Ask to Join Pokémon: Role Play Thread

Hecotoro · Feb 13, 2022

June 9, Thursday - Azalea Town, Johto. Reina, current rank, 49,425.

Reina let out a loud squeal as she was announced victorious. She clapped her hands together, kissed them and tried to keep her excitement low, trying to look professional about the situation. "Blue Demon you were amazing!" She called out, the Hawlucha had began flexing his muscles after he was declared the winner, although he seemed ready to pass out. "Take a break Blue, we can celebrate later!" She returned Blue Demon back to his Pokeball, which was placed away gently in Reina's bag after a kiss.

With Bugsy approaching the winner of the battle, Reina's excitement began to bubble up inside, doing her best to keep steady as Bugsy presented the badge. With a shaking hand Reina took her trophy, admiring how beautiful it looked after such a battle. She clenched it in her fist and hugged Bugsy. "Thank you thank you, muchos thank yous!" Her culture began to spring out as she gave Bugsy a kiss on the cheek before letting him go and shaking his hand. "I promise, once I reach your rank, I will be coming back, stronger than every! If I ever get a Shedinja, I hope it become as strong as yours it was so amazing! I honestly still don't know how you pulled off so many shields! Like, really, I was just hoping it was breakable at the end there." She finally let go of his hand and placed her hands over her head. "Like, when you used Hex, at the end, I was like, dios mio ya perdi, but then Blue was standing and I couldn't believe it. Your bug Pokemon are so exotic, I've never seen anything like em-" She paused, finally to turn her attention to Penny.

"Penny!" Reina shouted rushing over to her friend, like if their reunion had been a long awaited event. Reina locked Penny into a hug, followed by a kiss on the cheek and then hugging her tighter. "I was worried you weren't going to make it! Did you see? What did you see? So I can tell you the rest. We have to celebrate, my treat! Whatever you want to eat!" She finally let go of the girl and paused as she got a good look at her friend. "You look weird, are you okay?"

EnviousWorm · Feb 14, 2022

Penny Lepiter; Trainer Ranking — Unranked
June 9th. Azalea Town Gym.

In an instant, she was locked into an Ursaring-grip hug, receiving a happy kiss on the cheek (wholly formal in a way, celebratory) that turned the tired and easily-embarrassed girl a shade of red to match her hair. She grunted, over-exerting for air because of Reina's unforgiving hold. Penny felt as though she could vomit; not because of the sudden, close contact with Reina — the day had just dragged on far longer than her poor, unprepared body could take.

Finally, when Reina released her Kingler-level Vice-Grip, Penny almost had to double over in a quick pause. Of course, her friend noticed how awful she looked.

"Oh, you know," she said without really saying. It...didn't feel like the right thing to be bringing up in the midst of her friend's hard-fought victory. "Just a long day, you know? Sorry I was late though, I only saw the end as Hawlucha and that Shedinja were going at it! We can swap stories at the PokeCenter later, okay?"

June 9th, Azalea Town Gym.
Bugsy. WCS Rank 119.

Taken aback by the rabidly excited Reina's gracious kiss on the cheek before being locked into her relentlessly strong handshake, Bugsy realized he'd forgotten how taxing a good Pokemon battle could be. He felt like his whole weight could collapse onto his legs suddenly, like a Ditto returning to its natural, blob-like form. While he had to take a moment to breathe, Reina had turned to her friend in the audience who'd come down in celebration — a young red-head who looked more worn down than even the two gym battlers. He let the friends have their moment before walking up beside the two.

"I believe I owe you an explanation, by the way," Bugsy said, directing his attention to Reina. "As I'm sure you saw at the end, Shedinja was using Protect. Before that, however, its protection was far more...miraculous in nature, I guess you could say. Shedinja is a Bug/Ghost-type that happens to be the only Pokemon we currently know that has the ability Wonder Guard; simply put — any offensive move that cannot deal super effective damage to it is blocked, as if the Pokemon just...inherently uses Protect. I promise you, that halo over its head isn't just for show."

A short half-second of silence passed when Reina's young friend turned to her with a confused look.

"You didn't know about Wonder Guard?" Penny asked, as if it were that simple.

~Patriot~ · Feb 14, 2022

Montagne Khastil - Unranked - Thursday, June 9th, Midnight - Estival Ave. Warehouse

"Be sure to let me know how it goes, eh?"

"Of course, Miche. Don't get picked up while you're out."

The beaux voyous shared a handshake and Michel departed the warehouse, leaving Monty alone with the long-since unloaded and inventoried Pokémon. He could have left with the rest of the crew the moment their work was done, but Monty had something more to attend to than just getting the job done and calling it a night.

The warehouse was divided in thirds, with two-thirds of it devoted to storing the trucks and any inventory and the other third converted to a basic living space. A pair of old second-hand couches, an old rug in desperate need of a cleaning, a coffee table littered with tobacco, rolling papers, and other paraphernalia, a TV, a microwave and some filing cabinets filled the space, and Monty crossed over to it with his eyes glued to the newest piece of furniture; the large metal cage containing the criminal's future partner.

The venom-filled glare hadn't left the creature's eyes since they'd met on Wabash's ship, and it stared at Monty as he sat down on one of the couches facing the cage. Its body language exuded disdain, and its claws periodically scraped against the metal cage floor as though the Pokémon wanted to remind Monty how displeased it was with its situation.

Monty's heart pounded as he faced the creature, mind racing with the possible outcomes of him unlocking the cage. Absol, a Dark-Type, he thought, recalling the brief research he and Michel had done on the drive back from the docks. Even a non-trainer like Monty knew that Dark-Types held a less than favorable reputation, often being strong-willed and cunning enough that trainers would give up early in their training cycles.

Nevertheless, the young man was confident in his ability to train the Dark-Type. Monty retrieved the Luxury Ball from his jacket pocket, expanding the sphere to its full size and taking a moment to admire its black and gold finish. The Absol eyed the device warily, seeming to recognize it on some level, but if it disapproved of its presence it gave no indication.

All I have to do is catch this thing, then maybe Cormier will get off my back, Monty thought, turning his attention to the caged creature. It raised its head to better look at the Luxury Ball, the tip of its horn scratching at the top of the cage harshly, and its fur began to bristle up as its glare intensified.

What the hell? Monty thought as his right arm began to feel strangely heavy. He outstretched his right hand, holding the Ball out, and crouched down in front of the cage. The weight intensified as the ball got closer to the Absol, but Monty fought back against it as his hand passed through the cage bars.

Heart racing with anticipation, Monty pressed the Ball to the Absol's forehead. A moment of anti-climactic silence passed as nothing happened, and Monty withdrew his hand in confusion. Is this thing defective? He wondered, turning it over in his hands as he looked for any visible damage, but it appeared to be completely functional. Monty looked back at the Absol, noticing the slightly satisfied look in its eyes, and thought, Did it reject the ball? Can Pokémon even do that?

It hadn't occured to Monty that the Absol might be able to reject becoming partners. "What am I gonna do now?" He wondered aloud, sinking back into the couch and tossing the Luxury Ball aside. "I have to go back to Cormier with something," the young man lamented to no one in particular as he ran a hand through his curly brown hair out of irritation. Monty looked back at the Absol, which had calmed down a little from its earlier display but still glared at him.

"This is such bullshit," he announced angrily, stomping to his feet as he crossed over to the fridge in the corner of the living space. Monty opened the door and unconsciously pulled out a water bottle and a Galarian lager, popping the cap on the latter to take a swig as he grabbed a small paper bowl. "What's your problem, guy?" Monty called from across the living space to the caged Absol, when it struck him that maybe if he let the Pokémon out first it might change its mind.

Monty crossed back to the cage and set the bowl down, twisting the cap off the bottled water and pouring some in for the Absol. "Here's some water," he told it, though it gave the same reaction as every other time he had spoken; no reaction. Monty took another swig of his lager and reached into his pockets to retrieve the cage key. The dull bronze key fit right into the cage door's lock, and Monty twisted it to free the Absol.

The young man swung the door open and took a step back, sitting back down on the couch to watch the Absol's reaction. It didn't move a muscle at first, but its eyes immediately dropped to the bowl of water sitting in front of the open cage door. Its large red eyes darted back up to Monty as its weight shifted, and a single black-clawed leg outstretched from the cage and found purchase on the semi-soft warehouse carpet.

The Absol hauled itself out of the cramped cage slowly, stepping out with intent as the blood rushed back to its legs after so long without use. Its horn scraped the edge of the cage roof as it emerged, and the Absol held its head high with pride as it reached its full height. The venom left its glare, and it regarded Monty with its large red eyes that seemed more intrigued than anything.

"Feeling better?" Monty asked. The Absol didn't respond, but its eyes darted from him, down to the bowl, and back to him like it didn't want to avert its gaze. "It's just water," Monty said in an attempt to reassure the Absol, but it didn't budge. Monty didn't move either as he watched the Absol watch him, both seeming to wait for the other to make a move.

"Let's try this agai-" Monty started to say as he reached for the discarded Luxury Ball, averting his gaze only for the Absol to disappear in a flash of black light and a whoosh of fur. The criminal's head snapped back up as he cursed in surprise, and he whipped around to see the Absol watching him from across the warehouse right in front of the cracked-open door.

The blood drained from Monty's face as he cried out, "Wait!", but the Absol took one last glimpse at him as it pushed its head through the door and escaped into the night.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT! Monty thought frantically as he sprung to his feet, leaving the Luxury Ball behind on the couch as he sprinted in pursuit of the escaped Absol. Did Michel leave the door open? He wondered as he slammed through it, hand whipping back to shut it as his eyes darted up and down Estival Avenue in search of white fur or black horns.

"There," the criminal muttered aloud as he spotted the feline Pokémon fast approaching Southern Boulevard. He took off in a full sprint, but the Absol disappeared around the corner long before he had a chance of catching up. The breath caught in his throat as his boots pounded down the cobbled street, and he flowed with determination as he thought, This thing might be the best chance I get! I'm not letting it just get away!

Monty swung around the corner just in time to get an eyeful of the worst scenario possible. The Absol made a turn of its own, toward the Route 5 gate. There's no way, Monty thought in disbelief, but by the time he reached the gate himself the Absol was nowhere to be seen.

The criminal forced himself to slow his stride slightly as entered the gate, not wanting to alert any security who might be stationed there, and the blood pounded in his ears as he crossed the deceptively infinite hall to the other side. The Absol wasn't in the gate hall, meaning it was already outside, meaning by the time Monty's boots hit Route 5's dirt path it was long gone.

Monty nearly fell as he slowed his run to a halt, staring out into the relative wilderness of Versant Road, and he sunk down in defeat as he gasped for breath. It's gone, he mentally languished. FUCK! It's GONE!

His mind raced back to the warehouse, searching for something to blame or some way to have changed what happened. The obvious thing was the first to come to mind, but Monty couldn't even bring himself to blame Michel for leaving the door open. He should have double checked. He shouldn't have unlocked the cage.

There was a lot he should have done, but as he replayed the night in his mind the image of its ribs clutching to the Absol's sides wormed its way into the forefront of Monty's memory. The criminal was overwhelmed with shame as he felt his own stomach yearn for food and thought, It must be so hungry.

Monty picked himself up and dragged his feet to a nearby bench, sinking down into it absentmindedly. The young man recalled the Absol's large red eyes, remembering its furious glare at being captured, and shameful tears threatened to well up in his eyes as he lamented his own hypocrisy.

He found himself back in his cell, overflowing with hatred at the world from top to bottom; the police, the guards, the other prisoners, the very walls which kept him trapped. The memory forced Monty to make an uncomfortable connection, and he looked up to the moonlit sky for a long while as if searching for reassurance that he might be wrong.

Unfortunately, the moonlit sky had no reassurance to offer. Monty sat for a while longer nevertheless, having long since abandoned hope that the Dark-Type would return but too stubborn to just leave, until a rustling in the leaves caught his ear. He tilted his head down from the sky to the treeline, where across the path a patch of white fur had broken through.

No way, he thought, yet his eyes weren't deceiving him. The Absol had returned.

This is my chance! Monty's blood pumped with adrenaline as his hand shot into his jacket pocket, only for it to dissipate the moment he realized he'd left it in the warehouse. His head snapped up to glimpse the Absol as it turned away, and he called out to it in a desperate attempt to salvage his best shot at getting the Boss off his back.

"Wait! Don't go!"

The Absol stopped just before it disappeared behind the trees.

How can I convince it? The young man's mind raced, and in an instant he thought of the perfect argument.

"If you come with me, you'll get stronger."

The Absol turned back to face Monty, it's black horn slicing straight through a low hanging branch. Its eyes gleamed with intrigue.

"I need to go a journey. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm sure to fight powerful enemies. If you come with me, you can fight them, too."

Monty's proposal was a gamble, but he felt confident in his bet. From he and Michel's brief r esearch, it seemed as though appeals to pride would be especially effective in motivating Dark-Types. Unfortunately, the Absol didn't seem convinced as it stood motionless, still just staring.

What else can I say? The young man dug deep and laid his final card on the table. "I'm supposed to lead the Old Guard one day, so I'll need a strong partner with me. With you by my side, no one could stand in our way." He outstretched an inviting hand to the Dark-Type.

