The Arcane Realm: Land of Freedom and Magicks

[DannyDrawsaLot]

Missingno. Master - Waking up in a cave behind a campfire was weird at first, and giving marshmallow roasting tips was even weirder, but realizing that Dusknoir was behind you, startled, you spin around and affirm that yes, Dusknoir was there. Dusknoir just floated across from you and put a hand towards the campfire, making the fire much larger, and scorching the boy's marshmallow to smithereens.

"I told you Yohan, stop it with the marshmallows." Dusknoir snarled, and the boy dropped what remained of the stick, and wrapped both hands around his hunched legs. Since the fire was much larger, it was easy to see details that had been hidden by the dark before.

There was a latch around the boy's neck, and a chain trailed behind it, but it had been broken. In the campfire's light, you could see burn marks on different parts of his body. There was something off about the boy's gaze. He seemed hurt. He seemed abused.

"Run, Mr. Keith, run before the dark hurts you." The boy said, but there was an odd shrillness to his voice, it was high-pitched, abnormal, odd, as if his mind was broken.
"Quiet!" Dusknoir snapped at the small boy.
"Dusknoir, you said you'd protect me! Let's go so the darkness doesn't hurt us!"
"You have your campfire, Yohan. That means the dark can't hurt you." Dusknoir reassured.
"But, why is it still hurting me?!" The boy sputtered, as he grabbed his left arm with his right as if it hurt. It did.

I'm draining from him. A voice whispered into your ear, you look at the other individuals in the room, the boy writhing in pain, Dusknoir staring intently at you. The boy's gullible. You can take your Medichamite if you leave me with the boy. Don't bother fighting me, it will only hurt the child.

TheKnightsFury - "Attached? Not really, I can get a new job, it's not that hard. Feel free to blow the heck out of this place" Jeffrey replied as you found your Z-Crystals at the bottom of the bag, glittering in the dim light. Jeffrey shuffled around in his pocket, then brought out a stone of his own. It was a deep blue, with many bright minerals sprinkled in it, making it seem like it had bubbles trapped inside. It was a Water Stone!

"Thought we'd kick things up a notch." Jeffrey chuckled, as he tossed the stone to Lombre, who caught it in his left hand, allowing it to evolve, into a Ludicolo! The newly-evolved carefree Pokemon adjusted its lily-pad sombrero, giving a demeaning smirk to its opponents. "Ludicolo, Hydro Pump on that Charizard! Lycanroc, Rock Slide on Crobat!"

Grookey was first, performing some Acrobatics on Morgrem, then performing a combo similar to the previous one, slamming Morgrem across the face, but couldn't get away in time, giving Morgrem a chance to Leech some Life from Grookey! Toxtricity went in for a Snarl, knocking Morgrem away from Grookey, then let out his Hyper Voice, dealing even more damage to all four Pokemon. Lycanroc, still attached to Crobat, used the chance to bring down a Rock Slide on the Bat Pokemon, before letting go and going in for an Accelerock at Charizard, who smacked him back with a Power-Up Punch! Ludicolo blasted off a Hydro Pump at Charizard, giving Lycanroc cover to escape.

 

[Missingno. Master]

Missingno. Master - Waking up in a cave behind a campfire was weird at first, and giving marshmallow roasting tips was even weirder, but realizing that Dusknoir was behind you, startled, you spin around and affirm that yes, Dusknoir was there. Dusknoir just floated across from you and put a hand towards the campfire, making the fire much larger, and scorching the boy's marshmallow to smithereens.

"I told you Yohan, stop it with the marshmallows." Dusknoir snarled, and the boy dropped what remained of the stick, and wrapped both hands around his hunched legs. Since the fire was much larger, it was easy to see details that had been hidden by the dark before.

There was a latch around the boy's neck, and a chain trailed behind it, but it had been broken. In the campfire's light, you could see burn marks on different parts of his body. There was something off about the boy's gaze. He seemed hurt. He seemed abused.

"Run, Mr. Keith, run before the dark hurts you." The boy said, but there was an odd shrillness to his voice, it was high-pitched, abnormal, odd, as if his mind was broken.
"Quiet!" Dusknoir snapped at the small boy.
"Dusknoir, you said you'd protect me! Let's go so the darkness doesn't hurt us!"
"You have your campfire, Yohan. That means the dark can't hurt you." Dusknoir reassured.
"But, why is it still hurting me?!" The boy sputtered, as he grabbed his left arm with his right as if it hurt. It did.

I'm draining from him. A voice whispered into your ear, you look at the other individuals in the room, the boy writhing in pain, Dusknoir staring intently at you. The boy's gullible. You can take your Medichamite if you leave me with the boy. Don't bother fighting me, it will only hurt the child.

The situation was... weird, to say the least, and Keith having only just regained consciousness didn't exactly clear much of anything up. For instance, he only just now realized that this was still in a cave- probably still in that same cave, for that matter. Dusknoir did nothing to answer any of Keith's questions, but instead intensified the campfire so the boy's marshmallow was incinerated. And as the fire was enlarged, more details could be seen- the latch around the boy's neck (Yohan, Keith heard the Dusknoir call him), the broken chain that trailed behind him, the strange quality to the boy's gaze. He's been abused, Keith realized. And as he spoke up, urging Keith to run before the dark hurt him, there was a shrillness to his voice, an unusual quality, as though his mind had been broken. And Dusknoir wasn't treating him very kindly, either, having evidently fed him lies about the campfire protecting him from the dark, lies that were very clearly not fooling Yohan.

And then Keith heard the whisper. The Dusknoir, he realized- he was telling Keith that he was draining from Yohan, who he dismissed as gullible, and he told Keith he could take his Medichamite if he left Dusknoir with this boy, adding that fighting him would only hurt the child.

Did... did Dusknoir know who he was talking to here? Did he have any notion whatsoever? Did he perhaps labor under the wholly mistaken delusion that just because Keith was one quarter Gastly, just because he was technically also a Ghost-type, that that made him a kindred spirit, one who would side with the Dusknoir in this situation? Or maybe he just took Keith for some greedy nobody, who would gladly take the shiny new Mega Stone and look the other way on the abuse of the small child taking place before his eyes? Sure, Keith knew of somebody who would very much appreciate a Medichamite, but if taking this one meant looking the other way on this atrocity, Keith didn't want it, and he knew Terri would agree.

Either way, whatever he was thinking of Keith at this moment, Dusknoir was dead wrong.

"...Dusknoir, what do you take me for?" Keith asked. He did not raise his voice. He did not shout. Rather, there was a calmness to his voice of an ominous sort- a "before the storm" sort of calmness that went quite well with the absolutely livid look in his eyes as he regarded the purple specter. "You let me see what you're doing to this poor boy, and you think you can buy me off with a damn Mega Stone?" He stood up, straightening his Mega Hat. "How gullible- how greedy- do you think I am? Who do you think you're talking to? I'm the man who conquered the giant Heatran of Aduro Island to save the Heatmor population. I'm the man who restored Celebi's faith in humanity. I'm the man who took on Team Rocket and forced them to disband. You can take your Medichamite and blow it out your ghostly ass," he said defiantly. He plucked a Poké Ball and Luxury Ball off his belt, and they burst open before he could even throw them- clearly, Chuck and Stewie had heard their Trainer through the balls, and were ready for action. "Stewie, defensive maneuver one-one-five-one-one-three-two-one-nine!"

"Ledi!" Stewie replied. This was a coded command, one devised by a member of Keith's team not currently on hand; Ginny, his perpetually paranoid Pawniard. So of course it would be intimately familiar to her boyfriend, as Stewie proved by immediately working to set up Reflect, Light Screen, and Safeguard. Over all of them, of course, but he'd heard enough to know to focus primarily on Yohan.

Chuck, meanwhile, needed no commands at the moment, floating before Dusknoir. "Oh, you've pissed him off now," grinned the Gengar as he set to work casting a Disable on the Dusknoir, stopping whatever he was doing to the little boy. "If you knew the first thing about Keith Masters, you'd know that's not smart."

