Private/Closed Pokemon: Fractured Lights

[SharpShotInteleon]

… most importantly, have fun!

The morning sun was cold, blanketed by the thick sheets of snow-white cloud that usually hung over Lifebloom town during the winter. The trees were leafless, and the paths were covered in the frost-decorated leaves that had fallen. The distant tweets of the Hatchirings echoed in the peaceful quiet, and the sweet mews of the Murdanis, added a sense of homeliness.

Sebastian appreciated the sounds of the pokemon, and had all but ignored the mayor's speech, unintentionally, of course. He hadn't meant to, but he was quite groggy from the early wake-up required to get to the speech in time. The others that had come to listen to the speech, a group of no more than 7, all entered the lab, and Sebastian followed.

The lab, oddly, was quite homely. A fireplace roared gently at the far end of the room, flecks of ember spitting out. An old armchair, a deep red in colour, sat proud in front of the fire. Sitting in the armchair, facing away from the fire, was an older man, reading a battered book, the pages a dim yellow. The man looked up at the group, and smiled.

"Aha! You lot must be the group that have come to help me in my research, correct?"

 

[Pinch]

Tsuroua Kimino made his way down to the lab, as today would be the day all of his preparations would pay off, and he’d finally be able to set out on his own Pokémon journey. He felt excitement, though that didn’t show on his face, and as he finally got to the lab after the mayors speech, he was promptly greeted by who he presumed to be the professor. “Yes. That’s us. I’ve already made all of my other preparations, so all I need now is the Pokédex and one of the starter Pokémon you give out to new trainers.” He explained, in a soft yet fairly monotone voice.

 

[Clunpsy]

Kia entered the lab with the rest of the group. The professor greeted them, and a boy explained what he needed. She sighed. "Same as this guy." She spoke halfheartedly and with a frown. She then pointed to the guy who she was referring to. She was quite tired, and dark circles could be seen under her eyes. Kid was excited, like any normal kid would be, but wasn't going to show it any time soon. She had woken up earlier than needed (she didn't sleep due to excitement, actually) and consequently felt like she was going to fall asleep on the spot.

 

[BigHoodieBoy(IM BACK)]

August listened to the mayors speech but none of the words meant anything to him because he wasn’t addressed directly. He walked toward the Professor and listened but never took any of it in because he was not addressed. He remembered the instructions though, pick up a Pokémon and a Pokédex. August walked towards the Pokémon desk and Picked up one along with a Pokédex. He then sat there doing nothing, awaiting someone to tell him something.

 

[SharpShotInteleon]

The professor smiled weakly as he got up from his armchair, the fire crackling all the while. Walking over to the right wall, the old man flicked a switch, revealing a shelf of pokeballs. Slowly, the professor placed 27 pokeballs on a desk beside him.

"I've laid out 9 of each pokemon that I'm allowed to give you. I'm quite sure that our good mayor has described them to you, so I won't waste your time by repeating what he has already said. Please, take your pick!" The professor chuckled.

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Sebastian slowly walked forward to the desk, and, groggy but excited, picked up one of the pokeballs. Opening it carefully, Sebastian was surprised to find inside a small, rodent-like pokemon, curled up tight.

The pokemon squealed slightly before getting to its feet, clearly not fully aware of its surroundings. It stumbled slightly as it moved around, and had almost managed to hit the corner of the desk before, seemingly out of nowhere, it snapped to its senses and stopped dead in its tracks. Sebastian slowly bent down to check the pokemon, but it coiled back in fear.

"H-hey, it's ok little guy. I won't hurt you..."

Slowly, the rodent pokemon approached Sebastian, carefully, as it didn't seem to fully trust Sebastian.

 

[Condor]

The quaint, warm lab was a welcome change from the frigid weather outside. Xavier thankfully removed his gloves, soggy from the snow, and looked passively at the Pokéballs the professor had laid out, unsure of what to do. Truthfully, Xavier hadn’t planned to ever raise a Pokémon. In fact, the only domesticated Pokémon he knew belonged to his family as pets, but he had never payed them much attention. He was perfectly happy to learn about them in books and through observation, rather than own one. Xavier reached out hesitantly to pick up a ball, and held it a bit awkwardly.

‘Should I let it out now?‘ He wondered. Finally, he gently tapped the button to real ease the Pokémon inside. A flash of light revealed a foxlike Pokémon on the ground before him. It looked at Xavier with suspicion, and tentatively sniffed at his feet.

“Um..hello, there.” Xavier said in his best attempt at friendliness. The Pokémon stared, unblinking, at him, and the fur around it’s neck bristled. Xavier watched the Pokémon defeatedly.