"So join me."

The Absol tilted its head, studying Monty from across the path, and the young man held his breath as he waited for a response from the Pokémon. After a small eternity it leapt forward and bounded across with graceful movements, coming to a stop a few feet away from him.

Yes! Monty was flooded with relief, taking a deep breath as he reached out to his new partner.

The Dark-Type regarded him with regal eyes as it crept closer, and Monty couldn't detect any malice in its expression. He lifted his hand and moved to place it on the Absol's head, but stopped as he felt gravity pulling harder out of nowhere like earlier with the Luxury Ball.

Monty dropped his hand and stood up, unperturbed by his unsuccessful attempt at contact. Even if he couldn't touch the Absol right now, it still came back, and he was still closer to what Cormier wanted than before.

Hecotoro · Feb 14, 2022

June 9, Thursday - Azalea Town, Johto. Reina, current rank, 49,425.

"Wait so that's why Blue managed to land a hit with Wing Attack?" Reina's sudden realization left her nodding slowly and looking blankly ahead. "So that's why my Water Pulse just wouldn't go through, despite the power up from Torrent." She snapped out of her trance suddenly after going over the battle quickly in her head. "Well not anyone can know ALL the abilities a Pokemon can have, Wonder Guard is truly amazing, I wonder if I'll ever find a Pokemon with it." She finally broke into a smile again, the feeling of victory surfacing. "Thank you Bugsy! I'll make sure to raise any bug Pokemon I catch so strong, it'll make you proud." She placed her fist over her heart. "I promise!"

After saying her farewell to Bugsy, Reina and Penny left the gym, with Reina promising a good dinner to put that earned prize money to good use. She followed the information on her Rotom phone, leading them to a nice little restaurant that specialized in Kalos style food, just on the edge between the town and the forest. "So, I honestly had no idea how to get through that shield, I figured might as well hit it hard and several times. Now I realize that wasn't the best strategy, BUT I was swept up in the battle and had to think of something fast." Reina rested her head on her hand and focused her green eyes on Penny. "Anyways, it was a rollercoaster ride and now I'm exhausted! But, enough about my glorious battle, tell me about your adventure in Slowpoke Well, catch any... Slowpokes?" She shot a quick smile before wrapping up some noodles in her fork and starting to eat.

Retro Master · Feb 14, 2022

June 9th, Thursday - Unknown Location, Kalos

Darkness was the first thing Acer saw as he slowly began to regain consciousness. It was only when his eyelids opened was he able to see clearly. Up above him was a ceiling as he seemed to be laying down on a bed. His memory was still a bit hazy, but the first action the teen took was to immediately reach for his left shoulder with his right hand. Of course, he couldn't forget the sounds of the gun firing and the piercing feeling in his left shoulder not too long thereafter. Acer expected to see a copious amount of blood streaming down his arm, but instead, the only thing left to feel was a slight stinging sensation where a gunshot wound should be. That combined with the fact with he had no idea how he had even gotten into what seemed to be a hotel room left him a bit confused.

"Ugh. Wh-where am I?"

Although Acer muttered the question out to no one in particular, his heart dropped when he heard an all too familiar voice answer him. "Well, well, well, look who's finally up. You can relax kid, I already had an Aromatisse patch you up after we teleported here. Your gunshot wound should be pretty much healed, but you might still feel some pain for a bit."

One could only imagine the sinking feeling of despair the teen felt when he sat up and locked eyes with none other than Ricardo Descartes, the criminal responsible for the now confirmed gunshot wound Acer had received. Having removed the facial accessories he had been wearing for protection, Acer could now see the rough, tan complexion of a man who looked to be in his thirties. Ricky just sat casually as he flashed a grin at the traumatized teenager. Unable to speak, Acer could only glare at the mass murderer in return as multiple questions flooded his mind. Where were they? Why was he here? Most importantly, why had he been spared? Sensing the confusion and desire for knowledge from the teen, Ricky let out a brief chuckle before leaning forward to stand up and walk towards Acer.

"Don't think you're special or anything, kid. Only reason we didn't kill you is that a kid getting lost alongside a police officer would likely get national coverage if the case wasn't solved. That's a bit harder to cover up than just a lone officer disappearing, don't you think?"

Once he finished his answer, Ricky cracked a smirk as he stopped just a few feet in front of the bed the teen was laying down on. Acer could feel the thumping of his heart as his breathing started to pick up again after hearing what was said. The memory of the Officer being shot to death flashed in his mind for a brief moment and Acer could feel his stomach begin to turn. Not just because of the experience of watching someone die, but also the rage that had been simmering inside of him. He remembered now. Before Acer had tried to run away, he wanted to fight back. It would've been a futile attempt then, but right now he couldn't resist the temptation any longer.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Finally losing his temper, Acer lunged off the bed and towards the man in some type of shoddy attempt to attack the cruel man. Ricky only wore a smirk on his face as he casually dodged the boy's charge before punching him on the side of his face. The force of his punch was strong enough to send Acer crashing onto the floor.

"Welcome to the real world, brat!"

Ricky then delivered a kick to Acer's side just as he was attempting to recover, which caused the teen to roll over onto his back. Acer breathed heavily as he held on to the side of his face that had been punched. The punch hurt a bit, but it was evident Ricky had been holding back. As expected, the man could kill him at any time. Any action taken now would be pointless. After showing Acer he had no chance, Ricky then pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket before dropping it on the teen.

"I own an underground battling ring in Lumiose. You should come to check it out, kid."

Although what Ricky stated was worded like a recommendation, Acer could tell it was more of an order. Sitting up after he grabbed the paper that Ricky had so graciously given to him, Acer opened it up to read the contents. Written on the paper in some passable handwriting were two things. First, there was a time and location, which Acer presumed to be for this battling ring Ricky had mentioned. Of course, underground battling hadn't been heard of. It was a form of unofficial battling that strayed away from WCS format and league intervention. Usually, this allowed for more violent battling as well as another way for large sums of money to be passed around under the table due to the lack of restrictions on betting. The lack of limitations was what put underground battling on the wrong side of the law most of the time. As evident by the other things Acer saw on the paper, at first glance, it would appear Ricky's battling ring wasn't anything different. Glancing at the numbers, Acer first saw the 50k he owed Ricky after the bet they had made. Since he was still alive, Ricky had no reason to not get his money after all. The other numbers on the page were 10k for his medical fees and then another 40k for his life.

"10k for medical fees?! The fuck is this shit?!"

Forgetting his life was in jeopardy for the moment, Acer couldn't help but call out the ridiculousness of the amount owed with his outburst. He didn't even bring up the fact his life had a price on it just because he was spared. Ricky might as well had killed him since Acer damn sure had no way to scrounge up this type of money any time soon unless he crawled back to his parents. Of course, that would be a last resort. Fortunately, Ricky seemed to have a way out of this debt for him.

"Obviously, I know a kid like you don't got 100k. You damn sure wouldn't have been that far out in the Badlands if you did. So here's the deal. You join my battling ring tournament and get a chance to earn the grand prize for the little league and pay me back. If you don't, I'll kill your family, your friends, and everyone you care about. I'll kill you dead."

Acer felt a sense of dread overtake him as Ricky stated those last words with a dark and serious tone. Prior experience told him that Ricky meant every single word. It seemed like his only option now was to join this battling ring competition in the hopes of winning the 100k necessary to pay Ricky back. However, that would be easier said than done. Especially considering his opponents might be much more experienced than him when it came to battling and the relationship he had with his only partner Pokémon wasn't all that great in the first place.

"Wouldn't I have a better chance at just reporting this incident to the police instead of participating in some underground tournament where I'll be outclassed?"

Asking the obvious question, Acer could only wonder what failsafe Ricky had to prevent him from going to the police. As long as he was alive, he could expose this criminal and the commissioner for their inhumane actions. They deserved to be rotting in a cell somewhere. If Ricky didn't want Acer to go straight to the police after they were done here, the criminal should silence him for good. Not that Acer was going to tell him that. Yet, it didn't seem like Ricky was even slightly concerned about the possibility of Acer going to the police as his confident expression remained unchanged.

"Don't worry about being outclassed. You'll be placed in the bottom cell of participants. Gotta keep it fair for everyone after all! Go to the police if you want, though. I won't stop you. I'll just be taking this from your dead body."

Reaching into his pocket once again, Ricky then pulled out a golden key and tossed it towards Acer once he finished speaking. Catching the small key with his free hand, Acer's first assumption was that it was a key to the hotel room they were currently in. It took the teen a second to realize this act of generosity was a lifeline of sorts. As long as Acer joined this underground competition, he could keep this room and his life. It was either that or gamble it all by going to the police. The choice was his to make.

"Listen, kid. You're a nobody. If you want to make it far in this world, you need power and connections. Oh, and money too. A lot of it. You can't just rely on yourself."

After hearing that last part, Acer followed Ricky's gaze, which was directed at the lone Poké Ball resting on top of a dresser. The Poké Ball with Froakie inside. Was Ricky trying to say he should work with his Pokémon? That much was obvious. Then again, working with the Froakie had proven to be a completely different story. The teen just couldn't find it himself to make it work. His priority was still to find a good trading partner for his supposed starter. However, the odds of him getting that opportunity seemed to dwindle as Ricky walked up to the Poké Ball. Acer could only watch as Ricky picked it up before heading to the door. His body was telling him to move, but mentally, he couldn't find it in himself to get up. Before exiting, Ricky paused in front of the door and then turned around for Acer to see the grin plastered over his face.

"I'll be seeing you soon. If you want this special Froakie of your back, then you know where to find me." After one final glance towards the paper and key in Acer's hands, Ricky made his exit. That just left Acer all alone in the hotel room.

"Damnit!"

Devastated after having felt like he had just lost everything, Acer let out a bit of his rage by punching the floor. He was still in shock that he had seen a man literally die right in front of him and still didn't how to feel about that. While Acer didn't care for the Froakie, he wanted to at least get something in return for it. That was his primary motivation for wanting to get it back. Nothing else. The fact that this was all happening to him didn't even feel real. This wasn't how his Pokémon journey was supposed to start, yet here he was. Fortunately, he still had a chance to salvage his journey by going to the police. After a shower to freshen himself up, Acer made his choice.

EnviousWorm · Feb 15, 2022

Penny Lepiter; Trainer Ranking — Unranked
June 9th. Azalea Town.

To be honest, Penny had never really known that one earned prize money after random Pokemon battles. She knew Reina had fought hard to earn a Hive Badge just now, but it's not like it was a televised, sponsored event or anything. Not that she was going to complain, the food Reina had picked for dinner with her luxurious earnings was quite good. Kalos had far better food than Unova, she had to give it that. And she listened like a captive audience to the odd, Mexican trainer she'd run across just the day before. Though when the conversation turned itself around on her, Penny paused, nervous. She called a waitress younger than her over to ask for water as if to buy herself an extra minute.

"W-well, no, no Slowpoke catching, really," Penny deflected, scratching just under her ear almost compulsively. "Uh, I was just kind of checking them out for a while. They're very...relaxing, actually? They're so - uh - slow they don't really make much noise. There were some people, on the second floor-"

She wasn't sure, honestly how much to tell Reina at first. But she could feel bruises welling up all over her body, and she knew her new friend was already well onto her earlier. So, a little reticent, she looked around the restaurant a bit to make sure nothing was amiss, before leaning over her plate to confide.

"I basically got kinda kidnapped earlier?" Penny said in a half whisper, her tone indicating more an inquisitive tone than a definite one, as if she herself weren't sure it was real.

=Nightshade= · Feb 15, 2022

Emil blinked in amusement at the Cubchoo as Amaranth bent down to sniff at the little bear, then turned her attention to its trainer. “A hotel? I’m en route to one now, booked a room last week. It’s not too expensive, if you want to take a look.” She dismounted with a huff and spread the map on Amaranth’s back again. The Stoutland continued to investigate the Cubchoo with a curious paw. The girl jammed a finger at the circled dot she’d marked. “It should be a few blocks that way,” Emil said, indicating with her shoulder stump and causing her empty sleeve to flap towards the presumed direction of the hotel. “If you want to come with. I’m Emil, by the way.” She patted the Stoutland’s side. “And this is Amaranth.”
@Clite of Dragonbow

Hecotoro · Feb 15, 2022

June 9, Thursday - Azalea Town, Johto. Reina, current rank, 49,425.

Reina just nodded and looked at Penny while chewing her food, until the last thing she said. A wave of confusion washed over the girl's face as she swallowed her food quickly. "Kidnap?" She had never heard the word before, but putting two and two, it didn't sound that bad. "You took a nap?" She raised one eyebrow, as to why Penny would take a nap, until her Rotom Phone decided to help out.
"Bzzz- Ms. Reina, the word kidnap means to get taken against your will, secuestrada/o in your native language - Bzzz."

Reina's jaw dropped along with her fork. "Kidnapped?!" She couldn't help lout out her outdoor voice before leaning closer towards Penny and going into a harsh whisper. "What do you mean kidnapped? Are you okay? Did you tell the police? Are you hurt? That must've been horrible, how or why did that happen? Did they make you pay them, oh dios mio, did they make you pay with your body or something like that?!" Her voice getting louder each second.

