The Adoption Center

It had been a quiet afternoon at Kalapona Wai, and quieter still at the Adoption Center. Tate had spent most of the day working on the center's dodgy internet connection, first by oneself and then with the help of a technician from the company who struggled to get any work done with the overbearing manager breathing down his neck. Beyond that, nothing of note really happened...

Until the Parks and Wildlife trucks pulled up outside.

They were unloading crates before staff could even get outside. Visitors to the neighboring museum watched the spectacle as it unfolded. A pickup truck carrying Mel -- one of the nurses from the neighboring Pokemon Center who specialized in Ghost-types -- roared its way up the dirt road, having gotten a frantic call from an intern who had stared into the eyes of a Spiritomb in kennel being unloaded. Tate stood, a look of pure horror plastered on the Johtonian's face as a clipboard full of forms was shoved into a reluctant hand. War flashbacks of the Adoption Center's grand reopening danced like so many nightmares behind glazed blue eyes.

Please, Celebi. Not again.

Dropping off the following from the Reset Documentation Thread:

Lv. 01 (F) Axew
Lv. 01 (F) Dratini
Lv. 01 (M) Drifloon
Lv. 01 (M) Shadow Drilbur
Lv. 01 (M) Shiny Eevee
Lv. 01 (M) Frillish
Lv. 01 (F) Frillish
Lv. 01 (Genderless) Golett
Lv. 01 (M) Litwick
Lv. 01 (F) Nincada
Lv. 01 (M) Nosepass
Lv. 01 (M) Mawile
Lv. 01 (M) Ralts
Lv. 01 (Genderless) Rotom
Lv. 01 (F) Snorunt
Lv. 01 (F) Spiritomb
Lv. 01 (M) Spritzee
Lv. 01 (F) Vulpix
Lv. 01 (M) Zubat

 

Paying $200 to adopt this guy, and placing him in a standard Poke Ball.

 

Adopting this Dratini please, and placing her in a Pokeball!

Payment: $200

 

Adopting this lv 1 M Litwick and placing him into a standard pokeball. $200
​

 

Adoption of Lv. 01 (F) Dratini confirmed.

 

Adoption of Lv. 01 (M) Litwick confirmed.

 

Adoption of Lv. 01 (M) Shiny Eevee confirmed.

 

Adopting this one in Pokeball 1/1 with $200

 

Adopting $200 in a pokeball
UPNetwork - View Single Post - The Pokébank

 

Woo, first time visiting the AC!

I'll take this little one with me with a ye normal-y Pokéball (1/58, I think?) Here's 200$!

 

Adopting this guy for $200, placing him in a Heal Ball!

 

Adopting this little one for $200 and placing him in a luxury ball, reducing my current stock to two!

 

Adopting this fearsome little ****er
Payment
Putting him in my one Luxury ball

 

Adopting this guy for $200 and in Pokeball 9/10

 

Pokemon to Adopt: Lv. 1 Female Frillish
Payment: $200
Pokeball: #2/50

 

Adoption of Lv. 01 (-) Golett confirmed.

Adoption of Lv. 01 (M) Shadow Drilbur confirmed.

Adoption of Lv. 01 (-) Rotom confirmed.

Adoption of Lv. 01 (M) Spritzee confirmed.

Adoption of Lv. 01 (M) Driftloon confirmed.

Adoption of Lv. 01 (M) Zubat confirmed.

Adoption of Lv. 01 (M) Ralts confirmed.

Adoption of Lv. 01 (F) Frillish confirmed.

 

Taking this beauty in one of my regular Pokeballs, leaving me with 7, here's the 200 bucks.

 

Adopting this little guy and putting him in one of my starter Pokeballs (this makes 2/5). Here's 200$.

 

Dropping off lv.1 male Makuhita with EMs Counter and Wake-Up Slap for maintenance care. Hopefully you will find a better home here.

 

​

"Millicent! Knock Off!" Keith ordered.

"Tiiim... BURR!" Millicent responded, swinging her log right into the opposing Girafarig for great damage.

~~~

"Tranquill, Air Cutter!" called out Irwin.

"I don't think so!" Keith grinned. "Millicent, use Wide Guard!"

"Burr!" grunted Millicent, holding up her log and spinning it, blocking each and every blade of air Tranquill sent flying her way.