While Chuck confronted Dusknoir, Keith turned to the little boy. "It's Yohan, right?" he asked kindly. "My name is Keith Masters, and this here is Meow-" He stopped, realizing Meowth wasn't on his shoulder. Rolling his eyes, he took another Poké Ball off his belt and sent Meowth back out onto his shoulder. "...and this here is Meowth," he continued.

"Heya," Meowth murmured, looking around, wondering what was going on.

"Me and my Pokémon, we're gonna get you outta here, alright?" said Keith. "That Dusknoir's the one hurting you, so we all gotta get outta here."

 

[TheKnightsFury]

TheKnightsFury - "Attached? Not really, I can get a new job, it's not that hard. Feel free to blow the heck out of this place" Jeffrey replied as you found your Z-Crystals at the bottom of the bag, glittering in the dim light. Jeffrey shuffled around in his pocket, then brought out a stone of his own. It was a deep blue, with many bright minerals sprinkled in it, making it seem like it had bubbles trapped inside. It was a Water Stone!

"Thought we'd kick things up a notch." Jeffrey chuckled, as he tossed the stone to Lombre, who caught it in his left hand, allowing it to evolve, into a Ludicolo! The newly-evolved carefree Pokemon adjusted its lily-pad sombrero, giving a demeaning smirk to its opponents. "Ludicolo, Hydro Pump on that Charizard! Lycanroc, Rock Slide on Crobat!"

Grookey was first, performing some Acrobatics on Morgrem, then performing a combo similar to the previous one, slamming Morgrem across the face, but couldn't get away in time, giving Morgrem a chance to Leech some Life from Grookey! Toxtricity went in for a Snarl, knocking Morgrem away from Grookey, then let out his Hyper Voice, dealing even more damage to all four Pokemon. Lycanroc, still attached to Crobat, used the chance to bring down a Rock Slide on the Bat Pokemon, before letting go and going in for an Accelerock at Charizard, who smacked him back with a Power-Up Punch! Ludicolo blasted off a Hydro Pump at Charizard, giving Lycanroc cover to escape.

As Xander decided on a way to bring this hell hole tumbling down, Jeffrey further added to the craziness of the situation. The old timer pulled out a Water Stone and used it to evolve his newly evolved Lombre into a Ludicolo! Grookey jumped around, battering Morgrem with a couple of blows before the Dark/Fairy type regained some health with a Leech Life. Toxtricity pushed the dark type back with a Snarl before shaking all of their opponents with a powerful Hyper Voice. Lycanroc brought down boulders upon the Crobat, before quickly rushing Charizard with an Accelerock. Charizard fired back quickly with a Power-Up Punch, but was quickly quenched as Ludicolo pumped another torrent of water into it.

It was clear that they had the upper hand now, but that just meant it was better to put an end to this now. Xander picked out his Grassium Z Crystal. Grookey deserved some vengeance after what they'd done to him. He'd almost decided on Groundium Z, but a Tectonic Rage might destroy more than just one building. Meanwhile, a Bloom Doom would bust up the place and still leave it looking better than it did before hand......

"Get ready to make a break for it Jeffrey. Toxtricity, throw our opponents off with a Screech, Grookey time to put our practice to good use, let's BLOOM DOOM!" Xander clicked the Z Crystal into the band on his wrist. Grookey began to gather energy like he would for a Solar Blade, but instead the power began to increase tremendously as Xander began to step through the fluid like motions of the Z pose. Xander was prepared to make a break for it should the opportunity present itself, hoping the post Z Move chaos would provide them the cover they'd need.

 

[DannyDrawsaLot]

Missingno Master - Realizing the obvious course of action you'd take, Stewie and Chuck both burst out of their balls, Stewie carrying out a pre-determined defensive maneuver to protect you all. Chuck tried to Disable Dusknoir, but it was to no effect, but at least it was worth a try.

"Hurting me?" Yohan asked innocently, looking up at Dusknoir, who growled at you before turning back to Yohan.
"What? No. He's just lying to you." Dusknoir fibbed, and then turned back to you, ready to silence you with violence if need be.

"No, you are," Yohan replied firmly, now standing, both feet planted firmly on the ground, a determined gaze on his face, and one arm outstretched, pointing an accusing finger at Dusknoir. "It makes sense now. You aren't protecting me, you're hurting me. You're the darkness. Do you think I'm a toy for you to play with? To hurt, injure, and abuse? Well, not anymore."

Yohan turned and gave a low whistle, and a small catlike Pokemon jumped down from a ledge a few feet away. The Pokemon was glowing yellow, with black hind fur, and orange paws, with an orange star on its tail. It was a Shiny Shinx!

"Come on Shinx, we're going with Mr. Keith now." Yohan said happily to the small Pokemon, who hopped up and down in happiness at that prospect. Yohan walked over to you and grabbed your arm, tugging on it expectantly.

"Stop." Dusknoir yelled, and Yohan felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Tears formed in his eyes, and he collapsed onto the floor, but was able to sit up against the cave wall.

"You cannot leave, if you do, you will simply perish." Dusknoir told him, then turned to you. "And you cannot save him. You simply are not strong enough to reach the Mage in the Meadow of Judgment."

"Yes he is." Yohan said, then turned to you. "Run to the Meadow of Judgment, you might find some sort of solution there! I can protect myself." Yohan let out a second, differently-pitched whistle, this time calling a large Grimmsnarl. "Grimm and Shinx can protect me. Now go!"

TheKnightsFury: "Ludicolo, Lycanroc, let's get ready to split." Jeffrey said as the Lycanroc rushed to quickly get in another Accelerock at Charizard, before retreating to Jeffrey's side. Ludicolo shot off a final Hydro Pump at Charizard, then turned around and waddled behind Jeffrey, so as to not get caught in the blast of the powerful Z-Move. Charizard fired a Flamethrower at Grookey, but the small Chimp Pokemon was too quick and dodged the attack. Toxtricity let out a Screech, which disoriented the enemies, which gave Grookey a chance to release a riotous Bloom Doom.

Performing the Z motions in sync with your Pokemon, Grookey gathered Z-Power, then did a slashing motion with his stick, which caused green light to shine down on him. Then, flowers spread across the entire room, before a large flower bloomed, releasing a beam of intense sunlight and plant energy underneath the group of enemy Pokemon. It was extremely powerful and burst through the roof, giving you both a chance to escape.

"Time to make ourselves scarce." Jeffrey said, as his Pokemon and you complied, running away from the plant covered rubble that was the bar. You stopped to catch your breath in front of a shop, and Jeffrey held his hand out towards you. In his hand, there was a wad of 800 Pokedollars.

"Just ana apology for what those guys did." Jeffrey said, pointing back at the rubble. "Well, I better get going. See ya around, I guess." Jeffrey waved goodbye, then turned and left.

Toxtricity gained 1 level!
Grookey gained 1 level!

 

[Missingno. Master]

Missingno Master - Realizing the obvious course of action you'd take, Stewie and Chuck both burst out of their balls, Stewie carrying out a pre-determined defensive maneuver to protect you all. Chuck tried to Disable Dusknoir, but it was to no effect, but at least it was worth a try.

"Hurting me?" Yohan asked innocently, looking up at Dusknoir, who growled at you before turning back to Yohan.
"What? No. He's just lying to you." Dusknoir fibbed, and then turned back to you, ready to silence you with violence if need be.

"No, you are," Yohan replied firmly, now standing, both feet planted firmly on the ground, a determined gaze on his face, and one arm outstretched, pointing an accusing finger at Dusknoir. "It makes sense now. You aren't protecting me, you're hurting me. You're the darkness. Do you think I'm a toy for you to play with? To hurt, injure, and abuse? Well, not anymore."

Yohan turned and gave a low whistle, and a small catlike Pokemon jumped down from a ledge a few feet away. The Pokemon was glowing yellow, with black hind fur, and orange paws, with an orange star on its tail. It was a Shiny Shinx!

"Come on Shinx, we're going with Mr. Keith now." Yohan said happily to the small Pokemon, who hopped up and down in happiness at that prospect. Yohan walked over to you and grabbed your arm, tugging on it expectantly.