Retro Master · Feb 15, 2022

6:10 PM June 9th, Thursday - Lumiose City, Kalos

About an hour or so had passed since his conversation with Ricky and now Acer found himself sitting in an interrogation room. Seated right across the table from him was supposedly one of the top detectives of the Lumiose Police Force. Although Acer didn't know why such a high-profile detective had taken up this case, that could only work to his benefit. In a strange turn of events, it turned out the police were also just about to begin searching for Acer when he came in. Apparently, over a day had passed since the disappearance of the officer who Acer had seen murdered right in front of him. On his way in, Acer had seen the fiancée of the officer, Carla, who was frantically waiting for any news on her beloved fiancé. Acer, being the one who had called in about the discovery of multiple bodies being found in the Lumiose Badlands, was the first and perhaps only lead the police had at the moment. Even explaining everything that had transpired to the investigator was tough on the teen. He found himself talking about the shooting of the officer to be a struggle. His voice would start to tremble and he would keep having to pause when talking about the last moments of the officer, who Acer learned was named Louise Darrell. Having not yet been able to process the murder of Louise, the teen was trying his best to keep his composure until everything was said.

For Detective Jean Boisseau, any normal teenager would react this way after such a traumatizing experience. It was a shame to see people go through horrifying events like this at such a young age. Their future growth was now impacted by these moments forever. Unfortunately, that was just the reality of the current world they lived in. When Commissioner Thayer had called him in, Jean didn't know what to expect. It was a good thing the only people able to listen to this interrogation were their people. Otherwise, the pot might be stirred a bit more than either Charles or he wanted it to be. Things could get real messy with Descartes involved. That man was a wildcard. The fact that he had left this kid alive was a testament to that. Jean could only wonder what his reasoning was. At first glance, Acer Voland didn't seem to be anyone special. Perhaps the spoiled kid of someone in the high-class of Lumiose. His registered Pokémon was a Froakie with a hidden ability and some egg moves, so his assumption wasn't too far off from the realm of possibility. After all, luck wasn't enough to buy those types of Pokémon.

"Okay, so you're telling me, Ricardo Descartes, an infamous criminal, appeared after you found a number of bodies hidden in the Lumiose Badlands. Then after you fought him for 50,000 dollars, the Commissioner of Lumiose Police, Charles Thayer, arrived on the site with Officer Louise Darrell. A few moments later, Commissioner Thayer then shot Officer Darrell and his Growlithe to death before feeding the Pokémon to his Noivern. After that, you tried to run away only to be shot in the shoulder before you blacked out. Then you woke up in a room at Hotel Richissime, where Descartes said you now owe him 100,000 dollars and that he'll kill you if you don't join his underground battling tournament. Is that description accurate, Mr. Voland?"

Breaking down exactly what he had heard from Acer, Jean asked the question to get confirmation from the teen. If he didn't have prior information on the matter, this description would've been a bit hard to believe. In fact, there wasn't anyone else who would believe Acer since the bodies he had mentioned were never found by the officers sent to investigate the disappearance of Louise. There was a chance Acer could just be as seen as the suspect instead. A teenager who made some sort of prank call in an attempt to mess with an officer. Of course, Jean was certain Acer didn't want that type of accusation to be on his head.

"Yes, it is. Look, I know it sounds ridiculous, but it actually happened! I even have proof!"

Sensing that there may be some sort of doubt after hearing his claims, Acer decided it was best to just prove he wasn't making up bullshit. Acer was about to show the wound on his shoulder but recalled that it had been fully healed to the point it wouldn't be fully visible. It was a smart play on Ricky's part, but he had still messed up. The paper with the address for the underground battling ring and key to a room he had learned was in Hotel Richissime were the next things Acer pulled out. Judging by the attentive look the detective gave the items, Acer fully believed those would be the nails in the coffin for Ricky. Something which he felt was confirmed after he saw Jean take a picture of both items before getting up.

"Alright then, would you like me to contact your parents to let them know of the situation and come pick you up?"

Knowing full well that was probably the last thing Acer wanted, Jean asked it anyways to instill a sense of anxiety into him. It worked perfectly as the teen's confident demeanor began to whittle away slightly. Hearing his parents could get involved was enough to get Acer to forget about everything else. That was the last thing he wanted. Even though Acer knew they could probably get him out of this mess, he didn't want to face them after something like this.

"No. Please don't let them know."

Speaking seriously, the only thing on his mind now was the hope that the police didn't bring his parents into this. It was the exact reaction Jean wanted. The teenager didn't even question the fact Jean was letting him keep their only evidence. Of course, even if Acer did get suspicious, he would've said some lie about the pictures being enough. Clearing his voice, Jean decided now it was time to reassure the teen that he was in the clear for now.

"I see. Well, your assistance here has been of great help to our investigation. Thank you for your time, Mr. Voland."

Thanks to the items shown, Jean now knew what Ricardo had planned for the teen. Judging by the look of concern on Acer that began to dissipate, it appeared he believed that it was over. This interrogation was certainly over at least. Acer was a bit still a bit surprised that the investigator let him keep the items, but didn't have time to dwell much on it once they walked out of the room. Sitting nearby was a blonde woman, anxiously waiting to hear any information about her missing fiancé. He watched as they took her away for a moment, probably to tell her what had happened. Meanwhile, as another officer was telling Acer what he should do now, he could only imagine the pain she was going through. He'd heard she had recently given birth to his children and they were set to be married soon. His stomach felt empty as he thought of those last moments. It irked him so much that he had no chance to do anything. If only Acer was a more experienced trainer, he could've done something. Anything. Then again, Acer probably wouldn't have been there in the first place if he was more experienced. The only good thing that came out of this was two monsters would be brought to justice.

When the woman came out, Acer could see the empty expression on her face. The news must've broken her. This type of situation was a first for him, so the teenager was unsure of what to do. While Acer felt it might be wise to give the woman some space to process everything, the guilt in his heart got the better of him. Acer felt like he owed it to Louise to tell the woman he loved his final words. Once they made eye contact, Acer couldn't help but close the distance between them. Jean and the few other officers nearby just watched silently as they let the interaction take place. Once he was in front of her, Acer found himself struggling to find the right words and his own voice trembled as he attempted to speak.

"Ma'am. I-I'm sorry for your loss. It's m-my fault that h-he was there. Th-that he d-di-died-"

*SMACK*

The sound of her hand slapping the side of Acer's face before he could finish speaking reverberated around the silent room.

"STOP IT! He's not dead!" Tears started to flow down her face as she shouted at him. Grabbing the side of his face, Acer was stunned by both her actions and what he had heard.

"Wh-what do you mean he's not dead?" Certain that the officers had shared with her the details of the unfortunate incident, Acer questioned why she didn't believe Louise was dead.

"Don't act dumb with me! You led him there and ran!"

Carla shouted again, her voice brimming with rage at the reckless teen responsible for the disappearance of her fiancé. From what the detective had told her, the teenager had called Louise there on a false report and then ran off. Knowing her sweet fiancé, he probably went searching for him before something happened. Knowing how troublesome teenagers were at this age, she couldn't help but believe that this boy was trying to cause some chaos. Even though his innocent face and voice were convincing, Carla refused to believe him.

"That's a lie! I saw him die! Tell her!"

Turning to Jean now, Acer tried to get him to convince the woman he wasn't lying. Acer wanted to believe she was just in a state of denial, but this seemed to be more than that. Hopefully, Jean could prove him wrong. He had bet everything on going to the police with this information, so this had to work.

"Sorry, but we have no proof of that."

Dread. It welled up inside of Acer until he could move no longer. Time seemed to freeze when he heard those words uttered by Jean. His mind immediately flashed back to what Ricky had told him earlier. 'If you want to make it far in this world, you need power and connections. Oh, and money too. A lot of it. You can't just rely on yourself.' It couldn't be. Besides the obvious need for power and connections, Acer thought Ricky was just referring to the bonds between people and Pokémon. That maybe he should rely on Froakie. However, the true meaning behind those words of advice meant far more than that. The realization of what was transpiring slowly began to dawn on him as time began to unfreeze, and so did he.

"No! He's dead! I saw him die!" Knowing he had to convince Carla right now, Acer continued to proclaim what he had seen before the corrupt officers could silence him. As long as she knew the truth, those monsters wouldn't get away with it. She had to know, no matter what.

"SHUT UP!" Again, the woman shouted in denial before suddenly lunging at him. She didn't get far as the officers nearby moved to restrain her. At the same time, Acer felt himself being dragged towards the exit. Why didn't she believe him? He was telling the truth. Had she fallen that deep into denial or did she really believe the officers were telling the truth? Whatever the case, Acer would keep trying to pull her out as long as he was still there.

"They're fucking lying! He's dead! They killed him!"

"He's not dead!"

"He's dead! The Commissioner killed him!"

At that declaration, Carla hesitated for a brief moment. For a second, Acer thought that he had finally gotten through to her. Unfortunately, that hope was quickly vanquished by her response. "That sounds ridiculous! You expect me to believe the Commissioner shot Louise? What type of deranged child are you for coming up with these stories?! Louise wouldn't die like that!"

Just like that, his hope was thrown at the window as Carla attempted to charge at him again only for the officers to hold her back. It seemed like his attempt at exposing the Commissioner was a shot to his own foot instead. Acer did his best to struggle free from the officers dragging him away, but it was to no avail.

"Please believe me! He's dead!" Shouting once more, Acer could tell his chances were fading away. The teenager didn't know what else he could say to convince the grieving woman without repeating the same thing over and over again. Maybe with the seeds of doubt placed, Carla would come to understand by the time she cooled down. Unfortunately, the smirk on Jean's lips told Acer the detective had something up his sleeve.

"Alright, get him out of here." As Jean gave that order to the officers holding onto the struggling teen, he sent out a Malamar. The last thing Acer saw of Carla before he was thrown out was her eyes begin to glow just like the Malamar that was now standing in front of her. It was no use. His gamble had failed horrendously. After escorting him outside, the officers then left Acer to fend for himself. He just stood there, deflated. People who passed by after he was essentially thrown out of the building by the police could only look at him as some sort of teen delinquent, especially as Acer seemed to be mumbling to himself. Only two words quietly escaped the teenager as he stood underneath the dying sunlight of the skies above. He kept muttering them as he staggered his way back through the growing darkness to Hotel Richissime.

"He's dead. He's dead. He's dead. He's dead. He's dead. He's dead. He's dead..."

The further Acer walked, the less he repeated those words to save his voice. Yet, whenever his mouth opened, those were the only two words that came out. It continued like that all the way to his room door at the hotel. At this point, Acer no longer cared that this was a place given to him by a man he hated. As he used the golden key to open the door and step inside, he found himself repeating those words again. Acer couldn't escape the truth even after he stepped inside the room and shut the door behind him. It was only when Acer sank down to the floor, with his back still on the door, did his voice finally break.

"Damnit, he's dead."

Trembling, the tears started to flow out. Acer couldn't hold them back any longer. Memories of Louise being killed flashed into his mind alongside the reaction by Carla, causing despair to dig deeper into his heart. There was no escaping reality any longer. Everything that had happened in the past two days was his fault. His desire to be a respectable trainer led to the argument between him and his parents. The pride that pushed him to head to the Lumiose Badlands to trade Froakie for something else caused him to find those bodies. That foolish confidence of his to not just keep his mouth shut and leave the scene when he had the chance allowed Ricky to manipulate his greediness. Being a cocky failure of a trainer let him allow Froakie to fend for itself after he stupidly accepted the bet. Worst of all, he saw someone die.

Those five shots rang loudly in his head. Four bullets to the man and one to the Growlithe. The shock. The blood. The last words of a dying man calling for his lover. The woman who didn't want to believe Louise was dead. Acer allowed all of it to come back to him as he held his wettened face in his hands. This was a memory that he would never forget. Through his pathetic sniveling, Acer could only question where fate had led him to with a slight quiver in his voice.

"What... the hell... is happening?"

EnviousWorm · Feb 15, 2022

Penny Lepiter; Trainer Ranking — Unranked
June 9th. Azalea Town.

Penny's face contorted into a confused mixture of her usual embarrassment and a hurried anger. Still leaned across the table, she put a finger to her lips as Reina's voice started to raise it panic; it was nice that her friend was clearly worried about her, but the girl's quick, invasive questions clearly set Penny on-edge in a way that she hadn't been since escaping her attackers. With force, even as Reina still spoke, Penny released a vicious SHHHHHHHHH!

"Nonono STOP," she demanded, her brow furrowing even as the space between her freckled face turned a pinkish color as heat rose to her face. "I'm a little shaken up, and two of my Pokemon were knocked unconscious-"

Honestly, Penny wasn't even sure if Reina knew that Penny had more Pokemon than Ditto; the young, inexperienced red-head was far from vocal, and far from a confident trainer.

"-but the people who attacked me...didn't really want to do it," she said, calming down a bit but keeping her voice low. "They were idiots, actually. I think I was in the wrong place in the wrong time. Two of them got lost going to Union Cave, and I think the third one got so scared when he saw me climbing out of the well that he attacked me. When I woke up, they hadn't done anything. Mostly just argued, I guess, over what to do with me. Before I knew it, though, Heracross, Ditto and Joltik were all freeing themselves from their PokeBalls and fighting those guys off! They weren't very good, as you'd expect, but then again neither am I!"

