to join them in beating their heads against PokéCenter walls. Instead, the people outside and closer to him appeared to be getting into groups formed by members of the rescue team. After tending to Joey and seeing he was relatively alright, the rescue worker who had helped the deaf boy appeared to be making an announcement and doing the same thing, accompanied with a crude cardboard sign denoting "Rescue Group". They were placed more on the outskirts, farthest away from the PokéCenter, so no one flocked to their group immediately, for which Joey was thankful. This many people made him uncomfortable, and he considered going off on his own looking for his Pokémon and Bartholomew. Deep down, he wished Bartholomew would show up, interpret for him, save the day, and they could all go home and Joey could hide in his room under his covers. But the day seemed to not be taking that direction. He had to remind himself that he had been a person, and a functioning one at that, before being gifted a personal assistant. He could be that person just as easily as before his life took a miraculous turn of events that landed him life comforts, couldn't he?

He reiterated it to himself and steeled his nerves. He clutched the Pokéball that housed the monster from before, and now being able to think more clearly, he was sure it was a Tyranitar. Knowing that alone, he was hesitant to check the other Pokéballs for what monstrosities they sheathed. He had heard stories of disobedient Pokémon if they thought the trainer was weak, and he was sure he hadn't left a good impression on the dark/rock type.

However, he had to know and use the tools available to him, so he firmly called out the next Pokémon in line, which had been Claw's Pokéball. Just holding it, Joey knew it didn't feel right, although he couldn't explain it. He continued calling out all of the Pokémon, besides the Tyranitar as another sandstorm wasn't needed, and they all looked just as confused as he was, clearly not knowing each other. Joey's own enthusiasm dissipated when he realized he had no introduction to this new group, no easy communication like a hearing person would have. Not relying on the near impossibility of the Pokémon knowing to sign, he started talking in his rather unused voice, and signed complementary out of habit. One of the Pokémon, a Mr. Mime, perked visibly, and started signing in return, to Joey's astonishment. Although visibly floored by this revelation, the boy quickly focused on the clearly fluent hand-flapping. From that conversation, Joey gleaned that the Pokémon were just as disoriented as the trainers, but Mr. Mime personally was on board, and he convinced the others gathered around Joey to throw in their support, some more begrudgingly than others.

During that, Joey noticed that another individual on the impromptu team with definitive digits, an Electabuzz, was vaguely mimicking the Mr. Mime's signs with potential signing dexterity, but limited effort. Joey softly smiled at the thought of such harmonious luck. As his mother would say, someone was watching out for him. Oddly, he was surprised he remembered such optimism from her, as it had been squished out steadily in his early years of life.

A Floatzel now under his command was making a futile attempt at signing, but quickly became frustrated and gave up, opting instead to only having to read it. The remaining two on the field were completely out of luck as a Rhyperior and a Shedinja, but they both proved to be focused and willing. The large Drill Pokémon was intimidating on par to the Tyranitar, but thanks to the Mr. Mime's liaison, it was cooperative.

Due to crisis-induced time constraints, Joey and Mr. Mime helped the others understand three basic signs: Attack, Defend, Retreat. He prayed they would be enough. For anything more complicated, Joey hoped signing and Mr. Mime's psychic ability would suffice, and on that note, he recalled all the Pokémon to let them rest aside from the Mr. Mime. If anything, he was slightly lonely and felt more secure with a Pokémon at his side. Mr. Mime seemed to understand and settled down easily. In sign, he introduced himself as "Mimely". Joey smiled and signed, "Please to meet you," before taking a seat back on the grass. He wasn't seated long before he sprang back up. It felt as if he had sat on something. After some ineffective grass inspection and then awkward wiggling, he reached behind him to straighten out the stiff blazer, and clutched something long, slender, and furry, ending in a defined spiked point.

"Sweet Arceus," he sighed exasperated. His costume had come complete with a springy Purrloin tail, and suddenly, he had second thoughts about finding Bartholomew.

Joey acquires Shieldon at level 24.

This post has been edited by LittleShadowPokemon: Oct 16 2013, 04:14 PM

[colourcodedchaos]

Movement in the dark. Voices. Not hers.

A scream.

That was hers.

Open eyes light too bright hurts hurts hurts-

Black.