~~~

"Wait for it, Millicent..." Keith instructed. The Timburr nodded and stood her ground as the Golett drew closer... "Now! Use Payback!" Keith exclaimed, once Golett was too close to stop the Mega Punch. And sure enough, as Millicent took the attack, a black aura that came over her body intensified, and the Timburr swung her log right into the Golett for a powerful super effective blow.

~~~

All of these battles had taken place over the course of the past week. And all of these battles were being brought up in a conversation which, at first glance, would appear to be taking place between a Timburr and her log.

"So... all those times I hit my opponents with you, that was hurting you?" Millicent murmured worriedly.

Not quite, came the reassuring voice coming from Millicent's log. Willow was the ghost of a Leavanny who had been residing in Millicent's log since before Keith came to own the Timburr. I do not feel the physical pain... it's more like putting a metal garbage can over one's head and hitting it with a big stick. It... it takes its toll, she confessed.

"Well... is there anything I can do to help, Willow?" asked Millicent.

If there is anything to the whispers I've been hearing... it's possible. Maybe even probable, replied Willow. I'm afraid I can't be certain at this point in time... but the only way we can be sure is if we press onward.

Millicent nodded- she had been walking this entire time, on Willow's instructions. "Then let's keep moving," she agreed.

Thank you, replied Willow. And so they kept moving, and soon enough, they reached their destination. But it was pretty much the last place Millicent would ever have expected to see, let alone go to on Willow's instructions.

"...The Kalapona Wai Adoption Center?" Millicent said, sounding almost fearful. "Willow- wh- what are we doing here?"

Not staying, Willow replied firmly, correctly interpreting the cause of Millicent's unease. I promise you, Millicent, you and I will both walk away from here in no time at all.

Millicent said nothing at first, slowly nodding as she took a deep breath. This place was supposed to be buttloads better than the depressing Adoption Center she was all too familiar with, but all the same, her past experience with an Adoption Center left her in no mood to stay here any longer than she had to. She walked among the people and Pokémon, with Willow making it clear to anyone who showed interest in Millicent that this Timburr already had a Trainer, and that there were already some Timburr on the premises that actually were up for adoption. Indeed, as Willow passed by where these Timburr were kept, she saw that there was a female Timburr in there. She stopped, called out to that Timburr, and reassured her that she, Millicent, was once in her situation, and reassured her that she would get adopted someday.

This, however, was not their stop, as Willow was certain to tell Millicent. And so they kept walking. Willow tried to not show it, but from the sound of her voice, Millicent could tell- Willow was starting to get excited.

And soon, they arrived. They came to a field just on the outskirts of the Adoption Center's property, and there they saw, a Shiftry. Or at least, the body of one. "Willow, what the-" began Millicent.

It is as the rumors said, Willow said wonderingly. Just after Goyle told us of Daphne's sacrifice, a rumor began circulating in the spirit world. A rumor that a heroic Shiftry perished in an attempt to help save the world, and that her body, rather than becoming lifeless... would instead have a vacancy.

"A vacancy?" Millicent repeated. She looked confused at first, but then, her look of confusion slowly gave way to one of dawning comprehension. "...wait, you mean-"

...This is a body without a soul, said Willow. And I, a soul without a body. Millicent... Keith could adopt me, and I could properly be a Pokémon again. And you could continue to use moves like Pound, Knock Off, Wide Guard, and Payback without having to worry about hurting me.

"So... y-you're leaving my log?" Millicent asked, her voice shaking somewhat.

Only if you are OK with it, of course, Willow said. But Millicent, think of it like this- if I do this, whenever you need a hug, not only can you still hug me... but I could hug you back. At that moment, even though Willow's current body was an immobile wooden beam, Millicent could have sworn she saw her smile. This is not goodbye. This isn't even close to goodbye, Willow reassured Millicent.

"...I know," Millicent replied, smiling back despite her tears. "I just... There was always something so... I dunno, magical, I guess, about you being inside my log. But," she continued, before Willow had a chance to respond to this. "I... think I might have always known that for you to truly be happy, you would need a proper body again. I... I know you never would have complained to me unless this was becoming a serious problem for you, and... well, you're like my sister, Willow- I want you to be happy."

We are sisters, Millicent, said Willow. We are sisters. Family doesn't end with blood. I've been your sister since that day in the old Adoption Center, and I will continue to be your sister whether I'm in here or in there.

Millicent wordlessly, tearfully, hugged her log in response to this. "...Then do it," she said. "Do it now, before some other ghost thinks of beating you to it," she grinned.

And that was all Willow needed to hear. The log glowed a pale green as Willow attempted to abandon her arboreal accommodations. The glow then ceased to engulf the entire log, instead concentrating itself right at one end. Taking this as her cue, Millicent shouldered the log and aimed it at the Shiftry body, at which point the green glow was fired from the log, right into the Grass/Dark-type's mouth. The glow faded away from the log completely as it came over the entirety of the Shiftry body. And then, it moved. She moved. Moved her leafy fans a bit, shook her head slightly, blinked her eyes, which had now turned the exact shade of light red one would see in a Leavanny's eyes. Indeed, the leaf fans had also turned the shade of green one would expect from a Leavanny's leaves, while the wooden body slowly changed color- to Millicent's amazement, it changed color to match her log exactly. And as the Shiftry looked down at Millicent, as she smiled, Millicent knew in an instant- she'd made the right choice in letting Willow do this. She ran up and hugged the Shiftry, and leaked tears of happiness as the Shiftry hugged her back.

~~~

"...Holy crap," Keith murmured. Once he'd caught up with Millicent, and Meowth's translations got him up to speed on the incredible thing that just happened, he was doing his best to process this information. "So... Daphne's old body... and... Willow, you're no longer in the log, and you're a Shiftry now?"

"Shif, Shiftry," nodded Willow.

"Burr burr Timburr Timburr!" Millicent pleaded, looking up at Keith desperately.

Keith smiled and crouched down to hug the Timburr. "Of course I'll adopt Willow," he replied. "If she's willing to- oof," he added, for at that moment, he got his answer to the question he never got to ask, for the Shiftry had joined in on the hug as well. Keith couldn't help but smile, even as he thought of what financial horrors surely awaited him minutes later- adoption fees were higher for Pokémon of higher levels and/or possessing more moves than just what they got naturally. And Willow had inhabited the body of a high-level Shiftry that, according to Keith's Pokédex, was packing lots and lots of attacks. But Keith was prepared to pay whatever it took to make his Pokémon happy.

OOC: Adopting the level 53 Shiftry, putting her in this Poké Ball (#1 of 5), nicknaming her Willow, and declaring her Ability to be Chlorophyll. Payment: 1,240