As she said that, tears welled up in Penny's eyes a bit. Like she regretted having to be saved by her own Pokemon, and like she regretted blowing Reina off and not just going to Ilex Forest with her. Still, Penny paused and took a few deep breaths, shaking her head like a Psyduck shrugging water off its body.

Hecotoro · Feb 15, 2022

June 9, Thursday - Azalea Town, Johto. Reina, current rank, 49,425.

Reina was left speechless, she sat there looking at Penny with mixture of worry and surprise. She didn't know what to do, she had never faced such a situation. What would her dad have done though? Probably scold her for going out on her own, punishment and made to do chores. That was out of the question. So what would her mom do? Probably pamper her, give her a nice dinner, made sure she was comfortable and waited until her feelings settled down to talk about it, and then scold her the next morning.

"Penny..." Reina began to speak, trying to gather the best possible choice of words she could come up with. "Let's get dessert to go. Let's go back to the hotel, take a long bath, oh I can brush your hair and stuff! Oh and some wine, like a sleepover. Then, tomorrow we can figure out what you want to do, go to the police, go find those guys and have Blue give them a good spanking, whatever you wish to, yeah?" She offered her best smile, hoping to cheer up her friend.

EnviousWorm · Feb 15, 2022

Penny Lepiter; Trainer Ranking — Unranked
June 9th. Azalea Town.

At first the girl's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but it didn't take long for Penny she was being insanely defensive — as a result of a quite traumatic day, no doubt. With a slumping sigh back into her chair, she relented. Mostly.

"Going back to the hotel to kick back and relax sounds pretty nice," she admitted, still speaking in a quiet tone. She turned her eyes pleadingly to the fiery Reina's. "But we don't have to go out looking for trouble. If they aren't already looking for me, I mean...why would they, though? A little girl and her puny Pokemon kicked their asses by accident. I'm worried because they...sounded like there was a boss, you know? I have nothing else to go on, they didn't even have any dumb insignias on their clothes or anything."

Getting their boxed dessert, Penny stood, noticeably weaker-kneed than before.

"We can go to the police tomorrow, but after that, that's their call," Penny said. "Maybe we could try training a bit instead? I never wanted to be a trainer, but if we get attacked again, I should know what I'm doing, right?"

Hecotoro · Feb 15, 2022

June 9, Thursday - Azalea Town, Johto. Reina, current rank, 49,425.

Reina's eye lit up at the mention of training, she always wanted a pupil to teach. She wasn't good enough to be a teacher though, but there was no way she wasn't going to pass on any information she had to Penny. Maybe they could even get matching outfits? She couldn't help but break a smile at the thought of training Penny.

"Yes! You have a Heracross you said right? Me and Blue Demon can teach him what we learned back in Mexico. You see there's this famous wrestler named Blue Demon, who also has a Hawlucha and we trained under them. When I say we, it's me and Blue. So Blue can teach Heracross the ropes and I can teach you a move or two. This is great! I need to learn more about bug types also. I promise you I'll teach you everything I know, like my father says 'Mija, si alguien te esta molestando, sueltales uno en la nariz.'" She paused to finish the flashback of her father before continuing by clapping her hands together. "It's going to be great, I promise." She placed her fist to her heart, "Or my name isn't Reina Cortez!"

The conversation was interrupted by the waiter approaching the two. Reina of course asked for the dessert of the day and a bottle of wine to go, but they refused to sell the wine. Which caused a small discussion between the waiter and Reina as to why they don't sell the wine bottle if she was going to pay for it anyways. In the end, she ended up paying for everything except the wine. On the way Reina tried to cheer Penny up by avoiding the subject, talking about the legends in her home region, their food, day of the dead, the different kinds of Pokemon, ecosystems and even tv shows.

"And so he always owes him 6 months of rent, but the theory says the landlord doesn't kick him out because his a single father who is just trying to take care of his little girl." Reina finished talking as they walked into the hotel room. "It's a great show, but the comedy is too old school you know?" Reina paused and gave Penny a big hug, again. "Thank you for going to my battle after what happened, we just met and I already feel you're like the sister I never had."

Godjacob · Feb 15, 2022

National Park, Johto

"Try to avoid it and use Water Gun!" Desmond called out, he seemed to have a bit better responsive time as Politoed nodded, but Croagunk proved to be too quick as the Mud Slap struck it across the face as it knocked the frog Pokemon on its back. Thankfully the attack had done not too much damage given Politoed's water typing as it stood and tried to shake the mud out of its eyes, which seemed to give Desmond inspiration.

"H-hey, try using Rain Dance!" Desmond said, which seemed to get a smile of the Politoed as it had happily began to bounce side to side and clapped in the air, which seemed to alter the clouds above them as a heavy rain had began to rain on the park and washed the mud off its face.

"Politoed Politoed Politoed~!"

kyuukestu · Feb 16, 2022

Esther
Thursday, June 9 – East Lake Axewell, Motostoke, Galar Region

Wind swept waves roiled across the grasses down gentle slopes and across the lapping waters of lake Axewell. The open grassland meant there was plenty of sunlight to warm the meadows and the large lake meant there as tons of water to absorb any excess heat while generating gentle winds; together, they made for a truly pleasant pocket of space that was perfect for casual camping. Of course, casual camping was exactly what Esther planned to do.

Her brother had left her with five Pokéballs and $2,000, a massive sum to be sure, but that was until she peaked into the Pokemart and realized Pokeballs were $200 a toss and potions were $300 a bottle. The prices had quickly convinced her to cancel any additional days at the Inn; if she didn’t find some income then she as gonna go broke real soon.

Fortunately, that wouldn’t be a problem in the short term. The money she had on hand would feed both her and Pyrrha for several weeks, though that number was looking rather uncertain because Esther was already contemplating her first capture.

Before any of that, however, the Oblivian had decided to set up camp right on the banks of Lake Axewell, utilizing two small trees to anchor her hammock. She was in no rush to do anything or go anywhere. With just over a week to go before the World Coronation Series match, Esther wanted to catch one, maybe two, new Pokémon and get familiar with outdoor living.

Cmeriwether · Feb 16, 2022

NATIONAL PARK, Johto, June 8th, The Masked Skull, Rank unknown (48,679).

The Masked Skull had seen the Civilian take on the Criminal, letting Dusknoir keep an eye on that as she looked at the fountain.

"I now see why the Water types were angry," the Masked Skull whispered, "Their hangout place was vandalized."

She then turned around, keeping a good eye on Dusknoir, but figured she'd figure out a way to calm the Water types.

"Sliggoo, Togekiss, let's see what we can do about the Water types, while I contact the people in charge of the National Park."

The two Pokémon went to the water types as she went to call the national park heads.

-------

Trainer Firey Argentston, Motostoke City Galar. Rank 20, June 9th.

Firey Argentston had gotten a good rest and prepared for today's plans, which would be heading to the wild Area to attempt to catch a Pokémon he heard hanging out around South Lake Axewell.

"I'm going after something more powerful, there's been reports of a Carbink causing problems near East Lake Axewell," Firey responded, clutching an Empty Heavy ball he took from his personal Collection, "Sharp, I'm going to fly there quickly, to make sure it doesn't beat any more trainers."

Firey returned his Absol and brought out his flier, a Salamence. He boarded the Pokémon and flew off, taking in the sights as he searched for this Carbink.

EnviousWorm · Feb 16, 2022

Penny Lepiter; Trainer Ranking — Unranked
June 10th. Azalea Town.

It had been exactly the relaxing night that Penny needed after the long day that she'd had; her and Reina chatted idly throughout, sharing tidbits about each other here and there (Reina was quite non-plussed as she moved in-and-out of the bathroom for this-or-that while Penny bathed.) When Reina brushed her hair, Penny thought her head was going to get ripped off by the violent force behind it, though it was somewhat soothing in an odd way. Then, like her friend promised, they drank some wine, partially watching the hotel television, vaguely talking about little of importance.

Penny slept soundly, though that must have been helped along by the alcohol in her system. She woke up before the sun, well before Reina. Waiting patiently with a lamp on, reading under her blankets, Penny timed the opening of the continental breakfast the hotel served. She put on shoes and tip-toed out of the room, making sure to take her key with her, as she grabbed an armful of food - coffee, bagels, cream cheese, some cereal, some fruit - and made off like a bandit.

She almost dropped everything disgracefully as she tried to open the hotel door with its awful swiping mechanic, but it opened eventually. Walking in, Penny noticed her friend was finally up.

"Got some food," she said simply, setting it all up on the lone table in the room. "I have to swing by the Pokemon Center in half an hour, my champions should be fully healed by now. Still...still want to try and train me? We can find a nice clearing on our way to Union Cave for practice!"

Cobel Timpinia; Trainer Ranking — Unranked.

June 8th. Olivine City.

Having spent most of the day tracking down leads with local journalists and police in Ecruteak, Cobel felt as though he had finally stretched that thin thread about as far as it would go; this wasn't the first incident that media and police had helped in covering up, and it wouldn't be the last. Sometimes they did it with noble intentions, misguided as they were. Cobel wasn't sure it was that, exactly, but neither did he feel it tied into a larger conspiracy. All it told him was that Yadier Alimar had a lot of money, and a lot of sway in the city — and Cobel was positive this was the norm and not the exception with these RKT schmucks.

Once he was sure that his Ecruteak thread lead him toward Olivine, the detective decided it was finally time to make his way to the next stop on his short-list. He didn't visit the Lighthouse City often, but when Cobel moved back to Johto, he nearly considered eschewing his Ecruteakian roots in favor of the modern, metallic sheen offered by Olivine City.

Cobel arrived shortly before dinner time. He'd stopped briefly as he passed into Route 38 and 39 to collect his Pokemon; Hitmonlee and Slaking on 38, watching RKT freight passing en route between the two cities, and Coalossal and Ludicolo observing the same on 39. He'd left Lanturn and Weezing behind to watch Alimar's warehouse; Cobel and his team shared information, though he'd expected very little of the story to be told by their observations. All he could confirm, really, was that there was no exterior hints of foul play as the trucks left Olivine, and none on the interior from what he'd observed in the Ecruteak distribution center.

His ground level hunt for a crack in the system felt like it, itself, had cracked. Cobel had hoped that by unraveling something more concrete at the freight and shipping level, he could bluff his way a little further up the chain. But if RKT really was using its capture capsule hardware as a grift to steal Pokemon, the corporation clearly had gone through every extreme to cover all its other tracks.

The first thing the private detective did in Olivine after booking himself a hotel room for the night was to head over to the Olivine City port and find the cordoned off area reserved for RKT ships and dockworkers. Looming overhead, directly in front of the private RKT docks, was RKT's Johto Headquarters — a warehouse two times the size of Alimar's stood like a fat tree stump to the left of the office building, which stood just shorter than the Lighthouse and the Battle Tower, competing for a spot in Olivine's tallest structures.

As he took in what he could as dark fell over the city, Cobel tried to figure out his next gimmick as well — saying he was with the State of Johto was only going to work once, and he'd chosen to get it out of the way as early as he could.

"Canni help yew, sir?" a stern voice called from near in the distance, a flashlight shining against the side of Cobel's face.

A security guard - dressed in the same get-up as the Ecruteak guards, with two PokeBalls clipped to his belt - had come from behind a docked ship on the other end of the RKT dock and noticed him standing around like a bum. Cobel turned and offered a smile.

"Sorry, don't mean to alarm," he said, trying to keep his voice a friendly sort of calm. "I just arrived in town a couple hours ago. I'm...looking for work, you see. Was in Galar 'til just last week when I got laid off for good."

"So yew's came alla way tew Johto?" the guard asked in a trained suspicion.

"Times are tough," Cobel shrugged, trying to sound at once bruised but hopeful. "No work in Unova, no work in Sinnoh or Hoenn. Used the last of my cash to get me a ticket here. If it don't work out...well, I'll find something."

"Awright," the guard replied, still uncertain. "Well just git ou', come back tuhmorruh-like."

"Of course, officer." he said with a smile, turning without another word to return to his room, and plan his itinerary for the following day.

Hecotoro · Feb 16, 2022

June 10, Friday - Azalea Town, Johto. Reina, current rank, 49,425.

Reina sat up, rubbing her eyes and squinting at the small amount of sunlight coming into their room. She looked over at Penny's bed, which was empty and then at her own. She considered going back to sleep, until that small voice in her head shouted Union Cave today! She was about to leap out of her bed, when Penny walked in with food.

"You look like a beautiful angel!" Reina called out, mostly because her friend had brought breakfast. She rushed over to help her friend set the items down. "Yes, we do a little bit of practice, I was thinking, for Ditto, maybe he could transform into some of my Pokemon and practice using their moves and for Joltik, I got nothing, but we can figure it out!" She grabbed a bagel and stuffed it in her mouth. "Gfmeh Fmime Mhmints!" She rushed to her bag, getting her clothes of her bag and started changing with the bagel in her mouth. "Mfhimf fyu mflsimp fmhwem?" She tried to talk and rolled her eyes, grabbing the bagel from her mouth, "Did you sleep well? and have you seen my sock?"