"Stop." Dusknoir yelled, and Yohan felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Tears formed in his eyes, and he collapsed onto the floor, but was able to sit up against the cave wall.

"You cannot leave, if you do, you will simply perish." Dusknoir told him, then turned to you. "And you cannot save him. You simply are not strong enough to reach the Mage in the Meadow of Judgment."

"Yes he is." Yohan said, then turned to you. "Run to the Meadow of Judgment, you might find some sort of solution there! I can protect myself." Yohan let out a second, differently-pitched whistle, this time calling a large Grimmsnarl. "Grimm and Shinx can protect me. Now go!"

Keith was hardly surprised that Dusknoir responded to these allegations by doubling down on his lies, and as the Ghost-type shot a threatening look to Keith, it was met with one with defiance- Keith was not so easily intimidated. Fortunately, Yohan realized that Keith's words made too much sense to so readily disregard, and he finally realized that the Dusknoir was the one hurting him. Calling his Shiny Shinx to his side, Yohan stated he was leaving with Keith.

Not that, of course, Dusknoir would let this go so easily. Causing a sharp pain in Yohan's stomach, Dusknoir forced the boy to collapse to the floor. He was at least able to sit up against the cave wall, but Dusknoir stated that if Yohan left, he'd die. And he then told Keith that he wan't strong enough to save him, letting slip in the process that doing so in the process would entail reaching the Mage in the Meadow of Judgment.

The Meadow of Judgment... it rang a bell. Yes, Keith realized- this was one of the locations within the Arcane Realm he'd seen on his map before coming here. He knew where that was, and he knew he could get there. Provided, of course, he could get out of this cave.

Chuck, however, gave Keith an encouraging grin, before turning to Dusknoir, smirking insolently. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Underestimating Keith Masters, are we?" he grinned. "Better mons than you have tried that. Never goes well for them.

"Right, then- the Meadow of Judgment's our next stop," Keith said determinedly.

"But of course," Chuck agreed.

"Led ledi! Ledian!" Stewie declared as well.

"Dat's right!" purred Meowth.

Keith turned to Yohan, but the small boy assured him he'd be OK. He whistled again, and this time a large hairy beast of a Pokémon materialized- a Grimmsnarl, Keith realized, but this was hardly the time to whip out his Pokédex. Yohan urged Keith to run to the Meadow of Judgment and find a solution there. Keith nodded seriously. "We'll be back with help of some sort," he vowed. "That's a promise, Yohan. Alright- Meowth, Chuck, Stewie, let's move!" he declared, all of them ready to take off for the exit. Keith hoped Shinx and Grimm really would be able to sufficiently protect Yohan from Dusknoir in the meantime- the poor boy looked like he'd been through hell as it is. All the more reason for them to hurry, Keith knew- whatever Shinx and Grimm would be able to do, however much more Yohan would be able to endure if he had to... Keith didn't want to think about how little time he undoubtedly had, and so he'd run, run like a Rapidash, and do whatever he possibly could.

 

[TheKnightsFury]

TheKnightsFury: "Ludicolo, Lycanroc, let's get ready to split." Jeffrey said as the Lycanroc rushed to quickly get in another Accelerock at Charizard, before retreating to Jeffrey's side. Ludicolo shot off a final Hydro Pump at Charizard, then turned around and waddled behind Jeffrey, so as to not get caught in the blast of the powerful Z-Move. Charizard fired a Flamethrower at Grookey, but the small Chimp Pokemon was too quick and dodged the attack. Toxtricity let out a Screech, which disoriented the enemies, which gave Grookey a chance to release a riotous Bloom Doom.

Performing the Z motions in sync with your Pokemon, Grookey gathered Z-Power, then did a slashing motion with his stick, which caused green light to shine down on him. Then, flowers spread across the entire room, before a large flower bloomed, releasing a beam of intense sunlight and plant energy underneath the group of enemy Pokemon. It was extremely powerful and burst through the roof, giving you both a chance to escape.

"Time to make ourselves scarce." Jeffrey said, as his Pokemon and you complied, running away from the plant covered rubble that was the bar. You stopped to catch your breath in front of a shop, and Jeffrey held his hand out towards you. In his hand, there was a wad of 800 Pokedollars.

"Just ana apology for what those guys did." Jeffrey said, pointing back at the rubble. "Well, I better get going. See ya around, I guess." Jeffrey waved goodbye, then turned and left.

Toxtricity gained 1 level!
Grookey gained 1 level!

The bar erupted in a fabulous explosion of colour. They rushed out as fast as they could, Pokemon following closely behind. Xander was filled with delight as he turned around to assess his masterpiece. "It certainly brightens up this hell hole, don't you think?" Jeffrey was filled with urgency, he wanted to get away from here as fast as he could, a wise move. He palmed Xander some cash, a gesture he appreciated but he honestly felt like he should have been rewarding Jeffrey for saving him. If the man hadn't come to his aid, there was no telling what those arseholes would have done to him and his Pokemon. "Best wishes Jeffrey, look after those Pokemon of yours." Xander then turned and ran in the opposite direction to Jeffrey, there was no point in them both going the same way after all. Xander ducked down and alleyway, before zigzagging back onto a street before turning himself up another alleyway.

Finally he stopped to catch his breath. He knew he had to take a moment to collect his thoughts. He was meant to be out here looking for Wolfgang's contact but so far his efforts had been fruitless. He wasn't going to get anywhere if he kept running around blind. He needed some local knowledge, but for that, he'd need to earn someone's trust. Jeffrey might have been able to help him out, but in the chaos he'd forgotten to ask. Maybe if they could find someone in need of help, they could earn some trust that way? Xander selected a ball from his bag and with a flick of his wrist, brought out his Rookidee. The little bird fluttered onto Xander's shoulder. Peering at Toxtricity and Grookey, the Flying type began to chirp, demanding information. A short conversation took place between the three, ending with Rookidee staring accusingly at Xander. "Yes okay, I'm sorry I should have brought you out but the room was already crowded as is. You're out now so why don't you get to work? Scout the area and see if you can't find anyone in need of a bit of help, we need an opportunity here." Rookidee chirped before taking off, quickly rising up above the buildings. "Alright boys, keep your eyes open, Grookey watch our flanks in case someone tries to come at us from behind. Toxtricity, keep an eye out for any trouble.

Xander received $800

 

[TheKnightsFury]

Faiyaa- You'd managed to find the Primarina and the Popplio, now you just had to convince the protective Pokemon to let you close enough to help heal the Popplio's wounds. Turning to Apollo, you ask the Lanturn to start the healing off with a Heal Bell. The fish shakes its antenna back and forth, letting out a ringing chime that is soon followed by a faint rainbow glow. The Popplio begins to relax, the Heal Bell seems to be calming it. You take that as your cue to approach. You move slowly, trying not to provoke a sudden reaction from the Primarina, it is then that you're smacked with a surprise.

"It's okay Gary, I trust you, I know you're only here to help."

Did that Primarina just speak?! Suddenly the Primarina begins to twist and change, becoming smaller and more slender. The changes continue, only now they become more unbelievable as the Primarina slowly morphs into a human! Not just any human though, it was Marina?! While you stand there stunned, Marina breaks the silence. "Sorry if I shocked you, I'll explain later, just tell me you have something on you that can help this Popplio." Marina holds the young Water type carefully. As you get closer, you notice the trap has left a series of rather nasty cuts around the Popplio's tail. It would take some serious efforts to heal the wounds and it needed to be done sooner rather than later. The Popplio looks at you with its big bright eyes. They were filled with pain and just a little bit of hope......