‘I’ve only just met it and it already doesn’t like me. This is off to a great start.’

 

[Pinch]

Tsuoura walked up to the desk next, He already knew which Pokémon he wanted and proceeded to pick up one of the Frostyke pokeballs, and then got himself a Pokédex from the nearby table. He didn’t let his Pokèmon out yet, he tended to maintain an emotional wall that kept others from knowing how he was feeling, and didn’t want to let that slip in the lab. “Thank you professor, is there anything else you need us to do before we leave?” He asked, now being fully prepared to go on his journey, which he was more than eager to leave on.

 

[SharpShotInteleon]

Professor Buckthorn slowly made his way back to his armchair, talking as he walked.

"Well, not really, but I should recommend to you that you don't leave town via the west route. There's something... unusual happening over there. Now, if you don't mind me, I have a book to return to."

Sitting back down, the professor reached for his book yet again. As though nobody else was in the room, he promptly began reading again. The fireplace roared yet brighter, as though it had a sentience.

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Sebastian had listened to each of the professors words, though he had been a bit wrapped up with trying to get his frostyke to trust him, which it didn't seem to do fully. Standing up, Sebastian reached for Frostyke's pokeball, and promptly returned it to the container. Sebastian slowly zipped back up his coat and walked towards the door.

 

[Cmeriwether]

Lana Montgomery had woken up after one of her father's pokemon had accidentally Fire blasted her kitchen. She got her stuff ready and called out to her parents, "I'm heading out!"

Her parents told her to be safe and be careful. Heading to the lab, she walked in and found the Professor saying about going a direction other than west, and grabbed a Fenermal pokeball, snagging a Pokedex on the way out. She then headed towards the north.

 

[SharpShotInteleon]

Sebastian slowly exited the lab, trying to savour the warmth of the fireplace before stepping out into the frigid territory of Lifebloom Town, the leaves crunching beneath his feet. Once out in the cold, Sebastian looked around as to where to go next. Despite being warned not to go west, an overwhelming sense of curiosity overcame Sebastian, and he felt almost compelled to check the western route.

Curious, but wary enough to keep his distance, Sebastian wandered over to the western route. When he had gotten close enough, Sebastian saw two people, dressed in outfits not suitable for the harsh weather of the winter. One of the two seemed to have a more commanding presence than the other. Focusing hard on listening, Sebastian managed to catch a few words of their conversation.

"... No, sir... I see... Promptly… too risky... SILENCE!"

The two men began to walk towards town, and Sebastian quickly regained a sense of composure and swiftly started to walk towards the northern route out of town.

 

[Pinch]

Tsuoura nodded before leaving the lab as well. As he walked through the town toward Route 1, he took note of the odd people scuffling about the way out of town the professor had told them to avoid. The people looked suspicious, he’d try and stop them but he knew that if they had any experience as trainers they’d probably beat him. He had gotten his Pokémon less than five minutes ago after all.

Now making his way through Route 1, Tsuoura was consistently checking his map. He had already planned his path through the place, and he guessed he’d be able to make it to the next town over before noon, where he’d stay for the night.

 

[Clunpsy]

Kia took a Frostyke pokeball and a pokedex, then left the lab. She let Frostyke out and picked it up. "So this is my first pokemon... Its not too shabby I guess." She headed straight for the north route, and left for Route 1. If the Professor says not to, I probably shouldn't go west. She looked at her Pokedex, then started to rub Frostyke's head. "So you're a Frostyke. It's not original if I just call you Frostyke, so let's go with a nickname. From now on, you are known as Kori!"

 

[SharpShotInteleon]

Sebastian, not wanting to be noticed by the odd men he had overheard, swiftly waked north to reach route 1. Icicles hung from the gate between route 1 and Lifebloom Town, like the fangs of some unfathomable creature, and the light layer of frost that covered the grass crunched underfoot.

Passing through the gate, into route 1, Sebastian's ears were filled by the sounds of pokemon; the tweeting of Hatchirings, the mews of murdanis, and the odd combination of a buzz and a scuttle made by the nymphadas.

 

[Condor]

The short trek from the Pokémon lab and Route 1 to Riverside Town was quite pleasant. The snow was laid out beautifully on the needles of evergreen trees, and icicles decorated every branch like ornaments.

Fenermal, however, wasted no time admiring the view. He hastily trotted down the snowy Route 1 path, maintaining a few feet distance from Xavier. The boy had hardly spoken a word to his new Pokémon since he had left the lab, and he figured it best to let Fenermal come to him first. Xavier huffed, and buried his head further into his scarf. He couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated, it seemed the Pokémon hadn’t really given him a chance.