After changing and washing her face, getting her hair into a ponytail and putting everything neatly into her bag, Reina was ready to go. She and Penny made sure nothing was left as they left their little hotel room that had been their home for two nights. On their way to the training site, Reina kept talking about her training with a pro wrestler and how her and Blue would get trained everyday. Diva, who had joined in on the walk, kept rolling her eyes and making cocky remarks, trying to get attention to herself, probably seeing Penny as a threat to her relationship with Reina. Upon arriving to the small clearing, Reina sent out Blue Demon, the Hawlucha flexing and showing of different poses as he waited for instructions.

"Okay so I figured Blue can help out Heracross yeah? Then me and you can train, strong trainer means strong team! You ready?"

ThAtGuY101 · Feb 16, 2022

~Aldon Charlton, June the 10th, Route 33...~

After a nice small breakfast Aldon and his pokémon were feeling well. Skol by his side, they were ready to start the morning. Aldon made his way to Union cave that morning. He was explored the entrance for a bit. Looking around. The place was home to various sorts of pokémon. When Aldon went back to his campsite, he noticed some people not far from his campsite. One was a girl with a Hawlucha. Aldon was surprised to see one in Johto. He casually walked over, giving a friendly wave so not to seem weird. He scanned the pokémon with his pokédex. He knew what they were, but liked scanning anyways.

"Hawlucha! The wrestling pokémon! It always strikes a pose before going for its finishing move. Sometimes opponents take advantage of that time to counterattack" The dex stated.

"...Huh... Sorry about that! I've only seen this type of pokemon once, and that was back in Unova. My name is Aldon. Aldon Charlton! Nice morning, I say" Aldon said cheerfully.

EnviousWorm · Feb 17, 2022

Penny Lepiter; Trainer Ranking — Unranked
June 10th. Azalea Town.

No longer than the moment the two had gotten started were they being interrupted. Normally, Penny was far from the confrontational type. This wasn't exactly a normal instance, however; she didn't care about the intentions of the random, older man who had strolled up and started scanning Reina's Hawlucha — Penny wasn't in the mood for it.

"Nice morning," Penny said, her eyebrows furrowing as an aggravated treble in her voice gave off the indication that she was not in the mood for idle small talk. "But I need to do some training, Aldon. So if you could please step aside?"

Penny rolled up the sleeves to her blouse, gripping the capsule for her Heracross tightly in her hand. She hadn't meant to be so rude, necessarily, but if the random interloper who called himself Aldon knew what Penny had been through the day prior, he might understand. Getting assaulted by a bunch of bumbling thugs didn't tend to make someone very open to strangers, and meeting new people. Especially a meek teen such as Reina.

"Go, Theseus!" she called out, not paying the man any more mind. Her hand let the PokeBall go with an awkward, flicking wrist; the capsule flubbed out of her hand with a weak throw, the Heracross popping out of its ball mere feet in front of her feet. Confused, Penny looked at Reina. "Wait, isn't this a little unfair? Heracross is, like, incredibly weak to Hawlucha's flying-type attacks, right?"

Cobel Timpinia; Trainer Ranking — Unranked.
June 9th. Olivine City.

"—and what'd you say your name was, Mr.—" this was the second receptionist in as many days inquiring to his name. And in as many days, he'd have given as many names.

"Mr. Vamon," Cobel replied, as if he'd done it a hundred times before. "Cade Vamon. I'm from Galar. Stow-on-side."

"Okay Mr. Vamon, well, your application seems to be in order," the receptionist, a blue-eyed girl named Sherry, smiled at him through a thin, glass divider. "I'll bring this to a supervisor and we should be back to you some time within the next week, two weeks maybe."

"Sounds great!" Cobel dialed up the false enthusiasm, returning Sherry a sly smile as she stood from her desk and moved to a door connected to her office.

As she did, the private detective looked another another, sterile-white waiting room. Like the last one, an employee-only door sat just to his left, just begging him to waltz right in. Waiting until the poor receptionist was out of sight, he did exactly that. He tried the handle to the door, finding it - expectedly - locked. Without wasting any movement, Cobel left the waiting room, which was connected to a long, rugged hallway that led out to a security guarded entrance.

Walking in earlier, he'd noticed another employee-only door between the guard booth and the waiting room door. Cobel tried that door, finding it unlocked — sometimes the doors closest to security found themselves the most laxly guarded. Satisfied with himself, the detective let slip a little smirk.

The room itself was a clock-in area for employees, including safety vests and hardhats for warehouse and dockworkers, and even hats, gloves and radios for security guards. Right next to the guard equipment, a list of guards on duty and their patrols - as well as a map depicting the routes -

Taking his chance, Cobel reached into the bag he carried around with him and pulled out a red polo shirt and black slacks; he'd stitched fresh, black RKT lettering into the shirt, and put the get-up on as quickly as he could. From the room, he grabbed a flashlight and a radio, and made sure to keep his two PokeBalls clipped on the same side all the guards he'd seen had kept theirs. Slicking his hair back as far as it would go, Cobel tried to make sure any of the few people who'd seen his face since he'd walked in to drop off an application wouldn't recognize him — at least, recognize him fast enough. There was only so much he could mask the scarring across his face.

As he did, a guard actually came out from the booth while he was getting ready, tying off the laces of a pair of steel-toed boots he'd bought the night before, when he realized he wanted to go undercover.

"New blood? I thought you got cold feet, called out this morning," The guard commented - less suspicious than he actually didn't care -, as he set a to-go cup of coffee atop a tall shelf in the room as he eyed the patrol list — not like he needed to know, but more like he was looking to confirm. And he let out a long, long sigh. "Man, another day on red route. I keep tellin' the boss them machines keep messin' with my hearin'."

"That down on the main level?" Cobel asked, eyeing up the map again, trying to remember as much of it as he could. He did his best to think about what part of the office and warehouse he'd seen, but it was quite minimal — he wasn't sure he could bluff what he needed to.

"Yeah, kid," the guard gave the detective a skeptical look then. That must have been something Cobel should know. "They even teach you your damn routes before you started?"

"Of course, of course," he lied. "I'm just making sure. I mean, it's right in front of my face you know."

"Right." the guard responded, clearly worn down by the conversation.

"Good luck with the red route." Cobel tried to recover.

"Kid are ye feckin' dumb?" the guard had boiled over to full-blown bewilderment. "You're down there with me."

"Of course, of course," he lied again. "Just...wanted to with you luck."

Cobel's new partner in crime let out a loan groan — one that bemoaned that he'd been stuck with the dumbest fuck in all of Olivine.

Hecotoro · Feb 17, 2022

June 10, Friday - Near Union Cave, Johto. Reina, current rank, 49,425.

Reina and Blue Demon stood still, like if frozen in time as some stranger scanned the Hawlucha. They waited like statues until he was done and Penny expressed her feelings about the situation.

"It's okay, we don't mind, good morning to you too!" Reina replied with a quick smile before turning to her training partner. "Oh no don't worry, we're not going to battle!" She shot Blue Demon a quick glance and nodded towards him. "Blue here is going to teach Thes- Thas... Your Heracross, how to wrestle! Just like I'm going to teach you!" She placed her hands on her hips at the same time Hawlucha did. "First, we need to stretch." She began stretching her arms upward while Blue began doing jumping jacks. "Make sure you feel your muscles stretching otherwise, it doesn't work. Uno, dos, tres, until twenty!"

Diva rolled her eyes and sat down, now she was getting even less attention!

Red Gallade · Feb 17, 2022

Brian Killian - Trainer rank: 267
June 10th - Wyndon, Galar Region

Another day went by much faster than the trainer expected, Brian just walked out of a cafe after a nice little breakfast and had a look at his Rotom phone, his eyes widened lightly in surprise to notice that part of the news was about the Gigantamax Pokemon he heard about earlier, what surprised him was that nobody had defeated them yet. "This Pokemon could provide me a wonderful challenge, maybe I'll even make a friend or two while I'm there." Brian thought to himself as he put his phone back in his pocket and began to walk down the streets.

Brian's destination wasn't towards the exit of Wyndon, there was no way he planned to make the journey on foot when it was only a over week until the World Coronation Series, so he made his way to look for any available cabs, unable to stop and silently admire the majestic Corviknights tasked with such a job. As he looked around, he felt a gust of wind blow past him, but before the wind could blow his hat off his head, he quickly caught it and adjusted it, it seemed like it wasn't the first time his hat was blown away.

DarkHydraT · Feb 17, 2022

Ezio Farello, June 10th, Aqua Resort, Sophian Island, Oblivia

Sophian Island, the biggest island of the Oblivia Region and home of quite some ruins. However, that was not where Ezio was just yet. Instead, he gawked at the marvellous architecture of the Aqua Resort and the beautiful waterways. If he ever decided to leave Unova and retire, he'd probably hang up his hat here. It was, ironically enough for a Rock Type user, Heaven on earth. Taking a mental note to expore this place later, the man took his first steps onto Sophian Road. Not the most creative name, but it was easy to remember and made its purpose clear.

Halfway through the route, the road was blocked by a river coursing through the stream. The road crossed the road twice actually, and there was no bridge whatsoever. Lack of infrastructure aside, this was just unsafe as playing children or old people could simply fall in and not get out. Placing a hand on his belt, he grabbed a Pokéball and threw it to the other side of the river, releasing a massive Steelix. It was double the size of an ordinary Steelix, which made it perfect as a bridge. The Iron Snake Pokémon lowered its head, allowing Ezio to walk on the Pokémon's body and pass the river twice. "Thank you, Excavate!" Ezio said, recalling his Pokémon before seeing his destination.

Canal Ruins was notorious for the fact that it always rained there, though the reasons behind that varied from the presence of Suicune to a Politoed with the Ability Drizzle. He was unsure which one he believed, but that was neither here nor there. The biggest problem was getting there in the first place. Excavate was tempting, but he hated rain and the river bank wasn't exactly stable enough for the weight of his Steelix. Thankfully, he never left the door without his full party of Pokémon. "Alright, Eviscerate, get me to the other side of this river." Releasing another Pokémon, a shrill roar filled the air as an Aerodactyl was released, instantly cuddling up to Ezio. "Hey girl, I love you too. Could you carry across the river?"

The Aerodactyl flew up and grabbed Ezio by his shoulders, carrying him across the river before being recalled as her trainer entered the Canal Ruins. Like the stories said, it was raining whilst the rest of Sophian Road was sunny. And if the rapidly fleeing figure of a Politoed meant anything, that was probably the culprit. Still, unusual weather was the least of his concerns at the moment. He had an underwater ruin to explore.

Shen: King of Digimon · Feb 18, 2022

National Park
Johto

Within seconds, rain clouds formed over the general vicinity. Rain droplets began to trickle down into a downpour. Charade instinctively gripped his cape, keeping it away from the wet floor as he attempted to shield it with his arms.

"DUDE! You know how long it took to make this cape?! I haven't tried getting it wet yet, so quit it with the rain stuff!"

Croagunk turned to him, scratching his head, as he used the time to cradle his cape instead of calling out an order. Charade began to catch on to this however.

"O-Oh, right. Ahem! Go for a slide attack!"

Croagunk croaked mischievously in response. It then darted over toward Politoed, using the now moist ground to attempt to slide under the other frog, it's orange finger glowing a faint purple as it aimed to strike up in between the politoed's legs.

ThAtGuY101 · Feb 18, 2022

~Aldon Charlton, June 10th, Route 33...~

"Nice morning to you as well" Aldon said.

Aldon looked over at the impatient girl. She didn't seem like much of a people person. Perhaps she had poor social skills or was shy. Whatever the reason was, she was quick to focus on training. Aldon didn't think he took up that much room, "Sure sure... Don't mind me" Aldon said in a joking and slightly sarcastic tone.

The two were gonna battle it out. No telling how long this was gonna take. Could be a while before this was over. Aldon figured he'd might as well be at least productive instead of standing around bored out of his mind. He took out a list, an old worn notepad. and began checking a few things off his notepad, and writing a few more things.

$15,200
14x pokéballs
5x Super Potions
3x Full Heals
6x Oran berry,
Cell Phone
Waterproof sleeping bag
Travel cooking supplies
Portable tent
Hiking and archeology tools.
Flashlight

kyuukestu · Feb 18, 2022

Esther
Thursday, June 9 – East Lake Axewell, Motostoke, Galar Region

On paper, catching Pokémon sounded easy; walk through some tall grass, reedy shores, anywhere really, until you stumbled upon a wild Pokémon and—assuming it didn’t horribly mutilate you, kill you, or both—you lobbed a Pokéball at it. Easy enough, right? Esther found the iconic formula wasn’t as simple as it was made out to be. For example, what happened when the Pokémon in question wouldn’t stay still? The obvious question was to battle it but...what if you couldn’t? Frustration ensued.