Zorchic- You decide that you're going to need more help with this massive Seaking. While it was clear that this wasn't the King of the Lake, that didn't mean it wasn't a formidable opponent. You release Gengar from her ball. The Ghost hovers in the air, assessing the situation it has been brought into. It's quick to follow the orders you give, locking eyes with the Seaking it blasts the King Koi with a Confuse Ray. The Water type splashes around erratically, its senses scrambled from Gengar's attack. The ghost quickly follows by dousing the fish with Toxic sludge, giving Lucario time to Work himself Up. Floating across to you, Gengar and Lucario take aim. Gengar's eyes light up as she puts a Hex on the status riddled Seaking, while Lucario thrusts out his hands, firing another Dragon Pulse that strikes the beast head on. While you've been drawing the Seaking's attention, Heath has been steering his board towards the titan's flank.

Hariyama stands at the ready, palm brought back as he gathers all of his strength. "Now Hariyama! Force Palm!" The Fighting type slams his massive hand into the Seaking's flank, forcing it onto its side. The colossal carp struggles to move, its body temporarily paralysed by the attack. "Now's our chance Jake, we need to get away before it recovers!" Heath's Pokemon begin to paddle his board through the water, steering away from the Seaking as they continue towards the centre of the lake. You quickly begin to pursue them, Gengar hovers alongside as Buizel uses his tail to move you swiftly through the water. You soon lose sight of the Seaking and hopefully that was the last you'd see of it. "That was a close one", Heath breathes a sigh of relief as you draw level with him. "We're getting closer to the centre, hopefully we don't run into too many more issues. Hmmm, that's weird, there seems to be a strong current here...." Heath was right. You could feel the board getting pulled to the side, what could be causing it?"

Buizel, Lucario and Gengar gained 1 level!

 

[Zorchic]

Zorchic- You decide that you're going to need more help with this massive Seaking. While it was clear that this wasn't the King of the Lake, that didn't mean it wasn't a formidable opponent. You release Gengar from her ball. The Ghost hovers in the air, assessing the situation it has been brought into. It's quick to follow the orders you give, locking eyes with the Seaking it blasts the King Koi with a Confuse Ray. The Water type splashes around erratically, its senses scrambled from Gengar's attack. The ghost quickly follows by dousing the fish with Toxic sludge, giving Lucario time to Work himself Up. Floating across to you, Gengar and Lucario take aim. Gengar's eyes light up as she puts a Hex on the status riddled Seaking, while Lucario thrusts out his hands, firing another Dragon Pulse that strikes the beast head on. While you've been drawing the Seaking's attention, Heath has been steering his board towards the titan's flank.

Hariyama stands at the ready, palm brought back as he gathers all of his strength. "Now Hariyama! Force Palm!" The Fighting type slams his massive hand into the Seaking's flank, forcing it onto its side. The colossal carp struggles to move, its body temporarily paralysed by the attack. "Now's our chance Jake, we need to get away before it recovers!" Heath's Pokemon begin to paddle his board through the water, steering away from the Seaking as they continue towards the centre of the lake. You quickly begin to pursue them, Gengar hovers alongside as Buizel uses his tail to move you swiftly through the water. You soon lose sight of the Seaking and hopefully that was the last you'd see of it. "That was a close one", Heath breathes a sigh of relief as you draw level with him. "We're getting closer to the centre, hopefully we don't run into too many more issues. Hmmm, that's weird, there seems to be a strong current here...." Heath was right. You could feel the board getting pulled to the side, what could be causing it?

Buizel, Lucario and Gengar gained 1 level!

Buizel gained 1 level!
Lucario gained 1 level!
Gengar gained 1 level!

With the help of Gengar, everyone was able to subdue the Seaking enough to ride away from it as fast as possible. Heath's Hariyama even got in a paralysis with Force Palm in addition to the Toxic poison that Gengar inflicted on Seaking. With that, the group scrambled away from the enraged fish.

As they got closer to the middle of the lake, Heath was the first to notice a strong current pulling the boards sideways. "Yeah, there actually is," Jake replied quietly. He noticed as well, and he had an idea as to what this might be. "It might be a Whirlpool in the making," he speculated. "Perhaps the King of the Lake has a Whirlpool around him to keep intruders out—or take them as food." The thought of that sounded ominous in and of itself.

What to do about this, then? Lucario and Gengar could use a combined Psychic to hold both boards against the current, but that was sure to drain their energy quickly. Jake didn't think Buizel was strong enough to propel his board against a full-fledged Whirlpool. But hey (insert shrug), why wasn't it worth a try right now? What Jake and Heath sensed now surely wasn't a full-fledged Whirlpool.

Hold on. Lucario interrupted Jake's train of thought. We could use my Bone Rush! I use the move and toss the bone into the air, but since I need to concentrate on what's ahead, Gengar will use her own Psychic and spin the bone like a propeller. That will give us some extra momentum with the small current!

"Yeah, that could actually work, Lucario!" Jake commented. "Alright then, use your Bone Rush! Gengar, grab the bone with your Psychic and spin it like a propeller behind Buizel!"

Lucario gave a small grin before forming a large, light blue energy bone in his hands. Then, the bone was surrounded by a light blue aura as the Ghost and Poison-type began her Psychic move. Gengar, whose eyes were glowing the same color as the glow surrounding the bone, psychokinetically levitated the bone out of Lucario's hands and into the water behind Buizel, who was at the back of Jake's board. The bone began to spin, faster and faster, as it formed a small current behind the board and helped propel it along with Buizel. Gengar was still Levitating above the water, and the high vantage point let her watch for danger on all directions as she spun Lucario's Bone Rush bone with Psychic. The extra source of propulsion could serve as a guard against the strong current.

"Lucario, prepare an Aura Sphere to use if any threats come," Jake advised. "Do you want a Psychic-spinning bone to help you, Heath?" the young Aura Guardian asked out of generosity.

 

[DannyDrawsaLot]

Missingno. Master - Knowing what needed to be done, you leave Yohan, and turn around, realizing you have no way out. Yohan snaps his fingers a third time, causing a Gardevoir to appear. Gardevoir extended a hand at you, the hand gathering psychic energy, then the energy enveloped you, and then poof! You were teleported out of the cave and right outside at the entrance you had entered from. When you were being teleported, Yohan yelled "There'll be a ride outside!" as you dematerialized. Dusting yourself off and reminding yourself of what you needed to do, you glanced around, looking for the hypothetical "ride". Then, a Salamence appears behind you, roaring to alert you of its presence. It bends over, beckoning you to hop onto its back.

This was the ride Yohan was talking about! Hopping onto its back, it let out a large roar, then in one large wing heave, it took off, and flew at a high speed towards the Meadow of Judgment. It was traveling very fast, so it only took about half an hour to arrive at the Meadow. Salamence looked down, and realizing you had arrived at your destination, it went into a nosedive, and landed on the Meadow's soft grass.

Getting off the Dragon Pokemon, you observe the surrounding area. It was exactly what a meadow would look like, flowers, grass, and some grass Pokemon meddling about. There was a gardener tending to the bushes, hunched over, so he couldn't see you. Perhaps he knew something about the Mage? Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask. Or would it?.

TheKnightsFury - Saying goodbye to Jeffrey, you continue on your primary objective, to find Wolfgang's contact. Dashing into an alleyway, you send out your Rookidee, and after a quick explanation, Rookidee takes to the sky to help. You tell your other Pokemon to watch your back, just in case anyone tried to jump you. Rookidee flew around, searching for anyone in need, but there didn't seem to be any one. Everyone was just going about with their lives, selling goods, walking around, the like. Then, Rookide spotted someone! It was a young teen, who was running a vegetable shop. He was trying to lift some crates, but he couldn't because he was not strong enough.

Rookidee flew down and filled you in. Sprinting over there, you meet him and introduce yourself. He says his name is Kojo, and that he was handling the shop while his mother was out. He explained that he needed to get those crates under the shade, but he just couldn't lift them, and it'd be nice if he could get some help.

 

[Meetan]

Meetan- Everything seemed to be falling into place. Blaze and Lola were having a fantastic time and while Eridian had been displeased at first, he soon got over it and was likely enjoying his pleasant walk with Bambi. Mimi had struck up an instant bond with the shy Hatenna and coax her out from under the cart. Now what were you going to do? You leave the decision to the Hatenna. A walk through the forest was low stress and a likely option, but it seems the Galarian Psychic type is unsure. After a few moments of awkward stillness, Hatenna shocks you by bonking Mimi on the head and running off.......