As the two passed into Riverside town, Xavier called to his Pokemon.
”Let’s stop at that vending stall for some supplies.” He suggested. A nearby vendor stood under a tent with a collection of goods. While he browsed the items, Xavier could see Fenermal staring at him out of the corner of his eye. “Do you want anything?” He asked. The Pokemon only blinked. Xavier sighed and chose from a selection assorted of berries. “These will do for now.” He accepted the berries and handed the vendor money in return.

 

[SharpShotInteleon]

As Sebastian began walking down the path into Riverside town, he noticed one of the hatchiring were staring at him more intently than any others. Rummaging through his bag, he found a couple of pokeballs, a gift from his mum prior to leaving town.

“Frostyke, time for our first battle!” Sebastian called out as the hatchiring flew at him.

The frostyke leapt forwards to intercept the hatchiring, knocking it from the air. The bird Pokemon let out a low growl at Frostyke, as an attempt to intimidate the rodent Pokemon.

“Now, Frostyke. Ice shard!” Sebastian called out.

In response to that, Frostyke, a tad reluctantly, threw a shard of ice directly at the bird, dealing a large amount of damage to it. Noting the state of the avian Pokemon, Sebastian grabbed a pokeball from his bag and threw it at the bird Pokemon.

One...

Two...

Three...

Got it!

 

[Condor]

Xavier and Fenermal trudged onward to Route 2, where a similar snowy landscape awaited them. Fenermal kept a fast pace, always a few yards ahead of his trainer. The Pokemon made a point not to look back for his trainer. At the end of Route 2, Xavier could make out an an entrance to a dark and foreboding cave.

Xavier paused at the cave entrance and shuddered. He imagined the many number of things creepy and crawly that might await him inside the chilly cavern. Pokemon research was a worthy endeavor, but the exploration that came with it was already leading him to unpleasant places. He wordlessly wished that he were in a comfortable, climate controlled Pokémon lab, studying at a safe distance from the unpleasantness that might lay ahead.

 

[SharpShotInteleon]

(OOC: Do NOT die on me! I won’t allow it!)

BIC:

After capturing the hatchiring, Sebastian clipped the avian Pokemon’s pokeball to his belt. As he approached the gate between route 1 and Riverside Town, Sebastian noticed that the sky had begun to turn the recognisable stone-grey colour and the weather had started to turn overcast. Concerned about getting soaked, Sebastian rushed towards the pokecentre in Riverside.

 

[Clunpsy]

Kia walked down the Route 1 path, with the newly named Frostyke in her arms. She had already fallen behind most of the other trainers starting their journeys, so she started to walk a bit faster. She could see some in front of her that had made it into the next town already. Kia continued walking, looking at several pokemon that were around. Soon, she felt something small drop on her head. She was confused, and more and more landed on her before she saw it was rain. Out of instinct she lifted Kori up above her head, but quickly realised and put Kori under her hoodie. She opted to lift her bag over her head and sprint towards Riverside Town, and into the pokemon centre. "Rain? Right when I saw a pokemon I might have caught." She saw multiple others inside the pokecentre, including one boy that she thought she recognised from the lab.

 

[SharpShotInteleon]

Sebastian's Frostyke was wrapped softly around his leg as the rain poured down heavily outside the Pokecentre, the clouds gray as stone. As Sebastian camped out in the Poke Centre, in an attempt to avoid the rain, he noticed that someone he had recognized from the lab was inside the center also.

"Hey, don't I recongise you, from the lab?" Sebastian inquired

 

[Clunpsy]

Kia stared for a moment. "I guess you do. Leave me alone now." She turned away and started trying to dry Kori with her hoodie. Kori looked a little curious about the other Frostyke, but Kia had a firm grip that Kori couldn't escape from. Kia started to mutter. "I can't be making friends, there's no point to it since they will just get in my way. Especially if we have to defeat them at some point, they're just obstacles..." Her hand slipped, and Kori jumped towards the other Frostyke. Kia sighed, but didn't try to stop it.

 

[Condor]

Rain began to fall as Xavier stood outside Winding Cave. He had no other choice but to enter the cavern to avoid getting soaked. Fenermal scurried inside as well, and let out a cry of discomfort at the falling rain.

Pokémon and trainer began their walk through the cave. Stalactites and stalagmites protruded from the cave floor and ceiling, sometimes dripping water onto their heads, which neither of them appreciated.
The name of Winding Cave was not a misnomer, several times the path took sharp turns and forked. Xavier was glad the paths were marked, he didn’t trust his own sense of direction.