The little, gray-furred miscreant responsible for Esther’s predicament perched itself on an overhanging branch. The thought of simply setting her battle-hungry drake on the tree-rat was enticing, the sadistic urge just let the dragon rip the wild Pokémon to bits had Esther’s fingers pressed to the Pokéball at her waist; however, one that would be incredibly cruel and two the new and the thief had pilfered her rather pricy swimsuit as a hostage. Her reservations kept her touch light. If she released Pyrrha then her swimsuit would be a sure casualty of the resulting rampage. Still...she was running out of options, and the swimsuit-thief was beginning to tear at the rhinestones embedded into the fabrics.

It snickered, taunting her, daring her to toss another one of her Pokéballs—she’d already lost one when it had deftly ducked behind the tree and then slapped her Pokéball into the nearby lake. Living so close to a human settlement, the creature had clearly learned a thing or two about avoiding capture. Esther had watched bug-eyed and fuming as $200 sunk into the lake’s depths. Animal cruelty suddenly sounded a lot more palatable.

Since the swimsuit was done for either way then... “Pyrrha, Pyrrichios!”

The snap, crack and pop of scales filled the air, violent at first then settling into a subdued rattle. It was a small prelude as the Jangmo-o shook her body into motion. Then her eyes swept her surroundings, without a word she locked onto the only Pokémon in sight. The sound of voiceless challenge echoed across the meadow, a metallic percussion, a whip-clamor of scales, a cymbal of aggression as Pyrrha’s tail snapped from side-to-side, colliding with the primary scales on her torso.

Commands were unnecessary, wasted breath on Esther’s part, but the girl still reveled in feeling like she was in control. “Sick em!”

Pyrrha shot out like a canon-ball, two feet of rage covered in metallic scales. The startled...uhh, what even was this Pokémon? Esther had no time to check as a sweep of Dragon Tail shattered the Pokémon’s resting place. When the grey rat fell to the ground, dazed, Esther activated the pokedex feature of her poketch—

#572 Minccino, the Chinchilla Pokémon.

Minccino loves shiny things and will use its tail as a brush to clean any objects that are dirty. These Pokémon prefer a tidy habitat, they are always sweeping and dusting, using their tails as brooms.

Now it was Minccino’s turn to look wide-eyed and aghast; Esther nodded, satisfied the Minccino had been rightly stricken with the fear of Arceus. Now that she looked closer, the chinchilla Pokémon was cute as a button and seemed as good an addition to her team as any other.

Another racket from Pyrrha signaled her charge and the Minccino scattered into the tall grass, eager to avoid another Dragon Tail. As Pyrrha gave pursuit Esther returned her with a red snap of energy. Minccino had dropped her swimsuit in its panicked escape and rather than let the drake massacre the poor thing, Esther had decided to catch it. After retrieving her swimsuit, she turned to the tall grass; she could see the rustle of Minccino’s flight through the meadow.

Esther took aim, raising a thumb to track Minccino’s movements through the grass. One...two...toss and...she missed... It was to be expected really, it was difficult enough to hit a moving target, much less to hit one moving in grass taller than itself. To her credit she hadn’t missed by that much and she’d still managed to hit something. She had seen as the Pokéball bounced into the air, capturing something with a flash of light.

There as a pregnant silence for a moment, then another, then a thir—cCCRRAAACK! The silence was shattered—and by the sound of that crack, so too was her Pokéball; her heart bled at the loss of another $200, but those were the least of Esther’s concerned. A furious Howl, dark and ominous grated on the trainer’s ears, forcing her to into a squat as she covered her ears. That proved to be a stroke of fortune as; no sooner than she’d ducked, a fusillade of embers scorched the air where her head would’ve been.

Esther startled, looking into the tall grass. The Ember had clipped the grassy blade tips, setting them to a smolder that slowly revealed a sleek, dark form gilded with bone-white, bone-like ridges. Its gaze was heavy with malice, fangs dripping cinders from its earlier attack. Before Esther could even think to move, the Pokémon opened its maw once more, spewing a toxic cloud of gas that swept towards the Oblivian. The danger of this gas was not lost on Esther, if its sickly noxious color hadn’t tipped her off, then the way grass wilted and died as the Smog passed over it surely did.

The poisonous cloud was upon her in seconds. Instinctively, Esther cowered, shielding her face with her arms. She breath caught in her throat, half fright and half an attempt to not breathe in the fumes. Her skin prickled and her stomach churned in anticipation of nausea that never came.

There was no burning sensation of toxins seeping into her skin; no desperate wheeze—a fight for every fresh breath; no foul, polluting stench of smog and decay; instead, there was only sound—the whip-clamor of scales and cymbal crash of aggression. Daring to peek through the gap in her fingers, Esther found herself in an island of green; it wasn’t just that only the plant life in the vicinity had survived the toxic attack, it was also the Protect-ive shimmering of green that was beginning to fade around her.

Cmeriwether · Feb 18, 2022

East Lake Axewell, Galar, June 9th, Trainer: Firey Argentston, Rank 20.

Firey Argentston had been flying around, seeing the sights as he looked for a problematic Carbink. He saw a bunch of trainers fail to catch a mostly grey with blue rock shaped creature.

"There's the Carbink,"

Three trainers tried and failed to beat the Carbink. Firey took precautions by landing near what seemed to be a Hammock, a bit out from what seemed to be a makeshift camp. He then pulled out a Pokéball, and threw it to reveal a large blue Metallic creature with four legs, red eyes and an X silver X across the face.

"Salamence stay here, make sure no trainers get too close, it's already beaten three trainers trying to catch it, Metagross, you and I are fighting this Pokémon."

The Iron Leg Pokémon prepared for combat. The wild Carbink went for a Power Gem as Metagross just took the attack.

"Meteor Mash!"

The Steel and Psychic type smashed a Star shape into the Carbink's side. The wild Pokémon then called upon the power of the moon, and concentrated it into a pink ball, firing it at Metagross.

"Hammer Arm, bat it away!"

Metagross prepared one of its legs to ba attack away, the attack flew off into the distance. The Wild Pokémon charged up space power, preparing for an attack, as such sparkles

"Metagross, Psycho Cut!"

The opposing Pokémon fired off its attack, a rock beam went towards Metagross only to meet Psycho Cut and the two attacks split and hit farther away.

"And go for the Meteor Mash!"

Metagross landed the star right on the Carbink before it went for another attack. Metagross backed off after the attack landed, knowing what his trainer was doing next.

"Heavy Ball!"

Firey threw the Heavy Ball, hitting Carbink, sucking the rock and Fairy type in, one shake, two shakes, three shakes, four shakes, five shakes, and it gave off a Ping, signaling that the Pokémon was caught. Firey walked over and picked up the Pokéball, and looked at it.

"I wasn't expecting to Catch the Pokémon causing a problem, but I caught a Carbink."

Firey returned Metagross as he hopped on Salamence to see some more sights, like someone catching a Houndour.

'A Houndour?' Firey thought, 'My daughter never found a Houndour, or even seen one when she was here.'

He kept watching in case the situation got worse. He wanted to see how trainers are catching these days, as this is his fourth time outside Hoenn in at least six years. He was more interested in how they catch Pokémon.

Banan-chan · Feb 18, 2022

Frances Copeland - Unranked
June 10 - Wyndon, Galar

Frances peered over the wings of her Corviknight, scanning the busy streets below for anyone attempting to hail a flying taxi. She knew that her attempts were futile‒the much keener eyed Corviknight was sure to spot prospective passengers far before she could. Frances continued to look anyway; it made her feel as if she was doing something useful, and providing an extra pair of eyes certainly couldn’t hurt. Not to mention that the sight of Galar’s biggest city from a bird’s eye view was simply mesmerizing.

There was a sudden jolt as Corviknight lurched forward and went into a nosedive. Frances quickly collected herself, leaning into the dive and gripping the handles on the Pokemon’s harness. As they approached the street, Corviknight gently set down his carriage before landing himself with a sharp metallic thunk. Frances allowed herself a moment to recover from the sudden descent before turning to address the blue-haired man that had supposedly attracted Corviknight’s attention.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Red Gallade · Feb 18, 2022

Brian Killian - Trainer rank: 267
June 10th - Wyndon, Galar Region

As Brian was about to make a decision on what flying taxi he wanted to take, he jolted when he heard a thunk nearby and turned to see what it was, only to find it was another Corviknight of the flying taxi business. Brian walked up to the Corviknight and couldn't help but reach out in an attempt to pet him before he heard the voice of someone, most likely the cabbie with the Corviknight. Brian gave her a friendly smile before he stepped back from the Corviknight to speak.

"Hello there, is it possible for me to request a ride to the Wild Area, please?" He asked in a calm tone of voice with a patient type of body language, his hands rested in the pockets of his fuchsia colored coat as his mind rushed with thoughts on the potential Pokemon he may encounter from the Max den he heard about.

Banan-chan · Feb 18, 2022

Frances Copeland - Unranked
June 10 - Wyndon, Galar

“Sure thing,” Frances replied to the man. Corviknight sidled in place calmly, ruffling his feathers and inspecting the man as Frances dismounted. “So, are you looking to catch a new Pokémon for your team? Or perhaps trying to find some rare items?” she asked as she fumbled with the latch on the carriage door. Frances figured that the man was a trainer of some sort, given that he was requesting a ride to the Wild Area, though he certainly wasn’t as buzzing with energy as many trainers were those days. Once she finally managed to get the door open, Frances clambered back onto Corviknight and signaled for the Pokémon to prepare for liftoff. “Let’s get going,” she said as Corviknight found his perch on top of the carriage.

Red Gallade · Feb 18, 2022

Brian Killian - Trainer rank: 267
June 10th - Wyndon, Galar Region

"More likely the latter, far be it for me to rob the chance for other trainers to acquire some interesting Pokemon. Besides, I'm more than happy with the friends I have with me." Brian replied as he went in to the carriage and sat down, he closed the door behind when he was inside and patiently waited on the cabbie and her Corviknight. "The main reason I'm going there was thanks to learning of a strong Pokemon there, one that I wish to test my skills against. Should I lose, then I know what to improve, should I win, so much the better." He added with a hint of confidence behind his calm demeanor.

Godjacob · Feb 19, 2022

National Park, Johto

Desmond in turn had also ended up with a now wet top as a result of the Rain Dance, and while he might've complained about that in better situations here...it had felt like an odd relief, the nerves were still there to be sure but somehow seeing the Pokemon his brother treasured happily dancing in the rain helped to wash the worst of it away.

"Sorry, but hey when you fight a Water Type gotta be prepared for this." Desmond said back as Politoed continued its dance and got a good rain going in their area, but soon the battle resumed as the Croagunk charged with a slide attack.

"Not this time, Politoed jump and use Water Gun!" Desmond called out, as the Rain Dance would add a bit of punch to all Water-Type attacks and the Politoed gracefully hopped over the Croagunk and tried to blast down with its boosted Water Gun.

Shen: King of Digimon · Feb 19, 2022

National Park, Johto

"Croooooooag!"

The boosted water gun hit croagunk, sending it tumbling across the wet ground. Effectively getting swamped, the poison-fighting type came to a halt near the edge of the grass, staggering back to it's feet with a sweat.

"Gah! How did you know we were gonna slide?!" Charade was taken back. "Well, we got other moves! Like...uh...our signature improvising skill! Yeah! It's a Crimson Crew specialty!"

Croagunk looked around at what it could possibly use. There was...water...water...and- wait. That was it! Looking at the water that pooled around him, he dipped his finger into the pool, a thick purple fog releasing into it from his poison. That's the ticket.

In a movement, he scooped up a mouthful of the poisoned water, sprinting over to Politoed, when he got close, he shot out the purple fluid like spit, trying to hit politoed to predict it's hopping nature.

Banan-chan · Feb 20, 2022

Frances Copeland - Unranked
June 10 - Wyndon, Galar

"I see," Frances replied, as Corviknight spread his wings. Within moments, they were airborne.

"So you're going to test your strength against a powerful Pokemon, huh? Y'know, that reminds me a lot of the island trials we have in Alola."
Frances took a brief glance at her compass, adjusting their flight path accordingly, before continuing.
“Young trainers would have to enter the den of these Pokemon called ‘Totems’ and beat them in order to pass each trial. They’re really strong, and massive too. Not nearly as big as Dynamax Pokemon, but pretty scary anyways.”

Red Gallade · Feb 20, 2022

Brian Killian - Trainer rank: 267
June 10th - Wyndon, Galar Region

"You're from Alola? That must be a beautiful place to live, I went there a few times and it's certainly a place I'd want to stay in." Brian said as he looked out of his windows from time to time. "And I heard about the Totem Pokemon as well, I may not have battled any as I haven't taken part in the trials, but they seem very fascinating. I'll most likely try out the Alola trials once fate guides me that direction." He added as he reached in to his pocket to check his phone. "All I know is our challenges don't seem as fascinating back in Unova, but far be it for me to talk bad about home."

EnviousWorm · Feb 21, 2022

Penny Lepiter; Trainer Ranking — Unranked
June 10th. Azalea Town.

A little confused by Reina's initial instructions and altogether off-put by an unexpected presence, Penny reached hesitantly into her bag for Heracross's PokeBall. She stared through the semi-transparent capsule at Theseus, who gave a little, enthusiastic wave back. Realizing she was wasting precious time, she clicked the center button of the PokeBall with her thumb and let the bug/fighting-type out.