Tag it is!

Mimi is quick to the chase, but her target isn't the Hatenna, it is you! You step back and forth, trying your best to avoid the Mime. Jr but the shiny Pokemon is swift and elegant. It isn't too long before she hits her mark, tapping you on the back of the calf and marking you as it! The little Psychic type rushes towards the Hatenna, who was watching the pursuit from the edge of the clearing. The pair quickly link up again and rush into the forest, quickly disappearing into the trees. This was going to be a work out, wasn't it.......

Making your way through the trees, you're thankful that the ground is slightly damp. You manage to spot a rough trail of tiny footprints, weaving and zigzagging through the trees. You know they can't be too far away as you occasionally hear what can only be described as giggling coming from not too far away. Eventually you lay eyes upon them once more, standing at the base of the twisted oaks. Mimi seems to have something in her hand, is that a letter? It seems the game is over for now, as neither Pokemon makes a run for it when you approach. Mimi hands you the letter. Turning it over, you see it has the name 'Hunny Buns', written across the back of it. It's loosely sealed, you could probably sneak a peek at the letter and reseal it without anyone knowing......

The anticipation could have killed a man, waiting for the skittish Hattena's decision on games to play, but eventually the Pokemon had picked. Tag it was! Only, Mimi did not turn to go after her fellow psychic, but after her trainer instead! “Oh shizzle-- Mimi!” Alice was laughing in spite of herself, but the awkward darting to and fro probably made her look like some kind of drunk Girafarig or Dodrio swinging all of its limbs about. It certainly wasn't a surprise to her that the elegant baby had managed to catch her, and honestly, this tag game was never going to end. Alice's running resembled an intoxicated Piplup at best, and in spite of experience spanning years of fleeing for her life... She was slow. So that was cool.

“Hey guys! I'm just going to go and catch up with Hatterene and Mimi!” Alice called over to Blaze and his new friend. They seemed to be on par with each other, which was nice. Her pink Combusken, like many of Alice's Pokemon, was a stronger force to be reckoned with than many first realised. It was rare for him to find a friend that could match him in speed and strength, and that said a lot for the Lopunny's training and trainer, come to think of it. It was a shame she seemed so under the weather...

Although, as a regular performer at the circus, it probably meant that Sera was doing better in athletics than she was. In spite of being an idol, Alice was both inelegant and lazy day to day. It wasn't a coincidence that she tended to disappear from the limelight after a string of work assignments, it took a lot out of her. It was a relief, then, that the two playmates hadn't gone too far. There was even a little trail of footprints to follow, and after a time, Alice found the partners in crime. The game of tag was on suspension while Alice examined the letter that Mimi had found by the twisted oaks, and she hummed with intrigue, audibly asking 'what's this' as she turned it over to try and open it cleanly. With an address like 'Hunny Buns', this had to be sickeningly sweet or entertainingly lewd, surely...

What mystery awaited them beneath the lover's loops? It was time to find out, on the next episode of Dragonball Z.

 

[Missingno. Master]

Missingno. Master - Knowing what needed to be done, you leave Yohan, and turn around, realizing you have no way out. Yohan snaps his fingers a third time, causing a Gardevoir to appear. Gardevoir extended a hand at you, the hand gathering psychic energy, then the energy enveloped you, and then poof! You were teleported out of the cave and right outside at the entrance you had entered from. When you were being teleported, Yohan yelled "There'll be a ride outside!" as you dematerialized. Dusting yourself off and reminding yourself of what you needed to do, you glanced around, looking for the hypothetical "ride". Then, a Salamence appears behind you, roaring to alert you of its presence. It bends over, beckoning you to hop onto its back.

This was the ride Yohan was talking about! Hopping onto its back, it let out a large roar, then in one large wing heave, it took off, and flew at a high speed towards the Meadow of Judgment. It was traveling very fast, so it only took about half an hour to arrive at the Meadow. Salamence looked down, and realizing you had arrived at your destination, it went into a nosedive, and landed on the Meadow's soft grass.

Getting off the Dragon Pokemon, you observe the surrounding area. It was exactly what a meadow would look like, flowers, grass, and some grass Pokemon meddling about. There was a gardener tending to the bushes, hunched over, so he couldn't see you. Perhaps he knew something about the Mage? Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask. Or would it?.

With Keith's mind set on the task at hand, he turned, raring to get moving. Nothing would stop him from saving this boy from Dusknoir! Nothing!

...except the total lack of an accessible exit that Keith could see. That was actually proving quite effective at the moment.

Keith turned back around, caught off-guard by this, looking to see if he'd missed something. As he did, however, Yohan snapped his fingers, and a Gardevoir appeared. Keith was rather surprised at this point- how many Pokémon did Yohan have just hanging around in here? Did they all try and take down that Dusknoir, and all fail? Well, in Gardevoir's case, Keith could honestly kinda understand it, with the type disadvantage, but he knew that Grimmsnarl were Dark-types, was there nothing it could've done? Or was Dusknoir simply that formidable of a foe? Either way, Keith neither wanted to dwell on it nor had the time to do so- he was being teleported outside by Gardevoir, and as this happened, Yohan called to Keith that there would be a ride for him. And once outside, Keith's unspoken question was promptly answered as he turned to face the source of a sudden roar, finding it to be a Salamence. "What the-" Keith murmured as he climbed onto Salamence's back. Was this Salamence Yohan's as well? Just how skilled a Trainer was this boy? Keith registered in the back of his mind that at some point long after all this was over, once he'd rescued Yohan, he realized he'd want to challenge him to a battle someday.

And Salamence was off! With Chuck and Stewie keeping pace admirably, the Dragon Pokémon soared through the air. Even at its high speeds, the journey to the meadow still took about half an hour, and as awesome as the flight was, Keith found it marred by his constant concern for Yohan's well-being.

At last, Keith dismounted the Salamence, for it had landed in the Meadow of Judgement. "Thank you," Keith said to the Salamence with a respectful bow. Chuck and Stewie likewise bowed, even though they'd simply flown alongside, and even Meowth gave a respectful nod, before they all turned and started looking. Flowers, grass, Pokémon... pretty much your standard meadow, Keith knew.

"Hey, look dere," Meowth said, pointing with a front paw.

"Huh," Keith murmured, turning to look- Meowth had spotted a man hunched over, tending to the bushes. "A gardener, no doubt," he said.

"Ya tink he might know sometin' about sometin'?" Meowth asked.

"Who knows?" Keith shrugged. "But at this point, I'll take any shot at a lead I can get. Chuck, Stewie, you with me on this?"

"Naturally," grinned the Gengar. "Certainly couldn't hurt to ask the man."

"Led ledi," Stewie murmured, eyeing the man suspiciously. This wasn't entirely unexpected to Keith, considering Stewie's girlfriend was Ginny, a notoriously paranoid Pawniard. But all the same, Keith nodded- they weren't sure of anything that was going on, there was no telling if this man was as he seemed. Of course, they saw no reason to be hostile, but at the very least, Stewie was ready to set up Reflect and Light Screen should the need to suddenly defend themselves arose.

Keith led the way, approaching the gardener. "Excuse me? Sir?" he said. "I'm hoping you can help us out- we're looking for the mage, we need help. A young boy's life is at stake."

 

[TheKnightsFury]

TheKnightsFury - Saying goodbye to Jeffrey, you continue on your primary objective, to find Wolfgang's contact. Dashing into an alleyway, you send out your Rookidee, and after a quick explanation, Rookidee takes to the sky to help. You tell your other Pokemon to watch your back, just in case anyone tried to jump you. Rookidee flew around, searching for anyone in need, but there didn't seem to be any one. Everyone was just going about with their lives, selling goods, walking around, the like. Then, Rookide spotted someone! It was a young teen, who was running a vegetable shop. He was trying to lift some crates, but he couldn't because he was not strong enough.