***

"<Is she gonna be okay?>" The Growlithe asked, worry in his voice. "<I like her. She doesn't - um... she's not like Master.>"

"<I don't really know,>" mumbled the Grovyle after some thought. "<We could try getting her to a Pokemon Centre. She's about as out of it as it's possible to get, but the other humans'll know what to do.>"

"<Normally, I'd suggest I carry her, but we have our metal friend over there for that.>" The Conkeldurr gestured towards Stompy Geoff with one of his poles. "<Grovyle, you've got the most experience with the thing. Can you make it move?>"

"<I - of course I can! And what's more, I can do it better than she did->"

"<You aren't fooling anyone, Grovyle,>" muttered the Patrat in hushed tones. "<You're as scared of what's out there as the rest of us. Act like it, instead of these lies->"

"<Who the hell is a PATRAT to tell me how I'm feeling->"

"<Someone who can notice. Someone with eyes.>"

"<Oh, I can see your weird-ass eyes, they take up half your bloody head->"

"Will both of you be silent for a moment? Please?" The Conkeldurr rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed before continuing in Poke. "<I'm sorry for shouting, but I can't bear all this needless bickering. Look, before she passed out, she said something about an army. Now, I know she was raving,>" he aimed a dark glance at the Grovyle, who had made to speak, "<but she might have been remembering something going on elsewhere. Let's just try to find some human healers on the surface and get out of this damnable compound.>"

"<I - I think I can track them,>" said the Growlithe quietly. "<The big thing has a leaky pipe thingy in its foot, and, um, the oil smells really strong and I think I might be able to take us back the way we came but I might not I'm sorry->"

The Zangoose interrupted, patting the Growlithe on the shoulder gently. "<You're safe here.>"

"Woo," said the Wooper, the meaning of which nobody could really guess.

"<... Well, quite,>" responded the Conkeldurr. "<Shall we?>"

"<Ugh, fine,>" the Grovyle agreed after a slight pause and some distasteful glares. "<So long as Dog Boy keeps quiet.>"

"<Yes ma'am sorry ma'am.>"

They picked up the unconscious body of the scientist and loaded her into Stompy Geoff's gunnery chair to rest off the worst of the pain, ignoring the heartbreaking screams as they echoed around the dimly-lit service tunnel. Grovyle gripped the control sticks until her knuckles turned white, eased them forward, and Stompy Geoff lurched like a punch-drunk boxer off into the waiting dark.

***

HurtshurtshurtshurtshurtshurtsHURTSHURTSHURTSHURTS-

Moving. Badly. Strange. Trapped? Trapped.

Hurts.

Everything hurts.

Even my mind.

Neural feedback. Well, ain't that a sonuvabitch. On top of everything else, where the hell am I going to get oily fish at this time... of... night...

Black.

***

The throng of people at the aid centre gave off smells of fear and pain, electric blue and a strange, basso-profundo red to the sensitive nose of the Growlithe. However, there were some who smelled clean and sharp and clear, and were only a little bit afraid. They smelled like Centres, and he barked like a maniac to tell Grovyle where he was and where she should take the others.

It had been slow going through the tunnels under the stadium. Despite Growlithe's Odor Sleuth-augmented tracking, they'd got lost a few times, mostly because Grovyle's driving left a lot to be desired and her willingness to accept that the "Dog Boy" had anything worthwhile to contribute even more. Still, now they were at the hospital point, and they had to get the attention of the doctors-

"Woo," said the Wooper, before slamming its face into Stompy Geoff's shoulder and activating the pauldron-mounted cannon's control systems.

The long barrel of the laser extended, soared through the air until it was almost vertical, then fired with the deafening FZZZZZAM! of ionizing air. The crowd turned round, only to find that the noise of the blast had startled Stompy Geoff's pilot, causing the entire thing to slowly crash forwards with the grace of a felled tree. The impact blew the hinges out on the cupola and disgorged the seatbelt-less Grovyle out through the hole, dragging the good doctor out behind her as her tail caught on the harness latches. The rest of the team was less caught out, Patrat and Zangoose rolling elegantly to guard positions by Adelaide's side, Conkeldurr standing like an ancient, disapproving statue atop the mech's rear panelling, and Growlithe... well, Growlithe did what he had done quite a lot in his life, but it was a close-run thing this time.

"Now that we have your attention," yelled the Conkeldurr while Adelaide twitched on the ground, "we have here a woman in need of urgent medical attention. There's... oh, Arceus' fuzzy danglers, Wooper, that's far too much blood on the outside there, right?"

"Woo," said the Wooper, whose vacant grin turned into an expression of concern, albeit still a rather gormless one.

"So if you could see your ways clear to helping her - oh, now WHY are you all screaming and running away? Is it because I'm black?"