In one particularly dark stretch of the cave, Xavier was stepping carefully through the dark passageway when his foot caught on something heavy. Xavier nearly tripped and fell forward. Instantly, what Xavier tripped on shuffled and moved in place. What he thought was a stone or boulder turned out to be the round, rocky shell of a Pokemon. One that was not happy to see him.

 

[SharpShotInteleon]

"Well, there we go... Oh! You've got a friend there, Snowflake." Sebastian said, smiling, as he noticed that his Frostyke, Snowflake, was playing with the girl from the labs' own pokemon.

Sebastian's Hatchiring flew around his head, joyful, after he had released the avian Pokémon from its ball. After a while of aimlessly flying, the Hatchiring sat on Sebastians' shoulder, making itself comfortable. Eventually, the rain began to lighten up, and before leaving the Center, Sebastian scooped up the girl's frostyke softly, and handed it back to her.

"Next time, keep better hold of your Pokémon, if you can." Sebastian said, smirking, as he exited the pokecenter.

 

[Condor]

After fumbling with his flashlight for a moment, Xavier was able to illuminate the dark and claustrophobic corridor, as well as the the disgruntled Pokémon he had stumbled upon. Xavier recognized it as a Pebbite. The creature snapped its jaws at the intruding trainer and hissed. The best course of action, he decided, would be to scare it off. He calmly ordered Fenermal to use Snarl, and the Pokémon reluctantly obliged.

Fenermal stared down the Pebbite, then let out a loud bark. A shockwave of energy followed. The sound of the attack echoed loudly in the cave. Pebbite flinched, but the attack hadn’t seemed to deter it at all, and only succeeded in making it more angry. The geode Pokémon suddenly lunged at Fenermal, and headbutted him roughly in the chest, which sent him flying a back few feet. Growling and squeaking, Fenermal had thoroughly lost its temper with the wild Pokémon, and angrily scratched and clawed at its hard outer shell.

Xavier grimaced. Their first encounter with a wild Pokémon was going anything but smoothly.

 

[SharpShotInteleon]

Being careful to avoid any residual showers, Sebastian steadily made his way out from the Pokecentre. Leaving the building, Sebastian noticed that the sky had become a light blue and clear, despite the fact that it had been covered with clouds gray as stone mere moments ago. Confused, Sebastian made his way towards the winding cave, and to Damlock city.

 

[Condor]

Fenermal and Pebbite were showing no signs of letting up fighting. Xavier instead dug through his supply bag for a last resort. He threw one of his few Pokeballs at the agitated Pebbite, and the ball knocked against its ore shell with a ‘clink’. The rock Pokémon disappeared into the capsule in a flash of light, leaving Fenermal alone in the cave, and still buzzing with anger. A soft click from the Pokeball signified that Pebbite had been successfully captured.

The trainer gave a half smile. Xavier hadn’t planned on catching any new Pokémon yet, but gathering Pokédex data was worth his time, he supposed. He and the pouting Fenermal trekked through the rest of Winding Cave, careful to avoid any more falling hazards.

 

[Sharksuitguy17]

The city of Damlock was a splendid city indeed, but in a different way than what most people would expect. It was a quaint little town, mellow and relatively quiet. Aaron certainly was fond of this, and so were his Pokemon.
The two small, animalistic creatures were both huddled on either side of Aaron's leg. They had only known Aaron for a short time, about an hour now, but they had already began to bond with him. Aaron didn't think of this as his own doing; he thought it was just the Pokemon's disposition.
A small, rodent-like Pokemon mewed indignantly at Aaron, who was looking far into the distance at some potential visitors, as another brown rabbit Pokemon nudged it and proceeded to continue the same ritual as Aaron was.

"Well, looks like there's a newcomer or two on their way here..." he semi-whispered to the Frostyke and the newly hatched Schokobunny below him. They both cheered up and chanted their respective names happily.

"I sense a battle..."

 

[SharpShotInteleon]

Reaching the mouth of the winding cave, Sebastian let out both of his pokemon from the pokeballs, those being Frostyke and Hatchiring. Flicking on his flashlight, Sebastian nearly dove into the cave. Wandering through the cave, Sebastian came across a few hikers, and miners, but dispatched their teams relatively easily.

As he climbed through the cave, Sebastian slowly approached its end. But, before he could reach the end, a large frog popped out from a gap in the cave walls. What was strange, however, was that the frog was made entirely from stone. Calling forth his frrostyke, Sebastian and the rock frog began their battle. He had no intentions on catching the pokemon, so it was his aim to faint them.