Rookidee flew down and filled you in. Sprinting over there, you meet him and introduce yourself. He says his name is Kojo, and that he was handling the shop while his mother was out. He explained that he needed to get those crates under the shade, but he just couldn't lift them, and it'd be nice if he could get some help.

Rookidee's scouting mission was swift. Surprisingly everyone seemed to be going about their business pleasantly, something Xander hadn't expect to experience given the Devil's Playground's reputation. He had expected the streets to be lined with thugs and criminals, not merchants. Rookidee returned and led them to a small vegetable shop. The shop was currently under the care of a young boy named Kojo, while his mother was out. The boy was struggling with his duties though, he was unable to move some heavy crates of vegetables into the shade. It would only take a moment for Xander to help the boy, but he wasn't exactly sure the boy would be able to help him in return. These seemed like good people, not the type of shady character that Wolfgang said he used to deal with. That said, Xander figured he'd help out. "Hi Kojo, I'm Xander. We'll hope you move those crates, shouldn't take us more than a few moments. Toxtricity give us a hand won't you?" While Toxtricity moved towards the crate, Xander pulled out the slick silver business card Wolfgang had given him. "Kojo I don't suppose you've every seen one of these around have you? I'm looking for a friend of mine who went missing, they would have been carrying one just like it." Xander knew it was a long shot, but maybe if Kojo didn't know, his mother might? Xander made his way over to help Toxtricity with the crates, giving Kojo some time to think. Meanwhile, Grookey and Rookidee poked around the shop, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

 

[Enigmatic Professor]

DannyDrawsaLot,






Amilia didn’t really confirm nor deny your comments about the pokemon that could sting or bite, she also didn’t answer you on the topic of Jirachi, She just pushed forward into the desert with you and Thyme following close behind.


You really didn’t see anything except cacti, and tumbleweed bushes. And it was quiet, aside from your footsteps and breathing, there wasn’t any sound. Well, that changed very fast because apparently you had stepped on a Heliolisk’s Tail and it screeched very loudly, scaring all of you and then taking off the moment your foot lifted from its tail.

“Watch your back, because we don’t want him coming back with some friends attacking us later.” Amilia out a hand over her heart while she spoke and after she regained her composure she continued forward.

During the commotion and as you trekked onwards both you and Amila failed to notice Thyme’s disappearance from your sides, Amilia only noticed when she turned to look back at you and then realized that Thyme wasn’t next to you. This wasn’t more than fifteen mins after the Heliolisk scare...


“ Where did she go, nononononononono- Amilai rushed back to the spot where the Heliolisk jumped up and put a hand up to stop you where you stood while she looked at the tracks. From what you could see it was almost as if she literally vanished on the spot… Or teleported away?


Wait, her partner was an Elygem wasn’t it? They could teleport, right? So where would they go?

Amila had the same thought process, “ The Truck!”

The two of you ran back to the truck which was only ten mins away from where you guys stood, well, Amilia ran and you struggled to keep up, mainly because it was obvious Amilia ran in the desert often and had enough endurance to propel herself forward a lot more than you did.


Amila got to the truck first and cried out, when you got there you saw why.

The Truck looked like a battle scene… of a one-sided fight, there was pretty much no hope to get it up and running anytime soon, if it were somehow possible considering it resembled a crumpled tin ball.

This isn’t why Amilia cried out though, it was because there was blood on the truck and the ground. There was no body so you could only believe that Thyme was alive but injured in some form, or that she was attacking her attackers as they captured her. She could have very well teleported here on accident and got caught up in a truck scavenge that went wrong.


Amilia paced a few times cursing and muttering under her breath before looking at you, “ Do you have any pokemon that you could ride on the back of? I have a Gogoat, but in case we too are ambushed or attacked I want to make sure you have a way of getting the hell out of here like a Crobat outta Hel. Because I will be sending you back to town to gather reinforcements the moment we are attacked.”


Well, the question stands, do you have a way of getting back? Or do you have a compromise?

 

[Faiyaa]

Faiyaa- You'd managed to find the Primarina and the Popplio, now you just had to convince the protective Pokemon to let you close enough to help heal the Popplio's wounds. Turning to Apollo, you ask the Lanturn to start the healing off with a Heal Bell. The fish shakes its antenna back and forth, letting out a ringing chime that is soon followed by a faint rainbow glow. The Popplio begins to relax, the Heal Bell seems to be calming it. You take that as your cue to approach. You move slowly, trying not to provoke a sudden reaction from the Primarina, it is then that you're smacked with a surprise.

"It's okay Gary, I trust you, I know you're only here to help."

Did that Primarina just speak?! Suddenly the Primarina begins to twist and change, becoming smaller and more slender. The changes continue, only now they become more unbelievable as the Primarina slowly morphs into a human! Not just any human though, it was Marina?! While you stand there stunned, Marina breaks the silence. "Sorry if I shocked you, I'll explain later, just tell me you have something on you that can help this Popplio." Marina holds the young Water type carefully. As you get closer, you notice the trap has left a series of rather nasty cuts around the Popplio's tail. It would take some serious efforts to heal the wounds and it needed to be done sooner rather than later. The Popplio looks at you with its big bright eyes. They were filled with pain and just a little bit of hope......

Gary relaxed a little as the Popplio and shiny Primarina seemed to have calmed down a bit thanks to Apollo’s Heal Bell. However, a chill went down his spine as the Primarina began to speak to him. No matter how many times Gary had come into contact with things that went beyond his perception of rational science, it was always jarring to him whenever he encountered them face to face. As his brain began to process this new development, he recognized the voice right away as the puzzle pieces started to fall into place. “Marina?” he answered softly.

Still agape in amazement, Gary watched as the shiny Primarina’s form shifted from Pokemon to the acquaintance he had arrived at the ruins with. There was little time for explanations however, as their attention shifted back to the wounded Popplio. It might have been freed of the trap, but the cuts on its body were deep and it was losing blood at a rapid rate. They would have to act fast.

Gary still wasn’t sure where exactly they were, so getting the Popplio to a Pokemon Center was likely out of the question. He would have to bring the medic to the Popplio, and he couldn’t think of a better candidate than his Alomomola. “C’mon out Sensei, we need your help and fast!” Gary tossed the Alomomola’s ball, revealing the pink fish that was built for situations like these. “Sensei, bear with it for a bit, but use Pain Split to ease the Popplio’s ailments! Pull up an Aqua Ring to restore your health and then use Pain Split some more if you have to!” Gary then turned his attention to his Lanturn. “Apollo, it might not do much, but try to keep the Popplio Soaked in water and give it a Helping Hand to keep its energy up!”

 

[TheKnightsFury]

Zorchic- If your theory was correct, you were on the outer edges of a whirlpool. The pull of the current wasn't too strong yet, but if you allowed it to take you, you'd risk being trapped in its pull. Buizel wasn't strong enough to combat the whirlpool by himself, but with a bit of clever thinking, you come up with a way to aid the sea weasel. Lucario creates a glowing bone, which it tosses to Gengar, allowing the ghost to grab it with its Psychic powers. Concentrating, the ghost manipulates the bone, plunging it into the water near the rear of the board. Swirling its hands, Gengar makes the bone spine, creating another makeshift propeller. With the added power, you feel the board begin to push through the current, away from its source. You offer a similar solution to Heath, but Hariyama and Heliolisk seem to be doing just fine, probably because they're used to paddling around like this. The pair of you paddle your boards against the current for a while, until it eventually seems to pass. Crisis averted!

Gengar releases the bone, taking a moment to catch its breath. You're about to breath a sigh of relief when Heath points out something odd up ahead. It seemed to be a big raft of white foam? "We're getting close to the centre of the lake, keep an eye out Jake." You keep your eyes on the raft of foam as you begin to navigate around it, where had it come from? Suddenly you notice movement within the odd structure. Large orange spikes begin to rise out of the foam, soon after, a pair of giant claws although one is much larger than the other. Whatever it was that was emerging from the foam, it was massive! It seems you'd avoided one issue, only to find yourself with another!