"Hera!" Theseus the Heracross gave a gleeful cry, instantly getting into a full-bodied stretch that seemed 100% human, but was definitely not something she had taught him.

Less enthusiastic, Penny stretched her left arm across her body, gripping onto her elbow with her right hand and pressing in with it as she counted seconds in her head without a real end-goal.

"So what the heck's wrestling got to do with it?" Penny asked, still a little lost. She tried to think back to the day before, being held up in the Union Cave, or even watching Reina in her gym battle, but the inexperienced red-head - smart as she could be - didn't see it. "I mean, I get it but shouldn't we be doing moves and...uh, whatever the hell else people do in battles?"

Hecotoro · Feb 21, 2022

June 10, Friday - Azalea Town, Johto. Reina, current rank, 49,425.

Reina began stretching her while shooting a smile at the Heracross and his excitement. "Well, do you know how much Heracross can lift? Do you know how fast he can move across the field? How good is his balance? We can learn a Pokemon's moves, their abilities, but do we know them as themselves?" She pointed at her Hawlucha, "I learned wrestling moves so I could understand how Blue executes his own. I can see in a battle when a more experienced Pokemon has an advantage, when Blue is out of his game or when isn't doing well, by seeing how accurately he performs his moves. I guess in simple ways, if you want to train a Heracross you have to be a Heracross." She then flexed her bicep, "Plus it's also a great workout!"

After a few moments of stretching, she walked over to Penny. "First we need to work on your stance, see how Heracross stands with his knees sorta bent? That's your stance also, similar to mine actually." She and the Hawlucha bent their knees and raised their palms as if ready to pounce. "It needs to be strong! So, whenever your ready, I'm going to try and push you over. Blue! Do the same!"

Blue Demon hopped over to Theseus and prepared himself, waiting for Reina to start before he did.

Retro Master · Feb 21, 2022

8:30 PM June 9th, Thursday - Lumiose City, Kalos

"So this is the place, huh."

Standing outside in an alleyway between two apartment complexes, Acer found himself at the address marked down on the piece of paper Ricky had given him. When the tears had finally stopped, Acer knew he had to keep moving forward. That's why he had come here. There was a crowd of people hanging around near the entrance, some trying to line up to get outside with others just chilling in smaller groups. From the commotion, it sounded like people were excited to watch whatever was happening inside. From outside, it seemed like they were just standing outside the back of an apartment building, but as Acer made it further towards the front of the line, he could see that people were heading downwards. This was an underground battling ring, so it only made sense that the place was actually underground. Once Acer made it to the front of the line, he stopped to ask one of the supposed guards a question.

"Um, hello, Sir. I'm here to compete in the tournament. Where do I go?"

At first, the guard and his fellow Gurdurr didn't even acknowledge Acer until they heard his soft-spoken greeting. The two guards just looked at each confused for a moment before the human one responded.

"You're telling me a pipsqueak like you got accepted to participate in this tournament? Must be for the bottom tier group then. You got any proof on you, kid?"

As expected, the guard didn't believe him without any evidence to back his claims. Acer would have to show something that proved he was allowed to enter this underground tournament. Fortunately, he had a piece of paper in his hand that just so happened to show Ricky's handwriting and the amount he owed.

"Here, Sir. Take a look at this." Respectfully, Acer handed the piece of paper to the guard. After taking the paper, Acer could see the bulky man examine it briefly. A few seconds passed before the guard nodded and handed the paper back to Acer.

"Well, that's definitely Ricky's handwriting and the 100k debt you owe is further proof it's him. Give me a second, boy."

Pulling out a walkie, the guard then attempted to make contact with someone inside. Acer took this time to step to the side in order to allow the restless people behind him to head on inside. After a few moments of discussion, another guy soon made his way outside and called for the people trying to get inside to stop. All their eyes then turned to Acer as he became the subject of their scrutiny for holding up the line. That's why Acer hurried inside as soon as the second guard motioned for him to follow. Once he passed through the doorway, Acer could see that there was some sort of concrete ramp leading everyone downwards. The further down they went, the louder everything seemed to get. However, they turned towards a small corridor on the left just before reaching what Acer presumed to be the main arena. The guard led him down the corridor and then after making a right to go up some stairs, they were now in a more well-lit hallway. All across the carpet was a red and design while the walls were a clean rose beige.

"Over here."

Motioning for Acer to continue following him, the guard then led the teen to one of the brown doors on the left of the hallway. Since the noises of people shouting seemed to grow louder as they stood outside, Acer presumed the area on the other side of the was an area beside the arena in some way. This was only confirmed when the guard was allowed to enter inside. At first, the area seemed a luxurious room with gold plastered everywhere, fancy wine bottles, a well-furnished wooden table, a bookshelf, and even a large sofa. There were some other things, but Acer stopped looking around when his eyes caught Ricky walking up to him with a shot glass in his hand.

"So you did show up after all. You got some guts, kid. I'll give you that much."

"I mean, I don't think I had much of a choice."

"Heh. Smart kid. Follow me."

With Acer reluctantly following after him, Ricky led him towards the other side of the room, where there was an opening overlooking the arena. It seemed like this room was actually one of the few booths just above the stands, probably reserved just for those who paid more or were VIP guests. Although this area wasn't as large as a Pokémon League stadium, it was able to at least a few hundred people. The arena itself was more of a caged boxing ring rather than an actual battlefield. For the most part, the floor was black, with the logo in the middle being a red and blue Poké Ball symbol. In the arena itself, Acer could why the crowd had been so rowdy. There was a battle currently taking place between a Chimchar and a Bunnelby, with both trainers also standing inside the square ring.

Catching the battle just a bit after it had started, the Bunnelby seemed to have flinched and taken a few steps after a Fake Out. Stealing the opportunity, the Chimchar lunged towards the Pokémon known for digging with an intimidating expression on its face. Eyes glowing a light shade of red, the chimp Pokémon gave it's opponent a fierce Leer as it was trying to regain its composure. While the Bunnelby seemed to lose a bit of its defense, the shout from of its trainer allowed it finally recover. Both of its large grey ears began to shine a warm white color as it prepared to meet the fiery Pokémon in front of it. As the normal type pulled its ears back to prepare for the attack, the Chimchar forcefully pushed off the ground with its palm when it was just a few feet away. The front flip into the air above the Bunnelby granted it just enough time to use a counter of its own. Once the ear struck forward, the midair Chimchar brought one of its now glowing legs down. In a quick action, both the leg and ear smashed into each other, the force of the blows knocking both ligaments back, leading to their other halves following up in quick succession. When the Double Slap came into contact with the hit from the Double Kick, the Chimchar used the momentum from the deflected kick to push itself up into a backflip this time. After the flip quickly completed itself, the Chimchar immediately aimed an Ember and then launched towards the Bunnelby that had rolled backward after stumbling. However, that reaction from the impact of the prior clash allowed it to seamlessly transition into a Defense Curl. Although the Bunnelby took a direct hit from the fire, it was protected somewhat. More importantly, the following command of its trainer revealed their clever strategy.

Now that the Chimchar appeared unable to choose its landing spot as it fell from the air, the curled up Bunnelby began to roll forwards. Even though Acer lacked live battle experience, his in-depth knowledge on everything battling-related allowed him to instinctively realize tactics such as these. Using Defense Curl directly before a Rollout or Ice Ball would increase the strength of the latter two moves. As Acer suspected, the Bunnelby was using Rollout as it went straight for the spot the Chimchar should land. Yet, both the Chimchar and its black-haired trainer appeared to be prepared for this. After a command was shouted, the Chimchar's right hand began to glow a shade of orange as it closed into a fist. Just before it landed into the Bunnelby's attack, the Chimchar sent its fist forward. Orange sparks were sent flying as the Rollout furiously ground against the Power-Up Punch. With both of their attacks being super effective on the other, they canceled each other out as they both took an equivalent amount of damage after the clash eventually knocked them both back. Of course, they were both quick to get back to their feet as both trainers simultaneously shouted their next command. Both of Bunnelby's ears glowed again and so did the Chimchar's hands before they dashed towards each other once again. This time, they exchanged a flurry of blows, trading attack damage for attack speed. The Bunnelby started with a Quick Attack and managed to get the first hit on the chimp Pokémon. With its fists now glowing a darker shade of orange, the Chimchar attempted a counterattack. Yet, every time the Chimchar attacked with a Power-Up Punch, the Bunnelby countered with an ear and followed up with the second to complete the Double Slap. However, the Chimchar would respond by deflecting that ear with a Power-Up Punch with its other fist.

It was a shame Acer could barely hear the commands of each trainer underneath the roaring of the pumped-up crowd. At least, he could tell they were into the battle just from their body expression and the way they flailed their arms as they stated their commands. Acer hadn't yet experienced what it was like to be completely absorbed into a battle since he didn't really have to do anything in his only battles with Froakie. If his battle was anything like this one, then maybe he'll be able to get that experience sometime soon. Once this battle was over, he presumed Ricky would let him know more about this battling tournament.

While both the Pokémon seemed to be dealing a fair exchange of blows, with a keen eye, Acer was able to discern the Bunnelby seemed to be growing much more fatigued as the scuffle kept going. At first, Acer thought the small defense boost it had gotten from the Defense Curl earlier would allow it to endure the physical attacks a bit better. However, Acer soon realized he hadn't taken into account the number of times the Chimchar had used Power-Up Punch. After each punch, the Pokémon would receive a small boost to its attack strength, and with both of its hands utilizing the attack, this meant the increase of its strength had happened two times faster. From the corner of his eyes, he could a smirk grow on Ricky's lips. This battle was about to reach its conclusion. As if it was waiting for the perfect opportunity, the Chimchar blocked the large ear that the tired Bunnelby brought down. This punch seemed to carry a bit more with it, which cause the Bunnelby to take just one step back. This allowed the Chimchar to take one step forward and lead into something Acer didn't expect to see here. The right foot of the Chimchar suddenly became consumed by flames before it did a spin. As the Chimchar turned clockwise, it brought its right leg up, so when it finally came back around, it was able to land a direct kick onto the Bunnelby.

"Blaze Kick?! No way!"

Acer shouted in surprise as he witnessed this unexpected development. He knew first-stage Pokémon could get access to stronger moves, but he didn't expect to see that here. The brown rabbit Pokémon didn't get to defend the kick and was knocked a good distance away onto its back. Although it wasn't knocked yet, the damage it had taken was significant. Even when it struggled to get up, everyone could the brief glimmer of fire flicker on the area of the Pokémon that had been hit. It was burned now and severely weakened. This seemed like a hopeless situation for the trainer of the Bunnelby. He still had a chance. Maybe he could have Bunnelby attempt a surprise attack on the Chimchar slowly walking up to it. However, the trainer did something that bewildered Acer. He returned the Bunnelby.

"What the hell?! Why did he just quit like that? This battle is over now..."

Like a fan annoyed after witnessing an anticlimatic end to an entertaining battle, Acer just shook his head in disbelief. All of that just for the guy to just give up. It pissed him off. The trainers Acer looked up to would never. He wouldn't either. At least, he would try not to. Judging by the snickering from Ricky, the criminal must've thought this was funny. Of course, he would.

"Heh. I guess you didn't get the memo, kid. The battle will continue until either the trainer or Pokémon is incapacitated. Those are all the rules."

"Wait, wha-"

The teen didn't get to finish his shocked response as the trainer who was supposed to have forfeited gave a roar loud enough to silence everyone watching.

"I WON'T LOSE LIKE THIS!"

Suddenly, the enraged trainer charged towards the side of his Bunnnelby. He returned his partner Pokémon just before the Chimchar could land a final attack. With the Chimchar having been distracted for that brief second, the running trainer bolted towards his opponent. His hands were balled up into fists as he appeared ready to pummel a guy that appeared no older than 20. However, the young adult only stood there without a concern on his face. Just before the man could reach him, his left side was struck by Chimchar. The Tackle sent the man flying to the right before slamming on the cage at the edge of the arena. He was out for good.

"AND THE BATTLE IS OVER! THE WINNER IS BLAZE EVERHART!"

A loud roar of excitement could be heard from the crowd once the battle ended. It wasn't as anti-climatic as Acer thought it would be. Yet, it was still something he didn't expect either. If the rules really allowed for both the trainer to also participate in the battle, then this will be more complicated than Acer thought. Especially if there were no limits to violence.

"As I said, we don't fight like bitches here. You fight with your Pokémon. You depend on them. They depend on you. Just how it should be."

Ricky clarified the rules for Acer with a solemn expression on his face before he waltzed over to a desk back inside the booth. He seemed to fiddle with something and by the time Acer went up to see what he was doing, the teen saw a draw open. Inside, there were over a dozen or so Poké Balls. With a quick look over, Ricky then picked one of them up.

"This'll be your Pokémon for this tournament. Now let's go get you situated."

Handing the Poké Ball to Acer, the criminal then motioned for the teen to follow him out of the room. Acer wanted to check Pokémon he had received, but that would have to wait until later as he followed Ricky down the hallway. After taking the stairs down a few times, they met up with two guards and were walking towards an entrance at the end of the hallway when a man suddenly burst through it. The man was actually the same guy who had just lost the fight against Blaze and he ran towards Ricky with an evident limp in his step.