"<You,>" wheezed the Grovyle disdainfully, "<are beige. Beige with purple bits.>"

"<I know that, Grovyle, but it's a common reference in human culture, which you'd know if you pulled your head from your voluminous backside once in a blue moon->"

"<Are you - are you calling me fat?>"

"<No. Just stupid and unwilling to accept you might be just as fallible as the rest of us, which makes you even more stupid.>"

"<Now who's engaging in petty bickering?>"

"<I've had to put up with you for the past few hours, madam. My words are entirely justified.>"

While they were arguing, the Wooper sat on Adelaide's stomach and waited patiently while the crash team took her off to be resuscitated. They were still at it when the pair of them returned, Adelaide stuffed into a flimsy-looking wheelchair with a drip feed hanging from the back.

"Nice to see you're all getting on so well... hello, little stress-incontinent minion. Who's a good tiger dog minion? Who's a good boy? It's you, yes it is, it's you!"

"Woo," said the Wooper, who hopped off the scientist's lap and wandered off in a random direction. Adelaide was a pretty fast learner, even if she was shaking like a leaf and covered in bandages, so she trundled along after him, the 'team' shuffling behind her without a word, even from Grovyle, though she directed a death glare at anyone and everyone she passed.

Eventually, the little blue thing found a small girl by bumping into her leg. "Woo," it said, before sitting down with a thud. Adelaide wasn't far behind, panting slightly from her exertions.

"Er, sorry to interrupt, but I think the Wooper knows something I don't and, well, he led me here. M'name's Adelaide. I think. Got a few head wounds so I'm not 'zactly sure yet. Er. Sorry. Was I interrupting something? I'm, I'm not too certain..."

---

((BTW, this Growlithe isn't Douken's. There's an arc I have planned regarding him that hinges on the use of Wild Charge, and since that can't happen with Rufus, I figured I'd forgo the opportunity this time. Sorry.))

((EDIT: The girl in question is Branwys, so Lori and Cesc, feel free to interact with the mad woman.))

This post has been edited by colourcodedchaos: Oct 17 2013, 04:35 PM

[Living Arrow]

Lori felt herself tighten her grip ever so slightly on Cesc’s hand when the small girl with blonde pigtails looked their way. Her stare felt like a million pin pricks assaulting her face and scalp, resulting in an itchy hairline that begged to be scratched with the discomfort of that gaze. The fiery red-head swallowed thickly. Was she staring because of Lori’s hair? Admittedly it was long and bright and a little messy from the running but there was no need to be so judgemental. Typical for yet another idiot to latch on to her most prominent feature and see it as freaky and weird.

*Why is she still staring at me that way?...* Lori wondered at first but it transformed into a *what are you lookin’ at?!?!* demand that pursed her lips with irritation.

Cesc had spotted the girl, too, and began to lead Lori in her direction. She prepared herself for a verbal assault, plucking at offensive straws about the girl’s small stature or her evident need for eyedrops because she wouldntstopstaring but Cesc managed to speak first. All for the better, really. The handsome Co-Ordinator released Lori’s hand to greet the girl but she stepped back rudely.

The blonde’s tone was none-too friendly with Cesc despite it being obvious that they knew each other. Lori heard the heat in the word ‘friend’ and noted the pause with which the man in the middle hand to take to collect himself from what seemed an unexpectedly cold exchange.

*I’ll be the girl with a pigtail in each hand if you don’t stop staring!*

"This is Lori Pardare." Cesc allowed for a much more polite introduction, forcing Lori to smile weakly at the less-than filling stack of pancakes. "She was my opponent during the tournament. Miss Pardare won handily in our match, but then those Electrode fell out of the sky."

*And I can fight just as well as my Pokemon, shrimpy!*

"Bran,"

*Woah, wait! Is this that girl, Branwys, we’re looking for?!* Lori blinked. Cesc had seemed so concerned to find her and yet she was being just rude when he had been looking out for her. *Well, if I had Cesc looking out for me, things would be different!* Lori quickly lowered her brow as she thought that last thought, attempting to hide the heat blooming in her milky cheeks. *C’mon, Lor! Not some random boy!*

"You've gotta be kidding me. Now, of all times, you're jealous? The world just exploded and you're getting upset over this?"

Alarm bells rang. Well, at least to Lori anyway. Jealous. That’s what he had said. And the way he said it was so… Meaningful. It wasn’t the kind of jealous that suggested Lori was prettier (despite that being obviously true) but more of a jealousy that Cesc might think such a thing because… because they were… dating? More serious than that? Surely not – there would have been more of a heartfelt reunion if that had been the case. But still, they had to be involved in some way. And if they were involved to the sort of degree where proper feelings were involved then Cesc had just made a dumb boy move.

Lori’s eyes widened and she took a slight step back, casting her eyes away from the pair to avoid getting dragged into the obvious train wreck that was about to run its way throught he Pokemon Center.