Meetan- The love letter sure was a juicy development. How could you deny yourself the opportunity? It takes almost no time at all for you to fall victim to your urges and you quickly open the letter. The handwriting is quite elegant and thankfully legible, Mimi and Hattena wait patiently as you read the note......

My dearest Hunny Buns. I know we agreed to meet here, but I'm afraid the risk is too great.
I know our love has only just begun to bloom but I am with child. A life on the road is no life for a child, which is why I must leave. I cannot force you to flee with us, but I trust you will do what is best for your unborn child. We must leave before we reach the Chariot Inn, my condition is getting harder to conceal and I must leave before it is discovered.
With all of our love
Sugar Pie
​

You take a moment to take it all in before closing the letter, making sure to reseal it. Someone was knocked up and just left a note laying out here to tell the father? It all seemed a bit odd. Who could the letter belong to? Who was Sugar Pie?! Would Hunny Buns be out here looking for the letter?! You're startled when suddenly some bushes behind you begin to rustle, you jump around to find Eridian and Bambi, the pair must have come out this way for their walk. You'd been gone for a while and there was no telling what mischief Blaze and his new friend had gotten up to by now. Perhaps it was time to head back? But what would you do with the letter?!

​

Faiyaa- You push Marina's startling reveal to the back of your mind for a moment and instead focus all of your energy on healing the Popplio. You release your Alomomola into the water alongside Apollo. Sensei was the best bet you had on hand for healing the pup's wounds. You urge Marina to bring the young Pokemon closer, allowing Sensei to begin healing it. A bond forms between the pair as Sensei splits his own health with the injured sea lion. You watch as the wounds slowly begin to heal over, but you also notice that Sensei is feeling the pain. Thankfully he can set up an Aqua Ring for himself, slowly healing off some of the damage he inflicts on himself. Apollo offers a helping hand to the Popplio, providing it with some extra energy and keeping it soaked to support the healing of the wounds. The Popplio's condition was improving, but it would take a bit of time. Marina sets the Pokemon down before approaching you, she can see you're full of questions and does her best to answer them.

"I guess you're wondering how I can turn into a Pokemon? You're not clever not to wonder. Truth is my people have always been able to, although there are very few of us who can still undergo a complete transformation and we're spread across the globe. Some call us Selkies, but we're known by other names as well. When we reach a certain age, we undergo a ritual that reveals our true form. In ancient times, all of my people could undergo a full transformation like myself, but over the centuries our bloodline has been watered down. Some of my people's descendants can undergo incomplete transformations, taking on certain qualities of a Pokemon, such as gills, a tail or claws. Most just tend to have a strong connection to the sea and to Pokemon. It wouldn't shock me if you had some Selkie blood in you Gary, your connection to the sea and Pokemon is hard to deny. Thank you for healing Popplio", Marina suddenly turns away from you, "this is all my fault though, if it wasn't for me, she would never have been hurt in the first place."

 

[Faiyaa]

Faiyaa- You push Marina's startling reveal to the back of your mind for a moment and instead focus all of your energy on healing the Popplio. You release your Alomomola into the water alongside Apollo. Sensei was the best bet you had on hand for healing the pup's wounds. You urge Marina to bring the young Pokemon closer, allowing Sensei to begin healing it. A bond forms between the pair as Sensei splits his own health with the injured sea lion. You watch as the wounds slowly begin to heal over, but you also notice that Sensei is feeling the pain. Thankfully he can set up an Aqua Ring for himself, slowly healing off some of the damage he inflicts on himself. Apollo offers a helping hand to the Popplio, providing it with some extra energy and keeping it soaked to support the healing of the wounds. The Popplio's condition was improving, but it would take a bit of time. Marina sets the Pokemon down before approaching you, she can see you're full of questions and does her best to answer them.

"I guess you're wondering how I can turn into a Pokemon? You're not clever not to wonder. Truth is my people have always been able to, although there are very few of us who can still undergo a complete transformation and we're spread across the globe. Some call us Selkies, but we're known by other names as well. When we reach a certain age, we undergo a ritual that reveals our true form. In ancient times, all of my people could undergo a full transformation like myself, but over the centuries our bloodline has been watered down. Some of my people's descendants can undergo incomplete transformations, taking on certain qualities of a Pokemon, such as gills, a tail or claws. Most just tend to have a strong connection to the sea and to Pokemon. It wouldn't shock me if you had some Selkie blood in you Gary, your connection to the sea and Pokemon is hard to deny. Thank you for healing Popplio", Marina suddenly turns away from you, "this is all my fault though, if it wasn't for me, she would never have been hurt in the first place."

As Sensei the Alomomola and Apollo the Lanturn worked together to relieve the wounded Popplio of its ailments, the process was slow, but it seemed to be working. Needing time to let the wounds gradually heal, Marina set the injured sea lion pup down and turned her attention back to Gary. With some time to spare, she began to talk about her past and who she and people who share her bloodline really are.

Gary stood there quietly and listened intently to everything Marina had to say. It seemed like a farfetched fairytale, stories about people known as ‘Selkies’ who could change all or parts of their bodies into that of Pokemon. It was a fantastic story, one that someone like Gary would normally chalk up as a legend or myth; but the proof was right before his eyes. There was no denying it now, so Gary focused in on the details, trying to wrap his logic and science-bound mind around it. Gary recalled an adventure from his younger days; he had been captured among a group of people who had been experimented on and spliced with Pokemon DNA and forced to battle each other. But this was different; this form of transformation seemed natural and organic. There didn’t seem to be any artificial experimentation going on here.

Marina then explained the connection between Selkies and the sea, and suggested that Gary’s affinity for marine life might be the result of some Selkie genetic material in his own bloodline. The logical part of Gary’s brain immediately cast doubt on something he couldn’t tangibly prove, but the seed of curiosity had been planted. Maybe he would have to run some tests later. In any case, the sound of reason rung louder in his mind, as he was just a man from a small rural town in the mountains of Johto.

Gary snapped out of his thoughts as Marina thanked him for the help and claimed blame for the Popplio’s injury. He smiled and shook his head, “It was only natural to help. Is there anything else I can do?”

 

[Meetan]

Meetan- The love letter sure was a juicy development. How could you deny yourself the opportunity? It takes almost no time at all for you to fall victim to your urges and you quickly open the letter. The handwriting is quite elegant and thankfully legible, Mimi and Hattena wait patiently as you read the note......

My dearest Hunny Buns. I know we agreed to meet here, but I'm afraid the risk is too great.

I know our love has only just begun to bloom but I am with child. A life on the road is no life for a child, which is why I must leave. I cannot force you to flee with us, but I trust you will do what is best for your unborn child. We must leave before we reach the Chariot Inn, my condition is getting harder to conceal and I must leave before it is discovered.

With all of our love

Sugar Pie​

You take a moment to take it all in before closing the letter, making sure to reseal it. Someone was knocked up and just left a note laying out here to tell the father? It all seemed a bit odd. Who could the letter belong to? Who was Sugar Pie?! Would Hunny Buns be out here looking for the letter?! You're startled when suddenly some bushes behind you begin to rustle, you jump around to find Eridian and Bambi, the pair must have come out this way for their walk. You'd been gone for a while and there was no telling what mischief Blaze and his new friend had gotten up to by now. Perhaps it was time to head back? But what would you do with the letter?!

Alice read the note aloud, although she was quiet about it incase the intended recipient was there to overhear them. "Mime, mime...!" The baby exclaimed in astonishment, looking to her new friend with a dropped jaw. Alice had a similar reaction, although she had to watch her language, lest she be as vulgar as she usually was. "Damn. This is crazy, kids. Hunny Buns is knocked up, but she has to flee? What kind of danger could she be in if she has to run off from somewhere instead of just explaining herself or resigning or whatever? Sounds like they're in a hidden relationship, too." She was an idol, and in her line of work, that was the norm. However, if idols got pregnant, they usually just announced a shotgun wedding. They didn't flee into the magical woods.