"PLEASE RICKY! GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE! I BEG OF YOU!"

Frantically, the man begged Ricky for another chance. He even went as far as getting on his knees and his hands and knees. Acer didn't why this man reduced himself to such a state, but whatever it was, Ricky didn't seem too pleased. Rather than offering the man another chance, the criminal instead reached behind him. When his shirt lifted up slightly, Acer's felt his heart drop when he saw the same gun Ricky had pulled on him. The teen took a step back as he had a feeling something bad was about to happen. When Ricky pointed the gun at the trainer on his knees, it was too late for Acer to turn his eyes away.

"I'll win next time! Just please..."

On the verge of tears, the voice of the trainer trembled as he looked up.

*BANG*

All the trainer received was a bullet through his head. The lifeless body of the trainer just collapsed to the ground after Ricky blew his brains out. Blood began to pool around the head, where the wound had been. Stunned, Acer couldn't even utter a word. He felt his heart start to beat harder, faster. His breathing started to pick up, growing heavy. Vision growing blurry, Acer began to feel dazed. The teen clutched his forehead as water began to well up in his eyes. This couldn't be happening again. Even though Acer had never seen this man before, just the shock of seeing someone die like that scared him. Why did it hurt so much even when he didn't even know them? Acer wondered if it was just him being too emotional. Was it weakness? Would the best trainers in the world react like this? He didn't even know if this was normal.

"Clean this mess up," Ricky spoke to the two guards that were with them. This was normal to them it seemed as they only reacted to his order. With one last glance at the dead body by his feet, Ricky then turned to Acer. "Alright. Let's get going, kid." Ricky said, expecting the teen to follow him when he turned to continue walking. Yet, when Acer didn't immediately follow, Ricky walked back to him. It didn't make much for anyone to see the teenager was a bit out of it.

"You good?"

Questioning the frightened teen, Ricky placed a hand on his shoulder. A shiver down Acer's spine as he froze up when the killer touched him. It was probably the most fear-inducing thing he had ever experienced in his life. He felt like he might just crumble into pieces if he just twitched the wrong way. Maybe he should've asked for a drink before he came down here. Unfortunately, it was too late for that and all Acer wanted to do right now was get out of here.

"I-I-I'm f-f-fi-fine. Le-let's go."

Barely managing to stutter out his response, Acer hoped Ricky bought it. The criminal just inspected him for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"Good. This is what the world is like down here, so get used to it. Now let's go."

Releasing his hand from Acer's shoulder, Ricky turned around and led the teenager down the rest of the hallway. Acer avoided looking at the body on the ground as best as he could and breathed a sigh of relief when they finally escaped the hallway. The corridor they were walking in now was a bit dark, but Acer could hear the growing sound of chatter the further they went. They were probably near the arena again or perhaps they were heading to an area where the other competitors were. With that thought in mind, Ricky also brought something else up that piqued his interest.

"Oh, I should say the group you're gonna be a part of in this tournament is a tough bunch. So good luck haha."

Not knowing what Ricky meant by that, Acer could only assume the group of people he'd be fighting were going to be strong and dangerous. Acer somewhat expected that, considering the rules of the tournament and the type of people he thought would want to participate in it. However, when Acer finally walked into the training room, he found that his suspicions weren't entirely correct. There were over a dozen of people and Pokémon in there. Some of the Pokémon were playing with each other while some trainers conversed with each other. Some watched the fight while others remained in their own corner. In the corner of his eye, he saw some guy swinging a bat. Acer could only what that was for. There was an older man resting on a sofa, with an Abra in his lap. The psychic Pokémon appeared to be asleep since its eyes were closed, but Acer figured that it was probably meditating or something.

"Heh. Looks like Blaze really is serious this time, huh."

That remark came from some boy his age sitting on a sofa with his feet resting on a Machop trying to do push-ups. He seemed to be in a relaxed mood all things considered. Acer couldn't say the same thing about the Machop, though. While Acer didn't have a good relationship with Froakie, he didn't think using a Pokémon as a footstool was any better. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who had a problem with this guy since he was by himself. Although, someone did respond to his comment.

"While you're just sitting on your ass, Jeremy. AAARGH! Just a little more!"

A bulky man who had responded to one named Jeremy seemed to be engaged in an arm wrestle with a Throh at a table nearby. That explained why his focus seemed to switch so quickly. Acer expected the red judo Pokémon to win, so he was surprised with the trainer being able to hold his own. Of course, judging by his struggling shouts, it was a pretty difficult task to win.

"Shut up, Jonas. No one gonna let you beat them with your if that's what you're hoping."

A blond-haired girl let out a scoff as she attempted to downplay the arm wrestle that was going on. She only received a grunt of annoyance in return. Perhaps this guy really thought he could fight a Pokémon himself. Maybe he preferred going after the trainer instead. That might be on top of the strategies used by some competitors here for all Acer knew. What Acer did know was that nearly everyone turned towards him when Ricky raised his voice to make their appearance known.

"Everyone, this is Acer. He'll be our final participant for this tournament. He's new, so don't go too hard on him."

That last part drew a few snickers from the other competitors. Ricky didn't have to say that, but Acer supposed it was fairly obvious he was a newbie. A few of the people here did seem to have some relationship after all. He heard Jeremy say something about someone named Shane being done. Acer presumed that was the guy who has just lost against Blaze and then got killed. Acer stopped his thoughts there since he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of everyone by breaking down. Instead, Acer regained his composure and help up a hand to wave at them.

"Um. Hey, everyone."

Godjacob · Feb 22, 2022

National Park, Johto

"Probably when you announced you were gonna slide..." Desmond had said as it rained, as he wondered if he missed something or had this guy been oblivious to a degree. However it seemed the pair had a rather unique way of calling certain attacks.

Crimson Crew what...?

As silly as the name seemed the idea this guy had gone with was inventive, as it aimed to scope up some of the water as it seemed they tried to poison them.

"Move out of the way!" Desmond called out as his Politoed had tried to hope to get distance but it seemed they began to see a partern as Croagunk closed in and managed to splash the poisoned water right across the face.

"Poli!"

"P-politoed!"

EnviousWorm · Feb 23, 2022

Penny Lepiter; Trainer Ranking — Unranked
June 10th. Route 33.

Taking a quick look at Theseus, Penny bent her knees and hunched her back slightly in order to mimic Heracross's naturally lurking stance. Although she wasn't quite convinced by her friend's Be the Pokemon mantra, Penny had to admit that being aware of her and her Pokemon's generic, physical capabilities was likely for the best. Trying to brace herself for the coming push, Penny tried to dig her heels into the ground when—

The push came and Penny stumbled back, unable to hold her balance as she flailed her arms about in tiny, panicked circles before eventually falling hard against her butt with an unpleasant thud. Feeling a bit of a fool, Penny looked over to see Theseus stood proudly with his chest puffed out, Blue Demon's thin arms pushing hard against the bug's chitinous chest. A small smile spread across Heracross's mouth.

"Ok so now what?" Penny asked, standing up and brushing dust and dirt off of herself. She gave her Pokemon an encouraging thumbs-up. "More pushing? Or...running? Please don't make me run."

Cobel Timpinia; Trainer Ranking — Unranked.
June 9th. RKT Johto HQ, Main Warehouse.

Most of the morning passed by slow, without incident. Cobel hadn't pissed off his new partner - Manny Terapet - any further since their initial meeting. Still, he hadn't ingratiated himself to the burly, churlish security guard either. Manny was tight-lipped, one of those who'd been taught to sink with whatever ship he was on. Whenever the inquisitive "new employee" Cobel asked a question, he was met with gruff grunts and quiet reprimands about how most things were above their level.

All they were supposed to do was walk around the warehouse between all the fresh-off-the-ships cargo containers, making sure each was securely locked and tagged (otherwise the freight inside would be considered contaminated and disposed off, Cobel was told). On top of that, they were to keep their eyes on any - and every - employee not wearing the guard uniform.

"Ya never know what sick fuck's gonna try and nab some swag off a boat, yeah?" Manny said, giving the eyes to a pair of employees half-way out the main bay door, cigarettes and hard-hats in both hands.

There was a tension in the Olivine warehouse different than the one in Ecruteak; in Ecruteak, everyone felt as though they had their faces pressed against a hardline drawn in the pavement by their employers. In Olivine, it felt like a volcano ready to burst after a thousand years of repression. Something in Manny's voice told his snooping fake-coworker that the Headquarters had either seen some problems recently, or were expecting to see problems soon.

"Where's it go?" Cobel asked, near the end of their hours-long shift walking the main floor of the three-story warehouse. "The freight that RKT has to dump, if one of the container seals is broke?"

"Fuck you care?" Manny asked, shaking his head.

"Can't a guy be curious?" Cobel tried to retort, shrugging.

"You get curious around here, RKT cuts you loose." Manny tried to wave the younger man off, dismissive and aggressive.

"'Aight." the undercover private eye sighed as the pair returned to the guard room and caught a fifteen minute break.

During the break, the pair didn't speak. Manny plopped down on a chair and pulled a small lunchbox from under a two-seater table tucked into the corner that led into the surveillance room nearby. The older, fatter guard pulled out a blueberry muffin, and spent fifteen, excruciating minutes eating it slowly and loudly—almost tauntingly at Cobel.

"Sorry," Manny tried to explain, pointing at his chewing mouth. "I gots all these false teeth, can't chew right lotta 'da time."

"It's fine." Cobel replied, wishing he could drive his face through glass instead.

"You seen the next shift, kid?" Manny asked, pointing over to the piece of paper that detailed where the guards had to go next.

Since the pair had come into contact, besides being taught not to ask questions, Cobel had learned that the security guards were often paired up together for a whole day. Most of the time, guards would be rotated in and around one location (between the warehouse, the office and the docks). Cobel had noticed earlier, though, that he and Manny were being shifted from the warehouse to the docks—and Cobel couldn't have been more pleased about it.

"Yeah," he said with a smile."I-when I lived in Galar, I worked on the docks. I almost applied to work there but, Iunno—shit's rough work. I ain't even thirty and I feel a crook in my back when I get out of bed. So I tried out as a guard. But it'll be nice to walk the docks a bit."

"Whateva'," Manny took Cobel's fake nostalgia and pissed on it just as quick. The private detective couldn't really tell if the older man was onto his schtick and didn't care, or just held that much bitterness for everything in the world. Maybe it was a bit of both. "We gotta go on these boats, ya know. Is why I'm askin'. I go on one on one side, you on one on the other side, got it? You walk the decks - interior and exterior - and you make sure no funny shit's happenin'. You might not be liftin' no hundred pounds or nothin', but you gonna be walkin' and strainin' your damn eyes. And then we check which ship you checked. And if any funny business comes off-a one of them, you're in for more shit than any toilet in the country, kid."

"This is the source and if we let the source into the warehouse—" he put the pieces together pretty quickly.

"I think you gots it," Manny nodded, standing and crumbling up the paper of his now non-existent muffin. "Not that us missin' anything in that warehouse ain't get us fucked neither, though. If one-a them containers gets shipped out and arrives with a broken seal, that's as much on the guards on the docks and warehouse, and the freakin' truck drivers doin' the transporting—cuz they gotta log all the containers that go on their trucks and whatnot, too."

"What about the dock-workers themselves?" Cobel asked, almost a full picture in his mind.

"They ain't get off scot-free if das whatcher askin'," Manny shook his head. "But if you worked on 'em docks, you know sometimes you unload maybe a dozen ships in a day, each with - what - 30,000 TEU's or some shit?"

Twenty-foot equivalents; Cobel had never heard the term used for cargo freight until Manny started throwing it around, and the private eye had pulled out his phone for a quick information search behind the older guard's back. Surely, if he had been a dock-worker in Galar, he had to bluff knowing about that. But even a layman could understand: basic cargo containers were around twenty-feet long, and equal to 1 TEU. Even if some containers were forty-feet, or sixty, 30,000 TEU's per ship would be...a lot of containers.

"A metric shit-ton," the private eye said, getting a rare glimpse of delight in Manny's eyes as the larger guard let out a soft chuckle. "That's what we'd say in Galar."

"Sure, kid," Manny shook his head. "Now let's get to them docks. And don't fuck up."

Ask to Join Pokémon: Role Play Thread

Montagne Khastil - Unranked - Thursday, June 9th, Midnight - Estival Ave. Warehouse

June 9th, Thursday - Unknown Location, Kalos

Previously Night's Shadow

6:10 PM June 9th, Thursday - Lumiose City, Kalos

Esther Thursday, June 9 – East Lake Axewell, Motostoke, Galar Region​

Previously Shen: King of the Mist

Esther Thursday, June 9 – East Lake Axewell, Motostoke, Galar Region​

Previously QueOne

Previously QueOne

Previously Shen: King of the Mist

Previously QueOne

8:30 PM June 9th, Thursday - Lumiose City, Kalos

Esther
Thursday, June 9 – East Lake Axewell, Motostoke, Galar Region

Esther
Thursday, June 9 – East Lake Axewell, Motostoke, Galar Region