"He hasn't seen it yet, either. I wonder if he's with us..." Alice trailed off as the trees rustled, practically jumping out of her skin. After that, it was pretty hard to hold her tongue, one hand over her heart. "Bleeding heck, Eri. I nearly had a heart attack!" The trainer complained. Her dragon just snorted, stalking a bit further in next to the Sawsbuck, clearly wondering what his human was up to this time. They always ended up in the middle of something or other, and after waving the sealed letter and explaining the mystery within, the dragon grumbled a bit. In his own draconic words, he was also curious: why was there a need to flee, and from whom?

"Do either of you two know who Sugar Pie would be? Pokemon have a heightened sense for these things, don't they? Have any of the women with the troupe had a lot of hormonal changes or whatever recently? Do you ever noticed a pair sneaking off around the same time?" Alice asked, setting the letter back into place. It did make her wonder about Sera. She was quite sick but staying with the group anyway. She definitely couldn't keep up with her Lopunny when pregnant and those mood swings would overwhelm many a psychic. Was she Sugar Pie?

 

[TheKnightsFury]

Faiyaa- After processing what Marina had said, you ask if there was anything else you could do to help. Marina seemed distressed about something and was blaming herself for the Popplio's injuries, but why?

"I need help, yes", Marina continue to pace back and forth. "You see Gary, not everyone has a good heart like yourself. Most people are oblivious to the presence of my people, but some believe in our existence. Some even have the wealth and desire to see our kind brought into the light, at any cost. Remember that young scientist I mentioned? That one with the yacht full of traps? I trusted him once. He came here only the trail of my people and for a time I believed he had good intentions. I assisted him with his research, thankfully I didn't reveal my powers to him. When I found out that he planned to trawl and trap around the reef, I destroyed as much of his research as I could. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to throw him off the trail. He is the one that set the trap that hurt Popplio and countless other local Pokemon." Marina clenches her fists, "Gary I need you to help me take him down. We need to clear out all of his traps and then stop him from setting any more, even better would be if we could stop him from searching all together." It seemed Marina and the local Pokemon were under threat from this reckless young researcher.

You look over to Sensei and the Popplio. The young pup was looking much better. It was starting to move around on its own, the scarring from the wound was barely visible now. It flops over to you, a glimmer of thankfulness in its eyes. If there were other Pokemon out there suffering like it was, surely it was your duty to help?


Meetan- Sugar Pie was knocked up?! Whoever Sugar Pie was, she was worried that news of her pregnancy would put her and her unborn child at risk. You begin to question Bambi and the Hatenna, working on a hunch that either Sugar Pie or Hunny Buns could be somehow connected to the troupe. Unfortunately, both Bambi and Hatenna seem oblivious to your questions. Thinking further, you begin to suspect that Sugar Pie could in fact be Sera. She had been feeling unwell, morning sickness? If she was pregnant, it would certainly make it hard for her to perform, maybe she was scared of backlash from the ring master? How could you confront her about this though? If it was her, how would she respond? What if it wasn't her and she took offence to you thinking that she was some knocked up hussy? It was certainly a tricky position......

You head back to were the troupe had made camp. Blaze rushes over as you emerge from the trees, chest heaving. Seems like Sera's Lopunny has given him a good work out. You make your way over to Sera's caravan to find the performer has emerged from her nap. She had a bit more colour in her face now, it seems she is feeling a bit better. "I hope my Pokemon weren't too much of a handful", Sera chuckles, "oh I see you managed to bond with Hatenna, that's great!"

What? Bonded with Hatenna? What was she talking about? Looking down at your leg, you notice the young Psychic type has attached itself to you. Seems you had indeed bonded with it!

 

[Zorchic]

Zorchic- If your theory was correct, you were on the outer edges of a whirlpool. The pull of the current wasn't too strong yet, but if you allowed it to take you, you'd risk being trapped in its pull. Buizel wasn't strong enough to combat the whirlpool by himself, but with a bit of clever thinking, you come up with a way to aid the sea weasel. Lucario creates a glowing bone, which it tosses to Gengar, allowing the ghost to grab it with its Psychic powers. Concentrating, the ghost manipulates the bone, plunging it into the water near the rear of the board. Swirling its hands, Gengar makes the bone spine, creating another makeshift propeller. With the added power, you feel the board begin to push through the current, away from its source. You offer a similar solution to Heath, but Hariyama and Heliolisk seem to be doing just fine, probably because they're used to paddling around like this. The pair of you paddle your boards against the current for a while, until it eventually seems to pass. Crisis averted!

Gengar releases the bone, taking a moment to catch its breath. You're about to breath a sigh of relief when Heath points out something odd up ahead. It seemed to be a big raft of white foam? "We're getting close to the centre of the lake, keep an eye out Jake." You keep your eyes on the raft of foam as you begin to navigate around it, where had it come from? Suddenly you notice movement within the odd structure. Large orange spikes begin to rise out of the foam, soon after, a pair of giant claws although one is much larger than the other. Whatever it was that was emerging from the foam, it was massive! It seems you'd avoided one issue, only to find yourself with another!

The bone method worked beautifully, as the bone from Lucario’s Bone Rush helped propel Jake’s board forward. Heath didn’t need support, it seemed, since his Pokémon were doing just fine. Soon, the danger of the current passed, and Gengar, who was floating above the boards, let down the bone, catching her breath as she did so.

“No sweat, Gengar,” Jake assured the Ghost and Poison-type. “You did fine with that Psychic. It takes lots of brainpower—literally—to do a task like that. And Lucario, that was a brilliant idea in the first place,” he complimented. Jake steadied himself on the board, but as he did so, a strange sight appeared on the water: a raft of foam.

“Right,” Jake replied to Heath, both Trainers making sure to be wary of the foam raft while getting closer to the lake’s center on their boards.

But, the foam soon became a danger, as what looked like a Pokémon started rising out of it. Orange spikes...large claws...

It suddenly came to Jake. “A Kingler...” he recognized. The young Aura Guardian knew that Kingler had a Gigantamax Form, but could they appear outside of Power Spots? Probably not; he might just be overestimating the Water-type’s size.

Wait, a Kingler? Another potential King of the Lake!

Jake thought to Lucario, Do the telepathical message while I call out!

After Lucario nodded, Jake gave a yell to the Kingler. “Hi there! Are you the King of the Lake?” he exclaimed as Lucario telepathically sent the same message. Jake would try to reason with it first, before resorting to more forceful measures. But if Kingler ignored him...
To prepare for in case Jake got no as an answer and instead was targeted, he motioned for Buizel to get ready for evasive maneuvers. “Gengar, use Hypnosis if it attacks,” he added, whispering, “so we can get information out of it as to who and where the King of the Lake might be.” Lucario, try and restrain the Kingler with Psychic, too, if it decides to attack.

 

[TheKnightsFury]

Zorchic- You'd stumbled upon another massive Water Pokemon! You knew that Gigantamax Kingler was a thing, but wouldn't it need a power spot for that? Yeah, no this wasn't a Gigantamax Kingler, it was just a really big one, just like the super sized Seaking. Was there some connection between the size of these Pokemon and the full moon? You decide to take a similar approach this time, getting Lucario to reach out to Kingler like it had Seaking. It conveys its message via telepathy, but once again it gets nothing back from the other Pokemon. Maybe it was simply that both Kingler and Seaking had no desire to talk with you? Or maybe it also had something to do with the full moon's effects?

Unfortunately, Lucario's attempt has alerted the Kingler to your presence. A giant claw rises into the air before quickly descending between Heath and yourself. Giant waves force Heath and yourself apart, knocking you and your Pokemon off your board in the process. The levitating Gengar tries to subdue the Kingler with a Hypnosis, but the bubbles surrounding it seem to be shielding it from the attack! The claw rises again, shifting over to your position. Again the Kingler swings it down. You throw up your arms in a feeble attempt to shield yourself. Thankfully Lucario manages to slightly shift the Kingler's claw with its Psychic, causing it to miss you by only a few inches. If that Crab Hammer had connected, it likely would have been your end.....

There was no sign of Heath and his Pokemon, all you could see was a mass of bubbles all around you and the parts of the Kingler that were protruding above them.